Chapter 10: The Underworld and the Mysterious Man

Open my eyes? My eyes twitched. I hadn’t opened my eyes for many years. In fact, people with supernatural powers often have no curiosity about the world they see. Seeing too much of something is not necessarily a good thing. On the contrary, it can be a burden on the mind.

However, the shock of the strange world of the underworld still made me want to open my eyes. In the next moment, I opened my third eye without hesitation.

After closing my eyes, the world in front of me changed. I felt that the flow of negative energy was like fog, and the figures of those people just now began to become blurred and unclear. Of course, I didn’t think that those people were ghosts because of this. This was an inevitable result of opening the heavenly eye, which is that everything you see becomes blurred and unclear.

In the blur, I also saw that there was a mist-like object in front of those people. When I looked more closely, I saw that they were all pale people.

As if they had discovered that I was peeping, the pale people all turned to look at me at the same time. I was smart enough to open my eyes at once. Ghosts are not scary, but a group of ghosts looking at you is a bit scary.

“Haha, scared?” Old Jiang was laughing happily next to me.

I don’t know what’s so funny. Who wouldn’t be scared just now? I took a deep breath and calmed myself down a little. I asked my master, “Master, what are they doing?”

“What? This is the Underworld. What do you think they’re doing? The market is for trading.” The master said in a bad mood.

“What? Ghosts can trade with people? That’s impossible!” I was so shocked that my voice changed a bit.

“Haha, why not? Most of the ghosts and spirits that linger in the human world have unfulfilled wishes. People help them fulfill their wishes, and they help people in return. That’s how they trade,” my master explained to me.

“But what can ghosts do for people?” I really don’t understand. What else can ghosts do for people?

“What? Under the eyes of ghosts, are there any secrets in the human world? Also, some ghosts have been stranded on earth for many years. What they know, if revealed casually, is a treasure, and it has many more functions. You just don’t know it.” The master said calmly.

I thought about what the master said, and I was shocked. I looked at the master, and my eyes were agitated.

“Don’t even think about making a deal. If the deal doesn’t work out, the consequences will be extremely serious! Making a deal is tantamount to being contaminated by karma. You understand? Moreover, people who come here are all taking risks. These ghosts are not easy to deal with. Therefore, I let you come here with me to be contaminated by human beings. There is a reason for this. If you are not careful, you will become a puppet of the ghosts.

“Master, if that’s the case, why don’t you do anything about it?” No matter how rebellious I am, I always have a dream of being a great hero, always thinking about helping justice.

“Manage? There is no absolute right or wrong in this world. This matter is something they themselves are willing to get involved in, so of course they have to bear the consequences themselves. The way of the Tao is natural. How can you interfere in something that one person wants to fight and another wants to suffer? Justice refers to innocent people, not those who deliberately do it.” The master said calmly.

I seemed to have some enlightenment, and I didn’t say anything more. I followed my master calmly, and I didn’t look at the people who were trading anymore.

After passing through this open area, at the other end, there was a two-story building, standing there abruptly.

The master looked at the small building and said softly, “If the person is not there, there will be a deal.”

What did he mean by that? I didn’t quite understand, and my master didn’t seem to want to explain it to me. Instead, he walked straight up to the door and started knocking.

The sound of the knocking had a special rhythm, and Master seemed very nervous.

After knocking for about a minute, there was finally some movement. I looked up and saw a young-looking girl open the door.

But for some reason, my heart started pounding without warning. I couldn’t put my finger on it. The girl didn’t look wrong, except for her pale complexion. Why did I react like that?

It was an uncomfortable feeling that came from deep within my heart, and I couldn’t explain why.

The master seemed to have read my mind, and he whispered, “Don’t say anything, don’t ask any questions, just follow me.”

I nodded and stood silently behind my master, while the girl opened the door, nodded to my master, and went in.

The room was very dark. In this age when electric lights have become widespread, I can hardly imagine anyone still insisting on using oil lamps to make the room so dark.

The master didn’t say a word, as if he was very familiar with the way, and went straight to the second floor. The atmosphere of this room made me feel a bit depressed, and I didn’t say much, following the master to the second floor.

In the room at the far end of the second floor, the master pushed the door open and I quickly followed behind him into the room.

The room was as dark as ever, but the furnishings looked very crowded. There was a large desk, a very old-fashioned kind of desk, and the walls were lined with shelves, which were filled with miscellaneous objects. I couldn’t see very clearly in such dim lighting.

In the room, there was no girl. I could only see a very thin old man in the dim light. Because the light was too dim, I couldn’t see what the old man looked like.

When he saw us come in, the old man first coughed like a bellows, and then said, “Lao Jiang, I haven’t seen you for a few years, but now I remember you.

This voice was almost the most unpleasant sound I had ever heard. Every word seemed to be spoken with a great effort, and it was very hoarse, as if it had been squeezed out of the throat.

“Come, sit down and talk,” the old man said again.

This sentence made my skin crawl, but I didn’t dare to act rashly because there was only one chair in front of the desk. When the master sat down, I stood behind him.

“It’s been 14 and a half years, not a few years, and I haven’t come to see you. It’s not easy for you to be alive.” After the master sat down, he finally spoke.

I took a quick look at the old man and understood why the master said he was still alive. The old man was really old, with a face like a dried orange peel, very few hairs on his head, and a skinny body. He was so old that he was a bit scary.

“Cough cough cough… What can I do if I’m not alive? Who will take care of my poor daughter?” The old man coughed again.

The master was silent for a long time before saying, “I came to buy talismans from you this time. I want the best quality.”

“Do you know the rules?” The old man’s spirits seemed to improve all of a sudden, and he suddenly sat up straight and stopped coughing.

“Yes, after the talisman is made, you will get a quarter of it, and you will also have to pay for it. However, this time, I want a silver talisman.” The master whispered.

The old man looked at my master in surprise, and then said somewhat unbelievingly, “Lao Jiang, haven’t seen you for many years? Can you draw talismans?”

“I don’t know, but for some reason, I have to try. But first, let’s agree that I can’t do silver talismans, and even if I succeed, I can’t give you any.” The master said very seriously.

“But silver talismans are very precious, and money can no longer measure them. What will you use to compensate me?” The old man began to ask for a price.

Master threw something out without a change in expression. I looked at it and realized that it was a piece of spirit jade that Master had nurtured for many years. Master once told me that this piece of jade was the one he had nurtured for the longest time, and that it was from a sacred place and had naturally formed, making it extremely precious.

Today, Master is actually using it to exchange for a silver talisman. How precious is this silver talisman?

“With your eyesight, I’m afraid you can recognize this jade,” said the master after throwing the jade.

The old man closed his eyes, carefully feeling the jade in his hands. After a while, he opened his eyes and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes. He nodded and said, “Yes, this is a good thing. It is just right for my daughter.”

After a pause, he said, “Well, the deal is done. Fortunately, I still have a few silver talismans in my collection. I’m afraid I can’t make it if you want a golden one.

The master did not respond to him, but said, “The value of this jade is more than just a silver talisman. You must have prepared a special box of talisman ingredients for me.”

The old man was silent for a long time before saying, “You’re really not losing money by trading rubies for it, Jiang.