The Wanderer

CHAPTER 17-THE GHOST MARKET

There was once a case where the victim also died with the same mark. The chief constable also said the weapon was quite similar to the one that their fellow constable saw, a unique dagger which can be found in any market in any city or town. After investigating it for a while, the constable team finally got a clue that only one place had sold that dagger. They called it the “ghost-market”. However, this ghost market only opens at night. So, if they want to go to that market, they must visit it at night.For the record, this ghost market was located outside the imperial city, but underground. The entrance to the ghost market was also very secret, which is why not so many people knew its location. Then the chief constable, leading a few of his men, including Haruto, decided to go to that market to search for clues. Meanwhile, the remaining constables look for other clues around the city. In short, the night has come. However, before going there, they have to prepare something. The ghost-market can’t be entered just like that. They need someone who can recommend that they go there, and then they can visit that place. And also, to visit that market, each of them must wear a “ghost mask” as this is one of the rules. After preparing a few things they needed to take with them, when night arrived, a bunch of them went there. They successfully found someone who could recommend them, as that person was a regular customer of that ghost market. Coincidentally, that person was an old acquaintance of the chief constable, so it was easy for the chief constable to ask a favor from his old friend. When they arrived at the market's main gate, 2 people guarded them. They were wearing “Black and White Impermanence masks”: one was black, the other white. For the record, this Black and White Impermanence in an ancient Chinese folk story could be the same as the Western “angel of death”. Now 3 of them only need to find the weapon shop to see who’s selling this kind of weapon. However, the ghost market's weapon shops were not the only ones. There were a few of them. They have no choice but to look for it, one by one. The first 2 shops didn’t sell it until they found the last one. They see a weapon that is similar to what the chief constable described, and it could be this one.

Chief-constable: “Hey, Sir… I need this weapon a lot. How many do you have??”

Shop-owner: “How many do you need?? I need a number…”

Chief constable: “Well... about one thousand…”

Shop-owner: “…………. (silent and thinking for a while), Uhm… That’s a lot. It can supply to an army… You’re not using this for rebels, right??”

Chief-constable: “We’re just supplying for a regular customer that coincidentally needs these goods a lot… we don’t ask much. Someone needs, we find…“

Shop-owner: "I do not mean to intrude. I simply wish to avoid any future complications, just as you do. I am only a seller."

Chief constable: “We just found out that they asked us to send it to the western region when we have the goods… the rest, we don’t know either…”

Shop-owner: “Well, if you said so… deal…!!! But currently, I don’t have that much. I need time…”

Haruto: “What?? You’re not forging it yourself??”

Shop-owner: “Of course not… As I said, I'm just a seller, remember??”

Haruto: “Okay… You said you needed time. How long will it take??”

Shop-owner: “Come back here again two weeks later…”

Chief constable: “Two weeks??? Too long… One week. I’ll give you one week…”

Shop-owner: ‘Then look for another place… I can't help.”

Haruto: “How about this… You let us meet the blacksmith, and we will discuss with him alone…”

The shop owner's expression changed; his eyes widened. He paused, then agreed to take them to meet the blacksmith. They arrived at a shop near the corner of the ghost market—quite remote. The owner invited them inside, since they were customers. When the three entered, he quickly closed and locked the door. They didn’t know what happened.

Chief constable: “Hey… What are you doing??”

The shop-owner glared at them. "Don't think I don't know you're from the government, huh?"

Chief constable: “What do you mean?? We don’t understand…!!! You must be mistaken…!!!”

The shop-owner sneered. "Huh! You still want to pretend? Never mind... since you're going to die here, I'll tell you something. There is no blacksmith. I'm the one who forged it and sold it... hahahaha..."

Chief constable: “What?? You bastard…!!!”

It seemed like they were falling into the shop owner's trap.