Li Nanzhu did not immediately shift her gaze to the profound dark stones. Instead, she looked at a battered, dilapidated mirror.
"I happen to need a mirror for my room. Although this one is a bit broken, the patterns are quite unique. It should look decent after a good cleaning."
"Three hundred mid-grade spirit stones."
The stall owner's slightly raspy voice drifted over. From the voice alone, Li Nanzhu could tell the person across from her was likely a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl; she had noticed her earlier while shopping at other stalls.
Judging by her spending habits, she didn't seem like someone short on money. Since she had come to his stall, he would squeeze as much out of her as possible. After all, young girls always liked pretty things.
"Three hundred mid-grade spirit stones? Too expensive, too expensive! I could buy so many other mirrors for that price."
Li Nanzhu curled her lip. She was currently playing the part of an innocent, ignorant young girl perfectly, all to better fleece the stall owner later.
"This is a fine item I obtained from a secret realm. It's not just for looking at your reflection; it might have other functions. It's a real treasure."
"You said it 'might' have other functions. If it turns out to be useless, won't I be at a huge loss? Fifty low-grade spirit stones, at most. I'm only buying it because I think it looks nice. Otherwise, forget it."
She shook her head vigorously, indicating that she truly could not accept his price.
The stall owner was momentarily choked up. "Regardless, it came from a secret realm. How could anything from a secret realm be bad? At the very least, it's worth one hundred mid-grade spirit stones!"
Li Nanzhu gave a noncommittal hum and turned her attention to the spirit plants on the stall.
"These soul-confusing grasses have withered like this? One look and you can tell the roots were damaged during harvesting. Most of their medicinal properties have leaked away."
"Nonsense! These are clearly, clearly..."
"Look at the stems yourself. Nearly half of them are snapped, and the qi has almost entirely dissipated. I don't even know if they'll be usable if I buy them. Seven hundred low-grade spirit stones for the lot. Will you sell or not?"
The stall owner opened his mouth as if to argue, but what she said was indeed true.
However, soul-confusing grass wasn't common in the outside world, and it wasn't exactly a standard spirit plant. He had gone through a lot of trouble to obtain these few stalks; selling them so cheaply felt like a bitter pill to swallow.
"Eight hundred low-grade spirit stones. Not a stone less."
Seeing that Li Nanzhu didn't respond, the stall owner gritted his teeth. After all, the quality of his goods was indeed poor, which was why he hadn't sold anything for days. This young girl was his only customer, and he didn't want to let her walk away.
"If you buy them, I can sell you that mirror from before at a discount. How about one hundred low-grade spirit stones?"
"If you put it that way, I suppose it's fine..." Li Nanzhu maintained her hesitant expression.
Fearing that she would change her mind, the stall owner quickly continued his sales pitch.
"Once you pass this village, you won't find this shop again! You like this mirror, don't you? The patterns are likely one-of-a-kind. You won't find it anywhere else!"
Only then did Li Nanzhu reluctantly nod.
"You have a point, I suppose. But I still feel like I'm getting a bad deal."
She looked over the other items on the stall as if she had just noticed those few stones, pointing her finger at them.
"Throw those few stones in as well. Treat them as a sweetener. A leg on the table in my room is missing a piece; these will work perfectly to prop it up."
The stall owner nodded immediately. He had just picked up those stones randomly from a cave in a secret realm and hadn't found anything special about them, so he had tossed them onto the stall on a whim. If those stones could help close the deal now, that was fine by him.
Seeing the owner agree, Li Nanzhu directly pulled out nine hundred low-grade spirit stones to complete the trade. Without another word, she took her items, turned around, and left to regroup with her senior brothers.
The moment the items were in her possession, Cang Dongqing's heart skipped a heavy beat. It felt as if she had lost something vital, and her baseless anxiety intensified.
She could no longer maintain her surface composure, nor did she care about her injuries. She rushed to Fourth Senior Brother Le Changxi and pleaded for him to take her down the mountain.
Her reason was simple: she felt that Li Nanyi had run into trouble below, so she had to go and check on him immediately.
Although Le Changxi found it strange that he hadn't received a distress signal from Li Nanyi, his heart softened at the sight of his junior sister's worried face. He took Cang Dongqing and headed straight for Xuanxiao City.
...
Li Nanzhu met up with her two senior brothers. Looking at Duan Xianxing, it seemed he had already bought what he wanted; with First Senior Brother there, he likely hadn't been cheated.
The three of them circled a few more times, confirming that there was no sign of Li Nanyi. They planned to head back to the sect and return another time.
Just as they were about to leave through the teleportation array they had arrived in, a nearby figure suddenly caught Li Nanzhu's attention.
"Boss, don't you think that person looks like you-know-who?"
Li Nanzhu nudged Mu Wenyan. The title 'Boss' was agreed upon after entering the black market to avoid using sect titles.
Mu Wenyan focused his gaze for a moment but wasn't entirely certain.
After all, Li Nanyi was very cautious about entering the black market; he was not only masked but had also changed his clothes.
Furthermore, the black market strictly prohibited the use of divine sense and had arrays specifically designed to block it. Mu Wenyan couldn't make a definitive judgment in such a short time.
"I'm not certain, but we can head out first and wait."
The three of them didn't linger. That person also seemed to be leaving the black market; if it truly was Li Nanyi, they needed to get out as soon as possible.
The exit points of the black market's teleportation array changed with every use. Unless they were traveling together, they would never be teleported to the same location.
If Li Nanyi were teleported near the city gates, they might be able to chase him, but there was a risk of being discovered.
To be safe, they needed to get out first.
Without further hesitation, the three of them quickly stepped into the teleportation array and left.
They had indeed guessed correctly; that figure was Li Nanyi.
His luck had been good; not long after he set up his stall, someone had bought his goods, and he had pocketed quite a few spirit stones.
Now, he only wanted to leave the black market quickly, buy some healing pills, and deliver them to Cang Dongqing.
He left almost immediately after Li Nanzhu and the others, but because he still needed to buy pills and change back into his sect robes, he was delayed for a while.
This allowed Li Nanzhu and her group to get outside the city gates before him.
Once outside the city, the three of them headed straight toward the Sword Heart Sect.
Li Nanzhu had already decided that lying in wait near the city gates was too dangerous. It was very likely that Li Nanyi would send a distress signal and draw in other Sword Heart Sect disciples.
It was better to ambush him on the path he had to take to return to the sect.
That way, whether it was the city guards or the disciples of the Sword Heart Sect, they wouldn't be able to reach him in time even if they received a distress signal.
This window of time would be more than enough for Li Nanzhu to give Li Nanyi a good beating.
Furthermore, she wanted to test some of the new talismans she had drawn on him.
Of course, she only intended to inflict some moderate injuries; she wasn't so far gone as to beat the man to death.
Roughly half an hour later, Li Nanyi's figure finally appeared before their eyes.
He was here!
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