Chapter 9

Before long, the nine remaining lanterns in front of the young man in gray robes were reduced to six.

After a while, another person bought three in one go, and in an instant, only the "Peony Pavilion" and two other lanterns, one light red and one light green, depicting the stories of "The West Chamber" and "The Legend of the White Snake," remained.

However, for these three most sought-after lanterns, the young man in gray robes called out a sky-high price of two hundred stone coins each, which made many people, though tempted, feel a toothache.

Two hundred stone coins was an astronomical figure for many ordinary families, something they could not casually afford.

Even if they could afford it, using two hundred stone coins to buy a lantern that could only be used for entertainment or decoration was clearly not worth it.

Therefore, when the young man in gray robes spoke, the reaction in the crowd became cold, and more people began to hesitate.

However, the three lanterns were truly stunning, especially the light yellow one. Its beauty, the changing light and shadow, and the "clicking" sound of the rotating shaft, combined with the story the young man in gray robes had just told, had a devilish charm that made people linger, unwilling to leave.

Seeing this, the young man in gray robes did not care. He smiled slightly and sat down on the spot to calculate his earnings.

Each ordinary lantern sold for thirty coins, and he had already sold seven, which amounted to two hundred and ten coins, seven times more than all his possessions.

Looking at the pile of freshly minted gray stone coins in his arms, a sense of unprecedented satisfaction instantly filled his heart.

The young man in gray robes was none other than Tang Gu.

Although he had spent a whole day making these ten lanterns and was quite confident, he was still somewhat anxious when he first arrived.

But after a while, seeing the enthusiasm of the crowd, he knew that his worries were clearly unnecessary.

Such a novel, small, yet splendid and unique item, which no one had ever seen before, would inevitably cause a sensation.

And now, it seemed that his initial choice of direction was indeed correct.

Feeling the two hundred and ten gray stone coins in his arms, Tang Gu tasted the flavor of a sudden rich man for the first time.

With the "First Turn Pill" secured and the materials for the "First Turn of Soul" almost gathered, as long as he could sell one or two of the remaining three lanterns, all his problems would be solved.

How could he not be happy with the sudden resolution of the problems that had plagued him for so long? However, Tang Gu did not lose his head.

He knew that although two hundred and ten stone coins were a lot, in the eyes of some noble families, it was merely the cost of a few pills. If he really thought he could rely on this to develop smoothly and even catch up with the disciples of those noble families, it was wishful thinking.

Moreover, these items were unique and could not be replicated. After today, they would not be as valuable, and even if he could sell them for a few more days, once others could completely replicate them, he would have to stop.

The money he could truly earn was not much, and besides the "First Turn Pill," he would need money for every subsequent stage of his advancement, from the second turn to the fifth turn...

Furthermore, there was the "Soul Path Cultivation," which was a major money drain, making the situation even less optimistic.

However, Tang Gu was not particularly worried. Once he entered the first turn of the Qi Path, he could enter the Martial Academy for free and study formally. At that time, the Martial Academy disciples would receive three "Small Essence Pill" and fifty stone coins as monthly benefits, making it much easier to earn money.

Moreover, as a formal disciple of the Martial Academy, even if Wei Jiu and Du Pengfei, as the outer court manager and the first disciple, dared not arbitrarily withhold his supplies. Otherwise, if he reported to the Law Enforcement Hall, he would no longer be powerless like a miscellaneous disciple.

Tang Gu felt a sudden lightness in his heart, and all the gloom dissipated, except for... the first-turn demon eagle, for which he still had no solution...

Another hour passed.

However, during this hour, although there were many people around Tang Gu's stall, the remaining three lanterns were still unsold. However, the crowd gathered even more.

Although ordinary lanterns were precious, many people could still afford them. Only these three lanterns, due to Tang Gu's high price, had many inquirers but few buyers.

More people kept Tang Gu busy telling the remaining two stories, so he told them the stories of "The Legend of the White Snake" and "The West Chamber."

As a result, the gazes of the people on the remaining three lanterns became even more intense. Finally, someone bit the bullet and bought the "The Legend of the White Snake" lantern. As for the remaining "Peony Pavilion" and "The West Chamber," no one was interested.

Seeing this, Tang Gu, while talking to the crowd and telling stories, did not show any signs of urgency.

He did not need to be anxious.

The night market would be open all night, and it was still early. Most people had not arrived yet. The real peak would come at dusk, and this was just the beginning.

And just at the beginning, eight lanterns had already been sold. As for the remaining two, which were the best of the best, Tang Gu believed that someone would eventually recognize their value and be willing to pay for them.

Sure enough, not long after, the remaining "The West Chamber" lantern was also sold, leaving only the "Peony Pavilion." Tang Gu instantly added four hundred gray stone coins to his earnings.

Now, with the three hundred and forty-five gray stone coins he originally had, he had a total of six hundred and forty-four gray stone coins.

For a poor boy like him, this was indeed a huge sum. And once he sold the last "Peony Pavilion" lantern, the total would soar to over eight hundred and forty gray stone coins.

Tang Gu was already imagining how to use this huge wealth, but he did not expect that the unusual popularity of his stall and the news of the two hundred stone coins per lantern price had caused several regular troublemakers in the area to become extremely dissatisfied and envious.

They usually just collected protection fees and helped wealthy and powerful people, earning four or five gray stone coins a day.

Thinking of how the young man in gray robes had earned six or seven hundred gray stone coins in just a short time with a few paper lanterns, which was almost their half-year's income, they felt unbalanced.

One of them was a tall, imposing man with a tiger-head boot, a red silk robe, a black-green bat-patterned golden belt, disheveled hair, and a scar on his face, looking very fierce.

It was said that the scar on his face was left from a battle with a demon beast, and he had later retreated from the front lines of the blood demon war and stayed here, becoming a notorious tough guy in the "Floating Fence Corner."

His name was "Tiger Blade" Qiu Sanzhi.

He brought two gray-robed disciples and stood in the crowd, staring at Tang Gu's stall for a long time. Seeing that he had sold one of the last two lanterns and only one remained, they feared he would leave once it was sold, making it hard to find him in the crowd.

Exchanging a glance, the three understood each other and suddenly pushed through the crowd toward Tang Gu's stall.

"Move, move, the Wolf Gang is collecting protection fees, all stalls must pay!" He roughly pushed aside a few elderly people in front of Tang Gu, causing them to stagger and almost fall.

Seeing the newcomers, the elderly people's faces changed, and they dared not argue, quickly retreating as if they had seen a ghost.

The surrounding crowd also instantly parted, leaving a large circle in front of the stall, clearly aware of the three men's notorious reputation.

"Here comes that troublemaker again, how did he come back!"

"Ah, even heaven won't take him, this young man is in trouble. I hope he can bear it and spend some money to avoid disaster!"

"Once these people target you, they will suck you dry, not stopping until they get everything..."

A few people in the crowd whispered, but when the scar-faced man glared at them, they shivered and quickly hid in the back of the crowd, quietly slipping away.

The scar-faced man sneered. If it were any other time, he would have chased after them, but now he had more important things to deal with.

He walked up to Tang Gu, not even looking at the remaining lantern, and coldly smiled, extending a large, fan-like hand. "Pay the protection fee, give me the money!"

"What, protection fee!"

Tang Gu remained calm, raising his head and looking at the scar-faced man indifferently. "I didn't know there was such a rule."

"Heh." The scar-faced man laughed, his eyes widening. "I say there is, there is. You dare not pay the Wolf Gang in this Floating Fence Corner? The usual fee is five hundred stone coins! What, do you want to resist? Don't blame me for smashing your stall."

"Five hundred stone coins!"

Tang Gu's eyes flickered, staring at the scar-faced man. "What a big appetite, are you sure you can swallow it?"

"Hmm?"

Feeling his authority challenged, the scar-faced man was thoroughly enraged. "Fine, fine, you won't pay, then I'll beat you until you do." He coldly gestured to his two gray-robed disciples behind him. "Baiyun, Heitu, go, beat him until he knows the rules!"

"Yes, Master."

The two gray-robed disciples immediately rushed out like wolves, one punching with a lightning-fast left fist from under his armpit, aiming straight for Tang Gu's left chest.

The other, with hands like an eagle, instantly turned his fingers and palms into a dark green color, lunging at Tang Gu's back.

"Both are low-level first-grade martial techniques, 'One-Word Lightning Fist' and 'Eagle-Crane Strength'!"

Seeing this, Tang Gu's eyes flickered. No one noticed that under his sleeves, his two fingers moved slightly, emitting a faint purple glow, like a sword's light.

It was the mysterious sword technique he had comprehended from the Martial Academy's green stone stele!

PS: First update, making up for last night's third update. Request 1 favorite and 1 recommendation.