Beyond the slaughterhouse, behind the village, lay a small mountain hollow.
The entrance to the hollow was blocked by several large wooden cart-boxes, leaving only a gap less than a meter wide in the middle. Martial artists stood guard on both sides, and an entry fee was required to get in.
Su Xinghe followed the pedestrians ahead at an unhurried pace and soon reached the gap.
At once, blazing firelight flared up, and the clamor of hawkers drifted faintly over.
Looking through the gap between the carts, the place was still lively tonight, like some night market on Eight-Zhang Street. Only, there were more guards in the crowd with blades at their waists, patrolling everywhere on alert.
Clatter!
Su Xinghe tossed a silver ingot into the basin set before the guards at the entrance. This was the Black Market's admission fee; whether one bought anything or not, this ticket had to be paid.
He also took the opportunity to estimate tonight's foot traffic.
About half a basin's worth—probably close to two hundred people.
Under the glow of the bonfires, a dirt slope some ten meters wide climbed along the foot of the mountain, eventually vanishing around a bend in the valley.
Stalls lined both sides, with pedestrians wandering about and browsing.
Su Xinghe had been here several times, so naturally he was not curious. If he were still a greenhorn, the martial artists' goods here might have suited his fancy.
But now that he had entered the Ninth Rank, he naturally had no use for these martial arts manuals whose authenticity was impossible to distinguish.
He followed the twin-tailed figure ahead from afar, pretending to browse the stalls all the way while secretly observing her movements.
Gradually, the stalls on either side of the dirt slope became fewer.
The pedestrians on the path were also reduced to burly men carrying sabers or swords, with steady strides and solid builds, wandering near the stalls in search of things they fancied.
Only a small number among them had their faces covered.
Su Xinghe became even more cautious. He kept the distance at around twenty zhang, precisely the edge of the range at which his Listening to Tides Art could sense fluctuations.
Just as the valley was about to come to an end, Yang Huaiyu ahead suddenly turned into a dilapidated little earthen house by the foot of the mountain.
"Xiaoyu, why are you here?"
Not long after her figure vanished, a somewhat weary man's voice fluctuated from inside the little house.
Su Xinghe froze.
The person inside actually recognized his younger brother's wife.
He hurriedly stopped and pretended to pick through the goods at a nearby stall.
These little earthen houses were permanent Black Market stalls, most belonging to several loose martial artist gangs outside the city.
They were martial artists who disliked restraint and could not stand Lin County's endless rules and regulations. Or perhaps they were criminals already wanted on the Martial Dao Bureau's Black List.
When he had previously sought to purchase true martial arts manuals, he had entered one as well. But before he could even speak, he had been driven out.
Leaving him no choice but to sift through shit for gold among the outdoor stalls.
"Uncle Nine, I haven't come to see you all in many days."
Yang Huaiyu's crisp voice carried out.
This was followed by the scraping of tables and chairs and a jumble of footsteps.
Several other voices exchanged greetings, followed by a round of domestic chatter. It was clear that the people inside were very familiar with his younger brother's wife.
After the pleasantries, that middle-aged man's voice sounded again.
"Did anything happen in the city this time you came?"
"The city's fairly quiet. I only dealt with a few little thieves."
Another bout of rustling followed.
"It's inconvenient to keep these things at home, so I brought them to Uncle Nine while I was at it."
After taking inventory, Uncle Nine spoke again.
"The silver and large coins come to twenty-two taels and six mace altogether. These medicinal herbs and weapons are worth around six taels as well. What would you like to exchange them for?"
"Then... Uncle Nine, give me eight Qi-Replenishing Pills. Put the remaining twenty taels toward that advance."
"Ah, you child. Those twenty taels last time were Uncle's gift for your dowry."
"You're pregnant now, and the medicinal potency of Qi-Replenishing Pills is too fierce. I'll exchange them for ten Qi-Nourishing Pills instead. They'll be good for the child too."
"What are Qi-Nourishing Pills? Are they expensive?"
"Qi-Nourishing Pills... they're about the same as Qi-Replenishing Pills. Their effects are just gentler and won't harm the body. Remember to take one every seven days."
"Wouldn't that... be too wasteful?"
"It's fine. A few bottles just happened to arrive from the prefectural city."
"Thank you, Uncle Nine. Is everything all right in the mountains?"
"Everything's fine in the mountains. Don't worry."
"Has there been any True Art Scroll lately that needs me to copy it?"
"Silly girl, don't keep thinking about those twenty taels. We don't lack silver in the mountains. Just stay peacefully with the Su Family, support your husband, and teach your children. Otherwise, how could I face your parents?"
After a bout of suppressed sobbing.
"Uncle Nine, I need to head back quickly, or my family will find out."
"I'll have Wang Ming escort you. Otherwise, there may be some trouble..."
"Thank you, Uncle Nine."
When he saw Yang Huaiyu again, the small bundle on her body was already gone.
Seeing her hurried steps, she was likely rushing home.
At this moment, Su Xinghe had some guesses about his younger brother's wife's identity. But her parents were supposed to be hired hands of the Lu Family—how had she become involved with gangs outside the city?
He would probably have to ask his father about this after returning.
"Brother... you wouldn't be planning to... rob me, would you?"
A halting voice sounded in front of him, and Su Xinghe hurriedly looked up.
Under the bonfire light, the stall owner opposite him was staring at him with a guarded expression.
Meanwhile, in his hand, he was absentmindedly playing with a short sword in a dark green fish-scale sheath from the stall.
"I..."
Just as he was about to explain, he sensed several gazes sweep over from nearby.
There was nervousness, curiosity, and disdain.
Su Xinghe took a deep breath and suppressed the distracting thoughts in his heart.
He asked in a low voice, "How much?"
"If... if you sincerely want it, then fifty... fifty taels of silver."
The stall owner perhaps had not expected him to ask the price and nearly failed to react.
Su Xinghe curled his lip. Fuck, that was black-hearted.
He estimated the value of the short sword in his mind.
"Too expensive. One tael at most!"
"Deal!"
Now it was Su Xinghe's turn to fail to react.
Looking at the stall owner before him, the man's face was still taut. Yet the delight leaking from those two words could never deceive anyone.
For a moment, Su Xinghe had a sentence he did not know whether he ought to say.
The experience in his memories came from the prohibitions hanging high over the city. Even when shops occasionally sold blades and swords, their prices were pushed toward the realm of luxury goods.
Who would have thought...
Right. This was outside the city.
Feeling those several prying gazes behind him, he dropped a one-tael silver ingot and turned to leave.
At the entrance of the little earthen house.
A wooden sign hung on the right, with the three words "Mountain-Chasing Gang" written on it in a crooked scrawl.
Since they were connected to his younger brother's wife, Su Xinghe also wanted to meet the Uncle Nine inside.
If the man's character was no good, he would need to keep watch in the future. As the saying went, one who stayed near ink turned black; when it concerned his family, there was no room for the slightest carelessness.
Of course, if the price was right, he could also buy some pills to bring back.
Seeing no customers inside, he stepped in.
Under the candlelight, animal hides and skeletons of varying sizes hung from the walls. To the left stood a counter, behind which an old man and two youths looked up at him.
None of the three concealed their faces, so he took them all in at a glance.
One was a somewhat hunchbacked old man, while the other two were half-grown boys with sleepy eyes.
The old man was plainly dressed, with a lean face and a cautious gaze carrying a trace of shrewd worldliness. If this were not the Black Market, Su Xinghe would absolutely have taken him for an old farmer from the countryside.
"Brother, what are you looking for?"
Perhaps seeing his attire and knowing he was a buyer who did not wish to reveal his identity, the old man had no intention of exchanging pleasantries and asked directly.
"Uncle, do you have any pills here?"
Having just heard Yang Huaiyu call this man Uncle Nine, Su Xinghe followed suit and called him uncle.
"Oh?"
Hearing that he wanted to buy pills, the two youths at the side immediately perked up.
They looked at him with curiosity and a trace of reverence.
Judging from his voice, this masked customer was clearly not very old, yet he was already a martial artist. The two of them, meanwhile, were still tempering their strength.
"Pills aren't cheap. Which kind do you want?"
After thinking briefly, Su Xinghe counted on his fingers and asked:
"Qi-Replenishing Pills, Qi-Nourishing Pills, Bone-Forging Pills. What are the prices for these three?"
The old man's gaze gradually sharpened, as though he wished to see through the hood over Su Xinghe's face.
Inside the earthen house, an inexplicable aura began to spread faintly. It was somewhat like the feeling from the day Elder Xie had opened the hall and rebuked Lü Chenggong into retreat.
The fluctuations of an Internal Force tide... This uncle is actually in the Grade-Eight Realm!
Before you continue