Stranger Danger

One, a full moon.

Two, a kind, noble-hearted or lucky person.

And three, the streets of Luo Shui.

The Annon Sutra had provided him with the time, place, and people. It was now up to him how to make use of them.

There was a problem though. Out of the three clues, the only one that was truly useful was the first clue.

The second clue claimed that only a kind, noble-hearted or lucky person would have a chance to meet the mysterious cook, but there were many people who fit into either one or all three criterias. He himself was a kind, noble-hearted and lucky person if he said so himself, but could he say for certain that he would be able to find the mysterious cook? Nope! In other words, it was completely up to luck.

The third clue that claimed that the mysterious cook would appear in the streets of Luo Shui was just as useless. The commandery was connected by countless main streets and small alleyways. Even if the Pacification Bureau deployed every man and woman to search for the mysterious cook, the chances they would be able to find him was minimal at best. Even half of Luo Shui was still too much for the Pacification Bureau to keep watch.

Finally, the Annon Sutra told him nothing about the mysterious cook’s appearance or characteristics, meaning that there was no way to tell if he had found the right person. Was it trying to make his life difficult or something?

In any case, a brute force, human sea attack wouldn’t work here. He’d need to think of something else.

Even if a human sea attack would work, he highly doubted that Gu Suitang would allow him to carry out such a massive operation based on a story alone. It wasn’t like he could show the chief the Annon Sutra and say, “Look! This is the super duper Strange Artifact I used to locate the culprit!”

In the end, he could only rely on himself.

But how am I going to find this cook when it looks like luck is the only thing that ma… wait a second.

“Luck?”

Ye Qing massaged his forehead to jog his memory. He seemed to remember that he had something that could boost…

“That’s right! The Incense of Fortune!”

Suddenly, Ye Qing recalled the Incense of Fortune of the “Twelve Incense Sticks of Ghosts and Gods”. The Incense of Fortune didn’t just boost one’s luck, it could be used to search a specific thing as well. Back in Anyang, he had used it to track down the Soul Eater. If he used the Incense of Fortune, he might just be able to increase his chances of finding the mysterious cook.

“But…”

His smile quickly crumpled for one simple reason: the item had more or less run its course. After he used it to track down the Soul Eater, it had shrunk to the length of a finger. It might be enough to search for an ordinary person, but the mysterious cook? He highly doubted that it would be enough.

In other words, he needed to make a new Incense of Fortune.

The good news was that there were still six days before a full moon rises. That should be enough time for him to create the incense.

According to the “Twelve Incense Sticks of Ghosts and Gods”, he needed a Lucky Flower, a clump of hair from the head of an Infant Rabbit, a Coin of Cornucopia, a strip of tree bark from a century-old Wishing Tree, a bottle of Eternal Flame [1] lamp oil, a drop of agate from the Moon Seeing Stone, and a tuft of Grass of Beneficence.

The tuft of Grass of Beneficence, the tree bark of a century-old Wishing Tree, and the bottle of Eternal Flame were easy to procure. A so-called Grass of Beneficence was basically any plant that grew out of the Forest of Beneficence of some Literary Temples, Martial Temples, or ancestral halls. The century-old Wishing Tree referred to any tree that the people gave their wishes to. There were wishing trees for relationship, luck, health, fortune and more, and they could normally be found in temples and similar sites.

The lamp oil of an Eternal Flame could usually be found in a temple as well. A so-called Eternal Flame was a special lamp people used to pray for blessings.

In and of itself, these three items were nothing special. The only reason they came to gain certain powers was because they received the worship, prayers and wishes of humans all year long. No one would miss them even if he were to procure some of them.

He already had the hair of an Infant Rabbit and the Coin of Cornucopia as well. Although the Infant Rabbit was a rare Stranger, he luckily had run into one on his way to Luo Shui and procured its hair a long time ago. As for the Coin of Cornucopia, the Bronze Coin of Cornucopia he obtained from the Bronze Toad of Cornucopia after killing it would work perfectly.

The Lucky Flower and the agate of a Moon Seeing Stone were a different story though. The Lucky Flower was an extremely rare Stranger not because their numbers were few, but because it was incredibly difficult to find them.

It might sound obvious, but a Lucky Flower was very lucky. Its innate luck drastically lowered its chances of being discovered by a human or a Stranger and being harmed as a result. That was why few people ever managed to find a Lucky Flower.

The agate of a Moon Seeing Stone was even rarer than a Lucky Flower, however. The Moon Seeing Stone was a spirit stone that gradually gained unique characteristics after basking in the sun and moon for years. As it contained the essence of the sun and moon, it was a precious resource that could be used to cultivate a cultivation art relating to the sun and moon, hone one’s physique, forge Strange Artifacts and more.

The agate of a Moon Seeing Stone was the culmination of all the sun and moon essence that a Moon Seeing Stone had absorbed. Moon Seeing Stones weren’t too uncommon, but the agate of a Moon Seeing Stone definitely was. It could only be found in locations where large numbers of Moon Seeing Stones were exposed to the sun and moon all year long. It was also why people often said that it took a decade to turn a stone into a Moon Seeing Stone, but a century to sow agate in a Moon Seeing Stone.

The agate of a Moon Seeing Stone was liquid, and it contained a lot more sun and moon essence than an ordinary Moon Seeing Stone. Naturally, it was incredibly precious.

To find the mysterious cook, he must create an Incense of Misfortune, and to create an Incense of Misfortune, he must find the Lucky Flower and the agate of a Moon Seeing Stone. If he could not procure these ingredients, then this case might never be solved.

Luckily, he wasn’t fighting alone anymore. He was now a man with an organization behind his back. Considering how powerful the Pacification Bureau of Luo Shui was, they might very well have everything he needed in their vault already. It would save him a lot of trouble if that was the case.

His mind made up, Ye Qing put away the Annon Sutra and traveled to the Pacification Bureau immediately. He then sought out Lin Yuhuai and told him about the ingredients he needed to make the Incense of Fortune.

Lin Yuhuai pondered for a moment and explained, “The Grass of Beneficence could be found in the Forest of Beneficence of the White Horse Academy. The tree bark of a century-old Wishing Tree could be obtained from the trees at the Child Deliverance Guanyin Temple or the Yue Lao Shrine at the Marriage Lane. The lamp oil of an Eternal Flame can be procured from the Iron Buddha Temple or Water Moon Nunnery.”

“Honestly, these items are quite common. I can gather them for you myself. We also have the Lucky Flower in our vault. You simply need to pay a certain number of contribution points to get it.”

“The agate of the Moon Seeing Stone is a problem. We used to have a lot of agate in our vault, but Chief Gu used them all to hone his body, so…” Lin Yuhuai’s smile turned apologetic as he trailed off.

“Thank you regardless, Brother Lin.”

Ye Qing was a bit disappointed that he wasn’t able to get everything he needed from the Pacification Bureau, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t expected this. If anything, he should count his lucky stars that he didn’t need to search for the Lucky Flower as well.

The contribution points Lin Yuhuai mentioned was a form of reward system that the Pacification Bureau implemented. Contribution Points was a form of currency within the Pacification Bureau, and all of its members were awarded a certain amount of contribution points for killing Strangers, completing quests that were issued by the Pacification Bureau and so on. They could use these contribution points to exchange for Strange Artifacts, medicine, manuals, spirit materials, restrictions, intel and more.

Although he had only joined the Pacification Bureau of Luo Shui a few days ago, he was a Patrolman with almost five hundred contribution points thanks to all the Strangers he killed recently. He had more than enough to pay for a Lucky Flower.

“Alright. I guess I should start looking for the agate,” declared Ye Qing before asking, “Do you know where I might obtain the agate of a Moon Seeing Stone, Brother Lin?”

Lin Yuhuai answered, “You can try inquiring the major businesses about it, but honestly? Don’t get your hopes too high. A Moon Seeing Stone is one thing, but its agate us usually sold as soon as it was put on display.”

Ye Qing nodded. “Got it. ”

“Oh right, I almost forgot,” Lin Yuhuai exclaimed as he recalled a sudden memory, “It’ll be the Longtaitou Festival in another two days, and the Strange Market will open then. You might be able to purchase the agate you need there.”

“The Longtaitou Festival I get, but what is the Strange Market?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

Lin Yuhuai answered, “The Strange Market is a special market that is as well known as it is numerous, but its origin and location are a complete mystery. All we know is that it would open during the darkest hour of the Longtaitou Festival. You will encounter all sorts of peddlers, shops, Stranger hunters, wanderers, warriors, wealthy merchants and more, and most of them are looking to trade. It’s a very popular place. I’m certain you’ll be able to find what you need there.”

“The Strange Market, huh? Sounds interesting.” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up with deep curiosity and interest. “If it is not too much trouble, will you accompany me when the time comes, Brother Lin?”

Even if he wasn’t looking for the agate of the Moon Seeing Stone, Ye Qing still would’ve visited the Strange Market. It sounded like a fun place to be.

“But of course,” Lin Yuhuai nodded smilingly, “It so happens that Nianjiu is looking to obtain something from the Strange Market as well, so we’ll all be going together. The more the merrier, right?”

“Indeed!”

After that, Ye Qing thanked Lin Yuhuai for his help and bade him goodbye, “I shan’t keep you anymore, Brother Lin. I’ll visit the major businesses first and check if they have an agate.”

Lin Yuhuai smiled. “Of course. Good luck!”

Despite what he told Lin Yuhuai, Ye Qing did not actually visit the major businesses in person. Instead, he went to the Inspection Department and dispatched all available Pacification Sentinels who wasn’t already out on a patrol to ask around for the agate of the Moon Seeing Stone. He was the boss, so why shouldn’t he delegate the grunt work to the grunts?

After that, he brewed a pot of tea and began practicing his form at the courtyard. When he was tired, he would lie down on his chair and drink some tea. When he was done resting, he would return to his practice and restart the cycle anew. Now this was what he called the good life!

It was an age old adage that there was power in numbers, but sometimes the impossible really was impossible. Although his men spent the whole day scouring the shops in Luo Shui for the agate, they ultimately turned up with nothing in the end. More accurately, some of the shops used to have a stock in the past, but that stock had been depleted for one reason or another.

In the end, he could only pray that the Strange Market had what he needed.

……

“Brother Lin, Brother Chu, I thought we’re heading to the Strange Market tonight? So why are we just standing there and doing nothing?”

The moon looked as white as snow tonight, and Ye Qing, Lin Yuhuai and Chu Nianjiu were all gathered at the entrance of the Pacification Bureau. Ye Qing thought they would be leading him to some secret entrance in a hidden alleyway or something, but instead they were just standing there while carrying lanterns. White lanterns no less.

Are we participating in a funeral procession or a sacrificial ceremony?

The paper lanterns Lin Yuhuai and Chu Nianjiu were carrying were made from white paper. Generally speaking, white lanterns were only used during a funeral procession or a sacrificial ceremony [2].

The orange flame of the candles cast a faint halo on the ground. It looked strangely forlorn and cold.

Smiling, Lin Yuhuai handed Ye Qing a white lantern and explained, “That’s because these white lanterns are all we need to enter the Strange Market.”

“When the Strange Market opens, its would-be visitors must carry a white lantern and walk nine steps backward at a crossroad. Only then can they enter the Strange Market.”

1. An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. ☜

2. While this used to mean human sacrifices and the like, it’s long since been amended to livestocks and objects such as paper money, fruits etc. ☜