The ghost market was vast, spread throughout the Four Realms, but extremely concealed.
In the southeast direction of Linglong Town was a dense forest. The outskirts of the city were deep and shadowy, the woods casting mottled shadows. Though it was broad daylight, looking from outside the forest, it appeared dim and gloomy.
Tan Huai rubbed his arms and said nervously, “I always feel this place is a bit frightening. Don’t you sense something strange in the air?”
“That’s miasma,” Su Xuan explained. “Some things can’t be openly sold, so naturally, people conduct secret transactions. Places like this often attract many unidentified individuals.”
“For example, evil spirits hunted by the Immortal Alliance or targets that the Xingque Palace of the Beast Realm wants dead. People from all walks of life—humans, ghosts, demons, and devils—might gather here. Their auras mix together, which easily breeds malicious energy and spawns evil spirits. It also risks attracting the attention of righteous cultivators. Hence, such places often use a type of miasma produced by immortal herbs to conceal themselves. This miasma hides the chaotic energy of the ghost market, making it harder for others to detect.”
Sang Dai nodded. “Yes, I’ve often gone down the mountain to exorcise evil. I’ve been to ghost markets in other places, and they also have this cold and heavy aura.”
She lifted her gaze and pointed to the sky, saying, “If you were to stand up there and look down, all you’d see is a layer of mist. You’d only think this area was shrouded in dense fog and wouldn’t detect any malicious energy.”
Tan Huai understood. “Is this stuff poisonous?”
Sang Dai thought for a moment, then shook her head. “It shouldn’t be poisonous. I once stayed at a ghost market for nearly a month while exorcising evil, and my body suffered no ill effects.”
But since Sang Dai rarely visited such places, she remained cautious. The sword cultivator decided to ask the Beast King beside her for confirmation.
“Su Xuan, do you know if this stuff is poisonous?”
“Just ask.”
The little fox took out a jade token, and the other side answered quickly.
“Sovereign Lord?”
“Do you know about the miasma in ghost markets?”
“… You’ve gone to a ghost market? Weren’t you supposed to find Wu Hanshu?”
“Wu Hanshu is in the ghost market.”
Rustling sounds came from the other side of the jade token. Liu Lixue, who had likely been lying down, seemed to have sat up now.
After a long moment of silence, Liu Lixue, who was well-informed, quickly gave an answer.
“You’re asking about the miasma, right? I’ve never heard of anyone dying from it. But just to be safe, take a Haichun Pill before entering. There should be a bottle in Miss Sang’s storage pouch—I gave it to her a while ago.”
Sang Dai rummaged through her pouch and found the pills Liu Lixue had mentioned. He had given her many bottles of pills before, most of which she had hoarded without using.
“Alright.”
Su Xuan ended the conversation without hesitation.
On the other side, Liu Lixue stared at the dimmed jade token, his brows furrowing slightly.
“Ghost market… miasma.”
There were no ghost markets in the Beast Realm; Su Xuan had long since ordered all ghost markets there eradicated. Liu Lixue himself had never been to one. He seemed to have heard something about them in the past but couldn’t quite recall the details.
Liu Lixue activated the jade token to connect with the Beast Palace. The person on the other end didn’t speak after answering, but from the cold, steady breathing, it was easy to guess who it was.
“Thirteen, go to my residence and find a book with a golden-yellow cover. It should be in the study. It’s quite old and very important.”
The other party didn’t say a word and hung up the jade token.
Liu Lixue knew Thirteen must have already departed. Thirteen rarely spoke to anyone except Su Xuan and almost never communicated with outsiders, but he was meticulous and reliable in handling tasks.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Sang Dai had already distributed the Haichun Pills.
After swallowing her pill, Su Xuan took her hand.
Sang Dai tilted her head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Su Xuan pinched her cheek. “Once we’re inside, you can’t leave my side, even if we run into Wu Hanshu. You’ll have to bear with it. Also… he saw your face last night.”
Even though Wu Hanshu had been drunk, he had still seen Sang Dai’s appearance.
Wu Hanshu hadn’t met Sang Dai, the eldest daughter of the Sword Sect, before, so he shouldn’t be able to recognize her identity. However, if they encountered Wu Hanshu in the ghost market, he would most likely recognize her as the person who raided the City Lord’s mansion last night.
Tan Huai chimed in, “Exactly, Miss Sang. Last night, you messed up his mechanism. He must know by now that someone broke into the City Lord’s mansion. Who knows, he might even blame the damage to those two buildings from last night’s fight on you. You should disguise yourself.”
Sang Dai understood this point and agreed without hesitation, casting an illusion spell on herself.
Her once elegant and delicate face now transformed into a plain and unfamiliar one, with no trace of her former appearance.
Su Xuan’s heart softened, a smile spreading across his features. He thought his sword cultivator looked beautiful no matter what, utterly captivating.
Tan Huai sighed, looking somewhat speechless at Su Xuan’s expression. He clasped his hands together and said, “Esteemed Beast King, you should also disguise yourself.”
Sang Dai reached out to touch the little fox’s silver hair, which felt soft and cool.
“Our Beast King’s silver hair is practically a walking advertisement for ‘Su Xuan.’ Ordinary people might not recognize you, but Wu Hanshu will definitely figure out who you are if he sees that silver hair.”
The little fox lowered his head. “Help me disguise.”
Sang Dai decisively turned his silver hair into black.
It was the first time she had seen Su Xuan with black hair. His silver hair had always given him an otherworldly, lofty air, but the black hair now added a sense of closeness and warmth.
Tan Huai and Sang Dai stood shoulder to shoulder, assessing him before nodding in unison. “Not bad.”
The little fox straightened up and took Sang Dai’s hand. “Let’s go.”
“Alright.”
Although the ghost market was shrouded in miasma, visibility inside was unaffected. Only from the outside or above could one see the thick fog.
It wasn’t much different from an ordinary market. The streets were paved with bluestone, flanked by shops and stalls. While the sun was shining brightly outside, inside, a light drizzle was falling.
The bluestone slabs were damp, and strings of raindrops hung from the eaves, adding a touch of haziness to the red bricks and green tiles.
Tan Huai was surprised. “Why doesn’t this look eerie at all? It doesn’t feel like a ghost market.”
Sang Dai explained, “The ghost market has its own rules. There’s usually someone managing these shops here. If you want to sell something, you can set your own price, but you must obey the one in charge. Business must be conducted in an orderly fashion. However, the ghost market doesn’t regulate murder or arson—strength determines absolute authority.”
Tan Huai glanced at the sky again. “Then why is it raining?”
This time, the little fox answered, “It’s created by spiritual energy. A damp environment is necessary to sustain the miasma. It has to stay sufficiently humid inside, or the miasma outside will disperse.”
Sang Dai smiled and glanced at the little fox beside her. “The Beast King knows quite a bit, doesn’t he?”
The little fox proudly raised his head, letting out a cold snort without saying a word.
Tan Huai, spinning his prayer beads in one hand, sighed inwardly. Matters of the heart truly are hard to understand.
Even the taciturn sword cultivator had learned to coax someone, and the always aloof and prideful Beast King could lower himself and reveal his vulnerable side.
He was certainly gaining new insights today.
“Let’s go, Miss Sang, Your Excellency Beast King. We need to hurry and find the person.”
—
The cave was silent, with a campfire still burning in one corner. A white-clad sword cultivator sat on a large boulder against the stone wall.
He couldn’t see and didn’t bother tying his hair. His black hair was loosely bound with a hair tie, and a strand slipped down along his face, obscuring his handsome features.
The black-clad youth wasn’t eating candy this time. Instead, he was sipping wine from a jug, a small table in front of him piled with various pastries and snacks.
He glanced at Ying Heng, who had been silent for an hour. If not for the faint signs of life, he might have thought the man had quietly passed away.
“Hey, want something to eat?”
Ying Heng finally responded.
He slowly raised his gaze, his pupils still dull and lifeless, his stare unfocused.
“…No, I’ve lost my sense of taste.”
The black-clad youth nodded. “Fair enough.”
A peregrine falcon flew into the cave, perching on the black-clad youth’s shoulder.
“You’re still eating, huh? Sang Dai and Su Xuan went to the ghost market, and that Chunying Sword suddenly appeared. Was that your doing?”
The peregrine falcon, seeing him devouring pastries with relish, rolled its eyes internally. It couldn’t fathom why the heavens had tasked this man with killing Sang Dai.
“What’s the rush?” The youth swallowed a bite of pastry and sipped tea. “The Chunying Sword wasn’t mine. I’ve never even seen Ying Heng’s Chunying Sword. When I found him, the sword wasn’t by his side.”
The peregrine falcon was shocked. “Then whose is it?”
The black-clad youth chuckled softly, lowering his gaze. “Why do you care? I have my own plans.”
He glanced at Ying Heng across from him. Ying Heng couldn’t hear anything. Unless someone used spiritual power to transmit their voice, they could plot loudly right by his ear, and he wouldn’t react.
The peregrine falcon also looked over, meeting Ying Heng’s hollow gaze. Even knowing the man had lost his sight and their eye contact was accidental, it still fell silent for a moment.
“Who told you to save Ying Heng?”
“My secret. Not telling you.”
The peregrine falcon, perched on his shoulder, kicked him. “We’re partners!”
“No way. I’m not partnering with a bird.”
The peregrine falcon grew furious, spat in irritation, and flew off in embarrassment.
A vine hidden in the ground stealthily poked its head out, slithering toward Ying Heng and swaying its leaves in front of him.
Ying Heng remained oblivious.
The black-clad youth raised an eyebrow. “You want to eat Ying Heng? He has no spiritual energy left; his spiritual root was extracted. The only one capable of bearing the Four Sufferings in a mortal body is Shi Yao.”
The vine drooped, wilting as it slithered back weakly to the black-clad youth’s side.
He patted its unopened flower buds and muttered softly, “Still three buds that haven’t bloomed. Looks like you’ll need to consume more of the Four Sufferings.”
Lifting his gaze toward Ying Heng, he saw that he was still sitting there silently, looking like a soul had left his body.
The black-clad youth finished the last piece of osmanthus cake, stood up, and transmitted his voice to Ying Heng with little effort.
“Hey, I’m heading to the ghost market. You stay put here. This place is a hundred li away from Linglong Town, the mountain paths are treacherous, and this cave runs deep. With your senses all gone, it’s best not to wander. If you fall to your death, I’m not taking responsibility.”
Ying Heng didn’t reply.
The black-clad youth wasn’t annoyed. He packed up his food and turned to leave.
“Let’s go. We’re heading to the ghost market.”
The vine happily followed behind him.
The ghost market—there would be plenty of Four Sufferings there!
In the depths of the cave, Ying Heng sat motionless, as if he were a carved wooden statue. The things the black-clad youth had told him were enough to keep him processing for a long time.
When the last of the campfire burned out, the cave plunged into darkness once more. For Ying Heng, whether the fire burned or not made no difference.
He couldn’t see anything anyway.
—
The ghost market was indeed a chaotic mix of creatures. After all, most who came here had unclear identities, didn’t need travel documents, and some had even sneaked in. Along the way, they saw all sorts of beings—humans, ghosts, demons, and devils.
As they traveled, Sang Dai even spotted a criminal wanted by the Immortal Alliance. With a single gesture from the sword cultivator, Tan Huai understood and discreetly subdued the individual, tying them up and leaving them outside the ghost market before using a jade token to summon someone to collect them.
They came across many fascinating items during their journey, including forbidden goods like spiritual roots, reminiscent of the Bairen Alley auctions.
However, compared to the governance of Bairen Alley under Fu You, the ghost market fell far short. At least in Bairen Alley, killing was prohibited, but the ghost market had no such rules.