"Why?" Liu Zixuan was still thinking of taking Liu Ruyan and Jiang Yiyi to broaden their horizons! How come suddenly he can only take Zhou Nian!
Besides, Wu Mei had mentioned before that Crazy Zhou had a stall at the Ghost Market, so he could easily take his daughter there!
Crazy Zhou shrugged, "Just listen to me, and you won't go wrong. As for why, you'll definitely understand once you go to the Ghost Market."
"Master, what about me?" Zhao Yi suddenly asked.
"You come with me." Crazy Zhou raised his glass with a smile, "Come on, drink up and get back to work!"
Liu Zixuan scratched his head. Could there be other rules in this Ghost Market? But then again, Crazy Zhou wouldn't joke about such things, so he didn't press further!
After everyone had their drink, they all left together. Crazy Zhou and Zhao Yi headed back to the Treasure Hall, while Zhou Nian returned to Medical University to continue her classes!
As for Liu Zixuan, with such a rare boozy afternoon, he naturally needed to find a place to take a nap!
...
In the evening, after having dinner with Liu Ruyan and the others, Liu Zixuan left the house and headed straight to the Treasure Hall.
When he arrived, only Zhou Nian was there.
"Where's your dad and the others?" Liu Zixuan asked.
"My dad and Zhao Yi have already gone over."
"I heard your dad has a stall inside too, and since the Ghost Market runs for several days, he probably makes a nice tidy sum, doesn't he?" Liu Zixuan asked while getting into the car with Zhou Nian.
Zhou Nian thought about it, "I'm not really sure. I don't usually ask about these things, and my dad doesn't tell me voluntarily either."
"Truly a good daughter." Liu Zixuan grinned, "I suggest you keep an eye on your dad, just in case he spends all the money on women outside. Otherwise, when you get married, you won't even have a decent dowry!"
"No way, my dad said he already prepared my dowry ages ago!" Zhou Nian said happily about this topic!
This piqued Liu Zixuan's curiosity, "What kind of good stuff is there?"
"I don't know, but my dad said it's absolutely a one-of-a-kind dowry in the world!"
Liu Zixuan rubbed his chin, thinking it might be the Zhou Family's heirloom?
Given Crazy Zhou's family skills, that dowry is probably enough to rival a nation's wealth!
The two chatted and arrived at the street outside the Temple of the God of Wealth.
"Get out of the car; you can't drive past the next intersection," Zhou Nian said.
"I really don't know who set these rules, not using a vehicle and insisting on walking!" Liu Zixuan grumbled unhappily.
"Walking in front of the God of Wealth brings fortune, it's just psychological comfort for everyone. But over the years, people have gotten used to it!"
Zhou Nian laughed, "Just as night falls, it's nice to take a stroll too!"
"Strolling down the road?" Liu Zixuan approached Zhou Nian directly, "Come on, big-chested girl, grab my arm! I'll take you for a stroll!"
Zhou Nian hesitated for a moment, her face turned bright red, and timidly she grabbed Liu Zixuan's arm, the two walking under the streetlights, looking quite like a couple!
Passing by the Temple of the God of Wealth, the inside was still brightly lit. After all, today is the first day of the Ghost Market, so a lot of people are bound to come. It's a tradition to worship the God of Wealth before heading to the Ghost Market, hoping to find genuine treasures!
Liu Zixuan wasn't the type to believe in such things, thinking in this age, it's better to trust people than gods, and better to trust money than people. If the funds are in place, even gods would have to step aside!
Pushing through the Temple of the God of Wealth, they reached a large archway with the words 'Ghost Market' written on it in small seal script. The materials of the archway were quite ancient, not something of the modern era!
Looking inside through the archway, one could see small stalls lined up next to each other. There were simple ground stalls and some set up on frames that appeared more upscale, but interestingly, there were fewer people inside than stalls!
Liu Zixuan voiced his suspicion, "Seeing so many people outside, why are there so few inside?"
"Forgot to tell you, on the first day of the Ghost Market, there's a small performance. Everyone should be at the innermost area watching the performance, should we go and check it out?"
"What kind of performance?"
"It's a variety of acts like acrobatics, fire-hoop jumping, magic, and so on," Zhou Nian explained.
"Let's go and take a look; we have nothing else to do anyway!"
With that, the two walked further into the Ghost Market.
Though newly built, the Ghost Market occupied a significant area. Liu Zixuan estimated that just this main street they walked on was at least a kilometer long, and from the entrance to where the acrobatics were performed, it must have been about two kilometers at least!
As they approached, they saw a large crowd gathered in a circle, watching the acrobatics, with bouts of applause heard now and then.
Under the somewhat dim lighting, the crowd was diverse, each person wearing a mask that concealed their identity, with both men and women present, making no one recognize anyone else!
"Sir, it's dark!"
Just then, a man wearing a devil mask approached Liu Zixuan and said quietly.
Liu Zixuan paused blankly, instantly wanting to curse, he wasn't blind, of course, he knew it was already dark!
But before he could speak, Zhou Nian chimed in, "New soul has entered, a Six Gates guest!"
What puzzled Liu Zixuan even more was that after Zhou Nian spoke, the devil mask man bowed deeply to him and then left directly.
Turning his head to Zhou Nian, he asked in confusion, "What was that supposed to mean?"
"That person was one of the managers of the Ghost Market, which is akin to the patrol officers outside. They have a special way of identifying people, recognizing who are first-timers and who are regulars!"
Zhou Nian smiled as she explained, "Because a lot of things here cannot see the light of day, they're cautious about potential official crackdowns."
"So what did you two just say mean?" Liu Zixuan asked again.
Zhou Nian laughed, "It's simple; saying it's dark means asking if you're a first-timer."
"And my response, 'new soul has entered,' was to confirm it is indeed your first time, while 'Six Gates guest' symbolizes a certain status!"
"Six Gates? What does that mean?" Liu Zixuan had turned into a curious baby, feeling that today truly was an eye-opener! Everything seemed unfamiliar!
"The Six Gates include three upper clans and three lower clans, referring to six families mostly dealing with treasures. In other words, their ancestors were tomb raiders!" Zhou Nian explained.
Liu Zixuan mumbled while rubbing his chin, "So, does that mean your family's status here is quite high?"