The Primitive Marketplace

Chu Tianshu walked to the side and stood in front of the reporter's body.

Because this corpse had not been refined for long, its physical hardness, speed, and power when it actually pounced were actually much weaker than other iron bowl puppets.

The bald wizard only used this puppet in battle as a temporary measure.

In the ensuing series of events, the corpse, having neither undergone complete purification nor possessing any weapons, was not mobilized.

Chu Tianshu looked at the bluish face and indeed found it to be very similar to the faces of the ghosts he had seen, only the color was different.

"You, sir, do you perhaps know Boxi?"

Zheng Jing caught his breath, slowly stood up, and approached his friend's body.

"I'd say we know each other."

Chu Tianshu said, "This reporter's only wish is to preserve the evidence he has collected..."

Yungu had already leaped down, and amidst the vast ruins, he reached out and grabbed an arm, pulling it forcefully outwards.

He dragged the bald wizard out, and a small patch of ruins clattered and tiles rolled around.

"Tell me, where is all the evidence this reporter collected kept?"

The bald wizard, after being asked this question by Yungu, barely regained consciousness from his dazed state.

"What? What evidence have you collected? I don't know anything about it!"

The bald wizard was both surprised and frightened, and felt extremely wronged.

What incredibly important evidence could have attracted such a group of people?

If the reporter had such a thing in his possession, why didn't he say so before he was arrested?

If I had said so earlier... well, I'd already offended them anyway. If I had said so earlier, I would have found a secluded place to dispose of the body and cover my tracks, making sure everything was done cleanly and getting far away.

Chu Tianshu's experience has grown considerably. Seeing that the bald wizard, despite his fear, still had an uneasy expression, he guessed that the wizard was up to no good.

"I suppose you didn't notice the evidence on the reporter's person."

Chu Tianshu stared at the man, the Vertical and Horizontal Seal in his eyes turning from blue to red. "But you should know very well what he had on him when you captured him, and where he ended up abandoning it!"

Enveloped by the bewitching power of the magic seal, the bald wizard instantly forgot the pain in his body and subconsciously tried his best to recall what Chu Tianshu had asked.

However, just as a look of confusion crossed his eyes, a struggle flashed across his face.

Several puppets in the courtyard that had fallen earlier but hadn't been targeted by the stomping feet had iron bowls on their heads emitting a faint glow.

It was a very inconspicuous light; the originally dark iron bowl, now glowing, only appeared to have become slightly shinier.

In the ruins there, some puppets with their iron bowls exposed on their heads also underwent the same change.

Chu Tianshu's eyes flickered slightly.

"You really are creative, managing to connect your Mind Power with these iron bowl skulls. When faced with a mental shock, you can share the burden with these Dharma Corpse puppets' cold brains."

Chu Tianshu saw through the clues, but he didn't intend to use any isolation measures against those iron bowls; instead, his eyes blazed with a red light.

Like a crimson cross in the Southern Heaven, it dazzled onlookers.

The struggle on the bald wizard's face vanished instantly, leaving him completely stunned.

There are limits to using the power of the bewitching puppets, and Chu Tianshu exceeded those limits.

The bald wizard, who already understood Chinese, spoke in a measured and deliberate manner, reciting a place name and explaining how to get there from this small town.

When he arrested the reporter, he casually discarded some of the reporter's belongings there.

Among the group behind Chen Taozhi, there was one who was most skilled in light-footed martial arts, and he immediately set off.

Sun Buyuan then went into the courtyard to examine the corpses.

"These corpses have undergone rituals and are intended to be used to create items to nourish the soul. A small section of rib from the reporter's body would be the most suitable material."

As Sun Buyuan spoke, he reached out and stroked the corpse's face, closing its eyes first.

Although he had hesitated beforehand, he felt quite relieved that he could actually find a sorcerer to help these people rest in peace. Looking at the many corpses again, he recited a prayer for their rebirth.

Zheng Jing, standing to the side, had already guessed what was going on, and his face showed a mixture of surprise and delight.

"It is a matter of chance that a person's soul can remain after death; even more fortunate is that it has not yet entered the Spirit Realm, been corrupted by Ghost God, and had its original nature erased."

Chu Tianshu looked at the man and said, "But after death, things are quite different from before. I originally planned to take the reporter's ghost away and settle it after I finished some business."

"Unexpectedly, he has such an knowledgeable friend as you. If you are willing, once the ritual implements are completed and his soul is placed within them, you can take care of him and allow him to enjoy his full lifespan in the afterlife."

Zheng Jing nodded repeatedly. "I'm willing. Although my lineage consists of archers, it's a path to Spirit Communication Aperture Opening. With my strength, raising a little ghost won't be a problem. I'll definitely take good care of it."

Yungu's gaze fell upon them.

"Although he wasn't an outstanding Ba People Archery, his cultivation level was quite good."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jing blushed slightly. "After I came of age, I didn't have many opportunities for real combat, which has brought shame to the clan's heritage. Sir, have you met the elders of our clan?"

"I have seen it."

Yungu chuckled lightly, "They are indeed very senior figures. I've learned some things from those friends as well. I can teach you sometime."

Just then, the team member who had gone to get the item returned at top speed.

The abandoned site was located in the jungle, and although some time had passed, no one had picked up the items.

Chen Taozhi took the crossbody bag and looked through it. Inside was a camera with many photos, as well as a lot of paper manuscripts, all of which were first-hand interview materials.

He glanced at it briefly and handed it to Chu Tianshu.

Chu Tianshu glanced at it twice and then nodded.

"Put it away for now."

Chu Tianshu then looked at the bald wizard, "Where is your sorcerer's trading market located, and how large is it?"

The bald wizard said, "The location and scale are not fixed. That place was discovered last time, so no one will use it anymore."

Chu Tianshu asked, "Who organizes this kind of market? How do you contact the organizers?"

The bald wizard simply said, "I don't know who organized it, and I don't have their contact information."

Chu Tianshu was a little surprised.

Who organized it? We don't know. Where it was held? We don't know.

Without any contact information, how did they manage to put together this market?

Zheng Jing then chimed in, "You're looking for this kind of market? That's really troublesome."

"There weren't many sorcerers in the Golden Triangle originally, but there were a few regular trading locations."

"However, in the last six months, there has been constant turmoil. Those trading points have all been destroyed, and the total number of warlocks gathered here has been engaged in endless fighting and plundering, resulting in a surge in their gains."

"This led to the emergence of many temporary trading points."

Zheng Jing, who was quite knowledgeable in this area, explained it in detail.

These types of trading opportunities are entirely based on luck.

A few people are active here, and after trading, they stay for a while, which may attract nearby warlocks to join them.

I'll take out any magical resources I don't need right away and see if I can exchange them for something more suitable.

Such trading points are, of course, very vulnerable.

Without an organizer or anyone to maintain order, even if they aren't ambushed by bounty hunters, any warlock among the participants who harbors thoughts of looting could easily ignite a brawl, causing them to scatter like birds and beasts.

Chu Tianshu was speechless for a moment.

It's the 21st century, yet there are still such primitive, fragile, and purely luck-based trading and gathering methods.

Indeed, chaos easily leads to backwardness, and even regression to ancestral ways.

Even if it doesn't manifest as technological backwardness or regression, it will directly affect certain aspects of the social system.

He suppressed the red light in his eyes, pinched the space between his eyebrows, and suddenly chuckled.

"Since nobody's doing this, let's just do it ourselves."

Chen Taozhi and Sun Buyuan exchanged a glance, both understanding each other perfectly.

We need to gather local intelligence and identify any clues that may be related to the Grotto-Heaven incident.

The best approach is to target these perceptive and meticulous sorcerers.

"OK!"

Chen Taozhi said, "Now that these sorcerers have arrived in the area, it's our observation team's duty to use some organizational methods to observe their ecology."

Sun Buyuan cautioned, "But evil sorcerers are extremely vigilant; gaining their trust will likely be difficult."

"Who said we should try to gain their trust?"

Chu Tianshu said slowly and deliberately, "From the very beginning, we need to make our stance clear when organizing this trade fair."

"We do not accept members of evil sects whose practices are often contrary to human nature!"

"Spells can't necessarily define good and evil. Excluding a small minority that are definitely not good, the remaining group should still make up about 70%."

"These are not heretical, or at least they don't consider themselves heretical, and that's enough to bolster the trading gathering's momentum."

As he spoke, he had already considered all sorts of possible consequences and paused for a moment.

"However, to achieve significant results, we need to act quickly, especially in the initial publicity and promotion..."

Chen Taozhi immediately replied, "That's easy. We have professionals in our team, and we can get support from within the country at any time."

Chu Tianshu glanced at the number of people in the observation team and couldn't help but smile.

"That's true, our observation team isn't really limited to just a few dozen people."

It's so much more comfortable back home.

In another world, if you need certain talents, you have to cultivate them yourself. But back home, if you need any kind of talent, you can just make a phone call and find someone to help.

(End of this chapter)