At noon, in the Yunwu Restaurant within the city!
Liu Zixuan looked at the large spread of delicious food before him and couldn't help giving Zhou Fengzi a peculiar look: "Cough, did the sun rise from the west today?"
"What do you mean?" Zhou Nian asked beside him.
"Big-breasted girl, your dad treating us to a meal, that's nothing special. I'll just take it as him having a conscience and repaying me for saving your life yesterday. But do you think it's not odd for him to suddenly order so many expensive signature dishes, given his stinginess? Doesn't it feel like the sun rose from the west?"
Liu Zixuan asked with a curious smile.
"My reputation, you've completely ruined it!"
Zhou Fengzi was immediately displeased: "I'm stingy with others, but when have I ever been stingy with you!"
"Alright, then in a moment you're going to say that you're going to give your daughter to me. I won't bring that up anymore." Liu Zixuan shrugged and smiled: "Let's get back on track and talk about the Ghost Market!"
"Oh? Zhao Yi talked to you?" Zhou Fengzi laughed.
"I ran into Wu Mei this morning. He mentioned something!" Liu Zixuan raised his glass and took a sip, thinking Zhou Fengzi was finally being generous for once—he had to eat and drink his fill!
Zhou Fengzi pondered for a moment and said: "The Ghost Market is actually a black market. But this level of black market is extremely rare in the entire Star Sea!"
"In these black markets, they sell everything from ordinary antiques to secret cultivation manuals that martial artists are eager to fight over, and sometimes things that nobody can clearly explain."
"Things nobody can explain?" Liu Zixuan raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"
"In the earlier years, it was quite ordinary. But ten years ago, when the Ghost Market opened, a very special treasure appeared. Some said it was a Dragon Ball, something formed after a high-realm martial artist passed away. That item is akin to the relics left behind by a Buddha after death, and for you martial artists, it should be very important!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Zixuan nodded vigorously: "If it really is something left behind after a high-realm martial artist passed away, it would absolutely be a supreme treasure, equivalent to an inheritance. If someone with matching attributes obtained it, their cultivation technique might quickly breakthrough!"
"Yes, every few years the Ghost Market sees a few occurrences of such special items. It's said there will be more this time, and not in small numbers. I'm not sure what exactly they are, but I know there's one treasure you'd definitely be interested in!" Zhou Fengzi said with a meaningful smile.
"What!"
Liu Zixuan asked urgently.
Zhou Fengzi glanced at Liu Zixuan and then at his empty wine glass in front of him, suddenly becoming silent!
Liu Zixuan twitched his mouth, you old rascal, playing this trick with me!
But for the sake of the treasure, Liu Zixuan stood up to pour Zhou Fengzi a glass of wine, sat next to him, and said with a smile; "Uncle Zhou, hurry up and tell me!"
Zhou Fengzi drank the wine in one gulp: "Ghost Gate Needle!"
"Which one is it?" Liu Zixuan immediately got excited!
Collecting all the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles is extremely important to him, and he only has five needles now, not even half!
"I'm not sure, but there definitely won't be many, so I suggest you give it a try, you might obtain it!" Zhou Fengzi chuckled and said; "Moreover, there's a shop in the Ghost Market you must visit!"
"A shop?"
"It's a very special shop. They don't sell tangible items but information. I know you're eager to find other Seven-Star Tombs, and there you can get the information you want!"
Zhou Fengzi paused, then laughed: "But any intelligence from there comes at a high cost, so if you go, you need to prepare a lot of money!"
Liu Zixuan nodded; that wasn't an issue, as the Xiumei lingerie had already generated significant profits. He was confident he wouldn't go bankrupt after a trip to the Ghost Market!
"These two pieces of information should be very important to you, right?"
"Of course!" Liu Zixuan eagerly poured Zhou Fengzi another glass of wine: "Thank you, Uncle Zhou."
Zhou Fengzi smiled contentedly: "You're my son-in-law, it's my duty."
"But speaking of which, when entering the Ghost Market, I need to tell you a few rules!"
"Go ahead!" Liu Zixuan put down his glass and listened attentively.
"First, there is to be no fighting inside the Ghost Market. If a dispute occurs and a fight is inevitable, you must issue a challenge and go to the Martial Arts Pavilion to compete."
"Second, no one should reveal their true face inside the Ghost Market, a mask must be worn when entering! This is because many items being sold and people buying them are of a shady nature, so it's an unwritten rule!"
"Third, once you're inside, you need to take note of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion and Celestial Secret Pavilion. Mandarin Duck Pavilion is the largest auction house within the Ghost Market, where things you need might appear, and Celestial Secret Pavilion is the place that sells information, as I just mentioned!"
Liu Zixuan, seeing Zhou Fengzi so serious, nodded solemnly.
Curiously, he asked: "Uncle Zhou, I don't understand, the Ghost Market opens only once a year on July 15, so how do those Mandarin Duck Pavilion and Celestial Secret Pavilion appear? Do they just come out of nowhere?"
"Of course not, they're just temporarily set up. The names sound grand, but when you look inside, it's no different from market stalls!"
Zhou Fengzi shrugged: "And the people inside come from all over the world shortly before the Ghost Market opens. Usually, they roam around the globe."
Liu Zixuan realized; he had thought some special buildings would magically appear! Turns out… just some simple setups.
But he also knew that since it was so grand, the items auctioned inside would naturally be unique!
This trip, he believed, would certainly not be in vain!
Thinking again, he asked: "Is this a black market unique to Ghost Wood City?"
"Not at all. My grandfather told me that in their era, black markets of this type appeared in almost every region, like the north and south, every year. But the emergence of modern black markets led to the decline of these ancient black markets, and now, I guess, there are probably only four or five places in the world that maintain this style!"
"That really is peculiar, organizing such a large black market with ordinary folk, is there no one pulling the strings behind the scenes?" Liu Zixuan asked, puzzled.
Zhou Fengzi's eyes flickered with a complex expression: "There's no one pulling the strings, but... there are managers. However, this is something you probably won't come into contact with, so it's better not to mention it!"
Liu Zixuan raised an eyebrow, obviously Zhou Fengzi was intentionally keeping something secret, but if this old guy didn't want to say, then no matter how he asked, he wouldn't get an answer!
"By the way, when the Ghost Market opens tonight, you should take Zhou Nian with you, and leave the others behind!" Zhou Fengzi suddenly said.
ps: First of all, thank you to the brothers who rewarded yesterday, and second, apologies for missing a chapter yesterday. Tendon sheath inflammation still hasn't been cured, and no amount of medication seems to work. Lastly, is there any brother who studies medicine? How do you treat this illness... Once it flares up, it's really painful!