Yunyan Pavilion, teahouse.
"After the rooster crowed, the old man still didn't dare to go back. It wasn't until noon, when the sun was high in the sky, that he walked back nervously. However, when he returned to Clearwater Bay, he saw an unbelievable scene …"
"He saw the two water ghosts, the young man who passed by that day, and the Daoist priest working together to steal all his grapes …"
…
After a few days, the young storyteller finally returned. Everyone heard the ending of the story of the water ghost and the old man as they wished. Although many people were shocked by the sudden turn of events and slammed the table in anger, they had no choice but to admit that this unheard of plot was much more exciting than listening to other storytellers.
This young storyteller would tell three to five stories a day. When he reached the last story, in order to keep the guests, he would purposely stop at the most exciting part. Although everyone was angry, they knew that this was the storyteller's way of keeping the guests. At most, they would curse a few words, but they wouldn't rush up the stage to beat the storyteller up.
"In Yuntai County, there was a county magistrate named Li. His family was very rich and raised seven beautiful concubines. His treasures were piled up like a mountain. One day, county magistrate Li suddenly died. A Daoist priest came to his house and said that he could bring him back to life …"
"The Daoist priest gave county magistrate Li's old servant a paper bag and warned him to look at it only when the situation was critical. After that, the Daoist priest disappeared. When the old servant returned home, he couldn't help but open the paper bag and secretly look at its contents. What was written on the paper was …"
"If you want to know what was written on the paper, tomorrow at the same time. Be there or be square …"
…
The gripping story, the familiar "If you want to know what will happen in the future, wait for the next episode", the guests below the stage angrily shouted a few times, "Bastard!", "This again!", "I'll break your legs!", and so on. Then, they scattered while cursing.
Li Mu slipped out of Yunyan Pavilion through the back door. He estimated that at this speed, he would be able to gather all the anger he needed to condense the second soul in ten days and half a month. If he had enough courage to refine the anger, he would be able to refine the second soul immediately.
He did not know if the tiger demon was bold enough. If it was not, he would have to find other opportunities.
Old Wang's theory of survival of the fittest was cruel, but it was a realistic law of survival. Li Mu would not kill demons and take their souls for the sake of cultivation, but if the evil demons were executed on the spot, he would not waste his courage.
It was not that there were no shortcuts on the road of cultivation, but one had to stick to one's heart and bottom line. Li Mu was always using Li Qing's words to ask himself.
He went to the duty room and saw Zhang Shan, Li Si, and Old Wang eating watermelon around the table.
Zhang Shan looked up and asked in surprise, "Li Mu, why did you come to the yamen instead of recuperating?"
Li Mu picked up a slice of watermelon and said, "The boss gave me a Fu-lu for treatment. I'm almost healed."
Zhang Shan shook his head and said, "You've just recovered and you're already here. You're really getting more and more diligent …"
Old Wang asked Li Mu while eating the watermelon, "Where did you learn that glutinous rice can restrain zombies? I've looked through hundreds of books, but I couldn't find any record of it."
Li Mu said, "A Taoist priest told me when I was young. It might be his secret method."
"It's also possible." Old Wang threw away the watermelon peel and said, "You have to write this down in the 'Encyclopedia of Monsters in the Ten Continents'. Later on, when people encounter zombies, they will have one more way to defend themselves."
He wiped his mouth and asked, "By the way, did you take the zombie's courage?"
Li Mu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Zombies also have courage?"
"Zombies have been dead for so long that their spirits have long been scattered. Of course not." Old Wang shook his head and said, "But you don't think that zombies only suck human blood when they harm people, do you?"
Old Wang read a lot of books and his knowledge was much broader than Li Mu's. Li Mu looked at him and asked, "What else?"
Old Wang picked up another slice of watermelon and said, "White zombies and black zombies only suck human blood. They just became zombies not long ago and can only suck human blood. But jumping zombies are different. Not only can they absorb the moonlight to cultivate, but they can also absorb the human's spirit when they suck blood. A jumping zombie with decades of cultivation has accumulated a lot of people's courage in its body. It's much more useful than monsters …"
Li Mu said regretfully, "Why didn't you say so earlier …"
Old Wang shrugged. "You didn't ask earlier."
Li Mu really didn't know this. If he had known earlier, he would have asked Han Zhe to burn the zombie later. But on second thought, Old Landlord Zhang was different from those jumping zombies with decades of cultivation. He had died less than half a month ago and had only bitten one person and two sheep. There shouldn't be much courage left in his body.
Thinking of this, he didn't feel so regretful.
"It's not too late to know now." Old Wang finished the watermelon quickly and said, "The zombie disaster in Zhou County hasn't been solved yet. If you go to Zhou County now, you should be able to absorb a lot of courage. Many cultivators in Beijun have gone to Zhou County. In addition to helping to quell the zombie disaster, they should also have the same idea."
Although the courage of the zombies in Zhou County was very attractive to Li Mu, Li Mu could still weigh his own weight. A jumping zombie almost killed him. Zhou County even had Flying Zombies. Wasn't it better to follow Li Qing and kill a few evil monsters? There was no need to take such a big risk just to take a shortcut.
However, Old Wang reminded him that there was nothing wrong with reading more books. If Li Mu was as knowledgeable as Old Wang, he wouldn't have wasted so many opportunities.
He looked at Old Wang and said, "What books have you been reading recently? Recommend a few to me."
Old Wang thought for a moment and said, "'Picking Flowers', 'A Curtain of Spring Dreams', 'Beautiful Empress of Ten Thousand Demons', and 'Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio'. It was just published yesterday. It really opened my eyes. There are people and ghosts, people and demons, people and ghosts and demons, there are female ghosts, snake demons, and even dragons. I have to admit that the person who wrote this book is really a genius …"
When Zhang Shan heard this, he immediately became spirited and said, "Old Wang, when you finish reading these books, lend them to me …"
"Picking Flowers, Spring Dreams, Beautiful Empress" didn't sound like a serious book. How could it be compared with "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio"? One was a pure erotic novel, while the other had depth and connotation. It either exposed the darkness of feudal rule, or resisted the shackles of feudal etiquette. Through the love between demons and humans, the author expressed the author's pursuit of ideal love. A serious person would see a breakthrough in feudal etiquette, but an old man like Old Wang would see a life and death friend, a hero, and a son-in-law …
People who walked different paths couldn't make plans together. Li Mu waved his hand and said, "Lend me the 'Records of Demons in the Ten Continents' for two days. I'll return it to you after I finish reading it …"
On the day the first volume of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" was published, Liu Hanyan told Li Mu that this book used to be a forbidden book in ancient times. But here, Li Mu wasn't worried.
Firstly, the feudal etiquette here didn't bind people so deeply. Secondly, Li Mu didn't use any of the chapters that might involve political sensitivities. The more explicit descriptions in the original work were also deleted by Li Mu.
The "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" that he gave to the bookstore, other than some mysterious stories, the main theme was love. For example, "Xiao Qian", "Ying Ning", and "Liancheng" were full of innocent hearts, the true meaning of love, and the praise of true love. Every time Wanwan listened to Li Mu's narration, her eyes would be filled with tears …
Wanwan was Li Mu's first reader. Liu Hanyan wouldn't let him go if he wanted to do something inappropriate in the book and lead the innocent girl astray.
Li Mu was still on sick leave. He just came to the county office to see if there was a chance to collect emotions. Since there wasn't, he didn't plan to talk to Old Wang and the others about their life-and-death friendship.
Before leaving, Li Mu said to Old Wang, "Next time, if something like this happens again, remember to tell me in advance …"
Even Li Qing didn't know about the matter of extracting the zombie's courage. Old Wang had lived long enough and was very knowledgeable. He could totally act as his cultivation consultant. Li Mu had to remind him so that he wouldn't always give advice after the fact.
After leaving the county office, Li Mu went straight home.
He had been recuperating at home for the past few days. Although he had found out about the person Su He asked him to find out, he didn't have the chance to tell her.
After returning home, Li Mu first cooked noodles for him and Wanwan. After lunch, he personally cooked a few dishes and put them in a lunch box. When he went out and passed by Yunyan Pavilion, he picked up a few novels and left the city in the direction of Clearwater Bay …
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