Murim Recurve

The ground floor was mostly empty in the centre, save for two rows of shops. The shops were those that sold food of all varieties. It was meant for the people to eat and replenish their energies before engaging in a shopping spree.

There didn't exist any individual shops in Burfuna City or the other cities for the matter. The only place where people could buy goods was from the markets. And, there were only four of them per city. So, a significant crowd visited each market daily.

It was why the markets were the most crowded place of all in the city.

The two rows of shops at the centre sold food that was usually wrapped in a piece of cloth to be savoured immediately. They didn't have any setup where people could sit to eat peacefully. Thanks to the crowd that moved constantly, it made the place kind of messy.

Still, there existed a team of cleaning personnel in every area that was efficient in their actions, ensuring the place was kept clean always. After all, it wasn't just the commoners that visited the market. Every person of power, hailing from either the Elemental Clans or the Royal Clan too visited the market regularly.

If the place became dirty, the people in charge of the cleaning would have their heads rolling on the ground. So, they took their jobs seriously, as if their lives depended on it. The two rows of shops shared walls on their back, with their fronts facing the crowd moving on both sides.

Among them were two special shops that faced the ends of the two rows, with each occupying an entire side. These were the biggest of all the shops selling instant food and facilitated the highest revenue. They were also owned by the people that ran the market, which was basically people from the Royal Clan.

There were steps at regular intervals that lead people to the roofs of the shops. There, it was a massive restaurant where people could sit momentarily in peace and eat their food. There were two restaurants, positioned on either of the shorter sides.

They served the large crowd on the roof with unabated efficiency. There didn't exist any roofing here, allowing the people to gaze around at the shops while they ate. In this way, people didn't have to waste their time searching for the shop they needed and proceed directly to it once they were done with their meals.

Grills were placed at appropriate places, preventing people from falling off the roof by mistake. After all, there was large traffic, so anything could happen amid the chaotic flow of the crowd.

"Have one hand on your purse always." Re'Kha offered her advice, speaking from experience. In the market existed goods, and people visited to buy them. It meant they had to have brought enough money to buy them. So, there existed purse-snatchers.

It wasn't like there existed poor slum people who were unable to afford any money and resorted to stealing. Stuff like that didn't exist in their cities. After all, people had to pay taxes to live within the city. And, only those that could afford to do so were permitted entry and were allowed to live within.

If they failed to pay taxes after a certain duration had passed, they would lose their permit and would have to relocate to a settlement. So, even though people lived hard lives, there wasn't poverty, at least within Burfuna City.

As the city was a planned construct, it didn't allow any space for slums to crop up. To ensure its continued existence with ample functionality, a lot of thought had been put into its construction.

But, the reason Re'Kha had advised as such was that, even though they weren't in poverty, it wasn't as if people would say no to free money. And, such opportunities existed the most in the market.

So, while buying their goods, if they saw someone's purse left in an unguarded state, they wouldn't hesitate to snatch it. It happened so many times daily that it almost seemed part of their culture.

Ki'Nua nodded, using her left hand to hold her purse. To ensure the purse wouldn't be too big, she had only brought coins with a higher denomination. She planned to exchange one of them in a shop—after buying an item—for a lot of change. That way, she wouldn't be carrying too many coins in her purse. Re'Kha too was using the same strategy.

There was a massive floor space to walk and move around. In the end, positioned along the walls were the shops selling the wares. There were steps to traverse up and reach the higher floors. As all the shop entrances faced the inside, Re'Kha and Ki'Nua were able to look around the shops on all the floors from their spot on the ground floor.

It was thanks to the wide distance between the walls of the market, allowing for enough space to window shop from afar.

"Let's start from you," Re'Kha looked at Ki'Nua, "What do you want to buy first?"

"Hmm, a hat?" Ki'Nua replied, "Would it be better to buy the important items first and return to some casual shopping later?"

"Yeah, that would be for the best." Re'Kha nodded, "I want to buy some weapons first then. What about you?"

"I planned the same," Ki'Nua nodded, "I just want to look around and see if there is a nice weapon I might come to like. The ones in my Clan are standard ones that are only fit for killing."

"That is normal," Re'Kha chuckled, "Though, they too buy from here. The only difference is the fact that they order directly from a shop in bulk."

Re'Kha looked around, noticing a servant dressed in a style unique to the market, approaching her as she inquired, "Where are the shops selling weapons?"

"There, on the third floor, my lady." The servant made a light bow as she pointed towards a row of shops. "Most of this district's supply of weapons is from there."