Chapter 179: Night Market
Evan's brow arched slightly. Judging by his bearing, the man before him was no real fighter, and clearly had no idea a fairy who'd already signed a contract couldn't be sold or transferred at all. That he didn't even know this much, and still thought he could just buy Xiaoshuang outright — was his grasp of the basics really this poor?
Evan gave a cold laugh. "And who are you? Not for sale." He held nothing but contempt for someone this oblivious to his own limits.
"Who am I? The answer alone should startle you. I am Mark Gaffney — dual cultivator of magic and blade, destined to become the great hero who follows in King Charles's footsteps," Gaffney declared grandly. "And that Grawvor — I've already got him marked for capture."
"Nonsense. Something's wrong with your head." Evan turned to walk away, having no interest at all in dealing with someone who seemed genuinely unwell in the mind.
Xiaoshuang had been fuming ever since the man offered to buy her, her small eyes rounding with fury, ready to snap — but hearing Evan call him mentally unsound, she burst out laughing instead. Not just her — Jenny couldn't hold back a laugh behind her hand either, and even Jessica allowed herself a small smile.
"Stand right there!" Gaffney shouted, chasing after them, blade already drawn. He'd barely taken two steps before his foot slipped, sending him sprawling flat on his back — Evan had laid a quiet patch of Grease on the ground behind him out of sheer irritation, and the man had walked straight into it without a clue.
The crowd around them burst into laughter. Evan didn't so much as glance back, finding an inn instead as evening settled in. Once they'd gotten settled, Jessica asked, "We're just going to sit and do nothing?"
"Solomon's already put out a bounty. At this stage, plenty of cannon fodder will be rushing in to try their luck, and Grawvor's bound to run into them. No need to worry — word should reach us by tomorrow," Evan said, unconcerned.
"So you're planning to sit back and enter last, just like Solomon?" Jessica asked.
"There are only three of us, and Jenny has no real combat ability to speak of — it really comes down to the two of us. What odds would you give that alone? Best case, we link up with the Hollingburton delegation visiting Norma. And if they're coming, the Church will likely send someone too. Let's see if any opportunity presents itself before then. That cannon fodder exists to be spent — however formidable Grawvor is, even he'll run himself ragged dealing with an endless stream of them," Evan said with a smile.
"What good would cannon fodder even do? They'd just be throwing their lives away," Jessica said, unconvinced.
"You're wrong there. Just because their combat strength is weak doesn't mean they're worthless in a fight. And in the middle of real combat, anything can happen — being the single strongest fighter doesn't guarantee victory, so long as the weaker side knows how to make full use of whatever strength it has. One clever mind against ten thousand hands — the outcome's never as certain as you'd think," Evan said.
Jessica remained thoroughly skeptical, and so did Xiaoshuang. Jenny had no idea who was right, glancing back and forth between them, blinking.
Evan smiled. "Come on, let's go eat. My treat."
They headed out into the street. Evening had fallen, though the streetlamps had already come alive — ordinary oil lamps rather than magical ones. After dinner, they wandered the streets a while, taking in the town's nightlife. Plenty of cities had no nightlife to speak of at all, but this one was different. Though the public lamps burned oil, some shops had lit magical lamps of their own, brighter even than the streetlights — mostly alchemical and magical goods shops, and a scattering of brothels besides, all lit up in gaudy color.
The three of them didn't step into any shops, browsing instead among the street vendors, whose wares differed entirely from what showed up during the day, though nothing especially remarkable turned up either. Xiaoshuang kept darting back and forth between stalls.
One stall had drawn a real crowd — clearly something worth seeing. Xiaoshuang flew over for a look, then darted back. "That one's selling crystals — I saw a few magic crystals, and a couple of enchanted swords."
That caught all three of their attention at once. Magic crystals served a crucial purpose in amplifying mental power — commonly used in alchemical products meant for ordinary people, and mages often relied on magic crystal orbs to strengthen their divination spells.
Magic crystals came in different grades. Low-tier ones weren't worth much, but high-tier ones were exceedingly rare, and priced accordingly.
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The three of them had just started pushing their way in when a familiar voice rang out. "Eugene, I'm taking this batch of crystals. I'll pay you in a couple of days."
"Can you even afford it? Everyone knows Gaffney's got nothing to his name but that sword," Eugene said coldly.
"I'll have the money in two days. That Grawvor's as good as caught — I'm bringing him in, no doubt about it. A thousand gold coins, that's how many crystals of yours it'll buy," Gaffney said, blustering.
"Old man Eugene, don't push your luck. Mark's already doing you a favor asking for your goods at all — what's the money to you?" another voice chimed in.
Evan's brow furrowed. He pulled aside a bystander and asked, "Who's this Gaffney?"
"Just a lowlife who throws his weight around because he's got a bit of skill. Eats and spends whatever he gets his hands on, never changes."
"I see. Not a real villain, just a small one, constantly at it," Evan said, clicking his tongue.
"Exactly as you say, sir. Poor old Eugene's probably going to have to eat the loss just to be rid of him," the man said with a sigh.
Jessica and Jenny shook their heads at that too. As they talked, a voice rang out. "Well, well. You used Grease on me, made me trip in front of everyone. How do you plan to settle that debt?"
Gaffney had spotted Evan, forgetting Eugene entirely, storming toward him with real menace. The crowd parted. Evan smiled. "You say I used Grease on you. Who can prove it?"
Gaffney faltered for a moment, glancing back toward a man behind him. Evan followed his gaze — a handsome young man, though something faintly disreputable lingered in his eyes, a sword at his hip, long fingers steady and strong, his footing sure. Evan judged him a cut above Gaffney in real skill, though not worth much concern either way.
"I can vouch for it. You used Grease behind our hero Gaffney's back, and that's why he fell," the man said, his eyes drifting to Jessica and Jenny, a flicker of lecherous heat crossing them for just an instant — gone almost as soon as it appeared, though Evan's faint sight caught it perfectly clearly.
"Is that so? Can you guarantee you're not lying? A man of your character doesn't exactly inspire much confidence in his word. What do the rest of you think?" Evan said flatly, his voice rising sharply on the words your character. The crowd nodded along without quite meaning to. Evan understood at once — these two were working together, though Gaffney himself seemed to have no idea he was being used as a pawn.
The crowd's nods came naturally enough — Gaffney had already tried to force a purchase without paying, and the crowd's opinion of him had already soured; with Evan's group looking considerably more respectable besides, their word carried far more weight.
"Who are you calling low character?" Stung by the accusation, the man drew his sword in fury and advanced on Evan.
"Seems I've struck a nerve," Evan said, still perfectly flat.
"You're talking nonsense!" Thoroughly humiliated now, he lunged. Evan gave a faint smile, gave his cane a small flick, and stepped forward — moving second, arriving first. No visible blade-light at all, while his opponent's own faint sword-force flickered — recently advanced to knight tier, by the look of it.
There was a crack. His sword was still half a foot from Evan when the cane had already found his right side, beneath the ribs. He went flying, crashing to the ground, blood welling at the corner of his mouth. Evan had only meant to teach him a lesson.
The others who'd come with him flinched hard. One who'd started to draw his blade thought better of it. Another, midway through an incantation, caught a flicker of green in Evan's eyes and froze as though he'd just glimpsed something monstrous, yelping and bolting on the spot.
Gaffney alone roared and charged forward. "You struck my brother! I'll settle this with you myself!"
Evan shook his head, and the cane, already lowered, swept upward in one motion, catching him square beneath the stomach with a crack. Gaffney froze in place, then crumpled entirely, everything in his stomach coming back up in a violent heave, a sour reek spreading through the crowd, everyone nearby covering their noses.
Xiaoshuang clapped her hands. "Boring. Can't even take a hit." The crowd stared at the fairy on Evan's shoulder, dark markings flickering briefly across her small head — was this really a fairy?
Evan rolled his eyes. "Well? Get him out of here!" — directed at the rest of Gaffney's group. They exchanged glances, then hauled both fallen men up and slunk away, vanishing quickly from the crowd's view.
"Professor Wang, you're incredible!" Jenny said, stars practically shining in her eyes.
"Not my skill — theirs was just that poor. Never mind. Let's have a look at these crystals," Evan said.
"Honored one, these are my crystals. If you've an eye for any of them, I'll cut the price in half — thank you for stepping in just now," Eugene said.
"No need to thank me. Even without my help, they wouldn't have gotten far with you," Evan said, studying Eugene with a smile.
Evan could tell that despite his age, the man's magical skill likely reached mage level in its own right — probably no one in the surrounding crowd could match him, save Jessica.
Eugene gave a small laugh. "Old and useless now, letting scoundrels walk all over me. Care to look at the crystals, the three of you?"
Evan glanced over them — ordinary magic crystals, nothing more, the sort Hollingburton had plenty of already. He smiled. "We're not really here to buy crystals, just browsing. Don't let us keep you, old friend. We'll be on our way."
Eugene smiled back, and in the instant Evan turned away, something sharp flickered in his eyes — gone again just as quickly. Evan's body gave the faintest shiver in that same instant, though he walked on as if nothing had happened.
They wandered the market a while longer. Jessica bought Jenny a set of parchment along with pen and ink — materials Evan recognized as meant for writing scrolls. Nothing else caught their interest.
Back at the inn, Jessica began teaching Jenny the basics of scroll-writing. The parchment was fairly ordinary, hardly fine quality, but well suited to practice work without feeling wasteful.
Jessica clearly had a real knack for teaching. Evan had watched her methods carefully throughout the trip, and found himself nodding along more than once.