“You’re quite early today, Joyless.”
As soon as the first light broke, Ye Qing got out of his bed and began practicing his fist arts. He had gone through his stances and techniques three times when Chu Nianjiu lazily stepped out of the door.
“Not really,” Ye Qing withdrew his fists and replied.
“Oh right, I thought I heard something last night. Is everything fine?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
“Yeah. It’s just a bunch of useless imps,” Ye Qing replied uncaringly.
Last night, he was in the middle of training when suddenly, five imps passed through the wall and appeared inside his room. He had taken them out in a single strike.
“Imps? Why would they come here? This place is full of yang qi and the energy of the living.” Chu Nianjiu was confused.
“How would I know?” Ye Qing shrugged. “Oh right, where is Brother Peng? Has he not returned yet?”
“No—wait, here he comes.” Chu Nianjiu was just about to shake his head when Peng Hu stepped through the gates.
“Did you find anything, Brother Peng?”
“No. I haven’t seen anyone the whole night.” Peng Hu shook his head a little tiredly.
Last night, after they had settled in, he and Peng Lin had agreed to watch the cliff for the person who cursed their clan elder twenty-four-seven. Peng Lin would keep watch during the day, and he during the night.
“Are you sure you and Peng Lin don’t want to enter the Yin Market?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
Peng Hu shook his head. “Yes. Both of us are needed to take care of Peng Chuan and watch over the cliff. Perhaps next time.”
“Very well.”
Peng Hu added, “The Yin Market is a dangerous place. Be careful.”
“Thank you for your concern, Brother Peng. We will.” Chu Nianjiu and Ye Qing saluted him. “You must be quite tired after staying up the whole night. Please, go catch some rest.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.” Peng Hu returned the salute and went back to his room.
“Do you think that the caster will show up, Joyless?” Chu Nianjiu whispered to Ye Qing after Peng Hu had gone into his room.
“I can’t say,” Ye Qing shook his head and said in a serious tone, “but I hope not.”
“Me too.” Chu Nianjiu nodded.
The reason was simple. It was because they most likely wouldn’t be able to defeat whoever the caster was.
“Say, why is Mank Ee still not back yet? He said he would familiarize us with the process today, didn’t he?” Chu Nianjiu changed the subject.
“There’s no hurry. We still have plenty of time.” Ye Qing shrugged.
Entering the Yin Market wasn’t as simple as putting on a set of burial clothes and going to the right at night. There was a series of things they had to prepare.
Lin Yuhuai and Qi Xuanyun appeared not long after that. It was after they had eaten breakfast that Mank Ee finally showed up.
The thief didn’t look good, however. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked distracted.
“You look poorly rested. Were you out doing something bad last night?” Ye Qing joked.
“N-No! I didn’t do anything! I was inside my room the whole night!” Mank Ee subconsciously blurted when he heard this.
“Hmm?” Ye Qing wasn’t expecting this. He was just making fun of the thief, but his reaction turned out to be bigger than expected.
Mank Ee himself realized that he had overreacted. His first impulse upon hearing the joke was that Ye Qing had found out about his ploy, but if that was true, then Ye Qing would’ve kicked his ass already.
“S-Sorry. I don't know why, but I had nightmares the whole night. That’s why I’m a little sleepy right now.” Mank Ee hurriedly changed the subject.
This time, he was telling the truth. He was out like a light as soon as he returned home from Old Hu’s grocery store, but in his dreams, he felt like someone was watching him from beside his bed. It felt so real, so terrifying that he awoke with a start, but there was no one around him. When he fell asleep again, the sensation would return as if it never left.
One time, when he was half-awake and delirious, he even saw a face staring at him from up close. They were so close that their noses were practically touching each other. When he realized what he was looking at, he was so frightened that he nearly fell off his bed. There was no one around him, however. No one except himself. This strange phenomenon would continue until morning broke.
“Nightmare? Why don’t you tell us about it? We can use the entertainment.” Chu Nianjiu chuckled.
Mank Ee waved it off. “Hahaha, it’s nothing. Are you ready, my lords? If you are, then I’ll familiarize you with the process of entering the Yin Market immediately.”
“Let’s go then,” Ye Qing said while shooting Mank Ee a glance. Something didn’t feel right with the thief, but he saw no reason to pry.
And so Mank Ee led the group of four out of the house and toward a temple. The temple was named the Judge Temple.
But unlike a normal temple, this one was built underground. It was a yin temple.
According to the ancients, a man was on top, and a woman at the bottom. Yang was on top, and yin was at the bottom. A temple that was built on the surface was meant for the living, whereas a temple built underground was meant for the dead. That was why a surface temple was called a yang temple, and an underground temple was called a yin temple.
Normally, the living only prayed inside a yang temple, and the dead only prayed inside a yin temple. They weren’t meant to be mixed. A living person who prayed inside a yin temple could easily attract filth and dangers, whereas a ghost who prayed inside a yang temple was courting death. A particularly strong blast of yang qi could easily annihilate their soul.
Barring exceptional circumstances, the imperial court generally forbade the construction of yin temples. But not only was there one in Auspicious Phoenix Market, it was pretty big too. More importantly, Mank Ee was leading into the yin temple.
As they walked down the stairs and into the main hall, they saw a martial judge and a civil judge on the altar. But unlike the ones people normally worshiped in the yang temple, these ones looked darker and gloomier.
They’re not your normal statues!
Ye Qing’s pupils contracted into pins. He could sense a thick amount of yin qi circulating around the statues. It was almost as if they were possessed by ghosts. That said, the yin qi did not feel malicious, so it didn’t feel like the aura of a malicious Stranger.
Mank Ee led them to the statue and turned toward them. “I’ll now tell you the steps we need to go through. First, you need to kowtow three times in front of the Yin Gods. We call it ‘inviting the Yin Gods’.”
“Your head must touch the ground, and your heart must be pure when you kowtow to the Yin Gods. Not only that, the louder your kowtows, the better they would regard you.”
“Interesting,” Ye Qing commented with a smile.
Mank Ee performed a demonstration for them, and he wasn’t kidding when he said the kowtows needed to be loud. If the floor was made of wood, he would’ve shattered it with how hard he was slamming his head against the floor.
As soon as Mank Ee kowtowed three times, Ye Qing clearly sensed a pair of cold, dark presences possessing the two statues and examining the people inside the temple.
Next, Mank Ee rose to his feet and walked up to a three-legged brazier. “The second step is to write your birth date and name on a wooden tablet and throw it inside this bronze brazier. It’s called the Yin Entry Register.”
Emerald green flames abruptly appeared out of nowhere and enveloped the wooden tablet as soon as Mank Ee tossed it into the brazier. Not only that, the flame felt colder than an icy lake in winter. The wooden tablet was quickly burned into ash.
After the flame was gone, Mank Ee stuck his hand into the pile of ash. To their surprise, he fished out a mysterious, exquisite, seemingly brand new token that didn’t look like it was made of metal or wood.
Mank Ee showed them the token and said, “This is the Yin Token. It proves that the Yin Gods have registered our names and given us permission to enter the Yin Market, and only those with the Yin Token are allowed to roam the Yin Market freely.”
“You must keep your Yin Token safe while you’re still inside the Yin Market. Otherwise, the yin guards will steal your soul and imprison you in the Eighteen Hells on the spot.”
“Let me take a look.” Ye Qing took Man Ee’s Yin Token and examined it closely. It was cold to touch and forged from some sort of unknown material. One side of the token was engraved with Mank Ee’s name, and the other with the word “Feng”.
He clearly remembered that the wooden token Mank Ee gave them was made of ordinary willow. How strange!
“This material seems impressive. I bet it’ll last for a long time. Surely you’ve kept some spares since this isn’t the first time you enter the Yin Market?” Ye Qing asked, hoping to exploit a loophole.
Mank Ee shook his head. “You are joking, my lord. The Yin Token will only last until the end of the Yin Market. It would automatically crumble into ash once the Yin Market is closed.”
“I see.” Ye Qing smiled and returned the token to Mank Ee. Then, he looked at his companions and asked, “So, who’s going first?”
“This looks interesting. I’ll go first,” Chu Nianjiu declared with bright eyes before walking up to the statues. Then, he kowtowed three times loudly like Mank Ee.
But as soon as he finished, the two statues shuddered and made three banging noises. It almost sounded like they were returning the kowtows.
“Heh...” Ye Qing smirked. Thanks to his demonic thought, he “saw” something bright yellow flowing out of Chu Nianjiu’s body and taking the form of a dragon. The dragon then let out a mighty roar.
Two silhouettes also appeared out of the two statues. The reason they returned Chu Nianjiu’s salute was because they were afraid.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the bright yellow energy that came out of Chu Nianjiu’s body was the Will Of The Dragon. The Pacification Sentinels were the Son of Heaven’s personal bodyguards, and Chu Nianjiu was a Peacemaker in the Luo Shui Pacification Bureau. As an official of Chu, of course he was protected by the Will of the Empire and the Will of the Dragon.
The two silhouettes who attached themselves to the civil and martial judge were most likely yin guards of Fengdu. Since Chu Nianjiu was an official of the yang world, of course they couldn’t receive his kowtows without returning it.
“What happened?” Chu Nianjiu looked confused.
Ye Qing chuckled. “It’s nothing. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Chu Nianjiu rose to his feet and threw the wood tablet into the bronze brazier. A while later, the wood tablet burned into ash, and Chu Nianjiu fished out a Yin Token from within.
Lin Yuhuai stepped forward after Chu Nianjiu got his Yin Token. But unlike Chu Nianjiu, his head didn’t touch the ground. Still, the martial and civil judge returned the salute.
“My lord, your head needs to hit the ground for it to work!” Mank Ee said in a hurry.
“It’s fine.”
Lin Yuhuai must have figured out something because he didn’t hesitate to toss his wooden tablet into the bronze brazier. A short while later, he walked away with his own Yin Token.
“Huh...?” Mank Ee’s mouth was wide open. Since when were the Yin Gods so generous? The last time someone tried something like this, they failed to get a Yin Token and fell gravely sick. They were this close from dying and joining the Fengdu, so what was so different about this?
Qi Xuanyun stepped forward next, but he didn’t fall to his knees. Instead, he bowed his head deeply and said, “The heavens’ blessing be with you. This one has been a part of Taoism since young, and I was taught to kneel only to the Taozu. Forgive me for not paying you the respects you deserve.”
Then, he walked up to the bronze brazier and tossed the wooden tablet inside.
“Young Reverend! You won’t get the Yin Token like this!” Mank Ee couldn’t help but cry out. Lin Yuhuai at least saw through the formalities even though his kowtow wasn’t sincere, but this was completely against the norm!
Before he could say anything else, he saw Qi Xuanyun pulling out a Yin Token from the bronze brazier. His eyes immediately widened like saucers, and his jaw hit the floor with a loud clang that only he could hear.
Do you happen to be blind or sick today, my gods?
“You’re quite early today, Joyless.”
As soon as the first light broke, Ye Qing got out of his bed and began practicing his fist arts. He had gone through his stances and techniques three times when Chu Nianjiu lazily stepped out of the door.
“Not really,” Ye Qing withdrew his fists and replied.
“Oh right, I thought I heard something last night. Is everything fine?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
“Yeah. It’s just a bunch of useless imps,” Ye Qing replied uncaringly.
Last night, he was in the middle of training when suddenly, five imps passed through the wall and appeared inside his room. He had taken them out in a single strike.
“Imps? Why would they come here? This place is full of yang qi and the energy of the living.” Chu Nianjiu was confused.
“How would I know?” Ye Qing shrugged. “Oh right, where is Brother Peng? Has he not returned yet?”
“No—wait, here he comes.” Chu Nianjiu was just about to shake his head when Peng Hu stepped through the gates.
“Did you find anything, Brother Peng?”
“No. I haven’t seen anyone the whole night.” Peng Hu shook his head a little tiredly.
Last night, after they had settled in, he and Peng Lin had agreed to watch the cliff for the person who cursed their clan elder twenty-four-seven. Peng Lin would keep watch during the day, and he during the night.
“Are you sure you and Peng Lin don’t want to enter the Yin Market?” Chu Nianjiu asked.
Peng Hu shook his head. “Yes. Both of us are needed to take care of Peng Chuan and watch over the cliff. Perhaps next time.”
“Very well.”
Peng Hu added, “The Yin Market is a dangerous place. Be careful.”
“Thank you for your concern, Brother Peng. We will.” Chu Nianjiu and Ye Qing saluted him. “You must be quite tired after staying up the whole night. Please, go catch some rest.”
“Yeah. I’ll see you later.” Peng Hu returned the salute and went back to his room.
“Do you think that the caster will show up, Joyless?” Chu Nianjiu whispered to Ye Qing after Peng Hu had gone into his room.
“I can’t say,” Ye Qing shook his head and said in a serious tone, “but I hope not.”
“Me too.” Chu Nianjiu nodded.
The reason was simple. It was because they most likely wouldn’t be able to defeat whoever the caster was.
“Say, why is Mank Ee still not back yet? He said he would familiarize us with the process today, didn’t he?” Chu Nianjiu changed the subject.
“There’s no hurry. We still have plenty of time.” Ye Qing shrugged.
Entering the Yin Market wasn’t as simple as putting on a set of burial clothes and going to the right at night. There was a series of things they had to prepare.
Lin Yuhuai and Qi Xuanyun appeared not long after that. It was after they had eaten breakfast that Mank Ee finally showed up.
The thief didn’t look good, however. He had dark circles under his eyes, and he looked distracted.
“You look poorly rested. Were you out doing something bad last night?” Ye Qing joked.
“N-No! I didn’t do anything! I was inside my room the whole night!” Mank Ee subconsciously blurted when he heard this.
“Hmm?” Ye Qing wasn’t expecting this. He was just making fun of the thief, but his reaction turned out to be bigger than expected.
Mank Ee himself realized that he had overreacted. His first impulse upon hearing the joke was that Ye Qing had found out about his ploy, but if that was true, then Ye Qing would’ve kicked his ass already.
“S-Sorry. I don't know why, but I had nightmares the whole night. That’s why I’m a little sleepy right now.” Mank Ee hurriedly changed the subject.
This time, he was telling the truth. He was out like a light as soon as he returned home from Old Hu’s grocery store, but in his dreams, he felt like someone was watching him from beside his bed. It felt so real, so terrifying that he awoke with a start, but there was no one around him. When he fell asleep again, the sensation would return as if it never left.
One time, when he was half-awake and delirious, he even saw a face staring at him from up close. They were so close that their noses were practically touching each other. When he realized what he was looking at, he was so frightened that he nearly fell off his bed. There was no one around him, however. No one except himself. This strange phenomenon would continue until morning broke.
“Nightmare? Why don’t you tell us about it? We can use the entertainment.” Chu Nianjiu chuckled.
Mank Ee waved it off. “Hahaha, it’s nothing. Are you ready, my lords? If you are, then I’ll familiarize you with the process of entering the Yin Market immediately.”
“Let’s go then,” Ye Qing said while shooting Mank Ee a glance. Something didn’t feel right with the thief, but he saw no reason to pry.
And so Mank Ee led the group of four out of the house and toward a temple. The temple was named the Judge Temple.
But unlike a normal temple, this one was built underground. It was a yin temple.
According to the ancients, a man was on top, and a woman at the bottom. Yang was on top, and yin was at the bottom. A temple that was built on the surface was meant for the living, whereas a temple built underground was meant for the dead. That was why a surface temple was called a yang temple, and an underground temple was called a yin temple.
Normally, the living only prayed inside a yang temple, and the dead only prayed inside a yin temple. They weren’t meant to be mixed. A living person who prayed inside a yin temple could easily attract filth and dangers, whereas a ghost who prayed inside a yang temple was courting death. A particularly strong blast of yang qi could easily annihilate their soul.
Barring exceptional circumstances, the imperial court generally forbade the construction of yin temples. But not only was there one in Auspicious Phoenix Market, it was pretty big too. More importantly, Mank Ee was leading into the yin temple.
As they walked down the stairs and into the main hall, they saw a martial judge and a civil judge on the altar. But unlike the ones people normally worshiped in the yang temple, these ones looked darker and gloomier.
They’re not your normal statues!
Ye Qing’s pupils contracted into pins. He could sense a thick amount of yin qi circulating around the statues. It was almost as if they were possessed by ghosts. That said, the yin qi did not feel malicious, so it didn’t feel like the aura of a malicious Stranger.
Mank Ee led them to the statue and turned toward them. “I’ll now tell you the steps we need to go through. First, you need to kowtow three times in front of the Yin Gods. We call it ‘inviting the Yin Gods’.”
“Your head must touch the ground, and your heart must be pure when you kowtow to the Yin Gods. Not only that, the louder your kowtows, the better they would regard you.”
“Interesting,” Ye Qing commented with a smile.
Mank Ee performed a demonstration for them, and he wasn’t kidding when he said the kowtows needed to be loud. If the floor was made of wood, he would’ve shattered it with how hard he was slamming his head against the floor.
As soon as Mank Ee kowtowed three times, Ye Qing clearly sensed a pair of cold, dark presences possessing the two statues and examining the people inside the temple.
Next, Mank Ee rose to his feet and walked up to a three-legged brazier. “The second step is to write your birth date and name on a wooden tablet and throw it inside this bronze brazier. It’s called the Yin Entry Register.”
Emerald green flames abruptly appeared out of nowhere and enveloped the wooden tablet as soon as Mank Ee tossed it into the brazier. Not only that, the flame felt colder than an icy lake in winter. The wooden tablet was quickly burned into ash.
After the flame was gone, Mank Ee stuck his hand into the pile of ash. To their surprise, he fished out a mysterious, exquisite, seemingly brand new token that didn’t look like it was made of metal or wood.
Mank Ee showed them the token and said, “This is the Yin Token. It proves that the Yin Gods have registered our names and given us permission to enter the Yin Market, and only those with the Yin Token are allowed to roam the Yin Market freely.”
“You must keep your Yin Token safe while you’re still inside the Yin Market. Otherwise, the yin guards will steal your soul and imprison you in the Eighteen Hells on the spot.”
“Let me take a look.” Ye Qing took Man Ee’s Yin Token and examined it closely. It was cold to touch and forged from some sort of unknown material. One side of the token was engraved with Mank Ee’s name, and the other with the word “Feng”.
He clearly remembered that the wooden token Mank Ee gave them was made of ordinary willow. How strange!
“This material seems impressive. I bet it’ll last for a long time. Surely you’ve kept some spares since this isn’t the first time you enter the Yin Market?” Ye Qing asked, hoping to exploit a loophole.
Mank Ee shook his head. “You are joking, my lord. The Yin Token will only last until the end of the Yin Market. It would automatically crumble into ash once the Yin Market is closed.”
“I see.” Ye Qing smiled and returned the token to Mank Ee. Then, he looked at his companions and asked, “So, who’s going first?”
“This looks interesting. I’ll go first,” Chu Nianjiu declared with bright eyes before walking up to the statues. Then, he kowtowed three times loudly like Mank Ee.
But as soon as he finished, the two statues shuddered and made three banging noises. It almost sounded like they were returning the kowtows.
“Heh...” Ye Qing smirked. Thanks to his demonic thought, he “saw” something bright yellow flowing out of Chu Nianjiu’s body and taking the form of a dragon. The dragon then let out a mighty roar.
Two silhouettes also appeared out of the two statues. The reason they returned Chu Nianjiu’s salute was because they were afraid.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the bright yellow energy that came out of Chu Nianjiu’s body was the Will Of The Dragon. The Pacification Sentinels were the Son of Heaven’s personal bodyguards, and Chu Nianjiu was a Peacemaker in the Luo Shui Pacification Bureau. As an official of Chu, of course he was protected by the Will of the Empire and the Will of the Dragon.
The two silhouettes who attached themselves to the civil and martial judge were most likely yin guards of Fengdu. Since Chu Nianjiu was an official of the yang world, of course they couldn’t receive his kowtows without returning it.
“What happened?” Chu Nianjiu looked confused.
Ye Qing chuckled. “It’s nothing. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Chu Nianjiu rose to his feet and threw the wood tablet into the bronze brazier. A while later, the wood tablet burned into ash, and Chu Nianjiu fished out a Yin Token from within.
Lin Yuhuai stepped forward after Chu Nianjiu got his Yin Token. But unlike Chu Nianjiu, his head didn’t touch the ground. Still, the martial and civil judge returned the salute.
“My lord, your head needs to hit the ground for it to work!” Mank Ee said in a hurry.
“It’s fine.”
Lin Yuhuai must have figured out something because he didn’t hesitate to toss his wooden tablet into the bronze brazier. A short while later, he walked away with his own Yin Token.
“Huh...?” Mank Ee’s mouth was wide open. Since when were the Yin Gods so generous? The last time someone tried something like this, they failed to get a Yin Token and fell gravely sick. They were this close from dying and joining the Fengdu, so what was so different about this?
Qi Xuanyun stepped forward next, but he didn’t fall to his knees. Instead, he bowed his head deeply and said, “The heavens’ blessing be with you. This one has been a part of Taoism since young, and I was taught to kneel only to the Taozu. Forgive me for not paying you the respects you deserve.”
Then, he walked up to the bronze brazier and tossed the wooden tablet inside.
“Young Reverend! You won’t get the Yin Token like this!” Mank Ee couldn’t help but cry out. Lin Yuhuai at least saw through the formalities even though his kowtow wasn’t sincere, but this was completely against the norm!
Before he could say anything else, he saw Qi Xuanyun pulling out a Yin Token from the bronze brazier. His eyes immediately widened like saucers, and his jaw hit the floor with a loud clang that only he could hear.
Do you happen to be blind or sick today, my gods?
