Chapter 58: Information Worth Twenty Grams of Gold
Through a simple conversation, Luxianbei learned that the second girl to come to trade with her was named Lin Nian, a native of Shizhou City, who claimed to be the “All-Knowing Person of Shizhou City.”
Her family had been in the information trade for generations, and she had mixed with the Spiritual Ability User community in Shizhou City since childhood, hearing many rumors from the streets.
Due to the uniqueness of her spirit patterns, she had a strong memory for sounds, making it nearly impossible for her to forget what she had heard.
If she wasn’t lying, she should be a seasoned and excellent information broker.
…
After two minutes of explaining that she didn’t want to eat barbecued Hu Chuan, Luxianbei detailed to Lin Nian what she had learned from Decapitated Senior regarding Hu Chuan’s date of birth, physical characteristics, and some personal habits.
After listening, Lin Nian showed a pained expression and shook her head, saying, “I haven’t heard of such a person in Shizhou City.”
Seemingly eager to prove that she was indeed the “All-Knowing Person of Shizhou City,” she paused and quickly added, “If such a person had been active around Shizhou City, I would definitely have some impression of him!”
Then she looked at Luxianbei, hesitating as if there was something important she wanted to say but was afraid to voice.
“…”
After a moment of contemplation, Luxianbei mentally reviewed the information she currently had about Hu Chuan and suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes lighting up slightly.
“Do you remember if any suspicious persons came to Shizhou City between July 20 and July 25 four years ago?”
If this piece of information couldn’t help her find traces of Hu Chuan, she felt that she would have to consider the possibility that Hu Chuan’s lingering spirit had been thoroughly erased by someone.
“This…” Lin Nian furrowed her brows in thought for a moment before suddenly looking into Luxianbei’s eyes and confidently stating, “Yes! There was indeed someone who matched your description that appeared in the Nightless Street!”
Upon hearing this, Luxianbei felt a surge of joy in her heart but restrained her excitement, calmly asking, “Oh? Please tell me more?”
“…” Lin Nian looked at Luxianbei, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, showing hints of concern and fear in her eyes.
Revealing information she wanted before receiving payment didn’t align with her trading rules.
But considering that her trading partner was a terrifying entity that devoured urban legends, she worried that if she withheld information at this moment, she could end up on “Gu Qiqi’s” barbecue grill.
“…”
If she hadn’t failed to make a single sale tonight and if her grandfather wasn’t urgently needing money…
d*mn it, I must be crazy for running to trade with a bloodthirsty witch that devours urban legends!
Lin Nian thought, clenching her delicate fist slightly, anxiously glancing at the girl across from her with a frost-like expression, her heart pounding.
Though she hadn’t lied in introducing herself to Luxianbei, she truly had heard many rumors circulating in Shizhou City and had recorded them in her spirit patterns, making her an excellent information broker.
But she wasn’t a seasoned information broker; the title “All-Knowing Person of Shizhou City” actually belonged to her grandfather.
She had only taken over this work after her grandfather fell ill not long ago.
In fact, counting this transaction with Luxianbei, she had only conducted fewer than ten information trades in total.
…
Noticing Lin Nian’s subtle movements, Luxianbei vaguely guessed her thoughts and took out her phone, saying, “By the way, what’s your Zhifubao account? I’ll transfer the payment to you first.”
She had long sensed that the girl seemed to be in dire need of money!
During their conversation, Lin Nian had unconsciously brought up the issue of compensation at least five times and had tried a few times to broach the subject, but held back.
Luxianbei speculated that, apart from being well-informed, her pressing need for money was the main reason Lin Nian, with a Spirit Energy Fluctuation level of just C, had mustered the courage to trade with “Gu Qiqi.”
This performance reassured Luxianbei.
From her extensive experience dealing with many Spiritual Ability Users and urban legends, those who exhibited worldly desires like greed, lust, or gluttony were usually quite normal.
It was those who appeared to have no desires or were pursuing beliefs that ordinary people couldn’t comprehend that were much more dangerous.
The Miracle Cult was a prime example!
Upon hearing Luxianbei’s words, Lin Nian stared at her blankly, seemingly momentarily stunned.
Seeing this, Luxianbei waved her phone in front of her and tilted her head, asking, “Or do you only accept cash or physical items in transactions? If that’s the case, you might have to wait a bit.”
Unless you’re willing to accept an alchemical bomb as payment… Luxianbei added in her mind.
Back when she was at Huacheng Ghost Market, she had noticed that many Spiritual Ability Users and urban legends refused online payments. After some thought, she understood the reason behind this.
Although the Siye Society’s God of Wealth safeguarded the public’s property, it couldn’t eliminate all incidents of property infringement by urban legends.
With types like the Void existing, online payments’ safety was hard to guarantee.
“No, no, no! Online transfer is fine!” Lin Nian snapped back to reality and hurriedly said, “As for the price… how about 20G for this piece of information?”
After a pause, Lin Nian added, “This is already the best price.”
Hearing this, Luxianbei nodded.
If nothing unexpected, the 20G referred to gold, considered one of the hard currencies among Spiritual Ability Users, widely used in alchemy and solidifying spell formulas.
Selling a piece of information for 20G of gold wasn’t expensive; a casual stroll around Fat Second Grandpa’s would easily cost dozens to hundreds of grams. Her remaining savings could barely cover it.
However…
“Still a bit pricey! If it doesn’t work out, I’ll ask around and come back to find you later?” Luxianbei said expressionlessly.
Buying information is just like buying things! How could there be no bargaining?
Even if the price was reasonable, not haggling before paying would still make one feel like they were losing out.
This isn’t about bullying the little girl; it’s just a habitual practice of bargaining, and besides, who isn’t a little girl in some sense?
When needed, you’re a little girl; when not, you’re a tough guy! Luxianbei shamelessly thought.
“Ah?” Seeing “Gu Qiqi” reject her proposed price, Lin Nian paused for a moment, a hint of panic appearing in her eyes, and quickly backtracked, “15G, 15G is also okay! This is the lowest price.”
Her grandfather needed money for medical treatment, and she had to cover her tuition and living expenses—she really needed the money and didn’t want to miss out on tonight’s only opportunity.
Even if she earned a little less, 10G would still be a decent deal!
With those clear, passionate eyes staring at her, Luxianbei couldn’t help but feel a tug at her heart. She tilted her head slightly, avoiding Lin Nian’s gaze, and said, “No need to lower the price. Just 20G is fine, but you have to throw in another piece of information as a bonus.”
“Another piece of information? What do you want to know?” Lin Nian frowned.
“Anything! A legend, a story about a Spiritual Ability User, or some recent anomalies in Shizhou City—anything as long as you think it’s worth 5G of gold,” Luxianbei replied.
After all, it was just a little extra, just to satisfy my psychological need to haggle; it doesn’t matter if it’s useful or not… Luxianbei added in her mind.
Then, she raised her eyebrows at Lin Nian, signaling her to show the payment code.
“Oh!” Lin Nian’s face brightened as she quickly took out her phone and happily accepted the small amount equivalent to 20G of gold that Luxianbei transferred.
“Zhifubao has received 75,212 yuan!”
After hearing the notification sound of the transfer, Lin Nian carefully put away her phone and thought for a moment before saying seriously, “Speaking of which, there has indeed been a bizarre incident around Shizhou City recently—a strange trend among the Spiritual Ability Users there.”
“A strange trend?” Luxianbei tilted her head.
A trend of fencing? Or a craze for “Love and Magical Girls”?
To be honest, before Luxianbei headed to Shizhou City, she had noticed a peculiar trend among the various urban legends in Huacheng; it seemed that many of them had gotten into “Love and Magical Girls,” just like her.
Sometimes she thought carefully; her recent lack of sales could very well be because that group of folks had taken away the opportunities!
“Um… how should I put it?” Lin Nian pouted, organizing her words before explaining, “Basically, they suddenly really advocate using external objects to enhance their strength, saying that one of the advantages humans have over animals and urban legends is that they’ve learned to use tools.”
After speaking, she seemed to realize that “Gu Qiqi,” sitting across from her, was also an urban legend, and a hint of panic flashed across Lin Nian’s face. She quickly corrected herself, “I mean, it should be most urban legends.”
Luxianbei waved her hand dismissively, saying, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what they said! How did it become a strange trend?”
Clearly, there were tools to use; not using them would be anti-intellectual behavior, right?
“On the surface, that seems to be correct…” Lin Nian frowned, seriously saying, “But based on information I’ve caught from some rumors, things don’t seem that simple. Those Spiritual Ability Users who are following the trend seem to always find Spirit Energy Items that suit their spirit patterns extremely well.”
“And they’re not just using tools anymore; they’re at a point of dependence, and their strength has been enhanced to varying degrees. Some have even improved their Spirit Energy Fluctuation levels through this!”
This information should be useful, right? High-level Spiritual Ability Users and urban legends, aren’t they the most fond of such bizarre events?
Even though the incident didn’t point to anything specific and might harbor uncertain dangers, if she went to investigate deeply and encountered danger, that would be of her own making and couldn’t be blamed on me.
Moreover, she was an A-grade urban legend! If she really encountered something unclean, she might even be able to eliminate the danger. Lin Nian secretly thought.
Noticing a subtle change in Lin Nian’s expression, as if she was pleased about something, Luxianbei slightly frowned and then nodded indifferently in response, “Hmm, I understand.”
This matter sounded a bit strange, but it wasn’t related to her; now that Lin Nian had mentioned it, she just listened. Digging deeper might lead to trouble.
Furthermore, she always felt that developing a dependence on tools wasn’t a strange matter.
After all, she was quite dependent on her phone; if she was away from her phone for more than twenty-four hours, she would feel uncomfortable, as if she couldn’t survive.
Becoming stronger after using tools was also very normal; she’d become significantly more powerful during battles, able to unleash ten shots in a row, increasing her combat effectiveness by at least twenty percent, like being on steroids.
However, it still felt like she was slightly losing out for spending 5G of gold!
This information is completely useless to me!
Luxianbei muttered internally, shifting the topic back to the main matter, “Let’s get back to business, shall we?”
“Oh, right! About the information on Hu Chuan, right?” Lin Nian said, pondering for a few seconds before adding, “There was indeed a man who appeared four years ago; his characteristics matched your description roughly, but there was one difference: that man was a C-grade Spiritual Ability User, and he didn’t disclose his name to anyone.”
“…”
C-grade Spiritual Ability User?
Hmm, it’s possible that Hu Chuan had close contact with Zhang Shuo, gained spirit patterns through Zhang Shuo, and became a Spiritual Ability User!
Luxianbei thought and probed further, “And then? What did he do? Where did he go afterward?”
Lin Nian glanced around, “He came here and issued two commissions; I remember one of the commissions was for ten fresh purple river carts, and the other was for someone to help him forge an identity.”
“…”
Leaving Huacheng had already hinted at some guilt; it made sense that he would want to forge a new identity; otherwise, the leads in the Urban Legends Chat Group would have likely been interrupted.
But what did he need fresh placentas for?
Was he feeling weak from fleeing too long and needed a supplement?
Or was he looking to create some kind of sinister spell?
Luxianbei analyzed the information provided by Lin Nian and continued to ask, “Do you know who helped him forge what identity, or who precisely helped him with that?”
“This…” Lin Nian showed a troubled expression, glancing furtively at Luxianbei’s face, and weakly said, “I know, but the person who forged the identity is a childhood friend of my grandfather, so…”
As she spoke, her expression was akin to a sneaky little fox that had just climbed into the henhouse, her bright eyes twinkling behind her glasses, darting around.
Close friends and brothers, huh? Luxianbei completely understood the meaning behind Lin Nian’s expression and words; after all, they were both in the same field.
“Additional payment?”
“Uh-huh!” Lin Nian nodded without hesitation.
Immediately realizing she had become a little too overzealous, she hurriedly added, “If you’re not at ease, you could just give me a 5G deposit first, then we can establish a contract. Once I find out what identity that guy named Hu Chuan forged, you can pay the remaining amount.”
Luxianbei side-eyed Lin Nian, “Is this piece of information also 20G?”
“Uh-huh!”
“Are you not afraid that while establishing the contract, I might do something underhanded and find an opportunity to eat you?” Luxianbei said with no expression, her voice dropping, “I haven’t tried a beautiful girl Spiritual Ability User yet!”
“I heard that delicate and tender flesh, with a bit of soy sauce and steamed, tastes quite good!”
Hmm, is this the style of the bloodthirsty witch that devours urban legends?
Scaring her a little to prevent her from making mischief!
During their exchange, Luxianbei had closely observed Lin Nian. The girl didn’t mean any harm; she was just lacking experience and courage.
Given some time, when her strength and psychological resilience grew, she would undoubtedly become quite the savvy operator!
Lin Nian, “!!!”
Perhaps due to the smoothness of the previous transaction, she momentarily forgot who was sitting across from her.
Now, hearing Luxianbei’s words, she was left dumbfounded.
“This… if the price is unsatisfactory, I-I can give you a huge discount?” Lin Nian weakly suggested.
“No need!” Luxianbei replied expressionlessly. As her voice fell, she suddenly noticed that Lin Nian’s face had turned even paler, and she shrank back slightly, hastily adding, “Uh, I mean, I won’t eat you for now, as long as your information is accurate.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Nian secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly reassured, “Don’t worry, don’t worry! I, the All-Knowing Person of Shizhou City, always prioritize my reputation and would never provide false information!”
“But you’d provide incomplete information, right?” Luxianbei interjected unexpectedly, causing Lin Nian’s smile to stiffen instantly.
Ah, looks like I hit the nail on the head?
Luxianbei smirked, patting Lin Nian on the shoulder, “Rest assured, I, Gu Qiqi, won’t eat people if I say I won’t; but if someone tries to pull tricks…”
She coldly glanced at the bewildered Lin Nian, “Eating a person is something I won’t feel the slightest bit regretful about.”
“By the way, the information you just provided, it’s not incomplete, right?”
While speaking, she slightly parted her lips, revealing two sharp little tiger teeth, exaggeratedly licking the corners of her lips with her delicate pink tongue.
Seeing this, Lin Nian instinctively recoiled a bit, shaking her head rapidly like a rattle drum, her mind filled with the image of “Gu Qiqi” holding a human arm and devouring it, bl**d staining her lips.
Taking advantage of Lin Nian’s moment of fear, Luxianbei transferred the money to her account, leaving a message, “The deposit has been transferred. If you have information, just contact me through Zhifubao.”
“Don’t think about pulling tricks; I have my ways of finding you!”
Having said that, Luxianbei stood up and left the booth, as the moonlight and breeze surrounding her and Lin Nian faded away.
She didn’t worry about Lin Nian taking the money and running; as a seasoned operator, she felt that for a little immature one like Lin Nian, the interest of the situation was enough to ensure she would investigate properly.
Previously, Stinky Sister had done the same thing to her!
Moreover, she didn’t entirely trust Lin Nian’s information either.
After leaving the booth, Luxianbei nonchalantly strolled to another empty booth, quietly waiting for the next person to come for a trade.
In the distance, Lin Nian secretly observed Luxianbei for a while, bit her lip, and quickly left the Moon Scraping Wind.
Thus, in a few days, it would be rumored among the Spiritual Ability User community not only that Gu Qiqi devoured urban legends, but she also favored the consumption of beautiful girl Spiritual Ability Users…
————
A hand exchanged for cash, a hand for goods.
After receiving the main materials for making Thousand Night Paper Cranes from a Spiritual Ability User with a slight Minnan accent, Huasang nodded in satisfaction, having neatly packed away the materials, and prepared to leave.
She had been waiting here for a long time, and none of the Spiritual Ability Users responding to her search for information were reliable. Now that she had bought the materials for Thousand Night Paper Cranes, there was no need to wait any longer.
However, just as she stood up, a man in a black robe approached her, extending his hand gently to clink cups with her.
With a light “ding!” sound, bright moonlight and gentle wind enveloped the two.
“Miss, you’re looking for someone, right?” the black-robed man asked in a hoarse, deep voice.
Huasang surveyed the person before her and inquired, “Yes! I’m looking for Wu Yutang, the Jade-Faced Peach Blossom Fan. Do you know his whereabouts?”
The black-robed man shook his head, “I don’t know, but I have an item that might help you find him. Do you want it?”
Huasang tilted her head and immediately replied, “No!”
With that, she walked away without looking back.
“…”
What a lunatic!
If there’s something that can help me find my senior brother, why wouldn’t you investigate thoroughly and just tell me the result directly?
Do you think I’m easy to fool, or do you think I’m not tired enough? Huasang thought.
“…” The black-robed man silently watched Huasang’s departing figure, feeling a peculiar sourness from having failed two sales in one night—an experience he had never encountered before.
