“Why does it sound so spooky and mysterious?” Qi Qingyao was also feeling a little scared now.
“That’s because it really is,” the servant replied firmly.
Qi Qingyao, “…”
The servant continued, “It’s said that those green lanterns are ghostly flames created by the Koi God which are really powerful. On top of that, there will also be a lot of big shots from mainland Jianghu lining up the sides who had come to sell their extra wares which are all priceless. If you have that many precious medicinal herbs, you can also sell them there.”
The servant started gossiping more about the ghost market with Qi Qingyao although all of it was from hearsay.
At first, Qi Qingyao thought the context of the story must have been developed from the Investiture of the Gods, or if not, it would have originated from novels about the supernatural like Strange Stories. To her surprise, Qi Qingyao realized that it was just a regular ghost market once the servant was done sharing the tales. The man was just a scaredy-cat!
However, when she thought about it, there was a huge wall between regular people and those from Jianghu. They would never want to offend one of them and were simply content with spending their days peacefully.
Those who frequented the ghost market were a bunch of problematic people from the mainland who sold problematic items!
The servant’s cautious mannerism was simply because he was afraid the walls might have ears and others would eavesdrop, causing unnecessary trouble.
The servant immediately got back to work after he was done talking. Qi Qingyao also went back next door.
After closing the door and taking a seat, Qi Qingyao’s expression looked deeply concerned.
Jiang Yeqian poured her a bowl of tea and asked, “Did you find out where you can sell the medicinal herbs?”
“…”
Qi Qingyao looked at Jiang Yeqian, then at Si Jin. She stood up abruptly, planted both her hands on the table, and said firmly with an imposing expression on her face.
“Mine brothers.”
“Mine?” Jiang Yeqian repeated questioningly.
“Mine brothers! You two better get ready. We may have to risk our lives and face death to sell our wares this time.” Saying this, she drank the tea quickly and put the bowl back on the table heavily. She said resolutely, “If we don’t come back, we can only ask for someone to bury us.”
Jiang Yeqian, “…” ???
Si Jin asked curiously as he ate popcorn, “You’re just selling some stuff. Where did you say you’re going to sell them?”
“Have you heard of Tianmen Ghost Market?” Qi Qingyao asked mysteriously.
“I have,” Jiang Yeqian answered.
Si Jin was silent but a smiling expression flashed through his downcasted eyes.
Qi Qingyao asked Jiang Yeqian, “You really heard of it?”
Jiang Yeqian replied lazily, “On the eighteenth of the twelfth lunar month, Tianmen will organize a ghost market. There will be a golden bridge of ghost lamps and the attendees of the ghost market will all wear koi masks as a sign of respect. Not only that, everyone who walks past the door will turn into fish in the eyes of others because of some optical sorcery, so their identities are kept secret. Everyone will leave once they’re done buying and selling their wares. No one will know anything even if you made a fortune there. That’s why plenty of people with precious wares prefer to sell them at the Koi God’s ghost market since they can also get some of the good luck from the Koi God while they’re at it.”
After hearing this, Qi Qingyao was shocked. Eyes bulging, she said, “What the f*ck, why did I spend money asking that servant if you already knew?”
“You never asked,” Jiang Yeqian coughed, pretending to be innocent.
The children were seated at the side, peeking over at the grown-ups as they practiced their writing. They heard something about a ghost market and whatnot. The three little ones pulled back their necks simultaneously, feeling a little spooked.
Si Jin sensed that Qi Qingyao wanted to go to the Koi Temple Ghost Market to sell her wares and his expression became odd. However, he said nothing.