Chapter 27: Do Ghosts Get Collected Too?

"Oh? Boss, come to support my business again? What're you buying today? Or need answers to something?"

When Jiugu saw Feng Xue walk in with a large pack on his back, her eyes lit up instantly, and she rose to greet him.

Though her shop was an old-established name, ever since that foreign monk came, the wealthy in town preferred hiring him for Western funerals, and her business plummeted—had it not been for everyone still burning paper ingots and paper figures during Qingming, her shop might not have survived.

Once you've got a golden customer, you'd better treat them well, wouldn't you?

Seeing Jiugu approach with tiny, quick steps, Feng Xue remembered the rules: he stepped aside from the center of the main door, entered the shop sideways, then politely greeted her:

"Good morning, Jiugu. This time I'm here about ghosts—you said you could sell them, right?"

"Ah, about ghosts?" Jiugu immediately straightened her demeanor, gesturing Feng Xue to sit, while pouring tea:

"Ghosts aren't rare, but suitable ones? Hard to find. First, tell me your needs."

"Uh, I thought you'd hand me a list to pick from!" Feng Xue lightly stroked the willow cloud mist on his finger, his gaze unconsciously sweeping toward the wooden idols of strange shapes beneath the eternal lamp and incense offerings.

Noticing Feng Xue's gaze, Jiugu instantly understood his thought, and spoke with solemn tone:

"Mr., you've misunderstood. When I say 'sell,' I mean sell information about ghosts—these ghosts I nurture aren't for sale."

Worried Feng Xue might press further, Jiugu paused briefly, then continued:

"These humanoid statues are infant spirits—children who died before birth. Raising such spirits harms cosmic harmony; I only nurture them to soften their wrath. Unless someone seeking children takes them home, come the fifteenth day of the seventh month, I send them into reincarnation."

"These spirit tablets are for elderly people in town with no relatives (Note ①). Without family, their burials are haphazard. The county pays to add incense and candles yearly, so they won't be bullied when lining up for reincarnation below. Occasionally, neighbors ask for messages from the dead, and they can be entrusted to find them."

"As for these strange-looking ones, they're spirits from nearby disturbances—most have taken lives. Some I captured, some were caught by Master Qian, others by past masters. They've been held here, suppressed by ancestral masters and the county's incense, until their resentment dissipates and they may re-enter reincarnation."

Saying this, Jiugu poured the tea into three cups, placed one before the only tablet in the center of the main hall, covered by a shrine, then pushed another toward Feng Xue.

Feng Xue held the teacup but didn't drink, only said:

"Then what kind of information are you selling? If you know ghosts exist, why not capture them?"

Hearing this, Jiugu was slightly surprised, but quickly recovered, assuming Feng Xue was a spoiled heir who'd picked up a few scraps from someone and now wandered about. She condensed her words and explained:

"Ghosts are actually common, but most enter the nether court directly, live there a while, and their attachments slowly fade—only then can they reincarnate unburdened. Some who accumulated virtue in life, or whose descendants prosper and keep their incense burning, may cultivate a yin spirit and stay in the nether court as minor officials."

"But the ghosts we usually mean as lingering in the mortal realm? Most died with overwhelming attachments—can't even descend to the nether court, let alone reincarnate. These are called lone wandering ghosts. Generally, they're harmless, drift in the mortal world awhile, then descend once their attachment fades. Only a few survive by absorbing offerings or scaring people to gain wish-power."

"But isn't it true that ghosts who've harmed people can't be kept?" Feng Xue frowned, beginning to doubt whether the ghost-controlling technique Jiugu gave him had issues.

Jiugu merely shook her head:

"Not that they can't be kept—but that they can't be tamed. Think of it this way: if you just want to guard your home or hunt occasionally, would you keep a dog, or capture a blood-soaked, man-eating tiger? The tiger's stronger, but how much effort to tame it? And will it truly be tamed—or bite you when you're weak?"

"Ghost-controlling techniques are merely convenient spells for daily life. If you want combat arts, I advise you to find a proper master and formally apprentice—no one wants to bear such karmic consequences."

Hearing this, Feng Xue nodded, understanding, then continued:

"Then where do the ghosts you recommend come from?"

"From other people's collections."

Feng Xue had thought his imagined "ghost donation" was absurd enough—but never expected to hear something even more absurd from Jiugu's lips.

Seeing Feng Xue's expression—"You're kidding me, right?"—Jiugu blinked helplessly:

"New xuan cultivators who study ghost-controlling usually inherit ghosts raised by elders. For someone like you, a self-taught outsider, without using cruel methods, there are only two sources—

"One is wild gods—lone wandering ghosts who accidentally consume offerings, receive worship, and gradually forget their original identity, believing themselves gods, yet without official nether court titles. These are called wild gods or spirits. For example, a corpse left by the roadside, buried kindly by someone who burned a few sticks of incense—some rumor spreads it protects travelers, so people bow as they pass. Over time, it truly believes itself a road god. These wild gods have no nether court sanction and no real power; their offerings easily fade. The ghosts prepared for juniors are usually raised this way."

"The second is what I call collected ghosts—they were mostly nobles or artisans in life. After death, their souls cling to objects they loved, which often hold great value and are passed to others. During this process, the ghost absorbs the owner's affection for the object, sustaining itself as wish-power. If it absorbs malice, it becomes the cursed object in tales: whoever keeps it suffers misfortune."

"Some xuan cultivators specifically collect such antiques, because any object haunted by a ghost generally holds value—buying them guarantees no loss. They collect them, neither play with nor worship them; the ghost slowly dissipates, leaving only a pure wish-power husk behind. This husk resembles a void spirit but is weaker, easily controlled by ordinary people."

"Thus, they profit from antique bargains, gain fame for exorcising spirits, earn merit by preventing ghostly harm, and even share in the virtue of guiding ghosts into reincarnation. Finally, the wish-power husks on the antiques can be sold to newcomers like you who lack ghosts—but this trade demands vast wealth and long years; only old-established shops can afford it."

"These husks are low-risk, have pleasant forms, and gentle temperaments—perfect for newcomers like you. As for drawbacks? Well, there are some—but they shouldn't matter to you."

"Oh?" Feng Xue, sensing Jiugu was teasing, immediately reached into his robe, pulled out a gold bean, and handed it over. Jiugu took it, pinched off a small piece, and returned it with a faint smile:

"The drawback? Naturally, it's expensive! But of course, a big spender like you won't care."

Hearing this, Feng Xue laughed, then stated his requirements…

Note ①: Not referring to age, but to the deceased. In Huaxia, people avoid saying "death," using "passed away" or "grown old" instead. In xuan shops, the dead are called "elders." Due to regional customs, terms may vary—this is only for this novel's setting.

ps: Regarding the protagonist's cheat—it has no hidden plot, but isn't suitable for the main text, so just a brief mention.

In outcome, the protagonist's mouth-seal only consumed spiritual energy the first time; afterward, the white snake borrowed counterfeit coins stamped by the protagonist's cheat (though they do work).

You can treat terms like "mouth-seal received" and "lucky break" as pay-to-play online games with world-rules as servers. The protagonist, after playing once (or watching someone else play), can replicate the game's source code and create a free version.

But this free version is offline, running only on a PC (specific target) as server, with limited threads—so only one program can run at a time.

Since the cloned code is based on the PC, except for "games" like lifespan that everyone has a client for, all other games can only run on the original PC that played them.

And because it's offline, the game can't be copied for others to play. Only when someone else plays the paid version can a free version be made for them.

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(End of Chapter)