Third watch

The mountain city that Gu Bicai talked about is actually a ghost market.

The ghost market here opens every three years, and Gu Bi is only over 100 years old. He is a person with one foot in the underworld, and the cat corpse is found in the mountain city. He can naturally be a guide to open the way.

But this old man was very smart, his eyes never stopped rolling, and he pointed out the time and place to them in a serious manner, saying that the mountain city opened there.

Zhong Yi raised his eyebrows and said bluntly that he wanted to go with him.

They could tell that Gu Bicai was very dependent on the cat demon—not to mention anything else, without the cat demon stealing his life away, he wouldn't be able to live now.

The absence of the cat demon means that his lifespan is gone, and he is the most anxious. This old man will definitely try his best to go to the mountain city to find a way to continue his life.

So even if he didn't show it on his face, he must be scratching his head and scratching his head in his heart, thinking that he would wait for them to leave so that he could figure out a way for himself.

When Zhong Yi said this, Gu Bicai hesitated for a few minutes before agreeing.

Firstly, the time for the opening of the mountain city is indeed approaching, and he has no extra time to entangle with them, and secondly, the situation is stronger than others, and it is impossible not to agree.

In this way, their trip to Guangxi finally had a definite outline.

But how to deal with Gu Bicai has become another problem.

Zhong Yi did have magic tools to restrain demons, but most of these things were useless to people. Although Gu Bicai lived like an old monster with someone else's life, he was barely a human being.

Lu Xiaolu suggested to handcuff him, and then go on the road tightly tied up.

But this is too conspicuous, and for someone like Gu Bicai who is good at magic, the effect of physical means may not be useful.

So Zhong Yi cast a curse on Gu Bicai.

"What?" Wang Xiaoming picked out his ears.

"Curse." Zhong Yi said calmly.

Gu Bicai looked sluggish, which also confirmed Zhong Yi's words from the side.

Lu Xiaolu said: "...Is this setting wrong?"

Wang Xiaoming thinks so too.

In his impression, cursing or something is like piercing a grass man and nailing nails when the night is dark and the wind is high-this kind of dark rubbing always feels a bit out of tune with Zhong Yi.

"The Luban technique originally includes the spell." Zhong Yi said: "The Luban book is divided into volumes, one volume is about craftsmen's techniques, and the other volume is about the curse of body protection."

No matter how Wang Xiaoming and Lu Xiaolu inquired, Zhong Yi refused to reveal exactly what curse he had cast on Gu Bicai, but Gu Bicai really seemed to be caught by him, and even his eyes became much more honest.

"I have no objection to asking him to lead the way, but do you really want that old man to go to the ghost market?" Wang Xiaoming asked Zhong Yi.

Zhong Yi: "You don't want to?"

"Nonsense!" Wang Xiaoming stared, "This old thief got a cat demon, and I don't know how many people's lives were stolen by that thief cat. Just because he doesn't want to die, others will have a short life. How can there be such a reason?"

"For such a person, let him waste his martial arts... Well, it's not easy to mess with his lair. Let him also go to the ghost market. What if we get another cat demon back?"

"Then let's put him back?" Zhong Yi felt a little funny seeing Wang Xiaoming's upright expression.

"...I have to let him lead the way." Wang Xiaoming was discouraged.

"That's it." Zhong Yi said: "It's not that he won't be dealt with, but that he's still useful now."

Strictly speaking, the ghost market is not a secret—but some things are regional. In such secret things, locals will always have an advantage over outsiders.

Although not everyone can go to the ghost market, Guangxi is so big that many people know about it.

But just like traveling, if you want to find a real delicious local restaurant, the most useful way is to find a veteran who knows the way to lead the way.

Otherwise, if you want to find an old restaurant in the cobweb-like city streets within a limited time, it is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack—you know it is there, but you just can’t find it.In this kind of matter, even if you have a strategy, it may not be useful.

The same goes for ghost cities.

There are many people who know it, but how to find these people is a problem.

The appearance of Gu Bicai, for those who just came to Guangxi, is almost like being handed a pillow when they want to sleep, which couldn't be more coincidental.

But there are also downsides.

Although the three of them didn't realize it before, in the eyes of some people—or things, Wang Xiaoming was quite eye-catching.

So he was unknowingly used as bait.

Their luck was pretty good. Gu Bicai, who was the first to be hooked, was not difficult to deal with. The magic power of the cat demon in his hand was not at its peak, so it was solved without any loss. Wang Xiaoming also succeeded in summoning the general by accident. From then on, I was considered a semi-professional, and no longer a squib.

It's just that Wang Xiaoming's burden is still a bit heavy for the general, and this time he slept for a long time, even the task of guarding Gu Bicai was carried out by Lord Bai.

Although they are all cats, Mr. Bai obviously doesn't have any affection for Gu Bicai, as long as Gu Bicai moves, he will show his paws eeriely.

Zhong Yi felt that it was not an option to keep Wang Xiaoming's "meaty smell" going on, so he took Lu Xiaolu to the vegetable market and hardware store for a day, and started tinkering when he came back, and at night he gave him a little green hat .

"What is this?" Wang Xiaoming looked at the inferior hat over and over again.

"The invisibility cloak." Zhong Yi said solemnly.

"You lied to me for being illiterate!" Wang Xiaoming waved the hat, "Which country's invisibility cloak will have 'Win Gong Xi Fa Cai'?"

"I bought it at the vegetable market." Lu Xiaolu told him, "This kind is fairly plain, with a festive lettering. There is also a pink leopard print on the stall..."

"There is a charm in your hat, it should be useful if you put it on." Zhong Yi said, "Otherwise, a few more cat demons will cause trouble."

"'Should' be useful?" Wang Xiaoming complained: "This hat is too frustrating, it hurts my image."

"You don't need to wear it." Lu Xiaolu took out something excitedly: "Look!"

Wang Xiaoming: "..."

"Do you still remember the mask at Wutong Mountain?" Lu Xiaolu said, "I begged for a long time before Master agreed to tell me how to do it - I can't draw the talisman, so I took a ready-made one. But do you know how to make this kind of thing?" There are many subtle rules. I failed twice before I managed to make one..."

Wang Xiaoming put on the little green hat calmly: "Why don't you also wear one? This way the formation will be neat, like a tourist group."

"Don't you want it?" Lu Xiaolu held up the fake Astro Boy mask in his hand a little disappointed. Astro Boy's eyes were still red because of the uneven dyeing.

Although Zhong Yi righteously forbade Lu Xiaolu to call him master, but he is also a handicraft maniac, and sometimes Zhong Yi would bring Lu Xiaolu with him when he was inventing.

But after all, it's half a bucket of water. Wang Xiaoming knows Lu Xiaolu too well. Before he matures, all the handmade products of this guy are unreliable.

But the old man Gu Bicai also bought some things.

In addition to the basic items that he said to enter the mountain city, several people also bought a few pairs of glue shoes, raincoats and other things. It is rainy in the mountains at this time, and the weather will also affect the ghost market.

Monsters and ghosts are not afraid of the dark, but most of them are afraid of thunder by nature.

As long as the thunderstorm is too heavy, the mountain city will end early.

This is because there has been a saying since ancient times that there is a saying about thunder and lightning. In legend, in addition to the heavenly soldiers and generals who will use lightning to beat the war drums, many gods also travel with lightning and thunder. Monsters will naturally be a little jealous instinctively.

In addition, there are some taboos, and the old man also explained them one by one.

The most well-known rule is that the ghost market does not use hands to speak, and everyone knows the rule of closing the market with the crowing of the cock, but there are some other subtle rules.

For example, it is best not to bargain.

In other words, living people had better not bargain with ghosts.

Because many ghosts have lived for a long time and are far more cunning than humans. If you don’t bargain, you have to be careful that they cheat you.But there is another way of saying that as long as you bargain with ghosts, no matter what priceless treasure you are trading, it will become more and more cheap, and in the end it will be worthless at all.

Another example is Jihong.

When you go to the ghost market to trade, you can't wear a little red in your clothes, not even your underwear.According to folklore, haunted houses are afraid of red things, so since ancient times they have used cinnabar, chicken and dog blood to ward off evil spirits.

There are also some things such as avoiding light and making noise, which the old man explained in detail.

Wang Xiaoming scolded the old man secretly in his heart, knowing so clearly, I'm afraid it's not the first time he's been to this ghost market, and he doesn't know how many harmful things he got back.

After Gu Bicai finished talking about the taboos, he hesitated for a while, and asked them one more thing.

It turned out that he asked Zhong Yi and the others to go to the ghost market and not to cause trouble.

Gu Bicai didn't know what Zhong Yi and the others were going to do in the ghost market.

Most people look for ghost markets because they want to find some good things that cannot be found in the world.

Nothing is taboo in the ghost market - almost anything you can imagine can be found there.

Gu Bicai has been there himself, so of course he knows the scene.

It's just that the price of good things can't be easily afforded by ordinary people, which is why Gu Bicai only got a cat corpse out of it.

However, the price of goods in the ghost market is not something that Gu Bicai should care about. He is just worried that Zhong Yi and the others will go to the ghost market to make trouble.

These three people are young, but they are all very capable. Not only can they almost catch the cat demon with bare hands, but they also captured him back. If such people enter the mountain city and make a scene, what will happen?

"We know this ourselves." Zhong Yi said to Gu Bicai: "You just lead the way. We are going to find serious business, and there will be no complications."

Lu Xiaolu said, "Who would go to the market to practice boxing?"

They are looking for someone, not kicking the gym, this old man is too lenient.

Zhong Yi glanced at him: "The ghost market is different from other places. It belongs to the gray area in the Three Realms. It does not belong to the heaven and earth, nor does it belong to the human world. There are dragons, snakes, and monsters in it. So there is an unwritten code in the ghost market." The rule is that no matter how big a blood feud, once you enter the ghost market, you must not mention it, and you must not cause trouble."

"Three don't care?" Wang Xiaoming frowned: "It feels like a buffer zone of the Three Realms..."

Zhong Yi nodded: "That's it. Therefore, there are not only ghosts in the ghost city, but also living people, and even gods. Some people will choose to stay in the ghost city and not come out in order to avoid disaster or live in seclusion."

"Isn't it over after the rooster crows? Why can't there be a way?"

"This is only for individual tourists like us." Wang Xiaoming said: "The ghost market does not disappear at dawn, but actually still exists, but the connection point with the human world has disappeared."

Zhong Yi nodded: "If you don't come out in time before dawn, you can only wait for the next market opening in the world, and you can only wander there until then."

Gu Bicai nodded: "So you must bring a watch, and you must come out before dawn. It is best not to stay until the end, because it will be chaotic before the market closes."

According to Gu Bicai, Chaoyang is similar to the urban management for the mountain city. When the sunrise is approaching, many sellers will start to collect things in a panic, and some people who don’t want to stay will leave in a hurry. It is inevitable that there will be some confusion, and many people with evil intentions will take advantage of this time to make trouble.

Gu Bicai heard about such things when he was young. A friend of his master went to the ghost market for the first time and found many precious antiques for sale at a low price, so he spent a lot of money to buy them all and wrapped them in a big bag hug and go.

But the first time he went to the ghost market, it was really novel, so he couldn't bear to go shopping, and hurried to leave when it was dawn, but was pushed and pushed by the people who walked with him, and when he came out, he didn't leave. The burden on his body has been changed, and there are only some worthless clay pots and tiles in it, and even the furoshiki has been changed for him.

But that person clearly knew that even though he was pushing, he kept holding the bag like a baby and didn't relax for a moment.