Song Wen shifted his gaze, looking through the translucent soundproof barrier at the surging river before him.
The rapids battered the rocks along the bank, throwing up snow-white spray that glittered with an eerie light beneath the sun.
He had his reasons for choosing this riverbank downstream of the market to conduct his transaction with Duan Huo.
For instance, several li beneath where Song Wen stood ran an underground river, flowing in a different direction from the river above.
Ten thousand li downstream along that underground river lay an enormous lake.
Should anything unexpected happen, all these places could serve as escape routes.
Furthermore, Song Wen had secretly placed a Heaven-and-Earth Avatar in the silt on the riverbed, ready to activate during his escape. One would flee along the river, while the other escaped along the underground river, dividing his pursuers' attention.
Given Song Wen's cautious approach, he naturally could not have done nothing after parting with Duan Qingwan yesterday. He had come to this market belonging to the Duan Clan to gather information.
His only regret was that, despite considerable effort, he had failed to obtain the deployment map for the market's defensive formation.
With that map, he could have chosen a location outside the formation for their transaction, without having to worry about being trapped within the market's formation when he fought Duan Huo.
"Senior Duan Huo, to tell you the truth, my lord did give me spirit stones to purchase exclusive rights to the information. However, it wasn't seven hundred thousand superior spirit stones, but only five hundred thousand. My lord instructed me to negotiate a lower price. Would you be willing to agree?" Song Wen looked as though he were laying all his cards on the table.
The smile abruptly vanished from Duan Huo's face. Doubt