Strange Companions at the Market
Near Qingyun Sect, there were several markets naturally formed by loose cultivators gathering. One of them was Qingha Market. The name wasn't anything grand—it was simply called that because it lay below Qingyun Sect.
At the market entrance, rows of pavilions housed shops selling all sorts of cultivator goods. Wooden plaques hanging from the eaves bore names like Cheonbo Ru, a general store, along with pill shops and talisman halls. Narrow alleys between them were packed tight with loose cultivators hawking their wares on the ground, haggling away.
A lone girl walked slowly through the heart of it all. Her slender hands peeked from the hem of her plain gray robes, and her face still held a childish softness. Her eyes flickered with a mix of wariness and the thrill of a new place.
She wandered the streets, first scanning the shops inside the pavilions. The first to catch her eye at the entrance was Cheonbo Ru. If Cheonbo Pavilion was the general store inside Qingyun Sect, then Cheonbo Ru was its outdoor counterpart—a franchise of sorts, with branches in markets big and small around the sect. Even the interior layout mirrored its counterpart.
The girl glanced up at the sign for a moment before stepping inside.
"Looking for something specific?"
The clerk behind the counter offered a polished smile.
"Do you have any essence blood from a third-grade wood-attribute beast?"
The clerk flipped through his ledger a few times and nodded. "One vial from a Qing Mu Serpent. Four mid-grade spirit stones."
Without another question, the girl left Cheonbo Ru. She checked three or four more shops before drawing her conclusion early.
It's actually cheaper inside the sect.
Buying from within the sect gates would have been the better deal.
Guess I have to hunt it myself after all...
She'd come prepared to hunt, but if it had been far cheaper, she might have just bought it and called it a day. Paying with spirit stones was cleaner than venturing into beast territory. But if Purple Soldier Beans truly needed constant feeding of essence blood, pouring stones into it would be like filling a sieve—her wallet couldn't handle that.
With a short sigh, she headed toward the area where loose cultivators clustered around their stalls.
The stalls displayed a jumble of goods: beast byproducts, dubious pills, shabby talismans, broken magic tools—everything under the sun. The girl paused at a few, asking briefly.
"Got any wood-attribute beast essence blood?"
"Nope."
After checking two or three more, a voice came from behind.
"Little daoist. You've been asking after wood-attribute beasts everywhere."
Three cultivators stood before one stall. One was a gaunt woman with sharp, fierce eyes. The other two were men: a hulking brute who stood out just by existing, and another with a smiling face that didn't inspire trust. He looked the smoothest, which made him the hardest to read.
The smiling man spoke first among them.
"Looking for a wood-attribute beast, by any chance?"
The girl slowly sized up the trio. She could gauge them by their auras alone: two at mid-Qi Condensation like herself, one at late-stage. The late-stage was the smiling man. He seemed the gentlest, but he clearly held the reins among them.
"And?"
The smiling man chuckled softly. "Sharp tongue on you."
"If you know something, spill it. Otherwise, get out of my way."
The woman's eyebrow twitched at that, her displeasure plain. But the man nodded first.
"Better than beating around the bush. We've found a beast cave."
"A cave?"
The girl's eyes sharpened ever so slightly. The man caught it and pressed on.
"Didn't go all the way in, but the beastly qi pouring out screamed wood-attribute. Just looked like there were a lot of them."
"So you were recruiting more hands?"
The woman snorted this time. "No one's dumb enough to charge a beast den without prep."
"You came back to the market to gear up, then."
"You could say that."
The girl eyed them once more. Like most in this world, they didn't scream trustworthy.
"Why tell me?"
"Loose cultivators like us thrive on numbers. Get hurt alone, and you're beast chow."
The smiling man's gaze flicked to the ring on her finger—not blatant, which made it more grating. Ignoring it, she asked,
"And the split?"
Their eyes shifted in unison. The smiling man grinned slowly.
"Haha, aren't you direct for a young one? I like it. Simple split: by contribution."
"Essence blood too?"
"Of course. Essence blood and inner cores are the prime loot from beasts."
His game was obvious. Highest cultivation meant he'd claim the lion's share. She clicked her tongue inwardly but saw no point in arguing here. Real accounting came after the hunt.
"Fine. But I get first pick on the essence blood."
The woman's lip curled. "Greedy brat."
"I need it."
"Who doesn't?"
The smiling man raised a hand to cut them off. "Let's go see first. Bickering before the hunt is just silly, no?"
The girl nodded curtly. "Deal. But if it smells off, I'm out."
"Reasonable. Do as you like then."
And so the four left the market.
They exchanged names roughly on the way. The smiling man was Song Won, the sharp-eyed woman Yu So-hong, the silent brute Jang Ho. Whether those were real names was anyone's guess—expecting truth from loose cultivators was a luxury. Same went for her, of course.
Jin Yu-seol. The alias she was using now.
She positioned herself in the middle—not too far ahead or behind. Ready to react if any of them tried something. She'd prepared well before coming: invisibility and swift-step talismans from inside Qingyun Sect, plus a few mid-grade attack talismans. She'd even told her master before leaving the gates, mentioning she planned to hunt a beast. Master hadn't pried, just handed her three protective talismans and a Life-Saving Token.
Use the token only in true emergencies, she'd said. Shatter it, and it'd block even a late-Foundation Establishment attack while sending her location straight to Master. A spare life, essentially.
No way I'll need it today.
Even so, her fingers kept brushing the token's surface.
Song Won trailed just behind Yu So-hong, sauntering casually. As they left the market and entered the woods, silence deepened. Just like that day.
Faint beastly qi grew clearer. Yu So-hong slowed first.
"Their territory starts here."
The others grew more cautious. The girl steadied her breath, scanning around. Broken branches, gouged bark. Excrement no normal animal would leave. Deeper in, a cave mouth appeared, reeking of beasts—and wood qi.
No lies there.
A real wood-attribute beast den. Whether third-grade lurked inside was another question.
Yu So-hong raised a hand, halting them.
"Further and they'll spot us."
She pulled a talisman from her robes—yellowed paper with faint runes. Channeling qi through her fingers, it burned silently. Her presence faded, not gone but subtle enough to miss up close.
Song Won chuckled, drawing his own from his sleeve. "Everyone came prepared."
He activated it. Jang Ho silently applied the same. Watching, the girl used her invisibility talisman. Hers was superior; they missed her vanishing aura, looking mildly flustered as they scanned her spot.
She released a wisp of qi. They reacted then. Song Won's eyes seemed to sharpen—imagination?
Yu So-hong narrowed her eyes. "Nice quality on that invisibility talisman."
"Problem?"
She shot back and turned to the cave.
At least three sensing presences. Maybe five.
Whispering low, "Might be more than we thought."
Jang Ho finally glanced her way. "How do you know?"
"Call it a hunch."
Silence fell briefly. Yu So-hong glared at the entrance, eyes slitted. Song Won probed deeper, smile lingering.
Then—
Thoom.
A vibration rumbled up from underground. The cave's qi boiled over.
Boom!
A harsh crash echoed from within—rock shattering, something scraping walls, a low guttural roar.
Grrraaawr!
Yu So-hong's face hardened. "What the hell?"
"Someone's fighting beasts inside," Song Won muttered, smile gone.
But another aura clashed back. A loose cultivator—not Qi Condensation level. The pressure leaking out crushed them.
No Qi Condensation cultivator could push like that.
Foundation Establishment?
Her spine chilled. Yu So-hong spat a curse. "Damn it... This isn't for us."
"We bail," Jang Ho said curtly.
He was right. If a Foundation Establishment cultivator was tangling with beasts inside, jumping in meant getting crushed in the crossfire.
But Song Won didn't retreat. His eyes turned icy.
"No."
Yu So-hong's gaze wavered. "What?"
"If a Foundation Establishment is fighting beasts, one side's bound to be hurt bad. Or exhausted at least."
"So?"
"That's our opening."
Ah, right—a loose cultivator. He didn't run from big fights; he eyed the scraps.
She grumbled but didn't fully object. Same-level cultivator and beast clashing meant neither would be fresh.
Song Won eyed the entrance slyly. "What do you say? Up for a peek?"
"Damn... Backing off now would keep me up all night."
"Exactly."
Only then did he look to her. "Jin daoist?"
"I said it already. I bail if it's risky."
Yu So-hong snorted. "Gonna ditch us?"
"I'm not sticking my head in a tiger's mouth."
Song Won studied her, then surprisingly didn't push. He even smiled thinly. "Survival first. We'll head in then."
And they vanished into the cave.
Roars continued from the cave, qi thickening. Two hours passed, maybe. The girl still stood there, unmoving. They'd failed to track her even with her talisman active moments ago. Now she could trail safely, one step behind.
After a brief hesitation, she touched the Life-Saving Token. Checked her talismans, spirit beans, everything down to the token last.
"If it really gets bad, the token's there..."
Another massive crash erupted from within. Her eyes narrowed.
She'd never planned to fully retreat anyway. Following their trail, her figure silently slipped into the cave mouth.