Black-Robed Man

Biodata

Identity distinction

• Original merchant, surnamed Du: Establishes the trading relationship with Lin Mo and supplies his Evergreen Art and Turtle Breath Art 14 17 22.
• Du’s junior fellow disciple: Temporarily takes over the stall during Du’s absence and handles the later insect and mutated-grain transactions. He shares Du’s master but admits that his cultivation is lower 24 33 42 43.
• Cultivation: Neither merchant’s exact realm or level is disclosed, and no personal advancement is documented 14 24.

Background / History

Du operates beneath a “Buy and Sell” banner at one of the Black Market’s best locations. Liu Xianzong recommends him because his goods have never been reported as fake, his prices are reasonable, and even Inner Sect disciples buy from him. Other vendors leave his spot untouched when he is absent 11 17.

Du later reveals that he belongs to the Penglai Commerce Association rather than the Azure Cloud Sect. The association’s influence explains the courtesy shown to him by disciples and elders; the Black Market serves as a connection between the sect and the association. He also earns commissions and benefits from increased business during the sect’s unrest 21.

When Du leaves to attend to other matters, his junior fellow disciple takes charge of the stall. The replacement initially knows nothing of Lin Mo’s queue-skipping privilege or preferential exchange rate, but continues cultivating him as a supplier once those arrangements become clear 24 33.

Appearance

• Du: Wears a black robe that conceals his body and face. His eyes shimmer with pale blue light, and his clear, resonant voice sounds youthful 11 13 17.
• Junior fellow disciple: Also wears black robes and a mask, but has a noticeably different, low voice. Lin Mo recognizes the change of stallholder through that difference 24.

Personality

Du is courteous and commercially pragmatic. He offers better-than-market terms, gifts a Storage Bag, and grants priority service to secure Lin Mo’s unusually high-quality harvests. Although curious about their source, he does not insist on an explanation and accepts the impression that an Inner Sect elder is backing Lin Mo 14 17.

The junior fellow disciple is more competitive and impatient. He takes pride in matching Du’s appraisal skills and responds to comparisons with his senior by offering a more generous deal. His eagerness for mutated produce leads him to seek exclusive access and probe for cultivation methods, but he backs down rather than lose Lin Mo’s business 24 33 43.

Abilities & Skills

Resource appraisal

Both merchants use spiritual energy to inspect cultivation goods and determine their quality or effects 14 21 42.

• Du recognizes the exceptional freshness and consistency of Lin Mo’s ordinary Spirit Plants and values them above standard market expectations 14 17.
• Du examines a Mutated Fire Spirit Fruit with a minor art. Although unfamiliar with such a mutation, he judges it worth more than an ordinary low-grade Mystic Tier fruit and attractive to alchemists 21.
• The junior identifies Golden-Light Wheat’s ability to repel evil and malevolent spirits, and judges mutated spirit rice capable of modest body tempering 42.
• Limit: The junior calls the phantom inside Golden-Light Wheat harmless and unremarkable. It is later connected to the resentful ghost Du Li, showing that his appraisal did not uncover its full significance 42 45 48.

Transaction concealment

Formation Discs allow the merchants to conduct private exchanges 14 17 33.

• Du deploys an invisible barrier that muffles conversation; during a later trade, it also blocks outside observation 14 17.
• The junior activates a screening formation when Lin Mo requests it 33 42.
• Limit: The junior neglects this protection during the lifesaving-item exchange. Others overhear the discussion of mutated fruit, after which Lin Mo is followed 25.

Spirit-insect rearing

The junior personally raises the Venomous Thorn Bee given to Lin Mo 33.

• Explains how to bind the unclaimed insect through a drop of blood and supplies a reference booklet 33 34.
• Later recognizes that its prolonged sleep appears to signal an approaching advancement, though he has never seen that condition before 43.
• Estimates that the ninth-rank insect would become upper-middle eighth rank if it advances 43.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Emerald Formation Disc — Du: Used to create a privacy barrier around transactions 14.
• Screening Formation Disc — Junior: Carried inside his robes and deployed to cut off outside perception 33 42.
• Storage Bags: Used to inspect purchases and carry merchandise; Du gives Lin Mo one as a gift 14 33.
• Black-lacquered wooden box — Junior: Holds the unbound Venomous Thorn Bee before its transfer to Lin Mo 33.
• The Hundred Explanations of Spirit Insects — Junior: A reference on common insects’ appearances and habits, provided with the bee; it is not a secret rearing manual 33 34.

Relationships

• Lin Mo — Regular customer and valued supplier. Du establishes preferential terms; the junior later negotiates exclusive access to his future fruit. Both believe Lin Mo’s produce comes from a powerful backer or master rather than recognizing his Treasure Gourd as its source 14 17 33 34 43.
• Du and his junior fellow disciple — Fellow disciples under the same master. The junior covers Du’s stall and claims comparable appraisal ability despite having lower cultivation 24.
• Liu Xianzong — Recommender. Introduces Lin Mo to Du’s stall and vouches for its reliable goods and reasonable prices 11.
• Venomous Thorn Bee — Raised by the junior, then given to Lin Mo. The junior later offers to buy it back when it appears close to advancing, but accepts Lin Mo’s refusal 33 43.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Trading with Du

Trading with the junior fellow disciple

Notable Quotes

“Next time, just come straight to me. No need to wait in line.”
— Du, granting Lin Mo priority service 17

“My cultivation may not match Senior Brother Du’s, but we studied under the same master, after all. My eye isn’t much worse than his.”
— Du’s junior fellow disciple 24

Trivia

• While dismissing the value of an advancing Venomous Thorn Bee, the junior begins to say “My Tai...” before correcting himself to “the Penglai Commerce Association.” The meaning of the interrupted phrase is not established 43.