The items sold in the ghost clan's stalls were mostly for their ghost cultivation, with occasional human talismans.
"Senior Disciple Brother, did we come to the wrong place?" Chu Lingwei felt something was amiss after browsing for a quarter of an hour. This place seemed completely different from what she had imagined.
An Yue had gone to great lengths to bring them here, intending to hand them over to Ghost Earth Zhu Li, but there was no trace of any cultivators here. The place was too peaceful, making her feel uneasy.
"This should be the domain of King Ghost Zhu Li, a ghost market he created for himself," Leng Xingzhi nodded. "It's likely beneath that mountain, but in the same location as where we need to be."
"Then what should we do?" Chu Lingwei was anxious.
"Don't worry. If these two places are together, they must be connected. We'll search slowly." Leng Xingzhi reached out and held Chu Lingwei's hand, squeezing it gently to comfort her. "The people here are different from the ghosts I've seen before."
Chu Lingwei was startled and observed the ghost cultivators setting up stalls, but saw nothing unusual.
"You've never encountered the ghost clan before, so you wouldn't know their characteristics." A dark glint flashed in Leng Xingzhi's eyes as he slowly led her from stall to stall, unhurriedly.
"This hairpin is quite pretty."
Leng Xingzhi stopped at a small stall and saw a jade hairpin, faintly emitting black mist. The ghostly energy emanating from it was much stronger than from other items.
"Weiwei, let's buy this hairpin."
Leng Xingzhi parted his lips and asked the ghost cultivator at the stall, "How much for this hairpin?"
"One hundred ghost fruits," Chu Lingwei clearly heard the ghost cultivator's voice, which sounded chilling to her ears.
Leng Xingzhi shook his head and gently put down the hairpin. "It's not worth that much."
The ghost cultivator, having finally found a potential customer, couldn't let them leave and quickly stood up. "Then how much do you want to pay?"
"This hairpin is covered in resentment. It can't be used as a magic artifact unless the resentment is dispelled, which would take a great deal of effort," Leng Xingzhi pointed out the hairpin's flaw. "Twenty ghost fruits, no more."
The ghost cultivator was furious at the low offer.
"Are you selling it at this price?" Leng Xingzhi paid no mind to the other's displeasure. He couldn't see the other's expression, but he could feel his aura growing colder by the moment.
"I'll sell."
Just as Chu Lingwei thought the ghost cultivator wouldn't agree, she heard him spit out the word through gritted teeth.
Leng Xingzhi picked up the hairpin again, examined it carefully, then took out twenty ghost fruits and threw them to the ghost cultivator before leading Chu Lingwei away.
"Senior Disciple Brother, that ghost cultivator is gone." Chu Lingwei had been watching the ghost cultivator they had just bought the hairpin from. After receiving the ghost fruits, he had quickly packed up his stall and left.
"How much for this?" Leng Xingzhi gave a soft hum and approached another stall, spotting a very attractive small umbrella, a defensive magic artifact.
"This artifact is very expensive, one thousand ghost fruits." The ghost cultivator at this stall didn't even look up. There were only a few stalls here, and the newcomer had bought a resentment-filled hairpin for only twenty ghost fruits. He wouldn't be foolish enough to sell this for such a low price.
"One thousand ghost fruits, that's indeed too expensive."
Leng Xingzhi murmured the price.
"Perhaps we should look elsewhere, this price is too high," Chu Lingwei tugged at his sleeve and whispered, sensing that her Senior Disciple Brother wasn't actually interested in buying.
Leng Xingzhi's eyes were fixed on the small umbrella, as if it perfectly met his requirements.
"Two hundred ghost fruits."
Hearing her Senior Disciple Brother's counteroffer, Chu Lingwei's eyes widened. Was this the same extravagant Senior Disciple Brother she knew? Not only could he bargain, but he was also cutting the price so drastically. Wasn't he afraid of getting beaten?
"What? You're offering me two hundred ghost fruits? Are you crazy?" The ghost cultivator, enraged by Leng Xingzhi's offer, jumped up. He was offering such a good mid-tier magic artifact for such a paltry sum.
Chu Lingwei secretly found the ghost cultivator's antics amusing. He acted so much like a human. He must have been a human cultivator who had turned to the ghost path.
"Two hundred ghost fruits. Are you selling it or not?" Leng Xingzhi showed no intention of increasing his offer and stated calmly after a glance.
The ghost cultivator, Wang Ze, was furious. He had just felt that the ghost cultivator who sold the hairpin had been underpaid, but now he was being offered even less.
"No, five hundred ghost fruits. Not a single fruit less," Wang Ze snorted, stating his absolute limit.
Leng Xingzhi pondered for a moment, then nodded. He took out a storage bag filled with five hundred ghost fruits and tossed it to Wang Ze. "I'll take it."
Wang Ze stared blankly at the storage bag in his hand, somewhat dazed. The speed at which he had accepted the ghost fruits made him feel as if he had sold it too cheaply.
Chu Lingwei watched the ghost cultivator stand there for a long time with the storage bag of ghost fruits, and she couldn't help but smile. Her Senior Disciple Brother actually had such a mischievous side. She was sure he had done it deliberately.
"Little Junior Sister, pay attention to where this ghost cultivator is going," Leng Xingzhi's voice came. Chu Lingwei became vigilant, sensing that Wang Ze's departure direction was the same as the previous ghost cultivator's. "Senior Disciple Brother, their directions are the same."
"Should we follow them?" This made Chu Lingwei alert. The same direction might mean they had the same purpose for coming here today.
"No need. I've already placed a mark on them, so we won't have trouble finding them." Leng Xingzhi's hand had never left Chu Lingwei's. He turned his head and whispered to her, "Let's go ahead and see."
Chu Lingwei felt a tickle by her ear, causing her to shiver involuntarily and instinctively darted aside.
"Someone is observing us," Leng Xingzhi caught Chu Lingwei and pulled her into his embrace, transmitting his voice. Chu Lingwei's body stiffened as she let Leng Xingzhi lead her forward.
Their actions were undoubtedly conspicuous to the ghost cultivators wandering the streets, appearing particularly intimate.
"Who are you people?"
Leng Xingzhi stopped, looking at the ghost cultivators who had surrounded them. The ghostly energy emanating from him repelled them.
"You're a Ghost General?" Sensing the ghostly energy around Leng Xingzhi, the ghost cultivators recoiled, their eyes filled with fear.
"Afraid?" Leng Xingzhi smiled, his chilling voice causing the ghost cultivators before him to tremble even more.