Hou-ang
| Hou-ang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | Phantom Marketplace |
| Nearby | Ming-ken (If accessed by rock) Yui-wang (If accessed by statue) |
| Area ID(s) | D_MARKET D_MERCHA D_ROCK |
Hou-ang, the Phantom Marketplace is a location in Tong-Nou. It is accessed via clicking on a giant-sized Eyeball-Stone in Ming-ken or a statue in Yui-wang. Despite several markets being set up, only one shopkeeper, Mai-chiu, is present. The player can exchange items with him, which either serve as alternative solutions to puzzles, alternative methods of obtaining items, or renewable methods of obtaining single-use items.
Layout
The Phantom Marketplace is a deceptively linear location, comprised of a hallway of various trading stalls. One of them is occupied by Mai-chiu, who will gladly exchange items with you. Aside from this, a spare Eyeball-Stone can be found at the end of the available area by turning right and interacting with the red box.
Inhabitants
Items
Trades
Trade is a very important part of the Phantom Marketplace Hou-ang, and the main way you are meant to get items out of it. The trading table features an iconized card of every available trade; below is a table that showcases this in written text, complete with links to the items' respective pages.
| Player offers | Mai-chiu gives |
|---|---|
| Eyeball-Stone | Morning Glory |
| Eyeball-Stone | Wind Chime |
| Bottle Gourd | Koma |
| Hitogata | Tong-Nou Illustrated Book |
| Amulet | Tong-Nou Illustrated Book |
| Peach | Tong-Nou Illustrated Book |
| Eyeball-Stone + Koma | Hitogata |
| Eyeball-Stone + Wind Chime | Amulet |
| Eyeball-Stone + Chopsticks | Amulet |
| Eyeball-Stone + Morning Glory | Peach |
Walkthrough
Though totally optional, the Phantom Marketplace is still a fairly lucrative place to go for players that are interested in exchanging various items. These trades vary wildly in quality, so it's recommended that the player is careful for which ones they go after and which ones they avoid.
- Eyeball-Stone for Morning Glory: Not recommended. The Morning Glory is only useful in Chi-fang, and its use in trade is for the readily available, already renewable Peach.
- Eyeball-Stone for Wind Chime: Recommended. While also only rarely useful, it is good for avoiding San-a-mong at the Central Mountain and can be traded for a replacement Amulet (though this is much more dubious in its value).
- Bottle Gourd for Koma: Recommended. The Bottle Gourd has no purpose outside of bartering, so using it to get the Koma is very much worth it if the player is interested.
- Hitogata for Tong-Nou Illustrated Book: Not recommended. The Hitogata is way too rare.
- Amulet for Tong-Nou Illustrated Book: Recommended. If the player does not intend to deliberately waste their Amulet for the sake of getting Rin killed for the first time, this can be a useful trade to offload it while also getting the Book. Since the book is easy to acquire in the tunnel to the Land of Time Shi-chieng, however, this may not be available to you depending on what you did first before heading here.
- Peach for Tong-Nou Illustrated Book: Not recommended. The Peach is far too out of the way for it to be worthwhile over either exchanging your starting Amulet or simply obtaining it from the chest in the entrance to Shi-chieng.
- Eyeball-Stone and Koma for Hitogata: Recommended. The Hitogata has even more use than the Koma does, and is the most expensive item that Mai-chiu offers.
- Eyeball-Stone and Wind Chime for Amulet: Not recommended. Exchanging what is effectively 2 Eyeball-Stones for yet another Amulet is not generally worth it, especially since the Amulet is usually more detrimental than actually helpful. Should the player want another Amulet for another reason, they would likely either want the Hitogata, or would be better off going for the other trade.
- Eyeball-Stone and Chopsticks for Amulet: Recommended. Since the Chopsticks are one of the freebie items from King-gyou upon trying to enter the Helix Palace Luo-shang for the first time, it is a lot less expensive than the Eyeball-Stone and Wind Chime trade. However, players who would go through the effort for this item may instead want to take the Bottle Gourd taken under similar circumstances for the much more unique and useful Hitogata.
- Eyeball-Stone and Morning Glory for Peach: Not recommended. Peaches are already renewable and can fairly easily be obtained without spending what is effectively 2 Eyeball-Stones.
Trivia
- The Phantom Marketplace's music would later be used in Chu-Teng, for the Magatama Planet.