Just as Lu Zigang was getting bored and considering whether to call the curator, he discovered the child he was holding had suddenly stopped walking and wouldn’t move no matter how he pulled.

There was nothing here that would attract children—no fun toys or delicious food. Lu Zigang casually glanced at this stall without much interest, then his eyes widened in shock.

This stall looked no different from the others, with various items scattered about, but Lu Zigang immediately noticed the jade pieces placed in the corner.

He crouched down and picked out a jade pendant from among the jade pieces.

This jade pendant was carved with a dragon and rat facing each other, with flowing lines and simple, ancient craftsmanship. It looked very much like Han Dynasty “eight cuts” carving, but the jade quality wasn’t mutton-fat white jade—it was more like jade from the Spring and Autumn or Warring States periods, with deep-colored mineral staining. However, according to historical records, this type of zi-chen pendant should have been a style that emerged during the Han Dynasty.

The rat represented the zi hour, while the dragon represented the chen hour. These two periods spanned from midnight to early morning—the latter half of the night was the darkest time of day and when humans were most likely to die. So jade craftsmen carved rats and dragons together, collectively called “zi-chen,” meaning protection and peace. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, zi-chen pendants also carried the meaning of hoping one’s son would become a dragon.

Regardless of what meaning this zi-chen pendant held, Lu Zigang felt fond of it the moment he held the jade piece. The lighting here was too dim to determine if it was a genuine antique, but one couldn’t put a price on what the heart desired. Lu Zigang asked the stall owner for a price—if it was too expensive, he simply wouldn’t buy it.

The stall owner wore a black cloak and, due to the cold night wind, had also put up the hood, so his face couldn’t be seen in the dim firelight. The stall owner didn’t speak but extended his right hand in a gesture. Lu Zigang found the price quite reasonable and decided to buy it.

Just as he was about to take out his wallet to pay, the little shota beside him picked up a dirty concentric knot from the stall and looked at him expectantly. Lu Zigang glanced at the concentric knot—though woven very intricately, the threads on it were so dirty their original color couldn’t be discerned. After haggling with the stall owner, he included it as a bonus item for free.

The little shota was delighted and, to show they were even, specifically pulled out a fruit candy from his pocket to give him in exchange.

Lu Zigang didn’t really want it, but felt this child must have been well-raised, already understanding that buying things required payment. He didn’t refuse and casually put the fruit candy in his pocket.

Tang Yuan happily tucked the concentric knot into his pants pocket. He had been worrying about what to do if his little ancestor chose something too expensive that he couldn’t afford—this really saved him money!

The little white snake took advantage of this movement to slip into the pocket and eagerly coiled around the concentric knot.

Tang Yuan stood up contentedly, wondering if he could still buy some KFC on the way back, when he suddenly felt something strange about their surroundings.

Though it was still a bustling market with people coming and going, why had everyone suddenly changed into ancient costumes?

Tang Yuan blinked his big eyes, rubbed them hard and opened them again, then felt completely bewildered. Could it be that he wasn’t fully awake and was dreaming again?

Lu Zigang also noticed the sudden change in their surroundings and frowned deeply.

Having experienced many incredible events, he didn’t simply attribute the scene before him to dreams or illusions. The moment he paid and stood up, he knew something was wrong. He immediately looked down at the stall selling items, only to discover that standing behind the stall was no longer the original cloaked stall owner, but a mixed-blood youth.

The youth had deep features with a straight nose bridge and sunken eye sockets—clearly possessing foreign ancestry. He wore black fitted clothing with his hair bound up, but looked only fourteen or fifteen years old. He was also looking at them with surprise.

“What is this place?” Lu Zigang asked instinctively.

“Dawn Market,” the youth immediately answered, then looked at Lu Zigang and Tang Yuan in their modern clothing, completely out of place with their surroundings, and smiled brilliantly.

“This is the real Dawn Market. Welcome, honored guests.”

“You two honored guests must have gone to the ghost market before coming here, right? This is the real Dawn Market, where you can buy anything you want—everything is available. It’s the dreamland everyone yearns for!” This mixed-blood youth rubbed his hands together, speaking fluent Chinese like a shop assistant trying to attract customers.

Listening to this mixed-blood youth’s enthusiastic words, Lu Zigang’s head ached a bit, but he roughly understood—they must have accidentally entered another dimension, and this dimension was the real Dawn Market. Perhaps people from the ghost market had also accidentally entered before, which is why the ghost market had the title “Dawn Market.”

Lu Zigang raised his head and looked around, discovering that not only were the surrounding people dressed in ancient costumes, but the marketplace buildings on both sides of the road could also be vaguely seen as ancient architectural outlines in the darkness—definitely not the narrow alley they had been in before.

The night sky also seemed shrouded by layers of dark clouds. Forget about stars—even the moon that should have appeared was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you wondering why you came here?” The mixed-blood youth stood up, putting away his smile and looking grave. “Did you buy something?”

“Yes, I just bought this zi-chen pendant…” Seeing the other’s serious expression, Lu Zigang instinctively extended his hand, opening his grip to show the zi-chen pendant to the other.

Lu Zigang immediately noticed a flash of sharp light in the other’s eyes. Just as he was about to cry out that something was wrong, the mixed-blood youth unceremoniously snatched the zi-chen pendant from his hand. Not even caring about his own stall, he turned and fled, disappearing into the darkness with a few bounds.

Lu Zigang was furious and immediately wanted to give chase, but he could only swing his fist angrily at the air to vent his frustration.

In this situation, he could only accept his bad luck. He couldn’t possibly leave Tang Yuan alone in a market full of strangers, especially when this place was obviously strange and not ordinary.

Anyway, what was stolen was an inexpensive jade pendant, not something important like his phone. Thinking of his phone, Lu Zigang immediately pulled it out, wanting to contact the curator, but discovered, as expected, that there was no signal here.

It seemed this problem was quite serious… Lu Zigang furrowed his brow in thought.

Tang Yuan still hadn’t fully processed what was happening. He was curiously looking at the suddenly transformed surroundings, not yet making sense of it all, when Lu Zigang’s jade pendant was stolen. He looked at the mixed-blood youth’s lightning-fast speed, then down at his own short legs, and abandoned the thought of helping Lu Zigang chase the thief.

“Oh my, did that little Helian fellow get lucky this time?”

“New people again? Aren’t there two of them? That little Helian fellow couldn’t have robbed both of their tokens, could he?”

“He probably only had time to grab one, so is the other one that glowing metal piece in this person’s hand?”

“Doesn’t look like it, but we could try robbing it to see.”

The ill-intentioned discussions around them reached Lu Zigang and Tang Yuan’s ears in fragments, making both their faces change color.

What kind of ghostly place was this Dawn Market? Why was it so unfriendly?

However, these people were just talking—they wore sheepish smiles on their faces but none actually dared to do anything to them. They maintained a safe distance of five steps away, surrounding them and whispering among themselves.

“Alright, alright, stop surrounding them. Don’t scare the people. Go about your business!” A handsome youth with a folding fan in his hand pushed through the crowd. The onlookers made various exclamations and gradually dispersed out of respect for him, going about their own business browsing the market. When this handsome youth turned around, Lu Zigang realized he was only eighteen or nineteen years old, with a face like fine jade and slightly upturned phoenix eyes. The topknot on his head was casually secured with just a tree branch—originally a rustic village custom, but his overall bearing carried an indescribable carefree hermit style.

“My friend, when coming to Dawn Market, never casually take out your token,” the handsome youth smiled, immediately making people feel like they were bathed in spring breeze. “Dawn Market follows the principle of equivalent exchange. Although the Market Master has established laws forbidding any open robbery or theft in Dawn Market, people still can’t help but violate them.”

“Token? Market Master?” Lu Zigang sensitively caught these two key terms.

“It seems you two have accidentally entered this place,” the handsome youth said sympathetically. “Dawn Market is a marketplace that transcends time and space. One can only enter and exit from ghost markets with a token, and it’s possible from any ghost market in history.”

“What?” Lu Zigang exclaimed in shock. Any place in history? Did that mean this Dawn Market actually existed in four-dimensional space, unrestricted by time?

He had already noticed that the clothing of people around them came from many different dynasties—some wore deep robes from the pre-Qin period, others had long caps and Han Dynasty robes, some wore the flowing sleeves and elaborate caps of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties period, there were Tang officials with wrapped heads and round-collar robes, Song scholars with square scarves and white cloth shirts, Ming men with four-cornered flat caps and large-front robes, and even some with half-bald heads and braids wearing Manchu jackets. Looking carefully, there were even old scholars in zhongshan suits…

This was too chaotic… Lu Zigang felt his eyes hurt—you couldn’t see such scenes even in TV dramas!

“Don’t worry, although everyone comes from different dynasties, discussing state affairs is forbidden in Dawn Market. Any words that might affect the course of history cannot be spoken.”

The handsome youth was apparently accustomed to receiving new guests like Lu Zigang, so he spoke very skillfully.

Lu Zigang, bewildered by the market before him with its chaotic clothing and confused eras, quickly withdrew his gaze and asked about what he cared more about.

“So what is a token? Something that allows entry and exit from Dawn Market? We came in through a token, so if my jade pendant is lost, does that mean I can’t get out?”

Lu Zigang wasn’t stupid—the fact that the mixed-blood youth had immediately snatched the zi-chen pendant from his hand was enough to prove its importance.

Before the handsome youth could answer, sounds of commotion and screams came from the distance—exactly the direction the mixed-blood youth had run. Soon, a young soldier wearing armor with a sword at his waist dragged over the mixed-blood youth, now beaten black and blue.

“Yue Fu, did you get that jade pendant back?” the handsome youth immediately called out loudly upon seeing this.

Whether it was his imagination or not, Lu Zigang felt that the whispered conversations throughout most of the market immediately stopped after the handsome youth asked his question. Most people in the market were waiting for the soldier’s reply.

“It was already taken by his accomplices,” the young soldier’s words still carried anger.

The market resumed its chattering voices. As the soldier approached, Lu Zigang saw he was in his early twenties, powerfully built with thick eyebrows and big eyes, proper features, wearing black fitted clothing, and emanating frightening killing intent throughout his body.

“If I can’t get that jade pendant back, what will be the consequences?” Lu Zigang felt he should ask clearly.

“Dawn Market, Dawn Market—it disappears when dawn breaks and becomes the original ruins again,” the handsome youth looked at him sympathetically.

“If you can’t retrieve your token before dawn, then you’ll have to stay here forever.”

“Of course, Yue Fu will definitely help you find that jade pendant,” the handsome youth said, as if he hadn’t just spoken those alarming words, immediately comforting him thoughtfully again.