Fengdu Ghost Market
"I'm afraid we can't leave." Wu Chunlai crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. Judging from his tone, if it weren't for what he said next... it would be no different from a normal chat.
Suddenly, a leaf fell down, caught Shi Guiyi's sight, and landed right at her feet. Shi Guiyi looked up and saw only a half-dead old tree. Without the embellishment of leaves, the crisscrossing branches were particularly clear in her eyes.
The trunk was cracked and rough, with tangled spider webs entwined deep inside, swaying gently in the wind.
It's the crow again.
"The Four Conchs are hiding in the Fengdu Ghost Market." Wu Chunlai stared at the large group slowly approaching from a distance, a trace of vigilance flashing in his eyes.
Several people quickly hid in the darkness. Everyone knew that now was not a good time to talk.
"With so many puppets, what are they doing?" Yan Chan leaned against the wall, her black robe blending into the wall, making it impossible to see her movements. Her eyes were fixed on the puppets walking in a line, full of curiosity.
Guan Zheng stood at the end, and from the moment the ghost servant appeared, she grabbed Yan Chan's sleeve tightly.
"They're actually using hundreds of ghosts to clear the way... What day is today?" In this ghost market, day is as dark as night. If you stay there for a long time, you won't be able to tell what time it is.
Yan Chan pondered silently, and asked uncertainly, "Is today the Ghost Festival?"
"Look." Shi Guiyi tugged at the sleeve of the person next to him and followed her line of sight. Eight puppets were carrying a luxurious sedan chair. As for why he used the word "a sedan chair", it was because the sedan chair was really big, as big as a mountain.
The sedan chair was moving on the not very wide stone road, as if it was going to crush the surrounding houses. The dark gauze curtains were hanging lightly, and many cages could be vaguely seen inside.
Those cages were all covered with black cloth, with only a gap at the bottom, perhaps for ventilation?
Guan Zheng hid behind Yan Chan, only showing a pair of almond-shaped eyes, staring at the cage, her heart beating non-stop, almost forgetting to breathe, and her hand subconsciously placed on her shoulder.
"That ghost servant locked me in that cage after he captured me." Warm breath was breathed into Yan Chan's ears. Yan Chan subconsciously tilted her head a few inches and covered the back of her hand on her shoulder with her cold hand.
When she touched him, his tense hands trembled slightly and then softened. Guan Zheng's gaze shifted from the cage to Yan Chan's masked face, and suddenly, he seemed less scared.
Some brave people stood beside the sedan chair and looked around. If they were not held back by the people next to them, they would have gone in to take a look.
Seeing this, Wu Chunlai twitched his lips, thinking that the man might be a fool.
However, he did hear some useful information from the conversation between the two people.
sacrifice.
The cage contains the sacrifice.
His eyes swept across the cage, but met a pair of eyes at the bottom of the cage. Suddenly, his pupils dilated and he took a step back. It would be a lie to say that he was not scared.
Although he had heard about this from Guan Zheng a long time ago, the man was lying on the ground with his face squeezed beyond recognition, his eyes looking at him vertically, with a weird smile on the corner of his mouth.
The corners of his mouth were stretched to the maximum, as if he were mad, his hair was scattered on the ground, and even a few strands came out from the gaps in the cage and hung outside, swaying. His hay-like hair seemed like his dying life, making people dare not even look at him.
The man's face was as pale as a ghost. Wu Chunlai subconsciously glanced at the real ghost holding the prayer flag for comparison. The two were equally white.
He screamed madly in his heart, this ghost king is really sick, making the sacrifice look like neither human nor ghost, just bury it as soon as possible, why wake up! !
A damp smell silently permeated the air beneath everyone's feet. The rising clouds were greedily clinging to any place they could reach. Densely packed petals were floating in the air, their color red like blood, as if they were going to drown people.
The sudden sound of suona brought the eerie atmosphere to a climax, and the bells hanging on the prayer flags jingled.
Even the puppets were covered with masks.
Fortunately, there are no children here, otherwise the screaming and crying would probably break my ears.
At this moment, everyone tacitly kept silent and just waited quietly for the "Ghost King's Procession" to leave.
Not until the petals reached above their calves did everyone regain their composure, talking and laughing, and disperse in groups of three or two.
"By the way, you just said that the Four Conchs are in the Fengdu Ghost Market. Is that true?" In response to Shi Guiyi's question, Wu Chunlai nodded in agreement.
Yan Chan standing by did not doubt the truth of his words at all. After all, this was the "male protagonist of the original book". She was just quite fortunate that she had accidentally not deviated from the track.
I just don’t know whether it is the early, middle or late stage of "The Return of the Crow", which makes Yan Chan a little worried.
"It's strange to say, but in just one night, the news about the Four Conchs spread like wildfire in the Fengdu Ghost Market. It's really... a coincidence that it happened to be the Ghost Festival." Yan Chan put one hand on her waist and chuckled. If she had a folding fan at hand, she would probably have fiddled with it.
"I'm afraid it won't be long before a large number of people will enter the Fengdu Ghost Market again." A voice that had not been heard for a long time came from the darkness.
"?" Yan Chan walked over speechlessly and pulled him out. "Gao Tinghan, why are you here? And you're eavesdropping on us?"
"Hey, hey, hey, stop pulling, it's so rude." Gao Tinghan slapped Yan Chan's hand away, quickly straightened his clothes, and then hurriedly defended himself: "What do you mean by eavesdropping? I was here first, okay? Who told you not to leave? Now you blame me?" He lowered his head with a look of grievance.
If Yan Chan hadn't noticed his sneaky glances that couldn't be concealed by his mask, she would have almost been fooled by him. "What are you doing coming over here again?" Yan Chan looked at Gao Tinghan suspiciously.
Gao Tinghan chuckled twice, rubbed his hands and looked ingratiating, "Do you still have that 'poison'? Give me some more. It's so effective. I've cheated a lot of people with it." There was no regret in his tone for cheating people, only regret that the 'poison' was used up.
"?" Yan Chan was shocked. "You really haven't changed your bad habits."
"I've changed. Stop slandering people. I'm a liar now, not a thief." He chuckled twice and patted his chest proudly.
"I haven't finished yet. Your 'poison' turned out to be a sugar pill. It really fooled me. So, you are the master of deception, a big liar!" Suddenly, he became righteous and seemed quite unreasonable, which made Shi Guiyi smile.
Looking at Gao Tinghan's face that deserved a punch, Yan Chan really couldn't help but want to punch him, but Shi Guiyi hurriedly pulled her back. She shook her head at Yan Chan and said softly: "After all, we should thank him for bringing us in. Don't hit him."
Shi Guiyi's smiling face towards Yan Chan was extremely eye-catching in the eyes of Guan Zheng who was standing beside her.
Yan Chan was about to say something when she suddenly felt someone gently hooking her little finger. She turned around and saw the back of Guan Zheng's head.
She seemed to hear Guan Zheng hum softly.
Gao Tinghan, who was as shrewd as a man, understood the relationship between the few people in a moment, but he said nothing, just looked like he was enjoying the show.
To make himself seem more valuable, he dropped a shocking piece of news: "I'm sure you all know about the four conchs. Hey, to be honest, I was the one who leaked this information."
"!" Wu Chunlai took a big step and stood directly in front of Gao Tinghan. Even Yan Chan was squeezed back two steps by him. He grabbed Gao Tinghan's shoulders, his eyes full of anxiety: "What else do you know?"
Gao Tinghan did not answer, but just looked at Yan Chan, meaning that he would hand over the "poison" in one hand and the information in the other.
"According to the rules of Fengdu Ghost Market, if you want to get information, you have to deposit money, life, or humanity. But I don't want money, life, or humanity. I just want "poison". Can you exchange it?" He shrugged sideways and took a step back, shaking off Wu Chunlai's hand on his shoulder, with an attitude of negotiation, which was completely different from his previous casual appearance.
Yan Chan turned her head and met Gao Tinghan's mysterious eyes. "If you want something, fine, but I hope your next words will satisfy me."
Yan Chan took out a porcelain bottle from her bosom, which was exactly the same as the one she had given Gao Tinghan before. She threw it into the air, and the porcelain bottle landed steadily in Gao Tinghan's open palm.
After getting the "poison", he rubbed the smooth bottle with his fingers, pulled out the cork and checked it. After confirming that it was correct, he turned back into his frivolous and casual look, as if Gao Tinghan just now was an illusion of everyone. "Buqitan, known as the Forgotten River in the underworld, there will be unexpected surprises there." He smiled cunningly, and then disappeared into the darkness again, walking away in a very casual manner.
"Buqitan?" Yan Chan frowned slightly when he heard the unfamiliar place name.
"Buqi Pond, also known as the Little Forgetful River, isn't known to many people in Fengdu Ghost Market." Wu Chunlai stared at the spot where Gao Tinghan disappeared, his eyes narrowed. "He revealed it on purpose. Gao Tinghan's identity is not simple."
"Do you suspect this is a conspiracy by the Ghost King to awaken?" Shi Guiyi's face was full of worry.
It's no wonder Wu Chunlai thought too much. I'm afraid many people have had this idea in their minds. Either there is no news about the Four Conch Shells, or news is flying all over the place. It's also a sensitive period, and it's in the Fengdu Ghost Market.
"There is the Stone Crow Pond in front, and now there is the Bushi Pond. There are really quite a few ponds in the Fengdu Ghost Market." Yan Chan held his forehead, feeling quite a headache.
"Stone Crow Pond? The one in the forbidden area? Is that what Gao Tinghan mentioned?"
"How do you know? It seems that Brother Wu's identity is not simple." Yan Chan stopped and chuckled.
"But there is one thing I don't understand. Gao Tinghan said that if the sacrifice is drowned in the Stone Crow Pond, the Ghost King in Fengdu Ghost Market will be able to obtain supreme skills. Putting aside the truth of this method, the Ghost King is still asleep. What's the point of drowning the sacrifice now?" Yan Chan was puzzled and now raised the question to hear the opinions of the "male and female protagonists", especially the one from Wu Chun.
She always felt that there was a mystery about Wu Chunlai.
"Have you ever thought that maybe Gao Tinghan lied to you?" Wu Chunlai said without thinking.
"My short blade was already on his neck at that time. He was still lying in this situation? Does he want to live?" Yan Chan was full of confusion, thinking about the possibility of being deceived.
"Gao Tinghan's behavior just now doesn't seem like that of a coward." Wu Chunlai hadn't said anything more. Gao Tinghan must have done too much to get the tiger's skin. "I'm afraid the purpose of the sacrifice is not to increase the power, but to prepare for awakening."
Since ancient times, the world has emphasized the balance of yin and yang. If one of the forces of good or evil becomes too strong, there will probably be chaos in the world.
Right now, there's no leader on the right side. If the Ghost King wakes up...
At this moment, he actually hoped that Gao Tinghan was telling the truth.
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