Chapter 307 - 174 The Black Market in the City_2

Mu Qinghe sized up Gu Sheng before speaking: "We don’t have that much money on us right now. We’ll have to round it up first! Tonight at midnight, there’s an abandoned hill ten miles north of Holy Pill City. Let’s meet there! I’ll bring you the money then!"

The three Mu brothers were all at the Bronze Bone Realm, posing little threat in the face of Gu Sheng. Moreover, this kind of matter was something they wouldn’t dare to make a public spectacle of, so Gu Sheng wasn’t worried about any underhanded tricks they might try.

"No problem! Midnight it is then!"

Gu Sheng initially pretended to leave. Once he was out of Mu Qinghe’s sight, he quickly used his Shapeshifting technique to alter his appearance and doubled back, following behind Mu Qinghe.

This was fifty thousand taels, after all. Gu Sheng didn’t trust him not to run, so it was safer to keep an eye on him personally.

After entering the city, Mu Qinghe headed straight for a brothel called Bright Moon Pavilion.

Gu Sheng thought about following him in but, truth be told, the overly risqué sights inside were a bit too much for him. He chose to give up and instead found a spot at a tavern across the street, sitting by a window to watch from a distance.

Upon entering the Bright Moon Pavilion, Mu Qinghe quickly made his way to a room on the second floor. From inside the room came hurried, indescribable sounds. Mu Qinghe knocked lightly on the door and called softly, "Brother Yuan, Brother Wen!"

Inside, Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qingwen, who were enjoying themselves, immediately frowned in annoyance upon hearing Mu Qinghe’s voice: "Don’t bother us!"

Mu Qinghe knew the two were in the middle of something critical, but the matter was too urgent to delay. He pushed the door open and walked in without hesitation.

Inside, Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qingwen were in the middle of a three-person enjoyment session with a barely dressed woman. The three froze as soon as Mu Qinghe barged in.

The woman glanced at Mu Qinghe, showing no embarrassment at all. Instead, her eyes turned sultry as she gave him a flirtatious look. "If you’re joining in, it’s going to cost extra!"

Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qingwen’s faces darkened instantly. "Who told you to come in?! Get out!"

Mu Qinghe ignored them, walked over, and yanked the woman off the bed. He grabbed a blanket to toss her way and stuffed a silver ingot into her hand. "This has nothing to do with you. Leave!"

The woman pouted, holding the silver. She tossed the blanket onto the floor, draped a sheer shawl over herself, and walked out.

As soon as the woman left, the irritated Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qingwen bristled with anger.

"Mu Qinghe! What’s the meaning of this?"

Mu Qingyuan raised a fist, ready to swing at Mu Qinghe.

Mu Qinghe’s face darkened as he sat down on a chair and spoke, "There was a loose end from our last mission. I ran into him today!"

Startled by his words, Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qingwen hurriedly pulled on their pants and sat down. "Who is it? Did you take care of him?"

Mu Qinghe shook his head. "He’s now a disciple of the Holy Pill Sect. How could I dare make a move in broad daylight? The guy is blackmailing me for fifty thousand taels of hush money, and he threatened to go to Huang Chengyuan if we don’t pay him!"

Mu Qingyuan slammed a fist onto the table in anger. "Damn it! We should’ve killed them all back then!"

Mu Qingwen’s expression turned sharp, a murderous intent flashing across his face. "That guy sure has a big appetite. Isn’t he afraid he’ll choke to death on it?"

"I’ve already arranged to meet him tonight at midnight on the deserted hill ten miles out. This guy is a ticking time bomb. We’ll make sure to take care of him tonight!"

Gu Qingyuan sneered disdainfully. "A mere Blood Refining Realm Perfect cultivator. Any one of us could handle him without breaking a sweat, let alone all three of us together. Why even bother preparing so much? You’re giving him too much credit!"

Mu Qingwen, ever cautious, pondered for a moment before disagreeing with his brother. "Absolutely not! This place is too close to the Holy Pill Sect. If they decided to investigate, it’d be too easy for them to track us down."

Mu Qingyuan grew annoyed. "So do we kill him or not? If not, where are we going to get that much money to pay him?"

Mu Qingwen snapped his fingers, a sly smile creeping across his face. "That guy may be a problem, but he has to be dealt with. However, we need a more... refined method."

Mu Qingyuan and Mu Qinghe both looked at him. "What sort of refined method?"

"I overheard some Holy Pill Sect disciples downstairs earlier; apparently, they’ve been at odds with the Thousand Poison Sect again recently. We can procure some poison and hidden weapons commonly used by the Thousand Poison Sect. After we kill him, we’ll leave some clues behind to misdirect any suspicions!"

Mu Qingyuan gave his brother a thumbs-up. "Brilliant! That guy must be loaded too—last time, he shelled out twenty thousand taels just to buy a Stone-breaking Crossbow. Killing him might even turn us a tidy profit! Qinghe, head to the black market and get some Thousand Poison Sect poisons and hidden weapons."

"Alright then! Plan settled. Should we pick up where we left off?"

Mu Qingwen grinned lewdly. "Qingyuan, want to join in? It’s quite thrilling, you know!"

Mu Qinghe shuddered internally at the thought of what he’d just walked into. Though he had his own interests, he had no taste for this kind of depravity. He quickly shook his head and waved his hands in refusal. "Not for me! You two enjoy yourselves. I’m off to get the stuff!"

After Mu Qinghe left, Mu Qingyuan sneered. "What a killjoy! Enjoying things alone is nothing compared to sharing the fun. So, should we bring back the same girl or switch it up?"

"I like her flair—let’s stick with her!"

...

Mu Qinghe didn’t spend much time at Bright Moon Pavilion—ten minutes at most. By the time he came back out, he’d already changed into a new outfit and made some basic adjustments to his appearance.

At the tavern, Gu Sheng was leisurely sipping his drink when his eyes locked onto a fat man who had just walked out.

A smirk crept across Gu Sheng’s face. "He sure is cautious! But that disguise of his is laughably bad."

Leaving a few scraps of silver, Gu Sheng quickly got up to follow him.

The fat man was none other than Mu Qinghe in disguise.

Gu Sheng trailed him through Holy Pill City for some time until they reached a bustling casino.

The casino buzzed with raucous energy. Mu Qinghe, after entering, didn’t linger but pressed directly through the crowd toward the backyard.

To avoid drawing attention, Gu Sheng loitered in the casino for a short while before making his way to the backyard about ten minutes later.

In the backyard, a burly man with a thick beard sat idly at a counter with a bored expression.

Seeing Gu Sheng approach, the burly man didn’t even look up as he slid a mask out from under the counter and passed it to him. "Three buy, two sell!"

Gu Sheng instantly understood—the casino was also a black market!

After handing over two hundred silver notes, Gu Sheng began tapping his feet on the ground in a rhythmic pattern. When he finished, a sloped opening, about two or three square meters, appeared in the floor behind him. Mask secured, Gu Sheng slid down the slope, and the noisy sound of haggling filled his ears the moment he landed.

Stepping into the light, Gu Sheng was stunned by the scale of the black market.

Though underground, the market sprawled impressively wide. A cursory glance suggested it covered no less than three thousand square meters. On the outskirts, Gu Sheng even spotted a few individuals clad in black armor standing guard, indicating an area of higher importance within.

The black market was bustling, with bustling vendors and buyers crowding its expanse. Gu Sheng moved through the throng, searching for Mu Qinghe.

Thanks to Mu Qinghe’s distinctive build, Gu Sheng spotted him in no time.

Mu Qinghe was crouched by a stall, quietly conversing with the vendor. To avoid alarming him, Gu Sheng squatted at a neighboring stall nearby.

"Hey, pal. Looking for martial arts manuals? I’ve got a complete version of the Star-piercing Sword Skill, a top-tier technique! This one’s incomplete but still comparable to a second-tier skill. Seeing as we’ve crossed paths today, why don’t I give you a good deal to kick things off?"

As soon as Gu Sheng crouched, the merchant, wearing a monkey mask, began pitching his goods boisterously.

Gu Sheng picked up one of the manuals from the stall and casually flipped it open. "What’s your good deal then?"

The merchant got excited at the question. "Heh, brother! A top-tier swordsmanship manual like this is hard to come by! I’m the only one in this massive black market carrying it. Since you’re my first customer of the day, I’ll give you a special price—let’s say fifty thousand taels. I usually don’t even look at offers below a hundred thousand!"

The merchant’s tone made it sound as though Gu Sheng was getting an incredible bargain. Hearing the price, Gu Sheng thought this might actually be the real deal and began seriously flipping through the book to examine it.