Chapter 283: Teaming Up to Trap Me

He led the way ahead, bringing several people into the reed thicket.

As they walked, a relatively open beach appeared ahead, with several dozen stalls scattered across the ground.

Indeed, each stall had only a dim yellow lantern hanging, barely able to illuminate a few steps ahead, casting hazy shadows.

What's more strange, everyone, whether seller or buyer, wore various masks on their faces.

Kong An whispered, "Everyone who enters the Ghost Market must wear a mask, meaning they set aside their names and identities; in the Ghost Market, there are only buyers and sellers."

He pointed to a stall at the edge of the beach: "That one over there is the one that specializes in selling masks."

The few walked over and saw that the stall was simply a black cloth spread on the ground, with over a dozen masks laid out; the vendor himself wore a pallid faceless mask and sat motionless in the shade.

Seeing someone approach, the vendor lifted his eyelids, glanced at them, extended a finger, and tapped the wooden sign in front of the stall, which bore two characters: "Five Wen."

Tuan Tuan crouched, rummaging through the pile of masks with her small hands, then lifted one up: "I want this one!"

It was a small cat mask, with round eyes, a pink nose, and two fluffy triangular ears on top.

It really does look like Tuan Tuan! Xiao Ningxun couldn't help but laugh, and helped her put the mask on.

The mask was a bit big, but fortunately it could still be tied securely.

Tuan Tuan's little face was completely covered, only a pair of dark, shiny eyes visible, blinking from the cat-eye openings, looking especially lively.

She mischievously let out a sound: "Meow."

Xiao Ningxun gently patted her little head: "Don't make trouble."

Tuan Tuan eagerly continued selecting, picking up a fox mask with a red base and white lines, the corners of the eyes lifted, a sly expression: "This one is for Third Brother."

Xiao Ningxun laughed as he put it on.

She rummaged for a while longer, then picked up a fierce-looking dog-face mask: "This is for Ninth Brother."

Xiao Ran took one look, his brows knotting so tightly they could crush a fly: "Why does he get a fox and I get a dog?"

Tuan Tuan's eyes curved: "Because Ninth Brother is like a puppy!"

"Hmph, playing favorites." Xiao Ran muttered, yet still reached out, took it, and put it on his face.

Tuan Tuan looked at Xiao Er and Lu Qi, then picked two wolf masks, one gray, one black, raising her small hand: "The black one is for Second Uncle, the gray for Seventh Uncle."

The two smiled as they put them on.

Kong An didn't dare let Tuan Tuan pick one for him, so he casually grabbed the most ordinary white faceless mask and snapped it onto his face.

Xiao Er paid, and the stall owner suddenly spoke:

"Wearing a mask makes you a person of the Ghost Market. In the Ghost Market, there are no officials, trade is free. No noisy quarrels, no insults or violence; violators are expelled immediately and may never enter again."

His voice was hoarse like a broken gong, hearing it sends a chill down one's spine.

Tuan Tuan pouted: "Uncle! You scared me half to death; I thought you couldn't speak!"

The flour stall owner: "……"

The group entered the Ghost Market, feeling as if they had stepped into another world.

The dim yellow lanterns swayed in the river wind, stretching and shrinking people's shadows.

The stalls displayed all kinds of strange and wondrous items.

Rusty swords, broken ceramics, eerie powders, and even many old books with curled edges.

All transactions proceeded in utter silence.

The buyer selects the goods, and both buyer and seller reach out simultaneously, pinching fingers in their sleeves to negotiate the price.

Once a deal is made, money and goods are exchanged; if they can't agree, each withdraws their hand, and neither says another word.

"What is bought and sold here is mostly things inconvenient to see the light of day," Kong An whispered, "stolen goods, private cargo, and so on, which is why the rules are so strict."

Tuan Tuan's eyes couldn't take it all in: "Wow, this place is so fun!"

The beach isn't big, but there are plenty of people, and gradually the number of sellers and buyers keeps growing.

Xiao Ran was drawn to a ceramics stall, while Xiao Ningxun and Xiao Er led Tuan Tuan to stop at the ancient books stall to browse, and Lu Qi went to a stall selling foreign weapons.

Seeing them each go their own way, Kong An also began to wander about.

After a while, "Pa-da!" The sound of a copper box hitting the ground drew everyone's attention.

"It's fake!" a buyer wearing a white-faced mask shouted angrily: "I spent fifty taels of silver just to buy this pile of waste paper?"

The copper box on the ground lay open, inside neatly stacked a stack of white paper.

The seller was a hunched old man wearing a gray rat mask; hearing this, his whole body trembled: "No! Impossible! What I put in was clearly……"

"What was it then?" the buyer kicked over the old man's stall, sending bottles and miscellaneous items clattering everywhere: "Tell me! What was it?"

The old man was instantly at a loss for words.

They had agreed on the price before the transaction, yet now the item he sold turned into a stack of white paper—how could he explain that?

Xiao Ningxun and the others were also drawn over, standing at the edge of the crowd watching.

Tuan Tuan stretched out her arms toward him: "Third Brother, hold me."

Xiao Ningxun bent down and lifted her up.

"Everyone saw!" the buyer picked up the copper box from the ground, held it high overhead, turned to the onlookers: "This old thing cheated me out of fifty taels with this stack of white paper! Fifty taels!"

"The Ghost Market's guarantee is a joke!"

The crowd began to stir.

"It really is all white paper!"

"Fifty taels would be enough to buy a small house."

"This old man isn't setting up a stall here for the first time; it shouldn't be like this!"

"Who knows? You can know a person's face but not their heart!"

Only Kong An, who had just been at the neighboring stall, happened to see the buyer's trick of swapping the beam for a pillar.

Seeing the old stall owner unable to defend himself despite a hundred excuses, Kong An couldn't help but say: "It's clearly you who did the trick, swapping the goods."

The buyer furrowed his brows, then grabbed him and pulled him out of the crowd.

"What did you say?"

Kong An struggled: "I just saw it all!"

"You saw nothing! He took my fifty taels of shiny silver and gave me a stack of blank paper—what trick did I pull?"

"You're speaking up for him like this—you must be his accomplice!"

Kong An shouted: "I'm not! I don't even know him!"

"Not?" the buyer snorted, raising his hand to strike.

Kong An covered his head, struggling desperately, and in a flash ran to behind Xiao Er.

He hid behind Xiao Er, poked out half his head, his courage instantly bolstered: "If you've got the guts, come on!"

Xiao Er gave him a helpless sideways glance.

The buyer looked at the tall Xiao Er: "You actually have an accomplice?"

He turned and approached the old stall owner: "No matter how many helpers you have, the silver was taken by you—I'm only after you!"

The old stall owner stepped back: "That young gentleman saw it was you pulling the trick!"

The buyer snorted, relentless, shoved the old stall owner to the ground and lifted his foot to kick.

"Don't hit the old man!" Tuan Tuan shouted, "You bastard!"

The buyer froze, withdrew his foot and lifted his head, seeing it was a baby still held in arms, he couldn't help but sneer: "Where did this brat come from? Get lost!"

He carefully sized up Tuan Tuan's group.

"Well, this old swindler actually has more than one accomplice!"

He looked around at the crowd: "Everyone saw it! This old swindler, this brat, and this group of outsiders are clearly all in cahoots!"

"Look, look! This group—men, women, old and young—all together! They've teamed up to swindle my money!"

"The Ghost Market looks strict with its rules, but in fact there's not a shred of credibility left!"

"These people could swindle me today, and tomorrow they could swindle you!"

A few people immediately chimed in:

"Right! The Ghost Market protects swindlers!"

"What bullshit rules! It's all a scam!"

"From now on, we can't do business here anymore!"

Gradually, the crowd became agitated.