At the market.
Song Chengan bought some rouge, fine bolts of cloth, and books.
Whenever Song Chengan had gone to the An Family to see his sister in the past, he had never brought anything. All he had wanted was to swindle some money from his sister so he could enjoy himself at the Gambling House.
The last time he went, he had brought nothing either.
Because at the time, his pockets had truly been empty.
But now that he had money, the first thing he thought of was buying something for his sister.
That Cat Demon had not followed Song Chengan.
She had taken to heart what Song Chengan said yesterday and had come over early today.
But Song Chengan worried that something might happen if he brought her along, so he had told her to wait for him by the city gate.
The An Family's rear courtyard.
Song Chengan imitated a magpie's call a few times.
Before long.
The small rear gate opened.
"Chengan, what is it?" Song Cui looked at her younger brother and asked.
"Sis, I bought some cloth and some books for you and Mingxu."
Song Chengan smiled.
Song Cui was stunned for a long while.
Then her eyes gradually reddened.
Those things were not priceless treasures, but they were the first gifts her younger brother had ever given her.
"My Chengan has grown up!"
She wanted to stroke Song Chengan's head, but at some point, he had already grown taller than her.
"Chengan, come in. I'll have them make you something to eat."
She said.
"No, Sis."
Song Chengan shook his head. "If my brother-in-law sees me, he'll be unhappy again."
"I'll come see you next time."
"It's about to rain. I should go."
"I'll get you an umbrella."
Song Cui said. A fine drizzle had already begun to fall from the sky.
"No need, Sis. I'll come see you again after a while. I don't go to the Gambling House anymore."
As Song Chengan spoke, he waved and ran into the rain.
He was not someone respectable now, and he worried that if Steward An saw him, it would make things difficult for his sister again.
So after giving the things to his sister, he hurried away.
Song Cui stood there blankly for a while.
Then a gratified expression appeared on her face.
"My Chengan is a good child after all."
She turned and went back into the courtyard.
But the moment she shut the door, Song Cui's face turned deathly pale with fright.
Steward An stood in the courtyard, expressionless.
"I was wondering why magpies were calling in the rear courtyard in weather like this."
"So it was that plague-ridden brother of yours coming again."
"Taking things from the household to subsidize that brother of yours again?"
Song Cui hurriedly explained, "No, no, Master, it was Chengan..."
"Enough."
An Ruifeng could not be bothered to listen to an explanation from a concubine. "I've told you many times not to associate with that person."
"My An Family is a prominent household. Associating with someone like him damages our reputation."
"Don't leave the residence for the rest of this month."
"Your monthly allowance will be cut in half as well." He spoke impatiently.
Recently, a shipment of tea from the estate had been robbed by the bandits of Boulder Mountain, and he had to pay silver to ransom it back.
Already vexed, he then saw his own concubine taking things from the household to support her gambling-addicted good-for-nothing brother. How could his mood possibly be good?
"Yes."
Song Cui lowered her head.
"Take these things back to the storeroom."
Song Cui offered no more explanations and merely returned silently to her own courtyard.
"Third Madam, the First Madam of the An Family is here!"
Song Cui stood up.
A woman in her fifties entered.
The First Madam of the An Family, Madam Liu.
She had originally been An Ruifeng's maid. After An Ruifeng's first wife died, he had elevated her to become his principal wife.
The First Madam of the An Family gave Song Cui a cold look. "I heard you took household things to subsidize that brother of yours again?"
Song Cui said, "First Madam of the An Family, I didn't."
"All these years, I've only used my own monthly allowance."
The First Madam of the An Family shook her head. "Isn't your monthly allowance still money from the An Family?"
She glanced at the books on the table. "You even bought books? With your brother reading them, I'm afraid he'll only disgrace the teachings of the sages."
"You are a woman, after all. Though he is your younger brother, he is still a man."
"The two of you are always carrying on like this. If outsiders see it, it will damage your reputation."
"Don't do this again in the future."
"A gambling-addicted man like him should be left to fend for himself."
"Let this be the last time."
"For the rest of this month, stay in your room and do not go out. I'll have someone deliver your three meals a day."
The First Madam of the An Family left after saying that.
Song Cui said nothing.
She simply sat quietly.
After a while, the tears in her eyes could no longer be held back.
An Mingxu looked to be twelve or thirteen at the time.
He had been playing in the courtyard under a maid's care. When he came in and saw his mother crying.
He could only stare blankly.
Song Cui felt even more wronged.
She hugged her son.
"If only you hadn't been born foolish."
"Alright, that's all for today. Go play, everyone."
Song Chengan said.
As his words fell.
The gathered demons immediately cheered. Some went through the door, while others jumped out the windows.
In the blink of an eye, they had vanished without a trace.
The only ones left were the Black Bear outside the door, First Boss Bai, the taciturn Second Boss Huang, the Black Cat, a weasel, and a Grey Squirrel.
"Since there's nothing else, I'll be leaving too." The weasel clasped its paws like a human.
Then it transformed into a cloud of yellow smoke and fled.
The Grey Squirrel cupped its paws, leaped out of the house, then plunged into the earth and vanished.
"I'll go patrol the mountain." Second Boss Huang left.
"Then This Old Bear will go catch some prey. Tonight, Scholar Song, let's have a drink, and you can keep telling me stories about the Great Sage."
The Black Bear departed amid earth-shaking tremors.
"Senior Bai."
"Your Cultivation Level has improved by another sliver." First Boss Bai looked at Song Chengan. "It seems you fought someone?"
Song Chengan did not hide it. "A Monster was harming living beings, so I fought it."
First Boss Bai nodded. "Demons are bloodthirsty by nature. It is a habit they cannot change."
Song Chengan did not respond. He felt it was rather inappropriate to discuss this topic with First Boss Bai.
After all, the other party was a Monster himself.
"Senior Bai."
"This junior came this time to ask whether there is a cultivator's market in Spirit Mound?"
Song Chengan nodded. "I recently came into some silver and want to buy some pills that can aid cultivation."
"But Lingqiu City seems to have no place that sells pills."
"Yet I believe that even cultivators must trade with one another, so I guessed that Lingqiu City must have a small circle belonging to cultivators."
"I wanted to ask Senior Bai how to enter this circle and buy what I need."
First Boss Bai said, "You mean the Ghost Market?"
"The Ghost Market?"
"The Ghost Market was originally created by mortals, who traded things of unknown origin there."
"Later, cultivators borrowed this model, since some things in their hands truly were unsuitable for mortals to see."
"How does one enter this Ghost Market?" Song Chengan asked.
"You need a Ghost Token."
"A Ghost Token?"
"That's right."
"I'll give you an address in Lingqiu City. Go there and pay eight taels of silver and eight copper coins, and you can obtain a Ghost Token."
"The token will tell you how to enter the Ghost Market."
"But how many valuable things do you have now?"
"I have over a hundred taels of silver and a Demon Core from a Dao Seed Realm demon beast."
"Silver? The Ghost Market doesn't take ordinary silver." Boss Bai laughed upon hearing this.
"That Demon Core should be worth something."
"They prefer Talisman Coins."
"Talisman Coins?"
"A specially made magical artifact. They can restore the true qi in one's body, slay demons, ward off evil, and protect a residence."
The Eight Boss took out a copper coin and placed it on the table.
Song Chengan picked it up for a look.
On the right side of the copper coin was engraved "Slay Ghosts," and on the left, "Thunder Edict." Daoist talismans were inscribed between them.
The Eight Trigrams were engraved on the back.
"The spiritual power within can be absorbed to restore true qi, but after it is used, it loses its power and becomes an ordinary object."
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