Chapter 416: Chapter 184: Longing for Return

Chen Cheng left the stall and found a deserted corner. He placed all his Silver Notes into a small, waterproof leather pouch.

At this point, the cash he had on hand had reached over thirty-three thousand taels.

Afterward, he browsed all the stalls again.

At a stall specializing in Supporting Elixirs, he was surprised to find five Cloud Thunder Blood Coagulation Pills—the very thing he needed most urgently right now.

He walked over, picked up the vial, uncapped it, and sniffed it carefully.

His sense of smell was already far superior to that of an ordinary person, so he was certain these were genuine Cloud Thunder Blood Coagulation Pills.

Plus, with his newly mastered, entry-level Yin Fragrance Technique, he could further determine that the Elixir was not poisoned.

As for whether it had been laced with some strange, colorless, and odorless poison, Chen Cheng couldn’t be sure for now.

He stoppered the vial and placed it back.

Then he retreated to a distance and observed silently.

「A short while later.」

A young man wearing a blue mask walked up to the stall, and his eyes quickly fell upon the vial of Cloud Thunder Blood Coagulation Pills.

However, the blue-masked youth clearly lacked the ability of Poison Detection.

For this reason, he spent a Big Gold Saber to hire a Poison Master from within the Valley of Oblivion.

The Poison Master, who wore a Bronze Mask, inserted a probe that looked like silver but wasn’t into the vial. After a moment, he withdrew the probe, observed it carefully, and finally gave the conclusion: "No poison."

Afterward, the Poison Master took his leave.

The blue-masked youth then began to haggle with the stall owner.

The stall owner’s initial asking price was five thousand taels of silver per pill. The two of them went back and forth for a long time, gradually approaching the four-thousand-tael mark.

"Boss, can you go a little lower?"

the blue-masked youth said.

"I’m not just buying one or two. Give me a sincere bottom price, and I’ll take the whole bottle."

"Four thousand taels a pill. That’s as low as I can go."

The stall owner was an old man with his face wrapped in gray cloth and a slightly stooped back. His voice was extremely cold and hard.

By the looks of it, there seemed to be no room for negotiation on the price.

However, beneath the stall, his fingers were rubbing together slightly. Standing at a distance, Chen Cheng happened to glimpse this subtle little movement from the side.

"Still too expensive."

The blue-masked youth shook his head and gently placed the vial back on the stall.

Then, he turned around and took a step.

The turn was decisive, but his steps were slow, as if he were waiting for the stall owner to lower the price.

But the stall owner remained silent.

Beneath the gray cloth, his lips seemed to twitch, as if he wanted to say something but forced the words back down.

He appeared composed, but in reality, his fingers, hidden beneath the stall, were rubbing together with increasing force, his knuckles turning white.

The youth took his second step.

The stall owner’s throat bobbed noticeably.

Clearly, the price of four thousand taels per pill was a point both sides could accept. If either party yielded just half a step, or even a fraction, a deal could be made.

"Boss, here are twenty thousand taels in Silver Notes. Please count them."

Just then, Chen Cheng walked over, placed a stack of Silver Notes directly on the stall, and casually picked up the vial the blue-masked youth had just put down.

To be cautious, Chen Cheng uncapped it and sniffed again. Confirming there was no issue, he then looked up at the stall owner.

"...Alright."

The stall owner was stunned for a moment, then reached out, picked up the Silver Notes, and carefully inspected them one by one.

A moment later, he folded the Silver Notes, tucked them into his sleeve, and then let out a hearty laugh.

"The notes are good!"

The laugh wasn’t loud, but it stopped the blue-masked youth dead in his tracks just as he was about to take another step.

He spun around and marched straight back.

"You—!"

His gaze shot past the stall owner and fixed on the vial in Chen Cheng’s hand. His voice, squeezed from behind the mask, was filled with uncontrollable rage.

"I saw that first!"

Chen Cheng glanced at him without a word, leisurely tucking the vial into his robes.

The blue-masked youth’s breathing suddenly grew heavier.

He took a fierce step forward, raising his hand as if to grab Chen Cheng’s collar.

But his fingertips stopped abruptly in mid-air.

Clearly, he was well aware of the Valley of Oblivion’s rules. If he dared to make a move, he wouldn’t be leaving here alive today.

Meanwhile,

Chen Cheng felt several auras of killing intent, as tangible as physical objects, suddenly envelop him.

Tracing these auras of killing intent to their source, he found the guards of the Valley of Oblivion—men wearing Bronze Masks with long black sabers at their waists.

Chen Cheng couldn’t discern their specific level of strength, only that each one felt unfathomably powerful.

"...Fine. I’ll eat this loss!"

The blue-masked youth gritted his teeth, his voice scraping out from his chest, utterly grim.

He shot Chen Cheng a vicious glare, then turned and strode away. The gust of wind from his robes sent the coarse cloth on the stall flapping wildly.

...

「Mountain and Sea Sect.」

Chen Cheng returned to his Abyssal Cave Mansion, changed back into his Profound Leather Coat, and then used the Profound Silk Net to scoop a Treasure Fish from the fish pond.

He then returned to the Outer Sect, coming ashore at the covered bridge.

His movements were unhurried as he came ashore, his face showing just the right amount of fatigue.

He was deliberately letting others see that he had just returned from a fishing trip.

He had been doing this for the past ten days.

As a disciple of the Fishing Pavilion, the amount of time he spent in the water was never fixed. Using this as a cover, he wouldn’t arouse suspicion even if he was away from the Guan Lan Pavilion for extended periods.

On the way from the covered bridge to the stone plaza, any Outer Disciple he encountered would respectfully greet him as "Senior Brother Chen."

When people’s gazes fell on the shimmering scales of the Treasure Fish in his net, there would inevitably be gasps of admiration—some envious, some sycophantic, and some just enjoying the spectacle.

Chen Cheng nodded to each of them without breaking his stride.

Just as he reached the stone plaza, he saw a large group of people gathered outside a stone house in the distance.

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