Tianjin, starting with unorthodox methods to achieve immortality

Chen Mo moved among the stalls. He wasn't wearing a mask tonight; instead, his face was that of a different, unfamiliar middle-aged man.

The further you go in, the denser the stalls become, and the more people there are.

There was still very little noise; occasionally someone would ask the price in a low voice, but only a few words were uttered.

He stopped in front of a stall selling general merchandise.

There were several pieces of animal bones and a few pieces of dark skin on the stall. They looked like snake skin, but the scales were too big and didn't resemble those of ordinary snakes.

"How much are the bones? Can I handle them and take a look?" he asked, squatting down.

The stall owner was a thin, old man. When he heard the question, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at him for a few seconds.

"That's not for sale."

Chen Mo was taken aback: "Why put it out if you're not selling it?"

The old man didn't say anything, and his eyelids drooped down again.

Chen Mo frowned and stood up helplessly. He had seen this kind of stall owner before. It wasn't that he didn't want to sell, but he didn't want to bother with him because he was a stranger.

Come a few more times to become familiar with the place, and you'll naturally be able to buy something.

It's one thing if they don't sell them, but there are other places selling Yin-attribute bones too.

He turned and continued walking inside, his gaze sweeping over the stalls on both sides.

The items in the ghost market are a mix of real and fake, but there's one advantage: if you know your stuff, you can always find genuine goods.

After walking about twenty or thirty steps, he stopped in front of a stall selling medicinal herbs.

On the stall were several dried geckos, some clumps of what looked like animal fur, and a pile of bones of various shapes.

Chen Mo squatted down and poked around in the pile of bones with his fingers.

These bones vary in thickness and are grayish in color, looking like they are old bones that have been there for many years.

He picked up a palm-sized fragment, brought it to his nose, and smelled it. It had no odor, which meant it had been processed.

"How much is this?" he asked.

The stall owner was a middle-aged woman whose face was covered with a blue cloth, revealing only her eyes.

She glanced at the bone in Chen Mo's hand and said in a muffled voice, "That's a cow bone, three cents a piece."

Chen Mo put it down and picked up another piece.

This one is darker in color, with some black edges, and it feels heavy in your hand.

He ran his fingers along the bone a few times, feeling a faint coolness inside.

This should be considered a Yin-attribute bone.

"What about this one?" he asked.

The woman glanced at him, a strange glint in her eyes: "That came from an old grave; it doesn't sell for the usual price."

Chen Mo understood.

It seems this woman knows where this thing came from.

"What's the price?"

The woman didn't answer directly. Instead, she looked around and lowered her voice, "Sir, do you want this for yourself or to buy for someone else?"

Chen Mo laughed: "Boss lady, the rules of the Ghost Market are: we don't ask where you came from or where you're going. You name your price, I'll pay, and we're even."

The woman was silent for a few seconds, then held up five fingers.

"Fifty?"

"five hundred."

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow. Five hundred silver dollars for a piece of Yin-attribute bone. This price is not cheap, but it is not outrageous either.

"It's too expensive." He stood up and made to leave.

The woman did not stay.

He took two steps, then stopped and looked back.

The man remained squatting there, head down, tidying up the things on his stall, as if he didn't care whether the man left or not.

That's interesting.

He turned back, not embarrassed at all: "Three hundred."

The woman shook her head.

"Four hundred, that's the most I can go."

The woman looked up at him and suddenly asked, "Sir, you don't come to the ghost market often, do you?"

"The proprietress has a good eye." He cupped his hands in greeting and smiled at her. "Then please give me a fair price; I really do need this."

The woman looked at him in silence for a few seconds, then suddenly reached into her bosom and pulled out a cloth bag. Inside was a palm-sized bone, grayish-white in color with a faint hint of blue.

"This is the one you wanted."

She handed the bone to her.

Chen Mo took it, and as soon as he touched it, a bone-chilling coldness shot straight up his palm.

He quickly channeled his Yin energy to resist it and then examined it closely.

This bone was much smaller than the one on the stall, but it was denser and had several natural lines on its surface.

"This is..." He looked up at the woman.

"This is a genuine old thing." The woman put the cloth bag back into her arms, pointed to the piece on the stall, and said, "That piece is fake. It's been soaked in grave soil and water. It looks like an evil spirit, but it's completely useless."

"They specifically target newcomers like you who only know a little bit about the business."

Chen Mo took a deep breath, surprised that there were still good people in this day and age.

They actually exposed the counterfeit goods on their own stall and sold genuine products to customers?

"Boss lady, what's wrong...?"

The woman waved her hand, interrupting him: "I don't do that kind of unethical business. That fake one was bought by my husband. I advised him not to display it, but he wouldn't listen."

"He's not here today, so I'll just pick out a real one for you."

She held up one finger: "One thousand silver dollars, no bargaining."

one thousand.

It's twice as expensive as that fake one.

Chen Mo didn't haggle; he took out a silver note from his pocket and handed it over.

The woman took the bag, examined it carefully for a few seconds, then put it into her sleeve and handed it to him.

"Keep it safe, don't let anyone else see it." She suddenly lowered her voice, "Sir, if you really know your stuff, there's a private photoshoot on the east side tonight."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat. "What kind of things are you selling?"

The woman looked around and lowered her voice even further: "I don't know about that. All the people who went there were important figures. Small vendors like us don't dare to go that way, for fear of offending them."

"Who's the important person?"

"I heard it was a few foreigners and a few monks in red robes. Those monks are not to be trifled with. A few days ago, a stall owner had a small conflict with them, and the next day the man was gone, and the stall was empty."

A monk in a red robe?

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "Thank you for the reminder, landlady."

He got up to leave, but the woman suddenly spoke again: "Sir, that bone of yours, if it meets the right person, can fetch a high price, but if it meets the wrong person, it will bring disaster."

"Use it wisely."

Chen Mo nodded, turned around, and disappeared into the crowd.

After walking a dozen steps, he looked down at the cloth bag in his hand.

The chill was still there; you could feel the cold even through the cloth. It was definitely not an ordinary item; it was worth a thousand yuan.

He didn't wander around; he went straight to the same stall as last time.

In the same dark corner, a tattered cloth lay on the ground, with a few stones scattered around, including the Crimson Sun Blood Crystal.

The old man was curled up in a bamboo chair, his eyes closed as if he were asleep.

Chen Mo squatted down, took out an oil packet containing the molted shell of a Yin Cicada from his pocket, and placed it on the stall. "How many Crimson Sun Blood Crystals can I exchange this for?"

The old man slowly opened his eyes, his cloudy pupils darting around, staring at Chen Mo's face for a few seconds before reaching out to pick up the paper package.

He didn't rush to open it. He first weighed it in his hand, then squeezed it, before untying the thin rope.

"A cicada molt? But that doesn't quite seem like it."

He brought the cicada shell to his nose, took a deep breath, licked it with his tongue, and smacked his lips.

Only then did he raise his head and look at Chen Mo again.