LWSL Chapter 140

Big thanks and a shout-out to biki for sending me a laptop so that I can translate LWSL more conveniently!

The place where things had happened was a clinic. The patients who were waiting for treatment inside had been frightened and ran out. A howl full of rage and fury came from the clinic: “Ba Se, you bastard! I’ll kill you!”

This was Wu Xia’s voice. Wu Ruo and Hei Xuanyi met each other’s eyes. Ba Se? Ba Se was also here? Hadn’t he just entered the city? How had he also ended up in the Black Market?

They ended up with the sight of three men wearing weimao protecting a man who wasn’t wearing his pants, with the upper half of his robes undone, running out of the clinic. When the maidens who were in the vicinity saw this naked man, they let out screams one after the other.

Before Wu Ruo had a chance to take a good look at the situation, blackness covered his vision. Hei Xuanyi had covered his eyes.

“…”

“Sishu, that person also has a little Dandan!” Dandan, who had been carried over by Hei Xuantang, saw the man’s lower half and giggled cheerfully.

“Dandan, don’t look at that! You’ll grow styes¹There’s a superstition that watching porn or seeing indecent things such as public nudity will cause a person to grow styes or develop sore eyes. Some people still believe in this superstition to this day and might tease others who have styes or sore eyes for watching too much porn. in your eyes.” Wu Xi hurriedly covered Dandan’s eyes.

“As an unmarried maiden, you can’t look at it either.” Hei Xuantang speedily covered Wu Xi’s gaze.

Wu Xi: “…”

Ba Se hastily put on his pants and fixed the upper half of his robes, then he said angrily: “Wu Xia! That’s enough from you. From the South to the Black Market, you’ve chased after us the whole way with murderous intent. Is there a need to be so serious? Or do you want me to take responsibility for you? Let me tell you, there’s no way. I will never want you.”

“You fucking bullshitter! Right now, I just want to kill you to vent my anger!” Wu Xia summoned the two spirit beasts that he had contracted, attacking Ba Se’s subordinates.

“Wu Xia?” Wu Xi said in shock: “That person is Wu Xia? Ah! I remember now. The person who bumped into erge just now was Wu Xia. No wonder his voice sounded so familiar. What’s he doing here?”

Wu Ruo couldn’t see what was going on, so he asked Hei Xuanyi: “What’s going on right now?”

“The Black Market’s sentry guards are coming over.” Hei Xuanyi let go of his hands.

Wu Ruo was met with the sight of a dozen patrolling sentry guards hurriedly running over: “What’s going on over here?”

Ba Se quickly pointed at Wu Xia and said: “Lord Sentry Guard, this person broke the rules of the Black Market. Quick, arrest him!”

“Ba Se, you piece of shit!” Wu Xia was so angered that he raised his jian.

The lead sentry guard looked at Ba Se, then looked at Wu Xia: “Take all of them back.”

“Yes, sir.” The patrolling sentry guards’ cultivation levels were higher than Wu Xia’s. In a second, they were able to control his spirit beasts and then they arrested Wu Xia.

Ba Se and his subordinates were also arrested by the sentry guards: “We weren’t the ones who stirred trouble, why are we being arrested as well?”

The patrolling sentry guard said: “Later after we head back, we’ll investigate the situation clearly. If you haven’t broken the rules of the Black Market, then naturally we’ll let you go.”

Just like this, Ba Se and his subordinates, as well as Wu Xia were escorted out of the clinic. Suddenly, the lead sentry guard straightened his posture and respectfully greeted a young man who was passing by: “Greetings to the Head Supervisor²总管 (zong guan): this term is used for someone who is overall in charge of supervision. In modern corporate terms, he functions something like the regional manager of a company. He is a particularly high ranking figure of the Black Market, which is why the lead of the sentry guards is being so polite and respectful to him..”

The young man glanced at him indifferently, then continued walking ahead without stopping.

Wu Ruo took a close look, and surprise flashed across his gaze. He hurriedly lowered his volume and asked Hei Xuanyi: “Isn’t that the person who helped my maternal grandfather send his congratulatory gift?”

Hei Xuanyi had also noticed the other person’s appearances: “Hn.”

Wu Ruo was puzzled: “What is he doing here? And he’s even the Head Supervisor here. Could it be that my maternal grandfather is also here?”

Hei Xuanyi frowned lightly: “When he sent over the congratulatory gift, he only said that your maternal grandfather had sent him but not that he was your maternal grandfather’s subordinate. Perhaps he had only been asked by your maternal grandfather to send us the gifts.”

“That’s true.”

“Of course, that doesn’t eliminate the chance that your maternal grandfather is also here.”

Wu Ruo: “…”

Even if his maternal grandfather were here, they probably couldn’t acknowledge each other either³Officially speaking, since Guan Tong was disowned by her maternal family clan, then any of her descendants are also not considered part of the clan anymore. By definition, Wu Ruo cannot be considered related to his maternal grandfather and they’re technically not allowed to properly acknowledge each other as relatives..

Hei Xuanyi held onto Wu Ruo’s hand: “We can only be here till before nightfall, we should make full use of our time here to see if there’s anything we want to buy.”

“Hn.” Wu Ruo took a look at the clinic in front of them and said, smiling: “Say, do you think Ba Se came here to look for a physician to help him treat his crown jewels?”

Looking at the situation from just now, it seemed that eight and nine are not far from ten⁴八、九不离十 (ba jiu bu li shi): his guess must be close to the actual situation..

“Probably. I heard that the medical skills of the physicians in the Black Market are quite good. They specialize in treating all kinds of complicated and difficult illnesses.”

“Seems like his injury in that part is quite serious.”

Hei Xuanyi pinched Wu Ruo’s hands, gesturing that he didn’t like Wu Ruo discussing about other men’s private parts.

Wu Ruo’s smile widened.

Hei Xin and Hei Gan had wares to sell, so they went to the auction grounds.

Wu Ruo, Hei Xuanyi and the others just shopped around all over. When they saw something interesting or something that looked good to eat or something that they had never seen before, they bought it all.

Not long after, Hei Gan came looking for them and said into Hei Xuanyi’s ear: “Master, this subordinate heard that the Black Market will be auctioning two top-grade shenling pills.”

In ordinary circumstances, the Black Market’s auction wouldn’t reveal the items that were to be auctioned that day. Their objective was to allow other ordinary practitioners to have a better chance at obtaining precious items.

Hei Xuanyi asked: “Is the information accurate?”

“Everyone is spreading this news. We privately asked one of the Black Market supervisors, he only laughed but didn’t deny it. I think it’s probably accurate.”

“What time does the auction begin?”

“In half a shichen‘s time.”

“Hn. We’ll head over later. Go and check if there’ll be any other valuable items worth buying.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Hei Gan left, Wu Ruo asked: “You want to buy the top-grade shenling pills?”

“Hn. For you to enhance your cultivation level.”

Wu Ruo was extremely happy that Hei Xuanyi kept him in mind regarding every single matter: “But it’s probably very expensive.”

Hei Xuantang, who was following behind them, laughed and said: “Dasao, don’t you worry. We brought a lot of money. In any case, the things that dage told Hei Xin to sell will definitely earn dage a huge sum of money.”

“Let’s not buy so many things anymore first, in case we don’t have enough money later.”

Hei Xuanyi nodded in agreement.

In a little while, there would definitely be a lot of people vying for the top-grade shenling pills, so it was best to save up on money now for later.

Wu Ruo, Hei Xuanyi and the others finished browsing the entirety of the Black Market before they headed to the Black Market’s auction grounds.

The auction grounds were extremely simple and crude. In a wide open space, they had used white cloth to to cordon off a circular area. Then, they had set up an auctioning stage at the center. Anyone who wanted to enter only needed to pay five taels. There were no private rooms nor any VIP seats. In order not to block the view of the people at the back, there were only a few rows of chairs in front of the stage. It was extremely casual. Whoever arrived first could snag a seat and sit down.

Wu Ruo and the others had arrived later, so they could only stand at an area that was closer to the auctioning stage to watch. The first item that was brought out for auction was a pet that looked like both a rabbit and a cat. Wu Xi’s eyes brightened the moment they landed on it, but after she heard that the starting bid for it was fifty thousand taels, her whole body deflated.

Wu Ruo quite wanted to buy a pet for her, but when he thought about how the top-grade shenling pills might appear at the end of the auction, and they needed to save up on money for later, and besides, the opportunity was extremely rare. It wasn’t something that they could come across at any time, so he could only wait for an opportunity later to buy or capture a pet for her.

The items at the auction were bizarre and fantastic. There were Yao beasts on sale, and there were slaves from the Mo clan. They were also selling rare ingredients.

Wu Ruo had his eye on two famous and expensive precious herbs, but he could only bear the pain and watch as others successfully bidded them away.

After a shichen, the auctioneer finally took out the top-grade shenling pills. The entire auction became noisy and boisterous, extremely excited. Everyone looked as though they were eager to take action. As for those who had money in their pockets, their eyes shone brightly, looking like they definitely had to obtain it.

“Everyone probably knows that top-grade shenling pills are medicinal pills that increase one’s cultivation level, so I won’t continue explaining the amazing uses of the shenling pill. There are a total of two top-grade shenling pills for this auction. This opportunity is extremely rare, you might not come across this once even in twenty years. I hope everyone doesn’t miss out on this, however…” the auctioneer’s tone shifted and everyone’s hearts were strung up along with it: “The top-grade shenling pills will not be auctioned separately this time. Guests who wish to purchase them may only buy them as a pair. As such, the starting bid is one million taels, every bid must increase by at least ten thousand taels.”

When everyone present heard this, those who didn’t have money could only watch on hungrily and those who had money hurriedly took out their purses to count their cash, to check if they were able to bid for the top-grade shenling pills.

“A million… taels…” it was Wu Xi’s first time encountering such a scene, she had been thunderously shocked till she was gaping widely: “It’s just a medicinal pill, why is it so expensive? How many cultivation levels can one increase with this medicinal pill?”

Wu Ruo, who had consumed a top-grade shenling pill, said: “After a first level practitioner consumes the shenling pill, they can rise directly to the third level. If a fifth level practitioner consumes the shenling pill, they can rise directly to the sixth level.”

“Young man, hearing your words, it’s as if you’ve taken many shenling pills before!” A person next to them teased after hearing Wu Ruo’s words: “I heard that the Black Market’s proprietor especially brought these two shenling pills out for auction. Ever since there’s been the Black Market, this is the first time we’re seeing the Black Market’s proprietor bringing an item out for auction. On top of that, the moment that he does so, it ends up being two top-grade shenling pills! It seems that the Black Market’s proprietor owns many treasures that we’ve never seen before.”

Wu Ruo asked curiously: “Does Senior know the identity of the Black Market’s proprietor?”

That person shook their head no: “I don’t, nobody knows his identity or his background. No one knows his name either. People who come to the Black Market usually just address him as the Proprietor, other than that, nobody knows anything. He rarely shows up in the Black Market, it’s no guarantee that you can see him even if you come every day for a year. Even if he does appear in front of us, he also wears a mask. There’s just no way to see what he looks like. On the average day, it’s Head Supervisor Lu who manages things.”

“Head Supervisor Lu? Are you referring to that plain looking young person?”

“That’s right. That’s him. Don’t underestimate his young age, he’s actually a ninth level practitioner. Not a lot of people can afford to provoke him.”

Wu Ruo: “…”

How impressive.

Wu Ruo secretly asked Hei Xuanyi: “Do you know the Black Market proprietor’s identity?”

Hei Xuanyi shook his head no.

“One million, five hundred thousand taels!” Someone started bidding. In just one bid, they had increased the price by five hundred thousand taels. This immense number caused many people to strike the drum of retreat⁵打退堂鼓 (da tui tang gu): meaning ‘to beat a retreat’. in an instance.

The bidder grinned confidently. It looked like there weren’t that many people capable of vying for the top-grade shenling pills against him.

Following that, someone called: “Two million taels.”

The previous bidder’s expression changed.

Wu Xi’s eyes widened, in less than half a joss stick’s time, the price had already reached two million taels.

“Three million taels.”

“Four million taels.”

“…”

“Ten million taels.”

Once this bid was called, a lot of people immediately gave up on the idea of outbidding it. There were already not many people who dared to continue bidding. If one bidded but couldn’t afford it, the consequences were extremely serious. Perhaps, they would never be able to come to the Black Market again in the future.

Wu Ruo discreetly looked at Hei Xuanyi: “Do we have enough money?”

Hei Xuanyi nodded casually and said assertively: “Yes.”

Wu Ruo: “…”

He had even said that he wanted to take care of this man financially. However, just two medicinal pills cost upwards of ten million. When would Wu Ruo be able to earn ten million taels? It seemed that in the future, he would have to work even harder refining medicinal pills, because his husband was too much of a spendthrift.

Hei Xuanyi thought that Wu Ruo was worried about not being able to buy the pills, so he spoke up to comfort him: “Don’t worry. I’ll buy it.”

Wu Ruo said: “I’m just thinking that I need to work harder in the future to earn money. Otherwise, I really can’t afford to take care of you.”

When Hei Xuanyi heard these words, he was internally happy and he couldn’t hold back a light chuckle.

Wu Ruo quickly shifted so that his face was right in front of Hei Xuanyi, because he wanted to see Hei Xuanyi’s smile clearly.

Hei Xuanyi immediately embraced the person in front of him, separated by a black veil, he kissed him on his lips.

Hei Xuantang coughed lightly: “Dage, dasao, please mind the setting.”

Dandan laughed as he looked at the two of them: “Father, Daddy, shame, shame, shame⁶羞羞羞 (xiu xiu xiu): this phrase repeats the word ‘shame’ thrice. It’s a common way of teaching young children when something is socially inappropriate, like digging your nose, PDAs, or running around naked. Dandan is most likely imitating the adults in his life, who probably use this phrase to discourage his socially inappropriate behaviour even though we don’t get to see this in canon.!”

Wu Xi was so embarrassed that her cheeks had turned red, but she was suppressing her amusement. Seeing that her own erge and his husband was so loving, she internally felt both happy and envious. She hoped that in the future, she would also be able to find a husband who doted on her so much.

Wu Ruo’s cheeks were a little hot. If it weren’t for the black veil, he would be too embarrassed to look at anyone.

Hei Xuanyi glanced at Hei Gan, who was standing behind him.

Hei Gan understood his intentions and raised his hand to bid: “Thirty million.”

Everyone gasped in shock.

The price had tripled in an instance. For people who didn’t come from a rich background, there was simply no way they could afford this price.

The senior who had just been chatting with Wu Ruo looked at them enviously.

Wu Xi looked at Hei Gan with wide eyes.

The auctioneer said excitedly: “The price of the two medicinal pills has already raised to thirty million taels, is there anyone else willing to bid any higher?”

The grounds buzzed with chatter but no one bidded any higher. Those who had bidded previously glared angrily the spot where Wu Ruo and the others were standing.

“Thirty million, going once!”

The auctioneer looked at everyone present, seeing that no one raised their hands, they called once more: “Thirty million going twice! Is there anyone else who still wants to bid? If there’s no one, then…”

Before they finished speaking, suddenly, the silhouette of a person rushed towards the auctioning stage from the seated section. Their speed was fairly quick, like a breeze blowing past, they were so quick that the auctioneer and the sentry guards nearby weren’t able to react in time.

That silhouette snatched the top-grade shenling pills from the auctioneer’s hands and turned tail.

Everyone shouted in shock: “Someone’s stealing the auction items!”

The sentry guards hurriedly surrounded the perpetrator and attacked, while others hastily hid to a side.

The auctioneer shouted towards the backstage: “Head Supervisor Lu! Someone is stealing the top-grade shenling pills!”

In a flash, Head Supervisor Lu appeared in front of the thief and blocked their path of escape. He said lightly: “Put the shenling pills down and I’ll spare your life.”

The thief huffed coldly. Following after, five men jumped to the thief’s side: “Jing Lun, you leave first.”

Jing Lun nodded, and turned around to leave.

Hei Xuantang’s expression hardened: “Dage, it seems like it’s them.”

With a wave of Hei Xuanyi’s hand, a burst of spiritual energy from his fingertips shot forth at Jing Lun.

Jing Lun’s expression changed and he narrowly dodged this attack.

Hei Xuantang rushed forward, blocking Jing Lun’s path of escape.

Wu Ruo hurriedly asked: “Those people are the ones who escaped from your clan?”

Hei Xuanyi nodded, then instructed Hei Gan: “Protect Xiao-Ruo and the others.”

After that, with a leap, he rose into the air and landed in front of Jing Lun.

Jing Lun looked at Hei Xuantang, then at Hei Xuanyi, with an expression of wariness: “Who are you?”

Hei Xuantang replied sarcastically: “A dignified Lord Right Chancellor has actually fallen to such dire straits that you need to steal medicinal pills? Gaoling City’s Night Flight of Infinite Gui must’ve caused you and Xiu Jun to lose a lot spiritual energy, didn’t it?”

If you enjoy my translations, please consider dropping me a one-time tip or joining my monthly recurring membership tier on Ko-fi. Reading the novel chapters without an ad-blocker will also help to support my translations. Thank you!

• 1
  There’s a superstition that watching porn or seeing indecent things such as public nudity will cause a person to grow styes or develop sore eyes. Some people still believe in this superstition to this day and might tease others who have styes or sore eyes for watching too much porn.
• 2
  总管 (zong guan): this term is used for someone who is overall in charge of supervision. In modern corporate terms, he functions something like the regional manager of a company. He is a particularly high ranking figure of the Black Market, which is why the lead of the sentry guards is being so polite and respectful to him.
• 3
  Officially speaking, since Guan Tong was disowned by her maternal family clan, then any of her descendants are also not considered part of the clan anymore. By definition, Wu Ruo cannot be considered related to his maternal grandfather and they’re technically not allowed to properly acknowledge each other as relatives.
• 4
  八、九不离十 (ba jiu bu li shi): his guess must be close to the actual situation.
• 5
  打退堂鼓 (da tui tang gu): meaning ‘to beat a retreat’.
• 6
  羞羞羞 (xiu xiu xiu): this phrase repeats the word ‘shame’ thrice. It’s a common way of teaching young children when something is socially inappropriate, like digging your nose, PDAs, or running around naked. Dandan is most likely imitating the adults in his life, who probably use this phrase to discourage his socially inappropriate behaviour even though we don’t get to see this in canon.