Chapter 148: Refund!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 148: Refund!
After leaving the inn, Muen grabbed a quick lunch and retraced his steps to the riverbank at the border of the Upper and Lower Districts.
The token in his hand, etched with the image of a rat, pulsed with a faint heat. This confirmed that the underground black market was indeed open. After donning a black robe and a mask to conceal his appearance and aura, Muen dove into the riverside pipe without a moment's hesitation.
Inside the abandoned sewer, the nauseating stench was far more pungent than it had been during his last visit, as if an untold number of corpses had been left to rot there.
At the end of the pipe, however, Muen did not see the towering, decaying figure he had encountered before. Instead, a different, raspy voice drifted from the shadows.
"The goods?"
"Right here."
Muen showed the token to the withered, diminutive figure huddled in the corner. He couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Where’s the previous gatekeeper?"
"Dead," the figure replied flatly, their tone devoid of joy or sorrow, as if merely reporting the death of a common street rat. "The token is authentic. Enter."
Muen didn't press further. For those who lived in the shadows of Belland, dying like a stray dog in the gutter was perfectly normal. He hurried through the passage and stepped into the black market.
The moment he entered, Muen felt a gaze sweep over him from an unknown source. A chill instantly ran down his spine; even though it was just a cursory glance, he instinctively sensed the terrifying power of its owner.
If they aren't a Crown Bearer, they’re damn close.
Fortunately, the owner of that gaze seemed uninterested in probing Muen’s identity. After briefly sensing his cultivation level, the presence quickly moved on.
That gaze wasn't there last time.
Does that mean a powerhouse was brought in to sit sentry only after the black market reopened?
It seems the recent purge hit the black market harder than I thought.
Muen sighed inwardly but didn't dwell on it. From his perspective, the black market being weakened was a good thing, regardless of how one looked at it. This place was a breeding ground for untold darkness. The airy promise that "anything can be bought" was built upon a foundation of blood and tears.
However, Muen wasn't such a "Holy Mother" that he would use his status to try and eradicate this darkness entirely. He knew he couldn't do it. No one could. As long as Belland remained the most prosperous city on the continent, these shadows would continue to grow alongside the light, impossible to fully excise.
Unless, of course, he gritted his teeth and led a revolution against the "evil aristocrats" to bring the glorious light of socialism to this world.
Wait, I’m one of those evil aristocrats. Never mind.
"I just hope I can find the Ancient Dragon Heart Blood quickly."
Muen sighed. This place made him instinctively uncomfortable, and he wanted to leave as soon as possible.
*
However, upon entering the market, Muen didn't go looking for the dragon blood immediately. Instead, he made his way to a small shop.
A massive goat-horn skull hung over the shop's entrance, serving as a conspicuous sign.
"That swindler!"
Looking at the shop, Muen couldn't help but grit his teeth. He hadn't forgotten the sheer misery he had endured because of the knockout potion he’d bought here! One could say that in that entire incident, the knockout potion—or rather, the aphrodisiac that came as a "free gift"—was the primary culprit that caused the situation to spiral completely out of control!
Today, he was going to get an explanation!
Accompanied by the crisp chime of a wind bell, Muen pushed open the door.
"Oh my, a customer so early in the day?"
The shopkeeper was still wrapped in a voluminous black robe. Her voice was raspy, making it hard to discern her gender, but with her casual movements, the robe traced the lines of a breathtakingly curvaceous figure. She seemed to have just opened and was tidying the merchandise on the shelves. When she saw Muen enter, a predatory glint, like a wolf eyeing a lamb, flashed beneath her hood.
"Dear guest, would you like to see something? My shop has everything your heart desires."
"Strange..."
Muen studied the shopkeeper, a hint of confusion flickering in his eyes. Unlike his last visit, looking at this mysterious shopkeeper gave him a sudden sense of familiarity.
Was it an illusion? Or...
No, I can't let some baseless intuition blind me. I can't just think every woman with a good figure looks familiar.
I'm here for justice!
"I'm not here to buy anything," Muen said in a low, raspy voice he had specially disguised.
"Oh? Then the guest is here to..."
Sensing the hostile aura emanating from Muen, the shopkeeper grew visibly wary.
"Two months ago, I bought a bottle of knockout potion from you."
"Two months ago..." The shopkeeper fell into thought, then suddenly had an epiphany. "Oh! You're that big spen—I mean, that valued customer!"
"You were going to say 'sucker,' weren't you?!"
The veins on Muen's forehead throbbed. "I'll let the price slide for now. I just want to ask you one thing: was that knockout potion you sold me legit?"
"Was it not?" the shopkeeper asked, puzzled. "Did the potion not work? Could it not knock out an elephant?"
"The part about knocking out an elephant wasn't the problem."
After all, even Celicia hadn't lasted two seconds against it.
"The problem is that 'gift' you gave me. Was that legit?"
"The gift..." The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, then gasped in shock. "Don't tell me you actually used it on an elephant? And you used the gift along with it?"
As she spoke, her gaze toward Muen turned to one of genuine pity.
No wonder he was so angry. She had heard that an elephant's "equipment" could be over a meter long. That would go straight to the stomach, wouldn't it?
Tsk tsk, it's a miracle this man is still alive.
"That's not it at all!" Muen slammed the table in fury. "I didn't use it on an elephant! Your knockout potion worked perfectly. I just want to know why you gave me an aphrodisiac as a gift and insisted it worked better if used together?"
"Well... bundled sales are a common business tactic, aren't they? It was very well-received in the past."
"It's well-received by perverts with hearts full of malice! Not me!" Muen declared righteously. "I am a man of integrity! A true gentleman!"
"...A 'gentleman' wouldn't come here to buy that kind of medicine in the first place. Besides, I would think anyone with even the most basic knowledge of potions could distinguish its effects."
The shopkeeper gave Muen an incredulous glance. "Guest... don't tell me you lack even that level of potion literacy?"
"Is... is that important?" Muen’s face flushed red behind his mask.
"Of course! Whether you're a mage or a martial artist, basic potion-making is a mandatory course. Otherwise, how would you dare drink any potion you find out in the world? What if a potion has a strange effect and turns you into a girl?"
"Ahem... regardless, the fact remains that your actions caused me immense harm. Therefore..."
Muen cleared his throat and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Refund!"