Chapter 7 The Strange Old Man of Paper Mache Shop

  The bridge has been completed, but the opening to traffic needs to be on a auspicious day, and that day hasn't arrived yet. However, pedestrians can cross the bridge. Especially when you meet those old men who are walking their birds, ask them about the old lady's situation. They say this bridge will claim lives, just a few days ago an old lady died, aren't you guys afraid?

  The old man was not afraid of the new bridge's rumors, they said it would rain, and the girl would get married, but it didn't matter, besides, that old lady was being bullied by someone, they weren't so stupid.

  Don't ask any more, the old man said that any project must break the ground, once the ground is broken, it will provoke the vengeful spirits under the earth. During construction, people will die, not to mention that even if the building is completed, it will collapse for no reason. To ensure safety, the best way is to bury a person alive in the foundation at the beginning of the project and use this person's soul as a talisman to ward off evil spirits. This method is called "打生桩" (striking a living pile).

  The old lady was pulled away to be a human sacrifice for the bridge, just a few days ago when the big bridge had just been repaired. After the old lady went onto the bridge, some workers who were repairing the bridge shouted at her, and as she responded, the workers hiding in the dark knocked down the last brick or did something else, symbolizing that the big bridge was officially completed. Although the old lady didn't die on the spot, her soul had already been tied to the bridge pier and would soon die, with her spirit going to guard the bridge.

  After listening to the old man's explanation, Yu Wu couldn't help but shout out loud, "Is this nonsense really believable? Can just shouting someone's name kill them? Are the bridge repair workers some kind of golden horned kings?"

  The old men were unhappy and said, "What do you know, you young punk with a messy haircut?" Because ordinary people didn't believe it, the police wouldn't investigate the murderer. But a few days ago, an aunt went to the construction team and made a big scene, saying that those workers had killed her own sister, and she would make them pay, using their own methods against them. So these old men have been hanging around the bridge lately, waiting to see the commotion of the construction team.

  Upon hearing the words of Shifu, he hastily inquired and only then did he learn that he had been mistaken all along. It turned out that Shifu was one of the three aunts and six grannies from ancient times, but he had thought it referred to an old lady with the surname Shi.

  Dao Gu, Ni Gu, Gua Gu, these are the three Gu. Liu Po is Ya Po, Mei Po, Shi Po, Qian Po, Yao Po, Wen Po. Ya Po is a human trafficker, Qian Po is an old procuress, Shi Po is just a spirit medium, only with some differences in inheritance.

  On that day, the master's wife made a big fuss about the construction team and had previously exposed her family gate. She didn't dare to ask the old man, so she took me hastily on the way, and asked me what I was going to do when I saw the master's wife.

  I told her to warn that old man not to look for Wenjing again.

  But it's not that simple, the old men who mentioned Shifu just now were full of disdain and disgust in their tone. He asked a little more, those old people are all advanced in age, deeply resentful of the three aunties and six grannies, actually the third aunt is still okay to say, but the sixth granny is the most hated, the reason is that they have sharp tongues, one tongue can make the dead speak, always doing harm to big girls and young daughters-in-law.

  Figuratively speaking, the role of matchmakers in old society is similar to that of Momo nowadays.

  Those old people said that there are four kinds of people who cannot be provoked: wandering monks and Taoists, they can't help you but can harm you with ease. Beggars, because they are never satisfied. Idle men, who are reckless and unscrupulous, will not let you live in peace once you provoke them. And finally, there are the matchmakers, who are women themselves, walking among the wives of various families, and since they have no shame themselves, they love to say shameless things, even the most dignified woman can be seduced by them into infidelity.

  Wang Po is a typical example, opening a tea house while also working as a matchmaker and midwife. Without her, Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian might not have gotten together. It was also her idea to poison Wu Dalang...

  He suddenly said: "Damn it, Ni Ma's encounter with Wu Dalang is exactly the same as yours. Isn't that saying I am Wu Song?"

  I scolded him in a bad temper and asked him what was the use of saying these things, I originally thought that it was the teacher who had spoiled Wenjing.

  Don't even mention it, the six old women have different divisions of labor and teach people to do those sneaky things in different ways. Lawyers like to sue when they quarrel with others, while blacksmiths basically want to chop people up when they quarrel. The matchmaker, the midwife, and the tooth-pulling grandma are all good at seducing people into having affairs, just a cheap mouth whispering in your ear. The devout grandma, the teacher grandma, and the medicine grandma each have their own unique methods. The devout grandma likes to use force, the medicine grandma naturally likes to poison, and as for the teacher grandma's method of being a sneaky old stick, it goes without saying.

  My heart sank, and I knew what Yu didn't want to say.

  No wonder Wen Jing's eyes were so gloomy when she looked at me that time, and she could bear to poison her own brother who grew up with her since childhood. It turns out she was harmed by Shifu's evil magic.

  "After some discussion, 'Wu Er Lang' came up with a plan: since the construction team was able to use that evil method to harm the old lady, it must be because they have a powerful backer. If Shi Po wants to counterattack with evil magic, we can investigate her plan and tell the construction team, taking advantage of the situation to frame the old man as well. Once the construction team makes their move, both Shi Po and the old man will become ghosts, let's go!"

  My mind stirred, could An Su be the leader of the construction team? But why didn't she let me get close to her?

  On that day, Shi Po went to the construction team and splashed water, saying a sentence: If you have the guts, come to Wenmiao Street, everyone will settle accounts.

  Wenmiao Street is a street with a Wen Temple, I've never been in and don't know what kind of monster is enshrined inside. Because of the existence of this temple, the street is filled with shops selling incense sticks and fortune-telling old men. We thought that when we arrived at Wenmiao Street, it would be easy to find out where Shifu's address was, but unexpectedly, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack!

  Ask the fortune-telling old man, is there a female master who can calm the soul nearby? All the old men reacted in the same way, stroking their white beards and looking at us with a sideways glance: "What do you want to find her for?"

  It sounds like a door, we hurriedly said: "Sister was frightened and wants to ask Master An's soul for peace."

  The old fortune teller then put on a stern face, muttered to himself for a while, and said in a sympathetic tone: "Alright, I've calculated it out, I understand what happened. My master is the great mountain heavenly master, you don't need to find that insignificant old woman, I'll accompany you myself." After finishing speaking, he picked up his small stool and had us lead the way, still with a face that said encountering him was our ancestors' good fortune.

  These swindlers, hearing that there's money to be made, will never let us find the real Master. My friend and I had no choice but to go to a nearby incense shop, thinking that at least they wouldn't cheat us. But it turned out that they were the ones who really had no shame. They duped us into buying two bags of "golden treasures" and then shouted towards the back room. Immediately, an old man or woman came out claiming to be a living god.

  I had no choice, and Yu Wu even dragged me along to visit every household, asking about the past, buying a lot of things that were meant to be burned for the dead. But it's not clear who they're supposed to be burned for. I said these things are inauspicious, let's just throw them away, but Yu Wu thought it was a waste and insisted on keeping them, saying maybe one day they'll come in handy for me.

  They went to a newly opened paper mache shop, where many colorful paper mache people were placed inside and outside the store. After looking around without finding the boss, Yu Mou shouted out loud, "Is anyone here? We're here to buy something!"

  "There was an impatient voice that replied: 'Just take it, don't pay, and hurry up and leave!'"

  Following the sound, we only saw a pile of messy paper men. Yu Wu and I were startled and asked who was speaking in a trembling voice. Then, we saw a hand weakly waving at us.

  Among the pile of paper men, a reclining chair was placed, and an old man lay on it, with his eyelids raised in a disdainful manner. What's infuriating is that this stupid old man actually applied a thick layer of foundation, with two round red blushes on his cheeks, wearing clothes of five colors and six hues, hiding among the paper men, and indeed, he couldn't be told apart from a real person.

  This old man opened his eyes and suddenly emitted a burst of evil energy. As soon as he opened his mouth, he cursed: "You damn glutton..."

  I've heard a saying that there are many clever people in the streets, and this old man seems to be one of them. I thought it would be good to get close to him, so I quickly asked Yu not to interrupt and politely asked the old man to introduce us to the paper effigies here.

  "Look, just take whichever one you fancy back home, what's there to introduce?!" He kicked over a paper-made doll at his feet: "This one has good oral skills." Then he kicked over another paper-made boy doll: "Burn this one, it's specially for ghosts who like to play airplane, is that okay? If you like them, take them away, if you like all of them, take all of them away, and hurry up and leave, don't delay my business!"

  The two of us just take care of his business, the old man still rushes out, and whispers to me, will this old man specially do business with ghosts, so he rushes away from living people.

  I said you've had too much to drink, but Yu Wu said he once read a book where the owner of the paper mache shop was actually a master who made deals with ghosts.

  After some discussion, we both thought he wasn't just a fortune-telling old man who only recognized money. It's better to be straightforward and ask him directly, and even give him a bow, asking if there was a female teacher nearby.