Contrary to Zhao Yunxiao's expectations, this Ke Huofen was actually a friendly-looking middle-aged man, though his dressing definitely fell on the luxurious end of the fashion spectrum.
Even when surrounded by people fawning upon him, he did not put on any airs. Instead, he maintained an amiable smile as he walked along, treating everyone with a basic level of respect. But at the same time, he was firm in his ways, not allowing anyone to dictate where he should be going within the slave market.
When he finally stopped by a particular slave store, the store owner turned ecstatic while the other solicitors' faces fell.
Ke Huofen was famous for preferring to spend big at a single store instead of spreading out his purchases. If this first store managed to provide him with the number of slaves he needed, then the others would just have to wait for his next visit.
Indeed, their worst fears quickly came true.
"How much would it be for all of them?" Ke Huofen asked after only taking a cursory scan of the slaves at the store.
"For Sir Ke, I can let them go at a discount!" the shop owner beamed brightly upon hearing that.
"In that case, I will take them al-"
"Wait a minute!" someone suddenly shouted, rudely cutting Ke Huofen off.
Everyone immediately looked over to see a slightly plump young man approaching in a pompous manner. He looked much younger than Ke Huofen – probably around late twenties – but his dressing was definitely no less luxurious than Ke Huofen's.
Apart from the silk robes with golden threads at the seams, his arms and neck were adorned with numerous gold accessories, almost enough to make him glitter in the sun. Four well-built men wearing combat robes followed closely behind, clearly acting as his guards.
"I shall take a look first. If I don't like anything here, then you can go ahead and claim the rest," the young man said matter-of-factly.
"So, it's Young Master Hei. Greetings," Ke Huofen did not show any sign of discontent. Instead, he even greeted the young man respectfully with clasped fists. "Since Young Master Hei is interested, please go ahead and take your pick first."
"At least you know what's good for you," Young Master Hei said nonchalantly, walking straight past Ke Huofen with his hands clasped behind his back to take a look at the slaves on sale.
"That's Hei Lao – current head of the Hei Clan. For as long as you are staying here at Thousand Autumn City, it would be best for you to remember that name," the man who answered Zhao Yunxiao's question earlier volunteered his knowledge this time. "The Hei Clan is the wealthiest faction in the city, and even the city lord's faction has to give it face. After his parents died in a tragic incident, Hei Lao returned a year ago to take over the reins. Unfortunately for the Hei Clan, and for everyone else as well, he is a complete nutcase who only knows how to throw his weight around. Make sure to steer clear of him if you don't want any unnecessary trouble."
"Thank you for the information, Brother," Zhao Yunxiao replied gratefully, though he could not help but let out a silent sigh in his heart.
The Hei Clan... that was where the mission requestor came from!
Looking at the current situation, would it really be possible to maintain a low profile while completing this sect mission?
While Zhao Yunxiao was still cursing his luck, the slave trader and even other solicitors had already burst into a frenzy.
With the appearance of Hei Lao, all of them suddenly shifted their attention from Ke Huofen to the latter. The slave trader tried his best to praise his wares, while the solicitors brought out painting after painting of beautiful young women, trying to entice him to visit their stores instead.
"Her, her, and her," Hei Lao casually pointed at three beautiful young women. "Send them over to my residence later."
"Yes, for sure!" the slave trader lit up in joy. "Since it is Young Master Hei, I will throw in a discount! The three of them originally cos-"
"What did you say? Discount?" Hei Lao suddenly frowned. "Are you implying that I don't have enough to pay the original price?"
The atmosphere changed in an instant.
Sensing his unhappiness, silence fell upon the slave market as nobody dared to utter another word. If they accidentally said something that upset this little ancestor, the arrowhead might just be pointed at them next!
"N-No, of course not! Who would ever think such a thing? I am merely trying to show my sincerity here. My greatest apologies if those careless words offended Young Master Hei."
"Kneel," Hei Lao said coldly. "Kneel and apologise."
Thud-!
The slave trader did not hesitate. In fact, he did not just kneel, but even started kowtowing on top of that.
"This lowly one is uneducated and does not know how to speak properly. I beg of your magnanimity to forgive this lowly one's grave mistake!"
"Hmph! If you do that again, don't blame me for not being courteous!" Hei Lao harrumphed before walking away.
It was only then that everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Even so, the solicitors did not remain shocked for long. They quickly chased after Hei Lao and started recommending their wares to him once again, showing portrait after portrait while praising him to the heavens.
"Here you go," Ke Huofen helped the kneeling slave trader get to his feet. "I will take the rest."
With Hei Lao's appearance, Ke Huofen's grand aura seemed to have vanished in an instant. Now, not a single solicitor remained by his side.
"Thank you, Sir Ke. Where do you need me to send them?" the slave trader asked.
"Load them up in my carriage at the entrance. I will take it from there."
"I will get to it right now!"
Zhao Yunxiao took one last glance at the duo before following after the large crowd.
This Ke Huofen might not be as influential as Hei Lao, but he seemed like a nice person at least. On the other hand, this Hei Lao seemed like somebody to be avoided as long as possible.
He could only hope that Hei Lao would be too busy acting pompous outside to interfere with the sect mission!
That said, he also understood that just a single interaction was not nearly enough to determine one's personality. That was why he decided to follow the large crowd and observe Hei Lao's behaviour from a distance.
Unfortunately, nothing he saw managed to change his perception of Hei Lao.
The young head of the Hei Clan continued to act in an imperious manner, seemingly treating everyone else like insects as he picked out beautiful slaves one after another. Just by looking at the specific type of slaves that he was picking, it was not difficult to guess his intentions either.
Eventually, Zhao Yunxiao was even starting to doubt if his Hei Clan was really in enough trouble to warrant help from the Black Tortoise Sect.
After a few hours of slave shopping, Hei Lao finally seemed to have had enough and made his way to the exit.
Zhao Yunxiao did not see any need to remain in the slave market either, thus following along. However, he never expected to encounter several familiar faces when they reached the slave market entrance.
Standing atop a makeshift wooden platform, which was essentially just a large wooden crate, Fei Qing held up a large piece of white cloth with five words clearly written for all to see.
[Stand Up For Human Rights!]
"Slavery is an outdated and unethical practice! Eliminate the slave trade!" a clearly enraged Fei Qing shouted. "Poor people are human too! Stand up against exploiting the poor!"
Beneath the wooden platform, Fei Qing's companions could be seen – both his sole male companion and over a dozen female companions. While the male companion sat on the ground rubbing his temples, the young ladies were busy copying the same five words onto smaller sheets of paper.
Fei Qing's calls went ignored by the crowds, with people paying him no more than a single glance. But when Hei Lao saw this, he actually turned to head straight towards Fei Qing.
"I will take her, her, her, and her," Hei Lao remarked as he arrived before Fei Qing, pointing at four of his new female companions.
This caused the young ladies to flinch in shock, including those who had not been picked.
"What did you just say?" Fei Qing narrowed his eyes in disbelief.
"Are you deaf? I said I am taking those four. Send them to my residence later," Hei Lao replied matter-of-factly.
Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch.
This Hei Lao either had zero situational awareness or simply had absolutely no qualms about doing whatever he wanted!
"Am I deaf?" Fei Qing repeated with gritted teeth. "Or perhaps I should ask if you are blind? Can you not see such a big banner in front of you?"
"Okay, I see it. So, what is the problem now? Is it about the money? Well, speak up then. How much do I need to pay for you to let them go?" Hei Lao shrugged.
"Unlike you people who are without proper conscience, I'm not selling anyone!" Fei Qing retorted angrily.
"If you are not here to sell these girls at the slave market, don't tell me that you are just here to waste your time on such useless comments?" Hei Lao let out a condescending chuckle. "Save your time and effort. The ways of the world cannot be changed."
"The ways of the world? Isn't it also people who determined that? In the same light, people can definitely change it as well," Fei Qing argued. "As for you, apart from being lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family, what makes you think you deserve more than the people whom you call slaves? What gives you the right to treat them like they are worth less than you? What gives you the right to bathe in luxury while they toil all their lives?"
"You might be right; there might indeed be nothing special about me apart from being lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family," Hei Lao agreed nonchalantly. "But at the same time, there are only this many wealthy families in the world. Since I have already taken up one of these lucky spots to be born into a wealthy background, shouldn't I make full use of this lucky chance and enjoy life as much as possible? If I don't even enjoy myself despite having already taken up a spot, that would be truly letting down those who have lost this opportunity because of me and ended up being born into poor families to suffer!"
"What is this warped logic?" Fei Qing could not believe what he was hearing. "If everyone shared your point of view, this world would descend into chaos! Instead of that, you should be using your privileged position to change the lives of others for the better!"
"Hahaha! How interesting! This is the funniest thing I've heard all day!" Hei Lao laughed. "Just like everyone else, all I am doing is acting in accordance with human nature. That is the same reason why nobody here cared about what you are talking about. Nevertheless, I won't stop you from wasting your time. Good luck changing the world, and let my men know if you change your mind about selling those four."
Hei Lao turned and left, leaving an enraged Fei Qing standing speechlessly on the wooden platform.
Zhao Yunxiao looked up at the sky and secretly let out a sigh of relief.
He thought that Fei Qing was a potential troublemaker, but this Hei Lao was even worse!
As cultivators, the situation could have turned out really badly if Fei Qing and his companion had failed to restrain themselves because of Hei Lao's words and attitude. Thankfully, they managed to hold it in.
Otherwise, who knew what could have happened?
He did not care if Hei Lao ended up suffering a little, but it would be bad if this complicated the sect mission!
It was already starting to turn dark, so it might be best to return to the inn for tonight. However, he would head over to the Hei Residence first thing tomorrow.
At this rate, it might only be a matter of time before Hei Lao ended up offending other cultivators, especially with so many of them being in the city right now.
Before anything like that happened, he definitely had to go get this sect mission over and done with. Only then could he effectively keep his distance from the entire Hei Clan, thereby avoiding getting swept up in any future troubles!