Chapter 72: Finding the Black Market
Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Finding the Black Market
BOOM!
Old Zhao felt a BUZZ ring through his mind as a violent tremor shot through his body. His slightly trembling hand clenched into a tight fist. ’Who is this stranger? My son’s injury? Spirit Stones? What in the world is he trying to do?’
Lu Zhao paused for a moment and gave Old Zhao another deep look, his gaze seeming to say, ’If you want the Spirit Stones, come find me.’ Then, without lingering, he quietly departed.
Old Zhao stood frozen behind his stall, tightly clutching the slip of paper, his eyes filled with struggle and confusion. After a moment, though, something seemed to occur to him, and he sighed. Glancing furtively around, he tucked the note into his innermost pocket.
Night fell, and the Lin Family Marketplace grew unusually quiet. Even the patrol guards were nowhere to be seen.
Inside the Celestial Guest Tower, Lu Zhao’s room was perfectly still. He sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, seemingly meditating and cultivating, but in reality, his Heart Spirit was keenly aware of the slightest movements outside his door.
Time trickled by, and soon it was early 7:00 AM.
By Lu Zhao’s estimation, both men should have already closed their stalls for the day. The room number he had provided was perfectly clear, yet the hallway outside remained silent, save for the occasional footstep.
Lu Zhao frowned slightly. ’So, Old Wu was scared off after all? Or perhaps he didn’t find those few words credible? And Old Zhao... doesn’t seem to be that desperate for Spirit Stones either?’
’The hearts of men are truly impossible to predict,’ Lu Zhao lamented internally. ’It seems I’ll have to consider finding someone else. In the Marketplace, there will always be people willing to take risks for Spirit Stones. I’m in no hurry.’
Just as that thought crossed his mind.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
Three extremely faint knocks sounded, breaking the silence of the room.
’He’s here!’
Lu Zhao’s eyes snapped open with understanding. He rose to his feet, crossed to the door in a few steps, and smoothly pulled it open.
Standing outside was not the greedy Old Wu he had expected, but the careworn old Talisman Master—Old Zhao.
His body was slightly hunched, and he wore a faded old Daoist Robe. His hands were clenched unconsciously, knuckles white from the pressure. His eyes quickly swept the surroundings, and upon seeing Lu Zhao was alone, they immediately dropped.
Lu Zhao’s gaze was calm, understanding dawning on him in an instant. ’I thought it would be that man, Old Wu. I didn’t expect this one to show up. But it doesn’t matter. Either one is fine.’
Without wasting words, Lu Zhao stepped aside. "Come in," he said succinctly.
Old Zhao’s throat bobbed as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, all that came out was a muffled "mm." Lu Zhao could clearly see the old man’s nervousness; he practically slipped into the room, hugging the doorframe as he entered.
Lu Zhao closed the door and, with a casual gesture, activated the simple Sound Insulation Restriction on it. In the small space, only the sound of their soft breathing could be heard.
Instead of walking to the chair by the table, Lu Zhao chose to stand directly opposite Old Zhao. He looked at the other man’s face—a canvas of struggle and faint hope—and, dispensing with pleasantries and probing, got straight to the point:
"Fellow Daoist Zhao, take me to the local Black Market. As long as you can get me inside, these five Spirit Stones are your reward." With a slight flick of his right wrist, five Spirit Stones, shimmering with a faint Spirit Light, appeared in Lu Zhao’s palm.
’Five Spirit Stones?’
Old Zhao’s heart felt as if it had been seized by a great, invisible hand. He stared intently at the five Spirit Stones. All his daytime speculation, doubt, unease, and fear were shattered by the sight of these very real Spirit Stones.
A huge wave of joy washed over him. With these Spirit Stones and his own savings, he would have enough for his son’s medicine!
At the same time, however, the two words "Black Market" instinctively filled him with wariness and resistance!
"You want to go to the Black Market? How do you know I can take you? What are you going there for?" Old Zhao blurted out in a rush.
"That’s not important," Lu Zhao cut him off. "What’s important is that I need to get in, and you can take me." He took another step forward, closing the distance to Old Zhao and filling the air with pressure.
"Agree to my request, and you can take them. Or you can turn around and leave right now, and I’ll pretend I never saw you. The choice is yours!"
The atmosphere in the room instantly froze. A heavy silence pressed down on Old Zhao.
The risks of bringing a Cultivator of unknown origin into the Black Market were self-evident. If things went wrong, he’d be the one to pay the price. But five Spirit Stones... how long would it take him to save that many!
Old Zhao began to hesitate again. Lu Zhao simply watched him without a word. For Lu Zhao, the worst-case scenario was simply pretending he had never met the man.
A quarter of an hour later, the harshness of reality finally wore down his hesitation. He remembered his son’s face, pale and twisted in agony, and the Immortal Doctor’s cold words: "If you can’t get a Vessel Continuation Pill, then you should start preparing for his funeral."
He thought of the despair of manning his stall all day only to earn a few pieces of Spiritual Sand, a feeling like an invisible hand squeezing his neck, leaving him unable to breathe.
He raised his head and stared at the Spirit Stones in Lu Zhao’s palm. Their light was like a faint glimmer of hope, piercing through the dense fog and allowing him to see the path ahead.
His expression hardened with resolve, and he forced the words out through clenched teeth:
"Fine! I’ll take you. But you have to promise me two things. Give me the Spirit Stones now, and whatever happens, it has nothing to do with me. After I get you inside, we pretend we’ve never met!"
Not a ripple of emotion showed in Lu Zhao’s eyes, as if he had foreseen this outcome all along. He calmly pushed the five Spirit Stones into the old Talisman Master’s hand. "I promise."
He wasn’t afraid of the old Talisman Master backing out. A man with a family to care for wouldn’t dare to pull such a stunt. Besides, it was only five Spirit Stones, a loss he could afford. Initially, Lu Zhao had only wanted to test if the man had the ability to get him in; he hadn’t actually expected that he truly could lead him into the Black Market.
Lu Zhao was suddenly reminded of something someone had once told him: ’Anyone who can survive in the Cultivation Realm has a trick or two up their sleeve.’
As the Spirit Stones settled into his palm, another tremor ran through the old Talisman Master. He clutched the life-saving hope tightly, swallowed hard, and spoke in a voice that was still hoarse:
"The entrance to the Black Market is in the southwest corner. You need a referral for your first time, and I can act as your sponsor. I’ll come find you here tomorrow after Noon."
"Alright," Lu Zhao nodded. "I’ll be waiting."
Old Zhao gave Lu Zhao another deep, complicated look. He clutched the Spirit Stones to his chest as if they were a life-saving straw, then turned and walked toward the door.
Lu Zhao waved his hand again, deactivating the Sound Insulation Restriction on the door. The old Talisman Master stepped out of the room, and his figure quickly vanished into the darkness of the hallway.
The door closed once more, leaving Lu Zhao alone in the room again. He walked to the window and gazed out expressionlessly at the inky blackness of the Marketplace at night.
"I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly," Lu Zhao murmured to himself. He recalled how much effort it had taken him just to get into the Zhou Family Marketplace back then; in the end, it was Wang Yun who had helped him get in.
Thinking of Wang Yun, as well as Little Hui and Chen Fang, he sighed aloud. "I wonder if they’re doing well." But then he remembered what he had left for them and smiled. The things he left behind were exactly what those just starting their Qi Cultivation needed most.
Lu Zhao’s thoughts shifted. ’The Guide is secured, and the door to the Black Market is open. Next, I need to find an information broker in the Black Market. That’s the only way I can quickly get a handle on the situation in this Marketplace.’
’Only then can I properly vet the merchant caravans heading to Bixia Marketplace. After all, the overland journey to Bixia Marketplace is far from short. Even if everything goes smoothly, it will likely take several months.’