Chapter 343: Yin Market
Ye Qing let out an audible gasp when he heard this. He didn’t really mind people making Strange Artifacts out of a person’s skull, but to blow[1] it as well? That was going a little too far, wasn’t it?
Peng Hu wasn’t done talking, however. He continued, “A baby’s skull is soft because it isn’t fully formed yet. Therefore, one baby can only make one Human Bone Whistle at most.”
“Of course, the Peng Clan doesn’t murder babies to create our Human Bone Whistles. We only use babies who have already passed away for one reason or another. But there are some heretics out there who use living babies to make the Human Bone Whistle. In fact, they removed the skull and carved out the whistle while the baby was fully conscious.”
“They used a secret art to keep the baby from dying so they would continuously accumulate resentment until they transformed into a Grudge Baby. Once the whistle was complete, they would seal the Grudge Baby into the Human Bone Whistle.”
“It is said that a Human Bone Whistle that was created this way is very powerful. It could summon and control thousands and thousands of ghosts and even Strangers.”
“Despicable human scum!” Qi Xuanyun was so angry he actually cursed despite his upbringing.
“That’s why a Stranger isn’t the most terrifying thing in the world. The human heart is.” Chu Nianjiu gave the young Taoist a consoling pat on the shoulder and sipped his wine.
Time passed quickly as the group continued to make idle chats with each other. They soon arrived at Auspicious Phoenix Market.
“Damn! This Auspicious Phoenix Market is positively flourishing!” Ye Qing exclaimed in admiration as soon as he stepped through the entrance. The streets were jam-packed with people, and the rows and rows of houses were lined up orderly like fish scales. He thought that Auspicious Phoenix Market was just a small, remote village, but in reality it was just as busy as some of the counties he visited.
“Strange. Auspicious Phoenix Market is a prosperous village, but I don’t remember it being this busy. It literally doesn’t have enough houses to fit this many people.” Peng Hu was a little confused as well.
He passed through Auspicious Phoenix Market during one of his runs before, so he knew that Auspicious Phoenix Market was more prosperous than most villages. However, he had never seen the streets as packed as it was today. Literally, you couldn’t walk down the road without bumping shoulders with someone.
Besides that, he noticed that most of the pedestrians were jianghu warriors, and a small portion of them were scholars carrying bamboo baskets on their backs.
“Now that you mentioned it, they don’t look like locals.” Ye Qing watched his surroundings for a bit before adding, “Also, don’t you think that the shops are a little strange. Why are there so many shops and stalls selling burial clothes and paper offerings?
Even if people died in this village everyday, the supply should still far exceed the demand...
At least five out of ten of the stores on both sides of the main street were selling burial clothes. There were burial clothes designed for male, female, old and young. Even stranger was the fact that each and every shop was jam-packed with customers.
Three out of the five shops that weren’t selling burial clothes were selling funeral supplies such as paper dolls, paper offerings and coffins. From time to time, a customer would walk out of the store carrying a Golden Boy and a Jade Maiden with happy faces. Those who bought a set of burial clothes looked even happier.
“Is it... okay to look this happy when you’ve lost a family member?” Chu Nianjiu couldn’t help but stare at the people with a strange expression.
Ye Qing replied with black humor, “Maybe it’s because they lost their wife? ‘Lose a partner to get rich and earn a promotion’. It’s one of the three happiest things one could experience in life.”
“Perhaps, but they can’t all have lost their wife, can they?” Chu Nianjiu complained. “What about that woman over there? Don’t tell me she lost a wife too.”
“Ahem... maybe they lost a husband? The proverb should still apply even if the genders are reversed. And who says a woman can’t marry another woman?” Ye Qing retorted.
“Hehe, makes sense!” Chu Nianjiu let out a lecherous chuckle.
“Cut it out, you two. We have a kid with us.” Lin Yuhuai interrupted their conversation and glanced at Qi Xuanyun. The good news was that the young Taoist didn’t seem to get the joke at all. “Anyway, keep your eyes open for an inn. Peng Chuan needs his rest as soon as possible.”
“Agreed. Come with me.” Peng Hu beckoned the group to follow him. He visited Auspicious Phoenix Market before, so he was more familiar with the terrain than the rest of them. It wasn’t long before they arrived at an inn.
Unfortunately, the inn was completely full, so they had to search for another inn. To their surprise, the next few inns they visited were completely full as well. Even the wood sheds were completely packed.
“What is going on here?” Peng Hu’s brows were knitted together in a frown. “This makes no sense!”
“It probably has something to do with the presence of these jianghu warriors,” Peng Lin interrupted. “Maybe something like a festival is about to take place?”
“That’s not all. This whole village is brimming with oddities.” Ye Qing rubbed his nose and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
“Why guess when we can just ask a helpful pedestrian?” Chu Nianjiu suddenly said with a smirk. The next moment, a ridiculously loud scream burst out beside him, “Ahhhhhhhh! It’s gonna break! It’s gonna break! Mercy!”
Peng Hu turned around and saw Chu Nianjiu grabbing a young man’s wrist. The guy was bent like a prawn and crying out in abject pain.
“Is it? Then why did you try to steal my stuff in the first place?” Chu Nianjiu said with a grin. Clearly, the young man had tried to steal the Spirit Purifier’s stuff but failed to realize that he was no easy mark. Worse, Chu Nianjiu was an expert torturer.
Chu Nianjiu must have tightened his grip, because the young man’s screams suddenly climbed a whole octave, “Aaaaaaargh! Mercy, please! I won’t do it again!”
Giant beads of sweat poured down his forehead. He would be rolling on the floor if Chu Nianjiu wasn’t holding him tight.
Chu Nianjiu looked down on the youngster. “I can let you go, but you’ll have to answer some of our questions.”
“Anything, boss! I’ll even answer a hundred questions if I must!” The young man replied in a hurry.
When Chu Nianjiu let go, the young man immediately snatched his wrist away and rubbed the sore spots.
“Don’t be a chicken. I didn’t even break your wrist,” Chu Nianjiu said nonchalantly. “What is your name?”
The young man replied meekly, “Mank Ee. My name is Mank Ee [2].”
“Monkey? A fitting name. Why are so many people gathered in Auspicious Phoenix Market today, Monkey?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
“Boss! My name is Mank Ee, not monkey!” Mank Ee tried to defend his dignity.
“I like Monkey. You don’t like Monkey?” Chu Nianjiu side-eyed him.
“Whatever you say, boss!” Mank Ee wisely changed his mind.
“Answer my question,” Chu Nianjiu pressed.
Mank Ee shot him a surprised look. “I thought you were... Aren’t you here for the Yin Market?”
“The Yin Market? What’s that?” The group exchanged glances with each other. No one knew what the young man was talking about.
“Come on! The Yin Market of Auspicious Village Market has to be one of the most famous happenings in the realm! How could you know nothing about it?”
Mank Ee scoffed in disdain, but when he noticed the unfriendly look in everyone’s eyes, he abruptly recalled his position and answered the question in a hurry, “The Yin Market is a grand event our village holds once per year. Do you know why our village is named ‘Market’ instead of the standard ‘Village’? That’s because of the Yin Market. It is said that Auspicious Phoenix Market is located at the intersection point between the yin world and the yang world, and every fifteenth of May[3], the two worlds will merge, and our village will overlap with Fengdu.”
“Fengdu? Are you referring to the Yin Market of Fengdu?” Qi Xuanyun exclaimed with surprise.
“You’ve heard of it, Reverend?” Mank Ee looked at him.
Qi Xuanyun answered, “Fengdu is the city of ghosts located on top of Luo Mountain. According to volume fifteen of the ‘Declarations of the Perfected[4]’, chapter one of ‘Revealing the Profoundly Faint’, Fengdu and Luo Mountain is located to the north of the Nether. It is the land of ghosts and the roots of blackness and death.”
“Luo Mountain is thirteen hundred kilometers tall and fifteen thousand kilometers long in circumference. There are six caverns within Luo Mountain—thirteen hundred kilometers tall and five thousand kilometers long in circumference—and they are known as the Six Abodes of Ghost Gods[5] ruled by the Six Ghost Gods.”
“The first cavern is called the Tyrant Extinction Abode of Absolute Yin, the second cavern is called the Grand Fiend Abode of Forgiveness, the third cavern is called the Bright Star Abode of Resistance, the fourth cavern is called the Illuminating Abode of Sin, the fifth cavern is called the Sect Spirit Abode of Seven Wrongs, and the last cavern is called the Daring Charge Abode of The Cojoined[6]. Everyone who dies will enter the six abodes.”
“Finally, the ruler of the Fengdu is the Great Emperor of Fengdu.”
“You’re incredibly knowledgeable, Reverend,” Mank Ee praised. He had no idea what the young Taoist was prattling about, but you couldn’t go wrong with compliments.
Ye Qing, Lin Yuhuai, Chu Nianjiu and the coffin hauliers had heard of Fengdu as a matter of course. Humans had their own world, and so did ghosts. The living governed the yang world, and the Fengdu governed the yin world. Fengdu was where a person went after they died; the afterlife. It was the equivalent of the Hell or the Netherworld Ye Qing knew in his previous life.
According to the Pacification Bureau’s records, Fengdu had most likely began as the abode or the realm of a godlike champion. It was created for the express purpose of receiving ghosts. The people were superstitious, ignorant, and afraid of death, so they began worshiping Fengdu and all that it entailed. Over time, it became a true Hell or Netherworld and developed its own unique system and operations.
In simpler terms, Fengdu was an imperial court or organization that specifically took care of ghosts. One could even view them as a sect of sorts.
“But that’s impossible!” Qi Xuanyun denied his own words. “Several centuries ago, when the great You Dynasty was overturned, and everyone was fighting for dominance, Fengdu too opened its unholy gates and attempted to invade the yang world. As a result, Chu, Yan, Wei and Qi united everyone in the world to launch a counter invasion. It ended with the death of the Great Emperor of Fengdu and the Six Ghost Gods. Even if Fengdu itself isn’t completely destroyed, it has ceased to exist as a faction for a very, very long time. Did another godlike champion somehow rebuild Fengdu without anyone knowing?”
The group exchanged glances with each other before shrugging. This level of knowledge was way above their pay grade.
Mank Ee shot Qi Xuanyun a displeased look. “What nonsense are you spouting, Reverend? The Fengdu is eternal!”
In response, Ye Qing slapped him on the back of his head and said, “Tell us more about the Yin Market of Fengdu.”
“Yes, yes,” Mank Ee replied in a hurry. “To put it simply, the Yin Market of Fengdu is a market in the underworld. Every fifteenth of May, the two worlds will merge, and we, the living, will gain access to the Yin Market for one night and trade with its denizens. As you know, the yin world holds a lot of items that are quite priceless in the yang world. Even if you’re not there to trade, who doesn’t want to experience a completely different world?”
“However, the Yin Market is only accessible for a single night, and only once per year. That is why travelers from all across the world would enter our village during this time of the year.”
“In fact, we used to be called Auspicious Phoenix Village. The people were poor, and the farm yields were just enough to survive. But after the Yin Market appeared, our situation kept getting better and better. Over time, we decided to change our village’s name to Auspicious Village Market.”
“One question. The yin world isn’t meant for the living. Won’t the ghosts of Fengdu tear you to pieces for technically invading their realm?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
“Of course not! Violence is prohibited in the Yin Market,” Mank Ee explained. “There are countless yin guards patrolling the market to enforce peace and order. Anyone who tries anything would be captured and thrown into prison immediately.”
1. I think it’s because the words 吹箫 could also be interpreted as blowjob in Chinese. ?
2. The original isn’t this, I took a bit of liberty so that the next line would make sense. ?
3. Technically this is Chinese calendar May 15th and not Western calendar May 15th, but from this world’s perspective it makes no sense to convert it to the “right” date. ?
4. An actual series. I shouldn’t need to tell you how complicated it is. ?
5. Don’t ask me why the cavern is as tall as the mountain. Maybe it’s a volcano with no ceiling. ?
6. I have no fucking clue if I translated this correctly. Even the Chinese literature don’t really explain what the fuck each abode does. They once existed, but it was so long ago no one even remembers them except their names. ?
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