"What is this ghostly matter?"
This wasn't just a question from Zhuo Ying, but also a question raised by the others.
The only difference is that the context is slightly different when each person asks this question.
Zhuo Ying's victory mainly relied on the guide's soft bones, while Liu Yunqing's victory was purely due to her strong fists.
It's not that difficult for Meng Shu to make someone lower their guard.
As for Jianxing Zhenren, when he really gets serious about using his brain, it's hard for anyone not to fall for his tricks.
That night, they returned to the city lord's mansion, and when it was late at night, the four of them gathered in Jianxing's room.
"Judging from your expressions, you've clearly already found out about that matter."
Jian Xing glanced at the three men's expressions, then smiled and got straight to the point, bringing up the day's events.
After he finished speaking, the three of them said that what they knew was pretty much the same as what Jian Xing had said.
Jian Xing pondered for a moment, then shook his head as if disagreeing with something, saying:
"The ghost stories they tell may not necessarily be false, but they may not necessarily be true either."
"If the Lord of Qianyang City is truly so unpopular, Qianyang City would probably have been lost long ago."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yunqing thought for a moment and then explained the difference between a city for independent cultivators and a city for sects.
The loose cultivators are inherently disorganized, and even the Loose Cultivator Alliance, apart from certain specific constraints, basically doesn't care about its members.
The position of city lord in the Loose Cultivator Alliance is not even appointed by the alliance itself, but rather determined through competition among qualified members of the alliance; whoever wins the competition gets the city lord position.
If Liu Yunqing could defeat a Nascent Soul cultivator, she could become the city lord right now.
However, the cities under the jurisdiction of the sect are tasks directly assigned by the sect.
Once the mission is completed, the mission ends. If you want to continue serving as the city lord, you need to actively seek out new missions. However, there are no specific connections, and the new city lord mission may not be for the same city as before.
Therefore, the power of a sect to control a city is completely different from the power of a loose cultivator alliance to control a city.
After explaining the differences, Liu Yunqing changed the subject again:
"Of course, when I say that these two are different, I don't mean that the words of these people are completely reliable. I just mean that the possibility of them completely obeying the city lord is relatively small."
"So I'm more inclined to believe that what they call 'ghost stories' is true, but that the Lord of Qianyang City is hiding something, which may also be true."
"Moreover, regarding the matter of 'ghostly affairs,' I think what Master Xu and his wife said is not without reason. Since it exists, there must be some rationality to it."
As for what this so-called "ghostly matter" is?
Actually, to be precise, it would be more appropriate to call it a "ghost market".
It opens once a month, only on the night of the 14th, and disappears without a trace the next morning.
During the ghostly events of the fourteenth day, no matter what you bring, whether it is valuable or not, you can exchange it for the item you want or have your wish fulfilled.
As for the specifics of the ghost market, it seems no one has any recollection of it.
All I remember is entering the Ghost Market on the fourteenth of each month. When I wake up at dawn, I am back in my own place, and all I have left behind are the items I exchanged for, not a single memory.
Such a bizarre event did arouse suspicion, and it was not uncommon for people to investigate, but the ghost market never appeared on ordinary days, making it virtually impossible to investigate.
Those who want to investigate any clues can only wait until the Ghost Market opens on the 14th of each month. But when dawn breaks, they have no recollection of whether they investigated last night or what they investigated.
Then there are those with quick minds who carry a blank jade slip with them and record in detail what they see and hear when the ghost market opens.
When the people woke up, the jade slip was still there, but the contents of the jade slip were gone.
"Hey, fellow Daoists, don't you think this is strange?"
Xu Zhenren, who had been invited back, recounted the events of the Ghost Market to the group in detail. He then poured himself a bowl of spiritual tea and gulped it down like a cow chewing on a peony.
Liu Yunqing and Jian Xing exchanged a glance, then looked at Master Xu and said:
"It is indeed a bit eerie. If that's the case, why don't you just avoid the ghost market?"
"Judging from your tone, fellow Daoist, not only did you not refuse to go, but you even intentionally prevented others from investigating this matter. Why is that?"
Master Xu put down his teacup and chuckled. Before he could speak, his Daoist partner, the slender and beautiful but short-tempered female cultivator with a large sword, lazily spoke up:
"This is the world of cultivation, not the Dali Temple in the mortal realm. There's no need for any truth."
"As long as people feel that it won't harm them and they can even get some benefits from time to time, there will naturally be plenty of people going there."
"As for not letting people investigate, that's not true. It's just that the city lord instructed us to tell you about the Ghost Market at the appropriate time."
As for what constitutes an appropriate time, both of them shrugged indifferently. They didn't care about such things; when they wanted to speak, that was the appropriate time.
He was just a city lord of a rogue cultivator city. What intimidated them wasn't the authority of a city lord, but simply his Nascent Soul cultivation level.
However, since they are all independent cultivators and not bound by any rules, if the city lord is dissatisfied, they can simply run away.
The female cultivator named Yingying didn't explicitly say these subtexts, but her expression conveyed them even more clearly than if she had said them aloud.
After seeing off Master Xu and his wife, Master Jianxing tapped the table lightly with his long fingers, pondered for a few breaths, and then looked up to ask the three of them:
Do you think this ghost market has anything to do with evil cultivators?
Zhuo Ying spread his hands, saying without any particular thought:
"Whether the Ghost Market is related to evil cultivators or not, I can't guess, but I still tend to think that Lord of Thousand Sun City is hiding something."
Meng Shu nodded and said:
“I agree with what Junior Sister Zhuo said. She came here and immediately offered us work. She doesn’t seem like a good person.”
Liu Yunqing nodded as well.
Indeed, it seems that they were tirelessly investigating, but upon closer inspection, it's more likely that the Lord of Qianyang City deliberately pushed these people in front of them.
"Whether there is any connection between heretical cultivators and the Ghost Market, and how much of a connection there is, we'll have to wait until we explore the Ghost Market to find out."
This time, no team leader was assigned beforehand, so everyone subconsciously placed the responsibility of team leader on Jian Xing Zhenren, who was in the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
After Liu Yunqing finished speaking, he looked at Master Jianxing and asked:
"Senior Brother Jianxing, when will the other two arrive?"
Master Jianxing did not refuse, and in fact, he did know more comprehensively, so he answered Liu Yunqing's questions.
"Fellow Daoist Wuxiu from the Shangqing Sect should arrive tomorrow."
"As for that person from the Wuji Sword Sect, he is probably not one to talk much. He only said that he would arrive soon, without specifying the exact time."
Upon hearing Master Jianxing's description of the person from the Wuji Sword Sect, Liu Yunqing's heart stirred, and a guess popped into his mind.
"Judging from Senior Brother Jianxing's description, could it be that the person who came from the Wuji Sword Sect this time is the Mingxin True Person who, after severing all emotions and love, switched to cultivating the Swordless Path?"
"Exactly!"
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