The moment Qi Yuan was about to join the Knock Knock Ghost faction, he heard someone cry out loudly.
The murals that Xue Shiyun had just introduced rapidly faded in color, replaced by rows of golden words.
These golden words were different from the incomprehensible words. They looked like the ancient texts of some dynasty in Dragon Country.
Although the people in the hall could not really understand ancient texts, they could guess the general meaning by piecing similar characters together.
The golden words seemed to be specially prepared for those who had stumbled into Ghost Market. Skipping over the meaningless initial praises of the visitor's piety and so on,
the remaining content meant that if one wished to leave, one had to piously worship the God of the city. One had to summon the spirits with the Yin-Yang Five Elements Incense. The God of the city would then judge whether this person could return to the world of the living.
If the judgement was passed, the God of the city would give the visitor a pass. Holding the pass, going in and out of the entrance plaque of Ghost Market seven times would allow one to return to the human world.
One thing to note was that no matter what one heard when passing through the entrance, one must not look back.
After reading the golden words, the people in the hall looked towards the offering table. Five incense sticks rose with curling smoke in the incense burner. Beside the table stood that extraordinarily handsome youth.
It seemed...
Just now it was also him who had suggested coming to the temple of the God of the city to take a look...
This man must not be... unbefriended!
A moment later, Cheng Yizhou reacted and laughed loudly, "Qi Yuan, you rascal. You obviously had ideas but were hiding them, preparing a surprise for us, right?"
The others had also lit incense sticks earlier, but only three each.
He had lit five sticks straight away. Cheng Yizhou did not believe for a second that Qi Yuan had done so by chance.
Qi Yuan was also somewhat stunned. This works too?!
Seeing everyone look at him expectantly, waiting for his next step, if anyone still believed that Qi Yuan knew nothing at this point, they must be a fool.
But since the God of the city had not appeared, how to follow the instructions?!
Weren't they stuck right at the judgement stage?
Suddenly, Xue Shiyun's eyes widened, "I understand!"
Cheng Yizhou also had an knowing smile, fully comprehending.
The others also came to a realization one after another. Some exchanged looks with those around them, showing they understood without needing to say it aloud. Some slapped their foreheads, shocked that such a simple thing had required a reminder before they reacted.
"Let's go try it out."
"The young have nimble minds. I have to admit my inferiority."
"You're only forty. Don't act like an old man."
Lv Cheng once again followed the majority in confusion. Suddenly everyone understood, yet he still seemed like an idiot.
As he pondered deeply, he went with the flow to stand under the entrance plaque.
"Let me try."
Cheng Yizhou said as he touched the plaque, speaking to everyone.
"I should go instead. Captain Cheng."
Xue Shiyun was somewhat worried. If something happened to a B-rank esper, it would be a considerable loss for every city.
Especially since Cheng Yizhou was part of the patrol squad. Compared to espers from the Esper Association dawdling around, it was more reassuring to have one of their own people handle things.
"My abilities are stronger than yours, so it's better for me to deal with any incidents."
After speaking, he noticed Qi Yuan and added,
"Of course, Qi Yuan's abilities are on par with mine. I'm just more experienced. Let me test the waters for everyone first."
Standing under the plaque, Lv Cheng finally understood.
Right now, there were neither gods nor ghosts.
Judgement and passes alike, these were all rules imposed on humans by gods and ghosts.
Ordinary people feared ghosts, so they needed passes for their own protection. But they did not require such things.
Cheng Yizhou went in and out of the entrance seven times. On the last time out, he disappeared from everyone's view.
Not long later, he returned.
Cheng Yizhou was relaxed. He explained to everyone, "As expected, just as I thought, since it's an exit, it can also be an entrance."
There were cheers among the crowd. Someone shouted,
"That's great. Now we can leave."
Lv Cheng went to Qi Yuan's side and gave him a thumbs up.
"Brother Yuan, I have to admit defeat."
Lv Cheng acknowledged he had been too rash, failing to grasp the implications. Earlier, he had actually thought Brother Yuan was spouting nonsense just like him.
This reminded him of that day when Qi Yuan had so casually toyed with him.
When the two returned to the indoor stadium in Ghost Market, they realized Qiao Bai had been abandoned at the temple of the God of the city.
Qiao Bai looked at them reproachfully, trying to awaken their conscience.
But sadly, they had no conscience.
Qi Yuan and Lv Cheng pretended not to see him and went to leave Ghost Market with the three children.
Xue Shiyun led the patrol squad to orderly evacuate the students and teachers trapped in Ghost Market.
Voices clamored excitedly. Some sixth grade students had reached puberty. They couldn't help sneaking peeks at Qi Yuan.
A few girls gathered together, whispering about something and occasionally bursting into laughter, slapping their girlfriends' shoulders.
Qi Yuan only glanced briefly before losing interest and averting his gaze.
After awakening his psychic powers, the first lesson he learned was not to wonder what others were thinking.
Sometimes, girls could be just as murky as boys...
Don't ask how he knew that...
Back at school, they waited a while before the domains completely merged and ended.
When parting, Xiao Qian suddenly stopped them.
Just as Qi Yao thought his performance in Ghost Market had captured Xiao Qian's maiden heart,
in that instant, he smiled foolishly, fantasizing about how many children they would have in the future and what to name them.
Then he heard Xiao Qian say in her tender voice, "Brother Yuan, when I grow up, can you marry me? I want to be your bride."
Crack!
The hearts of the two little boys shattered.
...
In a certain shopping mall,
Lv Cheng immediately spotted Qi Yuan and waved at him.
Qi Yuan naturally exuded an aura in the crowd. People all around made way, retreating three paces, but beyond three paces was definitely a circle of onlookers.
As Qi Yuan approached, Lv Cheng spoke first, "I didn't expect you to actually agree to help out?"
Previously, they had helped a long-haired beauty. Following his philosophy of adding any pretty girl's WeChat, Lv Cheng added her.
On a certain day after leaving Ghost Market, the woman had asked if he could help pass on a message, asking if Qi Yuan was free to help her out. She would pay the standard rate to hire espers.
Lv Cheng had of course...refused.
Joking aside, he was also an esper. Why should only Qi Yuan get to help?
But the woman politely declined him, saying only Qi Yuan could help her, and indicated she had already contacted Qi Yuan through the Esper Association. He had agreed.
Seeing this, Lv Cheng couldn't sit still. He immediately said he would tag along to see just what had moved Qi Yuan.