Chapter 1 The Ghost Market

The ghost market was located in the suburbs of Tian Feng City. It was a trade fair organized by the Tian Feng City government. Anyone who wanted to sell things inside had to obtain permission from the government.

As Xiao Liuzi had said, the ghost market was the largest trade fair in Tian Feng City, even the entire Tian Feng Kingdom, so it was naturally very lively. At this time, it had just gotten dark, and the gate of the ghost market had only been open for a short while, but it was already crowded with people, with shouts of buyers and sellers mixed together.

By the time Chen Xiao and Xiao Liuzi arrived, the good spots had already been taken, so they had to set up their stall in the innermost corner of the venue. Even so, Xiao Liuzi was very excited. In his eyes, being able to sell things in the ghost market was a symbol of status.

After the two set up the stall, Xiao Liuzi saw that Chen Xiao worked efficiently and was obedient, so his attitude towards him improved. He even started talking to Chen Xiao about his feelings: "You must want to learn array talisman techniques from Old Wang, right?"

Chen Xiao looked at Xiao Liuzi and smiled, noncommittally.

Xiao Liuzi had an expression of seeing through everything, and said with a smile, "Hehe, I guessed it, didn't I? But you really have good eyes. I'll secretly tell you, Old Wang can now draw level three array talismans, but I don't know why he hasn't gone to the Array Talisman Master Union to certify as a three-star array talisman master."

"Are three-star array talisman masters very powerful? In my previous life, I casually certified as a six-star array talisman master." Chen Xiao thought to himself, but he couldn't say that.

He just asked, "Who is the array talisman master with the highest star level in Tian Feng City?"

"Of course, it's Zuo Qiuming, the president of the Array Talisman Master Union. He is the only four-star array talisman master in the Tian Feng Empire. His array talismans are exclusively for the royal family. You may not be able to buy them even if you have money." Xiao Liuzi knew these gossip legends like the back of his hand.

"Sixth brother, I'll draw an array talisman for you to take a look." Chen Xiao suddenly said this, and Xiao Liuzi was stunned. Then his tone became a little unhappy: "What can you draw? To tell you the truth, I've been by Old Wang's side for five years, and I don't even dare to say that I can draw array talismans. You've only just glanced at array talismans a couple of times, and you already think you can draw them?"

Xiao Liuzi thought that Chen Xiao just wanted to try drawing array talismans after watching Old Wang draw them a few times. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Although array talisman masters were not as respected as alchemists, they were not something that anyone could do casually.

For example, him, he had watched Old Wang draw array talismans countless times, and he was already familiar with those talisman patterns, but he couldn't draw them if he really tried.

Chen Xiao wasn't angry, and still said with a smile, "Hehe, I'll just try. What if I can draw it?"

"You..." Xiao Liuzi was so angry that he didn't know what to say. Chen Xiao's words were simply outrageous. But then he thought about it, this kid wouldn't give up until he hit a wall. He would let him try, and after he tried, he would understand how arrogant he was.

"Alright, alright, you draw it. The money for the talisman paper will be deducted from your wages. No, you don't have wages." Xiao Liuzi was about to change his mind, but he found that Chen Xiao had already started drawing, holding the talisman brush and starting to draw on the talisman paper.

Xiao Liuzi had a bitter look on his face, thinking that they hadn't even opened yet, and they had already wasted a piece of talisman paper. A piece of talisman paper was also expensive, and Old Wang would scold him if he found out.

At this moment, a young man in a vermilion-purple robe swaggered to the stall, followed by several burly men.

The group was imposing, and the young man was also dressed luxuriously. Xiao Liuzi immediately stepped forward to greet him warmly: "A few esteemed guests, what would you like to buy?"

Chen Xiao also raised his head, but he realized that the person who came was not kind. The young man looked around, but his eyes didn't look at the array talismans on the stall at all. Obviously, he wasn't here to buy anything.

Sure enough, the young man's tone was unkind as soon as he opened his mouth, and he asked unceremoniously, "Who allowed you to set up a stall here?"

Xiao Liuzi was a little dazed by the question. He was just following Old Wang's instructions to set up a stall, but he hadn't seen the license issued by the government. He couldn't help but feel a little lacking in confidence, and said in a low voice, "My, my master told me to come."

Seeing that Xiao Liuzi was not confident, the young man's arrogance became even more rampant, and he directly scolded, "Damn it, how would I know who your master is? I'll give you an incense stick's worth of time to get lost, or don't blame me for being rude."

At this time, the people at the surrounding stalls also noticed the situation here and began to whisper.

"Another one, the Zuo family's young master is here to drive people away again. I don't know how many people selling array talismans in the ghost market have been driven away by him."

"The Zuo family is too much. Relying on their power, they monopolize the array talisman market in the ghost market, not leaving any way for others to survive."

"It's not just array talismans. The Zuo family wants to get involved in all walks of life. I think one day, all of us without backers will be driven out by him."

"Shh, don't talk about it, be careful to avoid trouble, it would be terrible if young master Zuo heard it."

These people spoke in extremely low voices, obviously afraid of being heard by this young man, but how would they know that Chen Xiao had heard their words clearly? Chen Xiao also had a calculation of the person who came, just an纨绔子弟 (wankuzi di - spoiled son of powerful parents) who relied on his power to bully others.

Xiao Liuzi didn't have Chen Xiao's heaven-defying hearing, so naturally he didn't know that the person in front of him was young master Zuo. Seeing that he actually directly drove people away, he was immediately filled with anger and said angrily, "Who are you? Why are you driving me away?"

"Hahaha, why?" The young man laughed extremely arrogantly and said, "Because my name is Zuo Youren, is that enough?"

Xiao Liuzi's heart skipped a beat, and he was immediately flustered. He was too familiar with the name Zuo Youren. The direct descendant of Zuo Qiuming, the president of the Array Talisman Master Union, the Zuo family's young master, and the future head of the Zuo family.

Within the field of array talismans in the Tian Feng Kingdom, the Zuo family was definitely in a dominant position. If Xiao Liuzi still wanted to make a living in this field in the future, he absolutely couldn't afford to offend the Zuo family.

"This..." Xiao Liuzi's face flushed red, but he couldn't say anything. He really couldn't afford to offend the Zuo family, but if he left in a sorry state because of someone else's words, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Old Wang, and he wouldn't be able to get over it in his heart. That would be too cowardly.

"Zuo Youren? Is that name very powerful? Could it be that this ghost market was opened by the Zuo family?" Chen Xiao stood up, and his calm words caused the crowd to stir again.

Everyone knew that this ghost market was set up by the government. Now Chen Xiao asked if the ghost market was opened by the Zuo family, his words could be described as诛心 (zhu xin - piercing the heart), pushing the Zuo family to the point of being rebellious with one sentence.

"This kid has guts, I like it."

"What he said was quite satisfying, but he has offended young master Zuo, this kid is in for it."

Sure enough, Zuo Youren was furious when he heard Chen Xiao's words. How dare a small shop assistant talk to him like this? He really didn't know how to write the word "death."

Zuo Youren glared angrily and cursed, "You little bastard with a sharp tongue, are you tired of living?"

At this time, Xiao Liuzi's mind was already blank. He never expected that Chen Xiao would dare to say such a thing. He quickly protected Chen Xiao behind him and begged for mercy, "Young master Zuo, this kid is from the countryside, he doesn't know anything, please don't lower yourself to his level. We'll move, we'll move right away."

Xiao Liuzi's actions warmed Chen Xiao's heart, but Chen Xiao's nature was to dislike the纨绔子弟 (wankuzi di - spoiled son of powerful parents) who relied on their power to bully others. Moreover, now that they were bullying him, how could he bear it? Even if his cultivation was still low, he wasn't someone that these small characters could bully.

Pulling Xiao Liuzi away, Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes and looked at Zuo Youren, gritting his teeth and saying, "Then let's try it, and see who is tired of living."

Xiao Liuzi completely collapsed, wanting to cry but having no tears, and cursed the old drunkard in his heart, how did he attract such an unlucky star.

The onlookers also felt a chill for Chen Xiao. Zuo Youren was at the fourth level of Body Tempering, and they could see that Chen Xiao's cultivation was low, probably not even able to beat the servants behind Zuo Youren.

Zuo Youren hadn't seen such a reckless shop assistant for a long time. He moved his finger joints and stared at Chen Xiao, intending to take action himself.

The atmosphere was already extremely tense, and the air was filled with a strong sense of war. The two stood facing each other, and a fierce battle was about to break out.