Black Market

Jiang Yuan was also delighted.

Wenzhao was like his most solid backing; Jiang Yuan had never forgotten the scene of Wenzhao devouring ghosts.

It could be said that Wenzhao brought Jiang Yuan a lot of a sense of security.

But when Jiang Yuan saw Wenzhao, a rare look of terror appeared in his eyes.

Jiang Yuan temporarily bid farewell to Li Quan and returned to Wenzhao's courtyard, where he met Wenzhao.

Wenzhao was still the same Wenzhao, but his aura was unstable, and even Jiang Yuan could tell that Wenzhao had suffered quite serious injuries.

What caused Jiang Yuan's emotions to fluctuate was the azure blue flashing in his eyes.

Then Jiang Yuan saw a phantom of a humanoid monster, its body rotten, appear on Wenzhao.

It wasn't an Abnormality! It was something similar to Killing Intent, even more bizarre than an Abnormality.

Jiang Yuan had observed Wenzhao before; at that time, there was no abnormality on Wenzhao at all, but now...

Wenzhao coughed twice, a look of exhaustion in his eyes. He saw Jiang Yuan enter and looked up at him.

Then he said with slight surprise, "You've broken through to Hua Jin?"

"Yes, Uncle."

Wenzhao's eyes showed relief and he said, "Although I don't know what opportunity you've stumbled upon, it's ultimately a good thing..."

As Wenzhao spoke, he sized up Jiang Yuan and said, "As long as you haven't turned into a Half-Demon, your opportunity is a good one."

"Half-Demon?" Jiang Yuan's mind involuntarily recalled the bizarre Hua Jin Martial Artist from back then, and the offering of the Chu Family.

Wenzhao didn't say much. He coughed twice again, and a blood-red tentacle suddenly emerged from a broken patch of skin on his face.

Jiang Yuan was startled, but Wenzhao didn't seem to care. He wiped his face, and his skin returned to normal.

Wenzhao didn't explain. He looked at Jiang Yuan and simply said, "You should go on an escort mission. Class A Escort Mission Number 15, and bring Beichuan Wan with you!"

"What? An escort mission? Beichuan Wan?" Jiang Yuan was stunned.

Wenzhao lowered his brows and said gently, "Go, prepare yourself. We depart in two hours. Tell Beichuan Wan about this, and say that Beichuan Qingtian sent you."

Beichuan Qingtian...

Jiang Yuan's heart grew heavy. He didn't say anything more, just responded with a sound and left.

He didn't notice the black and red color that appeared in Wenzhao's eyes.

After Jiang Yuan left, Wenzhao waved his hand, and the door to the room closed. Veins bulged on his hand, and the armrest of the chair turned to powder.

"Losing control... Am I, Wenzhao, also going to face this moment..."

Several giant red tentacles suddenly emerged from Wenzhao's back, and the objects in the room were quickly destroyed as if by a whirlwind.

After a long time, the room fell silent. The windows and doors were tightly shut, and the light from outside could not penetrate, making the room appear somewhat dim.

Jiang Yuan walked on the road with a heavy heart.

He encountered Li Quan, who had been waiting for a long time. Li Quan was leaning against a pillar in the corridor, admiring the love poems Jiang Yuan had just written.

Seeing Jiang Yuan arrive, he asked, "Brother Jiang, what happened?"

"It's nothing, Lord Wen just asked me to go on an escort mission." Jiang Yuan's expression was somewhat somber.

"An escort mission? That's right, Brother Jiang has been in the Late Qi and Blood Stage for so long, it's time for an escort mission. But why does Brother Jiang look so upset?"

"Lord Wen wants me to bring Beichuan Wan..."

"Oh?" Li Quan was taken aback, then excitedly said, "It seems Lord Wen is trying to set you two up! But it's true, you two are a perfect match, like me and Yao Mei..."

Jiang Yuan's eyes darkened.

Wenzhao was too abnormal today. Such a strange change in him... What was it exactly...

And Wenzhao's arrangement seemed to be pushing him and Beichuan Wan away.

Jiang Yuan felt a sense of impending storm.

"Brother Jiang, where are you going? Not to the Black Market anymore?"

"I'm going to find Beichuan Wan."

"Oh..."

"What? My mother??" Zhang Maoxi's mouth widened.

"That's right. Lord Wen said that Lord Zhang has found his wife. After the young escort chief was born, his wife returned to her maiden home. Lord Zhang has been searching for his wife all these years. He happened to find her during this trip. Lord Zhang is currently with his wife, and Lord Wen returned first to bring Lord Zhang's message, hoping the young escort chief can reunite with his wife."

"Mother... I can still see Mother..." Zhang Maoxi was stunned, surprised, delighted, and incredulous.

His expression was complex, then he looked up and asked, "When do we depart?"

"Tomorrow, at Chen Shi."

"Okay..."

"Mother? I actually have a mother, hahaha."

*

*

*

"What? Lord Beichuan hasn't returned yet?" Jiang Yuan frowned deeply.

Beichuan Wan indeed raised an eyebrow and said, "Since it's Father's order, then I can only go. Tomorrow?"

"Has Lord Beichuan really not returned yet?" Jiang Yuan asked again.

"Yes, Father is still escorting the goods. It's just that for some reason, Lord Wen returned first..."

Jiang Yuan said nothing more.

Beichuan Qingtian hadn't returned, but Wenzhao had. They should have left for the escort mission at the same time...

Right, Lord Zhang seemed to have someone who didn't return... What happened?

Countless speculations arose in Jiang Yuan's mind, but the information he could get was too little. Jiang Yuan couldn't guess anything, but he knew for sure that Wenzhao was definitely not in the right state.

And the other two grand escort chiefs hadn't returned either. The three pillars of the escort agency were all gone at once.

Wenzhao sent himself and Beichuan Wan away using escort techniques, likely fearing the hidden forces.

Jiang Yuan clenched his fists silently. His strength was still insufficient.

The Chu family? Abnormality... Jiang Yuan thought of the Chu family's retainers. Now, the only clue to the hidden forces was the Chu family.

That abnormal force was definitely related to the Chu family.

Should he act? Insufficient strength.

Fiery passion, vast starlight, and arrogant sword intent appeared in Jiang Yuan's eyes, then all quietly receded.

"Let's go, to the Black Market!" Jiang Yuan said to Li Quan.

"Huh?" Li Quan was startled, then led the way.

"Jiang Yuan! What are you two going to the Black Market for?" Beichuan Wan asked somewhat confusedly.

"It's none of your business. Just get ready to depart," Jiang Yuan said without looking back and left.

Soon, the two arrived at the Black Market.

Jiang Yuan looked at the bustling marketplace before him, his eyes twitching slightly. Was the Black Market always like this?

Li Quan, familiar with the route, went to a stall selling melons.

"Boss, are these melons ripe?" Li Quan asked the melon vendor with a serious expression.

Jiang Yuan's mouth twitched slightly behind him.

"I sell fruit, do you think I'd sell you unripe melons?" the melon vendor smiled slightly, looking at Li Quan.

Li Quan then shook his head, still with a serious expression, "I'm asking if your melons are ripe?"

Their eyes exchanged glances. The melon vendor seemed to confirm something and led Li Quan and Jiang Yuan to the back.

They arrived at a cellar.

The melon vendor said, "It's here. Go ahead, I need to get back to selling melons."

"Thank you, sir." Li Quan cupped his fists in thanks and then led Jiang Yuan into the cellar.

Jiang Yuan didn't know what to say anymore, only muttering speechlessly, "This is your secret code? Is going to the Black Market this troublesome?"

"Brother Jiang, you don't know. The Gate-Breaking Pill is of too high a grade, so it's rarely found in ordinary Black Markets. However, the chances of it appearing at Black Market auctions are higher. There happens to be an auction today, and the auction venue is below this cellar."

"Auction?" Jiang Yuan nodded slightly. This was the place every protagonist had to go, wasn't it? It seemed he had to go this time too.

"Entering the auction is even more difficult than entering the Black Market. I got the connection from my old man," Li Quan explained, then added, "Auctions usually sell Gate-Breaking Pills. It's very rare for them not to have any."

"Okay," Jiang Yuan said. Suddenly, he remembered something and took out a stack of silver notes from his pocket, starting to count.

Hmm? Only a thousand taels left. Is that enough to buy the Gate-Breaking Pill?