I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 97 - 94: Scouting the Way, an Old Grudge at the Fishermen’s Pier

Chapter 97: Chapter 94: Scouting the Way, an Old Grudge at the Fishermen’s Pier

The shop assistant organizing herbs on the side couldn’t help but interject, "Sirs, this ginseng is no ordinary item. It was from Mist Marsh..."

The Shopkeeper whipped his head around and glared at him. The assistant, realizing he’d misspoken, quickly shut his mouth and lowered his head.

Chu Fan raised an eyebrow. "Picked three months ago? Didn’t you just say an old Hunter brought it in a few days ago, Shopkeeper?"

"It’s been over three months and it still hasn’t sold. Either there’s something wrong with it, or the price is outrageous—otherwise, those Noble Family Members would have snatched it up long ago!"

The Shopkeeper’s expression immediately soured. He stammered, "Th-this... For both stalks, one thousand eight hundred taels. That’s the lowest I can go!"

Chu Fan turned as if to leave. "Forget it. We’ll go look somewhere else."

"Wait!" the Shopkeeper hurriedly stopped him. "One thousand five hundred taels! I really can’t go any lower!"

"Eight hundred taels," Chu Fan’s tone remained flat.

Zhao Tianxing watched, dumbfounded. ’Chu Fan is dead set on haggling down to the lowest possible price!’ he thought.

After some back-and-forth, the Shopkeeper finally slumped into his chair. "One thousand three hundred taels, that’s the absolute lowest!" he said, drained of energy. "I’m selling at a loss here!"

Chu Fan said nothing, just watched him quietly.

The Shopkeeper also fell silent, and the shop grew quiet for a moment.

After a long moment, Chu Fan finally spoke. "One thousand taels. Take it or leave it. If you can’t sell it, we’ll go look somewhere else."

The Shopkeeper’s eyes were fixed on Chu Fan. ’How has this seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy developed such incredible haggling skills?’ he wondered.

Seeing that he still wouldn’t budge, Chu Fan smiled, shook his head, and turned to leave.

Just as Chu Fan and Zhao Tianxing were about to step out of Hundred Herbs Hall’s entrance, the Shopkeeper’s voice suddenly called out, "Come back, young man! Today, this old man will make a friend of you! One thousand taels it is!"

Chu Fan’s lip twitched slightly. ’Heh, I still offered too much... I need more practice.’

Zhao Tianxing stared at Chu Fan, his face a mask of disbelief. ’In just a few moments, he’d saved one thousand three hundred taels of silver? As they say, every merchant is a crook... And only someone like Chu Fan could handle such a swindler!’

...

Chu Fan took one of the mountain ginseng stalks and offered it to Zhao Tianxing.

But Zhao Tianxing didn’t reach out to take it.

He felt his debt to Chu Fan was growing larger and larger.

But Chu Fan felt that he was the one repaying a debt... the debt for half a stalk of wild mountain ginseng.

After a long pause, Zhao Tianxing finally sighed and took it.

The Shopkeeper and his assistant stared with wide, round eyes.

’A stalk of wild mountain ginseng worth five hundred taels of silver, and he just gave it away like that?’

After taking out the silver notes to pay, the two of them left Hundred Herbs Hall.

Sun Zixuan, who was waiting by the entrance, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them come out.

’So this Fiend really was just here to buy medicinal herbs...’

But before they could speak, Chu Fan started walking toward the other end of Xingning Street!

Sun Zixuan felt his vision go dark, and he almost couldn’t stop himself from cursing out loud!

But then he saw Chu Fan turn around and ask, "What are you afraid of?"

"Something major happened to the Blood Saber Sect last night. They’re in chaos right now, so how would they have the energy to bother with me?"

There was truth to his words. Sun Zixuan hadn’t seen many Blood Saber Sect members on Xingning Street today... His expression softened slightly.

Chu Fan’s expression grew annoyed. "Go do what you’re supposed to be doing! If you keep following me, I’ll break your legs and have someone carry you back to the Seven Stars Gang!"

’This brat dares to threaten me...’ Sun Zixuan was furious but didn’t dare to speak.

Chu Fan now had the Incense Master’s favor, and his skills were far superior to theirs. He felt utterly frustrated, both angry and anxious. Finally, gritting his teeth, he turned and left with his two underlings.

"You should head back first," Chu Fan said. "I need to go out of the city."

"Alright." Zhao Tianxing didn’t know why Chu Fan needed to leave the city, but he didn’t ask.

...

After parting with Zhao Tianxing, Chu Fan left the city through the North City Gate and headed northwest, guided by his memories.

「An incense stick’s time later.」

A scene both familiar and strange appeared before his eyes.

This was the Fishermen’s Pier, controlled by the Blood Saber Sect.

A muddy place, chaotic and bustling, yet brimming with a coarse vitality.

According to his memories, he had spent more than two full years hanging around here. Every time he went fishing, he would rent a sampan from this very place.

From this port, one could take a ferry down the Black Water River, which led directly to Qing Province, hundreds of miles away.

It was a major waterway hub, a place where saints and sinners mingled.

Looking out, the waves of the Black Water River lapped against the muddy banks. Wooden jetties jutted out crookedly into the river, swaying gently with the current.

A hundred or so sampans and dozens of black-canopied boats were lined up, like fallen leaves on the water. Their gunwales bumped against each other, making a CREAK... CREAK... sound.

Just behind the bustling pier, on slightly higher ground, a dense cluster of low-slung earthen houses sprawled out.

These houses were all built from local clay mixed with straw stalks, rammed into thick but crude walls. Most roofs were covered with thick thatch, while a few of the better-off ones had black tiles.

The earthen houses were crammed together haphazardly, uneven and crooked. Narrow, muddy paths wound between them. From a distance, they formed a crude village that had sprung up, dependent on the pier for its existence.

The Blood Saber Sect members of the Fishery took shelter in these earthen houses.

In front of some of the houses, fishing nets were hung out to dry, or the Blood Saber Sect’s signature conical hats, tied with red cloth strips, were hanging, hinting at a sort of rugged, lawless order.

The pier was teeming with people, mostly Fishermen and laborers wearing shabby conical hats and dressed in coarse work clothes.

Most of them were barefoot, their pant legs rolled up to their knees, their legs caked with black and yellow mud. They moved back and forth across the slippery jetties and gangplanks, yet their steps were remarkably steady.

They hauled basket after basket of wriggling, glistening fresh river catch from the swaying sterns of the boats onto the shore.

The heavy bamboo baskets bent their backs, and sweat mixed with river water trickled down their bronze skin.

On an open space not far from the shore, a boisterous fish market had formed on the spot.

The fresh catch, just pulled from the Black Water River, was dumped onto the wet ground or spread out on straw mats, left for the slightly better-dressed buyers from the city’s restaurants and wealthy households to rummage through and select.