Seeing a bounty notice for himself at the Yan Household Market was only to be expected. What surprised Chen Jin was that Yuan Bai was wanted too. Thinking it over carefully, it might have had something to do with Yuan Bai stealing the Slay Evil Sword from the Yan Household Great Stronghold.
After all, this was a mid-grade magic sword, a genuine divine weapon of extraordinary value.
Having lost this sword, that holy maiden of the Yan Household certainly would not let the matter rest.
The fact that Yuan Bai was wanted actually counted as good news. It was enough to show that he was safe and sound, and presumably he had already left the area.
For a Demon Beast that had awakened its intelligence and excelled at crossing mountains and ridges, breaking through the Yan Household's defenses was not difficult.
In fact, Chen Jin could likewise choose to leave the mountains now.
But he still had unfinished business and was unwilling to leave just like that.
Whatever one did, one had to see it through from beginning to end.
Thus, coming to the Yan Household Market could hardly be called venturing alone into a tiger's den. It was merely letting a drop of water fall into a river.
Chen Jin walked over to look at the portrait of the zombie. The artwork was quite good, the likeness lifelike. Had he not shed his skin, standing beside that portrait would surely have gotten him recognized.
Now, everything was different.
He had shed his corpse skin and eliminated the corpse stench. He was a living, breathing man; no one would connect him with a zombie.
After looking, he was about to enter the market when a Yan Household disciple guarding the entrance stopped him and demanded to see his entry token.
Chen Jin said, "I only entered the mountains today. I haven't obtained one yet."
The Yan Household disciple looked him over and said lazily, "So you're new. Then follow the rules: pay ten taels of silver for a token. Let me make this clear first: the market recognizes tokens, not people. If you lose it, you bear the consequences and will have to get another."
Chen Jin took out the silver he had prepared in advance and soon received a bamboo token. The character "Yan" was carved on it, presumably as its identifying mark.
It was merely a way to rake in money on their own turf.
He asked again, "I'd like a relatively quiet hut. How much?"
"Fifty taels. No bargaining."
The Yan Household disciple took out another token, this one made of wood with slightly better workmanship and numbered thirty-three.
Chen Jin paid, took the token, and stepped inside.
Throughout the process, he did not even need to register his identity or name. It was rather lax, saving him the step of making up a false name.
A market in the wilderness, temporarily put together, was a makeshift affair to begin with. Still, it was quite lively inside, with people coming and going. Quite a few had begun setting up stalls to sell what they had obtained in the mountains, some bartering and others selling directly for money.
Chen Jin swept a cursory glance over them. Finding nothing that interested him, he went straight to hut number thirty-three.
It was simply a wooden hut, empty inside, without even a bed. Those who rested here mostly slept on the floor.
For mountain foragers accustomed to eating in the wind and sleeping under the open sky, a hut that sheltered them from wind and rain and allowed them a peaceful night's sleep was already quite satisfactory.
Someone had stayed in this hut before, leaving quite a bit of miscellaneous rubbish on the floor. Chen Jin could not stand the sight, so he went out again. Spotting brooms for sale at a stall at a reasonable price, he bought one and brought it back.
In this world, there was never any shortage of quick-witted people doing business.
Broom in hand, Chen Jin began cleaning diligently, just as he had once cleaned the shrine.
When he took the rubbish outside to dispose of it, he saw people entering and leaving the hut diagonally opposite. They looked familiar-weren't they the family he had frightened away earlier?
What a coincidence.
But the market was only so large. Since they were all staying here, they were bound to cross paths.
Chen Jin merely glanced at them before returning to his hut and closing the wooden door. He spread a piece of cloth on the floor, sat on it, and began meditating to nourish his spirit.
He had been in a hurry to leave the secluded valley partly because, after his return from death, its environment was no longer suitable for him to live in, and partly because the mountain foragers' parties might advance there at any time.
Since that was the case, he might as well leave early.
He had his own plans in choosing to settle at the Yan Household Market.
As the old saying went: "Small hermits live in the wilderness; great hermits live in the marketplace."
A trading market was still a marketplace.
The Yan Household would never imagine that the zombie they had offered a lavish bounty for was living right under their noses.
It was truly darkness beneath the lamp.
Here, Chen Jin had ample time to adjust, recuperate, and find himself again.
His current condition was rather unusual. Having suffered a lightning tribulation and passed through life and death, his mind and consciousness were unstable;
His physical body was likewise in poor condition. Since his Qi and Blood had only just been reborn, and his meridians and internal organs had only just begun to recover, he presented this withered appearance, as though he had only recently recovered from a grave illness.
But a towering building rose from level ground. Having taken this first step, the path of cultivation ahead would be much easier to walk.
With these thoughts, he gradually entered meditation.
Upon his spirit dais, the sun and moon appeared once more, each lending splendor to the other.
Moonlight sustained his body and protected his corporeal soul; Yang Qi steadied his mind and soothed his ethereal soul.
With a stirring of Chen Jin's thoughts, a jumble of memories began to form, unfolding one after another:
He had once been a youth, precocious by nature, composing poems in seven steps and speaking in polished verse. His clan had regarded him as a talent destined to become the top imperial scholar;
Yet he had not taken the path of the imperial examinations. When he was fifteen, an immortal master roaming the mortal world had taken a liking to him. He had immediately bid farewell to his parents, elder brother, and the rest of his family, ridden a crane straight up into the azure clouds, and entered the lower court of the Zhongnan Sword Sect.
At the time, the entire city had been stirred. Its people had burned incense and knelt in worship, crying out, "Immortal!"
To find success so young-how freely his spirits had soared!
After entering the lower court, he had first performed a novice's duties for five years, chopping wood and carrying water. He had then passed the assessment without difficulty and begun formally studying the sword.
At first, he had progressed with astonishing speed, easily crossing the Three Mortal Passes, then proceeding through Aperture Opening, Embryonic Breathing, and Marrow Cleansing. Only one step away from the seventh realm, "Innate," he had been considered the unrivaled candidate to enter the upper court.
Yet that was when things had gone wrong. He had been stuck outside the threshold, wasting year after year, unable to break through.
After examining him, the old immortal master had determined that he had been too eager for quick results during Aperture Opening, leading him to draw in Qi improperly and damage his Qi Seed. His Dao Path could go no farther than the threshold of Innate.
Hearing this, Chen Jin had felt as though struck by lightning. From then on, he had sunk into despondency, passing his days in a muddled daze.
During that time, a junior sister of his sect named Yan Hui had shown him every care and concern, asking after his well-being and rushing about everywhere in an effort to help resolve the problem with his Qi Seed.
Chen Jin had been deeply moved. He had thought that even if his Dao Path held no hope, gaining such a woman as his confidante would make this life worthwhile.
One day, Yan Hui had run to him excitedly and said that traces of thousand-year spirit ginseng had been discovered near Stream Mountain, her homeland. If they could find such a precious medicinal herb, it might have a very good healing effect.
Overjoyed, Chen Jin had immediately set off with Yan Hui. They had quietly left the lower court and traveled ten thousand li to the Yan Household Great Stronghold.
That night, as the two shared tender intimacies in their room, Chen Jin, who had drunk a few extra cups of wine, had collapsed limply.
Before losing consciousness, he had seen this lovely, alluring Junior Sister Yan smiling at him.
That smile bared her teeth, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.
Then Chen Jin had felt his body growing cold and stiff, and soon he had fallen into boundless darkness...
Until that night, amid flashing lightning and rolling thunder, he had thrown open his coffin and risen.
The past was unbearable to revisit. It had all been a nightmare.
In this life, I have regrets!
He abruptly opened his eyes. Without realizing it, tears had already streamed down his face.