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Chapter 14: First Earnings
Head Constable Luo returned home earlier today.
Mrs. Wang was asking him if he had visited the neighbor. While feeling slightly annoyed about the fact that his wife was asking too many questions, Head Constable Luo couldn't help recalling the group of people he encountered in the afternoon.
Today, having completely run out of ideas to catch the thief, he had no choice but to resort to buying some gifts in the afternoon and visiting the new neighbor, who Mrs. Wang spoke highly of. Yet, after knocking on the door for a long time, there was no response from inside, only the sound of a cat meowing.
Instead, on his way out, he encountered several out-of-town tea merchants and two escorts carrying gifts from their hometown, all going to visit the same neighbor.
After inquiring, Head Constable Luo learned that the young master who recently moved in across the street unexpectedly turned out to be the expert who casually eliminated the malevolent fog fiend that had plagued Coldwater Gorge for months while passing through.
That fog fiend had been causing chaos along the Golden Sun Path and was on the verge of being officially put on a bounty poster and displayed by the city gates. Its sudden eradication by the passing expert had already become the talk of Yidu. Especially since even the authorities of Nanhua County had failed to rid themselves of it despite seeking help, the fact that it was effortlessly eliminated by a passing stranger made the tale all the more intriguing.
It was unexpected that such an expert was right nearby.
Although Head Constable Luo still felt unsure if the neighbor could help him, the fact that he had the ability to dispel the fog demon was worthy of his respect.
Thinking about the gift he had prepared today— a bag of brown sugar and a jug of fine wine— he felt slightly embarrassed.
Although those two items were considered decent among the customary gifts for visiting friends and relatives these days, and ordinary families might not even have the financial means for such gifts, compared to what the tea merchants brought, it seemed a bit lacking in thoughtfulness.
"I'll prepare more generous gifts and visit him again tomorrow." Head Constable Luo said to Mrs. Wang, but then he heard the faint singing coming from the courtyard of the opposite house. It was the purest voice, initially unsettling, but after listening for a while, it felt even better than the singing of the women in the entertainment district.
He wondered if the young master had returned home by now. If he had, what was he doing at the moment, and was he really unconcerned about the ghosts in his house?
---
Song You cleaned the stone table in the courtyard and enjoyed his dinner in the cool evening.
Today he decided to pamper himself by cooking a pot of white rice, a luxurious indulgence that he rarely allowed himself.
Strangely, in this day and age, the rice would exude a rich appetising aroma that filled the air when cooked, even reaching neighboring households.
He filled a bowl for himself and then grabbed another plate to serve some meat for the calico cat. He even added a small scoop of rice for the furry companion. And so, as the evening descended, both man and cat peacefully whiled away the time.
In the courtyard, a slender shadowy figure continued to dance on with a ghost singing tunes.
But it seemed like Song You and Lady Calico were oblivious to it.
"Is it delicious, Lady Calico?"
"Very delicious."
"That's good."
Song You picked up a piece of meat with rice, savoring the familiar taste, and smiled.
The hustle and bustle of the world were the poetry of mortals. At times when one was full of food and drink, satisfaction was easily found. With Lady Calico's company, living alone here didn't feel lonely anymore. He even felt like he could settle down here for good.
After dinner, as the night grew deeper, Song You lit an oil lamp, tested a new brush, and began drawing talismans.
The Crouching Dragon Temple was not particularly known for talismans. The talismans Song You knew were obtained during the travels of the previous temple masters.
The most common talismans found in temples and monasteries were usually for warding off evil spirits or ensuring safety.
Song You knew a few talismans for exorcising evil spirits. As for the safety talismans, they usually required communication with gods and deities and borrowing power from them. Although the Crouching Dragon Temple had a large collection of Daoist deities, they were only cleaned once a year, so the respect for them was limited. Therefore, the Daoists of the Crouching Dragon Temple usually didn't practice such talismans.
Tonight, Song You only drew talismans for warding off Yin spirits(辟阴符).
These talismans were specialized in dispelling Yin spirits and ghosts.
As he drew, the spiritual energy stirred, causing the brush to move like a dragon and a snake. The flame of the oil lamp trembled, creating an uncertain light and shadow in the courtyard.
Lady Calico, curious as always, initially raised her head to look, but after finding it difficult to see, she jumped onto the stone table to get a closer look.
Fortunately, she didn't disturb Song You.
The two of them seemed to have an innate understanding.
It wasn't until Song You finished drawing five talismans that he stopped.
Carefully folding them, he strung one of them with hemp thread and hung it at the entrance of his bedroom to prevent the female ghost from entering. He didn't hang the others in other rooms since they had agreed to live in peace and not disturb each other, so he thought it was best to give the ghost more space to move around.
"Apologies." Song You bowed towards the direction of the bamboo forest.
Looking up at the stars filling the sky, surrounded by neighbors who had long since retired for the night, the hustle and bustle of the Spring Bright Street (春明街) in the distance couldn't reach here, making the night exceptionally quiet.
"It seems to be the end of summer."
"What's the end of summer?"
"It means it's about to cool down."
"Oh..."
"Go to sleep, Lady Calico."
"Okay..."
Lady Calico followed him into the house and went to bed.
Over these days, Song You and Lady Calico had become gradually accustomed to each other's presence. Although they had met by chance, Song You always treated her sincerely, and Lady Calico didn't have as many whims as humans. After spending such a long time, they had developed some affection for each other.
Cats liked warmth, so Lady Calico often sneaked to sleep beside him.
---
The next morning, as usual, the rooster crowed at dawn.
Song You woke up earlier, dressed, and sat in the courtyard to meditate. Judging by sensation alone, today was much cooler than the morning when he first arrived.
The yellow plum tree in the courtyard had begun to shed its leaves.
As a gust of wind blew, Song You casually reached out, catching a falling yellow leaf in his hand.
"End of summer..."
The end of summer also meant the end of the hot season. It meant the dissipation of the summer heat, the unbearable hot weather was coming to an end, and the transition to cooler weather had begun.
Song You threw away the yellow leaf in his hand and continued to close his eyes.
The spiritual energy in the early morning was the clearest and most abundant, seeming to surround him like a living thing, enticing the green lamp above his head, causing a few more plum leaves to fall.
The city was awakening at this moment.
There were people carrying vegetables, shouting along the streets, and vendors selling firewood and water, with cries and bargaining filling the air. Song You didn't find it noisy; instead, he felt like he was hearing the intricacies of the common people's lives in this era.
But at this moment, there was a knock at the door.
"Knock knock knock..."
Song You opened his eyes, got up, and went to open the door.
Outside the door stood Merchant Li and his group again, accompanied by the two escorts from before, each carrying something in their hands.
"Greetings, Young Master."
"Please come in."
"It's early in the morning, if we have disturbed you, please forgive us." Merchant Li hurriedly said, "We all wanted to come and thank you, so we inquired about your current residence from my brother-in-law. If there is any inconvenience..."
"No need to be polite, please come in." Song You wasn't accustomed to such formality, so he welcomed them into the courtyard.
The group felt a little uneasy, exchanging glances.
They had heard from Wang Ji that this house was haunted, and it had been rented several times over the years, only to be vacated the next day. They admired Song You's courage to live here alone, but as ordinary people, they couldn't help feeling a little nervous.
But since it was broad daylight, there were many people, and Young Master Song was here, they slowly stepped into the courtyard.
To their surprise, there was no eerie feeling like they imagined in this house. On the contrary, the courtyard was tidy, with an unknown breeze blowing through, causing the plum leaves to sway. As they watched, a calico cat emerged from a nearby room, lazily stretching, instantly evoking a sense of peace and serenity for all present.
The courtyard did feel cooler than outside.
This coolness, however, wasn't the kind that made one uneasy, send shivers down the spine, or raise goosebumps. Instead, it was a comfortable and clean coolness, akin to stepping out after a satisfying night's sleep and feeling the refreshing dampness of dawn, or like the pleasant breeze brushing against the face after escaping the heat of a sweltering evening.
Everyone exchanged glances, each reading surprise in the other's eyes. Then they hurriedly presented their gifts and expressed their gratitude to Song You for saving their lives.
The gifts they brought were mostly homemade cured meats and sausages, as well as good tea produced by themselves, showing their sincere intentions.
"It's nothing, really." Song You said, not feeling awkward or refusing.
All the gifts were placed on the stone table.
Seeing this, everyone relaxed a little.
Then they saw the calico cat jump onto the table, seemingly attracted by the smell of the cured meats and sausages, or perhaps out of habit to inspect the unfamiliar items intruding into her territory. She sniffed around the gifts, but strangely, no one tried to shoo her away.
"Young Master truly has refined pursuits." Merchant Li looked at the calico cat with a smile, recalling the scene when the cat mimicked Song You’s gesture of courtesy that day outside the city.
Come to think of it, when Young Master passed through Coldwater Gorge, he was still alone, but when he arrived in Yidu, he already had a cat. It was highly unlikely that it was a wild cat picked up randomly in the mountains. It was probably either on the verge of becoming a Yaoguai or had already become one, which was why it was tamed by the Young Master to be a companion.
Even in the face of this cat, his tone was extremely polite: "But it's also good to have a cat with you. It'll make your travels less lonely."
"That's what I think too."
"To be able to accompany Young Master, this cat is truly fortunate."
"In fact, it's actually me who needs her more. So it's hard to say who is more fortunate."
"This..." Merchant Li didn't notice anything at first, but upon further thought, he found it more and more intriguing.
It could only be said that Young Master Song was indeed extraordinary.
After chatting for a while, Merchant Li suddenly noticed the yellow talisman hanging at the door of Song You’s bedroom. Thinking of the second purpose of their visit, he couldn't help but feel delighted.
"Does Young Master know how to make talismans?"
"I know a few types of exorcism talismans."
"To be honest, because we often travel in the mountains, it's inevitable for us to encounter ghosts on the night roads and monsters on the mountain paths. We once sought some talismans from the temples in Mount Wu to protect ourselves, but some were outright useless, while others, although effective, could only be used as an alarm. Today, we came hoping to obtain an exorcism talisman from Young Master. If it's possible, we would be extremely grateful."
"No need to be so polite."
This was one of the services offered by the Crouching Dragon Temple anyway.
Song You immediately took out the talismans he drew last night. But because it was enough, he spread out yellow paper and took out vermilion ink, drawing more on the spot.
Everyone was amazed—
Although they didn't see spiritual energy wandering with the brush or sealed in vermilion ink, they could see the wind stirring as he painted, and the plum leaves faintly moved. Sometimes when they went to temples for talismans, they would see some signs, but it was never this obvious.
Instantly, peace settled in everyone's heart.
It wasn't until each person received two talismans and stored them close to their bodies that they felt their courage increase, as if they were no longer afraid even if they encountered fog fiends again.
"The triangular ones are exorcism talismans, which can ward off Yin spirits. The square ones are Yaoguai repelling talismans, which can drive away Yaoguai and evils. Exorcism talismans cannot drive away Yaoguai, and Yaoguai repelling talismans cannot ward off ghosts. Different talismans have different effects, so please remember."
"We will definitely remember."
Thinking that everyone had brought gifts, Song You originally intended not to take money, but seeing everyone's sincerity, he accepted some silver crumbs from each person.
It could be considered the first earnings.
After finally seeing off a group of people, Song You had just returned to sit in the courtyard for a moment, feeling the spiritual essence of the season and gathering his energy, when he heard knocking at the door again.
It seemed that it was his neighbor this time.
"Sigh..."
Disturbing my peaceful cultivation.
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