Before Red could raise the concern about sentries watching their movements, Lady Ilse led them over to a hidden passage within the manor - a trapdoor that opened into a set of stairs leading deep into the ground.
“This will take us to the market district,” she said, carrying a lamp to light the way. “From there, I have a carriage to take us to the outer city.”
The underground passage resembled a mining tunnel, reinforced by wooden beams and traced by a barren dirt path. It went deeper than even the sewers, and extend for a kilometer before they reached stairs leading them back to the surface.
“Are there many of these passages in the city?” Red asked.
“Not many,” Lady Ilse said. “Only old noble houses who have been in the city for a long time have these kinds of passages, as far as I can tell, and none of them are very long. The sewers extend throughout the underside of the capital, so it’s difficult to build these kinds of passages without others taking notice. Unless, of course, you are powerful enough to keep it hidden.”
Her implication was that there were people in the capital who could do it. Red guessed they were the two Ducal families, the Royal Family, and the Golden Hand.
As they rose through the stairs, they came upon a storage room, where a servant wearing plain brown clothes was waiting for them. He led them outside, where Red realized they were at the edge of the market district, and a nondescript carriage tied to two horses was waiting for them. Everything, from the coach’s clothing to the vehicle’s decor, was disguised to not to give any clues about the identity of their passengers.
The trio entered the carriage and were soon on their way. As they travelled, they could see other people heading in the same direction as them, some of them even wearing disguises of their own. There was also a distinct lack of guard patrols on the streets tonight, which Red guessed was not a coincidence.
As they got closer to the outer city, traffic became an issue. The streets narrowed, and there were so many people some of them had to walk in the middle of the streets as well, slowing down the carriage. Eventually, Lady Ilse was fed up by the wait.
“Just stop here. We’ll go the rest of the way on foot.”
Neither Red nor Pierre complained. They got off the carriage and walked the rest of the way to the slums.
There was no gate or sign telling them they had entered the black market, and only when the first few stores appeared into view did they know they had arrived. The slums streets were narrow, such that only one carriage could cross it at a time, but even that was now impossible as vendors set up stalls on either side of the road and crowds of people browsed through their merchandise. Even above them, on the roofs and sky bridges connecting the tall houses, commerce was active, and plenty of costumers walked up and down the shoddily built stairs looking at whatever services or items were available.
And there was a lot.
Food, clothes, weapons, and other items that weren’t normally available in the common market were now being sold in the open air of the capital streets. These items weren’t uncommon because they were illegal, but rather because they were heavily taxed by the city and could only be acquired by smuggling or other underhanded means. Most of the year, it was impossible to sell these things openly, but now and then the Royal Court would allow these kinds of open-air markets to form to appease powerful organizations like Golden Hand who were suffering losses because of the strict tax policies of the capital.
Of course, this alone didn’t explain why this was called a “black market”.
“Sirs, madam!” A vendor called them over as they passed by his stall. “We’re selling exotic bugs from the Empire itself! You won’t be able to find them anywhere else on the eastern continent!”
This cause Red to pause, but seeing as neither of his companions stopped, he just kept moving as well. Exotic bugs was just a nice way for the vendor to say he was selling poisonous bugs, something that was definitely not allowed to be sold without very strict regulation from the city authorities.
“There are many things like that here,” Lady Ilse said, as she noticed Red’s curiosity. “If you know where to look for them, you can find even more sinister goods and services here. I wouldn’t put it past them to sell slaves here either, if they could.”
“Does the Royal Court know about this?” He asked.
“They do. They just turn a blind eye to it.”
They came to a stop at a large intersection, where even larger stalls and crowds gathered. Red could even recognize fluctuations of vendors he came across in the market district in here.
“There are still a few hours before the auction begins,” Lady Ilse said, looking at her companions. “What do you want to do?”
“I have no interest in buying anything here,” Pierre said. “I will wait.”
She nodded and looked at Red. “What about you?”
“I’d like to look around.”
Although he had nothing to buy in mind, he thought it would be a waste if he didn’t at least look around for something that could interest him.
“Then we meet here again in two hours,” Lady Ilse said. “I doubt anyone will target us here, but I suggest not wandering into dark corners or isolated places if you can help it. If you do encounter any problems, inform me through the talisman. I will also be looking around.”
Red nodded, and the group split up.
He wandered the streets, examining the crowd and stalls. Plenty of people also wore masks, afraid of being recognized, but others displayed their faces without fear. As for the merchandise, there were a lot of things that made him curious.
Some people were selling weapons Red had never seen before, not even in his Amber Sect manual. One of them looked like a one-handed scythe connected by a chain to a heavy iron weight, and another one was a thin sword whose point curved into a hook. This was not all, as even fruits and clothes that he had never even read of in books were available, carried from the other side of the world to be sold at this overcrowded market.
Yet, despite all that, there was not much that could interest a Lesser Ring Realm cultivator here. Red didn’t think this was because there weren’t such items here, but more because vendors didn’t dare display such valuable merchandise in their tents. This was justified, as he came across multiple fights while browsing, and accusations of theft were thrown around every few steps he took. Of course, the other side of the matter was because the cultivation items they had in store were probably illegal or heavily restricted by the authorities, such that they couldn’t just display them in public, even in this place.
Red eventually came across criers and signs indicating they were selling items for Lesser Ring Realm cultivators. They instructed those interested in approaching certain people so they could be led to where these items were sold, or to find a specific building where these vendors set up shop. Some of these advertised items did interest Red, but he remembered Lady Ilse’s advice, and he also knew that a lot of them could just be scams.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
In the end, he couldn’t forget why he was here in the first place, and he needed to be extremely careful not to leave any clues behind that could tie his presence back to this place. So, Red didn’t enter any stores or accept the guidance of anyone, sticking to browsing from outside.
Eventually, though, he came across a sign that cause him to pause.
‘Ancient Tomes and Manuscripts.’
Such a provocative name gave rise to Red’s curiosity. Of all the stores in this place, this was the only one selling books, and in some ways, that was probably the most dangerous thing to sell as well. From outside, he could sense a single person inside the store who didn’t seem to be a cultivator, which arose his suspicion even more.
“Do you sense anything?” He asked Aurelia through his expanded awareness.
“Nothing,” she said. “I wouldn’t bother, anyway. If it’s being sold here, it’s probably just a bunch of tales or fake manuals. It’s not uncommon in the cultivation world.”
Red knew she was probably right. Still, the store wasn’t out of the way, and he didn’t see the harm in at least checking, and walked into the building.
It was a rather small store. The ceiling was very low, barely reaching over two meters, and the entire place had a rustic feeling to it, built off of a mix of wood and stone that reminded him of the buildings back in Bestrem. Inside, there were four tables on top of which books and scrolls were stacked, and off to the side, there was a wooden counter behind which the presumed owner of the store sat.
When Red saw him, he was taken aback. He had seen large people before, but this man was the biggest person he ever met. Even sitting down, the owner was taller than Red, and standing up, he might easily reach two meters and a half, yet even this wasn’t the most impressive thing about him.
He was a mountain of muscles. His arms and chest bulged underneath a set of grey monk robes that barely seemed capable of fitting over him, and his bronze-toned skin reflected the light like a precious metal. The man was entirely bald too, and he looked over at Red with a warm smile.
Suddenly, Aurelia’s alarmed voice reached Red’s ears.
“Shit, it’s one of those monks! You need to r-”
“Welcome to my humble store, little brother.”
The man bowed from his sitting position, his deep voice reverberating through the store. Red felt his entire body shake, and it took him a second to regain his composure, though the shook of the scene still hadn’t worn off.
The first thing he did was check his crimson sense again, but he confirmed he didn’t make a mistake. The man in front of him seemed like a normal individual, his life force as strong as the average individual in all aspects. However, what his fluctuation told him and what his eyes saw were two different things.
The giant continued, seemingly unaware of Red’s consternation.
“My name is Bo. I have gathered many books and recordings over the years about many topics as I travelled the world, and I have decided to share that knowledge with others,” the monk pointed at the books. “Many of these are tales and folklore from different regions of the world, and although I can’t verify their veracity, I can assure you that many of these stories hold hidden truths to them and can help expand anyone’s horizon! So please, tell me how I can help you, or if you prefer, browse the items at your leisure. They’re just a gold coin each.”
With this brief introduction done, the man leaned back and crossed his arms, looking at Red with the same warm smile.
“… I will take a look, then.”
He walked over to the books and started to browse through them. Of course, although he did that, his mind was completely focused on something else.
“Listen to me, Red,” Aurelia continued to warn him. “This man is a monk from the Desert Blossom Sect. They’re all mild-mannered most of the time, but if there’s one thing they do not tolerate is undead! If he notices the moonstone energy in you, he’ll kill you without question!”
Red didn’t respond, afraid to give off any signs of nervousness, scrambling his mind for information about this Desert Blossom Sect.
This was a sect in the southern part of the continent, in the middle of an enormous desert. In the past, most other factions ignored that region because of its hostile weather and lack of cultivation resources, yet the founder of the Desert Blossom Sect settled down right there despite all these disadvantages. This wasn’t because they were naïve or forced into it, but rather because they were a sect focused on bodily cultivation! Resources that were useless for normal cultivators were instead invaluable to them, and as such, they thrived where others would have died off. This wasn’t to say they didn’t cultivate normally as well, but they saw that as a secondary pursuit compared to the improvement of their physical body.
Compared to other sects, the Desert Blossom Sect was rather isolated and had almost no involvement in the conflicts against the Empire - not to mention they were the youngest of all sects. But alongside the Cursebreakers, the undead hunting organization, their sect had a vendetta against all forms of undeath. They claimed to protect the sanctity of life and were trying to make sure no figure like the Queen of the Dead rose up ever again.
Suffice it to say, Aurelia was just about at the top of their list of natural enemies. As for how she knew he was a member of that sect? Red guessed it was due to his clothing and his almost three meter tall figure.
He browsed through the books, thinking of how to leave this place without arousing suspicion, until a title suddenly caught his attention.
‘Great Oak’s Trip to the Moon’
Red’s hand froze as he held the book, staring at it in a daze. A second later, though, he recovered his composure and opened the book. It was more of a booklet, though, with only four pages of content inside, which he browsed casually as he had done with the other books.
A brief description on the first page told him this was a report about the Great Oak’s trip to the moon. Before he could continue reading, though, he heard the monk chuckle.
“That one caught you eye, huh?”
Red felt his blood run cold. He thought he had managed to hide his surprise at the book’s title, but the man had clearly noticed it.
“It’s no surprise, though,” the monk said with a proud smile. “It’s a tale from the founder of the Desert Blossom Sect, the greatest sect in the world… or so people say.”
“…Can I read it? I’ll buy it.”
The book was so short one could read it in a few minutes, but Red knew it was rude to do that without buying it first.
The man nodded. “Ah, feel free to read it, little brother… I’ll tell you what, you can just take it for free. I can’t bear to put a price on knowledge in front of a curious soul!”
Red frowned beneath his mask but returned his attention to the booklet. Patriarch Great Oak was a name he recognize, both because he was the founder of the Desert Blossom Sect, but also because he was one of four people ever recorded to have been born with their Spiritual Sea open - the highest mark of cultivation talent.
Those four people were the Great Oak, the Diamond Sage, founder of the Crystal Sky Sect, the Queen of the Dead, and the Silver Knight.
The author of the book noted how it was their belief that the moon was a desolate land, devoid of life and Spiritual Energy, but the celestial body was so far that not even the most powerful cultivator ever managed to reach it. This wasn’t because no one was capable of it, but because between our world and the moon was a vast expanse of nothingness, and the Spiritual Energy within human bodies had the tendency to disperse within this void. Any cultivator within this empty space would have their cultivation crumble away and their energy would leave their bodies without them being able to stop it.
The only result of this would be their death, no matter how powerful they were.
But Patriarch Great Oak was different. He reached the peak of bodily cultivation and could forcefully keep his cultivation from dispersing, allowing him to make a trip to the moon that no one else could. As for why he did it?
He didn’t believe the moon was truly dead!
Much of his life was spent fighting the undead, and as such, he was keenly aware of the impact a full moon had on their power. Many other experts explained this as a mutation of the sun’s Spiritual Energy reflected to our world, yet this didn’t explain why this transformation happened and why the undead benefited from it. To verify this matter, once Patriarch Great Oak was nearing the end of his life in this world, he made a trip to the moon despite all the risks.
The booklet reported it took him ten years to get back, and whatever he saw seemed to have affected him deeply. As for what he saw, he only said two things: the moon is not dead and its spirit benefits all living beings. This confused a lot of his disciples and fellow cultivators, but they never got the clarity they hoped from him, and before long, the man departed from this world.
The author of the book then said that many people speculated about what he meant with those two sentences, some saying that perhaps the moon was a shield against the undead, since despite strengthening them during a full moon, it could also weaken them in a new moon. However, without the means to substantiate any of their theories, the matter was quickly forgotten in history and only recorded in some forgotten annals.
Once Red got to the final line, he took a deep breath - his eyes glowing for the first time in a decade.
Someone else knew about the being in the moon - it was the first lead he ever got!