Chapter 20 – I have money

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

Editor: Xinghe

The Qian family huddled in a corner, trembling with fear.

The two young taoist each held a talisman sword, ready for action.

Sheng Ze and Su Ling stood side by side, their “bodies” growing darker.

Tensions were running high.

Just as things were about to escalate, Su Ling lightly clicked his tongue, suppressing the ghostly aura around him and amicably suggested, “Do we really have to fight? Can’t we avoid it? After all, you can’t beat me…”

Sheng Ze glanced at Su Ling.

—One had to admit, sometimes the boss really asked for it.

Sure enough, the young taoists, provoked, immediately threw out two talismans in a fit of anger, “Let’s do this!”

As the young taoist tossed the talismans into the air, the room suddenly filled with a howling wind, streaks of lightning flashed in a gust, heading straight for the two of them.

These two talismans were gifts from their master, one for summoning thunder, the other for summoning wind, with extraordinary effects…and notably expensive.

The young taoist confidently raised his head, gloating, “The strength of Sanqing Temple is not something you wild ones can… look… down… upon…”

As he spoke, the young taoist was dumbfounded to see Su Ling casually pull out a long string of talismans from seemingly nowhere.

The talismans were strung together like candied haws, connected by a rough rope. With a quick glance, they couldn’t count the number, but judging by the length, there must have been hundreds of them…

Su Ling disdainfully pursed his lips, throwing half of the talismans directly into the lightning, blocking the entire wave of attacks; the remaining half he hurled towards Mr. Qian.

The talismans that met the lightning exploded and burned in the air, showering ash down; while the half of talismans flying towards Mr. Qian transformed midway into a long lock made of talismans, encircling the chubby silkworm baby.

With a bang, the silkworm baby was flung into the midst of the group. Under the effect of the talismans, its shape seemed to flicker and struggle continuously.

—In the blink of an eye, everything settled down.

The young taoist was deeply shaken by this sudden and powerful display!

Hundreds of talismans! Instantly turned to ash!

A kind of strategy that doesn’t care about money?!

The young taoists’ spirits were severely wounded.

Sheng Ze shamelessly stood behind Su Ling the whole time, doing nothing.

After it was all over, he casually brushed off the ash on his clothes, yawned pretentiously, and lazily said, “Boring.”

Su Ling:…

The young taoists looked in Su Ling’s direction, their expressions complex, subtly envious, and asked, “How come you have so many talismans?”

—Could he be a grandmaster from a major taoist temple? Or maybe a particularly wealthy second-generation cultivator?

Unfortunately, the harsh reality was far more brutal than they had imagined.

Su Ling tilted his head, setting aside past grievances, patiently explained, “I know how to draw talismans, so I have a bit more inventory. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

The young taoists were dumbfounded, staring at him in disbelief, “You can actually draw talismans?!”

Su Ling innocently replied, “Is drawing talismans that difficult?”

The young taoists looked at the fragments scattered on the ground, recalling how their master had practiced for hundreds of years to draw his first talisman, and to this day, their master could only draw one or two talismans a year. The more they thought about it, the more disheartened they felt.

Su Ling added salt to the wound, “Actually, in recent years, I’ve gotten older, so I drew fewer. Back then, when I had nothing to do, I could draw a whole book in one night.”

The young Taoists: sob!

Su Ling didn’t quite understand their subtle expressions, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. Now, he was more concerned about the silkworm baby rolling on the ground.

Since the underworld only catches ghosts, he only had a ghost-catching permit. But the thing wriggling on the ground didn’t seem to fit the description of a ghost…

With the support of his two sons, Mr. Qian stood up dazedly, staring at the partially hidden silkworm baby and asked, “What is this?”

Su Ling reached out his finger and poked the soft body of the silkworm baby, feeling uncertain, “It seems to be a spirit?”

“It’s a spirit. Some animals, after death, refuse to reincarnate as humans or other creatures, so they condense their essence into the form of an animal and remain in that state.” Sheng Ze leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and explained calmly.

The Qian family was stunned and looked at the silkworm baby on the ground with eyes full of wonder.

Su Ling turned back suspiciously, his eyes filled with doubt – Do you really understand? Don’t talk nonsense.

Sheng Ze helplessly pressed his temples and mouthed an explanation – Learned it from a book.

Su Ling was skeptical.

“So, has this thing been causing trouble all along?” Eldest Young Master Qian visibly breathed a sigh of relief, “Dad, I always felt that Master Su wouldn’t harm us.”

Second Young Master Qian immediately snorted indignantly, “Even if there are spirits, so what? Haven’t you seen the dark aura around them?”

After listening, Sheng Ze raised an eyebrow slightly, snapped his fingers.

With a snap, the light from the Evil-Exposing Lamp went out.

The two dark auras instantly transformed into two handsome men.

Sheng Ze nonchalantly questioned, “See, it’s broken. This lamp was probably faulty from the beginning.”

Second Young Master Qian:…

At this moment, the two young taoists, who had long been ignored, approached, one pushing the other.

“This, this demon…” The young taoist hesitantly started.

Su Ling was speechless, “Who are you calling a demon?”

The young taoist pointed to the extinguished lamp confidently, “This lamp never fails. Since it showed that you are ghosts, then you must be ghosts.”

Su Ling rolled his eyes and pointed to the ground, “There’s a shadow.”

Then he pointed to his own body, “There’s body temperature.”

Finally, he pointed outside, “Not afraid of light.”

Su Ling shrugged, looking innocent, “And the main troublemaker is lying on the ground. Why would you say I’m a ghost?”

“But no one said ghosts are really afraid of these things…” The young taoist’s mind was clear, his expression very doubtful.

“I’m a ghost, yet I’m still trying to catch ghosts? Am I doing this out of boredom?” Su Ling refused to admit it.

Sheng Ze silently commented from behind – Isn’t that the truth?

Finally, Mr. Qian made his presence known, waved his hand at the two taoists, and said, “Mr. Su wouldn’t be a bad person. I have a friend whose daughter was born unlucky. No matter how many Buddhas she prayed to over the years, nothing worked. Until recently, Mr. Su gave her a talisman for good luck, and the next day her luck changed. She even won the lottery a few days ago.”

Second Young Master Qian was stunned, exclaiming, “Wow, the little jinx from the Wu family?”

Su Ling found this person strangely familiar, racking his brain for a while before realizing, “Oh, so it was Wu Wuwu who introduced us to you guys here.”

Mr. Qian nodded and then said to the young taoists, “So please don’t give Mr. Su a hard time.”

The young taoists exchanged a glance, still doubtful.

Su Ling waved his hands repeatedly, “If I had known it was an acquaintance’s introduction, I wouldn’t have tricked you. This thing must have been on you for a long time, haven’t you noticed it yourself?”

Mr. Qian hesitated for a moment and shook his head, “Other than frequent night sweats, I don’t have anything else.”

Su Ling squatted on the ground, puzzled, rubbing his chin, muttering to himself, “Strange, I’ve never heard of a spirit having the ability to enter dreams. But I’m not familiar with spirits… Hey, was it you who did this?”

Su Ling poked the silkworm baby aggressively.

The silkworm baby looked up foolishly, opened its mouth, and after a moment, let out a guji.

Author’s note:

Silkworm Baby: guji guji guji guji guji!!!

Su Ling: Speak human language.

Silkworm Baby: guji guji, guji guji~ (Translation: I can’t speak…)

Su Ling: I don’t understand.

Ghost King chuckled.

The Silkworm Baby quickly changed its tune: I’ve been wronged!

Su Ling (suspiciously): Didn’t you say you can’t speak human language?

Silkworm Baby:…Didn’t you say you don’t understand?

No reuploading anywhere else.

Support the author 此山有鬼 by buying chapters on jjwxc!!

Your ko-fi donations would be greatly appreciated.

Ko-fi goals? Extra chapter release once we reach our goal!!