Chapter 60: Nephew Shi Jian, meet uncle
Chapter 60: Nephew Shi Jian, meet uncle
"Each lineage has different secret methods. My lineage has a secret method passed down from my ancestors called Binding the Gods and Sending the Generals."
Second uncle paced around the room with his hands behind his back.
"Setting up an altar and summoning the gods, dispatching heavenly soldiers and generals in front of the altar, is similar to you stomping on the ground to summon the gods, but it is completely different."
As a master, my second uncle is old, so it may be difficult for him to show off, but he is very experienced in teaching apprentices. He is old enough and has seen enough, so he is simply a living encyclopedia.
"Stomping the ground is to borrow the power of the gods to bless yourself and subdue demons. Although it is extremely powerful, it will shorten your life and hurt your body, so it is better to use it as little as possible. Confine the gods and dispatch the generals to appoint the gods as the marshals of the army and dispatch the heavenly soldiers and generals. With the blessing of the gods, not only will it not hurt you, but it can protect you from entering and leaving the netherworld and help you become an immortal!"
"You're so awesome, but why haven't I seen you really call in the heavenly soldiers and generals, Second Uncle?" Zhu Dachang was also listening as a disciple, but he was thinking with his thighs, had no desire to learn, and preferred to ask some annoying questions.
"Is there really a wife in the wife cake? Is there really a son in the clay pot rice? Is there a mouse in the mouse cake? My master's master taught my master this, and my master taught me this. Is there anything wrong with me teaching in the same way?" The second uncle asked back.
"I'm just asking casually, Second Uncle, you're a little anxious."
"Am I in a hurry?"
"You are a little anxious."
Tan Wenjie remained silent. Zhu Dachang had caused his own trouble and let him bear the brunt of the consequences.
"Are you going to speak or am I going to speak?"
"Of course you're the one who tells the story, hehe, you tell the story." Zhu Dachang shrank behind Tan Wenjie. He was a broad and strong man, but he hid like a shy girl. He didn't dare to come back until he was sure that his second uncle wouldn't beat him.
"Hmph!" Second Uncle snorted, then resumed his previous expression, "It's easy to set up an altar, but it's not easy to ask the gods to descend. If you succeed, you can use the flag to protect yourself."
As he spoke, the second uncle pointed to the altar that had been set up long ago. He was very attentive in today's class. It was also the first time that Tan Wenjie felt the benefit of having someone teach him seriously.
He figured out what the 10m range of the God-Binding and General-Sending Techniques meant, which was the area covered when roaming around and fighting with the long table at the altar as the center.
If you have the protection of gods, you will be invincible in the fight. If evil spirits approach you, you might even get hurt.
The command flag that my second uncle mentioned was triangular in shape, with a yellow flag surface and a jagged red edge. The flagpole was made of rattan, and it had the words "Summoning All Gods" written on it.
He took the banner and walked in front of the two of them, then suddenly raised his hand and hit Zhu Dachang on the head: "Why are you looking at me? Is there a banner on my face?"
Zhu Dachang hurried to look at the command flag.
Tan Wenjie asked, "Master, if we ask for help from gods, will they definitely come? What if they don't come?"
If you can't invite the stars in the sky and the gods and Buddhas, this trick will be useless.
"Ahem, they don't come more often." Second Uncle felt a little embarrassed. "You asked the gods in heaven, but they have to socialize and be very busy."
I see, it still depends on interpersonal relationships.
Gods may also have to play mahjong. One day in heaven is one year on earth, so it is normal to play all night long. If one loses money by accident and gets carried away, playing all night long for a year or two, the disciples in the lower world may never be able to invite gods to the altar to protect them in their lifetime.
Reasonable, very reasonable!
The only interpersonal relationship he currently has among the gods is with General Zhou Cang.
I don't know if my second uncle can help introduce a few people. He is not greedy and does not ask the Three Pure Ones to appear at the altar. It may be okay to invite the Twenty-Eight Constellations, the Gods of Thunder, the Nine-Sky Mysterious Lady, etc.
"Master, which gods have you invited to the altar to protect you?"
"Ahem, that's too much!" As he was speaking, the second uncle's gaze suddenly shifted to Zhu Dachang. He found that he had been staring at the flag in his hand like a fool. He immediately became furious and punched him on the head.
"Ouch!" Zhu Dachang rubbed his head, looking confused. Why was he beaten again?
Second Uncle: "Why are you looking at the flag? Look at me!"
Tan Wenjie secretly thanked himself for being a good boy, because he knew that people who looked like Uncle Jiu were all narrow-minded.
……
"...Don't you believe what I said?" Zhu Dachang put down the bowl and looked at Tan Wenjie sincerely.
Tan Wenjie glanced at the stacked bowls on the table and replied, "Believe it! You've already eaten four bowls. If I don't believe it, I'll be at a big loss."
"Oh, I got a good beating from my second uncle today. I'm so hungry." Zhu Dachang rubbed his stomach, feeling very satisfied.
He has no father and was raised by his second great uncle. He was beaten since he was a child, and being beaten was just a small matter.
"This shop is owned by my cousin's future father-in-law. It must be delicious."
"Yes, we walked for half an hour to come here to have tea, it must be delicious." Tan Wenjie nodded, agreeing with Zhu Dachang's recommendation. The food tasted much better than Annie's teahouse, but the environment was much worse.
The prices are affordable and there are many people coming and going. It's like a vegetable market. You can have tea but not talk business.
"But why are there so many young masters?"
Those young masters were not important people, at most they were sons of wealthy families.
But it cannot be said that this group of people are incompetent. According to Tan Wenjie's understanding, what this group of people are best at is "luring good people into trouble". If you have money, they will coax you and squeeze you dry, and then make you owe a huge debt afterwards.
Moreover, collusion between officials and the public is also used to perfection.
If you are not careful, you may get addicted to opium.
He has sharp ears and eyes, and can tell clearly who is rich and who is poor.
However, they did not dare to get close to Tan Wenjie, not because Tan Wenjie's money was not attractive, but because they were playing too low-level games. They were all stupid and rough without any skills. Rich people like Tan Wenjie pursued romance and did not play vulgar games. However, romantic things cost the most money, and these "gentlemen" could not even afford the admission tickets.
"Why else?" Zhu Dachang curled his lips. "Xiaozhu!" someone shouted in the distance.
"Hey, here we come."
Tan Wenjie turned his head and saw a girl with pigtails busying herself.
Hey, isn't this that girl? I've seen this sister before, but unfortunately they are only 40% similar. She has the appearance but not the spirit. Like Xiaoyun, she can only be called a pretty girl.
"Brother Dachang, the soup is here." Xiaozhu walked to the table with the soup.
"Xiaozhu, isn't Feibao here?"
"No, they called me, I'm busy now."
"Okay, go ahead." Zhu Dachang nodded, then said to Tan Wenjie, "She is my cousin's fiancée, and we have been betrothed since birth."
"Aren't you also arranged to be married?"
"My father's father died after giving birth to my father, and then my father also died after giving birth to me. Before he died, he pointed out this marriage for me." Zhu Dachang said, "I am not an ambitious person. Although it was arranged at birth, I don't want to delay Xiaoyun. Otherwise, Xiaoyun will be like Xiaozhu after marrying me, showing up outside every day and being touched by other men."
"Is that so? Why don't I go pick her up?"
"Ah?" Zhu Dachang froze as he was about to pick up the fifth bowl. "Ajie, are you serious?"
"You don't want to marry her, and Xiaoyun is a person who follows her wherever she goes, so why can't I date her?" Tan Wenjie asked back, "It's no different for Xiaoyun, we just live our lives together."
Isn't it enough to have a good face to pick up girls? He doesn't need to plot at all.
He used all those convoluted ideas to deceive and kill ghosts, and to deal with evil spirits and evil people.
"Uncle Jie, uncle, you are so handsome and rich, there is no need for you to compete with me for my wife." Zhu Dachang had a bitter face. He didn't want it when it was given to him, but he couldn't bear to give it up when someone tried to snatch it from him.
He was sure that if Tan Wenjie tried to seduce Xiaoyun, Xiaoyun would definitely be seduced away.
Tan Wenjie looked at Zhu Dachang and slowly uttered two words: "Vile! Bitch!"
……
The second uncle gave Tan Wenjie a book and asked him to prepare yellow paper, cinnabar, brushes, etc. when he returned home so that he could try to learn how to draw talismans.
There are all kinds of talismans available, such as talismans for opening eyes, curing ghosts, praying for blessings, protecting the body, suppressing corpses, etc.
Tan Wenjie drew it from beginning to end, then called out the muscular dwarf ghost and tried each one. He was sure that his level of prop making was average, and he couldn't even handle the muscular dwarf ghost injected with steroids.
The corpse-suppressing talisman can't even keep the zombie Uncle Dong away for long. If the twin girls and the zombies "merge into one", the talisman will be like waste paper.
But my second uncle also said that it is impossible for one person in the world to master all the skills. Talismans are only an external method, and the most important thing is the internal alchemy practice.
Tan Wenjie himself had no obsession with whether he was proficient in drawing talismans. Whether it was stomping the ground to invite gods or detaining gods and sending their generals, his ghost-catching style was destined to be based on his own magical skills. The only regret in his heart was that the talismans were inexplicably suitable for Boss Tan in terms of usage.
One talisman can smash ghosts, so what if there are a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand... It is perfect for the Tan family's way of spending money, steady and arrogant.
In the afternoon, Tan Wenjie was called to Zhu's house again.
"Practice is like rowing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will move backward." The second uncle gave Tan Wenjie another book.
What is recorded above is the "hundred-day foundation building". Only after a hundred days of foundation building can one be considered to have truly entered the door. However, Tan Wenjie felt that his second uncle did not care about the hundred-day foundation building and was just giving a few casual reminders.
Second Uncle’s life span is less than a hundred days, and Tan Wenjie has already cultivated a lot of skills, so he doesn’t need to worry about such basic training.
"After I report to the underworld, my funeral affairs will be handled by Zhu Dachang. I know you have money but I don't need you to spend it. This trip is a blessing, not a disaster, so it's not appropriate to make a big fuss. I called you here today for another matter. It just so happens that I received news that a nephew passed by here and came to visit me after knowing that I was going to report to the underworld. He is the eldest senior brother of the Maoshan Sect. If you need help with something, you can go to him. I just happened to introduce him to you today."
The second uncle didn't say anything else. He knew that Tan Wenjie knew more about dealing with people than he did, and especially the amount of money given would definitely satisfy people.
When performing a ritual for Boss Zhao, Second Uncle was very satisfied with the amount of money he received.
"I understand, Master." Tan Wenjie nodded. The Maoshan sect had a method of sending messages over a thousand miles. All it required was to draw a talisman and find a basin of water. However, it required both parties in the communication to know how to do it, so it had never been passed on to outsiders.
Most of the common people do not know the Tao. Just a "question for rice" is enough to support one person. In this era, it is enough to be able to make a living. There is no point in learning so much, and it is destined that it is impossible to have disciples all over the world. Even if you learn it, you can't even find someone to "answer the phone". It is better not to learn.
There are many similar "life hacks", but you can only know them by going to the authentic ones.
Tan Wenjie suddenly looked up. Wait, the eldest brother of the Maoshan Sect? The nephew's grandson?
I asked someone to invite Shi Jian, and he should be here in the next two days. So, the nephew of my second uncle must be Shi Jian.
While we were chatting, we heard a sound outside the door, and the guests arrived.
The man was wearing a yin-yang Taoist robe and walked with great vigor. He was intimidating without even getting angry. A young man followed behind him. After entering the door, he bowed respectfully and said, "Master uncle!"
The second uncle introduced with a smile: "Ajian, you came at the right time. This is my apprentice, Tan Wenjie, your junior uncle."
Shi Jian is the most "rule-abiding" person in doing things and never makes mistakes in public.
So when he saw that Tan Wenjie was a young man, he didn't say anything, but bowed respectfully with great courtesy.
As for what happened secretly, Tan Wenjie remembered that in the movie, Shi Shaojian committed crimes and Shi Jian knew everything. As long as it was not exposed, he didn't care at all and would even help cover it up.
"Nephew Shi Jian, greetings to uncle."
Tan Wenjie suddenly missed his uncle Jiu. He was not petty, he just wanted to hear him call him uncle-master, and then call Gillian "niece-master" a few times, so that the two of them could get closer.
Thank you for the 100 reward from Wuxing Zhenren.
(End of this chapter)