Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

Blackwater City, as its name suggests.

This is a small town steeped in dampness, cold, and gloom. The city walls are built of massive, iron-black stones that soar into the clouds, yet not a single soldier can be seen guarding the city.

The city gates were wide open, like a giant maw swallowing up the light. The flow of people coming and going was mixed, speaking different languages. There were deserters from the border army wearing tattered leather armor, merchants from the Western Regions wearing veils, and some wandering swordsmen with sinister eyes and bulging waists.

Lin Feng and his group changed into the most ordinary coarse cloth clothes and blended into the crowd to sneak into this lawless city.

There were no official roads in the city, only a crisscrossing network of narrow alleys overflowing with sewage. The air was thick with the smells of cheap tobacco, moldy grain, and a faint, almost imperceptible stench of blood. Most of the shop signs were dilapidated, but they still beckoned business under the dim light of lanterns, only now they were selling gleaming swords, chains, and… figures huddled in cages, instead of cloth and porcelain.

"Livestock market." Bai Xiaohe uttered the four words coldly, her hand already on the hilt of her sword.

Ahead lay an open space, enclosed by a dozen or so iron fences. Inside, men and women, stripped naked like merchandise, were scattered about. There were elderly people, children, and mostly young women being appraised like goods. Several portly merchants dressed in silk were poking and prodding the muscles and teeth of the "goods" inside the fences with leather whips.

"Those are cloth merchants from the south, who specialize in buying young, delicate-skinned boys to work as laborers," Su Xuanji whispered. Her gaze, however, wasn't on the merchants, but fixed on a dark building that stood out prominently in the west of the city. The building didn't resemble a shop; it was more like a small fortress, with armored guards standing at the entrance, their waist badges imposing.

Xie Wanqing suddenly let out a soft exclamation and pointed in another direction: "That's the entrance to the 'Ghost Market'."

It was a dark, underground staircase. A pale white lantern hung at the entrance, bearing no words, only a drawing of a ghostly head with its eyes closed. People coming and going all seemed hurried, carrying an eerie, sinister aura.

Lin Feng's gaze finally settled on the tallest wooden pavilion in the city center. The pavilion was magnificent and glittering, standing out in stark contrast to the surrounding dilapidation. The plaque above it bore three large characters: "A Den of Extravagance".

"The border troops sold people and made money, laundered it through the 'ghost market,' and finally squandered it in the 'money pit.'" Lin Feng's voice was as cold as ice. "And the Privy Council commissioner who received the goods was in this building."

He paused, then said to Su Xuanji, "Miss Su, go to the 'Ghost Market' to gather information and see if there are any clues about the 'Imperial Waist Token' and that box of 'Items of a Fallen Kingdom.' Miss Xie, infiltrate the 'Livestock Market' and see if you can rescue a few literate, worldly women to find out the inside story."

"Yes." The two accepted the order and disappeared silently into the crowd.

Lin Feng, leading Bai Xiaohe, headed straight for the dark building. The guards at the entrance immediately blocked their way, brandishing their swords: "No unauthorized personnel allowed! This is the private residence of the Blackwater City's head steward!"

Lin Feng didn't even lift his eyelids, simply tossing a bag of silver into the guard's arms. The guard weighed it in his hand, his expression softening slightly: "So you're a wealthy guest from afar. The head manager is hosting a banquet at the 'Golden Den' today. If you two wish to discuss a major deal, you can find him there."

"Thank you," Lin Feng replied casually, then turned and left.

Inside the den of iniquity, extravagance and debauchery reached their peak. The first floor was filled with dancing women and drunken patrons, while the second floor housed private rooms. Lin Feng didn't go upstairs; instead, he sat in a corner, ordered a pot of cheap wine, and quietly observed.

A short while later, a commotion arose from the stairwell. Several well-dressed men, whose roguish military bearing was undeniable, escorted a bloated middle-aged man down the stairs. The man toyed with a smooth jade pendant, boasting animatedly, "...This batch is top-notch! Especially those twin sisters, hehe, still virgins! Send them to Chengdu in a couple of days, and they'll fetch at least this much!"

He held up five fingers.

A man nearby flattered, "Congratulations, Manager! You've struck it rich again! But what if those bandits from Black Wind Stronghold embezzled the goods and then denied everything?"

"Pah!" the head manager spat. "Those peasants wouldn't dare touch Old Li's goods even if they had ten lives! Old Li is a favorite of the Privy Council now. If he discovers that 'treasure,' not even bandits, let alone the border military governor, would treat him with utmost respect!"

Lin Feng tightened his grip on the wine glass.

baby.

That box of things may have already reached the hands of this head manager!

Just then, another person came up the stairs. He was dressed in a black robe, thin, and wore a bronze mask that revealed only a pair of emotionless eyes. He walked straight to the head manager and whispered, "The goods have been received."

The head manager laughed heartily: "Once we present that 'treasure' to our superior, we'll all be promoted and make a fortune!"

Before he could finish speaking, the head manager suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

A long sword gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light was now pressed against his neck.

Lin Feng had appeared behind him unnoticed, one hand on his knife and the other holding a wine jug, as if he had only come to chat with him.

The cold blade pressed against the shopkeeper's greasy neck; a single, gentle slash would separate his head from his body.

The head steward froze, his fat body stiffening, his face twitching. His arrogance was instantly extinguished by fear: "Great...great hero! Let's talk this over! The silver is all upstairs, I'll give it all to you!"

Lin Feng leaned down, his voice low: "I don't lack money. I only ask you, where is that box of 'treasures' now?"

The head manager's eyes darted around, still trying to argue: "W-what treasure? I'm just a small-time human trafficker, what treasure do I have..."

"Snapped!"

Lin Feng slapped him across the face with his left hand, the force so great that it sent the manager and his chair crashing to the ground. His boots pressed down on his chest, and the tip of the Broken Mountain Blade pressed against his brow.

"I'll give you one more chance." Lin Feng's eyes were icy. "Where in Blackwater City is the treasure hidden?"

The head manager's pupils dilated suddenly, and all the color drained from his face instantly.

"How...how did you know?!" he screamed.

At this moment, the bronze-masked man beside him moved. His figure was like a ghost, and two water-splitting daggers slid out from his sleeves, their cold light chilling, aiming straight for Lin Feng's ribs, intending to catch him off guard and save the head manager.