Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Black Market Commission·Investigation into the death of 100 people at Fan Village Hotel_1
Wang Linchi frequented the Black Market as usual, stopping by every five or six days, each time appearing different and exuding a distinct aura.
Mainly, he came to pick up a few things; be it Soul Forging Methods or Soul Skills, he would always purchase some of each to use as reference.
Since the vendors varied every time, naturally, the items on sale differed too.
Compared to the Black Market in Qinghe City, the Black Market in Yi Ning Prefecture was more upscale. It not only had street stalls but also shops, as well as brokerages, bounties, information trading, and whatnot.
Wang Linchi had also put up a few requests, such as the purchase of a complete Soul Forging Method for Book-Type Soul Resemblances. Thanks to the Black Market’s guarantee, there was no need to worry about the Soul Forging Method having any problems. Of course, theoretically speaking, he still needed to use his own judgment in practice.
However, it was indeed costly. Not only was the acquisition price higher, but a deposit and a cut for the Black Market were also necessary.
Glancing at his requests, his long-term one was still pending and quite near the top. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed a somewhat strange request.
[Investigation into the 100 Deaths at Fan Village Hotel]
[Requesting party: Peacock Sword Sect]
[Content: Investigate the killer]
[Reward: Excellent Level Soul Kind · Three Sparrow Sword]
[Note: Full details will be provided upon acceptance]
His pupils shrank at what he saw. The request was pretty shocking, making him stifle an expletive.
The Fan Village Hotel was the place where the survivors of Qinghe City had gathered; the address was written on the invitation he had received.
This request had just been posted yesterday, while the survivors’ get-together was the day before. This meant the Peacock Sword Sect had learned about the deaths almost immediately.
It was intriguing that the Peacock Sword Sect did not conduct its own investigation or inform the Government Office of Yi Ning Prefecture. Instead, they posted a request in the Black Market.
Most importantly, the reward they offered was a rare core Soul Kind: the Sword Attribute Three Sparrow Sword. This was a lower Soul Kind of the Peacock Feather Sword Heart. If combined with the Beak Sword, Feather Sword, and Claw Sword—three other Sword Attribute Soul Kinds—it would form a formidable small set of sword mantras.
In Yingzhou, only the Peacock Holding Sword from the Peacock Sword Sect could produce such a Three Sparrow Sword. Although the Beak, Feather, and Claw Swords were precious, they were obtainable elsewhere.
From this, it was clear that the Peacock Sword Sect had discovered the deceased survivors and was aware of the situation’s severity. But they were held back by other matters and therefore couldn’t handle this themselves.
As getting the Court involved was not advisable, they had to resort to this measure: posting a request in the Black Market, hoping someone could resolve the matter.
Wang Linchi felt a chill in his heart. Considering the other survivors were dead, and he was the only one left, would the killer come after him?
As for Yan Ming King, there was no need to worry. The perpetrator should be targeting the survivors who had experienced the massacre at Qinghe City. Yan Ming King had left the city early and had not experienced the event; hence, he did not count as a survivor.
It probably wasn’t the Baylong Religion again... Wang Linchi thought.
The Peacock Sword Sect was definitely out of the question. If they were the culprits, there would be no need to publicize it. They could simply suppress it and then arrange an accident.
As for the Prefecture, that was also impossible. Their primary intention was to suppress the Qinghe City massacre. If they had really done this, the Peacock Sword Sect would have noticed immediately and posted the request.
Then, someone would inevitably investigate, and the truth could not be concealed.
Therefore, the most plausible explanation was that this was done by the Baylong Religion or other third parties.
It had been quite some time. The fourth-generation Blood Dragon Envoy of Yingzhou might have ascended to the position by now.
Why are there so many Blood Dragon Envoys? It’s even faster than the iterations of my Soul Seed Boiling Series. Wang Linchi couldn’t help but complain inwardly.
He then continued wandering around the Black Market.
What else could I possibly do? Return home now? Perhaps the murderer is already lurking around my house. The Black Market is relatively safer. As long as I don’t leave the Black Market, I basically don’t need to worry about being ambushed and killed there. The market not only has rules to restrict people but also the force to suppress them.
If worse comes to worst, I can move into the Soul Seed Bureau and sleep on the floor in my office. Wang Linchi had thought of a perfect plan to escape danger. After all, his belongings were all stored in the Peach Talisman.
In the worst-case scenario, I’ll just stop researching the Soul Kind evolution plan for a while and concentrate on the Cultivation of Soul Forging Method and Soul Secret Technique. Once this blows over, it won’t be too late to return home to my research. The main reason I can’t research in the office is the fear of being discovered. As for whether the killer would dare to enter the Soul Seed Bureau to kill someone... even setting aside whether they could break in, they would have to pay a hefty price if they did.
Wang Linchi’s office was located very close to the warehouse where the Soul Kinds were stored, and the security was rigorous. It was even tighter than at Qinghe Academy, where he used to be.
He didn’t need to worry about safety at all.
Counter-kill the enemy? That wasn’t something Wang Linchi was considering. Escaping, though shameful, was very useful, especially since he had a very safe office. The other party definitely can’t outlast me.
The moment the Peacock Sword Sect’s request appeared, the Prefecture of Yi Ning Prefecture was bound to know. This matter would be a burden on the Governor. Besides the Awakeners who would accept the request and investigate, the Prefecture would also assign its own people to look into it. They would even invest heavily to quickly mitigate the matter’s impact.
Direct conflict with the perpetrator would only put me in danger. Hiding and wearing down the enemy, that’s the proper solution.
After a long stroll, Wang Linchi bought quite a few things and then directly purchased a personal safety protection service from the Black Market.
For a fee, the Black Market would help deter those with ill intentions and provide a safe escort into the city.
However, this protection service required evaluation: if the value of the items purchased was not high, the cost would not be high either, and correspondingly, the strength of the protection personnel arranged wouldn’t be too high.
This move was equivalent to informing other would-be assassins that there was nothing to gain, so attempting a robbery wasn’t worth it.
After their evaluation, they offered Wang Linchi the most basic service. The Soul Forging Methods Wang Linchi had bought were not valuable at all, so he only had to pay ten Excellent Level Soul Kinds, which was relatively cheap.
Originally, suspicious characters lost interest in Wang Linchi. There was very little to gain from him; robbing him was not worthwhile and would also incur the Black Market’s displeasure.
Those with experience had paid no attention to Wang Linchi from the start. After all, how valuable could a person buying all sorts of Soul Forging Methods be? Plus, his aura was strong; if they made a move, they might even be counter-killed.
Wang Linchi hadn’t intended to buy this service originally. He wanted to see if he could divert the trouble.
For instance, if the murderer was lying in wait for me at the entrance of the Black Market, then as soon as they made a move, they would be up against the Black Market. At that point, they would not only have to deal with the Peacock Sword Sect and the Government Office but also face pursuit from the Black Market. That would make things even more interesting.