Chapter Seven: The Mysterious Stone

  Under the astonished gaze of other mercenaries around him, Hua Yun didn't stand on ceremony and simply put the bag of gold coins on himself.

  After these days of communication, Hua Yun had already understood the character of people in this world. Like Westerners on Earth, they didn't like hypocrisy. If he refused Ron's offer himself, it would make him appear petty and ungenerous. Moreover, having just arrived in this new world with nothing to his name, having some money for self-defense was absolutely necessary.

  As Hua Yun collected the money, a satisfied smile appeared on the faces of Luo En and others, while many mercenaries who were paying attention to this scene had their eyes wide open.

  To put it into perspective, on the continent of Allen, one gold coin is equivalent to a hundred silver coins and a thousand copper coins. Typically, an ordinary person's monthly salary would be at most one or two gold coins. Six hundred gold coins are already considered a substantial sum in this world.

  The captain of the Keli Blade Mercenary Group unexpectedly handed over the bag of gold coins to the black-haired youth in front of him without saying a word, who exactly was this youth? The rest of the mercenaries were all filled with doubt!

  In the hall of the Mercenary Guild, they ate something casually. Huayun and Lohen walked out of the Mercenary Guild. It was already noon at this moment. They needed to find a place to stay in Kodo Town.

  "Huh?!" Just as everyone was about to enter the Mercenary Guild, Huayun's eyebrows suddenly furrowed slightly, and she immediately stopped in her tracks.

  "What's wrong, Huayun?" Luna couldn't help but ask in puzzlement as she noticed Huayun stopping in his tracks.

  "What's that place?" Hua Yun pointed to a building next to the Mercenary Guild with her hand, with an inquiring expression on her face.

  For some reason, Hua Yun could feel that the building was constantly emitting a mysterious power, and this power strongly attracted him to go in and take a look.

  "Oh, that's it, that's the Mercenary Guild's marketplace!" Luna explained beside him: "Some mercenaries who don't want to sell what they've obtained to the Mercenary Guild, or have obtained something that the Mercenary Guild doesn't accept, will pay some money to rent a spot in the Mercenary Guild's marketplace and set up a stall. How about it, Huayun big brother, do you want to go take a look?"

  After listening to Luna's explanation, Hua Yun furrowed her brow and nodded, then said to Luo En and the others beside her: "You all go find a place to stay first, I want to go in and take a look!"

  "Alright then!" Ron nodded and said: "Luna, just follow Huayun, you'll arrive at the inn where we've been staying in a while."

  Luna nodded and followed Huayun into the market after glancing at her who was already walking towards it.

  The entire trading floor was extremely lively, somewhat like a vegetable market on Earth. In front of the stalls, many mercenaries were shouting loudly with their coarse voices.

  "Hey, mister! Take a look at this sword in my hand. It's a divine artifact forged by the dwarven master himself. Even the sacred giant dragon would be afraid of it. Now, I'll let you have it for just 15 gold coins. How about that? Isn't it a fair deal?" A burly man shouted to Huayun, brandishing his massive sword, on which Huayun could see a hint of rust on the hilt.

  "Hey, mister, I bet you're a thief with that build of yours. Look at this dagger, it's made from the finest overseas cold iron of the Klar Empire. It can even break through the defenses of a 9th-tier divine beast. Don't believe me? Try it out on this thick ironwood plank." A sleazy-looking middle-aged man waved his dagger at Huayun while holding a somewhat rotten wooden plank in his other hand.

  Hua Yun ignored him and continued walking towards the market, deliberately avoiding him.

  "Ah, don't want this? No matter, take a look at this again!" Seeing that Huayun was ignoring him, the middle-aged man immediately put down the dagger in his hand and picked up a badge-like object, running to Huayun's front.

  "That beautiful magician girl next to you must be your girlfriend, don't you want to buy a magic amplifier for your girlfriend? Take a look at this badge made by the continent's first alchemist, just eight gold coins, no matter what level of magician your girlfriend is, as long as she has this badge, releasing forbidden spells will no longer be a dream, ah, don't go, sir!"

  All along the way, no matter where Hua Yun walked to, her ears were filled with the sound of vendors calling out their wares, but she didn't even glance at the things in people's hands and just kept walking further inside.

  "Hey Hua Yun, are you going to buy something?"

  Just as Luna asked, Hua Yun suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked towards a nearby stall.

  The stall owner was a middle-aged man who, seeing business coming, immediately shouted enthusiastically.

  "Hey, sir, whatever you want, just say it, don't worry about what you want, I'm a well-known Tongshu Wuxi, and I won't charge you an extra gold coin."

  Listening to the big man's words, Hua Yun raised her head and looked towards the road ahead, unable to help but feel a little speechless in her heart. These guys were really rough mercenaries? Why did they all seem like swindlers?!

  "How much for this?" Huayun turned around and gently picked up an inconspicuous black stone from the corner of the stall.

  As soon as Hua Yun picked up the stone, she felt a strange sense of familiarity, which came directly from the depths of her spirit. It was as if the stone had been silently calling out to her soul all along. Hua Yun was certain that the mysterious power she had sensed at the entrance of the market earlier was emanating from this very stone.

  Hua Yun saw that the other items on his stall were gone, but instead picked up a black stone from the corner. The middle-aged man's face couldn't help but show some disappointment. This stone was something he had obtained unintentionally in the past and had simply placed it in the corner today without thinking of selling it.

  Seeing Hua Yun examining the black stone in his hand, the middle-aged man's eyes flickered slightly and he smiled obsequiously: "Ah, you're referring to this black crystal? You really have a good eye for things. This was obtained by one of my friends from deep within the Magic Domain Mountains. It's said that there's a mysterious power hidden within it. If you wear it often, it can help you focus your mind and spirit. This is truly a rare treasure. If I wasn't short on money lately, I wouldn't be willing to part with it."

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