Pearl Night Market

Chen Miemie was very pleased with her guide, Dentist. Instead of introducing restaurants that evening, Dentist took him to a few roadside stalls.

The main course that night was seafood fried noodles.

The stall was tiny and shabby, and the noodles tasted merely average. But the owner was quite a character, and she gave Chen Miemie plenty of amusement.

The owner was a little penguin with the appearance of a young girl. When Chen Miemie placed his order, she responded with a cheerful string of “coo-coo-ga-ga,” then clumsily set about frying the noodles.

Chen Miemie gave her a slightly larger tip, and the little penguin happily performed a standing backflip for him.

By the time they finished eating, dusk had already passed. The tide rose through the city, the roads vanished, and small boats gradually filled the streets and waterways.

Dentist led Chen Miemie to a boat stop and deliberately picked out a small boat painted in bright, multicolored patterns.

The moment they stepped aboard, the boatman made no move to row. He merely said in a low voice, “To gather pearls, one must enter the sea.”

Dentist replied, “To carve jade, one must climb to the heavens.”

The two of them were exchanging secret codes like spies meeting in the field.

The boatman gave Chen Miemie a genial look. “Dentist, it’s rare to see you bringing a newcomer into the market.”

Dentist smiled but said nothing.

She sat down beside Chen Miemie and quietly explained, “The Pearl Night Market belongs to the underground forces. It’s a gray area of the city, and all kinds of strange creatures and shady characters can be found here. Everyone has their own schemes, and this boatman is trying to sound you out for information.”

The little boat carried them crookedly through the waterways, taking so many twists and turns that they lost count. At last, it entered a place resembling the underside of a bridge.

The boatman held his oar across the boat. “We’re here.”

It was pitch-black all around them. Dentist took out a pearl, which gave off a soft, steady light.

The moment they disembarked, the boat rowed away.

“Dentist, you’ve got some good stuff. Is that a luminous pearl?” Even Chen Miemie knew that anything capable of glowing had to be valuable.

“No. This is a ‘Black Pearl.’ Outside, it looks like an ordinary black stone. The air here is filled with a special gas. Only by holding a Black Pearl can you convert that gas into light. Chen Miemie, don’t wander too far from me.”

The pure water in Chen Miemie’s blood issued a warning:

“There is a highly toxic gas in the surrounding air. This ‘Black Pearl’ is decomposing the poisonous gas that comes near it and converting it into light.”

Perhaps noticing Chen Miemie’s interest in the Black Pearl, Dentist offered, “I only have this one at the moment. If you want one, I can help you claim one tomorrow.”

“Hm? Where do you claim one?”

Dentist pointed to the wall not far away.

There were several wave-shaped patterns carved into it.

“Find Miss Bo. The Pearl Night Market is territory managed by the Blacktide Merchant Guild.”

They continued forward in the darkness while talking. After walking nearly a hundred meters, they came to a corner.

Once they turned the corner, signs of life began to appear.

Not far away lay a cavernous area resembling a grotto. Each small hollow contained a separate stall, with considerable space between them. The lighting was dim as well.

“Chen Miemie, I know you’re very wealthy, but I have to warn you: the goods here vary wildly in quality, and it’s hard to tell what’s genuine. Some stall owners are skilled storytellers. If you buy things recklessly, you’ll have an easy time getting swindled.”

Chen Miemie snorted. In his mind, he summoned his good partner Xiao Hong, and red subtitles immediately appeared in his field of vision.

“Dentist, in my city, I’m known as the King of Bargain Finds. I never misjudge a treasure.”

Dentist thought he was bragging, but she had already given him her warning, so she said no more.

The two of them arrived at the first small stone cavern.

The stall owner wore a mask and was wrapped up so thoroughly that not a single inch of skin was visible.

The owner did not call out to them, merely watching in silence as Chen Miemie crouched in front of the stall and picked through the wares on his own.

Chen Miemie had just finished boasting, but after one look at the goods, his eyes immediately went dark.

Most of the items on the stall were marine products he had never seen before: all kinds of shells, corals, stones, and seaweed. The sheer variety was dazzling, and he could not even name them.

Relying on his personal sense of aesthetics, he picked out two shells. Xiao Hong appraised both of them as “completely worthless.”

Chen Miemie immediately abandoned the two shells and began muttering with Xiao Hong in his mind.

“Xiao Hong, there isn’t a single good thing on this entire stall?”

[What exactly do you mean by “good thing”?]

“Something mysterious, or some kind of magical tool.”

[That’s actually a rather high standard. Mysterious objects are anomalies among objects—one in ten thousand, at best. Most of the marine products on this stall are unprocessed raw materials.]

“Raw materials for what?”

[Raw materials that can be used to make mysterious objects and magical tools.]

“They can be made by hand?”

[“Made” may not be the most accurate word. The raw materials that meet your requirements come from the bodies of highly mysterious marine creatures. They are formed from the mysterious essence those creatures possessed in life. More precisely, they are “processed,” allowing the mystery hidden within them to manifest.]

“Fine. Use that standard to help me search.”

[Sure! That dark-blue fish spine on the right can be polished into a hairpin. If worn in the hair, it will prevent you from growing gray hair for the rest of your life. Its exact strength and side effects will depend on the craftsmanship, so they can only be determined after it has been made.]

Chen Miemie was satisfied.

“Boss, how much for this fish spine?”

The owner could not even be bothered to make up a story. “Ten years.”

Chen Miemie was greatly surprised. Were the people here really so straightforward? The price was so reasonable. Was the owner not trying to fleece him at all?

“What if I add these two shells?” Chen Miemie felt that he ought to support such an honest stall owner’s business.

The corners of the owner’s mouth curled up behind the mask. He was secretly delighted.

Kid, I’ve been watching you from the start. Aren’t these two shells exactly what you want? You’re using a broken fish spine as a cover. A youngster like you still thinks you can play tricks on an old hand like me?

“These two shells are no ordinary items. I obtained them during an expedition in which I narrowly escaped death. They are extremely mysterious. I’ve spent all these years trying to figure out what they really do, but for now I’ve put them out here to find someone who can identify them. They aren’t for sale.”

Chen Miemie was delighted.

Sure enough, his eye for treasures was still as sharp as ever. The things he had picked out really were extraordinary.

Of course, he was not the type to take something another person cherished. “All right, Boss. I hope you manage to identify them soon.”

With that, he purchased the fish spine by itself.

The owner was speechless.

Wait, weren’t you supposed to become intensely interested, take the bait, and start haggling like crazy? Why aren’t you following the script?

As a seasoned adventurer, Dentist also possessed a certain ability to identify objects. She had not noticed anything special about the fish spine, but seeing Chen Miemie spend only ten years on it, she said nothing.

The two of them arrived at the second stone cavern.

This stall actually sold only one thing—salt.