Black Market

Black Market

Three days later.

Flakes of snow drifted down, lightly settling over the ground, rocks, shed roofs, and mud.

The soft rustling sound brought an involuntary calm to the heart.

Yet outside the shed, the hurried footsteps rushing back and forth shattered that calm, reminding Li Yuan that he had entered an entirely new and unfamiliar environment.

Yan Niangzi stood beneath the eaves by the threshold, standing on tiptoe as she tied the fastenings of her husband's newly bought cloak. Then she wrapped her arms around his waist, pressed her cheek against his chest, and said with a trace of worry, "Today is your first day going to the Black Market."

Li Yuan smiled. "There will be many, many more days like this."

Yan Niangzi fussed over him again. "There are a lot of formidable people in the Black Market, right? You—"

"I'll be careful," Li Yuan said.

Yan Niangzi acknowledged him, then grabbed an oil-paper umbrella and a lunchbox and handed them to him.

Li Yuan took them both, opened the umbrella, and walked into the snow.

The side room's door had long since been opened. Steam rose from the charcoal brazier, and the water in the large kettle had just boiled, sending billows of white vapor into the cold late-winter air. It all carried a warm sense of everyday life.

The middle-aged woman behind the brazier was slightly plump and kind-faced. Hearing the movement, she naturally looked up at the young man walking through the snow and called out with a smile, "Master."

Behind her stood a boy and a girl, both shrinking behind the woman as they followed her call. "Master."

The three of them were naturally Aunt Wang, who had once lived next door to Li Yuan's family, and her two children.

Aunt Wang had followed Yan Niangzi to settle down in Silver Stream Village, and she was naturally grateful beyond measure.

She was also someone who understood propriety. Since she had come with them, she adjusted her mindset. She no longer called Li Yuan "Yuan Ge'er" or Yan Yu "Yan Niangzi," instead changing her address to "Master" and "Madam."

Li Yuan walked to the doorway and said, "Aunt Wang, treat this place as your own home. If anything comes up, tell Sister Yan. No need to be restrained."

Aunt Wang smiled. "Yes, I understand. Take care, Master."

The Black Market of Silver Stream Village had a very peculiar layout.

It was on an island in the middle of Silver Creek.

Silver Creek was called a creek, but in truth it was a great lake.

The lake came in from outside. Most of it lay beyond Shanbao County, while a smaller part lay within it.

This led to one situation: people from outside the county could also enter the county by boat.

However, the island where the Black Market was located stood directly in the waterway leading into the county, like a city wall that strengthened Shanbao County's defenses from the water.

This area fell under the jurisdiction of the Blood Saber Sect and was a state within a state. Thus, even when the Red Lotus Bandits attacked the county, they had never entered through here.

It was precisely because of this special terrain that much "black goods" could bypass the County Son's overland routes and arrive directly at the Black Market by water for trade, greatly enriching the variety of "goods" available there.

Li Yuan had heard a rough account of these matters when he visited Cai Ze.

And now, he stood aboard a Black Awning Boat bound for the Black Market.

Snow swept over countless households, while layer upon layer of ripples spread across the lake.

The young man stood alone at the bow, dressed in the black robes with red trim of the Blood Saber Sect, wrapped in a dark blue winter cloak, holding an umbrella, carrying a bow on his back, and wearing a saber at his waist.

The Black Awning Boat shot forward like an arrow, carving a jade-green trail through the water before it was swiftly swallowed away.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, the Black Awning Boat docked. The boatman leaped ashore and began tying the mooring rope as he waited for returning passengers.

Li Yuan strolled down. Seeing his clothes, a man with a saber at his waist but dressed in an ordinary cotton-padded coat hurried forward.

Li Yuan showed his identity token as an Outer Perimeter Disciple of the Blood Saber Sect. The man respectfully said, "So it's Little Lord Li. I'm a servant on the island. Lord Li ordered me to wait here for you. Whenever one arrives, I am to bring them to see him."

Little Lord Li?

Li Yuan paused, then remembered that the island's resident consecrated master was also surnamed Li.

The servants called that consecrated master Lord Li, so naturally they called him Little Lord Li.

Of course, Little Lord Li was merely a polite form of address. He was only a newly arrived Outer Perimeter Disciple.

"Don't call me Little Lord Li. Just call me Li Yuan.

Lead the way."

He then followed the servant through the Black Market, carefully observing his surroundings along the way.

Clearly, the Black Market also had a front and back.

He had come from the county, and his landing point was on the south side of the Black Market. There were some houses here. As he passed by, he could vaguely see Blood Saber Sect disciples moving through them, along with Saber-Wearing Servants coming and going.

Clearly, this area was relatively safe, because everyone and everything landing on the island from here had to pass through Silver Stream Village and undergo inspection at the Martial Shop.

Therefore, where he had landed should be the Black Market's back entrance.

The place where Lord Li was stationed faced those arriving from outside the county, where the risks were far greater. Naturally, that was the Black Market's front entrance.

There were stalls in the Black Market, as well as shops and even tall buildings. It was somewhat different from the chaotic, dark places he had imagined.

Li Yuan immediately adjusted his understanding.

The Black Market was not black because the market itself was shady, but because the goods were.

To attract all kinds of goods, the Blood Saber Sect would naturally establish "basic facilities" such as shops here.

After walking for a while, Li Yuan suddenly stopped because he heard the crying of many women.

He turned to look at an alley entrance framed by evergreen wood.

The women's cries came from deep within the alley. The alley seemed to lead to another area within the Black Market, a place that felt separated from this one.

"What is that place?" Li Yuan asked.

"L-Little Lord Li," the servant stammered.

"Just call me Li Yuan."

"I wouldn't dare. If people found out that I actually called you by name, I... I wouldn't be able to get by anymore." The servant hurriedly begged forgiveness.

"Forget it, then. If everyone uses that form of address, call me whatever you like."

"Yes, Little Lord Li." The servant sighed in relief, then looked toward the alley entrance. "In the Black Market, live goods are kept separate from other goods. Inside that alley is a more enclosed and safer venue specifically for holding live goods."

"Live goods?" Li Yuan asked curiously.

The servant smiled and explained, "People. They sell people in that alley."

Li Yuan fell silent. He recalled what Cai Ze and Cai Ze's maid had said, then thought of the buying and selling of people amid this vast chaotic age. Something inexplicably clogged his heart.

But soon, he let it go.

He should take care of himself and his family first. Where was he supposed to find so much willingness to sacrifice, so much sympathy?

This was simply the way of the world. One could only drift with the current.

The servant leaned closer and said, "If Little Lord Li wishes to buy, we servants will keep watch for you. Once good stock arrives, we'll certainly notify Little Lord Li and let you have the first look."

Li Yuan said nothing and merely nodded casually.

Much later, he arrived at the island's northernmost point, which was also the Black Market's northern gate.

Before the gate,

in a pavilion,

was a reclining chair woven from bamboo and rattan, covered in soft furs.

A man whose mere side profile looked immensely burly lay in the chair. On the ground beside him rested a long-handled blade unlike the sabers carried by martial artists, somewhat resembling the sort of weapon ancient generals used in Li Yuan's memories. Yes, it was like Guan Yu's Cold Beauty Saw.

The servant led Li Yuan forward and respectfully said, "Lord Li, another one has arrived."

The man gave a humming response through his nose.

Li Yuan glanced at him and saw numbers floating around him: "130(180)~140(210)."

His pupils narrowed slightly. This was the strongest person he had seen so far.