Chapter 52: Token
Ying Tong remembered that in her dream, there was indeed a person named Ying Nanjiao who appeared, claiming to be righteous and wanting to kill Ying Xuejian to avenge her family.
At that time, Ying Xuejian was a thorough and ruthless killer, and Ying Tong did not pay much attention to it.
Moreover, the Ying Nanjiao in her memory was vastly different from the current Ying Nanjiao, which explained why she hadn’t recognized her earlier.
In the dream, Ying Nanjiao was the only one who could interact with Ying Xuejian in any way, at least on the surface.
But in fact, from a third-party perspective, Ying Tong saw this interaction more like Ying Xuejian playing a game of cat and mouse.
After leaving the ready-made clothing store, Ying Tong went to the book-selling place.
“If you want to learn about the history of the Longteng Continent, I recommend this book,” the shop assistant said, presenting a book titled Longteng Complete Record in front of Ying Tong.
“Then I’ll take this one.”
After purchasing the book, Ying Tong took Ying Xuejian back to the small courtyard.
At this time, in the small courtyard, Ying Xuechen and Ying Shao’an had already absorbed the effects of the Dragon Blood Cleansing Pill and had woken up. They were surrounding Ye Ying, chattering excitedly about something.
“What are you two talking about?”
When they saw Ying Tong return, the two excitedly approached her. “Venerable Yunhuang, Lord Ye Ying has obtained a token that will allow us to enter the black market. It’s happening tonight. Shall we go and see?”
Ying Shao’an said excitedly, “I heard that in the black market, as long as you have money, you can buy anything. I don’t know if it’s true or not.”
Ying Tong recalled her previous experiences in the black market and gave an affirmative answer. “It’s true, but the people there are usually unreliable. If your strength isn’t enough, getting killed and robbed is quite common.”
Upon hearing this, Ying Xuechen, who already knew the truth, showed no reaction, while Ying Shao’an looked shocked.
“Shao’an, what the Venerable means is the dark web in the black market. Ordinary people can’t access it, so you don’t need to worry. Also, this is the Longteng Continent, not the Cangqiong Realm. The black market in the lower world shouldn’t have the dark web system,” Ying Xuechen explained.
After all, the dark web was actually controlled by the Ying family. To elaborate, the black market in the Cangqiong Realm had long been under Lord Ye Ying’s control.
Because Venerable Yunhuang, the respected figure, was about to ascend, Lord Ye Ying had gradually allowed the Ying family to interact with and control the black market and the dark web’s power.
However, Venerable Yunhuang suddenly delayed the ascension, and the power handover process had slowed down as a result.
…
That evening, the three of them, led by Ying Xuechen, were ready early.
Ying Tong stepped out from the room, and beside her was a little girl about twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a light yellow robe, bouncing along behind her.
“Junior greets Lord Liu Guang,” Ying Xuechen said, leading the salute.
The other two followed suit, bowing as well. “We greet Lord Liu Guang.”
The little girl, Liu Guang, nodded at them. Her jade-like, cute appearance made her seem like a celestial child just descending from the heavens.
Seeing this, Ying Tong couldn’t hold back and said, “Change back!”
“No, I want to stay like this!” Liu Guang replied with a defiant expression, clearly challenging her.
Ying Tong snorted coldly but didn’t press the issue of having Liu Guang change back.
The black market was a place of chaos, and the only reason Liu Guang had been called out this time was for the sake of watching over the children.
“Ye Ying watch one, you watch two,” Ying Tong said.
Liu Guang immediately retorted, “Why should I watch two? What are you doing?”
“Of course, I have more important things to do,” Ying Tong said, her face calm and unflustered.
Upon hearing this, Liu Guang snorted, “What important thing do you have to do? Just admit that you’re too lazy to watch the kids.”
Ying Tong pressed her finger to her lips and whispered, “Shh, sometimes it’s better not to speak too openly.”
Liu Guang: …
Ying Tong then took several black cloaks from her storage artifact and handed them to Ying Xuechen and the others. “Don’t take off the cloaks. Remember to stick close to us once we’re inside,” she instructed.
The three of them nodded.
She then took out three more cloaks for herself, Ye Ying, and Liu Guang.
The black market in the Longteng Continent was mobile, and this time, it had arrived in Shifang City.
Following the direction of the token, the group found a narrow and quiet alleyway, where they stopped in front of a shabby shop that had no name. It looked dilapidated, and in truth, it was extremely rundown.
“We’re here. This should be it,” Ying Tong said.
“This is the entrance?” Ying Xuechen stared at the old shop in front of him, puzzled. “This place is way too shabby.”
Although the black market itself was hidden from the public eye, trying to keep a low profile, this was taking things too far.
He even used his divine sense to scan the shop’s interior but found nothing particularly special. It seemed like an ordinary, even somewhat broken-down store.
Wait.
Ying Xuechen soon realized something was wrong.
The store’s interior appeared normal, but there was a subtle fluctuation of a formation that was barely noticeable.
Just as Ying Xuechen was about to investigate further, he suddenly felt a strong gust of wind rushing toward him. In an instant, cold sweat broke out on his back.
With just a glance, Ying Tong deflected the attack with ease.
The next moment, the elderly man in charge of guarding the door suddenly opened his eyes wide, and a mouthful of blood spurted out.
“The children at home don’t understand; just educate them. To act so harshly and endanger someone’s life like this is too ruthless and unreasonable.”
The elderly man spit out the blood in his mouth. He lifted his head and glanced at Ying Tong and the others before pausing for a moment and continuing, “This will be the last time. You may go in now.”
Ying Tong smiled and nodded, then stepped forward into the shop.
On the way, Ying Xuechen, filled with apology, said, “Sorry, Aunt. I was careless just now.”
“You were indeed careless, but it wasn’t your fault. Just be more careful next time,” Ying Tong replied lightly.
The incident was brushed off as if it were nothing major.
In reality, it wasn’t a big deal at all.
Ying Xuechen was the young master of the Ying family. He wasn’t carrying any guards because he was with Ying Tong. If it had been anyone else, the old man wouldn’t have been so lenient.
After entering the small shop, they found that there was another person inside—a burly man. He stood in front of a teleportation array, which already had several people inside.
When the group appeared, the burly man cast a wary glance at Ying Tong, clearly aware of what had just transpired outside.
“The others have arrived. Don’t move around in the array; the consequences will be yours to bear if you do. The black market has its own rules, and I hope you don’t think you can break them just because of your high cultivation. The forces behind the black market are not something you can afford to provoke,” he warned.
“Is he talking about us?” Liu Guang whispered.
“No, he’s talking about me,” Ying Tong replied with a smirk.
With a sudden twist, Ying Tong and the others found themselves in another space.
“I didn’t expect the black market here to be located in a separate dimension,” Ying Xuechen exclaimed in surprise.
“That’s because it makes it easier to escape at any time,” Ying Tong casually explained with a smile.
