VAP - Chapter 144
Chapter 144: The Intersection of Illusion and Reality (9)
Ji You must have really pushed herself this time. After waking up, she barely ate anything—not even a fifth of her usual amount, which was only about half a table’s worth of food.
It was the same for three days straight.
This lunch was no different.
Yue Du set down her bamboo chopsticks, glanced at the leftovers on the table, then at Ji You, who was gazing back at her with innocent eyes. She was silently stunned.
She really only ate that little!
Ji You seemed oblivious to Yue Du’s complex mood. She was meticulously wiping the corners of her mouth with a white silk handkerchief, her movements graceful. This was another change from before—Ji You rarely got food anywhere but on her lips, and on the rare occasion she did, she would simply clean it with a casual flick of her tongue. She would never have used a handkerchief.
After the meal, Yue Du prepared to head out.
She needed to deal with the body parts from the high-level Scarlet Beasts, sorting the useful from the useless to trade for more supplies.
She certainly couldn't bring them out in their current stronghold, so Yue Du targeted another one near the mushroom forest. She had passed through it and stayed for a while when she was searching for Ji You, so she knew it housed a hidden black market where all sorts of strange and sensitive items could be traded.
However, a black market like this had no rules to speak of, and danger was a constant companion.
Yue Du hadn't originally planned on taking Ji You with her.
It wasn't that she feared for Ji You's safety—if anything, it was the safety of anyone who tried to harm Ji You that should be a concern. But no matter how capable Ji You was, she still looked like a child. A place like the black market was no place for a child; she would be too conspicuous.
When Yue Du told Ji You her decision, she expected her little host to resort to pouting, pleading, and using every trick in the book to insist on coming along. But she didn't.
"If that's what you want, I'll listen," Ji You said.
Her voice sounded convincing enough, but when Yue Du looked up, she saw that her little host's beautiful black eyes had filled with a shimmering mist, as if tears were about to form and fall at any moment. She looked on the verge of crying, yet she was deliberately trying to appear exceptionally well-behaved.
Yue Du was speechless.
Obviously, Ji You couldn't possibly be that pure and innocent. She was definitely scheming something.
But even knowing this, Yue Du couldn't bring herself to harden her heart and ignore the sight.
She could never be cruel to her host.
In the end, they left together.
Due to the recent appearance of the high-level Scarlet Beasts, the stronghold had been on high alert for days. The atmosphere was tense, and the number of hunting parties leaving the city each day had dropped by more than half. The gatekeepers were silent and vigilant, lending the main gate a deserted and grim air.
After all, no one had seen where the Scarlet Beasts had gone. What if they returned?
Seeing a young woman approaching with a little girl, the gatekeeper in the center sized them up for a moment before letting them pass. He added a casual reminder, "These are special times. The city lockdown is an hour earlier, so remember to be back by the deadline."
"Alright," Yue Du said.
The gatekeeper said no more. He had seen this pitifully small team a few times before. The first time, he had felt sorry for the young woman, thinking she was reckless to bring a child with no combat ability on a hunt. Now, however, he was used to it—she was clearly a powerful ability user who knew what she was doing.
Along the way, Ji You was all smiles, humming a soft, unfamiliar tune.
Yue Du teased her, "Getting ready to trade for food, are we? Is that why you're so happy?"
Ji You immediately replied with great solemnity, "No. I'm happy because I'm out with you, Sister."
Yue Du thought to herself, We've been out together countless times. It's obvious you're particularly happy today.
But she didn't say it out loud.
Upon reaching the neighboring stronghold, Yue Du first pulled up Ji You's hood, concealing most of a face that was clearly destined for beauty. Then, she disguised herself. Only after ensuring that not even Wen Yilan would recognize them did Yue Du lead her little host to the black market, navigating the way with ease.
The black market was filled with all sorts of people and accepted all kinds of goods, but the trade in the flesh, blood, and bones of Scarlet Beasts was by far the most common. And because it was so common, the chances of stumbling into a trap were that much higher.
Yue Du stopped in front of the first shop.
It was called a shop, but it was really just a simple shack. The interior was dim and cramped, with only a single, crude, low door that closed when a customer entered and opened again when they left, like a foraging pitcher plant.
Yue Du had no intention of going inside. She exchanged a few words with the shop owner before asking, "I haven't been here in a while, and I can't seem to find Sister Jiang. Do you happen to know where she moved?"
Hearing this, the shop owner withdrew the gaze he had been discreetly using to size up Ji You. "You know someone with the surname Jiang?" he asked, surprised.
Yue Du smiled. "We're acquainted."
The shop owner glanced at them reluctantly before pointing. "She moved to the district across the way. Go straight to the fork and turn right. You'll find her. She still has the same sign."
"Thank you."
Yue Du nodded. As she turned, she noticed the cold, direct stare coming from under Ji You's hood and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Using the system's mental communication ability—yes, they could communicate telepathically after rebinding—she told her little host, Don't pay him any mind. Someone that brazen will run into trouble sooner or later. We don't need to be the ones to deal with him.
Ji You lowered her eyes. Mm.
The shop owner watched them leave, rubbing the thumb ring on his finger a few times, but ultimately, he made no move.
Someone behind him couldn't hold back. "You're not going to do anything? You can tell they're prime goods even without seeing their faces, and there's no man with them. An opportunity like this won't come again—"
The shop owner snapped impatiently, "What do you know? She knows someone with the surname Jiang. Does that sound like an easy target? If you want to stir up trouble, go ahead, but leave me out of it."
Meanwhile, Yue Du, who had been deemed a tough customer, had just found Sister Jiang's shop.
Jiang Yao was twenty-five years old. Though still young, she was a veteran who had spent more than a decade in the black market. If you wanted information, you came to her; she was always accurate.
Yue Du had saved her from the jaws of a Scarlet Beast while passing through this stronghold once. She only learned later that Jiang Yao's main business was information brokering in the black market. She rarely went hunting, and on the one rare occasion she did, she had the bad luck to run into a Scarlet Beast she couldn't handle, nearly losing her life.
Fortunately, her bad luck was no match for her good fortune, and she had run into Yue Du.
"What brings you back?" Jiang Yao looked from Yue Du to Ji You, then realization dawned. "Oh, so this is the member of the Ji family you were looking for. She's so young. Did you find her to raise as your own daughter?"
Yue Du ignored her obviously teasing last remark and said to Ji You, "This is Jiang Yao, an information broker. If there's anything you want to know, just ask her."
Seeing that Yue Du wasn't treating Ji You like an ordinary child, Jiang Yao reined herself in a little and formally introduced herself.
She added at the end, "Asking me for information costs money, you know. But since your sister saved my life, I can give you a fifty-percent discount."
From an angle Yue Du couldn't see, Ji You looked up at Jiang Yao with a critical eye and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Jiang Yao, who could only see the cold smile playing on the child's lips, was left speechless.
This kid isn't cute at all!
Yue Du seemed oblivious to the turbulent undercurrents.
"I came this time to get a list of all the factions in the black market that trade in Scarlet Beast parts," Yue Du said. "I only want the reliable ones. Forget about any that play petty tricks."
"All of them?" Jiang Yao asked.
"All of them."
"That's a big job. You two wait here, I'll go compile it."
Jiang Yao's swaying figure disappeared through the workroom door. Yue Du found a clean chair and sat down with Ji You.
—Or rather, Yue Du thought she and Ji You had sat down.
In reality, the chair beside Yue Du was empty.
Even with the system's heightened senses, Yue Du perceived her little host sitting obediently beside her, whining about not liking Jiang Yao. But the reality was that the real Ji You was standing right in front of her, completely invisible to her.
Her deceived senses dutifully tricked their owner. Ji You quietly raised a hand and caressed the side of Yue Du's face, like a child stroking a beloved toy.
Then, she walked out of Jiang Yao's shop.
Something intangible spread through the black market. Ji You moved silently through the streets and alleys. The crowds bustled around her, yet no one was aware of her passing.
Ji You returned to the shack where they had asked for directions. The moment her foot crossed the threshold, the sensory illusion was lifted. The shop owner looked up, saw her, and froze.
Ji You met his gaze in silence.
"Little girl," the shop owner said, "are you... looking to buy something?" He glanced behind her but saw no sign of the young woman from before, and his tone relaxed. "Did you run off without your guardian knowing?"
Ji You tilted her head, considered it, and replied with a deadpan expression, "That's right."
The shop owner's mind began to race.
While saying, "You really should listen to your elders," he casually pulled a cord beside the table. A mechanism engaged, and the small door slammed shut with a bang.
Behind him, several large men emerged from the shadows, their eyes fixed on Ji You as if they were glowing.
This group was a pack of hunters from the stronghold's dark corners. Unlike legitimate hunters who pursued Scarlet Beasts, they preferred to prey on human value.
But when the targeted lamb is actually a white lion, the roles of hunter and prey are completely reversed.
Ji You smiled faintly. She sat down gracefully by the door, propped her chin in her hand, and said with a touch of nonchalance, "Do put on a good show for me, gentlemen."
A puppet show of them slaughtering each other.
Since they dared to covet something they shouldn't, how about I gouge out their eyes? And dig out the hearts that harbored such filthy thoughts?
The door was shut tight. Not a single whiff of blood would escape.
After a long moment, the small, hooded figure opened the door and left, not forgetting to close it on her way out.
She remained unseen by all.
Sooner or later, someone would notice that a certain trading shack had been silent for a very long time. When they pushed open the door, they would discover several stiffened corpses on the floor.
Their bodies would be covered in wounds inflicted by their companions, the very knives that killed each other still clutched in their hands. The fatal wounds were to the chest—hearts either ripped clean from their cavities or sliced open and mangled. Each person's eyeballs had been gouged out gruesomely, the spilled blood long since dried.
But no one would care how these men died. Their eyes would only be on the supplies inside the shack, and how much each person could claim would depend on their own strength.
Such were the dark corners of this place.
By the time Ji You returned to Jiang Yao's shop, the list of factions had been compiled. Yue Du immediately spotted a name she had just seen—the one on the sign of the shack where she had asked for directions.
"I only need reliable factions," Yue Du questioned.
Jiang Yao explained, "Ahem, when they're dealing with someone stronger than them, that group becomes very reliable. Surely you can handle a few old bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong?"
Yue Du decisively crossed the name off the list.
Jiang Yao shrugged, not pressing the matter.
Ji You padded over as silently as a cat and stood beside Yue Du, replacing the illusory little girl in both Yue Du's and Jiang Yao's perceptions.
Yue Du seemed to sense something.
She glanced down to see her little host looking perfectly normal. Sensing her gaze, the girl even looked up at her with an obedient, questioning expression.
Yue Du: "...?"
Why did she feel like something wasn't quite right?
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