Needles (Thanks to Cuotuo Wang Cisheng)

"Careful, careful!"

On the way to the Needle Shop, Master spoke earnestly to his apprentice. They walked through a surging crowd.

By population density alone, this place was far busier than Luoyin County.

Camel bells and the bells around the necks of livestock as large as donkeys and horses rang in their ears.

The noise never stopped.

Caravans set out in waves, passing through the Dry Wharf before the mountain pass and heading toward richer lands.

The sheer number of carts and animals left the air foul and muddled.

And that was without getting into the sanitation, or anything else.

On both sides of the street—

Restaurants and teahouses stood in astonishing numbers. The restaurants flung their doors wide; the teahouses kept theirs half-shut.

That made it clear the teahouses were not there simply to serve customers. They were places to discuss business.

Inside were private rooms for conversation.

Along the street, people sold food, while others sat with their hands tucked into their sleeves, waiting for work. Xu Feng figured they were brokers of some kind, hoping to be hired.

Truthfully, since Xu Feng had arrived in the world of [Corpse Sewer],

this was the first time he had seen so many people.

Master silently watched everything around them, keeping his eyes and ears open in every direction. He tightened his grip on his apprentice's hand. "This is just the sort of place child snatchers love.

The moment a child slips out of sight, those traffickers use the big animals for cover. Before long, the child is gone.

Even if the parents raise a commotion in the street, they won't find their child. Be careful."

As Master walked, he kept an eye on the people deliberately trying to bump into them.

They were not child snatchers. They were pickpockets