Conquering on the Bed, Love Grows Stronger

In the blink of an eye, the day for the Ghost Alley Black Market to open once more had arrived.

Chen Heng rose from the warm, soft bed in Flower Language Pavilion, where Wen Ning had already prepared Spirit Cuisine and fragrant tea.

He immediately began to eat. After all, all the work he did was physical labor, and the expenditure was considerable.

His consecutive days of dual cultivation with Wen Ning had indeed been effective. Chen Heng felt the water-and-fire true essence within him blending ever more deeply, and his cultivation had advanced by quite a bit.

However, that was also because his current realm was slightly lower than hers. Once he caught up to her realm in the future, the effects of dual cultivation might not be this good anymore.

Still, Chen Heng found himself looking forward even more to the Quenching Fire Water Nourishing Body Tempering Art.

If a few rounds of collision left his waist aching and legs weak, would that not spoil the mood?

Seeing the increasingly obvious dependence and affection in Wen Ning's eyes and brows, Chen Heng could not help but sigh that an old saying truly had it right.

As the saying went: Conquering on the bed, love grows stronger!

After quickly finishing the Spirit Cuisine and fragrant tea Wen Ning had prepared, Chen Heng took out a black robe and mask, intending to leave.

At that moment, however, Wen Ning personally draped the black robe over him and smoothed it into place with her fair hands.

"Will Young Master be going to that black market again today?"

Wen Ning finished arranging his black robe, her movements gentle.

"Yes. Once I collect the items I ordered, I will not return to Flower Language Pavilion today. I will head directly back to the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion. In a few days, you can go to the Jade Spring Talisman Pavilion and apply to become an Attendant talisman master of the Chen Household. It should not be difficult for you."

Chen Heng fastened his mask, his voice calm and unruffled.

The Jade Spring Talisman Pavilion was likewise a business under the Chen Household. Since the Chen Household's ancestral land was Jade Spring Mountain, many of its businesses bore the name Jade Spring.

As for going to the Ghost Alley Black Market, that had long been decided.

After all, two thousand low-grade Spirit Stones were no small sum, and the items he had ordered were important resources related to his future cultivation. There could be no mishap.

Out of habit, Chen Heng squeezed the cold, hard communication jade slip in his robes—this was the safeguard given to him by Foundation Establishment Ancestor Chen Tianrui.

Then he strolled out of Flower Language Pavilion alone.

Watching Chen Heng's departing back, Wen Ning's eyes seemed to hold a trace of resentment and reluctance.

It was still deep in the night, and he still passed the glittering Warm Fragrance Pavilion and the hidden dwellings tucked away in those deep alleys.

Only this time, his steps were faster. He seemed deaf to the vaguely seductive glances cast his way and headed straight toward the depths of Mud Bottle Alley.

Following the special markings once more, he arrived at the dilapidated courtyard shrouded in an illusion array. He skillfully paid five Spirit Stones, accepted a temporary token from the hunched old man, and stepped into the familiar distorted play of light and shadow.

The long black-stone street remained dimly yellow and eerie, with shadowy figures moving everywhere.

But Chen Heng had a clear objective and headed straight for the largest stone house in the middle of the street—Wu Wen Tower.

The couplet at its entrance—"Enter this door and speak not of your origins; leave my hands and bear your own karma, fortune, and misfortune"—appeared all the more sinister beneath the murky yellow lamplight.

This time, no one needed to lead him. Like a veteran driver on a familiar road, he passed through the black curtain that blocked divine sense and entered the room where they had met last time.

The black-robed man who enjoyed tea seemed to have been waiting for some time, steam curling from the tea before him.

"Fellow Daoist is indeed trustworthy." The black-robed man set down his teacup, his voice as indifferent as ever, though it carried a merchant's slickness.

Chen Heng cupped his fists. "Since it was agreed upon, I naturally came as promised. May I ask whether the items I purchased are ready?"

He went straight to the point.

The black-robed man, however, unhurriedly took several jade boxes of varying sizes from the storage pouch at his waist and laid them out one by one on the table.

"Please inspect them, Fellow Daoist. The Water-Fire Jade Belt, with its spiritual radiance undamaged; the jade slip containing the Quenching Fire Water Nourishing Body Tempering Art, its restrictions intact; two second-rank Ice-Fire Lotus seeds, still viable; and finally... one piece of nameless broken jade."

Pointing to a dark gray piece of jade that carried no spiritual energy fluctuations yet faintly exuded an ancient, steadfast texture, the black-robed man said in surprise:

"This item is the most peculiar. Several appraisers in the tower examined it, and it is indeed as Fellow Daoist saw: the word 'hard' is its only notable feature. Its other uses remain unclear."

"Fellow Daoist may examine it more closely in the future."

Chen Heng's gaze fixed firmly on that piece of nameless broken jade, and his heart trembled slightly.

Its material and color were almost exactly identical to the mysterious broken jade fragment he had bought from a vendor at the outskirts of the market!

There had to be some connection between the two!

They might even have been part of the same piece.

He forcibly suppressed the urge to take out his own fragment and compare them immediately, calmly shifting his gaze away.

"Mm, thank you for your trouble. The inspection is complete. Please settle the remaining payment." Chen Heng's voice was even as he took out the balance of Spirit Stones he had long prepared—three thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

Though he harbored countless doubts, completing the transaction was the priority at this moment.

After confirming that the Spirit Stones were correct, the black-robed man nodded faintly. "The Spirit Stones are sufficient. The transaction is complete. Everything here now belongs to Fellow Daoist. From this point onward, you and Wu Wen Tower are even. Any future fortune or misfortune shall be borne by yourself."

Such were the rules of the black market. Money and goods were exchanged face-to-face, and afterward, there were no further ties.

Chen Heng swiftly put the jade boxes into his storage pouch. He separately stored the nameless broken jade and the pure white jade slip recording the Quenching Fire Water Nourishing Body Tempering Art with particular care.

He had no intention of lingering. Rising to his feet, he prepared to leave.

"Please wait, Fellow Daoist." The black-robed man suddenly spoke. "There is an interesting matter. I wonder whether I should mention it."

Chen Heng's steps paused, and his gaze beneath the mask sharpened slightly. "Oh? What matter might that be?"

The black-robed man lifted his teacup and took a light sip. His eyes seemed to pierce through the mask and fall upon Chen Heng's face. "The Luo Family robes Fellow Daoist sold last time... I heard yesterday that this matter seems to have alarmed a certain Foundation Establishment Ancestor of Golden Luo Mountain, one whose temper is far from mild, who has been in seclusion."

Golden Luo Mountain was the ancestral land of the Luo Family, one of the three great Foundation Establishment Families in the southern foothills of the Moon Gazing Mountain Range.

Though the words were soft, they exploded beside Chen Heng's ears like a thunderclap!

Luo Family robes? They had alarmed an ancestor?

Should those robes not have been handled through Wu Wen Tower?

How had the news leaked? Did the Luo Family have an informant in the black market? Or did Wu Wen Tower... have other intentions?

"Oh?" No ripples could be heard in Chen Heng's voice. "They are merely a few robes. Why would it come to this? The Luo Family's recent purge must still be causing aftershocks. What does that have to do with a trader like me?"

His tone carried just the right measure of confusion and dissociation.

The black-robed man gave an extremely soft, unreadable chuckle. "Let us hope so. I merely wished to remind Fellow Daoist that although that 'Three-Inch Ding' young master of the Luo Family has remained behind closed doors recently, the fury of his elders still burns. The vicinity of Southern Foothills Market... may become rather lively. Fellow Daoist should exercise greater caution when coming and going."

This was clearly an explicit warning!

Alarm bells rang wildly in Chen Heng's heart, but outwardly, he merely cupped his fists. "Thank you for the warning. I understand."

He did not linger any longer. He turned and strode out of Wu Wen Tower, with no mind left to observe the street. Following the fastest route, he headed directly for the black market's exit.

He hurried out of the dilapidated courtyard filled with distorted light and shadow and entered the cold, damp night of Mud Bottle Alley.

The sound of the Li River's flowing waters could be faintly heard, but Chen Heng had no heart to appreciate it now. He even found it somewhat noisy.

The black-robed man's warning continued to echo in his mind.

Had the Luo Family already traced the stolen goods to the black market?

Why had Wu Wen Tower told him?

Were they diverting disaster eastward, or did they have some other scheme?

Wu Wen Tower naturally would not have handled those Luo Family robes here, and more than half a month had already passed before the Luo Family recovered those few insignificant robes.

It should have been unlikely for him to be exposed.

Otherwise, Luo Yuan Nan would have gone directly to the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion to hold him accountable.

Could it truly have been a coincidence? After Wu Wen Tower sold them somewhere, the unlucky cultivator who bought the robes happened to run into Luo Family cultivators?

That was far too coincidental. It seemed he could no longer harbor such wishful luck in the future.

When dealing with this sort of stolen goods in the future, he would have to be even more careful.

Not long after.

Chen Heng returned to the Jade Spring Artifact Pavilion through the rear gate that very night. He had a special entry token, so he did not need to suffer the embarrassment of being shut outside by the array restrictions.

But as he prepared to return to the eastern side room where he lived, he saw that the back courtyard was brightly lit, with two figures talking there.