The two of them searched high and low, turning the entire medicinal market upside down, but found no one selling Serpent’s Gall.
The rarity of this herb was evident.
Lu Ming was extremely disappointed. Without Serpent’s Gall, there was truly no way to treat the Ma family, and he could only watch them die.
At this moment, Dragon King rushed over, bringing Lu Ming some news.
He said, “Warlord, I found the Serpent’s Gall! But, you could also say I didn’t.”
So, did he find it or not?
His words were strange.
Dragon King said, “It’s hard to explain in a few words. In short, Warlord, please follow me.”
Lu Ming followed Dragon King outside the medicinal market. Here were scattered stalls, all selling cheap, ordinary medicinal herbs.
Precious medicinal herbs like Serpent’s Gall would never appear at such stalls.
However…
What Dragon King wanted to show Lu Ming were not these stalls, but an old woman.
Dragon King pointed to an old woman not far away and said, “Warlord, go take a look.”
Many people were gathered around the old woman, chattering about something, all with pity on their faces. The overall atmosphere was very strange.
Lu Ming’s curiosity was piqued, and he walked over to look.
He saw that the old woman’s face was covered in tear stains, and she was still sobbing continuously. It was clear she had just been crying profusely.
What could make an old woman cry so bitterly?
Dragon King deliberately cleared his throat and said, “Old lady, why are you sitting here crying? Who bullied you? Tell me, and I’ll stand up for you.”
The old woman continued to cry, unable to speak.
The people around helped explain the old woman’s situation.
“Don’t mention it. The old lady brought a Serpent’s Gall to the medicinal market, intending to sell it for some money to pay off her good-for-nothing son’s debts. But before she could sell it, it was stolen!”
“Alas, how pitiful. The market price for Serpent’s Gall starts at one million, and many people are eager to buy it. Normally, it could fetch three to four million. It’s just been stolen, who can she turn to for justice?”
“The key is, her son is drowning in debt. Without this Serpent’s Gall, her son will surely be beaten to death by the debt collectors.”
Truly, she had lost both her treasure and her money!
Hearing these words, the old woman cried even harder.
A place like the medicinal market has a diverse crowd, and petty thieves love to mingle here, targeting the wealthy.
An elderly person like the old woman, carrying a treasure and with limited mobility, is the perfect target for a thief!
Now Lu Ming completely understood Dragon King’s words.
No wonder he said he had found it and yet hadn’t.
He had found the Serpent’s Gall because the old woman had indeed brought one; it existed. He hadn’t found it because it was stolen.
With such a large flow of people in the medicinal market, and the thief being so cunning, they would definitely have moved on once they got their hands on it.
Now, the Serpent’s Gall was in God knows whose possession.
Finding it would be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.
Lu Ming frowned slightly and said to the old woman, “Leave this matter to me. I will help you.”
The people around snickered.
“You’ll help? How will you help? In this vast crowd, where will you find the thief?”
“Just a brute, all talk and no action.”
Lu Ming ignored them and quietly walked to the side. Dragon King followed.
Dragon King asked, “Warlord, how do you plan to find it? Why don’t we mobilize a group of soldiers to seal off the medicinal market and search everyone one by one!”
Lu Ming smiled and shook his head.
Doing so would cause too much commotion. If the thief decided to destroy the Serpent’s Gall to protect themselves, it would be bad.
Furthermore, it would be time-consuming and energy-draining, with no guarantee of success.
Lu Ming said, “In this vast crowd, finding the thief is as difficult as reaching the heavens. Therefore, we cannot actively search; instead, we must find a way to make the thief come to us!”
“Make the thief come to us?” Dragon King immediately understood. He said, “I get it! I’ll put out a reward of three million for Serpent’s Gall. The thief will show themselves as soon as they see the money!”
Heh heh.
Lu Ming waved his hand, “Impossible.”
Dragon King didn’t understand. “Why is it impossible?”
Lu Ming said, “Do you think the thief is a fool? If a Serpent’s Gall is just obtained, and someone offers three million for it, it looks like a trap. A smart thief, after stealing such a valuable item, would not rush to sell it. They would hide the stolen goods in a safe place, wait for a few months until things cool down, and then sell it on the black market.”
A few months?
By then, the Ma family would likely all be dead!
They couldn’t wait that long.
Dragon King said, “But we don’t have that much time!”
Lu Ming nodded and said, “So, we need to make the thief come to us, but without revealing our true intentions, so as not to alarm them.”
This… is too difficult?
Dragon King asked, “Warlord, have you thought of a good method?”
Lu Ming chuckled and said, “The saying goes, ‘wealth attracts thieves.’ But if you want thieves to come to you, you can do the opposite. Wealth must be displayed!”
With the words spoken so clearly, Dragon King understood.
He gave Lu Ming a thumbs up and said, “This is easy. Warlord, leave this to me.”
With that, Dragon King walked towards a high-end-looking medicinal shop. He immediately saw the owner negotiating prices with a customer.
Finally, they agreed to sell a highly valuable ginseng for twenty thousand yuan.
Just as the customer was about to pay, Dragon King strode over and slammed his hand on the counter, roaring, “Wait a moment!”
The owner and the customer both turned to look at Dragon King.
Dragon King said, “This ginseng looks very good. I’ll take it.”
The owner and the customer were both stunned.
Was he trying to snatch their deal?
The owner waved his hand and said, “I’m sorry, sir. I’ve decided to sell this ginseng to someone else. The price has already been agreed upon…”
Before he could finish speaking.
Dragon King directly slapped a bank card on the table and deliberately raised his voice, shouting, “Is it just about money? I have plenty! There are five million in this card. Is that enough to buy your ginseng?”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
What was this person doing?
No matter how rich someone was, they wouldn’t act like this. Didn’t they understand the principle of not showing off one’s wealth?
The owner frowned and said, “It’s not about the money, it’s…”
Dragon King took out three more cards and shouted loudly, “Each card has at least three million in it. Boss, name your price! I want this ginseng today! Whatever I fancy, I must have it!”
Hoo~~
The owner looked at Dragon King with disbelief and tentatively quoted a price, “Since you’ve said so, I won’t be polite!”