Chapter 162

Wangfuzheng was originally a famous affluent area in Beijing.

Or it referred to the street where snacks were sold at Heishi.

Only the owner of Black Spots could tell why they insisted on naming the snack street Wangfuzheng.

It was also a landmark of Heishi, where hungry guests gathered at night due to its unique character.

And that was because all sorts of bizarre foods were being sold.

Worms, scorpions, deep-fried squirrels with their legs stretched out and wings spread, palm-sized spiders, elongated various caterpillars, and unknown insects, to name a few.

Of course, the items on sale were somewhat limited.

There were silkworm pupae, commonly found snacks all over the Central Plains.

It was a delicacy enjoyed by the Han people as well.

However, the Chinese people preferred to eat the pupae after they evolved into big pupae, so they were slightly larger than the Han version.

About the size of a woman’s thumb.

The food at Wangfuzheng was so unreliable that one shouldn’t just buy anything without thought.

But the pupae had nothing added to them, and their cleanliness was ensured by sericulture, making them a reliable snack.

The party amicably grabbed a skewer each.

Even Namyeon Sect warrior Namyeon was holding one with a grim expression, but apparently, he couldn’t take his eyes off it and was swallowing his saliva.

“Deep-fried centipede… Who would eat something like that?”

“Not me! *Ptooey.*”

“But it says it’s a specialty! *Ptooey.*”

The sound wasn’t so much spitting out saliva as it was discarding a tough shell.

It’s customary to enjoy the tender flesh and either chew or spit out the shell when snacking on pupae.

By the way, the noble young lady, Tang Nan-ah, couldn’t manage to eat just one skewer of pupae, holding two in each hand.

Sichuan’s specialty isn’t really spicy but silks, and surprisingly, pupae are left after weaving silk.

“If you don’t know, you’ll get caught. There’s always some fool tourist who has to try the specialties. Ah, sister, look over there.”

Je-gal Lee-hyun pointed quickly to one side.

A scruffy-looking man with long hair awkwardly tied back, giving off a shabby impression, as he hadn’t shaved in a while.

He looked like the typical ronin one could easily come across.

Ronin—wandering swordsmen—are usually the kind who tie their hair back and live in poverty, only shaving when it suits them.

His mastery level was probably at the peak of the supreme rank.

It was slightly ambiguous to say he had truly achieved peak status, so he probably had just achieved it not too long ago.

For a ronin, he was at an exceedingly high level…

As the supreme ronin hesitated while holding a spider skewer, he slowly brought a leg to his mouth.

“Ugh.” “Uhh.” “Urgh.” “Gah.”

The four of them groaned in unison.

In fact, not just Qing’s group but everyone on the street was openly watching or stealing glances.

It was a bizarre phenomenon where all those crowds frowned simultaneously!

The ronin’s expression was peculiar.

It didn’t seem entirely awful after all.

Perhaps emboldened by that thought, he took a bite into the skewer—

“Ughhh!”

And doubled over as he quickly expelled what shouldn’t have come back up from his stomach.

The bewildered ronin glared at the street vendor.

“Are you out of your mind? You sell this for three gold coins?!”

“Didn’t you buy it, guest? Who threatened you to eat it? You ate it, and now you’re getting all worked up with me.”

“What?! Do you know who I am? I’m Nang Yacha Yeok Tae-gang!”

“What’s Nang Yacha or whatever? I care less about that. If you’re not buying, then scram.”

What a sight it was.

A mere street vendor was standing up to a supreme martial artist!

And just then, a furious Yeok Tae-gang gripped the hilt of his sword.

“Why don’t you pull it out? You think you’ll get away with attacking a member of Black Spots here? Go ahead, give it a try.”

For a moment, Yeok Tae-gang hesitated, then trembling, he turned around angrily and stomped away.

Just as he was about to pass by, Qing called out to Je-gal Lee-hyun in a voice everyone could hear.

“Aren’t you supposed to avoid touching those vile merchants? But is it fine if it’s not in Black Spots? What if we just watch from a distance until it’s time to make a move?”

“Well, of course, they’d want to protect their guests, but they can’t escort every single member. By dawn, when Black Spots closes down, everyone will retreat.”

“But won’t there be some aftereffects later? Like sending assassins because you meddled with them?”

“To Black Spots, troublesome merchants who openly act rude to guests are a headache. Especially one who dares to be rude to a supreme master, how would they treat other customers? They won’t care if someone dies on the street.”

This was clearly a conversation loud enough for everyone to hear.

Yeok Tae-gang abruptly halted in his tracks.

Then he bowed his head to Qing and Je-gal Lee-hyun, then sat down sulkily on the street opposite the stall, crossing his arms.

The shady vendor selling bugs looked noticeably uneasy.

Tomorrow, it’s certain that the unfriendly merchant who amassed an unknown number of wrongdoings would be meeting his end.

But Yeok Tae-gang? That name sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Of course, Qing didn’t hold back her curiosity.

“Nang Yacha? Is he famous?”

“Sister, how could a peak supreme ronin not be famous? Nang Yacha is one of the top masters among the ronin.”

“Ah, I must have heard that name while I was doing something else, right? Anyway, he’s going to get even more famous. While I might not recognize this at first glance, the supreme master Seomun Qing sees it, and he’s just entering peak supreme territory?”

“Amazing. Both Nang Yacha and your arrogance are impressive. Who knows, he might be called King of the Ronin in the future.”

At that, Tang Nan-ah, having been alternating between the two skewers of pupae, asked with wide eyes.

“What? You were a ronin?”

“Way back. I tried both, and honestly, there’s not much difference between being a beggar and a ronin. Both are poor, dirty, and in summer it’s hot and miserable, in winter it’s freezing and depressing. People think you’ll do anything if they buy you food, but they look at you with those pitying eyes.”

Qing then thought—

“Oh? So isn’t that like a graduate student?”

Though Qing wasn’t overly concerned, Tang Nan-ah was once again chilled by that tale of hardship.

“Uh, um… sorry. Want a skewer?”

“No, why would I eat what you had? Am I a beggar?”

Qing took the last two skewers in her hands and, just then, a table laden with all sorts of night market dishes came into view.

“Je-gal, what’s that mysterious beast meat?”

“Things that are usually not eaten by the common folk. Stinky beasts like badgers, wildcats, and raccoons.”

In order were the names of weasels, wildcats, and raccoons.

“You really eat everything with four legs, don’t you…”

“Even if they don’t have legs, we still eat ’em. Those rolled-up ones? Snakes. Those laid out beside them? Also snakes, but dressed. And those rolled-up ones look like snakes but are goat kicks… Uh, my bad, sister.”

“Wow, are those longer than real snakes? What about those?”

“People say they aren’t tasty. They say they’re good for men but aren’t popular enough.”

Without knowing their origin or having any hygiene or propriety in the butchering, they were just roughly seasoned and roasted, making them taste like nothing.

Qing shrugged and walked on past Wangfuzheng.

The further in you went, the more secretive items were supposedly handled, but there were no categories for the various wares, leading to a jumble of all sorts of knickknacks.

In Qing’s eyes, it looked just like a flea market.

As they stumbled into a zone selling poisons, Tang Nan-ah said she wanted to check it out for a bit and stayed behind, while Je-gal Lee-hyun was transfixed by some antiques, so Qing pushed him to go and have fun.

In truth, Je-gal Lee-hyun had insisted strongly for Qing to just casually ask around while they perused, so it made sense she didn’t expect anything too shady or dangerous.

After all, they were here to fetch Old Man Ban’s grandchild, not to tour around.

“There, miss pretty! Oh my, the embodiment of a celestial being! The best beauty of the martial world is here! Come see the martial arts books!”

“Oh, talking about martial arts books? Uncle, let’s go!”

“Sure! Maybe there’s a dancing martial art book?”

“Can there be such a thing…”

At that, Namyeon added a comment.

“Oh? Is this where the talk begins?”

“Eep.”

With one fierce glare from Qing, Namyeon’s mouth clamped shut as if he’d swallowed something bitter.

Her stunning beauty was disarming.

Seeing that expression, Qing decided she must be scaring him out of his wits. She approached the martial arts book merchant with newfound confidence.

“Oh! Yangyijin Gong! Umm? Was that the name?”

Qing picked up the book, half-hoping, but the Martial Arts Inventory was silent, so it was obviously a fake.

Then the merchant, with stacks of books laid out, said, “Don’t open it, lovely guest. If you touch it, you must buy it.”

“I won’t read it. Besides, what martial arts book is this clean? It should be all battered for authenticity.”

“That’s to make them presentable for you guests.”

Aren’t you breaking the rules?

Qing tilted her head as she inspected the martial arts books one by one.

Taijitu Swordplay, Yinghua Twenty-Seven Styles, Pochun Pachuando, Tenshin Shinkage, Zhou Wang’s Essence Sutra, Wudang Minggan, etc…

Titles that seemed to be missing a screw, the books sparkling like new, raised her suspicions.

“Hey, Mister Merchant, do these even sell here?”

“Surprisingly, yes.”

“Your way of speaking is… unique?”

“Isn’t it? I’m the ‘Jack of All Trades’ merchant, you see.”

“Jack of All Trades!”

Qing yelled out.

If Je-gal Lee-hyun had been present, he probably would’ve yelled too, so there was an instinct to confirm the facts.

Because everyone was staring, Qing first checked the facts.

“Um. Is he someone famous?”

“Nope, I just made that up. How can a name like ‘Jack of All Trades’ make sense?”

“Hehe, you’re an interesting person.”

Qing giggled in response.

At this rate, it really felt like they were at a market.

Seemingly an endless array of bizarre merchants were gathered here, like back when she used to be taken out to see exotic goods while dating someone.

Ah, how great those days were.

Thinking back on it made her feel a little lonely…

Perhaps it wasn’t a lie that things sell surprising well, as when Qing was called over, guests who had previously wandered off began to flock in.

“Ahem, shopkeeper, I’ll take one of those. How much?”

“Where have you been scouting about?”

“…?”

“The true value is determined by the owner of the Divine Skill, not those who notice its worth.”

“Items are meant to be priced by the seller…”

“You’ll need to fork over two gold coins for that! Too expensive, is it? But how much do you think you’d be paying for the best cultivation methods in Wudang or even across the whole Jianghu? What? Not using it? Hey, are you saying I’m just sitting around for no reason? Are you trying to tick me off, guest?”

And with such fierceness, wow, why are you acting like you’re in the Realm of Transformation?

How could a master of the Realm of Transformation be selling fake books like this?

In the end, the poor customer ended up being forced to buy a clearly fake Wudang Minggan book for two gold coins.

“Just a heads-up, I came here just to have a look?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Pretty people can look for free. Um, would you be willing to take this and look at more products?”

Self-proclaimed Jack of All Trades handed over two coins.

Only then did Qing realize she’d been swindled.

This merchant was using people as his signboard.

When she took her hat off, all eyes would be on her, turning her into a walking billboard, practically glowing!

In fact, it was quite the sight to see a stunning beauty gazing seriously at the wares.

So, naturally, everyone would wonder if there was something worthwhile on display.

Qing, who couldn’t refuse the pocket money offered by the supreme master, accepted the coins without hesitation.

Of course, the jack of all trades had no ill intent, so Qing’s mouth didn’t skip a beat while conversing.

“Now you’re giving me just two coins after making two golden profits? So stingy, so stingy. What is this, the ocean or what?”

“That doesn’t sound bad, huh? Next time, I should call you the Beach King!”

“Beach King!”

“Do you really have to shout that out?”

“I hear it’s courtesy to do so?”

“That seems reasonable enough? Well, it’s nice to see a courteous guest. I can’t give you more money, but feel free to look through the books for a while.”

“Not that looking at them would do me much good.”

Still, Qing picked up each and every one of the books.

Then suddenly, the Martial Arts Inventory sparkled.

“Oh?”

It shone, indicating that the legendary Invisible Divine Skill had just been registered with glistening words.

Qing didn’t know, but this moment was when she truly should’ve gasped in awe and admiration.

Goodness!!! Invisible Divine Skill!!!! He’s a Master of Shintu!!!!!

The Invisible Divine Skill was the legendary martial art that belonged to a thieving founder renowned throughout the Jianghu, the little spirited Shintu!

But could Qing really know that?

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