Chapter 39: Quietly Entering the Night

Lu Chuan lifted one of the cowhide papers.

He carefully examined it before speaking, “Not bad, the quality is good.”

“I need more. This little bit might not be enough.”

As he spoke, Lu Chuan confidently glanced around at the bamboo baskets in the warehouse.

He sifted through them one by one.

However, his brow furrowed.

He turned to the proprietress and said, “Madam, are you kidding me?” A hint of displeasure appeared on his face as he asked coldly.

“What do you mean?”

The proprietress was startled.

She didn’t understand why Lu Chuan, who had seemed so excited just moments ago, was suddenly angry.

She hadn’t done anything to provoke him.

“If there’s not enough stock, you should have just said so!”

As he spoke, Lu Chuan picked up one of the baskets and casually tossed it aside.

“There’s no need to fill up space with so many empty baskets, pretending like there’s something inside!”

“This…”

The proprietress seemed to understand something, hurriedly walking forward.

She ripped the cowhide paper off the top.

As expected.

The basket was completely empty!

“This…”

The proprietress’s face changed drastically, her eyes widening in shock.

This couldn’t be happening!

How could this be?!

She was the only one with the key to this warehouse. No one else came here normally. How could so much coal just vanish?

Frustrated, the proprietress rushed to open the other baskets.

To her dismay, what had once been nearly a hundred stones of coal was now missing more than two-thirds!

Lu Chuan’s expression darkened as he quietly watched the proprietress. After a long pause, he spoke again, “So, after all the trouble I went through to come here, there’s only a dozen or so stones of coal?”

The proprietress clenched her fists tightly.

She suddenly realized that she might be finished!

Next, Zhou Zheng wouldn’t let her off the hook. Though this coal wasn’t of major use normally, it had value. In the end, some high-ranking officials would want to buy it.

But now, all this coal had mysteriously disappeared!

How was she supposed to explain this to Zhou Zheng?

Also…

What went wrong?

Did this person do it?

It didn’t seem likely—he had been under her watch the whole time. Besides, he seemed like someone who had never even visited the black market before.

“This guest…”

The proprietress took a deep breath before continuing, “How much do you need? We can prepare it for you!”

“At least a hundred stones!” Lu Chuan replied.

He looked quietly at the proprietress.

“No problem!”

The proprietress gritted her teeth. “This time, it’s our fault! If you truly want it, the price per stone will be just 9 taels of silver!”

“That’s 900 taels for a hundred stones!”

“One month from now, pay in full, and the coal will be delivered. How does that sound?”

The proprietress asked.

Lu Chuan looked at her.

In his mind, he was quickly calculating. It would be a bit difficult to gather 900 taels of silver in one month just from hunting.

Moreover, he still needed to buy land.

But, with the arrow already nocked…

He would just have to think of other ways to raise the money.

As for the coal, after returning, it couldn’t be used directly and would need some processing. Mixing it with charcoal would help reach the required temperature without being too noticeable.

Looking at the coal in his storage space, Lu Chuan felt a surge of excitement!

This thing was incredibly useful!

For this world, having a storage space was like a cheat, and it even allowed him to store things according to his desires.

After bidding farewell to the proprietress, Lu Chuan wandered around the black market again.

To be honest, the things in the black market were quite eye-opening—armor, weapons, various precious herbs, salt, iron ingots, and even strong bows.

However, although they called it a strong bow, it was actually just average!

Compared to what he could make himself, the materials were just slightly better.

If he had the same materials, he could definitely craft better bows.

“How much is this iron ingot?” Lu Chuan asked.

“Good eye, sir! This iron ingot is something we went through a lot of trouble to get. One tael of silver, absolutely fair and honest!” an old man quickly responded.

Lu Chuan was taken aback.

One tael of silver, which was 1000 coins.

The price wasn’t too expensive. The ingot was sizable, and once he took it home, it would be quite useful.

With that in mind, Lu Chuan nodded. “Alright, I’ll take it.”

He then took out 1000 coins and handed them to the old man.

After putting the ingot in his bag, he left the black market.

As for the map, he definitely intended to take it, but it was better not to do it now.

Lu Chuan kept thinking to himself.

In the black market, there were too many people and too many eyes. Moreover, he wasn’t sure if the old man was a bait released by Zhou Zheng. If he just rushed in blindly, it might be difficult!

However, after leaving the black market, Lu Chuan didn’t leave Hongtu County.

Instead, he and Sun Laizi found an inn to stay at.

After the curfew at night, Lu Chuan cautiously opened the window and, taking advantage of the night, slipped out into the streets.

The patrolling guards on the streets were listless.

A few were even sitting and chatting.

“Damn, how unlucky. The boss goes to Spring Fragrance House to have fun, and leaves us here to stand guard. Who knows what we’re even guarding,” one muttered.

“Who told you he’s the county chief’s nephew?” another replied disdainfully. After a pause, he added, “Without that connection, do you think he’d be qualified to be our boss?”

“Alright, enough complaining. It’s been rough the last few nights. The demons from the Hellfire Sect have been causing trouble, raiding homes under the cover of darkness,” another guard said.

“If something really happens, we’ll all be in trouble!”

“Damn, what does it have to do with us? We haven’t been paid in half a month, and all we get is being asked to risk our lives!” one of the guards grumbled.

…

Lu Chuan relaxed his brow. It seemed that things were going smoothly without much effort.

Zhou Tong actually went to the Spring Fragrance House!

Without hesitation, he headed toward the Spring Fragrance House. It was still filled with women in delicate clothes, welcoming and bidding farewell to customers.

Lu Chuan snuck into the backyard, covering the mouth of a young servant from behind. His voice was cold as he said, “When I let go, don’t turn around, don’t scream. Answer me honestly when I ask you something.”

“If you defy me, I’ll take your life immediately. Do you understand? Nod if you do.”

The servant nodded vigorously, signaling that he understood!