Qi Su took the token and entered the Ghost Market on the Hanging Mountain.
As the boatman said, the place looked dilapidated and desolate during the day.
Walking further into the rocky beach where the boatmen moor their boats, there is a hole at the foot of the mountain wall, made of wooden strips nailed together haphazardly.
It looks somewhat like the entrance to a mine.
However, a person can squeeze through the gaps in the wooden strips at the entrance of the hole.
Once inside the cave, it was pitch black.
After walking seven or eight steps, I heard a sound coming from ahead.
"Hey, don't you know the rules? The market here is closed during the day."
The sound came from under the stone wall.
But then, a head emerged from under a tattered raincoat.
His hair was disheveled, and his sleepy eyes, though barely open, looked as if they were about to fall off.
His face was sallow, and his forehead and cheeks were smeared with black oil.
Their age and identity are also unknown.
Qi Su remained silent.
Throw the ID tag at him.
The man took it in his palm and examined it.
"3279. This is not your brand."
Qi Su: "Now it's mine."
As soon as she spoke, the person under the straw raincoat opened their eyes wider.
"A young lady, hehe. Are you buying goods or people?"
Qi Su: "Neither."
"Oh, so you're looking for someone or gathering information? I know this Ghost Market in the Hanging Mountain very well. Do you want me to take the lead? Don't worry, the commission will be very fair."
Qi Su: "Give me the sign."
The man curled his lip.
He tossed her the identification tag.
"Let me remind you. Don't go in if you don't have some skills, otherwise you'll have to break into pieces before you can come out."
Qi Su: "Thanks."
If you continue along the rock wall, you will find a suddenly open cave entrance.
Once inside, I discovered a completely different world.
From the river's surface, this cliff appears to have only a few small openings carved into its surface for ventilation.
Unexpectedly, the entire mountain had been hollowed out and connected.
It looks like a field mouse's nest.
The entire mountain wall is composed of countless stone paths and caves going up and down.
However, it's daytime now, and it's not time for the gathering yet.
These caves are all closed.
It's unclear whether someone is lying in wait inside or if the berth is simply empty.
However, oil lamps hung every so often on the stone wall, barely enough to illuminate the path ahead.
Qi Su randomly chose a stone path to walk on.
Sure enough, footsteps came from behind shortly after.
"Hey, you little ladies up ahead."
Qi Su turned around.
Behind them were two men, one round and one short, each wearing burlap sacks, and of different appearances.
One person was holding a large knife, and the other was holding a wooden stick.
Their faces were covered in a mess of black paint.
They all look strange and odd.
He chuckled at Qi Su, his shadow stretched long by the lamplight.
"That kid Cui Jiu is right. It's definitely a good item, worth ten copper coins for the information."
"Hey girl, don't go any further. There are a lot of bad guys in this Ghost Market on Mount Xuan, and a pretty young lady like you is very popular. Not to mention you're practically offering yourself up for free."
"Some like to paint after peeling the skin, some like to stew pork belly, and some are perverted and like to make flutes from the bones of young women."
"Come with us brothers, at least you'll survive."
Qi Su looked them over.
How long have you been here?
The dwarf chuckled, picking at his large, yellowed front teeth.
"It's hard to say. Time flies in the mountains; it could be three or four years, or it could be seven or eight."
Qi Su then asked, "How do you make a living in this ghost market?"
When the round, narrow eye glared, it almost looked as big as a melon seed.
"Are you some kind of official? Why are you asking such detailed questions? You'll find out when you go back with your brothers."
Qi Su turned her head to look at them.
"Alright, you two can come at me together."
The shorter one and the rounder one exchanged a glance.
Hey, this little chick is so sexy.
…
After a cup of tea, the young woman, dressed in simple clothes, continued to wander along the stone path in the mountainside.
His clothes were still clean.
Her hair was perfectly neat.
He only had a hemp rope wrapped around his hand and was dragging a short, bloody object.
As she walked, the object bumped against the stone steps, unconsciously letting out a cry of pain.
It turned out that the lump wasn't an object, but a person!
The many glances he secretly gave the young woman immediately became complicated.
As her territory expanded further and further within the Ghost Market of Suspended Mountain, the thing tied to the other end of the rope changed again and again.
From a short hunchback.
It turned into the head of an old woman.
It then became a person's right leg.
Qi Su wandered around until evening.
The people I met again in the Ghost Market on the Hanging Mountain all became kind and friendly.
She doesn't know from the moment she entered the cave until now.
In just two or three hours.
She has become quite famous here.
3279, the naive rich boy died and became the Black Widow, who pretended to be weak but was actually cunning.
.
Night fell.
Lights lit up in the Ghost Market on the Hanging Mountain.
Although it wasn't a major day like the first or fifteenth of the lunar month, it still looked quite lively.
Qi Su sat in a food stall eating meatball soup.
The woman selling meatball soup was an elderly lady with a kind and gentle face.
But like Qi Su, she follows the Black Widow route.
The meatball soup shop's signboard clearly states the prices: human brains, human flesh, human hearts, and livers.
The price is also exceptionally high.
However, the old lady said that special pots are used for cooking special ingredients, which are different from the vegetarian pots and bowls used by ordinary customers.
Yes, everything here is vegetarian except for human flesh.
Qi Su finished her meal and had to pay.
The old lady wouldn't accept it.
"Didn't you cut off an old hag's head before, girl? Give that thing to the old woman, braise it and eat it with your wine, it'll be chewy."
Hearing that Qi Su wanted to inquire about information, she even enthusiastically introduced Qi Su to a gossip.
"The people are a bit eerie, but their information is reliable."
…
Qi Su followed the directions given by the old lady who made meatball soup.
The informant's cave was dug in the northwest corner of the black market.
It's quite far from the main market.
When Qi Su arrived, a boy of about thirteen or fourteen, dressed like a beggar, was squatting on the ground eating noodles.
He looked like he hadn't eaten in eight or ten years.
It doesn't seem very reliable.
She turned to leave, but the boy's eyes darted around on her and he called out to her.
"Hey, the Black Widow who killed seven people this afternoon."
Qi Su...
Killing seven people is about right, but Black Widow, don't curse her so casually.
Qi Su: "You're the All-Knowing Scholar?"
Boy: "Yeah."
Qi Su: "...Let's eat our noodles properly."
The boy called out to her.
"No, sister, I haven't made a sale for days. My master is a know-it-all, and I'm his little know-it-all. What my master knows, I know most of too. Ask me anything, I know it all!"
Qi Su: "How many people are still eyeing me in the Ghost Market of Xuanshan?"
The boy's eyes darted around, and he smiled:
“Sister, some people are after you. But most people wouldn’t dare touch you. If you find it troublesome, go to the Underworld Tower later—it’s the biggest pawnshop in the ghost market. Just bid on some things, and no one will dare to mess with you.”
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