Chapter 61: A Night Visit to the Ghost Market (1)
The horse dragged the heavy carriage and galloped, Qin Chuan and Lao Dao sat in it and didn't know how long it had been, so they could only count the time in their hearts. There is no window to breathe in the enclosed space, and there is no way to know where you are, only to know that you are going roughly east with the swing of the carriage.
The carriage was bumpy all the way, Qin Chuan was a little dizzy, the carriage turned a few corners, Qin Chuan felt that the carriage was going north, and after a few tosses, he couldn't tell where he was, it seemed that this ghost market was very hidden, so it was not impossible to collect some money.
I don't know how long it took, Qin Chuan began to feel a little tired, ready to squint his eyes and take a nap, when he suddenly felt the carriage stop, and the surroundings suddenly fell silent, and the coachman in front of him knocked on the carriage, indicating that he had reached the realm.
Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and finally he didn't have to be stuffy in the carriage. There is no opening in this and it is not breathable, staying in it is as dark as a coffin, and it hasn't been long before I can breathe a little hard, if it weren't for the old way to let Qin Chuan silently recite the "Bodhicitta Sutra", I'm afraid Qin Chuan would suffocate here.
The two men opened the carriage and jumped down, and before they could say hello to the coachman, the coachman did not look back, held the lantern, waved the whip and drove away. When Qin Chuan looked around, he found that there were a lot of black-robed people gathered, and they rushed towards a place very skillfully, and when the two saw this, they got up and followed forward.
After walking for a while, I found that this place was so populated that it was dry, only a lot of broken walls were piled up, there was a smell of yellow sand in the air, and you could see broken swords, scabbards and other things when you walked through a few places, and there were traces of bows and arrows on the broken doors of some courtyards. Looking up, there is only a broken wooden sign with the three words Baishi Ao, looking at the age should be a long time, the handwriting on it is a little blurred, if you don't look at it carefully, I really don't know where it is.
The east side of Qingzhou City is said to be the junction of the three states, which is slightly similar to the Guanshan Pass, and belongs to the boundary of the three states. This is not a strategic place, and because of the poor soil, it is not a special place, only some merchants pass by to rest, over time, here forms a small market town, become a place where travelers and merchants hit the tip, but later many robbers and bandits come here to rob and rob, burn and loot, all evil, whether it is the aborigines or the businessmen who hit the tip, have been far away from here, so this market town is gradually deserted, similar to the market town of Baishiao, there are a lot around Qingzhou City.
The disappearance of these market towns was not due to natural disasters, but to man-made disasters. If you had come here decades ago, you would have been rubbing shoulders with businessmen and people, and it would have been so bleak now, it was not enough to sigh.
However, if the ghost market is located here, it can also be explained. This place has been uninhabited for a long time, far away from the temple, even the nearby wilderness farmers and hunters do not dare to come here, even if they are ventilated, but the ghost market will disappear before dawn, and when others arrive, this place will have long been empty.
Qin Chuan and Lao Dao followed everyone, and found white bones from time to time along the way, some of them died miserably, and Qin Chuan passed by with his eyes closed. On the road, there are some horse lanterns lit, swaying under the blowing of the mountain wind, and there is a whining sound in the distance, which is very terrifying.
In the silence of the mountains, by the dim light, the people walked to a dilapidated inn, and then, completely ignoring the dust raised, they went on their own or separated in groups, obviously familiar with this place.
Just as Qin Chuan wondered why there were only so many people in the ghost market, where they got off the carriage before, hundreds of black-robed people appeared and walked towards this side, it seems that this ghost market is not an ordinary ghost market in Qingzhou City for exchanging antiques and other things, but a big ghost market that trades in heaven and earth treasures and martial arts exercises within a nearby area of thousands of miles.
Seeing so many people, Lao Dao also nodded and said: "It seems that this is the ghost market, I really think that if it is trading some ordinary things, what does it mean?"
Qin Chuan saw the people in black robes, and his heart was also beating drums, I don't know if I can grab the Heaven Replenishing Pill tonight, otherwise I will come for nothing. Hearing Lao Dao talking about the ghost market, he asked a little puzzled: "What is the difference between this ghost market, seeing so many people tonight, I'm afraid something big will happen, right?"
Lao Dao looked around and said to Qin Chuan: "You see those black-robed people, coming from different directions, some are tired, some are steady, maybe these people are from different states, but our Qingzhou City is closer to this ghost city, so we arrived first." If it is an ordinary ghost market, it is just like what Yu Li of the Dongfu Dart Bureau said, although it is hidden, but there are only some treasures stolen from graves, or counterfeit famous calligraphy and paintings, and it is not really a treasure of heaven and earth, so it is opened once a month. But what the shopkeeper Wu arrived at was a ghost market condensed by several states, and there were some rare things in the world, and the people behind this must be monstrous means, able to find here, and conceal their whereabouts. It's just that such a ghost market is either open once a year, or every three years, or even more, every ten years, so there are really good things in such places. ”
Qin Chuan probably understands that the ghost market he went to tonight is the real ghost market in the mouth of martial arts practitioners, and there are martial arts cultivators in Qingzhou City, Taizhou City, Sizhou City, Ningzhou City and other places, and there are also many people from various sects who come here to hunt for treasures.
However, Qin Chuan was secretly attacking in his heart, it seems that he has come to the right place this time, only here can he find that old woman, if there is some opportunity, he may get the Heaven Replenishment Pill.
After fighting with Scarface's Old Fifth and Bai Changyuan in the synaesthesia realm in the past few days, I realized the gap between the realm of martial arts cultivators, if it weren't for Lao Dao's guidance, I am afraid that I would have been in a different place long ago. But Qin Chuan also secretly thought to himself that when he got the Mending Heaven Pill, he would be able to condense the real Empty Mountain and Danhai, which would be the real path to enter the martial arts cultivator, and when he got it, he would be able to have some self-preservation power.
On the outside of the inn, there are already many black-robed people who have opened their cloth bags and spread blankets waiting for customers to come to the door, it seems that this is the outer layer of the ghost market, mainly selling some sectarian mountain gates, family members of the exercises, Qin Chuan carefully swept a few stalls, did not find cursive books, and began to get anxious in his heart.
From the mouth of Wu's shopkeeper and the old Tao, I know that the "Taiping Manuscript" is what the monk Huaizhen has learned all his life, if he understands the "Taiping Manuscript", he can inherit his martial arts mastery, and he is familiar with the Buddhism's non-transmission exercises, but now he doesn't know a word, Qin Chuan doesn't understand its meaning, and it is difficult to understand the "Taiping Manuscript" in a short time.
Lao Dao was also looking at the stalls on the outer layer of the ghost market at the moment, looking at what Qin Chuan was looking for, so he asked, "Rabbit cub, what are we looking for here?"
Qin Chuan stared at the stall with his eyes, and found that there was some difference between this place and the stall in front of the White Deer Academy in Pingyang Fang, the stall owner did not shout, but quietly waited for the customer to come to the door, and the things sold were even rarer, and it seemed that the stall owner was not worried about not being able to sell. Hearing Lao Dao ask himself, Qin Chuan stared at the stall and replied: "I want to find a comparison of cursive writing, otherwise I don't even understand the meaning between the lines, how can I understand what the monk wrote?"
Lao Dao stood behind Qin Chuan, kicked him again, and whispered: "The Buddha said that you should follow the fate, that is, everything goes with the fate, if you just understand the meaning of the word, then you are afraid that you will not be able to comprehend the true meaning of Zen contained in it." Therefore, if you want to compare things in cursive, it doesn't matter if you have them or not. There was once the holy energy of Buddhism, retreat and penance for dozens of years, all the Buddhist mantras recited like a stream, still do not understand what the Buddha said, so he did not do penance, do as he pleased, through the mountains and rivers, under the green bamboo to watch the rain condensation and epiphany, the early morning is also the realm of synaesthesia, the time of the three poles of the sun into the realm of the Tao, the sunset when the west mountain, into the realm of the cave sky, this is for the cultivation of meditation, with our cultivation is a truth. ”
Qin Chuan understood the meaning of the old way, so he was not obsessed with finding the comparison of cursive writing, but patted the old way's ass: "I'll just say, you still have a high realm, and you say the cultivation of martial arts rivers and lakes so bluntly." That Buddhist power had an epiphany under a green bamboo, and I stayed there for a few days, so I didn't have to suffer here. ”
Lao Dao heard Qin Chuan jokingly, but he was not angry. Qin Chuan was able to recover from his stubborn illness, and he was also able to condense the empty mountains and Danhai, which was beyond his expectations. If you really get the Heaven Replenishment Pill, then condense the real Empty Mountain and Danhai two places, then pass on the thing of the Taoist Temple to him, even if he is about to reach the end one day, this Taoist Temple will not be broken.
Therefore, Lao Dao put his hands behind his back and said a little profoundly: "You are stupid, let alone staying under the green bamboo for a few days to have an epiphany, even if you live under the towering tree, besides, how can you compare with that Buddhist power." Even if I tell you why, you won't always find it. ”
When Qin Chuan heard this, he said very stubbornly: "I will go to Li Canghai's North Styx Mountain later, and I will go to the place where the epiphany of Buddhism is powerful." There is no place in the world where I can't go!"
Lao Dao said in a low voice: "That Buddhist power is in the Hanging Temple, this is the mysterious place of Buddhism, how can you go if you want to." The people of the world have been looking for a long time, except for a few words in some historical books, but no one has really been here. And those bald donkeys in the Mingyue Kingdom have been looking hard for nearly a hundred years and have not found a trace, if you can reach the Hanging Temple casually, wouldn't that make them angry to death? Haha, speaking of the Hanging Temple, that monk has the same fate as me, no, I am happier than him, I can still drink wine and eat meat, and be happy. He could do nothing but knock on the wooden fish and hit the golden bell. ”
Qin Chuan tilted his head and glanced at Lao Dao, he really didn't understand that Lao Dao's amount of alcohol was so poor, and he even laughed at others for not being able to drink, it was really fifty steps and a hundred steps. However, when he heard Lao Dao talk about the Hanging Temple, Qin Chuan began to have curiosity rising, and he made up his mind that he must go to the Hanging Temple in his lifetime to see what the Buddhist holy place in the world's mouth looks like.
At this moment, everything is quiet, only a whisper, Qin Chuan probably felt that the mask he was wearing covered his eyes a little, and he straightened his position again, after all, the mask bought in Qingzhou City was a little too large, but fortunately, when he bought the black robe, he asked the embroidery girl to change the clothes to a smaller size, so Qin Chuan felt that it fit very well.
At this time, the previous hundreds of black-robed people scattered in all directions, and then several more groups of people came one after another, but the color of the robes on their bodies was not uniform. In the blink of an eye, there are several people staying in front of each stall, guarding each other, if there is something you like, go directly to the stall owner to ask the price, and after buying, you will leave quickly, looking behind you from time to time, for fear that someone will follow.
There are also a lot of people in groups of three or five, who seem to be people with a high level of martial arts cultivation, or have something to rely on, their style of acting is different from that of the lone wanderer, they talk to each other when they meet the things they like, their voices are loud, and they seem to be not shy about being known by others, attracting the sideways eyes of other black-robed people, if they are not mistaken, these people are from the sect's mountain sect of the cultivation disciples, and their martial arts cultivation will not be too weak.
At this moment, Qin Chuan saw several old objects on top of a stall, among which there was a teapot with a delicate shape and was very cute. The body of the pot is black and has no lid. The handle is a left and a right half ear shape, and its spout is a lion's head, in addition, there are several moire inscriptions of unknown origin, revealing that this product is extraordinary.
I saw that the stall owner was alone with the teapot, poured the liquor into it, and after a while the teapot was upside down, but the strange thing was that although the teapot had no lid, no wine had been spilled, and then the stall owner put the teapot upright, and the spout of the teapot was tilted, and the wine flowed out of the lion's mouth, and the stall owner caught it with a small teacup, and then drank it all.
It was really a good object, Qin Chuan admired it in his heart. This teapot is exquisitely shaped, but there is a mystery inside, looking at the cloud pattern on it, it must be a treasure from which sect. So Qin Chuan took the teapot and played carefully, but he couldn't see the difference, and when he was about to ask the stall owner, three uninvited guests appeared next to him, and one of them snatched the teapot over.
"This teapot is really very small, it seems to be an object of the Heavenly Weapon Sect, if you take it back, the old ancestor will definitely like it tightly. One of them, dressed in a crow-blue robe, didn't explain anything to Qin Chuan at all, but looked at the teapot and muttered to himself.
"That's not it, Senior Brother Tan, our ancestors like these novelties the most, if you take them back, maybe they can reward you with some exercises? Another man in an aqua robe said, and to his voice it seemed to be a woman.
The other of the three, burly and dressed in black robes, remained quietly behind the two men, as immobile as a mountain.
In this ghost city, Qingzhou City is all dressed in black robes, just to keep a low profile, but there are also some disciples of the sect mountain gate, or the descendants of the big families, who come here in various robes, and do not shy away from their whereabouts at all, it seems that they do not take the martial arts practitioners of the ghost market in their eyes, if there is a conflict, as long as they show their name, the other party will not embarrass themselves. Sometimes the cultivators of the martial arts rivers and lakes themselves are bitterly smiling, and the name they have cultivated after many calamities is just used by others to pull the banner.
However, Qin Chuan was robbed of the teapot without saying a word, and he was naturally angry in his heart, so when he was about to come forward to ask for it, Lao Dao pulled Qin Chuan and signaled him not to make a sound, and then looked at the three uninvited guests with a gloating expression.