When they reached a fork in the road, Nie Li suddenly changed direction and headed into a narrower alley on the left.
The houses lining the alley were low and old, most of their plaster peeling away to expose the rough stone and mortar beneath.
Several stalls stood at the alley entrance. Their owners wore patched homespun clothes and sat on low stools, with scraps of torn cloth spread before them and assorted odds and ends scattered on top.
Shen Fei followed him in, with Duan Jian bringing up the rear.
As soon as the three entered the alley, all the stall owners lifted their heads.
Their gazes lingered briefly on Nie Li and Shen Fei, then shifted to Duan Jian.
Duan Jian's hood hid most of his face, but it could not completely conceal his build or the way he walked.
The stall owners glanced at him, then at the faintly visible feather tips beneath the hem of his cloak. They quickly looked away, as though they had noticed nothing unusual.
Nie Li crouched in front of the second stall.
The goods on the torn cloth were a jumble: a few pieces of mediocre ore, several copper coins so rusty their original appearance was nearly unrecognizable, a few dried medicinal roots and stems, a dagger with half its blade broken off, and several badly worn Demon Beast scales.
Nie Li swept his gaze over the items before stopping on an inconspicuous black stone in the corner.
The stone was only fist-sized, its surface wrapped in a dark brown crust. A few fine cracks exposed the translucent black crystal beneath.
The crystal's color was pure. When daylight entered through the cracks in the crust, that small patch of crystal gleamed faintly, as though it had swallowed the light and breathed