Volume 1: Spirit Marriage Chapter 30: Verbal Sparring

  To avoid startling Uncle Huang, I didn't mention the Water Saint's matter to him. Seeing Zhang Yunhao now with such a "sneaky" look, I was worried that Uncle Huang would misunderstand, so I quickly followed up and saw Aunt Huang lying on the bed in the room. I hurriedly blocked Zhang Yunhao and asked him what he smelled. Zhang Yunhao said in a low voice: "There's a ghostly aura!"

  Huang Shi's uncle also walked over and asked, "What kind of ghost?" Zhang Yunhao pointed to the house and said, "There is a ghost in this house!" Huang Shi's face suddenly changed, not with fear, but with anger. It was clear that he wanted to lose his temper, but restrained himself because of my presence, forcing a smile and saying, "Xiao Dao, what kind of joke is your friend playing?"

  I also think Zhang Yunhao is a bit too mysterious, the master's yin-yang eyes didn't see any ghosts here, but you just took one sniff and said there were ghosts, this is also too unbelievable. At first glance, it's clear that he's a swindler who uses the "divine nose" as a signboard. So I smiled at Huang Shixiong and pushed Zhang Yunhao aside, asking in a low voice: "Is there really a ghost?" Zhang Yunhao said he was 80% sure, and indeed smelled the ghostly aura. I asked him what kind of ghost it was, but he couldn't confirm, saying that the ghostly aura was very faint.

  Huang Shigong came over to us again and asked, "What are you guys up to?" Seeing that Huang Shigong was really angry, we told him about the Water Saint Child and handed him the talisman given by Zhong Ling'er. Huang Shigong sneered, "Xiao Dao, you're going to college soon, how can you still be so superstitious? What Water Saint Child? It's all nonsense!" I sullenly took back the talisman and said that sometimes it's better to believe in something than not to believe at all. Huang Shigong scolded, "Bullshit! I never believed in these superstitions. Didn't Li Shenpo say that Da Hei's soul was lost? What happened? A shot of medicine fixed him!"

  I didn't want to continue talking to Huang Shi Shu, or else it would seem like I was spreading feudal superstition. In our village, there were two people who never believed in ghosts and gods, one was Qin Shu, and the other was Huang Shi Shu. Since Huang Shi Shu didn't believe me at this time, the more I talked, the more he would be disgusted. As it was almost noon, I called Zhang Yunhao to my house for lunch. On the way, I asked Zhang Yunhao if he really smelled the ghostly aura, and he said yes. I asked him if it was a male or female ghost, and Zhang Yunhao said that couldn't be detected, ghosts basically had one smell. I asked what kind of smell it was, and he hesitated for half a day, saying it was an indescribable smell, and it's better if I didn't know. I thought this kid was being mysterious on purpose. Then I asked him what to do now, Zhang Yunhao said of course we would catch the ghost, I asked how to catch it, he stretched out his hand, with five fingers clenched tight, "This is easy, watch me." I asked if he could really do it, and Zhang Yunhao confidently said: "Yes, definitely yes, if I say yes, then it's definitely yes!"

  After returning home, Wu Lele came again, she said that there were several wells in their village of Wu that had also dried up, according to her estimate this was absolutely related to evil spirits, and told me not to go out at night to avoid encountering things I shouldn't.

  Zhang Yunhao asked me who Wu Lele was, looking quite concerned about me. I said she was a distant relative of mine. Zhang Yunhao immediately asked again: "How old is she? Does she have a boyfriend?"

  How can I put it? That girl is eighteen this year and doesn't have a boyfriend. I thought to myself, but there's already a man involved.

  "That's great!" Zhang Yunhao exclaimed excitedly: "Introduce her to me, I like this type." I was extremely annoyed and reminded him not to make a mistake, the other party had been engaged since childhood. Zhang Yunhao didn't care at all, confidently saying: "It's just an engagement, with my abilities, I can definitely defeat that loser and take the beauty away."

  I almost kicked him into outer space.

  Wu Lele walked over and asked what we were talking about. Zhang Yunhao spoke bluntly, saying he wanted to pursue Wu Lele. Wu Lele looked disdainful, glanced at me and said she already had a husband. Zhang Yunhao asked who it was, and immediately called him over. Three moves would determine the winner. Wu Lele kicked my leg and lazily said: "It's him." Zhang Yunhao stared at me for a long time with wide eyes, stuttering: "Brother, I didn't expect... you're really hiding your true self!"

  I feel that Zhang Yunhao is a very pleasant person to get along with. Some people you spend your whole life interacting with, yet you still feel like strangers, while others, after just a few words, make you feel like old friends who have known each other for years.

  After dinner, I invited Zhang Yunhao to stay at my place as a guest. I wanted to discuss with him how to deal with Shui Shengzi. Zhang Yunhao agreed without hesitation and said that although he didn't see Li Shenpo this time, meeting me was also a kind of fate - his words made me feel particularly awkward, while Wu Lele was smiling on the side.

  Wu Lele smiled, and Zhang Yunhao became more energetic, saying that he would go to Huang Shizhong's house tonight to catch the Water Saint Child, and let us open our eyes. Wu Lele asked half-believingly, "Can you really catch the Water Saint Child?" Zhang Yunhao nodded, saying he could, and Wu Lele asked again, "Then can you distinguish between humans and ghosts?" Zhang Yunhao widened his eyes and said, "Of course I can!" Wu Lele hummed thoughtfully and asked again, "Then can you distinguish between demons and spirits?" Zhang Yunhao patted his chest and said, "Does that even need to be said? Of course I can!" He whispered in my ear, "Actually, I don't know how." Then he raised his voice and told Wu Lele, "I just need to use my nose to smell it, and I can detect ghostly energy, demonic energy, and even magical energy!" As he spoke, he sniffed towards Wu Lele's body, and Wu Lele cursed him as annoying and turned around to leave.

  I asked Zhang Yunhao what made him capture the Water Saint Son, and if he had a magical artifact that could communicate with gods. Zhang Yunhao took out a small object from his inner pocket and said it was the ghost-capturing artifact. I looked at the object and found it to be a harmonica, about the size of a palm, made of copper, with patterns of butterflies and phoenixes on it, looking quite exquisite.

  I asked what this thing was and if it could really capture ghosts. Zhang Yunhao handed me the harmonica with a serious expression and said: "Don't underestimate it, this is my family's treasured heirloom passed down for 35 generations, an ancient spirit harmonica, priceless! There's nothing more precious than this in the world."

  I snorted in disdain, thinking he was bragging. If I were to take out the Yin-Yang knife, it would surely scare him silly. But I didn't say anything and asked him how the harmonica could capture ghosts instead. Zhang Yunhao said he would play a tune called "Hell's Soul-Calming Melody" that could calm down ghosts.

  I said I couldn't see any special mechanism on the harmonica, but it seemed quite impressive. Zhang Yunhao didn't notice my sarcasm and proudly said: "That's right, this Hell's Soul-Calming Melody is a short piece passed down in my family. If I can master the entire tune, I guarantee I can kill all the evil ghosts in the world!"

  I think he's just a boastful charlatan! His verbal skills are top-notch, but what about his actual abilities? I'm starting to doubt whether he can really handle the Water Saint. What if he ends up being unable to catch him and instead provokes the Water Saint, causing even more trouble?

  After bragging, Zhang Yunhao asked me in a gossiping tone how I had such a beautiful wife like Wu Lele at a young age. I didn't want to talk about this with him, so I looked around and found that Wu Lele was nowhere to be seen. I then said that Wu Lele was just joking, and asked my mother where Wu Lele had gone. My mother said she had already left.

  This girl went back without even saying goodbye, no manners at all.

  According to Zhang Yunhao, the best time to catch ghosts is at Hai Shi. Why? Because his energy is most vigorous at this time. I don't agree with this point, I think it's more suitable to catch him when his energy is at its worst. Of course, I didn't mention this point, now he is the master, he is the protagonist, I'll just watch him play first.

  Tonight, the moonlight is shy and hiding in thick clouds, not daring to come out. At around 9 o'clock, we quietly opened the door and were about to go to Uncle Huangshi's house when my mother came out of the room and asked us where we were going. Zhang Yunhao and I looked at each other, and at this time, we couldn't tell the truth, so I said we were going to catch frogs. My mother wouldn't let us go, and with no choice, we reluctantly went back inside.

  Mother followed in and said that there have been many strange things happening lately, repeatedly reminding us not to be too playful.

  After my mother went back to her room, Zhang Yunhao asked me what to do, and I said let's go after my mother falls asleep.

  After waiting for about half an hour, I got impatient and was just about to open the door and go out. Zhang Yunhao sniffed his nose, and his face suddenly sank, saying in a low voice: "There is a ghostly aura!" I quickly stopped my footsteps and subconsciously looked out the window, and my heart sank. Outside the window, a black shadow suddenly appeared!