It was the fifteenth day again.
The moonlight spilled like mercury on the ground.
Fang Xi stepped onto a black market in the middle of the river on a leafy boat.
Inside a wooden house.
Han Pangzi was still as fat as a mountain. When he heard Fang Xi's request, he was immediately startled, "What? You want more?!"
He looked Fang Xi up and down, "The ten kilograms of meat from last time is enough for an ordinary warrior for half a year. Have you finished eating it all, or is there another elder?"
"How? Do you still need to know where the things you sell in the black market go?" Fang Xi smiled slightly and took out a gold leaf.
It's not that he couldn't use a jade leaf, but that would directly expose his identity.
"Of course not..." Han Pangzi, like a mountain, moved slightly, seeming to struggle to lean to the side, and tore out a large piece of Taishui meat from the pit under him, "How much this time?"
"Another ten kilograms!" Fang Xi's expression remained unchanged.
"Wow... I see that your strength and courage are extraordinary. Do you want to take on a private job?" Han Pangzi threw over ten kilograms of meat and asked.
"Oh? What job?" Fang Xi asked casually.
"To go outside the city and hunt demons!" Han Pangzi showed a sinister smile, "Only martial artists with a minimum of three transformations in their blood can participate. It's even better if they are true strength warriors. The rewards will be distributed according to the effort put in!"
"Hunting demon beasts?" Fang Xi was indeed very interested in the demon race of this world, but after some thought, he gave up.
His current strength was only in the early stage of Qi refining. If he encountered danger, it would be too much of a loss.
"Why... is the demon meat in this shop not enough?" Fang Xi asked back.
"No, it's just that there is a stray demon beast that has been raiding the commercial road... In a few days, your martial arts hall might also receive assistance tasks." Han Pangzi shook his head repeatedly, "As for demon meat, this shop will never run out... Do you want to know why?"
As he spoke, a strange smile appeared on his face.
Combined with that meat mountain, it looked quite eerie.
Those with strong imaginations might start to feel nauseous...
"I certainly know, because Taishui meat is different from other demon meats. As long as Taishui is deeply buried underground and provided with nutrients, it will grow very fast..." Fang Xi nodded slightly.
This is also why this shop always has demon meat for sale.
In other shops, once demon meat is sold out, they must organize manpower to hunt demons, which is not only very dangerous but also unstable in terms of supply.
"Tsk... Who told you that?" Han Pangzi's originally mocking smile disappeared, and the meat mountain slumped back.
"Fungi grow rapidly, isn't that common knowledge?"
"You really underestimate the means of us cultivators... In my eyes, you're no different from a mushroom farmer." Fang Xi sneered inwardly, without answering, maintaining a mysterious image, and walked out of the wooden house.
After wandering around the black market, he came to a simple wooden house.
Compared to the previous few places, this wooden house seemed much simpler. An old man with white hair sat behind the counter, seemingly reading a book.
He was wearing a washed-out white blue shirt, giving off a scholarly air, but combined with his age, he seemed like a failed scholar, a poor scholar.
Seeing Fang Xi come in, a smile appeared on his face, "Does the guest want to buy information?"
In the black market, everything is for sale. This wooden house is famous for selling information.
"Exactly." Fang Xi, wearing a bamboo hat at this time and dressed differently, asked, "How is information sold here?"
The old man leisurely put down his book, "In this shop, any information has a price, divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. The price for each level is different. If you want 'Heaven'-grade information, naturally, no detail is too small, but in terms of silver, hehe..."
The next moment, he closed his mouth.
Because Fang Xi pulled out a stack of gold leaves, "Give me information about the martial forces within a hundred miles, famous warriors, and even profound martial arts. All of them must be of 'Heaven' grade!"
"Of course." The old man quickly got up, his face full of wrinkles almost smiling like a chrysanthemum, "Please have a seat, would you like some tea? This shop has recently acquired some top-quality Sparrow Tongue, which is quite famous in Dingzhou..."
Fang Xi found the old man's change in attitude quite reasonable.
Make money!
Don't be stingy!
However, when the old man dragged out a heavy box from behind the house, filled with various books, Fang Xi's face under the veil finally began to change dramatically.
"Damn miscalculation..."
"I didn't expect the information to be so detailed..."
...
Fang Mansion.
After calling a few maids to massage him, Fang Xi finally turned on the earth air conditioner and flipped through the information one by one.
"Yuanhe Mountain... Founded by 'Yuanhe Master' over three hundred years ago, with one sect master, six elders, and eight guest elders... The sect's unique skill is 'Yuanhe Five Thunder Hands'..."
"Yuanhe Mountain's Blackstone City branch, led by 'Linghu Yang,' has defeated the main hall master of Panshi Hall with a few moves, easily dealt with several martial hall masters' siege..."
"Chunyu... Defeated the Red Snake Hall master Lu She..."
"Qiao Wuchang, not prominent in battle, but treacherous, likes to ambush and besiege..."
...
"Solitary martial artist Zheng Tianbao, proficient in 'Flying Cloud Technique,' battle record..."
"Gold Medal Constable Ouyun, has captured Jiangyang pirates many times, estimated to be above ordinary martial hall masters..."
...
Line by line, Fang Xi quickly interpreted the information, gaining a rough impression of the martial forces nearby.
"Looking at this, the strength of the martial halls is... quite weak."
After a long time, Fang Xi put down the book, somewhat helpless.
But this was normal. True experts rarely come to open martial halls.
But to be weak to this extent was somewhat unexpected.
Calculating, perhaps a branch of Yuanhe Mountain in Blackstone City could probably wipe out all the martial halls together!
Those seemingly powerful martial hall masters were just background characters for sect martial artists or even solitary martial artists...
"Linghu Yang... may have already surpassed the realm of martial hall masters and entered a whole new level. It's not easy to kill him. I'll temporarily abandon the plan against the Blackstone City branch of Yuanhe Mountain..."
"Perhaps, going to other martial halls to learn and improve might be a way of cultivating the body?"
"Before that, should I deal with the Red Snake Hall, whether it's She Lei or Lu She, they will definitely hold a grudge against me..."
After thinking it over, Fang Xi put down a book of confidential information and was about to teach Baihe a leg technique.
A fragrant breeze passed by, and Moon Laurel came slowly, bowing, "Young Master... Steward Afu requests an audience!"
"Afu? Let him in!" Fang Xi nodded.
After a moment, a steward with long white hair and a fairy-like appearance, Steward Afu, walked in, bowing respectfully, "Young Master!"
"Get up." Fang Xi waved his hand.
In the cultivation world, appearance is by no means a measure of strength. There are many cultivators who look like this.
Especially in Daliang, this is even more so.
"Reporting to Young Master, during this period in the city, the old slave heard a piece of news that might be useful to Young Master..." Afu bowed.
"Useful to me? Speak! If it is indeed so, there will be a heavy reward." Fang Xi was relatively lenient with his subordinates.
At least, he wouldn't bury people in the mass graves like the noble families in the city.
And once a merit was established, the rewards would be substantial!
This led to high enthusiasm among the staff of Fang Mansion.
"It's like this... There was a gathering in the city, where the guests were all wealthy. It is said that there were some rare items for sale at the banquet... Apart from antiques, precious medicinal herbs, and fine horses, there were also martial arts manuals and even demon materials!" Afu said.
"Oh?" Fang Xi's eyes lit up, "When and where?"
"In five days, at Wanbao Pavilion!" Afu replied, "If Young Master needs it, the old slave can arrange an invitation."
"Very good, very good! There will be a heavy reward!" Fang Xi laughed heartily.
...
Night.
The Fang Mansion was quiet.
Fang Xi sat at the desk, looking at the arrangements in the room, his expression somewhat uncertain.
Although he enjoyed indulgence, he retained the cautious habits of a wandering cultivator. The most critical bedroom was always accessible only to himself.
Even when playing with the maids, it was in other rooms.
At this moment, he sighed, "There are traces of hair movement in several places. Has someone secretly entered my bedroom?"
In fact, Fang Xi was also aware that his household staff were all purchased and not born into the family, lacking loyalty and brainwashing.
A little embezzlement was tolerable.
But this had crossed the line!
"Who is it? Who has bribed someone in my mansion? Are they trying to find out my whereabouts and the hiding place of gold and silver?" Fang Xi's expression turned completely cold.
As long as he knew, then carefully investigating the servants who often left the mansion and interacted with people would reveal clues!
Moreover, with the means of a cultivator, even if the traitor wanted to hide, they couldn't hide!
"I hope it's not those few people..." Fang Xi muttered, sighing suddenly.
In this world, there are always many troubles, which is why some cultivators are heartless, abandoning love and only seeking the Great Dao.
He was a little better, but he was also a... indifferent person!
(End of this chapter)