A dozen armed sentries wearing black silk tunics with brass tiger pins unbolted the cast-bronze gates of the Hidden-Dragon Underground Antique and Herb Pavilion beneath an abandoned grain silo on the southern river docks.
For thirty years, this subterranean waterfront market had operated beyond the reach of municipal tax authorities, serving as a private trading exchange where oligarchs, collectors, and martial syndicates traded rare artifacts and botanical treasures through the midnight fog.
In the dimly lit appraisal foyer, a sixty-year-old cliff herb-hunter named Old Qin stood shivering on the cold flagstones. His blue cotton coat was frayed at the cuffs and stained with lichen from high-altitude granite cliffs. His hands were gnarled and scarred like ancient tree bark; the right hand was missing its ring and little fingers, torn away during an icy rope slip seven years ago.
Between his feet rested a woven bamboo backpack lined with wild moss.
Across the mahogany appraisal counter sat Appraiser Jia, a portly house appraiser wearing round spectacles and an embroidered silk vest.
Standing behind Appraiser Jia was Hall Master Huo of the Black-Tiger Martial Hall. Huo was a gaunt, dark-skinned man in his late forties whose breathing was unnaturally deep and quiet. A faint, icy internal chill hummed around his fingers, marking him as a dangerous Rank 2 Mid Internal Martial Artist who had trained in the Shadow Tiger technique for thirty years.
“Twenty thousand yuan for your Century-Old Snow-Jade Ganoderma, old man,” Appraiser Jia sneered, tapping his ivory gavel against the felt appraisal table. “Take the cash and sign the bill of sale, because nobody in Jiangcheng dares outbid Chairman Zhao Kun!”
Old Qin clutched the rim of his basket tightly against his chest, tears welling in his red-rimmed eyes.
“Appraiser Jia, this ganoderma grew on the sheer north precipice of Mount Taichu at three thousand meters altitude,” Old Qin pleaded, his voice trembling with grief. “My son died falling from those same cliffs ten years ago. I spent two weeks hanging from hemp ropes in the freezing sleet to harvest it intact. The hospital clinic told me this herb has pure spirit-qi that can heal cellular damage. It is worth at least two million yuan! My eight-year-old orphaned granddaughter needs orthopedic marrow surgery tomorrow. Twenty thousand yuan will not even cover her pre-operation blood tests!”
Hall Master Huo stepped forward, his cold eyes narrowing like an adder’s.
“Old peasant,” Huo hissed, a sharp wave of internal pressure rolling off his shoulders like a mountain draft. “In this pavilion, Chairman Zhao Kun sets the market prices. If you accept the twenty thousand yuan, you walk out of here on two healthy legs. If you refuse, your basket stays on this counter, and your old bones take a midnight swim in the river.”
Appraiser Jia reached forward with his left hand, pretending to inspect the white, crystalline fungus nestled inside the damp green moss.
Under the wide silk sleeve of his right arm, a dried, chemical-bleached sea sponge was tucked into his palm.
With practiced sleight of hand developed over decades of black-market dealing, Appraiser Jia moved to switch the genuine ganoderma with the worthless sponge under the felt table skirt.
SLAM!
A slender hand clamped down on Appraiser Jia’s wrist, pinning it flat against the mahogany counter with the force of an iron press.
“Using cheap parlor tricks to rob an honest cliff gatherer of life-saving medicine is a cowardly business,” a calm voice rang out.
Appraiser Jia shrieked in pain as his fingers involuntarily popped open. The bleached sea sponge rolled out from his sleeve, bouncing across the green felt for everyone to see.
Beside the counter stood Lin Mo, his dark overcoat damp from the autumn rain.
Behind Lin Mo walked Dr. Gu Qinghe, Su Wan, and Commander Tie Niu. Tie Niu’s towering frame instantly drew the attention of the twelve armed sentries, while Dr. Gu rushed forward to protect the old herbalist.
“Who dares touch me?!” Appraiser Jia screamed, struggling against Lin Mo’s grip.
Lin Mo did not release his hold. He pressed down slightly, and Appraiser Jia’s wrist bones groaned, forcing the portly appraiser down to his knees.
“You switched the real ganoderma with a toxic bleached sponge,” Lin Mo said, his tone flat and deadpan. “A certified house appraiser who operates like a three-card monte dealer on a train platform. Does your pavilion have any real standards, or is fraud your standard operating procedure?”
Old Qin gasped in horror, looking down at the fake sponge and then clutching his basket. “He... he tried to steal my granddaughter’s medicine!”
Hall Master Huo’s eyes flashed with venomous light.
A dark, icy internal qi erupted from Huo’s dantian, swirling around his fists like black smoke. The temperature in the stone foyer dropped noticeably, frost forming along the edges of the display glass.
“Boy, release Appraiser Jia right now,” Hall Master Huo growled, his voice carrying the deep resonance of Rank 2 Mid Internal Martial power. “You are standing on Black-Tiger Martial Hall territory. No matter who your father is, interfering with our private transactions means death!”
Huo took a stomping step forward, thrusting his Shadow Tiger Bone-Crushing Palm directly toward Lin Mo’s left shoulder.
Lin Mo didn’t even raise his arm to block.
Instead, Lin Mo simply circulated the Rank 2 Jade-Gold qi through his five internal viscera. A profound, bell-like hum vibrated within his chest, and an invisible dome of golden force radiated five inches from his skin.
BOOM!
Huo’s internal palm struck the invisible golden barrier.
The dark, cold qi shattered instantly like brittle glass. The immense counter-shockwave traveled straight up Huo’s arm, rattling his collarbone and forcing the martial master back three stumbling steps across the stone floor.
Huo’s jaw dropped in absolute shock. His arm trembled, numb from the fingertips to the shoulder.
Jade-Gold internal protection?! Huo thought in panic, staring at Lin Mo’s calm face. This boy is twenty-two years old... how can he possess internal qi denser than a mountain?!
Lin Mo flicked his wrist, tossing Appraiser Jia backward into the display cabinets with a loud crash of breaking porcelain.
Lin Mo then turned toward Old Qin, his expression softening immediately.
He activated his [Pure-Heart Eye Lv.1].
[Target: Cliff Herb-Hunter Old Qin.]
[Goodness Score: 92/100.]
[Moral Status: Honest, hardworking cliff gatherer, lost three fingers to support orphaned granddaughter, refused to sell adulterated herbs.]
Dr. Gu Qinghe stepped forward, gently examining the Snow-Jade Ganoderma inside the basket. The sixty-year-old physician adjusted his silver glasses, his breath catching in awe.
“Chairman Lin, this is magnificent,” Dr. Gu reported, his voice filled with reverence. “A true Century-Old Snow-Jade Ganoderma, harvested with intact mycelium roots. Its pure medicinal vitality can stabilize sixty ICU kidney patients and permanently restore cellular damage. It is a national treasure.”
Old Qin looked up at Dr. Gu, his voice cracking with emotion. “Doctor... can it really save lives?”
“It will save dozens of lives, Elder Qin,” Dr. Gu said warmly. “And your granddaughter will receive the finest pediatric orthopedic surgery at our sanctuary hospital tomorrow morning.”
Lin Mo pulled his Black-Gold Card from his coat pocket and handed it to Su Wan.
“Su Wan, allocate ten million yuan from our Traditional Medicine Supply and Gatherer Guild Fund immediately,” Lin Mo announced.
Su Wan opened her mobile financial terminal: ¥10,000,000.00.
“Allocate two million yuan directly to Elder Qin,” Lin Mo instructed. “One million as the official purchase price for the Snow-Jade Ganoderma, and one million as a medical endowment for his granddaughter’s ongoing care. The remaining eight million yuan will establish the Taichu Mountain Herb-Gatherers Guild, providing full insurance, climbing safety gear, and above-market purchase contracts to fifty honest gathering families across Mount Taichu.”
BEEP.
A magnificent, resonant celestial chime echoed deep within Lin Mo’s consciousness:
[Ding! Detected spending of ¥10,000,000.00 RMB on Taichu Mountain Herb-Gatherers Guild & Snow-Jade Ganoderma Purchase!]
[Beneficiaries: Herb-Hunter Old Qin (Goodness: 92/100) & 50 Mountain Herb-Gathering Families (Avg Goodness: 88/100)!]
[Target Integrity Verified: Eradicating syndicate extortion of rural herbalists, securing pure traditional medicinal supply chains.]
[Triggered 100x Pure Benevolence System Refund!]
[Received Cash Refund: +¥1,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Funds deposited directly into Host Personal Liquid Vault!]
[Personal Liquid Vault: ¥67,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Personal Wealth Milestone: Vault Reaches ¥67,000,000,000.00 RMB!]
[Benevolence Merit Points: +1,000,000 BMP | Total BMP: 159,949,528 BMP!]
[Good People Network Expanded: 9,450 Verified Righteous Allies (+50: honest mountain herb gatherers and rural apothecaries)!]
One billion cash refund, Lin Mo thought, watching his liquid vault balance reach sixty-seven billion yuan. Spending ten million to protect honest cliff gatherers and secure life-saving herbs, while earning one billion in profit. Doing good is the most unstoppable economic power in existence.
Old Qin clutched his phone as the banking notification pinged:
“Your postal savings account has received a direct transfer of ¥2,000,000.00 RMB from Taichu Traditional Medicine Guild.”
Old Qin fell to his knees on the stone floor, sobbing with overwhelming relief. “Two million yuan... my granddaughter will live! She will walk again! Bless you, Chairman Lin! Bless you!”
Lin Mo gently lifted the old herbalist to his feet. “Take your granddaughter to Taichu Sanctuary Hospital tomorrow, Elder Qin. Dr. Gu will be waiting for you.”
Dr. Gu signaled two Iron Guard medical escorts, who guided Old Qin safely out of the pavilion toward an executive van.
Meanwhile, Hall Master Huo backed away against the heavy bronze doors, clutching his numb wrist.
“Lin Mo,” Huo rasped, trying to mask his terror with a menacing glare. “You think you can play the savior here? Chairman Zhao Kun is waiting in the main auction hall right now. He has prepared fifty million yuan in cash. Everything of value in this pavilion belongs to Zhao Pharmaceutical!”
Lin Mo glanced at Huo with a deadpan expression.
“If Zhao Kun has fifty million, he should hold onto it tightly,” Lin Mo remarked calmly, straightening his dark cuffs. “Because tonight, he won’t be leaving with a single leaf.”
Lin Mo walked toward the massive brass doors leading into the main auction auditorium.
Tie Niu stepped up beside Lin Mo, pushing the heavy doors open with a thunderous creak.
Inside the cavernous, two-story underground theater, hundreds of wealthy private collectors, underground financiers, and martial artists sat in tiered leather armchairs under dim crimson lanterns.
In the center of the front row sat Chairman Zhao Kun.
The fifty-two-year-old pharmaceutical tycoon sat on a carved velvet throne, dressed in a dark purple silk robe embroidered with silver serpents. His hair was slicked back, his thin lips twisted into a predatory smirk. Around him sat eight senior martial bodyguards from the Black-Tiger Martial Hall.
When the heavy doors swung open, Zhao Kun turned his head, his cold eyes locking onto Lin Mo and Dr. Gu Qinghe.
A malicious chuckle escaped Zhao Kun’s lips.
Dr. Gu’s breathing tightened. He leaned close to Lin Mo and whispered in a voice trembling with decades of suppressed sorrow.
“Chairman Lin,” Dr. Gu whispered softly. “Lot Number One is my grandfather’s Han-Dynasty Nine-Dragon Bronze Medicine Cauldron and Warm-Jade Mortar. Sixty years ago, during the Great Famine, my grandfather pawned that ancestral apothecary vessel to buy grain for three thousand starving villagers. Zhao Kun tracked down the collector last month, bought it through back channels, and consigned it here tonight just to humiliate our hospital.”
Lin Mo patted Dr. Gu’s shoulder gently. “An ancestor who gave his heirloom to save starving villagers is a hero, Dr. Gu. Tonight, that medicine cauldron comes home.”
On the central stage, the head auctioneer struck a heavy bronze gong.
CLANG!
“Welcome, distinguished guests, to tonight’s grand heritage and medicine auction!” the auctioneer announced. “We begin with Lot Number One: the legendary Han-Dynasty Nine-Dragon Bronze Medicine Cauldron and Warm-Jade Mortar!”
A red velvet pedestal rose from the stage floor, displaying the archaic bronze vessel and jade mortar that hummed with faint medicinal qi.
Zhao Kun leaned forward on his throne, raising his paddle with a mocking laugh.
“Eight million yuan!” Zhao Kun shouted across the hall, glaring directly at Dr. Gu. “I’m buying that bronze cauldron just to use as a cigar spittoon beside my desk! Let us see if old Gu Qinghe can brew miracle decoctions in a tin pot!”
Dr. Gu’s knuckles turned white as he stared at his grandfather’s family heirloom.
Beside him, Lin Mo slowly reached for the VIP bidding paddle.