novelraw Chapter 593 - 592: Found you, Mr. Jiang!
Chapter 593 - 592: Found you, Mr. Jiang!
"I never heard you mention before that the market would have a Demon Envoy inspect." Leng Yutang murmured quietly to his friend among the crowd, "This Demon Envoy exudes a strong aura and must hold a high position within the Demon Realm Alliance."
The little golden-haired monkey shivered and curled up in Hou Ze’s arms. While gently comforting it, he replied in almost a whisper, "Who knows? This little one got so scared, I honestly think his demon energy is fake. Who knows what his origin is?"
The other person was slightly taken aback, "Really? Is that even possible?"
"You’re the Artifact Refiner, yet you’re asking me?" Hou Ze responded, looking perplexed, "Hasn’t your master ever taught you that High Tier Magical Treasures can conceal one’s aura and even have the ability to disguise one’s aura?"
Leng Yutang’s face turned visibly red with embarrassment, "Well, my Realm is still too low, so I haven’t been exposed to the more advanced aspects yet."
Years of suffering from the cold poison took a toll on both his body and spirit. Just being alive and forging some Magical Artifacts to support himself was a blessing, leaving little room to worry about anything else.
Thanks to Mr. Jiang’s help in completely eliminating the root of the illness, during these days, he neither cultivated nor rested; instead, he tried everything he wanted to eat, drink, and play that he hadn’t been able to.
Finally, Leng Yutang concluded—a life without sickness or calamity, one word: good! Two words: truly good! Three words: incredibly good!
Certainly, he couldn’t always indulge like this in the future, he needed to focus on improving his Realm and strive to craft Magical Treasures as soon as possible.
Additionally, standing in the bustling crowd, he absorbed the lively atmosphere, reflecting on the years away from his homeland. Since the cause of the cold poison was understood and thoroughly eradicated, he needed to return as soon as possible.
As far as he remembered, those clansmen who were banished before were never able to return, perhaps having died without finding a cure.
If he could bring back the method to remove the cold poison, those unfortunate ones infected in the clan wouldn’t have to wander the world any longer!
"Oh, how foolish of me!" He lightly slapped his forehead, having briefly considered this when the cold poison was eradicated.
But later, he separated the Earth Spirit Flame and was dragged by Hou Ze to celebrate, the prolonged repression finally being released leading to a moment of overindulgence, undeniably tossing aside such an important matter, which wasn’t right!
The more Leng Yutang thought about it, the more guilty he felt, secretly planning to leave as soon as the Array closed. Even if it meant using up several Teleportation Talismans or Teleportation Charms, he needed to return to Sand Hill City with the utmost Speed.
"Huh? Strange, not a single trace?" Qu Luming checked all key targets such as the Money Shop, auction house, and Treasure Pavilion without finding any abnormality, then turned his gaze to other shopkeepers and clerks.
The market supervisor personally oversaw everyone, and aside from those shops that rarely opened for business, all remaining personnel at the Golden Carp Lake Market were present. Yet, they were all honest Demon Cultivators, without the slightest trace of Demon Cultivators lurking.
Could it be that the market is too small, and the Demon Realm didn’t make any arrangements here?
That shouldn’t be it! Last month, a surprise attack on an extremely remote Low Level market revealed a hidden Demon Cultivator Steward at the auction house.
Although the captured Demon Cultivators discovered through Soul Searching that they were unaware of the lurking mission, considering the covert actions by the Demon Realm, the undercover plan started implementation over a century ago.
The longest lurking Demon Cultivator had been serving as a Money Shopkeeper at the market for one hundred and twelve years; even the shortest tenure among them had lasted three years. It doesn’t make sense that none were installed at Golden Carp Lake Market.
The crucial thing is that according to the market supervisor’s recorded personnel movement, the situation has remained largely unchanged since the onset of the capture plan.
The secret presence of Demon Cultivators was revealed at Cyan Fish Mountain Market, including one apparent and one hidden Demon Cultivator that supported each other. The main body speculates the Demon Realm invasion must have placed hidden agents in all markets, only waiting for the right moment to act, making the Demon Realm Alliance defenseless.
If they plan to launch a simultaneous attack, it’s unreasonable for them to skip this location.
Qu Luming hasn’t failed a mission since taking on the task, refusing to accept defeat. He went over everyone according to the list directory once more, still finding no trace of Demon Cultivators.
Thus, the attention must shift to those shops that rarely open.
"Cloud Grocery Store owner Mr. Jiang, market supervisor, how do you keep these records?" He cocked his head, seeing that even the complete name was absent on the list, his brows slightly furrowed.
The market supervisor at Cyan Fish Mountain Market was investigated for bribery; could it be that this old guy is also curious about the taste of Soul Searching?
The named market supervisor shuddered internally, thinking he didn’t remember recording such a name.
He hurriedly came forward to check, then breathed a sigh of relief, "Reporting to Demon Envoy, although this shop has been vacant for years, the owner has always been this gentleman. As for why only the surname and not the full name is recorded, you’ll have to ask the previous market supervisor. The directory was already written like this when it was handed to me.
You know, this directory is a Magical Treasure issued by the Demon Realm Alliance. Even if one had the courage of a lion, the desire to tamper is futile, as it is recorded only after thorough scrutiny. Perhaps..."
The market supervisor pressed his lips in speculation, "Surname Jiang, first name Gentleman?"
"Has the Grocery Store ever sold anything?" Qu Luming glared at him, wondering, what Cultivator would choose such a name?
"Yes! Recently, they sold Elixirs and occasionally some Spiritual-Energy-rich dishes, but they were displayed in the window for sale. As for the store owner himself... never seen."
After reviewing everything, this shop is the one appearing most suspicious. Holding the mindset of rather wrongly suspecting than overlooking, Qu Luming even turned towards the grocery store for a loop.
As expected, the shop door and window were tightly shut, with no sign of opening for business.
"Bang!"
He casually released an attack, aiming to break in and conduct a surprise check for any trace of Demon Cultivators.
Being assigned to search naturally grants the authority for breaking and entering. If it’s a misunderstanding, under thorough investigation with no findings, the Demon Realm Alliance will compensate for the losses.
However, a three-part strength attack landed as if on cotton, and that plain wooden door did not move an inch. The attack wave smashed into something with a loud explosion sound.
"A protective array? Or something else?" Qu Luming couldn’t have imagined that he would face setbacks one after another in such a small market. First, he couldn’t find a single demon cultivator, and now he couldn’t even open the wooden door of a small shop.
He cautiously reached out to touch it; the wooden door felt completely normal, and there was no spiritual power fluctuation of a guardian array nearby.
"Bang!"
This time, he exerted sixth level of power, with the same result.
Qu Luming narrowed his eyes slightly, noticing that his attack hadn’t hit the wooden door, as if an invisible barrier on the door absorbed all the attack power.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Power enough to utterly demolish the entire small island where the shop was located was unleashed, yet neither the door, the windows, the roof, nor the walls were affected in the slightest.
"Mr. Jiang? Ginger Jiang..." The mysterious and unpredictable young man’s image suddenly surfaced in his mind, and Qu Luming circled around the small shop without finding any clues, then turned his gaze to the nearest other shop.
Hou Ze was dumbfounded when the market mentioned him name, but when he saw that demon envoy standing before the shop’s door of the neighboring fellow, a foreboding feeling arose in his heart.
The little cub could sniff out smells ordinary cultivators couldn’t. If it feared this demon envoy, there must be something amiss.
Why would he come to the market in broad daylight, and after all the commotion, he’s here to trouble the fellow?
Right! Alchemists are quite rare, maybe there’s some grudge between them.
The fellow’s a good person and cannot reveal any information!
With his resolve made, Hou Ze quickly stepped forward to meet the demon envoy.
"Your two shops are the closest, have you ever seen the owner of the Cloud Grocery Store?"
"Answering the demon envoy, I have never seen him. I have only bought some elixirs and food sold in the window, priced reasonably and fair. Like the saying goes, ’neighbors have the advantage,’ so I’ve purchased twice." Hou Ze, worthy of being a slick businessman, had a moment of panic in his heart but remained unflustered, lying without a trace.
Qu Luming frowned even more, "Have you seen inside the store from the window? Is the owner male or female, young or old?"
Hou Ze responded fluently, "Interestingly, though the window is open, you can’t see the situation inside. The door has never been opened, so I can’t tell what kind of cultivator the owner is."
"Is it true?" In a flash, Qu Luming appeared in front of him, his pitch-black eyes staring at Hou Ze, his voice increasingly eerie, "Do you want to taste the feeling of soul searching?"
It was intended as a threat, but Hou Ze clearly had strong mental fortitude, showing no abnormal reaction.
The Profound Light Instrument in his eyes instantly began spinning rapidly.
The halo expanded continuously, rippling like waves, gradually revealing a scene—Qu Luming saw from Hou Ze’s sea of consciousness a tall, thin shadow stepping on a silver fish and moving past, then heard the excited shout of this guy: "Fellow Daoist, my small shop sells various magical artifacts and can even customize and craft them. If interested, you can come in and have a look!"
That person indeed stopped, the silver fish turned around swiftly, "Can you customize two incense burners?"
When that familiar face appeared again, Qu Luming’s face turned green, it was really him!
Found you, Mr. Jiang.
Searching the sea of consciousness with the Profound Light Instrument is much gentler than soul searching, but it does cause some harm over time. Since it involved someone who couldn’t be found even in the Book of Life and Death, no matter how bizarre, it was not surprising.
This guy probably wasn’t trying to hide anything, most likely the other party used some kind of magic, leaving him with no clear impression. Otherwise, having no acquaintance, there was no reason to cover up for someone else.
Qu Luming immediately put away the Profound Light Instrument, withdrawing from the probing state.
"Ugh..." Hou Ze felt dizzy and almost couldn’t stand, groaning and nearly fainting before seeing the terribly pale face and emotionless black eyes of the demon envoy, which startled him into clearing his head again.
"Take this elixir, it will ease your discomfort." Qu Luming handed him a small jade bottle and continued to inquire, "Do you recall a young cultivator who once customized two incense burners in your shop? He stood on a silver fish, looked about twenty years old, fair and polite."
How quick is Hou Ze’s response, immediately understanding that the other party had indeed used some method of probing to "see" the process of his first encounter with the neighboring fellow. But since he was asking this way, it clearly meant he hadn’t found out about his lies.
"To be honest, many customers customize magical artifacts in the shop, I don’t have much of an impression. However, I can check the records. If incense burners were customized, it should be registered."
"Quickly check," Qu Luming said without doubting him.
Following the principle of not harming good relations, since it did not involve sneaky demon cultivators and only satisfied his curiosity, he naturally couldn’t randomly perform soul searches on ordinary demon cultivators.
Now, discovering some clues was already the limit.
A moment later, Hou Ze brought the customization register for him to inspect.
Qu Luming became confused again; incense burners are certainly needed for worship, but who would use one with a dragon and a white fox?
With his mind full of questions, he left the Golden Carp Lake Market, once again arriving at Golden Chicken River, seeking the market manager who was cultivating in broad daylight, "Bring out the list directory, I want to see who the owner of that Cloud Grocery Store is."