Ghost Immortal

Qiu Sheng carried a large bundle containing gifts prepared by Master Si Mei.

Two boxes of osmanthus cakes, a jar of rice wine, and a few packets of herbs.

Qiulan had a copper bell hanging from her waist and carried an unlit guide lantern in her hand.

Li Feng didn't have much to pack, he just checked the talismans in his pocket.

There are two exorcism talismans left, only one lightning blast talisman left, but three blazing fire talismans left.

He hadn't had time to replenish the talismans he'd used up last night, and if he had some free time on the way to Hejia Village, he planned to draw a few more.

The three of them left the city through the north gate and headed north along the official road.

On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Ghost Festival, there were few pedestrians on the official road outside the city.

Occasionally you can see a few peddlers carrying loads on their shoulders, all of them in a hurry, rushing home before dark.

The roadside weeds were wet with morning dew, and the air was filled with a faint earthy smell.

Qiu Sheng walked at the front, his steps light and quick, as if he had already put the events of last night behind him.

Li Feng admired his carefree attitude after getting into trouble.

"Junior brother, let me tell you, although Aunt He has a bit of an eccentric temper, she is really beautiful. Don't let her age fool you, she looks like she's in her early twenties, and her skin is even whiter than Qiulan's."

Qiulan kicked him from behind and said irritably, "Just talk about Aunt He, why are you dragging me into this?"

Qiu Sheng dodged her foot and continued, "Moreover, Aunt He's skills are truly remarkable. She can not only make ghost money, but also perform divination."

Li Feng asked curiously, "What is 'asking about rice'?"

"Questioning rice is a secret technique of the Maoshan School, which can invite ghosts from the underworld to attach to rice and talk to the living."

Qiu Sheng explained with a mysterious expression.

"Master He is the most skilled in divination in our lineage. It is said that she can summon the judges of the underworld. There was a family in Qingyan City where the old man died without leaving a will, and his sons fought tooth and nail over the inheritance."

"In the end, it was Master He who used the divination technique to summon the old man's ghost and, in front of everyone, clearly divided the family property, which finally settled the lawsuit."

Li Feng was quite amazed; the art of asking the spirits was indeed a practical skill.

If Aunt He really can summon ghosts from the underworld, then perhaps her divination skills can be used to locate the thirty-odd ghosts that have escaped.

"What is that ghost-catching bag?" Li Feng asked curiously.

Qiulan took over and explained, "The ghost-catching bag is a magical artifact that Master He made herself, specially for holding ghosts. Ordinary ghost-catching bags can only hold one or two ghosts, but Master He's ghost-catching bag is woven from the bark of a hundred-year-old willow tree and the silk of yin silkworms, and can hold fifty ghosts at the same time."

"We need to find more than thirty escaped ghosts within a month. It's definitely not enough time to catch them one by one. If we have a ghost-catching bag, we can bring all the ghosts we find back at once, saving time and effort."

Li Feng immediately understood.

The Taoist priest with four eyebrows told them to go find Aunt He, not just because of the ghost money.

The art of spirit divination and the ghost-catching bag are both key to finding ghosts.

Master has placed all his hopes on Aunt He.

After walking for about an hour, a grove of willows suddenly appeared ahead of them.

The willows grew extremely lushly, their branches hanging down like green curtains, swaying in the morning breeze.

There is a fork in the road next to the willow grove, and at the intersection stands a stone tablet about half a person's height, with three characters engraved on it.

Hejia Village

Qiu Sheng pointed to the fork in the road and said, "This is it. Go three more miles west and you'll get there."

The three of them turned onto a side road and headed west along the winding country lane.

Large rice paddies lined both sides of the path, the rice ears already turning yellow, drooping heavily.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a village finally appeared ahead.

The village is built against the mountain, with the houses of more than twenty households scattered on the hillside in a well-organized manner.

White walls and gray tiles, with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys.

Sure enough, there was a candle and incense shop at the entrance of the village.

The shop's facade was made of blue bricks, and a wooden plaque hung above the door with the four characters "He's Incense and Candles" written on it.

White paper lanterns hung on either side of the entrance, with winding runes drawn on them, somewhat resembling the guiding lanterns of night watchmen.

The shop door was ajar, and a faint scent of sandalwood wafted out from the crack.

Qiu Sheng walked to the door, straightened his collar, and knocked three times.

"Is Aunt He home? I'm Qiusheng. Master sent us to see you."

There was no response from inside the door.

Qiu Sheng knocked three more times, raising his voice slightly: "Aunt He? It's me, Qiu Sheng, along with Qiu Lan and Junior Brother Li Feng. We've brought you osmanthus cakes!"

A rustling sound came from inside the door, as if someone was packing something.

After a moment, the door creaked open a crack.

A woman's face peeked out from under the door.

Just as Qiu Sheng said, He Xiangu is indeed very well-preserved.

She looked to be in her early thirties, with delicate features, fair skin, and a subtle scholarly air about her.

He Xiangu wore a plain white Taoist robe, over which was a gray-blue apron, with specks of cinnabar and ink on it.

Her hair was loosely tied up with a sandalwood hairpin, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears, adding a touch of lazy charm.

He held a talisman brush that hadn't been washed clean yet, with dark red ink dripping from its tip.

She saw the three people outside the door, her gaze lingered on Qiu Sheng's face, then swept over Qiu Lan, and finally landed on Li Feng.

"Is this Four-Eyebrows' newly accepted disciple?"

Her voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

Qiulan quickly nodded: "Yes, Aunt, this is Master's new disciple, named Li Feng. Junior Brother, quickly pay your respects to Aunt."

Li Feng stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Disciple Li Feng greets Aunt He."

He Xiangu nodded slightly, then turned her gaze back to Qiu Sheng, her tone suddenly becoming somewhat displeased.

"Where is your master? What did he send you here for? Why didn't he come himself!"

Qiu Sheng stammered, "Master, can we go inside and talk? This is a long story..."

He Xiangu showed no intention of moving aside.

She leaned against the door frame, twirling the talisman brush between her fingers.

"It's a long story? Let's make it short. If your master wants my help, let him come and talk to me himself. What's the point of sending three disciples? Do you think I, He Xiangu, can be easily dismissed?"

Qiulan quickly took out the letter from Master Simei from her bundle and handed it over with both hands: "Master, this is a letter from Master to you. Please take a look, and you will understand after you have read it."

He Xiangu took the letter, tore it open hastily, and didn't forget to complain.

"Your master's handwriting is still so ugly. Back when we were on the mountain, we told him to study, but he insisted on raising pigs."

The letter was only a thin page, covered with tiny handwriting.

After reading it, He Xiangu looked helpless.

She folded the letter, put it back in the envelope, and looked at her three apprentices.

"Ten billion ghost money, and thirty-odd ghosts who escaped. Your master really knows how to cause me trouble."

She turned and walked into the house, waving her hand to signal the three of them to come in.

"Come in and talk. What kind of behavior is it to stand at the door?"

The three exchanged a glance and quickly went into the shop.

The shop is much more spacious inside than it appears from the outside.

The main room at the entrance is a shop selling incense and candles, with all kinds of incense, candles, paper money, and talismans displayed on the counter.

Behind the main hall is a small courtyard with an old locust tree, whose shade covers most of the courtyard. Stone tables and benches are placed under the tree.

The courtyard was surrounded by side rooms on three sides. A thick cotton curtain hung on the door of the east side room, with a talisman for suppressing evil spirits drawn on it. A faint sense of yin energy seeped out from the gaps in the curtain.

He Xiangu led them into the west wing.

This is her workshop, filled with materials for making joss paper.

In the corner, there was a pile of yellow paper more than half a person high, and on the table were more than a dozen finely carved rune templates.

The template is carved from old pear wood, and every stroke of the runes for the dead is carved with extreme precision.

Several earthenware jars contained cinnabar ink of different colors, the surface of which shimmered with a faint glow.

He Xiangu sat down behind the table and gestured for the three of them to find a place to sit.

Qiusheng and Qiulan skillfully brought over several futons and sat down in front of the table.

Li Feng looked around the room and saw a painting hanging on the wall.

The painting depicts a young Taoist priest wearing a yellow robe, with a silk sash around his waist and a peach wood sword on his back.

The Taoist's eyebrows were thick and bushy, with two lines extending from the center of his brow to the sides, each branching off at his temple to form four eyebrow tails.

The Taoist priest in the painting looks to be no more than twenty years old, full of vigor, completely different from the current appearance of the Four-Eyebrow Taoist.

"This is what your master looked like twenty years ago. He was quite a handsome young Taoist priest back then."

He Xiangu looked at the painting, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"At that time, he had just taken over as the caretaker of the mortuary, and I had just learned how to make ghost money. Every year during the Ghost Festival, he would personally come to Hejia Village to collect the ghost money and bring me a box of osmanthus cakes."

Her smile grew wider as she spoke.

"Later, as the affairs of the mortuary became more and more numerous, he would have Qiu Sheng come to collect them. Later on, even Qiu Sheng stopped coming, and the paper money for the dead was always sent over by someone else."

Qiu Sheng coughed awkwardly and changed the subject, saying, "Master Aunt, let's get down to business. Do you think you can help with ten billion ghost money?"

"able."

He Xiangu nodded decisively.

"I have hundreds of millions of ghost money quotas that I haven't used yet. Making a billion ghost money is no problem. I can also help you with the spirit medium and ghost-catching bag."

Before everyone could be happy, she suddenly changed the subject.

"But I have one condition."