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墨書 Inktalez
"You... you... you..." Guo Fei was so frightened that he almost hid behind Wei Ning, his tongue refusing to cooperate.
Wei Ning, having seen more of the world, stepped forward and said loudly, "We happened to see the old lady performing a ritual just now. I believe we did not disturb her. May I ask why she is looking for us? We still have a carriage to catch..."
"Catching a carriage?" Maid Granny sneered. "I think you're just trying to escape death."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If I hadn't interrupted the red-clothed ghost's leg with my ritual, allowing you two to get off the carriage, I estimate that this trip would have sent you straight to Ghost Gate."
Wei Ning had already sensed something was off about this trip but had been unable to pinpoint it. Realizing that Maid Granny was not speaking nonsense, he frowned and said, "If you have something to say, please speak plainly. There's no need to beat around the bush."
Maid Granny remained silent for a moment before pulling out a porcelain bottle from her robe. "This isn't entirely your fault; with your Yin-Yang Eye closed, it's natural you couldn't see anything unusual. Here." She handed the porcelain bottle to Wei Ning and continued, "Apply the Cow Tears from this bottle to your eyes, and you'll understand what I mean."
Wei Ning and Guo Fei applied the Cow Tears to their eyes. Once Guo Fei opened his Yin-Yang Eye and looked at the bus again, he was so terrified he nearly lost control of himself.
"That bus is no ordinary bus; it's clearly an enormous red coffin. The four wheels are not wheels at all but eight ghostly children, two per wheel, straining under the weight. One of the ghosts seems to have injured its right foot, while another is busy tending to its wounds."
As for the passengers? They were no longer passengers at all—some had only half a head, others had their intestines spilling out, and some were missing entire arms, revealing nothing but white bones.
"How about that? Eight ghosts carrying a sedan chair specifically for those who died in car accidents seeking substitutes for their deaths. If you hadn't gotten off before dawn tomorrow, that bus would have taken you straight to Ghost Gate. Did you not think? That bus departs at midnight and arrives early in the morning. If I hadn't happened to pass by and couldn't bear to watch, saving your lives, next year on this day would have been your memorial."
Wei Ning took another deep look at the death bus and bowed deeply to Maid Granny. "I am inexperienced and failed to recognize the dangers here. Thank you for saving our lives."
Guo Fei was already terrified beyond belief and couldn't maintain the same decorum as Wei Ning; with a trembling voice, he asked, "What should we do now?"
"What else can we do? Just hide as far as we can, take the mountain paths to avoid these filthy things."
"My luggage is still up there!" Guo Fei shouted.
"Who cares about that now? Forget it." Wei Ning grabbed Guo Fei and started to leave.
An old woman suddenly grabbed Guo Fei's hand and said with a sinister smile, "My friend, your hand looks quite nice. Would you like me to tell your fortune?"
Guo Fei felt a chill run down his spine as the old woman's bony hand touched him. He remembered how she had stirred the skeleton earlier and quickly pulled his hand back, rubbing it vigorously against his body.
"Let's go." Wei Ning led Guo Fei away from the direction of the ghostly vehicle.
After waiting for what felt like an eternity, the sun finally broke through, and Guo Fei felt its rays were particularly dazzling this time.
The two managed to flag down a bus—this time, it certainly wouldn't be the eight ghosts carrying a sedan chair. They parted ways upon reaching Hengyang, and Wei Ning took the map given by the old man to find the place.
To their surprise, it was the same Maid Granny who opened the door.
The old man had sent Wei Ning through her!
Maid Granny seemed unfazed by Wei Ning's arrival and welcomed her inside. Wei Ning noticed that the room was almost devoid of dust, unnaturally clean.
A place this spotless must have something strange about it, Wei Ning thought.
She handed the old man's letter to Maid Granny, who accepted it with a smile, her nearly three-inch-long nails gleaming with dirt in the crevices, looking rather disgusting.
"Maid Granny" revealed her dark teeth and smiled, "Do you know what he wrote in the letter?"
"Wei Ning" certainly wouldn't pry into it, quickly shaking her head.
"He asked me to kill you," "Maid Granny" continued to smile.
"Why?" "Wei Ning" felt a sudden jolt in her heart but maintained her composure.
"You ruined his plans, so he hates you and wants to kill you. But you're from the Wei Family, so he probably can't bring himself to do it. Yet he truly despises you and can't act on it himself, so he has to find someone else to do the job—he's always been this contradictory, a real lunatic. After following him for so long, didn't you ever notice?"
"Wei Ning" replied, "I have no grievances with him. Why does he hate me? If he hates me, why does he still call me 'Five Thunder Palm'?"
"Maid Granny" sighed, "Everything about him is contradictory; in fact, living like that is exhausting."
"Wei Ning" coldly asked, "So what are you planning to do now?"
"Maid Granny" said, "I calculated my fate yesterday. I'm not your match; since I'm not your match, I naturally can't kill you. Since I can't kill you, it's not that I don't want to but that I simply can't. This way, I can also report back to that old man."
"Wei," she added.
A heavy feeling sank in "Wei Ning's" heart as she thought: How could she know my name? Could it be... "Wei Ning" realized that all of "Maid Granny's" information came from the skeletons she had fried. If she knew anything about "Wei Ning," it meant she had once fried the skeleton of someone closely related to her. If that were true, "Wei Ning" would definitely not let this person off easily. However, this person had saved her before and had done her a favor; she couldn't repay kindness with enmity.
"Maid Granny" seemed to see through "Wei Ning's" thoughts and smiled, "The letter mentioned this old man; don't worry, people from the Wei Family are probably not just me. Even the more formidable 'Skeleton Fryer' wouldn't dare act recklessly."
Only then did "Wei Ning's" heart feel a bit lighter. The letter had already been delivered; her mission was complete, and she had no intention of lingering any longer. She was about to take her leave when "Maid Granny" said, "Wait a moment! By the way, how is your mother doing?"
Wei Ning was taken aback when she suddenly mentioned her mother. "You know my mom?"
Maid Granny smiled and said, "Not only do I know her, but if you see your mother, please tell her that the person who read her fortune before sends her regards."
In Wei Ning's mind, Wei Mother had always been a quiet and hardworking rural woman. How could she possibly know such an eccentric old woman? Wei Ning felt a bit puzzled but nodded and replied, "I understand."
Maid Granny handed Wei Ning the bottle of Cow Tears from yesterday. "You should take this. You're considered a Corpse Handler now, so how can you not have this? If you encounter something unclean like last night, you might end up being an innocent scapegoat. That would be a pity. This stuff has its uses; although it's not much, it should still be good for one more use. If you come across anything unusual in the future, use this—it might help."
Wei Ning certainly knew the value of Cow Tears. First, they were hard to obtain; they had to come from an old yellow cow that only shed tears once in its lifetime—when it died. Most yellow cows nowadays ended up as delicious meals on people's tables, and who would foolishly wait for one to die naturally? Moreover, even after obtaining Cow Tears, they needed to be refined with secret methods involving mint, licorice, and corpse powder (ashes). The secret methods were passed down through only a few special families. After the establishment of New China, several anti-feudal movements had caused these families to decline just like the Wei Family. Now, Cow Tears were extremely expensive in the Ghost Market because fewer people knew how to refine them.
If it were just simple Cow Tears, they wouldn't be able to transform into Yin-Yang Eye; instead of allowing one to see ghosts, they could lead to eye infections.
Due to their unique effects at specific times, even though they were expensive, those who frequently dealt with ghosts and monsters would buy some for emergencies. Wei Ning had tried to buy some at the Ghost Market several times but often hesitated due to lack of funds. This time, Maid Granny was giving it to her for free. Although Wei Ning felt a bit embarrassed, she could only graciously accept it.
Suddenly remembering something, Maid Granny said, "Oh right! I have a God of Joy here. Someone asked me to deliver it yesterday, but I'm too old and don't want to move around much anymore. However, the price offered by the person was too high. Since you're here and the Wei Family is a well-known Corpse Chasing Family, it's best if you handle this kind of thing. I won't show off my skills in front of Guan Gong; besides, you don't have anything else going on right now. Just consider it helping me out. Don't worry; I won't shortchange you."
Hearing there was business involved piqued Wei Ning's interest immediately. "Sure! I just got on break anyway; it doesn't matter if I'm late returning. Since you saved my life yesterday, helping you out is the least I can do. You don't need to pay me; just cover my travel expenses back and forth."
Maid Granny laughed and said, "What a good child! No wonder that madman likes you so much; I'm starting to like you too."
With that, Maid Granny lifted the curtain leading into another room and took Wei Ning inside. There lay a large red lacquer coffin without a lid—clearly indicating that the deceased had not been dead long. Maid Granny chuckled and said, "This was sent over yesterday—a young person who was quite beautiful. Who would have thought they would pass away? When they arrived here, they were full of life; clearly not from illness since there are no wounds on their body. They probably offended someone. Young people these days are so complicated—nothing like when we were young..." She sighed a bit.
Wei Ning nodded and asked, "Where does it need to be delivered?"
"Jiangxi—not far at all! Hunan and Jiangxi are like old relatives; it's only about three or four hours' journey. It's hot now, so I've already sealed the seven orifices of the God of Joy with Cinnabar; it won't spoil within seven days. But you need to hurry up and set off! You can have dinner here with me first; we'll leave as soon as it gets dark."
Wei Ning said, "No problem, it's just..."
Maid Granny smiled and replied, "I understand what you mean, just a moment..." With that, Maid Granny took out a bamboo hat from a large wardrobe. It looked quite well-made, with a big character for "Fortune" written on it. Surrounding the hat was a circle of black gauze, which would perfectly cover the wearer's face when worn.
It turned out that both Xiangxi and the Corpse Handlers were men. If they encountered a female God of Joy, there had been rare instances of misconduct. When faced with an attractive female God of Joy, some would inevitably commit the disgusting act of desecrating the corpse. Since the Welcoming of the God of Joy mostly occurred at night and along remote paths, these miscreants thought they could act without anyone knowing.
However, not long after returning home, these individuals would develop peculiar white spots on their bodies, which would soon lead to their flesh rotting away and ultimately death.
Thus, at some point in time, it became customary for any Zhu You Corpse Handler to cover the face of a female God of Joy with a hat whenever they encountered one.
Of course, this was merely a formality and served no real purpose, but the Corpse Handlers adhered strictly to this ancestral teaching. Over time, this formality evolved into a rule that has been passed down.
This is also why some people encounter Gods of Joy who wear hats.
Wei Ning took the hat that Maid Granny handed him and walked to the front of the coffin. Upon seeing the God of Joy inside, his expression changed dramatically as he stumbled back three steps.
It turned out that the God of Joy Maid Granny had instructed him to approach was none other than Lin Lingsu!
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