After a long time, Lao San had finished telling me all his plans for me.
What he said wasn't merely bold; it was full of absurdities in many places. In fact, a bit of judgment would reveal that it was quite reasonable.
After hanging up the phone, I stood in place, motionless for a long while.
Only when Fan Ying walked to my side and Liang Yu followed her slightly did I snap out of it.
"I'll go to the Underworld Pavilion and see that person." I spoke in a grave tone.
The reason for not needing thunderstruck wood earlier was that it wasn't a necessity. Now, I need thunderstruck wood and special copper, and I can't miss any fraction of an opportunity.
After all, having enough materials is the prerequisite for collecting them, and then it's about using them to create something.
Fan Ying nodded slightly, but a trace of unusual light flickered in Liang Yu's eyes.
I noticed her change in expression, but the others remained inscrutable to me.
Liang Yu started the car, and the slight easing of my initial resistance to her meant that I climbed onto her vehicle.
By the time we reached the antiques street where the Underworld Pavilion was located, it was still quite bright outside, and both sides were lined with stalls. The throngs of passersby never ceased.
I didn't see any of the people from the Funerary Hall; there was no one at the entrance, and only a sign hanging above it indicating that anyone could enter freely.
It seems that they didn't wait too long for us.
After entering the Underworld Pavilion, we walked through a network of streets for a while before arriving at the Funerary Hall.
Square in shape, with a large and small head, the entrance of this building was full of people coming and going.
After entering the "Funerary Hall," we approached the front of the shop where we had previously noticed the notice.
He glanced at us and then handed over a piece of paper.
"The client has already paid for the commission here. You can go to this place to receive your reward," he said dryly, without any emotion.
The address on the paper was unfamiliar to me. Fan Ying glanced at it and handed it over to Liang Yu.
Liang Yu softly exclaimed, "Odd, it's not a side branch of a family, yet they have such a large sum."
Liang Yu's reference was either the reward given after capturing five prison ghosts, or the prison ghosts themselves.
We did not linger in the Funerary Hall. After leaving, we exited the Underworld Pavilion and proceeded to the address indicated on the paper.
I mainly worry that I won't be able to obtain the thunderstruck wood, and the longer the night goes on, the more opportunities for things to go wrong.
Although I didn't explain much, Fan Ying and Liang Yu should have noticed something.
After all, before, Mr. Shang Taiji had mentioned the requirements for materials to create the four rules mirror.
It was around three o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at the address on the paper.
This place is quite desolate. There's a large river on the side, and the riverbank is surrounded by a vast abandoned factory. Most of the factories are made of color steel, and the dormitory buildings are made of mobile homes. What catches one's eye are the weeds growing on the ground, and even small trees growing on some factory rooftops and even on top of the mobile homes.
I started to feel a bit strange; something was definitely off with this place.
Fan Ying became slightly alert and whispered, "Let's go in after dark."
I understood Fan Ying's meaning. Mice would be good scouts at night, making it safer.
However, from my perspective, it's more reliable during the day.
The other party is capturing five prison ghosts, so their strength must be related to ghosts and monsters.
At this time, the other party's strength will be limited.
"I'm not concerned about it," I replied and began walking towards the path leading to the factory entrance.
"How can you be so strong-willed?" Liang Yu said, a hint of disapproval in her tone, muttering to herself.
Fan Ying followed me, and she quickly followed after Fan Ying.
When we first entered this area, it was a wide and broad road with some factory gateways on both sides. Mostly, they were spring-powered electric gates that didn't function as doors.
In fact, the address didn't specify an exact location here.
I continued walking because if the other party had left this place and assumed we would come, they must have made preparations.
As expected, when we walked to the end of this road and reached a T-junction, I spotted a figure in the shade of a crooked mulberry tree. He had an athletic build, an ordinary face with no distinctive features, and he waved at us.
The three of us walked up to the man.
The other party's face showed a bigger smile, bowing and embracing his fists: "Greetings, I am Jiang Kuang. I have the honor of meeting you three."
I did not recognize Jiang Kuang, but his gaze at me seemed to brighten up as if he knew me.
It was he who followed us like a crow that strikes after the tiger has left, wasn't it? He went to the Sheep Herder Village to deal with the five prison ghosts, and it was he who left last, watching our backs.
If he had some understanding of me, that would be normal.
"Are you the one who left the notice?" Fan Ying asked first.
Jiang Kuang nodded.
"The Fan family, who can turn blood into fire, the Liang family, who feed foxes, and two girls following a sorcerer are truly rare. I never thought there would be two Fan families," Jiang Kuang sighed in sincerity.
"I wasn't following him. I was following Fan Ying," Liang Yu quickly explained.
A chill ran through my heart.
The way this person directly revealed Fan Ying's background and Liang Yu's identity made me feel that he wasn't someone ordinary.
In the first place, since he intended to give us something, I already suspected that he had an ulterior motive.
"Gentlemen, please follow me," Jiang Kuang gestured with an invitation, his face smiling as he walked towards the front.
It took about half an hour for us to walk through the abandoned factory, which was much larger than I had imagined.
Only when we reached a particularly dilapidated and dirty glass factory did Jiang Kuang go inside.
We stopped inside a high-ceilinged factory where the shelves were packed with dusty glass.
There was a roughly 100-square meter open space in the middle, where an odd statue stood.
The statue was of a person, looking ordinary, with no peculiar features at all. In front of it, there was an altar, with various offerings, incense candles, and joss paper on the table.
In front of the altar, on the ground, there was a huge bamboo basket, inside which were sacks sealed at the openings, bulging and unknown as to what they contained.
Next to it was a piece of wood, its blackened outer skin exuded a strange smell.
It had the scent of wood, yet a smoky aroma lingered.
My heart jumped abruptly.
"Century-old thunderstruck chestnut wood!"
A foot, although not too long, is enough to serve as the base for the four rules mirror.
The sack in that bamboo basket must be the one stone of heavy-thinking rice, right?
"This is your reward, although you didn't personally bring out the five prison ghosts. But bringing her to such a degree of injury, I can easily take her out. The credit for this is all yours," Jiang Kuang smiled even more, making a gesture of invitation.
I immediately picked up the piece of thunderstruck chestnut wood, my heart racing even faster.
As for the heavy-thinking rice, I didn't know what it was or what its purpose was.
After a moment of contemplation, I handed the thunderstruck chestnut wood to Fan Ying.
Then I picked up the burlap sack containing the heavy-thinking rice.
I moved the backpack in front of me, and the bamboo basket was extremely heavy, adding to the weight of the copper pestle itself, causing the veins on my forehead to bulge slightly.
"Thank you," I forcefully made a bow with my hands, then turned to leave.
Fan Ying and Liang Yu exchanged a glance and immediately followed me to leave.
But on Jiang Kuang's face, there was a flash of astonishment.
It was as if he hadn't expected us to leave directly after receiving the reward.
"Please wait a moment!" Jiang Kuang immediately caught up, and the smile on his face became unnatural.
I didn't stop walking, my tone unchanged: "We're busy. We've received our reward, and we have things to do. There's no need for you to see us off, I'm sure you're also busy."
Jiang Kuang: ...
He suddenly quickened his pace and stood directly in front of the three of us.
His smile became even more unnatural, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Will you listen to a few words from me before leaving? Do these two things not warrant a moment or two of your time?"
"Yes, this is the reward for the five prison ghosts. Besides, our time is valuable. Please let us pass."
I bowed again, lifting my sleeve, which revealed the tip of a half-foot-long copper sword!
