The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 91
“Hahaha, I’ll see if you all dare to mock my brother again!”
Wei Hao did a flip and landed steadily on the railing. With the Wootz steel in his hands, he chuckled heartily.
In the past few days, Wei Hao had suffered the contempt, ridicule and mock of all these people. This chance didn’t come by easily, so he wouldn’t give up on it just like that.
“Wei gongzi, what’s the point of doing this? We’ve already admitted our defeat!”
An elder from a swordsmithing clan glanced at Wei Hao with an awful complexion. If it was anyone else, they would definitely step forward to teach him a lesson.
But Wei Hao was the son of the Duke of Wei. He was of noble birth, and they weren’t qualified to lay their hands on him.
“Why? Your heart aches for your sword? Hehe, I believe that you said that my brother was still a brat previously, am I wrong?”
Wei Hao snapped.
The elder’s face immediately darkened and he shut his mouth, saying no more.
“Haha, alright, Wei Hao, come here.”
Wang Chong beckoned him.
Just the reactions of those in the surroundings told Wang Chong that he had completely fulfilled his purpose for conducting this sword duel gamble.
Peng! Wei Hao leapt from the railing and landed on the third floor of the pavilion. A cold gleam shimmered from the Wootz steel sword in his hands. Everyone, except for Wang Chong avoided the cold shine of the sword as though it was a poisonous scorpion, staring at it fearfully.
Wei Hao’s sword was incomparably sharp. Since it was able to cut through a metal mountain of a human’s height, naturally, if it fell on them, they would easily lose a limb or two.
No matter how high their cultivation was, it was impossible for their bodies to be harder than metal.
Wang Chong smiled in contempt. The attitudes of those here differed greatly from before!
“Wang Chong!”
Wei Hao placed the sword back into the scabbard and returned it to Wang Chong. His respect for Wang Chong had already reached new heights.
Wang Chong had truly given him a pleasant surprise in the sword duel gamble this time.
If say, Wang Chong had earned Wei Hao’s trust when he offered him guidance that helped him to defeat Gao Fei at the Eight Gods Pavilion previously, then this sword duel gamble had made Wei Hao completely submit to Wang Chong in awe.
Back then, Wang Chong had bought the Hyderabad ores from the Sindhi monks at a price of 90000 gold taels, borrowed a sum of 1700 gold taels from Eight Gods Pavilion, and taking into account this sword duel gamble as well, if he had lost, he would have to shoulder a debt of several hundred thousands of gold taels…
All of the incidents that happened regarding this Wootz steel sword flashed across Wei Hao’s mind.
Wei Hao had to admit that his good buddy whom he had grown up with possessed a quality which he didn’t have. Whenever Wang Chong decided on a matter, the guts and determination he displayed far surpassed Wei Hao thought he could ever possess.
Wang Chong would never know that it was this instant which Wei Hao began to place his absolute trust in Wang Chong.
“Alright, everyone! The sword duel gamble has come to an end. There should be no intact swords now! According to the rules, everyone has to pay 1200 gold taels. I believe that given your standing and reputation, none of you will default on the payment, will you?”
Wang Chong turned around and scanned the surroundings.
Surprisingly, no one said anything. They were frightened of that teenage boy before them!
Rather, more accurately, they were frightened by the Wootz steel sword in his hands.
“Manager Luo, since you’re well-connected in the capital and you know a lot of different people, I will leave this matter to you. Please help me collect the bets!”
“Gongzi, rest assured. Leave this to me.”
A voice echoed from the corner, revealing a tinge of admiration.
“Wei Hao, let’s go! We shall celebrate today!”
Wang Chong chuckled. With a fling of his sleeves, he didn’t leave by the stairs. Instead, he leapt directly from the third floor of the Bluebottle Pavilion.
(Hehe, is the third level 6 meters or 9 meters away from the surface? I bet someone will definitely get the wrong answer. ^-^)
Behind him, Wei Hao chuckled and followed behind.
Boom!
Seeing Wang Chong leap from the third floor, the crowd outside the Bluebottle Pavilion immediately erupted into cheers.
“Look, that man has come down!”
“Excuse me, let me pass through… I can’t see anything!”
“Like I care! The Number One Sword in the World! … To think that it was crafted by such a young man! Truly, my worldly horizons has been expanded today!”
“You truly can’t judge a person by his looks. For such a young man to defeat so many prestigious and established clans, if not for the fact that I had witnessed it personally, I would never have believed it!”
…
All ridicule and mock had disappeared, replaced by a sea of praises. At this instant, the arrogant ‘fool’ from before has suddenly become an enigmatic expert.
Hearing those words, Wang Chong’s mood lifted. Without saying anymore, he walked toward the carriage parked outside along with Wei Hao.
“Wait a moment!”
From the Bluebottle Pavilion, upon seeing Wang Chong leaving, Zhao Fengchen immediately leapt from the Bluebottle Pavilion and landed softly on the ground. Then, he immediately rushed toward the carriage.
“Wang gongzi! I want to buy your sword! I’m willing to offer 20000 gold taels!”
Zhao Fengchen stretched out two fingers and said affirmatively.
Boom!
Upon hearing this voice, the crowd immediately broke into a commotion. 20000 gold taels! Someone was willing to purchase a sword for 20000 gold taels! It wasn’t 10000 gold taels, but 20000 gold taels!
It was even higher than Wang Chong’s final price!
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, another voice echoed from the top of the Bluebottle Pavilion.
“25000 gold taels! Wang gongzi, I am willing to pay 25000 gold taels for your sword!”
The words ‘25000 gold taels’, as though a gigantic boulder falling into an ocean, generated huge waves among the crowds. Wei Hao nearly staggered and fell to the ground.
Wang Chong had also stopped his footsteps.
‘25000 gold taels’, this was a price 5000 gold taels higher than the one listed previously. Upon hearing the voice, Zhao Fengchen’s face darkened. He turned over and saw a bearded Western Regions merchant leaping down from the Bluebottle Pavilion.
It was the Charax Spasinu merchant, Mosaide!
“Wang gongzi, please allow me to express my respect toward you. Your swordsmithing skills are profound and incredible, it is something which I’ve never seen before. If you can sell your sword to me, you will be my eternal friend!”
Mosaide placed a hand on his chest and bowed ‘earnestly’.
“Mad, this is madness! To pay 25000 gold taels for just a single sword! That’s money that’s enough for me to survive for ten lifetimes!”
“No matter how sharp the sword is, it shouldn’t be worth that much money!”
…
The crowd gathered outside the Bluebottle Pavilion were completely stunned by the prices offered, especially the weapon traders. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing.
They had worked in the weapon industry for their entire life, but they never knew that someone would be vying to buy a weapon that was valued at above ten thousand gold taels.
Equally shocked were the prestigious swordsmithing clan members, managers of the workshops and weapon shops. Clearly, they didn’t expect to see such a sight as well.
Even Huang Jiao, who didn’t have a good impression of Wang Chong, was stunned speechless.
25000 gold taels was a price beyond his recognition. He has never cond
ucted a business of this scale before.
As for Cheng Youqing and the other swordsmithing clan elders, even though they didn’t say anything, their faces were grim. Currently, their attention was completely absorbed into the matter.
By instincts, they could feel that this sight before them was going to revolutionize the swordsmithing clans and the industry as a whole.
“Hehe!”
Mosaide’s body didn’t move at all, but his gaze had already taken in the reactions of the crowd around him. 25000 gold taels for a sword, these people must have thought that he was mad.
But only Mosaide knew how rare and valuable this opportunity was.
What Mosaide was seeing wasn’t a sword, but a swordsmithing technology that was beyond this era.
If he let this opportunity slip by him, he might regret it for his entire life. The value of this sword wasn’t something that could be measured with mere money.
“When our Charax Spasinu finally obtains this technology, you all will finally understand how wise my decision today was!”
Mosaide thought.
“30000 gold taels!”
Just when Mosaide had thought of the matter, a voice sounded by his ear, and its content rumbled in his ear as though thunder. Zhao Fengchen had upped his bid, increasing it to 30000 gold taels!
Even for Mosaide, his face couldn’t help but darken upon hearing the price offered.
Chapter 61: Double Rejection!
“32000 gold taels!”
Mosaide offered.
“35000 gold taels!”
Zhao Fengchen said without any hesitation.
“37000 gold taels!”
Mosaide gritted his teeth. The Western Regions merchants were well-known for their wealth in the Central Plains. Even so, 30000 gold taels was a huge sum for Mosaide.
Mosaide couldn’t understand why the fellow before him was willing to spend so much money to compete with him over a sword.
“40000 gold taels!”
Zhao Fengchen spoke casually, as though what he spoke of wasn’t 40000 heavy gold taels, but just a figure.
The Zhao Clan didn’t lack money!
No matter what, it was impossible for Zhao Fengchen to lose out to a Western Regions Charax Spasinu merchant. More importantly, the seat of a general in the Imperial Army wasn’t something that could be measured using money.
There were limited number of seats as a general in the Imperial Army and it was not every day that one would get such an opportunity. The moment Zhao Fengchen becomes a general of the Imperial Army, he would have opened another door for himself. He would gain access to more cultivation technique and resources, allowing him to reach greater heights.
This wasn’t what an ordinary commander could compare up to.
Furthermore, he couldn’t lose to Huang Xiaotian!
“41000 gold taels!”
Mosaide clenched his jaws, but clearly, those words were forced out from his mouth reluctantly.
“There’s no need for compete for it anymore. I won’t sell it to either of you!”
Just when Zhao Fengchen was going to up the bid once more, Wang Chong turned around and said a few words which left the two completely astounded, tt was something they never expected.
The moment Wang Chong said those words, the bustling street immediately turned silent. Everyone’s gazes fell on Wang Chong.
“Why?!”
Shocked, the duo asked with surprising harmony.
40000 gold taels was an astronomical sum. It was more than two times greater than the value Wang Chong had offered previously, and any ordinary person would have been overjoyed to hear such a price and sell his sword in a flash.
Yet, Wang Chong rejected their offers.
“Didn’t you hang your sword at the Bluebottle Pavilion to sell it out?”
Zhao Fengchen asked.
“Indeed! Given how high our offers are, why is Wang gongzi reluctant to sell it? Isn’t this beneficial to gongzi as well?”
Mosaide asked.
Wang Chong’s words had truly caught them off guard. Mosaide did anticipate the potential arrival of a rival, but he never imagined that Wang Chong, the owner of the sword, would be reluctant to sell it!
“I’ve already said it, the sword will be up for sales for seven days. No one is allowed to view it or touch it. Furthermore, it will only be sold for two hours a day. Now, seven days have already passed, and the two hours of sales time… has also passed!”
Wang Chong pointed to the Bluebottle Pavilion as he said.
At this instant, Zhao Fengchen, Mosaide, as well as Cheng Youqing, Huang Jiao, and the others in the pavilion were all shocked. Only now did they recall that Wang Chong had spoken of this rule on the very first day:
His sword will only be sold for seven days, and no one is allowed to view or touch it. Furthermore, it would only be sold for two hours a day!
Everyone had heard of the rules countless times, but no one took it to heart. No one could have possibly imagined that they would be rejected at this moment by Wang Chong due to it.
“Wei Hao, let’s leave!”
Ignoring the duo, Wang Chong called for Wei Hao, turned around, and left. This time, Wei Hao didn’t doubt Wang Chong. He simply smiled, turned around, and walked alongside Wang Chong.
“Wait a moment, rules can be changed. Wang gongzi, I am willing to offer a higher price!”
Mosaide called.
Wang Chong chuckled, seemingly not hearing anything that Mosaide had said. In an instant, he had already traveled dozens of zhang away. With a fling of his robe, he dived into the carriage.
Boom!
Behind him, the crowd immediately burst into an uproar.
“Mad, he is truly mad! How can there be someone like that in the world? To refuse money that is delivered to his doorstep!”
“40000 gold taels! It’s 40000 gold taels! What’s that fellow thinking?”
“Aren’t swords made to be sold? Since other people are willing to buy it, why won’t he sell it? If you don’t want it, you might as well pass the opportunity on to me!”
“Argh, I feel so regretful! If only I knew that it was worth that much money, I would have bought it on the very first day.”
…
The crowd howled in ‘regret’, feeling as though the world has gone mad. No one knew what Wang Chong was thinking of. To them, this was a dreamlike opportunity, yet Wang Chong pushed it down cleanly, not in the least moved by the offer.
When they recalled those precious gemstones embedded in the sword, they felt so much regret that their lamentation could fill an entire river and smacked their chests in frustration.
Just the gemstones embedded on the sword itself was worth more than six hundred gold taels. So many people had come to spectate the sight back then, but not a single person was willing to make a move.
Even more so, no one could have imagined that the sword would be worth this much in the end!
Upon thinking of this, everyone felt their hearts ripping apart.
“Those nobles sure earn money quickly! Without doing anything, he had already earnt a huge sum.”
Just when everyone was roaring in frustration, no one noticed a thirty to forty-year old man with a shaggy beard and untidy clothes standing by the corner. He seemed like an idle thug, and he was currently silently watching at the direction where Wang Chong was.
No one knew when the man had appeared here, and no one knew where he came from. All they knew was that this person had probably witnessed the entire sword duel gamble.
“… Thirty-two swords, with every house paying 1200 gold taels each, it added up to a total of 38400 gold taels. This is truly a humongous sum!”
The man stared at the back of Wang Chong’s carriage with an unreadable expression in his eyes.
In this era, mathematics wasn’t as advanced as the modern era where Wang Chong came from. Many people still relied on their fingers to count from one to ten, yet this thug-like man was able to easily calculate Wa
ng Chong’s profit from the gamble in an instant.
Chuckling softly, the man pushed against the wall to prop himself up before walking toward the direction where Wang Chong was.
…
The carriage didn’t move.
Shen Hong and Meng Long were currently overviewing the personnel in Bluebottle Pavilion outside as they moved boxes after boxes of gold taels into the carriage. On the other hand, Wang Chong and Wei Hao were waiting patiently in the carriage.
Several ten thousands of gold taels wasn’t a small sum. However, with the guards from the Duke of Wei residence, no one would dare cause trouble. Wang Chong and Wei Hao waited patiently for Shen Hai and Meng Long to finish their task.
“38400 gold taels. After this, I won’t be far from my target of 90000 gold taels anymore.”
After settling the sword duel gamble, Wang Chong felt much more relaxed.
Without selling a single sword, Wang Chong had earned nearly 40000 gold taels from the gamble itself. This wasn’t something that Wang Chong anticipated.
Even though he was still a distance off from reaching 90000 gold taels, Wang Chong wasn’t in a rush. He had everything planned out properly.
“When I’m finally done with this, I can finally put all my efforts into training my martial arts.”
Wang Chong thought. Placing his hands behind his head, he relaxed his body and lied backward, leaning against the walls of the carriage.
Wang Chong had his clan behind him, and this exerted a huge pressure on him. All kinds of dangers laid in wait for him, and with a single wrong step, Wang Chong could lose the entire game.
Under this kind of situation, Wang Chong didn’t dare to divert his attention. As such, he was unable to focus on his training.
But now, he had already averted the main crisis at hand. At the same time, he was also going to gain possession of the Hyderabad ores. Once the deal finally lands in his hands, he would have created the most solid foundation for his future.
When all of it was done, Wang Chong could finally rest easy.
“Wang Chong, why didn’t you announce your identity at the Bluebottle Pavilion previously? If you did so, you could have avoided many troubles.”