Chapter 1

01 Chapter: The Talkative Liu Shoucai

[Opening words for the new book: I want to create a modern spiritual fantasy world in my mind!]

[Opening words for the new book: I want to create a modern spiritual fantasy world in my mind!]

Long, long ago, Wangyue Village was a wonderful place, described by geomancers as having a green dragon on the left and a white tiger on the right, with an ox in the middle, a precious land.

The village was named Wangyue, a name passed down by the ancestors. The exact origin is unverifiable, but it is said that the ancestor served as a first-rank prime minister, a truly impressive figure.

After retiring, he found a suitable place and chose this location, claiming it would ensure the prosperity and peace of his descendants for generations, though it would no longer have the aura of officialdom. For this reason, despite knowing it was a good place, no one else claimed it. The ancestor, who had spent his life in office, had thoroughly understood the corruption and darkness of the court, and thus left a family rule that his descendants were not allowed to enter public service, but should live honestly in this village.

Later, the ancestor, while drinking and singing, felt that the mountains on either side resembled spiritual beasts gazing at the moon, and thus named the place Wangyue. At that time, it wasn't a village, but later evolved from Wangyue Mansion or Wangyue Manor into Wangyue Village, which has been called by the villagers for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Strangely, the village has been harmonious for hundreds or even thousands of years. Not only were petty crimes like theft rare, but even during the Japanese occupation, it was not affected. After the founding of the People's Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution, it seemed to have little impact. In short, it was incredibly peaceful, truly a feng shui treasure land.

Wangyue Village is a large clan village, but in the last twenty years, things have started to change.

First, every household got electricity, and the outside world truly began to influence the village.

This isolated little village underwent a dramatic transformation, and people's hearts... also changed.

In short, this peaceful village, hidden among the hills, suddenly became bustling. Young people one by one wanted to leave or had already left, and the village gradually became quiet, with fewer and fewer people.

Of course, these were secondary issues! The main reason people started leaving Wangyue Village was because of the ghosts.

No one knows when it started, but the ghosts began to haunt the eastern mountain and the ancestral graves under the spiritual beast's gaze.

With the full moon in the sky and stars twinkling,

On the road to Wangyue Village, only Liu Shoucai was driving an old, broken-down 212 Jeep, its exhaust spewing black smoke, heading towards the village. One of the headlights was out, leaving only one to struggle against the pitch-black night on the mountain road.

"Badou, when will we reach Wangyue Village?" Liu Shoucai, bored, bit a toothpick and asked, looking at the monotonous scenery outside.

Driving was Liu Shoucai's good friend, Cai Gaobadou. His name is not a compound surname but Cai, with the given name Gaobadou. He had a sharp face, wearing a pair of knockoff Ray-Ban glasses, and was focused on driving on the bumpy, pothole-ridden mountain road.

Hearing Liu Shoucai's question, he replied, "In about an hour."

"What a terrible place! Strange, how did that girl Xiaojiu find such a poor, remote place? She even agreed to help the villagers for free. Isn't that just taking advantage of them?" Liu Shoucai complained.

Badou pursed his lips and ignored him. Such a person wasn't worth responding to, too stingy and too money-oriented! But what could he do, having such a stingy friend was his bad luck. Still, he had to admit that the guy was loyal to his friends. He was a contradictory person!

Should he ask Liu Shoucai for the gas money for the 212? He'd probably have to pay for it himself. Thinking about this, Badou's heart ached. Although he didn't have to pay the 200 yuan daily fee to the taxi company, the car was bought with Liu Shoucai's money. Badou was a taxi driver, an unlicensed one. Of course, Badou had a part-time job, but he wouldn't mention it, as Liu Shoucai would call it "shameful."

Liu Shoucai continued, "Xiaojiu likes to travel and run around. Badou, tell me, why are Xiaojiu and Niu Jiaojiao so different? Xiaojiu is kind and lovely, but why is Niu Jiaojiao so cunning and lazy? Badou, you and Niu Jiaojiao seem to be getting along well lately. I heard you two went out for barbecue late at night?"

"Shut up. It's Niu Xiaoxiao, Sister Xiaoxiao." Badou thought it was bad for Liu Shoucai to give people nicknames. He just wanted to remind him, whether it would help or not was another matter.

Liu Shoucai turned to look at Badou, sitting cross-legged in the passenger seat, leaning against the door. His face wore a sly smile, "They say a woman three years older is like a golden brick. Niu Jiaojiao is three years older than you, right? Come on, tell your big brother, what does that wicked woman see in you? I'll tell you, whatever she likes about you, you should change immediately! You know, even though Niu Jiaojiao is rich, we need to have some backbone, don't we? You have looks and skills. You're making a good living with Brother Liu, right? Why bother with that wicked woman's stinky feet? Let me tell you, Xiaojiu is great, gentle, kind, virtuous, and cute. Most importantly, she's beautiful, with a great figure, breasts, and a nice bottom. When she graduates, marry her quickly. We've known each other for years, and I've never heard of Xiaojiu having a boyfriend. She's perfect for you! How about I set you up with her?"

Liu Shoucai kept talking nonstop, and Badou's hands on the steering wheel were almost trembling with anger.

"Shut up!" Badou repeated, his voice rasping from his throat, out of anger.

"It's not that I'm saying, but I can see you like that wicked woman, Niu Jiaojiao. You haven't noticed that the girl only talks a lot when she drinks with you. A few days ago, I saw her flirting with a young girl in a bar, but when she saw you, she immediately kicked the girl away and came to you like a little wife. You still deny it?"

"Shut up!" Badou gritted his teeth. If it weren't for the safety concerns of driving, he would have covered his ears.

Faced with someone like Liu Shoucai, Badou felt hopeless! He couldn't hit him, as he called Liu Shoucai "big brother," so he couldn't beat him. He couldn't curse him, as he couldn't out-talk him. He couldn't ignore him, as he would buzz around his ears like a fly, more talkative than a chatterbox!

Sss! Sss! Sss...

Badou rolled down the window, moving his head and sniffing the air. On this wild mountain road, he didn't know what he was smelling.

Liu Shoucai's eyes twitched, squinting and looking around. He asked, "Badou, what's going on?"

Badou slowly eased off the gas, gradually slowing the car.

"It smells bad," Badou said.

Liu Shoucai rubbed his hands, realizing something might be wrong.

"Is it the smell of a corpse or a ghost?"

"The smell of a ghost, a vengeful spirit. The smell isn't strong, so it's no more than thirty years old," Badou said.

Badou had a special ability to smell things that ordinary people couldn't. It wasn't that his nose was as good as a dog's, but that he was highly sensitive to ghosts and spirits. Badou could vaguely see ghostly figures and smell their odor. Most importantly, his blood was strange; when smeared on his fist, he could hit ghosts that were otherwise invisible and cause significant damage.

And Liu Shoucai was the one who discovered this ability.

Liu Shoucai's talent, besides his talkative nature, was being a fortune-teller. Of course, he also had a noble profession as a gardener. Liu Shoucai wasn't a fraudulent fortune-teller but a genuine one.

However, Liu Shoucai's abilities were a bit peculiar and couldn't be used easily. So, he considered himself a talent scout and discovered Badou, making it a habit to find Badou whenever he needed help.

"Looks like they know we're coming. Go check it out," Liu Shoucai rubbed his hands and nodded at Badou.

"Okay," Badou nodded, long used to Liu Shoucai's commands. After all, he usually dealt with small ghosts and spirits himself, and only when things got tough did Liu Shoucai step in. Fortunately, they had been working together for a long time, and Badou jumped out of the car.

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