Business

"Brother Ying, I reckon this Sha Wei ought to be called Dumbass instead."

Hua Shanrong hid beside Chen Ying and spoke in a whisper.

"That prick actually came to these masters to sell his heart. Bloody mad. How can anyone live without a heart?"

"You actually can live without a heart."

Chen Ying answered absently, calculating how long Sha Wei had been inside.

A yellow talisman on his head, a compass to guide his way here, then straight to the pawnshop before them to ask to sell his heart.

Everything had gone smoothly. Sha Wei must have come prepared.

Selling his heart had to be only the first step. The second would surely be to find something in the Ghost Market to replace it.

A ghost's heart, for instance.

Just what was this Su Xiong planning? The gangsters of Hong Kong and Kowloon did not play games this hardcore.

"Brother Ying, don't scare me. Have you gone mad too?"

"It's not madness. It's technology."

Chen Ying looked at Hua Shanrong and whispered, "Study hard when you get back. You're not cut out for the underworld."

"I know I'm not cut out for the underworld, but the reason I got into it was that I knew I was even less cut out for studying."

As they chatted, only three to five minutes passed before the pawnshop's door opened again and Sha Wei emerged.

He was dressed the same, but his face had turned ashen, making him look somewhat like the various ghosts around them.

"That bastard can still walk without a heart? Who knows whether he's human or ghost."

Hua Shanrong cursed as he watched Sha Wei recede into the distance.

"Why not ask him what happens if a person has no heart?"

Chen Ying joked.

"Why ask that?"

"Maybe you could ask him to death."

Watching Sha Wei stop at a stall, Chen Ying thought to himself that the fellow really had come prepared.

Most likely, he was looking for some kind of heart.

"Good customer, might I have a word with you in private?"

The Ghost Appraiser in his long gown had come to the pawnshop entrance at some point, his eerie green eyes fixed on Chen Ying.

"Well, this isn't really a good time..."

Chen Ying tried to refuse.

"No matter. The Ghost Market has its rules. Since this friend is merchandise you brought along, no one will dare touch him unless you sell him."

Then the Ghost Appraiser changed tack. "Besides, I've been here far too long. I rarely meet a living person like you."

This fellow is no pushover. He can actually tell I'm human.

Most of the ghosts Chen Ying had encountered had taken him for one of their own, such as the noodle stall owner and the old man selling barbecued pork rice on the first floor. Yet this skeleton thought he was human.

"The Ghost Market's rules?"

"Yes. Everything here must follow the rules. No one is an exception, no matter how powerful they are, because this is the Ghost Market."

The Ghost Appraiser looked Hua Shanrong up and down.

"But rules are rules. What you've brought is a living creature, after all. It would be troublesome if he ran off on those legs of his. Why don't I remove them for you first?"

"Sir, there's no need. I'm very obedient. I absolutely won't wander off. And I won't look around or talk out of turn either, so there's no need for you to keep my tongue or eyes for me."

The faint trace of a smile actually appeared on the Ghost Appraiser's skull.

"This handsome lad is sharp. Wait here, then. Young man, please come inside for a cup of tea."

Hua Shanrong nodded repeatedly.

Damn, why am I the merchandise while Brother Ying gets to be the owner? Never mind. Staying safe is what matters.

Chen Ying looked at the sign behind the Ghost Appraiser. It bore the words "Tongde Pawnshop."

"Very well. Sorry for the trouble, sir, though I don't know what I have to pawn."

"Our humble establishment accepts everything. Facial features, internal organs, hands and feet go without saying, as well as lifespan and fortune."

The Ghost Appraiser gestured for him to enter.

"Please."

The pawnshop was not particularly large, divided into an inner and an outer room. A tall counter stood inside, while chairs and tea tables were arranged outside. Both rooms were empty. Emerald candle flames burned, bathing the surroundings in an eerie glow.

"Sir, what did you invite me in to discuss?"

"I wonder if you'd be interested in a business deal, young man."

The Ghost Appraiser had no tea to serve either. He lifted his gown, crossed his legs, and sat sideways, looking for all the world like a languid businessman.

"I have nothing to my name. I don't know what could possibly catch your eye."

"Of course you do."

The Ghost Appraiser said evenly, "There is an exceptionally pure current of baleful qi within you. It is like a fierce tiger sleeping on a hill. Once it awakens, it will be quite something. Apart from certain people who have ways to harness it, baleful qi generally brings its host no benefit and instead proves a hindrance."

"And this current of mine?"

"I cannot lie. Your baleful qi is very unusual. It does you no harm, which is precisely why it is valuable."

"Valuable?"

"One thousand sheets of joss paper."

The Ghost Appraiser said, "If you're willing to surrender your baleful qi, you'll receive one thousand sheets of joss paper."

"That much?"

"Perhaps it's worth a little more, but that is the price it has set for you."

The Ghost Appraiser pointed at the counter on the other side.

"It?"

"Yes, it."

The Ghost Appraiser looked at Chen Ying. "I merely work here."

"You?"

The Ghost Appraiser lightly flicked his sleeve.

"This pawnshop accepts many things. Some people come here to pawn their hearts, others their lives, and some pawn their own ghosts and serve here as appraisers."

"You can pawn a soul too?"

"Like becoming a tiger's thrall. After a tiger in the mountains attains spiritual power and eats someone, it can bind that person's soul to serve it. Naturally, this pawnshop can do the same."

"A pawnshop can be a ghost too?"

"You've only just begun cultivating? Have none of your elders explained how these things work?"

Chen Ying shook his head.

"There are two kinds of ghosts. One kind comes from people after they die. They generally retain some intelligence and, whichever way you look at it, aren't much different from the living. Their abilities are usually nothing special either."

"The other kind is simply born that way."

"Born that way?"

"No one knows where they come from or where they end. Bizarre beyond measure, utterly inexplicable. This pawnshop is one, and so is the entire Ghost Market outside. But these ghosts all have their own rules, and their actions are generally bound by those rules. If you encounter one, you must be careful. Extremely careful."

Green flames flickered in the Ghost Appraiser's eyes.

"So the Ghost Market's rules are like royal law and heavenly decrees. No one can defy them. Neither you nor I, nor they. And I will do my utmost to conduct business, too. That is also a rule."

"Rules. Interesting. Forgive the question, senior, but were you a cultivator?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. This deal does. Will you sell that baleful qi or not?"

"Thank you for your kind offer, senior, but I won't."

Chen Ying smiled.

"What a pity."

"The man who just came in, I wonder if he..."

"That lot have been coming quite often lately, looking for things here."

"Looking for things?"

"Some replace their hearts, some their eyes. One even replaced his wife's head. Speaking of which, I have another deal here. Would you be interested?"

"Another deal?"

"You've been watching him too. Did you see the compass in his hand? Get that compass for me, and I'll give you thirty sheets of joss paper."