Spellcasting Gods

The fat man jumped out of the car with practiced ease, banged on the door of one of the food workshops, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Jane! Jane! Come out quickly! Your goods have arrived!"

"Damn it! Shut up! If I burn this batch of bread, I'll skin you alive!" A furious voice quickly echoed from inside the house.

About two or three minutes later, an elderly man with rough skin and a face full of wrinkles pushed open the tightly closed door and asked with two cloudy eyes, "Where are my goods?"

“Look, it’s all in the truck. It’s absolutely top-quality flour, with absolutely no bran. You’ll have to give me a good price.” Billy pointed to the cloth bag at the back.

"Hmph! Not a single grain of bran? You told me the same thing last time, but I found at least one-sixth mixed in. If you dare to play this trick again, I'll tell the Golden Robe Clan to have a serious talk with you about integrity." The old man threatened as he tore open the bag and carefully inspected the flour.

Although Zhang Cheng believed that this yellowish-brown wheat flour must contain a lot of impurities, he showed a satisfied expression: "Not bad! It's two grades better than last time, I'll give you a 30% higher price."

"No! No! No! Jain, you have to understand that flour this good isn't easy to come by. Thirty percent is too low a price; it should be at least fifty percent. Don't think I don't know how much bread made from this kind of top-quality flour can sell for. Old buddy, you're being a bit too greedy." The fat man shook his head frantically, trying to bargain.

"Fifty percent? Are you crazy? The martial arts tournament hasn't even started yet! Besides, the reason why bread can sell for such a high price is not only because of the quality of the flour, but also because of my family's three generations of baking skills. At most, it's forty percent. If you don't agree, then get out." The old man, known as Jia En, issued a final ultimatum.

If it weren't for the recent surge in the transient population in King's Landing, leading to a significant increase in the consumption of various foods and drinks, he wouldn't have been taken advantage of like this.

Billy squinted at the other party, seemingly trying to determine if there was any possibility of raising the price. After a good ten seconds, he reluctantly agreed, "Alright, considering our years of cooperation, it's a deal. Also, I brought some sausages, cured meat, live chickens, and wine. Take them if you need them, so I don't have to go to the next store."

"The old price?" Jain asked tentatively, his face full of distrust.

"Of course, we'll raise the price by forty percent! Let me tell you, in the coming period, a large number of knights and nobles will flood into King's Landing. As long as you can serve them well, you're guaranteed to make a fortune, so don't be so stingy with your friends." The fat man didn't hold back in advocating for his own interests.

"Damn it! You're such a greedy viper! Be careful you don't overeat! Unload the goods, I'll take them all." With that, Jaen waved his hand into the house.

In the blink of an eye, two young apprentices ran out and carried bags of flour, various foods, and drinks into the warehouse.

After a quick calculation, the old man tossed a leather bag full of silver deer to the fat man.

The latter carefully checked the items to ensure there were no errors, and only then were the transactions completed.

Despite the existence of currencies with higher value, such as the Golden Dragon and Silver Moon, the Silver Deer was the most numerous and widely circulated currency in the commercial field.

Zhang Cheng remained silent throughout the entire transaction, gaining a general understanding of the business atmosphere in King's Landing.

First, most of the time the two parties do not sign any written contract or agreement, but rely entirely on verbal promises and personal credit guarantees.

Secondly, there are bound to be many tricks like passing off inferior goods as superior ones, or swindling and deceiving people. If you're not careful, you'll likely get ripped off.

Finally, administrative bodies and laws rarely interfered with the merchants' behavior, unlike the European lords of the Dark Ages who arbitrarily created various pretexts to increase inexplicable taxes.

Just as he was about to continue observing the surrounding customs and local conditions, the fat man finally emptied the entire carriage and invited with a smile, "Sir, please get in. I'll take you to the place you most want to go now..."

Chapter 0095 "Littlefinger"

Silk Street, a place where everyone in King's Landing can feel their desires rise, regardless of their sexual orientation, they can all find their own happiness here.

From the moment you step onto this street, you will be immediately drawn to the sight of bare thighs, sexy backs, and sheer clothing that is almost transparent.

Some didn't even care about being watched by passersby, and would put on passionate performances right next to the windows on the second floor. Their high-pitched screams and moans could be heard clearly from dozens of meters away.

If Zhang Cheng hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he simply wouldn't have believed that a world with a medieval setting could have such open sexual attitudes, where one only needed to pay a copper coin as a prostitution tax each time to enjoy physical pleasure without any fear of legal repercussions.

What surprised him even more were the rather avant-garde designs of the "sexy clothing," which not only perfectly captured a subtle allure but also perfectly illustrated the theory that covering certain key areas is far more arousing than being completely naked.

Of course, these are just scenes that can be seen in high-end brothels, while in low-end brothels you can only see poor girls wearing patched hemp robes.

In order to attract customers, they would pull their necklines down very low, revealing their fairly full breasts. Most of the customers were mercenaries, small merchants, poor knights, guards, and so on who didn't have much money.

Billy, his eyes gleaming with lust as he glanced at the prettiest women, headed toward the largest and most ornately decorated brothel on the street.

The moment he stepped across the threshold, a blonde beauty in a pink gauze dress came up to him and greeted him with a smile: "Good afternoon, gentlemen. What would you like to order? A young and beautiful lady, or a handsome young man?"

"Hehe, although I really want to answer that I want a beauty like you, unfortunately, the main character today isn't me, but this gentleman next to me." The fat man deliberately leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "We want to exchange a large sum of gold..."

"Oh? How much is a large sum?" The woman paid no attention to whether she had been taken advantage of, and instead focused her attention on the "business."

"At least 1,500 golden dragons! The exact amount will only be known after that lord makes an estimate."

Seeing that the other party did not resist, the fat man became even bolder.

"Fifteen hundred golden dragons?" The woman subconsciously turned her gaze to Zhang Cheng, who was silent, and her face showed undisguised surprise. Then, she subtly avoided Billy's further probing and took two steps back, saying, "Come with me, the master is upstairs."

Gazing at her alluring, slender back, the fat man licked his lips with regret: "Damn it! Just a little bit more! When I make a lot of money, I'll definitely book her and have some fun for half a month."

"Are the prices here very high?" Zhang Cheng asked with interest, stroking his chin.

"It's not just expensive! It's outrageously expensive! You know what? In Old Town, you can buy the virginity of a fifteen-year-old girl and have your fill for just one gold dragon, but here, you can just pick any girl and it costs two gold dragons or more. I work hard for months to afford just one night of this." Bill complained in a low voice, pouting.

While the two were talking, the blonde prostitute quickly crossed the stairs and corridors and led them to a very quiet room. She curtsied to the man sitting in the chair and said, "Lord Baelish, these two men say they have a business deal worth more than 1,500 gold dragons to discuss with you."

"Okay, I understand." The man nodded slightly.

He looked short, with a small tuft of pointed beard, and was clearly quite old, with a lot of gray hair at his temples. Although he always had a polite smile on his lips, his gray-green eyes revealed a sharp light like a falcon's.

Despite it being their first meeting, Zhang Cheng instantly recognized Petyr Baelish, the biggest schemer and ambitious figure throughout the entire A Song of Ice and Fire story, and also one of the most outstanding players in the game of thrones.

After all, his physical features are so distinctive, and given that this is a brothel, it's not too difficult to guess who he is.

The blonde prostitute didn't bother with further words. After curtsying again, she immediately turned and left the room, closing the door behind her.

Once her footsteps had faded into the distance, Baelish gestured for her to sit down: "Don't just stand there, please have a seat. Would you like some wine?"

“No, thank you, but I want to stay clear-headed when discussing business.” Zhang Cheng took over the conversation before the fat man could.

Many people may still mistakenly believe that "Littlefinger" is a harmless nobody who poses no threat to anyone, but he is well aware that this mastermind has personally orchestrated the death of the former prime minister and begun to sow hatred between the two powerful forces of "Lion" and "Wolf".

Dealing with a guy like that requires extreme caution; otherwise, you might get sold out without even knowing how you died.

"Ah, well said. Few people realize the harm of excessive drinking. It seems you are a wise person who knows how to exercise self-control. But I am a little curious. You don't seem to be a resident of the Seven Kingdoms. Are you perhaps from a free trading city-state on the other side of the sea?"

In just a few words, Baelish began to probe Zhang Cheng's background.

“Where I come from is not important; what matters is how much benefit I can bring, isn’t it?” With that, Zhang Cheng opened his travel bag and placed several bright orange gold ingots on the table.

Baelish's eyes lit up slightly, and he immediately smiled and agreed, "That's right! With this gold, I guarantee that even those high-ranking noble lords will not turn you away."

"So what price are you offering?" Zhang Cheng clearly didn't intend to continue playing this game of probing each other and chose to get straight to the point.

To be precise, he didn't intend to have much contact with this master of intrigue before Robert, the "King of Cuckoldry," and Duke Eddard died, lest he be caught red-handed.

“Hehe, an impatient guest. It’s alright, I like your directness. I just counted, there are a full thirty gold bars on the table. Based on the weight and volume of each one, I’ll offer you a price of 1,800 gold dragons. What do you think?” Baelish offered what seemed like a rather generous deal, his hands clasped together.

As the royal family's treasurer, he knew very well how many golden dragons could be cast if all the gold nuggets in front of him were melted down, and how much profit he could gain from it...

Chapter 0096 Meeting and Digging a Hole

"Only 1,800 golden dragons?" Zhang Cheng asked with a half-smile.

Although he hasn't seen what the Golden Dragon looks like yet, judging from the fact that "Hound" alone could take away the 40,000 reward for winning the martial arts tournament, a Golden Dragon couldn't possibly be that heavy.

In addition, when minting precious metal coins, it is necessary to mix in some common metals such as lead, iron, and copper. The more conscientious ones mix in about one-tenth to one-seventh of the metal, while the unscrupulous ones can mix in nearly one-quarter or more.

This means that the gold nuggets on the table could conservatively be used to cast approximately four to six thousand gold dragons.

After all, King's Landing's metal smelting and casting capabilities are still at a relatively backward level, and it is difficult to give a clear proportion of how much loss will occur in the process.

But "Littlefinger" was something else. He actually thought he could get rid of him with 1,800 gold dragons and pocket more than double the net profit. He was utterly heartless.

If it weren't for the fact that directly using gold for consumption would cause a lot of unnecessary trouble, he wouldn't have said a word and would have just turned around and left.

Baelish clearly realized that the young man sitting across from him was neither a small-time merchant who was easily deceived, nor a bandit or pirate who made a profit without any investment. He immediately smiled and asked, "Then how much do you think it should be?"

“I think three thousand golden dragons is a very reasonable price,” Zhang Cheng said without hesitation, giving his target price.

“Three thousand? No, no, no, my young friend, you are too greedy, and you don’t realize this is not an ordinary transaction. I guarantee that if you take this gold to the market to buy things, within three days at most, someone will start causing you trouble. But if you sell the gold to me, then these troubles will disappear. Since 1,800 gold dragons are not enough for you, I might as well raise the price a little more, how about 2,400 gold dragons?” Baelish threatened calmly while also making a slight concession.

Zhang Cheng smiled dismissively at the "littlefinger" implication, a violet light flashing in his eyes. He then used arcane energy to instantly mold a square gold brick into a delicate dagger. Standing up, he whispered a warning in the other man's ear: "Count Petyr Baelish, don't try to show off your tricks in front of me, and don't think no one knows what you've done. You know, there are always some incredible powers in this world, like dragons, and like magic..."

After saying this, he gently placed the dagger on the table.

Baelish carefully picked up the golden dagger, stroking its exquisite engravings, his face filled with disbelief.

A full minute passed before he came to his senses and asked in a somewhat uncertain tone, "Are you a male wizard? I've heard that a small number of people with extraordinary abilities reside in the Temple of Immortality in Qarth. You wouldn't happen to be one of them, would you?"

"The wizard of Qarth? Heh, no, please don't compare me to that trash." Zhang Cheng deliberately shook his head, feigning arrogance. "True magic is not just vague prophecies, nor is it scary stories to frighten children. It can be fire, ice, lightning, a power capable of crushing all enemies head-on."

“A powerful and incredible force…” Baelish muttered to himself, then took a deep breath and agreed, “Alright, as you say, three thousand golden dragons. But there’s one condition: you have to tell me why you’ve come to King’s Landing, and what your purpose is?”

"Purpose? If I said I came to participate in the martial arts tournament, you probably wouldn't believe me, right?" Zhang Cheng returned to his seat, smiling and shrugging his shoulders.

"Hahaha! You're quite the comedian. I must admit, you may indeed possess some incredible power, but once you step into the dueling arena, even the weakest competitor could easily defeat you." Baelish glanced at Zhang Cheng's thin frame and laughed mockingly.

“Don’t be so sure, Earl. How about we make a bet?” Zhang Cheng deliberately feigned a defiant attitude and extended the invitation.

Baelish nodded nonchalantly: "No problem! Tell me, what's the bet, and how much is it?"

"How about we bet on the spear competition in this martial arts tournament? If I don't win, I'll do something for you for free, anything you can do. But if I win, you'll have to promise to do something for me for free." Zhang Cheng subtly set a trap for his opponent.

Despite his current physical condition, let alone withstanding a head-on impact from a lance, even a slightly strong farmer could probably pull him off his horse.

However, according to the task given in the parchment—swordsmanship—he only needs to kill fifty opponents to immediately obtain a melee class template. With protective magic and simple armor and weapon enchantments, no one can hit him.

"Oh? You seem quite confident?" The cunning Baelish did not give an immediate affirmative answer, but instead continued to probe for details.

He had a premonition that the mysterious young man in front of him seemed to know what he was planning.

“I’ve always been very confident. How about we take a gamble? Oh, by the way, if it’s convenient, could you also help me buy a noble title? I’m sure there are many impoverished noble descendants willing to offer their family and surname in exchange for a generous reward.” Zhang Cheng didn’t hold back at all, directly starting to utilize the complex and vast network of relationships behind “Littlefinger”.

Staring at his two grey-green eyes, Baelish seemed to be trying to see through his opponent's true colors hidden beneath his facade. After about ten seconds, he smiled and replied, "Alright! I'll take the bet! But your noble status is a bit of a problem. I suggest you spend a little more money to settle it once and for all, to avoid trouble later."

"How much more do you need? Is two hundred gold dragons enough?"

Given that Zhang Cheng had already experienced impersonation once, he was quite adept at it.

In any case, given the extremely inconvenient medieval setting of A Song of Ice and Fire, where transportation and communication were extremely difficult, it would take months or even years to find out if someone was really them. Don't expect to get any results, so there's no need to worry.

“Give me five hundred gold dragons, and I’ll give you an indisputable knighthood, and I guarantee that even if you use it to participate in the tournament, it won’t give you any clues.” Baelish clearly saw that Zhang Cheng desperately needed this noble title and decisively rejected the high price.

"Deal! Now please pay me two thousand five hundred gold dragons, and then all the gold ingots on the table will be yours, Earl." Zhang Cheng didn't intend to haggle over the money and quickly agreed.

In fact, if the power of magic hadn't been so severely restricted, he wouldn't have needed to worry about money at all. He could have easily made a hefty profit simply by crafting a few enchanted weapons or armor...

Chapter 0097 The game begins!

With a withdrawal slip bearing the seal of the Royal Chancellor of the Exchequer handed to Zhang Cheng, the transaction was finally completed.

He only needs to go to any mint near King's Landing and present his receipt to immediately collect the 2,500 brand-new gold dragons that have just been minted, without having to worry about encountering any difficulties.

Of course, such a bill with 100% redemption capability is essentially a form of currency that can be used to purchase commodities on the market. No merchant would refuse it, at least not before the outbreak of war.

Just as he was folding the receipts and stuffing them into his pocket, "Littlefinger" suddenly raised his arm and made a subtle gesture.