159 Surprise

Hundreds of raucous voices filled the shop, inundating Wang Jun's extraordinary senses with a plethora of information. The torrent of data didn't faze him. He analyzed as he received it, throwing out the insignificant details before storing the rest for future use.

Guards inspected jade permission slips as customers filed into the store in an orderly line. The limit of one weapon per customer, while infuriating, was a necessary precaution in dealing with forgeries. Guards were only so effective in such a heated market, and fake permission slips were found every quarter hour. It was foolish to think that they'd caught them all.

"What's this?" a man said at the front desk. "Not only did I need the permission slip, but I need to swear an oath not to sell it? What kind of scam is this?"

"You don't need to buy it if you aren't interested," a woman said coldly. She'd seen far too many of these customers today; her answer hadn't deviated in the slightest. Ultimately, the man chose to swear the oath and buy a grade-eight sword.

"We're doing so much, but it's only a matter of time before they find a way to make these weapons change hands," Wang Jun muttered. His eyes suddenly darted to an inconspicuous man standing in line. He looked closely as the man's jade slip, which was inspected before he was allowed into the shop.

"Everyone stop," Wang Jun said in a commanding tone.

The customers, the attendants, and the guards all paused what they were doing. The young master of the Wang family walked up to the newly admitted customer. "How daring. You forged a jade slip issued by my Wang family. Did you not think about the consequences of your actions before walking through that door? I don't even need to see the jade slip to verify it."

He took out a thin jade card from within his robes and poured his core-formation qi into it. It resonated with the authentic jade slips in the room—the man's slip was not one of them.

"Zhao Lishou, subordinate of the Tou family," Wang Jun continued. "I can read you like a book. You came in with this forgery at the command of the Tou family, thinking that at worst, you'd be caught and kicked out of the store. Well, I'm afraid it isn't that simple."

"What could you possibly do to me?" the man said, scoffing. "There are laws in this country. You can't hurt a hair on my head."

"Oh, I won't do anything to you," Wang Jun said. "You're just a grunt, and you'll surely be punished when you return to the Tou family. They won't be pleased to hear that from now on, the Tou family and its subordinates will forever be barred from doing business with the Jade Bamboo Conglomerate and its affiliates." The man paled and dropped the jade slip, which shattered on the wooden floor. "Guards, please see this man out. He isn't welcome here."

In the distance, Wang Jun saw a fifth of the people in line scramble off to nearby alleys.

"Killing the chicken to warn the monkey, I see," a man said from behind Wang Jun. To his surprise, it was Hei Ling, his employee with the black-market connection. The man had breached his personal bubble and appeared a single foot away from him. At this range, assassinating him would be a simple matter.

"You really ought to keep your awareness up at all times," Hei Ling said. "Others might not be as friendly as me. If I were an assassin, wouldn't you already be dead?"

"Shouldn't you be out performing your duties?" Wang Jun asked.

The man smiled and took one more step forward. He clasped Wang Jun's hand and passed him a piece of paper.

It's done, the man said mentally. Make sure to show up at this address, alone and with no subordinates. The Black King sets the rules in this city's underground, and he hates it when people break them. Hei Ling then left as though nothing had happened, leaving Wang Jun shivering from the close call.

Elder Bai, didn't I ask for Hei Ling to be tailed? Wang Jun sent.

The one who was dealing with the black market? Elder Bai sent back.

Exactly, Wang Jun replied. I don't appreciate it when a man we should be keeping tabs on catches me unaware and makes physical contact with me.

Are you all right? Elder Bai asked.

I'm fine, Wang Jun said. But I need to go out on an excursion for the next two hours. Don't contact me during that period of time, regardless of what happens.

Aren't you taking Protector Ren? Elder Bai asked.

No need, Wang Jun said. I can take care of this myself.

He walked out from back door and blended into the shadows. The landscape changed to a patchwork of locations in the city, where he could walk at his leisure. Here and there, harmless denizens of the shadows roamed out in the open—only people like him could see their splendor.

In a nearby alley, a resplendent white rat walked out. It was the size of a dog, but it was quickly snatched up by the fleeting figure of a crow half its size. The bright shades merged together into a slightly larger crow. It flapped its wings and plunged into a piece of landscape, disappearing forever. Such a scene wasn't unusual in the world of shadows, where imaginary creatures were birthed every few moments.

Wang Jun glanced at the piece of paper in his palm, where he saw an address and instructions. The paper burned as soon as he read it. He willed himself toward a shade of darkness near the location and popped back to reality. His protective wreath of shadows blended in with the black alley near an inconspicuous door. He knocked three times.

"It is a fine day for a parade. What shall we wear?" a voice asked.

"I don't know about you, but I will wear the garb of a king," Wang Jun answered. He heard a door bolt unlatch, and a formation sizzled as it was deactivated. A man in a black cloak welcomed him inside and led him down a spiraling staircase. Wang Jun noted when they passed the elevation of the sewers and entered uncharted territory he didn't know existed. After a quarter hour of walking and several narrow corridors, they arrived in a simple room containing a desk and a man in a black cloak with a deep cowl. A wreath of shadows covered the mysterious man. He also noticed the shimmer of a dampening device, which would protect them from eavesdropping.

"Second Young Master Wang. How may I be of service today?" the man asked.

"Black King, it's so nice to finally meet you," Wang Jun said. "I have some goods I'd like to sell. The price cap on mortal-grade weapons has left me no alternative but to sell a portion of these goods on the black market. Is this a service you can provide?"

"Naturally," the Black King said. "But the cost isn't low. I'll require a commission equal to fifty percent of the markup between the current market price and the final selling price. You can choose to set the selling price yourself or leave this at my discretion."

"Half of the additional profits seems a bit steep," Wang Jun said. "How about twenty-five percent?"

The Black King chuckled ominously. Even Wang Jun, with his extraordinary mental resilience, couldn't help but shiver.

"There is no negotiating when you sell through me," the Black King said. "By all means, sell them yourself. However, the risks you run may outweigh the rewards. I am aware of your family rules and have plenty of contacts that could inform them."

Wang Jun's eyes narrowed. "That sounds like a threat."

"That's because it is one," the Black King said. "Do you accept or refuse?"

Wang Jun thought for a moment before throwing three bags on the table. "These three bags each contain ten thousand high-grade spirit stones' worth of goods at the current market price. I want you to sell one at two times the list price, and one at 2.25 times the list price. The other bag's pricing is up to your discretion."

"How prudent," the Black King said, sweeping them up. A black page materialized on his desk. "Here is the service contract. I trust you'll find it adequate."

Wang Jun inspected the sheet, which was written in gold. His eyes widened when he realized the severity of the contract. "No wonder you've been able to maintain your secrecy since you started your operations."

"There is nothing better to maintain secrecy than a life-binding oath of nondisclosure," the Black King said. "Should I ever spill any details of our dealings, I will die. The same applies to you. The only way for either of us to avoid this is to transcend. Even then, the backlash will be quite severe."

Wang Jun sent a drop of his blood and signed the page. The Black King did the same.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Wang Jun said.

"The pleasure is all mine," the Black King replied in a mocking tone. "By the way, as your newest business partner, I'm very interested in your well-being. Therefore, I'll give you a word of caution and advise you to be careful on your way home. Things are not what they seem, and your intelligence may be your downfall."

The Black King's figure shimmered and disappeared, leaving Wang Jun alone in the dark cellar.

***

I'm on my way back, Wang Jun sent to Elder Bai as he exited the meeting place.

Hearing no response, he tried again, but to no avail. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he sensed life-threatening danger. His figure distorted instinctively as he barely dodged three long needles. He barely noticed five talismans heading toward him through the gaps in the needle's offense. Four of them bore frightening energies he wasn't confident in resisting. He shifted his body and collided with the fifth talisman, which covered him in a layer of invisible suppression. It was a dampening talisman, which would render him unable to communicate for a period of time.

A dagger suddenly burst out from a nearby shadow, threatening to pierce his heart. Wang Jun used his superior control, condensing the shadow into binding chains that bought him the split second he needed to evade. He then entered the shadows, where he was greeted by a white-cloaked man. Wang Jun's own cloak had turned white and his hair black. In the shadow world, everything was inverted and surreal.

They exchanged no words. Wang Jun flitted from landmass to landmass, and the assassin did the same. Daggers of light condensed and attacked Wang Jun, and as he dodged, he sent chains of light to bind his faster and more powerful opponent. Wang Jun was surprised at the man's strength and skill, but his mind was calm. His only option was to bide his time until he could contact Protector Ren.

Was it Hei Ling who leaked my position? Wang Jun thought. He had no proof, only speculations. The man was suspicious and sneaky, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt the man was hiding deep secrets. It was even possible that Hei Ling himself was the cloaked assassin.

A blade of light shaved off a strand of Wang Jun's hair, jolting him back to the present.

I can't afford to be distracted, he thought. A door of light appeared in front of him. As he reached out to climb through it, a fiery explosion caused it to collapse. Wang Jun coughed out a mouthful of blood as the backlash ravaged his organs. He wasn't a body cultivator, so his physical durability was rather low. To make matters worse, his opponent had at least reached the middle of core formation, two subrealms higher than his.

Wang Jun decisively jumped out from the shadow world beside a guard barracks. Thinking fast, he activated an expensive Flicker-Form Talisman, which allowed him to teleport five hundred meters away in the blink of an eye.

His timely reaction saved his life—a blade that was meant for his heart only pierced a quarter inch of his skin. Blood blossomed on his black cultivation robes as he continued flickering in a confusing pattern. Once twenty-eight seconds were up, he teleported to a nearby Wang family safe house.

Wang Jun panted as he tore open his robes to reveal the gash that was spurting blood. While the dagger hadn't pierced his heart, it had cut some significant blood vessels. He pulled out a pill, which he crushed into a powder and mixed with the blood on his wound. Pain wracked his chest as the flesh knitted and the blood scabbed and peeled away.

No time to stay put, Wang Jun thought. He stowed away his black robes and changed them out for bright-blue ones. He then retrieved a thin mask from his bag of holding and placed it on his face, which wriggled and contorted as his features became fine and subdued. His skin darkened slightly, as did his hair. His qi fluctuations were hidden to some extent.

After removing any traces of his short stay, he walked out onto the street and blended in with the crowd.