In the alley.
"A Taoist priest is a ghost?"
"right."
"New here? No one taught you the rules?!"
"You have just died, so of course you are not as skilled at ghost-making as you are?"
The Taoist priest's words were like a fish bone sandwiched in a tofu ball. It was neither salty nor bland when chewed, but it felt stuck in your throat when you swallowed it.
But after hearing this, this group of men, or "house gods", looked at each other for a while, and then they all laughed strangely. The leader's smile was particularly flamboyant, and his big chest muscles were shaking wildly under his open clothes.
He stared at Li Changan:
"You, a Taoist priest, do you think that my brothers and I are the bastards who invade other people's houses to eat the leftovers of incense and candles?"
"Watch your ghost eyes and see clearly."
He opened his clothes and revealed a tattoo on his belly, which was the size of a palm and looked like a seal.
"I am a ghost official under the Xuan Teng Division of the City God's Mansion. The Xuan Teng ghosts of Wenshu Fang and Sai Mengchang Cao Qi are also... Gua~"
"..."
"Quack quack quack."
For a time, bursts of frogs croaked in the bellies of the men, and the small side alley seemed to have turned into a pond on a summer night.
Cao Qi's face twitched and his eyes widened:
"You're such a ignorant person. Now that you've seen the City God's seal, why don't you undo the spell quickly?"
Li Changan nodded with a smile, and pretended to pinch a spell on his hand. After carefully observing the tattoo, he could see the words "Yuhang City God", and there was a group of clear spiritual energy lingering on it. He felt it carefully, and it was really what the Taoist priests said. The familiar power of incense.
Has the local city god gone crazy? How do you find such a group of gangsters to work with?
Besides, I’ve heard of the Express Division, the Picket Division, the Yin-Yang Division, and what the hell is the Xuan Teng Division?
Li Changan was extremely puzzled and asked directly.
Cao San didn't hide it at all, and told the truth truthfully with a sense of superiority like "a country man has never seen the market in the city."
It turns out that this Xuan Teng Division is unique to the local area and is specially designed to punish families who are indifferent to ghosts and gods. The method is the same as Cao San did, making people restless until they bow their heads and sincerely repent.
The one hundred taels of silver offered by the Ruan family was not to drive away ghosts, but to find a middleman to take the lead in making peace.
What nonsense is this? !
Li Changan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said "San", which made the men vomit smoke, and then he was too lazy to talk nonsense and said goodbye.
But before he took two steps, he was blocked by several men with evil eyes.
"Wait a minute."
Most of the jars of mixed wine went into Cao Qi's belly. When he opened his mouth, smoke came out like a little train.
"You are - ugh - good at what you do, and you are quick-witted. You are a good man! Seeing how you recklessly got involved in the Ruan family, could it be that you are in a hurry for money?"
"A layman still makes a living by lending money?"
"Do you have a wife or children?"
"Pindao is a monk."
"Do you have any property or house?"
"We are home all over the world and have nothing."
"Then who is willing to lend you money?!"
Cao Qi puffed out the last few wisps of smoke in anger.
"Let me show you a clear path. The maniac Liu from Zhongmiaofang in the north of the city is recruiting people. Like me, a noisy ghost, he is also a regular businessman under the Chenghuang Temple. But unlike my brothers, the work is time-consuming and laborious. He is a It's a good business that can easily make money in a short period of time. When you go, just tell me Sai Mengchang's name and make sure you can be accepted into the sect."
After saying that, he came up and sniffed, frowning:
"Look at your shabby appearance, where did you pull it out of the ash pile? If people see it, they won't laugh at me, Cao Qi, for treating a good man so slowly and ruining my reputation, Sai Mengchang."
He took out a dime and put it into Li Changan's hand.
"Take these two pieces of silver to help you with your business and purchase a decent outfit."
After saying that, he waved his hands to get out of the way.
"No need to thank you. Without further ado, let's go quickly!"
What else could Li Changan say?
If you say thank you, you will be rewarded later.
…………
Traveled through many times.
Li Changan also imagined how he could make a fortune in ancient times.
Making glass, making soap, selling hot pot, etc., no matter which one, it requires capital and time, but Li Changan has neither.
On the contrary, it is more appropriate to do hard work like offering bounties or exorcising evil spirits.
But he didn't know whether it was because he was unfamiliar with the place, or because the world in Yuhang was too peaceful. He wandered around for a long time, but he didn't find out about any possible business.
After much thought, I decided to follow Cao Qi's advice and try my luck.
…………
Zhongmiaofang is adjacent to the canal and is one of the distribution centers for goods from the north and south.
There is a mixture of dragons and snakes on the ground, and all kinds of shops, workshops, warehouses, mansions, hooks and houses are tangled together like balls of thread.
Li Changan rushed in like a rat in a maze, wandering for a long time without getting out of the way.
Asking people about Scarlet Liu's name would either give him a blank stare, or a wary question, or even a man with seductive make-up who would grab him in the street:
"Oh, what a handsome young man. Are you looking for Scarlet Liu? By coincidence, he is called Scarlet Liu today. Come on, let's go into the house and talk quietly."
Li Changan responded with an old punch and fled.
The sun gradually rose and then set, the mist in the streets and alleys never cleared up, and Li Changan still found nothing.
He squatted on the street in a daze for a while, thought carefully for a while, got up and went into a deserted alley.
A remote alley is deserted because of its location, not its human presence.
The Taoist priest stepped in with his front foot, and two groups of people followed him in, blocking him in the center.
"It's you, a thief, who is sneaking around and snooping around for news about our brother Leping - the leader Liu. What do you want to do?!"
…
Li Changan explained the purpose of his visit, and the men scolded him a few times without further embarrassment. They led him through the streets and alleys and into a small courtyard.
There was a long table in the courtyard, with a lot of miscellaneous items piled around the table, and a desk clerk sitting behind the table.
He asked a few common questions, but Li Changan made nonsense. He didn't go into details, and asked the Taoist priest to put down the dagger, get a Mazhao, and go inside to wait.
Inside is a larger courtyard, with dozens of people crowded together. At first glance, there are densely packed heads of people, surrounded by a few men who are "not kind-hearted" and watch with cold eyes.
Li Changan silently found a corner to sit down, and whispered to the people next to him. He didn't expect the other person to say that he was also a ghost. He also had a new death and had no livelihood, so he came to find work.
Just as he was about to elaborate, a man came over with an evil voice and warned him not to talk to each other, so he should shut up and wait.
The ghosts next to them immediately became quails. Li Changan didn't want to cause trouble for the time being and quietly looked at them.
Although the "people" in the courtyard are densely packed, it is not stuffy, as if everyone is "bones of ice and snow." If you look carefully, you can see that some people have unreal shapes, some people have weird shapes, and some people have taken off their heads and held them in their arms.
Li Changan then understood that this large courtyard was full of ghosts that took shape during the day, just like himself, and most of them were poor ghosts.
Less than half an hour passed.
Suddenly there was a sound of gongs and drums.
The real host, whom everyone has been waiting for for a long time, finally enters the stage.
Although the evil-looking men all bowed to him and called him brother, the real master was a well-dressed man with a gentle expression and kind words. He doesn't look like the leader of a local ruffian, but looks like the shopkeeper of a big trading company, except that two big bumps suddenly bulge on his bare forehead, and the gentle smile on his face looks a bit weird.
He climbed onto the small stone platform in front of the courtyard and first sang a song to everyone in the audience.
"Dear nostalgic elders, I would like to call you Liu Xiong. I am loved by my friends in the world of martial arts and call them 'Dragon Head Hero'."
"Everyone comes to my place today. Let's not talk about anything else in the first part of the opening paragraph, just to express your grievances!"
He sighed, showing a sigh of relief.
"Today's world is difficult. Everyone says that if you can't live, you will die a hundred times, but you will be relaxed and at ease. But this is really weird. How can you feel relaxed when you come to Yuhang City? You will still be cold and hungry. Where can you find it? Free? It costs money to eat, to wear clothes, and to stay in a hotel, not to mention that one hundred taels of reincarnation silver! When I was alive as a human being, I never dared to think of such a huge sum!"
After the words were said, the audience was buzzing with excitement, and it was obvious that they all resonated with each other.
Only Li Changan was ignorant.
Liu Xiong put his hands behind his hands and waited for the atmosphere in the audience to subside for a while before signaling for silence and continued:
"Some of you may say that we have all become ghosts. Time is worthless. After saving for 180 years, you will eventually get all the money."
He shook his head and waved people on to the stage.
He is an old man who is almost rickety and old.
"This is the veteran qualification of our Zhongmiaofang, Mr. Liu."
The old man waved his hands repeatedly: "I don't dare to take it, I don't dare to take it."
"How long have you been in Yuhang City?"
The old man replied cautiously: "I don't remember clearly. I just remember that when the imperial court conquered Lingnan and I died of exhaustion while transporting with the army, my fellow villagers buried my bones on the border of Yuhang."
"It's been seventy or eighty years at least. How do you make a living?"
“Without skills, I can only work hard and fight against parcels at various terminals.”
"Are you still in good health?"
The old man grinned, his face full of wrinkles, and he couldn't tell whether he was crying or laughing: "Are you a ghost? Life is cheaper than human beings, so you won't die again. It's just that over the years, my waist has been crushed and my knees have been bent. I can't stand up straight, and I can't straighten my legs when I lie down. On rainy and foggy days, the cold wind seems to have been blown into my skin, causing my bones to ache."
"Have you got all the money for reincarnation?"
Old ghost Weiwei:
"It's much worse."
Liu Xiong didn't say much, let the old man go down, and recruited a young man to the stage.
The young man was dressed in beautiful silk clothes, with brand new black-soled white cloth boots on his feet, and a copper-buckle leather belt around his waist. He looked in high spirits.
Before Liu Xiong could speak, he waved his hand broadly.
"Brother, I don't need to waste my words. I'll tell them myself."
Stand with arms akimbo.
"My name is Jin Bi. I am originally from Huainan. Four years ago, I ate Guanyin and died of swelling in my hometown. I became a wandering ghost and wandered to Yuhang City. Thanks to the guidance of my brother, I entered the industry. Within three years, I bought a small house in Fangbei, a two-story building with a yard, and got a wife, who used to be a girl from a wealthy family. It's a pity that they are all ghosts, otherwise I would have given birth to a few fat babies."
Liu Xiong interjected: "Have you gathered all the reincarnation silver?"
He smiled with two rows of big teeth: "Hey! Look what brother said, we are having fun being ghosts, so why rush to reincarnate and suffer?"
"Nonsense."
Liu Xiong scolded the young people with laughter and curses, and the audience was noisy and noisy, with some doubts, some envy, and even more eagerness. Liu Xiong signaled for silence several times, but the crowd was still noisy. He is not angry but happy. The more noisy he is, the more effective the contrast between old and young is.
Finally, he asked his men to beat gongs and drums to calm the situation.
"Everyone will definitely think that I am bragging after hearing this. If there is such a good job, I have already snatched it away, so why is it your turn?"
Under the eager eyes of everyone in the audience, he smiled and shook his head.
"Then you think it's wrong."
"Because it's such a good job, my people didn't work for long before they saved up enough money and reincarnated, so I had to recruit people frequently."
"Furthermore, although the threshold for my profession is low, I will open the door to welcome anyone who is clean, down-to-earth and willing to work. But if you really want to do well and enter the industry, you must dare to think and do it, and you must have the courage to do it. ! If you only want to earn a few pitiful coppers at the end of the day, I'm sorry, go out to the dock, there is no place for you."
"I've said a lot, but maybe some friends in the audience still don't know what my business is, and they even think that my business here is some kind of surreptitious business."
"Wrong, very wrong."
"Everyone in the world knows that life has its own destiny, but they don't necessarily know that the amount of money a person can get also has a destiny. Whether it is the salary of an official, the salary of a craftsman, or even the money begged by a beggar, it is all a sum of money. The notes are in Grandpa Wealth’s account.”
"But there are always people who will play some crooked ways, for example, officials who are trying to cheat, businessmen who are short of money, beggars who are cheating... These are all windfalls, ill-gotten wealth, and money that should not be obtained! So God So we set up an office in the City God's Mansion to retrieve more money from these people than they could afford."
"This yamen is called 'Lishengsi'."
As he spoke, Liu Xiong rolled up his sleeves, revealing a tattoo that looked like a seal on his arm. The word "City God" was visible on the tattoo. It emitted a ray of light, revealing a few traces of divine power, silencing the ghosts completely except for his word. One sentence, with a sound to the ground:
"I am Liu Xiong, the leader of all Miaofang ghosts under the command of the plundering division. What you are going to do is to plunder the remaining ghosts."
Everyone in the audience listened to him in silence for a long time before the uproar became louder than before.
Liu Xiong was not surprised, or he had already become familiar with it.
These ordinary people believe in officials when they are alive and believe in gods after death. The city god is both an official and a god. How can they not believe it and how dare they not believe it?
He was about to try again.
At this moment.
A hand was suddenly raised high among the black heads.
Liu Xiong was stunned for a while before he guessed what it meant.
"Does this friend have something to ask?"
A tall man stood up in the crowd.
"What you said makes sense, but to me, why..."
"Friends, it's okay to say it."
"Like a thief?!"
The crowd suddenly became uproar, and the men even yelled. Liu Xiong tried his best to suppress the noise and said with a sullen face:
"What's the point of being a thief?! Taking advantage of others is doing justice for heaven."
"I've never seen such a way of heaven anywhere else."
"Everyone in Yuhang City knows it."
"It turns out it's a local rule." The man scratched his head, "But how do you know whether this person has more or less money?"
"The wild ghosts in the country don't know the rules in the city." Liu Xiong half ridiculed and half scolded, "In Yuhang, even little kids know that as long as they go to temples and Taoist temples to burn incense every month, they can know the amount of money determined by heaven. No matter how sincere Please get a talisman and wear it with you, so that we can know how much money he has."
"I see."
The man nodded slightly.
Scary Liu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had convinced the other party.
"It turns out he is a thief for the monks."
…
For the second time today, Li Changan was kicked out of the door.
Last time, he managed to have a full stomach.
This time, all I got was "If you don't respect gods and Buddhas, you will go to hell!"
hell? Scare ghosts.
He picked up the small horse that was thrown out with him, patted the plaster on his head, and returned it to the clerk so that he could get his dagger back.
I didn't think so.
A young man named Jin Pi suddenly appeared and took the sword away first. He weighed it casually with his hands and looked sideways at him:
"It's him?"
The man next to the young man was one of the people who had previously besieged the Taoist priest in the alley.
"That's the guy! He's a jerk. He's holding a broken sword and asking around, what's the matter... Where is Brother Longtou? Which family wants to cure ghosts? It's scary... Bah, scare me to death! Who do you think is the enemy? The hired thugs came to the door!"
The young man raised his eyebrows when he heard this, pulled out the dagger, and then laughed out loud - the sword was broken, and the half-broken blade clanked in the sheath.
"Can a broken sword scare you?! What happened next?"
"He said he was introduced by an acquaintance to ask for work."
"Which one?"
"The black-hearted ghost Cao Qi."
The smile suddenly disappeared from the young man's face, and he turned his head to stare at the man.
The man was still confused when the young man slapped him hard in the face with the sword sheath in his hand.
"Stupid thing! Don't you remember that we almost had a fight with that Cao Qi last month?! Last month, that guy took the corner of Brother Liu Xiong's favor?!"
The man was in pain and ran around holding his head, but he didn't dare to hide away. He just circled around the young man and was beaten. Normally, Li Changan would be willing to watch this kind of monkey show, but things are different now, so he had no choice but to remind him:
"Friend, am I leaving?"
The young man stopped, tossed his dagger, and tapped the door with his chin.
"The gate is right there, can't you see it?"
"But the sword is still in your hand. Although it is broken, it is mine."
"Want a sword?" The young man smiled half-heartedly, "Easy to say."
He stretched out his hand and spread his palm.
Li Changan: "I don't remember when I owed you the debt."
"You don't remember, but I remember it clearly."
He slowly inserted the dagger into his waist and settled the accounts for the Taoist priest with a smile.
"My brothers brought you to the door and helped you lead the way. It cost five cents to polish the shoes. You put the things here and we will help you take care of them. The storage fee is five cents. In the yard, you listened to my brother's speech. Isn't it right? It’s for nothing. It costs five cents to moisturize your throat. In total, it’s fifteen cents. But you were introduced to us by the black-hearted Cao Qi. I’m sorry! You have to double it. So, you owe us a total of one hundred cents. .”
Li Changan wanted to refute that no matter how much he doubled the number fifteen, it would still not reach one hundred, but he believed that neither the young man in front of him nor the men quietly appearing around him to surround him in the center would like to listen to the math questions.
So he sighed deeply.
"I have money, but only one or two silver coins."
Li Changan asked sincerely:
"If I give it to you, will you ask me for the money?"
As soon as he said this, the faces of the men around him who tried their best to look fierce and sinister showed strange expressions.
The young man tried to hold back his smile.
"Of course, of course we'll give you change."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand again. Without thinking, the other person actually took out a dime of silver and put it in his hand.
With a weird look on his face, he padded the silver and then raised it high to show it to the people around him. Seeing this, the men finally couldn't bear it anymore and burst into laughter. They laughed, and Li Changan laughed too. For a moment, it seemed that the warm atmosphere in the big courtyard was also transmitted to the small courtyard.
"I thought he was a fool, but he turned out to be a fool."
The young man muttered and waved, and the clerk took out a wooden basin from under the table. The basin was filled with water, and a small half basin of copper coins was in it.
He threw the silver into it.
However.
The silver actually floated on the water like a ball of paper, softening, deforming, and melting bit by bit.
Paper money? !
The young man was about to curse.
Sudden.
A big hand stretched out, grabbed the hem of his clothes, and pulled him over like a dead dog. He heard in his ears:
"Infinite Heavenly Lord!"
"You little thief! You dared to steal the Taoist Master's silver!"
He hurriedly raised his eyes and saw a fist as big as a casserole quickly enlarging in his eyes.
boom!
Immediately he opened a dyeing workshop on his face.
…
Half an hour later.
Li Changan changed into beautiful silk clothes.
Although Cao Qi is nicknamed "The Black-hearted Ghost", he is an honest man. At least the phrase "it's easy to make money" is not a lie.
He went out happily with a heavy harvest in his arms.
But a few hours later.
His face fell.
To save Monk Fayan, he needed "Huanyang Decoction", and to pair it with "Huanyang Decoction", he needed good ginseng, and he almost went to all the drugstores in Yuhang to know that the ginseng here was not sold in bulk, but simply. In short, the money is still not enough.
He was in a daze on the street again, and once again got into an alley.
This time, I caught a "tail" hanging quietly behind me.
There was no time to take action.
The man had already shouted:
"Taoist Priest! Wait a moment and do it."
"it's me!"
