Chapter 10

In the fish market, there are countless shady deals and countless people who cannot be seen in the light, with countless noisy sounds.

Just a short while ago, Ding Ning's small black-roofed boat swayed away from the dark dock, navigating through the wooden piles that supported the fish market. At the same time, the thick-browed young man from out of town, who was full of questions, and the young man he called "young master" walked into a pawnshop by the river.

Without pawning anything, the two out-of-town visitors were led through the back gate of the pawnshop by a hunched old man with a black bamboo cane, through a narrow alley, and into a large door.

The narrow, dark, and damp alley was very quiet, but once they entered this large door, it was a completely different world.

A not-so-large hall was filled with over a dozen square tables, each surrounded by at least a dozen people. Incense was burning in the corners, but due to the crowd and the noise, the air was filled with a smoky and chaotic atmosphere.

The moment the thick-browed young man saw the scene inside the room, his pupils involuntarily contracted slightly.

It was not because of the hidden hostility in the eyes of the people around him or the unique aura of cultivators, but because of an object placed on a platform in the middle of the room.

It was a piece of jade the size of an adult's thumb, with a wax-yellow color.

To ordinary people, this might just be a piece of ordinary yellow jade of poor quality, but almost all cultivators would know that this was the Yellow Bud Pill of the Nanyang Dan Sect from the Great Han Dynasty.

The Yellow Bud Pill has a mild and warm nature, greatly benefiting true qi, and is one of the best auxiliary spirit pills for cultivators in the True Qi Realm to advance to the True Essence Realm.

During the peak of the Nanyang Dan Sect, they could only produce a few hundred Yellow Bud Pills a year. Now that the Nanyang Dan Sect no longer exists, the Yellow Bud Pill is even rarer.

This kind of pill is a prohibited item that cannot be traded in the Great Qin Dynasty, but the noisy sounds filling the room were all continuous bidding voices.

So, this place was naturally an illegal auction venue.

The thick-browed young man already knew that the fish market had many unimaginable scenes and many important items for cultivators, but seeing something of the level of the Yellow Bud Pill as soon as he entered, he was still as stunned as a country child who had just entered the city. He couldn't help but think to himself that the Changling Fish Market indeed lived up to its reputation.

The young man in front of him, dressed as a scholar, also stopped and stared at the scene. The hunched old man with the black bamboo cane did not urge them, but silently waited.

The competition for this Yellow Bud Pill had already reached a somewhat crazy level. A pill that was worth two thousand taels of silver a few years ago had now been bid up to a thousand taels of gold, and there were still several parties competing.

After a few more bids, the competition was down to a young swordmaster in gray clothes and a middle-aged man with a black veil over his face.

The young swordmaster's face was already flushed red, and sweat dripped continuously from his forehead. The middle-aged man with the black veil, however, sat calmly, extremely composed, and each time he bid, he only added a hundred taels of silver to the young swordmaster's bid.

The price had already reached one thousand three hundred taels of gold.

The young swordmaster's face turned from red to white. This Yellow Bud Pill was extremely important to him. Without it, he might never have the chance to break through from the second realm to the third realm due to the illness in his body.

So he turned his head and looked at the middle-aged man with the black veil with a pleading, almost begging gaze.

The middle-aged man saw his gaze but only gave a cold and disdainful laugh.

The young swordmaster's emotions finally lost control. He stood up abruptly and shouted, "Two thousand taels of gold!"

The room fell silent.

All eyes were on him.

Even if this young swordmaster was the son of a clan with astonishing wealth, two thousand taels of gold to buy a Yellow Bud Pill was still a bit too extravagant for any clan.

Without the middle-aged man with the black veil driving up the price, this Yellow Bud Pill could have been obtained for around a thousand taels of gold.

Hearing the young swordmaster bid two thousand taels of gold, the middle-aged cultivator with the black veil clearly hesitated, but he still sat calmly and said coldly, "Brother, you have great courage, but can you really come up with two thousand taels of gold?"

The young swordmaster suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his flushed face turned snow white.

There was a commotion.

Just by looking at his expression, everyone in the room knew he was not the son of a wealthy clan. His bid of two thousand taels of gold was just a result of losing control of his emotions and losing his composure.

After the laughter came the coldness.

Shrimps have their ways, crabs have their ways; every place has its rules, and the fish market's underground rules were even stricter.

The thin man in a yellow robe, who had been standing in front of the table with the Yellow Bud Pill and presiding over the auction, shook his head and looked at the young swordmaster with a sympathetic gaze, sighing lightly, "You should understand the rules here."

The young swordmaster's clothes were soaked with sweat.

His right hand rested on the hilt of the long sword hanging at his waist.

Then he took a deep breath, his expression became determined, and he slowly extended his left hand.

Everyone's attention in the room had already focused on the sword at his waist. Seeing his action, the majority of the people in the room's mocking expressions began to fade, and a look of respect appeared on their faces.

The young swordmaster's sword looked light, with a rare green-gold hilt. It was definitely not an ordinary item and should be worth at least two thousand taels of gold.

According to the rules of the black market in the fish market, since he had already bid, he could at least use this sword as collateral to exchange for the Yellow Bud Pill. However, his current action clearly showed that he was unwilling to give up this sword and was instead using the method of cutting off his fingers to give an account.

A lost sword can be found again, but a severed finger cannot be regrown.

But for a cultivator who mainly practices swordsmanship, a sword is a symbol, a spirit.

Cultivators with this spirit often go further on the path of cultivation.

So the young swordmaster's choice at this moment made all the contempt and ridicule in the hearts of those around him disappear, turning into respect.

"Enough."

Just as the young swordmaster was about to cut off his two fingers according to the rules, a clear voice rang out.

"I'll give him this Yellow Bud Pill."

This voice was simple and calm, without any hint of boasting or trying to win favor.

The young swordmaster turned his head in surprise.

It was the young man dressed as a scholar.

As he said this simply and calmly, the thick-browed young man behind him raised an eyebrow and took out a black pearl from his bag, placing it next to the Yellow Bud Pill.

This black pearl was the size of a pigeon's egg, emitting a faint, mysterious light. Any discerning person could see that it was worth far more than two thousand taels of gold.

The young swordmaster was certain he had never seen these two people before. He thought that if the young man in the scholar's attire had spoken a moment later, his two fingers would already be on the ground.

He first felt lucky and surprised, then ashamed and humiliated, and for a moment, he couldn't say anything.

The young man dressed as a scholar said nothing, just glanced at the old man who had led them and started to move.

The hunched old man said nothing more and continued to lead the way, heading toward a side door in the room.

The young swordmaster began to come to his senses. His hands trembled uncontrollably, and his pale face flushed red with excitement. "I am Zhongjiang..."

He was clearly about to give his name, but he was interrupted by the young man in the scholar's attire.

"I don't need your gratitude, so you don't have to tell me your name."

The young man in the scholar's attire did not turn back, speaking calmly and almost coldly.

Then he followed the old man through the side door, disappearing from everyone's stunned gaze.

The young swordmaster stood there for a few seconds, sweat rolling down his forehead again.

For some reason, he suddenly understood the young man's meaning.

For the young man, this was just something he could do casually, but for his life, he would never encounter such a person again, and he would never have another chance.

He absolutely could not make such a terrible mistake again due to losing control of his emotions.

Learning a lesson and gaining enlightenment was more valuable than the favor of receiving the pill.

So, after receiving the Yellow Bud Pill from the auctioneer, the young swordmaster from Zhongjiang bowed deeply toward the side door where the young man had disappeared, making a gesture of offering his sword.

Seeing his action, the many cultivators in the room became even more solemn.

...

Inside the side door, there was another deep and dark alley.

The eaves and awnings above the alley were incomplete, and raindrops fell.

In many of the houses on both sides, many shadowy figures moved like ghosts, making a chaotic noise, doing who knows what.

In such a scene, even the young man in the scholar's attire, who had casually given away a Yellow Bud Pill, had a hint of melancholy in his calm and determined eyes.

But he quickly came to his senses, a hint of anger appearing on his face.

A wave of scorching heat emanated from his body, dispelling the rain and the gloomy atmosphere.

The old man leading the way held a black bamboo cane.

Not far ahead on the left side, by the wall of the alley, there were a few black bamboo plants.

In an instant, the black bamboo plants twisted like live snakes and quickly turned into black gas and disappeared.

The scene suddenly changed, and many ghostly figures disappeared. Where the black bamboo plants had been, a half-open wooden door appeared.

Inside the wooden door was a dark room.

"I didn't expect that the young miss of the Shang family would practice the way of yin spirits and ghosts."

The young man in the scholar's attire smiled coldly and said indifferently.