The sea roared in wave after wave, white gulls dotted the sky.
Ten Thousand Viper Sea Market.
On the cliffs that faced the sea and climbed the mountainside, shops of every kind were scattered like stars across a chessboard. Escape Lights crisscrossed the sky, coming and going with carefree ease.
Noon.
The market gradually grew noisy. All manner of cultivators streamed through the streets, and the long avenue was a bustling scene of people sweating like rain and brushing shoulders as they passed.
In the market's southwestern corner, the roar of the surging tide was drowned out by the din of the crowd. Standing in the street, one could hear only the ceaseless calls of merchants, rising and falling all around.
At the apothecary with the sign "Zhou's," the proprietor, Xiang Xia, looked lovely and charming in her merfolk silk. Her voice was clear and pure, like a song from heaven.
She chatted and laughed as she saw several regulars who had come to buy pills out of the shop, accompanied by several demons disguised as attendants. Once she returned inside, her expression turned stern. She ordered one of the demons, "Stay here and attend to the customers. Remember, no one is to enter the rear courtyard without permission!"
After arranging the affairs of the shop, Xiang Xia walked alone into the inner courtyard and hurried to a room with its doors and windows tightly shut.
The room stood in a corner of the rear courtyard. A pile of odds and ends sat in front of it, beside a row of spirit bamboo. Each stalk was lush and green, like jadeite. When the sea breeze passed through, their branches and leaves swayed, ringing like clashing pieces of jade—a sound that was especially pleasant to the ear.
Layer upon layer of