The white-haired elder’s eyes were stern, carrying an air of authority without the need for anger. “Xiyao, come here.”
“Master!” Luo Xiyao wept with joy and suddenly found the strength to weave through the crowd.
The onlookers tactfully stopped blocking her path.
Luo Xiyao made her way smoothly to the white-haired elder.
She pointed at Feng Qingran and Ning Shiyue. “Master, they’re the ones who bought the painting, and there’s also Uncle Zhong—”
The elder handed the token back to Luo Xiyao, let out a sigh, and cut her off. “We’ll talk once we’re outside.”
Only then did Luo Xiyao remember the urgency of leaving.
The two of them managed to exit the black market just in time, vanishing from everyone’s sight before the final moment.
Feng Qingran noticed that among the crowd, a few people shook their heads in disappointment, then turned around and left the street.
“Little Junior Sister, just now—”
Ning Shiyue started to speak, but Feng Qingran pressed a finger gently to her lips.
Feng Qingran blinked her crystal-clear eyes. “Fifth Senior Sister, I found a shop with an amazing selection of goodies. Let’s go take a look inside.”
Ning Shiyue’s eyes sparkled with understanding, and she nodded. The two of them walked into a store that had relatively fewer customers.
“Fifth Senior Sister, when buying things here, we have to rely entirely on our own judgment to tell the real from the fake. We need to be extremely cautious,” Feng Qingran reminded her in a low voice.
She was genuinely worried that Ning Shiyue might just wave her hand and buy out the whole place.
“No wonder everything I saw at the stalls along the way was a mix of genuine and counterfeit—I almost thought I was seeing things. Turns out it was real,” Ning Shiyue said with a hint of exasperation.
The black market certainly lived up to its name—the word “black” came first for a reason!
The two browsed around the shop for a while.
The talisman paper sold here was all far too low-grade, and neither of them was particularly interested, so they were about to leave.
Just then—
A young attendant walked over and said respectfully, “Honored guests, are you looking for talisman paper of a higher grade?”
Ning Shiyue nodded. “I’d like to buy some Cyan-tier talisman paper.”
The attendant glanced around left and right, then lowered his voice. “Honored guest, what you’re looking for—not only do we have it in stock, but we also have even higher-grade Violet-tier talisman paper. The price is a bit steeper, though—one million spirit stones per sheet…”
Ning Shiyue’s eyes lit up. “You really have Violet-tier talisman paper?”
“If you’re truly interested, honored guest, please follow me,” the attendant said with confidence.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Ning Shiyue took Feng Qingran by the hand and followed the attendant.
Cyan-tier talisman paper could be used to draw talismans of the sixth level and below.
Violet-tier talisman paper could be used to draw talismans of the twelfth level and below.
However, every prefecture had strict regulations prohibiting any merchant from selling talisman paper above Cyan-tier to the public.
Only the prefectural lord’s mansion in each prefectural city carried talisman paper above Cyan-tier.
If anyone wanted to use such paper, they had to purchase it directly from the prefectural lord’s mansion.
The talisman paper Ning Shiyue had used before was all below Cyan-tier, which meant the power of her talismans was greatly diminished.
On the few occasions when Ning Shiyue had used talismans, everyone was so stunned by the level of her talismans that they completely overlooked the grade of the paper she was using.
Feng Qingran was also quite interested in Violet-tier talisman paper—after all, the higher the grade of the paper, the greater the power of the talisman.
But her first thought was that producing Violet-tier talisman paper required Violet Crystal Ore.
The only Violet Crystal Ore mine in all of Jiuzhou was in the hands of the Baili family.
This also meant that Violet-tier talisman paper simply didn’t exist on the open market.
This attendant dared to openly sell Violet-tier talisman paper—could he be from the Baili family?
Feng Qingran’s almond-shaped eyes were filled with caution, and she kept a firm grip on the token in her hand at all times.
She noticed the attendant leading them up to the third floor and recalled her experience in the previous shop.
Did all these shops have secret chambers?
Sure enough, after reaching the third floor, the attendant walked up to a wall, and a door opened within it.
“Guests, please follow me,” the attendant said as he stepped through the doorway first.
The two followed him inside, where the lighting was extremely dim.
Only then did Ning Shiyue snap to attention. She gripped Feng Qingran’s hand tightly, a flicker of wariness crossing her face.
Suddenly, the attendant pressed something on the wall.
Creak!—
A hidden door swung open.
The light inside was dim and shadowy—clearly a secret chamber.
Inside the chamber was a table and a few chairs.
The attendant smiled and said, “Please go in and have a seat first, both of you. I’ll go fetch the Violet-tier talisman paper.”
Ning Shiyue hesitated for a moment. Feng Qingran signaled for her to go in first.
Trusting her junior sister’s judgment, Ning Shiyue stepped inside, and Feng Qingran followed.
Click!—
The door to the secret chamber closed shut.
Ning Shiyue said nervously, “Little Junior Sister, he’s not planning to trap us in here, is he?”
“No,” Feng Qingran said softly, trying to reassure her.
“Little Junior Sister, speaking of which—Luo Xiyao was clearly set up just now. Those people wanted to keep her trapped in the black market. Why would they do something like that?” Ning Shiyue lowered her voice.
Feng Qingran’s gaze flickered. “If a soul is trapped inside, can the body left outside be turned into a puppet?”
“What!? Then aren’t we in grave danger?” Ning Shiyue’s eyes widened in shock, and a chill ran up her spine.
Feng Qingran patted her hand reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Fifth Senior Sister. The people running the black market wouldn’t dare to detain anyone so openly. They’ll only use underhanded tricks to keep people here.”
“The person who created this black market is absolutely despicable! Isn’t there anyone who can step in and put a stop to this?” Ning Shiyue felt both frightened and indignant, and she regretted ever stepping into the black market even more.
“The one who created the black market isn’t that foolish. The higher-ups can’t possibly catch them red-handed. And besides, it’s not actually the black market operators who want to keep us here,” Feng Qingran said, her eyes darkening slightly.
Ning Shiyue was now thoroughly confused. “Little Junior Sister, didn’t you just say that they would use underhanded tricks to trap us here?”
Feng Qingran explained, “When I said ‘they,’ I wasn’t referring to the black market operators, but to the people who make puppets. It’s just that in this whole situation, the black market hasn’t stopped those people—in fact, they’ve been quietly encouraging their behavior.”
Hearing this, Ning Shiyue clenched her fists tightly.
But what Feng Qingran said next completely shattered Ning Shiyue’s worldview.
