There Are Always Those Who Don't Know Death

Zhang Zhi was overjoyed: "If I'd had the True Essence Blood Refining Pill before, why would I have been stuck at the Second Blood Change? Forget Blood Qi Like an Ox—even Blood Qi Like a Tiger would've been within reach!!"

"Second Brother, got any more? Give me a few more." Lu Cheng's brows danced with delight.

"I figured as much. Here, these are for you three."

Lu Yuan tossed three porcelain bottles to them, each containing two True Essence Blood Refining Pills.

Over the past few days, he'd already taken three himself, with four left—they'd be gone in under ten days.

The gold bars worth ten thousand taels that Lu Longjing had given him were nearly spent too, but he didn't plan to ask the family for more money. He intended to earn his own.

The way to make money was naturally selling the True Essence Blood Refining Pill.

If a Blood Replenishing Pill could sell for two hundred taels, a True Essence Blood Refining Pill should fetch a thousand, right?

The cost alone was almost four hundred taels.

Even though the True Essence Blood Refining Pill was only twice as effective as the Blood Replenishing Pill, a pill's price couldn't be judged by efficacy alone.

The next day, Lu Yuan greeted his father and brothers again and headed back to the Ghost Market on Leiji Mountain.

At the Six Doors outpost, after being announced, Xu Ziyi came out quickly. Seeing Lu Yuan, he paused slightly, then smiled: "Brother Qiao, I didn't expect you back so soon."

Lu Yuan got straight to the point: "Brother Xu, I want to sell something at the Ghost Market. Could you find out when the next market opens?"

Xu Ziyi understood: "Some things really are only fit to sell at the Ghost Market."

In the past, when he captured criminals, the loot and stolen goods he obtained were sold there.

"Alright, I'll go inquire now. I'll have news for you within an hour. You're still at the Four Seas Inn, right? I'll send someone to deliver the message."

"Thank you, Brother Xu."

Lu Yuan expressed his thanks, once again grateful that he'd saved Xu Ziyi's life back then. Not only had he received a generous reward, but he'd also gained a lot of help.

"Between us, no need for thanks."

Xu Ziyi shook his head, then shifted the topic: "Brother Qiao, what do you think of Six Doors?"

"What do I think?"

Lu Yuan smiled and said slowly: "Backed by the imperial court, with experts as numerous as clouds, feared by everyone in the Jianghu—that's my take."

Xu Ziyi chuckled: "That's what most people think of Six Doors. So, Brother Qiao, any interest in joining? With your strength, becoming a Bronze Badge Constable wouldn't be hard. It's just that..."

He paused:

"Six Doors constables must have a clean background."

Lu Yuan's heart stirred. He understood the implication in Xu Ziyi's words.

They both knew it—Xu Ziyi was aware that his name was fake, his appearance disguised, his identity unclear. But since their interactions hadn't touched on too much, they'd let it slide.

"What benefits come with being a Bronze Badge Constable?"

Xu Ziyi said: "For one, my monthly salary includes Blood Replenishing Pills and Trauma Healing Pills. Silver is one thing—we don't lack that—but those pills are treasures. No matter where, they're hard currency more popular than gold."

"And as you said, with experts like clouds, unless someone is utterly vicious, most people don't dare offend Six Doors. Joining means having a massive backing."

Honestly, hearing this, Lu Yuan was tempted.

But having to expose his identity gave him pause.

After all, he had a cheat—his greatest fear was someone spotting a flaw.

Another concern: though he lived in a corner and couldn't see the full picture of the world, he could tell that Great Sheng seemed to be on its last legs. He didn't know how much longer it could hold on.

What he feared most was joining the army in 1949.

If Great Sheng was like the Ming Dynasty under Emperor Jiajing—weak but able to last another hundred years—then joining wouldn't matter.

But if it was like the Ming under Emperor Chongzhen, on the verge of collapse, then joining Six Doors would be pure idiocy.

Lu Yuan said gravely: "Could you give me some time to think it over?"

"No problem. Whether you join Six Doors or not, it won't affect our friendship." Xu Ziyi laughed heartily.

Less than an hour after returning to the Four Seas Inn, Xu Ziyi sent word: the Ghost Market would open again tomorrow.

The night passed without incident.

At three in the morning, Lu Yuan disguised himself thoroughly—donned a bamboo hat, changed clothes, covered every inch of his body, and wore a ghost-face mask.

Entering the Ghost Market, he took a stroll and found four stalls selling pills.

He found a spot to set up his own stall, hanging a white cloth with a line of writing:

"Selling True Essence Blood Refining Pills. If you know your stuff, come over. Guaranteed genuine."

Plenty of people knew their stuff. No sooner had the cloth gone up than someone came to ask the price.

"How much per pill?"

It was a man wearing a tiger-face mask, his voice shrill—probably forcing it.

"Two thousand taels per pill."

Pills were like high-end goods in his past life. Five times the cost—Lu Yuan didn't think that was unreasonable.

"Too expensive."

The Tiger-faced Masked Man shook his head, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

On one hand, he found the price too high; on the other, he wasn't sure if it was genuine—too risky, doubts lingering.

Lu Yuan didn't mind. Dawn was still three or four hours away; he could wait.

Lord Lu fishes, willing to take the bait.

Time trickled by, minute after minute. An hour passed. Six people had asked about the price. The seventh, a man in a conical hat like Lu Yuan's, came to inquire:

"The True Essence Blood Refining Pill is decent, but two thousand taels is too much. Fifteen hundred."

"Eighteen hundred."

"Let's both give a little. Two pills for three thousand four hundred taels."

"Deal!"

"But I need to inspect the goods first."

This conical hat man clearly knew his stuff. He gave it a quick sniff and nodded: "It's genuine."

One hand paid, the other delivered. Lu Yuan packed up and left immediately, his face dark beneath the mask. He keenly noticed: "That conical hat man is tailing me..."

The conical hat man had seemed straightforward enough—thought he was just wealthy, but it turned out he had his eyes on both the money and the goods.

The Ghost Market seemed to have considerable backing. Though everyone skulked about and plenty of valuables changed hands, no one caused trouble.

The group tailing Lu Yuan didn't dare make a move inside the Ghost Market either.

Leaving the Ghost Market, both sides seemed to have an unspoken agreement, holding back. It wasn't until they were three or four li away that Lu Yuan turned to face the four followers: "Gentlemen, this is far enough. No need to see me off."

The conical hat man chuckled: "Brother, hand over the True Essence Blood Refining Pills, the Pill Recipe, and the silver, and I'll be merciful enough to spare your life. Don't think about resisting. There are four of us, only one of you. Two fists can't beat four hands. Lose money, you can earn it back. Lose your life, and it's all gone."

Lu Yuan sighed: "Why are there always so many people in this world who don't know when they're dead?"

"Don't know when you're dead? Are you talking about yourself?"

A gray-robed man to the left of the conical hat man shot back, raising his sword to point at Lu Yuan.