A Chance Encounter with Xiao Yan

Wutan City was a small city—of course, "small" was only relative to the vast Dou Qi Continent.

Wutan City was a remote little city within the Jia Ma Empire.

Though remote, it still had quite a sizable population, with many people making their living and settling down here.

Wutan City lay right next to the Monster Mountain Range, which was one of the key reasons it had developed so rapidly.

There were countless magical beasts in the Monster Mountain Range, and innumerable people entered and left it every day.

Some sought precious medicinal herbs; some hunted magical beasts to obtain their Magic Crystals; others jumped off cliffs, only to luckily stumble upon ruins left behind by ancient experts, activate their heaven-defying mode, and become powerhouses of the Dou Qi Continent.

In short, it was a mixed bag, with all kinds of people.

For that very reason, mercenaries and small factions were the most common sight here. Sometimes, they fought fiercely over the slightest profit; other times, they cooperated to divide up resources they had set their sights on.

For all sorts of reasons, countless small factions were destroyed at every moment, while many newly rising factions were born just as successfully.

Wutan City, however, was controlled by three top-tier families.

The Xiao Family, Oba Family, and Jia Lie Family jointly controlled Wutan City's lifeblood.

The three stood in a perfect balance of power!

Of them, the relationship between the Xiao Family and the Jia Lie Family had grown utterly strained. It seemed they would go to war at the slightest excuse.

The Oba Family was more like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows. Whether against the Xiao Family or the Jia Lie Family, it would seize any opportunity to deliver a fatal strike when they let down their guard.

In Xiao Bai's view, such an enemy was undoubtedly the most dangerous.

Just like a biting dog that did not bark—the ones that barked the loudest might not necessarily bite.

Xiao Bai walked down the streets with Xiao Mei. Everything around him felt novel, though he was merely curious and did not look completely like a country bumpkin.

After all, having grown accustomed to high-rise buildings of steel and concrete, it was only natural to find a different kind of exotic architecture novel.

Xiao Mei led Xiao Bai into the Xiao Family marketplace, where the number of passersby gradually increased.

There were members of mercenary groups in armor, greatswords strapped across their backs as they hurried along; street vendors who spread cloth along both sides of the road and displayed all manner of goods for sale; pedestrians haggling with the vendors; and people like Xiao Bai, who had come to broaden their horizons...

The bigger the forest, the more kinds of birds it had. Here, the bigger the marketplace, the more kinds of people it had!

Among the stalls, Xiao Bai spotted some Magic Crystals he needed, though their grades were rather low.

Xiao Bai walked over to a vendor's stall that had Magic Crystals. Before he could ask anything, the vendor's enthusiastic greeting interrupted him.

"Hello, young master. Your luck is truly excellent! Everything I have was recently acquired, and it's all top-quality stuff. Take a look—every item here is a rare treasure. We paid a great price to get these. Which one would you like to buy?"

As the saying went, every peddler praised his own wares. Seeing a richly dressed young man stop in front of his stall, the vendor knew business had come knocking.

No matter what the other party wanted to buy, praising it first could never go wrong.

Thus, the vendor performed beyond his usual level. He first praised Xiao Bai until Xiao Bai felt almost lightheaded, then continued extolling his own goods as if each one were the only one of its kind in the world.

Luckily, Xiao Bai's reason prevailed over his emotions, and his head cleared.

"Enough. Don't make it sound so good. Let me take a look first."

Xiao Bai hurriedly cut off the vendor, who was about to continue, and indicated that he wanted to browse first.

The vendor was no fool. Seeing through that his usual routine had been exposed, he could only give an awkward smile.

"Uh... all right! Take your time. If you need anything, just call for me."

After looking for a while, Xiao Bai understood the Magic Crystal he had noticed earlier.

It was entirely crimson. If he was not mistaken, Xiao Bai was certain it was the Magic Crystal of a First-grade Crimson Fire Fox.

Crimson Fire Foxes were a common low-grade magical beast in the Monster Mountain Range, but one should not think they were easy prey merely because of their low grade.

Foxes were inherently cunning, and this was a First-grade Crimson Fire Fox. That multiplied the difficulty of hunting one several times over.

A First-grade magical beast was equivalent to a human Dou Zhe.

From what Xiao Bai sensed, this First-grade Magic Crystal was far superior to other First-grade Magic Crystals. That proved it had come from a relatively high-grade Crimson Fire Fox among First-grade magical beasts, which was what made this Magic Crystal so valuable.

After looking it over, Xiao Bai beckoned the vendor.

"Boss, how much is this Magic Crystal?"

The vendor hurried over, the smile on his face growing even wider.

"Young master, this Magic Crystal is extraordinary. We..."

Seeing the vendor about to start boasting again, Xiao Bai could not help but cut him off.

"Cut the nonsense. Just name the price."

Though he knew the vendor was saying this to raise the price, a common tactic, Xiao Bai had no intention of being taken for a sucker.

If the vendor wanted to make him that sucker, he would have to see whether he had the ability.

The vendor was not angered by the interruption and continued with a smile. "To obtain this Magic Crystal, we lost quite a few men. Let's say 500 Gold Coins!"

Xiao Bai did not hesitate and said flatly, "Too expensive."

Xiao Mei also spoke up, making her presence known.

"That's too expensive. We're from the Xiao Family."

Xiao Bai was not someone who used his status to pressure others. He stopped Xiao Mei and continued, "Don't mind her, but your price really is a little high."

The vendor said, "Uh... this..."

Just as the vendor was considering what to say, a clear voice rang out.

"Expensive? Why do I feel that it isn't expensive at all?"

Xiao Bai and Xiao Mei turned toward the source of the voice, only to see a lotus-like young girl and a youth with a faintly dispirited air walking over.

The corner of Xiao Bai's eye twitched uncontrollably. The newcomers could be considered his acquaintances.

They were none other than Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er, and it was Xiao Xun'er who had just spoken.

"Oh, I was wondering who it was. So it's you two. What, have you also taken a liking to this Magic Crystal?"

Though he was somewhat surprised to encounter them here, that did not mean he feared them. In terms of strength, he was a Dou Zhe; he was not truly weaker than Xiao Xun'er.

"Oh! This Magic Crystal looks rather nice. 500 Gold Coins isn't expensive. Do you still want it? If not, I'll buy it!"

It seemed Xiao Xun'er had only just noticed the Crimson Fire Fox Magic Crystal on the stall, and she looked rather eager to have it.

Xiao Mei was not Xiao Bai. Provoked by the other party, she could not hold back any longer.

"We saw it first."