My mind was in a whirl. What should I do? Could this be related to that evil sorcerer sect again?

Song Wei pulled me aside, still shaken, and whispered, “Who would’ve thought that the usually reserved Zhao Xiaoru could be so… wild!”

I shook my head subtly. That voice earlier was definitely not Zhao Xiaoru!

“Song Wei, you go ahead to the cafeteria. I’ll pop by the library real quick; grab some takeout for me, will you?” I dashed off, circling around to the other side of Lovers’ Hill. This was the only way out, so I set up a little stakeout.

After about twenty minutes, I saw the guy come out. I let out a sigh of relief—at least he wasn’t dead.

But he looked drained, almost like a demon had sucked the life out of him, with a silly grin plastered on his face. Seriously? It was only twenty minutes. No way he’d be that… satisfied, right?

Right after that, I saw Zhao Xiaoru walking out with her head down.

Pretending to rush to the cafeteria, I jogged up and bumped into her—just to test the waters.

“Oh, sorry! My bad… Wait, Zhao Xiaoru, is that you?” My acting was a bit stiff, but it would have to do.

Zhao Xiaoru’s eyes were red, and her voice was hoarse—was she too… intense?

“Oh… it’s okay.” She looked up and saw it was me, her gaze shifty.

Her tone was normal, completely different from that strange voice earlier!

“Xiaoru, what’s wrong? It looks like you’ve been crying…” I couldn’t let it go and pressed a little more.

She looked at me, surprised, then shook her head. “It’s nothing… just… cough, my throat’s a bit sore, made my eyes water.”

I nodded, and just then, Song Wei called me, giving me the perfect excuse to leave.

—Her mind seemed normal, not like she was possessed by a ghost.

And there was no dark aura around her eyebrows, though her face was pale, and her eyes were rimmed red, almost like she’d been humiliated rather than doing anything… voluntary.

When I got home, I told my brother about it, and he immediately tensed up at the mention of evil sorcerers.

“Hey, this particular sorcery sect is said to come from the Tibetan region. It’s almost extinct there, but it’s making a comeback inland… Their practices involve two main things: seducing men to drain their energy and possessing people with local ghosts. This possession doesn’t control their minds; it just makes them serve the sect, almost like brainwashing them to keep making offerings!”

My brother rubbed his hands and took out his notebook to look up some notes Dad had left behind.

“What do we do if the sect seeks revenge? We’re nowhere near strong enough to defend ourselves.”

“Where’s that ghost husband of yours? Has he shown up?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know where he is. He hasn’t shown himself to me lately.”

My brother clicked his tongue, reluctant, then said, “Looks like we’ll need to make a trip to the Ghost Market. We should get some protection charms. I remember there’s a shop there that specializes in them.”

I was speechless for a while. Just how many specialty stores does the Ghost Market have?

“Thing is, everything there is ridiculously expensive. Those vendors really know how to rip people off… Shall we go?” he asked, looking at me. After all, I held the family finances.

I nodded. I was curious about what the Ghost Market was like anyway.

My brother had been there a few times with Dad, so he drove us out.

“We’re driving? Can you actually drive all the way to the Shadow Mountain?”

“Of course not! We’re just going to the entrance of the Ghost Market!” My brother shot me a glare.

The entrance to the Ghost Market is in a spot brimming with yin energy. He drove us to a cemetery nearby. Nowadays, cemeteries are well-maintained, with dedicated management teams, so they’re not too creepy.

He led me around to the back of the cemetery, where an old willow tree stood by a pond.

Willow trees are known to attract spirits, and the pond water was still and murky, sending a chill through me even during the day.

And my brother was here in the middle of the night… burning spirit money!

“Offering passage fees, Earth God, please open the way…” My brother muttered some words, and a gust of cold wind made me shiver and hunch my shoulders.

There wasn’t much change in the surroundings, but the willow tree looked slightly different. My brother took my hand and led me straight toward the trunk. I shut my eyes tightly, and when I opened them, everything in front of me had transformed!

A stone-paved path stretched ahead, with a tall stone archway and quaint, ancient-style shops lined up on either side. Stalls dotted the ground, and people wrapped in headscarves and cloaks walked along the road.

The archway read “East Market”—this must be one of the entrances to the Ghost Market!

“This place is carved out at the foot of Shadow Mountain. Here, you must avoid speaking loudly and try not to open your mouth much. Opening it lets Shadow Mountain drain your yang energy,” my brother wrote in my palm to warn me.

I nodded. No wonder the street was packed, yet as silent as a mime show, with people haggling through hand gestures.

My brother handed me a mask and sunglasses he’d prepared, so here we were, blending in as a fresh pair in masks and shades among others in black cloaks.

It was my first time here, so I was dazzled by all kinds of strange items on sale. At one spot, I saw a shadowy figure sitting by the roadside with a cardboard sign around his neck that read: “Selling myself, seeking a spiritual treasure or secret manual, willing to recognize you as my father!”

I nearly laughed out loud.

My brother brought me to a shop with a yin-yang mirror and peach wood sword hanging at the entrance. As soon as we stepped inside, he closed the door behind us and sighed, “Finally, we can talk. Xiao Qiao.”

I nodded, eyeing the shopkeeper who walked over with a smirk. “Isn’t this the famous young master of the Mu family? What brings you to my humble store?”

“Cut the crap. Two sets of ghost-repelling charms.”

The shopkeeper quickly picked out two sets, carefully wrapped them in cowhide, and tied them with red string before handing them over. “Ten thousand per set, so twenty thousand total.”

“Damn!” My brother shouted, “Twenty grand for a few scraps of paper?! Is this ghost money?”

The shopkeeper flashed a sly grin and rubbed his hands. “I heard young Master Mu has hit it big recently. Let us drink a little soup from your success, huh? These charms pack some serious power.”

“Less nonsense. The effectiveness depends on the user! Trying to con me? Five thousand per set, or we’re out of here.” My brother stood to leave.

“Hey, hey, how about sixteen thousand for both?”

“Four thousand!” he countered sharply.

“Fine, fine, you win.”

Four thousand was still a lot. As I eyed those rolls of cowhide, I thought to myself, this industry really rakes in cash and burns it fast too.

Eventually, I’d learn that spending money in this trade was actually a way to balance out bad karma, which is why you rarely see anyone in this business amass great wealth.

Outside another shop, a large, pitch-black log sat by the door. I stared at it in puzzlement—what was this place selling? Lumber? It’s not like ghosts need coffins.

Seeing my attention snagged, my brother grinned and nudged me inside, but he didn’t follow.

The door closed behind me immediately, and by the dim light of an oil lamp, a hunched old woman grinned at me. “Welcome, young lady…”

My heart raced, but I glanced down to check—she had a shadow.

Human… I sighed a little in relief. “Uh, what… what do you sell here?”

The old woman blinked, then gave a mischievous smile. “Don’t you know what we sell?”

I shook my head.

She chuckled and said, “First time here, eh? Have a seat, I’ll bring out something for you to see…”

She hobbled behind the counter and brought out a tray full of sleek, polished black wooden objects with shapes that were… hard to describe.

“Here, look at these wooden implements. Be thorough; check if any match the length, thickness, and shape of that guy of yours…”

Pfft—!!