Emperor’s Domination

“Sir, you can go to the currency exchange for some coins, it doesn’t have to be trading.” The man waved at the departing duo and shouted: “The ghost shrine is the richest place too, that’s another lucrative spot.”

“Thanks.” Li Qiye smiled and moved on.

“That man isn’t simple.” Six-style remarked after they were far away.

“Indeed.” Li Qiye nodded: “But he is a ghost now so past fortunes and karma are all gone, it’s hard to determine his origin.”

“You want to know the real him?” Six-style asked.

“No rush, let’s make some money first in this interesting place.” Li Qiye said.

Six-style felt that something big was going to happen after this.

Li Qiye looked around and was amused, not wanting to break the rules just yet. If he had this desire, he could flip this place over and nothing could hide. Alas, doing so meant ending the major ghost market.

“Words turn into rules and rules self-govern.” Li Qiye said sentimentally.

“Could you elaborate, Young Noble?” She asked.

“For example, an emperor such as yourself cannot change a promise, once made. As for how the others wish to view or deal with your promise, that’s their business.”

“That’s true.” She agreed.

“Unfortunately, this place has lost the majority of its rules and power.” He commented.

“They were different back then?” She asked.

“Yes, transactions were done with rules, not ghosts.” He said.

“So fewer middlemen to make a profit.” She said.

“That’s not a bad way to look at it. The bigger problem is that without the primary merchants, the middlemen become the merchants themselves and the transactions become smaller.” He said.

“Please go on.” She was curious.

“These small transactions can keep the majority satisfied. For example, ordinary cultivators or even emperors’ needs can be met here. But for supreme beings? The transactions can’t be sustained so no more business. There might be buyers but the sellers can’t afford to sell.” He said.

“So not on the same height any longer, such as the legendary immortals.” She commented.

“That’s about right.” He nodded.

As the two walked deeper into the market, they saw a sea of people and ghosts. It became hard to distinguish the two types.

Fortunately, the ghosts didn’t wish to mingle with living beings. As long as one was attentive enough, they wouldn’t confuse the two.

“Ghosts don’t mingle with people.” Six-style found this interesting.

“If we’re talking about real ghosts, they wouldn’t be as scary and treacherous as people.” Li Qiye said.

“Really?” She found this surprising.

“How many times have you heard of ghosts killing people? What about people massacring people?” He said.

This logic rang true for the cultivation world. People feared ghosts but how many have been harmed by them? Were they real?

“As you can see, even these so-called ghosts are harmless enough. People outnumber them in the market.” He said.

“Right.” She smiled wryly because more and more cultivators were still traveling here.

As they strolled down the street, Li Qiye certainly enjoyed himself. They observed the two different transactional types mentioned by the ghost merchant - personal and ghost coins.

The key point was the voluntary nature of the market. No one could force the other party to do anything. People could pay ghosts to work and the opposite was also true. The latter was the easiest way for cultivators to obtain ghost coins.

Therefore, the transactions varied in form with the majority being the personal type. Most merchants worked alone while some opened shops.

Many stalls were small with specialty products, not necessarily treasures. Some shops were massive with numerous tents - clearly belonging to rich ghosts.

They didn’t only have merchandise but also participated in fantastical and unimaginable deals.

“Do you want to sell a sacred fruit?” In one of the bigger shops, a ghost asked a desolate god.

“Is that a joke?” The desolate god refused instantly, having trained his whole life for the fruit.

“What are you looking for here?” An average cultivator wanted to test her luck and satiated her curiosity, entering one of the big shops.

“Our business is considerable so our scope of operation is vast.” The powerful ghosts were willing to do any kind of transaction.

“I don’t have any treasure for sale.” She said.

“That’s fine, we will also take the thing you deem the most precious. For example, whoever you love the most can be sold.” A great ghost stared at her and said.

“I thought both sides have to agree!” She blurted out.

“Of course, it would be good if he agrees, no rules are violated. Then again, you can also kill him first and bring him here, that’s also permissible.” The ghost said.

“I’m not doing any of this!” She shouted and left.

Others who were in the shop also became frightened.

“Don’t worry, the most precious thing to most people is themselves. You can sell your kindness, knowledge, courage, or everything.” The ghost tried to get more customers.