The Return Of The Exiled Villain-Chapter 191 191: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (VIII)

After wandering through the city for a while, Gray's mood had noticeably soured.
Aside from entire streets packed with brothels, inns, and taverns stacked one after another, there was nothing that even remotely hinted at the existence of a black market.
Yeah, he wanted to find a black market now.
He needed something to prepare against the other Gray, and the first thing he was thinking about was spiritual powder that could increase his mental strength.
Unfortunately, items like that didn't exist on normal shelves.
They were illegal.
Mental strength was something only cultivators above the King realm were officially allowed to train.
Anything that accelerated it was labeled heaven-defying, destabilizing, and therefore tightly controlled.
Not because it was dangerous, but because the major noble families monopolized it, and letting people like him get their hands on such things would disrupt too many 'balances'.
"Whatever, I'll need to think of other ways to defeat him..." he muttered darkly.
As he turned down another lantern-lit street, already planning alternatives, a painfully familiar voice shattered his thoughts.
"GRAAAAY! I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU, MY BROTHER!!!"
Gray's eyebrow twitched.
He looked up just in time to see Ronan marching toward him with an infuriatingly bright smile, waving as if he had just reunited with a long-lost family member.
Grip!
Ronan instantly pulled him away towards one of the taverns nearby, not letting him complain even for a second.
"Don't worry, bro! I did research, and thisis one of the taverns in this city!" Ronan puffed his chest out proudly.
The tavern Ronan dragged him to sat at the edge of one of the louder streets, half-hidden behind red lanterns and wooden balconies where laughter and music spilled nonstop.
From the outside, it looked no different from any other place meant to drain coins and dignity.
"...Mhm?"
However, the inside gave Gray quite a different... feeling. His eyes scanned the surroundings, and he noticed that the tavern actually didn't have many waitresses.
And the men sitting near the walls weren't drinking much at all.
"Don't stare," Ronan whispered urgently, tugging at Gray's sleeve.
"You'll look suspicious!"
"...Your appearance alone is suspicious," Gray retorted.
They sat at a rough wooden table near the back, away from the musicians and drunken shouting.
A waitress passed by, barely sparing them a glance. No exaggerated flirting or forced smiles, just treating them as a regular customer.
"By the way! I have something to tell you!" Ronan leaned in, voice dropping even further.
"Oh, what?" Gray looked bored already.
"Alright, so… I was sitting here earlier, yeah? And there were these two guys. Real shady types. Didn't drink much, didn't talk loudly. But I swear I heard them arguing."
"About?" Gray asked calmly, though his fingers had already curled slightly.
"One of them kept saying the price was too high for 'just powder.' The other said something about the powder being something that even noble families wanted and how 'if someone found out, they'd lose their head.'"
'...Powder?!'
Gray's eyes instantly narrowed as the bored look in his ear dissipated almost immediately, causing Ronan to raise an eyebrow.
"How was the bottle?" he directly asked.
"The bottle? Mhm..." he hummed thoughtfully, his eyes drifting to the corner as he focused on remembering it.
"Ah, yeah! It was a very small glass bottle! The powder inside had a very light blue color, and had a strange red tap that had the word "Spiritual" carved onto it. I remember 'cause it sounded cool as hell," he nodded proudly.
"Hahaah..."
Gray let out a small laugh as his lips curled up intently.
'...I didn't expect this idiot to be my damn lucky star!'
A light blue powder in a container that had the word "Spiritual" carved onto it! That was definitely spiritual powder!
But to think that he would find it in a place other than the black market...!
This was probably guidance from destiny!
"You sure you didn't imagine it?" Gray asked to confirm, finally looking at Ronan properly.
"Hey! I'm dumb, not blind." Ronan bristled.
'...At least, you're self-conscious,' Gray added inwardly.
"…Debatable."
"Tch...! Anyway, they're still here. Or at least, one of them is," Ronan subtly nodded toward the far corner.
Gray followed his gaze and saw a man sitting alone, a hood pulled over his head as his fingers tapped lightly against the table.
"Stay here," Gray muttered
"Huh? Why?"
"Because if you open your mouth, you'll ruin it."
Ronan opened his mouth, but seeing Gray coldly staring at him...
"…Got it," Ronan replied orderly, instantly shutting up.
Gray stood and walked over without haste, pulling out a chair and sitting down uninvited. The man stiffened slightly at his actions.
Clink!
A single gold coin was placed on the table.
"I heard you're selling something interesting."
The man didn't answer his words directly, and instead took a look at Gray's handsome face, and then back to the point before shaking his head.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Hearing his words, Gray remained calm as he put yet another gold coin on the table, causing the man's eyes to turn a little more eager than normal.
"...You're asking the wrong person," he masked his greed, licking his lips and forcing a careless shrug.
Gray tilted his head slightly, as if considering that answer.
Clink.
He placed another coin, causing the man's throat to bob.
"…You should be careful," the man muttered. "Talking about things you don't understand can get you killed."
Gray smiled faintly.
"Funny," he replied, fingers resting on the table.
"I was thinking the same thing."
Swish!
The man suddenly felt something cold brushing against his neck, light as silk, yet carrying a pressure that made his skin prickle.
Gray's eyes darkened as he pulled his fingers lightly...
Grip!
Invisible threads slid tighter.
"Gah!" The man's breath hitched.
Gray leaned forward just enough for his shadow to fall over the table. His voice remained calm, almost bored.
"Are you sure you don't know about a little cyan powder?"
Tap.
His fingers tapped softly against the wood.
Tap, tap...
The man's eyes locked onto those fingers, wide now, unable to look away. Each tap felt like a noose being tested.
Then Gray curled his index finger, and the pressure snapped tight.
"A-ah…!"
The man jerked, hands flying to his throat as if he could grab what wasn't there. His face flushed red, then pale.
Sweat broke out across his forehead, trickling down his temples.
"I-I-!"
"Think carefully," he warned him.
"You're running out of air. And I'm running out of patience."
The man swallowed hard, nodding frantically.
"I-I think I know what you're talking about!" he blurted out, forcing a shaky and nervous smile. "Y-yeah… that powder. Cyan. Spiritual. That one."
Gray relaxed his finger slightly, causing the pressure to ease, but it didn't disappear.
"Good... Then we can finally have a proper conversation."
He leaned back slightly, before directly asking,
"How much do you have?"
The man hesitated, eyes flicking around the tavern as if expecting someone to suddenly appear and save him. The invisible pressure around his neck pulsed faintly, reminding him that escape was not an option.
"T-twelve," he croaked.
"I… I have twelve bottles."
Gray's eyes sharpened at once.
"I'll take them all."
The man's face drained of color.
"A-all…?" he stammered. "W-wait, no! I already made a deal! Eight of them are promised, I swear! If I don't deliver, I'm dead either way!"
Gray's gaze hardened as te faint smile vanished completely.
He leaned forward, just a little to make the man even more nervous that he already was.
"Is your life more precious than those bottles?"
The pressure snapped tight again.
The man gasped, chair scraping loudly as he instinctively tried to pull away. His hands clawed at his throat, eyes bulging as tears pooled at the corners.
"I-I'll be killed if I don't deliver them!" he wheezed.
Gray tilted his head.
"And you'll be killed if you don't deliver them to me," he replied evenly. "The difference is… I'm already here."
The man shook violently.
"P-please… I can explain!"
Gray raised a finger.
Silence.
"I don't care who you promised," he continued. "I don't care how important they are. You made the mistake of letting me know you had what I want."
His finger curled slightly, causing the string to tighten immediately.
The man let out a broken sob.
"O-okay! Okay! I'll give them to you! All of them! Please, just don't!"
Gray released the pressure.
The man collapsed forward, coughing violently, gulping air like a drowning man pulled back to shore.
His whole body trembled as he scrambled under the table, hands shaking as he pulled out a wrapped bundle from a hidden compartment in his coat.
One bottle.
Two.
Three…
Twelve small glass bottles clinked softly as he lined them up with trembling fingers. Each one was filled with faintly glowing cyan powder, swirling slowly like mist trapped in glass.
Gray inspected them without touching them at first. His eyes narrowed slightly, sensing the faint spiritual fluctuations leaking through the seals.
"…Good quality," he muttered.
He swept them into his dimensional storage in one smooth motion.
The man froze, staring at the empty table.
"Get out."
The man didn't need to be told twice.
He stumbled to his feet, nearly tripping over his own chair, and bolted from the tavern without looking back, disappearing into the night like a rat fleeing a fire.
Gray remained seated for a moment longer, exhaling slowly.
"...This should be enough. I doubt the other Gray is going to have a mental strength higher than mine if I consume all of these bottles."