As the two of them descended the stairs, the land behind them started shaking again, and in a few breaths, the stairs were replaced by smooth ground.
Meanwhile, a whole new world appeared in front of Bai Chen.
The black market looked way different than what he had imagined it would be; instead of calling it a market, it was better to call it a small town.
There were bars, brothels, casinos, auction houses, restaurants, and various other shops neatly lined on the side of the streets.
People walked in and out of various buildings, making the scene even more lively.
As the duo walked through the streets of the market, various shops with their unique goods passed by them, though they didn't stop to inspect any.
For them, their objective was the most important part, other things could wait, though this didn't stop Bai Chen from curiously glancing at the distinctive specialties of the various shops.
Under Zhang Yu's lead, they quickly arrived at the eastern part of the town.
This area was not like the entrance; there were no vibrant shops here, nor was the hustle and bustle.
What was there, though, were rows of cages with different beings inside them, all of them filled with gloom.
There were children, the elderly, women, beasts, elves, beastmen, drakes, and even giants in there.
People in lavish clothing kept moving in and out of the area, with some stopping to inspect the beings in cages.
Zhang Yu and Bai Chen kept walking through the cages, arriving in front of a cage filled with children of different races.
As someone from Earth, Bai Chen felt immense compassion for the children, but he didn't do anything, as this was the norm of this world; you either be strong enough to rule, or you become a slave to the strong.
Zhang Yu, on the other hand, didn't have such a feeling and started to inspect each child one by one.
Whenever he came across someone he liked, he would take note of them and continue with his work.
Soon, Zhang Yu had inspected all of the children there. He then went to the side of the cage and pressed a button that was placed on one of the bars.
A few moments later, a fat man in a blue robe and a mustache came trotting over.
After taking a few heavy breaths, the man wiped the sweat on his forehead and spoke with a smile, "Esteemed customers, how may I, Pang Nanren, be of assistance today?"
"I want to purchase a few of these things," Zhang Yu replied, pointing toward the children in the cage with an expressionless face.
Bai Chen, who was standing beside him, frowned when he saw Zhang Yu's way of addressing the children, but he remained quiet.
The fat man's smile widened when he heard Zhang Yu's words, "Of course, just point out to which one you would like and I would have someone prepare them for you."
Hearing Pang Nanren's words, Zhang Yu started to silently point out the children he had chosen previously.
A few moments later, Pang Nanren called a woman over and had her take out the children Zhang Yu had pointed toward earlier.
Once she was done, Pang Nanren turned toward Zhang Yu, the previous flattering smile still plastered over his face, "Esteemed customer, please inspect the items to see if they're all of them."
Zhang Yu nodded and started to inspect the children that were taken out of the cage, making sure the woman didn't miss any of them.
After that, he looked toward Pang Nanren and spoke, "Everything is there, now, let's talk about the price of these things."
"Indeed," Pang Nanren replied, "each of these is worth sixty mid-grade spirit stones, but, since the esteemed customer is purchasing fourteen of them, I can lower it to fifty-eight mid-grade spirit stones each."
Hearing Pang Nanren's words, Bai Chen, who was still frowning on the side, was a little surprised.
Although he didn't like the way they were referring to the children, he knew better to say anything, but still, in his mind, the price was way more than what the fat man had just given to them.
But what Zhang Yu said next surprised him even more: "Hmph, that offer of yours might have worked on a novice, but it won't work on me."
"Twenty-eight mid-grade spirit stones each, take it or I'll look somewhere else."
When Pang Nanren heard Zhang Yu's words, the smile on his face froze. "Esteemed customer, sure knows how to jest, how can little me even think of extorting you?"
"The prices I gave are completely reasonable, you must understand—all of these are premium goods, and you even handpicked among them."
Zhang Yu's face remained unchanged, and he spoke, "Alright then, I apologize for wasting your time."
"Young Master, let's go look somewhere else." Zhang Yu turned toward Bai Chen and spoke in a humble tone.
"Lead the way," Bai Chen nodded as he started walking.
Although he looked cold on the outside, inwardly, he was ashamed.
At this moment, Bai Chen could have sworn he felt his ancestors staring at him with disappointed looks from the afterlife.
After all, how could he, a Chinese man, forget about the sacred art of haggling while shopping? How could he feel like the price quoted by the salesman was reasonable without even haggling for a single spirit stone?
Unaware of Bai Chen's internal crisis, Zhang Yu started walking to another section nearby.
Seeing Zhang Yu had already started walking, Pang Nanren's professional mask finally started to slip, and he spoke stammeringly, "E-esteemed customer, please wait, how about fifty mid-grade spirit stones?"
"Not interested." Zhang Yu didn't even bother to look back and replied.
"Forty-five."
"Twenty-eight is my final offer, take it or leave it." Zhang Yu had already walked some distance away from the shop by now.
Realizing that Zhang Yu was serious about leaving, Pang Nanren gritted his teeth as he said, "Thirty-five, this is the minimum I can do."
Hearing the fat man's words, Zhang Yu finally stopped, turned around, and said, "Shopkeeper Pang, you really aren't showing any sincerity here, are you?"
"We both know that you will still be making a small profit at twenty-eight mid-grade spirit stones, but since I don't want to waste my Young Master's time, I'll increase my offer to thirty mid-grade spirit stones each."
Once Zhang Yu finished speaking, Pang Nanren fell into thought, and Zhang Yu, who saw this, stood there smiling.
'As expected, he is contemplating the offer, meaning there is a high chance he will accept it,' he thought to himself.
And just as he expected, after a few moments of thinking, Pang Nanren looked up and spoke, "Alright, deal."