Dream Walker: Feng Shui Master Bai Ya

Shang Muchen temporarily put aside his many questions and tried to replace the mental strain of daydreaming with a real task, so he took the subway to Liulichang.

On the mobile map, there was no "Second Street" in Liulichang. Shang Muchen circled around Liulichang East Street, West Street and Front Street three or four times, but still couldn't find the road sign for "Liulichang Second Street".

With no other option and seeing that it was almost dinnertime, Shang Muchen randomly found a private noodle shop in an alley and hastily ate a bite.

The lamb chop noodles tasted surprisingly good, and Shang Muchen ate them with great relish.

After finishing his noodles, Shang Muchen casually asked the old man who ran the noodle shop, "Sir, do you know how to get to Liulichang Second Street?"

Upon hearing Shang Muchen's question, the old man froze, stopped what he was doing, slowly turned around, and asked Shang Muchen in a low voice, "Young man, are you looking for Liulichang Second Street?"

"Um."

The old man looked around and, seeing that there were no other customers in the small noodle shop, walked over to Shang Muchen and asked in a low voice, "What are you looking for there?"

Seeing the old man's strange expression, Shang Muchen stood up and said earnestly, "I'm helping an elder in my family retrieve some goods."

"Oh—" the old man drawled, giving a look that said "I understand," and nodded, saying, "Young man, you've come to the right person."

If you ask someone else, you might not be able to find out.

"I've been around Liulichang for fifty or sixty years, and I know a thing or two about the underworld and legitimate society."

"Hmm, please enlighten me, sir." Shang Muchen took out two hundred-yuan bills and quietly slipped them into the old man's hand.

The old man immediately beamed with joy, his wrinkles smoothing out, and whispered, "Good young man, I'll accept this money."

Logically speaking, there's no reason to charge someone for asking for directions.

"But you asked for directions, so I have to charge you today. That's called paying for the journey, it's the rule of the underworld, and you can't break it."

"Yes, thank you. Could you please tell me where Liulichang Second Street is?"

"The problem isn't where it is, but what time it is," the old man said mysteriously.

"What time? What do you mean? Is it the night market?"

Strictly speaking, it's a ghost market.

Speaking of which, there were eight major ghost markets in old Beijing, and each ghost market sold different goods.

The saying goes: buy live animals in the east, dead animals in the west, treasures in the south, and medicine in the north...

The ghost market on Liulichang Second Street sells items used by people "below," making it the most yin and evil market among ghost markets.

The opening time of each ghost market is uncertain and varies depending on the solar term.

Today is seven days before the start of autumn, and there's still a month until the Ghost Festival, making it an auspicious day to buy ghost items.

Today, the ghost market should open at 2 a.m.

Young man, I won't ask what you're picking up.

Walk north from my noodle shop, then south along Dengxin Hutong, pass through Sipailou, and turn right. There's an underpass there; go down, and that's it.

Remember, it's 2 a.m.

Going there too early is useless; it's closed.

After thanking the old man who ran the noodle shop again, Shang Muchen walked out onto the street and saw that the sun had set in the west and the moon had not yet risen. The streets were bustling with tourists. With nothing else to do, Shang Muchen decided to go and explore the area first.

Following the old man's explanation, we arrived at Sipailou and indeed saw a large underpass next to the wide main road.

After walking around the underground passage, Shang Muchen was puzzled. There were no vendors or shops, only a row of huge floor-to-ceiling GG light boxes.

I suppose they probably don't allow street vending under normal circumstances, considering security and sanitation requirements. I'll come back at night.

Shang Muchen gazed at the adorable cat on the cat food giggs on the lightbox and thought, "My house is so big, I could actually keep a cat or something. Maybe Liu Qingyang would like it."

It was still early, so he strolled out of the underground passage and back to Liulichang. After wandering around aimlessly for a while, Shang Muchen suddenly noticed something.

I can't find the little noodle shop where I ate noodles just now no matter what I do.

This is really strange. I really liked the lamb chop noodles that old man cooked and was thinking of coming back to eat them again, but I can't find them anymore.

After wandering around the alleys of Liulichang for several days until his feet were tired, Shang Muchen still couldn't find it. He had no choice but to give up. Not knowing how to kill time, he went to an internet cafe to play games.

Normally, time flies when I stay up late playing games, but now that I really need to stay up late to kill time, time seems to drag on forever.

He endured the wait, but he wasn't really in the mood to play games. Finally, his phone alarm rang, and Shang Muchen, half-asleep and half-asleep, felt like he was walking on cotton as he left the internet cafe and headed towards Sipailou.

The streets were quiet and ethereal late at night, as if the entire city had fallen into a deep sleep.

The streetlights swayed like a dream, and the occasional electric taxi that drove by was silent, passing by like a ghost.

The night market and food stalls had long since disappeared, but a faint, lingering aroma of barbecue still lingered in the air, more like the smell of burning incense than grilled meat.

There wasn't a single pedestrian on the street when a black cat suddenly darted out from the green belt, stopped in front of Shang Muchen, glared at him with its golden eyes, turned and disappeared into a dark alley corner on the other side of the street.

The warm summer breeze couldn't dispel Shang Muchen's drowsiness. He had been living a life of irregular sleep patterns and hadn't had a proper rest for several days. Although he was young, he felt his mind was a bit numb. The exhaustion and fatigue made him feel that the reality around him was somewhat unreal.

I strolled through the Sipailou and down into the underground passage. At first glance, I didn't see any street stalls or vendors.

Shang Muchen thought to himself, "Is that old man who runs the noodle shop playing a trick on me?"

Walking a few more steps into the underground passage, Shang Muchen suddenly noticed that right where he had been watching the huge cat food lightbox all afternoon, there was a door of the same size as the lightbox.

This is a double door that opens inwards. Inside, there is a lot of noise, flickering light, and a faint scent of incense.

Oh my? Could this be the place?

Shang Muchen stepped forward, curiously looking around. There was no one guarding the door, so he touched the water gun in his pocket, mustered his courage, and went inside.

Upon entering the gate, Shang Muchen couldn't help but sigh, as if he had entered another world.

This is a dimly lit street that stretches downwards.

The ground was slippery and covered with old but elegant square bricks. Although many of the bricks were worn and even cracked, their original luxurious beauty was still undeniable.

The area on both sides of the street was pitch black, and it was impossible to see anything in the distance. Looking up, it was also pitch black, with no lights and no rooftops in sight.

Shang Muchen estimated that, based on the distance, this place should be directly below the Sipailou and above the subway line. But strangely, whether looking up or to the sides, it was too dark to see the boundary.

Nearby, the streets are lined with all sorts of street stalls.

The vendors, with their eccentric and mysterious appearances, displayed all sorts of strange and unusual goods on their stalls, most of which Shang Muchen couldn't discern the purpose of.

There weren't many pedestrians on the street, and a few people were scattered around, standing in front of some stalls, picking up some strange little things and haggling with the stall owners.

A cool, damp wind with a slightly musty smell blew on his face, pushing away some of Shang Muchen's drowsiness.

He strolled around with his hands in his pockets, glancing haphazardly at the goods on the various stalls, when suddenly he spotted a familiar little thing.