Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
"AHH!"
A wretched cry sounded out in a deserted mansion, sending chills down the spines of everyone that could hear it.
Bei Feng sat up abruptly in bed, gasping and swallowing large gulps of the chilly morning air.
"So it was just a dream..." Looking around the empty room in a daze, he mumbled to himself as he gradually regained his clarity of mind.
Bei Feng picked up his phone and glanced at the time. It was already 8 a.m. Expelling the sleepiness out of his eyes by shaking his head, he picked up the bucket and drew some water from the well to wash himself.
"OH, RIGHT! What happened to the Golden Silk Blood Eel from yesterday? Could it have escaped by now?"
Bei Feng smacked his head, annoyed at his forgetfulness, as he hurried toward the kitchen.
Yesterday, shortly after catching the Golden Silk Blood Eel, he had been scared silly by the appearance of the Myriad Heavens Fishing System and thus temporarily forgot all about the Golden Silk Blood Eel. As for after that, he was chased all over the yard by a gigantic chicken. Eel or not, how could he possibly have any attention to spare?
"Eh? It didn’t escape?" Bei Feng exclaimed as he saw the Golden Silk Blood Eel lying motionlessly within the basin.
The water level in the basin was not high at all. As long as the Golden Silk Blood Eel thrashed about for a bit, it would be able to quickly restore its freedom. However, perhaps due to the fact that it had expended a lot of energy on the previous day, it actually remained within the basin...
"En, it’s good that it didn’t run. Today happens to be a market day. It is better to sell off something valuable like this as soon as possible. Otherwise, it may end up dying accidentally in my hands," Bei Feng mused to himself. He covered the basin with a lid and left the mansion, taking the Golden Silk Blood Eel with him.
The morning sun was not strong. When its rays fell onto his body, it felt warm and gentle instead. Bei Feng whistled a tune as he strolled unhurriedly toward the village.
In the past, the marketplace used to be located inside the town. However, along with Mt. Qing Ling’s development, it had been moved to the foot of the mountain instead.
Now, its main purpose was to sell the local specialties to the visiting tourists. Most of them went there in small groups, and would usually return home with some local poultry and vegetables.
Although it was called a marketplace, it was actually just a bunch of hawkers, gathered on a flat piece of land. There were no buildings, and the goods were directly placed on mats, laid out on the ground.
At a glance, the place was already filled with a sea of people. As Bei Feng had arrived rather late, all the best locations were already occupied by early comers. Bei Feng could only find a more secluded spot and put the basin with the Golden Silk Blood Eel down.
Although Bei Feng had got up relatively early, others who were here specifically to set up their stalls had already prepared in advance to wake up and come even earlier. Some of them rose from their beds as early as 5a.m, and were setting up their stalls before the sun had even risen. By the time they were done, the crowd was also beginning to stream in.
After putting the basin with the Golden Silk Blood Eel down, Bei Feng took out a newspaper, spread it out and sat down on top of it. After that, he pulled out his mobile phone and started playing a game.
"Woah, look! What a huge eel!" A man wearing a peaked cap called out as he gestured excitedly to his friends.
"How big is it? Let me take a look," a fat man hurriedly ran over, the fat around his waist jiggling in a wave-like motion.
"Eels could actually grow to such a size? Aren’t they supposed to be only as big as a thumb?" The fatty exclaimed.
Bei Feng smiled faintly, not saying a word.
Actually, this Golden Silk Blood Eel was not the biggest eel Bei Feng had seen in his life. When he was 11 or 12 years old, an old mute from the village had once caught a yellow eel weighing over eight catty!
"Wow, if I bring such a big yellow eel home, I can properly show it off to the others. Boss, how much do you want for this yellow eel?" The fatty’s eyes were glimmering. A yellow eel of this size was quite rare. Its quality seemed pretty good, too. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to bring it home and raise it as a pet.
"This damn fatty! What did the two of you run away so quickly for? I’d only turned around for a moment and the both of you’d disappeared," a soft but fierce female voice sounded out from behind the men. Two girls dressed in sport outfits walked over to the duo.
"Hehe, isn’t that because we found an interesting thing?" The fatty scratched the back of his head and replied, embarrassed.
"This thing?" Li Yuan Yao looked at the Golden Blood Silk Eel sitting at the bottom of the basin with some disappointment. Perhaps it was because she was a girl, but she’d never felt interested in snake-shaped things like that.
"Boss, you haven’t told me yet, how much for this eel?" The fatty turned around and asked Bei Feng again.
"50,000 yuan, and it’s a fixed price." Bei Feng did not even raise his head as he continued to play the game on his mobile phone.
"What?! 50,000? Wow...did you go insane after dreaming about money too much? You want 50,000 yuan for a stupid eel?!" The fatty seemed like a cat with its tail stepped on. At that moment, all his hair bristled as he shouted with agitation.
The three people that came with the fatty were similarly shocked.
Initially, this group of four thought that the people here were simple and honest. However, it turned out that they were also tarred with the same brush as the cityfolk!
"You don’t have to buy it if you find it too expensive. Just don’t stand there and disrupt my business," Bei Feng told the group calmly as he scrunched his eyebrows slightly, finally taking his eyes away from his mobile phone.
"Hey, is this eel made from gold? 50,000? Even if you wanted to sell it to me for 500 yuan, I would still find it expensive!" The furious fatty pointed at the Golden Silk Blood Eel as he retorted.
"Are you done? If so, please leave," Bei Feng remained unperturbed. As the saying went, fragrant wine required no promotion. Even if it were to be hidden deep within a valley full of wine, there would still be people capable of sniffing it out. He refused to believe that there wasn’t anyone capable of recognizing the Golden Silk Blood Eel here .
"You want to sell it for 50,000 yuan, right? Fine, I will help you promote your stupid eel! We’ll see who will buy it from you!" The fatty had nowhere to vent his anger. Without waiting for Bei Feng’s reply, he sucked in a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "come, come and take a look, everyone! There’s an eel here that’s priced at 50,000 yuan! What an obvious scam!"
"What? An asking price of 50,000 yuan for an eel? Does it help one gain eternal life after eating it?"
"Let’s go and take a look. We can’t let this kind of black sheep spoil the good name of our marketplace!"
The fatty’s shouting had achieved surprising results. Within a very short period of time, a large crowd had formed in front of Bei Feng’s stall...
"Look! This is the eel worth 50,000 yuan! Today, I can be considered to have broadened my horizons! In the future, I can boast to my friends that I have once laid eyes upon an eel worth 50,000 yuan!" The fatty looked at the crowd as he shouted with a complacent expression on his face.
"This kind of person, he must have gone insane dreaming of striking it rich!" Some people in the crowd wagged their fingers at Bei Feng as they denounced him.
"Old Liu, i think there’s something strange about this eel. It seems to be a..."
"A Golden Silk Blood Eel!"
There were two middle-aged locals amongst the crowd. Initially, they wanted to come and see who it was that dared to tarnish the good name of the village with some ridiculous pricing. However, their attention was quickly drawn to the eel in the basin instead.
Nan Ming sounded a little uncertain at first. However, Liu Chang Gui confirmed it immediately!
"I never thought a day would come when I can lay my eyes upon a Golden Silk Blood Eel again! I thought they went extinct long ago!" Liu Chang Gui became a little emotional.
"En, if it’s a Golden Silk Blood Eel, 50,000 yuan for one as big as this is not expensive at all!"
Nan Ming nodded his head in agreement.
The two of them had experienced the "Golden Silk Blood Eel period". At that time, making money had never been easier. It was as simple as picking money off the ground!
The best example was the last Golden Silk Blood Eel, which appeared more than ten years ago. It was sold for 8,000 yuan despite weighing only around three taels!
One must understand that, at that time, 8,000 yuan were worth a lot more than the current 8,000 yuan! And the Golden Silk Blood Eel swimming lazily in the basin right now weighed one catty, at the very least!
"Everyone, it’s not that we want to swindle you. However, this Golden Silk Blood Eel is truly worth that price!" Liu Chang Gui walked out in front and explained. At the same time, he looked at the Golden Silk Blood Eel in the basin as though he was looking at some rare treasure.
"Che, it’s valuable just because you say it is? What Golden Silk Blood Eel?" A skeptical voice sounded out from the crowd.
"That’s right, I’ve lived for so long and I’ve never heard of any eel that expensive!" Another voice called out from among the crowd.
"Everyone, this is a special local product of our village. During the eras of Ming and Qing dynasties, this eel was considered a treasure to be exclusively enjoyed by the royal family. Unfortunately, it had disappeared more than ten years ago!" Nan Ming hurriedly explained.
"Golden Silk Blood Eel?!"
A middle-aged man anchored his footsteps upon hearing these four words. Turning around, he hurried in the direction of the crowd.
ED/N: By the way, there’s absolutely no mention of MC dealing with his wounds, both me and TL checked it several times... seems like it was just a scratch... I mention it here to avoid a spoiler which it may become if someone were to see this note before finishing the 4th chapter.