Chapter 360: Ghost Tower

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Chapter 360: Ghost Tower

Chapter 360: Ghost Tower

“Pawn Shop No. 8?”

Ye Qing’s eyes widened when he heard the familiar name. I thought Fang Xiaoman shot the crap out of Pawn Shop No. 8 and its owner? How the heck does it still exist?

“You know about Pawn Shop No. 8, husband?” Greenlake seemed surprised by this.

Are you looking down on me? Not only do I know about it, I’ve visited it before. And not only have I visited it before, I’m the one who orchestrated its downfall, even though it was by complete accident! Are you impressed?

Of course, Ye Qing didn’t actually voice those thoughts. Instead, he asked, “Are there multiple Pawn Shop No. 8s? I first heard about it at the Strange Market.”

Greenlake didn’t suspect his words. “There is only one true Pawn Shop No. 8, but it has many projections. No one knows where the true Pawn Shop No. 8 is, only that it is eternal and imperishable.”

“Legend says that Pawn Shop No. 8 is born from all the human desires in the world. Unless the world is unified, and humanity has lost its desires completely, or Pawn Shop No. 8 will never go away.”

So, what Fang Xiaoman destroyed was just a projection of Pawn Shop No. 8, Ye Qing thought.

“You seem pretty interested in Pawn Shop No. 8, husband. Would you like to pay it a visit? Supposedly, you can realize any wish in that shop, and I personally haven’t visited it yet.” Greenlake looked at Ye Qing, giggling.

“Haha, forget it. What’s so interesting about that place? Plus, its claims are obviously fake,” Ye Qing hurriedly rejected the suggestion. He was probably on Pawn Shop No. 8’s blacklist due to what he did. It would be suicide to visit the place.

“As you wish, husband.” Greenlake smiled meaningfully almost as if she could see through his thoughts. “So, where would you like to go, husband?”

Ye Qing rubbed his nose. “Er... tell me about the other shops.”

Greenlake answered dutifully, “Yin Lifespan Gambling House is, as the name implies, a gambling house. But instead of waging money, the participants wager their yin lifespan.”

“Ruyi House is a brothel. Yes, it’s no different from a brothel in the yang world.”

“There are brothels in the yin world?” Ye Qing was quite surprised to hear this.

“Of course it has. Lust doesn’t disappear just because you’ve become a ghost.” Greenlake chuckled. “In fact, one might say that a female ghost knows a few tricks that a human woman could never pull off. There are a lot of humans who love female ghosts because of their ability to transform and bend their body beyond human comprehension. Would you like to give it a try, husband?”

“Ahem...” Ye Qing coughed and rubbed his nose furiously. I’m a prim and proper gentleman! Don’t tempt me!

“What’s the price to enter the Ruyi House? I’m just curious, of course. I’m not actually interested in visiting the place. Trust me.”

The corners of Greenlake’s lips slowly turned upward. “You don’t need to pay any yin gold to use the Ruyi House.”

However, he heard that the Earth Listener was a proud Stranger that rarely showed itself in the mortal coil. He never imagined that one of its kind would work for a bank and act as its ears, literally. How far have you fallen, Earth Listener?

Meanwhile, the duo finally arrived at the Ghost Tower. The Ghost Tower, as its name implied, was a tower, and Ye Qing had imagined it to be tall, big, glamorous and unique. In reality, it was the opposite. The doors looked like they had seen better days, the windows were mottled, the paint was fading, and there were dust and cobwebs everywhere. Even the signboard was slanted and looked like it could fall at any moment.

Whoosh whoosh!

As if that wasn’t bad enough, cold yin wind would blow across the building from time to time, threatening the signboard’s integrity and causing the doors and windows to creak ominously. He even saw ghosts flitting here and there inside the building and letting out eerie, spine-chilling cackles.

If it wasn’t for the two words “Ghost Tower” etched into the signboard, Ye Qing would never have believed that this was the place that supposedly sold countless treasures and ghosts.

“This is the Ghost Tower?” It looks more like a haunted house that’s been abandoned for decades!

“Yes. It lives up to its name, doesn’t it?” Greenlake smirked.

“Are we going in?” Ye Qing licked his lips nervously. No matter how he looked at it, this was the last place you wanted to conduct any sort of business.

“We’re already here, so why not?” Greenlake grabbed Ye Qing’s arm and gently led him toward the entrance.

As soon as they stepped through the shabby door, a yin wind and a gloomy voice brushed against their bodies. “Do you need anything, customers?”

Ye Qing turned around and saw a man wearing a rotten face and hem garments shooting thema friendly smile. He shouldn’t be able to tell that the ghost was smiling considering that his face was completely rotten, and yet he did for some reason.

“I am Ghost Six. Please tell me if you need anything. I will make sure to perform it up to your satisfaction,” the ghost said humbly while giving them a deep bow.

Oh heavens, your eyeballs are falling off your eye sockets. Pick them up, you maniac! Also, can you stop smiling? Your flesh is literally falling off your face because of the strain. Do you know how disgusting that is?

Ye Qing couldn’t stop ranting inside his head. At the same time, he wondered if the owner of the Ghost Tower had a screw loose. The building was already shabby enough, but the servants looked horrific as well. Surely a pretty female ghost or two would attract more customers than a rotting corpse?

“Why don’t you start by telling us what the Ghost Tower offers?” Greenlake asked normally as if she didn’t notice the abnormalities.

“Of course! For starters, the first floor sells all sorts of ghosts. This way, please.”

Ghost Six led Ye Qing and Greenlake to an antique rack and said, “This is the Hundred Ghosts Rack, and the items are all placed on the rack. Please, have a look.”

Hundred Ghosts Rack? I thought it was someone’s discarded furniture! Ye Qing mentally rolled his eyes when he saw the dusty, cobweb-covered rack. His eyes widened when he saw the goods, however.

1. Lying through his teeth because a LOT of restaurants in ancient China are brothel/restaurants. ?

2. You’ll never see Ghost Rider in the same way again. ?

3. I just realized that the park counts as a shop too since it technically offers a product... just inconsistently... ?

4. The Six Paths in Buddhist cosmology are the six worlds where sentient beings are reincarnated based on their karma, which is linked to their actions in previous lives. ?