Vegetable Meeting

"Grandpa??"

Xiao Ran looked at the thin face before him; he truly didn't recognize him at first. An old person's appearance is completely different from when they were young.

Xiao Ran wanted to get closer to see more clearly, but this was only the beggar's memory. He could only remain an observer; he couldn't change how things appeared in the beggar's memory.

So, the Old Master's face was somewhat blurry, but it was clear that the Old Master was quite handsome back then.

His face had sharp features, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a hint of stubble.

The muscle lines on his arms were very distinct.

"But what does this beggar mean by that? The Changchun Association... was Grandpa also part of the Changchun Association? That shouldn't be wrong, but this Changchun Association is probably not the same one in Xue Hongling's memory."

He had heard Grandpa mention it before. (Mentioned in Chapter Twenty-Eight.)

There was an organization on the lake, a place for various artisans, people from all walks of life, and all sorts of professions to gather.

This organization had no connection to the government, but it often had many connections with local gentry, landlords, and shop owners. Or, to put it plainly, these people were the financiers behind the Changchun Association.

Internally, they mediated business between people in the martial world and corrected the rules of the martial world.

Externally, they were a coalition of local powers, resolving issues like temporary land rental prices and organizing events. Street performances, lantern festivals, and temple fairs were all under their purview.

In the Old Master's era, the Changchun Association was at its most active. It wasn't surprising that the Old Master had some connection to it.

Later, with national reforms and the advancement of the times, those lower-class professions slowly faded from the historical stage, either upgrading or changing careers. The Changchun Association lost its reason for existence and disappeared long ago.

As for the Changchun Association in Xue Hongling's memory.

Xiao Ran guessed that after the appearance of Miyuan City, many Initiates emerged. They needed a platform for communication, and slowly, this relic of the old era, the Changchun Association, was revived.

The beggar's memories continued to flash before his eyes. Xiao Ran didn't see Grandpa fighting; he only saw the beggar being tied up and then thrown into a coffin.

The scene should have ended there.

But there was an extra segment. It was unclear how much later, but the coffin was pried open again. A man wearing a black hood pinched his nose, waved his hand, and couldn't help but curse, "Why do I have to do all this trash work? I'm not your dog."

As he spoke, he beckoned, and a black iron nail appeared out of thin air. He then smashed it down towards the beggar's chest.

"Micheng Space?"

"Was this iron nail inserted by an Initiate?"

The memory ended there, but Xiao Ran couldn't help but be surprised.

"Was this guy created by an Initiate?"

"Then why is he here?"

Xiao Ran couldn't figure it out for a while.

"You repaired Qu Sanwa's corpse, rated B-grade. The Calamity Suppressing Token is in a special period and cannot obtain energy value."

"Spirit Seizing successful for the Calamity Suppressing Token, you have obtained Qu Sanwa's ability: Ghost Scripture (Upper Volume)!"

An article quickly appeared in Xiao Ran's mind. It was no more than a thousand characters, but its content was an evil art of refining souls into pills.

"Such an evil technique, he deserved to die!"

Xiao Ran carefully examined the technique. Seeing that it required infants under three months old to be used as a medium for the spell, he felt nauseous.

He searched the beggar's body and found the so-called medium, which was actually the gourd he had stolen initially.

It involved sealing the souls of three children inside, forging a pact, and continuously throwing living souls into it to slowly refine them into pills.

This thing was not a Cursed Object, but it was more evil than a Cursed Object.

This Ghost Scripture was useless to him, but it did record a lot of evil martial arts techniques, which could be studied.

"Squeak squeak!! Watermelon watermelon, this is Winter Melon, is anyone there."

At this moment, the walkie-talkie that Xiao Ran had tossed onto the bed suddenly crackled to life.

Xiao Ran was startled. He had just picked this thing up casually and didn't expect anyone to actually be talking on it.

He picked up the walkie-talkie and waited for a moment. He then heard another voice from inside.

"Pickle pickle, this is Leek, what's up, Winter Melon."

"Cabbage almost kicked the bucket last night. The Night Ghosts that have appeared recently are a bit strong. I think we can do a big sweep."

"Bullshit sweep, I think you're just greedy, Leek. That Rank 6 Night Ghost we killed last time, I saw you drooling."

"Garlic Sprouts, Garlic Sprouts, this is Tomato. Winter Melon has a point. The Night Ghosts are getting smarter now; they know how to hide. That Rank 8 Night Ghost last time almost slipped past us. If it weren't for Green Bean, it would have advanced to Rank 9 silently, and none of us would have been able to sleep soundly."

"Rank 9 is great, that's top-tier ingredients. If it weren't forbidden, I would have wanted to raise a ghost myself and raise it to Rank 9."

"Radish, Radish, this is Cabbage. I also agree with a big sweep. That Skeleton Night Ghost last night was very cunning. If someone hadn't secretly helped me, I would have been in trouble."

"Helped you? Who?"

"I don't know. The other party seemed to be able to summon a fierce ghost, and it seemed quite strong."

"Hmm... Cabbage, I just want to know, did you eat the special seasoning I gave you?" Watermelon asked curiously.

"Fuck!"

Bringing this up, Cabbage on the walkie-talkie immediately started cursing: "You son of a bitch! Anyway, I support the sweep. You guys vote, and if there's a result, send someone to notify me on the sixth floor!"

Cabbage seemed to turn off the walkie-talkie after speaking. At this point, Watermelon's frantic laughter could be heard.

"Winter Melon, what special seasoning did you give him?"

"Nothing much, just a special chili I made using Night Ghosts' angry emotions. It doesn't have any side effects, other than causing diarrhea after eating." Watermelon added, "Oh, right. When you have diarrhea, you'll scream like a marmot, hahahahaha..."

The conversation on the walkie-talkie was scattered. Xiao Ran lay on the bed, listening to the way these Initiates addressed each other. He suddenly felt like a meeting of fruits and vegetables was taking place.

However, their attitude towards the Night Ghosts was strange. Especially Winter Melon, it was as if the Night Ghosts were mobile ingredients in his eyes.

"Onion, Onion, this is Pumpkin. I heard everything you just said. Once Green Bean is out of seclusion, we'll organize a big sweep. I need some materials too."

A woman's voice came through, soft and gentle. However, no one else on the walkie-talkie objected.

The voices on the walkie-talkie gradually faded.

Xiao Ran fiddled with the walkie-talkie in his hand, contemplating whether to seize the opportunity to infiltrate and see if he could gain some benefits. Just then, Pumpkin's voice came from the walkie-talkie again.

"Are you still listening?"

"Huh?"

Xiao Ran was startled and looked at the walkie-talkie in his hand.

"You're still listening, right? You were the one who helped Cabbage last night, weren't you?"

Pumpkin continued, "Don't be surprised. I have the master control for this radio system. I can see the signal source. After every call, we agree to turn off the walkie-talkie for 10 minutes. As long as you don't turn off the walkie-talkie, it means you're still listening."

Xiao Ran's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He hadn't expected such a trick.

"Don't misunderstand, I mean no harm. Among us Initiates, unless it's a life-and-death feud, we generally don't oppose each other. You helped Cabbage last night, and Cabbage owes you a great favor. Cabbage wouldn't dare not repay it. Just tell him if you need anything. He's usually on Channel 6. Channel 13 is our public channel."

The woman's voice was very gentle. Even though Xiao Ran didn't reply, she continued speaking on her own: "Oh, right. Did you retrieve the beggar's corpse from last night? I'm short on some materials. If possible, give me the beggar's eyes, and I can give you items of equivalent value in exchange, such as Curse Marks, Cursed Objects, or special advancement materials."

After speaking, the woman waited for a while. Seeing that Xiao Ran still hadn't replied, she continued, "If you need anything, you can call me on Channel 9. I won't bother you anymore."

With that, the woman's voice disappeared completely.

Seeing this, Xiao Ran simply turned off the walkie-talkie. Although Pumpkin sounded sincere, Xiao Ran didn't dare to reply rashly without having met her.

The woman's sincerity was evident, but Xiao Ran hadn't even seen her face, so how could he dare to speak rashly?

As for collecting the favor from Cabbage, in Xiao Ran's eyes, it was like throwing a meat bun at a dog. It was probably a trap set to see who he was.

"However, the 'big sweep' they mentioned is a good opportunity."

Thinking this, Xiao Ran looked towards the bed, where the beggar's corpse and the old man's corpse lay...

Ever since he was young, his grandfather had taught him not to waste.

So...

[Calamity Suppressing Token · Initiate] activated. Privilege 2: Borrow, can extract talismans.

[Black Swan Brooch · Corpse Stitcher] activated. Privilege 2: Muster, can turn them into servants.

After reactivating these two Cursed Objects, Xiao Ran picked up his cleaver, wiped it casually a few times, and walked to the two corpses, grinning. "I'll be quick... bear with me."