Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 198: Bargaining with Zombies
The surface of the playing cards is a bit rough and hard, and the words written on them with a ballpoint pen look ugly.

After Ran Qing finished writing, Mo Li looked at him in horror and then looked around.

She took Ran Qing's pen, took out another playing card, and wrote on it.

——The Longchang Street we see now is fog-free! But the sun is almost setting, and there are very few people on the street.

After she finished writing this line, she glanced at Ran Qing again and continued writing - Why don't you speak? Can't you speak?

Mo Li's eyes were filled with confusion.

Ran Qing looked around and shook his head slowly.

He took the ballpoint pen and wrote on the playing card: That mandrill may not have gone far, be careful of it, it's a very evil thing.

After Ran Qing finished writing, Long Zongshu nodded repeatedly.

He reached out and took the ballpoint pen, then wrote on the playing card: "Right! Mandrills are very strange. My grandfather said that mandrills are strong, have sharp hearing and a keen sense of smell. When they become spirits, they are even more difficult to deal with. Many of our ancestors died at the hands of mandrills."

——However, mandrills also have weaknesses. They are afraid of fire and negative energy. Ran Qing, these four paper figures of yours are what they fear the most.

Although the four straw raincoat paper figures had not yet been summoned, they had been carefully crafted by Ran Qing for a week, and they already emitted a faint, eerie chill before their souls were summoned.

No wonder the mandrill left after seeing the paper man.

After hearing Long Zongshu's explanation, Ran Qing immediately felt relieved.

Ghost walkers rarely deal with monsters like mandrills, and there is not much description of mandrills in "Witchcraft, Ghosts and Magic".

Unlike Long Zongshu and his family, they even know exactly what the mandrills are afraid of.

Mo Li took the ballpoint pen and wrote on the playing card - Since you have broken through the barrier of seeing and knowing and can see evil spirits, can you now find the evil spirit that is cursed by the master card?

Mo Li looked at Ran Qing curiously.

Ran Qing was stunned for a moment, and was immediately reminded by Mo Li.

I was walking around Longchang Street before, but the horoscope card couldn’t guide me in the right direction. It seemed as if the power of the horoscope card was blocked by something.

Now that Ran Qing has broken through the barrier of seeing and knowing, will the destiny card...

Ran Qing quickly took out the gloomy little wooden sign and stared at the center of the sign for a long time. Finally, he felt the direction of the target.

The evil ghost cursed by the master's card was now standing in the center of Longchang Town, motionless.

It is completely different from the previous state of wandering around.

Ran Qing took out a new playing card and wrote on it - Found it! It's inside Longchang Street!

Long Zongshu looked around, feeling a little disappointed and a little relieved.

He wrote on the playing card: "It's still light out, the evil spirits won't dare show up, and even if they do, they won't be very strong. Let's seize this opportunity to catch the ghosts. If only we could get to the mutton noodles earlier..."

Long Zongshu looked regretful.

He thought that it would be easy and simple to catch ghosts in broad daylight when the sun was shining brightly.

Mo Li shook his head, indicating that it was not that simple.

She looked at the four paper figures beside her and wrote on the playing cards - It's not dark now, the evil spirits dare not show up, but your paper figures can't be used, right?
As long as the sun doesn't set, Ran Qing will not be able to attract wandering ghosts into the paper man.

But Ran Qing shook his head and wrote - We will carry the paper man in and not call back the soul for the time being.

Just like Long Zongshu said, before it gets dark, evil spirits and monsters dare not show up, and even if they do, they won’t be very strong.

This is a perfect time to catch ghosts.

As for the paper figurines being unusable? Ran Qing didn't really count on these four paper figurines...

He and Long Zongshu each carried two paper figures, left the cherry tree, and returned to the main road.

On the foggy road, the shadowy figures looked at the three people curiously.

But since there was no evil attack, Ran Qing pretended not to notice anything.

He and Long Zongshu carried the paper figurines and followed Mo Li. The three of them and the dog walked towards Longchang Street.

At the roadside mutton noodle stall, the ghost couple were still busy with their own business.

There were no customers anymore. The couple were squatting beside a large iron basin washing dishes. They would probably close the stall once they were done.

A pale old man's body stood stiffly by the roadside, staring blankly at a green sweater hanging on a roadside stall. His rough, withered hands rubbed the sweater over and over, unable to let it go, his withered face filled with a mixture of fondness and reluctance.

The stall owner, who was packing up, looked at the corpse helplessly and said, "Madam, if you really want it, I'll give it to you for 45 yuan, no less. 45 yuan is my cost price."

The old woman was wearing a dirty black batik skirt with several patches on her clothes.

It tremblingly took out a plastic bag that had been wrapped back and forth many times from its pocket, carefully opened the bag, and took out four wrinkled ten-yuan bills.

"Only... only 40," the old woman's body was shaking, and her shriveled and fleshless neck seemed unable to bear the weight of her head, making people worry that her head would fall off at the next second.

The stall owner shook his head helplessly and said, "Madam, 45 is the lowest price. If it's any lower, I'll lose money... You can come back next market day. I'll come to Longchang next market day."

"Bring another five dollars next week, and I'll keep the green sweater for you until you buy it next market day."

The boss refused to lower the price any further, and the pale, shrunken corpse of the old woman pleaded, "Can you make it cheaper? I really don't have 5 yuan left..."

The old woman pleaded pitifully.

Ran Qing, who was passing by, saw this scene and felt like his scalp was about to explode.

Horror, weirdness, sadness... many complex emotions crowded in his chest.

He couldn't imagine that the corpse of an old man who had been dead for a long time was actually bargaining with a living person!
The unusual number of dead people on Longchang Street is not limited to the couple selling mutton noodles.

Now there is another old woman...

Ran Qing even suspected that the dead bodies on the entire Longchang Street were in similar situations.

But what is going on in this place? Why have so many dead people forgotten that they are dead?

Mo Li whispered, "Is there any way for us to break through the barrier of perception? You can't see anything. If something dirty comes rushing towards you, it will be difficult for Zong Shu and I to help you!"

In the eyes of Mo Li and Long Zongshu, the scene on Longchang Street is still the same as usual, and there are no evil or dead creatures.

But Ran Qing's unusual expression when he passed by the sweater stall had already made Mo Li guess that there was a dead person nearby.

But Ran Qing frowned and looked around, not knowing how to help Mo Li and the others break through the obstacles to their knowledge and perception.

He always discovered the truth inexplicably and didn't know the specific principles.

Although the Yin people also have some ways to break similar situations, they can only be used after dark. They cannot be used now, and they don’t know if they will be effective even if they are used.

Ran Qing shook his head and was about to respond to Mo Li.

But at this moment, a shriveled and hunched corpse suddenly blocked their way.

The corpse of a young man dressed in jeans and fashionable clothes said to the three people, "Are you here to deliver paper figurines? My family has been waiting for you for a long time."

(End of this chapter)