Chapter 11

As night fell, the entire ghost market was once again filled with noise and commotion. The treasure cauldron was relit, the ghost gate opened, and countless wandering spirits and ghosts roamed between the shops, selecting what they needed and seeking what they desired, creating a scene of prosperity and vitality.

It had been eight years since then. Although the appearance of the ghost market remained unchanged, the faces and foreheads of the people were marked with more wrinkles, and silver threads stood out in their hair. However, their spirits were still vibrant, and they were busy with their work.

Occasionally, ghosts would appear in the shops, throwing gold and silver ornaments, as well as small ancient artifacts and coins, into the cash boxes. However, the commonly used silver dollars were rarely seen. At such times, the shop owners did not mind; they let the ghosts throw whatever they wanted, knowing that the value of these items would never be less than their original price...

Dealing with ghosts was all about this.

Among the crowd of wandering spirits and ghosts, a child of about seven or eight years old was hopping and skipping, weaving through the throng. Strangely, the ghosts did not avoid or dodge him; instead, they passed by him indifferently. Some even pulled him aside and whispered to him, then after a while, they would take out small trinkets from their pockets and stuff them into his hands, patting his head and pinching his cheeks, treating him as if he were one of them.

Of course, the child did not refuse. After receiving the items, he called out to the ghosts, "Uncle, Uncle, Aunt, Grandma," with a sweet and cloying voice, often drawing more affection from the ghosts.

The child was the infant from eight years ago, who had grown up under the care of Wang Bayue. In that unknown transformation, the child lost some of the things that made him human: the three fires, yin virtue, yang energy, and his name on the Book of Life and Death... In a sense, although he could still live in the human world, he no longer possessed the characteristics of a human!

Walking between the realms of yin and yang, existing in the gap between life and death, he was an existence that was neither alive nor dead, neither pure nor impure, neither blessed nor sinful!

Half human, half ghost!

When the child was brought back to the ghost market, the dice game "Ding San Pei Er Si Zhi Zun Bao" appeared, and thus the child's name became—

Zun Bao!

Zun Bao darted through the crowd of ghosts. The temple caretaker Liu Piyun, who had just finished burning paper offerings, was sipping wine at Lu Fatso's tavern. He looked up and saw Zun Bao, and called out, "Little Bao, what are you doing?"

"Nothing much, just doing a little business!" the child replied crisply. "You drink first, I'll come over after I finish my business... How about I add a piece of tofu to my tab?" His tone was that of an adult, and if you only heard his voice without seeing him, it would be just like Wang Bayue's.

"Hey, this kid!" Liu Piyun slid off the table and chased after him. "Business? What kind of business?! Didn't I tell you last time that you should sleep at night and not get involved in these things? There's no benefit for you—come here, stop fooling around!"

Zun Bao ran over, stuffing some trinkets into his pocket as he went, and shouted, "Hey! I'm just thinking about your business, right? It's not easy for the lonely ghosts from the underworld to come up, and they get anxious if they can't find a place. I'm helping you and making a little money at the same time... and I'll use that money to buy good wine to honor you later!"

These words left Liu Piyun speechless. Suddenly, someone clapped and laughed, "Good! Good! Good! Truly worthy of being the son of my Eighth Master, both smart and filial, amazing!" Without being invited, he sat down opposite Liu Piyun, picked up the wine pot, and poured himself a cup...

Wang Bayue was really not polite.

"Hey, hey, hey! Full, full..." Liu Piyun immediately became anxious, snatching the wine pot and shouting, "That's enough, old man, you can't even taste the wine, don't waste this good pot of wine..." Seeing the wine in the cup before him, he sighed and took out his own wine gourd, pouring the rest of the wine into it!

"Hey, you old guy, you're too stingy!" Wang Bayue shook his head in disdain. "Drinking your wine and acting like this, where's your master's dignity and style? Forget it, I'll take care of myself—Lu Fatso, bring me a pot of wine and a plate of soybeans!"

Lu Fatso responded from afar and quickly brought the soybeans and wine. Wang Bayue slapped the stool, "Bao, come over and have a drink with me." Zun Bao beamed and climbed onto the table, taking the wine pot and pouring himself a full cup.

Of course, Liu Piyun did not hold back either...

Since being adopted by Wang Bayue eight years ago, Zun Bao had stayed in the ghost market. He grew up healthy and strong thanks to the care of the group. In his free time, Wang Bayue taught him the techniques of the Five Rings Sect of Yin-Yang Masters. The Five Rings Sect was skilled in communicating with the dead, descending into the underworld, and guiding ghosts. Surprisingly, the child learned quickly, and with his half-human, half-ghost nature, he became very familiar with the old ghosts in the ghost market.

Of course, Liu Piyun also doted on him, secretly teaching him many skills—his drinking capacity was no exception, and he had developed it fully...

As the two adults and one child were drinking, suddenly the Northeastern man Cheng San came running over, shouting as soon as he entered, "Old Liu, Eighth Master, something's happened!" He then grabbed the wine pot and gulped it down, finishing it in one go!

"What happened?" the two immediately asked.

Cheng San took a deep breath after drinking and then explained the situation.

The City God Temple of Que'er Mountain was located deep in the forest. Following the Que'er River upstream for about eighty miles was Huangliang Town, where the people of the ghost market often went to buy supplies. From Huangliang Town, traveling east for a hundred miles, there was a large city called Rongcheng, located at the confluence of the Que'er River and the Liu River, an important port.

Rongcheng was a bustling and prosperous city, but behind its facade, it was a place of filth and corruption, where countless travelers, merchants, ruffians, gamblers, and prostitutes buried their remains in the wasteland behind the mountain.

Two days ago, Cheng San had taken on a job to move bones. He was to find a skeleton in the wasteland behind Rongcheng and bring it back to Huangliang Town for burial. After the burial, while sleeping in Huangliang Town, the returning spirit thanked him and chatted with him. During the conversation, the spirit mentioned the ghost market in Que'er Mountain and the City God Temple. At this point, the spirit remembered something:

It turned out that in Rongcheng, there was a gang called the Paogehui. The gang's business spanned the entire city, controlling all the gambling dens and brothels, especially the wooden sailboat sailors,纤夫, and water transport in the entire province. The leader of the Paogehui, known as Luo Dahuzi, was once a famous figure in the underworld. Although he was now older, he was still bold and influential, and his presence could still shake the city.

Luo Dahuzi's wife had died early, leaving behind a son and a daughter. The son, Luo Zihan, had returned from a Western school and joined the military. In the chaotic times, he had accumulated a loyal force with the help of his father. The daughter, Luo Yihan, had been sent to school last year, but she got entangled with a male student and eventually hanged herself in despair!

The death of his daughter deeply saddened Luo Dahuzi. His son sent people to find the male student and settle the score, while Luo Dahuzi brought his daughter's body back for the funeral.

When the body was brought home, the entire Paogehui was in mourning. Someone suggested that they must find a feng shui treasure site to ensure that the second miss would not suffer in the afterlife, and that she would be comfortable and protected, which would also benefit her brother, ensuring his safety. Luo Dahuzi took this to heart and immediately sent people to find a suitable site.

The Paogehui had considerable influence, and when the leader spoke, several local gentry, known as "shen jia pi," immediately invited a famous feng shui master from the Sutu Sect, known as "Guantian Jushi."

Guantian Jushi was quite skilled. After a few days of surveying the area, he found the best feng shui site, which was the "Child Sitting on the Lotus" site in the ghost market of Que'er Mountain. He declared:

"This site, although its layout has been disrupted, is still excellent for the deceased, satisfying the first condition. Additionally, if the entire Que'er Mountain can be cut off at the peak, making the Que'er Eye position a platform, and a stone statue of the Buddha of Wealth and Prosperity, two zhang and eight feet high and one zhang and two feet wide, is added, it will naturally honor the deceased and protect Luo Zihan..."

When Cheng San said this, everyone understood that the City God Temple site had been chosen—however, by then, Zun Bao and the two adults were already drunk. Wang Bayue was nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, while the other two were already snoring on the table.

Wang Bayue, clearly drunk, squinted and shouted, "Whoever wants it can have it, but just because someone likes it doesn't mean they can tear down the temple. Do you think we're here to eat for free? This is the only ghost market for miles around. If you tear it down, where will the wandering spirits and ghosts go? Do you want to make the world even more chaotic?" He took a deep breath, "Cheng San, I think you're overthinking it. There's nothing to worry about, it's not like the sky is falling..."

Cheng San countered, "You can't say that. Whether the ghost market can exist and whether the land will be sold needs to be decided... by... who... Hey! Old Liu, what do you think?"

Both of them looked at the old temple caretaker, who was slumped on the table, a long stream of saliva dripping from his mouth to the floor. He slowly raised his hand and waved it, then mumbled from his slumped position:

"I'll sell... sell it to hell! I'm counting on that three-foot plot of land under the cauldron!" He burped and laughed, "When I come back from the underworld to drink wine, it will be much more convenient!"

Wang Bayue immediately became smug, "See? I told you, there's nothing to worry about. You're making a mountain out of a molehill..."

Cheng San laughed, "I guess I was overthinking it. Whether the land is sold or not is up to Old Liu... Hey, Lu Fatso, bring me two more pots of good wine and a few dishes. I've traveled dozens of miles today and I'm really tired, I need to have a good drink!"

As soon as he said this, someone called out, "Right, right! We should drink! Hurry up and bring the wine!"

Liu Piyun and Zun Bao, who had been shouting, sat up straight again!

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