Eternal madness

Chapter 29 Guess how many pieces there are now?
The old helmsman asked Old Yu what time it was, but Old Yu had no time to guess. While the old helmsman was talking, he quickly changed the talisman, stuck it on his sword, and prepared to unleash his power.

The talisman had just been lit when the fire suddenly went out.

bang bang bang!
There was a knock on the front door.

Little Pillar didn't know who had come, so he turned around and glanced back.

Old Yu shouted, "Don't look back! Quickly kill Zhang Laifu! There's no one knocking on the door, it's this old ghost patting his belly!"

Xiao Zhuzi didn't understand why the sound of the old ghost patting his stomach in the yard could come from outside the door.

Old Yu understood: "This old man is a drum maker, let's go!"

Drum makers are artisans who specialize in making large drums. They are skilled in many processes, including material selection, cavity making, skin covering, and tuning, and have extremely exquisite control over the sound.

Old Yu realized something was wrong and turned to leave, but Old Tuozi slapped his right shoulder with his left hand. With a muffled thud, Old Yu fell to the ground and coughed up blood.

The drum maker's ultimate skill: a single strike determines the tone.

Lao Yu was a craftsman, and he was seriously injured on the spot after being hit. The difference in their skill levels was too great.

Little Pillar, tugging at the silk thread, wanted to take Zhang Laifu with him, but Old Tuozi tilted his ear, judged the direction, and then turned to Little Pillar: "Oh dear, there's a tailor here too."

He heard the sound of threading a needle.

Before Xiao Zhuzi could figure out what was going on—he had never seen a drummer before—he heard another muffled thud in his ear. Xiao Zhuzi shuddered, and his chest seemed to explode.

Internal organs were scattered all over the ground. Xiao Zhuzi glanced at Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu kicked Xiaozhuzi, and Xiaozhuzi fell down in front of Zhang Laifu.

Zhang Laifu heard both of the muffled thuds, but he was unharmed.

The old helmsman distinguished friend from foe by ear, preventing the drumbeats from harming Zhang Laifu.

The old helmsman couldn't hear anything just now, how come he can hear it now?
Zhang Laifu noticed the alarm clock in the old helmsman's hand. His alarm clock had stopped, and the minute and second hands were pointing to twelve, while the hour hand was pointing to two.

Old Tuozi walked up to Old Yu: "It's two o'clock now, did you guess right?"

Old Yu glanced at the alarm clock in Old Tuozi's hand, wondering what its purpose was.

The old helmsman laughed and said, "You're going to suffer, you know that?"

Old Yu struggled to his feet and threw a bell into the air.

Exorcising ghosts is his specialty, and he has many methods. The bell shakes in mid-air. Ordinary people don't find it special, but the ghosts will be frightened and lose their ability to move for a short time.

But the old helmsman was unaffected. He slapped himself on the forehead with a crisp sound, shattering the bell in the air and causing Old Yu's left leg to explode as well.

Old Yu fell to the ground again.

This time, Lao Yu was in despair.

How could this be? After weathering so many storms in my life, I actually suffered such a huge loss at Zhang Laifu's hands.

He is a fool!
Now, for the sake of a fool, are we really going to lose our lives here?
The old helmsman walked closer and asked Old Yu, "Which level of Celestial Master are you?"

Old Yu gritted his teeth and said, "I'm about to become the head chef."

Old Helmsman laughed: "Isn't that just a registration clerk? When I was alive, someone like you wouldn't even get a chance to face me. You must have a death wish to come here looking for me?"

Old Yu kept his head down and didn't speak, his right hand constantly groping on the ground.

There are markings indicating that a Taoist master once visited this place. This master was of a high rank and performed calculations here, but he only completed about 80% of the calculations.

What was that Taoist priest calculating earlier?
Old Yu's skills weren't particularly high; he wasn't even a master craftsman yet. His swordsmanship and talisman-drawing were just average, but his arithmetic skills were truly first-rate.

He scribbled on the ground, continuing the calculation based on the traces left by the previous Celestial Master. In such a short time, he calculated the remaining ten percent.

He's found something good!

How big is this thing?

Old Yu carefully calculated it.

It's not big; you should be able to lift it.

How deep is this thing buried?

Old Yu did another calculation.

It's not too deep, you can definitely reach it.

This is a great opportunity to turn defeat into victory!

Without making a sound, Lao Yu dipped his finger in his own blood and drew a talisman on the ground.

Before the incantation was even finished, the old helmsman suddenly asked, "Who sent you?"

As Lao Yu drew the talisman, he replied, "I am the torchbearer from Paishan Hunlong Village. I have been ordered by the village chief to come here and capture a seedling."

The old boatman asked, "Is that seedling Zhang Laifu?"

Old Yu nodded and said, "It's him. This bastard killed our brothers. I have to kill him. The grievances have their source, and the debts have their debtors. We have to kill him, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."

Let's delay a little longer.

Once the talisman is finished, he can reach the thing below. Once the talisman is finished, Lao Yu will be able to subdue Lao Tuozi, even though their levels are far apart, he is very confident.

Not only will we be able to capture Zhang Laifu, but we can also capture this old ghost as well. Such a powerful spirit, if we plant it in a bowl when we get back, it will definitely grow into something good.

The old helmsman nodded: "Okay, I understand."

Old Yu was taken aback: "Is there anything else you want to know?"

That's all.

boom!
Old Tuozi thumped his chest, and amidst the powerful drumbeats, Old Yu was blown to pieces.

"So Zhang Laifu is a rascal who escaped from Fangpai Mountain. He's quite capable!" the old captain praised, then asked, "Laifu, did you hear me praising you?"

Zhang Laifu had already run to the backyard, opened the back door and was walking out when Old Tuozi blocked the doorway and asked, "Laifu, I was just praising you, where are you going now?"

Zhang Laifu grabbed the door bar and roared, "I'll fight them with this!"

"Good boy, you don't need to fight them. Come with me."

Old Tuozi led Zhang Laifu to the main courtyard, where two corpses lay on the ground.

"Laifu, tell me the truth, who are they? Why are they looking for you?"

At this moment, Zhang Laifu dared not lie. If the old helmsman could hear him, it was best to tell the truth.

“They were bandits from the rafting mountain, and I was captured by them.”

"You have no skills and no weapons, how did you manage to escape from the rafting mountain?"

“There was a skilled man who had difficulty walking. I carried him out of the village. I was responsible for running away, and he was responsible for killing people.”

The old helmsman pulled a top hat from his pocket: "So, this bowl, you picked it up while setting off catfish?"

"Ok!"

"Good lad, you've got guts and luck!" Having determined that Zhang Laifu was telling the truth, the old helmsman didn't ask any more questions; he still had many things to do.

He stood in the middle of the courtyard, clapping his hands together repeatedly.

His applause was so deep and resonant that it made Zhang Laifu's chest tingle.

Less than a minute later, a palm-sized peach wood sword appeared on Lao Yu's corpse, and a ball of thread with two needles stuck in it appeared on Xiao Zhu's corpse.

The old captain gave the order: "Bring the things here."

Zhang Laifu first went to Xiaozhu's body and picked up the ball of thread and the money bag.

This must be a testament to skillful craftsmanship; it bears a resemblance to the tuft of willow catkins on Lao Liang's body.

This is a good seed. Plant it in a bowl, and you'll gain skill and become a craftsman.

Zhang Laifu seemed to see the magic of craftsmanship.

As Zhang Laifu passed by Lao Yu's corpse, he picked up the peach wood sword and the money bag, and then carefully counted the bodies.

Old Yu, this is worth more than eighteen yuan; it's worth at least fifty or sixty yuan.

Your purse is bigger than Xiaozhu's, I'll keep it for you for now. I have something else here...

Zhang Laifu saw a symbol written in blood.

Is this a symbol or text?

The left side looks a bit like bone, while the right side is unrecognizable.

Zhang Laifu didn't recognize the symbol, but the font looked somewhat familiar, and it resembled Li Yunsheng's talisman paper.

Is this a mark left by Lao Yu?

Zhang Laifu remembered Lin Shaocong's instructions: the markings were dangerous and had to be cleaned up.

He noted down the shape of the mark, then wiped it clean with his foot and handed the ball of yarn and the peach wood sword to the old helmsman.

The old helmsman asked, "Do you know what this is?"

Zhang Laifu thought for a moment and said, "I guess this is due to excellent craftsmanship."

"Smart!" the old helmsman laughed. "Laifu, you have a good name. You are a lucky man."

You have a bowl, a good bowl, and now there's a craftsman's spirit. Put the craftsman's spirit in the bowl, and it will grow a craft spirit. Eat the craft spirit, and you'll become a craftsman.

Zhang Laifu quickly expressed his gratitude, saying, "It's all thanks to your guidance, senior."

The old helmsman nodded: "No need to thank me yet. Where are the tobacco leaves? Did you buy them?"

“No…” Zhang Laifu shook his head.

"Nothing?" The old helmsman's smile vanished. "Laifu, you are blessed, but you're useless!"

PS: Thanks to the guild leader, Zhulu, for accompanying us all these years. Let's enjoy the good life together with Laifu.

(End of this chapter)