SWDnovel 050 Find a ghost to buy rice
050 Find a ghost to buy rice
The temple gates slowly opened, and thousands of black-robed knights poured out like a tidal wave.
Each person wore a waist tag carved from a mysterious black stone.
It can guide the black-robed knights to find newly arrived civilians by observing the changes in the incense energy on a person's body.
The bustling street was thrown into chaos as many people were forcibly taken to the temple and detained, awaiting inspection by the head temple keeper.
Ning Kui sat in a teahouse, watching the chaotic scene on the street, and secretly clenched his fists.
Evil spirits reign supreme, the rule of law has collapsed, and the world in Black Mountain City has descended into such chaos.
He has no connection to the power of incense offerings, so he won't trigger a reaction from the black card.
The power of incense typically lasts only about three days, fading over time.
The black card system identifies whether a citizen has entered the city that day; this is what it relies on.
"This Black Mountain God is truly lawless! Are the government just going to stand by and watch their people be bullied like this?!"
A young man at the next table angrily slammed his fist on the table, the loud noise attracting the attention of those around him.
His companions quickly rushed forward and covered his mouth, saying, "Brother Zhang, be careful what you say!"
He then flashed a fawning smile at the people around him: "I'll pay for everyone's tea today."
Gentlemen, please continue drinking your tea.
It seems that within Heishan Prefecture, the imperial court's influence is even less than that of Yugu County.
No matter how arrogant the three clans were, they still carried out their acts of capturing people and livestock to worship evil spirits in secret.
Unlike the Black Mountain God, whose black-robed temple guards are even more powerful than an army.
"I wonder what level the Black Mountain God has reached."
"The Law Heaven Realm? Or even the higher Myriad Paths Realm?"
The massive arrest operation continued until nightfall.
The black-robed temple guards then retreated back into the temple.
Only then did the constables, dressed in official robes, dare to go out into the streets with knives slung over their shoulders, scolding and beating the people in order to maintain the little remaining authority of the government.
Judging from their skill level, they are about the same as the constables of Yugu County, and they don't seem like the kind of force that should exist in the prefectural city.
There is no curfew in Heishan Prefecture. In fact, one could say that the true face of Heishan Prefecture is revealed only after dark.
Gangs, families, tycoons, and all sorts of forces conduct their activities under the cover of night, in ways that remain hidden from the public eye.
In this dirty and filthy city, the brothels, with their lights burning all night, appear to be the most noble and sacred.
Ning Kui walked through the streets. There were vendors selling bloodstained secret manuals, vendors selling people and animals stuffed into iron cages, and vendors openly killing people for money.
There are even people who sell small evil spirits for people to worship!
It's unknown who the boss behind this industry chain is, how many lives they've taken, or what cruel methods they've developed to mass-produce so many resentful little evil spirits.
This city has gone mad.
Ning Kui, dressed in a black robe, quickly found a rice shop called "Yongshun".
The rice shop was half-closed, and white candles burning inside emitted a green glow.
An elderly woman with a face full of scars and wrinkles groggily raised her head: "We're closed for today. Please come back at dawn, sir."
"The shop is still open, why are you closing?"
The old woman's cloudy eyes sized Ning Kui up and down, then she chuckled and said, "Are you a stranger, sir?"
Ning Kui's heart sank slightly. During the day, the temple guards were still searching the entire city for newly arrived civilians. What if this old woman betrayed them...?
The old woman seemed oblivious to Ning Kui's malice and continued, "Our rice shop sells rice for the living during the day, but we're not allowed to do business at night."
The shop is still open because I'm waiting for my granddaughter to come home. She went out to visit friends and hasn't been back for many years.
If he hasn't come back for many years, then he most likely won't be coming back...
After thinking for a moment, Ning Kui continued, "Old man, how much rice do you have in your shop? I'll come to collect it tomorrow morning. I'll take as much as you have."
The old woman showed no joy at making a fortune, and said in a hoarse and flat voice, "My shop is small, I don't have much rice."
Judging from your tone, the amount of rice you need is quite large.
"Tsk, this old man knows a wicked old fox. He has plenty of money; he can buy things even at night. I wonder..."
Ning Kui had an inexplicable sense of unease at this moment; he seemed to have no understanding of the laws governing the operation of this city.
Everything the old woman said went against his common sense.
Why buy rice from a ghost instead of a person? Do ghosts eat that stuff?
Seemingly sensing Ning Kui's distrust, the old woman added, "Rice is an important resource, and the temple does not allow living people to store large quantities of rice."
Some people who were in the rice business in life became evil spirits after death and continued to do so.
Unexpectedly, they were not bound by the temple and had plenty of rice.
"...After saying all this, are you going to go buy it or not?"
Seeing that the old woman seemed a little impatient, Ning Kui had no choice but to steel himself.
buy!
He had no time to waste any more.
After buying the rice, we still need to figure out how to get back to Yugu County.
After leaving the rice shop, Ning Kui followed the directions given by the old woman.
He went straight to the first intersection, turned left, then went straight again. After several twists and turns, he looked up at the rice shop in front of him and felt a sense of absurdity.
The rice shop in front of us also had the four big characters "Yongshun Rice Shop" written on it!
If it weren't for the fact that the store was much larger, Ning Kui would have almost thought that the old woman was playing a trick on him!
Now that things have come to this, we can only wait and see. If anything seems amiss, we should act quickly.
As he stepped into Yongshun Rice Shop, a chilling aura instantly enveloped him.
The cold, like needles piercing the bone, was unbearable for an ordinary person.
"Oh, you're here to make a sale?"
An aged voice rose from behind the counter, and a sinister old man stood up from his recliner.
"Sir, are you buying rice? For the living or for your ancestors?"
The ancestors he referred to were the evil spirits worshipped by mortals.
In Heishan Prefecture, the worship of evil spirits has become so prevalent that even the food for these spirits has formed an industry chain.
"Buying food for living people."
"For living people to eat?!"
Old Ghost's eyes lit up with joy: "That's a big deal! Hehe, how many tens of thousands of catties do you want, sir?"
There's only one possibility for someone to come to him to buy rice for living people.
That is, the rice sold by the living people is too little, which cannot satisfy the customers' appetites.
Old Ghost's eyes were filled with greed as he looked Ning Kui up and down.
"Do you have a million catties?"
Ning Kui asked tentatively.
Old Gui's expression froze. One million jin!
This is almost all of his inventory.
"Sir... do you have enough money?"
"How much is this rice per pound?"
"Silver?" The old ghost was taken aback, then his face turned ferocious and sinister, and a torrent of ghostly energy emanated from his back.
"Are you trying to make fun of me?!"
According to the rules of Black Mountain Prefecture, for every pound of live human flesh, ten pounds of evil spirit food are required!
"They want to buy ten pounds of rice from us, but they want one pound of human flesh in return!"
The eerie atmosphere grew stronger and stronger, as if the old ghost would devour Ning Kui alive if he didn't answer correctly.
"Grandpa...Grandpa, it's cold..."
Behind the counter, a little girl with a deathly pale face appeared, looking like a dead person.
However, she is still sensitive to the cold, so she should still be alive.
An evil spirit is raising a living child?
Old Ghost's imposing aura immediately subsided, and he chuckled, "Good girl, Lian'er, Grandpa's just trying to scare you."
However, the look on his face when he turned around was so sinister that it was definitely not a joke.
The imposing old ghost before me is at least at the Core Formation Realm. Fighting him would inevitably attract the attention of the Temple Guards.
Ning Kui's heart stirred slightly, and suddenly an idea came to mind.
He turned around, presenting his back to the old ghost, and said.
"It's just human flesh, old sir. Feel my muscles, how many pounds of grain could you exchange for that?"