Li Mazi loved the tofu jade a lot, the one that Liu An had given him. He kept bragging about it with me all the time. However, he didn’t want to sell it.
“Hey, Li Mazi, why don’t you sell it?” I teased him.
“It has gained spirituality, and no amount of money can buy it.” He said seriously, which delighted me. I thought that only Liu An could make Li Mazi, a man who treasured money more than his life, become uninterested in money for a while.
For the next few months, I stayed with him during my leisure time. When Yin Xinyue had free time, we went to visit my in-laws. They had both recovered, and their daily activities weren’t affected anymore.
Yin Xinyue was able to ease her worries. When she saw me, she always showed her gratitude.
I treated my in-laws as my real parents, so I asked her not to do that. Inadvertently, she would still show me an expression full of gratitude every time, so I just let her do what she felt okay with.
After visiting her parents, Yin Xinyue went back to work. I spent another month doing nothing. And soon, the annual Ghost Festival was on its way. Chuyi called me first. “Jiulin, in three days, I will see you in Chongqing.”
As my in-laws’ situation was under control, I didn’t lie to Li Mazi anymore. I told him about the situation and asked him to watch my antique shop.
Li Mazi shouted at me over the phone. I just laughed and hung up the call.
When I arrived at Chongqing, Chuyi was already there. To my surprise, I saw Zen Master Baimei. They were staying in a motel near the mountain hill. Chuyi nodded at me when he saw me. His face didn’t look bad, so I guessed he had solved the problem between him and his father-in-law.
However, Zen Master Baimei didn’t look healthy. Sometimes, he even coughed. I frowned and asked, “Are you okay, Zen Master?”
“A King Corpse attacked me a few days ago. But no worries, cough, cough…”
Zen Master Baimei waved his hand as though he was all right. However, before he could finish, he coughed again. I worriedly looked at Chuyi.
Chuyi said faintly, “This old monk is tough. He won’t die so easily.” Then, he changed the topic. “The news has been confirmed. The Longquan Villa will join the Gates of Hell Trading Conference.”
I made a face and thought about how the Longquan Villa had trapped me time after time. I balled my fists and said coldly, “When I get the mermaid’s tears, I’ll show them!”
“You think too optimistically,” Chuyi said with an emotionless face. “I’m afraid the Longquan Villa’s reason for coming here this time is to calculate the debt with us.”
I was bewildered and said, “What do you mean?”
“Do you remember what happened in Sanshui Village?”
“Yeah, what about it?” I nodded. At that time, the little Daoist boy had sacrificed himself to save us. Under the surge of my rage, I had beheaded the guy from the Longquan Villa. After that case, the people from the National Security Bureau had blackmailed me into solving a case for them.
“The guy we killed was one of the four great Elders of the Longquan Villa.”
Chuyi didn’t have a natural face when he said that. He rubbed his temples and told me the details.
The Longquan Villa had four great Elders. People often referred to them as Wind Tigers and Cloud Dragons. Every one of them had their tasks. Besides Xiang Yuanzhen, the one we killed, the other three were all experts.
Xiang Yuanzhen used his brain to survive, not his talents. He had lured us into an evil formation to kill us.
At that time, while he was working on a mission, he found me by chance. He decided to use his wits to take me down. Chuyi arrived in time. In the end, the elder had to pay with his life.
After this incident, the Longquan Villa was enraged. However, because of Chuyi, Zen Master Baimei, and the Zhang family in Jiangbei, they hadn’t attacked me.
Chuyi arched one brow when he came to this part. “Since the Longquan Villa has openly bragged that they will join this trading conference, it means they have come up with a plan.”
Zen Master Baimei fiddled with the chain of mala beads in his hand. He said deeply, “Chuyi is right. We’ve pressed them long enough. They want to strike us now.”
I felt something hidden in what Zen Master Baimei had just said. I decided to ask him.
Chuyi faked a cough to interrupt Zen Master Baimei. “Zhang Jiulin, you should get something to eat. We don’t have much time.”
I was puzzled. However, if Chuyi wanted to hide things from me, he wouldn’t answer even if I pestered him. I simply put it aside and didn’t ask any further.
After lunch, Chuyi asked me and Zen Master Baimei to rest while he went somewhere. He took his sword with him. He didn’t tell us where he was headed, or what he wanted to do.
I laid on my bed and shifted from side to side. The Longquan Villa occupied my head. What will they do this time?
I was scared of them because this group of people didn’t fight in daylight. They were good at hiding and striking when you weren’t vigilant. As I didn’t have a meticulous mind like Chuyi, I was afraid I would step into their trap.
Anyway, the more I was afraid of them, the more thrilled I felt. If I could use this chance to solve the problem between me and the Longquan Villa, it would be much easier for me than dealing with it later.
With that thought, I relaxed and slowly drifted into a light sleep. At twilight, Chuyi returned to the hotel. I found dust and ashes on his face and garments, and his trousers were wet. He looked tired.
“Where did you go?”
“I was checking something,” Chuyi said coldly. He made himself a cup of instant noodles and swallowed the food quickly. It seemed he was starving.
After eating, he didn’t wait for my questions and talked first. “The market is open now. The locals and many staff ghosts are preparing the site. Not many people have arrived,” he said with a trace of luck in his voice. “The Longquan Villa’s people haven’t arrived yet. We should take this chance to get there first. This way, we can avoid their ambush.”
“Where’s the market?” I nodded to show my agreement.
Chuyi recognized that I didn’t know the location yet. He simply said, “The Gate of Hell in Fengdu City.”
“Fengdu?”
I took a deep breath. Fengdu had always been considered a ghost city. According to legend, when people died, their souls would go there. It was Hell on Earth in people’s minds.
There was a lot of literature and dramas that talked about Fengdu. Moreover, there were many details in historical records that mentioned Fengdu the Ghost City.
However, after the reform, the country had tried to tone down or eliminate the presence of Fengdu to stop spreading superstition. However, the legend of this ghost city had never stopped being less interesting to the tourists. Gradually, it became a big part of the tourist attractions here.
I was earning money from dead people’s stuff, so I had heard about the Ghost City many times. I wanted to go there. At this moment, I was both excited and anxious.
I thought that Chuyi would take me there tomorrow. He would need to rest since he looked exhausted. Unexpectedly, he only rested for thirty minutes, then asked us to pack up.
On the way to Fengdu, Chuyi explained to me about the trading conference held at the Gate of Hell, which was underground. Since the entrance closed at dawn, we needed to go there at night.
“How will we get out? What if they trap us in there?” I was worried.
Zen Master Baimei smiled and stroked his beard. “Benefactor, there’s no need to worry. The Ghost City is like an illusion. You can leave by thinking about leaving.”
I finally eased my mind. After thinking about it, I knew it was true. Most of the sellers and buyers inside were ghosts, and they were a sort of intangible illusion already.
Chuyi drove his sports car. Around two hours later, we reached Fengdu City. However, he didn’t stop the car.
“Do you need to prepare something else before we go in there?” I asked.
“The Gate of Hell isn’t there. We need to go further.”
It turned out that when the government fixed the Three Gorges Dam, Fengdu was flooded with river water. The current Fengdu City was the relocated city, not the original one.
After driving for half an hour more, Chuyi finally pulled over. After getting out of the car, I saw that the surroundings were a wasteland with high wild grass. Some rickety cottages swayed from side to side when the wind blew.
On the other side of the road was a small river. Since the topography here was relatively flat, the water in the river should flow slowly. However, the river in front of me had rapid water. From time to time, I could hear the water splashing.
I took two steps forward. Instantly, a wave of cold air from the river hit me. I shivered and saw a massive vortex in the middle of the river.
“Is that…”
Looking at the vortex that looked like a giant tornado, I quickly got it. It could be the entrance to the Ghost City!
Chuyi nodded and pointed at the vortex. “At dawn, the water from the bed of the river will rise and fill that vortex. It will become a normal river. But when the nightfall comes, it will look like this.”
“How come there aren’t any parked cars here? You told me that some people have arrived.”
Chuyi shot me a glance. “There are many entrances to the underground market. Who said that everybody has to take this way?”
I felt awkward. I thought there was only one entrance.
Then, Chuyi guided us to jump into the vortex one by one. At first, I was worried that the water would wet my clothes. However, the water vortex wasn’t real. When the water hit me, I didn’t feel anything.
I didn’t know how much time had passed until the vortex disappeared. However, everything in front of me was completely dark. I knew I was at the entrance of the Ghost City! My nerves tensed up.
Someone grabbed my arm, and my heart throbbed. I took out the talisman and was about to attack. Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei had jumped before me. That was why I was sure that it wasn’t either of them who had just grabbed me….
Then, the one holding my arm spoke. “Jiulin, after a while, you will see something foul. Just hold onto me tight. Do not panic.”
It was Chuyi’s voice. I exhaled and reached around to find his arm.
I didn’t know why, but his body felt so cold. Before I could ask him, I heard Chuyi’s intermittent voice beneath me. “Jiulin, there will be evil spirits in this entrance. No matter what you hear, do not pay attention. We’ll gather again down there.”
When I heard his voice, I couldn’t help but shiver. There was a Chuyi down there and one next to me. One of them was a ghost! Who was the right one?
“Jiulin, don’t let the evil spirits fool you,” advised the Chuyi next to me. Then, he shouted, “Little ghost, do you wanna die?”
It sounded pretty much like Chuyi’s style. I prepared myself and was ready to go with him. However, the voice of the Chuyi underneath arose again. “Read the Sacred Text of Daoism. Otherwise, you will die!”
I immediately concluded that it was the real Chuyi. If he was faking it, he wouldn’t have reminded me to read the Sacred Text of Daoism. When I was about to read the Sacred Text of Daoism, someone strangled me. The fake Chuyi said with a dark voice, “You busted me, but it doesn’t matter. Haha, you’re my prey now…”
While laughing, he strengthened his grip. I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel his cold and murderous aura.
I couldn’t find anything I could use to increase my strength. I wanted to take the talismans from my pockets, but I realized that the ghost had locked both of my hands.
The person was strangling me with one hand and used two other hands to hold onto my hands. So, he had at least three arms, or even more!
I knew that pulling back and forth here was disadvantageous to me. I tried to bite my tongue to spit blood at him!
Li Mazi loved the tofu jade a lot, the one that Liu An had given him. He kept bragging about it with me all the time. However, he didn’t want to sell it.
“Hey, Li Mazi, why don’t you sell it?” I teased him.
“It has gained spirituality, and no amount of money can buy it.” He said seriously, which delighted me. I thought that only Liu An could make Li Mazi, a man who treasured money more than his life, become uninterested in money for a while.
For the next few months, I stayed with him during my leisure time. When Yin Xinyue had free time, we went to visit my in-laws. They had both recovered, and their daily activities weren’t affected anymore.
Yin Xinyue was able to ease her worries. When she saw me, she always showed her gratitude.
I treated my in-laws as my real parents, so I asked her not to do that. Inadvertently, she would still show me an expression full of gratitude every time, so I just let her do what she felt okay with.
After visiting her parents, Yin Xinyue went back to work. I spent another month doing nothing. And soon, the annual Ghost Festival was on its way. Chuyi called me first. “Jiulin, in three days, I will see you in Chongqing.”
As my in-laws’ situation was under control, I didn’t lie to Li Mazi anymore. I told him about the situation and asked him to watch my antique shop.
Li Mazi shouted at me over the phone. I just laughed and hung up the call.
When I arrived at Chongqing, Chuyi was already there. To my surprise, I saw Zen Master Baimei. They were staying in a motel near the mountain hill. Chuyi nodded at me when he saw me. His face didn’t look bad, so I guessed he had solved the problem between him and his father-in-law.
However, Zen Master Baimei didn’t look healthy. Sometimes, he even coughed. I frowned and asked, “Are you okay, Zen Master?”
“A King Corpse attacked me a few days ago. But no worries, cough, cough…”
Zen Master Baimei waved his hand as though he was all right. However, before he could finish, he coughed again. I worriedly looked at Chuyi.
Chuyi said faintly, “This old monk is tough. He won’t die so easily.” Then, he changed the topic. “The news has been confirmed. The Longquan Villa will join the Gates of Hell Trading Conference.”
I made a face and thought about how the Longquan Villa had trapped me time after time. I balled my fists and said coldly, “When I get the mermaid’s tears, I’ll show them!”
“You think too optimistically,” Chuyi said with an emotionless face. “I’m afraid the Longquan Villa’s reason for coming here this time is to calculate the debt with us.”
I was bewildered and said, “What do you mean?”
“Do you remember what happened in Sanshui Village?”
“Yeah, what about it?” I nodded. At that time, the little Daoist boy had sacrificed himself to save us. Under the surge of my rage, I had beheaded the guy from the Longquan Villa. After that case, the people from the National Security Bureau had blackmailed me into solving a case for them.
“The guy we killed was one of the four great Elders of the Longquan Villa.”
Chuyi didn’t have a natural face when he said that. He rubbed his temples and told me the details.
The Longquan Villa had four great Elders. People often referred to them as Wind Tigers and Cloud Dragons. Every one of them had their tasks. Besides Xiang Yuanzhen, the one we killed, the other three were all experts.
Xiang Yuanzhen used his brain to survive, not his talents. He had lured us into an evil formation to kill us.
At that time, while he was working on a mission, he found me by chance. He decided to use his wits to take me down. Chuyi arrived in time. In the end, the elder had to pay with his life.
After this incident, the Longquan Villa was enraged. However, because of Chuyi, Zen Master Baimei, and the Zhang family in Jiangbei, they hadn’t attacked me.
Chuyi arched one brow when he came to this part. “Since the Longquan Villa has openly bragged that they will join this trading conference, it means they have come up with a plan.”
Zen Master Baimei fiddled with the chain of mala beads in his hand. He said deeply, “Chuyi is right. We’ve pressed them long enough. They want to strike us now.”
I felt something hidden in what Zen Master Baimei had just said. I decided to ask him.
Chuyi faked a cough to interrupt Zen Master Baimei. “Zhang Jiulin, you should get something to eat. We don’t have much time.”
I was puzzled. However, if Chuyi wanted to hide things from me, he wouldn’t answer even if I pestered him. I simply put it aside and didn’t ask any further.
After lunch, Chuyi asked me and Zen Master Baimei to rest while he went somewhere. He took his sword with him. He didn’t tell us where he was headed, or what he wanted to do.
I laid on my bed and shifted from side to side. The Longquan Villa occupied my head. What will they do this time?
I was scared of them because this group of people didn’t fight in daylight. They were good at hiding and striking when you weren’t vigilant. As I didn’t have a meticulous mind like Chuyi, I was afraid I would step into their trap.
Anyway, the more I was afraid of them, the more thrilled I felt. If I could use this chance to solve the problem between me and the Longquan Villa, it would be much easier for me than dealing with it later.
With that thought, I relaxed and slowly drifted into a light sleep. At twilight, Chuyi returned to the hotel. I found dust and ashes on his face and garments, and his trousers were wet. He looked tired.
“Where did you go?”
“I was checking something,” Chuyi said coldly. He made himself a cup of instant noodles and swallowed the food quickly. It seemed he was starving.
After eating, he didn’t wait for my questions and talked first. “The market is open now. The locals and many staff ghosts are preparing the site. Not many people have arrived,” he said with a trace of luck in his voice. “The Longquan Villa’s people haven’t arrived yet. We should take this chance to get there first. This way, we can avoid their ambush.”
“Where’s the market?” I nodded to show my agreement.
Chuyi recognized that I didn’t know the location yet. He simply said, “The Gate of Hell in Fengdu City.”
“Fengdu?”
I took a deep breath. Fengdu had always been considered a ghost city. According to legend, when people died, their souls would go there. It was Hell on Earth in people’s minds.
There was a lot of literature and dramas that talked about Fengdu. Moreover, there were many details in historical records that mentioned Fengdu the Ghost City.
However, after the reform, the country had tried to tone down or eliminate the presence of Fengdu to stop spreading superstition. However, the legend of this ghost city had never stopped being less interesting to the tourists. Gradually, it became a big part of the tourist attractions here.
I was earning money from dead people’s stuff, so I had heard about the Ghost City many times. I wanted to go there. At this moment, I was both excited and anxious.
I thought that Chuyi would take me there tomorrow. He would need to rest since he looked exhausted. Unexpectedly, he only rested for thirty minutes, then asked us to pack up.
On the way to Fengdu, Chuyi explained to me about the trading conference held at the Gate of Hell, which was underground. Since the entrance closed at dawn, we needed to go there at night.
“How will we get out? What if they trap us in there?” I was worried.
Zen Master Baimei smiled and stroked his beard. “Benefactor, there’s no need to worry. The Ghost City is like an illusion. You can leave by thinking about leaving.”
I finally eased my mind. After thinking about it, I knew it was true. Most of the sellers and buyers inside were ghosts, and they were a sort of intangible illusion already.
Chuyi drove his sports car. Around two hours later, we reached Fengdu City. However, he didn’t stop the car.
“Do you need to prepare something else before we go in there?” I asked.
“The Gate of Hell isn’t there. We need to go further.”
It turned out that when the government fixed the Three Gorges Dam, Fengdu was flooded with river water. The current Fengdu City was the relocated city, not the original one.
After driving for half an hour more, Chuyi finally pulled over. After getting out of the car, I saw that the surroundings were a wasteland with high wild grass. Some rickety cottages swayed from side to side when the wind blew.
On the other side of the road was a small river. Since the topography here was relatively flat, the water in the river should flow slowly. However, the river in front of me had rapid water. From time to time, I could hear the water splashing.
I took two steps forward. Instantly, a wave of cold air from the river hit me. I shivered and saw a massive vortex in the middle of the river.
“Is that…”
Looking at the vortex that looked like a giant tornado, I quickly got it. It could be the entrance to the Ghost City!
Chuyi nodded and pointed at the vortex. “At dawn, the water from the bed of the river will rise and fill that vortex. It will become a normal river. But when the nightfall comes, it will look like this.”
“How come there aren’t any parked cars here? You told me that some people have arrived.”
Chuyi shot me a glance. “There are many entrances to the underground market. Who said that everybody has to take this way?”
I felt awkward. I thought there was only one entrance.
Then, Chuyi guided us to jump into the vortex one by one. At first, I was worried that the water would wet my clothes. However, the water vortex wasn’t real. When the water hit me, I didn’t feel anything.
I didn’t know how much time had passed until the vortex disappeared. However, everything in front of me was completely dark. I knew I was at the entrance of the Ghost City! My nerves tensed up.
Someone grabbed my arm, and my heart throbbed. I took out the talisman and was about to attack. Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei had jumped before me. That was why I was sure that it wasn’t either of them who had just grabbed me….
Then, the one holding my arm spoke. “Jiulin, after a while, you will see something foul. Just hold onto me tight. Do not panic.”
It was Chuyi’s voice. I exhaled and reached around to find his arm.
I didn’t know why, but his body felt so cold. Before I could ask him, I heard Chuyi’s intermittent voice beneath me. “Jiulin, there will be evil spirits in this entrance. No matter what you hear, do not pay attention. We’ll gather again down there.”
When I heard his voice, I couldn’t help but shiver. There was a Chuyi down there and one next to me. One of them was a ghost! Who was the right one?
“Jiulin, don’t let the evil spirits fool you,” advised the Chuyi next to me. Then, he shouted, “Little ghost, do you wanna die?”
It sounded pretty much like Chuyi’s style. I prepared myself and was ready to go with him. However, the voice of the Chuyi underneath arose again. “Read the Sacred Text of Daoism. Otherwise, you will die!”
I immediately concluded that it was the real Chuyi. If he was faking it, he wouldn’t have reminded me to read the Sacred Text of Daoism. When I was about to read the Sacred Text of Daoism, someone strangled me. The fake Chuyi said with a dark voice, “You busted me, but it doesn’t matter. Haha, you’re my prey now…”
While laughing, he strengthened his grip. I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel his cold and murderous aura.
I couldn’t find anything I could use to increase my strength. I wanted to take the talismans from my pockets, but I realized that the ghost had locked both of my hands.
The person was strangling me with one hand and used two other hands to hold onto my hands. So, he had at least three arms, or even more!
I knew that pulling back and forth here was disadvantageous to me. I tried to bite my tongue to spit blood at him!
