At my question, a woman stepped out from the darkness.
The faint scent of orchids drifted in with her – it was Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin.
“So, as I guessed, you’re planning to go alone.”
“…”
She continued speaking.
“This is North Sea Ice Palace’s affair. I can’t just leave everything to Deputy Merchant Lord Eun and sit on my hands.”
“So you’re saying you want to come with me?”
“Yes.”
But I had a reason for not bringing Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin along.
“That place is crawling with illegal dealings. If you can’t pretend you didn’t see that kind of thing, it’s better not to go at all.”
That’s why I left Brother Jin-ho behind too.
Brother Jin-ho is too righteous. There’s no way he’d be able to stomach what goes on there.
At my words, Bing Hae-rin let out a short laugh.
“Deputy Merchant Lord, you think I’m way too upright.”
“What?”
“Fine, I’ll be honest. Do you remember that masked person you saw before at Lotus Pavilion? Yeah. That was actually me.”
I already know that.
She denied it at the time, but I’m the one who caught that orchid scent.
“Sneaking around rifling through buildings like that isn’t exactly what you’d call upright, is it?”
That made me chuckle.
“Why are you laughing?”
“It just feels like watching a kid who barely became an adult have a few drinks and insist they’re a real grown–up.”
“Huh?”
Maybe I was being a bit blunt.
But there wasn’t any other way to put it.
“Anyway, putting that aside, are you really set on coming with me?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. With that resolute look in her eyes, I doubted I could talk her out of it.
Guess there’s no helping it.
“Fine. But I have one condition.”
“What is it?”
“Inside the Phantom Market, you have to do exactly as I say, no questions asked.”
“I promise.”
“No. That level of promise isn’t enough.”
I shook my head.
“Swear on North Sea Ice Palace.”
“Do you… actually know what that means, saying something like that?”
“Of course.”
For someone from North Sea Ice Palace, swearing on the palace means giving up all martial arts if you break that oath.
“That’s how careful you have to be in the Phantom Market. You can’t act rashly there. So what will you do?”
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin thought for a moment at my question, then nodded.
“All right. I’ll swear.”
“Then let’s go. But change your clothes first.”
A little later.
Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin had also changed into black clothes.
We were running a bit later than I’d planned, so we moved in a hurry.
Soon, we arrived at a large gate.
At the forest entrance where that gate stood, people in red clothes and goblin masks were planted like doorkeepers.
They looked us over and spoke in a heavy, threatening tone.
“This isn’t a place for humans to wander into.”
When towering fighters well over eight feet tall said that, anyone faint–hearted would have turned tail on the spot.
Besides wearing black, there were two more conditions to enter the Phantom Market.
The first was the code phrase.
“We’re not human either, so it shouldn’t be a problem, should it?”
“Hmm, is that so?”
“In that case, cover that human face.”
The second condition was the mask.
You had to wear a goblin mask to step into the Phantom Market.
They were masks that covered your head completely, provided by the Phantom Market itself.
Of course, you had to return them on your way out.
We put on the masks we were handed and passed through the gate into the forest.
As we walked toward the Phantom Market’s real entrance, I reminded Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin once more.
“Once we’re inside, you must never take this mask off. If you do, the ones who enforce order there will throw you out.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Jin Yu also nodded.
Before long, brilliant lights came into view.
That was the Phantom Market.
Thousands of red lanterns made the place feel surreal, like we were wandering through a dream.
Been a while.
This place hadn’t changed at all, whether in my previous life or this one.
Customers in goblin masks and black clothes, and Blood Sea’s soldiers in red.
And merchants dressed in blue.
To do business in the Phantom Market, you needed Blood Sea’s permission.
If you got caught trading without that permit, you died.
Not figuratively – you literally died.
That ‘permit’ was a pledge to hand over half of your sales. In return, he didn’t care what you sold.
We were walking along, looking over the rows of merchant tents lining both sides, when it happened.
“Is that… real?”
At Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin’s question, I turned to see what she was pointing at.
[All kinds of poisons sold cheap]
In front of the sign, bottles that were clearly filled with poison were lined up in rows.
“Yeah. They’re real.”
“It’s really okay to sell poison that openly?”
“In the Phantom Market, you can sell anything you want. The only thing they don’t allow is fakes. If you get caught selling fakes, you die.”
“…”
“You’re surprised by just that?”
It’s way too early to be shocked.
We started walking again, but Bing Hae-rin kept stopping here and there.
[Corpses in good condition for sale]
[Blood Drum eggs for sale]
[Bone–Melting Powder, Immortal’s Lung, Bloodhound Pills for sale]
[Assassination requests accepted]
Every single one of them was illegal.
Good thing I didn’t bring Brother Jin-ho. He would’ve had a fit.
A little deeper in, women who looked like courtesans were calling out to lure in customers.
Their outfits were a bit embarrassing to even look at, but at least we had masks on.
Still, drinking at a time like this…
Then again, in a place that sells poison, of course they’d sell alcohol too.
Even with all these illegal things running rampant, the strange way order was maintained here was because…
“What a rip–off! You’re charging five silver taels for this?”
“Sir, you must be new here. We charge exactly what’s written on the price tag.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Take three silver taels.”
“I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t? Here!”
“Sigh… We’ve got someone here who doesn’t know the rules!”
At that shout, men in red rushed over, beat the man half to death, and dragged him away.
That’s how the order in this place stayed so firm – because of them.
“So you can’t haggle here?”
At Escort Guard Seo Wu’s question, I nodded.
“Yeah. It’s one of this place’s rules. They only take the listed price. That doesn’t mean they can gouge people, though. If the price is outrageous, the owner will chew them out before it even makes it onto a tag.”
“I see.”
A bitter taste rose in my mouth.
Someone appointed by the Emperor as a Censorate Inspector had to turn a blind eye to all this lawlessness.
But if I stepped in now, it’d just be beating the grass and alerting the snake.
No matter how hard you try to wipe out illegal dealings, they always find a way to survive.
They’d only burrow deeper into the shadows. So this level was just about right.
Right then, the sound of drums echoed through the air.
Boom, boom, boom!
Then someone shouted loudly.
“The auction will begin in about fifteen minutes! Anyone who wishes to participate, please come to the central courtyard!”
I spoke to my group.
“Let’s go.”
Soon we reached the central courtyard, where someone who looked like a soldier handed each of us a numbered flag.
The number on the flag I received was sixty–two.
Looking around, I saw quite a crowd had gathered in the courtyard.
“Thank you all for waiting!”
A man wearing a goblin mask stepped up onto the platform.
“We’ve prepared some very fine goods today as well. Let’s not drag things out and get straight to it.”
At his signal, another man pushed out a small wheeled cart.
“As for this item, it’s made of Heavenly Silkworm Thread…”
“Oh! Heavenly Silkworm Thread!”
The crowd buzzed with excitement.
I was tempted for a moment too, but I’d already received Heavenly Silkworm Thread from His Majesty, so I stayed out of it.
“We’ll start at one hundred silver taels.”
“Number five! One hundred thirty silver taels!”
“Number seventy! One hundred fifty silver taels!”
In the end, that Heavenly Silkworm Thread sold for two hundred silver taels.
A few more items went by like that…
“Next is an elixir you can only obtain in the North Sea – Ice Lotus Seeds. As some of you know, they’re the best thing for wounds inflicted by Flame Qi arts. And for anyone who practices yin–aligned techniques, they raise your inner Qi by a full sixty years’ worth!”
At that, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin’s body trembled.
“What’s wrong?”
“That… I’m sure that’s one of the items our side sent in this time.”
“Do you have any proof that it’s that elixir?”
“See how the Ice Lotus Seed hasn’t turned completely clear yet? That means it’s been less than a month since it was harvested.”
I knew that too.
I only asked just in case. I’d already realized that Ice Lotus Seed came from North Sea Ice Palace.
“We’ll start at five hundred silver taels.”
People started shouting over each other, trying to get their hands on the Ice Lotus Seed.
I had to win it too, for what I had in mind.
“Three thousand silver taels! Three thousand! Any higher?”
I raised my flag and called out.
“Number sixty–two! Three thousand five hundred silver taels.”
“Yes, three thousand five hundred silver taels!”
The one who’d bid three thousand shouted loudly again.
“Four thousand silver taels!”
I raised my flag once more and shouted.
“Number sixty–two! Five thousand silver taels!”
“Yes, five thousand silver taels! Five thousand! Any higher?”
Once the price hit five thousand, my rival couldn’t say another word and hung their head.
“Sold!”
Bing Hae-rin spoke, eyes wide.
“Y–you say it’s for our sake, but… five thousand silver taels… You really didn’t have to go that far.”
Well, even for Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin, five thousand silver taels was a huge sum.
I just laughed. This wasn’t the end.
“The next item is also an elixir – Snow Ginseng. We’ll start at fifty silver taels.”
“Number sixty–two! One hundred silver taels!”
“Number forty–one! Two hundred silver taels!”
“Number sixty–two! Three hundred silver taels!”
“…”
In the end, I won the Snow Ginseng for three hundred silver taels, and the Snow Plum Fruit that came next for three thousand.
By that point, Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin’s eyes were practically spinning.
Even with a mask on, I could clearly picture her expression.
After that, I bought Ice Dew Plums and Mulberry Leaf Herb as well.
Altogether, I’d spent close to ten thousand silver taels at this auction.
Hmm. Seeing Young Palace Lord Bing Hae-rin react like that was understandable.
My escort guards, on the other hand, were completely unfazed.
Once the auction ended, a man in red came up to me.
“Please come this way to collect your items. And as you know, if you don’t have the money on hand right now…”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I brought plenty of drafts.”
“Then allow me to escort you.”
We followed him into a building.
It looked like the place where they stored and managed the auction goods.
No wonder the security was so tight.
We waited a moment where we’d been shown, and a man in red came in carrying a box.
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
“Not at all.”
“These are all the items you won today.”
I opened the box.
Ice Lotus Seed, Snow Ginseng, Snow Plum Fruit, Ice Dew Plums, Mulberry Leaf Herb.
Five kinds of elixirs in total.
Now it was time for Geumryeong to shine.
Pretending to inspect the elixirs, I slipped both hands into the box.
Then I sent Geumryeong a voice transmission.
— Geumryeong. You can store these elixirs for me, right?
— Kui?
A questioning sound, asking if it only had to store them – clearly meaning it wanted to eat them.
— I’ll give you a silver tael later.
— Kui!
Geumryeong liked expensive elixirs well enough, but what it loved most was money.
Poking just its head out from my sleeve, Geumryeong gulped down the elixirs in an instant.
I’d found out last time that Geumryeong could store money or elixirs inside its stomach.
The downside was that it could only store things that were valuable.
Judging by that alone, Geumryeong really was a spiritual beast.
Once I confirmed that Geumryeong had swallowed the elixirs, I pulled out the fake ones I’d stashed in my other sleeve.
Then I pretended to examine them and let my expression turn grave.
Watching from the side, Escort Guard Seo Wu, who’d already been briefed, asked carefully,
“Is something wrong, my lord?”
“Has some kind of problem come up?”
Escort Guard Jin Yu asked right after.
I sighed, shook my head, then spoke to the man who’d brought the box.
“Can you guarantee, on your master’s name, that these items are genuine?”
“Of course.”
He answered with confidence.
“Every one of them is authentic.”
“Then why are the items I just received fakes?”
“What? Fakes? That’s impossible.”
“I find it hard to believe too. I’ve heard all about the Phantom Market’s reputation – that you never deal in fakes. So why… sigh.”
I carefully laid out why I believed they were counterfeit.
“If you don’t believe me, call an appraiser and have them examine them.”
Wearing a face full of doubt, he summoned an appraiser.
The result was obvious.
As the appraiser checked the elixirs, his expression grew flustered.
“When I appraised these before, they were definitely real…”
“They must’ve brought out the real ones for appraisal and swapped in fakes when it was time to deliver.”
“Inform the master immediately!”
Listening to that exchange, I couldn’t help smiling in satisfaction.
Whoever supplied those elixirs was about to be in serious trouble.
All right, time to move on to the next step.
–TL Notes–
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