Chapter 22: The Ghost Market of Dragon Locust

This week, Lin Feng's blue mission is to subdue a wandering underworld patrol in the "Dragon Locust Greenbelt" residential area.

Yesterday, when he went to Nanyang International Trade Center to buy clothes for Lin Xue, his main objective was actually to scout out this area since it was right beside the Trade Center.

It was Lin Feng's second time being pulled into a mission map.

However, this time, Nie Chuxia was pulled in as well.

Nie Chuxia watched as the walls of the underground parking lot turned blurry, as if scorched by flames, transforming into what looked like… an ancient tomb?

Her car, along with every other vehicle in the lot, had turned into coffins. Lin Feng and Nie Chuxia were crammed together in one narrow coffin.

"What a powerful mirage! This level of ghostly entrapment? My grandfather probably never even encountered it!"

After her initial surprise, Nie Chuxia quickly regained her composure. She was the first to exit the coffin, holding an oil lamp. She noticed that the parking lights had turned into torches mounted on the walls, radiating faint warmth when approached, so realistic it was uncanny.

Lin Feng thought to himself, "As expected from a professional ghost hunter; I thought she'd be astonished for a bit longer."

Niu Meng frowned and whispered, "Brother Feng, the Xiu Po you gave me has been refined, but I don't think I can stay here long; I might get assimilated. I'm going back to the ghostly vessel!"

Niu Meng abruptly disappeared, and a skull the size of a coin flew into Lin Feng's hand.

"Ding! The ghostly ox-head spirit has successfully bonded with its host and bestowed a ghostly vessel."

Lin Feng stored the skull cap in his elastic space and realized that Ah Chou was missing—probably because the mission map didn't summon her along.

Lin Feng climbed out of the coffin, surveyed his surroundings, and then heard a strange sound.

Inside the underground tomb, coffins emitted a rustling noise, unnervingly sharp in the silence, like thousands of insects gnawing on something.

"It sounds like something's scratching the coffin boards."

Lin Feng spoke, glancing at the numerous coffins scattered throughout the tomb. Could there be something in every single one?

If so, they were in trouble.

Holding her oil lamp, Nie Chuxia exhaled a green smoke. The smoke ignited into a fireball when it encountered a flame and flew from her mouth, burning a nearby wall.

"My One Qi Fire can't break through this ghostly maze? Lin Feng, what should we do?" Nie Chuxia asked, looking serious as she, too, noticed the strange noises from the coffins.

Lin Feng thought to himself, "This isn't your run-of-the-mill ghost maze, Missy. If you could break it, it would make the system look useless!"

"Let's go up and take a look; we're here now, so let's make the most of it. Although this place has changed, the layout remains the same. You know where the elevator is, right?"

"Ah… I… I think I do. But will the elevator even work?" Nie Chuxia asked, feeling dubious.

…

It turned out the elevator was functional.

The original elevator had become a wooden cage, and at the entrance stood a drowsy little ghost in a green robe.

As Lin Feng and Nie Chuxia approached, the little ghost suddenly raised its head and let out a piercing screech of surprise, "Living humans?! How did you end up in the Ghost Market?"

Instinctively, Nie Chuxia prepared to attack with her oil lamp, but Lin Feng stopped her and pulled out a stack of yellow paper talismans. "Don't ask so many questions; we're here to take a look around. This is for you. Take us up!"

The little ghost's eyes lit up, and it let out a sinister chuckle, stashing the talismans away. "Generous humans are my favorite! Come on in! It's been ages since a human came to Dragon Locust Ghost Market."

The little ghost opened the wooden cage, and though Nie Chuxia hesitated, Lin Feng pulled her in.

As the cage ascended, Nie Chuxia's surprise grew as she processed the word "Ghost Market." Could this place really not be a mirage?

Seeing her curiosity, Lin Feng explained briefly, "This is the ghost world. You could call it the underworld, though it exists as a space between the realms of yin and yang. It could be seen as a mirage…or not. If you suddenly left from here, you'd reappear in the elevator back at the Trade Center. Does that make sense?"

Nie Chuxia nodded in understanding, though it was all hard to believe.

Then, she asked, "Lin Feng, have you been here before?"

Lin Feng smiled wryly, "I've been to places similar to this. Remember that graveyard in the shadow of Moon Altar Mountain? I spent a whole day and night in that ghostly manor. Did you forget that your family's bodyguard had to carry me out?"

Nie Chuxia recalled Lin Feng's disheveled state that day and couldn't help but chuckle.

When the cage stopped, the little ghost led them out and warned, "You two be careful. The Ghost Market isn't a place for the faint-hearted. Plenty of rogue spirits and fierce ghosts around here!"

Lin Feng and Nie Chuxia entered a massive space, where layered caverns lined the walls and shops filled every crevice, almost identical in structure to the Trade Center building.

Underfoot was stone brick, with wooden railings to the side and skeletal decorations hanging along the way. Every few steps, a torch blazed in an iron brazier, while in the center of the space, massive iron chains hung from the ceiling, suspending a giant golden ring that reflected the surrounding firelight, casting a bright glow over the area like a sun.

Exiting the cage, Lin Feng quickly exchanged some items in the Fierce Ghost Market, purchasing a bowl of spell water, which he forced Nie Chuxia to drink. Though some ghosts had initially eyed them suspiciously, the group scattered once she drank, leaving them alone.

"What did you make me drink?" Nie Chuxia rasped, her mouth bitter.

"A Yin-concealing spell water to mask your yang energy."

The Fierce Ghost Market offered many low-level tools. Lin Feng often drank this spell water himself on missions, letting Niu Meng handle the fighting while he stayed out of sight. He knew its effects well.

"It's disgusting. Why didn't you drink it?"

"You just said it's disgusting…so why would I? Besides, I spend my days in the mortuary, and the yin energy on me is strong enough to keep low-level ghosts from noticing I'm human. For the higher-level ones, drinking it wouldn't matter."

Nie Chuxia felt exasperated yet quietly impressed. Lin Feng was proving to be just as capable as she'd imagined.

"These ghosts seem to be living in an orderly way; it's quite an eye-opener," Nie Chuxia said, observing the spirits going about their business, shopping, eating, even aimlessly wandering around, just like an ancient ghost town.

Lin Feng replied, "Without yang energy, ghosts have pure yin bodies. Their intelligence remains intact, so they act like regular people. In the yang world, though, over time, their yin energy becomes tainted, and they lose their humanity, turning vicious. That's why ghosts are only suited to the underworld."

Nie Chuxia was learning something new; she'd never heard this explanation in her years as a ghost hunter.

"So what are we supposed to do now?"

Nie Chuxia had subconsciously started deferring to Lin Feng. She was only now beginning to understand the depths of the mortuary worker beside her.

Lin Feng found an inn, sitting down confidently. "We're here to deal with the problem at the Trade Center, of course. Let's find out if there are any rogue underworld patrols around here and take them out."

"Take…them out?"

A cold sweat trickled down Nie Chuxia's face. Was he serious? There had to be thousands of ghosts here! If they caused trouble, wouldn't it end badly?

…