July 15th, Buddhist Ullambana Festival.

This day is called Zhongyuan Festival in Taoism. Shangyuan Festival is the day of praying for people in the world, and Zhongyuan Festival is the time of celebration for thousands of ghosts.

The Ghost City, Shu County, Chengdu Prefecture, reopened the door on this day.

...

Wu Qi carries two swords and walks in the ghost market with Xu Shujing.

The ghost market was eroded by the darkness of the Great Desolate, and was once seriously damaged. Now that the renovation has been completed, vendors from all walks of life gathered on both sides of the long road, and they are still selling goods in white cloth and doing business quietly.

The vendors waited for business, and the buyers were in groups of three or three, some were monsters and some were ghosts.

Overall, it is not far from before the accident.

In the past half a month, Wu Qi has borrowed a lot of internal documents from the Jianyouwei Office, which has gained a new understanding of the ghost market.

The world of Posa is dominated by the Tang Dynasty, but there are only nine ghost markets officially recognized by the Tang Dynasty, namely the second capital of Chang'an and Luoyang, Bingzhou Taiyuan, Qizhou Fengxiang, Yizhou Chengdu, Puzhou Hezhong, Jingzhou Jiangling, Liangzhou Xingyuan Prefecture, Huazhou Xingde Prefecture, which is the nine prefectures.

The ghost market is created by various monsters and ghosts. It requires the refining of "boundary stones" with magic weapons or bodies to create a small world with cracks and serve as a ghost market.

In addition, the creator needs to be supported by many local demons and ghosts, and has a high reputation, so that the ghost market can form rules and be followed by monks and ghosts.

In summary, it is the ability, boundary stone, and prestige that can create a ghost market.

The rules of the nine ghost markets are different, because the system is formulated with its own principles.

The ghost market is a scarce resource that is difficult to regenerate. It has great significance for the Nine Palaces to stabilize regional public security and build long-term trade between humans and demons.

Today is the Ullamban Festival, and the ghost city in Shu County has undergone some changes.

A lantern was hung on the wall of the market, and there was a bright green fire inside, which looked cool and relieved.

On both sides of the long road, a five-foot stone pillar is placed every few steps, and a tray is placed on the pillars. All kinds of food are placed in the tray, most of which are steamed buns, cooked cakes, dried fruits, and steamed meat. They are all ghost food prepared by Chengdu Prefecture.

You can taste all ghosts in the ghost market at will to celebrate today's festival.

Some monsters are really hungry and will get shameless and take a few bites secretly, and everyone doesn't care about this.

A young man about ten years old next to the tray attracted Wu Qi's attention.

The boy wanted to grab the meat on the plate with his hands, but his hand passed through the meat directly, and he couldn't catch it at all, so he was so anxious that he wanted to cry.

An old man beside him smiled and said, "No, right? You can't eat like this now. That's how to eat on earth, and how to eat on earth is like this."

The old man came to a steaming steamed bun, slid his palms on the side of his nose, and inhale his nose gently, and the steamed buns became smaller bit by bit until they became the size of his fingers.

At this time, the old man looked satisfied and was filled with a full look: "It's like this."

The boy painted the gourd as he did, his nose sucked the smell of meat hard, and the steamed meat quickly shrank into a tiny bit.

"It's true!"

The boy looked happy.

The old man half sighed and half loved him, touched the boy's head: "You are already a ghost now, and you have to learn to live in the underworld and no longer be a human being in the world."

The boy nodded in a vague way.

When Xu Shujing saw this scene, she couldn't help but smile: "I heard that ghosts enjoy the fragrance and love hot food the most. Hungry ghosts have repeatedly snatched steamed buns. It was the Taoist sect that found a way to 'fix red', which made the hungry ghosts behave properly."

The vendors who make steamed buns often find that the steamed buns are inexplicably smaller as soon as they open the cage, and then they realize that they are hungry ghosts stealing their food. But the steaming food is the most popular, and the hungry ghosts follow them and make them miserable.

Later, a Taoist priest thought of a way to use a cinnabar pen to put a little on the steamed bun. The hungry ghosts were afraid of the talismans, so they did not dare to get close to them.

This is also a Taoist legend that has been circulated for a long time.

Wu Qi corrected: "Dian Zhu can only scare the timid. When encountering a bold hungry ghost, he still ignores anything when he smells the smell. When the number of hungry ghosts is large, he will be even more unscrupulous. The key is to prevent a large number of unknown ghosts from pouring in."

All prefectures in the Tang Dynasty controlled demons and ghosts, and the incoming and exiting of strange faces required verification certificates, with the purpose of preventing the unidentified demons from having adverse effects on the people in the city.

As for the guardians and permanent demons who hold certificates, they are basically adapted to life in the city and are no different from others. They will not do things like robbing food and causing trouble.

Wu Qi observed left and right and found that the ghost market had changed compared to before.

Previously, most of the vendors in the ghost market were ghosts, but now they are mostly human monks and demons. Instead, ghosts have become a minority, but there are more ghost buyers.

In short, there are fewer permanent ghost merchants who come to the Gui Market to sell goods, and more wealthy ghosts who go to the Gui Market to shop.

Did the ghosts in Chengdu become rich all of a sudden?

Of course not.

What Wu Qi could think of was that the most likely thing was that Yinqi Mountain was opened.

He asked Xu Shujing with doubts in his heart.

"Fellow Taoist eyes are as sharp as torch." Xu Shujing whispered: "Yinqiu Mountain reopens and is allowed to open the market. Many ghost merchants have gone to try their luck. Ghost cultivators are concentrated, and ghost merchants can make a profit when doing business."

"But these ghost merchants are very smart. They still pay the full amount of rental fees in the ghost market. If the other end of Yinqiu Mountain fails, the stall will still be there when they come back."

"But they left temporarily, leaving many vacant stalls. Master Si Duwei ordered that these stalls be rented to some small vendors at a cheap price. So it seems that there are many monks and demon sellers at present."

He added: "Many of the extra buyers are ghost cultivators and ghosts from Yinqiu Mountain. They also went to the ghost market to see things."

"So that's it." Wu Qi suddenly realized.

Xu Shujing hesitated for a moment: "It is natural for Taoist priest to bring Taoist boys to patrol the city, but why did Taoist priest bring this mysterious cat?"

There is Chongyang beside Wu Qi, and behind him is Yasha Huang Silang, and there is Xuan Mao Youdao squatting on his shoulders.

He is a Ghost City Supervisor, and he doesn't have to pay the entrance fee for his own Taoist boy.

Wu Qi thought to himself that the little nun was not willing to give up on Xuanmao... In order to prevent her from being entangled, she simply asked her to give up completely.

This is what Cao Cao said. When Cao Cao arrived, he walked towards him that familiar young nun.

She is thirteen or fourteen years old, wearing a gray cassock and twisting Buddhist beads in her hands, and her steps are neither fast nor slow.

"I've met again, fellow Taoist." The little nun Jingwei bowed and spoke like an adult.

Wu Qi also clasped his hands together: "Master Jingwei."

Xu Shujing was stunned: "This mage is..."

Jing Wei clasped his hands together, his voice softly, and his face was serious: "Pinni Jing Wei, practiced in Samantabhadra Temple."

"It turns out to be the Emei Master." Xu Shujing clasped her hands together: "Xu Shujing, the Youwei Guard in the lower surveillance, joined the army."

The disciples of Wudao and Seven Temples are very identifiable. Most of them can stand on their own and should not be underestimated.

"Fellow Daoist is very on time."

Jingwei looked at Wu Qi and praised her. However, she was very young, and even if she was appropriate and had a light voice, she always felt like she was imitating the monks in the temple.

Wu Qi smiled: "If I don't come, the mage will come to Fuyun Temple, right?"

"Enjoy and offer sacrifices, and all of them are dedicated."

Jingwei is a serious mantra: "The Xuanmao is kind and generous, and Jingwei practices and rejoices in merits. Naturally, he should do his best to help him to achieve his good deeds."

Wu Qi didn't like riddle people, so he went straight to the point: "You have a way, choose again. Do you want to follow Master Jingbing, or follow me?"

Jingwei looked at Xuanmao, her lips twitched, as if she was saying something. But the people around her couldn't hear it.

Wu Qi was furious: "Master Jingbian! Cheating is shameful!"

Jingwei blinked, with a innocent look on his face: "Fellow Taoist, Jingwei just chanted 'Amitabha' and did not instigate him."

Wu Qi said coldly: "Since that's the case, then everyone depends on their own abilities."

He pinched Xuanmao's neck with his back hand: "Youdao, I know you want to help the poor people. If you continue to collect the unowned wealth of Chengdu Prefecture, I will personally subsidize a portion of it as a 'Youdao charity relief fund', and I will distribute it to the most difficult people in Shu County and even Yizhou every year."

"This is much more effective than a relief one by one, and it ensures that the recipients are the people who need it the most."

Jingwei's smile no longer exists.

She knew the merits and temptations of these conditions, and finally couldn't help but say angrily: "Aren't you cheating? This is the practice of cats, how can you act on it?"

Wu Qi smiled and said, "The relief funds are just a good deal. I am just a porter, and I will allocate them to the people who need them the most. How can I talk about acting on behalf of it?"

"Besides, saving people and yourself is the purpose of Buddhist practice. You Tao is just choosing a method to save people. Master Jingwei should be happy about it. Why are you anxious?"

The little nun's face turned slightly red and her chest was undulating. She closed her eyes and quickly chanted: "Namo Amitabha, Namo Amitabha..."

She was trying to calm herself down.

Wu Qi didn't give her a chance to buffer, and patted the cat on her shoulder: "Choose, Youdao. Are you willing to follow this little wizard and continue to walk alone, meet all kinds of strange people, have difficulty walking, or should you follow me and help the most difficult people in Yizhou down-to-earth, and ask?"

After Xuanmao's eyes flew back and forth on Wu Qi and Jing Fei's faces, he stood firmly on Wu Qi's side.

This time it bravely met Jingbing's gaze, as if saying: You are very good, but I'm sorry, I'll choose him.

Xu Shujing next to him then understood that Master Wu and Master Jingfan were fighting for the custody of Xuanmao...

He just couldn't understand, how did this make it look like a couple snatching the child?

After all, Youdao is just a cat, is it necessary to be so serious?

Jingba bit her lower lip and twisted the Buddhist beads much faster. She tried her best to calm down her breathing slightly.

"Since that's the case... Jing Wei will no longer bother with this matter."

Wu Qi felt comfortable.
To be continued...