mud falling painting beam empty

Chapter 1086 Undercurrents are surging

The air in the underground tavern smelled of rotting meat and cheap ale. Zhao Wuji pulled his cloak hood tight and followed the guide through the narrow corridor. The torches on the wall stretched the shadows into distorted shapes, just like the shadows in the mines of Moria.

"New here?" The burly man at the door stopped him, a fierce light flashing in his one eye.

Zhao Wuji took out half a rusty Oak coin from his pocket. This was given to him by a mysterious businessman yesterday. After checking it, the burly man grinned, revealing his jagged yellow teeth: "Lord Sauron welcomes honest businessmen."

The moment the wooden door closed behind him, Zhao Wuji was almost startled by the scene in front of him. This black market hidden in the sewer system of Minas Tirith was just like the villain's base camp in the movie - more than a dozen stalls filled with all kinds of dark items: necklaces made of orc teeth, blood-stained Utumno flags, and even Ringwraith mount feathers in glass bottles.

[Warning: Real dark energy fluctuations detected] The system suddenly alarmed, [Some traders have actually surrendered to Sauron's forces]

Zhao Wuji's hand quietly pressed on the elf dagger at his waist. He came here today to sell the spare hair accessories "recovered" from the elf camp - those exquisite hairpins wrapped with mithril threads would sparkle in the sun and were worth a fortune on the black market.

"Oriental, this way." A hoarse female voice came from the shadows.

Zhao Wuji looked in the direction of the sound and saw an old woman wrapped in a faded red cloak squatting in the corner. On the stall in front of her were several stone tablets engraved with the Dark Language, but the most conspicuous position was empty.

"I heard you have some elf stuff?" The old woman licked her cracked lips.

Zhao Wuji nodded cautiously and took out a small velvet bag from his inner pocket. When he unfolded the package, several customers around him gasped at the same time - five elf hair accessories glowed softly silver under the torch, and the most exquisite one was inlaid with a sapphire the size of a grain of rice.

[Spare hair accessories for the Elf Twilight Team (non-plot prop), estimated value 200 gold/piece] the system noted.

The old woman’s dry branch-like fingers trembled as she reached for the gem, but she suddenly pulled back just before touching it: “From the Evening Star team? Where did you come from—”

"Trade secret." Zhao Wuji quickly put away the package, "What do you have to exchange?"

The old woman's cloudy eyes rolled around, and she pulled out a yellowed parchment from her bosom: "A map of the secret passages in the Moria mines, including three unrecorded mithril veins."

Zhao Wuji's heartbeat quickened. Mithril was as valuable as gold in Middle-earth, and the system had already lit up a green light in his field of vision: [Non-plot critical information, legally available]

Just as he was about to make the deal, a red warning popped up on the system: [Attention! The seller is from the real dark camp and may be tracked after the transaction]

Zhao Wuji's fingers froze in mid-air. The old woman seemed to sense something and smiled grimly: "Are you scared? Are the elves' things hot?"

“Just assessing the risks.” He tried to remain calm, and suddenly caught a glimpse of the faint black tattoo on the old woman’s neck—it was the mark of Sauron’s Eye, but more hideous than in the movie, with poisonous snakes coiled around the eyeball.

The transaction was completed in silence. Zhao Wuji handed the two most common hair ornaments to the old woman in exchange for the map. Before leaving, he noticed that there was a dwarf wearing an iron mask squatting in the shadow of the stall, weaving something with some black metal wire.

"Those are the craftsmen of Moria," the old woman explained, following his gaze. "They make them specifically for you. Special orders."

The Iron Mask suddenly raised his head, and Zhao Wuji was caught off guard by a pair of completely black eyes—no whites, no pupils, only pure darkness. He stumbled back and bumped into a warm body.

"Be careful, friend." A familiar voice made Zhao Wuji turn around - it was Dwalin, his dwarf partner, now wearing unfamiliar black leather armor.

Before he could speak, Dwalin dragged him out of the black market. When they returned to the ground, the dwarf lowered his voice and said, "Are you crazy? Going there with the Evening Star's stuff? Arwen's guards will tear you into pieces!"

"Just some spare hair accessories," Zhao Wuji said defensively, and suddenly realized something, "Wait, how do you know it's from the Dusk Star team?"

Dwalin's expression became strange. "Because I have the original one." He took out an almost identical hair ornament from the inner pocket of his leather armor, but the gem was dark green. "I bought it from a merchant from Lothlorien. It cost me three months' savings."

Zhao Wuji took the hair accessory, and the system immediately marked it as [authentic, contains trace amounts of elf magic, estimated value 5000 gold]. He looked up suddenly: "This is not a replica at all! Where did you get it from-"

"Here's what I'm telling you," Dwalin looked around nervously. "There are people on the black market who are collecting certain items, especially those related to Arwen. I heard that they are making some kind of ritual prop."

Before parting, the dwarf handed him a crumpled note: "Come to this place tomorrow, someone wants to buy your route map." The next morning, Zhao Wuji studied the map of Moria in the temporary studio. The sun shone through the tent fabric, casting mottled light and shadows on the map. Some lines on the map would reveal hidden marks under strong light - this was tested by him using modern chemical knowledge.

[Secret code detected: Side door of the Turin VII Treasury] The system analyzed, [This location is not shown in the movie, it can be explored]

Just as he was recording this discovery, there was a commotion outside the tent. Zhao Wuji lifted the door curtain and saw several Gondor soldiers escorting a group of prisoners. Among them was a young man with a gray face who was chained and had a wooden sign on his chest that read "traitor".

"Who is that?" he asked the vendor next to him.

"The Steward's cook," the vendor said gleefully, "has been caught tasting Lord Faramir's medicine."

Zhao Wuji's blood froze instantly. Faramir was poisoned - this is an important plot in the original book, but it is not shown at all in the movie! He subconsciously stepped forward, wanting to remind the guards to strengthen their vigilance -

[Plot Intervention Alert!] The electric shock from the system was more intense than ever before. Zhao Wuji fell to his knees, and everything in front of him was dark. When he regained consciousness, the prisoner team had gone far away, and only the bloody taste on the tip of his tongue reminded him of how severe the punishment was.

"Focus on your business." The system said coldly.

In the next three days, Zhao Wuji devoted all his energy to the new project, "The Lord of the Rings Expedition Route Map". He used discarded props collected from various places and modern photocopying technology (using gauze and special ink) to create a realistic map of Middle-earth, on which the route of the Fellowship of the Ring was marked.

“Limited to 99 copies, each individually numbered,” he advertised at the fair. “Contains unpublished fragments of Gandalf’s manuscript!”

The marketing gimmick came from a page of an abandoned script he stumbled upon, which described Gandalf's monologue in the Mines of Moria, but was not ultimately made into the film. The system determined that this was "deleted content" and could be used in a limited manner.

贵族们为这些“幕后珍品“疯狂。第一天就卖出了30份，每份定价50金币。当一位刚铎贵族出价200金购买“1号珍藏版“时，赵无机的金币余额突破了70000大关。

[Business achievement unlocked: "Cultural trafficker", popularity increased] System prompt, [New risk: may attract the attention of royal scholars]

On the evening of the fourth day, Zhao Wuji followed Dwalin's note and went to the old mill in the south of the city. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see that the person waiting for him was not a dwarf, but an elf in a gray cloak - a real member of the Lothlorien Guard.

"Do you have a map of Moria?" the elf said straight to the point, his voice like the collision of ice springs.

Zhao Wuji nodded cautiously. The elf took out a leaf-shaped gold coin and placed it on the table: "Instead, give this one, and add a piece of advice - stay away from those who collect Dusk Star items."

“Why? What are they doing?”

The elf's eyes became sharp: "Darkness cannot be created directly, it can only distort the existing light. They need a template."

After the transaction was completed, the elf suddenly drew his knife and put it to Zhao Wuji's throat: "Final warning: Don't go to the black market again. I won't be so friendly next time."

The moment the blade left, Zhao Wuji's legs were so weak that he could hardly stand. He looked down at the gold coin, and the system displayed: [Lothlorien Pass, redeemable for three-day residence rights in the Elven Territory, estimated value 3000 gold coins]

On the way back, Zhao Wuji made a detour to the medical area. Through the gap in the tent, he saw Faramir lying on the sickbed, his face as pale as paper. Standing beside the bed was Boromir, the man who was supposed to be dead, holding his brother's hand tightly, while Prime Minister Denethor stood in the shadows, his expression unreadable.

"System, this is not a script at all."

[Parallel time and space correction: some deleted content actually exists in this world] The system explained, [but the key points must remain consistent - Boromir must die, Faramir must survive]

Inside the tent, Denethor suddenly turned his head, his cloudy eyes piercing the direction where Zhao Wuji was hiding. He hurriedly stepped back, knocking over the stacked medicine boxes. When the guards rushed out, they only saw a few copies of the "Lord of the Rings Expedition Route Map" scattered on the ground, gently fluttering in the evening breeze.

That night, Zhao Wuji's hands were still shaking slightly as he recorded today's income in the account book. Outside the window, the White Tower of Minas Tirith was shrouded in dark clouds, and a storm was brewing.

[System prompt: Abnormal plot fluctuations detected, it is recommended to stockpile the following supplies: silver container, moonstone powder, purified water]

Zhao Wuji closed the account book and blew out the candle. In the darkness, the elf gold coin in his palm was slightly hot, like a silent call from a distant forest.