Fat Sheep

"Nannan, I'm heading out for a bit. I'll probably be back late, so go ahead and sleep first." About to set off for the black market, Chen Ping'an spoke to Chen Er Ya. "Big Brother, you're going out...?" Chen Er Ya knitted her brows slightly. Counting the days, it wasn't yet time for Chen Ping'an's night patrol. For him to go out tonight... "Yeah, just heading to the black market to take care of a few things." Chen Ping'an nodded. Naturally, he wouldn't say anything that would worry Chen Er Ya too much. He walked straight into the kitchen and lifted the water vat with one hand. "Big Brother, this..." The little girl's mouth fell open in shock. It had only been a few days, yet his strength had grown again. "Feel better now?" Chen Ping'an said with a smile. He set the water vat back on the ground, the water sloshing inside. "Mm, I'm not worried anymore. Big Brother, you're amazing." The little girl squinted her eyes with a grin. Taking his silver and tucking his woodchopping knife into his waist, Chen Ping'an bid Chen Er Ya farewell and left the courtyard. Now that he had reached qi and blood second layer, perfected, his stamina and speed were even greater than before. Without taking much time, he arrived near the black market. Slipping on the black hood he had prepared beforehand, Chen Ping'an made his way toward the entrance. The simple black cloth he had used to mask his face previously was clearly far less concealing than a hood. A hood was not only secure, but covered much more. At the entrance of the black market stood the same burly, imposing man as before. "Entry fee is two small cash. Fighting inside is forbidden, or you bear the consequences!" After paying the money, Chen Ping'an smoothly stepped inside. There were quite a few people in the black market tonight as well. He looked around once, then made his way toward the nearby pagoda tree. A figure was standing beneath the tree. The person was tall, though not particularly muscular. His face was covered with a cloth, and he wore a headscarf above it. When he spotted Chen Ping'an walking over, his eyes lit up. "You're here!" "I'm here." Chen Ping'an intentionally roughened his voice and nodded. "Where's the goods?" "Brought them with me." The tall, thin man carefully took out an item wrapped in black cloth from his bosom. "Let me tell you, this thing wasn't easy to get! Did you bring the money?" Chen Ping'an showed the silver he had brought. The tall, thin man reached out to grab it, but Chen Ping'an pulled his hand back in a flash. "Inspect the goods first!" "Fine!" the tall, thin man answered. He unfolded the black cloth layer by layer, revealing a book inside. He picked it up, and the characters written on it appeared before Chen Ping'an's eyes. Flying Locust Throwing Technique! The tall, thin man flipped open the cover, revealing the contents of the first page. Chen Ping'an focused his gaze, reading through it with extreme care. "Next page." Hearing this, the tall, thin man turned to the second page. Chen Ping'an continued reading. Just like that, Chen Ping'an read through the third page. When he tried to keep reading, the tall, thin man snapped the book shut. "All right, all right, that's enough. You've read three pages, so you can tell it's genuine! Five taels of silver—hand it over!" "I've only seen three pages. Who knows if you just scribbled nonsense to fool me in the back? If the rest is all blank, wouldn't I be getting cheated?" Chen Ping'an said, shaking his head. "What's that supposed to mean? Did you want to read the whole thing?" The tall, thin man tucked the book inside his robes, his eyes glinting shrewdly. "Nowhere in the world does business work like that! I brought you the item. If you like it, pay up right now!" "Flip through the rest of the pages for me so I can see if there's writing on all of them!" Chen Ping'an knew from the start that the man wouldn't agree to his original demand, so he took a step back. "Fine." The tall, thin man nodded and gave the book a hasty flip before Chen Ping'an's eyes. Unfortunately, he flipped too quickly for Chen Ping'an to make out much of the contents on each page. *All right then,* Chen Ping'an sighed inwardly, giving up on the thought of getting it for free. He had his golden finger panel; as long as he could read through it completely just once, it would be recorded. That way, he could have saved the five taels of silver for buying the cultivation method. However, the other party hadn't given him that chance. "Fine. I'll give you the money, and you give me the book. But once the trade is done, you can't leave yet. You have to wait by my side until I finish reading it!" Chen Ping'an said. "Until you finish reading it?" The tall, thin man looked at Chen Ping'an in confusion, unable to fathom what he was thinking. "That's right." Chen Ping'an nodded. "Fine, that's acceptable. But let me make this clear: a cultivation method isn't like other goods. Once the deal is done, no backing out!" The tall, thin man stared warily at Chen Ping'an. "As long as your item is authentic, there's no problem." Chen Ping'an nodded. With that, the two completed the exchange, handing over the money and goods simultaneously. Upon receiving the book, Chen Ping'an began flipping through it right where he stood. The volume wasn't particularly thick. Chen Ping'an read at a blistering pace, taking in multiple lines at a glance. In less than half a quarter of an hour, he had finished reading the entire book. Name: Chen Ping'an Realm: Qi and blood second layer, perfected Martial Art: Iron Shirt, perfected; Flying Locust Stones, not yet entered (0/5) ... *It's real!* Seeing the Flying Locust Throwing Technique successfully recorded onto the golden finger panel, Chen Ping'an felt a surge of relief. Fortunately, the seller hadn't swindled him. Even if Chen Ping'an had discovered a fraud, getting his silver back would have been a hassle, bound to cause endless haggling. "We're done. You can go." Chen Ping'an put away the book and nodded to the tall, thin man. "Straightforward! If you need any cultivation methods in the future, you can find me again!" the tall, thin man said before leaving briskly. With the deal completed, Chen Ping'an had no desire to linger in the black market. Nannan was still waiting for him at home. At the black market entrance, the burly, imposing man stood as expressionless as before. "Once outside the black market, safety is not guaranteed. Bear your own risks." As Chen Ping'an walked out, he deliberately passed close by the burly man. This time, he faintly sensed the man's martial realm. He had likely immersed himself in the qi and blood second layer for a long time, but had not yet reached qi and blood second layer, perfected. To have a capable martial artist of the qi and blood second layer guarding the entrance every night, the power backing this black market clearly had some real weight. Just as Chen Ping'an took his first step out of the black market, a man wearing a bamboo hat emerged right behind him. *Entering the martial path—qi and blood first layer!* Guarding the entrance, the burly man sensed the aura of qi and blood on the man in the bamboo hat. Leaving the black market, the man in the bamboo hat walked straight in the direction Chen Ping'an had taken. The burly man watched all of this unfold without interfering. He had seen far too many scenes like this. By his perception, the man in front was nothing more than an ordinary person; now that this bamboo-hatted man had set his sights on him, his chances of survival were slim. Once outside the black market, bear your own risks! He had given whatever warnings needed to be given. If someone didn't take them seriously and lost their life, there was nobody to blame. What the burly man didn't know was that Chen Ping'an, walking in front, had already glanced back from the corner of his eye and noticed someone tailing him. *Taking me for an easy target?* Chen Ping'an sneered inwardly. Perhaps the five taels of silver he had brought out to buy the martial art had made someone take him for a fat sheep. However... In front of someone at qi and blood second layer, perfected, who was the real fat sheep?! *End this swiftly!* Chen Ping'an resolved inwardly.