Tears of the Moon Goddess! A Wand from 'Zhuluoji'?

The ghost market lived up to its name—a hair-raising, spine-chilling place. Hidden within the folds of this grotesque modern metropolis, it was a deformed, secret realm woven from forgotten Extraordinary remnants and the deep desires of human hearts. Here, human hearts were as deceitful as ghosts, truth and falsehood indistinguishable, yet it harbored unseen opportunities and taboos, waiting for those fated to arrive. And yet... At the entrance, Bai Zhou found a giant boulder half-embedded in the ground. Glued to it was a strip of colorful fairy lights, their intermittent flashes forming crooked characters as if welcoming visitors— [No. 66 Moon Lane Traditional Culture Square] Bai Zhou blinked, momentarily struck dumb. Wasn't this supposed to be a ghost market? Traditional culture...? In a sense, he supposed that wasn't entirely wrong. Tap... Bai Zhou stepped forward with caution. The bluestone pavers underfoot were uneven and slick with moss, the street meandering forward into the distance with no end in sight. Catching the smell of damp, earthy musk, Bai Zhou tugged his hood down, wrapped himself in the "black cloak" he had just improvised, and carefully stepped into the fog-shrouded alley. Mist of unknown origin drifted along the street. The light was dim, the air clammy and cold. Flickering oil lamps or candles set atop square tables, glowing moss creeping across the ground, and even luminous ores carried by certain individuals served as the rare light sources in the ghost market. A heavy quiet hung everywhere, with scarcely a distinct conversation to be heard. Figures draped in dark cloaks murmured at the various stalls, their hushed whispers audible only in fragments as one passed by. Passing by one "mysterious vendor" after another, an array of "magical items" unfolded before his eyes. "Care to give it a try?" A figure in a dark hooded cloak was conducting a covert transaction. "What is this?" the hooded customer standing opposite asked in a low voice. "Thirst-Quenching Pills!" The vendor replied in a conspiratorial whisper: "Take one a week, and you'll never need to drink water again." "It saves a tremendous amount of time. Taking these pills will save you fifty-three minutes every single week!" "But... what can fifty-three minutes be used for?" "What if those fifty-three minutes of cultivation are all that separate you from your rival? Hasn't someone said that the secret to being better than everyone else is cultivating during the time others spend drinking coffee?" "That makes sense... except I've already spent nearly half an hour haggling with you." "..." A few steps further, another stall appeared. A foul stench of rot hit his nose, so vile that Bai Zhou pinched his nose, eyes rolling. Glancing over as he hurried past, he saw bloody offerings laid out on an old square table like sacrificial dishes. Lizard livers, bat spleens, dead fish eyes... In front of each dish sat a label clearly marking the price: no haggling, bulk discounts available. Some looked pickled, others raw, their mingled stenches combining into a biochemical weapon of tangible lethality that indiscriminately assaulted every passerby. Seeing the stall owner sitting calmly and steadily behind the table, looking utterly unfazed, Bai Zhou couldn't help feeling a tinge of admiration. Earning money isn't easy. People who can make real money truly need the composure of a grand general—sitting atop a mountain of shit without batting an eyelid... Bai Zhou mused to himself. Just then, the vendor behind the table casually looked up, revealing his face beneath the hood... —It was a tightly sealed pig-snout mask. Bai Zhou: "..." Of course. ...Still, disgusting as these bizarre organs were, they were common materials in the occult, and their sales were quite considerable. Several nearby stalls sold similar wares: bound bundles of feathers, mountainous piles of herbs, and strung teeth of unidentified creatures... Sold wholesale. The mingling odors were so pervasive that even after walking quite a distance, Bai Zhou still felt the foul stench clinging to him. Then— Bai Zhou arrived at the second area of the ghost market. The wares here were no longer so primitive and crude. They counted as magical items, but commanded higher prices—and came with a far higher probability of being fakes. For instance, on Bai Zhou's left, a cloaked vendor was selling a cluster of small glass vials. Gaseous substances swirled inside the vials, constantly shifting through vivid colors like a flowing rainbow. —They were captured "dreams." Whoever consumed one would have a pleasant dream, occasionally catching sight of the person they yearned to see. The silent cloaked merchant brushed his hand across the vials of shimmering, kaleidoscopic color, displaying their wonder to passing patrons. The name written on the label was— "Longing." Yet Bai Zhou also overheard passersby referring to them as "Golden Millet Dreams." Bai Zhou had no interest in "Longing," for there was no one he desperately wished to see. People yearned for unobtainable reunions only after suffering loss, but Bai Zhou had owned nothing to begin with. Even in dreams, he could never picture his parents' faces; having never seen them, he had no grief to mourn. Right now, he only wanted to buy Moon Water and heal his injuries—his objective was clear and unwavering. "Two rusty keys of unknown origin, clinging with spirituality. Why not take them and try your luck? Perhaps a treasure awaits the fated one." "A rose blooming in the wasteland, useful for brewing potions or setting up rituals." "An antique from over two millennia ago, an authentic heirloom—might even be a saddle used by the First Emperor himself!" "..." Each vendor whispered conspiratorially to customers, as though brokering covert, earth-shattering deals. Yet Bai Zhou hadn't spotted a single floating last word hovering over any of these stalls... Which proved that not one of these items was a genuine Extraordinary antique. —All brand new, all counterfeits! Aside from "inanimate objects," there were also "living wares." "An owl! An owl that understands human speech! No Extraordinary should be without an owl of their own." "That's for Extraordinaries from the Western Federation. I'm an iron-blooded, loyal citizen of the Eastern Federation—don't pitch that nonsense to me." "Then you definitely want a pigeon. I have them too—silver-winged carrier pigeons..." "Give me a break. Everyone uses smartphones to communicate nowadays, no need for pigeons or owls. Huami phones—ever heard of them?" "..." From start to finish, Bai Zhou never approached a single stall, consistently maintaining a cautious, safe distance from every vendor. He merely watched in silence, observing from afar. Without question, this proved to be exceedingly wise. For before long, Bai Zhou witnessed: Someone took an "antique" from a vendor, only for an "unfortunate slip" to occur, smashing the "antique" against the ground. And that wasn't all. He also saw someone trip inexplicably while walking past a stall, crashing down and obliterating an entire display of "antiques." —And then Bai Zhou watched with his own eyes as the vendor, capitalizing on the victim's panic, quietly reeled in a tripwire from the ground. At that point, whether those "antiques" were genuine or not, they were undeniably antiques now, demanding compensation at list price. Hopefully they can afford to pay... Evidently, both were inexperienced newcomers paying tuition on their very first visit to the ghost market. It served as a valuable lesson for Bai Zhou as well: Human hearts were like ghosts; caution was required at every step. Forget taking advantage of sellers by hunting for hidden bargains—avoiding their traps already demanded total vigilance. —The ghost market truly lived up to its name! The crooks in this damn place were trickier than specters and more common than cockroaches! Fortunately, Bai Zhou had always been discreet and cautious. Concealed beneath his cloak, he kept his eyes open and took in his surroundings, refusing to do anything extraneous. After wandering the ghost market for a while, he finally located the objective of his trip in an inconspicuous corner. A small leather suitcase lay open on the ground, densely packed with various transparent glass jars. Beside it, the vendor had propped up a sign: "Moon Water." This was it. Bai Zhou approached and asked in a low voice: "Do you have February Moon Water?" "Yes, yes!" The cloaked vendor answered without hesitation, his aged voice remarkably enthusiastic: "Do you want this year's or from previous years? I have stock from every year, though as for the price..." "This year's," Bai Zhou interrupted cleanly. Why this year's? Because this February's water was relatively the "cleanest" and wouldn't be as nauseating to drink. To Bai Zhou, their effects were identical anyway. "February Moon Water, sealed from the start and never opened. Purity guaranteed! That will be... three dust per bottle!" "How many bottles would you like?" Beneath the dark cloak, the man held up three withered fingers while using his other hand to pass over a sealed, transparent glass jar. Just as Crow had said, Moon Water was even cheaper than Bai Zhou had imagined. A whole bottle of Moon Water cost only three "dust." And one point of "cinders" was equal to a thousand "dust." No wonder two points of cinders made up Crow's remaining "entire net worth." He had misunderstood Crow. Cinders, as a high-tier currency, went much further than Bai Zhou had assumed... Under the vendor's watchful eye, Bai Zhou reached into his coat. He deliberately avoided using the cinders Crow had given him, instead fishing out a speck of cinders he had brought from the Deep Ruin Realm himself. "This is..." The elderly vendor froze, eyes widening as he squinted hard to make it out. Then, straightening his hunched back, he sprang to his feet with a start. Darting glances left and right to shield Bai Zhou from view, he urged Bai Zhou to tuck the cinders away immediately. "Put it away, please put it away!" "Mine is just a humble small stall, and I haven't been open long today. I truly can't make change for such large money!" The old merchant kept his voice hushed and conspiratorial. Bai Zhou could tell that the vendor's attitude had shifted completely. It seemed "cinders" were a status symbol in their own right. Bai Zhou fell into thought. Did being able to casually produce cinders signify more than just holding a thousand dust—perhaps implying a distinctive status or rank? For instance, a mysterious and powerful high-ranking Extraordinary? The vendor had clearly jumped to a similar misunderstanding about him. Of course, what the vendor thought didn't really matter... What mattered was that Bai Zhou needed to buy Moon Water to take back. If the man couldn't make change, Bai Zhou would be the one left in an awkward spot. Neither Bai Zhou nor Crow had foreseen this sort of problem. Perhaps because Crow herself hadn't paid attention to something as cheap as Moon Water in ages. —She likely had no concept of an ordinary street vendor's modest financial means. With that in mind, Bai Zhou kept his composure, answering in an aloof tone tinged with a faint note of impatience: "I don't have anything smaller, so..." "Yes, of course... Not being able to make change is entirely my fault." The old vendor rubbed his hands together nervously. Sensing Bai Zhou's annoyance, panic crept into his expression. Yet even after rummaging noisily through his cashbox, he couldn't scrape together three hundred dust. Losing a sale was nothing. But offending a prominent Extraordinary? Who knew if they would hold a grudge? He still had a livelihood to make here in the future. Should he simply give the Moon Water away for free? Yet who knew how many bottles the man needed... "Ah, wait—" Suddenly, the vendor's eyes lit up. "You need Moon Water, right? In fact, I know an auction is about to take place in the depths of the ghost market. The entry requirement for proof of funds is five hundred dust." "—I heard that one of the grand finale items at tonight's auction is the potion 'Tears of the Moon Goddess'!" Tears of the Moon Goddess? Bai Zhou turned the name over in his mind, but showed little outward reaction, merely offering a flat "Oh?" to prompt the merchant to continue. This inscrutable response aligned perfectly with the vendor's assumption that he was a high-tier Extraordinary: "As you know, every effect Moon Water has, 'Tears of the Moon Goddess' possesses as well, and tens of times stronger!" "You could head over and take a look, pick up whatever strikes your fancy." "Even if you just exchange some currency there and come back to me, that would work too!" "I'll be sure to hold the Moon Water for you—as much as you could ever need!" "...Fair enough." Pondering for a moment, Bai Zhou slowly put away the cinder. "Keep the Moon Water aside." "I'll be back for you." ... Heading deeper into the ghost market, Bai Zhou prepared to attend the "auction" the vendor had mentioned. An auction sounded like an absolute money pit. The problem was that, at the moment, Bai Zhou happened to be in the predicament of having wealth he couldn't spend. Tears of the Moon Goddess? Sounds worth a try. Besides, an auction wouldn't feature only Tears of the Moon Goddess. Just as this thought crossed his mind, Bai Zhou caught sight of another vendor by the roadside. Two customers were gathered around this particular stall. Originally, Bai Zhou had intended to walk right past. Yet glancing through the crowd for a second look, he stopped in his tracks. A familiar figure. A figure cloaked in black sat upon a roadside rock, cloaked in mystery. Yet Bai Zhou recognized her in an instant—it was the masked witch he had parted ways with moments ago. ...So she truly hadn't come to "browse the ghost market." —She was a seller? Standing at a distance, Bai Zhou sized up the stall before her. A black cloth was spread simply across the ground, utterly unadorned, with only a single object resting atop it. "Is this for sale?" "If it's not for sale, why have it out on display?" Whenever anyone asked, the mysterious vendor that the witch had disguised herself as would raise an impatient hand, pointing toward a handwritten wooden sign propped up beside her. On the board, characters were written clearly in red ink: "Seeking repair of magic patterns. Generous reward offered!" —And resting on the black cloth was something resembling a broken spear. Calling it a broken spear wasn't inaccurate, but it looked even more like a wand, uniquely styled and densely carved with intricate magic patterns. Only, in certain spots the patterns were blurred, decayed, or broken. One look told him it was an ancient artifact, unearthed from who knew which patch of dirt. "This is..." Suddenly. Bai Zhou's heart skipped a beat. With merely a brief glance at this "wand," he realized that whether in its overall shape or the magic patterns etched across it... ...everything felt unmistakably familiar to him! In fact, it went far beyond mere familiarity! The pile of standard-issue scrap he had brought back from the Deep Ruin Realm—including the prototype of the mechanical spear-gun... —didn't they all look like this? It was practically the exact same standard-issue equipment manufactured in the same batch by the very same people! In other words— The wand the Gem Witch was offering a generous bounty to repair... Did it have something to do with the "Zhuluoji" Bai Zhou knew so well?