Chapter 49. Black Market and Dark Alliance

Chapter 49. Black Market and Dark Alliance

In You City, Little Cong Street.

A vendor stepped into a deep alley, at the end of which stood a simple wooden house. He gently pushed the door open and walked inside.

“Big Brother, how long has the Dark Alliance been waiting for us to send someone over? They’re searching outside right now! If they find our hideout, we’ll be in big trouble!”

“Calm down! They agreed in the letter that they would come for us this afternoon to escort the princess and other goods. The Dark Alliance trusts us enough to let us assist with the transit. It’s been proven that, with our strong connections and orderly management, we successfully brought the princess from Huang City to You City. Those foolish soldiers would never suspect that the princess has already arrived here. There’s less than half a day left; just wait a little longer. Once this is done, the Dark Alliance will become our backbone, and we can have as many deals as we want in the future.”

“But, Big Brother, those soldiers have called in disciples from the three major sects, and two of them are almost here! One is called Du Shengtao, and the other is Chen Zhong. I’ve heard they have impressive achievements and are very capable. I’m worried…”

“There’s no need to fret. We’ll continue doing things as usual, keeping it casual. Those sect disciples wouldn’t dare to mess with our Black Market. We have a lot of goods on hand and connections with various underground organizations and sects. They have no evidence to take us down; that would just make enemies of them. They’re not foolish; they won’t act recklessly. By the way, you mentioned three disciples. Who’s the third?”

“His name is Lin Nuo, a disciple of the Xuanyun Sect. I’ve heard he left for Huang City not long ago and hasn’t been seen in You City.”

“He might be searching for the princess elsewhere. As long as he doesn’t come to You City, we won’t need to worry about him.”

In the small house, two men whispered to each other, discussing the operation to capture and transport the princess, which was a significant task. If successful, the Dark Alliance would have leverage against the royal family, marking a turning point in their expansion of power. These black market traders would also expand their operations and seek massive profits.

The Dark Alliance was in charge of capturing the princess, while the Black Market handled the transportation. Their cooperation had already managed to get the princess out of Huang City. However, now that the royal army was ramping up patrols and searches, and they sought help from the three major sects, the risks of continuing to move the princess were just too high. They had to temporarily store her in You City until the Dark Alliance could send skilled help to come and escort her.

Officials in You City were colluding with the Black Market, ensuring their protection in the short term.

According to agreement, the Dark Alliance’s experts were to come this afternoon for the pickup, along with a batch of important contraband.

“Big Brother, let’s go check the goods.”

“Alright.”

The two men entered a small room, where a cabinet held a hidden passageway. After they pressed a mechanism, the door to the passage opened.

“Let’s go, inside.”

They walked into a spacious underground area, used for storing various contraband goods, with several exits leading to the surface, each guarded by dealers and an assortment of traps.

They carried on with their usual methods, storing large quantities of goods through the basement.

They arrived at a spot filled with many crates, where a few black market traders were counting items.

“Big Brother, we’ve finished counting; everything’s accounted for.”

One trader reported.

The leader nodded, “Good. According to the plan, transfer the goods to the designated transit point. The experts sent by the Dark Alliance will come and take over this afternoon, so everyone stay alert.”

“Yes!”

The traders all shouted in response and swiftly got to work moving the cargo.

…

Ten miles outside You City, in Little Forest.

“You City is just ahead! Let’s hurry and get the people and goods out. We need to assign tasks.”

A man in blue spoke to the others,

“The royal army has started paying attention to this city, and the disciples from the Hunfeng Sect and Yulin Sect will soon be here as well. Acting together makes us too much of a target, so we’ll split up. There’s a remote forest to the north that few people go to. I’ll enter the city from that side to get the princess out. You guys will go in through the front gate and distribute the contraband. You have more people on your side to attract attention. If you get discovered, just abandon the contraband. Our priority is to get the princess out; we’ll regroup in the woods later.”

“Shen Ge, are you sure you can handle it alone?”

“No problem. Just because I’m alone means I’m a smaller target and less noticeable. You all will draw attention with your larger presence. Besides, in a direct confrontation, those sect disciples won’t stand a chance against me. Let’s go, the earlier we leave, the earlier we return.”

“Yes!”

The Dark Alliance’s elite followed their leader Guang Shen’s orders and dispersed into action. The goal was to mainly transport the princess out through Guang Shen from the north while the others handled the contraband. If the royal army and sect disciples discovered them, they would create chaos to draw their attention, with everything centered on getting the princess safely moved.

Soon, Guang Shen stepped into the northern forest.

It was quiet, as if there wasn’t a soul around.