Jiang Chen felt that his mind was in chaos. He forced his eyes open, and a faint light broke into his eyes. He looked around, and the people and things around him began to appear in his mind.
This is a long street of compacted loess, with two rows of simple ancient Chinese buildings neatly lined up along the street.
As the sun sets, the afterglow falls on these buildings, as if they are coated with a layer of gold foil, making them look particularly sacred!
The long street was crowded and bustling, but the pedestrians here were either wearing linen shorts or dark robes.
Street shops and street vendors are either selling rouge gouache, candied fruits, sesame oil, sesame juice, candied haws and the like.
There is no trace of modernity at first glance, it is antique, and it is even more real than what you see in costume dramas.
"Can it be my turn to do such a good thing as traveling through time?"
Jiang Chen smiled mockingly and muttered in his heart.
Immediately afterwards, two lines of golden and red fonts appeared in front of his eyes:
[Main mission: Survive for three days]
[Reward: None]
The golden-red font flashed for a few times and then disappeared. Jiang Chen couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the people around him didn't notice him or see anything strange about him.
"So...is this reality or a game?"
Although things were a bit bizarre, Jiang Chen was surprisingly calm and not hysterical.
"Sell oil!"
“Freshly squeezed sesame oil!”
A young man was carrying a basket on his back. There was a large clay pot in the basket, and there was a smell of sesame oil from the jar.
"Candied haws on sale!"
“Candied haws on ice, sweet and crispy!”
An old man carried a straw handle filled with candied haws.
"steamed stuffed bun!"
“Hot big buns!”
On the street, the owner of the steamed bun shop shouted loudly. Jiang Chen smelled the aroma of steamed buns and his stomach growled twice.
"Master, would you like a big steamed bun with plain stuffing?"
The bun shop owner saw Jiang Chen stopping in front of the shop and said with a smile.
"Grandmaster?"
Jiang Chen lowered his head and looked at his gray sportswear, which indeed looked like a gray monk's robe.
He looked at the bun shop owner's long hay-like hair again, subconsciously touched his hair, and thought to himself:
"My hair seems a little short!"
Jiang Chen touched his trouser pocket. He had his wallet with him, as well as his mobile phone. He just didn’t know if this big brother recognized Huaxia coins or mobile payment!
hehe!
Only those who can recognize ghosts are there!
"No, no, no!"
Jiang Chen quickly waved his hand and left quickly.
"Although the people here speak a strong dialect and speak in a somewhat classical Chinese style, at least daily communication is not a problem."
"The mission is to survive for three days. It seems that if you want to go back, it will take three days. Then you should get some money to fill your stomach and buy some clothes that are more suitable for this era."
"It seems like this is an ancient world with average technological level. If you want to prosper here, it shouldn't be a big problem!"
"It was too hasty this time. If you can come again next time, be sure to bring some modern handicrafts. It is also a good choice to fool the ancient landlords and rich people and become a treacherous man who crosses the two worlds."
"At least it's much better than the social animals who enjoy the 996 blessing!"
Jiang Chen looked for the things he carried with him, his wallet, which contained bank cards, ID cards, some change, and a smartphone that was about to be eliminated after more than two years of use. The rest was his dark gray miscellaneous brand.
Sportswear.
Originally, I just slept in a rental house. Who would have thought that I would directly travel to ancient times?
If I had known that I was going to travel through time, even if I just grabbed a few glasses and took them to a pawn shop, they would still be worth some money!
"If I don't go to work for three days, I wonder if my boss will fire me!"
"No matter what, if I can really travel freely between the real world and this world in the future, why worry about not getting money? I will fire the boss when the time comes!"
Jiang Chen laughed at himself happily and muttered in his heart.
Then I looked around for anything that looked valuable!
Soon, his eyes were fixed on the ring he was wearing. It was a high imitation of a big-name knockoff, but it looked pretty good. It was inlaid with nine very small broken gemstones. It was purchased online for only 9 yuan and free shipping.
That’s it!
Jiang Chen looked left and right on the long street and finally found a pawn shop.
After some haggling with the pawnshop shopkeeper, in the end the shopkeeper was almost deceived by Jiang Chen.
In the end, the two parties signed a contract. The heirloom of Lao Jiang's family, the Nine-Year Star Ring, will be given to you if you die, and you will receive fifty taels of silver!
This wave of blood profit!
Uh-huh, yes.
Both sides thought so.
Jiang Chen asked the shopkeeper to exchange some coins for change, and then went straight to the bun shop with a bag of broken silver.
At this moment, it was getting late, the sun was setting, and white lanterns were hung on both sides of the street, but it was still bright.
The entire long street became more lively, but for some reason, Jiang Chen felt a little strange!
Wasn’t it true in ancient times that people work when the sun rises and breathe when the sun sets?
Moreover, most dynasties have strict curfew systems. Is it because this is an ancient time in a different world, so it is different from the ancient China in his impression?
He went to the bun shop and bought some buns, but he felt that the fragrant big buns were no longer fragrant!
"Little Master, as the saying goes, Buddhists and Taoists belong to the same family. The old Taoist has not eaten for three days. I wonder if the little master can share the buns in his hand with the old Taoist?"
At some point, a haggard yellow-toothed Taoist wearing tattered Taoist robes appeared behind Jiang Chen and stretched out his hand to ask for the bun in his hand.
Jiang Chen glanced at him and originally wanted to refuse, but seeing his downcast appearance, he felt a little pity and handed the bun in his hand to Lao Dao by accident:
"I don't have any appetite either, so just give these buns to the Taoist priest!"
"Also, I'm not a monk, my hair is just a bit short..."
The old Taoist was stunned when he heard this, then nodded and handed Jiang Chen a wrinkled yellow talisman:
"Thank you so much for your generous donation, little layman. I have nothing to repay. I will give you a yellow talisman to keep you safe!"
"Thank you, Taoist priest!"
Jiang Chen smiled and nodded, taking the yellow talisman.
Boom!
The moment Jiang Chen took the yellow talisman, the surrounding environment changed drastically!
He looked around and saw the owner of the bun shop showing a sinister smile and chopping meat!
He saw the old man selling candied haws of sugar again!
And the man selling sesame oil was opening the jar and pouring a small clay pot of black and foul-smelling corpse oil for a couple!
The rows of white lanterns are floating in the air, exuding a green luster, as if they are alive!
Where is the market here?
This is clearly a ghost market!
Jiang Chen was so frightened by the scene in front of him that he froze. The huge fear made him couldn't help shouting, but the only reason he had left allowed him to curb this crazy idea!
"Don't make any noise and follow me!"
The old Taoist pulled Jiang Chen and wanted to leave the ghost market, but the owner of the bun shop blocked their way with Senhan's meat cleaver.
"Guest, the buns are cold, why don't you eat them? Is it because the barbecued pork buns I made are not to your liking?"
Under the green lantern light, the owner of the bun shop looked pale, gloomy and terrifying!
"Walk!"
The old Taoist pushed the bun shop owner away with his palm, pulled Jiang Chen who had become a little sluggish, and walked forward without looking back!
"How can we leave before the market is over?!"
The bun shop owner stopped shouting, and the voice came from behind the two of them. A dark wind came, and the bun shop owner floated directly towards Jiang Chen and Lao Dao!
"Every layman has collected the money!"
The veteran quickly took out the black human skin purse from Jiang Chen's trouser pocket. It was the money pawned from the pawnshop owner, and the purse was also a gift from the pawnshop owner.
But at this moment, the exquisite embroidered purse has turned into a human skin purse, and the broken silver and copper coins inside have also turned into broken bones and paper money!
The old Taoist directly threw out the broken bones and paper money inside.
These are the coins of the underworld, which the living cannot use, but the dead can. As the saying goes, precious wealth touches people's hearts, and money can make ghosts grind.
The old Taoist scattered the ghost coins in all directions, and the ghosts on the long street swarmed in, snatching the paper money and broken bones.
The owner of the bun shop was blocked by a group of ghosts, so he had no choice but to turn around and return to the bun shop unwillingly!
The two took advantage of the chaos to speed up their pace and ran all the way to escape the ghost market!
Jiang Chen saw that there were fewer and fewer lantern monsters on both sides of the long street, and eventually the entire long street was hidden in darkness.
He looked up and saw a bright moon. Under the moonlight, he could see the surrounding scene clearly.
Desolate and inhabited, overgrown with weeds, corpses strewn all over the ground, white bones filling the air, the air filled with the smell of rotting corpses.
This is a mass grave!
"You are so brave. You broke into the ghost market alone on the Ghost Festival. Do you not want to live?"
"Do you know that your flesh and blood is the most delicious delicacy for ghosts?"
"If the old man hadn't arrived in time, your boy would have been eaten by the ghosts until not even the bones were left!"
The old Taoist looked at Jiang Chen, his face like old tree bark trembled a few times, and he reprimanded loudly.
Jiang Chen was shocked, but when he heard what the Taoist said, he quickly clasped his fists and bowed to the Taoist, and said sincerely: "Thank you, Taoist Master, for saving your life!"
"Hmm."
"That's all!"
"Quan should be an old man and do one good deed every day!"
"If you have no other place to go, you might as well follow the old path first and wait until dawn before looking for a place to go!"
"This deserted wilderness is uninhabited, monsters are raging, and wild beasts are infested. It is extremely dangerous. If you are left here alone, you will undoubtedly be seeking death!"
The old Taoist priest Huang Ya had a cold face and a warm heart. He turned around and left with his big eyes wide open.
Jiang Chen followed closely, fearing that he would lose him.
"This is a mass grave at the foot of Heishan. Originally, there was a Heishan town near this mass grave. However, due to years of war, coupled with famine and drought, the townspeople fled to death."
"Later on, only these ghosts were left wandering here. Every time during the Ghost Festival, they would open a ghost market here!"
"Crossing the Black Mountain and traveling a hundred miles westward is Changfeng County. The old Taoist was invited to go to Changfeng County to catch monsters. Where do you want to go, kid?"
The old Taoist asked as he walked.
Where to go?
Hearing this, Jiang Chen smiled bitterly and shook his head:
"Young man has nowhere to go now, so wherever you go, that's where you go!"
The joy on the old Taoist's face flashed away when he heard this, and then he said seriously:
"Since we have nowhere to go, why don't you and I go together and rush to Changfeng County together? How about we make plans when we get to Changfeng County?!"
"Just follow what the Taoist Master said!"
Jiang Chen nodded when he heard this.
“It’s getting late, and it’s very inconvenient to travel at night. Plus, with the Ghost Festival approaching, there will inevitably be more troubles!”
"I remember that there is a mountain temple on the Black Mountain. Although the incense has been discontinued, it must still be blessed by a little power of Shinto. Ordinary monsters and ghosts dare not approach it. It can be used by you and me to rest!"
The old Taoist seemed to be introducing the situation here to Jiang Chen, or talking to himself.