Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 290 Little Devil

"These noodles are so chewy! The shop owner has excellent skills!"

Zhu Ge took a bite and exclaimed in sincere praise.

The noodles are chewy and smooth, the chili sauce is fragrant, and the first taste is numbing and spicy, followed by a sweet aftertaste. It is indeed a rare delicacy.

"Hehe, you have good taste, sir!" The bearded man raised his eyebrows smugly. "My noodles have been passed down for three generations. My great-great-grandfather sold noodles in Xianyang City, and it's been at least two hundred years since then."

"More than two hundred years?" Zhu Ge asked, somewhat surprised.

In my past life, a ten-year-old shop was considered an old shop.

But here, two hundred years is considered young.

"Absolutely!" the man said while rolling out the dough. "My Jiang family was originally a martial arts family, but we declined and switched to selling noodles. But my noodle-rolling skills are something I learned from boxing!"

With a flick of his wrists, the dough somersaulted in the air and landed as thin as a cicada's wing.

"Impressive skills," Zhu Ge exclaimed.

There's actually a trick to this.

This family-inherited craft is so skillful it borders on the divine.

"Hehe, you flatter me, sir." The man grinned. "Sir, you must be a martial artist, right? You walk with a confident stride and your eyes sparkle; you're clearly no ordinary person."

"I guess so," Zhu Ge smiled.

He didn't say much and continued eating his noodles.

The man persisted, leaning closer and lowering his voice: "Sir, I see you're a capable man. Could you do me a favor?"

"What busy?" Zhu Ge looked up.

The man looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, lowered his voice and said, "My noodle shop has been haunted lately."

"Haunted?" Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." The man swallowed hard. "Every night around midnight, there's a 'thump, thump, thump' sound coming from the kitchen, like someone chopping meat."

"I went in and looked, but I didn't find anything. But the next morning, there would always be a pool of blood on the cutting board, and it smelled terrible."

"How long has this been going on?"

"It's been half a month." Fear showed on the man's face. "I invited several immortal masters from various sects to come and take a look, but they all said there was nothing they could do."

"A spiritual master said it was the work of a vengeful ghost and told me to move out immediately, but this is my family's heirloom shop, and I can't bear to leave it!"

A vengeful ghost?

interesting.

Zhu Ge put down her chopsticks and looked at the man: "Take me to see him."

"Now?" The man was taken aback.

"Yes, now." Zhu Ge stood up.

The man hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded: "Alright! Follow me, sir!"

He led Zhu Ge through the main hall to the backyard.

The backyard wasn't big; the kitchen was on the left, the woodshed on the right, and an old locust tree stood in the middle.

The locust tree was lush and leafy, covering most of the courtyard.

"This is it," the man said, pointing to the kitchen. "The sounds come from inside every night."

Zhu Ge walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen is small, but it has a stove, cutting board, and water tank.

There was a thin layer of flour on the cutting board, the water in the water tank was very clear, and the pots and pans on the stove were arranged neatly.

Everything is normal.

But Zhu Ge frowned.

He smelled a faint scent of blood coming from under the cutting board.

"Have you offended anyone recently?" Zhu Ge asked.

"No," the man shook his head. "I run a small business and never make enemies."

"Has anything happened in your family recently?"

"Home—" The man thought for a moment, then his expression suddenly changed, "Two weeks ago, my wife's grave was dug up!"

"The daughter-in-law's grave?"

"Yes." The man's eyes reddened. "My wife died of illness three years ago and was buried in a mass grave outside the city. Half a month ago, I went to visit her grave and found that it had been dug up, the coffin had been pried open, and the remains inside were gone."

"Did you report to the city lord's mansion?" Zhu Ge asked.

"It was reported," the man sighed. "But the city lord's mansion investigated for several days, found nothing, and then dropped the matter."

Zhu Ge was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll stay and keep an eye on things tonight."

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" the man bowed repeatedly.

As night fell, the lights of Xianyang gradually went out.

Zhu Ge sat cross-legged under the old locust tree in the backyard, closing his eyes to rest.

Liu Jianjian rode a snow wolf and stood guard outside the courtyard, while Zhu Sisi lay on her shoulder, chewing on mulberry leaves.

At three-quarters past midnight, a "thump thump thump" sound suddenly came from the kitchen.

The sound was rhythmic, like someone chopping meat.

Zhu Ge opened her eyes, stood up, and walked towards the kitchen.

Pushing open the door, the oil lamp on the stove was lit, its dim yellow light illuminating the empty kitchen.

On the cutting board, a cleaver was chopping at the board by itself, rising and falling.

But there was nothing on the cutting board.

"Come out," Zhu Ge said.

The cleaver stopped, hovering in mid-air.

A chilling aura emanated from under the cutting board, permeating the kitchen.

A blurry figure gradually emerged.

It was a woman, dressed in a white dress, with long, loose hair and a face as pale as paper.

Her eyes were blood red, and black blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth.

ghost.

One realm, the Realm of Lonely Souls.

"Who are you?" Zhu Ge asked.

The woman did not answer, but stared at Zhu Ge with resentment in her eyes.

"Why are you harassing this noodle shop?" Zhu Ge asked again.

The woman still did not answer, but her figure became clearer and clearer, and the eerie aura grew stronger.

Zhu Ge sighed: "If you won't tell me, I'll have no choice but to take action."

Just as he was about to activate his literary energy, Hua Liusha's voice echoed in his mind.

"Brother, let me do it."

A wisp of red mist emerged from Zhu Ge's body and coalesced in the kitchen into the figure of a bride dressed in a wedding gown and wearing a red veil.

Hua Liusha has emerged.

When the white-clad female ghost saw Hua Liusha, she trembled violently, her yin energy fluctuating wildly, as if she had encountered a natural enemy.

Both are ghosts, but Hua Liusha is at the second realm of the Essence-Seizing Realm, while she is only at the first realm of the Lone Soul Realm.

The difference in their levels of understanding is like an insurmountable chasm.

"Don't be afraid," Hua Liusha's voice was gentle, like she was coaxing a frightened child. "I won't hurt you."

The white-clad female ghost took a few steps back, leaning against the wall, her blood-red eyes fixed on Hua Liusha with extreme vigilance.

"Who are you?" Her voice was sharp and shrill, trembling.

"My name is Hua Liusha." Hua Liusha smiled. "Like him, I'm here to help you."

"You—you're a ghost too?" The white-clad female ghost's voice was less wary.

"Yes." Hua Liusha's voice was gentle: "And I suffered even more than you. When I died, not even my bones were left behind. My body was possessed by a fungal god and became its shrine."

"Now, I am a person who sings praises."

The white-clad female ghost looked at Zhu Ge, the resentment in her eyes gradually fading, replaced by a complex expression.

"You—you really want to help me?" she asked Zhu Ge.

"I'm willing." Zhu Ge nodded: "But you have to tell me why you're harassing this noodle shop."

The female ghost in white lowered her head, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Because—because Jiang Cheng is my husband."

"Husband?" Zhu Ge raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Black tears of blood streamed from the white-clad female ghost's eyes. "My name is Ah Xiu, and I am Jiang Cheng's wife. Three years ago, I fell seriously ill, but Jiang Cheng refused to spend money on my treatment and watched me die."

"He buried me in a mass grave, refusing to even buy a decent coffin, just wrapping me in a tattered mat and burying me there."

"After I died, my resentment lingered and I became a vengeful ghost. Half a month ago, someone dug up my grave."

"They stole my remains. I can't find them, so I can only wander around the places I knew best in life."

Digging up graves?!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ge sighed, "So you came to this noodle shop?"

"Yes." Ah Xiu nodded: "This noodle shop is Jiang Cheng's life's work, and I want him to experience what it feels like to lose the most important thing."

Zhu Ge was silent for a moment, then said, "I will help you find your remains. But you can no longer harass Jiang Cheng. He was your husband, and even if he had a thousand faults, you were once husband and wife."

Ah Xiu bit her lip and remained silent.

Hua Liusha walked up to her, reached out, and gently took her hand.

"Sister, listen to my advice," Hua Liusha sighed. "Resentment will only make you more miserable. Only by letting go of resentment can you leave in peace."

Ah Xiu's tears flowed even more fiercely: "But I—but I'm not reconciled—"

"What can you do even if you're unwilling?" Hua Liusha shook her head. "Will you be at peace after killing him? Will your remains return after you kill him?"

Ah Xiu was speechless.

Hua Liusha continued, "Let him help you find your remains so you can be laid to rest. That's what you should be doing."

Ah Xiu remained silent for a long time, then nodded.

"Okay," she said. "I'll listen to my sister."

Hua Liusha smiled, released her hand, and stepped back to Zhu Ge's side.

"Brother, help her find her remains," Hua Liusha said.

"Okay." Zhu Ge nodded.

The next morning, Zhu Ge brought Liu Jianjian to the mass grave outside the city.

The mass grave was located on a wasteland in the north of the city, overgrown with weeds and mounds of earth, and filled with a sinister atmosphere.

"Master, what are we doing here?" Liu Jianjian asked curiously.

"Find a skeleton," Zhu Ge said.

"Skeletons?" Liu Jianjian shrank her neck. "How terrifying."

Zhu Sisi leaned on her shoulder, chewing on a mulberry leaf, and said expressionlessly, "You're a demon, what are you afraid of?"

"Even demons are afraid of ghosts!" Liu Jianjian said confidently.

Zhu Ge ignored them and searched for clues in the mass grave.

Ah Xiu's grave has been dug up, the coffin boards are scattered around, and the inside is empty.

He squatted down and carefully examined the grave.

There was a layer of black soil at the bottom of the grave, which emitted a faint medicinal smell.

"What is this?" Zhu Ge dipped her finger in the black mud and sniffed it.

The medicine smelled strong, mixed with a putrid odor.

"Master, this smells like corpse oil." Liu Jianjian leaned closer, wrinkling her nose. "I've smelled it before in the wild. Someone used corpses to make medicine."

"Using corpses to make medicine?" Zhu Ge frowned.

"Yes." Liu Jianjian nodded. "Some evil cultivators specialize in this kind of thing. They use corpses to refine medicine and corpse oil to refine pills. It is said that they can prolong life. If the soul is still there, it will be trapped in the medicine forever and swallowed together."

Zhu Ge was silent for a moment, then stood up: "Let's go, let's go look in the city."

Xianyang was a large city with a population of several hundred thousand.

Finding a thief who steals corpses in such a large city is like finding a needle in a haystack.

But the blessing song contains a heavenly secret.

He took out three copper coins, placed them in his palm, and closed his eyes.

A sense of literary energy surged within him, and the copper coin spun smoothly in his palm.

The hexagram appears.

Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, Dui.

The eight trigrams circulate endlessly.

"Found it." Zhu Ge opened her eyes: "There's a pharmacy in the east of the city."

He brought Liu Jianjian to the east of the city.

The eastern part of the city was the slums of Xianyang, with narrow streets, low houses, and sewage flowing everywhere.

A foul stench filled the air, making people want to vomit.

"This is it." Zhu Ge stopped in front of a pharmacy.

The pharmacy was small, with a worn-out wooden plaque hanging above the door that read "Fushitang".

The paint on the wooden plaque has peeled off, and the characters are blurred.

The pharmacy was closed, and there were no lights inside.

Zhu Ge pushed open the door and went inside.

The pharmacy was dark and filled with a strong smell of medicine mixed with a putrid odor.

The shelves were filled with bottles and jars, some containing medicinal herbs and others containing unknown liquids.

Behind the counter sat an old man, his back hunched, grinding medicine.

"Sir, would you like to buy medicine?" The old man's voice was hoarse, and he didn't even look up.

"I'm not buying medicine." Zhu Ge narrowed her eyes. "I'm here to find someone."

"Who are you looking for?" The old man's voice was unreadable.

"People who dig up graves and steal bones." Zhu Ge smiled.

The old man stopped.

He looked up at Zhu Ge.

It was a withered face, with skin like dried orange peel, cloudy and yellowish eyes, and a strange smile on its lips.

"Sir, what did you say? This old man doesn't understand." The old man's eyes were cold and sharp.

"Don't understand?" Zhu Ge said calmly, "Then let me explain clearly. You dug up Jiang Cheng's wife's grave in the mass grave, and you stole her remains."

The old man's expression changed.

He put down the pestle in his hand and stood up.

His body was hunched over, but when he stood up, a chilling aura emanated from him.

The aura was strange, unlike that of a living person.

"Sir, let me give you a piece of advice: don't meddle in other people's business." The old man's voice turned gloomy.

"What if I insist on interfering?" Zhu Ge said.

"Then don't blame me for being impolite."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the bottles and jars in the pharmacy suddenly exploded, and countless black liquids gushed out, transforming into black venomous snakes that lunged at Zhu Ge.

The blessing song remained unmoved.

With a wave of her hand, Liu Jianjian unleashed a burst of demonic fire from her fingertips, burning the venomous snakes to ashes.

"That's it?" Liu Jianjian pouted.

The old man's expression changed completely.

He turned to run, but Zhu Ge had already blocked his way.

"Where are the remains?" Zhu Ge asked.

The old man gritted his teeth, took out a black token from his pocket, and threw it at Zhu Ge.

The token exploded in the air, turning into a cloud of black mist that enveloped the entire pharmacy.

From within the black mist came countless piercing screams.

Those were the screams of wronged souls.

"Master, be careful!" Liu Jianjian exclaimed.

Zhu Ge didn't panic, but he didn't try to activate his blood energy or anything like that. Instead, he tried to solve the problem using the methods of the Heavenly Secrets Path.

He closed his eyes, his scholarly aura surging, and three copper coins twirled in his palm.

The hexagram appears.

In the black fog, a path to survival was clearly visible.

"Three steps to the left," Zhu Ge said.

Liu Jianjian waved her hand, and a stream of demonic fire shot out three steps to the left.

"ah""

A scream rang out, and the black mist dissipated.

The old man lay on the ground, his body charred black, barely alive.

"Where are the remains?" Zhu Ge asked again.

The old man pointed under the counter, his voice weak: "Under there—there's a cellar—"

Zhu Ge walked behind the counter, lifted the wooden board, and revealed a cellar.

The cellar was filled with bones.

There were people and animals, densely packed together, a truly shocking sight.

In the center of the cellar, there was a complete skeleton with a few pieces of rotting flesh hanging on it.

Those are Ah Xiu's remains.

"You beast!" Liu Jianjian cursed.

Zhu Ge remained silent.

He carefully collected the remains and left the pharmacy.

Behind them, the old man's presence gradually faded away.

Back at the noodle shop, Jiang Cheng saw Ah Xiu's remains, knelt on the ground, and wept bitterly.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" he cried, heartbroken.

A wisp of red mist emerged from Zhu Ge's body, and Hua Liusha's figure appeared in the kitchen.

"Sister Ah Xiu, come out," Hua Liusha said softly.

The figure of the white-clad female ghost emerged from under the chopping board, looking at the corpses on the ground, black tears of blood flowing from her blood-red eyes.

"My remains—my remains—" she murmured to herself.

Jiang Cheng cried and said, "I...I will hold a proper funeral for you, buy you a nice coffin, and give you a proper burial."

Ah Xiu looked at Jiang Cheng kneeling on the ground, weeping bitterly, and the resentment in her eyes gradually faded.

"I forgive you," she said, her voice soft but clear.

Jiang Cheng looked up and saw Ah Xiu's figure, and his whole body trembled.

"Ah Xiu—Ah Xiu—" He reached out, trying to grab something, but Ah Xiu's figure grew fainter and fainter.

"In the next life, don't marry a poor woman like me again." Ah Xiu laughed, tears streaming down her face. "Marry a rich woman who can give you a son."

"No! No!" Jiang Cheng cried out in anguish, "I want you! I only want you!"

Ah Xiu did not answer.

Her figure transformed into specks of white light and vanished into the night sky.

Hua Liusha stared at the white light and remained silent for a long time.

"She's gone," Hua Liusha said.

"It's good that you're gone." Zhu Ge shook her head: "Staying in this world only brings suffering."

Hua Liusha nodded, transformed into red mist, and returned to Zhu Ge's body.

The very next morning, Jiang Cheng bought a good coffin and reburied Ah Xiu's remains.

The funeral was simple, but solemn.

Zhu Ge stood at a distance, watching all of this, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Having spent so much time in the wild, he had almost forgotten the cruelty of the world.

Material resources were extremely scarce, order was extremely chaotic, misery was everywhere, and people were living in misery.

Demons, ghosts, monsters, and gods are everywhere!

This is a very small matter today, but it is foreseeable that such things are not uncommon in the world.

It could even be said that this kind of thing happens everywhere.

Today, the dead with their eyes wide open appear as ghosts; tomorrow, green plants will spring up and become spirits; the day after, domestic chickens and ducks will turn into demons.

Involuntarily, Zhu Ge began to ponder a question: "How should this problem be solved?"

>