CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 84: BLACK MARKET (PART 2)

In the darkness, Lou Yi focused his attention to the limit, right hand reaching into his chest, ready to draw an axe at any moment.

However, with his far superior vision and hearing, he felt there was no danger in the passageway.

Descending in a spiral all the way down, he reached the true entrance of the Black Market, where four fully armored guards stood like statues at the gate.

The cold, silver iron armor made Lou Yi’s heart skip a beat, raising his estimate of the Black Market’s standards.

He showed his token and handed over an ounce of silver, only then did the guards let him pass, allowing Lou Yi to see the true appearance of the underground Black Market.

It was not as grand as imagined.

The fringes of the Black Market were lined with stalls, goods displayed on burlap in front of the stall owners, few in variety and easy to see, with only a few people asking for prices nearby.

Blood-red colored weapons, grass emitting a faint glow, incomplete sword technique secret manuals...

The customers here mostly wore black veils or wide-brimmed hats, cautiously keeping their distance from others.

As Lou Yi passed by, most stall owners regarded him coldly. Those interested would approach; there was no active solicitation.

"Little brother, looking to buy something?" Rarely, a young stall owner took the initiative, showing goodwill.

His appearance wasn’t bad, except for a large scar in place of his nose.

Beside him sat a beautiful blind woman, her features somewhat similar to the man’s.

"Oh, I’m looking to buy Stone Spirit, do you know where to find some?"

Scanning the stall, mainly unfamiliar herbs were present, but no Stone Spirit or Phoenix Blood Stone.

However, finding this stall owner friendly, Lou Yi casually conversed with him.

"Oh, that isn’t easy to find, you should check the shops inside," the stall owner replied with slight regret.

Thanking him, Lou Yi passed through the makeshift stalls to where the Black Market’s spaces became a series of independent dark rooms, each separated by stone walls, differing in size.

Old wooden signs hung at the doors of the dark rooms, with vermilion writing indicating the goods for sale: medicinal herbs, ancient books, weapons, maps...

The inner corridors were several meters wide, lit by copper lamps burning on the walls, the air filled with the scent of lamp oil and a damp, moldy smell.

Lou Yi entered the first dark room selling materials he came across, about the size of seven or eight rooms.

The shopkeeper was a white-haired old man, with a gloomy expression, sitting in a chair, a pile of goods covered in black cloth behind him.

"Sir, looking for something?" A hoarse voice emerged from his throat, as if it was stuck with phlegm, making it unpleasant to hear.

"Do you have Stone Spirit?"

"Yes, how much do you need?"

"How much for a piece?"

"Two hundred ounces."

The old man’s reply made Lou Yi’s eyebrows twitch.

"What about Phoenix Blood Stone?"

"Not available."

"Do you have any fresh Spirit Monster Meat?"

"No, only jerky."

"What about Heart-Eroding Grass?"

"No."

After a brief exchange, Lou Yi left the store, visiting four or five more dark rooms selling materials, only to find none sold Stone Spirit.

It seemed the first store had considerable resources, no wonder they were in such a prominent location.

Afterward, Lou Yi began to wander, visiting all kinds of shops, deeply realizing his current poverty.

At the weapon shops, a Hundred-refined Steel Axe cost twenty or thirty ounces of silver, and a Profound Iron Axe cost over a hundred ounces.

As for the more mystical exotic weapons, made using the bones of Spirit Monsters, the prices were unimaginably high, each being the store’s treasure, costing thousands of ounces.

At the shops selling tonics, a bottle of Qi Blood Pills cost dozens of ounces of silver, enough for an ordinary person to use for only a month.

The map shops featured maps with prices varying greatly by geographical location and detail, ranging from a few ounces of silver to several hundred ounces.

Lou Yi’s entire fortune was only seven or eight hundred ounces, which was considered wealthy among the common people in the outer city, but at the Black Market, buying a few items would deplete it all.

The deeper into the Black Market, the larger the dark rooms became.

There were even two shops dealing in slaves, expressly forbidden on the surface, violating the Grand Wei Law.

There were also some mysterious stores with additional entry requirements that Lou Yi did not meet.

In the innermost store selling Spirit Monster Meat, he found Spirit Monster Meat less than three days old.

Only a Fox Spirit’s corpse was relatively intact, allowing him to gain a bit of energy, while other fragments of Spirit Monster Meat provided no benefits.

After all, Spirit Monsters often have large bodies. Nobody would be so idle to occasionally lug a complete Spirit Monster corpse to the store.

Moreover, it seems not all the meat of a Spirit Monster is beneficial to a Martial Artist, and extracting the essence seems to be a complex art.

Eventually, Lou Yi returned to the initial old man’s store, buying three pieces of Stone Spirit, haggling down to five hundred ounces of silver.

The old man issued a receipt for Lou Yi.

Upon leaving the Black Market, Lou Yi paid a commission of twenty-five ounces of silver based on this receipt.

’This Black Market is truly black.’ Lou Yi couldn’t help but lament.

He also deeply realized how expensive the path to becoming a Martial Artist was.

Purifying God Incense, Qi Blood Pills, Spirit Monster Jerky, a handy weapon—all required silver.

Traveling from the west of the city back to the south, a distance of tens of kilometers, Lou Yi hired a carriage.

It wasn’t until nightfall that he returned to the vicinity of the lodging area.

After a few steps, Lou Yi made a soft ’hmm’ sound.

Ahead, two familiar figures, a man and a woman, chatted and laughed as they walked side by side in the moonlight.

The man was Huang Longgang, that baked biscuit, and the woman was Jia Hong.

’Jia Hong, this woman, is extremely utilitarian; you should keep your distance from her.’

In a daze, Lou Yi recalled Zhan Weida’s words.

"Interesting." Lou Yi glanced at them, then turned and walked towards his residence.

...

Extreme Fist Sect, Inner Gate Area, North of the Martial Arts Arena.

Numerous disciples who had just entered the inner gate, or elders who hadn’t fully mastered the Breathing Technique, practiced punches and attempted exercises throughout the grounds, hoping to enter the door soon.

In a certain corner, a young couple was practicing punches together.

Those around them unconsciously cleared a large area for them.

"Sister Hong, was the Bear Essence Meat Jerky I brought you yesterday effective?" Huang Longgang’s effeminate face carried a slight flattering tone.

"Brother Huang, your generosity is beyond compare, and this little girl is deeply grateful." Jia Hong wore azure clothing, her curves proud, and her beautiful eyes brimming with a smile that made it hard for others to look away.

"It seems impersonal to keep calling me that," Huang Longgang mustered the courage, "why not just call me Brother Gang?"

"Everyone’s watching." Jia Hong’s face showed a hint of reproach, as she then steered the conversation elsewhere, "Yesterday, the question I asked you, I wonder..."

Hearing this, Huang Longgang’s face turned serious: "I consulted my family’s attendant at home, and he said that if breathing and boxing techniques are difficult to integrate, one can appropriately adjust the speed of punching.

Do not strictly follow the teaching methods, and carefully sense the connection between the two, remembering not to be impatient."

Hearing this, Jia Hong seemed to be pondering.

...