Chapter 7

Even though the Great Qin Dynasty never prohibited the common people from carrying swords and knives, and even public competitions were not restricted, some highly lethal military weapons, as well as cultivation tools and cultivation texts, were strictly prohibited from being traded.

Many things that a cultivator could imagine could not be used for transactions.

However, these items were hidden in the fish market like fish under lotus leaves, and the fish market was merely a spontaneously formed market. Many of the businesses here were naturally illegal.

But why could such a market exist for so many years at the edge of Changling, under the feet of so many important figures?

At this moment, a young man dressed as an outsider, with thick eyebrows, had such doubts. He held an old, slightly damaged yellow oiled paper umbrella and wore a black gauze short robe, which was rarely worn by people in Changling. He was barefoot, without shoes.

The large, old yellow oiled paper umbrella in his hand was big, but to completely shield the person in front of him, half of his body was still exposed to the rain, getting completely wet.

The person in front of him was a very short young man, dressed as a scholar, with a melon-seed-shaped face and an extremely delicate appearance, especially his skin, which was as white as jade, without any blemishes.

Looking at the countless raindrops falling like pearls from the high to the low on the overlapping sheds in the fish market, the young man with thick eyebrows frowned and asked the young man in front of him, who was half a head shorter, "Young Master, why does such a market exist?"

The young man dressed as a scholar smiled coldly, "Only with the approval of those two prime ministers can such a market remain here."

The young man with thick eyebrows still had some doubts and looked at him questioningly.

"Illegal transactions often bring higher profits, and higher profits can attract more people who are willing to risk their lives to bring more things."

The young man dressed as a scholar continued coldly, "In recent years, many rare treasures from overseas have reached Changling, and even many barbarian countries and cultivators have established contact with Changling. This is not only due to the waterway of the Wei River but also because of the connections in this fish market. For those high-ranking officials, they can also obtain things they could never get before, so they turn a blind eye and allow this place to exist. Of course, all the people doing business here also understand what kind of order those people need, so this place is actually more fair and safe compared to other large markets in various countries."

"So you must understand one point: any deal must bring greater benefits to people to make them interested in trading with you. And most desperados will not seek help from tigers, they will not trade with those who are far above them and can swallow them at any time." The young man dressed as a scholar turned to look at the silent young man with thick eyebrows and said calmly, "Because of these basic rules, I have confidence in coming here to talk."

...

The roads in the fish market were rugged and muddy, very difficult to walk on, with a height difference of dozens of meters, creating more than ten different levels of passages. For those who did not come often, it was like a maze.

However, for most of the businesspeople in the fish market who did not welcome casual visitors, they did not mind the roads being more complex and harder to walk on.

So even though it was very dark on a rainy day, and the roads between the shops, covered by countless rain shelters, were even darker, only a few merchants had lit lanterns.

Occasional weak lantern lights flickered uneasily in the wind.

There were still many people moving through the fish market. Ding Ning put away his umbrella and used it like a cane, walking familiarly to the low, deep part of the fish market.

Due to the heavy rain, many areas at the bottom of the fish market that were usually just dry mud pits were now flooded, with the water level only half a meter below the bottom of most stilt houses. Even so, many small boats and wooden basins floated in the murky water.

Following a swaying wooden path made of sampans, Ding Ning entered a small stilt house.

This was a small seal paste shop that also sold ink, paper, and brushes.

The owner was a widowed old woman over sixty years old. Because she had few expenses and most transactions in the fish market required seals or fingerprints, as the only seal paste shop, her business was not bad, and she could make a living.

Because there was usually nothing to do, the old woman with gray hair was drinking tea from a crude porcelain cup before seeing Ding Ning. When she saw the young man walking from the nearby shadows, a warm smile appeared on her wrinkled face. She turned and took a plate of dried fruit from a cabinet by the door and waited.

"Why did you come in such heavy rain?"

Seeing that Ding Ning was only wet on his straw shoes, the old woman was completely relieved and fetched a pair of clean old straw shoes, indicating that Ding Ning should change into them.

Ding Ning smiled slightly, did not refuse, and sat at the edge of the stilt house, washed his feet, and changed into the clean old straw shoes. Then he looked around the roof and walls of the stilt house.

The roof and walls were slightly leaking, but it did not look serious.

So Ding Ning was also relieved and sat on a bench next to the old woman, saying, "I was worried about your house in such heavy rain yesterday, so I wanted to come and check, but I had something else to do, so I came now."

The old woman laughed, and she had been very happy since she saw Ding Ning's figure.

"What could go wrong?" she said with a smile, "You often repair this house, more carefully than those boat workers repair boats. I think even if it rains harder for a few more days, all the houses here will leak, but mine won't."

Seeing her smile, Ding Ning felt even better. He casually grabbed a few pieces of dried fruit, chewed them, and asked, "Do you need to buy anything recently? I can help you buy it later."

"The firewood, rice, oil, and salt are all full, so you just rest here," the old woman shook her head. Looking at Ding Ning's slightly pale face, she could not help but shake her head again, asking affectionately, "Have you had lunch?"

"I've had it, sour cabbage fish noodles," Ding Ning smiled.

The old woman was a bit unhappy and said firmly, "Then stay for dinner here."

"Okay," Ding Ning nodded in agreement, "I want to eat a fried pancake."

"I'll make you braised fish and wax chicken legs," the old woman looked at him reproachfully, but her eyes were full of meaning, "Is a fried pancake that good? When you were young and happened to pass by here, I made you a fried pancake, which was normal. But you still remember that one pancake. If it were business, just one pancake, but you've been helping me for so many years, that would be a big loss."

"Where is there a loss?" Ding Ning smiled, "It's just doing some things that come naturally, mostly just chatting with you and listening to stories. I've eaten a lot of free meals."

The old woman shook her head, her eyes filled with complex emotions, "Chatting and talking, for a lonely old woman without nephews, is the greatest blessing. Many people in Changling have died in battles, and there are many people my age, but few have such good fortune as me."

Ding Ning did not say anything for a moment, lowered his head, and nibbled on the dried fruit like a squirrel.

A few years ago in winter, he passed by here, and the kind old woman kindly gave him a hot fried pancake. Since then, he often came to see the old woman and did what he could.

But he was very clear in his heart that it was not just about the fried pancake.

It was because he owed her.

He owed many people, and he only hoped he could slowly pay back or compensate.

...

After chatting with the old woman as usual and listening to some recent news from the fish market, Ding Ning bid farewell and temporarily left, turning to the lower and deeper part of the fish market.

At this time, Song Shenshu should have entered the fish market.

Song Shenshu was a minor official in the Historical Records Repository and a familiar acquaintance of Ding Ning.

However, unlike the old woman who ran the seal paste shop, Ding Ning did not owe Song Shenshu, but Song Shenshu owed Ding Ning.

In the silent attention over the past few years, Ding Ning knew some of Song Shenshu's habits and the difficulties he faced in cultivation.

So he was sure that Song Shenshu would definitely come to get the fire turtle gall today and would definitely appear in front of him.