Zhou Yan had already steeled himself for being torn to shreds by the demons, secretly vowing in his heart that even if he were to be ripped apart, he would take down a few more demons to make it worthwhile. Yet he never expected that someone would come.
He suddenly remembered what Li Zhiwei had said about two reinforcements coming.
He thought of the talisman she had pressed into his hand.
‘Two reinforcements?’
‘That young lady, could she have already foreseen this possibility and given me that talisman…’
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Zhou Yan suddenly felt relieved. With this relief, the strength and final surge of emotion that had been surging within him dispersed, and fatigue and piercing pain crashed over him like ocean waves.
Strike with one effort, weaken with the second, exhaust with the third.
That burst of energy could no longer be summoned.
The man’s face was stubbled, his eyes bloodshot, his body reeking of blood as if he had been in constant battle. The black mountain-patterned armor on his body was imposing, but a vicious gash could be seen across the front.
It looked as though he had been struck head-on by a heavy war blade.
Those demons, startled by this man’s appearance, reacted sluggishly. The man’s blade trembled in his hand, his movements never stopping as he swept horizontally, cutting through a demon’s head, then cleaved vertically, splitting another demon’s skull in half before pulling back.
Using it like a saw, the demon died miserably.
The horizontal blade was pulled back, its edge bearing fine nicks, stained with blood and emanating a fierce, murderous aura.
After protecting Zhou Yan with his blade, the man asked, “Are you still alive? Are there any civilians left inside?”
Zhou Yan replied, “When I escaped, I didn’t see any.”
“Is that so?”
“Then let’s get you out first. Hold on to me.”
The man wielded his horizontal blade, protecting Zhou Yan, and just like Pei Xuanbao had done earlier, retreated without hesitation. All the demons blocking their retreat path were completely cut down before that horizontal blade, with virtually no resistance.
His blade technique was all horizontal slashes and vertical cuts, bold and sweeping, with tremendous killing power.
But as they retreated, a voice rang out.
“In the marketplace, we welcome and send off guests, conducting fair trade.”
“Customers coming to do business here are welcome, but killing my marketplace employees and then trying to leave just like that—isn’t that a bit too arrogant?”
This voice started out flat and distant, but gradually grew closer and louder, until finally it was like thunder exploding right beside Zhou Yan’s ear, making his head ache and his vision darken.
Whoosh—
The man protecting him spun around, his war boots scraping forward on the ground as his right foot stomped down hard. The sound of fine, continuous cracking exploded outward, and then fissures in the earth spread toward the estate.
Sharp earthen spikes burst forth from these fissures, spreading densely forward. The lesser demons who couldn’t dodge in time were all pierced through. The man planted his feet, spun around, and struck out with the horizontal blade in his hand.
The horizontal blade was wrapped in a black aura, and the earthen spikes rising ahead shattered instantly.
BOOM!!!
The fragments of the shattered earthen spikes, mixed with a brownish energy, were carried along by the blade’s momentum, forming a blade light at least three zhang long that cleaved toward the direction of the voice.
The demons ahead screamed and wailed as they dodged this attack.
Zhou Yan heard the man’s labored breathing and knew that this strike had cost him greatly. The demons ahead scattered, the ground split open, and the wind pressure from the blade light dispersed.
A pale, slender hand with crimson-painted nails gently pressed against this blade light, then exerted force.
This powerful blade light shattered.
Flowing silk ribbons swayed gently as a snow-white foot stepped into the air, followed by another. An extremely graceful beauty walked through the air, holding a lady’s fan in her hand, fanning herself leisurely: “What great anger you have, honored guest.”
“That general from earlier didn’t have such a fiery temper.”
“Originally, I only thought to collect a bit of flesh, but I never expected it would stir up such trouble.”
Zhou Yan’s gaze was slightly dazed. The jade册 in his consciousness remained still and unmoving, having gained nothing related to this demon, and the jade册 showed no reaction. Only when he saw that woman did Zhou Yan’s body feel an instinctive fear.
This woman was undoubtedly stronger than this reinforcement.
No wonder Pei Xuanbao had run so fast.
The woman’s gaze turned toward Zhou Yan, and she smiled: “What a handsome young gentleman.”
“I wonder how much he might be worth.”
She reached out to caress Zhou Yan’s chin but was forced back by the horizontal blade’s edge.
The man protecting Zhou Yan held his blade diagonally and said, “People are not your ‘merchandise,’ Qingming Market Master.”
The Qingming Market Master smiled demurely: “So you’re someone who knows my name.”
“Oh? This attire…”
The Qingming Market Master looked at the man lazily: “Since you know my name, you also know my rules here. Fighting and killing is rather meaningless. If you want to take him away, that’s easily arranged—you need only pay the price.”
The man pressed his horizontal blade forward, instinctively saying coldly:
“I don’t have the habit of making deals with demons.”
The Qingming Market Master smiled: “I can see that you’re brave and unafraid of death, but while you have this resolve, what about that child behind you?”
“You clearly know this is my domain, yet you charge in with that wounded body.”
“So reckless with your life—it’s all to save the common people, isn’t it?”
The man looked back at Zhou Yan, seeing him utterly exhausted. Zhou Yan also saw his face, seeing the fatigue of many battles etched there, as if he hadn’t rested in a long time. But more than that was a kind of spiritual exhaustion.
The man’s facial features were hard and cold. Finally, he said: “…What do you want?”
The Qingming Market Master said unhurriedly:
“One of your arms, one of your eyes, and all your archery skills.”
“You know my name, so you should know my cultivation method. This place values fair trade.”
Zhou Yan saw the man stare at the Qingming Market Master, then say: “Agreed.”
He stuck his blade into the ground, then turned around, his cloak billowing as he reached out with his other hand to cover Zhou Yan’s eyes, saying gently: “It’s a great demon with successful cultivation. In its marketplace, everything follows the principle of exchange.”
“Don’t be afraid.”
Zhou Yan felt the man’s body grunt in pain, then warm blood dripped onto his face, slowly trickling down. The metallic smell flooded his nose, Zhou Yan’s pupils contracted, and then came the man’s voice: “Is this acceptable?”
The Qingming Market Master smiled slightly: “…Good. Go.”
Zhou Yan realized what had happened. He wanted to open his eyes, but the man gently covered them, whispering: “Don’t look. Walk.”
His strength was still great. Not to mention that Zhou Yan was already utterly exhausted—even if he were in good condition, he couldn’t resist this man’s power. He was led outside.
The man—one large, one small—the two males walked out just like that.
The demons didn’t obstruct them, allowing them to leave.
A young man walked out leisurely from among the demons, saying:
“The Market Master actually didn’t kill them?”
The beautiful woman’s form swayed and trembled, then her entire body began to glow. With a rumbling sound, the very earth shook, and the entire ground cracked open as a giant beast slowly rose.
Even so, most of its body remained below ground, with less than a tenth exposed above the surface.
That estate sat on the scales of this giant beast’s neck.
Behind the estate, faintly visible, were continuous buildings, though hidden by a layer of dark clouds. This giant beast appeared majestic, and behind the beauty was a fleshy tube extending to the giant beast’s body.
This beauty, whose every smile and frown was enchanting, was actually just an organ of this giant beast.
The young man was also looking at this giant beast.
This was the great demon Qingming Market Master.
But the Market Master still spoke using that beauty’s identity, not mentioning the strange feeling she’d just experienced, only saying lazily: “I value fairness. They paid the price, so I let them go.”
“Besides, that man… killing him would cause trouble.”
Trouble?
Zhu Zicheng, the godson of the Weaver Third Grandmother, raised an eyebrow.
“Speaking of this man, he was actually willing to pay such a price for a stranger?!”
The Qingming Market Master said: “Probably after making the greatest mistake of his life, when he’s at his most self-destructive, he can only do good deeds to prevent his state of mind from collapsing completely, to comfort himself.”
“People are always like this.”
“As for what mistake…”
The Qingming Market Master beckoned with her hand—beside the severed arm lay a waist token, shrouded in green light, which flew into the Qingming Market Master’s palm. She looked at this token, her eyes growing serious.
Then she tossed the token to the young man: “See for yourself.”
Zhu Zicheng had been unconcerned, but after one glance, his expression changed dramatically:
“What?!”
“He, they…”
He slowly raised his head: “I thought he was just some random soldier, but they… weren’t they almost completely annihilated north of Xiangji Temple?! Could there be a mistake?”
The Qingming Market Master said flatly: “He came from Chang’an.”
The token was quite ancient, with one side bearing the characters [Anren Army Shen Cangming] in large script.
The other side had a single imposing character:
[Tang]
Zhu Zicheng said: “The Anren Army—the border troops that guarded the frontier for the Great Tang? It seems that in the end, some of the Anren Army were also swept up with the An-Shi rebel forces, thinking they were saving the Great Tang, yet ended up in bloody battle with the Tang’s central army.”
The Qingming Market Master said lazily:
“You mean the Great Tang central army that was mixed with soldiers from the Western Regions and Huihe?”
Zhu Zicheng only said: “He’s from the Anren Army.”
“From Chang’an.”
“Could he really be someone who survived that battlefield north of Xiangji Temple?”
Zhu Zicheng examined the token repeatedly:
“A cavalry officer of the Anren Army.”
“The Central Plains border troops who faced Tibetan cavalry in archery duels for thirty-eight years without retreat.”
The Qingming Market Master picked up the token, saying quietly:
“The Great Tang’s final elite troops?”
She released the token. This bronze token fell toward the ground below, landing on the floor of the demon marketplace with a soft clang. The Tang character lay there in the bloody filth, creating ripples that spread outward in circles.
[Gengzi day, all armies departed; Renyin day, they reached the west of Chang’an city, forming battle lines north of Xiangji Temple, east of the Li River. Li Siye commanded the vanguard, Guo Ziyi the center army, Wang Sili the rear guard. The rebel forces numbered one hundred thousand, arrayed to their north…]
[From noon until evening, sixty thousand heads were taken, and the rebels were utterly routed.]
——Zizhi Tongjian, Tang Records, Volume 36
