Chapter 41

"Erya, I'm heading out for a bit and might be back late. You go ahead and sleep, okay?" Chen Ping'an said to Chen Erya as he prepared to leave for the black market.

"Brother, are you going out?" Chen Erya frowned slightly. Counting the days, it wasn't yet time for Chen Ping'an's usual night patrol. If he was going out tonight...

"Yes, I need to take care of something at the black market," Chen Ping'an nodded. He didn't want to worry Chen Erya too much, so he kept his explanation brief.

Chen Ping'an walked straight to the kitchen and effortlessly lifted the water jar with one hand.

"Brother, this..." The little girl's mouth fell open in shock. In just a few days, her brother's strength had increased again.

"Don't worry," Chen Ping'an smiled. He set the water jar down, the water inside sloshing gently.

"Mm, I'm not worried. Brother is amazing," the little girl said, her eyes narrowing into a smile.

After grabbing some silver and securing a chopping knife at his waist, Chen Ping'an bid farewell to Chen Erya and left the courtyard.

Now at the peak of the second level of Qi and Blood, his stamina and speed had improved significantly. It didn't take him long to reach the vicinity of the black market.

He put on a pre-prepared black hood and made his way toward the black market. The previous cloth mask he used for concealment was clearly inferior to the hood, which was more secure and covered more of his face.

At the entrance of the black market stood the same burly man as before.

"Two small coins to enter. No fighting inside, or you'll face the consequences!"

After paying the fee, Chen Ping'an smoothly entered the black market.

The market was bustling as usual. He glanced around and headed toward a locust tree not far away.

Under the tree stood a tall but not particularly strong man. His face was covered with a cloth, and he wore a headscarf. When he saw Chen Ping'an approaching, his eyes lit up.

"You're here!"

"I'm here," Chen Ping'an replied, deliberately making his voice sound hoarse. "Do you have the goods?"

"I've brought them," the lanky man said, carefully pulling out a black cloth-wrapped object from his chest. "I'm telling you, this wasn't easy to get! Do you have the money?"

Chen Ping'an showed the silver he had brought.

The lanky man reached out to take it, but Chen Ping'an quickly pulled his hand back.

"I need to inspect the goods first!"

"Fine!" the lanky man agreed and began unwrapping the black cloth, revealing a book inside. He opened the book, and the title was displayed before Chen Ping'an's eyes.

"Locust Throwing Technique!"

The lanky man flipped open the cover, revealing the first page.

Chen Ping'an focused intently, carefully examining the contents.

"Next page."

At his request, the lanky man turned to the second page. Chen Ping'an continued to scrutinize it.

This went on until the third page. When Chen Ping'an tried to see more, the lanky man abruptly closed the book.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. You've seen three pages. You can tell it's genuine, right? Five taels of silver, hand it over!"

"I've only seen three pages. How do I know the rest isn't just filler? If the rest is blank, I'd be at a huge loss," Chen Ping'an shook his head.

"What? You want to read the whole thing?" The lanky man tucked the book back into his chest, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness. "No one does business like that! I've brought the goods. If you like it, pay up!"

"At least let me flip through the rest of the pages to see if they're filled," Chen Ping'an said, knowing his initial demand wouldn't be accepted. He decided to compromise.

"Fine," the lanky man nodded, quickly flipping through the book in front of Chen Ping'an. However, he turned the pages too fast for Chen Ping'an to see the contents clearly.

"Alright," Chen Ping'an sighed inwardly, giving up on the idea of getting the information for free. With his golden finger panel, he could record the entire technique just by reading it once. This way, he could save the five taels of silver needed to buy the manual.

But the lanky man hadn't given him the chance.

"Alright, I'll give you the money, and you give me the book. But after the transaction, you can't leave. You have to stay by my side while I finish reading the contents," Chen Ping'an said.

"Read the contents?" The lanky man looked at Chen Ping'an, puzzled.

"Yes," Chen Ping'an nodded.

"Fine, but let me make this clear: this technique is different from other goods. Once the transaction is done, there's no backing out!" The lanky man eyed Chen Ping'an warily.

"As long as your goods are genuine, there won't be any issues," Chen Ping'an agreed.

With that, the two completed the transaction, exchanging money for the book.

After receiving the book, Chen Ping'an began flipping through it right there on the spot.

The book wasn't particularly thick, and Chen Ping'an read quickly, scanning three lines at a time. In less than half an hour, he had finished reading the entire manual.

Name: Chen Ping'an 

Realm: Peak of the second level of Qi and Blood 

Martial Arts: Iron Shirt (Mastered), Locust Throwing Technique (Not yet started, 0/5)

"It's genuine!" Seeing that the golden finger panel had successfully recorded the Locust Throwing Technique, Chen Ping'an felt relieved.

Fortunately, the lanky man hadn't tried to cheat him. Otherwise, even if he had discovered the fraud, getting his money back would have been a hassle, likely involving a lot of arguing.

"Alright, you can go," Chen Ping'an said, tucking the book away and nodding to the lanky man.

"Pleasure doing business! If you need any other techniques in the future, come find me!" The lanky man said before quickly walking away.

With the transaction complete, Chen Ping'an had no reason to stay in the black market. Little Erya was still waiting for him at home.

At the black market entrance, the burly man stood as expressionless as ever.

"Once you leave the black market, your safety is your own responsibility. You bear the risks."

As Chen Ping'an exited, he deliberately passed close to the burly man. This time, he could faintly sense the man's martial realm.

The man had been at the second level of Qi and Blood for a long time but hadn't yet reached its peak.

Having a second-level Qi and Blood martial artist guarding the entrance every night showed that the black market's backing had some influence.

No sooner had Chen Ping'an stepped out of the black market than a man wearing a bamboo hat followed behind him.

"Martial novice, first level of Qi and Blood!"

The burly man at the entrance sensed the bamboo-hatted man's Qi and Blood aura.

The bamboo-hatted man left the black market and immediately headed in the same direction as Chen Ping'an.

The burly man watched all of this but didn't intervene. He had seen similar scenes too many times. In his perception, the man ahead was just an ordinary person. Now that the bamboo-hatted man had set his sights on him, the outcome was likely grim.

Once you leave the black market, you're on your own!

He had given the necessary warning. If people didn't take it seriously, losing their lives was no one's fault but their own.

What the burly man didn't know was that Chen Ping'an, walking ahead, had already noticed the tail following him.

"Think I'm an easy target?"

Chen Ping'an sneered inwardly. Perhaps the five taels of silver he had taken out to buy the manual had made him seem like a fat sheep to others.

But...

In front of him, who had reached the peak of the second level of Qi and Blood, who was the real fat sheep?

"End this quickly!"

Chen Ping'an made up his mind.