Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 275 Sky-high Price
The old Taoist priest actually knew about the Ghost Altar.

Judging from his appearance, it seems he has seen the leader of that group of ghost breeders before.
The old Taoist priest's assessment of the mastermind behind the scenes bears many similarities to the assessment of the female ghost in Longchang Street.

Ran Qing said, "We just want to know what those people are plotting by worshipping the Ghost Altar and raising ghosts everywhere... Daoist Master, you should know, right?"

Ran Qing looked at the old Taoist priest expectantly.

I never imagined the truth would be so close to me; it seems I could find out without even having to go to Xiong Dacheng.

The old Taoist priest looked at Ran Qing and pondered for a moment: "Well... I'm not very clear about that. After all, I didn't join them, so naturally they wouldn't tell me their secrets."

"But you can guess with your ass that these guys are no good."

"What kind of good thing could something be that involves killing people, raising ghosts, and using such evil magic to scheme?"

After the old Taoist priest finished speaking, he saw that Ran Qing and the other person remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.

His eyes darted around, and he added, "By the way, when you caught Tao Zhenyong last night, did you find anything on him? Like coins or something?"

The old Taoist priest's words stirred something within Ran Qing.

He glanced at Mo Li, and the two exchanged strange looks, as if they had guessed why the old Taoist priest had suddenly come to their door today.

Ran Qing said calmly, "Is this what you mean, Daoist Master?"

Ran Qing took out an ancient Guiluo coin from his canvas bag. The ancient copper coin had endured a long period of time, and a thin layer of patina was attached to its surface.

In the morning light, the copper coin was inconspicuous.

But the corpse-driving Taoist's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

He quickly sat up straight, trying to control his excitement, but he couldn't help but look eagerly at the copper coin in Ran Qing's hand, saying, "Yes, yes, that's it. It's an antique, called the Guiluo Ancient Coin."

“Hmm… how about this,” the old Taoist priest said, his eyes darting around, “how about you sell me this antique copper coin? I can give you 30,000 yuan.”

Ran Qing looked at the old Taoist priest in surprise and said, "Master Liu, you spent 30,000 yuan to buy this? Do you know what this thing is used for?"

Mo Li, standing beside Ran Qing, stared at the old Taoist priest with a half-smile.

There was a hint of teasing in that smile.

Under the strange gazes of the two young men, the old Taoist priest's face actually blushed slightly—his skin was much thinner than expected.

The old Taoist priest chuckled dryly and said, "It seems you two lads are not to be underestimated... You already know the function of the Ghost Luo Ancient Coin?"

The old Taoist priest tried to save face.

Ran Qing and Mo Li just smiled and looked at him without saying a word.

Such silence made the thin-skinned old Taoist priest even more embarrassed.

He chuckled dryly and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Alright then, based on the current market price, I'll give you both 100,000. We'll exchange the money for the goods."

Seeing Ran Qing's indifferent expression, seemingly unmoved by the price, the old Taoist priest added, "This time I'm offering a sincere price. A while ago, someone offered me 9, but I didn't buy it."

"This Ghost Luo Ancient Coin is usually useless, but it has only recently become useful due to the opening of the Ghost Gate and the disturbance in the Ghost Realm of Wujiang."

"You two kids shouldn't be thinking of hoarding rare goods. The gates of hell won't be open for more than three months."

"Maybe in a few days this thing will be useless, and then nobody will want it even if it's given away for free."

The old Taoist priest spoke with utmost sincerity, truly pouring his heart out this time.

Mo Li looked at the old Taoist priest with interest and said, "Taoist Liu, you want to buy the Ghost Luo Ancient Coin... What? Are you also interested in the Ghost King Coffin?" The old Taoist priest rolled his eyes and said, "I'm living a good life, and I'm not interested in any of that Ghost King Coffin nonsense. It's just that Zangke is dangerous lately, and having a Ghost Luo Ancient Coin on me makes me feel more at ease."

"Now, the gates of hell are wide open everywhere, and it's getting more and more dangerous."

"Following the pattern from ten years ago, in a while, those evil spirits from the ancient Luo Kingdom will flood into the human world and hunt down us unorthodox cultivators."

"I've had the bad luck of losing all my zombies again, and I'll be in a weakened state for the next period. Buying a Ghost Luo Ancient Coin to carry with me is like buying insurance."

"If those zombies were still around, I wouldn't bother buying this."

The old Taoist priest sighed repeatedly.

All his zombies were destroyed, which was a huge blow to the corpse-driving Taoist.

After saying that, seeing that Ran Qing didn't seem to want to sell, the old Taoist priest quickly added, "If you two youngsters don't want to sell, you can rent it to me."

"Thirty thousand yuan, I'll rent it for three months. Come find me after three months, and I'll return one Ghost Luo Ancient Coin intact. I'll keep my word."

"Even if I use this coin, when you come looking for me, I will find a way to get you a real Guiluo coin, so that you will not lose money."

“We can make a contract. I’ll give you a lock of hair and two drops of blood. If I don’t pay you back in three months, you can curse me to death.”

"Your incantations, which follow the Yin lineage, are so powerful, surely you wouldn't be afraid of an old Taoist priest like me who drives corpses?"

The old Taoist priest's longing for the ancient Guiluo coins was palpable.

They actually made such an outrageous request: 30,000 yuan for three months' rent...

That's 30,000 yuan from before the millennium!

At that time, a 100-square-meter apartment in Moonlight City would cost less than 30,000 yuan.

To be honest, the price made Ran Qing's heart flutter for a moment.

If he can get this 30,000 yuan, he will have enough for his college tuition and living expenses.

But Ran Qing instinctively restrained her impulse and said, "I need to think about it."

He did not agree immediately because this matter required careful consideration.

Although I have more than one Ghost Luo Ancient Coin, and it doesn't seem to be of much use right now, what if...?

After seeing off the reluctant old Taoist priest, Ran Qing looked at Mo Li and asked, "What do you think?"

Mo Li has traveled all over the country and has a deep understanding of metaphysical and unorthodox practices, so it is necessary to respect her opinion at this time.

Mo Li said with a grin, "If you're going to rent it out for 30,000 yuan, you might as well sell it to him for 100,000 yuan."

"A huge sum of 100,000 yuan! It's not only enough for your tuition and living expenses for four years of university, but it can also lift you out of poverty and into wealth."

"Anyway, we already have a lot of Ghost Luo Ancient Coins, and we can collect more in the future. Selling one now won't have any impact."

Mo Li offered her suggestion.

Ran Qing nodded and said, "I'll think about it some more..."

Watching the old Taoist priest disappear, Ran Qing suddenly said, "You mean those people who raise ghosts, their purpose isn't to mass-produce Ghost Luo Ancient Coins and sell them to others for profit?"

The old Taoist priest said that someone wanted to sell him a Ghost Luo Ancient Coin... This piqued Ran Qing's curiosity.

Besides those ghost breeders, who else would possess the Ghost Luo Ancient Coin?
(End of this chapter)