Divine Tang Era

When Shi Xuanliang and Dong Ding saw Xu Dan jump into the well, they exchanged a glance and thought to themselves: Are all young men these days so reckless?

Chen Ding shouted, "Why aren't you all getting down here right now?"

Shi Xuanliang and Dong Ding then drew their knives, picked up their lanterns, and jumped down into the well.

Xu Dan could see in the dark, so darkness could not stop him. He jumped to the bottom of the well and, finding no trace of ghosts, looked around. The dry well was larger than the wells of ordinary households, and its sides were lined with bluestone. Its former purpose was unknown, but several piles of bones lay at the bottom. Beside the piles of bones was a stone door with the words "Wind and Moon" inscribed on it.

This name would be quite elegant elsewhere.

But things get a bit eerie at the bottom of the well.

Xu Dan raised an eyebrow and walked into the cave, carrying the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer. As soon as he stepped into the cave, he heard a roar. Looking ahead, he saw a ghost with countless wounds on its body, howling.

"roar"

Seemingly knowing he was the murderer, the ghost roared and pounced on Xu Dan.

Xu Dan didn't hesitate either, raising his mallet and thrusting straight forward.

The ghost paused upon seeing the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer thrusting towards it, then retreated rapidly. Xu Dan, however, wouldn't allow it to escape. He moved with lightning speed, closing in on the ghost in an instant and piercing its body with the hammer.

The ghost howled in agony, its body swaying and flickering.

A wisp of soul was pierced from the ghost's body by the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer and swallowed up, causing the ghost to vanish into thin air.

Shi Xuanliang and Dong An came down and just happened to see the ghost disappear.

"You're here just in time. Let's look around and see if we can find any treasures," Xu Dan said, putting away the Soul-Devouring Yin-Yang Hammer.

Shi Xuanliang and Dong An's eyes lit up, and they began searching the cave. Before long, they actually found two wooden boxes. Shi Xuanliang reached for them, about to open them. Xu Dan pressed down on his hand with a mallet, saying, "How's your luck?"

Shi Xuanliang was stunned. What did opening the box have to do with luck?

"Don't think that just anyone can open a treasure chest; luck determines everything. Unlucky people open treasure chests and get a bunch of junk; lucky people open treasure chests and get a bunch of gold and silver treasures."

Xu Dan has seen this kind of thing many times while playing games. It's the same box, but some people get a full set of top-tier equipment while others get a full set of basic gear. Who can you complain to?

Upon hearing this, Shi Xuanliang removed his hand from the box.

If he's lucky, he might get to stand guard and patrol here at night?

Xu Dan looked at Dong An, who shook his head repeatedly. If he were lucky, would he have been penniless all this time? Xu Dan felt that his luck wasn't that great either. If he were lucky, he could have turned into a little kid and stayed in an underground cave for so long, almost becoming a caveman.

"How's the luck of the guy up there?" Xu Dan pointed at Inoue Chen Ding.

"Young master, do you think he could work as a night watchman for the rest of his life if he's lucky?" Shi Xuanliang asked honestly.

Xu Dan felt the same way, but he was also troubled. If they couldn't open the treasure chests, who could they ask? Helpless, he had to take matters into his own hands. Opening the first chest, he found it full of useless clothes. The second chest was slightly better; it contained some books and a few dozen taels of silver.

The book had been in the well for who knows how long; it was moldy and yellowed, and had a strong, foul odor.

Xu Dan originally wanted to take it back as a keepsake, but after smelling the aroma, he gave up immediately.

As for the silver, he split it equally with the old night watchman and the other two. Everyone was watching, so he couldn't keep it all to himself. If no one was watching, he would just steal it.

"Gentlemen, what do you think of my family's secret recipe? Do you want to buy it?" Xu Dan asked after dividing the spoils.

Actually, these things weren't family heirlooms, but rather ideas he came up with from watching TV shows and movies. He came here to try them out, and to his surprise, they actually worked.

Chen Ding and the others exchanged glances and said, "We'll buy it, but we don't know how much the young master wants to sell it for?"

They've already tried this stuff, and it's not only effective but also very cheap. Most importantly, the ingredients are easy to find.

Most importantly, Xu Dan promised them that whether they used it themselves or sold it, it was entirely up to them, and he wouldn't interfere. You see, the ingredients used here are all ordinary items, yet they achieve effects that ordinary talismans can't. How could they possibly not buy them?

"You're getting a good deal, only one hundred taels of silver," Xu Dan said.

"Alright, we'll do as you say, young master." The three of them agreed without haggling.

Chen Ding, Shi Xuanliang, and Dong An took out all the silver they had, plus what they had just divided the spoils, but it still wasn't enough for a hundred taels. They asked Xu Dan for leniency so they could go back and get the silver. Xu Dan didn't mind, telling them to come to him with the silver the next day, and then returned to the inn.

Chen Ding and the other two did not leave immediately.

Shi Xuanliang and Dong Anyu used their magic to activate the lanterns, and two flames flew out from the lanterns and fell into the well. In an instant, the dry well burst into flames.

Xu Dan left the alley, noticed the commotion behind him, turned around to look, but ignored it and continued on his way home. Exhausted from a long night, he lay down on his bed as soon as he got home and fell asleep immediately.

"Bang bang bang"

Early in the morning, Xu Dan was awakened by a loud knocking on the door before he was fully awake.

I shouldn't open the door, the knocking keeps going on and it's annoying. Helpless, I had no choice but to get up and open it. There I saw the boy from yesterday's steamed bun shop standing outside with a ceramic pot. Xu Dan welcomed him in.

Looking around, Mengdu asked curiously, "Why isn't the shopkeeper here today? It's closed. Are they still doing business?"

"I've already bought this shop, and the owners have gone to Liangzhou to find their son," Xu Dan explained.

"Oh..." Mengdu nodded, didn't ask anything more, put the pottery jar on the table, and left.

Xu Dan called the black bear down to drink milk. The black bear had an amazing appetite and drank all the milk in the pottery jar, so much so that its belly was swollen like it was ten months pregnant, which looked hilarious.

Xu Dan hadn't eaten breakfast yet and didn't want to go out to buy anything, so he went to the kitchen to make something to eat.

Suddenly, the talisman pasted on the inn door caught his attention.

He discovered that there were talismans not only on the doors, but also on the kitchen, the counter, and the doors of each guest's room.

He had no idea why the shopkeeper had put up so many talismans. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: Could the shop be haunted? Otherwise, why would the shopkeeper and his wife put up so many talismans, and why would they leave immediately after he did?

Xu Dan walked out of the inn and found that there were also talismans pasted on the door.

Not just the inn, but every shop in the vicinity had a talisman pasted on its door.

Xu Dan was very puzzled by this. Why were all the shops displaying talismans? Was there some kind of superstition behind it?

Just then, Chen Ding and the others came over. Xu Dan figured they were all from Jingning County and should know what was going on inside, so he asked about the talismans that every household was putting up.

"Young sir, you may not know this, but our Jingning County is adjacent to an ancient battlefield, and there are countless ghosts and monsters around it. Although the city walls are painted with talismans to ward off evil, ghosts still manage to enter the city, which is why everyone puts talismans on their doors to protect themselves from evil."

Xu Dan is new here; I never expected something like this to happen.

Shi Xuanliang looked at the talisman on the door and reminded him, "The spiritual power on this talisman is gone. We need to replace it with a new one, otherwise the ghost will get in."

Xu Dan thought to himself: No wonder ghosts have come to my door for two consecutive days. It turns out the talisman has failed.

They immediately asked him where they could buy talismans, and after receiving silver from the three men, they went to buy them immediately to prevent any more ghosts from rushing into the house.