49. Cultivating Confidants

During the daytime, the black market is closed.

The mobile stalls and peddlers have all withdrawn. However, the shops with permanent storefronts within the black market still open as usual.

This is somewhat similar to a town fair. On every third, sixth, and ninth day, merchants from surrounding villages and towns would shoulder their goods to sell in town, while neighboring country folk would also go there to shop. This creates bustling crowds and a concentrated surge in business. Yet once the fair concludes, the itinerant vendors leave, while the shops in town remain open.

The Blood Ridge Black Market is no exception. By day, the traveling vendors are absent, but the shops operate as usual. Some regular customers also come here during the day to make purchases.

The proprietors of these shops, who have rooted themselves in the black market year-round, form the core merchants of the Blood Ridge Black Market.

A large part of Xie An's job involves maintaining relationships with these core merchants.

On Weapon Street, there are two well-established blacksmith shops specializing in forging ironware, weapons, and the like. Both blacksmith masters possess exceptional craftsmanship.

One of the blacksmith masters has the surname Liu, while the master of the other shop is surnamed Liang, with the given name Xiang.

Without exception, Xie An made his way to Liang Xiang's blacksmith shop.

For no other reason than that Liang Xiang is Liang Zhi's cousin.

Since he had decided to groom Liang Zhi as his trusted subordinate, he should begin bestowing favors and winning him over right now.

"Lord Deacon, what brings you here? Please come inside and have some tea." Liang Xiang is a man of rough appearance, yet he understands the proper courtesies, wearing a broad smile the moment he sees Xie An.

Instead of stating his purpose immediately, Xie An instead asked with concern, "Master Liang, how has business been lately?"

While pouring tea for the masked Xie An, Liang Xiang replied, "Much better than when Manager Zhang Biao was in charge. This is all thanks to Lord Deacon cleaning up the atmosphere and restoring order. Only because of that are we people who scrape a living able to earn some silver. It's just that with this current commotion caused by the Plum Blossom Monster, I'm afraid things are about to become unsettled once again."

Xie An reassured him, "Master Liang need not worry. Behind the Blood Ridge Black Market stands the Tiger Wolf Gate; a mere Plum Blossom Monster cannot stir up any great waves."

Upon hearing these words, Liang Xiang was indeed much relieved.

Taking this opportunity, Xie An stated the purpose of his visit.

"Lord Deacon wishes to forge a heavy saber? I have a few finished pieces right here. Would you care to test their weight, my lord?" Liang Xiang immediately brought out several broad sabers.

Xie An weighed a couple of them in his hands, but quickly lost interest.

One weighed eight catties, another around ten. The heaviest broad saber among them was no more than ten-odd catties. For an ordinary saber-wielding swordsman, this weight would be considered quite heavy.

Yet for Xie An, whose single arm possesses the strength to lift eight hundred catties, it was far too light.

From Xie An's expression, Liang Xiang perceived his intent. "How heavy of a saber does Lord Deacon wish to have forged?"

Xie An calculated in his mind.

A saber is not necessarily better the heavier it is; after all, combat is a protracted endeavor. If the blade is too heavy, the initial few strikes will naturally be fierce and formidable, but once it drags on, the weight of the weapon will become one's own burden.

In the end, Xie An named a rather suitable figure: "Forty catties."

"That is an extremely heavy weapon indeed. Ordinarily, only saber-wielding warriors in the Refined Flesh Realm would consider a blade of this weight. Still, since Lord Deacon has the need, I shall naturally fulfill it. Do you have any requirements for the shape of the blade?" Although surprised, Liang Xiang was also delighted.

Forging a heavy saber of forty catties is a major undertaking, after all.

Xie An asked Liang Xiang to fetch pen and paper, and sketched the shape of a broad saber on the paper: the blade face two inches wide, four feet long, with a spine approximately half an inch thick. The rear half of the blade body is straight, while the front half curves slightly upward, ending in a sharp point.

Having roughly completed the drawing, Xie An handed the paper to Liang Xiang. "Master Liang, can this be done?"

After carefully examining the blueprint, Liang Xiang frowned and said, "The blade edge is extremely sharp, and ordinary iron ore won't make it wear-resistant. We must use top-quality crucible steel. But the price will..."

According to the prices of the Great Qian Dynasty, ordinary pig iron costs around a dozen or so copper cash per catty and is not expensive.

However, crucible steel belongs to the materials used for high-grade swords and sabers, being a form of steel. Only wealthy martial artists, government constables, and military officers stationed at garrisons would be equipped with swords and sabers forged from crucible steel.

The price is more than a hundred times that of ordinary pig iron.

A single catty costs nearly one tael of silver.

For forty catties of crucible steel, the material alone will cost forty taels of silver. Adding materials for the hilt, handguard, and the craftsmanship, Xie An estimated the cost would require forty-five taels.

For Liang Xiang to charge around fifty taels is quite reasonable.

Having made his estimate inwardly, Xie An said, "Money is no issue. Name your price."

After calculating to himself, Liang Xiang said, "Since Lord Deacon is patronizing this humble person's business, I won't make a profit off you. Forty-two taels. Lately, the bandits of Great Yin Mountain have been active, and the government is vigorously forging weapons in preparation to suppress them, so the price of crucible steel is fluctuating. Even if there's a loss, I'll shoulder it myself. Three months from now, this humble person will respectfully present the heavy saber to you."

Knowing that Liang Xiang was indeed making no profit, Xie An smiled, pulled out a large ingot of fifty taels of silver, and placed it on the table. "How could I let Master Liang labor in vain? One fixed price: fifty taels. Three months from now, I will come to collect the saber."

Giving Liang Xiang no chance to refuse, Xie An turned and left directly. Even from far away, he could still see Liang Xiang holding the silver ingot and chasing out to the doorway of the shop.

Watching Xie An walk far away, Liang Xiang had no choice but to accept the silver, muttering to himself, "This new deacon is truly vastly different from Zhang Biao, that petty man who only knew how to squeeze us."

Not long after, Liang Zhi walked over.

"Third Brother, what did Lord Deacon want with you?"

Actually, Liang Zhi had already caught sight of Xie An from afar, but he hadn't come over to inquire, assuming Xie An might be visiting his cousin for something unpleasant.

Liang Xiang did not conceal anything and told him everything.

When Liang Zhi finished listening, he glanced over at old Liu's blacksmith shop next door, a sigh rising in his heart: Master Liu's smithing craft is clearly somewhat superior to Liang Xiang's, yet Lord Deacon came specifically here. This is looking out for me; this is a favor...

In truth, over the past few months, Liang Zhi and Xie An had very little contact, with each encounter being merely a routine work report and nothing more. Thus, Liang Zhi had always felt that this old man was humorless and difficult to get along with.

Never had he expected that just a few actions by this elder deacon would stir a deep sense of gratitude in his heart.

...

After leaving the blacksmith shop, Xie An did not return directly to his courtyard. Instead, he sought out Zhou Xing to inspect the stall owner killed by the Plum Blossom Monster.

Since the Plum Blossom Monster had already extended its reach into the Blood Ridge Black Market, Xie An, as the master here, naturally needed to investigate so as to have a clear understanding.

Inside a poorly furnished room lay a corpse covered in fresh blood, draped beneath a white cloth.

Zhou Xing took the initiative to bend down and lift the white cloth. "A physician from the White Feather Hall already came by earlier to examine the corpse. They said his throat was severed by a sharp weapon... killed with a single blow."

Xie An squatted down to inspect it carefully.

He saw a faint wound at the neck.

Judging from the marks, it should have been inflicted by a thin, sharp weapon. The cut was extremely neat, without any signs of a struggle. This showed that the stall owner had died before he could even react.

A sword? Or some kind of fine wire?

Xie An took a deep breath. "Where is Brother Zhang?"

Zhou Xing replied, "The boss has gone to sleep. Oh right, the boss also had me ask Lord Deacon whether the black market will still open today."

Having experienced such an event, everyone both inside and outside the black market was panic-stricken, and rumors of a market closure had even begun to spread.

Xie An could understand, but he still made his decision: "Open. Keep it open. However, we must strengthen defenses; do not patrol in single guards, and equip every guard with a signal arrow. At the slightest sign of abnormality, sound the signal immediately. Tonight, I will patrol in secret, so rest assured."

If the Blood Ridge Black Market were to close simply because a merchant died,

where would the White Feather Hall save face if word of that got out?

Moreover, his superiors would also reprimand him for incompetence. That was certainly not what Xie An wanted.

Although keeping the market open carried a certain degree of risk,

only by keeping the market open could they lure the Plum Blossom Monster out.

Otherwise, there would be no solution.

Being newly arrived, Xie An hadn't even thought about managing the black market exceptionally well; he simply hoped nothing untoward would happen. He only wanted to quietly practice his martial arts and develop his strength without any hitches.

As for patrolling in secret...

He would indeed patrol, but he would stay far back in the shadows to observe, ensuring his own safety first before considering anything else...

The young Zhou Xing clearly did not perceive the hidden meaning in Xie An's words, assuming instead that the new deacon was going to personally step into the fray, and he felt deeply inspired. "We will obey all of Lord Deacon's instructions. With our numbers, as long as we patrol in groups, we needn't necessarily fear this Plum Blossom Monster."