Boy? Girl?

"Huh? Someone really did stick their neck out?" Wang Yan heard the voice too and hurriedly looked in that direction.

And there he was!

"Stop!" A young man of about twenty stomped forward with thud, thud, thud footsteps. He was of medium build, but his muscles were exceptionally solid, his skin dark all over. Built like an iron pillar, he had thick eyebrows, large eyes, and an honest-looking face, with a black iron staff strapped to his back.

The young man certainly cut an intimidating figure as he emerged.

"!" The three cultivators jumped in fright and hurriedly looked at the Black Youth. But once they discerned his cultivation, they saw that he had only reached minor completion of the cultivation realm...

"Bah! Where did this wild brat come from? You dare meddle in the Lü Household's affairs?" the middle-aged cultivator cursed furiously. He had reached major completion of the cultivation realm, so how could he possibly fear this Black Youth? Spiritual pressure surged from his body as he shouted.

"Hmph!" The Black Youth snorted, utterly unafraid of the pressure. He opened his large hand, revealing three filthy Spirit Stones, then pointed at the scrawny boy and said in a deep voice, "I'll pay this kid's tax!"

"You!" The middle-aged cultivator choked at his words, then cursed angrily, "You wild brat, are you looking to die? You think three Spirit Stones will get rid of us?"

"What? Doesn't your Lü Household's rule say three Spirit Stones?" the Black Youth demanded angrily.

"You...!" The middle-aged cultivator trembled with rage at those words. The fat morsel already in his grasp was about to fly away.

Just then!

"That's right! We all paid only three Spirit Stones. Why aren't three enough for him?" a voice called from among the watching cultivators.

"Who said that? Get out here!" the middle-aged cultivator snapped furiously.

But then.

"That's right! You can't bully people like this!"

"Is this how the Lü Household does business?"

"Ah! Who knows? The Lü Household specializes in bullying outsiders!"

"That's right!"

"..."

At those words, other stallholders and cultivators who could no longer stomach the sight began shouting and heckling too. Those vendors had suffered plenty of bullying from the Lü Household's cultivators, and now that someone had started the uproar, they joined in. The other cultivators were simply gathering to enjoy the spectacle. Since they had nothing to do with the Lü Household anyway, they heckled indiscriminately...

"Here!" the iron-pillar-like Black Youth said angrily. He thrust out his large hand, holding the three filthy Spirit Stones right in front of the Lü Household's middle-aged cultivator, and said coldly, "Take them!"

"You!" The middle-aged cultivator flew into a rage. He had reached major completion of the cultivation realm. Though this iron-pillar-like Black Youth looked difficult to handle, he had only reached minor completion of the cultivation realm. To be so old and still at that level, his talent clearly amounted to little, so the cultivator naturally had no fear of him. But provoking the crowd's wrath was another matter. As he hesitated...

"Big brother!" One of the Lü Household cultivators beside him seemed to remember something. He leaned close to the middle-aged cultivator's ear and whispered, "It won't be good if this gets out of hand. If the young master hears about it, we'll be in trouble...!"

"!" The middle-aged cultivator froze at those words, his expression changing. Suddenly, he reached out and snatched the Spirit Stones from the Black Youth's hand, giving a disdainful snort. "At least you know what's good for you!" He paused, swept his gaze over the surrounding cultivators, and called loudly, "All right! All right! Disperse! These are the rules of our Lü Family Marketplace. They apply to everyone! Move along, move along!"

"...!" Seeing that there was no more spectacle to watch, the cultivators dispersed. They were hardly going to stand up for that little fellow in earnest...

And just then!

"Hmph! Just you wait!" The middle-aged cultivator glared fiercely at the Black Youth and snorted before turning to leave...

"!" The Black Youth was a stubborn fellow. He snorted and glared right back at the middle-aged cultivator. That look, like a wrathful guardian deity's, was far more frightening than the middle-aged cultivator's glare.

"Let's go!" Fierce though the middle-aged cultivator was, he did not dare attack anyone within the marketplace, especially someone whose stall tax had already been paid. He turned and left, shooting the pale, scrawny boy another vicious glare as he passed, making the boy tremble with fear...

Once the Lü Household cultivators had gone far away.

"B-big brother... thank you!" the Fair-Skinned Youth thanked the Black Youth softly. After a pause, she hurriedly added, "Big brother... I'll repay your Spirit Stones. I just have to wait until... until I sell these things for some Spirit Stones!"

"Ah! Haha! You're welcome! When you see injustice on the road, draw your blade and lend a hand! No need to be so polite, kid!" the Black Youth said heartily. With that, he swung his palm-leaf-fan-sized hand toward the Fair-Skinned Youth.

"!" The Fair-Skinned Youth hurriedly dodged aside, her face flushing scarlet and looking rather cute. She said softly, "Big brother... I... I'm... I'm not a boy... I'm a girl!"

"A girl?" At that, the Black Youth's eyes widened in disbelief, and he exclaimed in astonishment. His voice boomed like thunder, making everyone nearby turn to look at once. The Fair-Skinned Youth... no! The Fair-Skinned Girl blushed even more deeply.

"Big brother! Keep your voice down!" the Fair-Skinned Girl said softly, stealing glances around her. "My grandfather said it's inconvenient for a girl to go out alone, so that's why I dressed this way!"

"Hehe! So that's it!" The Black Youth chuckled, then said cheerfully, "I do have a use for those Spirit Stones, but I couldn't just let a little girl like you get bullied!" He paused, then added bitterly, "Those Lü Household cultivators have no shame...!"

"Y-yes!" the Fair-Skinned Girl said timidly. After a pause, she hurriedly added, "Big brother! Go take care of your business first. I'll set up my stall here and repay your Spirit Stones once I've sold everything!"

"Ah! If you hadn't mentioned it...!" The Black Youth suddenly seemed to remember something, and his expression turned awkward as he exclaimed. He scratched the back of his head, looking troubled. Only after a long while, when his dark face had reddened, did he manage to say, "Ah! If you hadn't mentioned it, I would've forgotten... I need to go buy... ah, the Spirit Stones!" Then he said with some frustration, "Never mind! I don't have much to do anyway, so I'll wait for you. Otherwise... otherwise, they might come back and trouble you again!"

"Ah! Big brother! There's no need!" the Fair-Skinned Girl said in surprise, looking rather at a loss. She had not understood the Black Youth's predicament...

While the two were arguing.

Suddenly!

"Ahem! How much are these talismans?" a voice asked from beside them.

"Ah! Do you want talismans?" the Fair-Skinned Girl asked delightedly, hurriedly looking toward the newcomer. Wang Yan walked slowly over, looking like a curious passerby.

"Hey! You brat, looks like you're meddling too, aren't you?" Card Fairy's voice rang in Wang Yan's mind with a laugh. After a pause, she said lightly, "Ah! If you hadn't stirred the crowd up a little, these two wouldn't have come to a good end, would they?"

Indeed.

Although Wang Yan did not want to meddle, the Lü Household cultivators had gone too far. When the Black Youth actually stepped forward, he could not quite bear to watch, so he had called out from the back to stir up the crowd and lend a little help. He had been about to leave, only to discover that the Fair-Skinned Girl and the Black Youth had no intention of leaving and wanted to keep running the stall.

He happened to notice quite a few blank talismans and some beast-blood cinnabar on the Fair-Skinned Girl's stall. An idea stirred in his mind. He might as well see his good deed through to the end, so he came over...

"Ahem!" Wang Yan coughed lightly, signaling Card Fairy to stop chattering. With others present, he naturally could not speak to her. Looking at the Black Youth and the Fair-Skinned Girl, he felt helpless. Both were utterly naive. The girl was understandable; she was only twelve or thirteen. But the Black Youth looked at least twenty, yet was still such a simpleton... With those thoughts in mind, he crouched down, casually flipped through the talismans, and asked, "How many Spirit Stones per bundle? How many sheets in one?"

"Ah! Do you really want these talismans?" the Fair-Skinned Girl asked delightedly.

"Obviously! Why would I ask if I weren't buying?" Wang Yan said with a cold expression. From the corner of his eye, he glanced to one side. A Lü Household cultivator was lurking beside a building several dozen zhang away, pretending not to care. Wang Yan had already noticed a little earlier that someone was furtively following him...

"Yes! Each bundle of my blank talismans contains a hundred sheets!" The Fair-Skinned Girl no longer had any attention to spare for the Black Youth. She answered hurriedly, adopting a vendor's manner. After a pause, she hesitated, then quickly said, "You're my first customer today, so I'll charge you... charge you ten Spirit Stones per bundle!"

"Ten Spirit Stones per bundle?" Wang Yan froze. It sounded as though she was offering him a discount, but he had already asked around. Blank talismans generally came in bundles of a hundred, but cost only seven or eight Spirit Stones per bundle. He had not expected this Fair-Skinned Girl to be so grasping. With that thought in mind, he voiced his surprise, a hint of displeasure in his tone.

"I... these are high-quality talismans, made from the finest spirit herb extracts and beast hides. The success rate when drawing talismans on them is a little higher than with ordinary ones!" the Fair-Skinned Girl hurriedly explained. Seeing Wang Yan hesitate, she seemed afraid he would refuse and hastily added, "Then... if you want them, I'll charge you nine Spirit Stones... no! Eight Spirit Stones per bundle!"

"Mm! The spiritual energy contained in these talismans really is somewhat better!" Card Fairy said in Wang Yan's mind as well.

"All right! Ten Spirit Stones per bundle, then! But you have to throw in this book!" At her words, Wang Yan realized he had misunderstood. It would be awkward to change his tune now, so when he spotted a book nearby, he made the request casually.

"Sure!" the Fair-Skinned Girl answered at once. Apparently, that book was not worth many Spirit Stones. She hurriedly asked, "How many bundles do you want?"

"I'll take them all!" Wang Yan answered in a deep voice. Since Card Fairy said these blank talismans were good, they were certain to be good. He had enough Spirit Stones on him now, so naturally he would take the lot.

"Hm? These talismans...!" As Wang Yan took them, Card Fairy suddenly exclaimed in surprise.