Gossip seemed to remember something and added, "Of course, if you’re not in a hurry, sir, you could wait two days. In two days, it’s the wedding day of the Fortress Master’s young master; he’s marrying the Snow Fairy of the Celestial Sword Sect. If the Fortress Master is in a good mood, he might order a general pardon. Then you might be able to get your people back without spending a dime."
Bai San, who was standing nearby, couldn’t help but chime in, surprised. "The Snow Fairy? You mean the Snow Fairy from the ’Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon,’ the four Celestial Sword Jade Maidens? Her... her master would agree to that?"
Gossip squinted his small eyes, rubbed his fingers together, then held out an open palm, chuckling slyly.
Bai San’s face darkened. He looked at Chen Li. "Sir..."
Chen Li furrowed his brow and took out another gold leaf, handing it over.
Gossip accepted it discreetly, then lowered his voice, a hint of gloating in his tone. "Agree? Heh... The Snow Fairy’s master from the Celestial Sword Sect is famous for her terrible temper. The news I’ve received is that the Celestial Sword Sect has already invited masters from several other Sects and is preparing to storm our Hidden Emperor Castle. It’ll happen within the next two days. Heh heh, you all should stay a couple more days. You might get to see a good show."
"Thank you for the information." Chen Li nodded slightly and turned to walk out.
「Outside.」
"Shouye, take the golden leaves and go ransom our people."
Chen Li naturally wasn’t going to pin his hopes on some vague possibility of a "general pardon," and he certainly didn’t want to get involved in the conflict between the Celestial Sword Sect and Hidden Emperor Castle.
...
Chen Li handed Shouye gold leaves worth one hundred and fifty taels, then had Bai San take him and Linglong to the eastern stone prison to handle the ransom.
’An errand like this was something he could just send his son to do; he didn’t need to appear in person.’
He didn’t wait around, but instead strolled deeper into the stone hall toward the arched stone chambers marked with the character for "Medicine."
He had only intended to browse casually, but as he entered several of the pharmacy chambers, he discovered that all the ingredients needed to refine the Sweet Wind Jade Dew Heaven-Repairing Creation Pill could be found here.
Although their age and quality varied, and the prices were staggeringly high, they were, indeed, available for sale.
Chen Li walked into a pharmacy that seemed to have a rather complete selection of ingredients.
The shop was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a strange mixture of scents from various herbs. A clerk was listlessly wiping down the counter.
Chen Li approached him and asked, "Clerk, do you have any Golden Wind and Jade Dew or Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng?"
Hearing this, the clerk paused his wiping, raised his eyes, and sized Chen Li up, a trace of surprise on his face.
He leaned in closer, his voice low. "Sir, those two ingredients you’re asking for... they’re not ordinary items. They’re herbs strictly controlled by the Official Family; you can’t find them on the outside. Our Black Market has its channels, but the price... heh, it’s definitely going to be double what the Official Family sells them for."
Chen Li’s expression remained unchanged. "How much?"
The clerk held up two fingers. "Just the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng alone is a hundred taels of silver for a single stalk, and that’s just for a ten-year-old, low-grade one. If you want one that’s over twenty years old, it’ll be at least two hundred taels of silver. As for the Golden Wind and Jade Dew, heh, our shop’s stock is limited, so the price will have to be negotiated separately."
Although Chen Li had expected this, he still sucked in a sharp breath when he heard the price.
’A hundred taels of silver for one low-grade ginseng, and that’s just one of the supplementary ingredients.’
’So how much silver would it cost to concoct a full Sweet Wind Jade Dew Heaven-Repairing Creation Pill?’
Outwardly, however, he showed no emotion. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Get me three stalks of the twenty-year-old Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng to start."
"Right away, sir."
The clerk’s eyes crinkled into a smile as he agreed and went to retrieve the items.
Chen Li paid with silver coins, carefully stored the herbs, and then moved on to another pharmacy.
Not daring to delay, he immediately began moving between the other pharmacy chambers.
At each one, he cautiously made his inquiries and purchases separately to avoid attracting attention.
Even so, by the time he had gathered all the necessary ingredients for the "Sweet Wind Jade Dew Heaven-Repairing Creation Pill"...
...the sixty-five taels in gold leaves, plus five hundred taels of silver, had been completely spent. In the end, he had only managed to gather enough for seven sets of ingredients.
Fortunately, the exchange rate for gold to silver in the Black Market was much higher than the official rate, a staggering one to two hundred.
The sixty-five taels of gold leaves Chen Li had on him could be exchanged for thirteen thousand taels of silver here.
Even with his currently substantial wealth, he still felt a painful sting.
Thirteen thousand taels of silver... In the countryside, a small landlord’s entire life savings might only amount to a little over ten thousand taels.
’The path of the Martial Dao truly is a bottomless pit for money.’
He packed the ingredients into his bundle and stored them away properly. Although his heart ached at the money spent like water, the thought that he could now attempt to ignite his Divine Flame and stabilize his Divine Soul upon returning brought a feeling of satisfaction.
’This trip to the Black Market was worth it, even if it was just for these ingredients.’
Before long, Shouye and the others arrived at the meeting point. Standing beside them were Li Weikun, Li Jiwei, and Li Jinru, who looked a bit haggard but were otherwise in decent spirits.
When Li Weikun saw Chen Li, he stepped forward and gave a deep bow. "Younger Brother Chen, words are not enough to express my gratitude. I will raise the silver for the ransom as soon as possible and repay you in full!"
Li Jinru and Li Jiwei also bowed their thanks, their eyes filled with the relief of having survived their ordeal.
Chen Li had Shouye help them up. "There’s no need for such formalities. The important thing is that you’re all safe."
He paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but ask, "What exactly happened? Why were you detained in the castle?"
At this, a flash of resentment and helplessness crossed Li Weikun’s face. He sighed. "Ai, it’s a long story. It was because Jiwei was being young and hot-headed..."
It turned out that the three of them had arrived at the Black Market a few days ago. Everything had gone smoothly, and they quickly found the Five Stone Powder at a pharmacy.
They thought their business was concluded. But just as they had paid with their silver coins and were about to take the medicine and leave, someone appeared out of nowhere, offering double the price and insisting on buying the ingredients they had already paid for.
The shopkeeper, seeing a chance for more profit, shamelessly broke their agreement and decided to sell the medicine to the newcomer.
Li Jiwei, unable to contain his anger, immediately started arguing with the man.
Anxious to get his hands on the Five Stone Powder and provoked by the man’s taunts, he became emotional and was the first to resort to violence.
Who would have known that this would immediately alert the Guards patrolling the castle.
Fighting is strictly prohibited in the castle’s Black Market.
Without listening to any explanations, the Guards arrested everyone involved and threw them into the stone prison.
The silver taels the three had brought with them had already been paid to the shopkeeper. With the remaining silver coins, they couldn’t even afford to ransom a single one of themselves.
Their only choice was to pay someone to pass a message to their disciples waiting outside, but to their surprise, the person told them bluntly that there were no disciples from the Kao Mountain Martial Arts Hall waiting outside at all.
This threw the three of them into despair!
"But, Master, the senior brother who came back with the report said they waited outside for three days. They never saw you come out, and they didn’t receive any message from you."
After listening, Chen Shouye couldn’t help but find this strange.
"That is precisely what I find so puzzling."
A cold glint flashed in Li Weikun’s eyes. "I clearly told your senior brothers to wait outside for a few days. We entrusted someone with a message on the second day. Even with a one-day delay, the message should have absolutely gotten out by the third day. Moreover, the appearance of that man who tried to snatch the medicine was far too suspicious."
He paused, then instructed Chen Shouye, "Shouye, don’t mention this to your martial brothers for now."
"Yes, Master." Chen Shouye nodded in agreement.
After listening, Chen Li understood.
’Li Weikun’s misfortune was clearly a setup. It wasn’t just one group, either; there was collusion between parties inside and out. No wonder he fell for it.’
However, he didn’t press for more details. It was, after all, their private affair. He immediately suggested, "This is not a place to linger. We should leave first and talk later."
Everyone nodded in agreement.