Chapter 403: Chapter 403: 103: Reunion with the Dark-Skinned Youth

After dealing with the two men, Lin Jing picked up the Storage Bags they had left behind and continued flying towards Black Xing Island.

Before landing on Black Xing Island, Lin Jing changed his appearance and used the Changyun Hidden Technique to disguise himself.

He didn’t intend to rescue Lin Jue using his real identity.

Although the deaths of those two men might not be discovered immediately, they would eventually create hidden dangers.

Moreover, the Black Shark Gang now wasn’t a force he could afford to provoke.

Therefore, it was better to avoid trouble by changing his identity and simply buying Lin Jue back.

Furthermore, with his current level of cultivation, he couldn’t possibly create a big disturbance on Black Shark Island; buying Lin Jue back was the most cost-effective strategy.

……

Soon, Lin Jing arrived at Black Xing Island.

As he entered Black Shark City again, the place was as bustling as ever.

Various cultivators came and went, and most of them did not look like good folk.

Lin Jing then directly made his way to the trading market.

Upon reaching the market, he walked in all the way to the center and entered a rather large shop.

From the memories of the Liu surname cultivator, Lin Jing was aware that the two of them had sold Lin Jue here.

As soon as he entered, a sly-looking old man approached him. Upon seeing Lin Jing, the elder immediately greeted him with a fawning smile,

“Esteemed senior, may I know what kind of merchandise you’re looking for? Whether it’s a noble family’s daughter or a demon tribe’s maiden, our shop has it all…”

Lin Jing glanced at the old man and said bluntly,

“Where do you keep your merchandise? Take me to see it…”

“Certainly, senior, please follow me…” said the old man with a sly eye, leading Lin Jing inside.

After entering the shop, they found themselves in a large courtyard.

At this moment, many cages were placed in the yard, containing various ‘items’ whose cultivation had been sealed.

These ‘items’ included men, women, elderly, and children, but most were young men and women, as they were the most saleable and in highest demand.

Their purposes varied greatly upon purchase.

Some were used as vessels for possession, some as alchemical catalysts, and even more were used as cauldrons for dual cultivation, or as necessary mediums for practicing certain Demonic Techniques.

The fate of these people was generally very grim.

Only a very few might fare slightly better, but the best outcome was merely keeping their lives, rather than dying outright.

At this moment, there were various ‘items’ with clearly marked prices, and even several cultivators, led by attendants, were selecting merchandise.

“I wonder what kind of merchandise senior needs, I can make recommendations for you.”

Lin Jing then said,

“I need one or two youths around twenty years old, to serve as catalysts for my Alchemy.”

“Take me to see them now…”

Upon hearing this, the sly-eyed old man seemed to have an epiphany and said with a smile,

“So it turns out the senior is here for alchemy…”

“We may not have much of many things, but we certainly have plenty of young men and women. They will surely satisfy the senior.”

“Senior, please follow me…”

With that, the sly-eyed old man led Lin Jing deeper into the yard.

Along the way, Lin Jing saw that most of the ‘items’ in the cages were listless, like walking corpses, and some were even tied up.

However, from their angry eyes, one could see their humiliation and unwillingness to accept their fate…

Lin Jing followed the old man with the sly eye all the way to the very back of the yard.

Then, the old man pointed to several neat rows of cages against the wall and said,

“From here, all the way to the cages against the wall, are young men. The senior may choose at will…”

Lin Jing nodded and began to search…

These cages, stacked in two levels, housed the young men like farmed animals, locked within.

Many were ragged, their faces dirty.

This created no small trouble for Lin Jing in his search.

However, fortunately, Lin Jing had met Lin Jue twice before and was quite familiar with some of his characteristics.

Using his Divine Sense, Lin Jing could immediately confirm whether the person was the one he was looking for, which made his search go quickly.

And so, Lin Jing proceeded with his search, while the sly-eyed old man watched him shaking his head ceaselessly.

Finally, as he was nearing the end,

Lin Jing finally caught sight of a familiar figure.

This person was the dark-skinned youth who had been sold together with Lin Jue.

From the memories of the Liu surname cultivator, Lin Jing knew that this dark-skinned youth had been sold together with Lin Jue.

At this moment, the dark-skinned youth was bound all over, but his eyes still had a stubborn look.

Clearly, he was an undaunted individual.

Lin Jing approached him and observed the dark-skinned youth, who stubbornly turned his head away.

After observing for a while, Lin Jing nodded slightly.

The sly-eyed old man, who had been by his side the whole time, immediately asked eagerly,

“Senior…”

“Have you taken a liking to this ‘item’?”

“Although it doesn’t look like much, it’s quite suitable as a catalyst for alchemy…”

Lin Jing nodded lightly and said,

“So far, this one seems to be the most satisfactory, but I would still like to see if there are any others that are better…”

The old man with the sly eye responded,

“Senior, please take your time…”

Before long, Lin Jing had examined them all.

However, he had not seen any trace of Lin Jue.

Thus, Lin Jing frowned and said to the squint-eyed old man:

“The ‘goods’ you have here, is that all?”

“The quality is really not that great. Don’t you have anything else?”

The squint-eyed old man smiled sheepishly and then spoke up:

“Replying to the senior…”

“Indeed, these are all we have here.”

“If the senior isn’t satisfied, the only option would be to go to the Black Shark Auction House.”

“We’ve always cooperated with the Black Shark Auction House; any relatively high-quality ‘goods’ are sent there for auction…”

“Oh?”

“Is that so?”

Lin Jing asked the squint-eyed old man.

The squint-eyed old man nodded repeatedly and said:

“Without hiding anything from the senior…”

“Our little shop has an extraordinary relationship with the Black Shark Gang, so any quality ‘goods’ are sent to the Black Shark Auction House for auction.”

“Just like a couple of days ago, a young man, who was a Second-Grade Alchemist, was deemed high-quality ‘goods’ and was sent to the Black Shark Auction House.”

“The young man sent to the Black Shark Auction House is the same one you showed interest in just before, along with that dark-skinned youth…”

Upon hearing this, Lin Jing immediately tensed up.

The Second-Grade Alchemist mentioned by the squint-eyed old man must certainly be Lin Jue.

Who else could it be, sent alongside the dark-skinned youth, except him?

“A Second-Grade Alchemist…”

“The Second-Grade Alchemist you mentioned, has he already been sold at auction?”

Seeing Lin Jing’s reaction, the squint-eyed old man also hurriedly asked him:

“Could it be that the senior is very interested in that Second-Grade Alchemist?”

Lin Jing then spoke bluntly:

“Nonsense…”

“I often refine medicine, and having a Second-Grade Alchemist skilled in alchemy to assist me would save me a lot of trouble.”

“Hurry up and tell me, has that Second-Grade Alchemist been sold at auction or not?”

Lin Jing appeared somewhat eager, but his reason was quite sound and reasonable.

The squint-eyed old man had no doubts; after all, he had spent decades here and had seen all kinds of people.

He’d seen many like Lin Jing, of course.

In his view, Lin Jing was certainly a demon cultivator who practiced demonic techniques and was the kind who disliked interacting with others.

That’s why he would come to Black Xing Island to buy the medicinal primers he needed.

With this in mind, the squint-eyed old man said:

“Senior, that Second-Grade Alchemist probably hasn’t been sold yet.”

“He was brought here just a couple of days ago, and the next auction at the Black Shark Auction House is scheduled for tomorrow.”

“If the senior wishes to buy that Second-Grade Alchemist, there should still be time.”

Lin Jing then laughed heartily, saying:

“Haha… good!”

“I’ll take that Second-Grade Alchemist.”

The squint-eyed old man, seeing how intent Lin Jing was on the Second-Grade Alchemist youth, immediately felt a burst of nervousness.

He was responsible for guiding Lin Jing, and if Lin Jing bought ‘goods,’ he would receive a reward of Spirit Stones.

If Lin Jing didn’t buy any ‘goods’ here, then he would get nothing at all.

Therefore, he spoke carefully and swiftly asked Lin Jing:

“Senior…”

“That ‘good’ you were just looking at, do you still want it?”

Lin Jing then said:

“Yes, of course…”

“How much are you selling that ‘good’ for in Spirit Stones?”

Upon hearing Lin Jing’s affirmation, the squint-eyed old man was instantly delighted, reinvigorated, and quickly said:

“Senior, although the youth isn’t very old, he has reached the Foundation Establishment Stage.”

“Originally, with his cultivation, he could have been sold for at least five thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones; however, his talent isn’t very good, and his dark skin is disliked by many, so the selling price is three thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.”

“That price is a real bargain.”

In order to close a deal, the squint-eyed old man explained the price of the dark-skinned youth with both description and rationale.

Lin Jing nodded and said:

“Fine then, three thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones it is.”

Seeing Lin Jing agree readily, the squint-eyed old man nodded repeatedly and said:

“Senior, please wait here for me.”

“Buying goods here requires going through some procedures. I’ll go handle it for you. When I return, we can exchange money for the goods, and the deal will be complete.”

Lin Jing nodded and said:

“Ok…”

“I’ll wait for you here, but make it quick. I still need to go to the Black Shark Auction House to inquire about that Second-Grade Alchemist.”

The squint-eyed old man hurriedly replied:

“Senior, rest assured, I’ll be right back!”

“Additionally…”

“We have a copy of the Black Shark Auction House’s auction list here. I’ll bring a copy for the senior in a moment, so you won’t have to go through the trouble of inquiring at the Black Shark Auction House…”