Chapter 16

15、Yongsheng Winery

After Yang Rui burned incense before the ancestral spirit and the Lord of Wantiannchuan, Zhou Chang clearly felt the sense of distance and unfamiliarity from Sun Sanji vanish instantly.

He did not believe Yang Rui had communicated with the so-called ancestral spirit or Lord of Wantiannchuan during the incense-burning—the room showed no abnormal signs.

The greater likelihood was that Yang Rui’s act of burning incense was, in fact, a test.

——Just now, had he not sealed his mouth and nose with thought-silk, the blue smoke drifting from the swaying incense tip would surely have been drawn into this body. Had Zhou Chang’s body ingested that incense smoke, Sun Sanji and Yang Rui’s attitude toward him might now be entirely different.

What did it mean that Zhou Chang’s body could ingest incense smoke?

What would happen if this body were long-term sustained by incense offerings?

Zhou Chang could not foresee the consequences, but he could guess—Zhou Chang’s body ingesting incense smoke was certainly not beneficial to his current state.

Just this morning at dawn, Sun Sanji had burned incense before Zhou Chang’s spirit tablet, and Zhou Chang’s body had still lacked the ability to actively ingest incense smoke; yet after only one day, it now possessed this ability…

It was growing continuously—and at an unimaginable speed!

Zhou Chang suddenly felt a chilling sense of “treading on a tiger’s hide!”

The “ghost secret treasure” guarded by Li Xiamei—the corpse of Zhou Chang—was far from simple; it likely concealed something far greater.

Zhou Chang raised his eyes to Yang Rui, who at that moment met his gaze and smiled, giving him a slight nod.

Sun Sanji brought over several stools, inviting Yang Rui and “Stone Egg” to sit, then set up a small table, pulled out an old, unused coarse clay teapot from his home, dropped in a few crushed tea bricks, boiled hot water into tea, and served each person a bowl.

At this time, Yang Rui had already begun speaking with Zhou Chang: “Your grandfather just told me your general condition—are you only able to move your hands? No reaction anywhere else?”

Zhou Chang’s brow twitched slightly, and the thought-silk covering his hands retracted.

He looked at Yang Rui and shook his head: “Earlier, my hands could move slightly, but now they can’t move at all.”

Using thought-silk to manipulate this body was merely an extreme measure. To fully control this shell, Zhou Chang could not factor in the thought-silk; thus, since he was now seeking a solution from Yang Rui, he naturally withdrew the thought-silk, eliminating this variable.

“Oh?”

Yang Rui raised an eyebrow, pulled his stool forward, and sat close to the bed’s edge.

He extended his hand, letting his fingertips rest naturally on Zhou Chang’s pulse, gesturing with his eyes for Zhou Chang to hold his breath and calm his spirit, then took his pulse.

After a long while, Yang Rui released his hand and frowned in thought.

Sun Sanji watched anxiously beside him, daring not to speak or interrupt.

“The pulse is extremely slow and short, falling only after long intervals… This is a leaking-roof pulse…” Yang Rui spoke in a hoarse voice, meeting Zhou Chang’s pitch-black eyes, “A leaking-roof pulse is a death pulse, commonly seen in those near death…”

“I suspect you can’t move because your flesh is half-dead, yet your soul remains vivid.”

“The flesh is dead and stiff, blood stagnates, the heart pulse weakens, the five organs halt—yet because the soul still exerts force, it still maintains a leaking-roof pulse, barely one beat every half-day, rather than no pulse at all…”

Hearing this, Zhou Chang’s eyes flickered slightly brighter.

This “Mr. Yang” truly had real skill—he had nearly described his entire current condition.

He was alive.

Zhou Chang’s soul and flesh were both dead.

This confirmed Yang Rui’s description of “soul alive, body dead!”

“Ohhh—there’s still a little pulse! His body’s as cold as an ice block—I thought he’d been dead for good.” Sun Sanji spoke up, sounding relieved but inwardly frantic, “Is there still hope?”

“Hehe…” Yang Rui now glanced sideways at Sun Sanji and grinned.

He only smiled, saying nothing else.

Sun Sanji grew anxious: “Just say it—”

Then he lowered his tone: “Big brother~!”

Yang Rui was in high spirits; he slapped his knee and said to Sun Sanji: “The Yongsheng Winery in Qingyi Town always produces fine wine—it rivals the Tian Sheng Winery in Lu Town, Chi Shui Winery, Tianchengsheng Winery, and Dongsheng Winery, famed throughout Sichuan…”

“That wine’s expensive—you want to drink? I’ll buy you wine from Ergou Village…” Sun Sanji muttered, visibly pained, then suddenly bit his lip and cut himself off, “But drinking Yongsheng wine is fine too!

I’ll go get some right away—tonight I’ll treat you to a good drink, big brother!”

“Nah, a copper coin buys a jin of rough rice, a jin of Yongsheng wine, and thirty copper coins won’t even cover it…” Yang Rui teased Sun Sanji, shaking his head, then finally stopped, turned serious, and looked at Zhou Chang: “Tonight, have your grandfather bring some Ergou Village wine—it’s fine.

My mention of Yongsheng Winery isn’t because I want to drink their wine—though if your grandfather has the heart, filling a gourd for me wouldn’t hurt.

My point is—would you like to become an apprentice at Yongsheng Winery?”

As he spoke, the old man slowly pulled a small box from his satchel, opened it, took out two slips of paper, spread them out, and handed one to Sun Sanji: “I once did some work for the owner of Yongsheng Winery; he gave me two tickets, allowing me to send two people to become apprentices there.”

By the dim light filtering through the paper window, Zhou Chang saw that the palm-sized slip in Sun Sanji’s hand bore intricate, beautiful patterns surrounding the four characters “Yongsheng Winery,” flanked by promotional phrases: “A Century of Yongsheng Wine, One Sip Dissolves Worry, One Cup Ends Delusion, Three Jugs Bring Heaven’s Joy.”

In the blank space, a fresh, vivid seal stamp remained.

“Being an apprentice at such a major winery isn’t bad.” Sun Sanji, fearing Yang Rui might change his mind, shoved the ticket into his pocket, then beamed at Zhou Chang: “Grandson, you’re saved!”

Zhou Chang looked at Yang Rui, puzzled.

He was currently completely immobile—who would accept him as an apprentice?

Even if they did accept him, what could he possibly do in the winery? Lie there and ferment the koji?

How did this relate to his current predicament?

I already told your grandfather your birth chart—your destiny resembles Qigang paired with Sha, accompanied by catastrophic fate.

What distinguishes you from others with Qigang-Sha and catastrophic fate is that when you die, your birth chart transforms according to the time of death—it becomes the “ghost-death birth chart,” the “Zhen corpse destiny.”

What is a Zhen?

People say, ‘When a man dies, he becomes a ghost; when a ghost dies, it becomes a Zhen.’

But that’s inaccurate. When a man dies, his soul does leave the body, yet it usually disperses within seven days—how could it become a Zhen?

The true ghosts who become ‘Zhen’ are those capable of transforming into a certain kind of ‘demon’—a ‘Xiangmo.’

Elder Zhen are among the most terrifying of Xiangmo.

When a Zhen corpse transforms, the Elder Zhen emerges!”

Yang Rui spoke in one breath, then adjusted his breathing, fixed his gaze on Zhou Chang, and asked: “Do you understand what I mean?”

Zhou Chang nodded:

“So if I die, I’ll become extremely terrifying?”

Exactly!” Yang Rui said. “You’ve already begun forming the “ghost-death birth chart” pattern—you can now be considered a “Zhen corpse.”

A Zhen corpse initially feeds on ‘xiangqi’ and ‘wangnian.’

The thoughts of all things cling to incense smoke, drifting away as blue vapor when incense burns—this is called ‘xiangqi,’ also known as ‘xiangqi’; it is food for spirits and Xiangmo.

Wangnian are extraordinary, abnormal thoughts—the foundation upon which Xiangmo are born.

A Zhen corpse consumes these two things to accelerate its transformation into the terrifying Xiangmo—the Elder Zhen!”

Zhou Chang’s eyes shimmered faintly.

Zhou Chang’s body had already developed the ability to autonomously ingest xiangqi, but he had forcibly halted that process by sealing its mouth and nose with thought-silk.

Thus, thought-silk now effectively suppressed this Zhen corpse—but Zhou Chang’s body grew at an alarming rate; whether thought-silk could continue suppressing it remained uncertain.

“So the wine produced by Yongsheng Winery can eliminate the xiangqi and wangnian on my body?” Zhou Chang, listening to Yang Rui’s words, formed a judgment and asked aloud.

Yang Rui grinned and turned to Sun Sanji: “Your grandson’s sharp!”

“He’s always been clever since childhood!” Sun Sanji’s every wrinkle beamed with joy.

“You’re nearly right,” Yang Rui turned back to Zhou Chang and smiled. “Wine is the Lord of Forgetfulness—it calms sorrow and fear, quells delusion. No matter how many troubles or fears, three cups of wine dissolve them all.

And the wine from Yongsheng Winery in Qingyi Town is even more effective in this regard!

The main reason is that Yongsheng Winery uses a secret koji called ‘Ganchun Qu.’

When Ganchun Qu ferments in grain, it fills the winery workers with bliss, dissolving sorrow, fear, and delusion—even xiangqi clinging to their bodies is drawn out during fermentation.

The more wangnian and xiangqi the fermenting grain absorbs, the richer and more fragrant the resulting wine!

Thus, Yongsheng Winery specifically issues tickets to those plagued by constant delusions, fearing they’re turning into Xiangmo, inviting them to work there to drain their thoughts.

Your current condition makes you perfect for working in the winery.

Moreover, working there gives you daily chances to drink a cup or two of Yongsheng wine—using wine as medicine, it moves your blood and qi, promotes circulation, greatly benefiting your body; once your blood and qi flow again, you’ll regain movement.”

“I see,” Zhou Chang understood Yang Rui’s intent; he nodded. “I’m willing to work in the winery.

But I can’t move now—will Yongsheng Winery accept a worker who can’t do any labor?”