61: Night Market

The night deepened.

Outside the city walls of Jiangzhou Prefecture, it was exceptionally quiet.

Normally, with so many Cultivators in the city and few needing sleep, the night should have been livelier.

But the outskirts were far too quiet.

There wasn't even the sound of insects.

At this moment, Zhou Yan sat alone on a rock in the outskirts, gazing at the starry sky in contemplation.

"Mahayana stage... merging with the Law..."

"No matter how I hear it, this doesn't quite match the Immortal Realm I imagined."

"Can a Mahayana like that really be considered a creature of the Mortal Realm?"

"Sigh~" Zhou Yan let out a sigh.

It was unclear whether he felt pressured by glimpsing the secrets of the world or if he was growing restless waiting for his guide.

"Squeak, squeak~"

Where was that mouse squeaking from?

The moment Zhou Yan heard the sound, he was ready to summon his golden bow.

"Fellow Daoist, the time has come. This way, please."

It was a gentle female voice, sounding about twenty years old.

Zhou Yan stood up abruptly, the golden bow manifesting in his hand as he instantly went on high alert.

Damn it!

Even though the mini-map already showed a neutral NPC marker, indicating he had come into direct contact with the other party...

And his senses clearly signaled that the person was right beside him...

Yet, he couldn't see anyone.

What was going on?

Could it be a Soul Cultivator?

"Fellow Daoist, you're being rather rude. Why are you ignoring me?"

The voice rang out again, clearly very close, almost as if speaking right in front of his Face.

Yet, there was only a voice and no person to be seen.

"There's no need for these tricks, Fellow Daoist. If you are here to receive me in good faith, please show yourself."

"Otherwise, I shall take my leave!"

He hadn't expected to be tested just to go to a black market.

Thud.

He felt a sensation at his feet.

Zhou Yan looked down and saw a large white mouse wearing a little dress, punching him in the shin.

[Hui Yuxuan]

[Qi Refining Level 3]

Oil King, I've finally found the person who could hide under my feet!

Though it wasn't exactly a person.

"Hey, you bastard, I've had enough of you!"

"Ignoring me at first, and now pretending you can't see me."

"What, did your contact not tell you that the Night Roaming Ruins of Jiangzhou Prefecture are run by our Hui Family?"

"Are you intentionally not giving our Hui Family Face?"

The white-furred mouse stood with its paws on its hips, looking incredibly arrogant.

For some reason, Zhou Yan suddenly felt an urge to kick it flying.

Shaking off the thought, he responded.

"I came in a hurry; he must have forgotten to mention it. Please don't take offense."

"I apologize on his behalf and for my earlier misunderstanding. I hope you can be magnanimous, Fellow Daoist."

As he spoke, Zhou Yan instinctively moved to cup his hands in greeting.

Only... with this height difference, the salute was a bit awkward.

He bowed with cupped hands, only to see the little white mouse right between his folded arms.

This resulted in his dark gold eyes staring directly at her from a very close distance.

At this, the low-cultivation Hui Yuxuan's fur immediately stood on end, making the entire mouse look a size puffier.

"Fine... fine, that's enough!"

"I accept your apology! J-just stay away from me!"

Locking eyes with Zhou Yan just now had given the young Hui Yuxuan quite a shock.

Even after Zhou Yan stepped back, she was still trembling slightly, her little paws patting her chest to catch her breath.

"You... you reckless fellow! I've had the worst luck coming to pick you up today."

While smoothing her fur, Hui Yuxuan pulled out a large mushroom from thin air.

The mushroom was multicolored and looked like a potent specimen at a glance.

"Here, cash on delivery."

"While I know high-quality foundation establishment pills are rare, it's not like I have no experience at all."

"You aren't trying to pass off this poisonous mushroom as a high-quality foundation establishment pill, are you?"

Zhou Yan pointed at the mushroom, his little head filled with big questions.

[drunken immortal mushroom (Tier 2)]

Effect: Enter a hallucinogenic state for 15 minutes.

Description: It's not cooked, but it should be edible!

"Of course not!"

"How can a greenhorn like you know nothing? Who on earth recommended you?"

Hui Yuxuan's cheeks puffed out in anger.

She had hoped for an easy field assignment for once, but her luck was "great"—she'd run into such a naive simpleton that she didn't know how to handle him.

"The location of the Night Roaming Ruins cannot be disclosed casually; you must be led there by a guide."

"So for safety reasons, you must eat this drunken immortal mushroom. You are at Qi Refining Perfection, so you need a Tier 2 one."

"One Tier 2 drunken immortal mushroom costs thirty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Cash on delivery."

After speaking, Hui Yuxuan held the scary-looking mushroom out further and held out her other little paw, signaling for payment.

This travel fee wasn't much.

Zhou Yan paid readily and took the mushroom from Hui Yuxuan's paw, but... "Does... does this thing really have to be eaten?"

"The money's paid; whether you eat it is up to you. If you won't, just say the word and I'll leave."

Hui Yuxuan returned to her hands-on-hips stance, still looking arrogant.

"Tsk."

"The money's spent. Down the hatch, boys!"

After the first bite, the texture was surprisingly good.

After swallowing, the aftertaste was incredibly rich!

"The flavor is actually quite good! Even though it's raw, the texture is excellent and it's very fresh!"

"This thing is pretty delicious, don't you think, Stickman Brother?"

After finishing it, Zhou Yan was greatly surprised and hurriedly shared the delicacy with the Stickman beside him.

Stickman: "Indeed, brother, it's very fresh."

"It's just a pity Ultraman isn't here, otherwise the three of us could have a mushroom hotpot. That would be awesome."

Hearing this, Zhou Yan also felt a bit emotional.

"Sigh, you're right."

"Just because of a hemorrhoid problem, Ultraman had to duel with noodles while eating spaghetti."

"And by accident, he caused the rabbit at Chang'e's house on the moon to suffer an acute cerebral thrombosis."

"There was no other way. In the end, five excavators were sent, and he was finally sentenced to be drawn and quartered."

Seeing Zhou Yan feeling down, the Stickman picked him up and played "toss the baby" to comfort him.

Just as he was tossed up, Zhou Yan's clothes were torn to shreds, revealing a superhero suit underneath.

It was then that he remembered a meteorite fifty kilometers away was about to destroy Newton's General Relativity.

So he dug out his brain and, with a burst of strength, launched it toward Alpha Centauri to seek help from aliens.

Who knew they were holding a competition? They would only help if he won the championship.

Ultimately, Zhou Yan won the Fight the Landlord tournament, and the prize was a giant dinosaur robot maid to give him an eye massage.

As everyone knows, it's hard for a giant robot maid to be meticulous, so she accidentally gouged out Zhou Yan's eyeball.

The eyeball turned into a peace dove the moment it hit the ground, carrying an olive branch as it flew toward the solar system, seemingly about to plunge into the sun.

Zhou Yan kicked the maid away, strapped an electric scooter to his back, and chased after his eyeball.

"Hey?"

"Wake up, we're here."

"Hey!"

Thud!

His shin took another heavy punch from the mouse. Zhou Yan shook his head violently, feeling like a phone that had been charging for hours only to realize the socket was never turned on.

Only now, when the connection was suddenly made, did he snap awake.

"Haaa—"

Letting out a heavy breath, Zhou Yan finally saw the scene before him.

A huge sign was engraved with a line of large characters.

"Road Under Maintenance..."

"Does this thing have a lingering aftereffect?"