What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

"This will not be repeated."

I looked away, picked up my teacup, took a sip, and considered the matter closed. "I don't like being told what to do. Next time something like this happens, ask me first."

Upon hearing this, Jin Wanliang felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and his fat face was once again filled with smiles.

He nodded repeatedly, "Definitely! Definitely! Don't worry, brother, from now on, even if the King of Heaven himself comes asking, I won't utter a single word without your approval!"

He eagerly refilled my tea, his fawning manner hardly belying the mysterious person I had imagined.

"Alright, let's talk about the second thing."

I put down my teacup. "You said you had some very important news, what is it?"

Jin Wanliang's expression suddenly became mysterious.

He looked around to make sure the door to the private room was closed tightly before leaning closer and lowering his voice to say:

"Hey bro, have you ever heard of a ghost market?"

The moment I heard the words "ghost market," my hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

As someone in the industry, I've certainly heard of this term.

In folk legends, the ghost market is a place where yin and yang meet, where humans and ghosts mingle, and the things bought and sold are all things that cannot be seen in the light of day.

There are funerary objects found by tomb raiding, stolen goods obtained through murder and robbery, and even mysterious things like buying and selling lifespan and luck.

But those are mostly legends; in reality, I haven't actually experienced them.

I've heard a little about it.

I nodded. "What? There's a place like this in Jiangcheng too?"

"Yes! And it's the famous Kirigakure (Hidden Mist Gathering)!"

Jin Wanliang's eyes gleamed with excitement. "This ghost market isn't open every day. It's like the mist in the mountains, unpredictable."

Sometimes it's held once every three years, sometimes once every five years.

I just received confirmation that the ghost market will open at midnight three days from now at the mass grave in the northern suburbs of Jiangcheng!

Upon hearing this, I raised an eyebrow.

Are there still mass graves these days?

Jin Wanliang seemed to see the doubt in my mind and explained, "Hehe, of course, that was just a mass grave from years ago, and it has been renovated long ago."

However, that place still has a heavy yin energy, so within our Jiangcheng circle, we've never changed what we call it.

After listening, I nodded slightly in response.

The place is filled with yin energy; it's definitely a good place to open a ghost market.

"Brother, I know you have some good stuff, but you're also lacking some good stuff."

Jin Wanliang glanced meaningfully at my cuff, clearly referring to my scalpel.

"This ghost market has all sorts of strange and unusual things."

Centuries-old lightning-struck wood, sentient He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum), even some lost and rare traditional medicine manuals… as long as you can afford the price, there's nothing you can't buy.

Hearing this, my heart skipped a beat.

What do I lack most right now?

It is a resource that can strengthen itself.

Although that black bone needle is powerful, it is a bottomless pit, requiring a large amount of powerful evil energy or special materials to nourish it.

The amount of malevolent energy I usually have when dealing with corpses is simply not enough to satisfy its hunger.

Besides... I've made quite a few enemies lately.

Let's not even mention the Shadow Sect; yesterday, some organization called the Guardians of the Cauldron suddenly appeared.

There's another elusive saintess in Wandie Valley, and I doubt she'll let me off the hook.

If you don't find ways to expand your channels and quickly improve your strength, who knows who will be the one to die next time you encounter your enemy.

The ghost market is undoubtedly a suitable channel.

"What are the rules for entering?" I asked.

Seeing that I was interested, Jin Wanliang chuckled and took out two black iron plaques from his pocket, placing them on the table.

"The Ghost Market recognizes tokens, not people. These two Ghost Market tokens are my entry tickets, which I acquired at a high price. One is mine, and this one..."

He pushed one of the pieces in front of me, saying, "Here, little brother."

I picked up the iron plaque; it was icy cold to the touch. It had a hideous ghost head engraved on it, and a complex rune on the back, faintly exuding a sinister aura.

"How much?" I asked.

"Sigh, talking about money hurts feelings!"

Jin Wanliang put on a righteous and awe-inspiring look, "Consider this my apology to you, brother! As long as you look after me a little bit at the Ghost Market, I'll be satisfied."

I glanced at him, and my mind was perfectly clear.

Although the Ghost Market is a place for trading, it is also full of dangers, and double-crossing is not uncommon there.

Although Jin Wanliang is not as simple as he seems, I suspect he doesn't have much fighting ability.

He dragged me along not only to do me a favor, but more importantly, to find a free, powerful bodyguard.

However, this is mutually beneficial for me as well.

I know nothing about the rules of the ghost market, so having him guide me will save me a lot of trouble.

"make a deal."

I put away the iron plate, picked up my teacup, raised it to him, and said, "See you in three days."

Jin Wanliang's eyes narrowed into slits with delight, and he quickly raised his teacup to clink with mine: "See you there! See you there!"

After finishing my tea, I chatted with Jin Wanliang about some details of the Ghost Market.

For example, the currencies circulating inside include cash, but the most hard currencies are gold and barter; you must wear a mask to enter and cannot reveal your true identity; and no matter what you see, you must not meddle in other people's business—this is the ironclad rule of the ghost market.

We chatted for about an hour before I got up to say goodbye.

As I stepped out of Tingyuxuan, a light drizzle began to fall.

I stood under the veranda, watching the raindrops patter on the banana leaves.

Before returning to my rented room, I went to the bank and bought twenty large, golden yellow croakers.

After all, Jin Wanliang had said that only cash and gold circulated in the Ghost Market, or barter.

I don't have anything on me that I can exchange, and it's inconvenient to carry a large amount of cash.

I might as well switch to gold bars, which are more convenient to carry.

These twenty large yellow croakers cost me over two million.

Looking at the golden contents inside the box, I sighed.

Throughout history, both martial arts training and magical cultivation have been expensive endeavors.

The saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" is even more vividly reflected in folk customs circles.

For the next three days, I didn't go anywhere.

During the day, I work a normal job at the funeral home, handling ordinary corpses and collecting a little bit of evil energy.

When I got home at night, I locked myself in my room. Occasionally, ghosts would come to visit, and I would help them sew up their clothes to get some coolness.

If not, circulate your inner energy of malevolent energy repeatedly to nourish the black bone needle.

For the past few days, Lu Yan hasn't contacted me or sent any news.

It seems the situation regarding the underground palace is rather complicated, and we haven't fully figured it out yet.

On the third night, it was almost midnight.

I changed into a black windbreaker, put on a baseball cap, and wore a wooden mask that Jin Wanliang had sent me a couple of days ago.

This mask is made of a special material that can not only conceal one's appearance but also block one's aura, making it the perfect equipment for going to the Ghost Market.