A Big Profit

Just thinking about how twenty-three sticks of Spirit Incense had vanished like that made Qin Yang's heart ache. West of Green Forest City lay the Mass Burial Ground, along with tomb clusters that had existed for at least several thousand years. There were plenty of ghosts there, and quite a few cultivators who controlled or raised ghosts, so Spirit Incense was in high demand.

One stick of Spirit Incense—from gathering materials, to finishing the rolling, to drying and nurturing it—even with his own decent skills, took at least a month to produce a finished product. One hundred First Grade Spirit Stones per stick, no haggling. This was the high-end product of a general store, the flagship item.

In the blink of an eye, over two thousand spirit stones were gone. Qin Yang's heart ached so much his liver trembled...

A rough calculation showed that nearly a month's profit had just evaporated.

Add in that stick of Bodhi Incense mixed in with the Spirit Incense, and forty days of profit were gone...

Now, looking at the pile of ghosts lying on the ground, Qin Yang couldn't hold back his rising anger. He wished he could just kill these ghosts...

Unfortunately, that was just a thought. Spirit Incense was indeed beneficial for ghosts, but these ghosts were clearly all penniless wretches who had probably never been so extravagant before. They definitely didn't know that lighting Spirit Incense stick after stick, inhaling too much at once, while granting great benefits, also left them dazed like drunkenness, sinking into a stupor.

Add in that stick of Bodhi Incense, used together, it greatly amplified the Spirit Incense's effects, bringing even more benefits, but the incense drunkenness was also far more severe.

If the Spirit Incense hadn't needed some time to take effect, he wouldn't have had to come here, wait until the ghosts had let their guard down, before daring to use it...

"Though the investment wasn't small, the harvest isn't either. Harvest season has arrived, and the farmer uncle shows a simple, honest smile..." Qin Yang pursed his lips in a suppressed grin as he walked through the courtyard, collecting the Storage Bags from each of these ghosts.

He casually opened a few to check, then curled his lip.

"Really a bunch of paupers..."

Opening a few at random, the Storage Bags only held some First Grade Spirit Stones, or else a few low-grade herbs, all produced near the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb, suited for growing in environments rich in Yin Qi. Their grades weren't high, at most worth a few dozen spirit stones each.

All together, they weren't even worth the value of the Storage Bags themselves...

Qin Yang couldn't be bothered to look further. After gathering them all up, he pulled a Bone Urn from his own Storage Bag. The urn was gray and dusty, its surface seeming coated in a layer of grime, looking very inconspicuous. But this thing was a genuine mid-grade Magical Artifact, the best one Qin Yang had on hand.

It was also something he'd drawn from equipment before. Its name was the Bone Urn of the Ancient Ghost. Besides holding ghosts, it had no other use. He'd wandered around the Mass Burial Ground before, caught some lingering souls, but their price was too low, not even worth the effort. To catch Ghost Soldiers, he'd have to enter the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb's range, and the risk was too high. In the end, the Bone Urn had just been left to gather dust in his Storage Bag...

He never expected it to come in so handy this time...

"Low-grade Ghost Soldier, average price fifty spirit stones. Mid-grade Ghost Soldier, average price two hundred. High-grade Ghost Soldier, average price five hundred..." Qin Yang muttered to himself as he picked up Ghost Soldiers from the ground and tossed them into the Bone Urn. After stuffing all the ghosts in the courtyard into the urn, he did a quick tally of the total price and couldn't help grinning from ear to ear.

"This time, I hit the jackpot..."

Turning back to the rear courtyard, he looked at the female ghost sprawled on the bed in deep sleep, sighing with regret.

Too bad this female ghost had already reached the Ghost Soldier realm. Once she woke up, the Bone Urn probably wouldn't be able to hold her. Add in the over two hundred Ghost Soldiers of varying strength inside, and they could definitely break out. Then he'd be done for...

A Ghost Soldier, especially one this close to a living person, clearly of excellent quality, would cost at least three thousand spirit stones to start...

What a pity...

Qin Yang lamented inwardly as he casually took the female ghost's Storage Bag, which looked like an embroidered purse set aside beside her, wrote a note and placed it on the table, then turned and walked out without looking back.

Knowing when to stop was how you lived longer. Being too greedy could really cost you your life.

Leaving the manor, there were still some ghosts lying dead asleep at the entrance. Their strength was too low, and Qin Yang couldn't be bothered to collect them. He lit a stick of clear incense, letting the smoke shroud his body, then strode out at a brisk pace.

Before long, a thin mist drifted, and the manor behind him vanished, replaced by a gloomy, eerie tomb. Stone beasts guarded both sides. The tomb's main entrance gaped open. Coming out through the entrance, he walked through a dozen-zhang-long tomb passage before finally returning to the surface.

Turning back to look, he saw a small memorial archway one zhang high on the tomb, inscribed with three large characters: Tomb of the Virtuous Consort.

"Virtuous Consort?" Qin Yang was momentarily stunned, thinking to himself that within three thousand li of Green Forest City, there was no mortal kingdom. Whose consort was this?

The thought flashed by, and Qin Yang dismissed it, quickly leaving the area. When he reached the edge of the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb, he found an empty spot and buried the two clients from before there.

After finishing that, he hurriedly left the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb, following a small path back to Green Forest City.

This time, he didn't go straight back to the west of the city. Instead, he detoured to the south, arriving at a secluded coffin shop.

"Old Ghost Hei, taking delivery." With a low shout, an old man with a gloomy face, dressed in burial clothes, walked out from the back. He was wreathed in Yin Qi, looking nothing like a living person.

But Qin Yang knew the score well. It was said this old ghost had kept up the appearance of being on the verge of stepping into a coffin for decades. Word had it that decades ago, he'd already put on burial clothes and built his own coffin, just waiting to breathe his last...

But decades had passed, and the old ghost was still the same. Everyone had gotten used to it by now...

He'd come to this old ghost because Old Ghost Hei was a middleman specializing in ghost trafficking, with a decent reputation. Plus, this time his shipment was a bit large, so he didn't trust anyone else. Old Ghost Hei was the safest bet. After all, if those Ghost Soldiers woke up, that would be real trouble...

Qin Yang casually set the Bone Urn on the table, then stepped back, signaling the old ghost to take a look.

Old Ghost Hei placed his hand on the Bone Urn. In just a few breaths, his half-dead, drooping eyelids suddenly lifted, his gaze sharp as he looked at Qin Yang, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Big business..."

"Give me a price."

"One hundred sixty-three low-grade Ghost Soldiers, thirty-two mid-grade, nine high-grade. Eighteen thousand one spirit stones, plus a free piece of advice. Deal?"

"Deal." Qin Yang did a quick mental calculation based on the average prices. The offer wasn't unreasonable. Old Ghost Hei had to make a profit too.

"Straight to the point. The advice is: don't go back to the Nether Acacia Ghost Tomb anymore, or you'll die ugly..."