I Quit Being This Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 66

Mang Ke walked out clutching the gold ingots. When Xun Fangyun saw her emerge from the back room, she simply nodded. Letting Mang Ke go in alone had given her the chance to observe the goods in the pawnshop.

Xun Fangyun noticed several people coming and going to pawn items. They were humans, demons, or monsters, but they all haggled peaceably, appearing no different from ordinary street vendors in a common market.

Seeing this harmonious world, Xun Fangyun felt that this place didn’t seem as dangerous as the fisherman had claimed.

Just as she was sipping her tea and enjoying the view, Mang Ke walked out of the back room.

“Yun-Yun, look~” Mang Ke showed Xun Fangyun the ten gold ingots in her arms as if presenting a treasure, smiling. “These are enough for us to use for a long time on the road, and enough to eat and drink well!”

Xun Fangyun didn’t care about the money, but seeing Mang Ke’s joyful expression, she couldn’t help but smile along with her. “Good, then let’s go back.”

“Okay~” Mang Ke said with a smile. “I’ll ask the clerk for a bag to put them in. We can stroll back leisurely; we have plenty of time.”

Soon, the shop clerk brought Mang Ke a small bag to put the ingots in. The two then walked out of the pawnshop in high spirits.

From entering the Ghost Market to pawning the item, it had taken less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn. They still had plenty of time to stroll to the crossing and take the boat back.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly. Xun Fangyun used spiritual energy to buy a few trinkets from the surrounding stalls—colorful bracelets and moving paper figurines. As long as it wasn’t something to eat, she felt quite safe buying it.

Before long, Mang Ke was holding quite a few things and couldn’t be happier.

Just as Xun Fangyun was holding Mang Ke’s hand and preparing to leave, she instantly felt a murderous intent approaching. She subconsciously pulled Mang Ke back a step and wrapped her in her embrace.

Hiss—

A ball of black flames appeared on the spot where the two had just been standing. The burning sight looked exceptionally terrifying.

Mang Ke: “!!!”

Xun Fangyun set the girl aside and said with a cold face, “Who is it? Stop lurking and show yourself!”

The black flames gradually extinguished, transforming into a dark human shadow.

Xun Fangyun frowned slightly and demanded, “Who sent you?”

The black shadow did not answer. He lifted his foot and charged forward, drawing a short blade in a flash of silver light and stabbing toward Xun Fangyun—

The black shadow was frozen in mid-air, unable to move. He looked up at Xun Fangyun’s cold face and felt his heart pound. What was this person’s background? Why was she able to suppress him?

A cold light flashed in Xun Fangyun’s black pupils. The black shadow was instantly crushed into powder, falling to the ground like ink and pooling into a puddle.

Soon, the ink puddle suddenly twitched and began to scatter, attempting to flee in all directions. Xun Fangyun raised her hand, and the ink was lifted back up.

“Speak,” Xun Fangyun demanded, looking at him with a cold face. “Otherwise, your life will end right here.”

This was the first time she and Mang Ke had visited the Ghost Market; they couldn’t possibly have made enemies. Moreover, this figure was clearly targeting Mang Ke. What exactly did he want?!

The black shadow groaned, transforming back into a humanoid shape.

[I think… there might be some misunderstanding between us…]

The shadow said weakly, [Esteemed Demon Race adult, could you let me know your name before I die?]

Xun Fangyun did not speak. Instead, her pupils contracted, and the shadow was instantly pulverized. The black ink scattered onto the ground, devoid of any life force.

“Murder!”

Someone in the crowd yelled out, and the atmosphere in the Ghost Market instantly turned frantic.

Small skirmishes were unavoidable in this chaotic place, but killing someone was a serious matter. Furthermore, the one who died was Mo Ying, a renowned expert in the Ghost Market, who was crushed without any ability to fight back. How could the stall owners not be shocked!

“What is your origin? Why did you kill someone!”

One stall owner looked at the puddle of ink and said, “Causing trouble in the Ghost Market will get you sent to the authorities!”

“Yeah, yeah, who exactly are you?”

“Don’t let them leave! You must account for the murder!”

“Grab them! Don’t let them run away!”

In an instant, the surrounding demons and monsters surged forward. Mang Ke’s face turned deathly pale. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed into Xun Fangyun’s embrace.

Perhaps because she rushed too quickly, the red hair tie snagged on something and slipped from Mang Ke’s head, lightly falling onto the bluestone pavement.

The Ghost Market fell silent for an instant, then erupted!

“She’s human!”

“That little girl is human!”

“Why would a human come to the Ghost Market? How did they get in!”

“Oh heavens, they just bought something from me! I hope I don’t get contaminated and die! Humans are too filthy!”

Mang Ke watched as the formerly kind stall owners revealed ferocious expressions upon learning she was human. Their scarlet eyes stared intently at her. Their gaze was terrifying, as if they were looking at a vile insect or a piece of fresh meat.

Her hands couldn’t stop trembling. Mang Ke finally understood why the fisherman was so vehemently against her entering the Ghost Market—this was the existence of humans in the eyes of the demons and monsters!

Xun Fangyun could naturally sense Mang Ke’s fear, and she could also sense that some ill-intentioned creatures around them were beginning to stir.

“Hurry up and kill this human! She will cause chaos in the Ghost Market!”

“And that demon next to her! She’s clearly not a decent person! She must be eliminated quickly too!”

“Right, right! Don’t let the two of them leave the Ghost Market! They must die here!”

Mang Ke was freezing cold. She could feel the intense malice radiating from those people, making her limbs icy.

“Yun-Yun…” Mang Ke’s eyes were filled with tears. She grabbed Xun Fangyun’s clothes in fear and said, “Are they going to eat me?!”

Xun Fangyun raised her hand and stroked Mang Ke’s head, saying calmly, “No, they won’t.”

With her here, how could she allow this group of people to harm Mang Ke?

Xun Fangyun raised her head. Her black eyes swept over the surroundings. The stall owners and visitors surrounding them revealed their fangs the instant they saw Xun Fangyun look up, ready to pounce and tear them apart!

“Agh—”

“Ahhhhh! My eyes!”

“A demon! That woman is a demon!!!”

In an instant, all the lanterns on the street were stained with red blood. The bluestone pavement was also covered in thick, pooled blood.

Mang Ke tightly closed her eyes. She could hear the screams of the people who had just threatened to kill her. The shrieks and wails sounded exactly like hell.

She dared not open her eyes, nor did she dare to let go of Xun Fangyun’s clothes. She could only bury her face in her embrace, inhaling the familiar scent amid the cries, but she couldn’t calm down.

Xun Fangyun seemed to have killed many people.

Or perhaps many monsters.

Regardless, this would certainly cause trouble for Xun Fangyun. Mang Ke bit her lip and finally opened her eyes. What met her gaze was a world of crimson.

The pale orange lanterns were spattered with large patches of blood.

The blood on the stone pavement was almost pooling into a small, red stream.

The falling petals were also stained with fresh blood.

The next second, a pair of hands covered Mang Ke’s eyes. Xun Fangyun leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Don’t look.”

Xun Fangyun sighed softly, “Close your eyes and come with me.”

Mang Ke held tightly to Xun Fangyun’s coat and nodded.

One step, two steps, three steps.

Mang Ke gradually stopped hearing the horrific screams and smelling the stench of blood. She finally trembled and said to Xun Fangyun, “Are we… out?”

Xun Fangyun looked back at the horrific Ghost Market and said faintly, “Not yet. Just keep following me until we reach the shore.”

Mang Ke nodded. She couldn’t do anything now but trust Xun Fangyun.

After walking for what felt like an eternity in the pitch-black world, the hands covering Mang Ke’s eyes dropped. She saw the shoreline where they had started.

Xun Fangyun still looked clean and aloof, as if she hadn’t been the one who had just harmed anyone.

“Yun-Yun…”

Xun Fangyun turned to look at Mang Ke, lowered her head, and kissed her on the lips, offering comfort by tasting her sweet breath.

“Are you scared?” Xun Fangyun asked, cupping Mang Ke’s face with one hand.

“I am scared,” Mang Ke said, looking at Xun Fangyun. “Doing this will cause you a lot of trouble, won’t it?”

“But leaving you behind would be even more impossible.”

Mang Ke looked back at the now silent Ghost Market. She felt a strange sense of emptiness. She had only come to pawn an item. Why had it turned out like this?

Just as Mang Ke was disoriented, she noticed the surrounding fog gradually thickening. Mang Ke thought the ferryman had arrived, but when she turned around, she saw no one nearby.

Mang Ke: “…?”

A figure emerged in the thick fog. Mang Ke saw that it was none other than the pawnshop manager. Only now did she realize she had somehow been transported from the shoreline back to the back room of the pawnshop.

“My apologies, little girl.” Yin Shu was smoking a jade-colored pipe, leaning lazily in the armchair as he exhaled two smoke rings.

“The appearance of our revered Lord is something that outsiders cannot know about for the time being,” Yin Shu said. “I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to stay in the Ghost Market.”

As soon as his voice fell, Mang Ke felt the world spinning before her eyes, and she lost consciousness.

That incense… it was compromised…