Destiny in Cinders

"You don't have to take me all the way there. Just tell me where the black market's located," An Jing said. He would have to return to Void Embrace soon, so he couldn't afford to have Metalhand around.

The older man didn't mind either, cradling the inkjade skull in his hand with satisfaction. "Suit yourself."

"I do need some mystic metals, though. Ideally some of better quality."

"I have a bunch of those. They're all over the disposal facility," Metalhand said, but shook his head with a regretful look. "But I'm afraid the grade isn't fit for making farming tools or weapons. I wouldn't dare to sell them to you."

"Wouldn't dare? Why?" An Jing asked, puzzled.

The boss shook his head and pointed at the roof. "Do you see that? The roof is new."

An Jing looked up and noticed how new it looked compared to the rest of the building. He recalled finding it odd when he saw the building from outside.

"Two weeks ago, some badlanders like you blew the roof off," Metalhand said expressionlessly. "The reason for that is a faulty biomass converter that I sold them. They didn't know what after-sales service was and lobbed a bomb my way without even telling me about the issue first."

Feels more like a crappy salesman who wants to charge repair fees past the point of sale... An Jing then said, "Isn't that the problem with how you do business? State all the terms of sale clearly from the start."

"Well, being bombed by badlanders in the middle of the night did give me a wake-up call. That's why I've been so straight with you. There are a few legit stores in the black market that sell industrial-grade black iron. You will get more than just farming gear. You'll also get axles and other automobile parts."

Since An Jing had access to good mystic metals, he wouldn't scavenge the disposal facility for low-grade ones for use with Evenstar Ivory Divine Seal. It wasn't that the dirt and grime bothered him; the fiend qi around the facility was a little too dense. Not to mention, it wouldn't be a good idea to build the base of his cultivation with low-grade resources. He would only risk it if it was urgent.

Metalhand and An Jing's transaction concluded. He sold second-hand equipment for 850 merits while the inkjade skull and fangboar fangs netted him 2150 merits. He had to pay 1500 merits for a city pass and also bought the best spirit-qi crucible that Metalhand had for 465 merits. Metalhand didn't charge him for cracking the OverSight sword case. As for the repairs and ammunition, he only charged a discounted price of a hundred merits. An Jing also bought ten canned-food items which cost him ten merits and five defensive thunder beads for forty-five merits.

He realized that the purchasing power of a single merit was relatively high. While the canned food was only about the size of a fist, they weighed close to two jin. The cans were packed densely with dried meat jerky. Each piece could expand into a fist-sized meat ball that smelled somewhat of industrial seasoning.

An Jing used a spoon he brought with him to scoop up some of the meat and ate it. It had a rather tough texture, seemingly filled with tendons, but they tasted decent after some chewing. The ingredients used to make it seemed like beef. It would definitely taste much better when heated up, not that he could do it right at that moment.

Such a large piece of meat crammed tight into those cans could not have been cheap, yet they cost only one merit. So, An Jing asked Metalhand if there was some other currency that was used in Deepnight City.

"Of course. One merit can be converted into a hundred credits. You'll most likely spend credits when you're buying groceries in the city. Only cultivators or people looking for combat-use items need to use merits. As for you badlanders, don't you mostly just barter? You don't have chips either, so you won't have access to credits."

Metalhand summed up everything and handed over the balance of 680 merits to An Jing in the form of physical bills. There were six reddish ones and eight light-blue ones with intricate designs that resembled a crystal-clear talisman. The red ones denominated a hundred merits each while the light-blue ones denominated ten merits. The semi-translucent bills shimmered with patterns of light which were probably there for forgery prevention.

"With more than six hundred merits, you should be able to afford close to three thousand jin of mystic metals. Purple tin and crimson bronze will cost much more, so choose wisely. If you ask me, three thousand jin should be enough to sustain your tribe for quite a while. But you won't be able to carry so much with you without others to help."

Metalhand didn't know who An Jing really was and believed he truly was a badlander who had saved Huo Qing on a whim during his trip to buy weapons to hunt flamecrows and materials for his tribe's farming tools. Metalhand did go out of his way to explain the history and rules of the black market in great detail in fear that An Jing would cause trouble and get him involved by pissing off the wrong people.

"Don't worry about the Noontigers. Wait here at my place. If they send people after you, I will deal with them for you." He then tossed An Jing a pair of gloves quickly without warning, probably due to his prosthetic arm or because he wanted to test him out. "Put these on and cover those baby hands of yours. Your age is far too obvious."

"Thanks." An Jing caught the gloves with just two fingers. He then went to the rear building without saying anything else.

Metalhand squinted, his red left optic shining as he stared at An Jing. "He's already at the River Essence Stage at such a young age and is about to reach the Tide Essence Stage. He's not weak either and was able to beat up Gunner and his goons. What tribe does this little genius hail from? Did he sneak out on his own, or..."

He looked away and shook his head, sighing slightly. "The city is getting more chaotic by the day with Luofu and Shouyang getting into conflict. The ones who'll suffer are the common folk. If the badlanders are also sending their elites to join the fray, who knows what kind of a mess this will all become? I wonder what's going on at my brother's side... Forget it, it's not something I can deal with."

He went to shut the door of his store after some consideration. "It's better to close up shop for the time being." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Unlike the storefront, the rear building was incredibly crammed and somewhat haphazard. Appliances and beer bottles cluttered the whole space. The table was also covered in items and thick stacks of documents, ranging from technical reports, gun-part catalogs, to medication and pill ingredients. An Jing really wondered what kind of life Metalhand lived.

Huo Qing was treating his injuries at the table. His eyes brightened at An Jing's arrival. He stood up and asked, "Brother An, how was—?"

"I settled my business," An Jing said without waiting and motioning for the injured Huo Qing to sit. "I will wait here for a day with you before preparing to leave."

"Alright. I'm glad I didn't get in the way of what you wanted to do," Huo Qing said, breathing a sigh of relief.

The way An Jing saw it, Huo Qing probably lacked parental affection as a child and developed a people-pleasing personality. He always seemed to prioritize other people's wellbeing above his own. An Jing didn't hate people like these, though he did wish for his friends to have a stronger backbone. Only by loving oneself could one face life with a good attitude.

However, it wasn't really time to consider such matters. While Huo Qing continued to mend his injuries, An Jing sat down on a couch to rest and cultivate. He had finally found a safe place to do so.

"Speaking of cultivation," An Jing mentally said to Yvelbane as he opened a can and chewed away at the meat, "Yvelbane, even though I've stepped on the path of cultivation, I know far too little about both the immortal and martial paths. Can you explain the basics to me since you no doubt have lots of experience with it?"