"Ah?"
Wen Yan was utterly shocked. So this is the "sunbathing" that Third Great-uncle Master talked about?!
Do they directly simulate the temperature of standing on the surface of the Sun for sunbathing?
"They used a mushroom bomb, but there’s not a single record of it?"
"There’s no way there would be any record of this. If anyone asks, they just deny it. But in fact, quite a few people know. If nobody knew, and they invited a Nether Soul Realm to sunbathe, directly wiped out that whole Nether Soul Realm—wouldn’t that be a waste?"
"..."
Wen Yan was at a loss for words. That actually made a lot of sense.
No wonder there’s the rumor now that when taking the subway in Guanzhong County, there’s a long-standing tradition: on one line, both sides are occupied by ghosts, so you’re basically riding right through the ghosts’ residential area.
He used to wonder how it was possible for the atmosphere in Guanzhong County to be so harmonious. Even if the big bosses on both sides negotiated, it still shouldn’t be this peaceful.
Now he understood. The ones who weren’t peaceful mostly got recruited by that Nether Soul Realm back in the day, and then the Scorching Sun Department invited them for a free sunbath and wiped them out in one go.
The ones left, even if they had some troublemakers among them, all turned docile after that.
At the very least, the vast majority definitely started behaving themselves.
"This time, this Nether Soul Realm is clearly different from the one before. Before, I could enter directly through normal routes, so this Nether Soul Realm is definitely not completely sealed off."
Wen Yan walked along the perimeter wall, listening to the sounds inside. It looked just like a regular small town, right in the middle of a big market day.
"Let’s go in."
"We’re just going in like this?"
"You think I could hide like this?"
Wen Yan circled around to the manor’s main entrance, and saw the sign overhead.
"Black Mountain Manor."
On both sides were couplets.
"Don’t vainly mistake illusions for reality, see if what’s before you is hollow and useless cleverness."
"Don’t be so bold to melt copper and burn iron—wipe your heart and ask yourself, are you afraid or not? Think carefully."
Wen Yan looked at the calligraphy and felt a weird sense of absurdity.
He remembered seeing a news story: there was a career thief whose door couplets at home were pretty similar. He couldn’t remember the exact wording, but the horizontal scroll was "Be a steady person."
At the manor gate stood two paper effigies, stiff but always smiling, the type made from slightly reflective oiled parchment.
The moment those two paper figures saw Wen Yan, they stepped back on their own to give way.
Wen Yan led Zhang Laoxi right in.
After entering, he turned around and saw that the big doors had vanished, leaving nothing but a tall, seamless wall.
Up ahead, it looked just like any typical ancient town: rows of old architectural shopfronts lined both sides of the street, the road paved with blue stone slabs, people on the street were even selling food.
As he and Zhang Laoxi walked in, the various ghosts just turned to glance at them, then went right back to minding their own business.
Wen Yan took a close look: these ghosts were different from the ones he’d seen before. All of them actually had their feet on solid ground, walking on the earth.
Besides the pallor of their skin, they pretty much looked just like normal people.
He strode forward. The ghosts around seemed to fear the Yang Energy on him and the light from the Everbright Lamp in his hand, so he stretched out his hand and covered the lamp’s glow a little.
Not far ahead was a wonton noodle vendor who looked almost just like a regular person.
But in the next instant, Wen Yan saw that the vendor reached right into his own body, pulled out a few rib bones, and threw them straight into the soup pot. As the ghostly fire blazed, the soup inside the pot started bubbling fiercely.
The clear, thin broth instantly turned milky white, and then the vendor scooped the rib bones out, stuffed them straight back into his body.
A customer sitting at the table next to them, after eating, immediately gave the vendor a big thumbs up.
"That’s authentic!"
After standing up, the customer wiped his mouth with one hand, left behind a ten-million-note large bill, and swaggered away.
Wen Yan silently watched the whole scene, feeling like something was definitely off about all this.
Just as he was mulling this over, he sensed someone watching him. He turned around and spotted a shriveled, hanged ghost poking its head out at him from not too far away.
Once discovered, the shriveled ghost in its long robe timidly walked over and gave a decent-looking bow.
"Are you Wen Yan, Brother Wen?"
Wen Yan glanced at the nervous hanged ghost and nodded.
"You know me? And you are?"
"My name is Kong Er. Thanks to Brother Wen last time, I got stuck in the Water Ghost Domain and managed to keep my life. Luckily, Lord Zhu took a liking to me and brought me to Guanzhong County. After seeing a portrait of Brother Wen, I kept your face in mind and never expected to meet you here today."
"What kind of place is this?"
Kong Er glanced around and signaled for Wen Yan to follow.
At the street corner, Kong Er looked all around, then lowered his voice.
"Brother Wen, you really shouldn’t be here. This is the Rakshasa Ghost Market. Basically everyone here belongs to the Nether Soul tribe. Coming here could be dangerous for you."
"Rakshasa Ghost Market?" Wen Yan furrowed his brow.
Isn’t this the Nether Soul Realm?
"It’s been here since long ago. Actually, the Scorching Sun Department has a file on it, since Nether Souls have a lot of needs, too.
Some are greedy for food, some for lust, some for fine clothes, some just for pleasure.
This is where we Nether Souls shop and trade for things you can’t easily get on the outside.
Although Lord Zhu is rather strict, he’s honestly got our best interests at heart.
The old man’s birthday is coming soon. I came to see if I can get a suitable birthday gift for him."
Wen Yan sized up Kong Er, recalling that Sparrow Cat, the scholar, had mentioned Lord Zhu once took a liking to a hanged ghost, gave him a beating, and dragged him away.