The culture of tattooing was not prevalent in the Kingdom of Sorcerers. Ren Xiaosu had only seen them on porters near the relay station as he traveled here from the south. At that time, Melgor explained to him that tattoos were used to identify those who were formerly criminals.
Therefore, tattoos were actually a mark of shame for the normal citizens in the Kingdom of Sorcerers.
But it was different in the underground world. They used tattoos as a symbol of their resistance, while the most loyal guardians tattooed their faces to show their determination to stand up to the magus order.
Meanwhile, bounty hunters like Chen Jingshu could disguise themselves as normal citizens and return to the surface at any time by blending in with the crowd.
But the same could not be said for the guardians. Once they returned to the surface, they would be out of place with everyone else.
In the quiet underworld, the guardian’s facial tattoo made him look extremely ferocious.
The guardian wore a worn-out fur coat and a pair of torn boots that were split at the seams. Although it was already summer, 36 degrees Celsius, on the surface, the underground was still dark and cool.
When Chen Jingshu answered with the secret phrase, the guardian opened a rusted metal door next to him.
Everyone filed in. Ren Xiaosu, who was walking in front, felt that the underground had suddenly become bustling with activity. The open area in front of him was spacious like an underground factory.
When Ren Xiaosu and the others went into the factory-like underground black market, almost everyone inside suddenly turned to look at them.
Their group was obviously from the surface, but it was rare to see hundreds of people from the surface suddenly coming down to the underground world. Many of the stall operators cast wary looks at Ren Xiaosu and company, as though they were all a little worried.
“Keep moving and don’t stop here. We’ll scare them.” Chen Jingshu continued leading the way forward. When the black market stall operators saw them leaving, they resumed their normal trading activities as though nothing had happened.
“Don’t they know who y’all are?” Ren Xiaosu was curious. “You’re also a member of the Sanctuary.”
“Members of the Sanctuary don’t walk around announcing their identities.” Chen Jingshu said, “Only the guardians in the lower levels are aware of who we are.”
“Is that to avoid getting surrounded?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“Yes, it’s a complicated bunch here. There’s more money to be made in betraying a Sanctuary member than selling a 100 metal swords,” Chen Jingshu explained.
The group continued walking farther in. Ren Xiaosu even occasionally spotted some of the inhabitants living here, but he only saw the elderly and children.
“The young and strong ones, regardless of their gender, are all working below.” Chen Jingshu said, “There’s no good-for-nothings living in the underground. Lazy people definitely can’t survive down here. So you’ll mostly only see the elderly and children on the first sublevel.”
“What do the young and strong people do below?” Ren Xiaosu asked.
“All kinds of shady businesses.” Chen Jingshu said, “For example, melting down silver pieces to recast into silver coins, forging iron arrowheads, smuggling goods, and manufacturing workshops for all kinds of prohibited goods.”
“This is a large lair for illicit activities,” Ren Xiaosu lamented.
Chen Jingshu shot him a glance and said, “If you were in their shoes, you wouldn’t be saying that. It’s already good enough the underground people can survive. Why would they care whether what they do is illegal or not?”
A moment later, a man in a brown linen robe suddenly appeared in front of them. The hooded man was waiting in the tunnel as though he were expecting the arrival of Ren Xiaosu and company.
Chen Jingshu looked at Ren Xiaosu. “Follow me. There’s someone who wants to meet you.”
The man, whose identity was concealed, turned around and led the way forward without saying a word.
They made their way through the underground, twisting and turning through the tunnels, and even going down some stairs to head deeper into the underground. When they walked past some of the secret passageways, the guardians keeping watch nearby would even bow to that man.
It was obvious the other party’s status in the underground world was much higher than Chen Jingshu’s.
After turning into a long and dark passageway, the sound of a few people talking suddenly came from the corner ahead.
As Ren Xiaosu walked in, he felt that something was off. He turned around and looked at Mel, who was frozen in place. “What’s the matter?”
However, it seemed that Mel did not hear what Ren Xiaosu said. He just rushed forward in a daze.
Ren Xiaosu was surprised. “Did you see a friend?”
“Summer!” Melgor shouted anxiously, “Is that you?”
The voices coming from the corner ahead suddenly quieted down. Ren Xiaosu looked at Chen Jingshu. “Summer? Who’s that?”
“Summer Russell, Russell’s descendant.” Chen Jingshu grinned from ear to ear. “She’s also the love interest of Sorcerer Melgor.”
“So the reason y’all went to York County was to help this girl look for Melgor, right?” Ren Xiaosu frowned and said, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? You even fabricated such a strange lie.”
“We were planning to leave some money for him in his Sorcerer’s Tower, but who knew you’d suddenly come killing out of nowhere?” Chen An’an rolled her eyes. “Besides, we didn’t even know who you were, so why would we tell you the truth?”
Ren Xiaosu was shocked. “Leave some money for him?!”
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Mel is really such an expert moocher!”
