I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 27: Does anyone collect ghosts?
"Hey, big boss, are you here to take care of my business again? What do you want to buy today? Or is there anything you don't understand that you want to ask?"

When Jiu Gu saw Feng Xue walking into the hall with a big bag on his back, her eyes suddenly lit up and she immediately stood up to greet him.

Although her temple is a long-established one, ever since that foreign monk came, the rich people in the county like to ask him to hold Western-style funerals, and her business has plummeted. If it weren't for the fact that people still like to burn paper figurines of gold ingots during the Qingming Festival every year, her temple might not be able to continue operating.

I finally found a rich sponsor, so I have to serve him well, right?

Seeing Jiugu walking towards him with small steps, Feng Xue remembered the rules and made way for the center of the main gate. He stepped sideways into the hall and then politely said hello:

"Good morning, Jiugu. This time we're here mainly for ghosts. Didn't you say before that I could buy it from you?"

"This?" When Jiu Gu heard that it was about ghosts, she immediately straightened her attitude and led Feng Xue to sit down. While making tea, she said:

"Ghosts are common, but finding the right one is hard. Tell me what you need first."

"Uh, I thought you would give me a list to choose from!" Feng Xue gently stroked Liu Yunxi on his fingers, but his eyes unconsciously swept over the strange-shaped wooden statues that were worshipped with eternal lamps and incense and candles.

Noticing Feng Xue's expression, Jiu Gu immediately understood his thoughts and said in a very serious tone:

"Sir, you may have misunderstood. When I say sell, I mean information about ghosts. The ghosts I worship here cannot be sold."

As if she was worried that Feng Xue would take it too seriously, Jiu Gu paused for a moment before continuing to explain—

"The figures in these seated human figures are infant spirits, those who died before birth. Raising such spirits is against the harmony of nature. I only offer them sacrifices to them to dispel their resentment. If you don't have children, please return home. On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, I will send them into reincarnation to be reborn.

"These tablets are for the elderly in the county who have no relatives (Note 1). They have no relatives and are buried at random. The county pays for some incense and candles every year to prevent them from being bullied when they are waiting for their reincarnation. Occasionally, if a villager wants to ask for help, they can ask them to go down and find someone.

"As for these strange creatures at the end, they are those who caused trouble nearby. Most of them have killed people. Some were captured by me, some by Taoist Qian, and some by our predecessors. They have been held here ever since, suppressed by the ancestors and the incense of the county, until their resentment dissipates and they can return to reincarnation."

Having said that, Jiugu divided the brewed tea into three cups, placed one cup in front of the only tablet covered by a shrine in the center of the main hall, and then divided out another cup and pushed it in front of Feng Xue.

Feng Xue held the teacup, but still did not speak, but said:

"Then what news are you talking about? If you know there's a ghost, why don't you catch it?"

Hearing Feng Xue's question, Jiu Gu was slightly surprised, but she quickly recovered and thought Feng Xue was just a prodigal son who had just spent money to learn a little bit and then came out to make a living. She summarized her words and began to explain:

"Ghosts are actually quite common, but most of them will go directly to the underworld and live there for a period of time. During this process, their obsessions will slowly dissipate, allowing them to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation without any worries. Of course, some of them have accumulated good deeds in their lifetime, or their descendants have made great achievements, and their descendants have been worshipped in the mortal world. Through this, they can cultivate into ghost spirits and stay in the underworld directly to serve as minor officials.

"As for the ghosts we usually talk about that remain in the mortal world, most of them were obsessed with something before they died. Not only could they not reincarnate, they couldn't even go to the underworld, so they stayed in the mortal world. These kinds of ghosts are called wandering ghosts. Generally speaking, these ghosts are harmless. Most of them float around in the human world for a while, and when their obsession dissipates, they go down to the underworld. Only a few can rely on incense offerings, or simply scare people to gain power to replenish their obsession."

"But doesn't it mean that any ghost that has harmed people cannot be kept?" Feng Xue frowned, wondering if there was something wrong with the book on ghost-controlling that Jiu Gu gave him.

Upon hearing this, Jiugu just shook her head and said:

"It's not that you can't raise a dog, but that you can't tame it. Let's put it this way. If you just want to guard your house and go hunting, would you raise a dog or catch a tiger that has seen blood and eaten people? A tiger is definitely stronger than a dog, but how much effort would it take to tame a tiger? And can you truly tame this tiger? Will it bite you back when you are weak one day?
"Ghost control is ultimately just a spell to make life easier. If you want to learn the art of killing, I advise you to find a proper master and become his disciple. Otherwise, no one would be willing to bear the consequences of such a thing." Feng Xue could only nod to show that she understood after hearing what Jiu Gu said, and then continued:

"Then where did the ghost you introduced come from?"

"Of course it's collected by others."

Feng Xue originally thought that the "ghost body donation" he imagined was outrageous enough, but he never expected to hear something even more outrageous from Jiugu.

Seeing Feng Xue's expression of "Are you kidding me?", Jiu Gu blinked helplessly:

"Generally speaking, if a new Xuan cultivator practices the art of controlling ghosts, the ghosts they control are mostly those trained by their elders. For a wild cultivator like you, if you don't use those unscrupulous means, there are generally two sources of ghosts:

"One type is a wild spirit. These are wandering ghosts that accidentally receive incense and offerings, gradually forgetting their original identities and thinking of themselves as gods, but they don't have a true priesthood in the underworld. They're generally called wild spirits or spirits. For example, a corpse found dead on the roadside is buried by a kind-hearted person and then lit with incense. Someone then spreads the rumor that it's a road spirit that blesses people with safe journeys. People will pay homage to it when they pass by, and over time, it's easy for them to truly think of themselves as road spirits. These wild spirits haven't been canonized by the underworld, and they don't have much power, so their incense offerings are easily cut off. The ghosts prepared for the younger generation are basically raised in a similar way.

"As for the second type, they are what I call collector ghosts. Most of them were high-ranking officials or craftsmen in their lifetime. After death, their souls will attach themselves to the objects they loved in their lifetime. Most of these objects are of great value and are often passed on to others. In this process, the ghosts attached to the objects will also absorb the power of the owner's love for the objects to survive. If they absorb malicious intent, they may even become the kind of cursed objects in stories that bring disaster to whoever keeps them.

"And some Xuan cultivators will specialize in collecting such antiques, because any artifact possessed by a ghost is basically valuable, and buying it will definitely not be a loss. They collect them, don't play with them, and don't worship them. The ghosts inside will slowly dissipate, leaving only the pure empty shell of willpower on it. This empty shell is similar to a virtual god, but not as powerful, and ordinary people can control it.

"In this way, they not only make money from finding antique bargains, but also gain the reputation of exorcising ghosts from items. They also earn merit by preventing ghosts from harming people. They even get a share of the good karma by saving ghosts from entering reincarnation. Finally, the empty shells of the wishes on the antiques can be sold to newcomers like you who are short of ghosts. However, this job requires a large amount of money and a long time, so only some old brands can afford it.

"This kind of empty shell is low-risk, has a good image, and is even more gentle. It's perfect for a newcomer like you. As for its shortcomings... they do have some, but they shouldn't be a big deal for you."

"Oh?" Feng Xue saw that Jiugu was keeping her in suspense and immediately realized what was happening. She reached out from her bosom and took out a golden bean and handed it to Jiugu. Jiugu took the golden bean, pinched off a small piece and handed it back, also smiling slightly and saying:

"If there's a downside, it's naturally the price! Of course, a wealthy man like you wouldn't care."

Feng Xue laughed when he heard this and immediately stated his needs...

　Note 1: This doesn't refer to old age, but rather death. Flower gardeners generally don't mention the word "death," using words like "gone" or "old" instead. Metaphysical schools, on the other hand, refer to the deceased as "old man." Of course, due to varying customs, the term may vary from region to region; this is for the purposes of this book only.

　　ps: There is no foreshadowing about the protagonist's golden finger, but it is not suitable to be written in the main text, so I will just mention it briefly.

　　As a result, the protagonist only paid the price of inspiration the first time he sealed the mouth. The little white snake borrowed the fake money that the protagonist had printed with the golden finger (although it could indeed be spent).

　　You can think of entries like [Silenced] and [Lucky] as pay-to-win online games that use world rules as their servers. As long as the protagonist plays the game once (or watches others play it once), the cheat code can copy the game source code and then make a free version.

　　However, this free version does not connect to the Internet and can only use the PC (specific target) as a server. It has limited threads, so only one program can run at a time.

　　And because the re-forged code is based on the PC, other than “games” like Lifespan for which everyone has a client, other games can only be run on the PC where they were originally played.

　　And because there is no internet connection, the game cannot be copied to others. You can only wait for them to play the paid version once before you can make it free for them.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)