Stone Forest Ghost Market

Stone Forest Ghost Market lay dozens of li west of Red Maple Ferry.

It had originally been nothing more than a naturally formed, treacherous stone forest. Its terrain was complex, riddled with caves, and resembled a maze.

Later, a mysterious group of martial world figures settled there, specializing in the underground trade of martial artists.

Thus, the Stone Forest Ghost Market of today came into being.

The terrain inside the stone forest was complex, and without someone to lead the way, ordinary people would have great difficulty finding the Ghost Market.

But Liu Qing was clearly not one of them.

"You've been to the Ghost Market before?"

Seeing Liu Qing lead the way ahead with practiced ease, Xia Qi'an asked curiously.

"Is that strange? That's precisely what Snake Guards do!" Liu Qing replied casually.

The two were dressed in black robes, concealing their figures, with masks covering their faces.

Those who came to the Stone Forest Ghost Market were a mixed crowd with complicated identities. Every sort of person could be found there.

Thus, most people who came here chose to conceal their true appearances.

Once they entered the true Ghost Market, the scene before them suddenly opened up.

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, Xia Qi'an would never have imagined that so many people lived within this stone forest.

The Ghost Market lay in a hollow valley underground, surrounded on all sides by sheer rock walls.

Stalls had been carved out along the rock walls, while a circular stone walkway spiraled upward from below, linking the entire Ghost Market together.

The levels rose and fell in orderly fashion, laid out like a market built upon the rock walls.

As Xia Qi'an passed a stall, he accidentally glimpsed several nearly rotten stone tablets.

These stone tablets were ancient, and the writing on them had become blurred beyond recognition.

Xia Qi'an stopped without revealing anything, pretending to wander around casually.

Then he walked over to the stall.

The stall owner was an old man dressed in coarse hemp clothing, with dark, weathered skin.

"Old man... do you know where these things came from?"

Xia Qi'an picked up a stone tablet, weighed it in his hand a few times, and asked.

Anyone who could do business in the black market was naturally no ordinary person. "This old man doesn't know where they came from! I only know they were dug out of the mountain!"

"Oh?... How much for these stone tablets?"

The old man held up three fingers. "Three hundred taels for the lot!"

Seeing that Xia Qi'an seemed interested in the stone tablets, the old man probed, "Guest, can you read the writing on them?"

Xia Qi'an shook his head and said calmly, "I can't! It's just that I've never seen this kind of writing anywhere in You Province, so I grew curious!"

When the old man saw that Xia Qi'an did not know the origin of the writing either, he said somewhat disappointedly, "To tell you the truth, this old man spent several years trying to decipher the writing on the stone tablets, but he never managed it. That's why I brought them to the black market to sell!"

The few stone tablets displayed before the old man were indeed carved with some blurred writing.

However, Xia Qi'an actually recognized the writing.

Because what had been carved onto the stone tablets was Sanskrit.

According to ancient records of You Province's history, the Buddhist Sect had once been introduced into You Province.

For some unknown reason, however, the Buddhist Sect had never spread throughout You Province.

It had gradually vanished without a trace in the long river of history.

Xia Qi'an dared say that there were few people in all of You Province who could recognize Sanskrit, let alone decipher its contents.

After a round of haggling, Xia Qi'an generously bought all the stone tablets for fifty taels.

After casually wrapping the three stone tablets in cloth, he deliberately lowered his voice. "Old man... have four martial artists from out of town come to the Stone Forest Ghost Market recently?"

The old man suddenly understood. So these two had come to investigate for information.

At this, the old man pressed his lips tightly together, pretending not to hear.

Seeing this, Xia Qi'an knew that he wanted money.

He tossed fifty taels of silver in front of him.

Only then did the old man slowly open his eyes. "A few days ago, four unfamiliar faces did indeed come by! From their attire, they didn't look like locals from Jinling. They hired people from the black market to move several large chests!"

"Are those people still in the black market?" Xia Qi'an pressed.

At this, the old man shook the silver in his hand again, wearing a half-smile. "That's the second piece of news!"

Seeing this, Xia Qi'an had no choice but take out another fifty taels and hand them over.

There was no helping it. That was simply the rule when asking for information in the Ghost Market.

"They went to the deepest part of the black market! They must be with the Big Boss!"

At that moment, Liu Qing, standing behind him, tugged on Xia Qi'an's black robe, signaling that they had learned enough.

Only then did Xia Qi'an hoist the bundle onto his back and leave.

Liu Qing walked shoulder to shoulder with Xia Qi'an and lowered her voice. "This is going to be difficult! The Big Boss of the Ghost Market is Qiu Qianshi, a Late Bone Forging Realm martial artist. As far as I know, he seems to have some connection with Lord Chu..."

"You mean Chu Shiqing was involved in this case too?" Xia Qi'an's expression turned solemn.

Liu Qing hesitated. "I can't be certain!... Chu Shiqing has been the Snake Guard Commander for many years and has had the most dealings with all sorts of people. He also took part in running the Ghost Market. Since the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang came to the Ghost Market, Chu Shiqing must have known about it!"

"He simply never expected us to track down the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang through the corpses of the Soft Tendon Gu. That's why he brazenly let people from Wei Dao Si investigate the case. Am I right?" Xia Qi'an analyzed, stroking his chin.

"Mm..." Liu Qing nodded slightly.

"It really is difficult... We truly have no chance to move against the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang in this Ghost Market!" Xia Qi'an furrowed his brows and said, troubled.

At this point, Liu Qing reminded him again, "However... rumor has it that every one of the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang is a lustful fiend who loves frequenting pleasure quarters! The black market is full of rough men doing business. They surely won't be able to hold themselves back and will come out sooner or later to seek pleasure!"

Xia Qi'an had not expected such a turnabout and could not help praising her. "As expected of an experienced Snake Guard. I'm impressed!"

At his words, the corners of Liu Qing's lips lifted slightly, like a flower in full bloom.

Afterward, Xia Qi'an and Liu Qing stood on opposite sides, like two door gods, each guarding one of the Stone Forest Ghost Market's two exits.

The moment they saw the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang appear, they would contact each other with a special whistle.

Sure enough.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang lasted only one day in the Ghost Market before they could no longer hold themselves back.

Thus, the four brothers walked out of the stone forest with their arms around one another's shoulders, preparing to sneak into Jinling. They resembled four hungry wolves, impatient to find their prey.

When Liu Qing saw the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang emerge, she quickly informed Xia Qi'an and summoned him to meet her.

The two did not act rashly. Instead, they followed secretly all the way like ghosts.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang were said to be descendants of a certain martial world sect, which had once been famous throughout the land.

After that sect was destroyed, the four became like wild horses breaking free of their reins, roaming the martial world and turning into notorious bandits.

The four of them had cultivated the same movement technique since childhood, one called Ghostly Hidden Traces. This technique had four levels, each carved onto the back of one of the four brothers.

After discussing it, the two felt that acting now would be too risky. As the saying went, "Haste won't let you eat hot tofu."

Since these four brothers liked playing with women, it would be safest to wait until they were enjoying themselves at the height of their pleasure before making a move.

However, as fate would have it, the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang chose to go to Jinling City to drink and visit the pleasure quarters.

After disguising themselves, the four slipped into Jinling City with ease, like civet cats.

They headed straight for Misty Rain Alley, Jinling City's most famous pleasure district.

Misty Rain Alley contained more than a dozen brothels and pleasure houses. It could be called Jinling City's largest den of indulgence.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang had also come after hearing of its fame, sparing no effort to make the journey.

Once inside Jinling City, the four disguised themselves as wealthy merchants and swaggered into a brothel called Wind Moon Pavilion.

The four brothers each held a woman in his arms, wearing smug expressions. They had no idea that Liu Qing had already slipped inside and was waiting for an opportunity to poison the wine they were drinking.