Xue Ling had not expected that a small place like Luocheng would actually have a black market.
However, the so-called black market was not as dark as Xue Ling had imagined.
Fang Bie led her all the way to a large residence. On the residence hung a plaque with the four characters "Rivers Flow into the Sea." At the same time, seeing the two youths arrive at the entrance, the gatekeeper came up to greet them: "What are you two doing here?"
Before Xue Ling could speak, Fang Bie took a wooden plaque from his bosom and waved it in front of the two of them. The gatekeeper's attitude instantly became respectful: "Please, come in, both of you."
Please, come in?
Xue Ling continued to follow Fang Bie, walking behind the gate of this large residence, and followed Fang Bie as he walked familiarly into a small side room.
On the walls inside the side room hung various masks of all sizes, made of different materials, and each mask carved with different things.
"Choose a mask first," Fang Bie said calmly.
"You first?" Xue Ling said. Due to her lack of experience, she was very happy to let Fang Bie give her a demonstration.
Fang Bie nodded, raised his hand to pick up a Sun Wukong monkey mask to wear, and then reached out to grab the Zhu Bajie one for Xue Ling.
Fortunately, Xue Ling was quick-witted and had already grabbed a wooden Green Fox mask in her hand: "I want this one, I'll take this one."
Fang Bie shook his head sheepishly, looking a bit dispirited, but then reached out to take down a black cloak and handed it to Xue Ling: "Put this on as well."
Xue Ling nodded and took it.
With the mask on her face and the cloak worn, not only was her appearance hidden, but even her figure and gender became blurred.
Ever since leaving Yanjing City, Xue Ling had not applied any face powder, so there was no scent of women's cosmetics on her. At this moment, having just bathed, her already faint natural body odor had become almost imperceptible.
Xue Ling looked at Fang Bie opposite her. Seeing him in a monkey king mask with a cheeky grin, wrapped entirely in black clothes, he looked quite comical, and Xue Ling could not help but chuckle.
"Don't laugh, and don't use your original voice," Fang Bie said. At the same time, he reached out to adjust the mask on Xue Ling's face. The young girl's mask was a sharp-mouthed green fox face, with a rather exaggerated design.
"Think of a codename for yourself. Once we go in, we will address each other by our codenames; do not call each other by your real names," Fang Bie instructed quietly. His voice was now a deep, resonant baritone, completely different from his usual clean and clear youth voice. Xue Ling had also heard that hoarse youth voice Fang Bie used back at the Mountain God Temple, so she was already somewhat accustomed to Fang Bie's ability to imitate voices.
"Me?" Xue Ling thought for a moment: "Then call me Green Fox."
Fang Bie smiled: "Alright, Green Fox, then you can call me Monkey Brother."
"Monkey Brother?" Xue Ling was stunned.
"Yes, Monkey Brother," Fang Bie confirmed: "Monkey Brother, Monkey Brother, you are truly amazing, Monkey Brother."
After saying this, Fang Bie continued to hold Xue Ling's hand and pushed the door open to head out.
Separated by only one door, Xue Ling felt as if she had arrived in a brand-new world.
When she came in, this was a seemingly stern and deep mansion, but now, in a space resembling a great hall, as far as the eye could see, black-robed people wearing various masks were moving between stalls. The stall owners were also wearing masks of various demons and ghosts, creating a feeling of a chaotic dance of demons.
However, although there were clearly over a hundred "demons" gathered in this hall, there was no noisy sound. Everyone's talk was whispered, and it was almost inaudible beyond a distance of ten feet. Burning flames overhead provided illumination, and the air was filled with a peculiar, faint incense that made one feel inexplicably excited upon entering.
"That is a special kind of Dragon's Saliva Incense," Fang Bie's deep baritone voice came to Xue Ling's ear: "It is not poisonous, but it has some effect of stimulating the nerves. It is better to practice some Internal Energy Cultivation and breathe less of it."
Upon hearing this, Xue Ling hurriedly circulated her Emei Internal Energy, instantly feeling her initially restless heart slowly calm down.
As for her family's Kung Fu, Purple Qi Comes from the East, Xue Ling still dared not reveal it.
She could only follow behind Fang Bie while stealing glances at everything around her.
Beneath the wooden Green Fox mask, Xue Ling's dark eyes were revealed, but the others she saw were truly just masks of all kinds. Almost everyone here was concentrating and holding their breath, clearly not wanting to inhale too much Dragon's Saliva Incense. Xue Ling looked up toward the head of the hall and saw a tall person in Red Clothes standing there, wearing a ferocious and terrifying Dragon King mask, looking extremely imposing.
"Who is that person?" Xue Ling tugged at Fang Bie's sleeve. Although the act of tugging at his sleeve was a bit embarrassing, in this kind of occasion, not tugging at his sleeve would not give her a sense of security.
Fang Bie turned his head, and Xue Ling pointed at the person in Red Clothes standing at the head of the hall.
"Dragon King," Fang Bie said quietly: "This is the Dragon King Gathering in Luocheng. The Dragon King is the person hosting this gathering. It is said that his cultivation is unfathomable, reaching the level of a First-Rank Master."
Xue Ling nodded as if she understood.
"In short, this is the Dragon King's territory, and everyone here is under the Dragon King's protection," Fang Bie continued.
"Then who is the Dragon King?" Xue Ling asked.
Fang Bie could not help but smile: "The reason the Dragon King is the Dragon King is just like how we are Monkey Brother and Green Fox; they are all codenames used when one's true identity is inconvenient to be known by others."
"This Dragon King Gathering allows anyone to enter regardless of their status, to exchange what they have for what they need, as long as they have the strength and status recognized by the Dragon King."
"Of course, the Dragon King himself is also a big shot who deals with both the black and white worlds. There are many guesses about his identity, but there are very few accurate ones."
Fang Bie's implication was that perhaps he knew the Dragon King's true identity.
Xue Ling just felt that the Dragon King gave her a slightly strange feeling, but she could not tell exactly where it was strange.
Just at this moment, a heart-rending scream suddenly erupted from the front. Ten steps away from them, a person in Black Clothes wearing a Marshal Tianpeng mask suddenly grabbed his own throat with both hands and began to struggle and scream on the spot, looking as if he wanted to strangle himself.
Xue Ling was startled. Her first reaction was to go over to check and rescue him, but her wrist was grabbed by Fang Bie, who covered her eyes.
"Don't look."
Fang Bie's deep baritone voice felt particularly reliable at this moment.
Xue Ling only heard a soft thud.
Fang Bie let go of his hand. Xue Ling saw that the Marshal Tianpeng was already lying limply on the ground, his mask having fallen off, revealing the face of a youth who looked no more than twenty years old. At the same time, a person in Red Clothes walked through the crowd, grabbed his feet, and dragged him out across the solid wooden floor.
"What happened?" Xue Ling could not help but ask.
"He inhaled too much Dragon's Saliva Incense and had hallucinations, causing him to go mad," Fang Bie said calmly.
Xue Ling instantly held her breath.
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