One Person: I, the Dragon Tiger Stall King! I Won!

78: You take a step back, the road takes a step forwardThe character projected by the shadow was like a branding iron, deeply imprinted in the depths of Zhang Xuanyi’s eyes.

The laziness in his eyes instantly faded, replaced by a bottomless calm, like an ancient well without waves, yet capable of reflecting the entire starry sky.

The old yellow dog remained lying down, as if everything just now was merely an illusion amidst the flickering firelight.

As dawn broke, the bustle of the Ghost Market did not dissipate with the morning; instead, it was ignited by a strange kind of enthusiasm.

Before the regret lamp, the queue stretched from the head of the street to the end of the alley, winding like a Dragon.

”Crack!”

A Power of Will Crystal was tossed into the wick, shattering upon impact.

A light screen projected into the air, showing an image of a middle-aged man beating his chest: ”I regret it! I actually believed in that damn ’Fate-Changing Talisman’ and pawned my family heirloom jade pendant. In the end, my wife ran off with someone else, and my illness didn’t even get better!”

Before his voice could fade, another crystal shattered.

This time it was a woman’s tearful complaint: ”I only wanted some peace of mind. I burned incense every day and offered my wishes every night, but why did my son still fail to get into the immortal sect... I don’t want this ethereal Power Of Will anymore, give me back my incense money!”

Power of Will Crystals shattered like raindrops, as memories filled with regret and resentment intertwined under the lamplight, like an absurd yet real human tragicomedy.

Su Qingzhu set up a specialized Shadow-Recording Magical Artifact, the lens switching between the long queue and the lamp fire. She lowered her voice, her tone filled with excitement and worry she couldn’t hide: ”I’ve already thought of the livestream room title—’Today, We Learn to Regret’. Old Zhang, you’re playing such a big game, aren’t you afraid you’ll crash the Ghost Market’s credit System?”

Zhang Xuanyi was squatting in front of his stall, unhurriedly stirring mung bean porridge with an old black pot.

The morning light gilded him with a golden edge. He didn’t even look up, his voice as steady as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him: ”It won’t collapse. Those who truly believe won’t come to retract; those who do were only half-believing to begin with, just joining in for the excitement. This lamp was never meant to fulfill wishes; what it illuminates is that small spark of light in the depths of everyone’s heart that hasn’t been completely submerged by greed.”

Meanwhile, inside the Notary Office in the west of the city, Cui Wujiu’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the mountain of data Jade Slips before him.

He hadn’t closed his eyes for three days and three nights.

Finally, he extracted a key thread from the massive amount of information, his expression incredibly solemn.

”Within three days, over seventy percent of all wish-retractors had sacrificed part of their Lifespan or Qi and blood at the ’Atonement Tower’ in the Northwest corner,” he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse. ”And these people, without exception, are all the orphaned, the elderly, the sick, and the weak... They weren’t just scammed; they... were just too desperate to grasp at a lifesaving straw.”

At this moment, the scales named ’Rules’ in Cui Wujiu’s heart tilted violently for the first time.

The next morning, dressed in his black robe, he stood sternly upon the Notary Platform in the center of the Ghost Market.

The crowd below was bustling, mostly there to watch the excitement.

Cui Wujiu’s voice was like a great bell, resounding in all directions: ”I announce in the name of the Notary Office that from this day forward, anyone who sets up an altar, preaches Daoist teachings, or sells visions on a Ghost Market platform must first stand silently before the ’Wall of Wishes’ for three sticks of incense! If there are selfish desires in your heart and distracting thoughts arise, the lamp fire will extinguish itself!”

Before his words finished, a commotion broke out in the crowd.

Everyone’s eyes instinctively turned toward the Northwest corner.

There, on a newly built high platform called the ’Calamity Crossing Altar’, a lame Daoist claiming to be able to cross people over their misfortunes was speaking eloquently.