Knock knock knock.
The knocking woke Huo Yuhao from his sleep.
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes. Outside the window, the stars twinkled, and the city lights in the distance had long been turned off. The entire Mingdu had fallen into silence.
The knocking at the door was especially clear at this moment.
Huo Yuhao got up from the bed, took a sip of water from his glass, and looked up at the soul-guided clock on the wall, which was displaying numbers.
01:00
It's one o'clock in the morning.
Huo Yuhao looked at the door with some confusion. The knocking continued unabated, showing no sign of leaving.
With a helpless shrug, Huo Yuhao strode to the door, turned the handle, and opened it directly.
This is only possible because of Huo Yuhao. If it were anyone else who had their door knocked on inexplicably at midnight, the timid would probably just cower in their room, too afraid to open the door.
If someone reacts strongly, they might even unleash Soul Skill to attack.
Squeak!
Starlight shone through the thin clouds and fell directly onto the corridor in front of Huo Yuhao's door, allowing him to clearly see who had come.
The tall man, over two meters tall, had such thick muscles that they formed a wall of flesh that it blocked the entire doorway. In particular, his bald head constantly reflected a dazzling light under the moonlight.
Huo Yuhao looked up at He Caitou, who was blocking the doorway, yawned, and asked, " Brother He, what do you want with me so late? Don't tell me it's a long night and you can't sleep; I don't have time to wait for you."
He Caitou scratched his head sheepishly, a sheepish smile on his face, and said helplessly, " Little Brother Huo, didn't I tell you tonight? Have you forgotten?"
Huo Yuhao raised his eyes and pondered for a moment, recalling the few words he had exchanged with He Caitou in the restaurant, but he had no clue. He shook his head and said, " Brother He, I really don't remember clearly."
Huo Yuhao's memory wasn't actually bad; with his Spiritual Power, he could remember almost everything that had happened, even more clearly than someone with hyperthymesia. He could even freely search through the memories in his mind.
Therefore, if Huo Yuhao doesn't remember something, it's probably because he wasn't listening at all. In other words, if something didn't interest Huo Yuhao, he would selectively ignore it.
Clearly, what He Caitou said falls into this category.
He Caitou wasn't angry at all when he saw Huo Yuhao like this. In his opinion, Huo Yuhao was probably just sleepy and couldn't remember what he had said to him.
Then He Caitou lowered his voice and said to Huo Yuhao, " Little Brother Huo, it's about the black market. I overheard the Illustrious Virtue Hall members talking about it yesterday morning. They go there to try their luck when there's a shortage of certain rare metals."
"I've heard there are some competitions here where you can win a lot of rare metals. I think this is an opportunity; we should check it out."
Huo Yuhao clasped his hands in congratulations and said, " Brother He, that's amazing! You've already entered Illustrious Virtue Hall to study. I haven't even qualified yet."
He Caitou, but was immediately swayed by Huo Yuhao, saying modestly, " Little Brother Huo, what are you saying? I'm just lucky; my mentor really appreciates me."
"So, Little Brother Huo, let's set off. If we're too late and the black market closes, we'll have made a wasted trip." He Caitou brought the topic back on track.
Huo Yuhao felt somewhat helpless. He quickly scanned the surroundings with his Spiritual Power and saw that all the people who had been monitoring them in the night had disappeared one by one.
This unusual phenomenon immediately caught Huo Yuhao's eye. There must be something fishy going on here; there must be some conspiracy involved.
But it's the intrigue that makes things interesting.
Huo Yuhao turned around, picked up his shirt, and put it on, saying, "Then let's set off with Brother He. By the way, you know the location of the black market, right?"
He Caitou patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, I found out early this morning, and I checked that there's no one guarding the school gate. The people who usually monitor us have also disappeared. It's probably because they've figured out our usual actions, and they're just letting their guard down today."
"That's why opportunities are rare and hard to come by."
Huo Yuhao reached out He Caitou a thumbs-up, and praised, "It has to Brother He! I think so too."
He Caitou continued, "There's no other way; it's all about training. The Ultimate Soldier Plan is actually more suitable for you, Little Brother Huo."
Huo Yuhao walked beside He Caitou, waving his hand and saying, " Brother He, you flatter me. I only have a slight advantage in Martial Soul; my strength is nothing special. If it weren't for your reminder, I might not have even noticed those people monitoring me."
The two chatted casually on the way and soon walked out of the school gate, heading towards the black market under the cover of night.
The city of Mingdu at night presents a completely different scene compared to during the day, with the thick darkness enveloping the entire city.
In cities filled with skyscrapers, many dark corners of all sizes have sprung up, where a few figures can always be seen flashing by.
It was eerily quiet, yet it also seemed unusually 'lively'.
Huo Yuhao and He Caitou moved quickly, darting through the dark corners.
He Caitou had scouted the location early in the morning, taking advantage of some tasks assigned by his mentors, and continued to approach the black market with almost no pauses.
After many twists and turns, Huo Yuhao finally saw a glimmer of light ahead.
The light wasn't very bright, but it was still quite conspicuous in the dark city. Instinctively, a hint of purple flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
The Spiritual Detection instantly moved forward.
At the very end of the alley, there was an entrance where two masked men in black were leaning against the walls, surveying their surroundings.
Behind them appeared rows of neatly arranged stalls, each with a dim oil lamp beside it, its flame flickering back and forth.
The stall displayed many small pieces of rare metals and some strange and unusual items. In the flickering firelight, these rare metals reflected a few points of light in the darkness.
The light Huo Yuhao saw at the alley entrance was refracted by these rare metals.
In this black market, many people came and went, all of them wearing masks. Some people were talking in hushed tones, seemingly discussing the quality of the goods, while others were squatting in front of the stalls, turning over the items as if they hadn't found anything they wanted.
Compared to the quiet city, this place suddenly felt exceptionally lively.
He Caitou slowed his pace and said, " Little Brother Huo, this black market is very mysterious. The people inside rarely show their true faces, so we'd better hide our identities as well."
As he spoke, He Caitou handed Huo Yuhao a mask and put it on himself as well.
Huo Yuhao nodded, put on the mask He Caitou.
Soon, they arrived at the place where the two men were guarding the alley entrance.
The two men leaning against the wall sized up Huo Yuhao and his companion as they emerged from the darkness. One of them spoke calmly, "You know the rules?"
He Caitou nodded, took out a small cloth bag from the storage room, Huo Yuhao heard the sound of coins clinking inside as he shook it.
The man on the right caught the cloth bag that He Caitou threw to him, weighed it in his hand, and a smile appeared on his lips. He was clearly very satisfied with the contents of the bag, and he winked at the man opposite him.
The man on the left tilted his head towards the black market and said, "If you know the rules, then don't cause trouble. If you do, no one can save you."
"I know..." He Caitou changed his tone, replying with a thick, unidentified regional accent.
After the two guards nodded, Huo Yuhao and Huo Yuhao entered the black market.