Chapter 10: Terrible Wind and Rain Darkened the Sky, People Seemed Like Ghosts

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 10: Terrible Wind and Rain Darkened the Sky, People Seemed Like Ghosts

The Fish Market was a very noisy place. There were many affairs that should not be seen by the public, and many people who could not be seen in public.

In the span of about fifteen minutes, Ding Ning had rowed the small boat with the black cabin past the dark pier. As he weaved between the countless wooden pillars supporting the Fish Market, the thick-browed young man, who had been asking so many questions, and his master appeared outside the Fish Market, walking to a pawn shop near the river.

They had nothing to pawn. Led by a hunchbacked old man holding a black bamboo staff, these two foreigners passed through the inner doors of the pawn shop, through narrow hallways, and entered a large door. The narrow, damp hallways were very quiet, but when they entered the large door, it was a completely different world.

The hall was relatively small, and inside, about a dozen square tables were set up. At least a dozen people crowded around each square table. Incense burned in the corners of the room but because of the crowd, the air felt murky.

The thick-browed young man's pupils constricted subconsciously as he observed the scene inside. This was not due to the hostility in the eyes of the people around him or the unique presence of the cultivators, but rather to something placed on the table in the center of the room.

A waxy yellow jade stone the size of a thumb.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this might be a piece of low-quality yellow jade. However, almost all cultivators knew that this was the Yellow Bud Pill belonging to the Southern Sun Pill Sect, which originated during the Han Dynasty. The Yellow Bud Pill’s effects were gentle and beneficial in increasing vital energy. This was one of the best supplementary spirit pills for cultivators in the Energy Refinement Realm who were heading towards the Vital Energy Realm when they did not have the innate talent.

When the Southern Sun Pill Sect was at its peak, they only produced several hundred Yellow Bud Pills each year. Now that the Southern Sun Pill Sect had vanished, Yellow Bud Pills had become increasingly rare.

Such pills were prohibited from being traded in the Qin Dynasty, but the hall was filled with people shouting out prices.

This place was undoubtedly an illegal auction venue.

The thick-browed young man knew that the Fish Market had many scenes hard to imagine. Many transactions involving essential items for cultivators took place here. But he was shocked like a country boy entering the city for the first time when right after arriving, he saw the Yellow Bud Pill being traded. He could not help but think, the Fish Market of Changling lives up to its reputation.

The elegant young man dressed like a scholar in front of him also stopped walking and looked at this scene. The hunchbacked old man with the black bamboo staff did not rush them and waited silently.

At this time, the scramble for a single Yellow Bud Pill had reached a frenzied level. A Yellow Bud Pill that had once been worth two thousand taels of silver was now worth one thousand taels of gold, and many people were still vying for it.

After several more calls, only two people remained: a young swordsman wearing a gray robe and a middle-aged man with his face covered by a black silk veil.

The young swordsman's face was flushed red, and sweat dripped down his face. The middle-aged man in the black veil on his face sat motionlessly with calmness. Each time he called out a price, he simply added the minimum possible price, two hundred taels of silver, on top of the price the young swordsman had called out.

In a few moments, they had passed the one thousand three hundred taels of gold.

The young swordsman’s face turned from red to white. This Yellow Bud Pill was extremely important to him. If he did not obtain this Yellow Bud Pill, with his body’s illness, he would never have a chance to progress from realm two to realm three.

So he turned around and looked pleadingly at the middle-aged man with the black veil on his face.

The middle-aged man saw his gaze but only snorted in disdain.

The young swordsman finally lost control of his emotion. He stood up and shouted, “Two thousand taels of gold!”

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone's gazes were fixed on him.

Even if this young swordsman was a member of a wealthy family, using two thousand taels of gold to purchase a Yellow Bud Pill was still too extravagant for any family.

If it were not for the middle-aged cultivator with the black veil on his face raising the price, this Yellow Bud Pill would probably have been auctioned off for a thousand taels of gold.

Hearing the young swordsman shout out the price of two thousand taels of gold, the middle-aged cultivator with the black veil on his face visibly stilled. He sat calmly and said in cold voice, “Brother, you have great spirit. I just don’t know if you will really pay two thousand tales of gold?”

The young swordsman felt like he had fallen through ice, his flushed face turning pale.

A commotion erupted in the room.

Just from his expression, everyone in the room knew that this young man was not a member of a wealthy family. He had only shouted out the price of two thousand gold tales because he had lost control of his emotions.

After the ridicule, came the coldness.

Every place had its own rules, and the rules of Fish Market were even stricter.

The auctioneer, who had been standing in front of the table where the Yellow Bud Pill had been placed, was a thin man wearing yellow robes. He shook his head and looked at the young swordsman sympathetically. He sighed and said. “You should know the rules here.”

The young swordsman's clothes were drenched in sweat. His right hand touched the hilt of the long sword at his waist. Then he took a deep breath. His expression changed to one of determination, and he slowly extended his left hand.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on the long sword at his waist. Seeing his movements, the ridicule in most people's eyes began to disappear, and respect emerged.

This young swordsman's sword appeared extremely light and was a rare metallic blue. This was definitely no ordinary sword. It was worth at least two thousand taels of gold.

According to the rules of the black market in Fish Marked, since he had called out the price, then he could at least use this sword as collateral to exchange for the Yellow Bud Pill. His movements indicated that he was clearly unwilling to give up his sword, and he would cut off his fingers as punishment.

If one lost one's sword, one can found another, but one could not regrow a severed finger. But for cultivators who practice the sword, a sword was a symbol, a kind of spirit. Cultivators who possessed such a spirit would usually go further on the path of cultivation. So this young swordsman's choice at this moment caused the ridicule and contempt to turn into respect.

“Enough.”

The young swordsman began to move to cut off two of his fingers according to the rules when a loud shout rang out.

“Give this Yellow Bud Pill to him.” The voice was calm and unassuming, devoid of any desire to show off or gain favor.

The young swordsman turned around in surprise.

The person who had spoken was a handsome young man dressed as a scholar.

As he calmly said this, the thick-browed young man behind him raised his eyebrows slightly. He took out a black pearl from the bag he carried on his back and placed it beside the Yellow Bud Pill. This black pearl was the size of a pigeon's egg and emitted a faint light. Anyone who saw it would know it was worth over two thousand taels of gold.

The young swordsman was sure he had never seen these two people before. He thought, if the handsome young man had spoken a little later, his fingers would have been on the ground. He first felt lucky and pleasantly surprised, but then he felt ashamed an unable to show his face. He could not speak a word for a moment.

The handsome young man dressed as a scholar said nothing. He glanced at the old man standing next to him and began walking.

The hunchback old man remained silent as he led the way to a side door within the room.

The young swordsman snapped out of his reverie. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably. His excitement caused his pale face to flush red again. “This one is Zhong Jiang…”

He was clearly about to give his name, but the young man dressed like a scholar interrupted him after a few words. “I don't need you to repay me anything, so you don't need to tell me your name.”

The handsome young man did not look back. His words were calm, almost merciless. He then followed the old man through the side door and disappeared under everyone's shocked gazes.

The young swordsman stood there for a few seconds, sweat beading on his forehead again. For some reason, he suddenly understood the meaning of the handsome young man.

For the handsome young man, this was a problem easily resolved. But to him, he would never meet another person like this again in his life. He would never have the chance to start over like this. He would never make another mistake like losing control of his emotions. The lesson he learned now was a greater blessing than the pill.

This young swordsman, who came from Zhong Jiang, took the Yellow Bud Pill the auctioneer handed him. He bowed deeply towards the side door the handsome young man had disappeared and clasped his hands as if offering his sword. Seeing his actions, the cultivators in the room grew even more solemn.

 

Behind that door is another inner hallway.

The roof and canopy over the hallway did not completely cover the hallway. Rain seeped through the gaps. Many people moved like ghosts in the rooms on either side, making noise as they went about unknown business.

Terrible wind and rain darkened the sky, and the people seemed like ghosts.

In a scene like this, even the handsome young man, who had given away a Yellow Bud Pill with a wave of his hand, showed a thoughtful expression in his calm and determined eyes.

But he immediately realized something, and a hint of anger appeared on his face.

A burning presence spread from his body. The wind and rain could not go near him, and the terrible dark presence dissipated.

The old man leading the way held a black bamboo staff.

Not far to the left, several black bamboo plants were planted near the wall of the hallway.

At that moment, the black bamboo coiled like a snake and quickly transformed into black energy before disappearing.

The scene suddenly changed, and many of the ghostly figures disappeared. An open wooden door appeared at the place where the black bamboo stalks had disappeared.

A dark room lay beyond the wooden door.

“I never expected the eldest miss of the Shang family to cultivate the path of yin and ghosts,” the handsome young man said with a cold smile.

Notes:

This novel is not my work... I just translated it from a Chinese web novel written by Wu Zui

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