"Ah Qiu!"
Just as Qiao Suinian arrived at the entrance of the black market, he suddenly sneezed.
"How strange! Who's secretly cursing me from behind? That's so mean!"
He lived a life of virtuous deeds, sweeping the floor with utmost care to avoid harming even ants, and protecting moths by covering lamps with gauze. Yet, someone dared to speak ill of him behind his backâhow utterly absurd! Doesn't this man fear divine retribution?
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Ge Liefeng asked hurriedly.
"It's alright, don't worry about it, let's go in." Qiao Suinian shook her head.
Ge Liefeng, a seasoned veteran of Kyoto, was extremely familiar with everything here and led Qiao Suinian into the black market with almost no effort.
They walked along a long passage. Although there were no lights around, Qiao Suinian could still sense that the passage was leading underground.
Is this really a black market? It's located directly underground in Kyoto!
After reaching the end of the passage, orange lights and a chaotic cacophony of noise appeared before them, and the faint sound of a woman's screams could be heard.
"In this black market, you can buy anything as long as you can afford the price. Gold is the hard currency, and you can also barter," Ge Liefeng explained to Qiao Suinian as they walked.
The only impression Qiao Suinian had of this black market was chaos; it sold all sorts of things.
Handsome men and women were stripped naked and stood aside, like merchandise for people to choose from.
The alien creature, stripped of its fangs and claws, was kept in a cage, looking up at passersby like a pitiful stray dog.
Since some high-ranking officials and nobles in Kyoto secretly kept other races, it was not difficult to buy human flesh and blood on the black market, and the price was even cheaper than beef and mutton.
Under Ge Liefeng's guidance, Qiao Suinian quickly bought a large bag of flesh and blood, so Bedaiku's food supply was no longer a concern. The only thing left to do was to find out about the owner of the wood-type power.
The gate to the Sacred Lake of Tianshan is definitely not easy to open, otherwise Ding Zheng wouldn't have needed to come here to ask the Tiger Legion for help. Therefore, the person Qiao Suinian is looking for must be exceptionally strong.
"We're here! Please go first. This place is a black market that specializes in selling information. As long as you pay a high enough price, we can find out what color panties your favorite goddess is wearing today!"
Ge Liefeng pointed to an unassuming shop in front of him, where a middle-aged man with a goatee was dozing off in a grand chair, with rows of sandalwood cabinets behind him.
Those who know about it are selling information, but if they didn't, they might mistake it for a Chinese medicine shop at first glance, since there's no sign at the entrance.
"Master Rat, this is my boss. He's here to ask you for some information," Ge Liefeng said respectfully, rubbing his hands together.
The man with the goatee raised his eyelids and glanced at Ge Liefeng, then clicked his tongue, spat out a piece of vegetable leaf, and asked, "You know the rules, right?"
"Understood! Pay first, then inquire."
Ge Liefeng took out a large gold ingot and placed it on the table. The goatee-bearded man, known as Rat Lord, picked it up, wiped it, and stuffed it into his pocket after confirming it was genuine.
"Speak, what do you want to know?"
"The possessor of wood-type power must be strong enough!" Qiao Suinian said.
"Wood element? How strong is 'strong'?" Rat asked rhetorically.
"Able to beat Liu Haizhu or fight to a draw." Qiao Suinian gave a direct standard.
"Huh? You can beat Liu Haizhu?" Rat Master was taken aback. "Then your scope suddenly narrows down. Looking at the entire capital, there aren't more than two people who can beat that guy in a one-on-one fight."
After pondering for a moment, the rat kicked the cabinet behind him. The cabinet opened with a thud, and a large rat, as big as two palms, crawled out. Its fur was glossy black, and it was plump and strong.
The big rat jumped directly onto the Rat Lord's body and spat out a small bamboo tube from its mouth.
Before Ge Liefeng arrived, he told Qiao Suinian that this Rat Master was a master rat trainer who could train rats to be as obedient as dogs and then use them to store and gather information.
That's why Rat Lord is so irreplaceable in the black market.
Seeing it with his own eyes now, Qiao Suinian still felt it was somewhat amazing, and secretly sighed that there were indeed many extraordinary people in Kyoto, including someone who could even train mice.
Rat opened the bamboo tube, glanced inside, handed the note to Qiao Suinian, and then lay back down on the armchair as if he were asleep.
"This person should be the one you're looking for."
Qiao Suinian took the note and found that there was nothing on it except for an address.
"Is it reliable?" Qiao Suinian frowned and asked Ge Liefeng.
"Don't worry, Master Rat's information is never wrong, he has a good reputation. If it's information he's unaware of, Master Rat will refund your money directly," Ge Liefeng explained.
"Okay, let's go."
After finishing his business, Qiao Suinian didn't plan to stay in the dark and gloomy black market anymore. The air there was stagnant and the smell was awful.
Just after he left with Ge Liefeng, a smile slowly crept onto the lips of Rat Lord, who had his eyes closed.
"Tsk, one person can wipe out the Gongsun family, what a ruthless person. The Qiao family let such a guy assist Qiao Yueyue? What's the difference between this and letting Cao Cao assist Liu Shan?"
Grandpa Rat slowly shook his head. Just then, another person stepped into his shop.
This man was a young Taoist priest, dressed in a green robe. He was slender with distinct features, his hair tied in a Taoist bun, and he carried a sword on his back. His deep eyes were unforgettable.
"Lord Rat, have you already forgotten me?" The Taoist priest smiled slightly, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance and detachment from worldly affairs.
"Do I need to know you? Pay up if you want information, otherwise don't bother me while I'm sleeping." Rat waved his hand impatiently.
But when he caught a glimpse of the Taoist priest's appearance out of the corner of his eye, he was so frightened that he jumped up from his armchair, his expression filled with terror.
Logically speaking, as an intelligence chief, Rat Lord should have seen and heard all sorts of strange and unusual things, and shouldn't be so out of control, but what he was seeing was indeed beyond his comprehension.
"You! You're Zhang Luochen! This is impossible, aren't you already dead?!"
Rat Lord's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. Despite it being the middle of summer, he felt an indescribable chill creeping over him.
"Perhaps it wasn't my time to die, I'm not quite dead yet." Zhang Luochen's smile was very kind, but Rat Lord felt a chill run through his body.
If you're dead, you're dead; if you're not dead, you're not dead. What does it mean if you're not completely dead?
He once had his pet rats explore the forbidden area beneath Kyoto, which was teeming with a large group of Abyss Corpse Clan members. Humans would certainly not survive if they went down there, unless the entire Four Symbols Legion was mobilized to level it.
And through the eyes of the rat, he saw Zhang Luochen's corpse with his own eyes! And this all happened almost a year ago.
The feeling of someone who has been dead for a long time suddenly appearing in front of you is so terrifying that it makes Rat's hair stand on end!
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