Qin He passed through safely and stepped into Blackstone Town.
A rugged, coarse aura washed over him. Most of the town's houses were built from dark brown rocks, their roofs thatched with dried straw. The walls were covered in cracks wrought by wind and sun, and beneath many eaves hung strips of air-dried beast meat and herbs.
The streets were flattened gravel roads, with stalls haphazardly arranged along both sides. Some sold rough beast hides, while others set up iron pots to sell steaming hot meat soup. Everywhere carried the untamed disorder unique to the wilderness.
But though Blackstone Town looked rough and crude, it was small yet complete, like a sparrow with all five organs.
Following the main street, he found taverns, inns, gambling houses, and medicine shops all in abundance.
Qin He first entered a tavern filled with the scent of meat. He ordered a huge basin of stewed ferocious beast meat, tender enough to fall apart, along with a jar of fiery grain liquor that burned all the way down, then tucked in with gusto.
Days of travel and slaughter had left him ravenous. Now, with great chunks of meat and bowl after bowl of liquor, he felt thoroughly refreshed. After eating and drinking his fill, he strolled around town and bought cold-weather gloves, beast-hide boots, face coverings, and other items from a general store. He even paused before a fortune-telling stall on a street corner and listened to a blind old Daoist ramble on about the "omens of Evernight." It was a rare moment of leisure.
Once he had seen enough, Qin He headed toward the medicine shops at the center of town.
He had come to Blackstone Town not only to wait for Da Yajin, but also to see whether there were any Pills suited