Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 697 - 681: Master Huang San
Jiang Yuan thanked them for their hard work, and Li Tiezhu turned and went into the bedroom.
The layout of the relocation apartment isn’t very good. As soon as you enter, there’s a simple kitchen at the entrance, and even the refrigerator is a small one stuffed under the cabinet, obviously just a makeshift rental place.
The narrow and long living room ends with a window with a bay window, where a few washed clothes are hanging, swaying and making the light in the room even dimmer.
"I heard that Master Li likes to smoke, so I especially brought two packs of Huazi," Chuci said, looking at the cigarette soaking in the ashtray, raising his chin slightly and speaking softly, "Now it seems the gift might have been wrong."
What kind of heavy smoker treats a cigarette like this?
Jiang Yuan also whispered back, "As soon as the cigarette was lit, there was coughing from inside. Probably doesn’t like the smoke, didn’t you hear?"
Chuci suddenly felt a chill down his back and shook his head, "I didn’t hear anything. Brother, do you think I should apply the potion now?"
He was curious but also cherished his life. Applying the potion could let him see things ordinary people couldn’t, so naturally, he could hear them too. But he was also afraid of seeing something he shouldn’t.
"Better not. That thing drains Yang Energy; it’s better to use it sparingly. If you want to know anything, I’ll tell you in detail later."
"Alright! I’ll listen to you then, I won’t apply it."
...
The two of them were sitting in the living room whispering. Li Tiezhu went into the bedroom, lit an incense stick, placed it in the incense burner, and sat quietly on the mat waiting for the Immortal Family to respond.
"Who’s that young man in the light blue clothes outside?"
A familiar elderly voice fell into his ears. He didn’t open his eyes and responded in his mind, "He says he learned the papercraft skill, but his master passed away early, so there’s no one to teach him. That female ghost last time, he was the one who solved it. The young man wants to know some common knowledge about our trade. Could you, elder, explain it to him?"
The elderly voice sighed lightly, "I told you to quit smoking, but you don’t listen. Just now, if I hadn’t reminded you, you would have smoked a couple while they were here. Besides, the Lao Bai family healed your wound, but it’s not completely better. You’re old, why won’t you take advice?
Do you think just because you have health insurance, you’re all that?
However, there’s another reason I interrupted you. That young man has a fragrance on him, a really authentic one! Grandpa hasn’t smelled an incense stick made with such solid materials and ancient methods in years. If he can make供香..."
"He probably can!" Li Tiezhu couldn’t wait to change the subject. This Immortal Family has many good qualities, but maybe because they’re older, they love to nag, and their mouth is a bit too talkative.
Otherwise, discussing just the smoking issue, he could go on about it for half an hour without stopping.
Seeing that the interest shifted to incense sticks, Li Tiezhu quickly followed up, "He just said that he learned his craft from his master, including Incense Making and Paperman and Paper Horse Skill. Since he’s specialized in Incense Making, he probably learned more than just making incense sticks;供香 and信香 he should also know."
"That’s great!" The elderly voice swallowed, sounding a bit eager, "Go ask for the price, and let me personally check the goods to avoid being deceived. If he can produce供香 of the same quality, we’ll get our supplies from him in the future!"
"Well... it won’t be cheap."
"Isn’t that obvious? The better the incense, the better the raw materials. Fragrances, herbs can’t just appear out of nowhere; they’re all costs, and the wool comes off the sheep’s back, so of course, it’s expensive. But the good thing about expensive items is that if I can get top-quality incense, it will greatly enhance my strength, which is a good thing for both of us."
Well, just by listening to the tone, you can tell the hefty red envelope sent by the young man just now will be "sent" back again.
As the old saying goes, to get a benefit, something must be given in return; ever since worshipping the Immortal Family, not even a feather has been gained.
Li Tiezhu thought about it and felt exhausted, running around all over the place, inviting the Immortals to possess him for work, earning quite a bit, but spending even more, with hardly anything left to keep.
Otherwise, at over forty years old, he wouldn’t have to find the cheapest short-term rental in the suburbs and eat at the street stalls downstairs when there was no employer covering meals and housing.
The elderly voice sighed upon sensing his low spirits, "Feeling the pinch of spending again? There’s really no solution, you weren’t born with the fate to enjoy wealth; too much fortune, and you can’t bear it.
Take the time before last for example, the employer was generous, providing a stay in a big hotel and giving you a luxury car, and bought you a complete outfit, even a pair of socks costing hundreds. But what happened then? The car got into an accident, all the money went to compensation, and the little you had saved is gone.
And the last time too? I quoted the price for you, took the money and did the work, guaranteeing you would eat, drink, and have money to send home, living a life better off than many. But you didn’t listen, asked for an extra fifty thousand when you saw the employer had money. Hey! Then you encountered a vicious female ghost, didn’t even see her upfront, if not for my protection, you’d have lost your life there! The Lao Bai family didn’t charge much for your healing, now think about it, didn’t you lose exactly what you greedily asked for?"
Li Tiezhu pursed his lips, having nothing to say.
The female ghost couldn’t be dealt with, so we definitely can’t take the employer’s money. I don’t have the skills to finish the job, so I can’t rip off the employer for treating injuries and medical expenses. They kindly provided some medical expenses, but in the end, this job cost quite a bit.
"Would you mind having a chat with them?" He sighed lightly, "They came with money. I took a glance and felt like it was about seventy to eighty thousand. Seems like they’re interested in finding out about cultivation.
"It’s just like when I was young, thinking that getting into this line of work meant I wasn’t an ordinary person anymore, and wanting to cultivate into an immortal like in the stories."
"So, it’s another naive kid. I’ll go have a chat then. Come on, let’s hurry up and do it. If we make that seventy to eighty thousand, you’ll have a little more leeway."
"The young lad claimed he opened his Celestial Eye, but I can’t tell if it’s true or not. Maybe instead of letting him possess someone, you should go out for a walk to see if he can actually see things. Nowadays, there are too many scammers pretending to be ghosts. It’s actually us—real and genuine—whose reputations get affected."
After agreeing, Li Tiezhu got up, bowed to the incense burner, and walked out of the bedroom.
Even though the Immortal Family is personally worshipped, without this burning Incense Stick, he couldn’t see or hear the Immortal Family’s movements at all.
As for other ghosts and monsters, they have to possess a body first, borrowing the eyes of the Immortal Family to be seen.
So Li Tiezhu, who got up and left the bedroom, had no idea that a Yellow Immortal, standing about a foot tall, dressed in a white tunic, wearing small round glasses, a bit of white whiskers, and walking upright, was silently following him.
"Please wait a moment, the Immortal Family is willing to chat with you briefly." Li Tiezhu said while casually sitting down on the sofa, nearly stepping on the Yellow Immortal following closely behind him.
It nimbly jumped up to dodge, adjusted its glasses, and muttered under its breath, "Doesn’t even like to walk a few more steps, just sitting around like this every day, isn’t it obvious you’d gain weight?"
Jiang Yuanjian watched in shock—Holy crap! Weren’t we told no spirits allowed?
Seeing a Yellow Weasel dressed up like a person, wearing clothes, glasses, walking upright, and even speaking, a flood of supernatural stories and online novel plots he’d read flashed through his mind in an instant.
Legends like Begging for a Seal, Tomb of the Weasel Spirit rushed to mind, and he had to rub his face to process, realizing he wasn’t dreaming or inside Wilderness World.
Just like Li Tiezhu, Chuci couldn’t see or hear anything, still making idle conversation without missing a beat.
"Hey, kid, have you really opened your Celestial Eye? Can you see me?"
Growing up in the countryside, Jiang Yuanjian had seen plenty of Yellow Weasels, but this was the first time seeing a small, fluffy, round one like this. The key was it was talking while pointing at itself with its little paw, its beady, black eyes blinking quickly, which was both cute and eerie, leaving him a bit stuck.
"What’s wrong? Scared?" The little critter, noticing his fixed stare and silence, hopped onto the table, sat atop a tissue box, crossed its legs, and chuckled, "I’m the third in my family, commonly known as Master Huang San. In terms of seniority, in terms of age, I’m definitely much older than you, and you can just call me Third Master."
"Kid, you’re way too timid. Compared to other Yellow Immortals, I’m much more gentle, speaking with more kindness as well, and still, I scared you? If you run into those in the Fox Gate that love baring teeth and scaring people, you wouldn’t get frightened out of your mind?"
"I heard from Tiezhu that you’ve learned the Paperman Craft? How’s your Incense Making Skill? What are you here to chat about today?"
Words tumbled crisply from its mouth, making Jiang Yuanjian chuckle. In Wilderness World, he had seen fox spirits and white snake demons, having a whole courtyard of them, yet he was never intimidated.
Why is it now, with a bunch of skills on hand, that he’s been surprised for so long?
"My respects, Third Master." Looking again at the reassuring skill list, he smiled and explained, "I’ve just never seen anything like it before. Face-to-face chatting feels like a dream."
The two casually chatting people paused, eyes simultaneously turning to look at Jiang Yuanjian talking to the air.
Chuci especially wanted to secretly dab some potion to see what exactly was on the table opposite him.
Huang San nodded seriously, stroking its whitish whiskers with a paw, "That’s true, we don’t usually show up directly. If it weren’t for Tiezhu saying you’re young with talent but lack a mentor, I wouldn’t really want to come out either."
Its small nose twitched, catching a whiff of Incense Stick scent lingering on him, making it crave even more, "What do you want to know? Whatever I can say, I’ll tell you. Later, bring me a couple of the finished Incense Sticks, if they’re done well, we can negotiate a good price."
As expected, another one greedy for incense!
Back then, the contracted pet craved that incense too. Back in this real world, coming across a Yellow Immortal, they’re equally interested in incense offerings.
If incense can be used as hard currency, then I won’t hold back!
"Previously, I encountered someone who used Evil Techniques to torture people to death and turn them into vengeful ghosts, even stealing lifespans. They were pretty arrogant. But I never saw that they could cultivate any magic.
"Similarly, after meeting Brother Li, I found he couldn’t cultivate either, only relying on inviting deities to possess and solve problems, so I’m very curious—does the world truly have cultivation methods? Is there the legendary Spiritual Energy in our world?"
