Chapter 42: The Water Book

  A few people accompanied You Wu to pick up Nuo Nuo's brother, and after the deputy village head and I came out of the ancestral hall, we also brought a few people to prepare things. Taking advantage of the opportunity, I whispered to him: "Old man, you let Wen Jing go, and I'll help you deal with the old man, okay?"

  The deputy village chief asked me what I was whispering about?

  I said I was sincere, as long as you agree with me, I will turn against them.

  He patted my forehead and asked if I had a fever.

  The deputy village chief didn't look like he was pretending, but even if he was, it wasn't something I could figure out, all I can do is think of a solution slowly.

  Liu Weimin wanted many things, but with a single order from the deputy village head, everyone split up to do their part, which wasn't too troublesome. The only problem was that the wild chicken couldn't be found.

  I said to find someone to go to the mountain to catch a wild chicken, after all, we have to try our luck. The deputy village chief scowled and said that thing is a protected animal, it's okay to get two privately, but now half of the village knows we're looking for wild chickens, once we find them, someone will definitely report us, and many people are eyeing the deputy village chief's position.

  Had to use the old rooster as a substitute, the village chief's mother happened to raise a few, all seven or eight years old and not slaughtered for meat, don't know what they're being raised for, but this morning one was pecked to death by the village chief.

  I thought the bow was quite difficult to get, but unexpectedly, Lao Zu Gong's great-grandson heard the news and brought over a large, dark bow, saying it was given to him by an officer who wanted to avoid punishment when Lao Zu Gong was serving as Ti Fa Shi. It is said that this bow has killed many people.

  The title of "Ti Fa" is equivalent to the current highest official in charge of justice in a province. After Lao Zu Gong became a zombie, his descendants lived in fear every day, and were also blamed by the villagers. So when his great-grandson, who was over 50 years old, handed me the large bow, he cried and begged me to use this bow to get rid of his grandfather.

  Actually, I have a good impression of Lao Zu Gong in my heart. Not to mention that he warned me twice, what is most deeply etched in my memory is the overwhelming and indescribable sadness that surged up when I saw him that night, I feel that Lao Zu Gong has an unbearable hidden sorrow!

  I got everything, and then went to the village head's thatched cottage with the deputy village chief to watch You Wu's joke, and asked him what was going on behind my back.

  When he saw Yu Dage from afar, he was wearing a coarse linen garment, with the upper half of his face covered by a large tortoiseshell glasses and the lower half hanging two layers of masks. He sat on a small stool, fiddling with yellowish things in his hand, next to which there was a bucket, which was what the villagers had scooped up, slightly roasted, and let him use to make human figurines.

  Flies are circling above his head, and from time to time he turns his body sideways, pushes up his sunglasses and wipes away tears, it's unclear whether it's due to sadness or irritation in the eyes.

  This is a flavorful scene.

  After I took a picture of him, he suddenly shouted and raised his head. Without saying another word, he threw the rice ball in his hand at us. He picked up the bucket and chased after us, splashing water like crazy. It was clear that he had been greatly stimulated and was on the verge of collapse. We were so scared that we ran away quickly.

  After returning to the ancestral hall, the villagers surrounding outside asked me when I would catch the ghost. I responded with a few sentences and then took my things inside. Liu Weimin's voice came from within the house: "Put down your things, unrelated people leave."

  As the villagers left, I and the deputy village chief were about to enter the house when Liu Weimin came again, with a hint of dissatisfaction: "I said irrelevant people leave, didn't you hear?"

  I don't know what's wrong with this old man, but who dares to offend him? I cursed silently and was about to leave, but Liu Weimin asked me to stay. People unrelated by blood or marriage are just the deputy village head.

  After closing the door of the ancestral hall, Liu Weimin cautiously poked his head out from the hall, and this careful appearance made me even more convinced that he was hiding something.

  He was checking things at the time, and I took the opportunity to ask him two questions: one was why he was dressed like this, and the other was who drank the chicken blood that night?

  "King Chen, even a clay man has three parts of fire. What do you mean by repeatedly asking me? I've already said it before, if you find Huang Jinbai, I'll naturally help you get back Wen Jing's soul. If you're not at ease and insist on staying in Guan Cun Village, then let's part ways."

  I told you not to get angry, I just asked out of curiosity.

  "Don't ask anymore, from now on, I won't answer any of your questions."

  He's not usually like this, and it's not the first time I've made him angry. With Liu Weimin's personality of not showing his emotions, he shouldn't have said something so childish, unless he had a big aunt or at this moment Liu Weimin was very annoyed, to the point where he lost his usual demeanor.

  I looked around and couldn't find the village chief's shadow, so I asked if he was still in the coffin?

  Liu Weimin said don't worry about him, he won't die. The black sour branch has a calming effect and the longer he's suffocated, the more it will harm the evil spirit on his body. Tonight, let him out again to drive away the evil spirit.

  Bored to death, I asked later: "Old man, where did so many monsters come from in this village?"

  "How much?"

  "Of course, there are more - Old Tribal Lord and Ninth Brother are two zombies, a male ghost and a female ghost, the Horse-Faced Monster and that monster who looks like me, and then there's whatever is inside that coffin. What exactly is it? This question has been bothering me for a long time, I really want to know: Is it possible that the coffin suppressed the Qing Dynasty's Xiao Jie Dragon Pulse? Oh my god, could it be a dragon in the coffin?"

  Liu Weimin said seriously: "If I say there's a coffin with you inside, would you believe me?"

  I shook my head: "Don't believe it, if you don't want to say then forget it, I just can't figure out how this small village has so many ghosts!"

  Liu Weimin smiled with a hint of ferocity, revealing a row of sharp white teeth, and said in a low, mysterious tone: "How about that? Tonight, you'll see even more."

  He handed me a clay pot filled with children's urine, and then mixed the powder of longan kernel with egg, pouring it all into the pot. He solemnly instructed: "Tonight you stand in the yard and stare at the puppet that I let you water. No matter how the puppet cries and begs for mercy, you can't stop, got it?"

  The child's urine is used to ward off evil spirits, and it's mixed with phoenix gall and dragon eye nuclei. I roughly guessed what it was for, so I hurriedly asked him what he wanted to do, letting me have a mental preparation, lest I get scared to death later on.

  Liu Weimin took off his hat, swept his hair, and said lightly: "Summon the ghosts, summon all the ghosts within a radius of ten miles."

  "I exclaimed in surprise: 'If you were to invite Old Master Qian over, could you defeat him?'"

  Liu Weimin patted the dark and large bow on the ground and said: "Evil causes evil consequences, the ancients are indeed not deceiving me."

  Liu Weimin ignored me, and on his own initiative tore the nine-zhang-long white silk into strips. He then bit open his middle finger, and on each strip of white silk he drew a few symbols that I couldn't understand. After he finished drawing on several hundred strips of white silk, his face turned pale to the point of being terrifying, but it also emitted a faint reddish glow that seemed sickly.

  He had me give white silk floss to every household in the village and take it back to burn in the stove.

  I asked him what this is?

  He said it was not passed on secretly.

  I'm telling you, you have to give me a clear answer, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to the villagers, and Xiao Tian Shi is not an emperor.

  "After some thought, Liu Weimin said: 'This is called Mo Wen, also known as Shui Shu, Gui Shu, it's a special script for the dead to read. What I wrote on the cloth strip is my own name and title. Tell the villagers that this is a talisman you drew, take it home and burn it, and it will bring peace and safety to your family.'"

  This matter is simple, I directly handed it over to the deputy village chief to handle, and then ran back to ask him about the water book.

  It's been said that the Water Scripture is a unique script of the water tribe, recording many mysterious contents. However, among the water tribe, only Mr. Shui Shu recognizes the Water Scripture, and even he can't recognize all of it.

  Shuǐshū xiānshēng is a title of respect, the country calls them Shuǐshū shī, similar to accountants and lawyers, they can evaluate primary, intermediate, and advanced titles. Of course, the country only recognizes them as archaeological personnel, but those who know understand that Shuǐshū shī are also called Guǐshī, and the Shuǐshū characters they master are a bridge for communicating with ghosts and gods.

  The onmyodo master is incredibly powerful and doesn't lose out to a Taoist in the slightest.

  The Zhou Dynasty's "I Ching" is revered in Taoism as the source of the Great Way and the first of all classics, while the I Ching ranks third among the Three I Chings. The other two mysterious books, the Xia Dynasty's "Lian Shan" and the Shang Dynasty's "Gui Cang", were already lost during the Han Dynasty, but some say that the aquatic people obtained these two books and learned the texts on them.

  Everyone who knows the Water Book is learning from the two magical books of Lian Shan and Gui Cang.

  At that time, Liu Weimin was a human-shaped gold mine in my eyes. I asked him in a sweet and greasy tone: "Old man, do you know Shuixi?"

  Liu Weimin nodded and I asked again: "How many characters do you know?"

  Liu Wei Min said with ease: "I know them all."

  A surge of hot blood rushed to my brain, I almost got excited and fainted, my tone trembled: "You know everything? Then aren't you a god? Can you teach me?"

  "Out of the question, what are you thinking?!" Liu Weimin sneered twice, and then changed his tone: "However, it's not that we can't discuss it. I have to find someone to pass on my skills to, let's talk about it after dealing with things here. If you're a promising material, I'm willing to teach you."

  With this sentence, I almost want to recognize him as my grandfather like You Wu did. Coincidentally, at this time, You Wu also came back with a tray, on which were placed dozens of yellow figurines the size of palms, rough in workmanship. I hurriedly dodged far away from him, and You Wu said weakly: "Old master, take a look if it's enough, if not, I'll make more."

  Liu Weimin said enough, then let Yu Wu carve words on the back of the puppet. Some carved men and some carved women. He said this was done to reverse yin and yang.

  Time slipped away quietly, and the villagers had all returned to their homes. After dark, Liu Weimin asked Yu Wu and me to sprinkle two big bags of coins as road money around the ancestral hall.

  I don't know what Liu Weimin did, but the day was still sunny and breezy, yet at night it suddenly turned much colder. And I felt a gust of wind from that moment when I scattered something into the sky.

  It started with just a layer of dust rising from the ground, but gradually, the wind grew stronger.

  As Yu Wu and I came out of the temple, we went left and right to scatter money. When we met at the back of the temple, a strong wind was blowing, and white paper money was flying all over the sky. The sandstorm made it hard for us to open our eyes, and from time to time, paper money stuck to my face, making me unable to see clearly. What's strange is that I couldn't hear any sound, as if I were in a silent drama.

  I didn't dare stay any longer, I dragged Yu Wu and ran back to the ancestral hall, after closing the wooden door, I could see the scattered paper money, but still couldn't hear the sound of the wind.

  At some point, Liu Weimin had already moved the old clan head's coffin into the courtyard, the coffin was open, and the village chief stood inside it, wearing my sixth-grade official robe.

  Liu Weimin was wearing the village chief's clothes, holding a large bow and an arrow made from a branch I had picked, with no expression on his face, taking aim at the village chief.

  Especially, the paper figures placed around the coffin, each figure wrapped in white cloth, were the ones that the villagers took back home to burn in the afternoon.

  The two of us walked along the wall to Liu Weimin's back, he was still confronting the village chief, but the village chief had a dull expression on his face, as if he had been beaten silly. Liu Weimin sneered and asked me with a tilted head: "Wang Zhen, can you guess who the ghost is that has possessed him?"