Black Market

Weaving through the Black Market with Wei Dayong, Wang Quan's eyes were almost overwhelmed, his ears filled with shouts.

"Take a look, take a look! Ancestral Blazing Palm partial manuscript, once mastered, your palm will emit fire, able to crack stones like breaking tofu!"

"Come see! Qi Condensing Pill, the real deal! Helps you find your sense of Qi, stepping into the door of Cultivation! Only fifty taels!"

"Exorcism Talisman! Protective charm! Carry it with you, and Demonic Creatures won't come near! One is effective!"

"Look at this Mysterious Iron Sword Billet! Mixed with cold iron, it can cut iron like mud!"

Cultivation Method books, pills, fake talismans, rare ores, beast bones... and some crooked grass roots and things wriggling in jars that you couldn't tell what they were. This chaotic scene reminded Wang Quan of the immortal cultivation markets he'd read about in storybooks, but this one looked more run-down, messier, and... less reliable. That partial Blazing Palm manuscript looked as new as if it were just made; the Qi Condensing Pill gave off a smell of lime; the red lines on those talismans were drawn crookedly, not giving off any sense of Spiritual Qi at all.

Wei Dayong basically ignored the shouts from the stalls on either side. Occasionally, he'd glance at stalls selling ores or weapon billets, but his feet didn't stop, leading Wang Quan directly towards a relatively neat-looking two-story wooden building in the depths of the Black Market. Two pale lanterns hung in front of the building, illuminating two burly men with their arms crossed and stern expressions.

Wei Dayong walked over, didn't say a word, and took out the dark wooden token from his bosom, flashing it at one of them. The man glanced at the token, then looked Wang Quan up and down before stepping aside to let them pass the entrance.

It was much quieter upstairs, with a faint, strange incense in the air, like sandalwood mixed with something else. An old man, thin and shrewd, wearing a silk tunic, heard the commotion and parted the curtain from the inner room, a smile spreading across his face: "Oh, Master Wei! What wind blows you here? Please, come in, come in! And this young man is...?"

"My brother, Wang Quan," Wei Dayong said casually, plopping down next to the tea table.

"Brother Wang, good, good. This old man's surname is Hu, and people on the street give me the courtesy of calling me Old Hu." The old man cupped his hands towards Wang Quan and then called inside, "Good tea!"

A maidservant quietly brought up two cups of hot tea. The tea looked clear, and a special fragrance wafted out, clearing the mind with its scent.

"Master Wei, Brother Wang, please try. This is the Clear Heart Mist Bud we just got this year, brought from the capital by someone I know. It's truly good stuff, helps quiet the mind and refresh you," Old Hu said warmly.

Wei Dayong picked up his cup and took a sip, his eyes brightening: "Mmm, not bad! My mind feels much clearer after drinking it."

Wang Quan also took a sip. The tea was a bit bitter at first, then turned sweet, a cool sensation rushing straight to his forehead. Even the fatigue from staying up all night and his tense nerves relaxed a bit. The Turtle Breath Vitality Art in his body seemed to be circulating more smoothly. This tea was probably no ordinary thing.

"It's good tea," Wei Dayong said, putting down his cup and tapping his fingers on the table. "Old Hu, let's not beat around the bush. Do you have any 'Live Goods' lately?"

Old Hu's smile didn't change, but his eyes flickered: "What Master Wei means by Live Goods is...?"

"Living things, things with a bit of spirit," Wei Dayong leaned forward, lowering his voice. "Monsters, any level of cultivation will do. Corpse Tribe members that have just risen and can still move are also acceptable. Or... Nightmares. Those are even rarer, so it would be even better if you have one."

The smile on Old Hu's face slowly faded. He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and looked straight at Wei Dayong before slowly shaking his head: "Master Wei, aren't you making things difficult for me? Live monsters, corpses, Nightmares? The Imperial Court has explicitly forbidden private capture and sale. We do legitimate business here, we can't get involved with that. It's a matter of losing one's head."

Wei Dayong scoffed, tapping his fingers on the table: "Old Hu, we've known each other for a long time. I'm buying, for my own use, not to set a trap for you. The price can be discussed. You know my character, Old Wei. Besides... if there's any movement from the Garrison in the future, any useful information, I can give you a heads-up first. How about it?"

Old Hu held his teacup, silent. His gaze lingered on Wei Dayong's face, then swept over Wang Quan, who had been silent beside him, as if weighing things. After a good while, he put down the cup, his voice even lower, almost inaudible: "I naturally trust Master Wei's character. Since you've put it this way... to be honest, I do have a couple of 'half-dead' little monster cubs on hand. I truly don't have any Corpse Tribe members; those things attract too much attention and can cause trouble. As for Nightmares... those are even rarer. I've heard they only appear occasionally in places with heavy Yin energy, like old battlefields where many people died, or deep within mass graves. It's a matter of luck, and I don't have any connections for that."

Wei Dayong's eyes lit up: "Half-dead is fine! What kind of monsters? Where?"

Old Hu didn't answer immediately. Instead, he rubbed his fingers together, revealing a shrewd businessman's smile: "But Master Wei, the price... Also, I have a small, perhaps impertinent request. If you obtain the cores from those monsters, or good quality scales, claws, teeth, etc... could you prioritize thinking of this old man? I'll make sure the price is satisfactory."

Core? Wang Quan's heart stirred. He recalled when he'd fought those Walking Corpses and hadn't found anything like it. It seemed the lowest-tier Corpse Tribe members didn't have them, or perhaps that bit of Origin Yin energy didn't count. Monsters have cores? This sounded like a more valuable "material."

Wei Dayong didn't seem surprised by Old Hu's request. He grunted, pulled out two thumb-sized, dark red, slightly warm oval stone lumps from his embrace, and placed them on the table: "I knew you old rascal would be interested in this. Here, two first-tier Fire Lizard cores, decent quality. If this goes smoothly, I can sell them to you. But the price must be fair."

As soon as Old Hu saw the two cores, his small eyes lit up. He picked them up and examined them carefully under the lantern light, nodding repeatedly: "Good stuff! Full quality, strong fire energy! Master Wei is generous! Don't worry, I understand the rules!"

He carefully put away the cores, stood up, and said, "Please wait a moment, sirs, I'll go get the goods." With that, he turned and went into the inner room.

Not long after, Old Hu came out carrying a dull gray, unremarkable-looking, palm-sized old cloth bag. He handed the bag to Wei Dayong and whispered, "The goods are inside. Two of them. I've placed some restrictions on them, so they're listless. They won't die anytime soon, and they won't cause trouble. This storage bag is borrowed from you, Master Wei. You must remember to return it when you're done. It's a small business, this is all I have."

Wei Dayong took the bag, weighed it, and said, "I understand the rules, I'll return it when I'm done." Then, he directly handed the bag to Wang Quan beside him. "Take it, you can look at it later."

Wang Quan took the cloth bag. It felt like coarse hemp, but he could faintly sense a weak fluctuation emanating from within, different from the surrounding environment, locked inside.

Old Hu glanced thoughtfully at Wang Quan, asked no further questions, and cupped his hands with a smile: "Master Wei, Brother Wang, please take care. If you have good goods next time, remember to patronize this old man's business."

Leaving the small building, they returned to the noisy Black Market street. The relaxed expression on Wei Dayong's face was gone. As they walked, he said quietly to Wang Quan, "Those shoddy Cultivation Methods on the stalls outside are all scams. If a truly cultivable method exists, wouldn't they keep it tightly guarded? Even if some leak out, they're mostly incomplete or evil practices that cause problems when practiced. My Bronze Armor Technique is a legitimate path, but it's not that rare in the Garrison, and the higher-ups don't allow it to be taught privately. But don't worry, I'll remember. If I have the chance, I'll definitely find you a reliable one. And don't be polite and refuse."

He stopped, turned around, his dark face looking particularly serious in the dim light, and looked at Wang Quan: "I know you're not ordinary, you have a drive within you, you want to get ahead. In this world, without some real skill, you can't live with peace of mind. I brought you here today, and got this for you, not for free."

Wei Dayong paused, his voice dropping even lower, deeper: "If something happens to me in the future, and I don't come back... please look after my family for me. Xingniang and my daughter... consider this your payment. Deal?"

Wang Quan's heart trembled. He looked up and met Wei Dayong's eyes.

He clutched the still slightly warm storage bag, was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded and uttered a single word: "Deal."

No further promises, no oaths, just this one word, in the noisy background of the Black Market, seemed to carry immense weight.

Wei Dayong grinned, heavily patted Wang Quan's shoulder with considerable force: "Good brother! Let's go, back!"