Zhou Nian thought for a moment and explained, "Not exactly, these Six Gates each have their own specialities, but they've been divided into the upper three and lower three!"
"Our Zhou Family is just the first of the lower three gates. Speaking of which, there's still some distance compared to the upper three, otherwise my father wouldn't just be managing a small auction house in Ghost Wood City!"
"Then what are these Six Gates?" Liu Zixuan asked again.
"I don't know about the upper three gates. For the lower three, they're respectively the Practice Gate, Mind Gate, and Skill Gate. According to my father, the Practice Gate is responsible for transporting things out of the tomb, and it's the worst of the three. Our Zhou Family is the Mind Gate; we can detect where there's a tomb using special techniques. Ancient people called this special technique intention, hence it's called the Mind Gate!"
"And the Skill Gate excels in Mechanical Techniques. People from that gate are very sensitive to all the mechanisms in the tomb, and once they discover one, they can disable it in the fastest time!"
Liu Zixuan pondered while touching his chin; could it be that the Mei old man he met last time was from the lower three gates of the Skill Gate? After all, he had never heard of any organization that was proficient in Mechanical Techniques before!
But after thinking for a while, he sensed something was off and asked curiously, "But this doesn't make sense, finding the tomb should be the most crucial part, so why are you only in the lower three gates?"
"I remember when I was little, my father once mentioned drunkenly that our family used to be part of the upper three gates, but something happened that caused us to fall to the lower three gates. This is why only my father is left in our lineage, and we've ended up in a place like Ghost Wood City!"
Zhou Nian pouted, "Why are you suddenly interested in this?"
Liu Zixuan shrugged, "Such intriguing things naturally spark my interest. Vast is Star Sea, full of talented people. To be honest, I didn't know until now that there were so many intricacies in tomb raiding!"
"It's the same in any field. Isn't it the same with National Doctors? Although there aren't any detailed levels, everyone understands that when you're just beginning, you're called an apprentice; when you become proficient, you're called a doctor. For someone like you, who can handle any ailment, people naturally call you a divine doctor!" Zhou Nian laughed.
Liu Zixuan grinned, "You sure know quite a bit, young lady!"
As they spoke, they looked towards the acrobatics performance, where fire breathing was being performed, astonishing many onlookers!
With a heritage spanning thousands of years, Star Sea truly is a place of genius. Not to mention the saying "360 trades, each makes a master." Even in every tiny profession, there are many skills that one might not fully grasp in a lifetime!
Take for example these acrobatics in front of them. Most are ancient things from Star Sea, not as flashy as foreign magic, but much more complex, hundreds of times so!
After watching the acrobatics for a while, time flew by to eight-thirty. People began to disperse, heading towards the stalls of the Ghost Market.
"Let's have a look ourselves. Today's the most lively outside, and most people will look for treasures on the first day, because there might not be much left to sift through on the following two days!" Zhou Nian laughed.
"Alright! Since you're familiar with this place, you'll be my tour guide today!" Liu Zixuan shrugged with a smile.
After all, he had come here with goals in mind: first, the news of the Seven-Star Tomb, and second, the other Ghost Gate Needles. Any other treasures he might acquire would just be unexpected bonuses!
The two started walking out from the innermost area, stopping here and there. The small stalls did have some curious items, ones not often seen in the market, such as some high-purity jade and some incomplete little gadgets, all making it quite dazzling to look at!
When they reached the middle, Liu Zixuan suddenly stopped in his tracks, glancing towards a nearby stall.
"What's up? Found something you like?" Zhou Nian turned her head to ask.
Liu Zixuan nodded and led Zhou Nian to this stall. The stall wasn't very large, with about a dozen items laid out on a broken cloth.
What caught Liu Zixuan's eye was a Folding Fan!
Under his X-ray Vision, the fan's condition was clear as day. It looked like an ordinary Folding Fan on the surface, but Liu Zixuan discovered there were small holes in the middle of each fan leaf, clearly meant for housing Hidden Weapons!
With the Soul-Devouring Sword broken, Liu Zixuan was short a handy weapon. Although he still had the Silver Needle, throwing them suddenly in a fight seemed rather lowly.
If he could place those Silver Needles inside this fan, it would seem much more elegant in combat!
With a slight smirk, he pointed at the fan and asked, "How much for this?"
"See for yourself!" To his surprise, the vendor, cold as ice, pointed directly to the sign beside him.
Can't blame Liu Zixuan; it was so dark, who would notice that broken sign over there!
The sign read: One million per item.
Hiss!
Liu Zixuan gasped. A million for one item! If all the over dozen items here were sold, wouldn't one be set for life!
No wonder the Ghost Market is also called the Black Market; it's really black!
"Can I haggle?" Liu Zixuan asked Zhou Nian in a low voice.
"No, the Ghost Market holds firm on prices, and if you have valuable items to sell, others can't haggle either!" Zhou Nian explained.
A Folding Fan, a million?
Isn't that a bit too extravagant!
Liu Zixuan scratched his head, but as he hesitated, three men suddenly walked by from one side.
The leading man was dashing, holding a Folding Fan, wearing a pure white mask on his face, while the two men behind wore masks that were half black, half white, looking quite different from most others!
The white-mask man folded his fan, glanced at the Folding Fan, and then at Liu Zixuan: "Good eyes, buddy, that fan is indeed extraordinary!"
Liu Zixuan squinted: "Hmm?"
"The fan ribs are made from top-quality ivory, as hard as steel. Judging by their hue, it's likely crafted from a pair of perfectly matched ivory pieces, over a century old."
"And the fan surface, if I'm not mistaken, is made from swan feathers, polished with Cold Ice and Earth Core Fire. It's impervious to water and fire, capable of withstanding blades and staves!"
Wow!
After analyzing, the white-mask man opened his Folding Fan elegantly in front of himself, fanned it twice, smiling towards Zhou Nian: "Miss, I think such a superb fan should belong with an exceptional person like me. I fear that your companion over there… if he carries the fan, it might seem rather unfit!"
Damn!
Liu Zixuan's expression changed instantly. This guy clearly had underlying intentions, trying to impress the big-busted girl right in front of him!
ps: Owed an update yesterday, will make up tomorrow or the day after. My fingers are still in pain. Taking time to heal... I hope everyone understands.