Hidden dangers

He had not slept all night.

Early the next morning, Chen Lin rose to prepare for a trip to the Market to buy materials, but before he could leave, someone knocked on his door.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, it's me, Zhao Zhengyuan."

What was he here for this time?

Chen Lin was puzzled, but he still went over to open the door.

"What brings you here so early, Fellow Daoist Zhao?"

Chen Lin opened the door and invited him inside.

"Ah, don't even ask. I drank so much last night that I actually forgot the important business."

Zhao Zhengyuan shook the snow off his hat and said gravely, "It's about that time we were afflicted by an evil presence."

Then he abruptly gave a sidelong sneer. "But don't worry. Whatever happens, I'll handle it. There's nothing in Kaiyuan City that I can't deal with!"

Chen Lin returned the same sidelong sneer, then lowered his head without speaking.

The worry that had long weighed on his heart surfaced in his mind.

The original owner of his body had not died a natural death.

A month earlier, the original owner and several companions had gone into the Wilderness to gather materials. After returning, he had fallen into a dazed, muddled state, then died inexplicably, allowing Chen Lin to transmigrate into his body.

Of course, to everyone else, he had merely been ill for a few days before making a full recovery.

But the companions who had gone with him had all died one after another. Only Zhao Zhengyuan, standing before him now, remained.

In truth, then, Zhao Zhengyuan was the sole survivor. That was also why Chen Lin remained wary of him.

As for the sidelong sneers and thin red threads, he had long since stopped paying attention to them. Everyone in the city was the same; he could not possibly guard against them all.

Apart from not daring to venture outside when the red threads appeared at midnight, he lived as though this were a normal world.

"What is it? Did you discover something?"

Chen Lin also wanted to know what had actually happened that time, and he gave Zhao Zhengyuan a searching look.

The sidelong sneer had lasted only an instant. Zhao Zhengyuan had already returned to normal. He shook his head. "I haven't discovered anything. More people have fallen ill, and their condition is exactly the same as ours was!"

"What?"

Chen Lin was startled.

"More people? Who are they? What's their cultivation?"

Zhao Zhengyuan's expression darkened. "Quite a few this time-more than a dozen. The strongest is at the Qi Condensation Late Stage, and some are cultivators from the Five Major Families."

Then he gave another sidelong sneer. "The Five Major Families aren't worth a damn. With me around, you've got nothing to worry about!"

"That many? And some from the Five Major Families?"

Chen Lin's expression grew grim.

The Five Major Families were the five great lineages in the city that had Foundation Establishment Cultivators. They were the city's true rulers.

If even their people had been affected, the matter was much more serious.

"That's right. These people also fell ill after returning from the Wilderness. If they all die too, the two of us will probably be investigated."

Zhao Zhengyuan's tone was heavy.

That was precisely what worried Chen Lin.

The people afflicted in the previous incident had all been rogue cultivators in the Early Qi Refinement Realm. Nobody cared whether they lived or died.

Now that a cultivator at the Qi Condensation Late Stage had been affected, along with lineage cultivators, the matter would certainly receive attention. An investigation was probably inevitable.

He was not afraid of much else, but if they discovered that he was a transgressor, or that he was different from the people here, he would be finished.

Although the cultivators here were all string-controlled puppets, they still acted normally. Even if he had something special about him, he was merely a drudge of a cultivator at the very bottom.

"Let them investigate. Surely surviving isn't a crime?"

Though anxious inside, Chen Lin acted unconcerned.

Zhao Zhengyuan sighed. "That's true enough, but I'm afraid some people will wave a chicken feather around like a command arrow and deliberately make things difficult for us. Then we'll have to cough up a pile of spirit stones again."

Chen Lin's expression darkened as well.

That was almost certain to happen.

Even under ordinary circumstances, the officials were eager to scrape a layer of skin off them. With an investigation into an evil specter as their excuse, they would never stop until they had squeezed them dry.

Without spirit stones, he could not rapidly improve his cultivation, and that would disrupt his grand escape plan.

"Then what do you intend to do? Leave?"

Chen Lin looked at him and asked tentatively.

If he could organize a group to leave together, they might have a sliver of hope even with their weak cultivation.

He did not want to remain in this bizarre place for another moment.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhengyuan shook his head repeatedly.

"Leave? Are you joking? This snowfall is so unnatural. I don't want to go outside the city and throw my life away. Besides, we haven't done anything wrong. If we run, they'll think we have something to hide. Wouldn't that be seeking our own deaths?"

Then his demeanor suddenly changed, and he gave a sidelong sneer. "How could I, Zhao Zhengyuan, flee like a dog driven from its home!"

Chen Lin nodded helplessly.

Zhao Zhengyuan could not sense anything wrong here, so his thinking could never match Chen Lin's. Their goals could not align.

"Ah, we'll just have to take it one step at a time. If fortune awaits, it isn't calamity; if calamity awaits, there's no escaping it. In the end, we'll have to lose some wealth to avert disaster. That's what comes of having weak cultivation and no backing!"

Chen Lin shrugged.

Zhao Zhengyuan looked deeply convinced.

They discussed the matter a while longer but could not come up with a good solution. They could only pray that more of those afflicted this time survived-preferably all of them.

That would suggest the problem was not serious, and the Five Major Families would not be alerted.

After all, their Foundation Establishment experts had all disappeared. They probably had no attention to spare for such minor matters now.

After Zhao Zhengyuan left, Chen Lin sat on a stool, frowning in thought.

Pinning his hopes on others was simply not viable. He had to improve his cultivation quickly.

The Early Qi Refinement Realm was far too weak. He was inferior even to stronger martial artists, and had to rely on talismans to cast spells.

Once he reached the Mid Qi Refinement Realm, he could not only cultivate spells but also use magical tools. Only then would he count as a true cultivator.

As soon as he had some ability to protect himself, he would leave this bizarre city. He had no desire to spend every day among people who sneered sideways at him.

He thought for a while.

Then he rose, left his room, and headed straight for the Market through the snow.

The streets were cold and deserted. The occasional figures that appeared were all hurrying along, looking as though they wanted no strangers approaching them.

Chen Lin paid no attention to anything else and soon reached the Market.

He had come to the Small Market in the northern Outer City's Shanty Town, rather than the Inner City.

Because of the unnatural snowfall and the disappearance of the Five Major Families' Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators, the Inner City was already under lockdown. Getting inside would be troublesome.

Though called a market, it was really just a shabby little alley with a few shops.

Before the snow, some rogue cultivators had set up stalls outside, but now there was not a soul in sight.

He made his way to a familiar shop, pushed open the door, and entered.

"Oh, if it isn't Master Talismanist Chen. Here to sell Vigor Talismans again?"

A thin, middle-aged man with a face full of pockmarks saw Chen Lin enter and immediately mocked him with a sidelong sneer.

He was far from welcoming and did not even rise from his chair.

Chen Lin came here to sell Vigor Talismans at regular intervals and knew the shopkeeper quite well.

As for the sidelong sneers and sinister, arrogant mannerisms, he no longer paid them any attention at all. He simply treated them as normal behavior.

Knowing the man's acerbic temperament, Chen Lin did not take offense. He returned a sidelong sneer, then took out the Fireball Talisman and waved it before him. "Zhang Mazi, open those little eyes of yours and take a look. Didn't you say I'd never craft a Rank 1 Mid-Grade Talisman in my entire life?"

"What? You actually succeeded!"

At the sight of the Fireball Talisman, Zhang Mazi sprang out of his chair.

With an incredulous expression, he took the talisman and examined it closely for a while before setting it on the counter, still looking astonished.

"Impossible. With that rubbish chicken-scratch technique of yours, you actually made a Fireball Talisman? There's no justice under heaven!"

Chen Lin feigned fury at his words.

"What do you mean, rubbish technique? My talismancrafting skills come from a proper legacy, and you dare call them rubbish? Are you buying it or not? If not, I'll go to the Multitreasure Pavilion next door!"

"Yes, yes, I'm buying. Don't get angry. How could the Multitreasure Pavilion offer you a better price than I would?"

The shopkeeper forced a smile and apologized repeatedly.

But as soon as he turned around, he gave Chen Lin a sidelong sneer. "A mere rogue cultivator dares threaten me? Just try going next door. I'll beat the shit out of you!"

Chen Lin kept reminding himself that these people were all sick. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "How many spirit stones can you offer?"

The shopkeeper did not answer immediately. Instead, he picked up the talisman again and examined it carefully.

Only after a long while did he exclaim admiringly, "Not only did you manage to craft a Fireball Talisman, its quality is actually perfect. Could you really be a talismancrafting genius?"

Chen Lin also knew that the talisman he had crafted was perfect. After all, it was a product of his talent ability, which was why he had some expectations.

For an ordinary Fireball Talisman, the purchase price was common knowledge: around seven or eight low-grade spirit stones.

"Why all the fuss? Just tell me how many spirit stones you can offer."

Chen Lin urged him again.

The shopkeeper stopped beating around the bush. After a moment's thought, he held up one finger.

"Ten spirit stones?"

Chen Lin frowned.

"That's right. Things haven't been looking good lately, so talisman prices have risen somewhat. An ordinary Fireball Talisman sells to shops for around eight spirit stones. Yours is good quality, and you're a regular customer, so I can offer ten."

The shopkeeper nodded and gave a sidelong sneer, looking as though he were doing Chen Lin a favor.

Chen Lin was not particularly satisfied.

At ten spirit stones, there was practically no profit.

After all, he could currently craft them only by relying on his talent ability, succeeding once every ten attempts.

"Could you add a little more? This isn't the only one I'll make. There'll be plenty more in the future."

Looking at the shopkeeper's pockmarked face, Chen Lin began to haggle.

Every extra stone counted. Otherwise, who knew how long it would take him to save enough for ten sets of pill refining materials?

Hearing Chen Lin's words, the invariably sharp-tongued Zhang Mazi actually neither rejected him outright nor mocked him.

There was a chance!

Chen Lin's eyes lit up.

His anticipation grew.