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"The Li family of Heishan?"

The red-faced man's brows furrowed beneath his mask. He pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"Never heard of it."

"Which gang are you from? What, do you have a grudge against me?"

Seeing Chen Qian remain silent, the red-faced man waved his large, fan-like hand, speaking casually with the roughness and arrogance characteristic of a martial artist.

"Alright, stop wasting your time asking around at the stalls."

"You need to understand, this City of the Wrongfully Dead is a giant funnel, a gathering place for outlaws from the entire state. People from the south and those from the north, humans and ghosts mixed together, no one knows anyone else."

"Here, unless they're infamous demons or powerful figures renowned throughout the martial world, who would bother remembering someone from some backwater village?"

The man scoffed, clearly regarding the so-called Li family as some low-class scum.

Thank you.

Chen Qian didn't press the matter further and took his leave with a bow.

My heart sank.

Even seasoned martial arts masters with dual lights like this have never heard of such a thing.

Either the Li family is truly an insignificant nobody.

Either the Li family is too well hidden, so well hidden that even the Double Lantern Martial Artist isn't qualified to contact them.

Recalling the eerie scene of paper figures carrying lanterns and hundreds of ghosts shunning that night, Chen Qian instinctively leaned towards the latter.

The trail went cold.

This intensified his sense of urgency.

Clutching the large sum of money and the secret manual he had just acquired, Chen Qian did not rush to leave the area of ​​scattered stalls. Instead, he wrapped himself tightly in his black robe and prepared to try his luck at other stalls.

Just as he walked less than ten feet away from the red-faced man's stall.

[Auditory recognition experience points +1]

A very faint sound, like the buzzing of a mosquito, entered my ear.

"Young man, are you inquiring about the Li family's paper effigies?"

Chen Qian paused almost imperceptibly in his forward steps.

He didn't turn around immediately, as that would seem too hasty.

He took a few more steps forward before seemingly casually turning to look back.

A tall, thin man dressed in a blue robe and wearing a smiling scholar's mask was standing at the foot of a rock wall not far away, waving a folding fan in his hand.

He wasn't standing in the candlelight of any of the stalls, but rather in the dimly lit area between two stalls, appearing somewhat detached.

"You know?" Chen Qian asked calmly, without revealing his inner urgency.

A soft laugh came from beneath the scholar's mask, carrying a hint of intellectual aloofness and disdain for warriors.

"Ha, that red-faced barbarian only knows how to fight and kill, he has no idea about the secrets of Black Mountain. The Li family is not a place that just anyone can know about."

He lowered his voice, his tone becoming enigmatic: "That is a very secretive existence."

Chen Qian's pupils contracted slightly.

This statement carries immense weight.

"Name your price," Chen Qian said bluntly.

"I don't sell information; I'm just a middleman."

The scholar closed his folding fan and pointed to a secluded side path deep inside the cave.

"There's a 'know-it-all' stall over there that specializes in selling these kinds of shady news."

"The stall owner is a blind old woman. She used to be a matchmaker for the Li family when she was young. She has the information you need."

After saying that, the scholar didn't press the matter further, turned around and left, as if he had really just given directions casually.

Chen Qian stood still, squinting at the fork in the road.

The place, with its flickering lights and slightly off-center from the main road, was indeed a perfect spot for murder and robbery.

How could someone as cautious as him put himself in a dangerous situation without the protection of rules?

Chen Qian activated Night Vision, his gaze piercing through the darkness as he looked toward the fork in the road.

On that road, in a recess near the rock wall, there was indeed a faint green candle flame flickering.

In the candlelight, a hunched figure sat there, with a small stall in front of him.

"Candlelight stall".

Chen Qian felt a little more at ease.

As long as you stand in front of a stall with lit candles, you are protected by the rules of the City of the Unjustly Dead. At least under the rules of the City of the Unjustly Dead, there shouldn't be any major problems.

But he still didn't move.

He is waiting.

After waiting for about half a cup of tea.

[Auditory Recognition] Fully Open.

He saw two buyers, both dressed in black robes, walk into the side road, one after the other.

They stopped in front of the stall, seemingly asking something, then took out silver to make the transaction, and finally left safely with their goods.

Throughout the entire process, the hunchbacked stall owner did not make any unusual movements, and the candlelight burned steadily.

You could even hear the two buyers whispering as they left: "That old woman may be dark-skinned, but her information is definitely accurate."

"It was sheltered by candlelight, and although the location was remote, it was still within sight."

Chen Qian quickly calculated in his mind.

"Moreover, news about the Li family is a matter of life and death for me, a ten-day deadline."

He still didn't make a move. After planning his escape route, he carefully examined and listened for a long time before finally making up his mind.

Chen Qian wrapped his black robe tighter, placed his right hand on the handle of a wood-chopping knife hidden in his sleeve, and pressed down on a packet of wood ash with his left hand, as he walked step by step toward the fork in the road.

The further you go in, the quieter it becomes.

Although it wasn't too far from the main road, it felt even more lonely.

The eerie green candle flame flickered precariously in the darkness, as if it might go out at any moment.

Arriving at the stall.

By candlelight, Chen Qian could see the stall owner clearly.

She was indeed an old woman with a face full of wrinkles, her eyes rolled back, and she was completely blind.

In front of her were several worn-out tortoise shells and a few copper coins, and she exuded a strong earthy smell.

"Young man, are you asking about good or bad fortune, or about your future?"

The old woman's voice was hoarse, like two bones rubbing against each other.

Chen Qian did not step into the very center of the candlelight, but stood on the edge.

This is an excellent position that allows for both offense and defense.

"Can I ask for directions?"

Chen Qian stared at the old woman's blind eyes. "Black Mountain, the Li family."

The old woman's hand, which was groping for the tortoise shell, suddenly stopped.

She slowly raised her head, her rolled-up eyes seemingly looking at Chen Qian, and a strange smile suddenly appeared on her lips:

"The Li family, ah, that's a wonderful place."

"If you want to go there, you have to pay a toll."

"How many?"

"hey-hey"

The old woman chuckled, and her withered finger suddenly pointed at Chen Qian's chest:

"I want the three hundred and fifty taels of silver in your pocket, plus your body."

Chen Qian's heart suddenly skipped a beat!

Without any hesitation, the [Body Technique] was activated instantly, and with a powerful push of the foot, the person was about to retreat violently backward!

His reaction was incredibly fast!

however.

Just as he exerted his strength.

The eerie green candlelight, which was supposed to serve as a barrier for the safe zone, disappeared without warning.

It changed color.

"call!"

That pale green flame instantly turned into a blood-red color!

Immediately afterwards, a thick, almost tangible red mist gushed out from the candlelight, instantly forming a ring-shaped barrier that completely enveloped an area of ​​three zhang in radius!

"What is this?"

Chen Qian's retreating figure collided with the red mist, but it was as if he had hit a soft yet tough wall of flesh, and he was bounced back!

Catching a turtle in a jar?

He turned around abruptly and looked at the stall.

Where are there any blind old women left?

That hunched figure deflated like a punctured balloon, turning into an extremely realistic human skin.

Beneath that human skin emerged a short, pockmarked dwarf.

The scholar who had previously given Chen Qian directions slowly emerged from the shadows beside him, his folding fan transformed into a dagger.

"Hehehe, what a wary fat sheep."

The dwarf kicked the human skin on the ground and shrieked:

"It's a pity he's such a greenhorn, he doesn't know anything. He's too arrogant."

Chen Qian had retreated to the edge of the red mist, his woodcutter's knife unsheathed and held horizontally in front of his chest.

His face was extremely ugly.

cheated.