Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 942: Chapter 350: Methods to Enhance the Peak of Cold Resistance, Moao’s 10th Town, Beishuo Yang Fa, Nightmare, East Ridge Lu Yun

The first kind of Tiger Power Pill is unclear, but just by hearing the names of the latter two and combining the geographic characteristics of Jiangxia and Bashang, located on the east bank of the Xing River, one can basically deduce that they are related to aquatic species.

It seems a visit to the Xing River is in order!

"The three towns of Jinshan, Jiangxia, and Bashang, are willing to sell these Dan Medicines to the remaining six towns; the price must be quite high, right?"

Being able to break through the Peak of Cold Resistance’s War Body limitation and continue to enhance one’s strength, the value of such Spirit Pills is obvious even without thinking about it. Remembering Zhu Yang just mentioned he had spent a fortune to buy Tiger Power Pills, Xia Hong immediately inquired about the price.

Zhu Yang gave a wry smile, cupped his hands, and said, "Tiger Power Pills from Jinshan Town cost 100,000 taels of silver for one; Dragon Carp Pills and Green Cod Pills are even more expensive, at 150,000 taels each."

Click click...

Even though he had guessed it would be a silver transaction, upon hearing the price of Tiger Power Pills, Xia Hong couldn’t help but click his tongue repeatedly. Ten taels for one pound, 100,000 taels equals 10,000 pounds, and this is just the price for one.

The prices of Dragon Carp Pills and Green Cod Pills are 50% higher.

After contemplating for a moment with his head down, Xia Hong frowned slightly and asked, "Did you buy the Tiger Power Pill from Jinshan Town privately, or through the normal trade channels between the two towns?"

This question was obviously somewhat sensitive. From the slight changes in Zhu Yang’s expression, Xia Hong could basically deduce the general situation, but he didn’t point it out and continued to wait for Zhu Yang’s answer.

Worried that Xia Hong would get angry, Zhu Yang didn’t dare hesitate for too long. Gritting his teeth, he replied, "To be honest, senior, our camp’s trade association brought the Tiger Power Pills through normal trade channels and sold them to us with a 20% markup. My humble family didn’t have enough funds, so to save money, six of them were bought from a dark merchant."

Dark Merchant?

Seeing Xia Hong’s curious gaze, Zhu Yang wasn’t surprised and immediately sensibly provided an explanation:

"The Nine Towns have public trade channels. Every year from September to October, each town sets up a trade route to facilitate exchanges of goods among them. This is what is called official trade. Dark merchants, on the other hand, are those with connections who deal in material quantities beyond the annual trade quotas of each town, selling even some strictly controlled items. Of course, the price is outrageously high.

In the early years, these dark merchants were quite loose and did not form any significant influence. Everyone knew in their hearts that they were insiders from each town, so although the Nine Towns did crack down on them, the crackdowns were not thorough, gradually allowing these dark merchants to collude and form an organization, slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

In recent years, the dark merchant organization has become increasingly rampant and openly operates under the banner of Moao’s Tenth Town. They even managed to send invitation letters from Yang City to the main towns in the Nine Towns. I received an invitation from Yang City fifteen years ago, which gave me the opportunity to come into contact with dark merchants!"

Dark Merchant Organization, Moao’s Tenth Town, Yang City Invitation Letter...

Rubbing his chin, Xia Hong pondered for a moment, his expression becoming increasingly intriguing.

To put it plainly, dark merchants and official trade are just smuggling and sanctioned transactions.

There is an inherent conflict between the two; smuggling infringes upon the interests of the Towns, and the Nine Towns would surely crack down harshly.

In the early years, only mid-level insiders from each town were involved; the Nine Towns’ crackdowns were not thorough, which allowed them to grow powerful. Now, with the dark merchant organization even operating under Moao’s Tenth Town’s banner, blatantly infiltrating the main towns, the Nine Towns still haven’t managed to eradicate them.

"High-level figures have most likely joined in. It’s probably a particular town backing them, perhaps even more than one. These Moao Nine Towns are interesting!"

The Nine Towns have normal trade channels, which have persisted for many years. When combining it with this dark merchant organization, besides the time span, the information Lu Yang sent back three years ago was basically accurate.

In the past few decades, the Nine Towns’ mutual trade, marriages, alliances, and treaties have formed a complex relationship of mutual entanglement. Anyone who dares to speak lightly of eradicating a town would inevitably trigger a chain reaction, shaking the entire situation.

Currently, the Nine Towns maintain an extremely delicate balance. Without possessing absolute strength to crush the remaining Eight Towns, no one dares to act recklessly.

This is clearly much more complicated than the situation at Long Mountain back then!

Will the arrival of the Great Xia directly disrupt this balance?

Xia Hong suppressed the ambition burgeoning deep within his eyes, then looked down at Zhu Yang. A flash of murderous intent appeared on his face but quickly subsided as he slowly spoke:

"You’re a smart man, aren’t you?"

"Don’t worry, senior. I am ninety-three this year, not many years left to live, would rather avoid trouble than cause it. Today, I haven’t encountered anything, nor spoken a word about it to anyone else!"

Zhu Yang immediately knelt, cold sweat streaming down his forehead. Although Xia Hong’s momentary murderous intent vanished quickly, Zhu Yang had sensed it keenly.

He naturally understood what Xia Hong was worried about.

Xia Hong’s questions had already exposed his identity from the Outer Realm.

Despite repeated assurances, he was still worried that Xia Hong might suddenly decide to kill him. He hurriedly knelt on the ground, incessantly kowtowing and pleading, "Spare my life, senior..."

People do indeed grow more afraid of death as they age!

Seeing Zhu Yang’s pitiful appearance begging for mercy, Xia Hong shook his head immediately.

"Alright, I have no intention of killing you. Today’s events, I advise you not to mention to anyone else. Believe me, there will be future opportunities for us to interact!"

Xia Hong’s last words clearly carried a hint of threat.