The Little White Rat Spirit respectfully clasped its hands in greeting, holding a ledger and wearing a face full of obsequious flattery;
It was trying to take credit with Lin Chen—the temple's incense offerings had grown even more prosperous.
Ever since the Door God had risen to five stars, the Rat Spirit Familiar had gained plenty of benefits as well. Its body brimmed with spiritual resonance, and it was only one breath away from advancing to a blue card.
But it had clearly lost its nerve!
Ever since it had followed Lin Chen out once, they had done nothing but fight Evil Gods or battle Evil Offspring along the way;
The little mouse had never seen such a scene before. It was so frightened that it simply holed up in the temple, honestly sweeping the floors and replenishing the incense.
Lin Chen certainly would not blame it. The Rat Spirit's role was support in the first place. Safely managing the temple's estate and stabilizing its incense offerings was what truly mattered.
Next, Lin Chen asked the temple steward where there were any ghostly monsters to kill.
The Spirit Rat had originally been a rat ghost before becoming an official spirit, so it knew Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Capital like the back of its hand. It began giving its report:
The Door God Temple was located in a remote suburb, so there were relatively few ghostly monsters around.
But the closer one got to the city center, the denser the ghostly monsters became!
Commercial districts, office districts, residential buildings... they were all full of ghosts!
Lin Chen understood. No wonder the dungeon was called Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Capital, yet only six ghosts had come to besiege the Door God Temple at the time.
His starting point had simply been a matter of good luck;
If he had been born in a subway station or shopping mall—one of those "high-risk zones" packed with people—the outcome would not necessarily have been the same.
After all, this was a B-Class Dungeon. It could not be underestimated.
However, Lin Chen's strength had greatly increased, and he was urgently short of materials. It was time to begin exploring farther afield.
After the Door God Temple's incense offerings had blazed back to life, the ghostly monsters became even more afraid to approach. After he had "killed" another rat ghost, the surrounding area had been thoroughly cowed into calm.
So Lin Chen deliberately walked a long way, yet still did not see a single ghostly shadow.
What was going on? Had the Myriad Ghosts started traveling by day?
He glanced at the two Door Gods guarding his side—one majestic with divine might, the other bristling with Killing Intent;
Even without saying a word, the power on the Door Gods that suppressed evil and expelled wickedness shone like a lamp in the night.
Got it! The Door Gods were simply too fierce, scaring away every last ghost.
Then he would try fishing by enforcing the law!
Lin Chen put the Door Gods away, then began swaggering around alone.
He was not afraid of a sudden attack, either. After the Door God Cards had settled into his spirit altar, they were just like Amber had been before;
He no longer needed to hold the cards manually. He could summon them without cards at any time, with but a thought.
In the end, he wandered around for half a day, and still found nothing!
Lin Chen stood at a street corner where Yin winds gusted in waves, his face filled with dejection.
Where were his wild monsters?
What happened to the promised Myriad Ghosts Night Parade?
Come on, put a little pressure on me!
If the head of the Security Bureau heard Lin Chen's rebellious thoughts, all he could say was that they had turned the natural order upside down.
Everyone else avoided ghosts, but you insisted on hunting them down and killing them, huh?
Lin Chen finally caught on.
After becoming bound to the Door God Cards by a Natal Bond Connection, he also carried the Door Gods' divine aura. Standing there was no different from having a Door God standing in place.
He would have to think of another trick. He needed to attract some "guests at his door."
Guests... guests?!
Suddenly, Lin Chen thought of his new card, Gold-Consuming Black Shop.
Wasn't this hotel meant to entertain guests?
More importantly—
It could produce blood-and-flesh buns!
Such refined flesh-and-blood creations, processed from raw materials, were absolutely top-tier temptations for ghostly monsters!
Lin Chen hurriedly bought some bizarre corpse materials from the card market;
This most common type of ghostly material was dirt cheap;
So although Lin Chen had almost no savings left, he could still afford to buy several pounds.
But a problem arose: who would be responsible for processing and cutting the meat?
Could he really make Lin Chen do it himself?
Wait. Since the Door God Temple had a Spirit Rat Temple Steward,
then the Crossroads Slope hotel ought to have a proprietress too!
That would be the infamous "Mother Yaksha," Sun Erniang!
That nickname had been passed down to this day, endlessly recited by countless henpecked husbands.
Moreover, she was exceptionally compatible with the Maenad of the God of Wine material.
Sun Erniang was also a bold, vicious shrew of a woman, the sort who could smile as she chopped a person into three pounds of bun filling!
Her deeds matched those of the Maenad of the God of Wine, who loved dismembering people and swallowing them alive and raw. They were practically two versions of the same person from different worlds!
Although Lin Chen was somewhat fatigued, now that things had reached this point, there was only—
On-the-spot card creation!
He continued the card-creation process he knew by heart, preparing all the materials;
In his mind, he envisioned the only three female "heroes" of Water Margin:
"Her brows stretched across her face with Killing Intent, her eyes revealing murderous light.
A thick layer of greasy powder covered her face, concealing her unruliness; two heavy swaths of rouge spread out, reaching straight into her disordered hair.
A scarlet skirt wrapped around a dazzling bellyband, while bright golden hairpins gleamed beside her yellow hair.
Bracelets and bangles imprisoned the demoness's arms; her red shirt reflected the Yaksa spirit!"
In an instant, a green card took shape:
Card Name: Crossroads Slope Skinning Yaksha - Sun Erniang Type: Human/Hunter Quality: Excellent Grade · Green Border · Two-Star Traits: Skinning and Mincing: Sun Erniang's saber technique is highly skilled. She automatically collects flesh-and-blood ingredients and makes fragrant "Meat Buns," which possess the "Enticing" effect, making guests drool and eager to eat. Smiling with a Knife Hidden Behind Her Back: Sun Erniang welcomes and sends off guests, seduces and sells her charms, and possesses extremely high emotional intelligence. She excels at confusing enemies with honeyed words, lowering their guard and increasing the success rate of traps, schemes, and poison. Hidden Trait: Fallen Evil Star: Sun Erniang is a Star Spirit descended into the mortal realm. She possesses high spirituality and growth potential, and can evolve into a Spirit Hero Card. Skills: Secretly Administering Medicine: Sun Erniang possesses practiced skills in administering drugs; this must be activated with items such as "Methanol" or "Bewitching Wine," inflicting dizziness and intoxication on enemies. Bone Chopping Saber Technique: Sun Erniang's knife work is highly skilled and her methods ruthless. She excels at stripping bones and dismembering corpses. Her attacks easily strike vital points and increase the crippling effect.
A nimble woman in a green gauze top and red silk skirt stood before Lin Chen;
Her expression was bold and unrestrained, her seductive eyes flowing like silk, and she gave Lin Chen a formal curtsy.
Lin Chen did not waste words either. He found a location with roads leading in all directions and established the Gold-Consuming Black Shop - Cross Slope Happy Forest there.
Sun Erniang's eyes lit up. "Could this be my shop?"
The moment she entered, she did not even need Lin Chen to lead her. She went straight to the second-floor "Flesh Workshop" as if she knew the place by heart, looking around and touching things with delight written all over her face.
Seeing that Sun Erniang was also a brisk and capable sort, Lin Chen quickly handed the bizarre corpse materials to her and asked her to make "Ghost Meat Buns."
"Just watch me! This craft has been passed down through my family!"
Soon, fragrant "Ghost Meat Buns" came fresh from the oven!
This Mother Yaksha really did make excellent meat buns!
They were large, stuffed plump with filling, and their fragrance carried ten li!
If he had not known what was inside, even Lin Chen would have found his mouth watering at the smell.
And so, the next step was the opening day of this Black Shop!
He did not beg for human customers to enter. He only hoped that ghosts would come knocking!
The author has brought Sun Erniang here to beg for votes and follows!
I wrote a little more in this chapter—3,500 characters—and then it was held up by the system review, so the update came a little late! Sorry, sorry!
Everyone, please help me follow the book more! Cast your votes!
We are currently in a life-or-death PK for the second-round recommendation slot. Help this Black Shop clear the third round!
Thanks to: All that is foam, 1 monthly ticket; Saintly Worldly Carefree, 1 monthly ticket; Sister, I Won't Meet You, 1 monthly ticket; Aurelan, 1 monthly ticket; Visible Invisible Man, 1 monthly ticket; Big Chuchu 50, 2 monthly tickets; E Beyond Expectation, 1 monthly ticket; Tsu. Persistence, 2 monthly tickets; Yi Yi Xing Hui, 1 monthly ticket; Book Friend 20201218211119661, 1 monthly ticket; Myriad Ages Across the Void, 2 monthly tickets; Book Friend 20240718203563740, 1 monthly ticket; Xina Yi, 2 monthly tickets; Eggy, 2 monthly tickets; When the Moon Shines at Midnight and I Push Open the Window, 1 monthly ticket; Wine Bug Book Ghost, 1 monthly ticket; Linghu Qin, 2 monthly tickets; Aha, 1 monthly ticket; Book Friend 20190525134444393, 2 monthly tickets; Expert Doesn't Play the First Hand, 1 monthly ticket; Perhaps Penetrating the Horizon, 2 monthly tickets; Nightmare Is Not Present, 2 monthly tickets; Old Yogurt Is Really Delicious, 5 monthly tickets; One Person's Journey Can Destroy the World, 5 monthly tickets.
Chapter 47: Dungeon Business Opportunity, Black Inn Economics!
As the saying went: "At Big Tree Crossroads Slope, what guest would dare pass through? The fat ones are cut for bun filling, while the thin ones are used to fill the river."
But Lin Chen's shop did not feast on all living things—it feasted on ghosts and gods!
Sun Erniang's ancestral secret recipe truly had its special qualities. She even picked some Datura flowers from the backyard and added them to the filling;
The enormous buns were as tender and white as little children, clustered together one after another, fragrant and numbing;
The shop doors stood wide open, and its fragrance drifted ten li;
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