Mo Fan’s departure made Bai Yaoyao, next door, burst into laughter. She hadn’t expected this master of theirs to be so amusing. A grand demon, yet completely uninterested in women, which was rather intriguing.
Her laughter was unrestrained, and Mo Fan heard it clearly.
Turning his head, he saw the girl standing by the window, grinning widely, her eyes full of mischief.
At this, Mo Fan shot Bai Yaoyao a fierce glare and left, visibly annoyed.
Under normal circumstances, if two beauties threw themselves at him, he might have gone along with it.
But not now. Lu Tantang had just been killed, his body not yet cold. How could Mo Fan have the heart for romantic matters?
Moreover, in this market, Mo Fan felt uneasy, aware he might be under the market master’s surveillance at any moment, which killed any such mood.
Seeing Mo Fan leave the inn, Bai Yaoyao didn’t follow, knowing he should be quite safe within the market.
After a moment’s thought, she left the inn, heading straight for the bell tower at the market’s centre.
Meanwhile, after leaving the inn, Mo Fan went directly to the Hundred Weapons Pavilion.
His goal was simple: to buy another alchemy furnace for his final two medicinal baths.
But he was disappointed. The pavilion had no alchemy furnaces, not even disposable artifacts like the Sky-Shaking Thunder, leaving Mo Fan empty-handed.
After leaving the pavilion, Mo Fan headed to the Spirit Beast Courtyard, where he was once again received by Bing Qi.
“Thank you!”
As they walked side by side into the courtyard, Bing Qi suddenly spoke.
“Thank me for what?”
Mo Fan was slightly taken aback, looking at her.
“I heard you saved Sixth Brother,” Bing Qi said earnestly.
“Oh, that…”
Mo Fan nodded in realisation, then suddenly asked curiously, “How many cultivators with names starting with ‘Bing’ are there?”
“Nine,” Bing Qi replied without hesitation.
“As I thought… Are you all body cultivators?”
Bing Qi glanced at him and nodded.
Mo Fan was inwardly shocked. The strength of Bing Jiu and Bing Liu alone was staggering; he couldn’t imagine how terrifying the top five must be.
He recalled Bing Liu mentioning that Bing Wu had gone after Qin Changsheng, and he wondered if they’d succeed.
Both Qin Changsheng and Poison Fang were enemies Mo Fan was determined to kill, so he hoped they’d meet their end at Bing Wu’s hands.
Mo Fan asked no more questions. From the look Bing Qi gave him, he understood that some things were their secrets, and prying wasn’t wise.
Bing Qi’s sudden change in attitude toward him, Mo Fan figured, was likely because he saved Bing Liu, but that didn’t give him license to overstep.
With Bing Qi leading, Mo Fan devoured over twenty small demons this time.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want more, but the courtyard only had about twenty small demons, and no demon soldiers.
To Mo Fan’s delight, thanks to Bing Liu’s earlier promise of a thirty percent discount, he saved quite a few spirit stones.
As Mo Fan was about to leave the courtyard, he remembered something and asked Bing Qi, “Does your market have any alchemy furnaces?”
“Alchemy furnace?”
Bing Qi paused, then frowned, “What do you need an alchemy furnace for?”
“To… refine pills, of course,” Mo Fan quickly corrected himself.
“A demon cultivator who can refine pills?” Bing Qi’s eyes flashed with curiosity but she didn’t press further. After a moment, she said, “I heard there’s an alchemy furnace in the Hundred Weapons Pavilion. You could check there.”
Mo Fan gave a wry smile, “No need. I already bought that one… and it’s broken.”
“That’s tricky. I only know of the Young Miss having one, besides the pavilion,” Bing Qi shook her head.
“The Young Miss?”
“Who’s this Young Miss you keep mentioning?”
Mo Fan was curious, having heard the term from Bing Jiu and Bing Liu before.
“Our Young Miss is the market master, Yun Rou!”
Yun Rou?
Mo Fan froze, feeling the name sounded familiar, as if he’d heard it somewhere but couldn’t recall. He frowned, “Isn’t the market master the White Tiger Saint King? When did that change?”
“The Saint King is our Young Miss’s adoptive father,” Bing Qi explained.
This was supposed to be a secret, but since Mo Fan had guessed the Saint King’s identity, she saw no need to hide it.
The main reason was that the two higher-ups had a decent attitude toward this demon cultivator and hadn’t issued any strict prohibitions.
Mo Fan nodded, then shifted his gaze, asking, “Can I meet your Young Miss?”
“I can pass on your request, but whether she’ll see you, I can’t guarantee,” Bing Qi said after a moment’s thought.
“Thank you for that!”
Mo Fan’s expression lit up.
His reason for wanting to meet the market master was to buy her alchemy furnace for cultivation.
After witnessing the prowess of Poison Fang and Qin Changsheng, Mo Fan felt an immense urgency to grow stronger quickly.
The fastest way to do so was through his Ten Thousand Poison Spirit Body.
No matter what, he had to try.
With Bing Qi’s promise, Mo Fan left the courtyard and returned to the inn to await news.
Oddly, as he passed Bai Yaoyao’s window, he didn’t see her inside, unsure where the girl had gone.
At the market’s centre, atop the bell tower.
Bai Yaoyao sat across from a red-robed woman with a veiled face, a chessboard between them.
“So, the Saint King has left?”
Bai Yaoyao placed a piece, her brows slightly furrowed.
She had come to ask the White Tiger Saint King for answers, only to learn he was no longer at the market.
“Yes, my adoptive father is elusive, rarely even returning to White Saint Mountain. It’ll be hard to see him,” the red-robed woman nodded, her voice ethereal.
Bai Yaoyao pondered, then looked at her, “Can I ask why?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but my adoptive father values that toad highly. You’ve been by his side for some time; haven’t you noticed anything?” The red-robed woman looked curiously at Bai Yaoyao.
“He’s a very interesting demon, different from others I’ve seen. How do I put it… in my eyes, he’s more like a human!” Bai Yaoyao said after a moment’s thought.
“Like a human?”
The red-robed woman paused, a glint in her eyes, “How so?”
“Have you ever seen a demon risk danger to venture into human territory just to learn to read?”
“Have you ever seen a demon treat their underlings like siblings?”
“Have you ever seen a demon grieve for another demon’s death?”
“Have you ever seen a demon uninterested in women…”
“You heard right, he’s done all these!”
Bai Yaoyao laughed as she spoke, tossing the piece she was about to place back into the bowl. She stood, smiling at the red-robed woman, “I think I understand why now. I won’t disturb you further. Farewell!”
Watching Bai Yaoyao leave, the red-robed woman frowned slightly, glancing at the unfinished chess game, muttering, “Such poor chess etiquette. She must serve a lousy master!”
At that moment, a young girl ascended the tower, approaching the red-robed woman respectfully, “Young Miss, Lord Bing Qi requests an audience!”
“Little Qi is here?”
“Let her in quickly. She can play a game with me!”
