Author P.O.V
{After nightfall, Lu Qing and Haoxuan checked if the dangerous man was asleep before they set out in the middle of the night towards what should be the market district.
They walked among the shadows between corners and alleyways, careful not to attract unnecessary attention. The farther they went, the louder the city became.}
At first, there was only the distant murmur of voices.
Then came the clatter of wooden carts, the ringing of bells, the occasional burst of laughter, and the sharp cries of merchants advertising their goods.
Eventually, they stepped into the marketplace.
Lu Qing stopped for a moment.
[The novels never mentioned how colorful these places are.]
Lanterns of every color hung above the streets, their strange magical flames illuminating rows upon rows of stalls. Red silk banners fluttered from wooden buildings, while vendors displayed glowing herbs, strange fruits, polished weapons, animal furs, jade ornaments, and bottles filled with liquids that seemed to move on their own.
There were people everywhere.
Cultivators dressed in elegant robes walked beside rough-looking mercenaries covered in beast-hide armor. Some had swords strapped to their backs, while others carried weapons Lu Qing couldn't even identify.
[There are many strange people here...I wonder if aome of these people are just beastmen in disguise.]
| I quickly looked away. I had seen plenty of bizarre characters in webcomics, but seeing them in person was completely different.
And the marketplace wasn't nearly as wholesome as those colorful illustrations in webcomics made it seem.
Behind one stall, a merchant quietly opened a wooden box to reveal several small cages wach one with a little beast inside.
Something resembling a snake with horns inside one of them hissed.
Further down the street, two men stood in a narrow alley, speaking in hushed voices while discreetly exchanging a small black pouch.
Neither of them looked like the kind of people who were selling legal goods.
A few stalls even had their merchandise hidden beneath dark cloths, with only a small sign displaying vague names like Rare Treasures, Special Medicine, or 'Items You Won't Find Elsewhere.'|
[Yeah...Definitely not suspicious at all. It's probably a scam anyway. Forbidden scams, if that can even be a thing.]
Lu Qing swallowed.
|I remembered the marketplace scenes from the webcomics I used to read.
Beautiful lanterns floating around. Friendly merchants, some beating trouble makers away and others just acting normally.
Cultivators casually buying rare treasures.
Nobody ever warned me about the possibility of accidentally witnessing a crime while shopping for spiritual materials. Fortunately I was reincarnated as a fox.|
[Who am I kidding? It's fortunate enough that I'm even alive in a world like this. Honestly, any other world could be fine. Now I have to worry about soul being trapped or something.]
|I think about the materials I need for my evolution paths again.|
[Am I really going to be able to buy all this?]
|I stared at the countless stalls around me.|
[Knowing how the Xianxia world works, getting all of these must cost a fortune.]
|My eyes wandered toward a stall displaying several glowing stones.|
[Are those spiritual stones? I've never seen them in this color. Is that good or bad?...Do I resort to stealing? I don't have money anyway.]
|I glanced around the marketplace.There were plenty of questionable-looking people here.|
[But who should I steal from?]
|My eyes landed on a large, muscular cultivator arguing with a merchant. I immediately dismissed the thought.|
[Nope. Definitely not him. Is there someone weaker? If I even try stealing from that guy, I'mas good as dead.]
|I looked toward another stall. A skinny man was counting a pouch of spirit stones while constantly checking his surroundings. I suck my teeth.|
[Maybe him? No. He looks cunning.]
|I quickly shook my head.|
[He might see me and take me away to sell. Dead or alive? That is for to debate.]
Besides, stealing from someone in a world where people could probably kill me with a flick of their finger wasn't exactly what I would call a brilliant survival strategy.
Haoxuan suddenly glanced at me.
"Why are you looking at everyone like you're planning to rob them?"
"Maybe because I am?"
He stared at me.
I stared back.
Then he sighed.
"Does it kill you to behave for just a moment?"
I'm experimenting with every option we have. We can't transform into humans and that guy certainly won't help us. So we have to take matters into our own hands. Besides a little stealing wouldn't hurt.
"You're courting death."
I don't think death would take my hand in marriage.
"You know what I meant!"
And what if I did? Besides, we're both here aren't we? So I'm not the only one. Since you think it's such a bad idea, what's your plan?
"Follow me."
What?
"I said follow me, are you deaf now. Do you want to get the materials or not?"
Fine...
To be continued...