Eternal madness

Chapter 66 He's getting better!

Li Yunsheng agreed to the housekeeper's conditions and stayed at the Yao family's house temporarily.

The Yao family's accommodations were truly excellent. The housekeeper prepared two guest rooms in the courtyard, one for Zhang Laifu and one for Li Yunsheng.

It was still early, so the two discussed their next move. Zhang Laifu asked Li Yunsheng, "Has Yao Deshan's illness been cured?"

Li Yunsheng lit three incense sticks on his desk, and fearing it might not be safe, he also placed an incense burner at the door and lit three more sticks there.

"Brother, to tell you the truth, I just used a talisman to make Yao Deshan feel hungry."

This is my unique skill; anyone who puts that talisman on themselves will feel hungry. I didn't recite the incantation aloud because I was afraid someone would hear it and give me away.

"If you didn't read it aloud, how did Yao Deshan hear it?"

“He can’t hear, so I used paper ash to make him see. I couldn’t even diagnose the symptoms. He must just be possessed by a ghost.”

Zhang Laifu thought about the situation during the meal: "It can't be said that he wasn't sick. Yao Deshan was crazy before, but later he became a normal person. It's obvious that you cured him."

Li Yunsheng was also pondering this matter: "It's possible that Yao Deshan ate something, which boosted his qi and blood, temporarily scaring away the evil spirits?"

Zhang Laifu sensed something was wrong: "Why did Huang Zhaocai leave? He's been scared ever since he entered the Yao family's residence. I think he was frightened away by evil spirits!"

The evil spirit that could scare away even the fourth-level Celestial Master must be extremely powerful. How much food do you think Yao Deshan would need to eat to scare away this evil spirit?
No matter how much I ate at the Lin family's old house, it was useless; Old Master Lin was never afraid of me!

Li Yunsheng also realized something was wrong: "Is it possible that this evil spirit deliberately let Yao Deshan go, luring us into a trap?"

Zhang Laifu still felt something was amiss: "What good would it do him if we took the bait? If he wanted to eat people, wouldn't all the people in this mansion be enough for him?"

Unable to figure it out no matter what, Zhang Laifu gave up. He took out bamboo strips, wire, and rough-edged paper from his bundle: "I'll try my best."

Li Yunsheng was still worried: "Brother Laifu, don't worry. Neither of us has the means to deal with the spirits of the dead. Tomorrow, I will discuss it with Magistrate Yao and ask him to prepare more manpower so that we can have a plan in case something goes wrong."

"Prepare more people? I still need to practice! It would be quite embarrassing to make a mistake in front of everyone." Zhang Laifu quickly took out the materials for making lanterns.

Li Yunsheng also wanted to see Zhang Laifu's special skill, but when he saw Zhang Laifu make a lantern at an extremely fast speed and then stick it into the ground, Li Yunsheng couldn't help but cheer.

"Brother Laifu, excellent craftsmanship."

"The craftsmanship is indeed quite good, but why is there no response?" Zhang Laifu listened to the lantern for a long time, but heard no sound.

Li Yunsheng was a little nervous, but he trusted Zhang Laifu's character. If Zhang Laifu said he had learned the special skill, then he definitely had; Li Yunsheng had never doubted that. He was just worried that Zhang Laifu might not be proficient enough in using it.

Zhang Laifu tried several times but failed.

Li Yunsheng advised, "Brother Laifu, have you been training too hard lately and are you a little too tired?"

Also a possibility.

After all, they had just fought two fierce battles with Yang Enxiang and the Waterwheel, so they needed a break.

Zhang Laifu slept soundly in his guest room for the night. The next morning, just as he was preparing to test his special skill, the Yao family steward came looking for him.

"Doctors, please go and take a look at the young master's room."

He's no longer called a miracle doctor, he's now called a doctor.

Without asking, it was clear that Young Master Yao was not in good condition. The two went to Yao Deshan's room, where Yao Deshan had returned to his state from yesterday, raising his hands, sometimes closing them, sometimes opening them, still opening and closing the door to a new world.

Zhang Laifu nodded slightly: "Young Master is showing signs of improvement."

The butler angrily retorted, "What improvement is there?"

Zhang Laifu pointed at Yao Deshan: "He's stopped swearing, isn't that an improvement?"

Just as Yao Deshan was about to start cursing, Zhang Laifu raised his hand, and Yao Deshan didn't dare to speak. Magistrate Yao's face turned ashen, and he remained silent.

A servant was kneeling on the ground, covered in bruises. The steward stepped forward and kicked the servant, who then spoke:

“Last night, the young master came back. I was preparing water for him to wash his feet, but I was slow, so he scolded me and then he fell ill.”

Butler Luo stepped forward and kicked the servant again: "Did you make the young master sick?"

"No, I didn't!" The servant quickly kowtowed. "I didn't upset the young master. I did whatever the young master asked me to do."

Governor Yao left with a sullen face.

Butler Luo looked at Li Yunsheng and Zhang Laifu: "Doctors, let's talk outside."

The two followed Butler Luo into the courtyard. Butler Luo stood with his hands behind his back, looking them up and down with a very expressive face, but he didn't speak immediately.

This was an experience he had gained from years of working as a butler: just staring at a servant for a minute or two was enough to intimidate them into submission without saying a word.

Li Yunsheng frowned; he loathed such people.

Zhang Laifu was quite considerate. Seeing that the housekeeper remained silent, he asked with concern, "Are you mute?"

Butler Luo glared at him: "Who are you calling mute?"

Zhang Laifu glared back: "If you're not mute, why don't you speak?"

Butler Luo was so angry that his face turned pale. He wanted to call the guards, but he was not the master after all, and it would be inappropriate to disturb the guards over such a small matter.

If he didn't call for a guard, he would have to be more polite. These two people were craftsmen, and if he got too worked up, he might be in danger.

Forget it, I won't bother arguing with them.

Butler Luo cleared his throat: "This is the Yao residence. I think you two should know some manners. Do you think that just because our master is no longer a prefect, you look down on the Yao family?"

Zhang Laifu was surprised: "You think so too!"

Butler Luo turned pale with fright: "I didn't, I never, I never told the master..."

He didn't know how to communicate with Zhang Laifu, so he looked at Li Yunsheng, thinking that this person was reasonable: "Do you know where our young master went last night? He went to do errands for Commander Qiao."

General Qiao doesn't trust the current magistrate, but he trusts my young master. Do you know why? Do you know who the next magistrate will be?
If you handle things well, the Yao family will definitely not treat you unfairly. By climbing up the social ladder by getting on our young master's good side, you will definitely not suffer any losses.

But let me make this clear: if things don't go well, you'd better think twice about your own capabilities. You might not be able to survive in Miedaolin in the future.

"That's all for now. Our master wants to see a result today: how should we treat the young master? You two should discuss it carefully."

Butler Luo walked away with his hands behind his back, and Zhang Laifu prepared to go back and practice his special skills.

Li Yunsheng stopped Laifu: "I don't want to do this business anymore."

Zhang Laifu also sensed something was wrong: "Aren't there paper lantern makers in Miedaolin too? Isn't your new friend a paper lantern maker? Why isn't she doing this business?"

Li Yunsheng shook his head: "She's not suited for this kind of business."

"If she's unwilling to do it, someone else will. The Yao family's place is clearly haunted, and they're offering such a high price. Aren't there any other paper lantern makers coming to check what's going on?"

Li Yunsheng also thought of this: "I was also worried about this. Maybe the paper lantern makers had seen it before, but they didn't dare to say anything, just like that Taoist master yesterday."

Zhang Laifu thought for a while and then discussed with Li Yunsheng: "I'll gather my strength and let's try again today. Even if we don't succeed in the business, we need to find out what's going on here."

(End of this chapter)