Chapter 47: Eighteen Miles Inn

  "It's rare to see you so serious!" At night, I was in the wooden house, under the light of the oil lamp, grinding cinnabar to draw talismans. It's been a while since I've used these tools that I rely on for food. In order to cope with the unknown battle against the yellow weasels, I have no choice but to work hard.

  "Matters have their own weight and urgency. For those that are insignificant, I naturally deal with them in a relaxed manner. However, Lamp Grass, this time around, I really don't have any confidence. Making some extra preparations is always good. I ask you, has the Golden Fow-Magic Scripture been engraved?" I asked Lamp Grass while drawing on the cut-out talisman paper without lifting my head.

  "Ah, let me go burn incense and copy scriptures!" As soon as I mentioned this, the Lamp Grass who had been standing beside me and chattering nonstop suddenly came to his senses.

  When the sky is about to brighten, I and Lamp Grass have done our respective duties one after another. Just as we were preparing to go to bed on the kang for a while, the female demon came over to knock on the door.

  "Master, it's still dark outside, we haven't slept all night, can we sleep for two more hours?" I said with a sad face as I opened the door and saw the seductive woman walking in with her slender waist swaying.

  "The eighteen-mile pavilion is not close from here, it's over thirty miles away. With such a big snowstorm, if we don't set off early, I'm afraid we won't arrive until nightfall." The demon girl explained patiently to me, probably because she saw that I hadn't slept for a whole night. If this were in normal times, she would have been yelling at me already.

  "These are for the road!" Just as I and Lamp Grass were about to leave, Master Mei handed me a bundle containing eight large steamed buns emitting hot air. It seems that today's lunch will have to be eaten on the go.

  Shibali, originally named Shibali Village, was named after the village's east-west length of 18 miles. During wartime, some brave people started doing business with the Soviet Union. Because Shibali was their last stop in the country, clever people began to specialize in trade within the village, specifically targeting these individuals for profit. Gradually, the once unknown village transformed into a bustling commercial area, eventually changing its name to Shibali Town.

  After the founding of the country, this smuggling route gradually declined for various reasons and returned to its original desolate state. The people here turned their attention to farming for a living. The more remote and primitive the place is, the more likely it is to have legends about ghosts and gods. Those ghosts and spirits seem to prefer places that have not been modernized, and from time to time, they will create some legendary stories in such places.

  To say, the eighteen-mile shop has been noisy for a long time, and it's not the first or second time that something like a wake-up corpse has happened. It can't be said when it started, but some stories about Huang Pizi began to circulate here. Some were about Huang Pizi being grateful to someone and then coming to repay his kindness, while more were about how someone had unintentionally offended Huang Daxian and was cursed by him until their family was ruined.

  It's really hard to say, no one can figure out the reason. Those who have received favors dare not show their wealth openly, and when someone asks about it, they all deny it with a straight face. Those who were harmed, basically all family members died, wanting to ask what happened but there is nowhere to ask! So the truth of the matter was covered up like this.

  However, in the eighteen-mile shop here, regardless of age, everyone firmly believes that those rumors related to Huang Daxian are true. They choose to believe because they all hope that one day Huang Daxian will owe them a favor. Then when Huang Daxian repays his debts, he will bring a substantial fortune to their family and get rid of poverty, living a rich life! As for those neighbors or relatives who died unjustly, in their hearts, they must have offended Huang Daxian and are the kind of people who deserve to die.

  It has to be said that there are still many people in this world who want to gain without labor and wait for manna from heaven. Otherwise, why would lottery sales be so hot? Do you really think that if everyone shows a little love, the world will have a beautiful tomorrow? Don't joke around, do you believe it when I say it? In the end, it's just about wanting to spend a small price to get a big return.

  Huang Daxian brings good fortune and repays kindness, which is naturally welcome. But if Huang Daxian goes to someone's home and causes a ruckus, making it impossible for them to rest, that's not so great. When bringing good fortune and repaying kindness, you are indeed Huang Daxian. But if you stir up trouble at home, making it impossible for the family to have a peaceful day, then you're just a thieving yellow wolf.

  Don't you see those people around you who play the lottery, after winning they always praise this industry. But when he invests tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, and only wins a few small prizes of 5 yuan, then look at him again, he will definitely say don't buy it, it's all cheating. So when someone praises something, he must be the beneficiary of that thing. Without benefits, who would spend their breath to promote others? In this world, there are no fools.

  The case of the corpse waking up has happened in Shilihepu more than once or twice. Almost every few years, there will be a commotion here. Some people say that the feng shui of Shilihepu is problematic, while others claim that the family where the incident occurred must have offended Huang Daxian in some way.

  Why is the resurrection connected to Huang Daxian? It's because of Mei Jiugu. Once, after she subdued a resurrected corpse, in front of the deceased's family members, with one slash of her sword, she split open the corpse and pulled out a cunning-looking yellow mouse from its abdominal cavity.

  The hearts, livers, spleens, lungs and kidneys of the deceased, including their intestines, had all been eaten clean by the yellow weasel. The reason the corpse was moving was because the yellow weasel had taken over the body and was causing trouble. From that time on, the people in the village knew that it wasn't a case of resurrection from the dead, but rather the yellow weasel's mischief. After that, whenever there was a case of a waking corpse in the eighteen-mile town, they would send someone to come and ask my Master Aunt Mei Jiu to take action at night.

  In fact, in this region of Northeast China, there are many people who can collect and control the Yellow Skin, not just my Master Ninth Aunt Mei. However, people all have a preconceived notion that the first person to take action is always the most cunning one. It can be said that the entire village of Eighteen Mile Village, except for Master Ninth Aunt Mei, no one else believes it. At this time, even if Master Ninth Aunt Mei's master were to appear in person, those villagers would still not believe it.

  Now that we've come to this point, the question arises. This time we're taking Master Mei's place, will those villagers buy our story? That's a big problem. If they don't believe us and refuse to cooperate when the time comes, how can we take down that yellow-skinned creature? What if it somehow escapes? The trouble would be huge then. With the abilities of people like Poor Dao, I'm not afraid naturally. But what if that thing suddenly hides in a dark place and lets out a fart, and we fall for its trick? Can't always be on guard against the people around me, suspecting they're all yellow-skinned creatures in disguise, can I?

  As I walked on the snowy ground, I expressed my concerns to the female demon, and she immediately showed her agreement. After our discussion, we decided that this time we would not enter the village in a big way. We hid in a hidden place, waiting for the yellow-skinned man to manipulate the corpses recklessly and start stealing chickens, and then we would work together to subdue him. After everything was over, we would appear again to comfort the villagers.

  "Master, let's have lunch!" I said to the demoness walking beside me, after trudging through the snow for several hours, my eyes fixed on the time which was almost noon, and rubbed my growling stomach.

  "Alright, bring out the buns and let's make do with what we have!" The demoness was not particular about food and clothing when she was busy with serious matters. Upon hearing this, Wen nodded and swept away the snow from under her feet, revealing a thick layer of ice underneath. She sat down on the spot. I had wanted to remind her to be careful not to freeze her butt off, but I was afraid of getting hit. After hesitating for a moment, I simply pulled out a scarf from my bag and handed it to her.

  "You're quite considerate! No problem sitting on the ice for a short while." The enchantress brought over a scarf and smiled at me, saying. In an instant, I felt like winter had gone and spring had arrived.

  "This is ridiculous, dare not to choke me to death with this ball?" I stuck my neck out and forced the pancake residue in my mouth down. Then I rolled my eyes and complained there. The pancakes had been frozen at a temperature of minus tens of degrees, and were as hard as bricks. People with poor teeth really couldn't bite into them. The key was that we didn't bring water, and the pancake in our mouths was like an ice block, cold and hard, difficult to swallow.

  "Heh! Come on, put this in your mouth and eat it with the pancake!" The demoness couldn't help but smile as she saw me pouting. She casually grabbed a handful of snow from beside her, kneaded it, and handed it to me.

  "Alright!" At this time, I didn't have the heart to pursue the issue of whether the snow on the ground was clean or not. I took the snowball from the demon girl's hand and stuffed it into my mouth like eating ice cream. And surprisingly, the taste of the snow with the pancake was quite refreshing. Before long, I had devoured half a pancake with the snow that the demon girl handed me.

  "We've eaten and rested, let's get going! We must reach the Eighteen Mile Inn before dark, or we might miss our chance. If we miss tonight, it'll be impossible to sneak into the village even if we want to." The demoness pulled me up from the ground and patted my butt a few times, saying this. At this moment, I was thinking in my heart, wondering whether she was kindly helping me pat off the snow on my butt or intentionally fondling my tender tofu.

  "Northern scenery"

  A thousand miles of ice and ten thousand miles of drifting snow

  Looking at the Great Wall inside and out, only vastness remains

  The mighty river flows up and down, suddenly losing its surging waves

  The mountain dances with silver snakes, the primitive wax image, wants to compete with the heavenly lord to see who is higher!

  In the vast snowy land, my loud voice reciting poetry was heard. It startled the old owls in the distant forest to fly wildly and continuously. Of course, there were also the crisp laughs of the female demons and the snot girl!