The copy of the universe from the journey to the west

Chapter 174: Meet Liu Yuanjing again, there is a female ghost in the small house (asking for monthly tickets)
Outside Xunyang City.

A carriage was slowly approaching, escorted by several tall horses.

The men on horseback were all strong and muscular, dressed in tight clothes, holding swords, and the horses they rode were also very majestic. There seemed to be scars on the horses' bodies, which made people feel scared at the sight of them. Ordinary people entering the city naturally did not dare to approach.

Their attire is very eye-catching among the crowd entering the city.

An official and several yamen runners had been waiting at the city gate early in the morning. When he saw this team, his eyes flashed and he immediately showed a flattering expression, and he hunched over and went to greet them.

"I am Tao Min, the Magistrate of Xunyang County. I am honored to meet General Liu."

"Yeah." Liu Yuanjing nodded on the horse.

Although the county magistrate was an official with a salary of 600 stones, he was just an ordinary person in his eyes.

The county magistrate did not mind Liu Yuanjing's attitude at all, as if he thought it was natural and that this was the attitude that a child of a prominent family should have, and he flattered him regardless.

Liu Yuanjing did not take the flattery of local officials to heart and responded to them in a disinterested manner.

At this moment, he glanced around and saw a fortune-telling stall next to the city gate.

"Nine out of ten divinations are wrong! One divination is a disaster for the destined person... Haha, what a big tone."

Liu Yuanjing was happy. Seeing the smile on Liu Yuanjing's face, the county magistrate beside him quickly said, "Hey, where did this stall come from? Someone, come and help me..."

"Wait a moment!"

Liu Yuanjing raised his hand, and the county magistrate immediately stopped the yamen runners who were moving forward and looked at Liu Yuanjing: "General Liu, who are you?"

"I would like to see how this person is so arrogant, claiming that he can calculate accurately with just one stroke."

Liu Yuanjing said, feeling a little interested.

Then he said to the carriage road: "Mom, there is a fortune teller here. I want to have a fortune teller for this trip. Do you want to do it?"

An old voice came from the carriage: "Forget it for your mother. If you want to have your fortune told, take your brother with you."

"Okay, mother, take a rest for a while, and I will take Zishun with me."

Liu Yuanjing nodded, and while he was speaking, Liu Zishun also walked out of the carriage.

After all, he is a teenager, and there is a curious look on his face.

Then, after arranging guards to guard the carriage, several people walked to the fortune-telling stall.

But he was illiterate, so he asked the county magistrate next to him.

After listening to the introduction of the county magistrate next to him, Liu Zishun was puzzled: "Hey? You said it clearly says 'Nine out of ten hexagrams are inaccurate', how can it be accurate as my brother said?"

The county magistrate laughed and said, "Nine out of ten hexagrams are not accurate, but the remaining one, how can it be accurate after one calculation? This is a simple riddle. The latter part, 'a hexagram to send a destined person', should be interpreted in accordance with the previous sentence, that is, all the hexagrams are accurate, so General Liu said that this person is very arrogant."

"Is that so, brother?" Liu Zishun looked at Liu Yuanjing.

The latter nodded, indicating that this method was not wrong: "This is a hidden meaning. The fortune teller must be very confident in his fortune telling skills to dare to say so."

In this era, fortune tellers are still a relatively high-end profession. Of course, this is for ordinary people. After all, the so-called lower nine classes are just the terms used by people from the three religions to describe those professions.

But how many people are capable these days? How many are at the top?
Most of the people are just of the lower class, and to be a fortune teller, one needs to have a certain level of literacy, which means one has to be able to read and write.

People who can read and write naturally have an easier time getting along than people in other professions who cannot read a single word. In addition, fortune tellers often go to crowded places and like to hang around the doors of the powerful and wealthy, so naturally their social status is higher than that of other people.

Therefore, many times, when fortune tellers are trying to attract business for themselves, they also like to pretend to be cultured.

Even many fortune tellers, feng shui masters, and diviners are themselves great writers with extremely high literary achievements.

The more famous ones include Zhuge Kongming and Sima Yi from the Three Kingdoms period, who were both renowned masters of Yixue. Later figures such as Guan Lu and Guo Pu from the Wei and Jin Dynasties, although they did not become great politicians like their predecessors, they also achieved some success in the field of literature.

So when a very interesting couplet appeared on a fortune-telling stall, no one noticed anything unusual.

Those who are not interested will just think that he is a liar.

For those who are interested, a few words will unconsciously appear in their minds: "Oh, that's interesting."

Liu Zishun seemed to understand, but when he followed the others to the fortune-telling stall, he simply stopped talking and just watched.

The county chancellor took two quick steps and came to the fortune-telling stall. He casually threw a piece of broken silver on the stall and said in a calm tone but with an extremely ferocious look: "General Liu wants to come here to tell your fortune. This is the fortune-telling fee. You must calculate it carefully..."

Lu Chen had naturally seen Liu Yuanjing and his group a long time ago, but he was now wearing an alias and definitely could not recognize them.

The county magistrate's tone was also very normal.

Liu Yuanjing is the patriarch of a large family, and he is also a favorite of King Jiangxia. When he comes to Xunyang, he is definitely an imperial envoy. Naturally, he must be served well and not let him have any bad feelings towards Xunyang.

Otherwise, he didn't know whether the prefect with a salary of 2,000 dan would be unlucky or not, but he, the assistant county magistrate with a salary of only 600 dan, would definitely be used as a scapegoat.

"General, please come and calculate. I will definitely calculate it carefully." Lu Chen said with a smile, and his palm stroked the table, and the silver coin disappeared.

Looking at this scene, the county magistrate raised his brows slightly and said inwardly.

What he meant was that Lu Chen should say something positive and not disturb the general's mood.

With a wave of his hand, a yamen runner knelt on the ground and prepared to act as a human bench.

Then he turned around and put on a flattering look: "General Liu, please."

The changes in his facial expressions were so exquisite that Lu Chen even admired the unfathomable level of his face-changing technique.

Liu Yuanjing frowned and waved his hand: "No need, I won't sit down, just stand."

Seeing this, the bailiff quickly stood up and retreated.

Liu Yuanjing then came to the stall and said to Lu Chen, "The fortune teller is also a Taoist priest? May I ask where did you learn from and what is your tradition?"

Because of Lu Chen last night, Liu Yuanjing's impression of Taoism has improved a lot.

However, it also depends on which school or faction!
For example, today, he planned to take Liu Zishun to the Tianshi Mansion to ask for an explanation.

Those from Tianshi Temple are also Taoists.

"General, you are too polite. I just do some small business to make a living. I am not qualified to be a Taoist priest. It's just that I am short of money, and I travel around and need this to make a living." Lu Chen said.

Liu Yuanjing nodded. He just asked casually, and then went straight to the point: "What are you good at? Face reading? Or fortune telling?"

"All is OK."

Lu Chen said modestly: "However, in the field of physiognomy, I have to be more proficient."

Liu Yuanjing raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Then take a look at my appearance, what do you think?"

After Lu Chen pretended to look at him for a while, he exclaimed: "The forehead is full, the chin is square, there is a purple aura around him, and there is talent around him. Although the general is a soldier, he must be from a scholarly family. His future is limitless. He can be called a dragon and phoenix among men."

Liu Yuanjing smiled when he heard this: "Master, you have good eyesight. Master, please calculate again, what will happen after I enter Xunyang City?"

But his expression did not show shock.

Things like a full forehead and a square chin are all old sayings. As for being surrounded by purple air and talent, those are even more nonsense to him. It is interesting that he comes from a scholarly family, but this can also be inferred from his words and deeds.

All in all, these words may sound like they have some real skills, but there is not much truth in them.

Therefore, Liu Yuanjing increased the difficulty and directly asked Lu Chen to calculate what would happen after he entered the city.

As he said this, he smiled and said, "If after I enter the city, my actions are not consistent with what the Taoist said... then I will be angry."

angry?

Can you still get mad?
Lu Chen thought to himself, but he still pretended to take a look and said, "General, are you coming into the city to collect a debt?"

Liu Yuanjing's eyebrows twitched, but he remained calm and said, "Oh? What do you mean? Where did the debt come from and what was the result?"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "General, your facial features at this moment are known in my sect as the appearance of a broken mirror being reunited, and it is an appearance of perfection. Congratulations, General."

As he spoke, Lu Chen bowed to Liu Zishun and said, "I guess this must be the general's brother. He was anxious in the first half of his life, but rose to prominence in the second half. In the future, he will be at least a senior official with a salary of two thousand shi."

Liu Yuanjing smiled and glanced at Liu Zishun, who was standing beside him stunned with his eyes wide open.

"So...so awesome."

Liu Zishun said in shock.

Can you tell from the face whether a couple is reunited?

Can you still tell that you were anxious in the first half of your life, but will be successful in the second half?
This is a true master!
Liu Yuanjing burst out laughing when he saw this. This was actually nothing. Things that had already happened could be deduced, and many fortune tellers could do it using various means.

It’s mainly about the second half of Lu Chen’s sentence, “an important official of the imperial court with a rank of two thousand stones.”

In this era, a two thousand stone official was not considered an important official. The highest rank he held was a prefect. This was not the end of the Han Dynasty, when a prefect was in charge of both military and political affairs.

Now that the power has been divided among the county lieutenants, the prefect is just a prefect.

Of course, for ordinary people, the prefect is indeed an important official of the court. Above him are the central government of Jiankang and the provincial governors of various places.

"It's a small skill, nothing worth mentioning."

Lu Chen smiled, and then continued: "The so-called debt collection is probably the debt of the general's relatives. As long as the general can be neither humble nor arrogant, he can get what he wants and everything will be perfect."

"Well, you answered well! Reward!" Liu Yuanjing nodded, although he didn't sound very genuine.

However, he liked Lu Chen's answer very much, so he was going to reward him.

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter whether what you say makes sense or not, but it has to make people like you.

As soon as he finished speaking, the guard behind him immediately took out silver and threw it on the table.

Liu Yuanjing asked Lu Chen a few more questions, and the latter answered them one by one. The answers were more in line with Liu Yuanjing's ideas, so the guards rewarded him twice more.

The purpose of his trip was to seek justice for his second brother Liu Zishun.

The Tianshidao Taoist temple bullied his brother yesterday, and today he must get revenge.

Of course, he doesn't have much other power, and at this stage, the most he can do is to get back his position.

After all, the Tianshi Dao has its reputation established. Although he is from a wealthy and powerful family, the Tianshi Dao is not made of mud.

"Let's go."

Liu Yuanjing didn't stay here for long, turned around and left.

"General, take care!" Lu Chen smiled as he watched the horse team leaving. He weighed the silver and it was quite a lot. If it was given to an ordinary family, it would be enough for food for half a year.

"Master, is he the Xiangyang Liu Yuanjing you mentioned?"

The human-faced man asked beside him.

Lu Chen nodded: "How is it, can you be called a dragon among men?"

"At such a young age, he has already reached the peak of his innate abilities. He can be called a child of destiny."

The man said, "But compared to you, Master, it's nothing."

Lu Chen smiled.

Afterwards, Lu Chen continued to tell fortunes. Maybe it was because Liu Yuanjing came to tell fortunes, but more and more people came to tell fortunes in front of the fortune-telling stall behind.

Some came to calculate their future, some to calculate their lost things, and some even came to pray for children.

Lu Chen could tell what he could, and if they wanted to have a child or something, he would just ask them to go to the clinic.

However, the more Lu Chen acted like this, the more people believed that he was not a liar!
What kind of scammer would push business outside?
Time quickly approached night, and after taking a look at the sky, Lu Chen packed up his stall.

Ren Liansong had already bought a yard for Lu Chen, which was located in an alley in Xunyang City.

As the saying goes, the east is rich and the west is noble, the south is poor and the north is humble.

The place where people are hard to find is in Xicheng District, of course, it is not a particularly wealthy alley.

The alley is called Qingfeng Lane, and the people living here are ordinary people.

As Lu Chen walked along, people in the surrounding alleys looked at him with strange expressions.

Lu Chen ignored it and just nodded and smiled at the people around him.

These are all our future neighbors. As the saying goes, a neighbor close by is worse than a distant one.

Renliansong bought a house with two courtyards. There was a small courtyard in the front. There was nothing unusual about it. There was a main hall, and the side rooms had a kitchen and two guest rooms. There was also a lush jujube tree in the corner, and under the tree was an ancient well pressed by a huge rock.

The backyard is quite large. Once you enter it, you can see a small pond with some goldfish in it. However, there are too many aquatic plants and the water is not very clean.

There is a small bridge over the pond. After walking across the bridge and passing through a small bamboo forest, what comes into view is a two-story building with an ancient and picturesque style.

Although it looked a bit shabby, Lu Chen was very satisfied with it.

This kind of yard is more to his liking.

Seeing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but ask the man, "Where did you get the money?"

The rent for a yard like this wouldn't be cheap. With the little money he gave to the other person, it wasn't even enough to pay for a year's rent, let alone buy it.

"My Lord, this is a haunted house. The rent was not expensive. I took it down with just a little trickery. Please rest assured, everything is in compliance with the rules. The pawnbroker wanted to sell the house as soon as possible. After he took over the house, he has been unlucky and no one dares to buy it."

The human face said with a smile.

Lu Chen just glanced at him sideways and didn't say much.

After entering the room, he casually performed a cleaning spell, and the dust and cobwebs in the room were swept away, making the whole room look brand new.

Lu Chen couldn't help but shook his head. No wonder it was so cheap, it was really too dirty.

But after the cleaning technique was performed, it could be seen.

He doesn't have any high requirements for housing, as long as it's acceptable and livable.

Lu Chen sat on a clean chair and said to the man, "If there is anything else, just tell me now. I see you have been holding it in for a long time."

"Master is wise. I know I can't hide it from you."

The human face smiled and complimented, then turned around and shouted, "Come out and meet the master."

A gust of cold wind blew, and a female ghost who looked like a woman in red clothes appeared in the same place.

Her face was a little pale, and her expression was a little timid and uneasy. I saw the pitiful Yingying bowed and said, "My slave Xiao is here to greet the master."

After taking a look, Lu Chen looked at the human face with some weird eyes.

Is this guy having sexual thoughts?

He naturally realized that this yard was a haunted house with a strong gloomy aura, especially the well.

He was not surprised by the existence of ghosts.

However, this ghost was a female ghost, with a graceful figure and a face as beautiful as a flower. Her delicate facial features seemed to have been carefully carved, and she was extremely beautiful. If her skin was not as white as snow and frost, and not like a real person, this appearance would definitely attract countless men to compete for her.

Ren Liansong blushed when Lu Chen looked at him, and he quickly explained: "Master, I have checked that Xiao is not an evil ghost and has never harmed anyone. She was not found by the ghost because of her obsession and because she was in the Yin Cave. She is actually... a good ghost. I was kind-hearted, so I kept her."

Lu Chen looked at him, as if asking, "Do you believe this?"

Seeing this, Ren Liansong knew that if he didn't explain it clearly to Lu Chen, his plan would be ruined, so he quickly sent a private message to Lu Chen: "Master, Xiao was originally the concubine of the prefect. Because the prefect's wife was jealous, she sent someone to kill her and throw her into the well... The rumor of the haunted mansion was also caused by me sending her."

The man with the face Song briefly explained Xiao's identity.

Xiao was originally a singing girl in Jiankang City. When the prefect returned to Jiankang to report on his work, he secretly brought her back from Jiankang and then bought this house to keep her as his concubine.

Xunyang prefect Zhao Hui lacked ability and qualifications, but he had a good father-in-law who was a high-ranking official in the court.

He single-handedly promoted him from a small county magistrate to a prefect.

There is no wall that is impenetrable. The wife of the prefect is the legitimate daughter of a high-ranking official of the current dynasty. She has been spoiled since childhood and is a tigress at home.

Naturally, he hated the prefect's mistress, so he arranged for someone to kill her and throw her body into a well to destroy all evidence.

At that time, Taiwei Liu Yu ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, naming his country Song. The Jin Dynasty was destroyed and the world was in chaos. No one paid attention to the death of a singer.

However, not long after, rumors of haunting this originally nice house continued to this day.

"Although I know there are not many good officials in this era, even Xie Lingyun, who was the chief official but did not care about any government affairs, will have a good reputation in the future, but I didn't expect that he would be so careless about human lives."

Lu Chen looked at Xiao and sighed helplessly.

Although Xiao is a ghost, he is not an evil ghost. He has resentment but no evil spirit.

This proves that she has never harmed anyone, just as Renmian Song said. Maybe she just scares people at most on a daily basis.

When a living person dies, most of their ghosts will be pulled into the Yin and Yang world by the strange soul-locking chains of the Yin and Yang world.

However, some souls, either because of their deep obsession or because they were not caught by the soul-locking chain, are left in the human world and become wandering ghosts.

Most of these ghosts will have their bodies broken through by the yang energy during the day and disappear into thin air.

However, there are also some that can survive because their bodies are in a Yin cave and are protected by the Yin energy, so they cannot be penetrated by sunlight.

This was the case with Xiao. After being poisoned, her body was thrown into a well that was dark all year round. She managed to avoid the soul-locking chain of the underworld and the sunlight, and thus survived until now.

Even because she had been nourished by Yin Qi for several years, she had unknowingly acquired some little tricks of using Yin Qi.

It is not a very advanced spell. At most, it is some basic ghost-control techniques such as calling out a few times in the middle of the night to reveal the soul and pass through walls easily.

"You will stay here from now on."

Lu Chen said to Xiao.

The female ghost said timidly as always: "Yes, sir."

"You're such a shameless ghost."

Lu Chen shook his head and said to the person with the face: "Tell her about your experience as a ghost. With your ghost appearance, even thieves who come to your house can't be scared."

The soft and tender flesh will definitely be seen by bandits, who would even excitedly say: "Thank God for the gift!"
(End of this chapter)