Chapter 10 Sand River

The group hurriedly entered the town. Carrying a coffin, they couldn't directly stay at an inn. Fortunately, there was a coffin shop in the town, so they took it there and left the coffin and donkey cart.

Then, they divided into shifts to ensure someone was guarding the coffin at all times while the others went to have a good meal and found an inn to stay in.

The first thing they did was have the innkeeper bring hot water for a thorough bath. After all, their bodies were almost stinking…

Of course, for people of this world, it was actually normal.

The cart driver and the helpers didn't think much of it, and even Aunt Zhang silently endured it.

The only ones who couldn't bear it were Hu Ma and Steward Zhou. One retained some habits from being a transmigrator, and the other was used to a refined life as a steward in the Li Manor.

After taking a nap, Hu Ma and Aunt Zhang went out with her to browse the paper offering shops in the city, purchasing items needed by a zou gui ren (ghost walker), such as incense candles, yellow paper, paper figures, white banners, cinnabar talismans, red ropes and wooden nails soaked in black dog blood, and so on.

Although they had exchanged some with the merchant caravan earlier, it was only for emergency use and barely enough for Aunt Zhang to use her skills.

Hu Ma brought plenty of silver, and Aunt Zhang was used to being frugal, so buying them was no problem.

However, Hu Ma was curious and would ask about the purpose of everything Aunt Zhang bought. Aunt Zhang had a good temper and explained each one to him.

For example, incense candles and yellow paper were self-explanatory. Paper figures were burned for wandering spirits to use as servants. Cinnabar talismans were naturally used to suppress evil. Red ropes and wooden nails soaked in black dog blood could suppress ghosts and exorcise evil.

Even the copper coins that had been used and were missing edges were useful. They had absorbed human qi and could anchor a person's soul, acting as a guide.

"These are the items used by a zou gui ren?"

Hu Ma recalled the descriptions in the Zhen Sui Shu (Town Year Book) and felt that many aspects were indeed related to zou gui ren, but the path of a zou gui ren was more varied, and the descriptions were more down-to-earth.

"These are just yin objects at most, not proper zhen wu (suppression items)."

Aunt Zhang seemed a little surprised that Hu Ma even knew the name "zhen wu." She smiled and explained to Hu Ma, "Zhen wu all possess magical power and can restrain evil to a certain extent, help the shang tan ren (altar ascender) cast spells, or be used directly as tools."

"In addition to experience and the laws of creation and destruction, the most important thing for a zou gui ren is the zhen wu. With a zhen wu, things are much easier."

"What we're buying now are just commonly used items, at most things that have absorbed some human or yin qi. They don't count as zhen wu, but the way they're used is similar."

"..."

Hu Ma remembered everything in his heart.

He discovered the differences between the Zhen Sui Shu and Aunt Zhang's methods. They took things with magical power and used them to assist their spells, while the Zhen Sui Shu didn't have this step.

According to the Zhen Sui Shu, once something was placed on the altar, it became a zhen wu.

Of course, he had long realized that the more powerful the zhen wu, the better the effect of the spell, so he had already begun to pay attention and collect them.

Now, he could take advantage of this opportunity to see how Aunt Zhang chose these items, what kind of incense was good, what kind of paper was good, what kind of cinnabar to buy, and how to find suitable items among old objects.

Aunt Zhang was very experienced and had her own set of selection methods.

Some of them had a basis and reason, and once she explained them to Hu Ma, he understood. But there were also things he didn't quite understand. It seemed that Aunt Zhang only knew they were useful, but couldn't explain why.

This was a characteristic of the zou gui ren path.

The skills of the shou sui ren (year guardian), once learned, were learned. Whether it was the early ba shi (starting ritual), sealing the fire furnace, or the later refining of life into death, you might not be skilled yet, lacking experience in practice, but the skill was already in you.

But the zou gui ren were different. Their skills had to be used. The more they were used, the richer the experience, and the greater the skill.

Moreover, they didn't shy away from it. If someone asked, they could explain it.

Of course, they were the same with other people's skills. If they were useful, they would learn them casually.

"This is kung fu beyond the path..."

Hu Ma listened to Aunt Zhang's explanations and suddenly became curious, "Then what are the skills within the zou gui ren path?"

When he asked other questions, Aunt Zhang answered casually, but when he asked this, she looked at Hu Ma.

"Did I ask too directly?"

Hu Ma couldn't help but think, wondering if Aunt Zhang was angry. If she was, he would immediately apologize. Aunt Zhang had such a good temper and shouldn't be angry with him.

Just as he was worrying, he heard Aunt Zhang say, "Zou gui ren don't really distinguish between inside or outside the path. Anyway, zou gui is about dealing with all kinds of grudges. The more you deal with, the more you learn."

"But if I had to say, it would be qing ling (inviting spirits)."

She slowly said to Hu Ma, "It's not enough to just understand some methods of dealing with grudges. After all, not all grudges can be talked to, and not all of them are reasonable."

"So, to become a true zou gui ren, you must also know how to qi tan (raise the altar)."

"Once the altar is raised, you can distinguish between different grudges, understand the rules, and try to qing ling, wen ling (ask the spirits), and jiang ling (descend the spirits)."

"However, once you invite a grudge, you'll probably never be able to separate yourself from these things."

"They say that zou gui ren who have invited spirits have a certain aura that grudges can recognize, and they will all come looking for you."

"..."

"This is probably why zou gui ren are so involved in karma, right?"

Hu Ma thought about it carefully and understood. The zou gui ren, whether inside or outside the path, had one characteristic: they attracted trouble.

Outside the path, no matter how many methods you learned, they had to be used more and more effectively. The more you used them, the more you knew what was going on. This meant you needed to deal with all kinds of strange things. After entering the path, even if you didn't go looking for grudges, the grudges would come to you.

Back in the village, Little Hong Tang had said that zou gui ren didn't drive away evil, they only attracted it. This was probably the reason.

"Of course, zou gui ren don't invite spirits casually."

Aunt Zhang sighed softly, her expression seemed a little sad, and said, "Once you invite them, you have to send them away. And you can't only invite one. It's okay to give offerings after inviting them, but you can't raise them."

"Otherwise, that zou gui ren won't be zou gui anymore, but will become a fu ling ren (spirit bearer)..."

"..."

"Yes, I've noted it down."

Hu Ma saw that Aunt Zhang was serious and quickly thanked her, but he was also a little curious in his heart, "Looking at it this way, qi tan is the first step for a zou gui ren, and qing ling is the key."

"Then, Aunt Zhang isn't old, but even an old man like Zhao Lao Han calls her a Da Zou Gui (Great Ghost Walker), so she must have some skills different from ordinary zou gui ren. I wonder what kind of spirit she can invite?"

"..."

However, he didn't ask this question directly. It was a bit too intrusive.

No matter how good Aunt Zhang's temper was, it wasn't good to ask about such a secret thing... He should just observe her secretly!

"Let's go then!"

After accompanying Aunt Zhang to buy everything she needed and adding food and water, Hu Ma replaced the helper guarding Xiang Ya Tou (Fragrant Girl) in the coffin shop. After everyone had rested peacefully for a day, Hu Ma set the itinerary for the next day. Another thirty li forward, they would cross the Sha Zi He (Sand River).

Once they crossed the Sha Zi He, they would be in the prosperous land of the old capital, and the journey should be much easier.

They had been traveling for almost half a month, and although they had experienced some dangers, everything had gone smoothly.

Now that they were halfway there, even the old steward felt a little relieved.

The next morning, after paying the inn bill and hitching up the donkey cart, they had a hearty breakfast of mutton-filled buns and soy milk at a roadside stall. Refreshed after a day of rest, the group set off again in high spirits.

After traveling for most of the day, around noon, they could already see a vast, misty river in the distance, flowing from west to east.

Traces of water vapor made people's faces feel cold.

Before setting off, they had inquired and specifically came to this narrower part of the river where there was a large stone bridge, perfect for crossing.

But to their surprise, when they arrived, they found some people gathered at the head of the bridge, but no one was crossing.

They could only hear people discussing, some saying they should turn back and wait a few days before crossing, while others said they should pool some money to buy offerings and properly offer them to the Bridge Lord before crossing, lest they accidentally fall into the river.

"Old brother, what's going on?"

Hu Ma saw that something was strange, so he put on a smile and asked a kind-looking person.

"Ah, there are strange things everywhere these days."

The old man also had a worried look on his face, and said, "In the past, this bridge had a lot of traffic. We used to deliver vegetables to the restaurant on the other side, and we would cross it several times a day. Everything was fine, but a few days ago, for some reason, this bridge became strange."

"I don't know what's on the bridge, but when people try to cross it, they become dazed halfway and fall into the river."

"Yesterday, a bride in a sedan chair was crossing, and a gust of yin wind blew, and the person and the sedan chair fell into the river. When they were fished out, the person was already dead."

"..."

"There's such a thing?"

Hu Ma felt a chill in his heart and quickly glanced at the bridge. He saw no collapses or cracks. The black stone bridge firmly spanned both sides of the Sha Zi He, and he couldn't see any problems.

He curiously asked the old man, "Then is there no other way to cross the river?"

"There is!"

The old man said, "Either you go downstream and find someone to hire a boat to take you across, or you have to go over there and buy offerings..."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice and glanced at the tea stall not far away. He could vaguely see seven or eight fierce men, bare-chested, with knives, spears, and clubs beside them, brazenly drinking tea in the shed, and said, "The offerings are being sold by them."

"Some people say that these fierce men deliberately invited evil spirits to block the bridge and are collecting tolls here!"

"We don't know what's going on. Anyway, if you don't buy offerings from them or find a way to cross by boat, you can only stay on this side of the river..."

"Even if you really want to buy offerings, they're very expensive..."

(End of this chapter)