Black Market, Buying Secret Manuals

Not long afterward.

The government's wanted notice and the martial world's bounty notice were issued at the same time.

The county yamen issued a wanted notice, putting up Wanted Posters for Zhou Qing. Whether for the court's dignity or for County Magistrate Lin Yue's own future, Zhou Qing had to be captured and brought to justice. Master Zhou, meanwhile, issued a martial world bounty notice—not merely to restore Zhou Manor's honor, but also to eliminate a potential threat.

Zhou Qing had publicly tried Zhou Chen and killed him before countless witnesses. This was undoubtedly a slap in Zhou Manor's face. If they did not respond forcefully enough, more people might dare challenge Zhou Manor's authority.

Once the martial world bounty notice was issued, quite a few martial artists would surely hunt Zhou Qing down for the generous reward.

Master Zhou did not believe it.

How much of a storm could a mere fugitive stir up when faced with the government's wanted notice and the pursuit of martial artists?

At the same time.

Zhou Qing had already left the county town.

He fled toward the deep mountains and ancient forests, avoiding pursuit.

While fleeing, he had taken some dried provisions and water. With his inner force protecting him as well, hiding for several days would not be much of a problem.

Besides, if he truly grew hungry, he could hunt.

Several hours later, the sky gradually darkened.

Zhou Qing discovered an abandoned temple in the mountains.

"I'll rest in the temple for the night first."

Zhou Qing quickened his pace and soon arrived before the temple.

The temple appeared to have been abandoned for a long time, and the air was thick with a musty smell. But he did not care. As long as it sheltered him from wind and rain, that was enough.

He found a relatively clean corner and sat down, then took out the valuables he had searched from Zhou Chen's body and counted them.

There were more than five hundred taels in banknotes.

And over a dozen taels of loose silver.

"More than five hundred taels of silver should be enough to buy an Internal Art manual in the Black Market."

Zhou Qing murmured to himself.

Internal Art manuals were extraordinarily precious.

Through normal channels, aside from certain large auctions, virtually no one sold them. However, the prison guard Liu Shan had helped him inquire into the matter. There was supposedly a Black Market near the Prefecture City of Anqing Prefecture where he might be able to buy an Internal Art manual.

The Black Market was an unregulated place of trade.

No taxes were required when buying or selling items there. Even certain prohibited goods that were difficult to purchase through legitimate channels could be bought in the Black Market.

The same was true for Internal Art manuals.

However, the Internal Art manuals sold in the Black Market generally came from dubious sources. Most were obtained through murder and plunder, and cultivating them could bring hidden dangers.

For instance, an Internal Art manual bought in the Black Market might have an unknown origin. It could have come from some martial arts family or been the core technique of a martial arts sect. After cultivating it, one might be pursued and killed.

Thus, buying an Internal Art manual in the Black Market was a shortcut, but it was also fraught with unknown risks.

But Zhou Qing had no backing. If he wanted to obtain an Internal Art manual, aside from buying one at a large auction, the Black Market was his only path.

Though he could forcibly raise the Spring Return Technique with Dao Source, that would be far too wasteful. Deducing the tenth level from the ninth level of the Spring Return Technique had already cost him seven Dao Source Points. The farther he went, the more Dao Source he would need.

The Spring Return Technique was, after all, merely a health-preserving technique. Its power was limited.

Five days later.

At dusk, Zhou Qing arrived at the Black Market outside Anqing Prefecture City.

In truth, he had reached the vicinity of the Prefecture City three days earlier. But Zhou Qing had never been to the Black Market, and neither had the prison guard Liu Shan. They had only heard about its location from others, so confirming where the Black Market was had taken two days.

At this time, Zhou Qing wore black clothes and covered his face with a black scarf.

On the road to the Prefecture City, when passing through several villages and towns, Zhou Qing had learned from others that he was wanted by the government and that Zhou Manor had also issued a martial world bounty notice. The Black Market was a place where fish and dragons mingled, so he had to conceal his identity well.

He understood that once his identity was exposed, he would be plunged into an extremely dangerous situation in a place like the Black Market.

Zhou Manor's bounty had reached three thousand taels of silver.

The government's wanted notice offered only one hundred taels of silver, but it also allowed the claimant to freely choose an Internal Art manual from the martial arts repository of the Black Stone County yamen.

An Internal Art, even an ordinary third-rate one, was immensely valuable.

Of course, Internal Art manuals were valuable because they were controlled by powerful factions and forbidden from circulation, making them difficult for outsiders to learn.

If they could be circulated openly.

Then one manual could be copied into countless versions. The only cost would be paper and ink, and their prices would be the same as martial techniques—perhaps not quite sold everywhere, but close enough to being dirt cheap.

Some third-rate martial techniques could be bought for just a few taels of silver.

Naturally, the Internal Art manuals available for trade in the Black Market could not be priced the same as those at auctions.

At auctions, even ordinary third-rate Internal Arts could sell for over a thousand taels. Yet in the Black Market, they often cost only a tenth of that, or even a fraction of a tenth.

Zhou Qing paid one tael of silver as an entrance fee and entered the Black Market.

Though the Black Market was a place for martial artists to trade freely, someone stood behind it. Otherwise, the government would have wiped it out long ago.

This entrance fee went to the force providing its protection.

Furthermore, all transactions within the Black Market were voluntary. Forced buying and selling were forbidden, as was fighting within the Black Market. Anyone who violated the rules would naturally face the Black Market enforcement squad's brutal suppression.

But once one left the Black Market, the enforcement squad could no longer interfere.

Zhou Qing entered the Black Market and saw people flowing to and fro, with martial artists arriving in an endless stream. There were no fewer than several hundred people.

Whether they were passersby looking to buy things or stallholders selling goods, most had their faces covered. Otherwise, they wore masks, bamboo hats, or similar items to conceal their true identities.

Zhou Qing made a round of the market. The Black Market stalls displayed a dazzling array of goods—precious medicinal herbs and rare treasures, as well as all kinds of weapons, poisons, and more.

There were five stalls selling manuals.

However, the manuals openly displayed at these five stalls were all martial techniques. Anyone wanting Internal Arts had to ask each stall individually.

Quite a few martial artists approached these five stalls to buy manuals.

From their conversations, he learned that these five stalls had been operating in the Black Market for quite some time, so there was no need to worry about buying fake manuals.

If anyone sold counterfeit goods, they would have been settled long ago.

Zhou Qing immediately walked over to one of the stalls.

The stallholder behind it was a masked old man. Though Zhou Qing could not see his face clearly, he could roughly guess his age from his eyes and the condition of his skin.

Of course, there was no way to tell whether the other man had disguised his appearance.

"The martial arts you're selling are all martial techniques. Do you have any Internal Arts?"

Zhou Qing asked.

"Of course I have Internal Arts, but they are costly. Naturally, I wouldn't casually display them at the stall. I first need to see whether the customer sincerely intends to buy."

The stallholder spoke in an aged voice.

Of course, there was another reason for not displaying them openly.

Zhou Qing understood it as well.

These Internal Arts came from dubious sources.

Therefore, these stallholders had to sell them in secret. If they sold them openly, the Black Market was a place where fish and dragons mingled, and trouble would easily come knocking.