“Humans are afraid of instances when three longs and two shorts happens. Do you know what incense is most afraid of?”
“Being burnt into the condition where two is short and one is long.”
As the figure at the crossroad turned around, only then did Fang Zheng clearly see a refined middle-aged man who looked like a teacher.
In front of the middle-aged man was a brass brazier where funerary objects like yellow paper, paper money, and Hell Money were being burned.
In that person’s hands were three lit incense sticks.
It was the kind of incense sticks that were often burned in temples.
The situation in front of them showed that the person was worshiping the soul of the dead.
However, the three incense sticks in the middle-aged man’s hands were of strange length. There were two short and one long incense, with the short ones on either side and the long one in the middle.
Fang Zheng noticed the gaze of the middle-aged man that was looking at the yellow paper that stuck to the bottom of his shoe. Fang Zheng quickly tore off the yellow paper and carefully placed it on the ground while apologizing to the souls of the dead.
This had nothing to do with superstition…
This had nothing to do with beliefs in ghosts…
This was to pay respect to the deceased and not blaspheme their souls.
After Fang Zheng did all of this, he found out that the middle-aged man had turned his back on him and ignored him. The man continued burning the paper money and yellow money in the brazier. After this brief episode, Fang Zheng felt a sense of favor toward this sophisticated-looking middle-aged man. An individual who paid tribute to the deceased must at least not be that bad of a person.
There was only one way in front of him and Fang Zheng had to continue moving forward. This time, he was more careful and tried his best to avoid the yellow paper and paper money on the road.
At this moment, another gust of ill wind blew. Fang Zheng’s nose twitched and he frowned.
It was actually the pungent, sour smell of a rotting body.
As he got closer to the middle-aged man, the rotting smell gradually grew stronger. The smell came from the middle-aged man’s direction. Fang Zheng kept quiet and carefully walked past the middle-aged man’s side. A mature look in Fang Zheng’s eyes flashed by. Suddenly, Fang Zheng’s facial expression changed greatly.
Corpse Qi[1]!
He saw a dark, thick Corpse Qi and Death Qi[2] that was soaring toward the sky on the middle-aged man!
Huh?
No!
Fang Zheng observed carefully and saw a line of vitality on the man. Among the dark and souring Death Qi, there was a deep hidden Yang Qi of a living person.
The living with the looks of the dead?
The dead who snatched the life of a living?
Fang Zheng became vigilant and started to search his brain for the large amount of knowledge on this that he recently acquired.
At the same time, Fang Zheng discovered that the three incense sticks on the middle-aged man’s hands had changed from the two short and one long lengths to being the same length. It was really strange and Fang Zheng was surprised.
“Mr. Fu, there you are again, pretending to be a ghost and scaring the ordinary people in the middle of the night.”
A voice sounded. Huh? Fang Zheng was stunned. This voice…seemed familiar, so he subconsciously turned around following the voice.
At that moment, Fang Zheng noticed a shop that was only opened for business during the night times at the crossroads which happened to be in his blind spot. The shop was filled with lights.
A few steps forward, Fang Zheng was finally able to see the master of the familiar voice… It was Butcher Zhang, who was having a plate of pork’s ears to go with alcohol!
Fang Zheng was shocked.
Fang Zheng was not the only one who was stunned. Even Butcher Zhang—who was about to take a sip of alcohol—was also shocked.
However, Butcher Zhang was the first to react.
His expression quickly recovered to that plain expression as he finished his glass of alcohol. He calmly said afterward, “Is my Ghost Head Blade convenient and easy to use?”
He did not allow Fang Zheng to refute because Butcher Zhang’s eyes were already looking in the direction of Fang Zheng’s waist area.
Covered by the coat on Fang Zheng’s back, a scabbard was there.
Fang Zheng’s facial expression immediately changed.
Sh*t! His scalp was a little numb and he could not help but start complaining in his heart. Did Butcher Zhang say this unintentionally? Or had he seen something?
Fang Zheng stood at his original position while his brain tried to work out a more natural response. At that moment, the middle-aged man who was full of Corpse Qi and was originally burning paper money while squatting at the intersection—also known as Mr. Fu—stood up and walked into the shop.
“Since you’re a friend of Butcher Zhang, come in and sit down.”
Mr. Fu walked past Fang Zheng and went directly into the shop.
At that moment, Fang Zheng realized that at first glance, this man that had the temperament of a teacher, Mr. Fu, according to Butcher Zhang, was pulling a dead person’s face from the beginning with no expression on his face.
Thinking of this, Fang Zheng suddenly felt his testicles throbbed in pain.
Butcher Zhang’s indifference…
Mr. Fu’s dead, expressionless face…
It was indeed that birds of a feather flock together.
It was unclear what Fang Zheng suddenly remembered, but he laughed and naturally walked into the store and directly sat beside Butcher Zhang.
“The Ghost Head Blade is nice to use. The only problem is that it’s a bit short and weak when cutting things.” Fang Zheng picked up another pair of clean chopsticks, used it to pick up a mouthful of pork’s ear and placed it into his mouth. He chewed the food before praising its deliciousness.
He looked natural and generous.
He was not pretentious nor was he afraid.
Butcher Zhang glanced at Fang Zheng and took the initiative to pour him a glass of alcohol.
Some people said that alcohol table culture was the most difficult to understand. It could easily make two brothers into enemies, and could also make two strangers become friends.
It all depended if the way you took your alcohol could be accepted by the other party.
Fang Zheng was not pretentious and finished the entire glass of alcohol.
Fang Zheng took this opportunity to look at the situation in the shop. This was a shop of the underworld that opened in the old street, specializing in selling funeral items such as paper money, yellow paper, burial clothes, incense, praying candles, and so on.
The only thing that was not seen was the Paper Mache Man.
However, Fang Zheng’s eyes were more focused on Mr. Fu. What was the meaning of the Corpse Qi and Death Qi on his body?
This had always puzzled him.
Is Mr. Fu, the friend of Butcher Zhang, a dead man? Or was he still alive?
The shop of the underworld was separated into the front hall that was used for business and the back hall that was used for storing goods. Since Mr. Fu entered the shop, he had been in the back part and did not come out.
“Are you curious?” Butcher Zhang looked at Fang Zheng calmly. It was unclear if he meant other things.
“Follow me.”
Butcher Zhang got up and walked toward the back hall of the shop.
Fang Zheng hesitated for a moment before following him.
Once he entered the back hall, Fang Zheng discovered that the temperature of the back hall was significantly lower than the front hall. The lights were also slightly dimmer and it was dark. Then he saw three coffins lined up in the back hall.
Fang Zheng was startled.
As cremation was popular, the country had long banned burial. No coffins had been seen in the city and coffin shops had also been diverted to other businesses. The only opportunity for people to see a coffin was the ice coffin[3] they hired from the funeral home. Of course, in some rural areas where legal awareness was still weak, some burial customs were still visible. Unexpectedly, there were three coffins in this underworld paraphernalia[4] shop in Zhou City.
Fang Zheng was brave, as he extended his head and looked into the coffins. These were not empty coffins, and each contained a female corpse.
Previously, it was seen that Mr. Fu was busy. It was because he was busy preparing the mortuary of these three female corpses. At this moment, the makeup had been completed on the body, but Fang Zheng could not stop frowning his brows. It was a horrific way to die.
“There’s a place tonight that will be lively tonight. Are you interested in going to see it together?”
Butcher Zhang was speaking to Fang Zheng.
“Mr. Fu, me, and you. The three of us together.”
[1] Corpse Qi in this context represents the aura given out by a corpse.
[2] Death Qi represents the aura given out by the dead.
[3] An ice coffin is used for cryopreservation of dead bodies; commonly used in hospitals and sometimes for private funerals when the body is required to be worshipped in the house.
[4] Underworld Paraphernalia Shop is a shop where underworld objects made of joss paper are sold.