Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Chapter 49 Hang out
Once they exited the hall, Ye Shaoyang wanted Liu Ming to immediately lock the door . He tore down the old talisman paper on the door and replaced it with a new one . The seal inside had trapped all the spirits, but this talisman paper would keep them in the room for a bit in case they broke free from the seal again .
“Why is your talisman paper purple? Is there any difference from the yellow ones we usually see?” Liu Ming asked .
“Of course there is a difference . Talisman papers are categorized according to color: yellow, green, blue, and purple . The yellow ones are the most basic and only Dao apprentices use them . Even a metal chain would be more useful than putting a yellow talisman paper here,” Ye Shaoyang answered .
“A Dao apprentice? If so, they duped me the last time? Then, Mister Ye, you must be a proper sorcerer . Am I right?” Liu Ming cursed at those who duped him last time . It made him look stupid now . However, Ye Shaoyang’s capabilities impressed Liu Ming . Awe filled Liu Ming’ eyes, as he looked at Ye Shaoyang .
“To be precise, I am a Heavenly Master ranked sorcerer,” Ye Shaoyang corrected him .
“A Heavenly Master? How different is that from a Dao apprentice?”
“That’s not the important thing right now . The important thing now is to get as much information as possible . Call me once you have found something,” Ye Shaoyang was not really interested in answering Liu Ming’s questions . Ever since he found out that Liu Ming took advantage of Xie Yuqing, Ye Shaoyang had secretly disliked this fellow .
“Ok, sure . I’ll go now . See you guys in a bit,” Liu Ming excused himself .
“That pervert! Tsk tsk, shame on him! How dare he calls himself the vice-principal,” Xiao Ma exclaimed, but he ran up toward Liu Ming nevertheless . He whispered something into Liu Ming's ears before the fellow left, and the latter seemed to nod in agreement . He whispered a reply into Xiao Ma’s ear . Instantly, Xiao Ma became happy . Although Ye Shaoyang could not hear anything they discussed, the joy on Xiao Ma’s face seemed obvious enough .
“What did you say to him?” This time, it was Ye Shaoyang's turn to be curious .
“Oh, don't worry about it, it's nothing . Let's go now . We have got work to do,” Xiao Ma sheepishly smiled .
This look allowed Ye Shaoyang to know what was going on . But he did not want to be the one to let the cat out of the bag . He gave Xiao Ma a cold smile . Then, he turned around to Xie Yuqing, “Do you have a car?”
“It's at the school’s gate . What's the matter?”
“Great! There's a place I need to go . Do me a favor and just drop me there . ” After Ye Shaoyang said this, he turned to Xiao Ma again, “You can go home first, there's no need to come with me . I gotta discuss a few matter with Old Guo . I will come home late tonight . ”
Xiao Ma smirked and jokingly protested, “Seems like you are abandoning me, your previous gay partner . Are you replacing me with this pretty lady?”
“Hey, it's ok if you wanna come out of the closet, but don't pretend I made you do it,” Ye Shaoyang replied with another equally lame joke .
An hour later, Ye Shaoyang arrived at an old shop in Xie Yuqing’s police car . There was an old signboard that read ‘Old Guo’s Funeral Services . ’ Xie Yuqing did not expect this, “Why do you want to come here, little trickster? Please don't tell me you want to prepare for the worst . I will make sure you are safe . Don't plan your funeral just yet!”
“Don't worry . That's not what I am here for,” Ye Shaoyang exited the car and did not even turn his head, “You can go now; don't wait up . Go home and have your dinner . ”
The door was wide open . In the shop, there was the man that Ye Shaoyang addressed as Old Guo . This fellow had red cloths in his hands, and he was just about to cover up the eyes of a paper effigy . When he heard footsteps, he turned around and saw Ye Shaoyang . He let out a smile, “There you are, little junior brother . Let me just cover up this paper effigy . Then, we will go and have a pot of mutton for dinner . ”
“What are you doing, senior brother?” Ye Shaoyang asked .
“These paper effigies are almost specters . If I don't cover their eyes up with these red cloths, they are going to cause troubles at night . ”
“But these are all just weak specters . I'm sure you can easily fight all of them at once . It's a small matter . Why the hassle?”
“Well, of course, I could . But I would also be spoiling all these paper effigies . I made these effigies to be spirit guardians, and not to be my punching bag . ”
“Spirit guardians? What is that?”
“I let them become specters . Then, I feed them my blood to make them spirit servants . I sell them to those rich people who have just lost someone as spirit guardians . They also prevent wandering spirits from entering the corpses . ”
“That rarely happens at all . I don't think that is even necessary!” Ye Shaoyang exclaimed . He looked confused .
“Well, it's marketing, my friend . Of course, it rarely happens, but what do the customers know about statistics? Besides, these clients usually know me because they have experienced paranormal activities before . I handled their cases . Once bitten twice shy, so they believe everything I say . They want to avoid spooky encounters, so I'm just helping them with that,” Old Guo lowered his voice and explained with a rather sinister look on his face . Ye Shaoyang became speechless . That was certainly not the most honest way to do business, but he was not inclined to comment further .
Old Guo quickly settled his work and brought Ye Shaoyang to a mutton soup restaurant nearby . They opened up a bottle of fine liquor and talked throughout the meal . Ye Shaoyang recounted his encounters in the past few days . Since Old Guo was also a sorcerer himself, he understood the situation with minimal trouble . He said with a dead serious face, “My little junior brother, I don't think this is a situation that you can handle on your own . You need help . The female student spirit and the spooky doll are enough to make you suffer . ”
“You are right about this my friend . That’s why I am here . Truth be told, I need your help on this . You know a thing or two about the craft of Maoshan Sect . Besides, you have assisted Dao Feng in the past with his consecration . The school is going to pay me handsomely for this . We can share this once the job is done . ”
Consecration was a technical term among sorcerers . It referred to any job requiring a sorcerer's presence and ranged from rituals to slaying all sorts of evil beings .
“Money isn't really the matter in this case . It has been a long time since I've ever been involved in any consecration . My hands are literally itching for a chance to do this . Let's go slay some Japanese spirits!” Old Guo raised his glass and the volume of his voice . The blood in his body boiled, as he reminisced the good old times when he was in the field slaying demons . He downed the whole glass of liquor in one gulp . But then, another thought sprang up in his mind, instantly cooling down his boiling blood . The female student spirit was too powerful for him . He would not be able to help . He sat down and calmed himself down . He cleared his throat and continued, “Well, actually, on second thought, I'm not powerful enough to even be your assistant . I'm afraid I can't be of help even if I want to . But, there is this girl I know, and she is quite a capable one . She should be able to help you on this . Anyway, she is a little arrogant, so I don't know if she would agree . ”
“Which sect is she from?”
“None . She is a whisperer . Her method is different from both Dao and Buddhist . ”
Ye Shaoyang understood what he meant . The craft of whispering originated from the Southeast Asian countries . It was developed from the foundation of witchcraft practiced culturally among these nations . Then, those with extraordinary gifts perfected the craft over time through practice and improvisation . Hence, it became something else entirely, a category of its own .
“So, this girl, is she beautiful?” Ye Shaoyang asked randomly out of boredom .
“Very beautiful . And in great shape too . In fact, she is around your age . ”
“Wow really? Then, I really must meet her . ”
“Seems like you are more interested in finding a life partner, rather than a work partner,” Old Guo said with a frown .
“It's the same thing, my old friend,” Ye Shaoyang replied with a laugh .
They had drunk quite a large quantity amount of alcohol, so both of them had loosened up a little now . Old Guo said with a mysterious smile, “I have something amazing to show you . ” He reached into his pocket, took out something, and placed it on the table .
“Holy crap, a pistol!” Ye Shaoyang jerked up, “Senior brother, are you into smuggling firearms now?”
“Nonsense . Look closely . This is only a replica,” Old Guo took out one bullet from the magazine . He cracked it open on the table and passed it to Ye Shaoyang to let him have a closer look .
The bullet had the shape of a real one, but the coloration was different . Ye Shaoyang immediately recognized the material . It was pure copper, which was evil repelling in nature . The power inside the bullet was different as well . Ye Shaoyang knew the material too well . It was cinnabar, “Is this to repel spirits?”
“Exactly . Can you see the crack in the copper body? When it hits a spirit, the front cracks open, dispersing the cinnabar . In addition to the pure copper, this is good enough to defeat any average level spirit . Although it wouldn't be sufficient if you are facing an awakened spirit . ”
“Where did you get this from?” Ye Shaoyang asked .
“That girl I told you about . She gave this to me in exchange for ten packs of Realgar Powder . She has a lot more interesting tools like this . I’ll give her a call later and see if she's willing to meet you,” Old Guo answered .
They had finished their dinner now . Old Guo said with a drunken face, “My little brother . Now that we have settled our dinner, how about a little trip to the spa to soak our feet? Or a karaoke session? We can even go for barbecue after some songs! Good times like this is rare, so let's make the most out of it! Hohoho!”