Good grief!
Inside the cloak, a fluorescent glow flickered! It turned out to be neat rows of jade slips hanging there!
The vendor enthusiastically picked up two jade slips and handed them to Jiang Ying.
"《Baby Flying Boat: Developing Good Habits of Daily Meditation and Cultivation》, 《Pocket Monster: I've Tamed a Magical Spirit Pet!》—both are very popular children's picture books lately. Would the immortal friend like to take a look and buy one for the little sister?"
Children's books, pure romance, and even magical realism—this vendor sure sold a mixed bag of goods!
Xiao Fensi stood on tiptoe, puffed out her chest, and protested unconvinced, "I'm not little! I'm already..."
Jiang Ying gave a light cough, interrupting Xiao Fensi.
She smiled warmly at the vendor.
"We already have so many children's books at home that they won't all fit, so I won't buy one this time. Could you trouble yourself to get me a copy of 《The Cold Junior Brother, Pamper Him Gently》?"
She did not want more people to know about the discrepancy between Xiao Fensi's age and appearance.
Human hearts are unpredictable; the more people who knew, the greater the danger for Xiao Fensi.
The vendor readily agreed with a cheerful "Coming right up!"
"However, immortal friend, you'll have to wait while I look for it! This jade slip practically sells out every single day!"
He flipped open the left side of his cloak and quickly scanned it, then opened the right side and quickly scanned it from top to bottom.
"Haha, the very last one! Found it!"
He cast a spell, plucked a jade slip from the middle, and handed it to Jiang Ying's side.
"How much is this jade slip?"
"One hundred spirit stones."
On the jade screen behind the vendor, 《Heart-Stopping Group Meeting》 was still playing.
"Who is singing at the top of their lungs in their cave dwelling in the middle of the night? Who is doing handstands and smashing boulders on their chest in the dormitory at the midnight hour? The next episode of 《Heart-Stopping Group Meeting》 will continue to follow and interview the various masters and disciples at group meetings, showcasing their marvelous mental state during the twelve hours before the group meeting begins!"
That mental state was marvelous indeed.
It would also make good background viewing while eating.
"Vendor, give me a copy of that jade slip for 《Heart-Stopping Group Meeting》 as well."
"You got it! Two hundred spirit stones in total!"
Had it been her past life, Jiang Ying would never have dared to be so extravagant. Back then, she consumed pills like water and had to endure the master's miserable expression day in and day out, barely scraping by on the meager stipend of a sect core disciple and tight writing fees. She would have split a single spirit stone in two to spend it.
Today, she had earned one hundred spirit stones from doing a task and over a thousand from selling talismans.
Now she was a producer in her own right. With a source of income, she spent money with a lot more justification and confidence!
After taking Xiao Fensi away from the jade slip stall, Jiang Ying placed 《The Cold Junior Brother, Pamper Him Gently》 into Xiao Fensi's hands.
"In the future, if you want to buy storybooks like this, just come find your big sister."
Xiao Fensi was ecstatic and rubbed herself fiercely against Jiang Ying.
"Thank you, big sister!"
As she spoke, she pressed the jade slip with a "snap".
"Junior brother, look at me, I am your senior brother!"
...
"Junior brother... why torture yourself like this? Do you have any idea how worried your senior brother is in his heart!"
...
"Junior brother, don't be afraid; senior brother is here."
...
Jiang Ying: "???"
Why did she feel like she had heard this storybook somewhere before?
...《The Cold Junior Brother, Pamper Him Gently》, 《The Cold Junior Brother, Pamper Him Gently》.
Good grief, she remembered now.
This was a storybook her second senior sister had once recommended to her in her past life!
When lending her the jade slip, the second senior sister had even said things like "using the master as the prototype for the cold junior brother in the story" and "the author simmered some very, very fragrant meat."
At the time, Jiang Ying had been wondering: simmering meat? What kind of meat?
Did storybooks teach people how to cook now?
Later, Jiang Ying secretly took it to the Scripture Pavilion to read, only to be discovered by Zhenren Wuya. At the time, that old man's face had been as dark as the bottom of a pot, and he raised a hand to strike the jade slip directly into nothingness with a thunderbolt.
Who knew what kind of madness he was having back then?
What was wrong with reading a bit of literature to cultivate her sentiments, besides reading texts?
"Big sister, shall we go take a look at the Seven Kills Roll?"
"Alright. Where is the Seven Kills Roll?"
"The Seven Kills Roll is inside the 'Mirage Tower'."
"Mirage Tower?"
"Mhm! The Mirage Tower is in the center of the Ghost Market!"
The two chatted as they walked forward along the street.
Along the way, Jiang Ying picked and chose, occasionally deploying her bargaining skills to collect quite a few herbs and seeds, but she failed to find any timber to her liking.
On Xiao Fensi's back hung a long pole plastered with colorful candied hawthorns, which Jiang Ying had just bought for her.
—In her past life, Jiang Ying had been powerless and unable to save Xiao Fensi, having to watch helplessly as she died before her eyes. In this life, she had secretly vowed to protect her well and, moreover, to make this child live a little more happily!
Xiao Fensi was indeed overjoyed. Her two short legs kicked as she strode forward spiritedly, wishing the whole world knew that she now had a big sister to look after her!
Her pretty big sister was omnipotent!
Crunching away on the candied hawthorns, Xiao Fensi skipped along and led Jiang Ying forward.
They soon arrived before a magnificent building.
Jiang Ying looked at the majestic building shrouded in ethereal clouds, which continued to shift amidst the rolling mist, and she couldn't help falling into deep thought.
Isn't this a bit too extravagant?
The outer perimeter of this building should be a massive light-and-shadow barrier; just maintaining it would burn through a massive amount of spirit stones, to say nothing of its every transformation.
Just how wealthy must the master of this Ghost Market be?!
The tears of envy were almost spilling from the corners of Jiang Ying's mouth. If she had this many spirit stones to use for cultivation, why would she worry about not reaching Golden Core in three years and Nascent Soul in five!
Xiao Fensi timely tugged on Jiang Ying's sleeve with a mysterious expression.
"Big sister, actually what you're seeing isn't the real 'Mirage Tower' yet!"
Huh?
"The true posting station is also called the 'Mirage Tower'. What we see now is actually just the entrance connecting to the Mirage Tower. The Mirage Tower is actually still below!"
Finished speaking, Xiao Fensi pulled Jiang Ying forward impatiently.
They entered the barrier, shuttled through a passage of swirling flowing light, and descended slowly.
Like a little bird, Xiao Fensi chattered away with explanations by her ear.
"Big sister, did you know? It's said that the Mirage Tower goes down for five floors in total. The first floor is where you can take low-grade tasks, the second floor for mid-grade tasks, the third floor for high-grade tasks, and the fourth floor for top-grade tasks."
"And the fifth floor?"
Xiao Fensi blinked, leaned in close to Jiang Ying, and lowered her voice.
"That's probably where the master of the Ghost Market lives!"
Jiang Ying pondered. The Ghost Market had always been illusory and unfathomably mysterious, and records concerning the master of the Ghost Market were even scarcer.
She looked up at the huge jade screen suspended in the middle of the Mirage Tower. The jade screen flickered with a faint silver radiance, characters flashing and jumping across its surface at high speed.
Jiang Ying turned her head to ask Xiao Fensi, "Is this the 'Seven Kills Roll'?"
Xiao Fensi nodded repeatedly. "Clients post tasks through the posting station. After the tasks are evaluated for grade by the station, they enter the roll. Once hunters register their spiritual power at the Seven Kills Roll, they can take on tasks!"
Saying this, she revealed a mysterious expression and leaned close to Jiang Ying's ear.
"Let me tell big sister a secret: what's displayed on that jade screen is only a part of the Seven Kills Roll..."