Before I could say anything, Madoka next to me immediately interrupted.
"Yo? Baby! What is it? Take it out and show it to me. Why haven't I heard you mention this before?"
This guy's eyes were darting around, staring at Niu Bi and Niu Deheng.
I quickly reminded him half jokingly and half seriously.
"Old cow, you two must hide the treasure! This damn fat bird is a bad friend. He often shamelessly robs the friends around him. Don't blame me for not reminding you when the time comes."
When Niu Bi and Niu Deheng heard this, they quickly shut up and said nothing.
Madoka angrily put her wings on her hips and said angrily.
"Wu boy, you are slandering someone... Oh no, you are slandering someone! It's a naked slander. My good reputation has been ruined by you."
I shrugged.
"Don't you know what your reputation is among your friends?"
"Damn it! I'll fight you."
Madoka spread her wings and was aggressive, but I took her into my arms and rubbed her.
We move forward.
Passing by the fixed stalls, you can see that they are filled with a variety of items...
There are wild ginseng, Polygonum multiflorum, Noda seven and other long-lived elixirs that exude strong medicinal power.
There are various kinds of spiritual stones in various colors and textures, just like gemstones.
There are some zombie claws, monster bones... and even some corpse elixirs, demon elixirs, etc. that are not too strong!
I also saw high-level spells, elixirs, and even magic weapons.
In short, the items in this ghost market are indeed very rich. Practitioners can indeed find the resources they need here!
However, if you use the currency circulating in the secular world to trade, the price is indeed very scary.
I took a casual look at a piece of brown ore - it is said to be some kind of spiritual stone. If you hold it in your hand during meditation, you can concentrate more quickly and connect with the free spiritual energy around you, which will improve the efficiency of your practice to a certain extent.
The asking price is five hundred thousand!
And the effect can only be used ten times.
It is equivalent to meditating once, which costs 50,000 yuan!
It's just a waste of money.
No wonder Niu Bi said that although people in their line of work usually earn more, they spend more!
Of course, you can also choose [barter]...it depends on whether the buyer and seller need what each other needs.
As for the so-called [Elixir]?
I didn’t look carefully at the different effects, but looking at the price tags, none of them were less than 300,000 at worst!
I even saw elixirs for sale with seven-digit price tags.
The more I looked at him, the weirder his expression became.
Because... most of the things on the ghost market stalls - the so-called [cultivation resources] - seem to look familiar.
After Master left half a year ago, I followed her instructions and went to her home in Wujiacun to pack some belongings. It turned out that the backyard was filled with a house full of various things!
I was in a low mood at that time, and except for a few spiritual practice books and manuals left by my master, I didn’t look at or take inventory of these materials carefully.
I only vaguely remember that as for the elixirs... they were filled with at least two large peach wood boxes.
I don’t know when she was put there!
Now that I'm in the ghost market, I'm shocked!
I don’t even dare to think about the value of the room full of cultivation resources that Master left me...
Niu Bi looked at the expression on my face and mistakenly thought it was my first time to the ghost market. When he saw these cultivation values, he was both curious and shocked at how expensive the price was.
So he said in a sighing and helpless tone.
"Brother Wu, now you know the situation of most practitioners, right? Not only do they need to endure the time slowly, but they also need to have a lot of cultivation resources to keep up. And these are nothing, after all, they are all improvement materials. Yes. For small sects like us or folk talisman monks, talisman paper is something they just need. Without it, nothing can be done!"
Of course I was embarrassed to say what I was really thinking - not to mention what Niu Bi said was not wrong, so I nodded.
Suddenly, a loud voice echoed throughout the ghost market.
"The broadcast below is looking for someone! The broadcast below is looking for someone! Please come from Fengjie County, known as [Ghost Mother], Du Sanniang, the yin-receiving woman, to come to the guest rest area. Your companion, Wang Laowu, the corpse collector, is waiting here. You. Repeat it again below..."
I was suddenly startled, and felt a very strange sense of disobedience in my heart.
"Damn! There is such an operation? There are still radio broadcasts in this ghost city to search for people? It feels no different from ordinary people's department stores."
When I visited several large department stores across from the school, I often heard such announcements about people looking for people.
After all, friends who go shopping together will inevitably get separated sometimes in the mall, and they will hear the announcement of someone looking for them.
Niu Bi laughed loudly.
"There is no difference at all. The so-called ghost market is essentially a department store in the supernatural world! After all, it is a modern society. Most practitioners are actually modern people and they usually live like ordinary people. Even if they are There are very few old monsters who are highly cultivated and have lived from ancient times to the present... so they have to keep pace with the times."
"Except for some very conservative old-fashioned people, if you don't use simple and convenient modern technological products and deliberately use strenuous spells, isn't there something wrong with your brain? If it weren't for the contract between you and Brother Yuan like Brother Wu, Or in some special circumstances, long-distance spiritual sound transmission is quite mana-consuming."
"I even heard that in fact, those famous sects who live in seclusion in the mountains... also have special TVs, satellite networks, and computers. Disciples of the sects also spend their free time watching TV dramas, surfing the Internet, Chat on QQ, play games, etc.”
I was shocked again.
Madoka heyed and hugged her wings.
"Wu Boy, do you really think that people in the spiritual world are still the same as in ancient times, all immersed in hard work without eating the fireworks of the world? The changes of the times, the exhaustion of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and the rapid development of science and technology and machinery have brought about all-round Variety."
Unexpectedly, what this stupid bird said was a little philosophical.
I smiled.
"makes sense!"
Mainly because I was born deep in the mountains and grew up in the countryside. To be honest, there were not many modern things in my life when I was a child.
For city dwellers, including urban practitioners, all kinds of modern technological products are commonplace. It's part of daily life.
For example, [Amplified Sound Spell] or [Divine Sound Transmission], at certain times, where can I find a loudspeaker that is convenient and easy to use?
No wonder Master kept emphasizing to me repeatedly: metaphysics and science, magic and technology... are essentially just different dimensions of the same thing!
That is, human beings' use of the natural power of heaven and earth!
It's just that magic uses "people" as a carrier, while technology uses people to control "machines" as a carrier.
Just like one-to-one voice transmission with divine consciousness, and sending private text messages on a mobile phone, there is actually no difference in effect.
Spells and technology often lead to the same goal through different paths.
This time I came to the ghost market, I have a deeper understanding of some things!
At this time, Niu Bi spoke again.
"Brother Wu, we are going to line up to buy talisman paper at the innermost [shop area]. You and Brother Yuan don't have this need, so why don't you just wander around here [stall area] or the [free trade area] next to it?"
I was stunned.
"Of course I'm going to buy talismans with you! I have always been curious about this matter. But, there is also a shop area? Aren't talismans bought at these fixed stalls?"
Niu Deheng took over the conversation and smiled.
"Of course not! There are a lot of people who want to buy such important supplies as talisman paper. They won't be displayed on the stalls like this. They all have their own stores."
He pointed to the front.
It turns out that in addition to the paid [Fixed Stall Area] on the left and the free [Free Trading Area] on the right, there is also a [Shop Area] in the innermost part of the Eling Ghost Market - that is, individual shops. .
"The owners of these shops can really be regarded as big shots in Eling Ghost Market! Of course, the people actually running these shops may just be the shopkeepers they hired. The water here is very deep, not like me Little people can know this..."
Niu Bi's tone was a little lonely.
I patted his shoulder and smiled.
"Old Niu, you can't be so arrogant. Strong people are not born, and they are gradually promoted from the weak. As long as you have perseverance and perseverance, let alone be a shop owner in a ghost market. The future is waiting for you. If you have a powerful big shot, you might as well be in charge of a large ghost market."
"No, no, I don't even dare to dream about this!"
Niubi waved his chubby palms.
Madoka flapped her wings.
"Danniuzi, Mr. Wu is right, your ambitions should be lofty! Although I am not familiar with Eling Ghost Market, the [Children] of Changbai Ghost Market and Qinling Ghost Market must be polite to me. .”
I was stunned.
"Zhiren? What is that?"
Xiao Yuan chuckled and looked at me, Niu Bi, and Niu Deheng with curious eyes, very proud - I guess he was just pretending this time.
"[Chiren] is the actual manager of the ghost market. Although the ghost market is mainly owned by the three parties of the sect, the aristocratic family, and the court. But there must be someone who can give orders on the spot, right? This person , it’s called holding the person.”
"Of course, only the top managers of the nine major ghost markets can be called Chiren. Many small-scale ghost markets scattered in various places do not have this title. Hehe, are I well-informed? Wait. Why don’t you worship quickly!”
The dead fat bird puffed out its fat belly and stood proudly.
"I see……"
I held my chin, thoughtfully.
In other words, the big forces behind the ghost market are actually equivalent to the company's major shareholders. I don’t usually directly ask about the ghost market.
And this so-called [Children] is equivalent to the CEO, general manager, president, etc. of the company, responsible for the daily operation of the ghost market.
Of course, in fact... everything should belong to the imperial court and "above" in essence.
After all, this is modern society.
It's just that in the world of supernatural cultivation, the power of sects and aristocratic families has probably lasted for thousands of years or even longer! Therefore, the "Court" and "Above" do not want to appear too strong, so as not to cause conflicts and frictions with [Sects] and [Aristocratic Families], and destabilize society.
Therefore, most of the time, sects and aristocratic families are given a relatively large degree of freedom.
As I gradually came into contact with more things, I also gained a general understanding of the entire Chinese paranormal practice world...
Of course, these are all off-topic and will not be discussed for the time being.
…
Soon, we came to the entrance of the Ghost Market [Shop Area].
This is actually a street, but it is very spacious and grand. There are shops with signboards on both sides.
I counted and there were only six rooms in total.
The signboards read: talismans, elixirs, magic weapons, spiritual herbs, spiritual stones, and spells.
Only in front of the talisman shop, a large group of people gathered!
There was a lot of people and a lot of noise.
As for the remaining five shops, they seem to be empty...
Before I could ask any questions, Niubi explained.
"Brother Wu, don't be surprised. Talisman paper is a necessary consumable for practitioners of the Talisman sect. Everyone needs to use it, and there is only one shop here that sells it. So the business must be endless. As for the rest of the elixirs and spells, There are five kinds of weapons, spiritual herbs, spiritual stones, and magic techniques. In fact, they are also sold at the stalls and free zones. The ones here are all expensive and top-notch products!"
"understood!"
I nodded.
Then he looked towards the front of the team and saw a burly man standing at the door of the store.
Niu Bi said that this strong man is called [Fu Pu] and he is a subordinate of the Talisman Maker [Master Sun]. If you want to buy talismans, you must first go to him to get a number, and then wait for the number to be called.
The person who was called entered the store alone and told Master Sun the number of talismans he wanted to buy.
Niu Deheng had already drifted over and came back with two numbers - only Niu Bi and I needed them, naturally he and Xiao Yuan couldn't use them.
Niubi’s number is 2B, and my number is 2C.
I had a weird expression.
"Master Sun...why do you need to be called in English?"
I thought that a place like this should be numbered according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches!
Niubi shrugged.
"I don't know about this. I just heard that Master Sun has a weird temper and behaves strangely. Every time I go in to buy talismans, I get scared. Brother Wu, you'd better be more cautious when you go in later."
"Okay, I understand."
We didn't go to the door to squeeze in with others, we just stood in the back and waited slowly.
About ten minutes later, I heard the [talisman servant] shouting loudly in a rough voice.
"2B! Who is 2B!"
The crowd burst into laughter and people in line looked around.
Only then did I realize that Niu Bi's number seemed... a bit ambiguous.
Niu Bi did not answer.
The talisman servant seemed very dissatisfied.
"Who is 2B? Say yes, otherwise you will be passed up."
Niu Bi could only helplessly raise the number plate in his hand and shout.
"I am 2B! I am 2B!"
Then I trotted all the way to the front...Niu Deheng, Xiao Yuan, I, and I were left laughing until our stomachs ached.
Niu Bi was very fast and came out in a short time.
He held a stack of yellow talismans in his hand.
"I bought twenty-five this time. Five hundred thousand is gone again. I really envy you, Brother Wu. You don't need this kind of special talisman paper to cast spells..."
I was just about to say a few words of comfort when the talisman servant shouted again.
"2C is here!"
I could only run over with the number plate in my hand held high.
"Here, here!"
The burly talisman took the number plate from my hand and asked me to enter the store.
I opened the bead curtain at the door and walked into this mysterious talisman shop, feeling very curious at the same time.
"What does the so-called talisman maker look like? This talisman paper... I really want to buy some and go back to study it."
After entering, I found that the light in the store was a little dim.
And it was just a layer of bead curtains, which seemed to block out all the noisy sounds outside the store, making it completely silent.
It seems that these guys who are called "masters" all like to play mysterious!
I couldn't help but think of the same feeling I had in Niu Bi's shabby stilted building when I first met him.
However, Niu Bi's "Master Niu" is an honorific title among ordinary people in the secular world, which is a joke to me. And this "Master Sun" is really a big shot!
Because I can clearly feel that there is a huge, hidden and tyrannical atmosphere in this room.
It's like a huge iceberg hidden on the calm sea!
And the dim light in this room... Even if I focus my energy on my eyes, I can't see through it. It is obviously able to block the prying eyes of magic.
At this moment, a joking voice suddenly sounded...
