Volume 2 Chapter 53: Not Afraid
That Geng family compound was located at the east end of the street, covering an area of nearly half an acre, belonging to a standard two-row courtyard, with people living in the back row and the front row serving as a shop.
Due to the haunting incident, no one has taken care of the other courtyard for nearly ten days, making it look desolate and barren.
It's actually not in a bustling downtown area, it's a bit out of the way, but since the Geng family was originally selling oil here, it doesn't matter; and Chen Jianchen took it over to live in, there's no big problem, on the contrary, he enjoys the peace and quiet.
Yes, now this branch of the family is no longer surnamed Geng, but has changed its surname to Chen.
In the morning, Chen Jianchen and Wang Fu found Geng Jia Yuanwai, originally wanting to rent out the other courtyard first. Who knew that upon asking casually, Yuanwai said he would sell the entire courtyard for fifteen taels of silver.
This price is seriously lower than the market price.
It is difficult to change one's nature when living in a big city.
A house like this usually costs at least thirty silver ingots, now it's discounted by half.
After some mental calculations, Chen Jianchen conceived the idea of buying a house. He immediately borrowed six ingots of silver from Wang Fu and made up the money to complete the transfer formalities with Geng's family at the prefectural government office.
So, the other courtyard became Chen Jianchen's property, and he was no longer a poor and destitute old man.
This industry came faster than expected, and Chen Jianchen was excited to suppress the ghosts in the house as soon as possible, and then bring his mother and Abao into the city.
As for opening a bookstore, it can be put off for now.
Entering another courtyard, the household items such as oil jars were almost all moved out, and were sold at a low price by Geng's men. As a result, the whole house looked empty and desolate, with debris and garbage scattered all over the ground.
Wang Fu closely followed Chen Jianchen, circling around the house once, his eyes darting everywhere, afraid that the ghost would suddenly pop out.
Actually Wang Fu opposed Chen Jianchen buying a house.
This is a haunted house, it's not good for people.
Chen Jianchen retorted with a straight face: "Scholars only need to keep their hearts upright and their minds firm, what's the logic in fearing ghosts?"
Upon hearing this, Wang curled his lip and thought to himself: anyone can say nice things, but those teachers who speak with such conviction in class are the first to rush to worship at temples, seeking peace of mind. He knew that once Chen Jian had made up his mind, he wouldn't change it, so he didn't say anything more and was happy to be a bystander.
After circling around, Chen Jianchen said: "Fu Tai brother, I will stay in the mansion tonight, you go back to the academy."
Wang Fuyi was taken aback and asked: "Liu Xian, are you sure?"
"Ha ha, if I wasn't confident, would I have bought this house?"
Wang Fu thought for a moment and felt the same way. Chen Jianchen was mature beyond his years, and he had a good sense of propriety in his actions. This was something Wang Fu understood deeply. After instructing him a few more times, he bid farewell and left.
In the house, only Chen Jianchen was left.
He put down the book and took out the four treasures of the study from inside, placing them neatly on the empty ground. With a focused mind and raised spirits, he wrote with a few brushstrokes - a single character "鎮".
Bold brushstrokes, spirited and vivid, with a sense of righteousness.
With a slight pause, Chen Jianchen's mind moved and he picked up his pen to write another character, the word "ding". However, this character was not written on paper, but rather on the palm of his left hand.
A "ding" character, written on one's own palm. The strokes of the character are strict and proper.
He gently blew dry the ink and then sat upright in the empty hall, waiting for nightfall.
The night came quickly, a crescent moon hung outside the window at the horizon, casting cold moonlight in, and printing out faint shadows on the ground.
Under the moonlight, Chen Jianchen's shadow stretched long and straight onto the wall.
On the wall behind him, the word "town" was posted on it.
Shhh!
At some point, a strange noise suddenly came from outside the window, as if something was dragging on the ground and moving. The sound was very uncomfortable to hear.
Chen Jianchen suddenly opened his eyes and saw a huge skull bursting out of the open window.
Its head is as big as a bucket, with huge eyes like bronze bells, a nose pointing to the sky, and a mouth that is both stern and large, making it look like a ferocious ghost.
The ghost poked its head out from under the window and made a hissing sound with its mouth towards Chen Jianchen - if it were an ordinary timid person, they would probably immediately shit and pee, and make a loud dolphin-like sound. But who is Chen Jianchen? He sat upright and motionless, waiting for the other party to enter the house.
The ghost was taken aback by this sudden movement, and to his surprise, he let out a strange humming noise from his mouth. His large mouth opened wide, revealing rows of sharp white teeth, and a long, crimson tongue stretched out, making him look even more terrifying. Seeing this, Chen Jianchen was not about to be scared off and run away with his tail between his legs.
Chen Jianchen suddenly burst out laughing and said, "You evil spirit, you're not doing a very good job. Relying on just your ugly appearance to scare people is beneath you. Why don't we go inside and have a nice long chat instead?"
At this moment, he suddenly remembered a small story that in ancient times, there was a scholar named Cao who lived in his friend's study. One night at midnight, something crawled in from under the door like an insect, thin as a piece of paper.
As she entered the house, the paper gradually unfolded into a human figure, which was a woman with a pale complexion.
It happened suddenly, but Cao Sheng was not afraid at all, and continued to read calmly. The woman suddenly let out her hair, stuck out her tongue and pretended to be a hanged ghost.
Cao Zhan smiled and said, "With disheveled hair, it's still just hair, only a bit messy; no matter how long the tongue is stretched out, it's still just a tongue, so what's there to be afraid of?"
The female ghost saw that she couldn't scare him, so suddenly she took off her head and put it on the table.
Unexpectedly, Cao Sheng laughed even louder and said: "Having a brain is still nothing to be afraid of, let alone not having one?"
The female ghost had exhausted all her cunning and skill, so she could only leave with a sulk, disappearing without a trace.
At this moment, Chen Jianchen was more confident than Cao Sheng, with a strong foundation and no fear at all.
Outside the window, a ghostly creature frightened Chen Jianchen so much that he became quite irritable. With a sudden movement, his huge body burst through the window and rushed into the room.
His eyes gleamed with a fierce red light, thinking that Chen Jian would be scared to death and flee in disarray.
But it was disappointed, Chen Jianchen made a move, but it wasn't to escape, instead he suddenly stood up and went forward to meet them, not afraid at all.
My dear...
The three boards of the ghostly axe have been used up, and I know it's not the right way. I suddenly turn around and want to escape.
It's actually going to escape?
Chen Jianchen was both angry and amused, this ghostly creature was actually much stronger than expected, far surpassing his imagination. He couldn't help but describe it as a "paper tiger". Just then, he shouted: "Where are you going?"
He rushed forward with swift steps, extremely agile, and in an instant he caught up to the ghostly creature from behind. His left palm opened wide, and with a slap, it landed on the dark body of the ghostly creature.
Sizzling!
Under one palm, strange changes suddenly arise!
