From Paper Craftsman to World-Suppressing Immortal

About an hour later, after Zhang Zhixuan and the others returned to the Zhao residence in the Zhao family's carriage, Shen Weiyong and Zhao Qingzhi finally arrived late in a taxi.

The two men stepped out of the black car, their faces as pale as paper, their steps unsteady, as if they were walking on cotton.

Shen Weiyong, in particular, had to lean against the door frame and bend over for a long time to recover before he could do so. In the end, he was helped into the inner courtyard by the servants of the Zhao residence.

When the two met Zhang Zhixuan, they lost all energy for arguing. The sarcastic remarks that were on the tip of their tongues were swallowed back, and they hurriedly passed by Zhang Zhixuan and slunk away.

"Are they both carsick?"

Seeing the two returning in such a disheveled state, Zhang Zhixuan chuckled inwardly. They had spent a lot of money on a taxi ride, only to suffer like this.

No wonder, back then most roads were bumpy dirt roads. The slightly better official road to Wuliu Town was just paved with stones. The taxi bumped all the way back from Weigukou Wharf. Even though the two of them were used to riding in cars after studying abroad, they were still carsick. With Shen Weiyong's current condition, it must have been twice as uncomfortable.

At this moment, Master Zhao and his aunt Wang also came out of the house after hearing the news, wanting to see how Shen Weiyong and Zhao Qingzhi were doing.

When Zhang Zhixuan ran into Master Zhao, he quickly called out, "Uncle, you're busy. I'll head back if there's nothing else here."

He had only come to visit his uncle, and having achieved his goal, there was no need for him to stay at the Zhao residence any longer. Besides, given the tense situation with Zhao Qingzhi and the others, Zhang Zhixuan would only be making a fool of himself if he stayed any longer. So he decided to say goodbye to Second Master Zhao and prepare to go home.

Despite Zhang Zhixuan's plan, Second Master Zhao tried his best to persuade him to stay: "Zhixuan, don't leave today. I've already ordered someone to prepare a room for you to stay tonight. Qingzhi and a few of her friends are here today. It's a rare opportunity for a family reunion. Your uncle is getting old and just wants to have some fun. Let's have a simple meal together tonight."

"Let's do it another day, Uncle. As you can see, I don't get along with them. Even if we have dinner together tonight, it will only upset everyone. I'd rather visit you another day." Despite Zhang Zhixuan's initial refusal, Master Zhao insisted on keeping him.

"You're staying here today. I'd like to see if anyone dares to speak disrespectfully to you again. I, as your uncle, will be the first to object." Since Master Zhao had said all this, Zhang Zhixuan couldn't very well refuse his uncle's request.

"Alright, I'll follow your instructions."

"That's right, come on, let's go to the study with your uncle and have a good chat." After saying that, Master Zhao pulled Zhang Zhixuan toward his study.

Master Zhao's study was decorated with the elegance and refinement of an old-fashioned person. Upon entering, the scent of ink mixed with the aroma of camphor wood wafted in. Facing you were two rows of floor-to-ceiling mahogany display shelves, which were filled with various porcelain, bronze and jade carvings. Several landscape paintings hung on the north wall, and a complete set of the Four Treasures of the Study was placed on the pear wood desk.

Zhang Zhixuan walked to the antique shelf, looked at the collection displayed there, and said, "So Uncle likes to collect these things. How elegant."

Master Zhao waved his hand with a smile, his tone tinged with self-deprecation: "These things are just things I picked up from the ghost market when I had nothing else to do, just to pass the time. They're not really serious collections."

"A ghost market?" Zhang Zhixuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, showing interest.

Master Zhao pulled up a chair and sat down, poured Zhang Zhixuan a cup of tea, and slowly said, "Our Wuliu Town has been established for over a hundred years. It is said that this Ghost Market is even older than the town itself, and it is very famous for miles around. The rules of this market are that it opens at midnight and closes at dawn, and the stalls are shut down before daybreak, which is why it is called the Ghost Market."

"They sell all sorts of things here, and of course, it's a mixed bag. People from the surrounding villages and even as far away as Beijing and Tianjin come here specifically to find bargains."

As he spoke, a nostalgic look appeared on Zhao Erye's face: "Speaking of which, I earned my first pot of gold in this ghost market when I was young. Although it wasn't a lot of money, it was from then on that I became obsessed with visiting the ghost market. Now that I'm older, I go less often, only occasionally to relieve my boredom. Even if I don't buy anything, I just go to see the excitement and broaden my horizons."

As Zhang Zhixuan listened, a thought struck him, and he silently activated his Treasure-Seeing Eye.

With his eye for treasures opened, the precious aura of all things was revealed, and all the antiques and artifacts in Zhang Zhixuan's eyes showed their true forms.

Unsurprisingly, nine out of ten of the antiques in this room, which were scooped up from the ghost market, were fake. They were all shrouded in white mist and had been artificially aged.

Zhang Zhixuan smiled inwardly and said, "Of all the antiques my uncle has, none are from the Shang and Zhou dynasties, but there are quite a few from last week."

His gaze swept across the entire room, but was finally drawn to the string of twelve beads in Zhao Erye's hand.

Each of these twelve beads was surrounded by a layer of lustrous and mellow purple aura, with a few strands of gold thread winding around it. Each bead was connected end to end, faintly forming a thunder pattern array.

This is the orthodox Twelve Sons Flowing Pearl of Taoism, corresponding to the Twelve Thunder Gates in Taoist thunder magic, and combining the number of the twelve earthly branches. It is an orthodox ritual implement for suppressing evil spirits, warding off evil, and protecting one's destiny.

Zhang Zhixuan remembered that Pei Shouzhen also had a string of beads like this, so he recognized the one in Master Zhao's hand at a glance.

"Uncle, could I take a look at your string of beads?"

"Sure, take it and take a look."

Zhang Zhixuan reached out and took the string of beads, examining them closely.

These twelve beads are all made of peach wood, and the beads are engraved with Taoist cloud seal script, which are the corresponding runes of the twelve thunder gates. The mother bead at the top is engraved with Tai Chi Yin-Yang fish, symbolizing the immovability of the North Star. It is completely in accordance with Taoist regulations and is completely different from the decorative bracelets on the market. It is obvious that Master Zhao has worn this string of beads for many years and has been polished by him.

"Uncle, please forgive my bluntness." Zhang Zhixuan turned around, looked at Master Zhao, and spoke calmly.

"Almost all of your collections are fakes, except for this string of twelve peach wood beads, which is a genuine treasure and a legitimate Taoist ritual implement."

Upon hearing this, Master Zhao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled wryly and said, "I knew it. My eyesight isn't very good. I just visit the ghost market for fun."

He raised his finger and pointed to the pearl in Zhang Zhixuan's hand, his eyes filled with memories of the past.

"But this string of beads in your hand, I didn't get it from the ghost market, it was a gift from your grandfather."

"My grandfather?"

Uncle Zhao nodded and recalled, "I was weak when I was young. I used to encounter unclean things often and would get seriously ill every now and then. But then your grandfather gave me this bracelet. It was amazing. After I started wearing this bracelet, I never encountered unclean things again. My health improved and improved. Even my business went smoothly later on."

"Wow, more than thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye..."

More than thirty years have passed, and things have changed. Zhao Erye's sigh was full of reminiscence for people from the past.

Zhang Zhixuan inherited the memories of his predecessor, but he had very few impressions of his grandfather. He only remembered that his grandfather was an unconventional old man who often carried a pipe, would sit down and take a few puffs from time to time, and stare blankly at the sky.

Even his father rarely mentioned the family's past, only that the family often moved. Zhang Zhixuan couldn't guess whether it was to avoid disaster or for some other reason.

Thinking back to the unexpected deaths of her parents in her previous life, upon closer examination, there are many suspicious points. In her memory, first her father went on a long trip to deliver paper offerings and was murdered and discovered while away from home, and later it was her mother.

People say it was a robbery and murder committed by bandits, but Zhang Zhixuan always felt it wasn't that simple.

"Uncle, do you remember where my parents' bodies were found?" Zhang Zhixuan suddenly asked.

After a brief recollection, Master Zhao said, "I remember it was in the Panlong Mountain area."

Zhang Zhixuan was stunned upon hearing this, his heart filled with shock: "Panlong Mountain! It's Panlong Mountain again!"