“What?”

I was stunned and turned around to look. After a while, I recognized that the mermaid’s tears were compressed into the form of a bead by some kind of force. When they were used, they would naturally turn back into their liquid form.

I couldn’t wait to have them. I turned to Chuyi in excitement. “How can we get the treasure?”

“They aren’t meant to be sold. They are the items they use to show off at the Ghost Market. But sometimes, they will give them away to the people who have contributed a lot to the market or have a very active team. Don’t worry. Except for us and the Longquan Villa, there are no other people forming teams in this year's trade conference. That’s why only us and the Longquan Villa will be eligible to receive the rewards.”

I felt better. Even if I got the mermaid’s tears right now, One-Armed Dragon and his friends wouldn’t leave me alone. I shouldn’t worry about them for the time being.

Then, Chuyi enthusiastically introduced the other two treasures to me. The set of clothes on the left was said to belong to Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, while the mask on the right used to be worn by a great Daoist Priest in the Han Dynasty. That mask’s attack power was shocking. Chuyi said that if the user could connect to the mask’s spirit, they could even release the fire phoenix. It worked the same way as my Invisible Needle.

Although they were great treasures, my mind was occupied by the mermaid’s tears. I didn’t show interest in the other items.

We finally eased our worries as we’d found the mermaid’s tears. We headed back to the inn to rest. When we reached the inn, a team of dark shadows surrounded us.

Subconsciously, I drew out the Emei Piercer and was ready to defend myself. Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi held a hand in front of me to stop me. Chuyi smiled and talked to the leader of the shadows in a language I didn’t understand.

Zen Master Baimei took the chance to mutter his explanation to me. “These shadows are the henchmen of the market’s owners. They are responsible for the Ghost Market’s security.”

I frowned and had a feeling that they didn’t come in peace.

Indeed, after talking to the dark shadow, Chuyi grimaced. He said carefully, “Those big bosses know that we got in a fight with the people from the Longquan Villa. They want to summon us to talk!”

“Then…” Since the ghost soldiers were here, I shot Chuyi a look and asked him to run away.

He shook his head and directly told me, “You don’t need to think about running away. If these powerful bosses that run the Ghost Market were to join hands, even the King of Hell would be afraid of them!”

Zen Master Baimei wanted to say something when suddenly, everything turned black in front of us. The wind hissed by our ears. I felt my body floating up.

Soon, the light came back and I landed. I opened my eyes and found Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei near me. One-Armed Dragon and the other two were standing on the other side. It seemed the ghost soldiers had worked efficiently. I smacked my tongue in admiration.

Then, I pulled myself together and observed the place. We were inside a hall that was lit up with rows of flickering blue candle lights. We stood on one end of the hall while the Longquan Villa’s team stood on the other end.

All of a sudden, we felt a powerful presence. It was the bosses and owners of the Ghost Market. Their names were well-known everywhere. They were the Monster King, the Judge of Hell, and the Demon King… Six rectangle boxes were placed on an altar in front of them.

I wondered what was inside those boxes. From the number of boxes, I guessed they were for us. Are they going to ask us to drink some poison? Is this our execution?

Soon, I rejected this idea. If they wanted to kill us, they didn’t need to put on this show.

I turned to Chuyi. He looked dumbstruck and shook his head.

A charming female voice arose. “We shall start now. Each of you will choose a box. We’re going to play a game with you. Haha.”

No one made a move after the woman said that as we didn’t know what her plan was. Even One-armed Dragon, who was normally haughty, didn’t move an inch. Anyway, we were nothing in front of the three bosses of the Ghost Market.

The woman appeared clearer in our vision. She was wearing a red wedding dress with a phoenix headwear. She had a small mouth. When she spoke, her red lips parted seducingly. Unfortunately, her face was chalk-white. It looked as though she had a thin layer of white powder on her skin, which reduced her beauty.

While I was assessing her, she also checked us. Her voice grew colder. “You have violated the rules of our Ghost Market. Accordingly, all of you should be executed and your souls sent to Hell. But as it’s the first time you’ve violated the rules, I’m going to give you a chance to survive!”

I exhaled. Chuyi shook his head and whispered, “Don’t believe her.”

Indeed, the woman smiled cunningly as she explained her game to us.

Each of those six boxes had a famous otherworldly item. They wanted each of us to choose one. Then, they would randomly match us for a battle.

During the battle, we could only use the otherworldly item we had chosen. Otherwise, we would lose. There was no regulated fighting mode or fixed arena. We could choose any place in the Fengdu area to fight.

When the woman finished her introduction, the shadows sitting next to her all laughed at once.

Then, she raised one hand. Immediately, right in the middle of the hall, a screen made of flames was conjured.

I was stunned and watched the flame screen divide into countless smaller screens. Those screens were monitors positioned at every corner of Fengdu!

Perhaps she just wanted to open our eyes, so she picked a small screen and zoomed into it. Immediately, we saw ghosts and humans moving on the screen. We even heard them bargaining.

Then, the woman turned the screen back into countless smaller cubes. She said humorously, “When you go back, spend time studying your item. You shouldn’t think about running away. Every move of yours is watched!”

When she said that, I was almost petrified. I gave up all ideas of fleeing.

Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi looked better than me as they had a better state of mind than I did. After a moment of contemplation, they moved forward and picked a box. The Longquan Villa’s people rushed toward the altar and saw that the other two had already chosen their boxes.

“The ratio is the same. You don’t need to freaking rush!” I cursed under my breath. I was the last one to pick a box.

Then, the woman conjured six pieces of paper that floated in front of us. We chose one each. In the end, we got a matching result. Chuyi vs Yi Zhangqing; Zen Master Baimei vs Yi Yang Tiger; and I would fight against the strongest among them, One-Armed Dragon…

“To ensure fairness in the game, before your match starts, you will not know the otherworldly item your opponent has chosen. Go back and prepare. The first match will begin at 8:00 AM tomorrow!”

After the women said that, the shadows disappeared before we could speak. Then, the ghost soldiers took us back to our inn.

At the moment I went upstairs, One-Armed Dragon shot me a cold glance and sneered. “I hope you’re not too weak.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll have a chance to see that,” I barked back. However, I was anxious. One-Armed Dragon was the strongest of the three elders, while I was the weakest in our team.

However, as it was a rule in the game that if Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei defeated their opponents, and One-Armed Dragon defeated me, the overall result wouldn’t be affected.