Gou Danzi insisted he knew nothing about any Grey Immortal, and kept saying that if he had the ability to become a disciple of a Grey Immortal and join the ranks of those who communicate with spirits, he wouldn't be in a situation where he still hadn't found a wife.
I couldn't help but frown. This was the third time Gou Danzi had emphasized this point. Whether the village chief threatened to expel him from the village or Sister Zhang threatened to scratch his face, his answer was always the same.
It seemed I would have to ask the rat that Huang San had taken away about this matter. Fortunately, the evil spirit had been dealt with. As for how the village would handle Gou Danzi, that was no longer my concern.
As I was leaving, the village chief stopped me. He took a new kraft paper envelope from Granny Liu and slapped it into my hand.
"Qingyun boy, you are a benefactor to my Liu family. This is just a small token of my appreciation. Don't think it's too little."
I felt it slightly. Good heavens, it was quite thick. If it were all small red bills, it would be at least five thousand yuan.
I politely declined, then very sheepishly put it in my pocket.
"We're all neighbors. Granny Liu, are you trying to make it so we can't get anything done in the village in the future?"
"You saved my child's life. This is still too little, and we're taking advantage of you. I know the rules between you and your master. Take it! When the child's parents return, I'll definitely have them bring gifts to thank you."
I chuckled and quickly said it wasn't necessary.
Since I had accepted the money, our karma was settled. We were just neighbors now. You pay, I work, and there's no karmic connection between us.
The parents of the other children also came forward to give money, but it wasn't as generous as the village chief's.
When I got home, it was almost ten o'clock. A golden-brown roasted lamb leg was still on the fire. The embers below still gave off some red light. I reached out and touched it; it was just right, not too hot or too cold.
"Huang San is quite considerate. He really left me a lamb leg." I hadn't eaten anything all day, so after washing my hands, I didn't stand on ceremony and started eating.
Just as I took two bites, Bai Ling'er woke up. She stretched lazily, yawned, and looked at me with sleepy eyes, appearing as if she had just woken up.
"Hey, this is my supper. Why are you eating it?"
"Eat, eat, eat. All you do is eat. Do you still look like a snake? You're almost as fat as a pig. You should change your name tomorrow from Bai Ling'er to Greedy Snake."
Bai Ling'er was only as long as a chopstick and as thick as a thumb, but now she had eaten herself to be two thumbs thick. If you didn't know she was a snake, you'd think someone had added a rolling pin to her.
Perhaps it was from eating too much, or perhaps she was drunk. Bai Ling'er didn't instantly fly to the top of my head and give me a rap on the head. Instead, she let out a disdainful "Tch" and then lay on the lounge chair, closing her eyes to recuperate.
"Hey! I want to ask you something."
"..."
"Where is Huang San?"
"..."
Seeing this, I knew she was definitely angry with me. This little one, when she's angry, she just goes silent. No matter what you say, it's useless. There's only one way to appease her, and that's to buy her food.
But I'll let it go today. I'll talk about it tomorrow. I'll wait for Huang San to come and ask him where he took that rat. I always felt that rat demon was a bit strange, but I couldn't quite figure out what was strange about it.
After tidying up the courtyard, I took a lantern from inside and hung it up. I had worked all day and earned less than eight thousand yuan, and the largest portion came from the village chief. I didn't know when I would earn enough to pay off the debt to Bull Head and Horse Face, let alone the money my master wanted. I hoped for a generous customer tonight.
After hanging the lantern, I lit a stick of incense for Grandpa Zu, asking him to bless me with more earnings.
Waiting for customers is the most boring thing. I played on my phone for a while while sitting on the bed, and then my eyelids felt heavy. Since Bai Ling'er was guarding the courtyard, she would definitely call me if anyone came. My phone fell onto the bed, and I drifted off into a daze.
"Big brother..."
I was woken by a soft, sweet voice.
Who was calling me?
I opened my eyes in a daze and saw a little girl, about five or six years old, standing by my bed. She was wearing a white doll dress and holding a black stuffed dog. She looked at me somewhat timidly.
Seeing me wake up, she was so startled that she quickly retreated a few steps, looking as if she was very afraid of me.
"Whose child are you? How did you get into my house? Where are your adults?"
"Nannan doesn't know where Mommy and Daddy went. Nannan is hungry, and I saw your house was still lit, so I wanted to come in and ask for some food."
Nannan spoke in a very soft voice and seemed a little embarrassed, as if asking me for food was a very impolite act. This showed that her family had very good upbringing.
Two lights? Asking for food?
This immediately woke me from my haze. She said only my house was lit when she came to ask for food. Everyone in the village knew what the lantern hanging in front of my house at night meant. It was a lantern for seeking information for spirits.
Since the villagers knew the meaning of the lantern I hung at night, they warned their children not to go out at night. Therefore, after dark, there were no children in the village.
And she was undoubtedly a ghost, because only ghosts could see the hundred lanterns I hung at my door, as they represented helping ghosts find homes, explore paths, and ask about marriages.
I carefully sensed the aura on Nannan. She was indeed a ghost, but her ghostly aura was very faint. It seemed she hadn't been dead for long, and likely hadn't passed her first seven days.
Seeing such a young child die, I felt a bit of pity. A child of five or six years old, who hadn't experienced the beauty of the world before passing away, was truly regrettable.
I always felt pity for such pure souls, because they were like a blank piece of paper, on which their colors had not yet been painted, and then they had to reincarnate. They were truly the most pitiable kind of people.
"Nannan, would you like brother to take you to eat something delicious?"
"Mm..."
Making food for ghosts is also a branch of study in Yin divination. However, the food made is different from that eaten by the living. Most of it is made from Yin soil and冥纸 (underworld paper).
To prevent Nannan from knowing she had died, I took her to the courtyard, lit the bonfire, and woke up the sleepy Bai Ling'er, asking her to watch Nannan.
Bai Ling'er was somewhat reluctant. After I threatened to stop her lamb tomorrow if she didn't watch Nannan, Bai Ling'er lazily yawned and agreed, but she only glanced at Nannan before falling asleep again.
"What a cute little bug, big brother. Where did you buy it?"
Seeing Bai Ling'er, Nannan didn't show any fear. Instead, she looked at her with joy, as if she had found a new toy.
Startled, I quickly covered Nannan's mouth and looked at Bai Ling'er with concern. She called it a cute bug, but if she hadn't eaten too much and gotten drunk, she would have been a little Tyrannosaurus Rex!
Fortunately, she was sleeping soundly and didn't hear what Nannan said.
"You stay here and watch the bug for big brother, and I'll go make you some food."
"Mm... I'll definitely watch the bug for you."
Nannan's promise was loud, making me tremble with fear. Bai Ling'er's occasionally twitching eyelids kept reminding me that she was awake, which was somewhat troublesome.
I didn't go directly into the kitchen. Instead, I turned and went into the ancestral hall, because there was special yellow paper for offering food here. This yellow paper could replace incense and candles, and also underworld money.
To prevent Nannan from knowing she had died, I could only cut some chicken, duck, and fish from the underworld paper to temporarily fool her, and then explain later.
This wasn't because I intentionally wanted to deceive Nannan. It was truly out of pity for her, and also because such pure-minded Yin souls repay with a great deal of Yin virtue. Simply put, she was a golden chicken that had come to my doorstep.
I briefly wrote the names of the dishes on the yellow paper, then cut them into approximate shapes and threw them into a basin to burn. In the blink of an eye, four dishes and one soup were ready, along with a large bowl of fragrant rice.