"Of course. Are you interested in the Seven Kills Roll, Senior Sister?"
"A little."
"Then I will take you there later."
The boat continued forward. Suddenly remembering something, Xiao Di took several masks out of his Storage Bag and handed them to Jiang Ying.
"Oh, right, Senior Sister, you need to wear a mask to enter the Ghost Market. Choose whichever one you like, Senior Sister."
Jiang Ying took the pile of masks in her hands. They were all shaped like animals—rabbits, foxes, and kittens. The carvings were lifelike, and their expressions were vivid and amusing. Jiang Ying had a soft spot for cute things and couldn't bear to put them down. She rummaged through them for a long time, suddenly unable to decide which one was best.
Xiao Di watched her somewhat nervously.
"Do you not like them, Senior Sister?"
Jiang Ying shook her head.
"No, I like them very much. I just didn't expect your taste to differ so much from your actual personality."
Xiao Di scratched his head.
"Actually, my younger sister likes these things. She was extremely excited when she found out you were going to the Ghost Market, and she kept shouting that she wanted to meet you. She picked these masks out especially for you, and she said you would definitely like these styles."
"You have a younger sister?" Jiang Ying couldn't help developing a strong interest in Xiao Di's enthusiastic and cute sister. She picked up a small fox mask with a crooked, mischievous smile and held it up to her face.
"I'll take this one, then."
After putting on the mask, she looked at Xiao Di.
"Why aren't you wearing a mask?"
Xiao Di smiled. "My family has lived in the Ghost Market for nearly ten years, so it doesn't matter whether we wear masks or not."
So he was a native of the Ghost Market.
Familiar with the route, Xiao Di navigated between the maze formations almost without obstruction along the way.
The river channel grew narrower, and soon they entered a deep, secluded karst cave. When they emerged, the Cultivator Market suddenly appeared before them.
Crimson lanterns illuminated the street, red silk ribbons hung between the upturned eaves, and dim yellow lights flickered inside the shops. People wearing ghost masks wove through the streets like schools of fish. In the air, the smells of sweat, smoke, medicinal powder, and blood drifted and undulated like tiny waves.
Jiang Ying instinctively pressed tightly against the wooden fox mask on her face.
Xiao Di looked at Jiang Ying. Because she was wearing a mask, he couldn't judge her thoughts from her expression, nor did he know if she would feel nervous.
"Senior Sister, seeing so many 'ghosts,' do you... feel scared?"
"Not really."
Compared to ghosts, human hearts were far more terrifying. She had witnessed that long ago.
Xiao Di grew even more admiring of her calmness and daring.
"Senior Sister, you just need to handle the transactions with them when the time comes. In the Ghost Market, whether it's a person or a commodity, everyone follows one rule: 'Ask not whence it came, ask not whither it goes.'"
"Alright, I understand."
Xiao Di stopped the boat and brought it ashore. Once ashore, he formed a hand seal and put the speedboat away into his Storage Bag.
Jiang Ying followed closely behind Xiao Di and stepped ashore, carefully observing her surroundings. A street that was not particularly wide unfolded beneath their feet. The stone slabs were damp, and from those mottled, rough little puddles drifted faint odors of moss and mildew.
The shops stood haphazardly along the street, the smallest storefronts barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
Before she had taken even two steps, Jiang Ying felt herself being grabbed, unable to take another step forward.
Looking down, she saw a round little... rabbit head right by her feet?
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a little girl, looking to be only around six or seven years old. She was wearing a rabbit-ear hat, with two fluffy little balls hanging down beside the ears, making her look exceptionally cute. The little girl had a delicate, porcelain-like face, and around her waist hung a rabbit crossbody bag trimmed with fur. She hugged Jiang Ying's leg and cheered, "Pretty Sister, you're finally here!"
She raised her face to look at Jiang Ying, rubbing back and forth against her. The little ball by her ear slipped down, accidentally revealing a gray birthmark behind her left ear.
The gray birthmark was not very obvious; its ribbon-like, curled petals had not yet fully unfolded outward.
It looked remarkably like a—spider lily—that had not yet bloomed!
Jiang Ying's brows jerked violently.
Behind the left ear, a birthmark, a spider lily!
She seemed to have seen it in a past life!
But what she had seen back then was a tattered, torn, blood-red spider lily.
Could it really be that little girl?! Could it actually be her?!
Jiang Ying's thoughts were momentarily shaken and difficult to settle. Just as she wanted to examine the birthmark behind her ear more closely, Xiao Fensi had already turned her head, and the little ball on her hat fell back down, covering the pattern behind her ear.
Xiao Fensi looked up at Jiang Ying with a face full of worship.
"I heard that Sister can repel ten thousand foxes with a single talisman! Sister is so amazing! I'm going to hug Sister's thighs tightly!"
"Repel ten thousand foxes with a single talisman? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Jiang Ying didn't remember ever having such a terrifying battle record. She hadn't even started fighting yet since her rebirth, okay!
"Sister, didn't you use a talisman to repel ten thousand foxes when you saved stinky Xiao Di?"
"That was fox tail algae! Not foxes!"
Jiang Ying couldn't help massaging her forehead. That scared her!
Good thing what she had used the Repel Talisman to drive away that day was "fox tail algae." If it had been some kind of "humanoid algae," wouldn't they be claiming she could "repel ten thousand people with a single talisman!"
Xiao Di said, "Xiao Fensi, why did you sneak out to play by yourself again!"
Xiao Fensi turned to look at Xiao Di, her attitude instantly becoming completely different from when she was with Jiang Ying.
Glaring with eyes as bright as stars, she said indignantly,
"Bad Xiao Di, stinky Xiao Di! You made me stay home to help Dad work while you ran off to play with the pretty sister! You're the worst!"
Xiao Di argued plausibly.
"This is no ordinary pretty sister—she saved your brother's life!"
Jiang Ying sweatdropped silently. What kind of hilarious pair of siblings were these?
Xiao Fensi let out an "ao-ao" cry and hugged Jiang Ying's leg tightly.
"I don't care, I want to play with the pretty sister!"
She blinked her round, black-grape-like eyes at Jiang Ying with a sparkling expression.
A tremor went through Jiang Ying's heart once again.
These eyes... were truly, so similar to those other eyes!
In her memories of her past life, there was a ragged little girl who fell from a tall tower, her bones broken like a ruined puppet doll. She raised her head from the pool of blood to look at Jiang Ying, and the blood-red spider lily behind her left ear burst open, intertwining beneath her pale, thin skin into fine, rugged, crimson patterns. Her face was extremely emaciated, making those dark, lightless eyes look very abrupt and very pitiful.
Unable to bear recalling any further, Jiang Ying raised a hand to gently stroke Xiao Fensi's head, her tone gentle.
"Then let Xiao Fensi play with us."
Xiao Fensi grabbed Jiang Ying's leg and looked triumphantly at Xiao Di.
"I knew Sister is the best to me!"
Xiao Di sighed and conceded.
"Since Senior Sister says so, then you can come with us. But you have to be good on the way, you hear?"
"I'll definitely be much more well-behaved than you, stinky Xiao Di!"
Holding Xiao Fensi's hand, Jiang Ying walked forward with Xiao Di following closely behind.
Passing a narrow storefront with a sign that read "Old Qian's Sundry Shop," there was a plaque hanging beside the door that said: "Buying Talisman Papers, Buying Medicinal Pills, Buying Materials."
Jiang Ying stopped.
A plump person sat in a rocking chair at the entrance, his rolls of fat filling the gaps of the chair completely like a melting mountain of wax. A hand-held fan covered his face, and he hummed an out-of-tune melody under his breath. The shop was already small to begin with, and with him sitting there, the storefront looked even more crowded.
Jiang Ying said, "Let's go take a look."
Xiao Di, however, hesitated for a moment. "Senior Sister, why don't we check out another place?"
"Is there a problem?"
"I know that boss; his name is Old Qian. He has a shrewd eye and is extremely sharp. Since Senior Sister is new to the Ghost Market, it's better not to suffer losses at his place..."
Jiang Ying smiled. "Interesting. That makes me want to experience it even more."
Xiao Di still hesitated. "Is Senior Sister good at bargaining?"
"A little."
Just as Xiao Di wanted to say something more, a man's shouting suddenly came from not far away.
"Xiao Di! Xiao Di! Something's happened!"
Hearing the sound, Jiang Ying looked over and saw a person wearing a monkey mask running straight toward them. As he ran, he was waving his hands frantically and exaggeratedly at Xiao Di, shouting breathlessly and at the top of his lungs,
"What are you still standing there for, Xiao Di?! Hurry up and come over! Your old man is getting into a fight with someone in the North Market!"