Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 268 Methods of Catching Ghosts

The courtyard of the inn was dark. Although there were lights, the lanterns swayed and clattered against each other as a few cool breezes blew by. Even the light inside the lanterns became dim in the pitch-black night, no longer as bright as when they were bustling with people.

Coupled with the shrill laughter of the "ghosts" all around, even Shi Yizhi and Zhu Ye's faces turned pale this time.

Fortunately, although Shi Yizhi was also a little scared, he quickly pulled out a talisman from his pocket, slammed it on the table, and coughed heavily twice.

In an instant, the sharp and strange sounds around them disappeared.

Soon, faintly, a voice could be heard carried on the wind: "It was just a joke, why are you making such a fuss!"

At the same time, the chilly "wind" around us disappeared, and everything finally returned to normal.

"This thing...this thing actually works!"

Jiang Wanli breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but grab the talisman on the table, finally feeling a little safer.

Du Chongshan exclaimed in surprise, "What is this thing? How can it scare away a hundred ghosts?"

Shi Yizhi replied, "I bought the Thunder Spell Talisman from the Yellow Temple Keeper at the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple. It cost 100 coins per talisman, which was quite expensive, but it does seem to be somewhat useful. I'm glad I bought it at the time!"

This was something the three of them bought after renting the Yin-Yang Bagua compass, just before leaving the temple. They pooled their money to buy it, each contributing over thirty coins. In the end, because Master Yizhi was the youngest, he kept the talisman for self-defense.

Du Chongshan clicked his tongue in amazement: "So expensive!"

The shopkeeper, who had only spilled half a jar of Ten-Day Intoxication, looked slightly relieved and walked over to the group, saying, "Thanks to your kindness today, I've finally gotten some peace and quiet. Otherwise, it would have taken a while to get rid of them. Here are a few meat-filled pies left on the stove; you can have them as provisions!"

Shi Yizhi nodded and said, "It was nothing, shopkeeper, please don't take it to heart."

Du Chongshan cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, madam. We are indeed short of money, so we won't stand on ceremony with you!"

"Call me boss, not boss's wife. This shop is mine, and I'm the boss!" The shopkeeper seemed to dislike Du Chongshan, emphasizing this to him before rolling her eyes and turning to Shi Yizhi, saying, "My surname is Hua, and I'm the third child. You can call me Third Sister Hua!"

After saying that, she gracefully walked into the inn: "I'll go get you some flatbread!"

With Hua San Niang gone, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Hua San Niang appears to be a living person, her long-term interaction with "ghosts" instills a sense of fear even in a living person.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Zhu Ye suddenly said, "Don't let your guard down, the compass needle is still swaying!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanli trembled again and looked at the compass on the table.

Sure enough, the compass needle was still swaying, but instead of swinging back and forth in all directions as before, it was pointing only at the backyard of the inn, swaying slightly as if giving some kind of reminder.

Jiang Wanli stammered, "It, it, it refers to the backyard. Could it be that there's some kind of 'ghost' living in the backyard?!"

Shi Yizhi was eager to try: "That's perfect, maybe we can find a way to capture him and take him to Bao Chenghuang!"

Zhu Ye shook his head and said, "You all saw so many 'ghosts' around just now. We couldn't see those 'ghosts'. If we can't even see them, let alone 'catch' them. This matter probably needs further consideration."

Shi Yizhi was taken aback upon hearing this: "That's right! We couldn't even see them just now, how could we catch them?"

“I think it’s better to follow Master Hu’s path,” Jiang Wanli said, already terrified by the series of strange events that had just occurred. “At least a fox spirit is still a spirit…”

Du Chongshan immediately extended a warm invitation: "Why don't you join me, Brother Jiang? Let Brother Zhu and Senior Brother find a way to catch the ghost. That way, whichever side finds the 'key to passage,' we can share the spoils."

Jiang Wanli quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, no, I can't just leave my senior brother alone. After all, he offended the Mountain Lord because of me. Even if I don't catch the ghost, I have to find a way to appease the Mountain Lord's anger, or find a way to ask the City God for help!"

"Actually, these ghosts aren't that scary. I just showed them this lightning talisman, and they scattered and fled. So their strength isn't necessarily that great. Besides..."

Shi Yizhi paused for a moment, then guessed, "Although my martial arts cultivation is only at the eighth rank, my family has a long history of martial arts training. The technique we practice is the Yin-Yang Dao Gong. Among them, the Yang Dao Gong is practiced by men and is the ultimate Yang technique. It can transform true energy into purple lightning. If what that temple priest Huang said is true, this ultimate Yang lightning should be able to deal with ghosts."

Jiang Wanli asked hesitantly, "Can our martial arts' true energy really work?"

"Deal with ghosts? Which ghosts are you going to deal with?"

As the group was discussing, Hua San Niang came out carrying more than a dozen meat pies and happened to overhear their conversation.

Upon hearing Hua San Niang's words, Shi Yizhi's eyes suddenly lit up, and he winked at Zhu Ye. Zhu Ye nodded almost imperceptibly, then opened his folding fan, struck what he considered a dashing pose, and smiled as he told Hua San Niang about their plan to capture some ghosts lingering in the mortal realm so they could send them to the City God Temple and ask the City God for help.

Upon hearing this, Hua San Niang covered her face and laughed, saying, "You all have quite the leisure time, actually wanting to help the City God catch ghosts! Why not just become underworld officials directly, taking it one step at a time, and saving yourself the trouble of having nowhere to go after you die!"

These words were quite impolite, even bordering on a curse, but judging from Hua San Niang's expression, that was clearly not what she meant. Zhu Ye could only assume that it was simply a matter of different customs in this place, where people did not shy away from matters of life and death.

Zhu Ye cupped his hands and said with a wry smile, "But as Hua San Niang probably can tell, there are really no ghosts or gods in the place we came from, and we have never encountered any spirits or demons. Therefore, we are completely clueless about how to catch ghosts. I wonder if Hua San Niang could give us some pointers?"

"Yes, I do know that. There are indeed some places where the spiritual energy is thin, making it difficult to cultivate immortality, and naturally, it's not easy for any spirits, monsters, or ghosts to be born. As for catching ghosts..."

Hua San Niang touched the hairpin in her hair and pondered, "You asked how to exorcise and kill ghosts, I do know that, not only do I know it, but everyone in the village knows it. But you asked how to catch ghosts, that's difficult. As far as I know, the ghost messengers under the City God use soul-binding ropes to catch ghosts. Once a ghost is locked up with that thing, no matter how capable you are, you can't escape."

At this point, Hua San Niang smiled and looked at the group again, asking, "Besides, you're not just having trouble catching ghosts now, you probably can't even see them anymore, right?"

Du Chongshan cupped his hands and said, "Boss Hua is truly exceptionally intelligent. I wonder if you have any way to see ghosts?"

"Yes, there are many ways. The most effective way is to open the eyes to see ghosts, but that method is harmful to the body and it's not a quick fix; it's very troublesome. If you want it faster, just smear some fecal matter on your eyelids. Once your eyes are dirty, you'll naturally be able to see dirty things. However, although this method is simple, you can't see very clearly, and besides..."

Seeing the disgusted expressions on the faces of the four of them, Hua San Niang laughed even harder: "Hehehe, judging from your looks, you know you would never use this method."

Shi Yizhi hurriedly asked, "Is there any other way?"

"It's simple. Either go to that guy surnamed Huang and buy some talisman water, apply it to your eyelids, it will work, it will last for three days. Don't worry, although the effect is the same as feces water, it is talisman water, not feces water."

Hua San Niang said, "Eat some food that ghosts have eaten, drink some wine that ghosts have drunk, set up a memorial tablet for yourself, light incense, and you can walk to the underworld. When your soul leaves your body, you will become a ghost yourself, and you will naturally be able to see ghosts."

"The biggest advantage of walking the underworld is that you can pass through the Gate of Hell—but the Gate of Hell is guarded by underworld officials. How to avoid them or get through depends on your skills."

"After passing through the Gate of Hell, you will arrive at the Underworld. It is said that there are countless treasures in the Underworld. Anything you bring out is extremely valuable. I have heard that many people have made their fortunes by traveling to the Underworld."

"However, while this method is ingenious, it is also risky. Each time you travel to the underworld, you must remember not to exceed twelve hours. If you do not return to your physical body within twelve hours, you may never be able to return, and then you will truly become a ghost!"

After listening to Hua San Niang's words, Jiang Wanli concluded, "It seems that buying talisman water is still the most convenient option."

Hua San Niang raised an eyebrow and said, "That does sound true, but let me remind you, that kind of talisman water costs ten strings of cash a bowl. Even if you all share it, a bowl will only last for three days. If you want to use that method, you'd better start earning money as soon as possible!"

These words caused everyone to fall silent.

Even Wang Shanren, who had just claimed to have "made it big," only had ten strings of cash. After spending the evening entertaining guests, he certainly didn't have enough to buy talisman water.

And if we let everyone save money...

Zhu Ye recalled the few dozen coins she had earned that afternoon after talking until her throat was dry. Shi Yizhi and Jiang Wanli exchanged glances—not only had they not made any money, but they had also gotten into trouble, losing both their money and their reputation.

Ten strings of cash...

How can I earn that much?

Should I also go to the mine and gamble, to see if I'm the next Wang Shanren?

"Or, let's go to the underworld..."

"If all else fails, we'll have to use sewage..."

Shi Yizhi and Jiang Wanli said in unison.

After they finished speaking, they looked at each other. Shi Yizhi almost jumped up from the bench and said firmly, "Let's go through the underworld! Let's go through the underworld!"

"Uh……"

Jiang Wanli glanced guiltily at Du Chongshan and Zhu Ye, only to see the former raise his hands and say, "I think we should try to find out more about the secret chamber. This... this ghost-catching thing, I'm not good at it, so you guys go ahead, hahaha..."

Zhu Ye closed his folding fan at some point and said in a deep voice, "I think it's more convenient to travel to the underworld."

(End of this chapter)