Something Happened

She wouldn't say anything else if he asked again, and that's when Yun Yao lost it.

Yun Yao stood up, rolled up her sleeves, and went to grab Jiang Yujie's ear.

"Ouch... Ouch, it hurts, it hurts!" Jiang Yujie yelled.

"Tell me honestly, where did you go this morning? Why couldn't I find you all morning? If you don't tell me, I'll twist your ear off," Yun Yao said, glaring at Jiang Yujie indignantly.

Jiang Yujie yelled for mercy while saying, "I went to fight that kid surnamed Chen. This time, with the 'Vajra Talisman' given by Yutong, I won. I beat that kid black and blue."

Yun Yao asked Jiang Yujie in confusion, "No, why did you go looking for him to fight?"

Jiang Yujie said, puffing out his chest, "Because he bullied Yutong! Grandpa Yun said that Yutong's grandfather had been kind to our family in the past. Although I don't know what kind of kindness it was, kindness is kindness. I couldn't just watch Yutong get bullied by him. If I hadn't known, it would have been fine. But the problem is, now that I know, I absolutely cannot stand by and do nothing."

When I heard this, I was a little touched. Right now, I have no family or friends, yet someone is willing to stand up for me. I walked over, took Yun Yao's hand off Jiang Yujie's ear, then helped him brush the dust off his clothes and sincerely thanked him.

Martial Uncle once told me something: "A phoenix in distress is not as good as a chicken." Now that I see someone willing to risk their life to repay a kindness, I honestly doubt whether what Martial Uncle said is true or not. Perhaps Jiang Yujie already had a grudge against Chen Hao, perhaps he was just using repaying a kindness as an excuse to fight Chen Hao. But he said he did it for me, and that touched me.

Next, Yun Yao gave Jiang Yujie an educational lecture in the living room. Only after Jiang Yujie clearly promised he would never be so reckless again did Yun Yao let him off the hook.

Life went on peacefully like this. I thought nothing else would happen until Grandpa Yun's birthday.

Then one morning, a person who looked like a butler handed Yun Yao a letter. Yun Yao opened the letter, and her pupils constricted sharply. Seeing her nervous expression, I asked her what happened.

Yun Yao frowned and said, "Something happened at one of the shops run by our Yun Mansion in Yun City. A shopkeeper was murdered inside the shop."

I was shocked: "Ah...? Isn't Yun City your family's territory? Someone actually dared to kill someone here, and it was one of your Yun family's shopkeepers."

Yun Yao said that this wasn't the first time such a thing had happened, but most of the time, the victims were outsiders. It was rare for someone from the Yun Mansion to be murdered like this.

Jiang Yujie looked solemn: "Could it be murder for treasure? There are quite a few valuable items in the Yun family's shops. What if someone took a liking to an item, didn't have the money, and decided to kill for it?"

Yun Yao replied, "That possibility cannot be ruled out, but every Yun family shop has an expert guarding it. Logically, there should have been a warning before the incident, but now that it has happened, there hasn't been any news. This is what I find strange."

I pondered for a moment and said, "Then there are only two possibilities. One is that the expert guarding the Yun family shop is in league with the murderer. The other possibility is that he was harmed before the incident occurred."

Yun Yao replied, "The first one is unlikely, because these experts in the Yun family are selected through layers of vetting. Their abilities and backgrounds have been thoroughly checked, so I think the second possibility is more likely."

Then Yun Yao instructed the butler to send people to investigate and to seal off the exits of Yun City, allowing entry but no exit. The butler nodded in agreement and left the living room. Yun Yao then said she was going to discuss the follow-up matters with her grandfather and hurried out.

After Yun Yao left, I asked Jiang Yujie if he had any thoughts on the matter. Jiang Yujie shook his head, saying he wasn't good at this kind of thing. He was fine with fighting, but asking him to use his brain would be worse than taking his life. I was speechless...

Yun Yao returned shortly after and said she wanted to go see the scene of the incident. Jiang Yujie and I got into the car with her and headed over. No one spoke on the way, and the atmosphere in the car was a bit heavy.

When we arrived, we got out of the car. I saw that it was a rather secluded shop. It looked a bit dilapidated, with the paint on the roller shutter door peeling off. I wondered why a prominent family like the Yun family would have such a shop. But when I went inside, I understood. Good heavens, this was a case of hiding one's strength. Inside, the furnishings and utensils were all incredibly luxurious. Not to mention the antique porcelain pieces behind the counter, each looking priceless. Seeing the change in my expression from before entering to after entering, Jiang Yujie smiled and said to me, "Hehe, surprised, aren't you? This is called a hidden shop."

I looked at Jiang Yujie and asked in confusion, "What is a hidden shop?"

Jiang Yujie said, "The shops of large families are divided into two types, one called 'open shops' and the other called 'hidden shops'.

Open shops deal in common items within the underworld, and of course, the quality is much better than ordinary shops.

As for 'hidden shops,' 'hidden shops deal with things that even the underworld finds troublesome.' For example, top-tier cultivation resources, or antique calligraphy and paintings."

Then Jiang Yujie gestured for me to look at the items inside the counter.

Seeing me look up, Jiang Yujie leaned close to my ear and whispered:

"See these things? If you take just one out into the outside world and get caught, you'll definitely be shot."

"That scary? Is there no room for negotiation?" I asked Jiang Yujie.

Jiang Yujie said decisively that there was none. If other things from the underworld were caught, one could still be sentenced to ten or eight years.

Or life imprisonment, at least their lives would be saved, but if these things were caught, death was the only outcome.

I then remembered what they had said about the "Black Market" before and asked Jiang Yujie, "Is the Black Market you mentioned like a hidden shop?"

Jiang Yujie nodded and shook his head, saying, "Yes and no."

I was confused and quickly asked in a low voice, "So, is it or isn't it?"

Jiang Yujie said that both the Black Market and hidden shops deal with things that cannot see the light of day. If there's a difference.

The items in hidden shops are guaranteed; basically, you pay, you get the goods, and you leave.

Then he added that in the Black Market, it's possible that after you pay and receive the goods, the boss will follow you.

Then they'll find a deserted place, kill you, take your goods back, and continue selling them at their stall."

I was shocked and muttered, "There's such a thing."

"Of course, after all, the Black Market is a kind of no-man's-land, so it's a mix of everything.

Things like taking money, killing the buyer, and then taking back the goods happen frequently," Jiang Yujie said.

He then added that there are definitely good things, but you need to rely on your own ability; either you're smart, or your fists are strong enough.

Otherwise, it's best not to go, or you won't even know how you died.

After hearing his words, I secretly made a mental note, thinking that if I ever go to the Black Market in the future.

I must be extremely vigilant, because I don't want to lose my life without understanding why.