After listening to He Chongxu's introduction, Ying Chen's eyes flashed, and he immediately made up his mind: "Then let's go to the Sand Sea Ghost Market to have a look!"
As long as the materials Ying Chen needed were there, no matter if the other party supported monetary transactions or bartering, Ying Chen had enough confidence to get them!
After all, Ying Chen was now a centibillionaire at least!
Of course, in Ying Chen's opinion, this sum of money was not much. It might not be enough if Ying Chen arranged a few "small plans."
However, it was more than enough to buy some refining materials.
"Take this dragon's eye with you, and also some dragon blood and dragon bones."
"In case the seller only accepts bartering."
Ying Chen instructed He Chongxu.
Money was useful most of the time, but useless at certain times.
For example, in the Xuanmen realm, some rare treasures could not be bought with money.
To obtain them, one could only exchange them with other treasures of equal value.
Soon, He Chongxu prepared the items, and he and Ying Chen embarked on their journey to the Sand Sea Ghost Market.
Meanwhile, Xiang Jiang was in an uproar.
Zhuang Ruoting had released two videos of Mr. Huo and Officer Lin through the Li family's channels.
Of course, when they were released, it was declared that both videos were secretly filmed.
The publisher of the videos also assumed the stance of "exposing the truth and upholding justice."
They did not spare flowery language in praising Mr. Huo, while also severely criticizing Officer Lin's selfish actions.
The public had always been blind, not to mention that the information they received had been specially concocted.
Thus, public opinion in Xiang Jiang instantly tilted.
Almost all of it was a condemnation of Officer Lin's selfishness and baseness, while praising Mr. Huo's heroic defiance and his status as a hero.
The previous misunderstanding of the more than ten wealthy individuals on the cruise ship was also clarified at this moment.
It turned out that the wealthy individuals were not attending some "Sea and Sky Night Banquet," but had experienced a night of life-and-death escape!
No wonder they looked listless and their eyes were dull!
Anyone who went through such an ordeal would not have the energy.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhao!"
"I'm sorry, Old He!"
"It turns out that Xiang Jiang has not degenerated to a point beyond redemption, and there are still heroes like Mr. Huo in Xiang Jiang! Apologies to those who were misunderstood, and respect to Mr. Huo!"
"Also, spit on Officer Lin's grave!"
As expected, public opinion was developing in the direction Ying Chen had designed.
Officer Lin, who refused to yield to his death, would surely regret his decision if he knew this scene from the underworld!
In fact, he had no deep hatred for Ying Chen.
It was just that he was naturally inclined towards Li Fengcheng, and he was naturally greedy, which led to a momentary lapse in judgment, not only costing him his life but also turning him into a universally condemned negative example.
...
At midnight.
The moonlight shone on the sea, reflecting shimmering waves like fish scales.
The calm sea lapped against a small rocky island.
Seen from afar, the entire island was immersed in the night sea and sky, making it difficult to discern its existence if not carefully distinguished.
Yet, on this small and inconspicuous island, there were now crowded figures.
These figures were silent throughout, like wandering souls, roaming every corner of the island.
At the same time, some people sat on the ground, with a piece of torn cloth in front of them, on which lay a pile of messy, unidentifiable objects.
Those who were slightly more particular brought a simple table to display their items.
As for those who were even more particular, they set up temporary tents, displaying all their items for auction within the tents.
It was equivalent to a temporary auction house.
However, that was something only powerful major sellers could achieve.
Most small sellers, on the other hand, sat on the ground.
If they were in a good mood, they would put up a price tag; if they were in a bad mood, they would directly gesture to indicate the price.
This way of doing business, unlike that of merchants, naturally made it difficult to complete many transactions.
There weren't even many people browsing at their stalls.
However, a crowd had gathered in front of one stall.
People were all clustered together, looking at a small torn cloth stall, as if there was a rare treasure worth paying attention to.
"Let's go take a look."
Ying Chen and He Chongxu walked through the ghost market, looking all the way, but found no materials they wanted.
So they instinctively thought that there might be something good at the stall where many people had gathered.
However, when they arrived in front of the torn cloth stall, they discovered: there was no good thing as they had imagined!
The reason why so many people were gathered here was simply because they were all watching a joke!
Because the owner of the torn cloth stall had only displayed a tattered gourd the size of a baby's fist.
The gourd looked dry and shriveled, without any luster.
There were even speckles of insect bites on its surface.
Yet, for such an item, the stall owner had priced it at one million!
US dollars!
Seeing such an outrageous price, everyone naturally found it unbelievable, and they all gathered around, looking at it with mockery.
They couldn't understand why such a tattered gourd dared to sell for a sky-high price of one million US dollars.
This price was enough to buy a decent mid-grade magic artifact!
However, the stall owner remained silent, seemingly without any intention of explaining.
Seeing that more and more people were gathering, he simply flipped the price tag, revealing four words behind it.
"No purchase, no disturbance."
"Hey, you've got some attitude! Can't I even look?" Someone immediately got unhappy and asked.
The stall owner still did not answer, but pointed at the price tag again.
"I've got a temper! I'll smash your stall!"
The unhappy person was about to make a move.
But was immediately dissuaded by his friend.
"Calm down, calm down. The rules of the ghost market: buy or sell as you please, no trouble. It's his business to price it however he wants, it won't sell anyway. Just treat him as a joke! Why get angry?"
Hearing his friend's words, the unhappy person snorted and left.
The other onlookers, having had their fill of the excitement, also dispersed.
In an instant, only Ying Chen and He Chongxu remained in front of the stall.
"Master Ying, it's just a tattered gourd, nothing else. Let's go, we'll wander inside more."
He Chongxu glanced at the gourd and immediately said.
However, Ying Chen remained motionless.
Instead, he stared at the gourd intently.
He even tried to pick up the gourd for a closer look.
But before he could touch the gourd, he was stopped by the stall owner.
The stall owner pointed at the four words on the price tag again.
The meaning was clear: if you don't buy it, don't touch it.
For anyone else, they might have already left in a huff.
Unexpectedly, Ying Chen was not angry at all.
Instead, he smiled at the stall owner and said, "Buy it, why wouldn't I buy it?"
After speaking, Ying Chen turned to He Chongxu and said, "I'll give you a chance, buy it."
He Chongxu exclaimed, "Master Ying, are you kidding me? Is this tattered gourd worth a million?"
"But if you like it, I can pay to buy it as a gift for you."
After speaking, He Chongxu immediately started to take out money.
"Give me an account number, one million US dollars, right? I'll take it."
The stall owner seemed not to have expected that someone would actually want it.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally couldn't help but speak, reminding him: "This item was left to me by my master before he died. He once mentioned that this thing could be worth one million US dollars. Although he himself didn't know how it was worth, he heard it from his master's master."
"I'll remind you in advance, I don't object if you buy it, but after you buy it, it's a done deal, no returns. You can't come back to me to get your money back!"
Facing the stall owner's reminder, He Chongxu smiled: "A mere million, I'm not afraid of losing it. Hurry up, don't delay our business."
Seeing He Chongxu's persistence and that he didn't seem like someone who would renege, the stall owner quickly provided an account number.
Soon, the payment arrived.
And this tattered gourd fell into He Chongxu's hands.
The onlookers who had already dispersed, upon seeing that someone had actually paid a million for the gourd, immediately crowded around again.
Their expressions towards the stall owner and He Chongxu seemed to say: "The big fool tricked the second fool, and the second fool actually fell for it!"
He Chongxu felt uncomfortable under their gazes and quickly handed the gourd to Ying Chen: "Master Ying, the item has been bought. For you."
Who knew that Ying Chen did not take it, but said, "You bought it, what do I want it for?"
"..." This left He Chongxu speechless.
So Ying Chen made him spend a million just to watch him make a fool of himself?
Just as He Chongxu was in an awkward position, he heard Ying Chen speak again, leisurely saying, "Bowing three times to the east with the gourd, then bowing three times to the south, and finally forming a Three Yin Sword Art and shouting 'Emerge!'"
"Ah?" He Chongxu was stunned.
But in the next second, he seemed to realize something, suppressed his wildly beating heart, and performed as Ying Chen instructed.
After bowing three times to the east and south, He Chongxu joined his fingers and brushed them over the surface of the gourd.
He shouted, "Emerge!"
The next moment, a miraculous scene appeared.
From the tattered gourd, a tiny flying dagger shot out!
The flying dagger was as fast as lightning and made a formidable sound.
The chilling sword intent scared many onlookers into stepping back.
The nearby rocks were actually pierced by the flying dagger!
If it had struck a person, it would have been fatal on the spot!
Seeing this, everyone's expression changed.
Including the stall owner.
It turned out that this gourd was indeed a treasure!
One million was not expensive at all, it was practically a bargain!
Because the item was too small, so small that it completely caught people off guard. With surprise, its hit rate could reach one hundred percent!
"I sold it too cheaply..." The stall owner collapsed onto the ground, beating his chest and stamping his feet.
The other onlookers showed envious expressions and came forward to inquire: "Brother, are you willing to transfer it? I'll offer one and a half million!"
"I'll offer two million!"
"I'll offer three million!"
In the blink of an eye, the price had tripled!
However, He Chongxu refused them all.
"I, He Chongxu, am not short of this little money. Thank you for your kindness, but please give up on this idea!"
He Chongxu put away the gourd and the flying dagger, cupped his fists, and said.
Upon hearing that it was He Chongxu, the onlookers immediately gave up the idea of buying, and at the same time, some with ill intentions also retreated in disappointment and left.
However, He Chongxu's name in Xiang Jiang still had some effect.