A master of comedy!

Chapter 28 The Ghost Walker

"Shen Jinhua? Is that the female ghost in green you killed in Yangcheng?"

Upon hearing this name, even Yu Zhensheng, who had always been calm, showed a look of surprise.

"Yes, Master, I am absolutely certain that the magistrate's wife's face is that of Shen Jinhua, the famous actress from the Yangcheng Opera Troupe!"

A look of reminiscence crossed Zhou Sheng's eyes as he said, "Although Shen Jinhua's ghost was covered in blood and looked terrifying at the time, I still remembered her appearance. I just compared it carefully, and there's no mistake."

Shen Jinhua's death was caused by someone eyeing her head. Zhou Sheng initially thought the mastermind wanted to use it to practice some kind of evil magic, but he never expected to see that head again in Qinggu County, 600 miles away.

And it even grew on another person's neck.

"Master, could it be that the magistrate's wife knows magic and wants to change her appearance?"

Yu Zhensheng shook his head and said, "Magistrate Zhu and his wife are ordinary people, but they have quite a background."

"Master——"

"Don't ask so many questions yet, let's talk about it when we get home."

Zhou Sheng nodded, and the two remained silent the whole way. After returning home, he told Zhou Sheng about his ordeal and took out the head he had brought back from the ancient well.

"Master, I'm wondering, if the magistrate's wife has Shen Jinhua's head on her neck, then could that head... be the real magistrate's wife?"

The lady is not a lady...

This explains the statement.

However, many mysteries remain. How did Shen Jinhua's head end up on the magistrate's wife's neck? Why was the original madam's head hidden in the well? And how did Cuicui die?

And then there's the Zhu family mansion, which not only supports the rampant soldiers, but also hides a master who understands feng shui and magic. What is the background of Magistrate Zhu?

He had too many questions in his mind, so he immediately asked them.

Judging from his master's expression, he clearly knew something.

"Hehe, you're asking me?"

"You're the one performing the dirty trick, not me."

"Master, please tell me everything you know."

Zhou Sheng pleaded.

"Actually, you shouldn't ask me about this; you should ask her."

Yu Zhensheng smiled faintly and pointed to the rotten, foul-smelling head on the table.

"ask her?"

Zhou Sheng asked in confusion, "But I didn't find any remnants of souls left in the skulls, not even a trace of resentment."

"Master, besides soul-capturing, do we, as performers of ghost plays, have other methods to make corpses speak?"

"Of course...no."

Yu Zhensheng sneered and said, "Don't limit yourself. Just because we who perform underworld plays don't have such methods doesn't mean others don't."

"Use your brain and don't always think about doing everything alone."

Zhou Sheng pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and uttered two words.

"Ask the spirit!"

Yu Zhensheng nodded, a slight smile appearing on his face.

……

Qinggu County, West Street, Cui Shenpo's house.

Cui Shenpo is quite legendary in the county. She was originally an ordinary old woman living alone. Her husband and children all died unexpectedly, and she herself suffered from an eye disease that made her vision blurry.

Later, when she went out begging for food, she accidentally fell into the water and was pulled out of the water, but she had already stopped breathing.

The neighbors planned to chip in to donate money for a coffin for her, but unexpectedly, she came back to life the next day.

She claimed that after she went to the underworld, the judge found that her lifespan had not ended and that she had accumulated a lot of merit. He not only allowed her to return to the living world, but also taught her the art of walking in the underworld, and she was especially good at the method of asking about spirits.

His methods were all effective, and his fame quickly spread far and wide.

Since then, she has become a well-known sorceress in Qinggu County. She is now 84 years old and still very healthy. Although she has an eye disease, it does not affect her ability to travel at all.

Zhou Sheng had heard of this sorceress Cui's reputation, but had never met her.

“Besides us who perform ghost plays, there are many other extraordinary people in this world, and the ghost walkers represented by Granny Cui are one such lineage.”

Zhou Sheng recalled that on the Yin-Yang Road, the fierce god had asked him if he was a Yin-Yang walker. "Besides that, there are also Feng Shui masters, corpse drivers, shamans, living Yin messengers, corpse retrievers, paper craftsmen, etc., each with their own unique skills."

“During the Spring and Autumn Period, a hundred schools of thought emerged, those were the Yang schools, while we who do the Yin work and come into contact with ghosts and spirits are called the Yin schools.”

"After you complete your apprenticeship, you will gradually come into contact with disciples and successors of other lineages. Remember, although Lü Bu is brave, he can be defeated by three heroes. If you can befriend disciples of other lineages, it will be of great help to you in the future."

"Now, go knock on the door."

Zhou Sheng carefully noted down his master's words, then took a deep breath and reached out to knock on the door.

But just as he reached out his hand, the door was suddenly opened.

A pretty little girl peeked out.

"Please come in, guests. Grandma asked me to greet you."

A hint of surprise flashed in Zhou Sheng's eyes. It seemed that the other party could predict the future.

This made him even more curious about the legendary spirit walkers.

Stepping over the threshold, one sees many mysterious talismans pasted on Cui's courtyard. They don't resemble Taoist talismans, but rather black characters on white paper, somewhat like funeral orations.

The little girl led them to the Rice-Asking Hall, located behind the kitchen. Old rice grains, seemingly moldy, were embedded in the cracks of the blue brick floor, their eerie green color resembling phosphorescent fire on a grave.

Yellow paper was pasted with rice paste to cover the window frames, and a woman's hair bundle wrapped in realgar was stuffed into the cracks in the wall. A pig-slaughtering knife was stuck upside down in the lintel, and a red rope soaked in rooster blood was tied to the handle.

"Sealing windows, blocking holes, and guarding doors are called the three purification rituals. They are to prevent the yin energy from being too heavy during divination and to avoid being disturbed by wandering ghosts."

Yu Zhensheng explained to his apprentice.

The little girl looked up at Yu Zhensheng in surprise and said, "Grandpa, you also know how to ask about rice?"

Yu Zhensheng simply shook his head and smiled, without saying a word.

Upon entering the Wenmi Hall, the surroundings were dimly lit, making visibility blurry even in broad daylight.

It was gloomy and dark, with only a few candles burning eternally.

The firelight illuminated an old face and a pair of pupils covered by white film.

Those eyes were staring straight at Zhou Sheng, as if scrutinizing everything about him. Despite his eye condition, they gave him the illusion of being sharp as a sword.

He was also sizing up this legendary spirit medium.

Stove ash is used to cover the forehead and shade the eyes, obscuring vision and turning the head white as if boiling ice.

That head of messy white hair hadn't been combed in ages; it was all clumped together in a thick, sticky mass.

"Young man, take that thing out of your waist."

She suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse, her gaze piercing like an awl as she looked at the cloth bag at Zhou Sheng's waist.

Zhou Sheng opened the cloth bag, revealing a rotting head.

The little girl screamed in fright, her face turning deathly pale.

The old woman, Cui, remained calm and sat quietly in her chair, with the memorial tablets of her parents, husband, children, and in-laws behind her.

"Is the person you want to ask about her?"

Zhou Sheng nodded.

"Is she your closest relative?"

"No."

"But were they people who died unjustly?"

"K."

Do you know his name?

"I don't know."

"Then please go back."

The sorceress Cui shook her head and said, "There are three things you shouldn't ask when asking about rice: don't ask about your closest relatives, don't ask about the wronged souls of the dead, and don't ask about the nameless and faceless."

"Little Yun'er, see the guest out."

……

(End of this chapter)