Night fell, and the whole Temple Capital shed its dazzling splendor, becoming as mysterious and gentle as a woman in the dead of night.
Yet hidden within that gentleness were sharp edges and danger. Like most cities, indeed almost exactly the same, it had a Black Market.
As its name suggested, the Black Market was a trading venue hidden in the shadows, unable to see the light of day. It therefore opened late at night and closed before dawn, like a secretive insect that hid by day and emerged by night. Outsiders would never notice its existence. Only those in the know could find traces of it and arrive at the proper time to browse.
The Fulin Taiyou People were the wealthiest merchant race on this nameless continent, with the largest businesses. They dealt in almost every kind of trade, but throughout history, not a single one of the Fulin Taiyou People had ever established a place like the Black Market. It ran counter to their business philosophy. Even those willing to take risks and engage in trades scorned by their own people would not open a Black Market. To them, it was an extremely difficult undertaking, far beyond something money alone could establish. It also required extensive connections and powerful backing. Only then could it stand firm amid all sorts of people and endure.
Anything might be found in the Black Market, yet none of the things commonly seen in everyday life appeared there. Everything offered for sale was rare and precious, the sort of thing that might get someone killed merely for displaying it in public. Every item there was therefore worth a fortune. Even if some world traveler happened to hear about the Black Market and hurried there late at night, he would not get through the