Chapter 128

After Hua Changxi returned to the Medical Department, she learned that it was already the 15th of the sixth lunar month, which meant she had been unconscious for seven days and seven nights. She hurriedly summoned Yu Gui.

"Sister Changxi, you're finally back. Where have you been these past few days?"

Hua Changxi looked at him and asked instead of answering: "During the days I was away, I didn't teach the menials. How did you explain it to them?"

Yu Gui: "I discussed it with Eunuch Jia and the others, and we unified our story, saying you were in seclusion for cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi's expression relaxed slightly: "Very good. In the future, when I am not in the Menial Hall, you should all answer this way."

Yu Gui saw that his way of handling things was recognized by Hua Changxi, and his face showed joy. He then continued: "Sister Changxi, will you often be away from the Menial Hall in the future?"

Hua Changxi: "Who knows? By the way, who has asked about me?"

Yu Gui: "Many people have asked, the menials in the Menial Hall, and those who often come to listen to your lectures. Miss Mu and Young Master Chu have also asked several times."

Hua Changxi was silent for a moment: "What about Lin Sheng? What has Lin Sheng been doing these past few days?"

Yu Gui: "Lin Sheng has been a bit distracted these past few days. He went out once, and after that, he has been staying in the No. 8 Qihuang Hall for body refining."

Hua Changxi: "Go and call him over for me."

Yu Gui saw that Hua Changxi's expression was a bit off, didn't dare to ask more, and hurriedly went to call him.

In the No. 8 Qihuang Hall, Lin Sheng learned that Hua Changxi had returned, and his face immediately showed joy: "Brother Yu, you really didn't lie to me. Did the Master really come back?"

Yu Gui looked at him: "Sister Changxi wants to see you. Go quickly."

Lin Sheng's expression paused: "Okay, I'll go right over."

Soon, Lin Sheng arrived at the courtyard where Hua Changxi was. He didn't enter the courtyard immediately, but wandered at the gate for a while before entering.

Hua Changxi sat on the stone steps, playing with the Ghost Market token in her hand. Seeing Lin Sheng enter, her eyes darkened.

Lin Sheng's expression was a bit uneasy: "Master, you're back."

Hua Changxi: "Do you hope I came back alive?"

Lin Sheng said eagerly: "Of course I hope the Master is safe for life." He paused, "Did the Master encounter danger in the Ghost Market?"

Hua Changxi snorted and looked at him: "I want to see Eunuch Lin. If you don't bring him to see me today, you don't have to come back here."

Lin Sheng was anxious and wanted to say something, but facing Hua Changxi's cold eyes, he couldn't say anything: "I'll go invite my Godfather right away."

Watching his departing back, Hua Changxi's eyes were very gloomy. A fire lotus appeared in her hand, directly burning the Ghost Market token until it made a 'sizzling' sound.

Eunuch Lin not only deliberately hid the danger of the Ghost Market from her, but even the Ghost Market token he gave her had been tampered with.

Hua Changxi's mood at this moment was very annoyed. She went to the Ghost Market and not only almost died there, but her Buddhist bead bracelet was also taken away by the ghost messengers of Niutou Mountain.

Losing the Buddhist beads was nothing, the key was that for the convenience of taking them, she had stored the Totem Golden Bowl and the ten wooden plaques inside the Buddhist beads.

Hua Changxi took a deep breath, suppressing the irritability in her heart. She definitely had to go to the Ghost Market again to grab the Buddhist beads back, but she knew too little about the Ghost Market now and couldn't risk entering it again casually.

With the burning of the fire lotus, the white skull on the Ghost Market token suddenly came to life, 'whooshed' and flew out from the token, heading straight for Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi's expression changed greatly upon seeing this, and she quickly condensed a fire lotus to cover her whole body.

The flaming lotus petals blocked the skull.

The skull couldn't attach itself to Hua Changxi and seemed a bit anxious. Black light flared in its two eye sockets, turning into a vortex and emitting a powerful suction force.

Watching the flames on the fire lotus petals being quickly sucked into the skull's eye sockets, Hua Changxi was shocked and condensed another fire lotus, directly covering the skull.

The skull was trapped in the fire lotus and was immediately ignited by the flames, but this only caused a layer of flames to burn on the surface of the skull and did not substantially burn the inside of the skull.

The skull rampaged in the fire lotus like a fireball, wanting to break the lotus petals and escape, causing the fire lotus petals to vibrate constantly and scatter continuously.

Soon, a Zhu Que flew out of the fire lotus, and the Zhu Que spat out Zhu Que Flame. After the skull was attached by the Zhu Que Flame, it finally stopped just being ignited on the surface, and the flames went deep into the eye sockets, nostrils, and oral cavity.

After being burned for more than a quarter of an hour, the skull finally disappeared completely.

Hua Changxi looked at this scene, her expression quite grave.

"Clang~"

The Ghost Market token fell to the ground. Hua Changxi condensed a fire lotus again to burn it. After a quarter of an hour, there was no more anomaly, and she stepped forward to pick it up.

At this time, she discovered that the skull was still on the token, but it was not as lifelike and vivid as before.

Hua Changxi thought that this should be the true appearance of the Ghost Market token; the one Eunuch Lin gave her had been reprocessed.

However, she couldn't figure out why Eunuch Lin would want to harm her when she and Eunuch Lin had no grudges.

Perhaps Eunuch Lin didn't want to harm her.

Hua Changxi thought of the scene where the skull rushed out of the token and immediately wanted to attach itself to her.

The suction force of the skull was so powerful, it was clearly not so easy to reprocess. Having spent so much effort and taking such a big detour to send the token into her hands, Eunuch Lin most likely didn't want her to go die either.

Eunuch Lin should want to use her; there must be another purpose behind him.

Hua Changxi let Lin Sheng call Eunuch Lin, intending to call him over to vent her anger, but now, she changed her mind.

Since Eunuch Lin wanted to use her, she would conversely use his familiarity with the Ghost Market situation.

Eastern Depot.

In the steaming weapon-refining room, a tall, muscular middle-aged man stood in front of the furnace, holding a hammer, constantly hammering a blade.

Beside him, Eunuch Lin stood respectfully with his hands down: "Master Lu, twelve tokens have already been sent out."

The middle-aged man, Master Lu, did not stop his hammering: "Not enough, keep sending them. At least eighteen must be sent out."

Eunuch Lin said respectfully: "This servant obeys."

Master Lu only then put down the hammer in his hand, his face showing some worry: "The great chaos at Kunmen a few days ago will surely lead to martial law at other passes of Jiuyou. I hope it won't hinder our plan."

Hearing about the great chaos at Kunmen, Eunuch Lin's expression changed.

Master Lu saw this and asked: "What's wrong?"

Eunuch Lin hurriedly told him about Hua Changxi going to Jiuyou.

Master Lu: "Is that the female menial of the Medical Department who cured the cultivators of the Eastern Depot?"

Eunuch Lin nodded: "Yes, it's her. Lin Sheng sent word back saying she hasn't been to the Medical Department for a few days. I wonder if she encountered the great chaos at Kunmen and died in Jiuyou?"

Master Lu frowned: "The batch of cultivators injured in the Eastern Depot previously had a highest cultivation of the late Qi Sea Realm. She could cure them, which means her cultivation is either also in the late Qi Sea Realm or above the Qi Sea Realm. If such a good vessel died, it would be a great pity."

Although the recovery of spiritual energy started long ago, most of the cultivation resources are in the hands of the imperial family, nobles, and various major forces. Most of the cultivators above the Qi Sea Realm who appear now are cultivated by these forces.

Cultivators backed by major forces know a lot and are not easily fooled, and what they want to do is not easily known to outsiders, so they can only find cultivators from wild backgrounds.

And cultivators from wild backgrounds, because of the lack of cultivation resources, cannot improve their cultivation, so their usefulness is limited.

Eunuch Lin also felt a bit of pity: "Who knew she would be so unlucky to have just gone to Kunmen."

He had already planned that after Lin Sheng and Hua Changxi became more familiar, he would slowly reveal some things about Jiuyou to her, and then naturally become her guide to Jiuyou.

Who knew Hua Changxi would be so impatient, going to Jiuyou the day after getting the Ghost Market token.

He had never seen anyone so anxious to go find death.

At this moment, Master Lu's apprentice, Lu Wang, came in: "Eunuch Lin, Lin Sheng is here."

Eunuch Lin looked surprised: "Why is he here at this time? Did Lin Sheng say what he came to find us for?"

Lu Wang said: "Lin Sheng said his Master is back."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Lin's expression lifted, and he immediately looked at Master Lu, saying happily: "Master Lu, Hua Changxi is not dead."

Master Lu narrowed his eyes slightly: "The Demon-Suppressing Army captured Kunmen Bridge, but the candidate for the Underworld Matron hasn't been decided yet, so Kunmen Bridge cannot be entered or exited now. How did that female menial get out of Jiuyou?"

Eunuch Lin: "Perhaps she came out from another pass?"

Master Lu looked at him: "Don't say that female menial is going to Jiuyou for the first time. Even if she were already familiar with Jiuyou, wanting to cross from one pass to another is a life-and-death matter. I once crossed it once and almost lost my life. If she could really cross the pass, her cultivation must be above mine."

Eunuch Lin heard this and hurriedly said: "This servant was just guessing. Perhaps she was scared back the day she went to Jiuyou, and Lin Sheng just didn't know about it."

Master Lu: "... Regardless, since that female menial is still alive, it shows she has some luck. Go over and see her quickly. Probe what exactly is going on with her?"

After Eunuch Lin agreed, he hurriedly left the weapon-refining room to see Lin Sheng.

Watching Eunuch Lin leave, Master Lu's expression did not improve. Lu Wang saw this and asked: "Master, are you worried that the Ghost Market tokens won't be sent out?"

Master Lu shook his head: "Time waits for no one. Master is afraid that we will fall behind others."

Lu Wang: "How could that be? We were the first to discover the secret of Soul-Breaking Mountain."

Master Lu looked at his apprentice: "That's just what we think. In the blacksmith shops, there are actually many families whose weapon-refining heritage has never been broken. Perhaps they know more than we do."

As he spoke, he sighed again.

"These are still not what Master is most worried about. Master is most worried about those who are born in response to the times. Even if we want to snatch it, we can't beat them."

Lu Wang: "Master, is there really a Child of Luck in this world?"

Master Lu didn't know either: "Maybe. Didn't a Lingguang Palace appear in Nanxiang County? It is said that Prince Fu visited in person, yet Lingguang Palace still fell into the hands of others."

"People who dare to compete with the imperial family, even if they are not Children of Luck, are also spoilers who stir up the general trend."

Master Lu looked at his apprentice: "Tell the people below to hurry up and send out the Ghost Market tokens. If the time drags on, I fear there will be anomalies."

Lu Wang: "Yes."

On the other side, Eunuch Lin followed Lin Sheng to the Medical Department.

On the way, Lin Sheng said to Eunuch Lin: "Godfather, I see the Master's appearance, she seems very angry. When you see her later, I'm afraid you'll have to suffer some grievances."

Eunuch Lin didn't think Hua Changxi dared to do anything to him, not that he cared, but he asked again: "Are you sure Hua Changxi only returned to the Medical Department today?"

Lin Sheng nodded affirmatively: "Sure. Although Yu Gui and Eunuch Jia all said the Master was in seclusion, I know they lied."

Eunuch Lin's expression was a bit grave after hearing this. If Hua Changxi only returned today and Kunmen Pass hasn't opened yet, then it is very likely she returned from another pass. If so, could her cultivation really be above Master Lu's?

Master Lu is a Golden Core mid-stage cultivator!

Lin Sheng looked at Eunuch Lin: "Godfather, I don't think the Master is someone who can be fooled easily. I'm really worried about you..."

Eunuch Lin glanced at Lin Sheng, who was showing worry, and patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, Godfather will be fine."

The worry in Lin Sheng's eyes did not diminish. Today, when the Master returned, her attitude toward him, as well as the expression she revealed, all made him feel a bit afraid.

At this moment, they arrived at Hua Changxi's courtyard.

Lin Sheng stepped forward to knock on the door first. Soon, the door opened without wind. Lin Sheng saw this and led Eunuch Lin into the courtyard.

As soon as the two entered, the door closed immediately.

Eunuch Lin's expression paused, but he was still calm. He walked to the center of the courtyard with a smile and was just about to call out for Hua Changxi when, with a 'slap', a silver-white iron whip lashed heavily onto Eunuch Lin's body.

"Ah~"

Eunuch Lin was directly whipped to the ground. The sharp pain in his soul twisted his facial features.

Lin Sheng didn't expect Hua Changxi to take action without saying a word, and immediately blocked in front of Eunuch Lin.

Hua Changxi walked out of the room. Seeing Lin Sheng like this, she didn't hold back and lashed him with a whip, directly whipping him to the ground.

"Does this taste of unbearable pain feel good?"

Hua Changxi looked at the two people lying on the ground, their faces pale from pain, and waved a stream of spiritual power to help them up, looking at them with a smile.

"Eunuch Lin, speaking of which, I really have to thank you. If I hadn't gone to the Ghost Market, I wouldn't have known that this taste of unbearable pain was so uncomfortable."

"I thought, since you gave me the Ghost Market token, now that I've experienced this taste, I also want to invite you to experience it. You won't blame me, will you?"

Eunuch Lin looked at the smiling Hua Changxi and suddenly felt a chill down his back. Thinking of the matter Master Lu had entrusted to him, he could only endure the pain and ask with a stiff upper lip: "Manager Hua, you took action as soon as we met. What exactly is this for?"

Hua Changxi saw his reaction and became more convinced that they had another purpose in giving her the Ghost Market token. She smiled and said: "Eunuch Lin, I really want to know, why didn't you warn me that the Ghost Market is dangerous? Did you want me to die in the Ghost Market?"

Eunuch Lin heard this and immediately put on a look of grievance: "You didn't ask me about the Ghost Market, did you?"

Hua Changxi knew he would say that: "It was my first time going to the Ghost Market. If you really wanted to be on good terms, why wouldn't you warn me a few words?"

Eunuch Lin explained angrily: "When cultivators interact, they keep a certain distance from each other. I thought that when we became more familiar, I would tell you about the Ghost Market situation. Who knew you would be so anxious to go to the Ghost Market."

Hua Changxi waved her spiritual power, moved two chairs from the room, and let them sit down: "Eunuch Lin, we are familiar now, right? Tell me about the Ghost Market situation."

Eunuch Lin looked at Hua Changxi in surprise: "Hasn't Manager Hua been to the Ghost Market?"

Hua Changxi smiled: "I went, and came back the same day. I am a timid person, and I won't easily step into anything unknown."

Eunuch Lin's expression shifted: "Then why wasn't Manager Hua there for those few days?"

Hua Changxi glanced at Lin Sheng: "Eunuch Lin seems very concerned about my whereabouts?"

Eunuch Lin: "... Lin Sheng was worried about your safety. Seeing you hadn't returned for a long time, he ran to find me, wanting me to go to the Ghost Market to save you. That's how I knew Manager Hua had gone to the Ghost Market."

Hua Changxi smiled: "Then did Eunuch Lin think about going to the Ghost Market to save me?"

Eunuch Lin said very decisively: "You are Lin Sheng's Master. If something happens to you, I naturally cannot sit idly by. Of course I wanted to save you, but when I went to the Ghost Market, the people from the Demon-Suppressing Army had already blocked Kunmen Pass, and we couldn't get in at all."

Hua Changxi's eyes flickered: "Kunmen Pass? Does the Ghost Market have many passes? Also, why did the Demon-Suppressing Army block Kunmen Pass?"

Eunuch Lin sized up Hua Changxi's expression. Seeing that she really didn't know anything about Jiuyou, he felt relieved. It seemed she hadn't returned from crossing another pass, and it should really be as she said, she was scared back the day she went.

"Ghost Market is just a name cultivators use for the trading market. Because it was set up in Jiuyou, and Jiuyou gathered a large number of lonely ghosts, it was named Ghost Market."

Hua Changxi's expression lifted: "Jiuyou?" She paused and immediately asked, "Is Jiuyou a world of its own?"

Eunuch Lin was stumped by the question. He knew a little more about Jiuyou than Hua Changxi, but he didn't know the ins and outs of Jiuyou.

"This servant doesn't know."

Hua Changxi: "Then what is this Jiuyou you speak of?"

Eunuch Lin: "Jiuyou has nine passes, which are Qianmen, Kunmen, Zhenmen, Genmen, Limen, Kanmen, Duimen, Xunmen, and Zhongmen. Each pass will set up a Ghost Market."

"The nine passes are connected to each other by the Hua Minghe. For cultivators to go to Jiuyou, they can only enter the Ghost Market by crossing the wooden bridge on the Hua Minghe."

"There is an Underworld Matron by the wooden bridge, and the Underworld Matron is responsible for giving Spirit-Sealing Soup to the cultivators entering and exiting."

"As long as you follow the rules of the Ghost Market, cultivators are actually very safe. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many cultivators going to the Ghost Market to trade."