The inn was quiet. Qi Zhenzhuo couldn’t help but lift the brim of his bamboo hat, staring as Chen Ji came down the stairs and sat, oblivious to others, at the only empty table in the main hall.

The inn’s limping waiter diligently brought a tray and meticulously arranged melon seeds and candied fruits on the table.

All eyes were on Chen Ji, but he seemed oblivious, sitting calmly at the square table and meeting every gaze directed his way.

It was as if something was caught in Qi Zhenzhuo’s throat; he couldn’t speak for a long time.

When he came to his senses, he turned to leave Dragon Gate Inn, but Li Xuan grabbed him. “What are you doing?” Li Xuan asked.

Qi Zhenzhuo’s face flushed. “Brother-in-law, why are we still here to watch this kid show off? Let’s go; maybe we can find news elsewhere!”

Li Xuan took a deep breath, cutting off his brother-in-law. “Chen Ji found a clue here previously, so we should stay here too. He arrived in Guyuan over ten days after us, yet he discovered this Dragon Gate Inn before we did. He certainly has his merits. If you want to outshine him, you must learn from his strengths.”

Qi Zhenzhuo remained somewhat unconvinced.

Li Xuan said in a deep voice, “Stand still and see what he does.”

At the square table, Chen Ji reached out and broke the clay seal on the wine jar.

Suddenly, everyone’s eyes were fixed intently on him, but no one moved. The news from an opened jar would cost a fortune, and who knew if it was even useful? Was it worth the price?

After all, the news wouldn’t be sold just once, and no one wanted to be the first to test the waters.

At this moment, the madam of the Hongxiu Brothel chuckled lightly, covering her face with a silk scarf. “This young man is new. I wonder what news he’s selling. Brother Li, why don’t you go ask?”

The man named by the madam pretended not to hear, continuing to crack melon seeds.

The madam then looked to the other side. “Brother Zhang, will you go first?”

The man named Zhang chuckled. “With Sister Dong here, how dare I presume… Third Master?”

The man named Zhang’s voice abruptly stopped. He saw Third Master suddenly stand up, slowly walk to Chen Ji’s side, and calmly ask, “May I have a bowl of wine?”

Chen Ji looked up at him and said with a smile, “Please sit. Xiaoman, pour this gentleman some wine.”

Xiaoman quickly picked up the wine jar and filled a bowl of strong liquor, Shaodaozi, for Third Master.

Third Master raised the bowl in his right hand and drained it in one gulp. He exhaled a breath of alcohol and sighed, “It’s been years since I’ve had such strong liquor.”

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then picked up the wine jar himself and filled another bowl for Third Master. “When you stood up, Third Master, the hall became silent. I presume your status in the martial world of Guyuan City is quite high?”

Third Master scoffed. “Status or no status, it’s just flattery from others. In the end, we all become a handful of yellow earth, dried bones under a mound. Young man, why have you come to Dragon Gate Inn to do business?”

Chen Ji was puzzled. Ordinary people who came to buy news would pay, ask for the news, and then leave. But this Third Master didn’t seem to be here to buy news; it was as if he had specifically come to chat with him.

He said frankly, “Naturally, because I need money.”

Third Master scrutinized Chen Ji for a moment. “Then let’s talk about the price.”

Chen Ji raised his hand to gesture the price, but Third Master suddenly grabbed his wrist.

He looked at Third Master, puzzled. In Third Master’s blind eye, there was only cloudy white, appearing monstrously fierce.

Third Master explained with a smile, “How can you gesture prices like that? Everyone will see. Don’t do it this way in the future; you’ll just be seen as an easy mark. Do you know how to ‘negotiate in the sleeve’?”

Chen Ji replied, “Yes.”

“Negotiating in the sleeve” seemed mysterious, but was actually simple: pinching one finger meant one, two fingers meant two. For multiples, pinching one finger and shaking the hand meant eleven.

To ask for a lower price, one would bend fingers; the more fingers bent, the greater the requested discount.

Before he could react, Third Master had already tucked his hand into his leopard-print sleeve and extended it towards him. “Come,” he said.

Chen Ji reached out and put his hand into Third Master’s sleeve. Inside the sleeve, he pinched two of Third Master’s fingers, indicating two hundred taels of silver. The waiter had explained that once the Shaodaozi jar was opened, the news price would be calculated in “hundreds of taels.”

But Third Master looked at him with a faint smile and unexpectedly grabbed five of Chen Ji’s fingers.

Chen Ji was stunned. What did this mean? Did the other party only want to pay fifty taels of silver?

But with the Shaodaozi jar opened and its clay seal broken, how could it only sell for fifty taels? That was an outrageously low offer.

Just as Chen Ji was about to refuse, Third Master took a string of Buddhist coins from his wrist, placed them on the table, and steadily pushed them towards Chen Ji. “These Buddhist coins are worth five hundred taels of silver,” he said. “I’ll buy the news.”

Chen Ji’s pupils suddenly constricted. What was this Third Master doing?

The other party first negotiated the price discreetly in his sleeve, but then openly announced it. Chen Ji had quoted two hundred taels of silver, but the other party had forcefully raised the price to five hundred!

Was he giving money away?

But why would this Third Master give him money? Who does business like this?

Others who heard Third Master’s words gasped. Opening a jar wasn’t common, but a price of five hundred taels was even rarer; in the past, news from an opened jar would at most fetch two hundred taels of silver.

To buy or not to buy? Everyone hesitated.

At this moment, Chen Ji stared intently at Third Master, who was also staring back. There was no ripple in his intact right eye, but a slight smile played on his lips.

Wait.

This Third Master didn’t seem to care what news he was selling. He was the first to buy, perhaps just worried that Chen Ji might set the price too low.

This was truly strange. What exactly did the other party mean? Chen Ji was thoroughly confused.

Third Master urged with a smile, “It’s time to tell me the news. Remember to keep your voice down.”

Everyone watched eagerly as Chen Ji and Third Master leaned closer. Some perked up their ears, trying to listen, but couldn’t hear anything.

Li Xuan and others stood by the door. Qi Zhenzhuo stood on his tiptoes to look, muttering, “Brother-in-law, what news do you think this kid is selling? He can earn five hundred taels of silver just by moving his lips—that’s ten years of my salary! Could it be that what we did yesterday is what he’s selling?”

Li Xuan pondered, “Yesterday’s news shouldn’t be worth five hundred taels. Perhaps he has even more important news. Five hundred taels of silver is enough to buy dozens of maids and servants at the livestock market in the capital.”

At this moment, Third Master suddenly stood up with a start and exclaimed in surprise, “Is this true?”

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment. “It is true,” he confirmed.

Third Master cupped his hands together. “The Buddhist coins on the table are yours. We’ll meet again.”

With that, Third Master turned and left, leaving everyone in the room looking at each other in bewilderment.

The guests who had originally thought the price too high now hesitated. Five hundred taels of silver for a piece of news was indeed outrageous, but judging by Third Master’s reaction, it was clearly worth the price.

Who was Third Master? He was a titan in Guyuan’s martial world. What kind of news could possibly astound him like that?

Everyone looked at each other, perplexed.

Not only were the guests in the room hesitant, but even Chen Ji was bewildered. The news he had given was merely that the Jing Dynasty’s Imperial Guard was about to besiege the city, and that Jing Dynasty spies had attempted to poison the wells yesterday, only to be stopped by the Crown Prince and the Imperial Forest Army.

This news was important, to be sure, but it wasn’t necessarily worth five hundred taels of silver.

After hearing the news, Third Master had clearly put on a show of urgency, which was precisely what had made everyone else so eager.

But Chen Ji couldn’t understand why Third Master would do this.

Chen Ji quietly asked Zhang Xia, “Have we met this Third Master before?”

Zhang Xia shook his head. “No, I haven’t, but judging by his footsteps, he’s the one staying in the ‘Heavenly Character B’ room next to ours.”

“It’s him?!”

Chen Ji tapped his fingers on the table, thoughts racing through his mind: He and his companions had just checked into Dragon Gate Inn, and the other party had followed immediately. The other party was here for him!

As he pondered, the madam of Hongxiu Brothel gracefully stood up and, wafting a fragrant breeze, sat opposite Chen Ji. She covered her face with a silk scarf, her eyes alluring. “Young master,” she cooed, “can you give me a discount? I can make up the difference from other sources.”

Xiaoman, behind Chen Ji, disdainfully fanned her nose. “Where’s that stench coming from? Did someone wet their pants?”

“How can a girl speak so harshly? Be careful, you might never marry!” the madam snapped, glaring at Xiaoman. She took a string of Buddhist coins from her wrist, pushed them in front of Chen Ji, and, giggling, leaned her face closer, saying, “Come, tell me up close.”

Chen Ji frowned, but Xiaoman raised her hand and pushed the madam’s head back. “Come,” she said, “I’ll tell you.”

The madam snorted, “You little brat!”

Xiaoman frowned. “My young master is going to marry a legitimate daughter of a prominent family. You stay away from him!”

By the door, Li Xuan’s gaze from beneath his bamboo hat was like a sword. He watched coldly as the madam listened to the news and then stood to leave. Immediately after, several people stood up at the same time, vying to sit next to Chen Ji to buy the news.

An Imperial Forest Army guard leaned close to Li Xuan and asked in a low voice, “Commander, should we buy it?”

Li Xuan remained silent.

Qi Zhenzhuo scoffed, “Buy nothing! We absolutely cannot let this kid profit.”

But Li Xuan spoke up. “Buy it! Such important news… it’s better if we buy it and report it to His Highness first.”

He took out two strings of Buddhist coins, turned, and nodded to an Imperial Forest Army guard. “You didn’t go to Shache Street with us earlier, so he won’t recognize you. You go.”

“Yes, sir,” the Imperial Forest Army guard replied, taking the Buddhist coins and joining the queue.

A moment later, the Imperial Forest Army guard returned, his expression complex.

Qi Zhenzhuo stepped forward and anxiously asked, “What news did you get?”

The Imperial Forest Army guard repeated what Chen Ji had said, and Qi Zhenzhuo’s face immediately darkened, feeling as if he had swallowed a fly. They had actually paid Chen Ji five hundred taels of silver for news they already knew!

Qi Zhenzhuo’s face turned grim. “Go get the money back! We absolutely cannot let him get off so easily!”

Li Xuan stopped him and said in a deep voice, “There’s no sense in asking for money back once it’s spent. Don’t break the rules here. You made a mistake yourself; you can’t blame others.”

Qi Zhenzhuo looked at him in disbelief. “Brother-in-law, are we just going to let this go?”

Li Xuan calmly said, “That Chen boy is also blinded by greed and very short-sighted; I overestimated him. He dared to sell information about His Highness’s affairs, and His Highness will certainly not trust him again if he finds out. Let’s go, we’ll report this matter to His Highness.”

Qi Zhenzhuo’s eyes lit up. “Brother-in-law, a brilliant insight!”