In the misty rain, the scene ahead was blurred, but Lu Yan walked straight ahead. After all, he had no need for sight.
The black market. No matter what the people there called it, to him, it was a black market. Pitch black and terrifying. Of course, once he was there, he was shady enough to fit right in.
To enter the black market, one couldn't stay in the open bazaar. One had to go to the outskirts of Black Mountain Fort, because the stronghold of these guys—before he could finish the thought, he heard that voice.
“Sir~ Come in and have some fun~”
Lu Yan twitched his nose. The scent of cheap makeup was cloyingly thick, mingling with the rain and the muddy stench of the earth, giving him a headache. This was the lowest-grade brothel, a place for laborers to vent their desires.
He walked to the entrance. The sharp-eyed solicitor immediately spotted him.
“Oh~ If it isn't the handsome blind boy, why don't you come in and play~” Perhaps seeing how young he looked, she began to tease him again. “Little brother, you probably haven't even tasted a woman yet, have you? For just two strings of copper coins, big sister will send you straight to heaven, hehehehe—”
Lu Yan's expression remained unchanged. He was used to it. These people knew he was a virgin, and they always acted this way.
“Tell Du Qi that the formation master is seeing clients today.”
The solicitor giggled again. “Lu Shiyi, are you really not going to play? I can lower the price. I'll only charge you one string of coins.”
Lu Yan's face darkened, and he turned to leave.
The solicitor quickly grabbed his arm. “Hey, hey, little brother, don't go—you haven't been here in nearly three months. It wasn't easy for you to finally drop by. If I scare you off, Du Qi will have my head~”
Lu Yan felt his arm being pulled, veins bulging on his forehead. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out the words: “Hong Jiu, let go of me!”
The solicitor, known as Hong Jiu, released his arm and curled her lips. “Hmph, everyone ranked lower than me calls me Sister Hong. Only an unappreciative little thing like you wouldn't.”
Lu Yan sneered. “Last time, Seventeen fell for your tricks and did dual cultivation with you once, only for you to suck away half a year of his cultivation. What, are you eyeing my second level of Qi Condensation cultivation now?”
Hong Jiu chuckled sheepishly and patted his shoulder. “Alright, alright, you petty boy. The moment I saw you, I sent someone to notify Du Qi. If you don't go now, he'll get impatient. Go on, go on.”
Lu Yan took the cue to drop the matter and followed her inside without another word.
His ears were filled with the soft moans of courtesans and the heavy panting of men. No matter how well-tempered Lu Yan was, he couldn't help but crack a little. He couldn't resist asking, “Can't you guys find a different place?”
Hong Jiu chatted casually with him as she led him deeper inside. “What, are you paying for the expenses? The Central Continent Alliance has been acting like they're on a warpath lately, causing trouble for us again. And the Ice Spirit Cult hasn't been quiet either...”
Lu Yan fell silent. This place had been bought together by Chen San, Yao Wu, and Du Qi. On the surface, it operated as a brothel, but in secret, it was a gathering place for their group. Those hypocritical cultivators would never descend to such a low-grade brothel even if they frequented pleasure houses, making it quite safe.
“We're here.” They stepped into an inner chamber. There were several chairs around, and a plaque hanging above read "Abandoned Guest Hall." Hong Jiu let go of him. “Brother Seven, Shiyi is here.”
Du Qi was practicing calligraphy at his desk, his strokes powerful enough to penetrate the paper. Written on the white Xuan paper were four characters: 'Upright and Honorable.' As the final stroke of the last character was completed, the entire sheet of paper emitted a blinding light before dimming, turning to ash along with the paper itself.
Du Qi let out a long sigh. Rats in the gutter, after all, could never bear the light, nor could they ever truly embody the words 'upright and honorable.'
Lu Yan respectfully greeted Du Qi, “Brother Seven.”
“Ah, Shiyi is here. Good, as long as you're alive. Next time you plan to be gone for so long, remember to send word.”
Lu Yan lowered his head a bit more.
“By the way, Seventeen is dead.”
Hong Jiu chimed in, “Ghost Seventeen? Those ghost cultivators can die several times a day. Who knows if he's actually dead or just faking it? Maybe he just wants to clear his debt to me. You guys have no idea, a ghost cultivator's lower half is freezing cold—”
“Old Jiu,” Du Qi interrupted her.
Hong Jiu froze, her words catching in her throat. Du Qi paused for a moment before speaking again. His voice wasn't loud, but every word was crystal clear. “Completely dead. Not even a soul left. The Central Continent people caught him.”
Silence fell over the room. Hong Jiu's hand, which had been cracking melon seeds, stopped. A seed shell remained at her lips, untasted. The air felt heavy, as if pressed down by something, making it hard to breathe.
After a moment, Du Qi spoke again, “It's a good thing Shiyi is back. We've acquired quite a few formation plates lately.”
Lu Yan's expression shifted slightly. “I'm a bit tight on funds lately. Could you add a bit more to my cut?”
Hong Jiu seemed to come back to life, letting out a couple of giggles. “How tight? Do you want big sister to lend you some? Just spend a night with me, hehe.”
Lu Yan ignored her. Du Qi's fingers tapped gently on the table twice. “Take fifty percent this time. You can take my share as well, and return it when you're doing better.”
Lu Yan relaxed slightly. “Thank you, Brother Seven.”
“It's fine. Everyone falls on hard times.” Du Qi's voice was flat, as if he were speaking of something ordinary, or perhaps something he had already said many times before. “Just return it to me in the future.”
Lu Yan said nothing more. Hong Jiu stopped teasing as well. The only sound left in the room was the click-clack of Du Qi clicking his abacus, rhythmic and steady, like a heartbeat.
The Central Continent.
Bai Cen knocked over the cauldron in a fit of rage. The vessel crashed onto the green bricks, its lid rolling far away. The remaining liquid inside spilled out, sizzling and emitting white smoke, filling the air with a bitter, burnt, and coppery stench.
“Dammit!”
His voice echoed through the empty elixir chamber like the roar of a trapped beast. He stared at the pieces of the Glass Sword Heart cut on the floor, his eyes bloodshot, his dry, straw-like gray hair hanging disheveled over his forehead.
“Why can't I refine the Glass Sword Pill? The compatibility with the herbs is still so poor—theoretically, it should be possible. Why?!”
No one answered him. The only sounds in the elixir chamber were the sizzling of the cooling liquid and his own heavy breathing.
He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples hard, his knuckles turning white. A chaotic jumble of images swirled in his mind—the luster of the sword heart, the temperature of the cauldron, the damnable proportions of the medicinal herbs. He had thought about it hundreds of times, thousands of times. He had tried every combination and deduced every possibility, yet he still couldn't refine it. Just a bit off, always just a bit off, like a wall blocking his path that he could never tear down.
“I need a soul. Use a soul to increase compatibility. The compatibility between the pill and the sword heart—only a soul can bridge this gap.”
His voice was very quiet, as if speaking to himself, or perhaps to the empty chamber.
In the corner of the elixir chamber, the shadows flickered. A graceful figure in red descended, her steps as light as a cat's, making no sound upon the green bricks.
“Elder Bai.” Her voice carried a smile, soft and sweet as if dipped in honey. “How about I fetch this soul for you? In exchange, how about giving me twenty percent of your sword pill?”
His voice grew fierce. “If you can bring back this soul for me, I'll give you forty percent!”
The woman chuckled softly, her laughter echoing through the empty chamber like silver bells. “Then I shall await Elder Bai's pills.”
She turned, her red skirt sweeping across the green bricks like flowing blood. Then she floated up, light as a wisp of smoke, drifting out of the window and vanishing into the night.
Her laughter lingered, faint and distant, like a thread wrapped around the ear that could not be shaken off.
Jiang Ci jolted awake from her sleep.
Rate on N.U.
