Merchant of the Underworld

"To untie the bell, you must tie the bell! We must first find out who the ghost in the basin is? What kind of resentment does it have?"

"If you can untie its knot, the cornucopia will most likely turn back into a cornucopia, and your disaster will likely be eliminated, and you will enjoy wealth forever from now on." I said.

"Master Zhang, please tell me how to solve it." Fatty Zhao said anxiously.

I walked around the copper basin several times, but I didn't find any written records on it. I had no way of knowing who its original owner was.

"Yes!" After I walked around the copper basin a few more times, I suddenly thought of a way.

Fatty Zhao was startled, then immediately became happy: "Did Master Zhang think of any solution?"

I didn't bother to explain to him and said directly: "I will make a list now, and you will buy them all right away."

As he said that, I asked him to find paper and pen, and listed dozens of items.

Fatty Zhao looked at it in confusion: "Master Zhang, why are they all made of silk, brocade and the like? Don't we usually prepare black dog blood, peach tree branches and the like to kill ghosts and exorcise evil spirits?"

"Who said I'm going to use these things to kill ghosts and exorcise evil spirits?" I asked.

"That's it?" Fatty Zhao became even more confused upon hearing this.

"I'm just a Yinwu merchant, not a Taoist priest. Yinwu merchants focus on converting Yin spirits and getting Yin objects, so that both parties are happy! Unless they encounter stubborn Yin spirits, they will not use strong methods. Yes, you don’t want to suffer revenge from the Yin spirits in the future, right?” I explained.

"That is, that is." Fatty Zhao said repeatedly, and then he had some doubts: "Master Zhang, can we really be safe and sound in the future?"

"Although these Yin spirits have all been transcended, they still gather in the Yang world. They must have long-cherished wishes. As long as we help them fulfill their wishes, they will naturally stop pestering you. In short, it is better than fighting and killing. It's better to leave a source of disaster. I can't know the origin of the Yin spirit in the basin at the moment, and what kind of resentment it has accumulated. I asked you to prepare these things just to test its identity in life. "

"Just use these things? Master Zhang, I still don't understand." Fatty Zhao looked puzzled.

I stretched out my hand and pointed in the direction of the hall: "Did you see those ghosts? Who do you think they were when they were alive?"

"Rich people." Fatty Zhao responded.

"Yes, they are the rich people and their servants in ancient times." I nodded and said, "Judging from their clothes, they should be the Han people dressed in the early Ming Dynasty, but the cornucopia is obviously from the Qin and Han Dynasties. Even in the Ming Dynasty In the beginning, this kind of artifact was definitely not something ordinary people could own, so its owner must have been a very wealthy man."

"After you buy all the things I selected, burn them to see how they are used? We can roughly deduce where they are from, and then narrow down the scope and find out who the Yin Spirit in the basin is. who."

"Master Zhang is really good at calculating!" Fatty Zhao's face was full of compliments.

"I'm just saving people, not planning anything." I glanced at him and said coldly.

Although I don't want to watch Fatty Zhao die in front of my eyes, he is really annoying, and the word "calculation" comes to mind in everything.

If it weren't for the fact that I couldn't violate the rules of the femininity merchant, I really wouldn't want to save him.

At that moment, I gave him another instruction, turned around and left.

Fatty Zhao was stunned for a moment and immediately followed him out - he had already seen many ghosts in the house, so naturally he didn't dare to live here anymore.

Three days later, Fatty Zhao prepared all the sacrifices and burned them according to the method I taught him, and then he invited me over with fear.

But this time, he said nothing and refused to enter the villa again: "Master Zhang, when I think about living with these ghosts for more than three years, my scalp goes numb and the soles of my feet feel weak. Anyway, I can't help if I go in. I'm sorry to bother you."

What he said was right. Anyway, him following me in would not be of any use and might be a burden. I didn’t force myself and walked in alone.

There are almost twenty rooms in the villa, and each room is occupied by ghosts.

After I opened my eyes, I walked around the villa.

These ghosts divided the room into several levels according to master and servant, male and female, and status.

The wrinkled old lady lived in the most spacious and luxurious master bedroom, the two young mistresses lived in the two sunny side bedrooms, an old man who looked like a housekeeper lived in the small backlit bedroom, and the other slaves were several. One person per room, assigned in an orderly manner.

Only the study and the Buddhist hall on the top floor were empty.

I walked through each room and observed them carefully.

The burned sacrifices were all received by them as I expected, and they were stored in various houses according to the value of the items.

After I completed a circle, I had a rough idea in my mind!

The ghosts of this family must have been extremely wealthy during their lifetime, because they gave all the silk brocades to their servants, and the three masters didn't keep any of them. The other masters didn't keep any of the other ornaments that I specially selected that should have been extremely noble during the Ming Dynasty. Only the old butler picked a slightly better one and put it aside casually.

How is this going?

Could it be that this family of ghosts was extremely wealthy when they were alive, and the owner has long looked down upon things like this?

At this moment, I suddenly saw the old lady holding something in her hands. She was so absorbed in looking at it that she didn't even care about the cute Persian cat beside her who kept acting coquettishly.

I looked closer and saw that she was holding a fist-sized stone tightly in her hand.

Are there any pebbles among the items I left on the list? What is this?

I took two more steps closer, and then I saw clearly that it was a burnt poster, curled up into a ball. At first glance, it looks like a small stone. It may have been accidentally dropped when burning sacrifices.

But why does the old lady have a special liking for this thing? Could it be that she mistakenly thought this thing was a rain flower stone.

Yuhua Stone is a specialty of Nanjing. It was the capital of the early Ming Dynasty. It was reasonable for wealthy families like them to move to Nanjing.

However, during the more than three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing has always been prosperous. There are countless wealthy families and distinguished officials. Where should I start?