156 Chapter 155: Free Trade Stree (2/2)
”Yes, there is no problem. The funds have been transferred to our account.”
”Great. Thank you!”
”No, no. we're the ones who should be thanking you!”
The shop owner bowed deeply as he saw us out. I bowed back politely, and then hurried to catch up with Tang Qi Hong.
”Let's go visit some place more fun!” she suggested happily as she practically skipped on the street, humming to herself.
”Where?” I asked, confused. Tang Qi Hong turned back and smiled mischievously.
”You'll see,” she replied mischievously.
Even though I didn't enjoy being kept in suspense, I knew that it was useless probing her for more details so I just sighed and followed her obediently. Glancing back at the Cloud Sky Mountain shop, I recalled their flattery and overawed behavior.
”Oh, most people outside the sect treat us like that,” Tang Qi Hong explained when she caught the direction I was staring in. ”We are inner sect disciples…well, you're one of the Blood Blades. They kind of think we are some sort of legends or something.” She giggled. ”That's not far from the truth. Every inner sect disciple will become a master blacksmith and Spirit Engraver in future, and the Blood Blades are a force to be feared. You'll eventually find out just how respected our Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is in the Great Zhou Empire.”
”I think I already did,” I muttered dryly.
As we conversed, we stepped into another busy street. Unlike the main shopping district from before, this new street was surprisingly narrow, especially when compared to the roads we had just come from.
”Oh…?”
I glanced around, amazed. The shophouses and buildings from the shopping district were gone, disappeared by what looked like shabbily built stalls that wouldn't look out of place in a marketplace. Many vendors sat in front of their stalls, having laid out huge rugs upon which they placed their wares. They were in various states of dress, some of them wearing tattered rags while others seemed pretty well-off despite the dilapidated stalls behind them. A lot of them were enthusiastically shouting to passers-by, trying to hawk their wares and sell their products, but there was also a sizeable number of them who maintained indifference expressions and sat quietly.
Each stall contained various products, which ranged from Spirit Artifacts to enchanted stones, arcane crystals and bottles of Spirit Potions.
Surprisingly enough, the passers-by mostly comprised of martial artists. They roamed this commercial street, some of them stopping to choose Spirit Materials while others stopped by specific stalls to sell whatever spoils they obtained from a mission or otherwise.
”This is why I wanted to visit the city today!” Tang Qi Hong said brightly, her eyes dancing with delight. ”I want to drop by here for a bit. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to unearth something good here.”
”I see,” I replied, half-distracted by the various martial artists roaming about. There was something about this situation that put me on high alert, and I was keeping my eye out for that stalker I detected earlier. ”That's cool.”
”Yeah!”
Tang Qi Hong had also become alert upon entering this loud and bustling street, but for different reasons. She was excitedly scanning the street for any Spirit Materials that would catch her fancy, a hungry gaze taking over her normally elegant expression.
I suddenly remembered the old adage about women and shopping, and felt a chill. Maybe it was a bad idea to accompany my crush on a shopping trip…
”I'm guessing this is Free Trade Street?” I asked casually, even as I searched the crowd for that person.
”That's right! You know about Free Trade Street?” Tang Qi Hong looked at me, pleasantly surprised.
”Well, Tong Xue told me about it once before. He said I should check it out when I have the chance.”
Obviously I was too busy or unwilling to take his advice, so this was the first time I had been here despite having lived in Tushan City for over a year.
From what I remembered, Tong Xue told me that the Free Trade Street was located between the shopping district and the industrial district, which was many of the poorer population lived in. As such, the street wasn't exactly a shining representation of the prosperous city, but more like a shadowy facet most of the population was ashamed of. Despite that, anyone could set up a stall here, even if they didn't have a license, and having a tacit understanding with the authorities, as long as they didn't cause trouble, the Blood Blades and police would look the other way whenever they pass by here.
In other words, this was an underground market of sorts.
As such, the prices of Spirit Materials here could be purchased for about ten to twenty percent cheaper than what you would normally find in legitimate and licensed stores not too far away. However, thanks to the dubious nature of the underground market, there was no guarantee that the quality would be good, and often the Spirit Pills sold here were…dangerous.
Even if one ended up buying a defective product here, because these were not licensed vendors and they tended to be on the unscrupulous side, it was impossible to get a refund or exchange. Hence, not many people were willing to take the risk and would shop from licensed stores instead, where it was a lot safer.
However, martial artists such as Tang Qi Hong were confident of their skills, that they would be able to distinguish a defective product from the real thing. They also knew that if they were lucky, they could come across a rare treasure for an unrivaled price.
While Tang Qi Hong looked for whatever she was looking for, I allowed my curiosity to get the better of me and glanced around. A cage filled with flapping wings caught my attention.
”Whoa…how cruel…”
I grimaced when I saw the Birds of Paradise captured in the cage. Despite my disapproval, I couldn't help but be impressed when I saw the long, heavenly feathers trailing out of the cage and sparkling in many colors, shrouded by a potent shroud of qi. They were supposed to be extremely rare, found only in the southern archipelago of islands.
”I can't believe they were able to capture Birds of Paradise,” Tang Qi Hong whispered, more amazed than repulsed. ”Do you know how rare and valuable they are?”
”Yeah, apparently they can produce qi.” I nodded thoughtfully. ”They are among one of the most expensive non-combat magical beasts. I heard the academy did a lot of research on them to produce artificial qi.”
Even so, the amount of qi the Birds of Paradise produced was not a lot. Probably enough to move a car, but not enough for actual combat. Certainly not enough to synthesize sexagenaries of qi that were being provided to the students.
”But it's pretty cruel to keep them locked up…”
”That's hypocritical.” Tang Qi Hong stared at me. ”Do you feel sorry for the chicken you eat? The fish cooked for meals?”
”…”
Point taken. Just because they looked beautiful didn't make them any more important and entitled to a life than poultry, livestock and seafood.
”Anyway, let's go over there!” Tang Qi Hong grew excited when she saw a Spirit Material that caught her attention. I followed her as she hurried over, but when I did that, my intuition screamed a warning.
”!!”
Whirling around, I finally caught sight of the man who had been stalking us ever since we left the main sect grounds. There was nothing suspicious about him at first glance – he looked like an extremely ordinary martial artist with no remarkable features – but my Heaven and Earth senses detected a surge of aggression in his qi.
The middle-aged martial artist was paying no attention to me. He was striding forward, raising his hand to slam it into Tang Qi Hong's back while she was still unaware of his presence. There was a spike in his qi as he gathered it into a deadly thrust that would have pierced Tang Qi Hong's heart and tear her apart from within if it struck.
If it struck.
Reacting immediately, I reached out and knocked his hand to the side, deflecting his strike. The sharp burst of qi blasted out of his palm and reduced a nearby stall into splinters, causing the vendor to dive for cover with a panicked yell.
”You…!”
The middle-aged martial artist turned to glare at me, his expression filled with disbelief and shock. I met his gaze evenly, realizing that this guy was targeting Tang Qi Hong. That could only mean one thing…
He was an assassin.