Chapter 336: A Top Student Taking an Open-Book Exam!
At this stage, Lahman had no advantage whatsoever.
He had only explored tombs before and had some understanding of tomb mechanisms. He’d never been to the underworld—how would he know what this place was like?
Everything here seemed to exceed his understanding. In his eyes, this was an unknown world of ghost stories.
But as one of the veteran hands in the world of ghost stories, his reaction speed was still fast.
You always have to actively seek out intelligence rather than sit around waiting for it to come to you.
First-time visitors to the Ghost Market basically all looked around nervously, quite timid.
But the tall man ahead of him didn’t seem nervous at all—he looked like someone who knew the place well. So Lahman tried approaching him to say hello.
The man who was stopped was somewhat stocky, a head taller than Lahman, with a somewhat powerful aura—at least stronger than Lahman’s. But he only had one arm.
Lahman had observed him earlier while waiting in line to buy incense.
When this one-armed man was buying things under the green light, he paid and left immediately, his movements very practiced. After passing through the green light area, he moved with clear purpose—definitely not his first time here.
Actually, Lahman didn’t want to reveal that it was his first time here, but pretending would easily give it away.
But if he didn’t figure things out, it would be too dangerous going in. Just from looking, you could tell this place was a burial ground.
So he decided to take a gamble here. Lahman openly slipped some ghost coins into the one-armed man’s hand and said, “Brother, it’s my first time here. Could you give me some guidance?”
He figured that in a place like this, money could get a lot done—after all, everyone seemed short on cash.
Rather than take risks, it was better to spend some money to solve problems.
The one-armed man was initially annoyed at being stopped, but seeing how sensible Lahman was, he nodded and pulled him to a spot that was within the green light’s range but wasn’t crowded.
Lahman talked with him for a few minutes and got quite a bit of information.
First, about the incense—it was pretty much as Lahman had guessed. The Ghost Market was a special zone, and only by holding this incense sold at special locations could one survive.
It was like receiving “protection,” preventing [Assimilation].
Since he’d taken the money, the one-armed guy did teach him some precautions.
When entering certain areas, the incense would burn especially fast. If you noticed your incense burning at an abnormal rate, leave quickly.
Also, the more fearful you were inside, the faster the incense burned.
Simply put, the more afraid you were, the more negative emotions you’d emit, and the contamination here would be attracted to them.
To protect those who entered, the incense naturally burned desperately.
The one-armed guy had heard from a senior before that a stick of incense normally burned for about six hours. He warned Lahman not to wait until the incense was almost gone before thinking about leaving—that was very dangerous.
Next was information about the Ghost Market and the free trading area.
The Ghost Market was actually a special and eerie city. The free trading area was just one part of it—the area open to outsiders.
As for what else was there, the one-armed guy wasn’t too sure either. He only went to the free trading area to buy some things for cultivation, and he also told Lahman the location of the free trading area.
When Lahman asked about the people with smiling masks, crying masks, and the ox-headed and horse-faced ones, the one-armed guy looked terrified and wasn’t going to answer—or rather, he didn’t know much either.
In the end, he only quietly warned Lahman: if you can avoid contact with these strange people, absolutely do so—otherwise there would be danger.
He also advised Lahman to leave after buying what he needed and to put away his curiosity.
You could tell the one-armed guy was a straightforward person—the type who really didn’t want trouble.
But these were all people Lahman had to come into contact with. He could only figure out his own way.
After thanking the one-armed guy, Lahman parted ways with him.
The one-armed guy seemed capable, but getting information for that little money was already good enough. Expecting him to look after Lahman was unrealistic.
The conversation with the one-armed guy gave him a rough idea of what kind of place this was.
But to learn more, he’d have to explore on his own.
By this point, Lahman had no choice but to move.
Because he could feel quite a few eyes had already locked onto him.
When the one-armed guy was here earlier, these people thought the two of them knew each other, so they didn’t dare try anything.
Now, in the pitch-black areas beyond the lights, there seemed to be gazes sweeping over Lahman.
And the most dangerous thing was—these “people” didn’t seem to be holding incense.
Anyone holding incense, unless deliberately hiding it, would have a red dot around them.
“Could they be assimilated people?”
With that thought, Lahman saw a few more people get their incense and head inside. He quickly mixed in among them and left the area.
This world was pitch-black, and the only things illuminating the way forward were the scattered street lamps.
Between each street lamp here, there was an empty stretch of distance—pitch-black and impenetrable. And not every street lamp was green.
So the Chosen Ones had to be extra careful walking here.
As he walked toward the free trading area, Lahman thought about the rules. After all, he’d gotten some intelligence, and now he could finally spare some time to analyze.
Rule 1 wasn’t hard to understand, and there didn’t seem to be any traps in it. It basically meant that the free trading area in the Ghost Market was a relatively safe place.
This connected to Rule 8.
[Rule 8: Remember, if you buy counterfeit goods in the Ghost Market, you are lucky, because you can inform the free trading area’s management, and they will handle it for you.]
Seeing this rule, Lahman was actually a bit confused. That is to say, besides the free trading area, there were actually other places to trade.
Because it said “buy counterfeit goods in the Ghost Market,” not limited to just the free trading area.
The one-armed guy didn’t know this—after all, according to him, he wasn’t here to explore, just to buy some things. No need to create complications.
But Lahman still didn’t know what he needed to buy, so he could only go into the free trading area first and take a look.
Rule 2 was completely incomprehensible to him—what did it mean, [You are not a living person, because you have no life. You are not a dead person either, because you haven’t died yet]?
“Then what exactly am I? A living dead?”
Lahman didn’t quite understand. He knew this sentence was trying to tell him something, but there was no intelligence to explain it.
He wasn’t anxious about not understanding. After all, he could first find the [people] or [events] mentioned in the rules.
Like the eerie creature identical to himself mentioned in Rule 3, and the parade mentioned in Rule 5.
If he encountered an eerie creature identical to himself, he’d have to find a way to kill it. Following that shouldn’t be a big problem, but he was also somewhat puzzled—why would a creature identical to himself appear?
Right now, most of the Chosen Ones, like Lahman, had bandages wrapped around their bodies—or rather, ever since leaving the general store, they hadn’t removed their bandages.
Next was the mysterious bamboo hat—the Chosen Ones all seemed to like wearing it on their heads.
Whether it was sunny or raining, this thing was very useful and extremely convenient to carry—much better than an umbrella.
And once you put it on, some people didn’t dare look down on you.
Some Chosen Ones from certain countries had even come to love this thing.
Lastly, there was the ordinary opera mask from the general store—many people coming to the Ghost Market wore them.
So Lahman was somewhat confused: was the rule telling him to kill someone dressed similarly to him, or someone who looked similar to him?
If it was the latter, and the other person was also wearing a mask, how would he know they looked like him?
This was where Lahman was smart—when he couldn’t figure something out, he’d stop and not keep obsessing over it.
He’d analyze the rules later as he gathered more intelligence.
Rule 5 was the key—this was a hidden death rule.
Here, he might encounter a parade. If he didn’t encounter one, he should go look for it!
Because it was an [event] mentioned in the rules—even though it was dangerous, it also proved there must be something inside worth risking for.
As for the other rules, most were life-saving rules.
This showed that the Chosen Ones would encounter all kinds of dangers this time.
Having analyzed this far, many Chosen Ones felt uneasy, feeling like they were in an unfamiliar place with no help—like they’d die no matter what they encountered.
But Miller, the Chosen One from the Eagle Kingdom, had analyzed out one potential helper—the free trading area’s management mentioned in Rule 8.
[Rule 8: Remember, if you buy counterfeit goods in the Ghost Market, you are lucky, because you can inform the free trading area’s management, and they will handle it for you.]
“I want them to help me, but the prerequisite is that I buy counterfeit goods from the target I want to harm—is that what it means?”
Miller felt that this time, as long as he forgot his identity as a Transcendent, he could think about problems normally.
Because Transcendents, confident in their own power, never considered finding helpers—they’d rather put their lives in their own hands. Dying recklessly was still their own choice.
Ordinary Chosen Ones wanting to increase their chances of survival needed helpers—it was essential.
Carrying a pile of unknowns, Miller entered the Ghost Market area.
When he stepped into this area, he felt everything around him become murky.
The light became dimmer, and something seemed to press against his chest.
The gazes in the darkness grew more intense, as if waiting for the Chosen Ones to step deeper.
Many Chosen Ones even experienced brief auditory hallucinations—hearing familiar voices calling out to them.
All these anomalies were telling the Chosen Ones that this was not a normal place.
A few Chosen Ones’ breathing began to quicken, and they wanted to back out. If they could, they’d find a chance to ask that old blind man what was going on here.
Continuing forward, Miller felt something was off—he felt like he was sailing against the current. An invisible, slight force was pushing him backward. If he hadn’t paid close attention, he really wouldn’t have noticed.
Just like what the old blind man said: “The road ahead is long, and those who come are not friendly.”
“Those branches, stones, birds and beasts the old blind man mentioned—do they correspond to something?”
Miller didn’t know if he was overthinking, but he started to ponder.
If he corresponded to a fish, and the Ghost Market was the river…
Branches and stones, though they obstructed the path and could injure him, were inanimate objects—he only needed to find the rules to avoid them.
Then did birds and beasts correspond to some eerie creatures that would attack him?
Birds and beasts in flocks—could that be referring to the parade?
Being able to think this far already showed that Miller’s judgment ranked among the top two or three at this stage.
After all, number one was naturally Zhang Yangqing.
In Zhang Yangqing’s eyes, this was practically an open-book exam—and he was a top student taking an open-book exam.
What was there to not understand? Even without intelligence, just looking at these rules, he knew what to do.
First, he became even more certain of his identity. If Zhang Yangqing’s guess was right, this body should have exhausted its natural lifespan—theoretically it should be dead. But the general store owner used a special method to keep him working at the store.
The Chosen One became someone with no life but who hadn’t died yet.
Here, Zhang Yangqing had a few deductions.
First, the method the general store owner used was very likely removing the heart, putting him in a special living-dead state.
Second, he died from an accident—perhaps his heart was gouged out by some demon cultivator, but the general store owner discovered it and used a special method to preserve the Chosen One.
There were many other deductions, but he felt these two were the most probable.
If he found his heart and put it back, becoming a living person again—he would die immediately.
Because he had no natural lifespan left, the main purpose of coming to the Ghost Market was to buy lifespan.
How would other Chosen Ones know this? Naturally, by coming into contact with the people mentioned in the rules.
Rule 4 mentioned the ox-head and horse-face.
As underworld officials, the ox-head and horse-face would definitely notice something.
Without helping them, they wouldn’t just refuse to help the Chosen Ones—they might even eliminate them.
But once you helped them, they would tell the Chosen Ones some information.
How to help—that depended on how the Chosen Ones designed it.
After all, if some people don’t have difficulties, can’t you create difficulties for them and then help them?
Though this was no different from breaking someone’s legs and then selling them crutches.
But to complete the mission, if the Chosen Ones weren’t ruthless enough to think of such methods, how long would they have to wait?
If the plot progressed to this point, there was actually another dangerous point.
Maybe not very dangerous now, but it would definitely be dangerous later.
That is—the Chosen Ones would think the general store owner might be a good person, extending their lives.
But don’t forget—how did your lifespan disappear in the first place?
Natural death, killed by a demon cultivator, or murdered by the general store owner—all were possible.
After all, the rules never said the general store owner was a good person. Don’t blindly trust an NPC not mentioned in the rules—that was Zhang Yangqing’s principle.
But as long as you clearly investigated what the owner’s purpose was and what his usual habits were, from that information you could judge what kind of person he really was.
These were questions other Chosen Ones might only consider days later.
Zhang Yangqing was indeed thinking too far ahead, but only he could think this way. Other Chosen Ones, at most, considering the Rainy Night Killer and the Resurrected Ghost King, were already at their limit.
Thinking too much now would only add unnecessary worry.
At this stage, other Chosen Ones naturally didn’t need to know so many details—just the general idea was enough to pass.
Zhang Yangqing simply understood the situation inside very well, which was why he could deduce.
Even some Daoist experts outside the big screen hadn’t considered these things.
Because the world of ghost stories wouldn’t follow the normal world’s steps exactly—it only took a background setting.
Zhang Yangqing could infer through vast experience and home-field advantage. Other Daoist experts might have the knowledge but lacked actual clearing experience—they’d be just as confused coming here.
They’d easily become like last round’s British count—thinking everything was too smooth, letting their guard down, and getting themselves killed.
As for the other Chosen Ones, they just went about it normally. Anyway, as long as it wasn’t their home turf, one place was the same as another, right?
What dangerous places hadn’t they been to? They’d all survived near-death experiences.
At this stage, the Chosen Ones had been walking forward for about twenty minutes. The time had already passed nine o’clock.
The original plan was to get out within six hours, but now some Chosen Ones’ incense was burning fast—they might have to leave in about four hours.
Chosen Ones like Lahman, who still didn’t know what to buy, could only go to the free trading area first to find the necessities for entering the demon cultivators’ territory and information about the Rainy Night Killer—that was his purpose for coming here.
But as he walked, he felt something was off.
He was walking on a road with street lamps.
Around this road were those eerie-looking plants.
There had been a few people walking with him earlier, but those people seemed to be heading elsewhere. Lahman could only continue in the direction the one-armed guy had told him.
He tried to stay within the green street lamp areas as much as possible, so that even if he encountered danger, he could immediately duck into one.
And these roads occasionally had so-called “signs” with names of special locations written on them. Some were hard to read, but the words “Free Trading Area” were still quite clear.
But when he reached a signpost, he stopped in his tracks.
It wasn’t that he’d gone the wrong way—it was that he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Because there were no green street lamps nearby—they were all normal white-light lamps.
The surroundings were murky and dark. Even without green lamps, the white ones could illuminate part of the path forward.
But between street lamps, there were pitch-black empty stretches—places the light couldn’t reach.
When Lahman arrived here, the only street lamp ahead seemed to be broken, flickering on and off.
This added a touch of dangerous color to an already eerie place.
Lahman had originally planned to just run past, but after taking two steps, he noticed that after the street lamp ahead flickered twice, an eerie creature appeared out of thin air under the lamp.
This eerie creature had no legs—it floated in the air.
Its long hair hung down, and its face was invisible.
A slight wind blew past, and the clothes around her fluttered—it looked exceptionally terrifying.
In such a dark and horrifying place, suddenly appearing like this—Lahman was actually unsure. Who knew how strong this strange creature’s combat power was?
But at that moment, the street lamp seemed to flicker a few more times, and the long-haired eerie disappeared. There seemed to be nothing under the street lamp ahead.
“Was I seeing things?”
With that thought, Lahman rubbed his eyes.
But when he opened his eyes again, the scene before him sent his adrenaline surging—he felt extreme terror.
He stumbled back six or seven steps, even accidentally bumping into something, not stopping until his rear hit the ground.
Because that long-haired eerie hadn’t appeared under the broken street lamp ahead—she had appeared right in front of Lahman without him knowing when!
