Playing at Gods and Ghosts (Third Update, Please Keep Reading)

"There was a hazy feeling between heaven and earth, like a day of heavy fog, yet also somewhat like an overcast sky after rain. It was truly strange." Zhang Chen walked through the mountains, looking at the thick fog permeating heaven and earth. Dew condensed in the air and settled upon the grass and trees, instead making them seem brimming with vitality.

"We're screwed. I'm afraid even the underground water veins have been affected. That Dragon Qi has drawn the water out, which is why the fog is so thick. Is this heaven and earth's final rebound before a great calamity? These droplets of mist condense and nourish all living things beneath heaven—it must be the last gift heaven and earth bestow before disaster strikes." Seeing his clothes grow somewhat damp, Zhang Chen's expression turned grave as he muttered to himself.

Pulling his cart through the village, Zhang Chen drew no attention. But as he passed the village entrance, he suddenly froze. From afar, he saw Zhang Tuowei surrounded by a group of youths. Zhang Tuowei stood in their midst, babbling mysteriously, while a large group of young people knelt at his feet.

Zhang Tuowei raised both hands and shouted at the youths kneeling on the ground, "I'm going to drive out ghosts!"

Then Zhang Tuowei cried out, "Spirits of heaven, spirits of earth, Three Pure Ones, lend me your divine power!"

That "Zhang Tuowei" slapped left and right, waving his fingers through the air while muttering, "Slap you to death," "Catch you." Then, with a flick of his fingers, a flame suddenly appeared at his fingertips.

"You brazen ghost fiends! You dare wreak havoc in the mortal world? I shall use Samadhi True Fire to refine you all to death!" Zhang Tuowei bellowed.

Seeing the flames in Zhang Tuowei's hand, the youths all regarded him as a god descended from heaven. They hurriedly bowed, then pulled flatbreads, eggs, and other items from their clothes and offered them up. Kneeling on the ground, they repeatedly kowtowed and loudly called upon the Three Pure Ones Ancestor.

"It isn't that I'm taking your things. It's the venerable Three Pure Ones Ancestor who wishes to see your sincerity!" Zhang Tuowei said calmly as he looked at the offerings by his feet. "Go home. Remember to return in seven days for another exorcism. My Dao Comprehension is still shallow, so I can only suppress the Evil Beings upon you, not eradicate them completely. Remember this: if you do not come next time, those ghosts may well kill you someday. And never, ever tell your families about this. Otherwise, if those vile ghosts set their sights on your family members, they will surely suffer harm as well."

After sending the youths away, Zhang Tuowei swiftly took out a sack and began collecting the offerings from the ground.

"Zhang Tuowei!" Zhang Chen's eyes went green at the sight. Zhang Tuowei's performance had merely been a little trick Zhang Chen used to amuse him when he was three years old, back when their family was poor and their mother had to work. Yet Zhang Tuowei had pestered him until he learned it—and who could have imagined he would turn into a swindling shaman?

"Big Brother!" Seeing Zhang Chen, Zhang Tuowei's eyes flashed with panic, and he hurriedly hid the sack behind his back.

"Don't play at gods and ghosts again. If you cause trouble and their parents come knocking, you'll get a good beating," Zhang Chen said irritably.

"Big Brother, you can't tell Mother," Zhang Tuowei said, stepping forward with a fawning expression.

"Come help push the cart."

Zhang Chen made his way to his stepmother's home, pushed the cart into the courtyard, and shut the gate to prevent passersby from peering inside.

The commotion Zhang Chen made in the courtyard alerted Zhang Shi inside the house. When she saw what Zhang Chen was doing, she froze. "What happened?"

A mysterious smile appeared on Zhang Chen's face. He brushed aside the Rice Straw on the cart, revealing the bolts of cloth underneath. Zhang Shi stood stunned, scarcely believing her eyes. She quickly stepped forward to touch the cloth on the cart, only then confirming that she was not seeing things.

"Where did you get this?" Zhang Shi seemed unable to believe her eyes.

What kind of person was Zhang Chen? He could spin a lie without missing a beat. "Didn't you see me bring back honey yesterday? I found a beehive in the mountains and took a great deal of honey from it. After selling it, I exchanged it for cloth. As for the leftover food in this box, that Great Lord was pleased after I sold him the honey, so he rewarded me with it."

Zhang Chen hurriedly opened the Food Box, revealing the leftovers inside as proof.

At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that he had eaten more than half of every dish. Otherwise, he would not have been able to fool her today. If some important figure had rewarded him with an entire table of leftovers, it would instead seem more believable.

Zhang Shi looked into Zhang Chen's eyes. Only after seeing not a trace of guilt in his expression did she draw a deep breath. "That is for the best. Now Mother can rest easy."

Zhang Chen smiled at this and quickly called his younger brother and Little Sister over to eat.

At the sight of the exquisite dishes, his younger brother and Little Sister's eyes went wide. They grabbed their chopsticks and began wolfing down the food, while Zhang Chen picked up a pair of chopsticks and placed a Four Joy Meatball in Zhang Shi's bowl. The family happily improved their meals in the courtyard.

The eighteen dishes had been generous in portion, and most of the food still remained. When they parted, Zhang Shi wanted Zhang Chen to take some with him, but he refused. In the end, at Zhang Shi's insistence, he could only take a pork knuckle back.

Zhang Shi happily measured the cloth at home, while Zhang Chen returned to his own home and left the small handcart in the courtyard. That cart had been bought by his father back when he had left his homeland. The father and his three sons had dragged all their belongings along the way, relying on the cart to carry their goods. But the Horses had died of illness on the road, and Zhang Chen's father had then worked like an ox and horse, hauling the cart from that distant, prosperous land all the way to these remote Borderlands.

Light shone from the neighboring room, where the bookish Zhang Chen was studying. Zhang Chen glanced next door, then thought of the cloth, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones he had obtained today. He felt that the foul resentment he had endured under the Fox Spirit's oppression for years had finally dissipated completely.

Zhang Chen opened the gate and saw the Fox Spirit crouched in the courtyard, her eyes fixed on the Water Vapor in the sky, her gaze filled with worry.

"This beast is putting on quite a human-like expression. Could she have noticed something?" A trace of surprise appeared in Zhang Chen's eyes. He entered the house without changing expression. Hearing him open the gate, the Fox Spirit turned to glance in his direction, then withdrew her gaze. Her eyes remained fixed anxiously upon the fog in the sky, filled with concern.

Zhang Chen looked at the Fox Spirit and felt that she was becoming stranger and stranger, but he did not dwell on it. He assumed she was worried about the Great Drought. Returning to his room, he set down his Back Basket, washed up, and resumed practicing his handwriting.

He could not stop practicing calligraphy!

Though his handwriting was ugly, Zhang Chen believed that as long as he practiced tirelessly, one day he would be able to write a fine, beautiful hand.