Chapter 9: Chapter 8 The Real Shadow Market
"Is this the real Shadow Market?!"
It must be said that despite the marketplace scene, with stalls everywhere, it was seriously a bit low. It left Qing Yu, who had previously overheard a conversation between an uncle and his nephew, somewhat disappointed.
But sometimes, a large crowd is a spectacle in itself. No matter the occasion or place, once people gather, the standard invisibly rises. Though raising the standard of a marketplace would only do so much.
"This isn't the real Shadow Market."
The deep voice came from behind Qing Yu. Without turning, Qing Yu leapt forward instead. The entrance to the cave was higher than the square and required descending stairs to the right. Directly in front of Qing Yu was the end of the entrance platform, hovering in the air.
Qing Yu, in mid-air, tumbled down to the square, and then "Divine Transformation" changed his shape, darting six meters to the left front. Only then did he turn around, curious to see who the owner of that deep voice was.
"Not bad, very cautious. Cautious people, without saying anything else, definitely live longer." The voice was still deep, lightly tinged with approval, yet very clear, as if emanating from right behind Qing Yu.
Qing Yu's pores tightened, and his motion to turn around froze. After a while, he slowly turned back, his expression normal.
The person behind him had approached silently, his presence only noticed when he spoke. And like a shadow, he had followed Qing Yu down to the square unnoticed, without making a sound. His martial arts were so advanced that Qing Yu couldn't confront him at his current level.
So, he had to play the dutiful junior.
Qing Yu's thoughts raced, eventually realizing he had no chance of resisting. He decided he could only face the situation head-on. Now, he understood the thoughts of gang leaders he had previously duped.
"Senior flatters me too much. The path of the worldly society is long. Without extra caution, one might not even have a place to grow grass on one's grave." Qing Yu bowed with clasped hands, still wearing his mask, but the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes revealed he was smiling.
The owner of the deep voice, dressed in a Mystic Robe with a black veil and Douli hat, was marked by the dark gold patterns stitched on his garments, indicating he was someone expensive and high-ranking.
Moreover, this person was followed by someone else dressed in black tight-fitting clothing, a face shrouded with only two eye holes, without any other features, in a black mask. Qing Yu hadn't noticed this follower before.
From the position a step behind the masked man, it was clear that even this advanced expert was just an attendant. Qing Yu shivered inwardly and became even more cautious.
"You need to not be so formal. We actually have some connections," the Douli Man paused, "Qing Yu."
"..." Qing Yu's mouth beneath the mask opened, but he couldn't utter a word, filled with thoughts of "I'm dead, I'm dead..."
Vendors near the entrance noticed the commotion here and turned to look. The attendant in the black mask silently returned their gaze, making the onlookers quickly retract their heads, as if a moments delay would mean losing their eyes.
"This isn't the place for a conversation," the Douli Man waved his hand, "Follow me."
Qing Yu watched the vendors' reactions and reluctantly followed. There's a saying, life is like that certain thing, if you can't resist it, you might as well close your eyes and enjoy it. Even if it's get violated first and killed later, at least it's enjoying before dying.
On their way, everyone out shopping stepped aside, and vendors also bowed their heads, not daring to look directly at them.
"Disappointed? This scene looks no different from a regular black market, just larger in scale," said the Douli Man ahead.
"A bit. But senior previously mentioned this isn't the real Shadow Market. In that light, this setting does make sense."
"You are quite astute."
The trio continued without stopping, passing the bustling stall area and entering a street paved with blue stone bricks. Yes, a street lined with buildings constructed of black tiles and bricks, similar to those found in ordinary city marketplaces. At the end of the street, a magnificent black temple was visible.
"This area is where the real Shadow Market is located," the Douli Man gestured around.
Qing Yu surveyed his surroundings; the market in front of him was no different from any regular city market, except for maybe the surrounding buildings all being black. But this was in the mountains – the people of the Shadow Market might have even hollowed out part of Lianduan Mountain next to Yang City.
The Douli Man no longer spoke, just kept walking.
Reaching the end of the street, Qing Yu stared at the black temple in front of him. As he had stepped onto the street, he had seen the temple and felt its majesty. Now close at hand, it indeed radiated grandeur. Black is hard to make as glamorous as gold, but the temple stood out by its sheer size. Standing before it, one felt as insignificant as if facing the dark universe.
Qing Yu followed the Douli Man onto the temple stairs, climbing twenty-four steps to the temple doors. Carved on the columns before the temple were unknown ferocious beasts. On the temple's frontal doors, the left door bore a carving of a Demon God holding twin hammers, face fierce, while the right door depicted an armored figure, even the face covered in armor, without a weapon, but metallic gloves extended into long claws.
Very lifelike, the carver must have been a master, that much Qing Yu could say. As for the rest, sorry to say, he didn't know. Qing Yu, only self-taught in reading and still not quite literate, could hardly comprehend; if martial arts weren't system-injected, relying on this world's secret martial arts manuals, he might not even understand them. As for these ferocious beasts and Demon Gods carvings, Qing Yu, almost illiterate in this cultural realm, admitted complete ignorance.
The Douli Man didn't enter the temple but simply sat on the topmost step, "Sit," he patted the spot next to him.
Qing Yu sat about a meter and a half away from him, neither too close nor too far. Sitting here, looking at the street ahead felt different again.
"Pretty impressive, right?"
"Very impressive. It's hard to imagine what the scene would look like when the real Shadow Market opens. And this temple..." Qing Yu turned to look back at the temple behind him, "It's hard to imagine what it looks like inside."
The Douli Man scoffed and said, "If you find it hard to imagine, you could visit the Shadow Markets in other states. As for this place, ever since it was built, the real Shadow Market has never been opened."
"Never? But isn't there supposed to be an auction every three months?" Qing Yu questioned. He had thought that the reason the street area was so deserted was that the tri-monthly auction hadn't started.
"Auction? Who told you that? Me?" As he spoke the last two words, the Douli Man's tone changed, becoming a voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Qing Yu.
Qing Yu suddenly stood up, shocked, "This... you..."
He couldn't help his astonishment. The Douli Man's altered voice was exactly that of the "Third Uncle" Qing Yu had overheard outside the Shadow Market cave when he was keeping watch.
Chapter 10: Chapter 9 Mr. Mo
Qing Yu pointed at the Douli Man, too shocked to speak.
The Douli Man didn't mind Qing Yu's rude gesture of pointing at him and continued, "I've been watching you for a long time. Since you were exiled to Qing Province Beicang Mountain, I have been paying attention to you. For three years, you've been completely self-reliant, living alone on the mountain. Knowing that there might be people watching from below, you stayed in solitude on the mountain, not daring to come down, and had very little communication with others. Yet, you remained sane. For an ordinary fifteen-year-old child, this is nothing short of a miracle."
After all, humans are social animals. An ordinary fifteen-year-old, no, three years ago you were only twelve. An ordinary twelve-year-old wouldn't normally suspect that there might be people watching from below the mountain, and it would be even harder for them to restrain themselves from descending, preferring to forage in the mountains rather than seek a living below. Not speaking to anyone for three years, a normal child with immature mental faculties would usually go mad, or at best, be unable to carry on a normal conversation.
Only Qing Yu, who carried the mind of a thirty-year-old adult in his heart, occasionally talked to himself to prevent losing his ability to speak.
Qing Yu slowly lowered his finger, suppressed his emotions, and sat back on the stairs. For a moment there, Qing Yu really thought about fleeing on the spot or even launching a sudden attack.
The house arrest in the True Martial Dao Sect, and the experience of confining himself in the broken Taoist temple on Beicang Mountain, had always left Qing Yu feeling very insecure. Suddenly hearing that someone has been silently watching him, Qing Yu completely lost control of his composure. Fortunately, he did not lose all reason and managed to control those impractical thoughts of fleeing and killing.
Taking a deep breath, Qing Yu calmed down, at least outwardly, and asked, "Who are you exactly?" By now, his hand hidden in the sleeve touching the ground was still trembling slightly. To be honest, Qing Yu started to regret his decision of following the Black-clothed Man out of curiosity tonight.
"You may call me Mr. Mo," the Douli Man, no, Mr. Mo's eyes fixed on Qing Yu as if seeing the face of regret beneath Qing Yu's mask, "You don't need to feel regret. Even if you hadn't followed those few people here, there would be others trying to spark your curiosity. To be honest, I arranged several groups of people to stay outside the Shadow Market, cautiously waiting, until I personally took action to finally ease your mind. Such cautiousness, at your age, even in those several years older than you, is truly rare. Even I have to admire it. As you said, the path of the worldly society is long, and no one knows what lies ahead. Those who are careful might not last longer than those who are rash, but they will certainly live longer. So many people show courage only in the moment, reap temporary benefits, and in the end, don't even have a plot for their graves to grow grass on."
Hearing Mr. Mo's words, Qing Yu felt no sense of honor, just shook his head and gave a wry smile. He too wished he could boldly face everything without worry. But the reality was, he had no strength; the weak had no rights, and without strength, so-called courage was nothing more than recklessness. The path of the worldly society is long, and those who make it to the end are not the weak; the weak die along the way. Therefore, after confirming the existence of the Shadow Market, he stepped into Mr. Mo's trap because he could not afford to miss any opportunity to enhance his strength. In essence, it was still his lack of a sense of security.
Qing Yu pulled down his mask; it was of no use anyway. If someone had been watching him for three years, there was nothing left unknown. He pulled it down so he could breathe more easily. 'Wearing this mask is really uncomfortable. I used to think it was pretty cool when watching TV.' Qing Yu tried to calm his anxious, pounding heart by mentally complaining.
Mr. Mo continued, "As for why I've been watching you, it's actually quite coincidental. You were exiled to Qing Province, and I was assigned to manage the Shadow Market between Ling Province and Qing Province."
"What does that have to do with anything? Qing Province is a borderland. Every year, countless criminals are exiled to the frontier." Qing Yu really couldn't help but mock Mr. Mo's words. That is to say, he saw that Mr. Mo had no ill intentions, and thus became bolder in speaking his mind.
"But there was only one disciple of Xuanfa exiled to Qing Province. You probably didn't know, but I was there when Xuanfa took you in."
Qing Yu felt the urge to leap to his feet once more, but having been surprised enough for one day, he managed to remain somewhat composed.
"Back then, I was discussing matters with Xuanfa at the tavern. After we finished talking business and were just chatting, I happened to see you through the window, fighting a stray dog for food. You were bloody from the struggle but still managed to find the chance to blind the dog with your fingers. That ruthlessness and ingenuity caught my eye. Unfortunately, that old guy Xuanfa also took a fancy to you, saying your body was more suited to the cultivation techniques of the True Martial Dao Sect. He even said if his big plan succeeded and if you turned out to be a promising disciple, you could take a seat as the Sect Leader of True Martial Dao Sect."
'They were already planning succession before achieving anything. My master didn't die in vain,' Qing Yu thought unemotionally. As for gratitude, Qing Yu did feel thankful to Xuanfa—although Mr. Mo had said he wished to take Qing Yu in, it was ultimately Xuanfa who did. Without Xuanfa, he wasn't sure he would have survived to this day. As for anything else, Xuanfa became busy with his grand plans shortly after taking Qing Yu in, and Qing Yu hadn't even met his fellow disciples, so naturally, there was no emotional attachment. At most, if he ever became capable, he might avenge Xuanfa.
"Sir, you said you were exiled here. Was it due to my master's involvement?"
"There's no talk of involvement. I had a good relationship with your master. If he had succeeded in becoming the Sect Leader of the True Martial Dao Sect, he would have been a powerful ally for me. Once you decide to take action, you must accept the consequences of failure. At least I was only exiled, not like your master who met with defeat and death."
"Since it was an exile, the Shadow Markets of Qing Province and Ling Province mustn't be very nice places, right?"
Mr. Mo gave Qing Yu a deep look and praised, "You're very clever. Ling Province used to be part of the Daqian Border, and Qing Province is now the new Daqian Border. Borderlands have always been host to large military garrisons. The former Ling Province lacked resources, and not many people frequented its black market—after all, the Miao people and the grassland's nomadic people from the north are different, they don't lack resources like food and minerals, and smuggling to them isn't profitable. But later, after the Miao people's defeat and the ceding of their land to form Qing Province, things changed significantly.
The Southern Border's forests are teeming with countless resources that attract many people to gather them. Despite frequent border-crossing attacks from the Miao people, human greed is not easily deterred. Qing Province is too chaotic, so naturally, most of the resource trading effectively takes place in the once impregnable border fort of Yang City. Under such circumstances, the existence of the Shadow Market becomes necessary."
"With the former border army garrisoned in Qing Province, setting up a Shadow Market is akin to looking for food in a tiger's mouth. Yang City in Ling Province has always been the main camp for the border army. Even though the troops are now stationed in Qing Province, they've left behind a few 'nails,' which are now the Four Great Families of Yang City. The Four Great Families have always controlled the underground trade; our Shadow Market doesn't come into play there.
The Zhen Shan Army now stationed in Qing Province is brimming with formidable warriors. Although the nail families in Yang City are corrupt and in decline, with the most powerful being a mere struggling warrior of the Innate First Layer, if Yang City ever falls into chaos, the Zhen Shan Army won't mind the laws that bar them from leaving their posts. If necessary, the entire army marching into Yang City isn't out of the question."
"So," Mr. Mo looked at Qing Yu, "I need a bit of help."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
12 Power
stone 
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