Otherworldly Merchant

The rough terrain of the Wild Dog Mountain Ridge was beyond our imaginations. We were halfway there, but I was already exhausted.

However, this mountain flank wasn’t a place we could rest at. There were too many thorny bushes around, and venomous snakes could be hiding at any of these bushes. If we were careless, they could bite us.

I gritted my teeth and kept climbing up the Wild Dog Mountain Ridge.

When we reached the peak, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I fell to the ground with a pale face.

Li Mazi didn’t look any better than I did. The mist at the mountain peak was thick and the air was very thin, which made it difficult to breathe.

Li Mazi tucked his tongue out and looked like a panting dog.

However, before we could rest, Chuyi sighed and signaled us to not talk.

Our nerves immediately went tense. We pricked our ears up to listen to the commotion around.

However, after listening for a while, we didn’t catch anything else besides the howling wind.

“What is it?” I lowered my voice and asked Chuyi.

“It sounds like someone is talking nearby,” answered Chuyi.

Then, he headed toward the stones at the peak and moved forward.

We followed closely behind him.

Indeed, not long after we had started walking, we saw two villagers talking to each other.

Chuyi’s hearing wasn’t something an ordinary person could compare to.

The two people were just common, ordinary farmers. However, Chuyi was watching them carefully. He stayed put for quite a long time.

I asked out of curiosity, “Is there a problem?”

He answered, “Take a closer look. Do they look normal?”

Normal? Why wouldn’t they look normal? I was bewildered and watched the other two again.

Then, I was frightened and felt my goosebumps rising!

The two farmers were talking and laughing, descending the mountain with the hoes on their shoulders.

However, when they walked halfway, they turned around. They repeated their actions as though they were in a loop, walking around the Wild Dog Mountain Ridge’s peak.

The two men were chatting cheerily and they did not seem to notice what was happening.

“A ghost wall,” I blurted.

Chuyi nodded. “It seems the person who runs the Ghost Market is here. To isolate the outside world, he has arranged an illusory formation in Wild Dog Mountain Ridge.”

“Oh shoot.” My heart panicked. “Will the two farmers be wandering around this peak forever? If they keep walking, they will be worn out to death.”

Chuyi hesitated for a while then stood up. “Let’s go. We better not cause any commotion.”

I was surprised and looked at him. “We are going to ignore them?”

“We can’t care too much about others,” he answered. “We can’t even protect ourselves right now. I hope the Ghost Market will disappear soon so that they can save their own lives.”

We saw people that might die soon, but we couldn’t do anything. I felt a little uncomfortable.

Eventually, Zen Master Baimei couldn’t stand it. He said, “Merciful Buddha. Saving a life creates more merit than building a seven-floor pagoda. Guys, just be careful. We won’t be busted.”

Zen Master Baimei had spoken up, so Chuyi couldn’t just ignore the farmers anymore. He said to Li Mazi, “Step forward twenty steps then piss on the ground.”

Li Mazi was bewildered. “But I’m not a virgin anymore…”

“No need to be a virgin,” Chuyi answered. “You used to be mind-controlled, so you have accumulated extremely thick negative energy. We can use poison to treat poison and break the formation.”

Li Mazi nodded. He stepped forward and took a leak before rushing back.

The two farmers were finally able to descend the mountain right after that. They were still laughing and chatting while walking. They didn’t notice that they had been lingering around the mountain for quite a long time.

I sighed in relief.

Chuyi looked in the direction of the village. His face turned dark.

I didn’t know what he was worried about, but I was too lazy to ask.

After the two farmers disappeared from our vision, Chuyi led the way. We moved through the scrubs and descended the mountain.

The village in the valley of Wild Dog Mountain Ridge had a dozen households with several acres of fields.

The fields had wheat covered in snow here and there.

As we had been sneaking in, we couldn’t let the folks find us. Chuyi found a haystack near some piles of wood. We immediately ran towards the haystack and removed some hay to make a temporary lodge. We could stay away from the cold and people here.

However, four adults hiding inside a haystack wasn’t comfortable at all.

The entire village was shrouded in a hazy mist. It wasn’t easy to observe things from our location.

Chuyi kept watching the village. After a long time, he turned to us. “It seems we’re not the first group to arrive.”

Zen Master Baimei silently kept his palms together in front of his chest.

“Somebody arrived before us?” I asked Chuyi.

The man nodded and signaled me to look outside.

Through the mist, I could see many villagers wearing plain clothes and walking around. They were chatting amongst themselves.

However, many shadows were mingling with those folks.

The shadows walked quickly. I could neither see their facial features nor their clothes. All that I could see was just groups of shadows moving.

It was strange, indeed. Why could I clearly see the villagers but not the shadows?

I had a scary thought. Could it be that... those shadows aren’t humans, but ghosts? 

Are they here to join the Ghost Market?

I was shocked so I hurried to ask Chuyi to confirm my thoughts.

Chuyi explained to me patiently, “I can’t tell if those shadows are humans or ghosts. If they are wearing black cloaks, they could also create such visual effects.”

“But if they are humans, why don’t the villagers seem to recognize them?”

Chuyi pondered for a long time then answered in a low voice, “It seems the villagers are controlled…”

“They are controlled? What do you mean?”

“Take a closer look. Do you notice anything strange in the village?” asked Chuyi.

I carefully observed the village. Except for the shadows walking back and forth between the villagers, nothing else was strange.

The man asked, “Why isn’t there any poultry in the village? We don’t even hear any dogs barking.”

After listening to him, my heart sank. He was right. No matter how remote the village was, it should have chickens crowing or dogs barking. This place was deadly quiet as if they were in a silent movie.

Chuyi turned to us. “We have both bad and good news.”

Li Mazi immediately asked him, “The good news is that the Night Dragon Bait is here?”

Chuyi nodded. “Right.”

“What’s the bad news?” I intervened.