Early the next morning.
In front of the earthen house, more than a dozen Lantern Ghosts crowded around the window.
The Lantern Ghosts stared greedily into the house, veins bulging on their heads as they called out themselves hoarse, "Look at me, look at me!!"
Yang He turned a blind eye to them, closing his eyes to use the Ghost Eye to assist in refining the Yin Meridian. From time to time, he chatted with Old Man Yang, who was hanging clothes out in the yard.
Ever since Old Man Yang had taken up a government post, he could only rest for half a day every five days.
"A He, it won't be long before we can move out of the western part of the city. Your father has already been looking for a bigger courtyard. There should be news soon."
"Father, there's no rush."
Yang He could not help but sigh. Old Man Yang had spent many years posing as a vegetable merchant, and their life had always been tight. Yet after being recruited by the Tiger Ghost, he now seemed to have quite a surplus of silver.
More than half of the Yin Meridian had already been refined, and the surrounding yin energy gathered toward the Ghost Eye.
Not only was his yang energy unaffected, but his Three Fires grew even stronger, making him a sweet-and-savory delicacy in the eyes of ghosts.
The black cat was utterly lost in catnip, looking completely high as it struck all kinds of incomprehensible poses.
Yang He was thoroughly irritated by the Lantern Ghosts' clamor, yet he could not reveal the slightest abnormality.
The Lantern Ghosts were merely at the Weak Ghost stage, but there were simply too many of them. One careless mistake, and he would become corpse oil for lighting lamps.
"Ah..."
Yang He's state of mind became unsettled, yet the speed at which he refined the Yin Meridian actually increased.
It was clear that "cultivation is cultivation of the heart" was complete nonsense in this world.
Everyone was raising ghosts. Eagerly seeking quick gains was the superior path.
Yang He opened his eyes. An additional crimson bloodshot vein had appeared in the white of his Ghost Eye. The Yin Meridian had been completely refined, while the Ghost Eye remained as easy to command as an arm or finger.
He took out a stone pestle for grinding medicine and began crushing the Incense and Candles of the Earthbound Ghost.
The incense and candles turned to powder. Faint blood seeped from the yin item, and before long, it formed a lump of pungent, foul-smelling paste.
"A He, lunch is in the kitchen. Don't forget to fill your stomach..."
Old Man Yang put on his constable's uniform, fastened a saber at his waist, and prepared to leave the courtyard to patrol the streets.
"The market has all sorts of people lately. I heard several merchant associations caught a large number of Treasure Fish. The martial halls in the city will probably be paying attention to this matter."
Yang He's hand paused as he ground the incense and candles, a vague sense of unease rising in his heart.
"A He, try not to go to the market. Even Head Constable Sun at the yamen has been alerted. This Treasure Fish outbreak is truly strange."
Old Man Yang left the courtyard after saying that.
Meow~~
Noticing that Yang He was no longer refining qi, the black cat shamelessly begged for yin energy.
Yang He could not be bothered with the black cat. He stood at the doorway and looked toward the market.
The market was packed with people. Every martial hall had sent instructors over, and it probably would not be long before the Treasure Fish were transported into Peibai City.
"I should finish tempering the yin artifact first. If I wait too long, it will affect the quality of the incense and candles."
Yang He returned to the house and smeared the paste over the surface of the Copper-Coin Sword.
The yin artifact immediately became active. The paste could be seen gradually vanishing into the Copper-Coin Sword, while the one hundred and eight copper coins grew increasingly hard.
He did not know how to temper a yin artifact, so he tentatively guided yin energy to taint the copper coins.
As the Copper-Coin Sword absorbed the paste, specks of crimson rust appeared along its body.
Blood Copper Coin Sword A Low-grade Yin Artifact made from burial copper coins. Tempered with the Incense and Candles of the Earthbound Ghost, it possessed a degree of spirituality. Not only could it injure Living People, it was also remarkably effective against Weak Ghosts. The Copper-Coin Sword's weakness was still its fragile material, though it had improved considerably.
Yang He ran his hand over the sword. Its yin energy vanished from sight, and he tucked it into his chest without even wrapping it in cloth, no longer worried that others would notice it.
"If my master were to refine it further, the Copper-Coin Sword would have great potential."
Yang He locked the door and walked out of the courtyard, while the black cat bared its teeth in excitement.
Only then did he notice that a merchant caravan was delivering large vats containing Treasure Fish to the market. Carriages arriving from outside the city came one after another without end.
"Ugh."
Yang He covered his mouth and nose. The Treasure Fish carried an indescribable fishy stench.
He followed the crowd to the market, but instead of trying to squeeze inside, he went to a teahouse on the neighboring street and ordered a pot of tea.
"Welcome in, honored guest! Today's fish catch is plentiful, and your tea comes with a plate of pastries!"
The Shop Assistant dusted Yang He off and respectfully led him to an elegant window-side seat.
Yang He found it rather interesting for a moment, silently weighing the silver in his pocket. The Great Replenishing Pill had cost him quite a bit earlier, leaving him with only seven taels and thirteen copper coins.
"Honored guest, would you prefer this year's freshly picked tea or aged tea brewed from old leaves?"
"Fresh tea."
A moment later, the tea and pastries were brought before Yang He.
Yang He's mouth twitched. He noticed that the tea smelled foul and fishy. It had most likely been tainted by the yin energy of the Treasure Fish when the place was ventilated.
He had no interest in tasting the tea for the moment and used Spiritual Vision to observe the market.
The market buzzed with voices as large vats were continuously carried into the open space. The vats were lined up neatly, numbering no fewer than thirty.
Yang He clicked his tongue. "Damn it, did they poke a Hungry Ghost nest?"
It was not yet the season for the tides to rise in Jialiang Water Town. There were still at least two or three months to go, and even during high tide, there would be at most a dozen or so Treasure Fish.
Yang He kept his eyes fixed on the market as the fish slaughtering drew wave after wave of cheers.
"It's practically a parade of a hundred ghosts. Why hasn't the yamen stopped the merchant associations from slaughtering Hungry Ghosts? Could it be that strange objects themselves can also bring about... disaster?"
Twelve butchers raised and dropped their blades, skillfully gutting the Treasure Fish.
But butchers grew tired eventually. When a Treasure Fish occasionally died too early, grotesque Hungry Ghosts began crawling out from inside its body.
Everywhere Yang He looked, there were Hungry Ghosts.
The Hungry Ghosts gathered in groups atop the surrounding roofs, crawling low as they peered at Living People.
Although several merchant associations had joined forces, Shopkeeper Chen was the one leading them.
Not only was he not angered by the loss of the Treasure Fish, he waved his hand amid the crowd's discussions and said, "We did not handle the Treasure Fish properly. Please forgive the embarrassment, fellow townsfolk."
"How about this? Everyone may have a taste of the fish meat that has lost its medicinal properties."
More than a dozen cooks stepped forward and sliced the fish into thin, cicada-wing-like pieces, after which merchant association clerks delivered them to the surrounding onlookers.
"We people of the water town love raw fish salad most of all. We'll have to trouble the master chefs to put in some extra effort."
The townsfolk sampled the fish and praised it repeatedly, making Yang He's scalp prickle.
Even though the Hungry Ghosts had already left their bodies, and eating the fish would not turn the townsfolk into Martial Artists, the scene was simply too absurd and bizarre.
It was something that could only exist in the Eighteen Layers of Hell.
The butchers removed the fish stomachs intact, while the Hungry Ghost flesh and blood was sold on the spot to the various martial halls.
A Martial Artist said impatiently, "Shopkeeper Chen Baosheng, could it be that your merchant associations have joined forces to hold the fish stomachs back and drive up the price?"
"Of course not."
Shopkeeper Chen added with a smile, "We will sort through the items inside the fish stomachs, then set up a temporary stall at the southwestern corner of the market."
"Additionally, the merchant associations have caught a rare century-old Treasure Fish."
Yang He looked surprised as he noticed a lone carriage approaching.
His Spiritual Vision stirred, and his temples throbbed.
There was no ghost inside the carriage. Yang He had only experienced something similar once before—when Spiritual Vision sensed a mundane object.
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