This bustling street could already rival the popular night markets from her previous life.
But many of the items sold on this street were things Su Mu had never seen before, so her curiosity toward these stalls was even greater than her interest in the street food at those night markets in her previous life.
“Customer, how about a bamboo grasshopper? It can hop and jump—such fun!”
“Customer, try our stir-fried sugar. Just smell that aroma—it’s the best in Cloud City!”
“Don’t miss out as you pass by! Chest-breaking boulder, and I can balance two water jars too!”
The enthusiastic hawking voices around her stirred a strong urge in Su Mu to spend, but when she patted her pocket full of nothing but air, all her impulses instantly died down.
As expected, there was only one way to curb the desire to shop: have no money.
However, upon hearing about a free acrobatic performance, Su Mu hurried forward to join the crowd.
The people around saw this beautiful young lady Su Mu squeezing in with them to watch the acrobatics and subconsciously stepped back a few paces, making space for her.
Several bolder men prepared to sidle up to Su Mu and strike up a conversation.
But after glancing at her stunningly beautiful profile, they gave up.
Such a person wasn’t someone they could ever obtain. A beautiful rich young lady falling for a poor boy was the kind of plot that only appeared in storybooks.
Indeed, most people here took Su Mu for a naive young miss from a wealthy family who had sneaked out.
After all, acts like chest-breaking boulder weren’t seen every day, but they weren’t rare either.
Someone as excited as Su Mu clearly came from a strict family that didn’t allow her to watch such lowbrow street performances.
After noticing Su Mu, the acrobat grew even more focused.
One reason was that Su Mu was so beautiful—being watched by a beauty always made one want to show their best side.
Another was that a sheltered young lady like Su Mu, who clearly hadn’t seen many performances, would surely be very generous with her tips later.
“Ladies and gentlemen, here I go!”
His companion hefted a massive iron hammer, aiming it at the large stone on the acrobat’s chest.
Although she knew these performers had their unique skills and the stone would definitely shatter,
seeing such a huge rock on the acrobat’s chest still made Su Mu tense up involuntarily.
“I’m smashing!”
The heavy hammer crashed down, and the giant stone on the acrobat’s chest shattered into several pieces at once.
Cheers erupted from the crowd, and Su Mu happily clapped along.
Such simple street performances were hard to catch in person in her previous life.
Though she had long heard of the fame of chest-breaking boulder, this was the first time Su Mu had ever truly seen it.
But before Su Mu could bask in the excitement for long, she noticed the acrobat rising from his stool and ambling toward her with a cheerful grin.
He was holding a plate, and from the reactions of the people around and the acrobat’s expression, she knew exactly what he wanted.
With her pockets empty right now, she couldn’t even afford to buy any novel trinkets, let alone tip others.
There really was no such thing as a free lunch. As the acrobat drew closer, Su Mu was about to swallow her pride and admit she had no money.
Unexpectedly, a person wearing a Fox Mask reached out from behind her and tossed a handful of silver fragments into the acrobat’s plate.
“I’ll pay for her.”
A crisp, pleasant female voice rang in Su Mu’s ear, and Su Mu instinctively turned to look.
The mask hid her face, but from her figure, she appeared to be a stunning beauty.
“Thank you, customer!”
Seeing someone tip a whole handful of silver, the acrobat’s grin stretched nearly to his heels.
He shot a grateful glance at Su Mu and the woman in the Fox Mask before moving on to solicit tips from others.
With this experience under her belt, Su Mu didn’t dare stick around to watch any longer.
Someone had covered for her the first time, but she wouldn’t have such luck a second time.
“Thank you. Tell me your name, and I’ll repay the silver later.”
Gazing at the Fox Mask before her, Su Mu felt a strange sense of familiarity about her.
This figure felt similar to Chen Qing, the Villain.
But her voice was different from Chen Qing’s. Moreover, if Chen Qing discovered her sneaking out to watch street performances,
she wouldn’t be so kind as to bail her out. If she didn’t haul her back and pin her down for a thorough “training” session all night, that would already be mercy on her part.
“No need for the silver. If you feel bad about it, just come browse a place with me.”
“This…”
Looking at the person before her, Su Mu’s wariness spiked.
She had helped her out of a jam, but inviting her to stroll the streets together right after meeting seemed too suspicious.
“If the young lady is unwilling, I won’t insist.”
“Mm, next time we meet, I’ll return the silver.”
Watching Su Mu’s receding figure, Chen Qing beneath the mask felt a bit surprised.
She had thought this silly Traitorous Shizun would agree to her request.
She still had some vigilance after all. But daring to sneak out behind her back—and it didn’t look like she was trying to escape.
She simply had to see what this good Shizun of hers was up to in secret.
After walking far away, Su Mu finally got back to business with the System.
“System, where is the Black Market you mentioned?”
【Host, the Black Market is in the Slum in City North of Cloud City. It’s teeming with desperate outlaws, a real mix of all sorts where anything can be bought. I’ll project the map for you.】
“What? Desperate outlaws!”
Hearing those words, Su Mu—who had been brimming with confidence—instantly lost her fighting spirit.
With her current combat prowess, charging into that wolf’s den would just be serving herself up on a platter.
Heading back to the Inn to sleep was far more comfortable and safe.
Seeing Su Mu give up so quickly, the System in the System Space was covered in black lines.
With such a deathly afraid Host, how was it supposed to guide her?
The only option now was to coax the Host to the Black Market first.
That reborn Villain was tailing her anyway, so nothing would go wrong.
Thus, the scheming System opened its mouth and started spinning tales.
【Don’t worry, Host. The Black Market has its own rules. Anyone who dares make a move there will be ganged up on by everyone else in the Black Market.】
“Even if they gang up on the killer after I’ve already been stabbed to death, what good does that do me? I can’t come back to life.”
Su Mu’s airtight logic left the System at a loss for words.
After a pause, it continued.
【What I mean, Host, is no one in the Black Market will lay a hand on you. If they do, I’ll get struck by lightning on the spot.】
Seeing the System swear like that, Su Mu’s lost confidence finally ticked up a notch.
Though she still felt uneasy deep down, her only hope right now to avoid being pinned down and bullied by Chen Qing was that important side character in the Black Market.
Having steeled her resolve, Su Mu set off toward City North.
