The old man slowly raised his head, giving Han Yunxi a fright.
He was blind in one eye, his face full of wrinkles and ravines. Add that to his fierce expression, and he looked absolutely ferocious!
Long Fei Ye didn't say a word, but tossed over an ingot of gold. Despite being blind in one eye, the old man's eyes were sharp and his hands were nimble enough to catch it.
He greedily bit down on the ingot and confirmed that it was real gold. His attitude immediately changed 180 degrees, and even his voice grew warmer. "Sir, please come in!"
Han Yunxi glanced at the ingot and felt her heart ache for His Highness Duke of Qin! Just how rich was this guy to always be so generous with his money?
He might have many businesses, but they shouldn't be that profitable. Outsiders might not know how rich he was, but she knew he had a limitless gold card and a bracelet worth as much as a country.
Could it be that he'd dug up a treasure trove somewhere?
The old man led the way as they passed through a cave and began to descend. Soon enough, a bustling underground world appeared before Han Yunxi's eyes.
This could be called an underground city. Aside from the fact that it was underground, it was no different from a city aboveground. The streets, shops, buildings, and all sorts of other amenities were present. The lights were bright, making it a city that never slept.
Unlike the long-established Three-Way Black Market, the Sky Domain Black Market was formed after the founding of Tianning Country. As for whether there was anyone controlling it behind the scenes, no one knew.
All they knew was that the so-called Sky Domain Association was in charge of this place. The members of the association were all major powers in the black market.
The association was very lax in its management of the black market. All it did was collect protection fees from the traders.
There were no restrictions on entering or leaving the black market. Anyone could come and go as they pleased.
Of course, such laxness only hinted at the strength of the black market. It was so powerful that it didn't fear government officials investigating.
Still, black markets had existed since ancient times in Cloud Realm Continent. The imperial court would only suppress and ban the smaller ones, but never the larger ones. Because the forces behind these big black markets were really complicated, it was very likely that a slight move in one part would affect the whole situation. In the end, it was very likely that the imperial court would end up shooting itself in the foot, unable to clean up the mess.
It had to be said that Long Fei Ye was taking a huge risk by coming to the black market to investigate the Imperial Uncle's corruption. This was because everyone who traded here was under the protection of the Sky Domain Association.
Long Fei Ye stood on the opposite side of the Sky Domain Association. Once the truth came out, Long Fei Ye would become an enemy of the entire Sky Domain Black Market – perhaps even the entire Cloud Realm Continent's black markets.
Han Yunxi followed Long Fei Ye around a few streets and saw a lot of things being sold on the spot. She whispered, "Your Highness, this is a bit risky."
"The imperial uncle's estate is even more despicable than Tianhui. We must get rid of them!" Long Fei Ye was resolute.
After taking Han Yunxi around a few times, they finally arrived at the grain trading district. Unlike the other districts, this one was very quiet and cheerless. Only a few stores were open, but there wasn't much stock in the stores.
Although these stores sold their own grain, most of them were middlemen or informants.
They only acted as middlemen and didn't do business.
If someone wanted to sell grain, they'd find them, and they'd find a suitable buyer for the seller. Conversely, if someone wanted to buy grain, they'd find them too, and they'd help the buyer find a suitable seller.
Some simply acted as middlemen, allowing the buyer and seller to make the transaction themselves. Others acted on behalf of the buyer and seller without ever seeing each other or knowing each other's identities. Of course, different types of transactions would result in different fees for the informants.
Secret transactions like this were common on the surface as well, but here in Sky Domain Black Market, the informants were more professional and made more money.
Han Yunxi didn't know much about these things.
Long Fei Ye led Han Yunxi around as he explained the situation to her in a low voice. Han Yunxi was a smart girl and understood the situation at once. Long Fei Ye was very satisfied with her.
The two of them pretended to be buyers and asked around in a few stores. Han Yunxi almost burst out laughing when she heard what they said. Almost everyone mentioned the 100,000 dan of grain, but no one mentioned the imperial uncle's 50,000 dan.
Naturally, Long Fei Ye had purposely spread the news of the 100,000 dan of grain. He'd already stirred up the market before he'd even arrived.
Originally, everyone was talking about the imperial uncle's 50,000 dan, but now no one was interested. Even the informants were too lazy to pull strings.
"Shopkeeper, we can't afford 100,000 dan. Do you have 50,000 dan?" Han Yunxi asked modestly.
"Dear customer, grain isn't expensive right now. 100,000 dan isn't much either. Do you really need that little bit of money to come here?"
The shopkeeper chuckled. The higher the amount of the transaction, the higher the commission they would take. They naturally had to give up on the low to get the high.
"Then, is 50,000 dan or 100,000 dan lower?" Han Yunxi asked again.
"100,000 dan, 100,000 dan! Dear customer, you might not know this, but the seller of 100,000 dan is tight on cash and is in a hurry to sell it! Apparently, they're selling it at a low price. If you really want to buy it, this one can help you ask around. "
Look at how strongly they were recommending 100,000 dan. Long Fei Ye had only released the news that he had 100,000 dan of grain for sale. He hadn't even mentioned the price, but these people were able to fabricate so much information out of thin air.
This was the market. When there was profit to be made, the dead could be said to be alive, and the black could be said to be white.
One spread to ten, and ten spread to a hundred. As the rumors spread, everyone believed them. Some prices were raised, while others were lowered.
The shopkeeper said he'd help ask around, which meant he wanted money. Naturally, Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi refused.
Most shopkeepers like this were scammers. For such a large transaction, they could only find another informant, not the person selling the grain.
Judging from the current state of the market, it was easy to imagine how much the imperial uncle's 50,000 dan of grain had been pushed down.
Long Fei Ye was still very satisfied. He took Han Yunxi into a small grain shop.
After a secret code exchange, the shopkeeper personally led them to the back courtyard, where Chu Xifeng and a middle-aged merchant were waiting.
Han Yunxi immediately understood that this was Long Fei Ye's lair in Sky Domain Black Market!
"Master, they're meeting at the Lin Clan's grain shop tonight. Only three big merchants are going: Yucheng's Lin Clan, Yuzhou's Wang Clan, and Luo City's Ouyang Clan," Chu Xifeng reported.
Ever since the auction, he'd been investigating the situation in the black market. If His Highness hadn't been injured and delayed for three or four days, they might have found the imperial uncle's representative long ago.
"Just three?" Long Fei Ye was surprised as well.
"There were originally five or six!" Chu Xifeng smiled. "But they're all waiting for master's 100,000 dan."
"Who's the seller?" Long Fei Ye asked. Naturally, the seller was the imperial uncle's estate, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to use his own people. Long Fei Ye was asking about the people who'd come today.
At this moment, the middle-aged merchant spoke up. "To reply Your Highness, we still don't know who's coming today. This subordinate used many connections, but was still rejected."
This merchant was called Wu Shu, the owner of this grain shop. He was also Long Fei Ye's informant in the black market.
He'd visited the Lin Clan's grain shop twice to ask for the 50,000 dan of grain, but had been rejected.
Although the imperial uncle's estate was short on money, they were still cautious with their business dealings. If the buyer wasn't a regular or reliable customer, they'd refuse to even meet them, much less make a deal.
If they couldn't infiltrate their ranks, then it'd be difficult to find any evidence.
Of course, Long Fei Ye had already found out the location of tonight's trade. He could simply go and arrest the person himself, but he'd never give up any information. Doing so would be akin to beating the grass and startling the snake.
They'd already forced the imperial uncle's estate to get rid of the grain, but if they couldn't find a buyer, then all their efforts would be for naught.
Very soon, everyone fell into deep thought.
Han Yunxi's eyes darted around before she suddenly grinned. "Your Highness, chenqie has a plan!"
"Speak," Long Fei Ye was looking forward to it.
Han Yunxi didn't disappoint. She grinned and said, "Your Highness, how about we hold an auction for instant kills?"
Instant kills?
Treasure hunters were familiar with the phrase, but Long Fei Ye and the rest didn't understand.
"Esteemed wangfei, what do you mean?" Chu Xifeng asked timidly.
Only then did Han Yunxi realize she'd spoken too quickly. She chuckled and said, "Let's hold a rush sale and take out 10,000 dan of grain for everyone to buy. The price will be 10,000 dan for 10,000 taels, how's that?"
Seeing everyone's bewildered expressions, Han Yunxi quickly added, "We'll hold one auction tonight, then continue tomorrow and the next two days."
Chu Xifeng and Wu Shu were stunned by her words. Long Fei Ye couldn't help but laugh out loud. This was his first time praising someone so directly. "Han Yunxi, your lordship has to give it to you!"
10,000 dan of grain was worth at least 30,000 taels on the black market! Han Yunxi had set the price at 10,000 taels, so no wonder everyone was scrambling to buy.
Once the auction was held, it would definitely cause a stir in the black market. The Lin Clan of Yu City, the Wang Clan of Yuzhou City, and the Ouyang Clan of Luo City would definitely know about it. Therefore, they might not go to the Lin Clan's grain store tonight.
The worst part of Han Yunxi's plan wasn't the price, but the timing.
She'd said she'd hold a scramble for three days, which meant that she'd be in the mood to buy grain from the imperial uncle's estate during that time. Although 10,000 dan of grain was less than 50,000 dan, everyone would wait to see if there would be more such events after the scramble and whether the black market prices would continue to fall.
Everyone who wanted to buy grain could afford to wait for three days, but the imperial uncle's estate couldn't!
Once the three days were over, the imperial uncle's estate would have to pay the Ministry of Revenue. Thus, if they couldn't afford to pay up, they'd be desperate to buy grain.
In other words, the imperial uncle's estate should pray Amitabha whenever anyone tried to buy grain during this time. They wouldn't have any leeway to refuse buyers.
"Esteemed wangfei, this one admires you! Admirable! "Wu Shu immediately clasped his hands respectfully.
He'd lived most of his life and only admired His Highness Duke of Qin. Today, he admired Qin Wangfei as well.
Naturally, he'd heard rumors about Qin Wangfei being favored by the imperial uncle. He didn't believe it at first, but now he had to.
Who wouldn't like such a smart woman?
"Wu Shu, do you have 30,000 dan of grain?" Long Fei Ye asked. Since they were going to scramble for grain, they naturally needed to have it on hand.
"This subordinate will keep this bit of grain for Your Highness's sake!" Wu Shu smiled.
Tonight, the black market was destined to be restless …
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