The private room at Yi Hu Chun was not much different from the decor outside, but the screen etched with talismans, the gently swaying lamplight, and the spirit stove with an incense burner seemed to indicate that this place was unlike ordinary teahouses.
During their conversation, Mo Chuan had already gathered a general understanding of the situation here.
This place was likely a marketplace for information, similar to the legendary Langya Pavilion, Tianji Tower, or Dengyun Pavilion in the martial world.
And what Old Zhang had said earlier to the Qian family's steward and the errand boy there were probably common codewords used in this place. Once both parties' codewords matched, they would begin encrypted communication.
This Ghost Market... was truly peculiar...
"How is it? Have you figured it out?" Zhang Hanshan smiled and took a sip of the clear tea served by the waiter. "Brother Chuan, you'll have to gather information yourself sooner or later. I'll tell you a few general ones first, so you can remember them:
Information is collectively referred to as 'tea.' Red Flower signifies official information, and New Green signifies martial world information. Among New Green, Tie Guan Yin refers to conflicts and disputes, Longjing refers to economic crimes, and Jasmine tea refers to illicit substances and dark arts, and so on. The strength of the tea's flavor indicates the difficulty of obtaining the information. A 'stove' refers to background, 'small silver fish' refers to money, and 'stocking up' refers to selling information. 'Freshly brewed' means immediate information is needed, making a quick deal. 'Packaged' refers to long-term information, requiring the shopkeeper to track the information for you, making a long-term deal."
As they were speaking, an old man wearing a dark purple long gown and a monocle entered the private room. The old man did not speak or bow upon entering. Instead, he first lit an incense stick and placed it in the incense burner on the table, bowed towards the spirit stove diagonally above and behind him, and then sat down. He took out a tea set from a drawer in the table, began to brew tea, and then asked, "What information do the two of you wish to inquire about?"
Zhang Hanshan glanced at Mo Chuan, then took out a file bag from his embrace and said, "We want all information regarding this thing."
The tea master gently opened the file bag and carefully read and observed the photos, reports, and files within. However, as time passed, his expression became increasingly solemn. After finishing, the tea master lowered his head to brew tea, but the tea that occasionally splashed out proved his inner turmoil.
After a long while, Zhang Hanshan spoke first, "Tea Master, please give us a price."
The tea master furrowed his brows and slowly said, "Please wait a moment. I do not have the authority to disclose this information. I need to seek instructions." With that, he walked behind the screen, seemingly to communicate with someone.
After some more time, the tea master sat down again and said to Zhang Hanshan, "I can provide you with information, but..."
"Please speak plainly, Tea Master."
"I have two Class A pieces of information here, each costing one 'Tier Six Spiritual Treasure.' I have seven Class B pieces of information, each costing two gold bars. I have three Class C pieces of information, each costing two 'Golden Beans.' I am unable to negotiate."
...
Mo Chuan and Zhang Hanshan sat in the confidential information viewing room provided by Yi Hu Chun. The more information Mo Chuan read, the less his doubts diminished; instead, they increased.
First, the Class A information clearly identified this statue as the Five-Crown King of the Yama Hall, located in Jianzhou, but its exact whereabouts were unclear, speculated to be in southwestern Jianzhou, which was consistent with previous assumptions.
Second, their previous deductions about the Five-Crown King based on the haunted house's background story appeared to be entirely incorrect. One piece of Class A information contained the following passage:
Before the spiritual energy resurgence, in early July 1934, many people in Yingkou City, Jianzhou, claimed to have discovered a living dragon upstream of Tianzhuangtai. At that time, people used reed mats to build a shed for it, carried water to water it, and temple monks performed rituals for its transcendence daily. After several days of heavy rain, it disappeared. Those who saw it said it resembled the dragon in paintings, with a single horn, four claws, scales, two long whiskers on its mouth, large protruding eyes, and a length of about 10 meters.
Twenty years later, in early August 1954, the "Shenjing Times" reported the news "Dragon Descends to Cause Disaster": on July 28th, a dragon descended and ascended in the sky above Yingkou, overturning three small boats, damaging a large area of residential buildings, causing nine deaths, and even flipping a train stopped at the station.
From early August 8th to the end of 1954, people continuously organized to search for the dragon, but found nothing. Furthermore, many people died mysteriously for unknown reasons, causing widespread panic among the locals. The authorities were forced to dispatch professionals and the army, but still found nothing.
It wasn't until the winter of 2038 that farmers discovered skeletal remains in the reeds 10 kilometers from the Liaohe River estuary, consistent with the characteristics of the legendary dragon. The stench drifted far, and the head had antler-like double horns. At the time, farmers collected two large baskets of scales, only a quarter of the total, but no one dared to move the bones, fearing the dragon's soul would pursue them.
When the government arrived, the remains had vanished.
The last piece of information was found nearly 200 years later, in 2185. At that time, the first spiritual energy war had ended, and the Dragon Country faced severe food shortages. However, southwestern Jianzhou, northern Qingzhou, and eastern Jizhou encountered a drought rarely seen in a century.
In a small village in southwestern Jianzhou at that time, a charlatan named Guo Dahai (a local spiritual medium) sculpted a clay statue of a creature with horns and six hands, claiming it was a Deer Fairy that could bring rain. This sparked a craze for worshipping the "Deer Fairy" in Jianzhou, which had become abnormally superstitious due to the spiritual energy resurgence, and attracted the attention of the authorities.
But what happened next was beyond everyone's disbelief.
First, the drought in Jianzhou actually eased. The melting snow and ice from the spring warming, along with the heavy rains brought by the Siberian monsoon, saved all the crops. The villagers increasingly believed it was the Deer Fairy's power and continued to worship it fervently.
However, on September 19, 2186, the entire village of Huaihua Town (which had grown from a village to a town in just half a year), where the "true form" of the Deer Fairy was worshipped, was massacred overnight. No one, young or old, was spared. Without exception, their eyes were gouged out, and their ears and tongues were cut off. The local government investigated for years with no leads, so they publicly declared it an attack by a demonic beast and closed the case.
If these records had only made Mo Chuan feel that his deductions were invalid, it would have been acceptable. However, what truly made Mo Chuan feel bewildered was the final second piece of Class A information:
This was a copy of a report from the investigation of the Huaihua Town massacre. After reading it, Mo Chuan felt a chill run down his spine:
First, during the death toll verification, Guo Dahai, the instigator of the Deer Fairy worship craze, had disappeared. The police once suspected him as the perpetrator of the massacre, but due to insufficient evidence, they did not investigate further, simply issuing a missing person notice for Guo Dahai.
Second, a week after the massacre, someone found the police, claiming to be a thief who had planned to steal the Deer Fairy's true form from the temple. However, they heard people talking in the main hall, and the statue was also gone. The police immediately launched an investigation into the temple, but when they arrived, it caught fire. One police officer died and another was injured, and the leads were broken.
However, after the incident, professional psychics investigated the scene and found that the statue had indeed disappeared before the fire.
Finally, there was a photograph. This photo seemed to have been taken with an old camera and was extremely blurry after many years, but Mo Chuan could still discern the general features of the person's face – it was highly likely the appearance of the old monk who served as the boss in the haunted house when he was younger.
On the back of the photo, a line of inconspicuous text was inscribed:
"2152, Guo Dahai."