Chapter 40: Collision

Finally, Chengxin and I entered the market. As soon as we entered, we were overwhelmed by the crowded crowd and the noisy voices.

I said that I didn’t see many people in other places, but it turned out that they were all gathered here. It seems that there are many wealthy cultivators, or they are willing to spend money in this kind of place.

After a while, Cheng Xin and I got used to the atmosphere, to the thousands of people crammed into a huge covered area, like a shopping mall.

If I had to describe it, it would be like a job fair. You can imagine how many people there are here! No wonder Wu Er said that the two organizations here can easily get tens of millions of dollars.

But when you do the math, the population ratio is actually terrifying. You have to know that there are more than a billion people in China, and there are only about 10,000 people here. You have to know that Shen Xing told me that the ghost market is a gathering place for 80% of the people in the industry.

We didn’t come here to see people jostling each other, and the space here is much larger than the current job fairs. At least we can still stroll around calmly. After we got used to it, Chengxin and I couldn’t wait to start strolling around.

At this point, we clearly saw that the roof was actually a simple, huge white cloth. Underneath the white cloth, there were ten rows of very simple stalls, so simple that they were just a few bamboo poles supporting a piece of tarpaulin, with just a table and a chair underneath.

The table is used to display the goods for sale, and the chair is naturally for the stall owner to sit on. These stall owners are also very strange. Each of them wears a mask and covers their bodies with cloth from front to back, showing how prepared they are!

About a meter away from the stalls, there were bright yellow lines. My brother and I sensitively discovered at the same time that, except for a few dozen black-clad people walking back and forth, no one dared to approach the stalls when walking.

In addition, when you go in to look at the goods, there will immediately be a black-clad person following you outside. You can only go in to look at the goods one person at a time. I haven’t figured out the rules yet, but this is probably to prevent people from taking advantage of the situation and taking things off the table.

My brother and I entered this market with a sense of freshness, but when we got to the first stall, my brother couldn’t walk anymore. We couldn’t see what the specific goods were at this stall, but there was a sign clearly displayed in front of the table: “A hundred-year-old wild ginseng.”

I ask, in today’s world of such scarce resources, and as a descendant of the medical lineage, how could Cheng Xin not be excited when he suddenly saw this? The things that our ancestors left us are abundant. At least I know that Cheng Xin has two hundred-year-old ginsengs and a small piece of the legendary ginseng root, but who dares to use them lightly? Just as I dare not use the things of our mountain lineage lightly.

Almost without hesitation, Brother Chengxin walked towards the booth, but was stopped by a man in black. Brother Chengxin, whose emotions were already close to a breaking point, was suddenly stopped. This was the first time I saw him show a side that was not calm. He frowned and asked the man in black, “What do you want?”

The black-clad man was polite and ignored Cheng Xin Ge’s rudeness, saying, “Please make an appointment.”

Before Cheng Xin Ge could say anything else, I had already walked over and gently patted him on the shoulder. We naturally have a tacit understanding between brothers, so I didn’t need to say much. He calmed down a little and asked, “How do I make an appointment?”

“Please wait a moment.” After saying that, the man in black walked over to the stall owner, where he took a small wooden sign with the number 7 on it and handed it to Brother Chengxin: “There are six people in front of you who will be talking to the stall owner about the transaction. Please pay attention to the number there. If you turn it to 7, you can come in at any time with the sign. If the sign is gone, then the stall owner’s transaction is also complete. Each number can wait for up to 20 minutes, so be careful when you are shopping and don’t take too many signs.”

The black-clad man probably realized that we were here for the first time and explained it in great detail. Following his instructions, we also saw that there was indeed a movable sign next to the stall, just like the old-fashioned manual scoreboards used when playing basketball in the past.

He also told us not to worry, as only 10 tokens were issued at a time, and if we missed it, we could wait for the next round.

After understanding, he asked us for a service fee of 50 yuan and left. This place really charges for everything, so it’s no wonder that his service attitude is so good.

After leaving, Chengxin’s attitude was a bit anxious. He was afraid that the hundred-year-old wild ginseng would be snatched by someone else. I could only quietly persuade him not to be anxious. After all, some things still depend on fate.

Just as we were talking quietly, a snorting sound rang in my ear. I turned around and saw Lin Chen at once.

My first reaction was that it was so coincidental, but my second reaction was relieved. It was simple. Eighty percent of the people in the industry were gathered here, so it was not strange that I would meet him. The strange thing was that the old man who had once yelled at Lin Chen was now standing behind Lin Chen with a respectful attitude.

It seems that the departure of Wu Liyu’s generation has made Lin Chen’s status rise.

I looked at Lin Chen, but I didn’t plan to say anything to him. I didn’t think I would have any more contact with him. Even if their organization wanted to go against the heavens, there would naturally be someone to clean it up. Not to mention that my master had ‘kidnapped’ a group of pillars, so I guess their ability to go against the heavens had also decreased.

Time is precious, and I still want to find what I need in this market.

But I didn’t expect Lin Chen to speak up as soon as I turned my head. His voice was very loud: “Hey, isn’t the Li clan very high and mighty? How come the heir to the Mountain clan, Chen Chengyi, the grand disciple, is here in the Ghost Market? Aren’t you the prude clan afraid of getting involved in karma? Don’t you know that dealing with ghosts is costly and has a great impact on karma? Is it that you, the grand disciple, have a rebellious spirit and are ready to bring a new atmosphere to the Li clan?”

As soon as Lin Chen finished speaking, I heard a murmur of discussion around me.

“What? The old Li clan?”

“The Wang Lipu clan that forced me to be like a dog in the water?”

“People from the old Lee clan are here? Is something going on in this circle?”

“I heard that Jiang Lichun seems to have disappeared.”

“Really?”

These discussions are full of rich information, filling my ears, and I was a little stunned for a moment. This is only part of what I heard. What else did I not hear? And I could clearly feel several searching gazes falling on me and Brother Chengxin, making me involuntarily curse myself, “Damn spiritual awareness, do you have to be so sensitive that you know when others are looking at you?”

I took a deep breath and didn’t want to pay attention to Lin Chen’s provocation. I just came here to trade, but I wasn’t interested in arguing with him, nor was I interested in getting involved in the circle. My master’s actions naturally had his reasons, and I had no reason not to follow them.

Therefore, I didn’t respond, and I turned to leave with Brother Chengxin.

But Lin Chen didn’t give up. He suddenly shouted, “Chen Chengyi, look at this.”

I stopped and turned around to see him take a pendant wrapped in black cloth from his neck. I stared at him, not knowing what he meant, but he said, “This is a piece of finger bone, and in it lives the knot of regret in my life. Because of regret, it can only be with me day and night! Do you know what this knot is?”

My heart began to beat violently. The black cloth wrapped around the bone device. This is a soul-binding device. It’s too obvious. So there can only be one thing inside, and that is a dead soul!

My eyes began to burn with anger. I hoped that Lin Chen would not give me an answer that I could not accept the next moment. I stared at his lips tightly, but I saw a smile on his lips, and then he moved his lips slightly and said two words: “Erin.”

“Fuck you!” I couldn’t hold back anymore, and I rushed over in a few steps. My anger was not without reason. Irene was already dead, and the best way to help her was to help her pass on. This Lin Chen actually used Irene’s finger bones to summon Irene’s soul and imprison it inside. How much torture was this for Irene?

He is too selfish and crazy. Irene’s love, the love that she would rather die than give up, was actually ruined by Lin Chen like this.

But I didn’t even make it to Lin Chen before I was stopped by a few black-clad men who ‘politely’ warned me that fighting and dueling of any kind were not allowed in the market.

Lin Chen stood there calmly and said, “Chen Chengyi, do you know how deep my hatred for you is? If it weren’t for you and your master stopping me from taking Irene away, how could I have summoned a remnant soul that was as stupid as an idiot? I would have had her in my possession in its entirety. And you, are destined to be my stepping stone. Wait, there’s a good show waiting for you in the market.”

After saying that, Lin Chen turned around and left, and I was so angry that my eyes were bloodshot. I yelled at Lin Chen, “You son of a bitch, this kind of magic weapon will make Irene’s soul fly apart in twenty years at most. Let her go!”

But Lin Chen didn’t turn back at all.