Starting from the folklore forum, making up town objects

Chapter 340 A Perfect Match (Bonus Chapter 2735)

Research Department, Public Opinion Research Bureau.

Fan Yaohui looked at the analysis report on the 'Zhenzhai Leigu' that he had received early in the morning and felt a sense of emotion.

These branch offices must have worked through the night to make the warding-off-house thunder drums and then tested them overnight, otherwise how could they explain receiving so many reports so early in the morning?

However, this also shows that each branch office has a preference for 'special equipment'.

Some branch offices even asked whether the equipment upgrades mentioned by the director of the General Administration referred to this, and whether there were any other special equipment.

But actually, that's not the case at all!

The Bureau of Investigation's mention of "updating equipment" refers to upgrading the original set of equipment for finding and exterminating ghosts. This upgrade had already begun in the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals Bureau, and is now simply being extended to the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Bureau.

Leaving aside the ordinary equipment, what's worth mentioning are some new types of equipment made using Yang Stones.

For example, the Warm Sun Flashlight!

This flashlight, which emits light imbued with yang energy, can be used by ordinary people to ward off evil spirits. In some ways, it is similar to a talisman, but its effect is not as good.

The effect of the Warm Sun flashlight is similar to the warm sun that previously rose in various cities, as if that warm sun has been cut into countless parts and put into the flashlight.

However, compared to the warmth of the sun which can last for three days, the warmth of the sun flashlight only lasts for half an hour at most. But because it is portable, it is possible to carry some special sun stones for backup.

In addition to the Nuanyang flashlight, there is also a Nuanyang water gun.

It is a water gun made by grinding yang stone into powder and mixing it with a special liquid.

When the Warm Sun Water Gun hits a ghost, it can make some special ghosts appear and also cause some damage.

Another option is a sun-warming vest.

This type of vest can only be worn by those who practice Yang Xiu. It is made by crushing Yang Stone into powder, mixing it with other substances, and adding it to the fibers.

A sun-warming vest can prevent possession by evil spirits and protect you from being haunted by ghosts.

There are many other similar "warm sunshine" brand equipment.

As for why all the names are related to "warm sun," it was at the request of the Director of the General Administration.

However, these devices are still being manufactured and will take at least three more days to be distributed to the various polling bureaus.

This special equipment was just an accident.

The underworld oracle said he wanted to make a deal with the Bureau of Investigation, but without specifying the details, he simply threw over a method for making a house-protecting thunder drum, saying that after the deal was completed, there would be other methods for making other protective objects.

This clearly shows they're not afraid of the Bureau of Polling refusing to make a deal.

that's the truth.

Looking at the test reports he received, Fan Yaohui supplemented them with the test reports from the research department, and then took the compiled report to the director's office.

"Director, this is the test report for the house-protecting thunder drum."

Feng Jin put down what she was doing and picked up the document to read it.

Two minutes later, he put the document down.

"Okay, let's proceed according to your report. Issue the Zhenzhai Leigu (a type of talisman) to all branches as the new talisman."

"it is good."

Fan Yaohui nodded, then looked at Feng Jin and asked, "What about the deal with the Underworld?"

“Of course we will proceed, even if what he gave us this time is useless, we will still trade with them.”

Feng Jin said calmly.

Seeing that Fan Yaohui seemed a little confused, Feng Jin explained, "The underworld is too mysterious to us. We don't have the means or methods to investigate it, but we have no choice but to try to understand it."

"And now, one way to understand them is to see what they need through our dealings with them."

"Of course, it's impossible to reveal everything in a transaction. While I wouldn't deceive them, there are some secrets I still need to keep to myself."

Fan Yaohui sighed; this was the only option he could think of.

"understood."

"Alright, go and send out the message first, then go with Chu Xiu to summon the Raven Prophet from the Underworld to discuss the follow-up transactions."

"it is good."

Not long after Fan Yaohui left, Chu Xiu came in again.

"Director, regarding the report from Mubei City about underworld officials transforming into crows and flying into the underworld, should we intervene?"

Feng Jin looked at Chu Xiu.

"What kind of intervention are you referring to?"

"Of course they are undercover agents. Sending people to infiltrate the underworld and learn about its situation from within is much better than us guessing here."

Feng Jin shook her head.

"There's no need for that right now, at least not while the divine messengers are causing trouble and ghosts are everywhere. There's no need to offend our powerful ally over the undercover agents. Let's deal with the ghosts and the divine messengers first, and then we can talk about other things."

"After all, we don't know if your so-called undercover agent can withstand the scrutiny of the underworld."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu remained silent for a while before nodding in agreement.

If we really lose the underworld as an ally, then it would indeed be a loss that outweighs the gains.

"Okay, I'll go to the meeting with Lao Fan now. If you have any questions, just ask me."

"Okay, let's go."

After Chu Xiu left, Feng Jin leaned back in her chair and fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he finally uttered a single sentence.

"What exactly is the underworld?"

……

Chen Xin sensed the activity coming from the "Complete Collection of Town-Suppressing Objects" early in the morning.

In just one hour, he had compiled more than a dozen new items to ward off evil spirits.

Chen Xin opened the "Complete Collection of Talismans" and looked at the talisman.

"Auspicious Doorpost for Ward Off Evil"

Uses: To ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune.

Current strength: Underworld level
Current quantity: 10
Description of the talisman:

The drum is an image of thunder.

Thunder and lightning are believed to ward off evil spirits, hence stone drums were made and placed outside doorways to protect the home and drive away evil. The method of their construction is as follows:

Take a piece of bluestone, about one foot high, and chisel its corners to make the stone round, flat on top and bottom, in the shape of a drum.

Drum nails are carved on the edge of the drumhead, and thunder patterns are carved on the body of the drum. The thunder patterns are then coated with cinnabar.

Place the stone drums on the left and right sides in front of the door, and strike the drum surface three times on each side to successfully activate it.

When evil spirits approach, thunder roars.

Remember, never place an odd number of stone drums between doors and windows, otherwise the thunder will reverberate inwards and disturb your peace of mind.

……

This is a product of a compilation of folk items about the concept of "door knocker" that Chen Xin saw in the "Night Talk on Folk Customs Forum".

The book "Complete Collection of Town-Protecting Objects" named it "Town-Protecting Door Drum," but Chen Xin renamed it "Town-Protecting Thunder Drum."

Actually, there is another folk item corresponding to 'door knocker', called 'door pair'.

The term "hudui" refers to the pair of short, protruding cylinders above the lintel of a door in ancient times.

The idiom "a good match in terms of social status" refers to these two people.

Those who could afford to marry into a family of equal social standing naturally had good family background and wealth, so in ancient times, the principle of "marrying someone of equal social standing" was emphasized in marriage.

However, when used to ward off evil spirits, the door-pairing is more troublesome than the door-pairing.

In addition, since the functions of "door-dash" and "matching" are redundant, Chen Xin ultimately only chose "door-dash".

Of course, besides this reason, Chen Xin also had another reason for not choosing a household registration.

That is the rather subtle symbolic meaning of the door.

The door couplet is generally one foot long and is a carved wooden column. It is a symbol of primitive fertility worship and is believed to ward off evil spirits, especially female ghosts.

Chen Xin agreed with this statement, but if he were to compile it, he was afraid that the "Complete Collection of Town Objects" would automatically supplement some strange materials, such as... never mind.

Through "The Complete Book of Town Statues", Chen Xin saw the process of using those "door knockers".

To be honest, the people from the Bureau of Investigation were really thorough in their testing of this new town. Chen Xin learned about some hidden details through their tests.

Not long after Chen Xin began observing, the Bureau of Investigation had already started calling for the Crow Prophet.

Immediately, Chen Xin shifted his consciousness to the Crow Prophet and arrived at the Bureau of Public Opinion's headquarters.

“The crows have arrived.”

Chu Xiu's voice rang out.

"How is it? Is that house-protecting thunder drum working well?"

"Hehe, it's a treasure from the underworld, so of course it's top-notch."

After offering a compliment, Chu Xiu got straight to the point.

"The Bureau of Investigation is very much looking forward to the deal with the underworld. I wonder what the underworld needs?"

The Raven Prophet jumped twice on the table.

"I once saw a kind of ghost that was different from normal ghosts. It had human consciousness but a ghostly body. Does the Bureau of Investigation know what this thing is?"

Upon hearing the Crow Prophet's question, Chu Xiu paused for a moment, then subconsciously asked in return, "Does the Underworld not know about such ghosts and spirits?"

"I don't know, perhaps my memory is incomplete. In my memory, there were no such ghosts in ancient times."

The Raven Prophet suffers from amnesia?
Chu Xiu kept this in mind. In that case, these journeys in the underworld might not be able to reach the state of the ancient times.

This is actually a good thing for the Bureau of Polling.

Chu Xiu looked at Fan Yaohui beside him.

"Old Fan, tell Crow Walker about the information about the Wise Ghost."

Fan Yaohui nodded and looked at the Crow Prophet.

"The kind of ghosts that the Raven Prophet spoke of are called Wise Ghosts. Wise Ghosts are rare, so there weren't many test subjects when we were researching them."

"However, over the years, the Bureau of Investigation has also found some patterns in the intelligent ghosts they have encountered."

"First of all, the wise ghost must have been a physically weak person in his previous life."

"Our assessment is that the spiritual power of the Zhi Gui exceeded the physical capacity of its body before its death. The body could not withstand the burden of the spiritual power and was crushed, leading to its early death. Therefore, after the Zhi Gui appeared, it basically had the appearance of a young person, and there were even children."

“We found a group of such people, but in the end we only managed to cultivate one intelligent ghost. So, not all such people will become intelligent ghosts after they die. They also need to have a strong obsession with something.”

"Only in this way can one have the opportunity to become a wise ghost. Due to various restrictions, the number of wise ghosts is very small."

"Of course, we did not continue to investigate whether there were other factors, as the effort expended was not proportional to the gains."

Chen Xin was somewhat disappointed after hearing this.

However, in that case, Bai Ying from the Ghost Slave Organization is a rare find, and we could find an opportunity to acquire her.

Thinking this, Chen Xin looked at Chu Xiu and the other person again.

"How do you communicate with the gods of this turbid world?"

Upon hearing the words of the Crow Prophet, Chu Xiu and Fan Yaohui were taken aback once again.

"The underworld, I don't know how to communicate with the gods of the mortal realm, then, what about the one from before?"

"The way the underworld communicates is different from yours."

"How does the underworld communicate with them?"

Both Chu Xiu and Fan Yaohui had curiosity in their eyes.

Just as the two were waiting for the Prophet Crow to speak, Feng Jin's voice suddenly came through the earpiece.

"Look at your left hand!"

Chu Xiu and Fan Yaohui turned their heads, their pupils shrinking sharply.

A figure shrouded in black mist was sitting in the chair next to the two of them.

They were completely unaware until Feng Jin reminded them.

"That's how we communicate, right? How about you guys?"

The Raven Prophet looked at the two of them and asked.

……

P.S.: The section about 'household registration' was reviewed and a section was deleted. It has just been released.

(End of this chapter)