Chapter 12 Paper-made ghost shop and fried ghost
The ghost market was called "ghost market" in ancient times. It was a place where living people were not allowed to enter and where the souls of the dead gathered.
Ghost markets are most likely to appear in areas where cities were massacred. Once a living person enters them, they will see that the people in the city seem to be still alive. The taverns, tea shops, singing and dancing, wonton stalls and other scenes in the city are all lively, as if they were alive.
But in fact, these are miasmatic illusions formed by resentment, and the "living people" in them are all dead.
As long as a real living person eats a grain of rice or a drop of water in the ghost market, he will never get out of the ghost market.
Fortunately, nowadays, the ghost markets in Middle-earth have basically been pacified and suppressed. Now, when people talk about ghost markets and ghost markets, they refer to the markets that are formed after midnight and before dawn.
This period of time is a time when the yin energy is strong and people are resting. It is most suitable for the activities of ghosts. Those who do business during this period are naturally members of the fairy family who raise ghosts.
There are many ghost markets in Huangshan County. Basically, there is one in every village, which can facilitate the exchange of information between immortals and scholars in each city.
If Yu Que wants to obtain a copy of the Alchemist inheritance, buying it from the Ghost Collection is the most convenient way.
The only thing worth worrying about is that he doesn't have that much money for incense and paper in his hands, and his uncle probably doesn't have any at home either.
He had to find a way to make some paper money, or prepare something that could be bartered.
Yu Que held the letter of introduction and returned to his room.
He touched the black gourd in his sleeve again, his eyes flashing:
"The buying and selling of ghost objects must be the most common in ghost gatherings. I have a treasure gourd in hand, so I shouldn't have any trouble saving money and food.
However, for the time being, it is better to go and have a look at that alchemist before making any plans. ”
After making some plans in his mind, he packed up his mood and planned to maintain a good mental state so that he could meet the alchemist in the letter tomorrow.
………………
In the evening of the second day.
Following the address in the letter of introduction, Yu Que walked around and came to a place called "Mud Alley".
Although the name of this area is not good, it is located in the prosperous area of No. 7 Lane.
The land is expensive, and the people living here are all wealthy families in the county. Every household is a single-family house, which is much better than the Tongzilou of Yu Que's family.
Among them, Yu Que took a tram and then came on foot, while almost all the pedestrians in the mud alley came in and out by rickshaws and sedan chairs.
Just the guys who were pulling the carts and sedans, their faces were full of life, they were all moving like cheetahs, their clothes were clean and decent, and their complexions were much better than Yu Que's.
Yu Que groped around and came to a paper-making shop on the street, named "Old Zheng's Negro Shop".
Two paper lanterns with human heads the size of millstones were hung at the door of the shop. They had red faces, dark eyes, and weird smiles, which were so charming.
Yu Que originally thought that the two lanterns with human heads were dead objects, but when he walked up to them, the two lanterns turned their heads to look at him faintly, and spit out their long red paper tongues from their mouths.
Someone screamed:
"Welcome, guest!"
"Good luck, boss!"
They are obviously not pure dead objects, but miraculous objects with ghosts hidden inside. They are now hung at the door by the shop owner to welcome customers.
Yu Que was frightened by the two paper lanterns. The hairs on his body stood up, and he almost called out the family god in his body.
Fortunately, he calmed down, and quickly took a half step back, bowed towards the two lanterns, and said:
"I've met you two. The junior is here to visit Mr. Zheng and apply for an apprenticeship."
Hearing Yu Que's words, the smiling faces painted on the faces of the two lanterns suddenly turned down.
The two smiling faces turned into bitter faces, and the red tongues with auspicious words in their mouths were retracted, and they shouted towards the store:
"A freeloader!"
"A fresh cow and horse!"
Yu Que frowned. When he saw the store door opened, he walked inwardly.
Just as he crossed the threshold, a fragrant breeze floated in the shop.
A beautiful middle-aged woman, who was still wearing a close-fitting cheongsam even in the winter season, swayed and walked out quickly.
The door of the store is not big, so the two of them passed by each other and almost bumped into each other.
Although the makeup on the beautiful woman's face was intact, her bun was obviously messed up. She looked at Yu Que with wet eyes and apologized, and then left the store with her arms folded and her body trembling.
"Jie Jie Jie!"
When the beautiful middle-aged woman left, the two lanterns at the door immediately smiled strangely and shouted:
"A man who doesn't need money!"
"One delivered to your door"
When the beautiful woman heard the screams of the two lantern monsters, she didn't dare to look back and left even more hurriedly.
As if she was ashamed to see others, she took out a thin scarf from the basket and covered her head.
Yu Que chased the beautiful woman with strange eyes.
At this moment, a voice like a drake suddenly sounded in the store:
"Hey! That kid, who asked you to come here to eat for free? Do you have proof? Show it to me."
A short-legged man appeared in the paper-making shop. He was wearing a flowing cloud Taoist robe with gold ribbons and a broad mind. Although he was small, the hair on his chest was thick. A pair of slanted eyes were squinting at Yu Que, his face Flushed and impatient.
When Yu Que saw this, he still didn't understand what good things the beautiful woman had done with the short-legged man in the store.
He secretly cried out "sin", worried that he would offend the short-footed man as soon as he entered the door.
So he didn't dare to neglect, and quickly saluted the short man:
"I have met the immortal master. This is a letter."
The short man took the letter, glanced at it casually, and then threw the letter into the stove and turned it into ashes.
The other party said:
"I understand. Since you were introduced by a friend, I will accept you to stay in the store for three days. If I am not satisfied within three days, I will tell you to get out at any time.
As for wages, of course there is none, and you have to bring your own daily meals. I haven't been a freeloader for a long time.
If it works, fine, if not, get out now! ”
Yu Que has long understood that the so-called "apprentice" is actually a free slave taken by a craftsman. It is common for him to work for ten or eight years, so he has no objection to working for free and just says: ：
"Yes, the younger generation will definitely listen to the immortal master's teachings."
"Teaching?" When the short-footed man heard this, he sneered and said:
"It just so happens that you came here today. The store just needs to cook a batch of ghosts. You come to add fuel to the fire."
Snap!
The short man didn't wait for Yu Que's answer, tugged on a copper bell on the counter, and shouted into the store:
"Boy from the Fang family, stop lighting the stove now and come here to take care of this idiot."
Soon, a young man with a sallow complexion and red eyes emerged from behind the thick curtain.
The other party also said to the short-legged man obediently:
"Yes, Master."
The burnt-yellow boy looked at Yu Que, bowed his hands in a low voice, and whispered: "Come with me."
Yu Que returned the gift: "I've met Brother Fang."
Just when the two of them were about to get into the back of the store and get busy, the short man suddenly stopped the young man named Fang again.
"Your mother came here just now and brought some sweet cakes. They were so filling that you ate them all."
The other person pointed to the table and then waved his hand impatiently.
A stack of pastries placed on a white porcelain plate suddenly appeared in their eyes. They were all white, tender, yellow and red, and they were shaped into little rabbits. They looked very delicate and sweet.
The young man surnamed Fang showed surprise on his face and whispered: "Thank you, master." He stepped forward and wanted to take the porcelain plate away directly, but hesitated for a moment and instead wrapped the pastry in his clothes, held it and left with his head lowered. .
Yu Que looked at this scene in surprise.
hiss! It turns out that the beautiful woman who was so familiar just now was not in the flesh business, but the apprentice's mother?
When the young man surnamed Fang saw Yu Que, he quietly stuffed a piece of pastry into Yu Que's hand as he was passing by, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito:
"Give you a share. Come with me first, the master doesn't like us staying in front of the hall."
Yu Que's expression remained normal, he smiled at the other person, quickly followed him, and got into the back of the smoky shop.
Although the front of Shortfoot Man's shop is not big, the back of the shop is quite big, dim and dark, with more than one floor, both on the roof and underground.
The two of them, Yu Que, were like mice, burrowing toward the ground.
After climbing the ladder to the underground level, the nauseating smell of oil fumes was so strong that Yu Que felt sticky under his feet.
He looked up and saw bursts of smoke and the smell of oil coming from a large pot nearly three feet tall, with firewood crackling under the pot.
Yu Que walked in and took another look, and found that the firewood burning at the bottom of the pot was not ordinary firewood. The roots were pale and looked strange.
The square boy walked forward silently, squatted in front of the stove, and added firewood to the bottom of the stove one by one.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
After burning for a while, the other party suddenly said to Yu Que: "The oil must be heated to a rolling boil when frying ghosts, otherwise it will easily become half-cooked and cause trouble.
Just relying on these wax firewood and bone firewood will burn too slowly. Go and drag some wet firewood over from the cellar. ”
Yu Que raised his eyebrows slightly. Only then did he recognize the pale firewood. It was either a white candle or a white bone.
This paper-making shop even uses candles and bones to cook pots. It’s really luxurious, and it’s worthy of being a shop run by a master alchemist!
"Okay!"
Yu Que nodded in agreement towards the young man, and immediately became curious about what the "wet firewood" in his mouth was.
As a result, when he reached the entrance of the cellar, as soon as he opened the lid, a smell of putrid corpses rushed into his nose. He took an oil lamp and looked inside, and he hesitated in his movements.
All I could see was that the piles of firewood placed in the cellar were just arms and thighs, just like chicken feet and duck wings on a braised vegetable stall.
"Don't worry, here are the bones I collected from outside. Some of them may have died in vain, but they certainly did not die in vain here."
When the young man named Fang saw Yu Que's hesitation, he walked over with his head lowered, took the initiative to pick up the rake on the side, and hooked three "wet firewood" out of the cellar.
He also explained in a low voice:
"There is a secret medicine in the oil pot, which is masculine and violent, while the wet firewood contains corpse energy. When the two converge, it is easier for the secretly refining oil in the pot to boil."
The young man paused and then said: "You are here to learn how to practice salvation. Get used to it. Scenes like this will become common in the future."
What this person said is right, a trainer is someone who deals with ghosts and gods from beginning to end. A mere skeleton of human limbs is nothing compared to real ghosts.
If Yu Que wants to secretly learn the refining skills from here, he must get used to it.
"Yes, thank you Brother Fang for your advice"
Yu Que took a breath and sincerely thanked the young man named Fang.
When the other party saw that Yu Que had a stiff face just now, but now he could react immediately and knew the etiquette, a smile appeared on the young man's face:
"You're welcome. We are all apprentices. We need to help each other and get ahead as soon as possible."
This person said the words "to get through", and his eyes clearly flickered like sparks.
It seems that being an apprentice in this ghost shop is really not an easy task.
Next.
Yu Que and the other party buried themselves in the ground and burned the furnace.
During the period, the two occasionally exchanged a few words. Yu Que and the other party exchanged names and found out that this person was called "Fang Mulian".
At the same time, he also learned that the short-legged shop owner's full name was "Zheng Qiling". He was an old ninth-level alchemist and the shop had been open for thirty years.
However, in the past thirty years, the apprentices under Zheng Laohei have come and gone, and it seems that they have not been able to raise another alchemist. Fang Mulian in front of Yu Que was already the apprentice who had stayed under him the longest, having stayed for four full years.
From Fang Mulian's words, Yu Que also had a vague feeling that this person was very familiar with all aspects of training and should have been able to become a master long ago.
However, his acquaintance with the other party was still shallow, so it was not convenient to ask him directly.
Finally, the stove was filled with smoke and corpse air.
Yu Que and Fang Mulian burned it for a full two hours, moving it around before the big oil pot above their heads was boiling, sizzling and exploding.
Just when Yu Que wanted to take a rest, Fang Mulian's face showed joy.
"Let's go!" the other party whispered, and then quickly crawled towards the ground.
When Yu Que also climbed out of the ground and appeared on the ground, the alchemist Zheng Laohei had already appeared in front of the oil pot in a swaggering manner.
"Is it cooked?" the other party said in a neither salty nor bland manner, making a sound of sucking phlegm in his mouth, and spitting it into the oil pan.
Bang! A fierce fire suddenly burst out from the exploding oil pan, and the flames formed a large blooming flower on the roof.
"The heat is just right." Zheng Laohei looked satisfied and praised Fang Mulian:
"You kid, your fire watching skills are getting better and better,"
Fang Mulian rubbed her hands with a suppressed smile on her face, lowered her head and said, "Master, let me see the joke."
"Hahaha!"
Zheng Laohei laughed loudly: "Are you kidding me? You, you, may be the first alchemist raised by me!"
While the two of them were talking, Yu Que stood calmly and didn't say a word.
Until Zheng Laohei waved his hand:
"Watch carefully, I want to fry three fierce ghosts in one go today, don't slack off!
Go, you two first carry the two urns above and throw them in at one go. ”
Yu Que looked up and found three heads-sized jars of different colors standing in the corner of the backyard. They should contain the ghosts that would be fried today.
"Yes."
Yu Que and Fang Mulian walked forward like words and hugged each other.
As soon as he took it, a coldness suddenly seeped out of the jar and spread to his head and feet in an instant, making him tremble and a ghostly cry sounded in his ears.
Fortunately, Yu Que is no longer what he used to be. There is a family spirit in his body. His pupils change slightly and turn into cat eyes. After flickering for a few times, he breaks away from the influence of the ghost altar and continues to walk towards the oil pot.
"A very ferocious ghost can still behave like this in a jar. The quality must be at the ninth level."
Yu Que muttered secretly.
He also raised his head and glanced at Fang Mulian, and found that there was also a ghostly energy emerging from the other person's body. Apart from his pale face, he was also not affected by the jar.
The jar in this person's hand is definitely filled with ghosts, but Fang Mulian was able to avoid being affected. It was obvious that there was a family god in his body, and he had half a foot on the threshold of the immortal family.
While Yu Que was observing Fang Mulian, Zheng Laohei was also observing him.
He looked at Yu Que like he was looking at an animal. When he noticed that there was a ghostly aura flashing across Yu Que's body, Zheng Laohei's eyes showed a trace of satisfaction: "The person who came this time is not a waste. It seems that the store has been busy recently. ”
Yu Que and the others carried the urn to the oil pan. Before they could ask how to pour the ghost objects into the oil pan, Yu Que suddenly felt a chill on his back.
I saw Zheng Laohei's figure floating behind them at some point, and stretched out his two hands to push the two people holding the jar directly into the oil pan.
This situation frightened Yu Que's whole body, his pupils changed drastically, and he turned around with a claw.
"Old man, you are looking for death!"
But Zheng Laohei's attack was really quick. He pushed hard and then stopped, leaving Yu Que's claws empty.
Moreover, there was a cold snort in front of the oil pan, and Zheng Laohei even kicked Yu Que, knocking Yu Que's body down immediately.
At this moment, Yu Que had no time to turn around, and he fell straight into the oil pan...
(End of chapter)