I defeated the saint with a parry.

Master Li said a lot, but he didn't say anything.

On the surface, the Li family's business was tea and restaurant, but in reality, they built their fortune on brokerage. In a place like the Great Chu, you couldn't succeed in brokerage without a powerful background, and the Li family's connections were certainly not simple.

Xu Ling's predecessor had also learned about the Ghost Market, but only when he went to buy inferior pills. He knew very little about evil cultivators.

He really needs to go and check out the brokerage firms in the southwest.

After leaving the Li family that evening, Xu Ling first went back to the Demon Suppression Division to report on his duties and exchange information with Zhang Li before returning to the Yuelai Inn to rest.

Early the next morning.

Xu Ling first went to Songyang Martial Arts School to check on Li Yang. After confirming that Li Yang was in good spirits and was eating better than Xu Ling himself, Xu Ling hurriedly left and headed straight for the southwest side of Fancheng.

He almost paid to stay at Songyang Martial Arts School, but let's leave that aside for now.

The so-called brokerage firm actually sells everything.

If you want something, just tell the brokerage owner, and they'll get it for you.

Custom-made items are naturally more expensive, but the better service makes up for it.

Even if you fancy a housekeeper from another agency, the brokerage firm can help you negotiate and poach her at a high price.

If you find a house you like, the real estate agent can negotiate a price for you. Don't worry about the premium; just make sure you're satisfied.

So you told Xu Ling that the brokerage firm was selling people?

This is nothing new.

As soon as Xu Ling arrived at the southwest side, he found that the environment here was a completely different world from that of Fanlou. The southwest side was in ruins, with many people, dirty land, and dilapidated houses. There were also many places under repair, with dust and mud piled up there, which could be covered in people's faces when the wind blew.

Even so, those who can afford to shop at the brokerage firm are all people with relatively wealthy wallets.

People from wealthy and powerful families also come here, but they are not allowed to come in person. Their servants do things for them, so it doesn't matter if the environment is a little less than ideal.

As soon as Xu Ling entered the market, people tried to solicit his business, but they all backed away when they saw his badge.

People from government offices are not welcome in this place.

In just a short while, the news that a demon slayer had arrived in the market spread.

The liveliness of the entire market area was somewhat diminished.

Xu Ling could see it, of course, but he did it on purpose... just waiting for someone to come to him.

Unexpectedly, it was an acquaintance who came.

"Boss Zhao?"

"Lord Xu!! It's you." Zhao Yi went from surprise to delight, and cheerfully greeted him as he walked, calling out to the people around him who were staring at him, "Don't look, don't look, it's someone I know, one of our own."

As soon as he finished speaking, the unique hustle and bustle of the market area resumed.

Xu Ling was led by Zhao Yi to a shop with a sign that read "Small Merchants".

Noticing Xu Ling's gaze, Zhao Yi explained with a smile, "The one who made his fortune in the Zhao family back then started by running small businesses. Our family doesn't handle big orders, only small ones, so we can only do business in this market. As long as you want to buy those hard-to-find little trinkets, we can help you buy them from other places."

He joked, "There's nothing I can do; the big players can't compete with those established families."

"What brings you here? I heard something terrible happened in Li Family Village yesterday. Shouldn't everyone from your Demon Suppression Division have gone there?"

Xu Ling laughed and said, "Master Zhao's information network is quite impressive."

"Sigh, there are no secrets in the bustling city." Master Zhao led Xu Ling into the quiet room. The moment the door closed, the noise outside was completely shut out. There were many silence-restricting restrictions carved inside the room.

"You're here for the Li family, aren't you?" Zhao, the head of the household, had no reason to hide anything from Xu Ling, who had gone through thick and thin together. As soon as he entered, he asked slyly, "After what happened to the Li family, I guessed that your Demon Suppression Division would come here, but I didn't expect it to be you."

Zhao Yi did find it strange. There were so many demon slayers in Fancheng, so logically, it shouldn't be Xu Ling, an outsider, who came here.

Xu Ling seized the opportunity to ask, "Did you know Li Xi is dead?"

Zhao Yi nodded: "Anything you want to ask, feel free to ask me. Although my Zhao family isn't a prestigious family, we've been rooted in Fancheng for much longer than these current prestigious families. There are many things they don't know that I know."

"The Li family used to run a brokerage business, right?"

"Yes!" Zhao Yi recalled, "Their brokerage business has been going on for at least several decades, but the Li family really started out with a big deal twenty years ago."

"In the brokerage business, the real money isn't made from the superficial buying and selling of slaves or middlemen, but from the large orders placed with important people," Zhao Yi explained. "Some people have a penchant for the unique, they love strange and unusual things..."

"When a powerful person takes a liking to someone, someone will suffer misfortune, either because their family will suddenly encounter trouble, or they will be involved in some bizarre case, or their whole family will suffer a great calamity. In short, someone will fall into the trap, become a slave in the brokerage firm, and be sold into the hands of a powerful person."

"Each step in this process is handled by a specialist, and apart from the brokerage owner, no one knows exactly who these people are."

"As for the identity of this important person, no one knows."

"So I don't know exactly what kind of job the Li family took on. I only know that the matter was not in Fancheng. The Li family handled all the steps, and we didn't receive any news about it."

These are all shady dealings within the brokerage industry. Although the Zhao family were merchants, they were very familiar with these practices.

After all, transportation is also a part of it...

"Decades ago, the Li family completed a deal and suddenly began to withdraw from the brokerage business, becoming the most prominent family in the city. But in reality, they only completely left this market ten years ago."

"How come I heard that the Li family is a long-established and prestigious family in Fancheng?"

"If you include the time you've been in the brokerage business, how can you say we're not old? Others are older than our Zhao family."

"I see." Xu Ling suddenly realized that this was the tail end of the Li family.

Zhao Yi reminded him, "Any business transaction will inevitably involve an account book. If Lord Xu can find the account book from the Li family back then, he will surely find what he is looking for."

Xu Ling knew what was going on, so he asked about the Ghost Market: "Do you remember what happened in Peach Blossom Village?"

"Of course I remember," Zhao Yi nodded.

"Do you know if there are any evil spells circulating in the ghost market that can induce dreams or devour people's life essence?"

Zhao Yi didn't answer immediately: "I need to have someone ask about that. You should wait a bit; we should have the results in about an incense stick's time."

He got up and knocked on the door a few times. Soon a servant came in, and Zhao Yi whispered a few instructions to him before the servant quickly left.

Half an incense stick later, the servant returned with a small piece of paper.

After reading it, Zhao Yi said, "It's really strange. There are indeed such evil arts in the Ghost Market, but they didn't exist for a long time. These things have only recently become popular, and the earliest one can be traced back to a month ago."

"This kind of evil magic, whose origins are unknown, is not something that only those who have reached a dead end would easily acquire."

"And those who dare to attack the Li family don't need to look for such dubious items in the ghost market."

Xu Ling agreed wholeheartedly, but a new problem arose.

This unknown killer is mysterious and powerful, with extraordinary methods, and his crimes span several decades.

Neither the Demon Suppression Bureau nor the Li family were able to find any trace of him.

Who could do that?

Xu Ling had a big question mark in his mind.

At this moment, the sharpest-eyed people in the bustling city market all hid themselves. Shops that were normally open also closed their doors and windows, shutting themselves off to customers without warning.

Only faint conversations could be heard coming from inside the shop.

"What a tragedy, how could these people even come here?"

"First the Demon Suppression Bureau, then the Golden Jade Pavilion, we probably can't stay in this market anymore... Why isn't anyone doing anything about it? Do you think life is easy for us rats?"

Some extremely offensive curses... omitted.