Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 108 Stirring up the enemy

The market quickly returned to its previous bustling state.

Jiang Xun continued to push his way forward through the crowd, his eyes darting around as he searched for something—a repeating crossbow.

He stopped in front of a weapons stall.

The stall displayed knives, swords, bows and arrows, and several crossbows.

Jiang Xun picked one up and examined it. The workmanship was rough, the wood was local elm, and the crossbow string was made of twisted cowhide rope. The range was estimated to be less than fifty paces.

"Boss, do you have anything good?" He put down the crossbow.

The shopkeeper, a dark-skinned man from the North, sized him up: "What kind do you want?"

"A repeating crossbow," Jiang Xun said in a low voice, "the kind made by the Ministry of Works of the Dayong Dynasty."

The shopkeeper's expression changed. He looked around and shook his head, saying, "No. That stuff is controlled; we can't get it."

Jiang Xun nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

He asked at several other stalls, but they all said they didn't have any.

Some shook their heads upon hearing the word "repeating crossbow," while others simply pretended not to hear it.

Jiang Xun was not in a hurry.

He knew that this kind of thing wouldn't be sold openly.

Jiang Xun wandered around the market again and finally stopped in front of a shop.

This shop is bigger than the others. Two shop assistants stand at the entrance, and inside are all kinds of ironware, each piece more exquisite than those in other shops.

The signboard reads "Yang's Ironware Shop" in large characters, the paint is freshly applied, and the storefront is impressive.

He stepped inside.

A middle-aged, overweight man approached, with a round face and a smiling demeanor, looking like a friendly and prosperous businessman.

"Sir, what would you like to buy?"

"I want to buy a crossbow, the best repeating crossbow," Jiang Xun said bluntly.

The fat man's smile froze for a moment.

"You flatter me, sir." He rubbed his hands together, his tone becoming cautious. "Repeating crossbows are military equipment; our little shop doesn't carry any of those."

"No?" Jiang Xun placed a silver ingot on the counter.

The fat man's eyes followed the silver, his Adam's apple bobbed, but he still shook his head.

"Sir, we really don't have any." He pushed the silver back, his smile unchanged. "If you want to buy a short crossbow for self-defense, we do have a few, all made by local craftsmen, although they can't compare to those from the Great Yong Dynasty—"

"I want the kind from the Great Yong Dynasty, the kind made by the Ministry of Works." Jiang Xun interrupted him and placed another silver ingot in the box.

Two silver ingots were stacked on the counter, and when the lamp shone on them, they were so dazzling that they made one's eyes burn.

The fat man's eyes changed.

He looked around and lowered his voice, "Sir, aren't you putting me in a difficult position? The repeating crossbows of the Great Yong are controlled goods; possessing or selling them privately is a capital offense. My small business can't afford that risk."

"I'll pay a high price."

The fat man remained silent for a while.

He gritted his teeth and whispered in Jiang Xun's ear, "We don't have the original. But we have a replica. The workmanship isn't bad, the range is a bit shorter, but it's sufficient. Would you like to take a look, sir?"

Jiang Xun's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "Let me see."

The fat man went into the back room and after a while came out with a long, narrow wooden box. He opened it and found a crossbow inside.

Jiang Xun picked it up and examined it closely: the crossbow arm was made of hardwood, the crossbow string was made of twisted ox sinew and steel wire, and the crossbow mechanism was made of cast iron with simple engravings.

Although the workmanship was excellent, it was still inferior to the Ministry of Works' standard repeating crossbow that the Duke of Wei had shown him.

Isn't this the place?

Jiang Xun hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "How much?"

The fat man held out one hand: "One hundred taels."

"One hundred taels?" Jiang Xun raised an eyebrow. "Even counterfeits are this expensive?"

"Sir, you wouldn't understand," the fat man said in a low voice, his face mysterious. "This stuff is in high demand in the Northern Territory. Forget a hundred taels, even two hundred taels would be enough to make people fight over it."

"Is there anything of even better quality?"

"This is already the best. I dare say, you won't find a better repeating crossbow in the entire Shuofeng City."

Jiang Xun seemed to be deep in thought. After hesitating for a while, he still took out the silver note given to him by the Duke of Wei from his pocket. He felt a pang of heartache, but pretended not to care and put it on the table.

"I need a lot of repeating crossbow parts." He looked into the fat man's eyes. "Can you get them?"

The fat man's face was scrunched up like a bitter gourd.

"Sir, please don't ask that." He wrapped up the crossbow and pushed it towards him. "In Shuofeng City, there are some things you can touch, and some things you can't. This one, you can't touch."

Jiang Xun didn't ask any further questions. He picked up the crossbow, left the shop, and walked away without looking back.

He didn't continue wandering around. He asked around a few times and then returned to his rented house.

It was late at night, dark and windy.

Jiang Xun changed into night clothes and made his way to the vicinity of Boss Yang's house.

The house was located in the east of the city, not far from the East Market. It was a two-courtyard house with blue bricks and gray tiles, and it was more impressive than the surrounding houses.

The courtyard wall was not high, and broken glass was embedded on top of it, gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Jiang Xun went around to the back wall, found a spot without glass, and quietly climbed over.

The backyard isn't big; it has a small garden with some flowers and plants, and a well.

The side rooms were dark and silent. He crouched down and crept to the back of the main room.

A faint light shone through the window, and someone was talking.

"I heard Boss Yang sold a repeating crossbow today?"

"It's...it's a counterfeit, something someone made casually, it's...it's worthless."

"Who did you sell it to?"

"A young man from Da Yong."

"Have you investigated that person's background?"

"I checked, he just arrived in the city yesterday, he's just a clueless idiot who's never seen the world before."

"Boss Yang, these are special times. You'd better be careful, lest you lose more than you gain..."

"Yes...yes...I will be careful, I won't do it again, I won't do it again."

The footsteps went towards the door.

Jiang Xun slipped into the shadows.

The door opened, and a figure walked out and headed towards the front yard.

Only Boss Yang was left in the room. He sat at the table, holding an account book in his hand, but he wasn't looking at it. His gaze was fixed on something, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

I waited a while longer.

Boss Yang sighed, put down the ledger, and blew out the lamp.

In the darkness, Jiang Xun could hear his breathing, heavy and deep, like a sigh or a sound of fear.

After waiting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and confirming that Boss Yang was fast asleep, he quietly pushed open the back window and climbed inside.

It was very dark inside.

Mr. Yang was lying alone in bed, fast asleep.

Jiang Xun stared at his large body, gritting his teeth, wishing he could rush up and slap him twice.

This fat man dared to pass off inferior goods as superior ones, daring to swindle him out of a hundred taels of silver with a worthless, shoddy imitation.

But after a while, he calmed down.

He took out a tinderbox, covered it with a cloth, letting only a sliver of light shine through. He searched through the cabinets, chests, drawers... one by one.

Account books, banknotes, deeds, a few short knives, some loose silver—no repeating crossbows, no weapons, nothing prohibited.

He reached under the bed, but it was empty; behind the painting on the wall, it was empty; under the floor, it was solid.

There was nothing there.

Jiang Xun searched the other rooms carefully again, but still found nothing.

He stood in the darkness, his brows furrowed—could this fat man really just be an honest, law-abiding businessman?

But who was that person who was talking to him just now?

This fat guy seems to be afraid of him?

Judging from what they said, it seemed that someone was investigating repeating crossbows.

Jiang Xun thought for a moment, then didn't linger. He put the things he had turned over back to their original state and climbed out of the backyard.

For two days in a row, he wandered around the market.

I went to several shops and asked several merchants, but they all said they didn't have repeating crossbows, let alone those made by the Ministry of Works of the Dayong Dynasty.

Some shook their heads at the mention of "repeating crossbow," while others rushed out immediately.

Jiang Xun is not in a hurry.

Before he came, he had thought that if the smuggling of crossbows were something that could be easily found out by asking around, the Duke of Wei and his son wouldn't have gone to such great lengths.

Besides—he did it on purpose.

Startle the snake by disturbing the grass, then lure it out of its hole.

This is what the master thief taught him in Jiangning Prefecture.

Master said that you can't search for snakes by turning over rocks all over the mountains; it's too slow.

You need to make some noise to get the snake to come out on its own.

As a complete stranger, his inquiries about crossbows throughout Shuofeng City were bound to attract some attention.

Those who are truly manipulating everything behind the scenes will send people to test him.

This is the person he's been waiting for.