fairy family

Chapter 12 Paper Ghost Shop, Fried Duck
The ghost gathering place was called "ghost market" in ancient times. It is a place where living people are not allowed to enter and the souls of the dead gather.

Ghost markets are most likely to appear in areas that have suffered massacres. Once a living person enters one of these areas, he will see that everyone in the city seems to be still alive. The taverns, teahouses, singing and dancing, wonton stalls and other scenes in the city are all bustling, just as they were in life.

But in fact, these are all illusions formed by resentment, and the "living people" in them are all dead.

If a real living person eats even a grain of rice or a drop of water in the Ghost Market, he will never be able to leave the Ghost Market again.

Fortunately, nowadays, the ghost markets in Middle-earth have basically been pacified and suppressed. Now when people talk about ghost markets and ghost gatherings, they are referring to the markets formed after midnight and before dawn.

This period of time is when yin energy is strong and people are resting, making it the most suitable time for ghosts to move around. Those who do business during this time are naturally the immortals who raise ghosts.

There are many ghost markets in Huangshan County, basically one in every district, which makes it convenient for people who practice immortal arts and scholars of immortal arts in various districts to exchange information with each other.

If Yu Que wanted to obtain a copy of the Alchemist's inheritance, purchasing it from Guiji would be the most convenient way.

The only thing to worry about is that he doesn't have that much incense and paper money, and his uncle probably doesn't have that much either.

He had to find a way to make some paper money, or prepare something that could be bartered.

Yu Que returned to his room holding the letter of introduction.

He touched the black gourd in his sleeve again, his eyes flickering:
"The buying and selling of ghost things must be the most common thing in the ghost market. I have the magic gourd in my hand, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to accumulate money and food.

However, for the time being, let’s go and have a look at the master’s staff before making any plans.”

After making up his mind, he adjusted his mood and planned to maintain a good mental state so that he could meet the master in the letter tomorrow.

………………

In the evening of the second day.

Yu Que followed the address in the letter of introduction and wandered around to a place called "Mud Lane".

Although the name of this place doesn't sound impressive, it is located in the prosperous area of ​​the Seventh Block.

The land price is expensive, and those who live here are all wealthy people in the county. Every household has its own entrance, which is much better than the tube-shaped building of Yu Que's family.

Among them, Yu Que came by horse-drawn carriage and then on foot, while the pedestrians in the muddy alley almost all came by rickshaws or sedan chairs.

Just the guys who pulled the cart and carried the sedan chair had lively faces, moved as fast as a cheetah, were dressed neatly and appropriately, and looked much better than Yu Que.

Yu Que groped his way and came to a paper-making shop on the street, named "Zheng Lao Heigui Shop".

Two millstone-sized paper human head lanterns were hung at the door of the shop. Their faces were red, their eyes were dark, and they were smiling strangely, which was very creepy.

Yu Que originally thought that the two human head lanterns were dead objects, but when he approached them, the two lanterns turned their heads to look at him and spit out long red paper tongues from their mouths.

There was a shrill cry:
"Welcome, sir!"

"Good luck to the boss!"

It turns out that they are not purely dead objects, but strange creatures with ghosts hidden inside. They are now hung at the door by the shop owner to attract customers.

Yu Que was frightened by the two paper lanterns. His hair stood on end and he almost summoned the household god in his body.

Fortunately, he calmed down his mind, and quickly stepped back half a step, bowed towards the two lanterns, and said:
"Hello, both of you. I'm here to visit Mr. Zheng and apply for an apprenticeship."

Upon hearing Yu Que's words, the smiling faces painted on the two human head lanterns suddenly turned over.

The two smiling faces turned into bitter ones, and the red tongues that were writing auspicious words in their mouths were retracted, and they turned around and shouted to the store:

"A beggar!"

"A live cow or horse!"

Yu Que frowned, and when he saw the shop door opened, he walked inside.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, a fragrant breeze wafted into the shop.

A beautiful middle-aged woman, who was still wearing a tight cheongsam in the winter, swayed her body and walked out quickly.

The store door was not big, and the two people passed each other and almost bumped into each other.

Although the beautiful woman's makeup was intact, her hair was obviously messy. She looked at Yu Que apologetically with wet eyes, then left the shop with her arms folded and trembling.

"Jie Jie Jie!"

When the beautiful middle-aged woman left, the two lanterns at the door laughed strangely and shouted:

"The one who doesn't want money!"

"One delivered to your door"

When the beautiful woman heard the cries of the two lantern monsters, she didn't dare to look back and left in an even more hurried manner.

As if she was too embarrassed to see anyone, she took out a thin apron from the basket and put it on her head.

Yu Que looked at the beautiful woman with a strange look in his eyes.

At this moment, a voice like a duck's voice suddenly rang out in the store:

"Hey! Boy, who asked you to come here to eat for free? Do you have any proof? Show it to me."

A short man appeared in the paper-making shop. He was wearing a Taoist robe with gold silk ribbons and a wide chest. Although he was small in stature, he had lush hair on his chest. He was glancing at Yu Que with a pair of slanted eyes, his face flushed and impatient.

Seeing this, Yu Que understood clearly that the beautiful woman had obviously done something good with the short man in the store.

He secretly cried out "What a shame" in his heart, worried that he had upset the short man as soon as he entered the door.

So he did not dare to neglect and immediately greeted the short-legged man:

"Greetings, Immortal Master. This is a letter."

The dwarf took the letter, glanced at it casually, and threw it into the fire, turning it into ashes.

The other party said:
"I understand. Since you were introduced by a friend, I will let you stay in the store for three days. If I am not satisfied within these three days, I can ask 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 kept anyone for free for a long time.

If it works, it works. If it doesn’t, get out now! "

Yu Que had long understood that the so-called "apprentices" were actually free slaves taken in by craftsmen. It was common for them to work for ten or eight years. Therefore, he had no objection to working for free and said timidly:

"Yes, I will definitely follow the Immortal Master's teachings."

"Teaching?" The short-legged man sneered when he heard this and said:

"It just so happens that you came today. The store just happened to need to prepare a batch of ghosts. You can come and add fuel to the fire."

Snap!
Without waiting for Yu Que to answer, the short-legged man pulled a copper bell on the counter and shouted into the shop:
"Fang family boy, stop lighting the stove and come and take care of this fool."

Soon, a young man with a scorched face and red eyes came out from behind a thick curtain.

The other party also said to the short-legged man in a timid voice:

"Yes, master."

The sallow young man looked at Yu Que, bowed his hands, and whispered, "Come with me."

Yu Que returned the greeting: "Hello, Brother Fang."

Just as the two were about to go into the store to work, the short man suddenly called out to the young man named Fang.

"Your mother came here just now and brought some sweet cakes. They were so greasy, and you ate them all."

The other party pointed at the table and waved his hand impatiently.

A stack of pastries placed on a white porcelain plate suddenly appeared in the eyes of the two people. Each one was white and tender, yellow and red, and was shaped like little rabbits. They looked very delicate and sweet.

The young man surnamed Fang showed surprise on his face and whispered, "Thank you, Master." He took small steps forward and wanted to take the porcelain plate away directly, but hesitated for a moment, then instead used his clothes to pocket the cakes, held them in his hands and walked away with his head lowered.

Yu Que looked at this scene in surprise.

Hiss! So the mature and beautiful woman just now was not a prostitute, but the mother of this apprentice?
When the young man surnamed Fang saw Yu Que coming, he quietly stuffed a piece of cake into Yu Que's hand as he passed by, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito:

"I'll give you a piece. Follow me first. The master doesn't like us to stay in front of the hall."

Yu Que looked calm. He smiled at the other person and quickly followed him into the back of the smoky shop.

Although the door of the short man's shop is not big, the back of the shop is quite big. It is dim and dark, and there is more than one floor, both on the roof and underground.

Yu Que and the other two burrowed underground like mice.

After climbing the ladder to the underground floor, the nauseating smell of oil smoke was extremely strong, and Yu Que felt his feet were sticky.

He looked up and saw bursts of smoke and smell of oil coming from a pot nearly a meter in size. Firewood was crackling underneath the pot.

Yu Que walked in and took another look, and discovered that the firewood burning at the bottom of the pot was not ordinary firewood. The firewood was pale and looked strange.

The square-shaped boy walked forward silently, half-knelt in front of the stove, and added firewood one by one to the bottom of the stove.

After cooking for a while, the other party suddenly said to Yu Que: "The oil temperature for fried dough sticks must be heated to boiling, otherwise it will be fried half-cooked and cause trouble.

The firewood will burn too slowly with just the wax and bone firewood. Go to the cellar and get some wet firewood."

Yu Que raised his eyebrows slightly. Only then did he recognize that the pale firewood was either a white candle or white bones.

This paper-making shop actually uses candles and bones to heat the pot. It is truly luxurious, worthy of being a shop opened by a master of refinement!
"Okay!"

Yu Que nodded in agreement to the young man, and suddenly became curious about what the "wet firewood" he was talking about was.

As a result, when he walked to the entrance of the cellar and just opened the lid, the stench of rotten corpse rushed into his nose. He took an oil lamp and looked inside, and his movements suddenly hesitated.

The sticks placed in the cellar were not firewood at all, but arms and thighs, just like the chicken feet and duck wings on the braised food stall.

"Don't worry, these are all the corpses I collected from outside. There may be some who died in vain, but they definitely didn't die in vain here."

Seeing Yu Que's hesitation, the young man surnamed Fang walked over with his head down, took the rake beside him, and hooked out three pieces of "wet firewood" from the cellar.

He explained in a low voice:

"There is a secret medicine in the oil pot, which is masculine and fierce, and the wet wood contains corpse qi. The combination of the two makes it easier for the secret and fierce oil in the pot to boil."

The young man paused, and then said, "You are here to learn how to cultivate. Get used to it. You will see scenes like this more often in the future."

This person was right. A cultivator was someone who dealt with ghosts and gods from beginning to end. Compared with real evil spirits, mere bones, firewood and human limbs were nothing.

If Yu Que wants to secretly learn the art of cultivation from this place, he must get used to it.

"Yes, thank you for your advice, Brother Fang."

Yu Que let out a sigh of relief and sincerely thanked the young man named Fang.

Seeing that Yu Que had a stiff face just now, but now he can react immediately and understand the etiquette, the other party forced a smile on the young man's face:
"You're welcome. We're all apprentices. Let's help each other and get through this as soon as possible."

As this person uttered the three words "get through it", there was an obvious flash of light in his eyes like sparks.

It seems that being an apprentice in this haunted shop is not an easy thing.

Next.

Yu Que then worked with the other party to burn the furnace underground.

During this time, the two of them occasionally spoke a few words, and Yu Que exchanged names with the other party and learned that this person's name was "Fang Mulian".

At the same time, he also learned that the full name of the short-legged shop owner was "Zheng Qiling". He was an old ninth-rank cultivator and had run the shop for thirty years.

However, during these thirty years, the apprentices under Zheng Laohei came and went, and it seemed that he had not been able to train another master. Fang Mulian in front of Yu Que was the apprentice who had stayed under him the longest, for a full four years.

From Fang Mulian's words, Yu Que had a vague feeling that this person was extremely familiar with all matters of cultivation, and should have been able to become a master long ago.

However, he didn't know the other party well enough to ask directly.

Finally, the stove was filled with smoke and the smell of corpses.

Yu Que and Fang Mulian spent two full hours moving the oil around until they finally got the big oil pan above their heads to a boil, sizzling and frying.

Just when Yu Que wanted to take a break, Fang Mulian's face showed joy.

"Go!" the other party said in a low voice, and then crawled towards the ground quickly.

When Yu Que also crawled out of the ground and appeared on the ground, the alchemist Zheng Laohei had already appeared in front of the oil pan in a swagger.

"Is it cooked?" the other person said indifferently, making a sucking sound from his mouth and spitting into the oil pan.

Boom! A fierce fire suddenly jumped out from the frying pan, and the flames formed a big blooming flower on the roof.

"The heat is just right." Zheng Laohei looked satisfied and praised Fang Mulian:
"You are getting better at watching fire, kid."

Fang Mulian rubbed her hands, a suppressed smile appeared on her face, and she lowered her head and said, "Master, I made a fool of myself."

"Hahaha!"

Zheng Laohei laughed loudly: "What a joke! You might be the first cultivator I raised with my own hands!"

While the two were talking, Yu Que stood there quietly without saying a word.

Until Zheng Laohei waved his hand:
"Everyone, watch out! I'm going to fry three evil spirits in one go today. Don't slack off!
Go, the two of you first bring the two urns above and throw them in at once."

Yu Que looked up and found three jars the size of a human head stacked in the corner of the backyard. They were of different colors and should contain the evil spirits that were to be fried today.

"Yes."

Yu Que and Fang Mulian walked forward as instructed and each picked up one.

As soon as he took it in his hand, a chill suddenly seeped out from the jar and instantly spread to his head and feet, making him tremble, and he heard ghost cries in his ears.

Fortunately, Yu Que is no longer the same as before. There is a family god living in his body. His pupils changed slightly and turned into cat's eyes. After flashing a few times, he broke free from the influence of the ghost altar and continued to walk towards the oil pan.

"What a ferocious ghost! It can still be like this even when it is in a jar. Its quality must be ninth grade without a doubt."

Yu Que muttered to himself.

He also looked up and glanced at Fang Mulian, and found that there was also a ghostly aura coming from the other person. Apart from his slightly pale face, he was also not affected by the jar.

There must be a ghost in the jar in this person's hand, but Fang Mulian is not affected. It is obvious that there is also a family god in his body, which means that he has half a foot in the threshold of the immortal world.

While Yu Que was observing Fang Mulian, Zheng Laohei was also observing him.

He looked at Yu Que as if he were an animal. When he found that Yu Que had a ghostly aura, Zheng Laohei showed a hint of satisfaction in his eyes: "The people who came this time are not useless. It seems that the store will be busier recently."

Yu Que and the other man carried the urn to the oil pan. Before they could ask how to pour the ghost into the oil pan, Yu Que suddenly felt a chill on his back.

I saw that Zheng Laohei's figure had floated behind them at some point, and he stretched out his two hands and pushed the two people holding the jars directly into the oil pan.

This situation frightened Yu Que so much that his whole body became alert. His pupils widened and he turned around and attacked with a claw.

"Old man, you are looking for death!"

But Zheng Laohei's move was really quick. After pushing hard, he withdrew his hand, leaving Yu Que's claws empty.

There was also a cold snort from the front of the oil pan, and Zheng Laohei kicked out, knocking Yu Que to the ground.

This time, Yu Que had no time to turn around, and he fell straight into the oil pan...

(End of this chapter)