A master of comedy!

Chapter 7 Tortoise Book

Yangcheng, which belongs to Daxuan Bingzhou, is not the most prosperous, but it is still quite large. Even at this late hour, several inns still have their lights on.

Zhou Sheng did not leave Yangcheng directly, but instead checked into an inn first.

The room wasn't big, but it was clean and tidy.

He put down his opera box, sat cross-legged on the bed, and only then did his tense nerves truly relax.

He didn't look at the mysterious old man's gift, but instead eagerly closed his eyes and focused his mind.

In his mind, the ancient tortoise shell inscribed with the 'Luoshu' characters was now shining brightly, a stark contrast to its previous dimness.

This is Zhou Sheng's biggest secret.

In his previous life, he was a college student in China, living an ordinary life, except for his great love of collecting old objects.

Once, he spotted a very old-looking tortoise shell at an antique stall.

The armor was covered with mottled green rust, and the crisscrossing cracks had an unusual beauty, as if it might break at any moment. The two characters "Luo Shu" in the corner immediately caught his attention.

The shop owner said this is the legendary "Turtle Luoshu". It is said that when Yu the Great was controlling the floods, a divine turtle emerged from the Luo River with divine patterns on its back, which recorded the secrets of heaven and earth and all things. This is the "Luoshu".

Only after obtaining the Luoshu (a magical writing system) could Yu the Great fully comprehend the wonders of mountains and rivers, change the course of rivers, and reshape the universe.

Seeing that Zhou Sheng really liked it, the boss asked for one million.

Zhou Sheng asked if 100 would be acceptable, and the boss sold it.

He felt he had given too much...

But as it turns out, this tortoise shell is indeed extraordinary. After a car accident, the tortoise shell actually took him to a world that was very similar to ancient China, and even many of the cultures and histories were inherited from the same source.

For example, there were also the Han and Tang dynasties in this world, but Huang Chao's uprising succeeded, he stormed into Chang'an, secured his rule, established the Great Qi dynasty, and the dynasty lasted for 174 years.

After that, the long river of history branched out like a river, leading to completely different situations. Now, after many dynastic changes, it is the Great Xuan Dynasty.

During this process, many famous figures in Chinese history did not disappear; most of them are still remembered in history.

For example, Bao Zheng, although he has been gone for hundreds of years, has become increasingly popular and influential among the people, even surpassing his reputation during the early years of the People's Republic of China.

However, the era in which it existed was no longer called the Song Dynasty, but rather the Daqian Dynasty.

After the Great Qian, came the Great Xuan.

However, more than 300 years after its founding, the Great Xuan Dynasty now has the characteristics of the end of a dynasty. Tyrants rule, corrupt officials, land annexation, natural disasters and man-made calamities in various places, and people often gather in the mountains and forests to become bandits.

On his way to Yangcheng, Zhou Sheng casually killed a group of bandits who were robbing the area.

Thinking of all this, he felt a deep sense of gratitude towards the tortoise shell. He remembered that when he first transmigrated, he had become a child who had just starved to death on a famine escape route. When he woke up, he saw someone making a fire and cooking soup...

The fear I felt at that moment is something I can never forget.

Just as those people were swallowing their saliva at him, a wolf demon that had become a monster after eating too much human flesh attacked and killed them.

Zhou Sheng escaped amidst the chaos, and guided by the tortoise shell, he encountered a person in his desperate situation.

The voice of the Yinxi Master Yu Zhensheng.

He witnessed firsthand how Yu Zhensheng easily killed the wolf demon, which was as fast as lightning and as big as a calf.

The spirit official breathes fire, and the divine general wields his sword!

That evening, he enjoyed a delicious roasted wolf meat.

After that, he made up his mind to become Yu Zhensheng's apprentice. At first, Yu Zhensheng firmly refused to accept him, but with the guidance of the tortoise shell, he followed him for three days and three nights.

Yu Zhensheng looked at the ragged, shaky child with a stubborn look in his eyes, and finally his heart softened.

So when it was late at night and no one was around, he would casually sing a few lines. Zhou Sheng then began to practice those few lines of opera diligently. He was naturally talented, and coupled with his willingness to endure hardship and his diligence, he finally moved Yu Zhensheng.

He still remembers that day when he sang "The Case of Chen Shimei" for the twenty-sixth time, his throat was almost bleeding, and a hand covered his mouth.

"If you want to learn Yin Opera, you must protect your voice, otherwise you will not be able to get through the voice change period, and even a god cannot save you."

Yu Zhensheng picked him up gently, but his voice was indifferent.

"Remember, it was you who insisted on learning the Yin Opera. If you die a violent death in the street or your body is left to rot in the wilderness... don't blame your master."

……

With the past vivid in his mind, Zhou Sheng couldn't help but smile.

Although learning the art of ghostly arts was arduous, tiring, and dangerous, it gave him the ability to survive in the chaotic world and allowed him to experience another bizarre and wonderful world.

Cultivation, immortality, ghosts and gods!
With the tortoise shell in hand, he was confident that he could forge his own path to the heavens in this mysterious and dangerous world!

"Luo Shu, who exactly was that old man just now?"

Zhou Sheng silently recited the question to himself before asking the tortoise shell.

The next moment, the tortoise shell shone brightly, and wisps of pale golden flames appeared at the bottom, baking the shell.

Zhou Sheng vaguely heard some kind of ancient song, like the shamanistic music of ancient times, with a magnificent, majestic and mysterious quality.

Legend has it that during the Yin and Shang dynasties, shamans often used tortoise shells for divination, a practice known as "tortoise divination." The shells were heated with fire to create cracks, and then the high priest would interpret the will of heaven.

Therefore, the "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Diviners by Tortoise Shells" records that when shamans performed divination by tortoise shells, they would chant incantations, calling the tortoise "Master Jade Spirit," and saying that it "goes up to the heavens and down to the abyss; of all the spirits and divination methods, none is as trustworthy as you."

With a soft cracking sound, a mysterious crack appeared on the tortoise shell in Zhou Sheng's mind.

The next moment, a flood of information rushed into his mind.

"Lu Bingyuan, courtesy name Shoujiang, lived during the Mingjing era of the Daqian Dynasty. He once served as the prefect of Pingyang Prefecture and Bingzhou. In the thirty-seventh year of Mingjing, when the rebel army attacked the city, Lu Bingyuan led his troops in street fighting to cover the retreat of the people into the bunkers of the Lüliang Mountains. He fought bloody battles to resist the enemy and refused to retreat."

"Later, the people collected his bones, pieced together his remains, and honored him as Lord Lu. They built a temple to worship him, and the incense has burned continuously. He is now the City God of Yangcheng."

Zhou Sheng opened his eyes, his gaze flashing. Sure enough, he was indeed the local City God!

The City God is an official in the underworld, responsible for all matters of the underworld in a region. He has six underworld generals, ghost messengers, and ghost soldiers under his command, making him a genuine righteous god.

A vengeful ghost like Shen Jinhua may seem powerful, but in front of the City God, she is nothing. He can easily capture her by sending any underworld official.

The problem is that the City God's attitude toward this matter is extremely ambiguous.

Based on his life experiences, Lu Bingyuan should have been an upright person, but now he knows that Shen Jinhua died unjustly, yet he does nothing.

Perhaps it's not that they don't want to do it, but rather that even a local city god is willing but unable to do so.

Thinking of this, Zhou Sheng felt a chill. After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately decided not to ask Luo Shu who the real culprit was.

Because each divination using the Luoshu (洛书) consumes a certain amount of energy.

That energy accumulates automatically with the rising and setting of the sun and moon, but very slowly. It only surges when he slays demons and monsters.

Therefore, the tortoise shell shone brightly when he killed Shen Jinhua.

Moreover, the more important the question is and the more secrets of heaven are involved, the more energy is consumed during divination with tortoise shells. Therefore, Zhou Sheng would not waste it casually.

After thinking for a moment, he took out the small box made of golden nanmu wood from his pocket.

Let's see what kind of treasure this is, a gift from the City God.

……

(End of this chapter)