Young master, why not become a corpse immortal?

Chapter 124 Ghost Market
"The soul is lost?"

"Yes."

Gong Xuan pointed at the three merchants:

"He, he, and she—the souls of all three are gone."

Lin Jiang scrutinized the three men's faces, but couldn't discern any difference between them and the sleeping merchants around them.

Jiang Jinyue's expression changed: "Most people who lose their souls are only discovered the next morning when they can't get up."

"I have been practicing this art for over twenty years. By day I exorcise evil spirits and suppress malevolent forces, and by night I capture corpses that have turned into zombies. I am proficient in all kinds of rituals. I can certainly diagnose this kind of soul-loss disorder at a glance."

Jiang Jinyue's expression became even stranger:
"Master Gongxuan, you are from the sixth level of the Heavenly Realm, right?"

"Yes."

Why would a master from the sixth level of heaven take on such trivial tasks?

Gong Xuan's face flushed red instantly:
"Saving the world and bringing peace to the people is not a matter of small matters; one must accumulate small steps to reach a thousand miles. This is the true path of self-cultivation!"

Lin Jiang didn't say anything.

Accumulated good deeds are an important aspect, and so is making money.

Gong Xuanqiong, ah.

If he hadn't taken on odd jobs to make a living, his old Taoist robe would probably have been tattered long ago.

"Is there no way to call the soul back?"

Seeing that Gong Xuan had been frowning and staring at the three of them, Lin Jiang couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"With my skills, it should have been a piece of cake, but there's something strange about it."

"How to say?"

"It doesn't seem like evil spirits are trying to steal your soul; it's more like the soul is simply following the crowd."

"Such a thing is true?" Lin Jiang had never heard of the soul leaving its own body.

“Dream.” Gong Xuan stroked his beard and said, “When a person is in a dream, their three souls wander. If they see strange sights, it is because their souls are traveling; if they meet an old friend, it is because the other person’s soul has come to visit.”

"wonderful."

"It's nothing strange, just the norm," Gong Xuan said. "There's probably a source here that steals souls, capturing their spirits."

"Can you find your way?"

"You had already scouted the area before you returned and roughly figured out the location."

The talisman in Gong Xuan's hand suddenly seemed to awaken, trembling twice as it hovered in mid-air.

After circling once, the talisman even bowed in the direction of Gong Xuan before staggering ahead to lead the way.

The crowd followed closely, holding their breath, without disturbing those sleeping peacefully in the camp.

Emerging from the shady path, after walking less than half a mile, one suddenly sees phosphorescent lights flickering among the ruins.

Lin Jiang erected a shed and looked out into the distance; the eerie green flames illuminated the desolate village, making it resemble a ghost market.

"So green, so very green."

Lin Jiang's wording is somewhat sparse.

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, and a ball of green flame landed in his palm.

The flames trembled and bounced around, while the small ginseng from the sleeve poked its head out.

The little ginseng tilted its head to the left to look at the will-o'-the-wisp, and the will-o'-the-wisp also tilted its body to the left, as if looking at the little ginseng.

"I am a great hero, what are you?"

"Chirp chirp chirp..."

The will-o'-the-wisp seemed to be saying something, but even Lin Jiang, who had cultivated the art of hearing, couldn't understand it.

Little Ginseng, on the other hand, seemed to understand, nodding and making "hmm" sounds before turning to look at Lin Jiang:

"The child said he came to the market and only came over because it was so lively outside."

"You can understand?" Lin Jiang was surprised.

Little Ginseng, hands on hips: "Why don't I understand?"

Gong Xuan then offered an explanation from the side:
“Mountain spirits and ghosts have their own language of communication. Even if mortals are skilled in listening, it is all in vain if they cannot understand the language of these beings.”

Lin Jiang suddenly realized.

The ear techniques taught by the Zeng brothers only opened the aperture of hearing, but did not reveal the true nature of all things.

Even if he could hear the will-o'-the-wisps speaking, it would be useless if he couldn't understand the meaning of the language.

Upon closer reflection, this technique is indeed quite ingenious and interesting.

"This is the Ghost Market, a gathering place for mountain spirits and monsters. It's understandable that those merchants, who frequented the market, had their souls drawn to it."

Is it a place where evil people gather?

Lin Jiang perked up upon hearing this, and rolled up his sleeves.

Jiang Jinyue stopped him directly from the side:

"The ghost market is divided into official and private channels. The official market has official documents as proof and is mostly inhabited by lawful spirits; the private market, though clandestine, is not necessarily full of villains."

"I see." Lin Jiang said dejectedly, his hands hanging down.
Jiang Jinyue couldn't help but glance at Lin Jiang a few more times.

It's hard to say whether this young master is righteous in disguise or evil in disguise.

Without further delay, the group entered the market.
Passing the boundary marker, one suddenly sees the long street adorned with vermilion lanterns, staining the broken walls and ruins blood-red. Phosphorescent lights flicker like fireflies, and spirits flit about among them, creating a lively and bustling scene.

There are beast-shaped monsters that walk close to the ground, and also humanoid creatures wearing robes and crowns.

The presence of a living being drew the attention of the demons, their gazes ranging from wary and fearful to defiant and threatening. Of course, Gong Xuan received the most of these stares.

After all, he was the only Taoist priest.

Since ancient times, Taoist priests have never been able to deal with these ghostly and demonic creatures, and they naturally feel nervous when they meet them.

Gong Xuan didn't seem to care much, but explained to Lin Jiang and Chen Dajiang, who were clearly there for the first time:

"The outer hall is untouched by human presence. Most of them still retain their wildness and don't speak human language very fluently. Those who can stand up and put on clothes have basically gone to the inner hall. Some of them are so large that they even use some transformation techniques to disguise themselves as humans."

Lin Jiang looked around and indeed saw several humanoid figures.

There was a woman with three large, bright red tails, a man with bull horns, and a withered old man whose appearance was unclear. But under Lin Jiang's direct gaze, he could see a tortoise sitting curled up behind him.

As Lin Jiang sized up these people, whispers drifted into his ears:
"Why are there a few more people?"

"They're probably all in cahoots, looking for those three guys who wandered into this place earlier."

"Sigh, it's impossible to do business in peace all day long."

"Do you think that Taoist priest might suddenly go mad and come over to fight us with magic?"

"Why should we be afraid of him? We have so many brothers around here!"

Upon hearing this, Gong Xuan couldn't help but touch his nose somewhat awkwardly.

The Taoist robe felt like a thorn in his side in this place.

After the little ghost fire, which was still in Lin Jiang's hands, returned to the market, it became noticeably nervous.

Lin Jiang could clearly see the little will-o'-the-wisp trembling slightly, while the little ginseng, after listening intently, said:

"It is calling for its mother."

"Let's also help him find his family."

The group split up to investigate.

Jiang Jinyue investigated the merchant's whereabouts, Chen Dajiang inquired about Huo Ling's relatives, while Gong Xuan awkwardly retreated to the back.

The spirits glared at him coldly.

Most of the spirits ignored the group, barely speaking, their faces grim. Upon seeing them approach, they even shielded their stalls with their hands. Only one stall owner with a deer head, seeing the pitiful phosphorescent light, gestured towards the gathering of evil spirits.

After thanking them, they followed the trail and found several dark green clusters surrounding the wolf-headed man, whispering to each other.

The wolf-headed man was wearing a black robe, making him appear to be an official.

The little will-o'-the-wisp in Lin Jiang's hand became visibly excited upon seeing the swarm of will-o'-the-wisps in the distance. It leaped down from Lin Jiang's hand and scurried away on the ground, even kicking up a puff of smoke.

He quickly rushed to the giant will-o'-the-wisp and jumped up on the spot.

It's like a child finding their mother.

The large ball of will-o'-the-wisps surrounding the wolf heard the sound beneath their feet and immediately bent down, as if embracing the small ball of will-o'-the-wisps.

Only now could Lin Jiang vaguely see a mother in the distance embracing her child, who was barely a foot tall.

She wanted to thank him, but when she looked up, she saw Gong Xuan in the distance and clearly saw fear on his face. She instinctively shrank back and turned back into the ball of fire.

The wolf-headed man in black clothes also saw what was happening here, and compared to the other monsters, he was noticeably calmer.

He first walked up to the group, glanced at them, then placed his hand on the knife at his waist, speaking in a muffled, official tone:

“The deacon of the Nagano Demon Palace is here. Why are you, a stranger, trespassing?”

The group looked at each other, and finally all turned to look at Jiang Jinyue beside them.

Jiang Jinyue reached into her bosom and pulled out a plaque:
"Walking through the town of Jingcheng, the moon is reflected in the river."

The wolf head, which had been so arrogant just moments before, suddenly had its eyes visibly enlarge. Its once imposing expression instantly turned into a limp mess in Lin Jiang's eyes, and its tongue almost fell out.

"Oh dear! Sir! Why didn't you say so sooner! Isn't this a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King's temple?"

When Lin Jiang looked at the wolf head again, and saw the expression in its eyes, he felt that it was somewhat similar to certain dog breeds from his previous life...

Seems to be……

Is it some kind of sled dog from the northern frontier?
But it's no wonder the waiter acted that way.

Besides exorcising evil spirits, the most important duty of the Zhenping Division is to manage demons and appoint officials to their posts.

The difference in rank between a high-ranking official from the capital city and a mere waiter from the Nagano region is significant.

What's the deal with this market of yours?

Fearing that Jiang Jinyue might misunderstand, the wolf-headed man repeatedly explained:
"Sir, this market is legitimate. Everyone who comes here is registered from the surrounding area. We all need to eat and drink every day. Some people have a lot of food at home, so they bring it out to sell. Others are skilled at crafting treasures, but they just have a sweet tooth and come out to exchange for some food."

After saying these words, the wolf-headed man's face broke into a bright, husky-like smile:

"If you gentlemen would like to try some, I know a few shops. Rabbit is making osmanthus cakes, and Lord Zuo has prepared some hot pot. Both are delicious!"

Lin Jiang was also amazed when he heard this.

Many of the monsters, if they were of the same species, would have one monster eating another, but they were able to live peacefully in this market.

And there are also meat vendors.

I wonder what their fellow demons thought when they saw the flesh and blood they had bought and sold.

Then I remembered asking Little Ginseng what he thought of the ginseng fragments in the pharmacy. At that time, Little Ginseng didn't think those medicines were his fellow ginsengs. I suppose the demons probably felt the same way.

However, it's hard to say for sure. Lin Jiang didn't ask the other monsters, so we can't just follow the same logic.

“It sounds compliant, but three of the merchants in my caravan came here in spirit form. Where are they now?” Jiang Jinyue asked. “These merchants have only cultivated some basic health cultivation techniques. Their spirits will definitely be damaged if they are separated from their bodies for too long. I need to take them back.”

At this point in the story, the wolf-headed man's expression suddenly turned somewhat grim:

"Sir, this matter... is a little troublesome."

(End of this chapter)