novelraw Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18 : Chapter 18
Chapter 18: Black Market
It had to be said, food at Grandma’s place was just especially delicious. That seemed to be a universal law.
At any rate, Lin Bai ate with real relish, though he could not tell whether that was because he had spent too long eating the meals at the Benevolent Heart Hall.
It was not that the food at the Benevolent Heart Hall tasted bad, but it was far too light. Once or twice was fine, but Lin Bai had already been in Yunmeng City for nearly ten days, and facing those bland dishes every single day had left his mouth so tasteless he felt like a bird could fly right out of it.
He secretly glanced at his sister across from him, quietly eating her meal, and truly could not understand how Lin Su managed to endure it.
After all, the siblings had similar tastes. If something was hard for him to swallow, then Lin Su certainly would not enjoy it either.
The table tonight, however, was genuinely lavish. Grandma somehow even had seafood rare to Yunzhou. In this inland region, its price was practically equal to spirit meat from Transcendent-Realm beasts. Ordinary people could not buy it even if they had money. One needed special connections.
Seeing Lin Bai eat so happily, Grandma’s smile deepened, and she kept placing food into the bowls of the two children. Watching from the side, Wang Qian even felt a faint trace of jealousy.
After the meal, the few of them moved into the courtyard to enjoy the cool evening air. The stars were sparse in the night sky, and the breeze was gentle. Grandma began talking about amusing stories from years past.
As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to remember something. With a flick of her hand, a pouch appeared, which she passed to Lin Bai.
“Your aunt already gave you a meeting gift, so Grandma will just give you a little spending money. There are a hundred spirit stones in here.”
Hearing this, Lin Bai did not refuse. He accepted it openly. After all, he had already taken that precious Weightstone Saber, so acting overly polite now would only have been hypocritical.
Still, Lin Bai once more marveled at the wealth gap in the world of the Extraordinary. Back in Anning County, he had thought his family counted as fairly well-off.
Now it seemed his horizons had simply been too narrow. Grandma casually giving him spending money meant a full hundred spirit stones.
And those hundred spirit stones just happened to solve his immediate problem. They meant Lin Bai would not need to mooch off his sister, and could instead go straight to the black market to buy Phosphor Fireflies.
That night, the three of them stayed over at Grandma’s house. Wang Qian and Lin Su both had their own rooms, and to Lin Bai’s surprise, so did he.
Because Mother Wang Xiu had sent Grandma a letter several days earlier, Grandma had already prepared a room for him long in advance.
Lying on the soft bed, Lin Bai began his usual routine of summarizing and planning.
I’m already in the Transcendent-Mortal now, and I’ve already contracted my Life-bound beast. Next, I just need to wait another half month or so before heading to the Martial Academy to learn auxiliary arts and techniques.
Half a month is more than enough time for me to evolve Mo Ling. In the next few days, I’ll go to the black market and buy the materials.
He then carefully checked over everything once more, making sure that by the time he entered the Martial Academy, all preparations would be complete.
The next morning, the three of them ate breakfast at Grandma’s house before returning to the Benevolent Heart Hall.
But once back in his room, Lin Bai could not sit still.
He had originally planned to slip off to the black market by himself without telling Lin Su, so that she would not worry.
But on second thought, with the closeness between the siblings and Lin Su’s temperament, if she found out afterward, she would definitely be hurt.
In the end, Lin Bai chose confession earns leniency. He waited until Lin Su returned from pill refinement at the Benevolent Heart Hall, intending to discuss it with her then.
So while the siblings were eating dinner that evening, Lin Bai kept sneaking cautious glances at Lin Su, to the point that Lin Su herself grew puzzled and completely confused.
About halfway through the meal, Lin Bai carefully chose his words and spoke.
“Sis, after I contracted Mo Ling, when I was sleeping, I think I sensed heavenly will again. It felt like something vague appeared in my mind.”
This time, he still chose heavenly will as his all-purpose excuse. After all, heavenly will genuinely existed in this world, making it the most suitable reason.
“You sensed heavenly will again?”
Lin Su was astonished. Countless people could spend their entire lives without ever sensing heaven’s heart or heaven’s will, yet her little brother had somehow sensed it twice in such a short time.
Could Lin Bai truly be someone watched by heaven?
Lin Bai silently pulled out a sheet from inside his clothes. It was a list he had drawn up himself based on the materials and ritual he would need next.
Lin Su took it and looked at it, her expression puzzled.
“This looks like some kind of ritual diagram and a list of required materials.”
“That’s right, Sis. The heavenly will I sensed seems to have given me Mo Ling’s evolution ritual.”
She looked at the list, then glanced at Mo Ling, who was eating nearby.
“Do these things really evolve Mo Ling’s bloodline?”
Lin Su recognized many of the materials listed on it. It was not that they were too expensive. It was that they were far too cheap. This was bloodline evolution, something like a fish leaping through the dragon gate.
At that point, Lin Bai seized the opportunity to state his true purpose.
“Sis, all these materials are easy enough to get. The only one I don’t know how to handle is the Phosphor Fireflies. Do you have any ideas?”
Hearing this, Lin Su also frowned. She truly did not have any connections within the Heavenly Craft Hall.
“Then should I go and ask Teacher?”
The moment he heard that, Lin Bai quickly revealed his real aim.
“Wait, Sis. Asking Master Jinhua to help with such a small matter, what would that make her think? I heard there’s a black market in a ward between the southern and western parts of the city. Why don’t I go there and solve it?”
Lin Bai had only learned of the black market after developing this idea. A black market was much like certain websites from his previous life. It looked secretive, but in truth everyone knew about it.
A black market was still a market. And if it was a market, it needed a large flow of people to generate profit. They would even advertise themselves.
So while in this marketplace full of cultivators, Lin Bai had spent a few spirit stones asking around, and the address had come right into his hands.
After hearing him out, Lin Su thought for a moment and felt that this was not a bad method. It would neither trouble Teacher nor leave the matter unresolved.
Still, she somehow felt that something was off. Suddenly, Lin Su looked at Lin Bai with a half-smile.
“Little Brother, you wouldn’t have already planned to go to the black market and then deliberately led me step by step, would you?”
“You even managed to find out the address already. Looks like you made preparations long ago.”
At those words, cold sweat broke out down Lin Bai’s back. He had known he would not be able to fool Lin Su.
He had never expected that one tiny slip in his wording would expose his original intentions so completely.
But how could he possibly admit something like that?
Lin Bai immediately changed his expression and put on the look of someone grievously wronged.
“Sis, how could you think that of me? I only found out the address because I was bored in the Benevolent Heart Hall these past few days and happened to hear about it while chatting with people.”
Seeing Lin Bai act like that, Lin Su became even more certain that he had planned this from the start.
Lin Su let out a soft huff and said,
“But at least you still have a bit of conscience. You didn’t sneak off without saying anything first. If I had found out that you had, you wouldn’t be getting away with it this easily.”
“Since you’ve already made up your mind, then go ahead.”
“Ah! Sis, you’re agreeing to my plan?”
Lin Bai had already braced himself to get scolded thoroughly by Lin Su. He had never expected her to let the matter pass so lightly and even agree to let him go to the black market.
His mood changed instantly, and he asked eagerly,
“Sis, when are we going?”
“This time, I’m not going. You’re going by yourself. You’re already a Transcendent-Realm martial artist now. I can’t keep treating you like a child. I should also give you a little space of your own.”
“And Teacher said that starting tomorrow, she wants me to stay with her and assist in refining a batch of pills. It’ll probably take three to five days. I really don’t have time to go with you.”
“Really? Sis, don’t worry. I guarantee I’ll complete this mission perfectly.”
Lin Bai was overjoyed and immediately promised.
Seeing how delighted her little brother looked, Lin Su said flatly,
“So it seems Xiao Bai has long since found this sister of his meddlesome.”
“Sis, how could that be? I absolutely don’t mean that!”
Lin Bai immediately moved closer, and sweet words poured out of him like a flood.
“Sis is my strategist. If I ever achieve anything in the future, it’ll all be thanks to your guidance. I’ll even write a book about you one day, so the whole world knows I have the best big sister.”
It took quite a bit of coaxing before Lin Bai finally soothed Lin Su’s tiny flare of temper.
In truth, Lin Su had chosen not to go for three reasons.
First, she had noticed that Lin Bai’s desire to stand on his own was growing stronger and stronger, like that of an adolescent boy trying to prove himself. Seeing that, Lin Su had adjusted her own attitude as well and decided to place more trust in him.
That was why Lin Bai had been so happy just now. It was not merely because he could go to the black market, but because, as his elder sister, she had recognized that he was capable of handling this matter properly.
Second, she really did not have time. As the disciple of a master alchemist, assisting in pill refinement was a common occurrence.
Third, if Lin Su went to a place like that, she would only end up dragging him down. Lin Bai had a top-grade talent, and he had chosen the martial path, a route with terrifying killing power. Even though Lin Bai had not actually fought since advancing, Lin Su did not doubt his combat strength in the slightest.
Lin Su even felt that right now, not even three of her could beat a single Lin Bai.
Those three points together were what made Lin Su decide to let Lin Bai go alone.
As for why Lin Su had shown a little temper just now—
Well, understanding was understanding, and emotions were emotions.
Besides, she had also harbored a tiny thought of probing him, to see whether Lin Bai truly found her too controlling.
Very soon, however, the siblings returned to normal and continued eating.
Only now, Lin Bai was no longer restless. Instead, he ate in big mouthfuls, occasionally picking a bit of food from his own dishes to share with little Mo Ling.
Strangely enough, the food at the Benevolent Heart Hall had suddenly become delicious again.
Watching her younger brother sit there grinning foolishly, Lin Su felt that her little test earlier had been entirely unnecessary.