Folklore simulation, starting with the mortician

Wang Qian, the minor steward of Beiding Prefecture, relying on his three incense sticks of Taoist cultivation, took the lead and walked in the reeds. However, he still felt like there was fire in his furnace, and his whole body was steaming hot. He couldn't see any evil spirits at all.

When Grandpa pointed out this road, he only said that the water here was deep, and he specially arranged for someone to protect him, because he was worried that he wouldn't be able to handle it.

Looking back now, I realize that Grandpa was overthinking things. After all, this is a rural village. Even if someone has great abilities, what kind of difficulties could there be?

Wang Qian couldn't help but chuckle. He thought of Ding Yan, who had come with him. Ding Yan was all righteousness and just knew how to be pedantic and rigid. He had no intention of showing off or intimidating anyone.

These are all country bumpkins; what knowledge could they possibly have? Especially Li Feng, who seemed like some kind of renowned master chef, but now it seems that's a bit of an exaggeration.

With his mind at ease, the fire in the stove grew much weaker. Gazing at the moonlight over the distant river, a touch of melancholy suddenly welled up in his heart.

Just as she was about to turn around and say a few more words to Mr. Lin, she was surprised to find that there was no one behind her.

Taken aback, Wang Qian quickly regained his composure and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. A gust of cold wind blowing on his face made him feel lightheaded.

He tried to ignite the fire in the furnace to warm his broken bones, but to his surprise, there was no movement, and he panicked.

Has the fire in the furnace been tampered with?!

Amidst his surprise and uncertainty, Wang Qian became wary. He slowed his pace, not daring to move forward even a step. He felt a pang of regret, thinking he should have swallowed his pride and called for more people, at least to avoid appearing so passive.

This scene is nothing like what I'm seeing now. I'm all alone in the middle of nowhere, and I don't even know what kind of evil spirits might be lurking around.

"Hey, what's done is done!"

Wang Qian comforted himself, thinking that he still had some belongings, so he could at least deal with the evil spirit if it came.

With insurance in hand, Wang Qian felt more at ease.

Leading the way in, the reeds were strangely alive, unlike the calm of the daytime. They seemed to have come alive, occasionally opening their eyes and staring at people.

Wang Qian had little experience, but he understood the importance of being careful when walking at night. He couldn't look behind him just because he heard any unusual sounds. If he were to be tainted by evil spirits, it would be difficult to recover.

After searching for a long time, we finally arrived at the Dragon King Temple mentioned by those scoundrels from Heishui County. This Dragon King Temple is rather eerie. Why is it that nowadays there are fewer people worshipping there, yet it looks bright and clean, as if someone comes to clean it regularly?

Shaking his head, Wang Qian pushed open the temple door. Without even looking at the statue, he sat dignifiedly on the haystack, listening to the sounds outside and closing his eyes to rest.

A breeze would occasionally blow, brushing against my ear like an itch, or like someone whispering something in my ear.

His furtive behavior sent a chill down one's spine, and under the current circumstances, Wang Qian dared not respond.

Everyone in the know understands that the evil spirit loves to interact with people. If you give it a response, it will immediately come knocking on your door and make you regret it.

You can't shake it off. If your spirit weakens, the fire in the furnace will also weaken, and the evil spirit will naturally make more noise.

Wang Qian sighed inwardly. It was indeed not easy to make a name for himself on his own. He should listen to the advice of the elders.

Despite his thoughts, Wang Qian didn't think much of this place. He lit an oil lamp and placed it in front of him. With the lamp lit, his body felt much warmer.

The fire in the furnace was beginning to show signs of starting up.

Just as he was thinking about this, Wang Qian heard the door being pushed open outside, and a light drizzle started to fall outside.

Wang Qian looked up and saw a man wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat walk in, carrying a torch. The man smiled at Wang Qian and said, "Brother, here to catch some fresh food too? Leaving alone like this, aren't you afraid someone will notice?"

Wang Qian laughed, "Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who have something to lose. If you're walking alone and don't have any guts, who would dare to come out? You might as well go back to your mother's arms and suckle!"

Upon hearing Wang Qian's words, the man paused slightly, then smiled and said, "This is someone of importance. We're from Jingzhou in the south, merchants here. This is top-quality goods; we need to send it over to sell as soon as possible!"

"Unfortunately, we were caught in a heavy rainstorm on the road tonight. We thought we'd take shelter in this temple. If it's alright, may we all come in?"

Hearing this, which was quite polite, Wang Qian nodded, closed his eyes, and said no more.

With his eyes darting through a crack, he watched as a dozen or so people entered one after another from outside the door. They were all dressed in the same rough style, making it impossible to discern their faces.

It just felt like the temple had become much colder and more gloomy after these people came in.

Watching them light fires and start drinking, Wang Qian ignored them, only secretly sneering that these scoundrels' skills were truly awful.

In this kind of weather, if you're in a hurry to travel at night, you should leave earlier. If you're not in a hurry, why are you still slowly waiting here? Isn't that a bit suspicious?

Let's see what they plan to do.

He was sitting cross-legged, thinking about how to make things perfect, when he heard a rough voice coming from outside after about half an incense stick's time.

"Have you all rested enough?! If you're rested, we're leaving!"

A tall, imposing figure suddenly burst in from outside, staring blankly at the people inside.

These men's voices trembled, and the meat in their hands no longer tasted good. They stepped forward and put a chokehold on Wang Qian, shouting, "Don't come any closer! We're not leaving tonight, we're not going anywhere! We lived a life of constant danger while we were alive, how can we continue doing business after we're dead? We're quitting, we're not doing it anymore!"

Wang Qian was only focused on sneering and was about to make a move when he suddenly saw the door being pushed open, and a soldier-like figure holding a large knife slashed at the man.

The knife strike was ruthless and vicious, splitting the man bound by Wang Qian in two in just a moment.

At this moment, Wang Qian's eyes widened as he realized that something was wrong with the situation. What was this? A ghostly army had arrived!

"Where did these idle people come from? Are these ghostly soldiers blocking the way, locking people up?"

The ghostly soldier shouted, giving Wang Qian a real fright.

People start to speak incoherently.

"Enough talk, just take them away!"

Before he could finish speaking, someone came in from outside and quickly intervened, saying, "Hey, brother, we're all acquaintances, don't rush into anything!"

Wang Qian stared wide-eyed, only to realize it was a familiar figure—who else could it be but Li Feng?!