Stone Forest Ghost Market

The Stone Forest Ghost Market is located a few dozen miles west of Red Maple Ferry.

Originally, it was just a naturally formed, treacherous stone forest. Due to its complex internal terrain and numerous caves, it resembled a labyrinth.

Later, a group of mysterious martial artists moved in, specializing in underground dealings for warriors.

Thus, the current Stone Forest Ghost Market was formed.

The internal terrain of the stone forest is complex, and without a guide, it's difficult for ordinary people to find the ghost market.

However, Liu Qing was clearly not among them.

"You've been to the ghost market before?"

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

"Is that strange? Snake Guards are supposed to do this!" Liu Qing replied casually.

The two were currently dressed in black robes, concealing their figures and wearing masks.

The Stone Forest Ghost Market was a mixed bag of people, with complex identities from all walks of life.

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

Upon entering the actual ghost market, the scene before them suddenly opened up.

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

The ghost market was located in a hollow valley underground, with rock walls encircling the surroundings.

Stalls were carved into the rock walls along the path, forming a circular stone walkway that connected the entire ghost market from bottom to top.

The layout was staggered and layered, resembling a marketplace built into the rock face.

As Xia Qi'an passed a stall, he inadvertently caught sight of several nearly decayed stone tablets.

These stone tablets were ancient, and the text on them was blurred and difficult to decipher.

Xia Qi'an stopped without showing any outward reaction, pretending to be casually browsing.

Then, he approached the stall.

The stall owner was an old man dressed in coarse linen, with dark skin.

"Elder... what's the origin of these items?"

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

The old man, being able to do business in the black market, was naturally no ordinary person: "This old man doesn't know their origin! I only know they were dug out from the mountain!"

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

The old man held up three fingers and said, "Three hundred taels, for the lot!"

Seeing Xia Qi'an's apparent interest in the stone tablets, the old man probed, "Does the customer recognize the script on them?"

Xia Qi'an shook his head and calmly replied, "No! I've just never seen this script in You Province before, so I was a bit curious!"

The old man, seeing that Xia Qi'an didn't know the origin of the script either, said with some disappointment, "To be honest! I've spent years trying to decipher the script on these stone tablets, but I couldn't. That's why I brought them to the black market to sell!"

On the stone tablets displayed in front of the old man, there were indeed some blurred characters carved.

However, Xia Qi'an could actually recognize these characters.

Because the stone tablets were inscribed with Sanskrit.

According to ancient texts from You Province's history, Buddhism had been introduced to You Province at some point.

However, for unknown reasons, Buddhism never spread widely in You Province.

As a result, it gradually faded into obscurity over the course of history.

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

After some bargaining, 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 and said, "Elder... have four unfamiliar martial artists visited the Stone Forest Ghost Market recently?"

The old man suddenly understood that these two were here to gather information.

Regarding this, the old man kept his lips tightly sealed, as if he hadn't heard anything.

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

He then threw fifty taels of silver in front of him.

Only then did the old man slowly open his eyes: "Yes, a few days ago, four unfamiliar faces came. Their attire suggested they weren't from Jinling City. They hired people from the black market to move several large chests!"

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

Hearing this, the old man waved the silver in his hand again and said with a half-smile, "That's the second piece of information!"

Seeing this, Xia Qi'an was helpless and had to take out another fifty taels of silver and hand it to him.

There was no other way; the rules for inquiring for information in the ghost market were like this.

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

At this moment, Liu Qing, standing behind him, tugged at Xia Qi'an's black robe, signaling that he had seen enough.

Xia Qi'an shouldered his pack and got up to leave.

Walking alongside Xia Qi'an, Liu Qing lowered her voice and said, "This makes things difficult! The boss of the Ghost Market is Qiu Qianshi, a martial artist in the Late Bone Forging Realm. As far as I know, he seems to have some connection with Lord Chu..."

"You mean... Chu Shiqing is also involved in this case?" Xia Qi'an asked, his expression grave.

Liu Qing hesitated before replying, "I can't be sure! ...Chu Shiqing has been the commander of the Snake Guards for many years and has the most contact with people from all walks of life. He's also involved in the Ghost Market's operations. Since the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang came to the Ghost Market, I'm sure Chu Shiqing must have known!"

"He just didn't expect us to be able to track down the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang through the corpse of the Soft Tendon Gu. That's why he confidently let the Wei Dao Si investigate this case. Right?" Xia Qi'an mused, tapping his chin.

"Mm...!" Liu Qing nodded slightly.

"It's indeed difficult... I really don't have a chance to make a move on the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang in this Ghost Market!" Xia Qi'an frowned, looking troubled.

At this moment, Liu Qing reminded him, "However... rumor has it that the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang are all lecherous devils who enjoy frequenting places of pleasure! This black market is filled with rough businessmen, so they must be unable to resist and will eventually come out to seek enjoyment!"

Xia Qi'an hadn't expected such a turn of events and couldn't help but praise, "As expected of an experienced Snake Guard, I'm impressed!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing's lips curved upwards, like a blooming flower.

Afterward, Xia Qi'an and Liu Qing stood on either side, like two guardian deities, guarding the two exits of the Stone Forest Ghost Market.

Once they spotted the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, they would use a special whistle to communicate.

As expected.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang, after staying in the Ghost Market for only one day, couldn't hold back any longer.

Thus, the four brothers, arm in arm, walked out of the Stone Forest, preparing to sneak into Jinling, like four hungry wolves, eager to find their prey.

Seeing the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang appear, Liu Qing quickly notified Xia Qi'an to meet up.

The two did not act rashly but followed them like phantoms, secretly trailing them.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang were rumored to be descendants of a certain martial arts sect that was once famous.

After the sect was destroyed, the four became like wild horses that had broken free from their reins, wandering the jianghu and becoming notorious bandits.

Furthermore, all four of them had practiced a movement technique called "Ghostly Hidden Traces" since childhood. This cultivation method had four levels, each carved onto the backs of the four brothers.

After discussing it, they felt that making a move at this time was too risky. As the saying goes, "Haste makes waste."

Since these four brothers liked women, it would be most stable to act when they were fully engaged in their pleasures.

However, as fate would have it, the Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang chose to go drinking in Jinling City.

The four disguised themselves, like civets, and easily blended into Jinling City.

They headed straight for Misty Rain Alley, the most famous pleasure district in Jinling City.

Misty Rain Alley, with its more than a dozen brothels and courtesan houses, was the largest money pit in Jinling City.

The Four Ghosts of Xiaoxiang had also made the journey specifically for this place.

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

The four brothers, with women embracing them on either side, looked smug. Little did they know, Liu Qing had already infiltrated the establishment and was waiting for an opportunity to poison their drinks.