Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the stone wall slowly closed and returned to its original state.

Lin Feng turned to the left as instructed and indeed saw a narrow, dark fork in the rock face, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Without hesitation, he stepped inside. Bai Xiaohe followed silently, her hand already on the mechanism of the soft sword at her waist.

The fork in the road led downwards, damp and cold. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a faint glimmer of light finally appeared ahead. At the end was a heavy wooden door, almost blending into the surrounding rock wall.

Lin Feng raised his hand and, as instructed, knocked on the door three times long and two times short.

"Squeak—" The door opened a crack, and a withered, bony hand with long, sharp nails reached out, palm facing up.

Lin Feng understood, took out a small ingot of gold from his sleeve, and placed it in the hand. The gold disappeared instantly.

The door opened. Inside was a small stone chamber, lit by a dim oil lamp. A hunched figure, draped in a wide black robe, and wearing a blank white mask, sat behind a dilapidated wooden table. Two eerie lights shone from behind the eye holes of the mask onto Lin Feng.

"What do you want with the Ghost Hand?" the masked man asked, his voice the same hoarse one from before.

"Ask a question, buy a piece of information." Lin Feng walked to the table and met the masked man's gaze.

"What do you want? What information are you looking for?"

"Ask, who placed a 'Shadow Owl' deal with 'Ghost Hand' last night at midnight, targeting me?" Lin Feng's words were startling, his gaze sharp as he locked onto the masked man.

The eerie light behind the mask seemed to flicker for a moment, and the air in the room suddenly froze.

"You jest, sir. 'Ghost Hand' does matchmaking business; he doesn't ask the employer or the target, only the price. That's the rule." The hoarse voice remained completely calm.

"Rules are made by people, and they can be changed," Lin Feng said slowly, an invisible pressure beginning to permeate the air. "Or, let me ask another question. Regarding the 'business' related to this token, how many deals has 'Ghost Hand' made recently? Who were the buyers, and who were the sellers?"

"Who...who is the guest?" The hoarse voice carried a hint of seriousness.

"Someone who's very interested in the Crimson Feather Clan, the miraculous sites of the Northern Valley, and His Highness Prince Lin." Lin Feng took a step closer, his voice lower yet sharper, each word like a knife. "'Ghost Hand' is well-informed and should know who I am. Last night I killed 'Shadow Owl's' men, and today I stand here. Do you think I'm here to uphold the rules, or... to break them?"

The flame of the oil lamp flickered suddenly.

The masked man remained silent for a long time, his eerie eyes fixed on Lin Feng through the mask, as if trying to see right through him. The stone chamber was so quiet that only the crackling of the burning lamp wick could be heard.

"That 'Shadow Owl' deal did indeed pass through my hands." Finally, the hoarse voice rang out again, but this time it admitted, "The employer's identity is kept secret, as for this token..."

He paused, seemingly weighing his options.

"This token comes from a more secretive seller. What he seeks is not gold or silver, but a share of mining rights in certain specific deposits in the Northern Territory, and a safe trade route to the territory of the Red Feather Tribe. The buyer... is also a noble person, whose identity cannot be revealed. This token is a token, but also... a death warrant. For the guest to possess it will bring misfortune rather than fortune."

"Who is the seller?" Lin Feng pressed.

"I don't know. The transaction is conducted through three secret boxes. I only recognize the token and the terms, not the person," the masked man said. "If the guest wishes to know more, he must prove that he has the qualifications and value to know."

"How can you prove it?"

"Deliver something to the 'Jishan Hall' in the West City for me, and give it to the resident doctor there. After it is delivered, come back here at this time in three days. Perhaps there will be some news that will interest our guests." The masked man took out a palm-sized, tightly sealed black wooden box from under the table and pushed it in front of Lin Feng.

The wooden box was neither made of gold nor wood; it felt heavy and cold to the touch, and there were no markings on it.

This is clearly a test, and also a scheme to use one enemy against another. "Jishantang" sounds like a medical clinic, but near the Ghost Market, it can't possibly be a simple place.

Lin Feng picked up the wooden box, weighed it in his hand, and his gaze sharpened like a knife: "What if I don't go?"

"The information the guest receives from this place ends here. Moreover," the masked man chuckled hoarsely, "it will be difficult for him to leave this side road unscathed. The rules of the Ghost Market are that once a deal is taken, it must be completed. This is my rule, and also... the rule of 'Ghost Hand'."

Lin Feng stared at the masked man for a moment, then suddenly smiled, a smile that appeared somewhat cold under the dim light.

"Alright, I'll take this job. Hopefully, news about 'Ghost Hand' in three days will make the trip worthwhile."

He put the wooden box away, said nothing more, and turned to leave. Bai Xiaohe gave the masked man a deep look before following closely behind.

The heavy wooden door closed behind them, shutting out the two dim lights.

The side path remained dark and cold. After walking some distance, Bai Xiaohe whispered, "Guard, this wooden box..."

"It's bait, and also a test. Inside is either something extremely important, or a deadly trap." Lin Feng said calmly, "'Ghost Hand' wants to see what we're made of, and also wants to use us to test the power behind 'Jishantang'. Killing two birds with one stone."

"Should we still go?"

"Go, why not?" A glint of excitement flashed in Lin Feng's eyes, like a hunter smelling blood. "The muddier the water, the more interesting it is. 'Jishan Hall'... I want to see what kind of 'good deeds' are 'accumulated' inside. Only after delivering this can we get one step closer to the secret behind 'Ghost Hand.' And one step closer to the Crimson Feather Tribe, to that valley, to King Lin's true trump card...

He touched the cold wooden box and token in his arms.

"Let's go, let's meet these 'good people' of 'Jishantang' first. We have to drag out all the ghosts in the capital and see what kind of people they really are."

Xicheng, "Jishantang".

Unlike the eerie atmosphere of the ghost market, this place is located on a relatively clean street, with a bright and spacious storefront and a rather imposing black plaque with gold lettering. Around noon, a faint, bitter aroma of herbs wafts from inside, and occasionally people with worried expressions come and go, making it appear to be a legitimate medical clinic.

Lin Feng and Bai Xiaohe sat down at the tea stall across the street, ordered two bowls of coarse tea, and observed each other discreetly.

Inside the hall sat an elderly doctor with graying hair and a gaunt face. He examined patients and wrote prescriptions with a calm and composed demeanor, showing no signs of anything amiss. The pharmacy assistants were quick and efficient, and apprentices moved about among them; everything was in perfect order.

"They've done a good job of putting on a good show," Bai Xiaohe said in a low voice, her gaze sweeping over the one or two fit and steady-looking "staff" entering and exiting the clinic's side door. "But the back hall and side courtyard are heavily guarded, with at least three hidden sentries. Their shift changes are at fixed times, and they're trained. Ordinary clinics don't need this."

"If it were just an ordinary clinic, 'Ghost Hand' wouldn't have sent us to deliver this." Lin Feng took a sip of coarse tea, his gaze falling on the old doctor. "This man has large finger joints, especially a thick callus on the inside of his right index finger. It's not from holding a pen or handling medicine for a long time; it's more like he frequently uses some kind of slender instrument... like the mechanism of a hidden arrow, or the trigger of a small crossbow. It's interesting that a doctor has these kinds of marks on his hands."

After observing for about half an hour, Lin Feng put down his teacup and tossed in a few copper coins.

"Let's go and meet this 'miraculous and kind-hearted' doctor."

The two got up, crossed the street, and went straight into Jishan Hall.

The air was filled with the aroma of herbs, mingled with the scent of aged wood. The elderly doctor, who had just finished writing a prescription for a woman, looked up and saw Lin Feng and his companion. A fleeting, almost imperceptible look of surprise crossed his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and asked gently, "Are you here for a consultation or to pick up your medicine?"

Lin Feng walked to the medical record table, but instead of sitting down, he gently placed the black wooden box next to the pulse pillow.

"I've been asked to deliver something to the resident doctor here." Lin Feng's voice was calm, but his gaze was fixed on the old doctor's face as if it were a physical presence.