"This?"
The young man looked at the black pottery fragments, a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes, but his expression changed instantly, he gave a thumbs up, and said mysteriously, "Master, I see that you are a discerning man."
"This thing is extraordinary. Have you ever heard of Boerqi?"
Li Yan frowned slightly, "Who is this?"
"Then speaking of which, it has a lot of potential!"
The young man waved his fan and assumed the posture of a storyteller. He shook his head and said, "When Golden Horde Wolf Country occupied the capital, this man was the general who guarded the palace. As you know, the capital is expensive, so it is inevitable to get some money..."
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Before the other party could finish speaking, Li Yan interrupted him impatiently and made a gesture, "Laohe, please don't be pretentious and speak your mind.
The young man was stunned for a moment, then saw the weapon wrapped in cloth behind Li Yan. Then he suddenly broke into a cold sweat and respectfully raised his hands and said, "I'm sorry for my blindness, but I wonder which mountain you are worshiping and which incense stick you are burning?"
Li Yan said calmly, "I support Three Incense Sticks (worship the Three Pure Ones)! I'm going too deep (asking too many questions), and the bottom of the sea will sink (be careful not to lose my life)!"
Seeing that Li Yan is a person in the world of martial arts and has extraordinary momentum, the young man did not dare to talk nonsense anymore. He lowered his head and whispered, "I am following Copper Camel Alliance to make a living. If I offend you, I hope you will bear with me."
"To be honest, I won't be able to tell the origin of this thing no matter how hard it is, but it does have some background..."
Halfway through the words, Li Yan raised his hand to interrupt again. With a flick of his finger, the young man had half a silver coin in his arms, "There are many people here, so find a place to talk. As long as you get things done, you will naturally benefit."
Indeed, there were several Daoist priests walking down the street in the distance, followed by more than twenty Commandery Commandant Office people. They all looked gloomy and looked at the target City God Temple, but their eyes were sharp and they were looking around, as if they were looking for something.
Li Yan has sharp ears and heard them talking about last night.
To avoid trouble, it is best to leave first.
But this young man was just a Imperial City gangster. He set up a stall at the temple fair and did not open it for ten and a half days. Holding the money in his arms, he didn't care about anything else. He immediately wrapped the stall with rags, bowed his head, and led Li Yan away.
City God Temple is in Xicheng, which is also considered an Prosperity area in the capital. There is Ministry of Justice Street around it. There are six officials living in the Xidan Archway. In addition, the temple fair attracted Suzhou and Hangzhou silk merchants and Huizhou antique dealers to settle in Chengfang Street, forming a "leno-filled" clothing market.
After passing through these bustling streets, the two of them walked deeper into the alleys.
When we got here, the houses gradually became dilapidated, and most of them were small courtyards where ordinary people lived.
There are also some small shops in the alley, but the items are obviously much cheaper.
The young man was very familiar with this place and soon came to a brick and wooden hut in an alley.
The front of this place is narrow, with a faded blue cloth hanging under the eaves, with the four crooked characters "Liu's Tripe Stew" written on it.
There is a large black iron pot in front of the door. The charcoal fire under the pot is not extinguished. The thick white old soup is boiling, with a few pieces of green onion, ginger and two star anise floating on it. The aroma is mixed with water vapor and steaming out, making the signature oil shiny and black.
Peering in through the open door, we saw four square elm tables in the hall, with the table legs flattened with tiles. The table tops had been scrubbed white for many years, but there were still oil stains that could not be cleaned away.
But it is an ordinary small restaurant.
Things like braised and fried tripe are all waste, Prosperity people don't look down on them, so they are extremely cheap. They boil them in a big pot for a long time, add some spices, and only cost a few cents a bowl. Ordinary people can eat them to their full stomach just by eating sesame cakes.
Therefore, such small shops are everywhere in the alleys of Beijing.
"Lao Wai, I have a distinguished guest, close the door!"
The young man started shouting before he even stepped through the door.
"Hey~ you Son of a Bitch."
An old man with a bald head and a crooked mouth walked out of the room. He was cursing at first, but when he saw Li Yan behind him, he stopped immediately and muttered, "I've been idle all day, and I don't know what I'm doing. It's my fault..."
"Okay, okay!"
The young man's eyes widened and he said, "Sir, I'm about to send it out. Did you see it?"
As he said that, he shook the money in his arms and said, "Don't worry, it's yours."
The crooked-mouthed old man was startled and stopped talking nonsense. He carefully closed the wooden door, but he turned his head to look at the two of them from time to time. The worry in his eyes could not be concealed.
Li Yan sees all this.
It seems that the two of them cursed each other, but they were really close.
The stewed stewed belly now is not as clean as in the previous life, and Li Yan has a keen sense of smell, so the smell in the store almost choked him. Fortunately, there is a small courtyard behind the store with jujube trees, and it is kept clean.
The crooked-mouthed old man set up a small square table under the tree, brought a jug of wine and cut two kilograms of braised pork.
The young man poured wine for Li Yan, picked up a glass and lowered his head and said, "Sir, the place is simple, don't mind. My surname is Wang, just call me Son of a Bitch."
Li Yan was stunned, "What do you mean?"
The young man scratched his head and said, "I'm not afraid of your jokes. I didn't know who my parents were since I was a child. I was thrown outside the city Mass Burial Grounds and raised by wild dogs, so others call me Son of a Bitch. They are scolding me, but I think this is not forgetting my roots!"
Li Yan laughed dumbly, "The name doesn't mean anything. I also know a young man named Gou Sheng, who is a disciple of Sword Immortal in Sichuan."
The young man was stunned, lowered his head and said, "You are so generous, but I don't have that blessing."
Seemingly seeing that Li Yan was not contemptuous, the young man also put away his imprudent appearance, took out the black pottery fragment, and said seriously, "I didn't lie to you just now, this thing does have some background, it comes from Water Monkey's tomb."
"Oh?"
Li Yan became interested, "Tell me more carefully."
The young man took another sip of wine and said, "The year before last, water monkeys were causing trouble in the Wuding River outside the city. Several people died one after another. The City God's Temple sent people to try to tame them. I heard that many water monkey corpses were fished out with fishing nets. They were burned and buried in mass graves. They also asked people to chant sutras and save them, and the matter calmed down."
"I grew up in Mass Burial Grounds and was adopted into the city. Later my adoptive parents fell ill and died. I was left helpless, so I had no choice but to go back to Mass Burial Grounds and do some digging work to support my family."
"Because I don't have a teacher, I don't dare to hang out with those old guys, for fear of being thrown into the grave and buried alive, so I can only join a separate gang."
"You also know that I was raised by wild dogs, and I am very familiar with them. I know all the dog holes made in Mass Burial Grounds. It is precisely because of their help that I can run around Mass Burial Grounds at night without encountering any evil things."
"Just a few days ago, wild dogs accidentally dug up Water Monkey's grave. I was curious, and the wild dogs didn't give any warning, so they got in."
Li Yan asked curiously, "What did you see?"
"Bah, don't mention it."
The young man Son of a Bitch looked unhappy, "There's nothing there, just a pile of ashes burned into ashes. These black pottery pieces were mixed in, and there were quite a few of them. I thought the thief wouldn't miss it, so I took one piece back."
As he spoke, he asked tentatively, "Sir, is this some kind of precious porcelain?"
"Thinking too much."
Li Yan sneered, made a secret with his left hand, and pointed at the pottery fragment.
Visible to the naked eye, white frost quickly condenses on the black pottery pieces.
This is the pull of spiritual thoughts, which inspired the Yin Energy that remains from the black pottery fragments. It is not a clever method.
But when Son of a Bitch saw it, his eyes widened, "You... are you a true monk?"
"Then there's still a lie?"
Li Yan said in a deep voice, "There is something wrong with this thing. Fortunately, you did not hold it for a long time. If it lasts another three to five years, it will definitely have nightmares every night and be riddled with various diseases."
He didn't lie either. Although there is a small amount of Yin Qi left in this black pottery piece, it will affect your health if you keep it around for a long time.
This is also the reason why some collectors often ask someone to remove the obscurity after getting something.
The reason why he is scary is that he can see that this kid is hiding something.
Sure enough, Son of a Bitch swallowed and murmured, "No wonder, the old man asked me to throw it away, saying it would cause a bloody disaster..."
Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, "Who told you?"
Son of a Bitch didn't dare to hide it anymore and said, "After I took this thing, I couldn't tell it right, so I went to see Old Wu Zhangyan in the ghost market. When he saw it, his expression changed drastically and he told me to throw it away immediately and not to tell anyone about it."
"Old Wu is always nagging, but I don't take it seriously, right..."
Son of a Bitch suddenly thought of something, turned around quickly, ran back to the woodshed, and dug out a small bundle from the pit.
There was a bit of embarrassment on his face, "Don't get me wrong, the small one is just a hand-wrapped one, so I took more."
After Li Yan opened it, his pupils suddenly shrank and he picked up a finger bone from the black pottery piece.
Son of a Bitch whispered, "This is dug out from the ashes. I thought Water Monkey bones might be sold at a high price..."
"Can you take me to find that Old Wu?"
Li Yan looked solemn and asked directly.
There are several kinds of so-called Water Monkey, and he has seen them before.
This thing is clearly a child's bone...
Near Zi Hour, lanterns swayed in the dark streets.
"To put it bluntly, the ghost market is the government's tacit approval..."
Son of a Bitch held a lantern and walked while whispering, "Some of the things that were confiscated from the government offices are not easy to buy and sell directly, so they are put on consignment in the ghost market. There are also some unknown items, ranging from stolen goods to Funerary Objects, and even clothes of dead people are sold."
Li Yan frowned, "Why buy clothes from a dead person?"
"You don't know something."
Son of a Bitch chuckled, "Clothes for the living are expensive, and clothes for the dead are unlucky. There is also silk and satin. Cut off the blood-stained pieces, package them and sell them cheaply. Some people from poor families secretly buy them back and cut them into new clothes. No one will see it, and no one will laugh."
"The capital is a nice place, but it's not that easy to live a decent life..."
While they were talking, they had already walked out of the dark alley.
Outside City God Temple at night, there is another scene.
Some of the temple fair sheds during the day have been dismantled and small stalls have been set up.
The stalls just lay a piece of cloth on the ground, place the things to be sold on it, and only light a small dim candle. They are far apart from each other and do not interfere with each other. Customers walk among them, making transactions with their sleeves stretched out, and even when they speak, they are in whispers.
Looking from a distance, the dim candlelight and the shadowy figures really look like Hundred Ghosts Night Parade.
"Master, I have to explain the rules to you clearly."
Son of a Bitch suddenly stopped and said, "In this ghost market, there are three rows and six cities, each keeping its place."
"On the east side of the temple, there is an exclusive incense shop. They sell sandalwood, paper horses, and statues of gods. Some of them are from City God Temple, and some are expensive, but they are real and fake. I heard that only you experts can tell the difference. They want Attendant's 'incense tax' to give blessings to the temple. Even if you see something, don't ask too much..."
"Antiques Funerary Objects are sold on the west side. The ghost market pays attention to the principle of 'no deception at night, no price during the day.' No matter 'Suzhou Piece' or 'Yuzhong Film', it must be explained that if you pass it off as real, you will chop off your fingers to apologize, but whether it is worth the money depends on your eyesight..."
"When trading, you negotiate the price with your fingers on your sleeves. Experts call it 'the universe is in your sleeves'..."
"Here, genuine goods are called 'hard goods', fake goods are called 'soft films', and bargain-priced goods are called 'scraping land'..."
"The stall owner suddenly closes the stall and knocks on the copper basin three times, which means 'Yamen Runner patrolling the street'. If he knocks two long and one short, it means 'enemies are coming'..."
Son of a Bitch took the trouble to talk and said carefully, "Don't blame me for being long-winded."
"There are rules to follow."
Li Yan shook his head slightly, "What's going on Old Wu?"
"Old Wu That person is quite weird."
Son of a Bitch whispered, "I heard that his ancestor was Former Dynasty Da Xing's pawnshop Attendant. He can tell the root of anything at a glance. He just has a bad temper and often says unlucky words and talks in a dazed manner. If he didn't have good eyesight, no one would want to pay attention to him."
Bang~Bang Bang~
At this moment, the sound of a watchman came from the distant street.
"Midnight Zi Hour, be careful of the flames!"
As if receiving the signal, everyone stopped.
I saw each stall owner taking out paper money and burning it in front of the stall, and some hung up a statue of Zhong Kui behind them.
Li Yan knows that this is the taboo in the ghost market mentioned by Son of a Bitch.
In the ghost market, it is important to "be silent".
This means that after Haishi, you are not allowed to talk loudly about ghosts to avoid attracting unclean things. Stall owners need to prepare red cloth to cover their mirrors, scissors and other "evil" things. Those who buy and sell unearthed artifacts need to use cinnabar to draw the word "well" to suppress evil spirits. Anyone found violating this rule will be expelled.
The main door of this stall is burning paper, which is called "opening the market to worship ghosts" to prevent "ghosts from taking money".
Perhaps these taboo customs also deepen the mystery of the ghost market.
Of course, from Li Yan's perspective, it's a different story.
He could clearly detect that many of the items on the stalls had the energy of evil spirits remaining.
But outside City God Temple in the distance, two guardian statues were incense rising, directly suppressing these things.
Even if there are evil gadgets, it is difficult to cause trouble.
This is one of the reasons why the ghost market was chosen outside City God Temple.
"Yes, the ghost market is open, Old Wu is in the alley behind."
Son of a Bitch winked and led Li Yan carefully through the ghost market.
In this place, not only are there stalls on the street, but there are also people mysteriously setting up stalls in the surrounding alleys.
Compared to the outside, the things in the alley are obviously of a more unusual quality.
Li Yan is not interested in these Funerary Objects. Even the incense and candle instruments flowing out from City God Temple are not of high quality in his opinion.
The only target is Old Wu.
Finally, the two came to a dark alley.
But at the corner of the alley, I saw an old man in rags setting up a stall and hanging a curtain with the words "Knowing the Past and the Present" written on it. His white hair was withered and his head was biting, and he seemed to be about to fall asleep.
"Old Wu, big business is coming..."
Son of a Bitch approached the other party with a smile.
The old man slowly opened his eyes and underestimated. "Hey, why are you not dead yet..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Li Yan behind him, his expression suddenly changed, he got up and ran away.
Whoosh!
Li Yan exerted force with his feet, blocked him in a flash, smiled and said, "It turns out he is a senior."
He felt the familiar aura on the other party's body, which was Gou Liao.
This old man is also a Living Underworld Messenger...