Yinshan Record

Chapter 133 Flying Sword Gourd
The gong sounds grew louder and louder, mixed with the sound of raindrops tapping on the ground.

The rain, however, was falling even harder.

A group of officials dressed in black robes, their faces pale, walked through the drizzle into the shed. They wore tall hats with black feathers tucked into them, and carried no weapons. They did not use umbrellas, yet their bodies were completely dry. In the firelight, their pale faces appeared somewhat green.

Su Che had never seen any government officials dressed like this before.

The officers were holding down seven or eight prisoners dressed in white, all with their hair disheveled and faces obscured.

"You guys go over there and start a fire."

The leading ghost guard was tall and imposing. He waved his hand and shouted at the others to go and fetch firewood to start a fire.

Su Che and the other two had already stood up. Su Che clasped his hands in a fist salute and stepped forward, saying...

"Greetings, officer."

This giant ghost appears to be quite powerful, and its yin energy is even more refined than that of its own two-faced ghost general.

"We are not on the same path, so there is no need for formalities."

The big ghost waved its hand.

Su Che noticed a black waist tag hanging from their waists, with a hideous ghost face holding a line of small characters. Upon closer inspection, it read, "Life and death are unpredictable, do not question yin and yang."

The ghost guards settled the prisoners at the other end of the shed. Several nimble ghost guards lit a fire, and when the firelight shone on them, their faces turned deathly pale.

Several prisoners were pushed closest to the fire, and they all kept their mouths shut and didn't make a sound.

“They were all living people, each of whom had their five yin energy sealed.”

Lu Bai carefully wrote a line of small characters on the ground, then brushed them away with a flick of his palm.

The Five Aggregates, in Buddhism, are feeling, perception, mental formations, consciousness, and name and form. All human actions and movements arise from these aggregates. If the Five Aggregates are sealed off, a person becomes like a puppet, easily manipulated.

Su Che could tell that although these prisoners were dressed in white and had their faces covered by messy hair, it was just a smokescreen. There were still faint yang flames rising from their brows and shoulders, which meant they were obviously still alive.

When did that old devil, the Yin-Yang Dharma King, start doing this kind of kidnapping?

Su Che was pondering this over there.

The scholar over there shook the vermilion gourd at his waist.

"Young master, would you like to try some of my nourishing medicinal soup?"

As he spoke, he pulled out the stopper, and a unique fragrance wafted out of the gourd.

Something's not right about the smell of this wine.

Su Che looked at the gourd in the scholar's hand. Ordinary wine is the fragrance of the essence of grains, which is brewed over a long period of time. No matter how fragrant it is, it can only tantalize the tongue. But the fragrance in the scholar's gourd went straight into the depths of one's heart and mind.

If Su Che hadn't been unable to sense any magical power in the scholar, he would have suspected that the scholar was using some kind of illusion.

Could it be this gourd?

Su Che looked at the vermilion gourd in the middle-aged scholar's hand. It was fiery red and smooth as jade, and the material was indeed extraordinary.

"Sir, it would be best to put this away."

Su Che did not want any unexpected complications.

"Haha, the wine is cheap, but this gourd is a family heirloom."

The middle-aged scholar smiled and tossed the wine gourd over. Su Che quickly reached out and caught it. As soon as he caught it, the condensed sword energy in his dantian stirred slightly.

What's the origin of this thing?
Su Che looked closely at the gourd in his hand; its texture and size didn't seem to be naturally formed.

Could it be a unique sword left behind by a previous generation of swordsmen?
"Young master, when my father went into the mountains to gather herbs years ago, he saved an old white ape. The old ape later gave my father this gourd and even gestured with a tree branch. Unfortunately, my father was too dull to understand it. However, the wine in this gourd becomes more fragrant the longer it is filled."

The middle-aged scholar chuckled.

"If you like this gourd, young master, I'll sell it to you, how about that?"

“A gentleman does not steal what others have. With this gourd, why bother collecting debts everywhere? Just open a tavern. Every day, the wine sold will pass through this gourd, and you'll never have to worry about money.”

For some reason, the scholar kept talking on and on.

"Alas, the wine becomes more fragrant after being steeped in this gourd, but the taste remains the same; no one will recognize it..."

A wisp of yin energy caused the flames inside the shed to flicker unpredictably.

"Scholar, I'll take this gourd. How much?"

Su Che turned around and glanced at it; it was the leader of the big ghosts.

"Do you want to buy it?"

The middle-aged scholar looked at the large ghost.

"Yes, I'll buy it. How much?"

"I won't sell it to you."

The middle-aged scholar shook his head.

Su Che exchanged a glance with Lu Bai, warning him to be careful.

Lu Bai reached into his sleeve.

"Oh, why sell to him but not to me?"

Upon hearing this, the giant demon chuckled, then stood up and reached for Su Che's hand. The vermilion gourd absorbed the demon's energy, soaring through the air and firmly attaching itself to the demon's waxy yellow hands.

"Good stuff."

The big ghost chuckled: "How much are you planning to charge?"

"One hundred taels of silver."

The middle-aged scholar held up one finger.

"Too little, too little. This gourd has jade as its skin and metal as its bone, with sword veins connecting the skin and bone."

The big ghost gently held the wine gourd in his palm.

“If this were in the East China Sea, a place where sword cultivators gather, this thing would cost at least a thousand taels of gold. But this is Cizhou, so I’ll offer eight hundred taels of gold.”

The scholar was momentarily taken aback.

"Why is the price going up and up..."

"Just hear me out."

The big ghost shook his head and said, "Eight hundred taels of gold is the price your father would have paid if he had learned swordsmanship from that old ape. Unfortunately, you didn't learn it, so I'm deducting five hundred taels and only charging you three hundred taels of gold."

Su Che sighed and channeled the Yin Spring Nine Bends to his fingertips. This big ghost had clearly not wanted to pay when he raised the price. This matter could not be resolved peacefully today.

"That's still quite a lot..."

The middle-aged scholar said timidly, "You probably don't have that much money on you..."

"Haha, of course I don't have that much money on me, but I do have some at home."

The large ghost pointed to the group of ghost messengers behind him and said.

"I just need to send someone back to get it."

"Both of you."

Su Che smiled and said, "I think it's best if you don't do this kind of business."

"Oh, you're going to bid too?"

The big ghost looked completely disheartened.

"Don't dare."

Su Che clasped his hands in greeting, but a sword intent flashed in his eyes, and a powerful aura rose from his body.

Lu Bai pulled out four talismans from his sleeve, holding them between his fingers like a fan, while shifting his body between Su Che and the giant ghost.

"I wonder if Your Excellency is a disciple of the Yin-Yang Dharma King?"

"Sword cultivator?"

The big ghost looked at Su Che with considerable arrogance: "You're going to stick your neck out."

The scholar's eyes swept over Su Che and the giant ghost.

"This gourd is a small token of my respect to you."

He said with a wry smile, "Let's all stop fighting. Peace brings wealth, peace brings wealth."

"Harmony brings wealth?"

The big ghost frowned.

“This gourd looks exactly like the one that went missing from my master’s residence. And now you’re telling me that harmony brings wealth? You three must be thieves trying to sell stolen goods. Seize them, guards.”

"Hey, boss, we're usually the ones who wrong others, but today we're the ones who got wronged."

Lu Bai took out the talisman, about to use his true energy to cut it open.

These four thunder talismans originated from the Celestial Masters sect and, with the blessing of the Zhengyi Alliance, are the nemesis of this type of ghost.

When Su Che and Lu Bai left, Shi Chibao presented them with a number of talismans.

Just as he was about to make a move, a hand landed on his shoulder.

Lu Bai turned his head and asked, "Young Master?"

Su Che gestured forward with his lip.

Behind that great demon, there were no other ghost messengers, only clusters of pure yin energy.

This……

Lu Bai broke out in a cold sweat.

Such sharp swordsmanship!

"Three hundred taels of gold, not a single tael less."

The middle-aged scholar laughed heartily.

"And you have a good eye; this gourd was lost by your master."

(End of this chapter)