The cult's host finished speaking, and the basement fell into a brief, expectant silence.
The sickly green candle flames flickered and swayed, making the black figures gathered around them look like a mob of demons dancing wildly.
After a brief pause, a short, slender figure in a cloak near the front spoke first. His voice was distorted too, sharp and hurried. "I need at least three pairs of Night Raven eyes, captured before the night of the new moon. They must retain at least eighty percent of their vitality."
At once, a stooped figure behind him replied in an old, hoarse voice. "I have two pairs that meet your requirements. I'll trade them for an equal weight of Sleeping Moss, or... accurate information about when the Church patrol will next search the East District."
The short cloaked figure seemed to consider this. "I don't have that information, but I do have half a pound of dried Sleeping Moss. We can trade."
"Agreed," the old voice answered briskly.
The two of them then left the edge of the crowd and went to a corner, where they quietly completed the details of their trade. The faint scrape of small containers changing hands could be heard.
It was as though someone had flipped a switch. The others began speaking up one after another.
"Looking to buy a Rotting Beast's venom sac. The venom must be intact..."
"Offering Spirit Speaker skull powder in exchange for Dream Fragments or knowledge of related rituals..."
A hoarse woman chuckled. "Does anyone know anything about the female investigator who killed so many monsters in the slums a few nights ago? She killed my little darling, so I have to collect a little interest from her..."
Beneath his hood, Yu Xing turned his gaze toward her.
To his senses,