Restoring Order

After what happened to Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan, Chen Mu wanted to leave the house even less.

He shut himself in at home and diligently ground Proficiency.

Three days later, Chen Mu was eating lunch when he vaguely heard the sound of gongs outside.

Someone was also shouting announcements at intervals.

Chen Mu listened intently.

The authorities had finally stepped in to restore order.

Even so, he stayed cooped up at home for another two days before going out.

On the streets of East Market.

The prosperity of the past was nowhere to be seen.

There were few pedestrians, and the doors and windows of the shops lining both sides of the street were battered and ruined. They had suffered badly.

As he walked down the street, he occasionally heard wailing coming from the alleys.

Before he had gone far, he came across two funeral processions.

And those were the families wealthy enough to hold funerals.

Who knew how many corpses wrapped in tattered straw mats had already been buried in the mass grave outside the city?

He had originally wanted to buy some fresh meat from Butcher Zheng.

But from a distance, he saw the man's shop tightly shut and knew there was no chance.

So he turned and headed for Eight Directions Pavilion in Anle Ward.

Many of the doors, windows, tables, and chairs were new. They had probably been looted and smashed amid the chaos.

There were quite a few people in the main hall drinking tea and chatting.

Chen Mu was not the only one who had come here to gather information.

As usual, he bought a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds, then sat in a corner and listened to the storyteller recount the causes and aftermath of the bandit uprising from several days ago.

The Gray Scarf Deserters had attacked the city and broken through its gates...

The Ai Mountain Bandits had taken advantage of the chaos to loot...

Traitors within the city had opened the gates...

Entire powerful clans had been wiped out...

One explosive piece of news after another made Chen Mu's head ache.

Even the county magistrate had disappeared? Had he fled, or was he dead?

Eldest Young Master Zuo had displayed incredible might and even cut down the second-in-command of the Ai Mountain Bandits.

Was that really the weak, playboy young master he remembered?

He was most likely another old schemer pretending to be weak.

"Will the defeated soldiers and bandits attack the city again?" This was what Chen Mu cared about most.

Unfortunately, the teahouse was full of conflicting opinions. After listening for a long while, he still heard no definite conclusion.

"Forget it. I should just stay home."

Chen Mu got up to leave, no longer intending to listen.

As he reached the entrance, he saw a young man in white approaching him.

"Eldest Young Master Zuo, Zuo Sheng?" Chen Mu nearly doubted his own eyes.

It was still the same face, and he still looked tall and thin.

But Chen Mu's body had undergone two transformations, and his senses far surpassed those of ordinary people.

He could clearly sense the strong body beneath the other's loose robes.

So he really was an old schemer. With that build, he was still pretending to be a weak, playboy young master? Who was he trying to fool?!

The other man noticed Chen Mu as well and smiled, nodding in greeting.

Chen Mu quickly returned the gesture with a nod.

He could not help but mutter inwardly. I barely know this young master of the Zuo Family. Why is he always so polite whenever we meet?

Before the other party could speak, Chen Mu gave an awkward smile and hurried away.

He had no desire to get involved with someone like that.

"Young Master, do you know that man?" the bookboy behind Zuo Sheng asked curiously.

His young master had a solitary temperament. There were very few people who could make him treat them so pleasantly.

"You could say that." Zuo Sheng watched Chen Mu's swiftly vanishing figure and could not help but chuckle.

That was the footwork of the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique.

By that logic, they were fellow disciples.

But his cheap teacher was far too greedy for money. He probably had quite a few fellow disciples.

Still, if they were being precise, this one was probably the only person who could be considered Master Sheng's true disciple.

Thinking of the "True Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique" being sold all over the Ghost Market once more, Zuo Sheng's expression turned strange.

"His drawing skills are quite good. Heh heh."

West Market, Tianyi Hall.

Chen Mu stood at the entrance, looking left and right. The place felt off somehow.

Wasn't this Jie Jia's antique shop?

Why was the main hall filled with coffins?

Chen Mu walked to the entrance and craned his head inside.

His eyes met Jie Jia's, who sat behind the counter looking perfectly at ease.

It really was that old man?

Chen Mu looked at Jie Jia with an expression of utter admiration.

When it came to making money, this old man was truly ruthless.

It had only been a few days.

A perfectly good antique shop had been turned into a coffin shop?!

Impressive. Truly impressive!

"Need something?" Jie Jia sat behind the counter, expressionless.

"I want to visit the Ghost Market," Chen Mu said directly.

Having dealt with Jie Jia for so long, Chen Mu knew that the old man's patience for anything other than money was extremely limited.

It was better to get straight to the point.

"Twenty taels." Jie Jia's eyes shifted slightly toward Chen Mu's sleeve, where his money pouch was tucked away.

Chen Mu looked at Jie Jia mockingly. "You may not know this, but Eldest Young Master Zuo of the Zuo Family, Zuo Sheng, and I can be considered fellow disciples. We were just chatting at Eight Directions Pavilion."

"We happened to talk about the Ghost Market."

"Do you think he knows the price of an Entry Ticket to the Ghost Market?"

"If I didn't want others to know I was going to the Ghost Market, would I have come looking for you?"

Chen Mu said flatly, "You can name another price."

Jie Jia's eyes shifted back. A trace of disappointment flashed through them. "Two taels."

Chen Mu: "..."

Damn it, was he really this shady?!

Ten times the price!

"Do I look that much like a sucker?" Chen Mu could not help asking.

Jie Jia said nothing, merely giving Chen Mu a bland glance.

Chen Mu immediately felt a breath of frustration lodge in his chest.

Year 639 of Daliang, April 23rd.

Chen Mu wrapped himself up tightly and rode alone to the Ghost Market.

It was different from what he had imagined.

He had thought the Ghost Market would be as desolate as the East and West Markets within the city.

Instead, the number of visitors had surged. There were more than twice as many people as during his last visit to the Ghost Market.

Even though everyone had instinctively lowered their voices, the entire Ghost Market was still noisy and bustling.

If everyone had not been so thoroughly wrapped up, Chen Mu would have thought he had arrived at an open-air market.

Chen Mu walked silently along the streets of the abandoned village, quietly observing the vendors on both sides of the road.

Compared to before, there were many more people buying and selling jade and antiques.

Qingshan County had been breached by the rebel army and plundered by the Ai Mountain Bandits. Many had died, but many had also gotten rich.

If he had not possessed some skill himself,

Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan might have ended up appearing here too.

Chen Mu stopped wandering and headed straight for a ruined house.

"Are you buying or selling, customer?" A person wearing a smiling fat monk mask sat behind a Square Table and asked calmly.

"Buying secret manuals." Chen Mu sat across from him and replied.

"Do you have any special requirements?" the Smiling Masked Person continued.

Chen Mu's heart stirred. "Do you have any Body Tempering Techniques?"

"You want a Body Tempering Technique, customer?" The Smiling Masked Person's voice rose involuntarily.

"You really do?" Chen Mu looked at the Wooden Cabinet behind the man in surprise.

Although Body Tempering Techniques could all transform the body, each focused on different aspects.

The Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique mainly emphasized speed. It had no advantage in terms of strength.

If he could master another Body Tempering Technique to complement it, he could develop through all-round transformations!

"You really are lucky, customer!" The Smiling Masked Person turned and retrieved a scroll from behind him.

"We recently acquired a precious body refining diagram. The artwork is exquisite, the annotations are detailed, and it is exceptionally easy to learn." The Smiling Masked Person eagerly unrolled one-third of the scroll. "Please have a look, customer."

A row of lifelike little figures ran down the middle.

The right side was packed with tiny, dense writing.

On the left was a line of elegant characters—"True Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique."

Chen Mu: "..."

"Not one thousand taels, not even five hundred taels—only one hundred and eighty-eight taels. You won't lose out, you won't be fooled. It is absolutely, absolutely worth every penny!"

Chen Mu: "..."

Heh heh...