The third young master of the Zhang family is a handsome man.
In life it was.
He stood face to face with Shi Wuqi, his figure was slimmer and lower, shorter than Shan Hai, like a childish boy. But Miss Yuting said that he had just turned twenty when he died. Three years ago, she and the young master were eight years apart, and now they are five years apart.
At first glance, it seems that Master Zhang is indeed a living person. After all, he is here alive and can still move around. It was nothing more than poor nutrition, poor complexion, weak bones, and dull eyes. But to the expert Bai Skeleton Master, he has indeed been dead for a long time. Because the cellar is not ventilated, there is an indescribable smell of herbs, with the bitter aroma of wine. There are also different herbs and jars of liquids in several baskets at the feet. Wine can indeed be used to nourish corpses, and medicinal wine mixed with different ingredients is also needed to prepare some specimens. Shi Wuqi judged that she was an expert, but she was only at the beginning level because this method of raising corpses was not considered superior.
Yuting put the candle on the table. There is only one very tall broken stool, which serves as a table. There are also two benches. She probably brought them all by herself. There was a mattress on the floor. He knelt down and touched it. There was a door panel underneath. The mattress was soft and clean, like a new one. He could see that Miss Yuting was very attentive. But even so, there was still a faint smell of rotting corpses.
He shook his head.
"The corruption continues to grow. You are doing well, but... limited."
"I want to know, how did you do it? How did you make her...make her feel alive?"
"Use spiritual power."
Spiritual power is the most intuitive and effective. For the same disease, medicine taken internally is more effective than applied externally. Spiritual power is like a potion, pouring it in is better than rubbing your body with ointments and liquids every day. But again, spiritual power is directly linked to a person's lifespan. If it is strong, it is like a drop in the bucket, and if it is weak, it will lose life. He looked up and down at this ordinary little girl. She had no qualifications, just an ordinary person.
"The noble man said he could teach me spells..."
"That needs to be practiced. Look at which sect in the world you come from. They all have the skills accumulated over many years. Besides, didn't they teach you?"
Shi Wuqi sat on the chair and shook his head. Opposite him, Yu Ting sat down slowly, worried.
Shi Wuqi was actually worried that she had been deceived by that person.
"How long do I have to practice before I can...and, is it really impossible to call his soul back?"
"It's really nonsense. I only know a little bit, but I don't understand all the methods. It requires a lot of rare medicines, weird spells, personal spiritual power and immortality..."
At this point, he stopped talking. Because he thought that there is another forbidden technique, which uses human souls to keep the corpse alive, and it has to be continued continuously, which is a big loss, and the Six Paths of Impermanence will come to settle accounts. Anyone who has no ability will never dare to cause trouble.
Yuting was very disappointed.
"Can I never let Master Zhang stand up on his own for the rest of my life?"
"Based on how much you care about him, it's unrealistic for me to advise you to give up." He took out a fan from somewhere. "Let me ask you, has your noble man ever asked you to do anything?"
"He is a nice person, but... he loves money very much. He does not refuse any guest from afar, no matter whether he has money or not... But when discussing business, the price is never ambiguous. Although he has never shown mercy to the poor, he does. I don’t cheat rich people. The medicine he gave me was all bought with the money I earned. If I want to learn magic, I have to find a way to make more money, otherwise, as you know, he will soon..."
If he is really just a man who is greedy for money, then it is easy to say. But this guy really knows how to do business. When he ran the Weeping Corpse House by himself, the price was determined based on assessing the buyer's net worth.
His keen business intuition told him that the "noble man" was not simple.
"He taught you these methods and how to manipulate corpses?"
"yes……"
"I'd really like to meet him."
Yuting looked troubled. Under the light of the windless dark room, her face looked a little dazed.
"Although he has a fixed place to work, he is rarely there recently. He often runs errands outside and rarely comes back. I only went to visit after hearing from people in nearby villages that I saw him. But he was there again a few days ago. Traveling. He also does things for others."
"What's his name?"
"I don't know his full name, but people in Qinglize call him Lord Shou Gong. He knows Master Baiskeleton—and knows you."
Shi Wuqi shook his head.
Never heard of it, don’t know it.
"I do want to help you, but I do care about that person's identity."
"Do you suspect he is a bad guy?"
Yuting's face looked very bad, and she immediately became wary of Shi Wuqi. He realized he had said the wrong thing. To her, "Your Excellency Hunting Gong" is her nobleman, benefactor, and fellow countryman. Who can shake him as an outsider whom he meets on the first day?
"I didn't mean to make the girl misunderstand." He closed his fan and laughed, "I think I probably know him, but he didn't tell his real name. So, I won't know until I meet him. If I have a chance, When we meet, we can discuss the art of Gu and see if we can ask for a favor. I don’t want to embarrass you about the price.”
"...Really? Then, aren't you going to leave tomorrow..."
"Don't panic. We are here to find someone in Qinglize. I can delay it for a few days and let them take a look around."
Looking through the flames on the table, he stared into the little girl's eyes and made calculations in his mind.
Although he seems to be a casual person, this does not conflict with his caution. The Hundred Skeleton Master did not intend to tell this girl so early that they were really looking for someone here. If she was really just a sheepherder, it would be easy to inquire, but she knew so many weird things, and having contact with some weird people would be troublesome. What's more, Shan Hai didn't ask anyone he met, so he shouldn't mess with it. Furthermore, when he said he was looking for someone just now, Yuting didn't go too far and seemed unconcerned.
That's it for now.
When he woke up in the morning, Shi Wuqi was still feeling dizzy.
"Your eyes are blue, Wu Qi." Lin Shanhai glanced at him, "Didn't you get a good rest?"
Shi Wuqi sat up slowly like a corpse, thinking to himself, we have slept for less than two hours, let's try it instead.
Mu Wan and Aluan were also in good spirits and seemed to have had a good sleep. Shi Wuqi glanced at Mu Wan occasionally and saw that she was not suspicious. He expected that she must have really slept to death at night. It seems that the medicinal powder is quite useful.
After standing outside the house for a while, Shi Wuqi said to Shan Hai:
"Qinglize is so big that it accommodates several towns and villages. You might as well stay a few more days to find out the truth before heading towards the hinterland."
"That's natural. But we can't stay here and cause trouble to Miss Yuting."
"……good."
With this attitude displayed, Wu Qi knew there was nothing to talk about. He also knew that with his glib tongue, he would definitely be suspicious of him if he showed off his words in front of Taoist Master Lin. But it's okay to leave. Go further and tell them about it. Then he can come to Miss Yuting himself and there will be no problem.
Dai Luan couldn't bear to leave her, that was natural. When saying goodbye, the two girls held hands tightly, and finally had to be pulled away by Mu Wan. Before leaving, Wuqi looked back at Miss Yuting. The two looked at each other. He nodded slightly and drove off.
It only took more than half an hour to walk to the nearest town. The men and women here all wear silver jewelry and batik clothes. What they heard and saw in other places in the past was mostly indigo dyeing, but Qinglize's batik is a kind of cyan blue, slightly green, which is eye-catching. The fabrics are of different shades and are well matched. There are layers.
"The indigo produced here is cyan."
The lady in the dyeing shop was waxing the fabric at the table at the door, and answered Dai Luan who was watching the excitement at the table without raising her head.
"Only the soil here can grow it. If you bring other seeds here, it won't grow." She dipped it in wax and continued, "If you bring the seedlings here out, it won't grow either."
"Oh - like this."
At this time, Mu Wan stuck his head out from the store next door and called her over to take a look. She said goodbye to her aunt and ran over. As soon as she entered, she found that it was a silver jewelry store. Shan Hai picked up a piece of silver jewelry and looked at it. It was a safety lock, very similar to Aluan's, but the pattern and fineness were different.
"I wonder how Yun Ge is doing." He murmured to himself.
Shi Wuqi looked around absentmindedly. At this time, he noticed another couple in the store. Their backs were turned to him, and they were all wearing golden brocade clothes and embroidered with exquisite patterns. The craftsmanship must not be local. Women wear their hair in a bun, delicately braided, and wear beautiful jewelry; men wear ponytails and have long sideburns. There were gold-wired scabbards hanging on their waists, which looked expensive.
"Which one of these two hairpins is better? I like the one with engraved leaves, but this one depends on the quality of the porcelain."
"Buy them all, buy them all."
Mu Wan glanced at Miss Qi and whispered to Shi Wuqi: "Master Shi, look at this person. Don't you want to give Miss Qi a plastic surgery?"
At this time, the man and woman turned sideways and let the light shine through on the silver jewelry. Their faces are very similar, more like brother and sister. There were several objects in the man's hand, and there were earrings hanging on his fingers.
"Be it these, Sister Xu can wear anything else."
"You're so boring." The girl frowned and turned around, "I knew I wouldn't want you to follow me. Shopkeeper, help me wrap this hairpin."
She took out her purse, while the man was holding something in his hand and was frantically trying to take out his purse. While searching, he said:
"You didn't even say hello, you left a letter, and ran away without saying a word. Fortunately, you ran away before your mother came into the house, and asked me to chase you. Look, I didn't help you carry it, and I didn't let you go back. Ah. How dangerous is it for a girl like you to imitate others?
Mu Wan muttered, what happened to the woman?
His sister had probably heard this a thousand times. She seemed angry, took the wrapped hairpin and ran away, leaving her brother in embarrassment. He shook off all the items in his hands in a panic, turned to the shopkeeper and said, wrap them all up.
Dai Luan suddenly grabbed the corner of Wu Qi's clothes with her backhand.
"Brother! I want that, buy that for me!"
"What?"
Mu Wan snorted and he frowned.
"why are you laughing?"
"I think of happy things."
