Chapter 56: The True Value of the Bǎi Duàn Dāo

The next moment, a tall, thin man stepped out from behind the screen.

His height exceeded two meters, making him stand out sharply.

His frame was lean, but the bones in his arms seemed innately different from an ordinary person's, twice as thick as a normal person's.

Ye Tian scanned the man without expression.

Hua Gu, according to Mei Yongning's intelligence, was the most formidable Head Boss under Lao Yao, the type who was ruthless and spoke little.

"Block!"

Without a word, Lao Yao, a veteran leader, swung his blade forward.

Hua Gu, prepared, immediately drew his own long knife to block it. This book is first published on Du Xiao Xuan, read novels on Tiantian Kan Xiao Shuo, 🆃🆃🅺🅢. 🆃🆆 ultra-smooth reading experience, providing you with error-free chapters and out-of-order-free chapter reading.

"Clang!"

Lao Yao's strike carried tremendous force; the impact rang out sharply.

Hua Gu's long knife snapped clean in two.

Seeing this, both Lao Yao and Hua Gu froze for a moment—Hua Gu's blade, though not a divine weapon, was still of decent quality.

How could Lao Yao possibly refuse to equip his men with better weapons? Yet even so, it had been shattered.

"Good blade."

Hua Gu was not a talkative man, but he couldn't help exclaiming, his gaze fixed intently on Lao Yao's knife.

"Hahaha! Excellent, excellent!"

Lao Yao was thoroughly satisfied, yet a hint of regret followed.

"Too bad, I don't like using knives."

Not every gangster prefers a blade—Lao Yao's most famous weapon was his red-plumed long spear.

This isn't some wuxia world with qi blades or sword energy—everyone knows the rule: one inch longer, one inch stronger.

In the old days, there was a famous martial artist whose swordplay was divine, yet he never used his sword in fights—he wielded only the long spear, ensuring opponents couldn't even touch him.

"Boss, actually..."

You don't use knives, but I do.

Hua Gu's eyes burned with intensity.

"Alright, take it and play with it. Don't make a spectacle of yourself here."

Lao Yao knew how much Hua Gu loved knives—he didn't mind giving it to him, but he still spoke gruffly.

He didn't outright say he was giving it to him.

After all, his deal with Ye Tian wasn't finished yet—this knife still belonged to Ye Tian; it wouldn't be appropriate to give it away now.

He waved his hand, signaling Hua Gu to leave.

"Thank you, Boss."

Hua Gu joyfully took the Bǎi Duàn Dāo, grinning as he walked off—and even nodded amiably at Ye Tian as he left.

Clearly, because of this knife, Hua Gu now viewed Ye Tian with much greater goodwill.

,,,

After Hua Gu left.

Lao Yao turned back to Ye Tian.

"This knife was truly made by you?"

Lao Yao's gaze burned intensely—just as Ye Tian had said, there were many forges, but good smiths were rare; that was the true treasure.

"If Hall Master doubts it, I have more such knives—I can bring them all for you to see."

"Hahaha! No need, no need—I naturally believe in the reputation of the Righteous and Unmatched Yù Gōngzǐ."

Seeing Ye Tian's confidence, Lao Yao made no request for proof.

Besides, Ye Tian hadn't lied—the Hammerhead could indeed forge such Bǎi Duàn Dāo—though it was far too time-consuming, and in Ye Tian's view, utterly unworthy.

"I plan to make this quality of knife into an elite product. The ones sold normally will be one tier lower—roughly only one-tenth this quality."

"Hm?"

"After all, rarity increases value, right?"

Lao Yao was a smart man.

The slight doubt he'd had vanished instantly upon hearing this.

"Hahaha, exactly right—rarity increases value. Didn't realize you had a talent for business."

If Bǎi Duàn Dāo became common, they'd lose their worth—controlling quality ensured future sales.

"Business is nowhere near as comfortable as running a gang."

Ye Tian laughed indifferently.

In a normal era, one could do business—but in this chaotic feudal age, becoming a wealthy merchant would just make you a fat lamb for others to slaughter.

Interesting. Very interesting.

Ye Tian's repeated answers had greatly increased Lao Yao's interest in this young man.

"How about the split?"

This clearly meant he was ready to cooperate—but how to divide the profits was still a question.

Though Ye Tian intended to leverage Lao Yao's power, he wouldn't shortchange himself.

"Hall Master provides the iron ore, I provide the forging technique—three-seven split: you three, I seven."

It sounded like Ye Tian got the better deal, but in this age, skill was king—iron ore could be bought elsewhere, but Lao Yao would find it far from easy to locate another smith capable of forging Bǎi Duàn Dāo.

"..."

Lao Yao said nothing—he clearly understood this point.

"However."

Ye Tian didn't shut the door completely on the matter.

"I'm still fairly new here, not familiar with many parts of Linshui City. The Hall Master should know that after taking down the Flying Cloud Gang, I already have a small dock in hand. If the Hall Master can provide a sales channel, I don't mind giving you another ten percent."

That would make it a forty-sixty split.

The weapons business certainly has no shortage of buyers, but a channel that can move a large batch in one go isn't that easy to find either.

Old Yao has been entrenched in Linshui City for so many years — he couldn't possibly lack such connections.

Conveniently, it would also save him the trouble of scrambling to find a sales channel himself.

Forty-sixty? A smile gradually crept onto Old Yao's lips — he was quite satisfied with this split.

Just as Ye Tian had said.

Having been around Linshui City for so long, even though he'd kept a low profile recently, when it came to connections, Old Yao truly didn't lack them.

In fact, if he wanted, he could reach out to a dozen or more in a single day.

"Hahaha, you've put it so earnestly — if I refused, wouldn't that be terribly discourteous?"

The deal was struck.

He was one step closer to taking the Hall Master's seat.

"Come, come, have some tea."

With the business talk done, what followed was pure camaraderie.

Old Yao instinctively picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip himself. The next moment—

"Pah! What rubbish is this."

He spat it right out.

Too lazy to keep up appearances, he said bluntly—

"Forget this bird-tea nonsense, let's just drink wine."

Even after all this time, Old Yao still couldn't get used to the stuff. Of course, in his heart he instinctively didn't think his own brewed tea tasted bad — it was purely that the stuff itself was just not good.

"If the Hall Master puts it that way, then naturally I'm willing to risk my life to keep such a gentleman company."

Ye Tian didn't refuse.

After all, he still needed to leverage Old Yao's influence to secure the Hall Master's seat for himself.

That would be far more advantageous for what came next.

"Brother, to be honest, how many of these Bǎi Duàn Dāo do you still have on hand?"

After three rounds of wine, Old Yao threw his arm around Ye Tian's neck, looking like the best of old friends. From their drinking conversation, Old Yao had already learned the name Bǎi Duàn Dāo.

Of course, when it came time to sell them, they'd definitely come up with a catchier, more imposing name.

After all, jianghu folk all went for that sort of thing.

"Boss, you know it too — these Bǎi Duàn Dāo aren't easy to forge. I don't have many on hand, just around ten or so."

Ye Tian's face wore a drunken look.