West Creek Market

Zuo Yi kept his promise to Bao'er and soon returned to the martial arts gym.

When he came back, he found the little girl and Shang Yulin eating cream cake in the office again. Even Taike had gotten quite a share.

Bao'er and the foodie Taike both had bits of cream all over their mouths, looking utterly delighted.

After eating so much cake, were they still going to have lunch?

Zuo Yi could not help shaking his head.

"Ah!"

Like a well-behaved child caught doing something naughty by an adult, Shang Yulin's face turned red.

She hurriedly jumped to her feet, grabbed her handbag, and said to Zuo Yi, "You came back at just the right time. I'll head home first."

She secretly shot Bao'er a look, then hurried out of the room.

"Daddy..."

Bao'er nervously tucked her hands behind her back, lowered her little head, and glanced at Taike beside her.

A-Tai, A-Tai, what should I do?

The carefree Taike stretched out his tongue and licked the cream clean from his mouth. Wagging his tail, he gave her a fawning grin.

Bao'er, Bao'er, woof wants more!

Zuo Yi did not know whether to laugh or cry. He reached out, picked up the little girl, and asked, "After eating so much cake, can you still fit in the big lunch at noon?"

As he spoke, Zuo Yi pulled over a napkin and wiped her mouth for her.

Woof woof!

Taike barked excitedly. He could! Woof could!

Zuo Yi gave him a kick. "Get lost!"

Bao'er guiltily twisted her little fingers together and stammered, "Then... then next time, before a meal, I... I won't eat snacks."

But cream cake really was delicious.

"That's more like it."

Zuo Yi gently tapped the tip of her little nose with a finger. "You can eat snacks, and you can eat cream cake, but you can't treat them as meals. Otherwise, it's bad for your health. Understand?"

Bao'er nodded like a pecking chick. "I understand!"

Zuo Yi chuckled, planted a loud kiss on the little girl's cheek, and said, "Let's go."

He took Bao'er out of the martial arts gym for a big meal.

As for young Sun Qiang, who was still sweating away in the sword room, Zuo Yi had long since forgotten all about him.

In any case, until Sun Qiang proved his diligence over the coming period, Zuo Yi would not give him any further guidance.

Zuo Yi took Bao'er to an all-you-can-eat buffet for lunch.

It was a luxurious restaurant in a five-star hotel, priced at 588 yuan per person. Calling it a feast was no exaggeration.

Although Bao'er had already eaten some cream cake and was not particularly hungry, she still ate with great delight, because there were simply too many delicious things here!

Taike, however, had it rough. He could only lie in the carrier and drool, unable to eat anything at all.

Fortunately, Bao'er had not forgotten him. She promised that when they got home, she would have Daddy make him a few extra steaks.

Only then was the foodie Taike pacified.

After finishing that lavish and delicious buffet, another negative entry appeared in Zuo Yi's bank account.

But Zuo Yi did not care, because he planned to visit the West Creek Underground Market that evening. As long as he sold the two Golden Inch Swords, he would have enough to cover living expenses for quite a while.

At Zuo Yi's level, money truly was not a problem. The main thing was that he needed to follow the rules, so naturally he had to spend a little more thought and time on it.

That afternoon, Zuo Yi took Bao'er home and had her take a nap.

For children, afternoon naps were a very good habit and helped with physical development. Especially with the weather so hot, they needed even more rest to ensure they stayed energetic in the afternoon.

Bao'er had originally been in the habit of taking naps, but the past few days with Zuo Yi, her routine had not been very regular.

Now that their days had settled down, Zuo Yi naturally wanted her to resume this good habit.

Zuo Yi truly had no experience with childcare before, but in modern society, acquiring knowledge was easy. A huge amount of relevant information could be found online.

He had been learning constantly, striving to become a qualified and competent stay-at-home dad.

Even the best dad in the world!

Perhaps because she had exhausted herself practicing swordsmanship that morning, coupled with their late return at noon, Bao'er did not wake until after three in the afternoon.

Zuo Yi simply gave her a bath and changed her into a clean, pretty dress.

By the time they were done, it was already close to evening.

He simply took Bao'er back into the city for dinner, then headed to the West Creek Underground Market.

Following the directions on his phone, Zuo Yi rode his Harley to the West Creek Martial Arena.

The West Creek Martial Arena was Jiangnan Province's largest martial arts competition venue. Built to international Grade A standards, it covered more than eighteen hectares. Its architecture was grand and imposing, and under the laser night lights, it looked especially modern.

This was Zuo Yi's first time at the West Creek Martial Arena.

When he had traveled to South America three years ago, the West Creek Martial Arena had only recently been completed, and he had never even heard of the underground market. If not for Shang Yulin's recommendation, he would never have known that Hang City had a place like this.

After asking the security guards at the entrance to the West Creek Martial Arena, Zuo Yi quickly entered the arena's underground parking lot.

Once he found a spot and parked the motorcycle, he lifted Bao'er down.

At the same time, he took Taike out of the carrier and let Bao'er lead him, so she would not get tired carrying him.

Otherwise, the dog collar and leash worth hundreds of millions would have been made for nothing.

Taike bounced around happily. By now, the fellow had more or less gotten used to having a collar around his neck.

"Daddy..."

Holding Taike's leash, Bao'er asked curiously, "Where are we going?"

Zuo Yi smiled. "We're going to set up a street stall."

A street stall?

Bao'er tilted her head. It sounded like fun. "Okay!"

There were dedicated signs in the underground parking lot, and following them made it easy to find the elevator lobby leading to the underground market.

The elevator lobby was enormous, decorated as luxuriously as a five-star hotel, and it had no fewer than eight elevators.

Though there were many elevators, quite a few people were still waiting. Men and women, young and old, all sorts of people stood around. Some carried cases or bags, and their clothing ranged from extravagant to plain, creating a rather incongruous impression.

Still, everyone was fairly quiet. No one shouted or made a racket.

Some people did not want to wait for the elevators and went directly down the emergency stairwell beside them.

Ding~

An elevator door opened, and a large crowd poured out in a rush.

After everyone had exited, the people waiting in the elevator lobby lined up and entered in an orderly fashion. The elevator quickly filled, its doors closing as it descended.

"Is this your first time at West Creek Market?"

At that moment, a middle-aged man standing beside Zuo Yi curiously asked him.

When Zuo Yi had arrived with Bao'er just now, the man had looked at him several times.

Zuo Yi was puzzled. "West Creek Market?"

"The West Creek Underground Trading Market..."

The thin middle-aged man grinned. "Those of us who come here often all call it West Creek Market."

Zuo Yi understood. "I see. Then yes, it's my first time at West Creek Market."

The middle-aged man blinked.

His gaze passed over Bao'er before finally settling on the wooden case Zuo Yi held in his left hand. Smiling, he said, "Your daughter is very cute. Are you here to buy something or sell something?"

"Thank you."

Zuo Yi smiled. "I'm here to sell something."

The wooden case he carried had been hastily made that afternoon. It held two Golden Inch Swords.

Mainly because carrying them this way would not attract attention.

"Selling something?"

The middle-aged man frowned and reminded him, "You need a membership card to set up a stall at West Creek Market. You can't just sell things casually."

Seeing Zuo Yi with his daughter and realizing it was his first time here, he assumed Zuo Yi did not understand the underground market's rules.

"If you want to sell something, I can help you..."

He could not finish the sentence, because Zuo Yi displayed the bronze card Shang Yulin had given him.

"Thank you, but there's no need."

The middle-aged man was embarrassed. "So you have a bronze card!"

Just then, another elevator came up and opened. He quickly said, "The elevator's here."

With that, he hurried into the elevator with the others.

Inside the elevator, after the doors closed and it began to descend, the middle-aged man suddenly felt that something was off.

What was wrong with him today?

He had already struck up a conversation. Clearly, he could have kept talking and continued sweet-talking him, so why had he fled like a startled rabbit?

He could not help scratching his head, utterly unable to figure it out.

Zuo Yi did not follow the middle-aged man. He patiently waited for the next elevator, then led Bao'er inside and rode it down smoothly to B3.

The third basement level of the West Creek Martial Arena was also the first level of the West Creek Underground Trading Market.

When the elevator doors opened, a wave of heat and the roar of a bustling crowd instantly hit them head-on!

First update is here. Please vote, please vote!