A master of comedy!

Chapter 75 Borrowing Money
Walking along the streets of the ghost market, Zhou Sheng looked around and listened to the shouts and cries of vendors along the street, and got a rough estimate of the prices in the ghost market.

Here, incense money is worth much more than copper coins in the mortal world. One coin of incense money can buy a basket of steamed buns. Even the most valuable piece of human skin sold by the painted-skin ghost only costs ten coins.

The uncle who sold funerary items just now only asked for fifteen coins for all the burial goods he had bundled together.

According to the uncle, in the Eight Immortals Pawnshop in the ghost market, one coin of incense money can be exchanged for one tael of gold, but even so, not many people are willing to exchange it.

Only then did Zhou Sheng realize the true value of the incense money his master had once given him; no wonder Granny Cui was immediately tempted.

Zhou Sheng continued walking forward, and after asking for directions, he quickly entered an alley where the number of people around him gradually decreased.

After walking for a while, he saw two large red lanterns, the red light illuminating the four large characters on the plaque above the door.

Eight Immortals Pawnshop!

There is a screen-like wall in front of the pawnshop to block the view and prevent people from seeing what is happening inside.

After all, people who come to pawn shops are often in bad circumstances, and no one wants to be looked at differently.

Moreover, if the item being pawned is a valuable treasure, the pawnshop owner certainly wouldn't want outsiders to see it.

However, the wall in front of me was covered with knife marks and arrow holes, as well as indelible bloodstains.

Zhou Sheng recalled what the pharmacy clerk had said during the day: when Li Zicheng's rebel army massacred Xunyang City, all the larger shops suffered, including Qinghetang and Baxian Pawnshop.

Qinghetang was located right next to the Eight Immortals Pawnshop.

Zhou Sheng was overjoyed and quickened his pace. Sure enough, he saw a clinic not far ahead with three big characters on the signboard: Qinghe Hall!

Upon entering, he twitched his nose, revealing a strange expression.

The air was filled with the smell of herbs mixed with blood and decay. The ground, pillars, counters, and even the eaves were covered with mold and bloodstains.

Can this kind of place really cure diseases?

However, Zhou Sheng soon learned how ghosts diagnose illnesses.

"It hurts! It hurts! Doctor, please be gentle!"

A patient was screaming in agony; his neck and head were almost completely separated, connected only by a thin layer of skin, and he had to use both hands to support his head when he sat down.

The doctor was sewing his neck and head back together with needle and thread. Blood splattered from time to time during the process, not only on the walls but also on the doctor's clothes.

It doesn't look like treating an illness; it looks more like dismembering a body.

The flickering candlelight illuminated the doctor's cold, pale face, making it appear strangely sinister and terrifying.

"Alright, luckily the person who beheaded you wasn't very efficient and left some flesh behind, otherwise it would have been really difficult to sew it up."

The doctor looked at the patient, who was now resembling a human being, and nodded in satisfaction.

The decapitated ghost stood up and shook his head. Although blood was still seeping from the stitches, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Wei! You truly deserve to be called a miracle doctor!"

He paid three coins for incense and left happily. As he passed by, he turned his head to look at Zhou Sheng, and his head almost drooped down. Zhou Sheng reached out and helped him up.

"Do not shake your head vigorously for three days!"

Doctor Wei quickly gave instructions.

"I understand, young man. Thank you. Alas, you have no idea how painful beheading is. I struggled on the ground for a long time before I finally breathed my last because I didn't have enough money to bribe the executioner..."

Zhou Sheng's face turned ashen when he saw the blood on his hands.

After the overly familiar beheaded ghost left, Doctor Wei washed his hands and slowly walked over to examine the mask on Zhou Sheng's face.

"Sir, are you here to see a doctor or to get medicine?"

"see a doctor."

"When you're seeing a doctor, you'll have to take off your mask, after all, this involves observation, listening, questioning, and palpation—"

"No need, this is a mental illness."

Doctor Wei frowned, slowly raised his eyes, and said in surprise, "A mental illness requires a mental cure; our Qinghe Hall may not be able to cure it."

"It can be cured, because my remedy for your heart is in your Qinghetang."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of emotion crossed Doctor Wei's eyes. He stared at Zhou Sheng again, signaling his staff to prepare in case anyone caused trouble, while continuing to probe, "May I ask who you are—"

"Blue and white enter the liver and lungs, red and black enter the heart and kidneys, and yellow calms the spleen and kidneys..."

Zhou Sheng suddenly spoke a passage of scripture, which seemed to be from a Taoist scripture, but it made Doctor Wei's expression change.

He looked around and then whispered, "My lord, please come with me."

Zhou Sheng followed him into a side room.

Doctor Wei immediately closed the door, turned around and looked at him, saying, "How did you know that we have five-colored mica here, sir?"

The sentence that Zhou Sheng just mentioned is the content about five-colored mica in "Baopuzi".

"What, does Mr. Wei need to have his identity checked before selling medicine?"

"Sir, you jest. This five-colored mica is a treasure passed down from my Wei family ancestors. They forbade it to be sold unless a descendant encounters a calamity!" Zhou Sheng frowned, feeling somewhat troubled. It seemed unlikely that he could persuade someone to disobey the ancestral precepts.

"Three strings of cash!"

Doctor Wei held up three fingers, his eyes gleaming, and said, "Three strings of cash for incense money? I'll pretend I didn't hear that ancestral precept!"

Zhou Sheng: "..."

Seeing that Zhou Sheng remained silent, Doctor Wei frowned and asked, "What's wrong, sir? Is there too much?"

"Well then, if you really want it, name your price. If you're not, you should leave."

Zhou Sheng remained silent, his expression slightly embarrassed beneath the mask.

He only brought thirty coins as incense money this time, which Yaotai Feng gave him last night.

No, there should only be 29 coins left, and we still paid 1 coin for the toll.

Three strings of cash is three thousand coins!
The difference was significant, but Zhou Sheng didn't have the courage to say it.

"Sir, are you going to buy it or not?"

"……purchase!"

Zhou Sheng gritted his teeth and said, "Can I pay a deposit first to take the goods, and then pay the rest in installments? I can pay more interest."

At worst, we can treat it as buying a house.

Fortunately, the commission from performing at Juxianlou was quite substantial; I should be able to earn several dozen coins each night, which should be enough to pay off my debts.

The most urgent task is to quickly improve one's cultivation level. Once the cultivation level is high, making money will be much easier.

A glint of light flashed in Boss Wei's eyes as he carefully considered his options, saying, "It's not impossible, but I wonder how much deposit you can offer, sir?"

"...Twenty-nine coins."

Zhou Sheng forced himself to say those words.

……

boom!
The door of Qinghetang slammed shut. Zhou Sheng stood in the alley, the cold wind blowing, but his face felt like it was on fire.

After he said 29 coins, the other party immediately changed his expression and kicked him out, furious.

Zhou Sheng could understand. If it were him, and someone offered to buy his family heirloom for 29 coins, he would also suspect that the other party was intentionally trying to humiliate him.

If the deal falls through, he actually has another option: to seize it by force.

However, Zhou Sheng suppressed the thought as soon as it surfaced. Firstly, there were ghost soldiers patrolling the ghost market, and if things got out of hand, he might not be able to leave.

Secondly, this action violates his principles; a true man has things he will do and things he will not do.

After thinking it over, he realized that he only had one path to take.

……

A quarter of an hour later, in Yaotai Feng's room at the Juxianlou Theater.

"You said you wanted to borrow money?"

Yao Taifeng wore a fitted long dress in turquoise today, with a blue belt around her waist. Her long hair was simply tied with a red ribbon, like a lotus in summer, simple yet elegant.

She put down the second volume of "The Story of Hong Fu" in her hand, her bright and spirited eyes quietly scrutinizing Zhou Sheng, a playful smile on her face.

"Yes, from now on, after I finish performing each day, I can use my wages to pay back the debt, plus interest. I—"

"It goes without saying."

Yao Taifeng's voice was very calm as she interrupted Zhou Sheng.

That's definitely asking too much of people.

Zhou Sheng sighed inwardly. It seemed he would have to think of another way. Perhaps he could ask Luo Shu to help him calculate if there was a good way to quickly earn incense money.

Hey!
A sound of a lock being opened rang out. Zhou Sheng looked up and saw that Yao Taifeng had taken out a sandalwood box and unlocked the copper lock.

Inside were stacks of incense money and many stacked banknotes.

The rich aroma of incense wafted through the air, making the entire room resemble a temple.

Yao Tai Feng, who was lazily leaning against the edge of the bed, reading a book and gently lifting her colorful shoes, looked like a bodhisattva to Zhou Sheng.

"Mr. Long, you can borrow whatever you want."

"No interest required."

……

　Thank you Xigou Erbadao for the 500 reward! Sending you love!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)