Chapter 3: Hidden Danger |
A sleepless night.
The next morning, Chen Lin got up early to prepare to go to the market to buy materials, but before he could leave, someone knocked on the door.
"Friend Chen, it's me, Zhao Zhengyuan."
What did the other person want to do?
Chen Lin was a bit puzzled, but he still went to open the door.
"Friend Zhao, what's the matter so early?"
As he opened the door, Chen Lin invited the other person in.
"Ah, don't mention it, I drank too much last night and forgot about the important thing."
Zhao Zhengyuan shook off the snow on his hat and said in a serious tone, "It's about what happened to us last time."
Chen Lin also coldly smiled back, then lowered his head and didn't speak.
The matter that had been weighing on his mind surfaced.
The original host's death wasn't a normal death.
A month ago, the original host and a few companions went to the wilderness to collect materials, and when they returned, they became disoriented and then mysteriously died, allowing him to transmigrate and take over.
Of course, to outsiders, it seemed like he was just sick for a few days and then recovered.
But the companions who went with him all died one by one, leaving only Zhao Zhengyuan.
So, in reality, only the other person had survived, which was why he was wary of him.
As for the cold smiles and red threads, he had long ignored them, as everyone in the city was the same, and there was no way to defend against it.
Except for the midnight hour when the red threads appeared, he didn't dare to go out, and at other times, he just lived a normal life.
"What, did you discover something?"
Chen Lin also wanted to know what had happened that time and looked at the other person with a probing gaze.
The cold smile only lasted for a moment, and Zhao Zhengyuan had already returned to normal. After shaking his head he said, "It's not that I discovered something, but someone else has gotten into trouble, with the same symptoms as us!"
"What?"
Chen Lin was shocked.
"What kind of person, what cultivation level?"
Zhao Zhengyuan's face looked difficult, "This time, there are over a dozen people, with the highest being at the Qi Refining late stage, and there are even cultivators from the five families."
Immediately, he coldly smiled again, "The five families are nothing, with me, Old Zhao, you can rest assured!"
"So many people, including five family cultivators?"
Chen Lin's face changed.
The five families referred to the five major families in the city with Foundation Establishment cultivators, who were the actual controllers of the city.
"That's right, and these people also got sick after returning from the wilderness. If they all die, we two might be investigated."
Zhao Zhengyuan's tone was somewhat gloomy.
This was exactly what Chen Lin was worried about.
Their previous companions were all Qi Refining initial stage scattered cultivators, and whether they died or not didn't matter to anyone.
Now, with Qi Refining late stage cultivators and five major families cultivators involved, it would definitely be taken seriously, and an investigation was unavoidable.
He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was afraid that his identity as a transmigrator would be exposed, or that the fact that he was different from the people here would be discovered. That would be the end of him.
Although the cultivators here were like puppets on a string, they still acted normally. Even if he was a little special, he was still just a bottom-stage cultivator.
"What's the worst that can happen if they investigate? Am I supposed to die?"
Chen Lin's heart was pounding, but he put on an indifferent front.
Zhao Zhengyuan sighed, "That's true, but what if some people use this as an excuse to make things difficult for us and demand some spirit stones?"
Chen Lin's face turned gloomy.
This was almost certain to happen.
Usually, those in charge would try to squeeze every last drop out of them. Now, with the pretext of investigating the evil influence, they would undoubtedly try to bleed them dry.
Without spirit stones, he wouldn't be able to quickly improve his cultivation, and his plan to escape would be hindered.
"So, what are you going to do? Are you planning to leave this place?"
Chen Lin glanced at his companion, testing the waters.
If they could gather a group of people to leave together, even with weaker cultivation, there might be a glimmer of hope.
He wanted to leave this bizarre place as soon as possible, not spending a moment longer than necessary.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhengyuan shook his head repeatedly.
"Leave? Are you joking? With this abnormal snowfall, I don’t want to walk out there and die. Besides, we haven't done anything wrong. If we run, it will only make us look guilty, which is a sure way to bring about our demise."
Then, his companion's demeanor changed, and he sneered, "I, Zhao Zhengyuan, would never stoop so low as to become a fugitive!"
Chen Lin nodded helplessly.
His companion couldn't sense the abnormalities of this place, so their thoughts were bound to differ. Their goals were not aligned.
"Sigh, let's just take it one step at a time. What will be, will be. We can't avoid calamity, but we can offer sacrifices to ward off disasters. Our low cultivation and lack of connections are to blame!"
Chen Lin shrugged.
Zhao Zhengyuan wore an expression that showed he deeply agreed.
After further discussion, the two of them couldn't come up with any good solutions. They could only pray that most of the people involved in the incident would survive, ideally without any casualties.
If that happened, it would indicate that the problem wasn't severe enough to attract the attention of the five great families.
After all, their Foundation Establishment stage experts had gone missing, so they probably didn't have the time to bother with minor issues.
After Zhao Zhengyuan left, Chen Lin sat on a stool, frowning in thought.
It was unwise to pin their hopes on others. He had to find a way to quickly improve his cultivation.
In the early stages of Qi training, he was too weak, not even as good as a powerful martial artist, and he had to rely on talismans to cast spells..
Only upon reaching the middle Qi Refining stage could one truly begin to practice spells and wield magical artifacts. That was when one could consider themselves a genuine cultivator.
Chen Lin intended to gain sufficient self-protection abilities and then leave this bizarre city as soon as possible. He had no desire to continue associating with these people who always seemed to be sneering at him.
After some contemplation, he got up and left his room, braving the snow to head directly to the marketplace.
The streets were cold and deserted, with only a few hurriedly moving figures, all of whom wore unwelcoming expressions.
Chen Lin paid them no mind and soon arrived at the marketplace.
He came to the small marketplace in the northern outer city slum area, instead of the inner city.
Due to the abnormal snowfall and the disappearance of the Foundation Establishment stage experts from the five great families, the inner city had been placed under lockdown, making it rather troublesome to enter.
This so-called marketplace was simply a shabby little alley with some shops.
Before the snowfall, there would have been some loose cultivators setting up stalls outside, but now, not a single soul was in sight.
Chen Lin was familiar with the area and soon arrived at a shop. He pushed open the door and entered.
"Well, well, if it isn't Talisman Master Chen. Have you come to sell more Strength-Boosting Talismans?"
A thin middle-aged man with a pockmarked face saw Chen Lin and immediately gave him a mocking smile.
His attitude was less than friendly, and he didn't even bother to get up from his chair.
Chen Lin had come to this shop to sell talismans every once in a while, so he was quite familiar with the shopkeeper.
As for the sneering and cold laughter, Chen Lin had long since stopped paying attention to them, considering them a normal part of this world.
Knowing the shopkeeper's acerbic personality, Chen Lin didn't take it to heart. He returned the sneer and then took out a Fireball Talisman, waving it in front of the man's face. "Zhang Mazi, open your little eyes and take a good look. Didn't you say that I'd never be able to refine a first-grade mid-quality talisman in my entire life?"
"What? You actually succeeded?"
Upon seeing the Fireball Talisman, the man jumped up from his chair in surprise.
He took the talisman with a disbelieving look and carefully examined it before placing it on the counter.
"Impossible! How could someone with your lousy talisman-drawing technique actually refine a Fireball Talisman? It's against the laws of nature!"
Hearing this, Chen Lin pretended to fly into a rage.
"What do you mean by lousy technique? My talisman-making skills have a proper lineage, how dare you call it lousy? Are you going to buy it or not? If not, I'll just go to the Treasure Pavilion next door!"
"I will Buy, I will buy! Don't be angry, Master Chen. I'll give you a better price than the Treasure Pavilion, I assure you."
The shopkeeper forced a smile and repeatedly apologized.
But as soon as he turned around, he gave Chen Lin a mocking smile. "You little loose cultivator, how dare you threaten me? Go ahead, try your luck at the Treasure Pavilion, and I'll shove my foot up your—"
Chen Lin kept reminding himself that these people were not well. Suppressing his anger, he asked, "How many spirit stones are you willing to offer?"
The shopkeeper didn't answer immediately but took the talisman in his hand again and examined it carefully.
After a while, he exclaimed, "Not only have you refined a Fireball Talisman, but its quality is also perfect. Could you be a talisman-making genius?"
Chen Lin knew that the talisman he had refined was perfect, thanks to his golden finger. So, he had some expectations.
If it were an ordinary Fireball Talisman, the purchase price would be transparent—around seven or eight lower-grade spirit stones.
"Stop beating around the bush. How many spirit stones are you offering?" Chen Lin urged again.
The shopkeeper stopped hedging and, after some thought, held up one finger.
"Ten spirit stones?" Chen Lin frowned.
"That's right," the shopkeeper nodded, giving Chen Lin a mocking smile. "Due to the recent situation, the prices of talismans have gone up. We usually buy Fireball Talismans for around eight spirit stones, but considering the quality of your talisman and the fact that you're a regular customer, I can offer you ten."
Chen Lin was somewhat dissatisfied.
Ten spirit stones didn't leave him with much profit.
After all, with his current success rate of one out of ten, he needed to make a decent profit to afford the materials for the pill formula.
"Can you add a little more? I didn't just refine this one, and I'll have more in the future." Chen Lin began to haggle, looking at the shopkeeper's pockmarked face.
He wanted to squeeze out as much as he could; every extra spirit stone counted if he wanted to accumulate enough for the pill formula.
To his surprise, Zhang Mazi, usually sharp-tongued and sarcastic, didn't refuse outright or mock him.
Chen Lin's eyes lit up.
He felt that there was a chance to get a better deal.
