Chapter 34

I arrived at the farmers' market, just in time for the market day, where people were swarming. It took me a while to find a parking spot, and only after parking the car did I enter the market.

I rarely went to places like markets when I was in the city before, and I didn't know there was such a large mall. Xiao Xue took me around like Liu Laolao visiting the Grand View Garden.

She seemed to enjoy leading me around by the nose, as she was usually the one I teased.

Xiao Xue had no interest in clothes, so she took me to the second floor of the mall. The clothes were indeed reasonably priced and of good quality, mostly around 30 to 40 yuan per piece.

I was afraid that if she bought them, I would be laughed at by Han Shanshan and Zhao Qian, so I pulled her away.

On the first floor of the mall, I bought some cooked dishes and then took Xiao Xue to a sports brand store, where I bought two sets of sportswear, one pink and one blue.

Xiao Xue's eyes widened at the bill of over 500 yuan, and she couldn't even speak properly, but she was very satisfied with the new clothes because they were practical, allowing her to run and jump, which suited her.

After fulfilling her wish, she took me to the antique street in the market. There weren't many shops, but on market days, some people from the countryside would come to sell unusual items.

In the past, someone even brought a bronze drum to sell, which was later bought for over ten thousand yuan and auctioned for several hundred thousand.

Of course, even if such items appeared, I couldn't afford them. I could only spend a few hundred yuan at most. Now, Xiao Xue still had a thousand yuan, which was more than I had.

Moreover, I had to start worrying about her school tuition, as her father was no longer around. I considered myself her half-brother and felt responsible for her education as well as her livelihood.

"Are you in your senior year of high school?" I asked Xiao Xue.

"Brother Tian, I've already finished my sophomore year. Maybe I should just stop going to school. We don't have any money, and we can't go back to Xiaoyi Village. I can work in the county, serving dishes and washing dishes." Xiao Xue looked troubled. She had already asked me about working, but I hadn't agreed.

"No, you have a lot of awards on the walls at home. Your grades are good, and it would be a waste to stop. I immediately rejected her idea. Her grades must be excellent, but her family is too poor to support her. Since she is now with me, I have to do my best to help her continue her education."

"My grades aren't that good. I'm actually around 40th place. The awards were given by the teachers to make the house look good. Maybe I should just stop." Xiao Xue shook her head.

"Being 40th and being first, what's the difference? Keep going. I have money. I've earned several tens of thousands over the past few years, enough for you to go to university." I said with a boastful smile. Xiao Xue stared at me, afraid I was lying: "Brother Tian, are you lying? You don't have any money."

"I do. Want me to call your aunt?" I said, taking out my phone and finding my mother's number, ready to call her. I knew she wouldn't dare to answer.

"Really? You're not lying to me?" Xiao Xue looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"No, why would I lie? If it's not enough, your aunt can help. You can pay her back after you graduate. By then, you'll earn several thousand a month. Now, washing dishes and serving in the county only pays about 800 yuan a month. How long will it take to get ahead?" I tried to persuade her.

"Brother Tian, I actually lied to you. The awards are real. I was second in my grade last semester. I could have been first, but Xiao Bei offered me 50 yuan to let her win. I thought about buying two pounds of rice wine and a plate of roasted duck for Dad, so I didn't answer the last question." Xiao Xue pulled out a crumpled 50 yuan note from her pocket and gave it to me. "Xiao Bei gave me the money, but I didn't dare to use it for a long time."

"Will you do it again?" I looked at her sternly, took the 50 yuan, and felt a pang of sadness: "Ah, Uncle Yu, I came back to Xiaoyi Village with nothing, but I owe you two pounds of rice wine and a plate of roasted duck for Snow. When I have the means to return, I will bring them to you."

"No, I won't." Xiao Xue's eyes were red. Although she sometimes did silly things, like digging up others' sweet potatoes, it was because she was young and hungry.

"That's good. Listen to Brother Tian. If you can get into Tsinghua or Peking University, go for it. We're not short of money." I said confidently.

"Okay! Brother Tian is the best!" Xiao Xue was happy and ran over to hold my hand, seeing a couple nearby who were almost touching.

I tried to shake her off but gave up. No one in the county knew me or her, so I didn't care about my image.

But just as I thought this, a familiar figure appeared at the far end of my sight!

"One Dan!" I almost shouted, breaking free from Xiao Xue's hand and chasing after him!

Xiao Xue was stunned, but she followed me when she saw me chasing.

However, the crowd was too dense, and I was afraid something might happen to Xiao Xue, so I stopped and watched as Zhang Yidan's figure disappeared at the edge of the market.

"Brother Dan? How could that be?" Xiao Xue asked in surprise, seemingly not having seen him.

"Maybe I was mistaken. It's impossible, impossible." I explained to myself, then looked at Xiao Xue with a bitter smile. Zhang Yidan was clearly dead, killed by his ghost baby. How could he appear in broad daylight? A ghost possessing a body might be possible in a dark forest, but in a sea of people? Impossible.

The county has a population of 800,000, so it's normal for people to look similar. I sighed, thinking that the memory triggered by seeing Zhang Yidan reminded me of my childhood friend.

"Brother, are you going to the antique street? It's right there. See?" Xiao Xue pointed to the entrance where Zhang Yidan had appeared.

"Yes, I see. Let's go." I said, my heart already unsettled again. Zhang Yidan went to the antique street?

I shook my head and followed Xiao Xue into the antique street, which was actually a narrow alley, even selling chickens, ducks, and geese.

I chose a shop with a friendly-looking owner and asked if he had old yellow paper, high-quality cinnabar, and a brush.

In such an old county, these items would never be lacking. The owner quickly brought out several options.

I bought these items not because Zhao Qian didn't have them, but because I couldn't use items that others had used, as it would affect the accuracy of the spell.

I chose the oldest and most expensive aged cinnabar, which cost several dozen yuan per gram. I spent over 400 yuan on a small amount. The old yellow paper, due to its age, was also expensive, and the special brush cost another 200 yuan, totaling 600 yuan.

I thought about it. Money, method, companions, and place—this is true. Without money, you can't play with these things. This is a matter of life and death, and things that involve your life can't be cheap.

So, first, you need money. Second, you need to be skilled in the method. Then, you need to consider your companions and the place of practice. After all these factors are combined and tested over time, you can become a great practitioner.

"Boss, did a young man in his twenties, wearing factory clothes, pass by here or buy something?" I asked the owner, recalling Zhang Yidan's appearance.

"Oh, you mean him. Hey, I was wondering why young people are into these things lately. That guy came to me and asked for cinnabar and a brush, just like you. He bought the brush but said the cinnabar wasn't suitable and went to the stall across the street. Ha, the stuff there is made by the stall owner. Is it any good?" The owner pointed to the stall across the street, implying it wasn't good.

I immediately ran to the old woman at the stall and asked if she had sold anything to a young man. She didn't say a word, just pointed in the direction where Zhang Yidan had disappeared, pointed to the cinnabar, and held up one finger.

I thought about it and realized I couldn't get any information from her without buying something, so I took out 50 yuan: "Give me five grams."

The old woman smiled, held up one finger, but her smile was eerie. Her teeth were badly decayed, which was normal, but her tongue was cut off! She was a mute, which scared Xiao Xue and me back a few steps!

Her tongue was definitely cut off!

"Boy, it's 100 yuan per gram!" The owner across the street saw my shock and kindly reminded me.

I felt that asking wouldn't get me anywhere. The cinnabar was dark purple, and I had no idea how to use it, so I pulled Xiao Xue away.

With only a few hundred yuan left, I realized I still needed a soul jar, so I planned to visit some antique shops.

A soul jar is a container for storing the ashes and bones of the dead. Modern urns, no matter how beautifully carved, are useless to me. Even if they were made of gold or jade, they wouldn't help. I needed to find some earthen jars, but after visiting many antique shops, the owners told me they were all crafts, from the Han or Qing dynasties, and even the cheaper fakes cost several hundred yuan.

I felt a chill. I remembered my grandmother's process of making a soul jar. She would go out before making one and return with various materials.

These materials weren't special, just ordinary soil, but she never let me play with them, saying it was bad for me.

Moreover, she made them by hand, but I didn't have the conditions to do so now.

My grandmother was an expert, able to find clay, make a soul jar, engrave it with seal script, and fire it. The ghosts she raised in such jars were very powerful. Could I do it?

It's yin soil! As I hesitated, this term popped into my mind, and I decided to make my own pottery instead of staying in the antique street.