Chapter 4: Shopping (Part 2)

Xie Xiaoping downed a large bowl of rice wine in one gulp, wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and said with a smile, “A few days ago, I heard that people from the Fanmen clan raided a lower-level Spellcraft Continent and captured many slaves. It’s a shame they ran out of time—before they could expand their gains, they were driven out of that continent.”
Guo Shieru broke into a cold sweat. He asked, “What are the Fanmen?”
Tong Zhi replied, “The Fanmen, like our Chenxiao Sect, are major spellcraft factions here. They’re extremely powerful and have grown rapidly recently. They even found a secret passage to the lower-level Spellcraft Continent and must have captured quite a number of people… When will our Chenxiao Sect be able to find such a place to seize some people too?”
Guo Shieru was confused. “Why capture people?”
Xie Xiaoping asked, “Don’t you know?” He found it strange but soon understood. Guo Shieru was young, and although he had become a high-level professional, that didn’t mean he knew everything. Xie Xiaoping explained, “It’s simple. On our intermediate-level Spellcraft Continent… too many people die. We have to rely on capturing people to survive. Most of the people here… haha, are actually descendants of slaves.”
Guo Shieru was surprised. “Descendants of slaves?”
Tong Zhi said, “Here, there’s only one generation of slaves—no second generation. When slaves have offspring, those offspring become locals. So there’s only one generation of slaves. As for the people captured… they’re all private spoils of war and can never gain freedom.”
Guo Shieru said, “That rule is really strange.”
Guan Yuntao replied, “It’s not strange. People die too quickly here. Take this town alone—it’s been destroyed many times. Haha, every time, there are corpses everywhere and rivers of blood. Unless you’re a professional who can run fast and resist, the only outcome is… death! Actually, the lower-level Spellcraft Continent is safer. You don’t have to worry too much about invasions from other continents. Even if invaded, it’s limited in time. Here, not only do people from the same continent attack, but those from the higher-level Spellcraft Continent also come.”
Xie Xiaoping agreed, “Exactly. It’s only been relatively peaceful in the past decade or so. My father never lets me leave Wuyu Town, saying that even if attacked, it’s still possible to run back to Chenxiao Sect from here. But outside, there’s no way to escape. You have no choice but to fight desperately. If one in ten survives, that’s already good.”
Tong Zhi added, “Unless you reach the level of the Purple Robe Elder, it’s simply suicide.”

Guan Yuntao said, “If one encounters truly formidable figures from the advanced continents, even the Purple-Clothed Elder might not be able to escape, unless he agrees to sign a slavery curse. Heh, how many people at the Purple-Clothed Elder’s level would agree to such terms? In the end, it all comes down to a desperate fight—escaping is luck, and those who fail are doomed to die in battle.”

Xie Xiaoping said, “Yes, I’ve heard from my father that in our Chenxiao Sect, there were members who died in battle because of this.”

Guo Shier asked, “Why do people from the advanced continents invade the intermediate continents?”

Guan Yuntao downed a bowl of wine and said, “They don’t want the intermediate continents to reach the level of the advanced ones, so they must suppress them. The method of suppression is simple: coming regularly to massacre… The intermediate continents are different from the lower ones; they’re not protected by any rules.”

Guo Shier scratched his head and asked, “Rules?” He suddenly realized it was something engraved in his soul after receiving the inheritance in the Path of Illusion. He said, “So it’s the rules of talismans… There are actually such rules.”

Guan Yuntao nodded. “Exactly, the rules of talismans. Only on continents above the intermediate level can one truly understand these rules. It’s said that only those at the Saint level or above can access some of these rules, which means they can create their own virtual talismans.”

Xie Xiaoping said, “Virtual talismans… Sigh, they’re even more powerful than any real talismans!”

Tong Zhi said, “Not necessarily. It’s said that certain types of real talismans have power comparable to virtual talismans.”

Xie Xiaoping smirked. “Who has such talismans? They’re just hearsay.”

Tong Zhi shook his head. “I heard it too… It’s said that whether it’s true spirit talismans or ancient true talismans, they can mutate and develop a spirit of their own—meaning the talismans gain their own consciousness… Heh, let’s drink, drink…” He seemed unwilling to continue, but Guo Shier was very interested in the topic.

Tong Zhi stopped talking and raised a large bowl of rice wine, gulping it down quickly. By now, each of them had drunk five or six bowls. Guo Shier estimated that each large copper bowl contained over two pounds of wine. This amazed him—people in this world not only ate a lot but also drank a lot. Judging by their appearance, this amount of wine wasn’t much at all; they remained calm and composed.

From the three of them chatting, Guo Shier learned many secrets about the Chenxiao Sect, things he couldn’t hear from Kuumu or Monier. These three were well-informed, especially since Wuyu Town was a transportation hub where the most varied news could be found.

As bowl after bowl of rice wine was poured in, the three of them talked more and more. Eagle Demon hardly said a word; he ate his meat heartily and drank straight from a large copper pot, gulping it down mouth to mouth in a very bold manner.

Guo Shier still hadn’t finished a single bowl of wine by now, finding it too sweet. He missed the shaojiu from his past life—the real drink for men. Unfortunately, it seemed none was available here.

Xie Xiaoping said, “I heard that the faction wants to sell a batch of people, mainly young women…”

Guo Shier asked, “They rob women to sell?”

Xie Xiaoping, chewing on a piece of meat bone, replied, “Mm-hm. When robbing people, children come first, followed by relatively young professionals, and then young women. Younger uncle, among the captured people, children are the most valuable, professionals are next, and young women are the cheapest.”

Guo Shier understood after a brief thought. Children were easy to train because they knew nothing and could be changed the most, hence they were the most valuable. Professionals, once tamed, were also quite useful. Young women were tools for reproduction. He shuddered inwardly—this world was so cruel.

Xie Xiaoping said, “Younger uncle, are you interested in buying a few to play with… uh, never mind what I said…”

Guo Shier glared at him angrily.

Tong Zhi and Guan Yuntao couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and even Eagle Demon couldn’t help but smile. Asking a child under eleven to buy women to play with was surely asking for trouble!

Xie Xiaoping said awkwardly, “Hehe, I’ve drunk a bit too much, younger uncle… I was just talking nonsense, hehe.”

Guo Shier said calmly, “No wonder your father won’t let you go on adventures. There’s indeed reason for that.” This made Xie Xiaoping’s face turn red. It was a classic form of insult without using foul language.

Tong Zhi said, “Younger uncle, don’t be angry. This guy never thinks before he talks…”

Xie Xiaoping snapped, “You’re the one without a brain!”

Tong Zhi raised his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay… I have no brain. Is that not okay? Hehe.”

Guo Shier realized that these three had a pretty good relationship. He thought better of getting upset and asked, “Where is that faction?”

Guan Yuntao said, “That faction! Hehe, they’re rivals of our Chenxiao Sect. We’ve fought them countless times, but it’s always been small-scale conflicts. Neither the high-ups nor the elite professionals have been involved—just disciples-level professionals fighting each other. It’s not too serious.”

Xie Xiaoping poured another big bowl of rice wine. His face finally turned red, and his voice grew louder: “The disciples of those sects are all scoundrels, a bunch of rascals… a bunch of useless trash!”
Tong Zhi and Guan Yuntao also got excited. The three of them started cursing loudly. Guo Shier was stunned, not expecting them to suddenly start shouting. He glanced at Eagle Demon, who was holding a pot of rice wine and pouring it into his mouth, acting as if it had nothing to do with him.
Suddenly, there was a thud from upstairs, followed by someone shouting, “Which bastard is making noise downstairs?”
Xie Xiaoping had drunk too much, but he wasn’t drunk yet. He could hear the shouting from upstairs clearly. He slapped the table hard and shouted, “Which bastard is upstairs? Get out!” He was even more aggressive than the people upstairs, ordering them to leave immediately.
Chaos ensued upstairs. A few seconds later, someone said, “Go down and see who’s so arrogant! Throw them out!”
Guo Shier took a sip of wine, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the wooden stairs.
Two burly men rushed down from upstairs.
Guo Shier whispered, “Martial Artists? Or Senior Martial Artists?”
Xie Xiaoping and the other two were all low-level inner disciples at the level of Martial Artists, with worse judgment than Guo Shier, who was at least a mid-level disciple. The three of them couldn’t tell the professional level of those two men at all, as the two burly men had no markings on them and were dressed in dark silk, clearly servants.
But Guo Shier could tell they were Martial Artists, though he wasn’t sure if they were Senior Martial Artists. He said calmly, “Uncle Eagle Demon, don’t let them get close. If they dare come over, throw them down!”
The two burly men walked down the stairs and shouted, “Were you guys making noise just now?”
Eagle Demon wiped his mouth with his sleeve, holding the large wine pot in his hand, and stood up, saying coldly, “So what?” He was extremely strong, clearly not someone to be trifled with. He also had a distinct mark—a dense array of martial art runes covering his face, layers upon layers, it was impossible to tell how many. Obviously, he was a native Senior Martial Artist. On the Mid-Level Magic Continent, there was a common belief that native-born Senior Martial Artists were the most difficult to deal with.
The two burly men exchanged a glance and shouted, “Get lost!” Suddenly, two martial art knives appeared in their hands as they charged forward with roars.
Eagle Demon smiled and said, “It’s been a while since I fought. My hands are itching!” He raised his hand and threw the large wine pot at them.
Guo Shier sat steadily. Tong Zhi, Xie Xiaoping, and Guan Yuntao all stood up, hands on their waists, in a typical combat stance.
Guo Shier asked calmly, “Old Guan, who’s upstairs?”