The male supporting character was actually myself.

"Our shop is the only authorized store that sells top-grade ghost food. Other shops sell cheap stuff that has no grade at all, which can only fill your stomach and provide energy for two or three days at most. You're such a handsome young man, how about getting a suit? Or maybe buy a tent so you won't be wandering around the wilderness without a place to call home..."

While enthusiastically promoting his goods, the other party kept staring at his handsome face, unwilling to look away. It was truly rare to find such a handsome ghost in the desolate wilderness of the underworld!

Whether we sell anything or not doesn't matter; having a feast for the eyes is worthwhile.

"Do you sell passes in your shop?" Jiang Chen looked up and pointed to the small wooden sign at the top, asking, "Are those passes that allow entry into the Ghost Market?"

The sales clerk looked at the small wooden sign with longing and nodded, replying, "That's right, this is the most expensive item in our store. It costs 100,000 underworld coins. We don't accept transactions with underworld coins; you have to go to the reincarnation office to exchange them for underworld coins."

At the reincarnation office, a pass costs 80,000, but it requires strict vetting of your ancestors for eighteen generations. Here, it's more expensive, but you can buy it and use it immediately without any procedures.

Sigh, these days ghost money is becoming less and less valuable. The exchange rate changes every day, and it might become worthless at any time.

Most of the ghosts in the wilderness don't have much ghost money.

After burning the incense, you have to pay 30% tax, then deduct handling fees and property management fees. In the end, you won't have much left, and even less will be available as underworld currency.

"Temporary workers like us, without any permanent positions, work hard all month but only earn a few dollars in underworld coins. I don't know how long it will take to save up enough to buy a pass to enter the ghost market..."

The other party was still rambling on when Jiang Chen placed a gold banknote on the counter and said, "Give me a pass."

Salesperson: (??д??)!!!

Wow, that's incredibly wealthy!

"Young man, you're so generous~" The saleswoman's voice became even more coquettish. If it weren't for the magic array that prevented her from freely entering and leaving the counter, she probably would have pounced on him long ago.

Jiang Chen didn't have time to joke with her. He tapped on the counter and reminded her, "Please hurry up, I'm in a rush."

Frustrated that the salesperson wouldn't even glance at him despite his winking, the salesperson grabbed the banknotes and stuffed them into the counter's payment slot. After a quick operation, the pass on the top shelf was enveloped in a yellow halo and flew to him.

Jiang Chen reached out to take it, but the small wooden plaque turned to ashes and landed on his right wrist, leaving a complex mark.

The entire ghost seemed to be shrouded in a strange law. He turned and left the store, drifting towards the gate. Only after he obtained the pass did several large characters gradually appear on the magnificent and ancient gate—Dujiang City Yin Realm Branch.

"Meow~ So there were words on the door before? How come I didn't see them before?" The fluffy little ball of fur perched on its host's shoulder and tucked its big, furry ears in surprise. "Could it be because of that pass?"

Dujiang City's underworld branch, oh my god! Such a huge, bustling ghost market only corresponds to one city in the human world?

The underworld is so much larger than the human world!

Reaching out to touch the door, made of some unknown material, Jiang Chen discovered that the strange law enveloping him resonated with the door, making it seem as if it had transformed into a soft, bouncy pool of water, allowing the entire ghost to enter with ease.

Only the many ghosts still queuing outside in the wilderness remained, whispering enviously.

"boom!"

Almost the instant you enter the gate, a lively clamor hits you.

Just as the fluffy dumpling said, behind the door is a huge valley with lakes scattered in the far distance. It is a bustling ghost market with bright lights and colorful lights!

Chapter Five: Reunion

"The new residential complex in Dujiang is right next to the main road—you'll always be just one step away from anywhere!"

"Hotly available ready-to-move-in homes – Ziyu Huafu: Live in a garden home and enjoy a high-quality lifestyle!"

"Don't miss out! Yipin Guishi Lily and Red Date Porridge is half price on a first-come, first-served basis!"

"The carriage to the shore of Poshui Lake is about to depart. There are three seats left. Passengers who need seats should hurry up and get on the carriage."

"Fuhuilong is having a big sale today! All drinks are 20% off, plus many other great deals. Please inquire in-store for details..."

…………

The bright lights of the ghost market illuminated the wide streets as if it were daytime, and ghosts in various costumes floated everywhere. The ancient buildings were mixed with modern items, giving Jiang Chen the illusion of traveling through time and space.

[Mission: Purchase a villa for your brother, Murong Liangchen, within two days and invite him to move in. Reward: One-time use C-grade item x1.]

Jiang Chen: ? ? ?

"What's going on? Wasn't a task just issued recently?"

"Uh..." the fluffy dumpling scratched its ear, "It's probably a problem with the main system that caused this mess. I don't know if I can just skip the missions. Or, we can just do whichever mission is more urgent first!"

With a large sum of money in his pocket, Jiang Chen first bought a map of Dujiang Ghost Market, then consulted with an agent and selected a luxurious lakeside villa.

It's a bit pricey, but the location is excellent, the scenery is beautiful, and the safety level is high. More importantly, it's a large detached villa with two underground floors, and the small storage room at the deepest part is perfect for converting into a dungeon.

"Congratulations, host, on completing the house-buying task! The reward has been sent to your system space." The little white cat licked its paws and reminded you, "Also, the countdown for that task is still six and a half days. It seems that the time flow in the underworld and the human world is the same. Host, please make sure to manage your time wisely."

Jiang Chen, who had just received the keys to his new house, frowned slightly. He still had six and a half days to bring the protagonist from the human world to the underworld, so he needed to get to the human world as soon as possible...

Aside from reincarnation, how can one successfully sneak into the human world without being captured by the ghost messengers?

He was just thinking about asking around to see if he could use money to pave the way and quickly bring the protagonist down when he saw some familiar faces looking rather disheveled not far away—the Taoist masters he had met in the wilderness.

"Damn it, the client is a real piece of work!"

"Stop dawdling and find somewhere to hide! The Ghost King is coming!"

"Unless we get out of the ghost market quickly, we'll be found sooner or later. Hurry up and run towards the main gate!"

The burly Taoist master was probably injured; his light blue robe was stained with blood, and he was carrying a motionless fellow disciple on his shoulder. He staggered as he led the others in a desperate escape.

Along the way, many ghosts were drawn by the scent of human blood, their eyes gleaming with a greedy, scarlet light as they stared intently at them.

A black mist rolled in from afar. Jiang Chen sensed with his ghostly instincts that the newcomer was hostile. Its extremely cold aura suggested that it was likely a tough opponent in the underworld that could not be easily provoked.

"Run! Run! The Ghost King is coming!"

"So they've provoked the Ghost King; these guys are doomed!"

"Tsk tsk, I thought I was going to have a good meal, but I'd better hide..."

…………

Sensing this terrifying aura, the ghosts that had been eyeing the injured Taoist priest hurriedly covered their heads and fled, and soon the ghostly streets became deserted.

"Hey! Come this way quickly!" Jiang Chen waved across the fence of the residential area, and at the same time quickly floated ahead to lead the way, standing in front of his villa and indicating that they could jump over from the lakeside area.

The burly Taoist priest didn't stand on ceremony. He flipped over the tall fence of the villa area and rushed straight into the villa with the gate wide open.

"Dangdang!"

Jiang Chen swiftly closed the door and activated the villa's built-in magic array. A faint glow enveloped the entire courtyard, preventing other ghosts from entering without the owner's permission.

The little white cat crouched outside, keeping watch.

The thick black fog rolled in, paused briefly by the lake, then clearly lost its target. It roared at the shimmering lake surface a few times, circled around the area several times, and finally retreated reluctantly.

"Phew! They're finally gone. Host and the others are safe for now," the fluffy little dumpling hopped into the house and whispered a reminder.

The burly Taoist master, disregarding his appearance, lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily. "Thanks, brother. If it weren't for you today, my fellow disciples and I would have perished here."

"Is this the house you bought? I didn't realize you were so rich, young man."

"Fortunately, it's a high-end villa area with its own magic array that can conceal our presence, otherwise you would have been implicated."

"Damn it! I'm definitely going to settle the score with that old bastard when I get back this time!"

Jiang Chen looked at the most seriously injured Celestial Master, frowned, and asked, "What ghosts did you offend? How come a dignified Celestial Master was beaten like this? Are there any pharmacies in the Ghost Market? Do they have any medicine to treat your injuries?"

“No need to trouble yourself. The medicines sold in the ghost market are all for ghosts, we don’t need them.” The burly man took off his black mask, revealing a rugged, bearded face. “My name is Duan Tang, and I’m a spirit medium from the Lingyin Pavilion. Thanks to your righteous help, brother, if you ever need anything, just send me a message in my dream.”

They brought a lot of medicinal herbs with them, and after a simple bandage and taking the medicine, they rested on the sofa and explained the reasons to Jiang Chen in detail.

Celestial Masters in the human realm are divided into two types: civil and military.

The Listening Wind Valley, which suppresses and expels the original owner, belongs to a faction with high combat power. Most of them are commissioned to deal with fierce ghosts and evil spirits. They would rather take action than talk.

As disciples of the Listening Pavilion, Duan Tang and his group preferred a more administrative role—as underworld travelers. They would accept commissions to go to the underworld to gather information and send it back to the human world, generally only using words and not engaging in combat.

Humans and ghosts are different. In order to avoid getting entangled in complicated karma, people who travel to the underworld usually wear masks and do not reveal their true faces or names to ghosts, so as not to provoke those they should not provoke and cause trouble for themselves.

For this pilgrimage to the underworld, Duan Tang and his team accepted a simple commission that cost a high price.

A wealthy old man spent a large sum of money to hire a spirit medium to search for his friend's prematurely deceased daughter in the underworld.

It is said that a friend had a daughter late in life, but she died suddenly at the age of twenty-two. Her parents were heartbroken and fell ill from missing their daughter. The old man felt pity for her and asked the people of Lingyin Pavilion to invite the spirit of the young girl who died young to meet her family one last time.

Originally, when Duan Tang and the others accepted the commission, they had asked about the whole story clearly. The girl's birth date and time of death also matched up. So they accepted the commission and went all the way to the ghost market of the Dujiang Yinjie branch.

Unexpectedly, the little girl was quite lucky. She was just wandering in the wilderness, being harassed and bullied by other ghosts, when she was hiding. She was accidentally spotted by the Ghost King, who bought her a pass, brought her into the Ghost Market, and took her as a concubine, raising her in luxury.

When Duan Tang and his group arrived, the girl was in the spotlight.

Upon hearing that her parents were ill with longing, she tearfully begged the Ghost King to allow her to see her family one last time. The Ghost King, moved by her plight, agreed and personally oversaw Duan Tang and the others as they performed the ritual to send the girl's soul to her new home.

Everything was normal at first, but unexpectedly, after the girl's soul was attached to the spirit medium and she had only said a few words, a stranger suddenly appeared and extracted most of the energy from the girl's soul, transferring it to a sickly living person!

Duan Tang and the others had limited views from below and didn't react immediately.

However, after the other party extracted the ghost's energy, they unilaterally severed the connection. Duan Tang hurriedly pulled the girl's soul back, but she only had a sliver of life left, and her soul was about to dissipate and she was about to die.

Seeing this, the Ghost King felt he had been tricked and was furious. The two sides started fighting. Duan Tang and his group suffered a loss and ran away from the Ghost King's mansion. Fortunately, they met Jiang Chen and temporarily escaped a disaster.

Chapter Five: Reunion

"The new residential complex in Dujiang is right next to the main road—you'll always be just one step away from anywhere!"

"Hotly available ready-to-move-in homes – Ziyu Huafu: Live in a garden home and enjoy a high-quality lifestyle!"

"Don't miss out! Yipin Guishi Lily and Red Date Porridge is half price on a first-come, first-served basis!"

"The carriage to the shore of Poshui Lake is about to depart. There are three seats left. Passengers who need seats should hurry up and get on the carriage."

"Fuhuilong is having a big sale today! All drinks are 20% off, plus many other great deals. Please inquire in-store for details..."

…………

The bright lights of the ghost market illuminated the wide streets as if it were daytime, and ghosts in various costumes floated everywhere. The ancient buildings were mixed with modern items, giving Jiang Chen the illusion of traveling through time and space.

[Mission: Purchase a villa for your brother, Murong Liangchen, within two days and invite him to move in. Reward: One-time use C-grade item x1.]

Jiang Chen: ? ? ?

"What's going on? Wasn't a task just issued recently?"

"Uh..." the fluffy dumpling scratched its ear, "It's probably a problem with the main system that caused this mess. I don't know if I can just skip the missions. Or, we can just do whichever mission is more urgent first!"

With a large sum of money in his pocket, Jiang Chen first bought a map of Dujiang Ghost Market, then consulted with an agent and selected a luxurious lakeside villa.

It's a bit pricey, but the location is excellent, the scenery is beautiful, and the safety level is high. More importantly, it's a large detached villa with two underground floors, and the small storage room at the deepest part is perfect for converting into a dungeon.