Chapter 111 The Ghost Soldiers II
"You think you dug it up, so that's it? Hahaha, don't make me laugh my head off. Look around, who here dares to speak up for you?" the fat, long-bearded rat-like soldier said, baring his teeth.
The old man, who was tightly guarding the basket in front of him, looked around and found that no one dared to meet his gaze, so they all looked away.
Just moments ago, everyone was filled with righteous indignation, and many of the onlookers were honest folks like him, diligently digging away.
"See? Hand it over right now, or things won't end so easily once I take action myself!"
Only then did the people on the side dare to speak, but they all whispered to him that it was better to avoid trouble. If he really offended the Yin soldiers, even if he gained this time, there would be no next time. Wouldn't that be a huge loss?
The old man knew this all too well. That was the truth, but he still clung tightly to the edge of the basket, unwilling to let go. He clenched his few remaining molars, and his teeth were trembling as if they were about to fight, whether from anger or fear.
The ghostly soldier narrowed his eyes, clearly impatient, and was about to snatch it himself.
But just then, a clear and melodious voice suddenly rang out, like a banana leaf fan dispelling the heat of a raging volcano, or like sweet rain falling—
"Then give me half."
Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, and saw a tall man wearing a straw hat with a teardrop-shaped waist tag, standing with his arms crossed, his eyes full of mockery.
The long-bearded rat wanted to ask why, but Shinju had already guessed what was going on and explained, "Everyone who sees it gets a share, so it's not unreasonable for me to take one, is it?"
"Who told you that this is a 'share for everyone' deal?!" the long-bearded rat said angrily.
"Then how did you manage to get him to hand over everything to you?" Shinju asked rhetorically.
The long-bearded rat choked, while the old man was stunned, never expecting another blatant robbery.
The long-bearded rat just spouted nonsense, claiming that what the old man dug up was something he found. Since it was something he found, it should be handed over. They are both ghost soldiers, so there is no reason why they cannot share it equally.
However, asking him to spit out a piece of what was "in his bag" was no different from cutting off his own flesh, so the long-bearded rat was naturally unwilling. Just as he was hesitating, he saw Shinju lift the lid of the basket in the old man's arms and say in surprise, "Eh, is that all? Never mind, you can have it all."
The long-bearded rat couldn't believe that Shinjuku had given up so easily, and stared at him suspiciously.
Shinju clapped his hands, as if brushing off the dust, and said nonchalantly, "There were plenty of intact crystals in that collapsed mine. I filled my basket before coming down. I thought there would be some good stuff here too. Tsk tsk. You should go down now, brother. You might even find some."
The long-bearded rat and the others glanced at the heavy basket behind Shinju, then noticed Shinju's outstretched hand, in which lay a large, pure, and beautiful bloodthorn crystal. The group gasped; though their faces still held doubt, their bodies betrayed their intentions, and they rushed off towards the opposite mine. Soon, only the old man and Shinju remained.
The old man clung tightly to the basket, but Shinju didn't even glance at him before turning and heading towards the inventory area.
After a long while, the old man finally came to his senses, then suddenly kowtowed in the direction where Shinju had left, stroking his basket and muttering excitedly to himself.
The inventory checkpoint was also rife with arguments, mainly about the value of the scavenged ore and whether it was significantly less than what was mined. Everyone claimed they had mined it all, not scavenged it. The two sides argued fiercely.
When it was Shinjuku's turn, he remained calm and simply said, "Mine was dug up."
The ghost soldiers in charge of the identification and inventory frowned, as if they were used to such rhetoric, but their faces showed disdain and disbelief.
Then they watched as Masakatsu didn't put the basket on the scale, but instead took out the bloodthorn crystal, which was as big as two human heads, and placed it in front of them.
The inventory checkpoint, which was originally as bustling as a busy city, suddenly fell into dead silence.
It's such a large, intact piece, without even a scratch or dent. Who would dare say it was found?
The ghost soldiers met the calm gaze of the True Monk, and were somewhat dazed.
Even with their vast experience and knowledge, they couldn't help but reveal their greed. Many of the spirits forgot that it wasn't theirs and still reached out their hands to the huge and intact bloodthorn crystal.
"How much money can this be exchanged for?" Shinjuku asked.
The ghostly soldiers did not reply; their minds and eyes were fixed solely on the bloodthorn stone before them. They hastily swept away the hands that were clinging to them and snatched it up for a closer look.
A moment later.
“There’s…there’s light inside…” One of the ghost soldiers was so shocked that he stood up. By the time the others realized what was happening and tried to cover his mouth, it was too late.
Among the ghosts, a discerning person exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Radiant light?! Isn't that a trait only found in the very best, the extremely rarest quality?!"
Even among the ghostly soldiers and spirits present who had dealt with ores for years, very few knew that shimmering light, embryonic form, and ghostly shadow were the three most exquisite characteristics of ores. This was because they were unlikely to encounter such exceptional ores even once in their entire lives.
The ghost soldiers hesitated for a moment, unable to agree on a price to buy the crystal from Zhen Su.
In the end, they gave him two taels of silver.
Compared to other spirits who dug a full basket of crystals all day and only received ten or so coins, two taels of silver was quite a lot. However, this was a top-grade crystal, and even if it didn't belong to the miner, it shouldn't be such a small reward.
However, to everyone's surprise, Shinjuku did not raise the price. Instead, he took his own storage bag, put the money in, and left gracefully.
There was another mine nearby. Masakatsu figured that the two taels of silver might not be enough to buy a set of clothes, so to be on the safe side, he went to the mine next door. This time he carefully restrained his strength and did not make such a big commotion. However, he did not dig out any good ore, but he earned another tael of silver in less than half an hour, which made Masakatsu quite satisfied.
Before returning to his courtyard, he strolled around the market and found that the items there weren't very expensive. He bought a pear-colored Taoist robe for only fifty coins. The sleeves and collar were embroidered with understated floral gold thread, which, combined with his gold earrings and anklets, made him look like a noble young master. This was quite different from his previous bulky appearance, leaving the people at the funeral clothing shop stunned.
Just looking at his figure, his attire, and his elegant demeanor, it's hard to look away. It's just a pity that when people focus on his face, they find it so ordinary, and their interest immediately wane, and they quickly turn their gaze away.
Their reaction was noticed by Shinjuku, and a smile flashed across his eyes.
With his new clothes in hand, he no longer had to wander around in his undergarments or wear that inconvenient raincoat. However, he still didn't give up on going to the ghost market, because he thought that he might actually find something good, just as Mr. Bai had said. He currently lacked effective means of exorcising ghosts, such as talismans or ritual implements and scriptures.
But before the Ghost Market even opened, the water droplet-shaped pendant on his waist lit up first.
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