Chapter 47: The Nameless Shop

The Spirit Street was four blocks away, roughly eight kilometers distant. Huisheng took a taxi and went ahead, while Yanning and three others followed closely behind in an official Yan family vehicle.

"Huisheng, make sure your earpiece is securely fitted, and stay in constant contact with us," Yanning's voice came through the earpiece.

"Understood," Huisheng replied.

*In truth, you have no idea what kind of character you're trying to lure out with me as bait,* he thought to himself. *That very person has met me right under your noses, and yet you remained completely oblivious. With your level of competence, no matter how much effort you waste, it's all bound to be in vain.*

*Considering that the small villa they provided is quite comfortable, I suppose I'll play along with their little drama.*

*Besides, Mei Yulang is unlikely to show up again anytime soon anyway.*

Compared to the bustling activity of other areas, the lights on Spirit Street appeared relatively dim, and the atmosphere was somewhat desolate. According to recent population surveys conducted by the Donghua Kingdom, the number of Awakened individuals accounted for less than one-thousandth of the total population.

Since the vast majority of people in this world were ordinary citizens, a commercial street dedicated exclusively to selling items for the Awakened naturally had limited foot traffic.

Spirit Street was a pedestrian zone, with a row of stone bollards blocking the entrance to prevent cars from passing through. Occasionally, motorcycles, electric bicycles, or handcarts loaded with goods would squeeze past.

Huisheng took the lead and stepped into the street. Yanning and his companions followed, leaving one guard stationed at the entrance while the other three walked in, pretending to be ordinary customers as they looked around.

The street was about ten meters wide and stretched out for at least five or six hundred meters at a single glance. Countless two- and three-story buildings stood closely packed along both sides of the road. The ground floors were essentially all shops catering to the Awakened, while the second and third floors served as residences or warehouses.

The shops varied in size; some were general stores selling a wide array of goods, while others specialized in a single category or a small selection of items—weapons, armor, magical treasures, elixirs, books on supernatural abilities, all sorts of bizarre objects difficult to classify... everything imaginable could be found here, and there were even shops selling mutated beast companions.

After walking for a few minutes, having covered less than a quarter of the street, they were already feeling dazzled by the sheer variety of wares.

"Captain Yan, there are so many shops here. Which one is decent?" Huisheng asked Yanning for guidance via the intercom earpiece.

Yanning had rarely visited this place; most of the time, he went to the "Awakened Grand World" to purchase supplies.

However, one of the guards chimed in, "If we walk forward to the middle section, there's a branching alley on the left. Inside that alley, there's an unmarked shop with a stone millstone by the entrance. A friend of mine and I have been there before... The owner isn't particularly kind, but he has reliable connections for moving goods. Selling things there might fetch a better price."

People are most susceptible to taking advice when they are undecided. Following the guard's verbal directions, Huisheng walked to the middle section of Spirit Street, found the mouth of the left-turning alley, and stepped inside.

The lighting on Spirit Street was already somewhat dim, and this alley was even darker. A single, dull streetlamp at the alley entrance remained switched on despite the broad daylight.

Yanning left another guard here, keeping only himself and one other guard to accompany Huisheng forward.

After walking for a few minutes, an unassuming shop appeared by the roadside ahead, featuring half a black cloth curtain hanging over the doorway and a stone millstone beside the building. This must be the place. Huisheng lifted the curtain and stepped inside.

Yanning instructed the remaining guard to wait at the entrance and stepped in as well.

To the right inside the room stood an antique counter, behind which a seventy-something-year-old man with white hair, wearing a traditional black vest and cloth shoes, was writing something.

To the left were two weapon racks holding a dozen arcane-iron weapons of various sizes.

In the center of the room facing the entrance was a tea table surrounded by a few chairs. A gloomy-looking young man was sitting there, drinking tea. Across from him, a round-faced girl with her hair tied in twin buns had also been drinking tea, but she looked up upon hearing footsteps.

Further inside, past the tea table, stood a massive, custom-built wooden shelving unit divided into dozens of large and small compartments, each displaying one or more unusual objects of various shapes.

The round-faced girl wore a light cyan silk blouse, black silk trousers, and cloth shoes, exuding a rustic, traditional charm. She walked over, her large eyes blinking twice as wrinkles of smiles blossomed on her face. "Welcome, guests. How can I help you?"

Feigning unfamiliarity with Huisheng, Yanning wandered off to inspect the weapons and items on the display shelves.

Huisheng thought for a moment and said, "I have something to sell. I'm wondering if you buy items here."

"We do. As long as an Awakened item has room for resale profit, we buy it," the round-faced girl replied, her eyes fixing on Huisheng's finger—specifically, on the boundary-stone ring.

*This girl has sharp eyes,* Huisheng thought.

He pressed his thumb against the boundary-stone ring and mentally stimulated his supernatural energy.

The enormous, mummified corpse of a hairless Ice Prison Eagle instantly materialized on the floor in front of the counter. The temperature in the shop plummeted sharply, as if it had suddenly transformed into an ice cellar.

Everyone in the shop turned their gazes toward it, including the old man who had been writing and the gloomy young man drinking tea.

"This is... an Ice Prison Eagle!" Yanning blurted out in astonishment. "You never told me the thing you wanted to sell was an Ice Prison Eagle!"

"Captain Yan, that's a strange thing to say," Huisheng rubbed the back of his head. "When I sell my own belongings, do I need to report to you in advance about what I'm selling?"

Yanning searched his memory frantically, trying to confirm whether this Ice Prison Eagle was something Huisheng had killed jointly with members of the Yan family. According to Yan family rules, joint kills had to be distributed proportionally. Furthermore, if Huisheng was considered a subordinate of the Yan family, this item should belong entirely to the family.

After running through his memories, he drew a blank.

"When did you kill it? How did you kill it?" Yanning quickly pressed on.

"Just before I rendezvoused with you," Huisheng answered.

Throughout their exchange, the other three people in the shop kept their eyes glued to the carcass of the Ice Prison Eagle.

"An Ice Prison Eagle?" The round-faced girl repeated the name. "Could it be the one harvested from the boundary node in Ting'ao Town a few days ago? Why does its whole body look like it's been sucked dry?"

"Don't ask about its origins," Huisheng said. "Just tell me how much you'll pay for it."

The round-faced girl turned to the old man and said, "Grandpa, come take a look."

Pacing over, the old man poked and prodded the body of the Ice Prison Eagle before channeling his supernatural energy to probe it thoroughly from top to bottom.

After a minute or so, a small knife suddenly appeared in the old man's hand. With surgical precision, he made a cut right behind the eagle's jaw, parting the flesh as easily as slicing through cured meat. Then, using the tip of the blade, he pried out a cyan, multi-faceted crystal about the size of a pigeon's egg.

"A cyan-grade immortal crystal from the otherworldly continent of Wangxian," the old man rasped in a hoarse voice. "It appears to contain a water-attribute immortal crystal skill."

"Hiss!" Yanning drew in a sharp breath. This kid had scored a massive haul! The Ice Prison Eagle was already immensely valuable, and an immortal crystal containing a crystal skill was worth an absolute fortune. He was going to be rich!

No wonder this kid said he didn't want to go to the Awakened Grand World and draw unwanted attention; so this was why.

"So, how much will you buy it for?" Huisheng asked eagerly.

Before the old man could reply, the gloomy young man preempted him, shouting, "This beast and that crystal—I'm buying them! I'll offer a higher price than them!"