The back alley of No. 95 Courtyard was, in fact, the alley Wang Quan had spoken of.
Ma Qingqiu and the others looked at the back gate they had just emerged from, then at the gloomy alley ahead, and said in astonishment, "Hey, we wanted a place in this courtyard, a home with three bedrooms and two living rooms."
"We're not going deep into the alley!"
"My friend said it's dangerous deep in the alley!"
The property broker rolled his eyes. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"A place? With your few thousand units of Yin Virtue, forget securing a place inside the grand courtyard-you couldn't even buy a place in this back alley."
"At most, the three of you could get an urn's worth of space."
Ma Qingqiu blinked. "What's an urn's worth of space?"
The broker smiled. "You'll find out soon enough."
"Come on, we have to hurry."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Ma Qingqiu and his two companions hurried through the alley with the broker.
The farther they went, the gloomier the alley became; only near the courtyard's back gate was there a faint glimmer of light.
As the gloom deepened, Ma Qingqiu and the others smelled a peculiar stench.
"Why does it stink so much?"
The broker smiled. "Because this is the back alley!"
After walking a little longer, Ma Qingqiu and the others felt something sticky beneath their feet, as though every step landed in sludge. "What's on the ground?"
The broker smiled. "Dirt, of course!"
They continued onward, and the gloom around them threatened to swallow even the light from the courtyard's back gate.
Large numbers of Underworld beings passed through the narrow back gate.
In the shifting light and shadow, their faces looked twisted and hideous.
Ma Qingqiu and the others shuddered. The three linked