Seeking Revenge

"That won't do. Those who can get inside either have connections or a background," Ma Xiaoliu said, lowering his voice.

Lin Qing felt a sudden chill in his heart; had no one told him this, he would never have been able to find out such information.

"Fine, take me in," Lin Qing nodded.

"However, there is a capital verification. Ordinary people need one hundred taels of assets to enter."

Lin Qing grew vigilant, yet a shred of curiosity regarding the inner circle of the Black Market remained in his heart.

Thus, he took out a bulging pouch.

Opening it, one could see nothing but gleaming silver fragments.

"Is this enough?"

"Enough, enough," Ma Xiaoliu nodded hurriedly.

"But to take you in, you need to pay me three taels of silver," Ma Xiaoliu continued.

Lin Qing hesitated for a moment before handing over the silver.

After all, the world is driven by profit; if the other party had offered to take him in out of kindness without asking for a cent, it would only have made him suspicious of ulterior motives.

Immediately, Lin Qing followed Ma Xiaoliu inside.

Ma Xiaoliu merely flashed the token in his hand, and he was already leading Lin Qing through.

Passing through a spacious and bright cavern, there was indeed another world within. Inside cages made of refined steel, each as thick as an infant's arm, were trapped tall, exotic beasts rarely seen by ordinary eyes.

There were two-headed lions with bodies of burning red, giant pythons with scales as crystalline as jade, and massive roc birds with golden wings.

Judging by the hardness of the scales and feathers on these exotic beasts, a mere martial artist would certainly be no match for them.

Beyond these, there were cages holding slaves, including some female slaves with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in provocative clothing that barely covered their bodies with a few rags.

Seeing Lin Qing's gaze lock onto the blonde female slaves, Ma Xiaoliu chuckled lewdly.

"Brother, never seen this before? These are female slaves from the Far West. Ordinary people shouldn't even look; even family scions might not have the capital for this."

"Then who are these for?"

Lin Qing asked.

Ma Xiaoliu simply pointed his finger toward the ceiling.

"The sky of Qingping County."

Lin Qing was lost in thought and did not continue to press the matter.

Those who could be called the sky of Qingping County were few and far between.

They were not people he could speculate about at his current level.

"Take me to find the deer tendons."

"You got it."

Ma Xiaoliu led him past shop after shop, most of which sold contraband such as crossbows, armor, and Fortune Paste, all of considerable scale.

None of the shops had signs; only shopkeepers wearing masks kept watch.

The pedestrians coming and going were also mostly masked or covered in black cloth, hiding their true faces.

Ma Xiaoliu brought him to the entrance of an apothecary. Inside, it was filled with the organs and medicinal materials of exotic beasts—tiger bones, lion hearts, leopard whips, elephant tusks, and more, everything one could ask for.

Unlike the other shops without storefronts, this one actually had the words "Hundred Herb Pavilion" written on it.

"This is the Hundred Herb Pavilion, established by Prince Gong of Qingyang Prefecture. No one in the imperial court dares to touch it. Because their business spans everywhere, the prices are standard market rates, fair to all," Ma Xiaoliu explained.

"Thank you." Lin Qing nodded and strode inside.

He looked at the dazzling array of medicinal materials and could not help but be wide-eyed.

However, the prices for these exotic beast organs were also very expensive.

Lin Qing shook his head and looked directly at the deer tendons. The lowest-priced were the Silver Flower Deer Tendon at fifty taels each, while the Golden Flower Deer Tendon went up to one hundred taels each.

The tendons of these exotic beasts were thick, each one the size of an ordinary person's wrist, and the quality was much better than those on the outer perimeter of the Black Market. Lin Qing estimated that the Tendon Strengthening Powder he refined would require about one-tenth of the amount.

But since he could take it regularly after refining it, he didn't mind having more.

"Shopkeeper, give me two deer tendons."

Lin Qing spoke, placing a bag of silver on the table.

"Very well, customer."

The shopkeeper took the silver, counted it, and quickly produced a rectangular wooden box.

He had someone place the two deer tendons inside and handed it to Lin Qing.

Carrying the heavy bundle and the box of deer tendons, Lin Qing dared not linger and immediately headed toward the exit.

His display of wealth—spending money like water—along with the bulging bundle, naturally attracted many prying eyes lurking in the shadows.

Inside the Black Market gambling den, two men walked out.

Leading them was a tall, thin man in black, a horizontal blade slung at his waist.

Beside him stood a short-haired man, his face etched with fear.

"Brother Dadao, please don't hit me anymore. I've been keeping an eye out for people these past few months."

"But you know as well as I do, finding someone in the Brick Kiln Black Market is like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"One of my subordinates told me that person over there looks quite similar, though I'm not sure if it's him."

The short-haired man pointed toward the figure of Lin Qing.

The tall, thin man swept a cold gaze over Lin Qing.

His eyes lingered for a split second on the horizontal blade at Lin Qing's waist, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

He knew his brother's blade better than anyone; the corner of the hilt was worn down, and he could never mistake it.

A wave of icy killing intent instantly radiated from his body.

He locked his gaze onto Lin Qing's back and followed silently.

Just as Lin Qing stepped out of the black market, he glanced behind him and saw several groups of people lingering near the exit.

His heart sank, and he immediately quickened his pace, choosing to navigate through rugged, difficult side paths.

Along the way, Lin Qing looked back from time to time, only to see the tall, thin man weaving through the crowd, charging straight toward him.

Lin Qing's heart tightened, and he accelerated further.

However, the person tracking him was even faster.

With rapid strides, the man closed the distance.

"Stop!"

A cold, sharp shout rang out from behind.

Knowing he couldn't shake his pursuer, Lin Qing spun around, his right hand already clutching a pouch of poison powder while his left hand rested on the hilt of his blade.

The tall, thin man had already closed to within ten paces, his eyes as cold as blades, fixed firmly on the horizontal sword at Lin Qing's waist.

"Where did you get that blade?"

The man's voice was hoarse, laced with suppressed rage.

"My brother, Liu Xiaodao, went missing a month ago. Why is his sword with you?"

"Speak! Did you kill him?!"

Lin Qing realized things had taken a turn for the worse; it was the brother of the scarred man who had come looking for him.

Judging by the man's aura and speed, his strength was far superior to his brother's.

"I don't know. I bought this blade from someone else."

Lin Qing shook his head.

At that moment, the tall, thin man lunged toward him.

Puff!

There was no further talk.

Lin Qing's response was a cloud of poison powder thrown directly into the man's face—he would strike first!

"Despicable!"

The tall, thin man clearly hadn't expected Lin Qing to be so decisive and ruthless.

He cursed in anger and retreated sharply.

At the same time, he drew his blade, weaving a screen of steel that deflected most of the powder, though a small amount still touched his sleeve and face, the searing, stinging pain fueling his rage.

"You're courting death!"

He roared, abandoning all questions, and lunged forward like a bolt of lightning.

His blade whistled through the air, slashing directly at Lin Qing's face.

The technique he unleashed shared the same origin as the Wave-Breaking Blade Technique, but it was clearly more powerful and significantly faster.

The blade light surged like layers of crashing waves.

Each wave was more ferocious than the last, the momentum truly terrifying.