Black Market

Jiang Yuan was delighted as well.

Wenzhao was like the sturdiest wall at his back. To this day, Jiang Yuan had not forgotten the sight of Wenzhao devouring ghosts.

It could be said that Wenzhao had given Jiang Yuan no small sense of security.

Yet when Jiang Yuan saw Wenzhao, rare fear appeared in his eyes.

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

Wenzhao was still the same Wenzhao, but his aura was unsteady. Even Jiang Yuan could tell that Wenzhao had suffered serious injuries.

What stirred Jiang Yuan's emotions was the flicker of azure in his eyes.

Then Jiang Yuan saw the phantom of a rotting humanoid monster emerge from Wenzhao's body.

It was not a strange entity! It was something like Killing Intent, yet stranger than any strange entity.

It was not as if Jiang Yuan had never observed Wenzhao before. Back then, there had not been the slightest anomaly on Wenzhao's body, but now...

Wenzhao coughed twice, weariness showing in his eyes. When he saw Jiang Yuan enter, he raised his gaze toward him.

Then he said with some surprise, "You broke through to Hua Jin?"

"Yes, Uncle."

Wenzhao's eyes revealed satisfaction. "Though I do not know what opportunity you encountered, it is good news in the end..."

As Wenzhao spoke, he looked Jiang Yuan over. "So long as you have not become a Half-Demon, then this opportunity of yours is a good one."

"Half-Demon?" The Hua Jin Martial Artist who had been a strange entity, along with the Chu Family's Attendant, involuntarily surfaced in Jiang Yuan's mind.

Wenzhao did not say much more. He coughed twice again, and suddenly, a blood-red tentacle burst through the skin of his face.

Jiang Yuan was startled, but Wenzhao did not treat it as anything serious. With a swipe across his face, his skin returned to normal.

Wenzhao offered no explanation. Looking at Jiang Yuan, he merely said, "It is time for you to escort a shipment. Class A Escort Mission Number 15. Take Beichuan Wan with you!"

"What? Escort a shipment? Beichuan Wan?" Jiang Yuan froze.

With lowered eyes and a gentle tone, Wenzhao said, "Go. Make your preparations. Depart in two hours. Tell Beichuan Wan about this. Say that Beichuan Qingtian is the one sending her."

Beichuan Qingtian...

With a heavy heart, Jiang Yuan said nothing more. He acknowledged the order and left.

He did not notice the black-red color that had appeared in Wenzhao's eyes.

After Jiang Yuan left, Wenzhao waved a hand, and the doors to the room shut. Veins bulged on his hand, and the armrest of his chair crumbled into powder.

"Loss of Control... Even I, Wenzhao, must face this day..."

Several massive red tentacles suddenly emerged from Wenzhao's back, and the objects in the room were swiftly destroyed as though swept away by wind and scattered clouds.

After a long while, the room fell silent. The windows and doors were tightly shut, and the light outside could not penetrate within, leaving the room somewhat dim.

Jiang Yuan walked down the road with a heavy heart.

He came across Li Quan, who had been waiting for a long time. Li Quan leaned against a corridor pillar, admiring the few lines of love poetry Jiang Yuan had just dictated.

When he saw Jiang Yuan arrive, he asked, "Brother Jiang, what happened?"

"Nothing. Lord Wen merely told me to escort a shipment." Jiang Yuan's expression was somewhat grave.

"Escort a shipment? That makes sense. Brother Jiang, you have been at the Late Qi and Blood Stage for so long; it is about time you escorted one. But why do you look so unwell?"

"Lord Wen told me to take Beichuan Wan with me..."

"Hm?" Li Quan paused, then said excitedly, "It looks like Lord Wen is trying to match the two of you! But that is only fitting. You two are a talented man and beautiful woman, a match made in heaven—just like Yao Mei and me..."

Jiang Yuan's eyes darkened.

Wenzhao had been far too abnormal today. What exactly was that bizarre transformation on his body...?

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

Jiang Yuan felt as though a storm was about to break.

"Where are you going, Brother Jiang? Are we not going to the Black Market?"

"I am going to find Beichuan Wan."

"Oh..."

"What? My mother?" Zhang Maoxi's mouth fell open.

"That is right. Lord Wen said Lord Zhang found Madam. After Madam gave birth to the Young Escort Chief back then, she returned to her maiden family. Lord Zhang has been searching for Madam these past few years, and during this trip outside, he happened to find her. Lord Zhang is currently with Madam. Lord Wen returned first and brought news from Lord Zhang, hoping that the Young Escort Chief could go reunite with Madam."

"Mother... I can actually still see my mother..." Zhang Maoxi was bewildered, shocked, delighted, and unable to believe it.

His expression was complicated. Then he raised his head and asked, "When do we depart?"

"Tomorrow at the hour of the Dragon."

"Alright..."

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

"What? Lord Beichuan has not returned yet?" Jiang Yuan frowned tightly.

Beichuan Wan raised a brow. "Since it is Father's order, then I can only go. Tomorrow?"

"Lord Beichuan truly has not returned?" Jiang Yuan asked again.

"That is right. Father is still escorting a shipment. I simply do not know why Lord Wen returned first..."

Jiang Yuan said nothing further.

Beichuan Qingtian had not returned, while Wenzhao had. They should have left to escort shipments together...

Right, it seemed someone accompanying Lord Zhang had not returned either... What had happened?

Countless speculations arose in Jiang Yuan's mind, but there was still far too little information. He could not guess anything at all, but one thing was clear: Wenzhao was definitely not in the right state.

And the other two chief escort chiefs had not returned either. All three pillars holding up the escort agency had vanished at once.

Wenzhao had sent Beichuan Wan and him away under the pretext of escorting a shipment. He was likely wary of the force lurking in the shadows.

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

The Chu Family? Strange entities... Jiang Yuan thought of the Chu Family's Attendant. At present, the Chu Family was the only lead they had on the hidden force.

That bizarre force was absolutely connected to the Chu Family.

Should he make a move? His strength was insufficient.

Blazing fire, boundless starlight, and proud sword intent appeared in Jiang Yuan's eyes, only to silently fade away.

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

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

"Jiang Yuan! What are you going to the Black Market for?" Beichuan Wan asked in confusion.

"It has nothing to do with you. Just prepare for departure." Without looking back, Jiang Yuan said this and left.

Before long, the two arrived at the Black Market.

Jiang Yuan looked at the market before him, and the corner of his eye twitched slightly. Were all Black Markets like this?

Li Quan moved with practiced ease to a stall selling melons.

"Boss, are your melons guaranteed ripe?" Li Quan asked the melon-selling uncle with a solemn face.

The corner of Jiang Yuan's mouth twitched slightly behind him.

"I sell fruit. Would I sell you unripe melons?" The melon seller smiled faintly as he stared at Li Quan.

Li Quan shook his head, still wearing a solemn expression. "I am asking whether your melons are guaranteed ripe."

The two exchanged looks repeatedly. The melon seller seemed to confirm something, then led Li Quan and Jiang Yuan toward the back.

They arrived at a cellar.

The melon seller said, "This is the place. Go on. I still need to go back and sell melons."

"Many thanks, sir." Li Quan cupped his hands in thanks, then led Jiang Yuan into the cellar.

Jiang Yuan no longer knew what to say. He could only say speechlessly, "This is your code phrase? Is going to a Black Market really this troublesome?"

"Brother Jiang, you do not know this. Gate-Breaking Pills are too high-grade; they are rarely found even in ordinary Black Markets. However, they are much more likely to appear at Black Market auctions. There happens to be an auction today, and the venue is beneath this cellar."

"An auction?" Jiang Yuan nodded slightly. Was this not a place every novel protagonist had to visit? It seemed he had to attend one as well.

"It is even harder to enter an auction than to enter the Black Market. I only found this connection through the old man," Li Quan explained, then continued, "Gate-Breaking Pills are generally sold at auctions. There is only a very small chance that there will not be any."

"Alright." Jiang Yuan answered, then suddenly remembered something. He took a stack of silver notes from his chest and began counting them.

Hm? Only one thousand taels? Was that enough to buy a Gate-Breaking Pill?