Hidden Secrets

He had such elegant features. Apart from Chen Zhuo himself, he had seen them on only one other person.

Why was Zhou Sheng here too?

Chen Zhuo suppressed the indignation in his chest, withdrew his gaze, and calmly took the remaining silver from Old Blind Man.

"Sold out."

Right in front of everyone, Old Blind Man put away the two remaining bottles of False Blood and lied with perfect composure.

"Y-you still have some, don't you?"

Zhou Sheng trembled with rage and pointed behind Old Blind Man.

"What are you talking about?"

Old Blind Man spread his hands carelessly and sneered. "Even if I had any, I wouldn't sell it."

"You damned blind man, you—"

"You what? Go play somewhere else if you've got nothing better to do."

"..."

Zhou Sheng shuddered all over. A thin sheen of blood seemed to surface in his eyes.

His chest heaved like a range of hills, yet he still didn't attack. Clearly, he was doing everything he could to suppress his fury.

Just then, two Liansheng Sect disciples in loose black robes passed by not far away, their gazes faintly turning toward them.

Zhou Sheng seemed to sense them. The blood-red light in his eyes flickered before finally fading.

Then he snorted and swept away.

"Hm? Zhou Sheng has already completed the blood exchange? His vital energy... something's off."

Watching Zhou Sheng's retreating figure, Chen Zhuo recalled the blood-red light in his eyes and clicked his tongue, sensing something amiss.

Thanks to Yan Ming, he had once bathed in True Blood, which made him more sensitive than most to Demon Blood.

Yan Ming's vital energy burned like a torch, fierce and mighty...

Zhou Sheng, however, was entirely different.

There seemed to be a madness hidden within him, even a kind of obsession, that made one's blood run cold at a glance.

"Looks like he really did take a crooked path."

After a moment's thought, Chen Zhuo pulled out all the silver on him and handed it to Old Blind Man.

"I'll take the other two bottles of Demon Blood as well. I know this isn't enough silver, so take it as a deposit. I'll come back later to pay the rest."

"Keep the donkey cart here for now..."

With that, he didn't wait for Old Blind Man to respond. Watching Zhou Sheng disappear around the corner, he hurried after him.

When Heaven offers, take it; if you refuse, you'll be punished for it.

A perfect opportunity like this didn't come along often.

Old Blind Man said nothing, merely letting the corners of his mouth lift slightly.

"Pfft~"

Little Black Donkey snorted, glanced at Old Blind Man, then buckled its legs and flopped lazily onto the ground.

"If your master doesn't come back, I'll have myself a fine meal."

Old Blind Man smacked his lips, suddenly feeling a little out of sorts.

He sighed inwardly.

The mountains were still best. There was no need to hold back there; whenever one's temper soured, one could kill at will to vent.

"Eeyore~"

Little Black Donkey seemed to startle at something and sprang to its feet.

With a bamboo hat on his head and a long robe wrapped tightly around him, Chen Zhuo had kept himself completely covered. He hadn't said much, either, so Zhou Sheng naturally hadn't recognized him.

To avoid arousing Zhou Sheng's suspicion, Chen Zhuo followed after him but kept his distance, never drawing too close.

Remembering the Long River Gang's knife-wielders he had seen not long ago, he sensed that something was probably going on.

Besides, most of the places Zhou Sheng visited along the way were stalls that sold monster blood. Yan Ming had marked their locations for him two days earlier.

"No wonder the price of fake monster blood has been skyrocketing lately. Someone's been buying it up in bulk."

Chen Zhuo remembered what Old Blind Man had told him.

But monster blood was scarce to begin with. Even without anyone buying it up in bulk, little remained on the market.

And there was only False Blood, not True Blood.

Chen Zhuo had seen clearly that Zhou Sheng hadn't come away with much.

He had visited seven or eight stalls and bought only two bottles of False Blood from a single one. He didn't even know what quality they were.

Old Blind Man had been right about one thing: buying and selling monster blood all came down to the seller's conscience. Ordinary people couldn't tell if it had been cut with pig's blood or dog's blood.

Only a Blade-Catcher could identify it using a secret technique.

"Speaking of secret techniques..."

Chen Zhuo glanced at Zhou Sheng and suddenly recalled Yan Ming's warning.

He had studied the first two pages of the Inheritance Manual thoroughly, but had resisted even glancing at what came after.

The first page was the general principles, and the second was the method of refining demons...

The third page and those that followed should contain secret techniques for hunting demons.

Chen Zhuo shook his head. Now wasn't the time to let his mind wander.

Zhou Sheng visited several more stalls selling monster blood, but came away empty-handed each time. He glanced up at the sky, turned, and headed in another direction.

Chen Zhuo hurried after him.

Before long, and while they were still inside the Ghost Market, Zhou Sheng stopped at the mouth of an alley.

After exchanging a greeting with the burly man standing there, he went inside alone.

"He's reached his destination."

Chen Zhuo's spirits lifted. He was just about to follow when another burly man emerged from the alley. The two of them stood guard together, their broad frames perfectly blocking the already narrow entrance.

Such secrecy only further proved that Zhou Sheng's actions were out of the ordinary.

Chen Zhuo blended into the crowd without drawing attention, wandering among the stalls clustered around the alley while secretly keeping an eye on its entrance.

He circled the area several times. The two burly men hadn't budged an inch, and they watched every passerby with suspicion.

"No good."

Chen Zhuo abandoned the idea of entering through the alley. After a moment's thought, he gauged the layout, took two sharp turns, and made his way—more or less—to the back of it.

But the street behind it was even busier, packed with people and eyes everywhere, making it even harder to act.

"Charging in is out of the question, and I can't go over the rooftops. Looks like I'll have to find another way in."

Fortunately, from what Chen Zhuo had observed, the thatched huts stood in a continuous row, but there had to be passageways inside—more than one, in fact.

"Finding peace in the middle of a crowd... They really did pick a good spot."

The more secretive they were, the more curious Chen Zhuo became.

He discreetly surveyed his surroundings, thought for a moment, then walked over to a jade stall. In a deliberately hoarse voice, he asked, "Stallkeeper, how much are you asking for your wares?"

The stallkeeper didn't even look up. "The prices are marked. See what you like and pay for it."

Chen Zhuo surveyed the stall, deliberately paused, then chuckled. "Trying to pass off junk as the good stuff?"

The stallkeeper was an old man. At those words, his expression immediately darkened.

Before he could reply, Chen Zhuo spoke first. "If I'm not mistaken, you've got the best pieces inside, right?"

"Don't worry. I can afford them."

Chen Zhuo's words rang out with conviction, and the stallkeeper could only look up, half convinced, to size him up.

Perhaps it was because Chen Zhuo was tall and slender, and though the bamboo hat concealed his face, he still carried the distinctive bearing of a martial artist.

After a moment's thought, the stallkeeper led him into the thatched hut behind the stall.

The valuables inside were rarely shown to outsiders.

But the Liansheng Sect controlled the Ghost Market, and few dared cause trouble. The stallkeeper wasn't too worried about one man.

It was worth taking a little risk for a big buyer.

"Come with me."

As soon as they entered, the stallkeeper headed for the treasures in the corner.

But the moment he turned around, he heard a whisper by his ear.

"Sorry about this."

With a thud, pain struck the back of the stallkeeper's neck. He turned and opened his mouth at Chen Zhuo, but couldn't utter a single word before losing consciousness and crumpling to the floor.

Chen Zhuo scanned the room, but didn't look at the jade. Instead, he carefully examined the gaps between the walls and floorboards.

Sure enough, he found something amiss.

Two boards in the wall didn't line up, and their colors were different.

"This is it."

Chen Zhuo easily pulled one of the boards free. Behind it was a narrow passageway, leading straight toward the alley Zhou Sheng had entered.