Liu Xing walked with Fang Ruxue, still grabbing her wrist. They decided to remain invisible for a little while longer. They moved through the crowded street, bumping shoulders frequently, though Liu Xing led the way, shielding Fang Ruxue from the unpleasant contact. His idea of contacting an information trader was approved by Fang Ruxue.

"Normally, I wouldn't advise using a criminal organization," Fang Ruxue said. "They tend to be dangerous, but if they are mortals, then they're nothing compared to you."

"We can't be careless, though. Gangs or criminal organizations are usually backed by people with power, and in this world, power usually belongs to cultivators."

"I thought cultivators detached themselves from mortal lives," Fang Ruxue said.

He paused for a moment. "Not too long ago, though it already felt like years ago, I came across a gang of bandits. Almost all of them were cultivators, yet instead of pursuing immortality by joining a sect, they chased wealth by robbing people. This gang was backed by a clan, and from the way they dressed and partied, they were quite successful." He vividly remembered the betrayals that happened that night.. "Cultivators tend to live separately from mortals, but it seems that is not always the case. I imagine some cities are like this, where mortals and cultivators live together, while in others, cultivators are merely a myth."

The chances were high that the criminal organizations in this city were backed by one of the city's clans. If so, then the leader of such an organization would be a cultivator too, which was troublesome.

They walked on as the sun rose higher, and the city became more and more packed with people. The paved road was now filled with carriages pulled by horses and donkeys. Some of them pulled goods and boxes, but there were also many closed carriages, some of them shining and spotless. Vendors shouted and hawked their goods, youths walked together while chatting animatedly, and a scholar ran through the middle of the road as if chased by death itself, earning shouts from the drivers he cut off. Buildings of all shapes and sizes lined the roads. Some were multiple stories high, while others looked like houses, shops, and restaurants. All in all, the morning in this city was absolutely packed, to the point that he felt like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time.

Their destination, they had decided, was the city's wet market. Markets were usually filled with a variety of people and were places where money circulated fast. It was also a good place to start their operation to gather information and a place likely controlled by a criminal gang.

After a while, the crowd became unbearable, the city lacked greenery, making the air feel unpleasant, and they began bumping into more and more people, to the point that he felt as if there were a special festival today. When their pace slowed to a crawl, Liu Xing decided he couldn't stand it, so he turned, swept Fang Ruxue up in a princess carry, and jumped onto the roof of a nearby three-story building.

Fang Ruxue shouted in surprise as he landed on the rooftop, then began to laugh as Liu Xing leaped from one rooftop to another. Her laughter was beautiful, like a lively, ringing bell. Accompanied by the fresh air, it was quite pleasant. He had to stop several times and look down, trying to locate the wet market, but a minute later, they finally arrived.

Standing on a rooftop, Liu Xing set Fang Ruxue down beside him. Still holding her wrist, he began to observe the market below. It was packed with people, with sellers piling their goods high. Behind a table piled with green vegetables, a man was talking fiercely with a woman, pointing to an eggplant so big it could only be held with two hands. Not far away, a stand was circled by more than a dozen people, each trying to grab fruits that looked almost like papayas. At another, a butcher chopped what looked like pink ribs at a stand with a semi-permanent roof over him; several body parts, including a pig's head, hung from a hook. Many people were trying to haggle over prices, often shouting or generally talking in loud voices. The market was buzzing with energy, creating a hum that, if one listened closely, sounded like an army of bees. From up here, Liu Xing could see that this market was truly vast, like a football field, and while there were clear roads between the stands occupied by people, donkeys, horses, and carriages, it was completely packed.

Not all of them were simple stalls; he could see many buildings. There was one smacked dab in the center of the market, almost as if the entire market belonged to it, with many more buildings around the market's sides.

After a few moments of admiring the buzzing market, Liu Xing began to look around for people who looked like thugs or criminals but soon realized this market was not controlled by gangs. Instead, he saw several guards wearing armor similar to the city guards roaming around the market. Some were walking around as if on patrol, some were intimidating a seller, making her cower behind her stand, and in one small building to the side of the market, a little side-street restaurant was already filled with people eating hot, piping food with steam swirling above their bowls. At one of the tables, he saw guards laughing and drinking from gourds, their faces and noses already red, drunk as if it weren't morning. The people eating there did not spare them a glance, instead focusing wholly on their food, as if they didn't want to catch their attention.

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Upon seeing those guards, he instantly realized his assumption was not entirely correct. The people who controlled the market were not a criminal organization but the guards themselves. However, from his first impression, he could deduce that these guards weren't really guarding the market. Their conduct was closer to that of thugs than disciplined guards.

Liu Xing grabbed Fang Ruxue and landed in a back alley several buildings away from the market. While he was a little surprised, in the end, it wasn't really a problem. The guards were controlling the market, and not in an orderly fashion, so he was quite sure that most of them were dirty and would talk for enough money.

"Alright, let's begin the operation," Liu Xing said to Fang Ruxue, who nodded eagerly. "We need to split up to cover more ground."

Fang Ruxue raised an eyebrow as if surprised by his suggestion. After processing her expression for a moment, he understood where it came from. He was quite protective of all the women, Fang Ruxue included, to the point that he was anxious about leaving them on the grassy field. From her perspective, it was strange for him to suggest separating. And she wasn't wrong, either. He didn't want to be separated from her, so Liu Xing opened his spatial bag and let out an Eye of Lightning. It hovered like a little firefly. In the bright morning light, the speck of lightning, about the size of a grain of rice, was difficult to see.

"Ah, of course," Fang Ruxue said, understanding his way of thinking.

He had five of them in total and planned to increase their number. Right now, though, five was enough. He still had three spares for when he needed them.

Liu Xing observed Fang Ruxue, his eyes stopping on her forehead, thinking that perhaps the Eye of Lightning could stick there. That idea was stupid. People would notice it. He needed to place it somewhere hidden, yet not so hidden as to obstruct his view of her. In the end, he decided to place this specific Eye of Lightning on top of her head, nestled between her hairs. Although some of her hair obstructed his view, it was good enough.

"I feel like you're a bit overprotective," Fang Ruxue remarked, putting both of her hands on her waist.

"Don't complain. This way, I can come to you the moment you get into trouble."

A flash of memory—of Fang Ruxue and the others hanging in the sky, smoke covering their mouths, their bodies bent backward to the point he could imagine their backbones snapping—came to his mind. As quickly as the memory came, it vanished, and Liu Xing realized he was indeed a little too protective of them, though not without reason.

Liu Xing started. "First thing's first, you need to gather information about the guards, who backs them, and any useful information about them. I suspect that if you dig deeper, sooner or later you will get information about the three forces that control this city."

Fang Ruxue nodded. "Should I start probing about the pill?"

He thought for a moment. "If you think it's safe to do so, then do it, though our current priority is to gather as much basic information about this city as well as locate an information trader."

"Got it. But if I'm gathering information alone, what about you? What are you going to do?"

"We need spare change," Liu Xing answered. "So I decided to use my invisibility to gather it."

Fang Ruxue looked at him with a suspicious gaze. "You mean… you're going to steal money?"

"What? Do you think I'm a thief?" Liu Xing said.

Although it would be a lie to say he hadn't considered it. With his ability to become invisible and dim his presence, he would be the perfect thief.

"I'll look for a nice building. Then, I'll sneak in, take some money, and leave a few spirit stones behind. It won't be stealing; it'll be an exchange."

Fang Ruxue looked at him for a while. "You know, you might as well steal it."

Stealing was morally wrong, but the truth was, if he did decide to just take the money, it wouldn't be the first time he had stolen something.

In this world, many cultivators justified robbing as a way to gather resources, whether they were disciples of sects or loose cultivators. So, if someone decided to sneak into a house, see a pile of money, and instead of stealing it, just exchange it for spirit stones, many people would consider him a fool.

Fang Ruxue likely had similar thoughts, and he wouldn't be surprised if many people agreed with her. Hell, even part of his own mind agreed. After all, in this case, stealing money and exchanging money would take the same exact effort and energy. Why would he want to do something with the same effort for less benefit?

However, stealing was fundamentally a bad thing to do, and he didn't want to do bad things if he could afford not to.

Liu Xing adjusted the Eye of Lightning in her hair, finally finding a perfect spot near her left ear where it was quite hidden and her hair didn't obstruct it as much.

"Well, let's see how it goes."

When the time came, he knew he could choose the best option.

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