Small Market

A great river lay right across the road ahead, its surging waves barely visible in the distance.

The waves were visible even through the Crude Telescope, so just imagine how huge they were!

And yet something was moving back and forth across the water. They were probably boats.

Zhu Jiusi stood there in stunned disbelief. Three years of experience hadn't prepared him for this!

He was seeing something like this for the first time.

But this was his road, and sooner or later he'd have to cross it. The river blocking his path had to be waded through.

Zhu Jiusi pondered for a long while, glancing over every so often. The great river was still there.

It wasn't a hallucination, nor a mirage.

With a grim resolve, Zhu Jiusi clenched a Dao Discussion Card between his teeth, ready to flee at a moment's notice. He cautiously approached the river.

The closer he got, the more uneasy he felt.

He was less than half a mile from the river. He could even see it with the naked eye, yet he still couldn't hear the sound of flowing water.

Instead, a cacophony of voices rose and fell, like the noise of a market.

A bloody smell drifted over, but there was no actual blood and no sign of a fight.

Zhu Jiusi continued forward. At last, he came within ten meters, close enough to make out the scene.

A great river surged out of the mist on the left and flowed into the mist on the right, cutting straight across Zhu Jiusi's road.

The river rushed by in complete silence. Little boats lined its banks, loaded with fruits and vegetables, meat and fine wine, all jumbled together as their wares were sold.

As soon as they saw Zhu Jiusi approach, the vendors began calling out, "Sir, we've got food, clothes, all kinds of goods, magic treasures, materials... You name it, we have it! Looking for anything, sir? Everything's cheap here!"

They really were merchants!

Before Zhu Jiusi had even reached them, a shop assistant in a short jacket hurried over, bowing and scraping.

"Greetings, sir! The Small Market has been waiting for you!"

Zhu Jiusi looked around. There were dozens of little cargo boats, but he was the only customer. Everyone was staring at him eagerly, as if they wanted to show off their wares but didn't quite dare.

"What kind of market is this?" Zhu Jiusi asked, puzzled.

In his entire last round, he hadn't just never seen one—he'd never even heard of one!

The shop assistant giggled. "This is the Journey Market, serving the top-ranked Path Seekers of every district."

The shop assistant wasn't human. He was a Red-Skinned Fox, dressed in human clothes and walking upright. But he had a fox's head, and a thick tail dragged behind him.

A god!

A Path Seeker who had just entered Journey Survival and chosen the Divine Path—an NPC!

Zhu Jiusi understood at once.

He glanced at the food boat beside him. Its wares included fish-fragrant shredded pork, Guobaorou, salted pig's head, and hand-torn pig's heart.

Zhu Jiusi: "..."

He didn't have any particular qualms, but eating pork right now didn't seem like a good idea, did it?

Zhu Jiusi made a round of the market. Everything there was something he wanted.

He turned to the Fox Waiter. "How much do things cost here? Do I need money?"

The Fox Waiter smiled apologetically. "If you have the gold or silver coins from Journey Survival, sir, we'll gladly take them. If you don't have any yet, gourds will do."

Zhu Jiusi understood!

No wonder so many big shots had frantically collected empty gourds after the newbie period in his previous life. They hadn't even spared the Wood Gourds.

So these things were hard currency!

"How do I trade them? How much can one Wood Gourd get me?" Zhu Jiusi asked.

The Fox Waiter smiled. "That depends. For ordinary resources, one Wood Gourd can get you two stacks. Other goods have to be priced individually."

Zhu Jiusi: "!!!"

A bunch of bloodsuckers!

In his previous life, those people had traded one resource for one Wood Gourd. Tenfold profit! A normal stack only had five items.

One Wood Gourd could yield about one stack of basic resources, but the gourd itself was worth two stacks. The phrase "buying the casket and returning the pearl" was praise in this case.

They'd kept their mouths shut tight! He'd spent three years in Journey Survival without knowing the Small Market existed, or that gourds were so useful.

Zhu Jiusi gritted his teeth. The Fox Waiter smiled and reminded him, "I should let you know, sir: you mustn't tell anyone about the Small Market. You mustn't even mention the words 'Small Market' to anyone. That's the rule."

No wonder!

Zhu Jiusi understood. He glanced over all the goods. Each item had a wealth value listed—the amount of wealth points he'd receive for obtaining it.

Those were the wealth points used in the monthly rankings!

Zhu Jiusi asked, puzzled, "If I collect all the gourds in the district and trade them for your goods, wouldn't the wealth points for District 66 skyrocket?"

The Fox kept smiling with professional humility. "That's up to you, sir. We're only here to do business. We can't interfere in such matters!"

Zhu Jiusi's eyes lit up. "If you show up while I'm discussing the Dao with someone else here, what happens?"

The Fox gave Zhu Jiusi a meaningful look. "That would be the other Path Seeker's good fortune. You didn't reveal it to them yourself, so it wouldn't break the rules."

Zhu Jiusi's piggy eyes suddenly gleamed.

He suddenly understood!

In his previous life, District 66 had been abolished after the merger, and for a very long time afterward, there had only been District 33.

Before the merger, Zhu Jiusi had never heard of anyone collecting gourds or anything else.

Because on the very day the rankings appeared, Filial Respect to Mother had killed the person in first place.

That idiot had used Destiny Breaker: Life Hunter to instantly kill the top-ranked person, whose values in both Life and Calamity were less than three times his own! He couldn't stand anyone looking down on him.

District 66 had missed out on a huge windfall this time. No wonder it couldn't compete with District 33!

Sure enough, killing that idiot right at the start had been a wise move.

Zhu Jiusi opened his Scroll and, right in front of the Fox Waiter, sent a message in the chat:

"@everyone, anyone with a Dao Discussion Card, come to my location!"

Zhu Jiusi sent it three times in a row, practically flooding the chat at this hour.

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "A fight? I'm on my way. @Sword Seven, lend me a Dao Discussion Card."

Sword Seven Doesn't Learn Sword: "Okay."

Almost as soon as the messages flooded the chat, the forests on either side of Zhu Jiusi transformed.

Desert, swamp, woodland, grassland—every kind of terrain appeared.

In an instant, one vehicle after another appeared.

The first to arrive was a black panther, carrying a woman in white who held a treasured sword and had a sharp, piercing gaze.

Then came Orchid Pavilion Scholar, cursing as he arrived.

"I owed a bunch of people favors. I can finally repay one and get a good night's sleep. Who are we fighting?"

He roared as he came out, then saw the bustling market ahead.

Orchid Pavilion Scholar: "?"

Barely anyone had a Dao Discussion Card so soon after the newbie period, and not everyone who had one would come.

Only eight or nine people showed up.

White Beard's Fist gazed at the little boats loaded with food. "Fellow Daoist Cave Master, how'd you get a whole river here? Are we going to rob these merchants?"

He rubbed his hands eagerly.

Fox Waiter: "..."

"I'd advise you not to entertain that idea, sir. People die!"

"So what are we here for, then?" Orchid Pavilion Scholar asked from atop his vehicle, wiping down his large knife.

The Fox Waiter's face flushed red, his eyes brimming with excitement. Fellow Daoist Cave Master really knew how to get things done. He'd only hinted at it, and Cave Master had already brought nearly ten people.

The rules belonged to Journey Survival, but the business belonged to them. Of course the merchants were happy when customers came.

His face flushed as he said, "Since all of you happened to arrive at this time, you have the right to know."

"This is the Journey Market, set up for the top-ranked Path Seekers of every district. You can buy all kinds of goods with useless gourds or gold, silver, and copper coins. Since you've come, the Small Market is open to you. But you must not reveal any information about this place to outsiders."

Monkey Has Iron Rod, who had just arrived, blinked, then immediately pulled a long face. "Then can I choose not to buy anything?"

The wealth values on the goods here were huge. If he kept buying, he was afraid he'd become the top-ranked person next month...

"I'm afraid not!" a voice called from behind them, accompanied by the burbling sound of water bubbles.

Monkey turned around and saw a fish with dried-out scales, riding a scooter and gazing longingly at the great river ahead.

"Didn't your lair turn into a water tank?" Monkey Has Iron Rod asked, puzzled.

Rain Seeker replied weakly, "There's a tank, but no water."

She flicked her tail. "That's not important. Boss Cave Master summoned us here because of the district merger, right?"

The merger would preserve the district's name and increase gourd production by ten percent. It might seem like no big deal, but it was actually terrifying.

"Look at the upper-left corner of your Scroll," Rain Seeker said hoarsely.

Monkey Has Iron Rod looked at his Scroll.

At some point, a new entry had appeared: Overall District Strength.

District 66 Path Seeker Zone: 3120301

District 33 Path Seeker Zone: 3490034

Was this the district that would merge with District 66? District 66 was way behind!