The ghost explained to me that this Invisible Needle was made from a strand of hair of the rabbit. Every creature had a unique feature. This rabbit had extremely silky but tough hair.
Moreover, the rabbit had cultivated for years to make this Invisible Needle. It wanted to use the needle to exchange for some years of receiving offerings from the mortals. However, it was tricked. That was the reason why it had killed the middle-aged man.
Then, the ghost wearing a Chinese tunic gown told me how to use the Invisible Needle. The needle could change its shape easily and was pretty tough. I could use it as a hidden weapon.
The best feature of this needle was that if I poured my blood into it, I could use my thoughts to control it to kill people or fetch something from a distance.
After listening to him, I really liked the Invisible Needle. I thought that if I had it, it would be easier to deal with otherworldly items.
“Do you know the price of the needle?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” The ghost wearing a tunic gown waved his hand. He went to another stall after that. Fortunately, Chuyi could talk with spirits. As he saw that I wanted to know more about the needle, he then talked to the rabbit.
After a moment of listening to some squeaking I didn’t understand, Chuyi grimaced. He frowned then turned to me. “It said that it is afraid of getting tricked again. This time, it wants blessings for five years. Moreover, you have to sign a contract with it right here.”
I was surprised. Signing a contract was a normal event, which was similar to a contract in the mortal world. As I really wanted to buy it, signing the contract here wasn’t a problem. The only problem was that the rabbit wanted blessings for five years in a row! What a rip-off!
It meant that for the next five years, every good deed I did would be counted for the rabbit!
To ordinary people, five years without blessings wouldn’t be a big deal. But in our business, it was really dangerous.
However, I just hesitated for a while before giving the rabbit a nod of agreement. I bit my finger and was ready to drop my blood into the rabbit’s mouth. As long as it drank my blood, our deal would go into effect.
Chuyi suddenly pushed my arm away and rolled his eyes at me. “Are you crazy? Don’t you know what it means to give up the blessings of five years?”
“I know, but I need to make myself stronger!”
Although I’d solved many foul things, I had always been under the protection of Chuyi, Senior Shu, and Zen Master Baimei. It was rare to have a chance to strengthen myself like this. I shouldn’t let it slip away.
“You…”
Chuyi was angry. His face turned red. He pointed at me as though he wanted to say something. I took the chance while he wasn’t paying attention to jump toward the rabbit and drop my blood into its mouth.
The rabbit raised both of its front legs and brought them together to show its gratitude to me. Then, it disappeared. The Invisible Needle slowly floated up and flew to my palm.
Chuyi was bewildered after seeing this. After the onlookers scattered, we returned to the inn. At that time, Chuyi finally pulled himself together. He kicked me, causing me to roll to the ground. He shouted, “You’ve lost your mind!”
“I know my limits.” I smiled and got up from the ground. I knew he was angry because he was worried about me.
He snorted and ignored me, and strode toward the inn. I rushed behind him. When we returned, Zen Master Baimei was up. I took the chance and ignored my pride, and tried to earn Chuyi’s favor. Moreover, Zen Master Baimei also vouched for me. Finally, Chuyi was no longer mad at me. He spoke coldly, “Don’t do that again.”
After that recent event, my stomach growled. “Chuyi, can we eat the food here?”
It wasn’t a problem to stay in a ghostly inn. However, I found it hard to eat at a ghostly restaurant. Only God knew what they were using to cook the food!
Chuyi shot me a glance. “There are many restaurants run by living humans here. They only open for a few days during the trade conference. These restaurants can’t earn money. The owners just want to befriend some experts here and increase their good luck.”
I could finally ease my mind and followed him to a restaurant called “Reincarnation.”
The restaurant was decorated with touches of ancient times, and the waiters wore ancient garments. When the manager saw Chuyi, he immediately came to greet him. It seemed Chuyi was a regular diner here.
The lobby was big. It had a few tables, with a set of teaware and a newly brewed teapot on each of them. I guessed these tables were reserved for those who wanted to have a seat and take a rest. The manager took us upstairs. There were some private rooms. Since no one had come here for lunch or dinner, they didn’t have many private rooms. Not long after we took a seat, the manager returned with food. The food looked clean. As I was starving, I directly dug in.
“Tomorrow is July 15th. I think the Longquan Villa’s people will arrive today.”
While eating, Chuyi said, “Although they wouldn’t dare to do anything during the event, they may do something in the dark. You have to be careful.”
“Yeah, don’t let them get the better of you. They are good at making trouble. We want to find the mermaid’s tears, so trouble isn’t good for us,” said Zen Master Baimei. Then, he tried to refrain himself from watching the food. He used his chopsticks to pick some vegetables to eat.
I wasn’t really worried about the people from the Longquan Villa as I would be with Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei all the time. The only thing I was worried about now was the possibility of finding the mermaid’s tears here.
At this moment, I heard people walking outside. From the different noises, I thought there were four or five people. Curiously, I turned to the door to see. The manager was talking to four people. They were headed to the private room next to ours.
This group of four included three men and a woman. The leader looked young with porcelain skin. Two gray-haired men that appeared to be the young man’s bodyguards, escorted him. They had formidable murderous auras. The woman wore sexy clothes. She looked strangely beautiful, just like an exotic flower.
While I was looking at them, they also looked at us. The young man was surprised to see me. Then, he became enraged and shouted, “Zhang Jiulin!”
“What?”
“He’s Zhang Jiulin!”
When he said that, besides the restaurant’s manager, the other three people changed their expressions. They all turned angry as though they had a great grudge against me!
It took me a moment to react. They could be the people from the Longquan Villa! As soon as I was about to retreat, the woman grabbed something from her waist and threw it toward me.
By the time I saw her throw the hidden weapon, it was too late to avoid her attack. Fortunately, Chuyi had used his eight-faceted Han sword to deflect the hidden weapons.
After a series of clanging noises, the hidden weapons were nailed deep into the wall. Even after clashing with the Han sword, the hidden weapons had a lot of power. It was enough to tell how strong the woman’s wrist was!
When the others saw Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi, they changed their expressions. But soon, their fire-flaring eyes were fixed on me.
Chuyi withdrew his sword. He looked at the woman. His voice grew cold. “Yi Zhangqing, what do you want?”
So the woman’s name was Yi Zhangqing, “One Inch of Blue.” From her appearance, I could understand it. She wore blue garments and her hair was dyed light blue. It gave her a seductive but aggressive look.
Yi Zhangqing shot Chuyi a look. Before she could speak, the young man who had recognized me took a step forward. Looking at Chuyi, he said, “You also have a hand in the murder of Elder Xiang, right?”
“Yeah.” Chuyi disdainfully withdrew his long sword. “If you wanna fight, I’ll be here after the Ghost Market is over! But now, you’d better behave.”
Chuyi’s eyes became sharp as he assessed each of them. Then, he weighed his Han sword. “Actually, it’s okay to fight now. I’m not sure if I can handle three Elders at the same time, but I’m sure we can mess up this Ghost Market. We will all be expelled for sure.”
“You…”
The young man pointed at Chuyi, but he didn’t dare to attack. He gritted his teeth and said to the other three, “Let’s go!”
Then, he took the lead and went downstairs. After they left, Chuyi exhaled and said, “I was worried that they would attack us. I didn’t expect to see Ryuzawa Ichiro. It seems the Longquan Villa wouldn’t play it easy this time.”
“Ryuzawa Ichiro?”
I repeated the name doubtfully. It sounded like a Japanese name.
Chuyi nodded. “Yeah, Ryuzawa Ichiro is the youngest man. He’s the adopted son of the Longquan Villa’s Master, the Young Master of the Longquan Villa.”
People rumored that Ryuzawa Ichiro was the son of the best ninja in Japan. However, his family was eradicated when he was just a child. The Master of the Longquan Villa adopted him after that. Since the Master didn’t have any children, he loved and spoiled Ryuzawa Ichiro.
Ryuzawa Ichiro was powerful, and he knew ninjutsu.
“You shouldn’t get involved with Ryuzawa Ichiro.”
I smiled and shook my head. It wasn’t something that acting carefully could solve. Would I smile and welcome them if they came to my door?
Ryuzawa Ichiro had his ninjutsu, but the other three also had relatively strong powers.
Standing on his left was the One-armed Dragon. He was the oldest Elder, and the leader of the Wind Tigers and Cloud Dragons. He was also the strongest. In the Longquan Villa, his cultivation base was only behind the Villa Master. Chuyi wasn’t his equal opponent.
In the past, after he was bitten by a thousand-year Corpse King, he gritted his teeth and chopped off his own arm. It was enough to make me scared. He didn’t care about his limb. How could he show mercy to me when he dealt with me?
The old man standing on Ryuzawa Ichiro’s right was called Yin-Yang Tiger, also one of the four Great Elders. His best feature was his pair of Yin and Yang eyes. He could see the Yin energy and the hidden dangers. People said that his eyes worked perfectly well both day and night. As he was here, all of our moves could be seen through. I was sweating.
Yi Zhangqing was the last Elder, whose alias was Wind. She was an expert at using fast-as-wind hidden weapons.
Ever since she was young, she went through the evil training process of the Longquan Villa. She had turned into an emotionless killing machine. Her first mission, which was also her graduating mission, was to kill her mother.
When Chuyi said that, I couldn’t help but interrupt him. I asked incredulously, “She killed her mother?”
“Yeah.”
Chuyi nodded. “Yi Zhangqing didn’t have a father. She lived with her mother, and they loved each other a lot. Only by killing the one she loved the most would make her a real assassin who could kill without blinking. After murdering her mother, Yi Zhangqing gradually built her name here. These years, she’s in charge of the Longquan Villa’s assassinating operations.”
The ghost explained to me that this Invisible Needle was made from a strand of hair of the rabbit. Every creature had a unique feature. This rabbit had extremely silky but tough hair.
Moreover, the rabbit had cultivated for years to make this Invisible Needle. It wanted to use the needle to exchange for some years of receiving offerings from the mortals. However, it was tricked. That was the reason why it had killed the middle-aged man.
Then, the ghost wearing a Chinese tunic gown told me how to use the Invisible Needle. The needle could change its shape easily and was pretty tough. I could use it as a hidden weapon.
The best feature of this needle was that if I poured my blood into it, I could use my thoughts to control it to kill people or fetch something from a distance.
After listening to him, I really liked the Invisible Needle. I thought that if I had it, it would be easier to deal with otherworldly items.
“Do you know the price of the needle?”
“Oh, I don’t know…” The ghost wearing a tunic gown waved his hand. He went to another stall after that. Fortunately, Chuyi could talk with spirits. As he saw that I wanted to know more about the needle, he then talked to the rabbit.
After a moment of listening to some squeaking I didn’t understand, Chuyi grimaced. He frowned then turned to me. “It said that it is afraid of getting tricked again. This time, it wants blessings for five years. Moreover, you have to sign a contract with it right here.”
I was surprised. Signing a contract was a normal event, which was similar to a contract in the mortal world. As I really wanted to buy it, signing the contract here wasn’t a problem. The only problem was that the rabbit wanted blessings for five years in a row! What a rip-off!
It meant that for the next five years, every good deed I did would be counted for the rabbit!
To ordinary people, five years without blessings wouldn’t be a big deal. But in our business, it was really dangerous.
However, I just hesitated for a while before giving the rabbit a nod of agreement. I bit my finger and was ready to drop my blood into the rabbit’s mouth. As long as it drank my blood, our deal would go into effect.
Chuyi suddenly pushed my arm away and rolled his eyes at me. “Are you crazy? Don’t you know what it means to give up the blessings of five years?”
“I know, but I need to make myself stronger!”
Although I’d solved many foul things, I had always been under the protection of Chuyi, Senior Shu, and Zen Master Baimei. It was rare to have a chance to strengthen myself like this. I shouldn’t let it slip away.
“You…”
Chuyi was angry. His face turned red. He pointed at me as though he wanted to say something. I took the chance while he wasn’t paying attention to jump toward the rabbit and drop my blood into its mouth.
The rabbit raised both of its front legs and brought them together to show its gratitude to me. Then, it disappeared. The Invisible Needle slowly floated up and flew to my palm.
Chuyi was bewildered after seeing this. After the onlookers scattered, we returned to the inn. At that time, Chuyi finally pulled himself together. He kicked me, causing me to roll to the ground. He shouted, “You’ve lost your mind!”
“I know my limits.” I smiled and got up from the ground. I knew he was angry because he was worried about me.
He snorted and ignored me, and strode toward the inn. I rushed behind him. When we returned, Zen Master Baimei was up. I took the chance and ignored my pride, and tried to earn Chuyi’s favor. Moreover, Zen Master Baimei also vouched for me. Finally, Chuyi was no longer mad at me. He spoke coldly, “Don’t do that again.”
After that recent event, my stomach growled. “Chuyi, can we eat the food here?”
It wasn’t a problem to stay in a ghostly inn. However, I found it hard to eat at a ghostly restaurant. Only God knew what they were using to cook the food!
Chuyi shot me a glance. “There are many restaurants run by living humans here. They only open for a few days during the trade conference. These restaurants can’t earn money. The owners just want to befriend some experts here and increase their good luck.”
I could finally ease my mind and followed him to a restaurant called “Reincarnation.”
The restaurant was decorated with touches of ancient times, and the waiters wore ancient garments. When the manager saw Chuyi, he immediately came to greet him. It seemed Chuyi was a regular diner here.
The lobby was big. It had a few tables, with a set of teaware and a newly brewed teapot on each of them. I guessed these tables were reserved for those who wanted to have a seat and take a rest. The manager took us upstairs. There were some private rooms. Since no one had come here for lunch or dinner, they didn’t have many private rooms. Not long after we took a seat, the manager returned with food. The food looked clean. As I was starving, I directly dug in.
“Tomorrow is July 15th. I think the Longquan Villa’s people will arrive today.”
While eating, Chuyi said, “Although they wouldn’t dare to do anything during the event, they may do something in the dark. You have to be careful.”
“Yeah, don’t let them get the better of you. They are good at making trouble. We want to find the mermaid’s tears, so trouble isn’t good for us,” said Zen Master Baimei. Then, he tried to refrain himself from watching the food. He used his chopsticks to pick some vegetables to eat.
I wasn’t really worried about the people from the Longquan Villa as I would be with Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei all the time. The only thing I was worried about now was the possibility of finding the mermaid’s tears here.
At this moment, I heard people walking outside. From the different noises, I thought there were four or five people. Curiously, I turned to the door to see. The manager was talking to four people. They were headed to the private room next to ours.
This group of four included three men and a woman. The leader looked young with porcelain skin. Two gray-haired men that appeared to be the young man’s bodyguards, escorted him. They had formidable murderous auras. The woman wore sexy clothes. She looked strangely beautiful, just like an exotic flower.
While I was looking at them, they also looked at us. The young man was surprised to see me. Then, he became enraged and shouted, “Zhang Jiulin!”
“What?”
“He’s Zhang Jiulin!”
When he said that, besides the restaurant’s manager, the other three people changed their expressions. They all turned angry as though they had a great grudge against me!
It took me a moment to react. They could be the people from the Longquan Villa! As soon as I was about to retreat, the woman grabbed something from her waist and threw it toward me.
By the time I saw her throw the hidden weapon, it was too late to avoid her attack. Fortunately, Chuyi had used his eight-faceted Han sword to deflect the hidden weapons.
After a series of clanging noises, the hidden weapons were nailed deep into the wall. Even after clashing with the Han sword, the hidden weapons had a lot of power. It was enough to tell how strong the woman’s wrist was!
When the others saw Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi, they changed their expressions. But soon, their fire-flaring eyes were fixed on me.
Chuyi withdrew his sword. He looked at the woman. His voice grew cold. “Yi Zhangqing, what do you want?”
So the woman’s name was Yi Zhangqing, “One Inch of Blue.” From her appearance, I could understand it. She wore blue garments and her hair was dyed light blue. It gave her a seductive but aggressive look.
Yi Zhangqing shot Chuyi a look. Before she could speak, the young man who had recognized me took a step forward. Looking at Chuyi, he said, “You also have a hand in the murder of Elder Xiang, right?”
“Yeah.” Chuyi disdainfully withdrew his long sword. “If you wanna fight, I’ll be here after the Ghost Market is over! But now, you’d better behave.”
Chuyi’s eyes became sharp as he assessed each of them. Then, he weighed his Han sword. “Actually, it’s okay to fight now. I’m not sure if I can handle three Elders at the same time, but I’m sure we can mess up this Ghost Market. We will all be expelled for sure.”
“You…”
The young man pointed at Chuyi, but he didn’t dare to attack. He gritted his teeth and said to the other three, “Let’s go!”
Then, he took the lead and went downstairs. After they left, Chuyi exhaled and said, “I was worried that they would attack us. I didn’t expect to see Ryuzawa Ichiro. It seems the Longquan Villa wouldn’t play it easy this time.”
“Ryuzawa Ichiro?”
I repeated the name doubtfully. It sounded like a Japanese name.
Chuyi nodded. “Yeah, Ryuzawa Ichiro is the youngest man. He’s the adopted son of the Longquan Villa’s Master, the Young Master of the Longquan Villa.”
People rumored that Ryuzawa Ichiro was the son of the best ninja in Japan. However, his family was eradicated when he was just a child. The Master of the Longquan Villa adopted him after that. Since the Master didn’t have any children, he loved and spoiled Ryuzawa Ichiro.
Ryuzawa Ichiro was powerful, and he knew ninjutsu.
“You shouldn’t get involved with Ryuzawa Ichiro.”
I smiled and shook my head. It wasn’t something that acting carefully could solve. Would I smile and welcome them if they came to my door?
Ryuzawa Ichiro had his ninjutsu, but the other three also had relatively strong powers.
Standing on his left was the One-armed Dragon. He was the oldest Elder, and the leader of the Wind Tigers and Cloud Dragons. He was also the strongest. In the Longquan Villa, his cultivation base was only behind the Villa Master. Chuyi wasn’t his equal opponent.
In the past, after he was bitten by a thousand-year Corpse King, he gritted his teeth and chopped off his own arm. It was enough to make me scared. He didn’t care about his limb. How could he show mercy to me when he dealt with me?
The old man standing on Ryuzawa Ichiro’s right was called Yin-Yang Tiger, also one of the four Great Elders. His best feature was his pair of Yin and Yang eyes. He could see the Yin energy and the hidden dangers. People said that his eyes worked perfectly well both day and night. As he was here, all of our moves could be seen through. I was sweating.
Yi Zhangqing was the last Elder, whose alias was Wind. She was an expert at using fast-as-wind hidden weapons.
Ever since she was young, she went through the evil training process of the Longquan Villa. She had turned into an emotionless killing machine. Her first mission, which was also her graduating mission, was to kill her mother.
When Chuyi said that, I couldn’t help but interrupt him. I asked incredulously, “She killed her mother?”
“Yeah.”
Chuyi nodded. “Yi Zhangqing didn’t have a father. She lived with her mother, and they loved each other a lot. Only by killing the one she loved the most would make her a real assassin who could kill without blinking. After murdering her mother, Yi Zhangqing gradually built her name here. These years, she’s in charge of the Longquan Villa’s assassinating operations.”
