"Stick?"
He mentioned the stick again, which surprised me slightly. Perhaps because of the previous encounter with the black man, whenever someone mentioned the stick, I couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
"Yes, the stick that's tucked around your waist. Hey, judging by your appearance, you must be here to sell it, right?" The dwarf man spoke with a sly smile.
I had originally wanted to refuse outright, but suddenly thought that many of the things the black man had said last night were ambiguous. Today, it might be better to find out more from this dwarf man. With this in mind, instead of declining right away, I pondered and asked, "Is this stick in such high demand?"
Seeing that I seemed interested, the dwarf man became more enthusiastic and shook his long, unwashed hair that had not been washed for days before saying, "If you're interested, come with me, and we'll find a place to talk."
At that time, my experience in the martial world was still shallow, although I had some cleverness, my guard was not strong. As soon as the dwarf man said that, I agreed to follow him.
He walked ahead, and I followed behind. We passed through the most bustling area of the fair, and entered two single-story houses next to the market.
The dwarf man gently closed the door, I looked around, and all the windows in the house were completely covered with wooden boards, not letting any light in. There wasn't much dust on the ground, giving the place a dark and uncomfortable feeling.
"Brother, have a seat here." The dwarf man wiped a wooden chair next to him and said with a smile.
After sitting down, I held the stick and remained silent, but the dwarf man continued with a smile, "My name is Li Dunzhu, my friends call me Zhu Zi. What should I call you, brother?"
"I'm called Ba Xiao Shan." I answered, then strange frowning asked, "Aren't you a minority?"
"I'm from Shaanxi, but I often travel in Yunnan and the border areas. You know, those of us in this business travel all over the place, and we get used to it."
Since the beginning, he seemed to consider me as someone in the same trade as him. So did the black man, which made me even more curious. I asked, "How long have you been doing this?"
"It's been a long time, at least six or seven years. You look young, so I assume you haven't been at it for long. Who's leading you?"
He asked, seemingly probing in his tone.
Who was leading me? If I couldn't answer, I would expose myself as an outsider. After careful consideration, I said, "The black man."
I only knew two people with this special ability, and if I went with Daba, it would be too obvious and easy to see through. Besides, the black man wasn't a good person, so I might as well push it onto him.
After hearing my words, Zhu Zhi's face showed some surprise, and he muttered with a frown, "Did the black man take you in? Isn't he working alone?"
"The other day, I helped him catch a 'Tsar Kur'."
I felt that the other party was somewhat skeptical. In a hurry, I continued, and it seemed that Zhu understood a few points. She turned the conversation back to my cudgel and said, "Little brother, are you going for money or objects?"
I was a little confused. What did she mean by money or objects? I didn't understand, and it seemed like insider lingo in their line of work.
"What do you think?" I pretended to hesitate and asked in return.
"If you are going for money, I don't have much with me, and I estimate you wouldn't be satisfied with the price. If you're willing, we can go for objects. I have a few treasures here, perhaps we can make an exchange," Zhu said.
As Zhu spoke, my mind turned, understanding a little bit. The so-called "money" referred to was probably cash, and "objects" were likely some other antiques or valuable items, implying a barter system.
"Oh? Alright, let me see what you have," I asked curiously, partly out of curiosity and wanting to pick up more of their industry jargon.
"Alright, open your eyes wide," Zhu said. As he spoke, he opened his coat, revealing various small trinkets hanging inside. Some I recognized, such as a badge that seemed to be made of pure gold and resembled Mao Zedong. But many items were unfamiliar, such as what looked like animal teeth, a few coins similar to those used by Lao He before, a ring, a jade pendant, a bracelet, and more, making me feel a bit dazzled for a moment.
"There's quite a lot here," I said in amazement.
"Haha, that's right. If you don't have some good stuff, how dare you come out into the world? How about it? See anything you like?" he asked with a grin.
Although I knew nothing about their business, I still understood some of the rules in the antique circles. The items presented upfront were not likely to be the best ones. The truly valuable items only emerge in the final stages of negotiation. So, I pretended to be serious and furrowed my brow, saying, "These things seem quite ordinary."
"Oh, little brother, you're underestimating me. These are all top-notch treasures. Take a look. This is a tool from the Mo Tan sect, and you can't see it from the outside," he said earnestly, his sales pitch being more vigorous than the sales clerks in the department store at the time.
Finally, seeing that I was not swayed, Zhu knew that I didn't care for these things. He put on his clothes and exclaimed, "Alright, you're an expert, I won't show you these things. Take a look at these few items. If you don't like them, this deal probably won't work out."
As he spoke, Zhu stood up and took out a bundle from a broken water tank behind the room. It was wrapped in black cloth, and when opened, it revealed three items. The first was a stone, the size of a thumb, a yellowish crystal-like material with something inside. The second was a beaded bracelet that looked like small leaf purple sandalwood, nothing special except for a small iron bump at the top. The third was a book, looking very old, still bound with thread, with a somewhat damaged cover and apparently some damage to the bottom, overall indicating its considerable age.
The three items were placed in front of me, and even with my less than perfect eyesight, I could see that they were not on the same level as the trinkets shown earlier.
I stared at the three items, and I recognized the yellow stone. It was called amber, formed from the congealed resin exuded from tree trunks. If it contains insects, it is valuable. The older the amber, the more yellow and red it becomes. Fatty's family had an old piece of amber, yellow with hints of red, reportedly an item toyed with by some prince in the Qing dynasty.
The beaded bracelet was also extraordinary. It appeared to be small leaf purple sandalwood, with flat beads and the iron bump at the top looked to be a demon-subduing tool, although this type of demon-subduing tool was not common, and I couldn't easily make a judgment.
Next was the third item, the book. I could faintly make out the title "Mountain Wilderness Strange Tales", mostly in traditional characters, and I could recognize a few. I didn't know who wrote it, and I had never heard of it before.
Zhu seemed quite pleased with himself, clearly proud of these three items, looking at me as if waiting for me to beg him for an exchange.
But I wasn't a fool, and being too rigid could easily make the other party run away. So, I said, "These things are really nice."
"Of course, I, Zhu, have always dealt in genuine goods. Any of these three items, choose one to exchange for your magic cane," he said confidently.
I held the magic staff, furrowed my brows, and wondered about this magic staff that I hadn't figured out yet. The strange patterns on the top, and the principle of why the female ghost was locked inside, were still not clear to me. Just as I was about to be replaced, I felt a little unwilling in my heart.
"Your thing is good, but I'm afraid it has nothing to do with the business I want to do," I blurted out, but I didn't expect the person in front of me to toss her hair and say somewhat unwillingly, "How could I sell ordinary goods to you? Alright, let me introduce you. Young man, you should have seen the world with Lao Hei, but Lao Hei likes to wander in Yunnan. The world outside is much bigger than the mountains, and there are more good things than in this mountain."
I didn't expect that my idle words would stir up her temper. She muttered and then handed me a piece of amber, pointing to it and saying, "Take a careful look at this amber. Does it look different to you?"
I was startled and leaned in to examine it carefully, and I actually saw something different. There were words carved on the edge of the amber! Although not obvious, one could see them with a careful look, as if it were some scripture. I stared with my eyes wide and asked, "What's carved on it?"
"The Great Compassion Mantra!"
The woman took the amber back, as if afraid that I would take it away from her.