Beginning with the Ubume Bird Chapter 115

Chapter 115: Chapter 14 Yin Market

Langfang Main Street Alley.

Li Yan weighed the two small pieces of Gold and one large piece of Gold in his hand, walking into the alley.

The currency in Yin Market was the flesh of the living, but the emphasis wasn't actually on the flesh, but on the “living” aspect.

So far, the only thing Li Yan had seen moving freely at midnight was Yan Fu. Without assurances of capture, the requirement for the flesh of the living undoubtedly meant allowing Yan Fu to cut from his own flesh.

Heh, when you think about it, the Fur Class really had the advantage, if they were cruel enough.

“Yo, a rare guest~”

A new and an old red lantern hung there, the house beyond bustling with activity.

It seemed like these people still recognized Li Yan as he stepped in. Most of them glanced at him and then paid him no further heed.

Before Li Yan had a chance to look around, he felt someone lightly tug on his coat.

“Sir, would you like to listen to some music?”

Li Yan looked down to see a young girl pulling on his coat, her apricot-yellow skirt swishing, her face pointed with pale cheeks, and her eyes were pitch black without a hint of white.

Li Yan smoothly slid out of his coat.

“No need, thank you.”

The girl hung her head, her little feet shuffling, looking somewhat pitiable.

“What is it, sir? Wanting something? I know this place well.”

The voice was familiar; it was Hat Zhang, who sold cigarettes.

This time Hat Zhang wore a round top straw hat with straw sticking out at the edges as he whistled towards Li Yan.

Hat Zhang sold cigarettes, and the tobacco in the boxes could enhance various qualities of a pedestrian, very practical. But that wasn't what Li Yan urgently needed now.

Li Yan pulled out the only remaining Dugong Dew Talisman and shook it in front of Hat Zhang.

After using two Dugong Dew Talismans, the wounds of Li Yan, whose three souls had been slashed, had recovered. If there had to be a side effect, it was that Li Yan's sense of pain had dulled a lot; whether it was good or bad, Li Yan couldn't say.

“I want something similar to this, got any?”

Hat Zhang blinked, smiling cheerfully.

“Got~”

He turned around. Li Yan followed behind him.

Through two wooden doors and entering and exiting who knows how many times, winding round and round, Hat Zhang led Li Yan to the back of a few bamboo sticks.

An old man with a straw hat was sitting there, with two red bricks underneath his buttocks, puffing on a smoking pipe, not even giving a proper glance at Li Yan or Hat Zhang.

Hat Zhang poked the old man's muddy leg with the tip of his shoe.

“Wang Toad, you've got business.”

The old man glanced over with eyes as parched as old tree bark and shifted slightly on his seat.

“I don't take human flesh here, only living eyeballs.”

“Cut the crap, bring out the goods.”

Hat Zhang urged impatiently.

The old man took off his hat and placed it in front of Li Yan.

“Take a look.”

Li Yan peered into the hat.

Half a hatful of green jujubes.

[Yuanmou Jujube]

Bone marrow filling, flesh regrowth, stop bleeding, limb reattachment (requires simple fixation, wound surface not larger than twenty square centimeters)

One eyeball/ten pieces.

The old man handed a soup spoon to Li Yan.

“Left eye or right eye?”

Li Yan didn't speak, he just spread open his palm, which held a small piece of Gold.

The old man was startled, glanced in Hat Zhang's direction, Hat Zhang rolled his eyes, not speaking.

“Twenty pieces.”

“Thirty pieces.”

The old man shook his head, “No more than twenty-five.”

“Fine.”

Li Yan just swung his sword randomly, not lingering on the matter.

The old man didn't have a plastic bag on hand either, so he grabbed a handful and put it in Li Yan's palm. After taking the Gold, he picked out two smaller green jujubes and threw them to Hat Zhang, then ignored the two of them.

After putting the twenty-five Yuanmou Jujubes into the Seal Space, Li Yan let out a sigh of relief.

“How about it, just take a casual look around?”

Hat Zhang swallowed the two green jujubes and said to Li Yan with a satisfied face.

Li Yan flipped the last piece of Gold onto the back of his hand, his gaze flickering, “Brother, the Market Execution Ground, are you familiar with it?”

Hat Zhang's eyes fell on the Gold, lips curling upward, but his pupils contracted upon hearing Li Yan's question.

Southeast Canyon of Jie Tai Temple, Moyai Mountain.

The mountain was a rusty red color, with twenty-two carved Buddha statues within, their robes flowing smoothly, and their expressions solemn.

The girl held a Dragon-patterned Large Saber in one hand and a black snake about a meter long in the other, not very tall, but her eyes brimmed with spirit.

Across from her in the rock niche, the man stood over two meters tall, with a bald head, a scar across his face, bushy eyebrows, wide mouth, and an intense killing aura.

He had only three fingers on his right hand, the wound still fresh.

The two stared at each other for a long time until the girl stepped up to the man with the scar, looking up at him as he towered three or four heads above her. She grabbed his large palm, the size of a meditation cushion, and said discontentedly,

“How did you end up like this…”

The man embarrassingly withdrew his right hand and said in a deep voice, “I ran into a tough opponent, who chopped off two of my fingers in a single encounter.”

The girl wasn't very tall, and she blew a strand of hair from her forehead, speaking in a forceful tone, “Which son of a bitch dared to chop my brother?”

The man with the scar tugged at the corner of his mouth and after hesitating for a while said, “I don't know if it's good or bad luck, but my appointed adversary is you. If that's the case, won't we have to spend a whole night unnecessarily on Moyai Mountain?”

“Not necessarily…”

The girl casually wiped her hand, storing the Dragon-patterned Large Saber into the Seal Space, standing with hands on hips looking out at the iron-red Buddha statues scattered across Moyai Mountain.

“Besides the suppressing objects, there are quite a few good things in this Sijiu City.”

“If you're asking me how to deal with the several 'aunties' within the execution ground, please forgive me for keeping mum.”

Li Yan remained silent, knowing Hat Zhang had more to say.

“However, these people usually love the pickles from Liubi House the most. If you want to inquire about something, you might want to check it out.”

“What does 'auntie' mean?”

Li Yan probed obliquely.

“It's slang for the underworld. The chief executioner is called 'grandma,' and her two assistants are the 'big aunt' and the 'second aunt.'

“Grandma… auntie…”

Though Li Yan kept a poker face, inwardly he seethed, the memory of those three slashes from the soap-robed figure etched fiercely in his heart.

Li Yan was swift and decisive, and since he still had to look for Liang Ye's portable battery, he didn't dally. Just as he was about to leave, Hat Zhang called out to Li Yan.

“Is there something else?”

Hat Zhang made a bowing gesture.

“Brother, same old rule, Yin Market has its own rules. Buy half a jin, sell eight liang. No one lags behind. The word of Liubi House isn't worth much, I'm holding the Yin Gold as a pledge, but I do have half a liang of human flesh to spare. Business doesn't run on favors. Please understand.”

Li Yan exhaled loudly through his nose and didn't fuss any further. He was just about to reach for the Ring Dragon Sword when Hat Zhang suddenly gasped for air.

“However, brother, I have a fantastic treasure that's well-renowned. If you take a look inside the back room and the deal goes through, I'll consider this invitation a bonus.”

Li Yan noticed Hat Zhang's glance and after thinking for a moment, in the blink of an eye, he flicked his sleeve and with a swift motion of his sword, a long strip of flesh hung from the tip of the blade.

Li Yan remained unfazed, and with a flick of his finger towards the blade, Hat Zhang subconsciously caught it.

“I'm in a hurry, some other time.”

After speaking, Li Yan turned to leave, while Hat Zhang looked on with a tumultuous expression as Li Yan walked away.

To say the inhabitants of the Yin Market had wicked intentions wouldn't be quite right; Hat Zhang was likely just eying the six coins hung around Li Yan's neck, but Li Yan had no intention of selling it. Hence, regardless of what treasure Hat Zhang mentioned, Li Yan had no interest in inquiring further.

“Oh, right, brother.”

Li Yan turned as if he had just remembered something and took out a large piece of Gold.

“I'll have lots of coming and going tonight, if you could keep an eye out for me, and if there's any news, follow the rules.”

Hat Zhang took off his straw hat.

“Consider it done.”

Chapter end