“Is everyone here?” A deep voice came from the ghost mask in front, whose blank eyes turned to look at each group. Lu Qingshan kept his eyes trained on his Bloodseeker Fly larvae.

  Silence was their only response. "Good," the man replied. “Follow me.”

  Dong Qianyu and Chen Niu stayed behind with most of the Seven Mysteries Gate and Iron Pine Sect disciples to take care of the horses. The Iron Pine Sect leader also chose to remain behind. In the event of an emergency, Lu Qingshan had given them a few locations where they could meet up again on specific days of the month. The rest of them set off on foot with the seven ghost masks.

  They led them around the countryside for a few hours, seemingly in no particular direction. They crossed forests, streams, hills, and plains. Sometimes they doubled back and went around in circles. Clearly, the ghost masks were trying to obscure the true location of the meeting place.

  Eventually they reached a quiet, plain river far from any recognizable landmarks. It was here that the ghost masks lit a fire, sat down, and went around to collect payment from everybody.

  Lu Qingshan’s heart skipped a beat as he handed the ghost mask his share of silver taels. Something was coming through the river. A distant roar, a violent turning — two pale boats came to a standstill.

  The seven ghost masks led each group onto the boats one by one. Lu Qingshan fell into line, heading towards the smaller boat. He stuck with his group of Elders and the bandit vice-leader, along with the group of five Seven Mysteries Gate disciples who wanted to visit the ghost market as well for personal reasons. The other three groups were part of the five other groups who he didn't know.

  Lu Qingshan was still confident in victory during an altercation. He boarded the boat without complaint. It didn't take long for everyone to be seated inside the dark compartment, and then the boat started to move.

  "I’ve never seen anything like this before,” the bandit vice-leader whispered, a solid distance down the river. “This is new.”

  “You think it’s because of the royal guards?” One of the strangers asked, his face hidden behind a black mask.

  "What royal guards? Has something changed again with the city?"

  The man nodded. "The royal guards made a move in the open for the first time. They attacked one of the larger sects, the Nine Fists Gate, and took a few of their Elders hostage. The accusation was that they were villains who engaged in scores of crimes against the people."

  "The city was sealed shut for a few days," a stranger in another group said. "It was supposed to be a routine inspection, but the situation's been getting worse inside the city. When we come back, martial law might be imposed."

  "That's not good," the Iron Pine Sect vice-leader muttered. Then, the room fell silent again.

  The rocking of the boat hid Lu Qingshan's quiet mouthing of the Insect Harmony Mantra. His connection with the insects on the boat was still intact. It somehow reassured him. Inside this cramped compartment, there wasn't much he could do except breathe and whisper.

  Eventually, the boat's rocking came to a stop. One of the ghost masks unlocked the door to their compartment and brought them out to disembark. But instead of the solid land they expected, another river channel appeared, running into a dark tunnel.

  Below them were smaller boats that had come from the larger ship's compartments. They were to take these and row them into the cavern, following the seven ghost masks closely.

  He took a good look into the waters. They were calm, but if that changed and he fell off the boat, his combat strength might fall again. In an environment like this, he needed to be well prepared for danger.

  There weren’t enough boats for every group, so they had to join up with other people. Lu Qingshan wasn’t going to take any chances with his five Seven Mysteries Gate disciples. Liu Yingting and Meng Zhang went on that boat, while he himself entered the boat with Qin Ye, Li Fanghua, the bandit vice-leader, and the three strangers who had first appeared at the meeting spot.

  The bandit vice-leader was apparently a good rower. He expertly took the lead and guided them through the long winding tunnels with ease almost as well as the ghost mask guides did. The man knew how to keep a low profile though, and didn’t go too far, keeping pace with the other boats.

  One of the strangers tried to strike up a conversation again while he was concentrating. “So you didn’t know about the royal guards’ incident? Did you come from outside the city?”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “You’re asking a lot of questions.”

  “Sorry. We had family in another city,” another in the group spoke. It was a woman’s voice. Her profile looked the same as the other two, but her voice was soft and friendly.

  The Iron Pine Sect vice-leader almost turned to respond to her, but one look from Lu Qingshan closed his mouth. He returned his attention to rowing.

  "Sorry again," the woman said. "We shouldn't have asked." Silence returned to the boat, but Lu Qingshan could feel their eyes on him. He didn't like that feeling. Although they might've just been curious, he preferred to keep his guard up against them.

  Each boat ran smoothly down the waters, through the tunnels, closely following each other without straying too far from another boat. They reached a landing zone at the end of the river where boats ran aground. The Iron Pine Sect's vice-leader, taking care to not cause a collision, slowly pulled their boat to a stop and tied it onto a pole.

  Lu Qingshan waited for the other group to get off first before he followed the crowd through an opening at the other end of the caves. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but another long series of tunnels was definitely not the first thing on his mind.

  “When are these tunnels going to end?” The woman they’d heard before was imperceptibly limping with her steps. “I can’t believe we’ve just been traveling for half the night.”

  She said exactly what most of them were thinking. “Soon,” the ghost masks replied. In fact, that was a lie. The long boring tunnels never seemed to stop, but there were cavernous rooms carved into the sides a good distance into the ghost market. It was here that the majority of people bustled around.

  “Here you are,” the lead ghost mask said. “Remember the three rules of the ghost market. First, no violence. Second, never go anywhere you haven’t been told - in this case, do not go beyond this point. Third, do not cause chaos. You cannot force a seller to sell to you, nor can you block others from buying. Anyone who fails to abide by these rules will be killed without mercy.” Then the seven of them disappeared into the crowd.

  Lu Qingshan sighed. Most of the strangers had scattered as well, leaving the Seven Mysteries Gate alone to their own devices. He decided to let the disciples roam freely on their own. With the rule of no violence, he wasn’t as worried. Qin Ye and Li Fanghua left together, while Liu Yingting went to negotiate with the people he knew.

  Lu Qingshan then walked up to Meng Zhang who was still standing patiently to the side. "What's going on?"

  The man gave him a quiet nod. “I have something to confess. I used to work as an assassin for the ghost market," he said. "I didn’t think I’d ever reveal my background. But there is great potential in the sect. Enough to cut ties with my old allegiances if I had to.”

  “Good. I’ll see to it that your trust is not misplaced. You’ve been with us for a long time. What do you think our best course of action is?”

  “Liu Yingting is smart, resourceful. But his plan will fail. His viewpoint is limited to being a member of the eight families in the city.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Today’s unrest is not the usual. It is a scheme the ghost market has been watching for decades. I only know some of what concerns the city, but I can tell the ghost market will not easily come to a deal. We don’t have much to offer that will matter.”

  Lu Qingshan nodded. He was here to try his luck and not force the issue. “Does that mean we should try something else? Or wait?”

  “While his plan won’t work, it is still the best plan we have. The royal guards are not weak. They will know common routes into the city and block them properly. We’ll want to work with the ghost market if possible.”

  Meng Zhang led him to an area near the back of the tunnels, almost where they weren’t supposed to proceed beyond that point. The shops here were scarce. And yet, the air of mystery was the highest, as everyone else seemed to avoid the place except for the group of three that had talked to them on the rowboat.

  “Why aren't there more people here?” Lu Qingshan stared at one of the items displayed in the closest stall. It was a martial technique, one he didn’t recognize. Its name was the Shadow Kills Technique, which he guessed would involve arts of stealth.

  “Too expensive,” Meng Zhang explained. “This is where true experts station themselves to trade. Even if the person manning the stall looks weak, they will have someone powerful backing them.”

  “How much for this martial arts manual?” Lu Qingshan asked.

  An old man emerged from the tent, plopped down a sign without a word, and went back inside. It contained a bunch of items the shop would accept, though Lu Qingshan didn’t know most of them. But there was one thing that caught his eye: a spirit stone.

  He didn’t know how the man did it. Externally, a spirit stone didn’t look much different from regular rocks. Yet this simple drawing somehow conveyed the idea directly to his mind. It was a level of artwork beyond his comprehension. Even under the mask, Lu Qingshan kept his facial expression and body still, not giving away his knowledge.

  Meng Zhang led him away from the area. “I wouldn’t trust all of these experts, but some are fine to trade with. The old man you just saw is not one of them. Most of the people he's traded with met an unexpected accident within the year.”

  “Alright. Let's go back to our previous topic,” Lu Qingshan said. “How can we ensure the smuggling deal is successful?”

  “We’ll definitely need some time. The ghost market probably doesn’t yet know which of the usual routes are safe and which have been compromised. You could approach now, but risk facing an encirclement of royal guards.”

  “We don’t have the luxury of time though.”

  “Then we’ll need to offer something of great value. Enough for them to risk their most important routes, their lifeblood, into the city, sacrificing everything in its pursuit.”

  Lu Qingshan thought for a moment. “They want immortal cultivation methods.”

  “Exactly.”