Chapter 2: First Eating Demon The setting sun sinks into the water and dusk is about to pass. Zhang Jiuyang hurried home in a hurry. No one knew what a terrifying thing he was holding in his arms. It was the eye of a female ghost! As he walked, he could even feel his eyeballs moving and the bone-chilling coldness that permeated the air. "Ninth Brother!" A crisp voice sounded, and the unique sweetness of the girl's voice brought Zhang Jiuyang back to his senses. He didn't know when he walked to the steamed bun shop in the county. A girl of about seven or eight years old was standing in front of the steamed bun shop. She was delicate and pretty, wearing an apron, her face was stained with flour, and she had a bright smile. She held a few steamed buns in her hands, wrapped them in clean oil paper, and handed them to Zhang Jiuyang. "Brother Jiu, why did you close the stall so late today? The steamed buns are almost cold. These are the only ones left. If my father hadn't hidden them in advance, they would have been bought by Lao Li." Hearing this, the man who was kneading dough silently raised his head and showed a simple and friendly smile. He gestured with his fingers and made indistinct sounds. The girl acted as an interpreter and said with a smile: "Brother Jiu, Daddy told you to eat it while it's hot. If it gets cold, it will become hard."

Zhang Jiuyang took the steamed bun and bowed to express his gratitude to Uncle Jiang. Uncle Jiang is a deaf-mute who makes a living by selling steamed buns. He cannot communicate with others, and his daughter Ali is his voice. The steamed buns made by their family are soft and sweet and very popular. Since Blind Lin died, Uncle Jiang has sent him steamed buns for seven consecutive days. The reason is very simple: Blind Lin once helped him. It wasn't a big favor. It was just that when Uncle Jiang first arrived in Yunhe County, his money was stolen, and he and A Li were starving and cold, so Blind Lin gave them a bowl of porridge. When Blind Lin was buried, his family was penniless and even the money for the coffin was paid by Uncle Jiang. He couldn't speak, but he prepared hot steamed buns every day and waited silently until Zhang Jiuyang closed his stall and went home to deliver them. Zhang Jiuyang knew that he was expressing comfort and encouragement in his own way. Under normal circumstances, Zhang Jiuyang would stop and chat for a few more words, but today he took the steamed bun, bowed and thanked, and then walked towards home. At this moment, Uncle Jiang, who was kneading the dough, moved his nose slightly, as if he smelled something. He looked at Zhang Jiuyang in surprise, gesturing with his hands, looking a little excited. Zhang Jiuyang was a little overwhelmed. "Brother Jiu, Daddy told you not to go out these few days..." Zhang Jiuyang's heart moved, and he asked, "Why?" The character "聻" does have the ability to exorcise ghosts, which means that Blind Lin is not a liar, but has real skills. Then, does Uncle Jiang, who has a good relationship with Blind Lin, also know something? Uncle Jiang gestured a few times, looking hesitant. "Daddy said he didn't know either, it was just a feeling..." Seeing this, Zhang Jiuyang could only nod and then turned and left. Looking at his back, Ah Li tilted her head, with doubt in her lively eyes, and murmured, "Why do I feel that Brother Jiu is weird today..." …… In the evening, Zhang Jiuyang finally returned to his home. It is called a home, but in fact it is just a dilapidated small courtyard with two mud houses. It is very simple, which shows that Blind Lin was very poor when he was alive.

But for Zhang Jiuyang, in this strange and weird world, this small courtyard is the only place that can give him a sense of security. After returning home, he ate the steamed buns first, and the feeling of hunger finally disappeared. However, Zhang Jiuyang knew that the feeling would come back soon. However, before that, he could finally face the ghost eye calmly. There was almost no white in this eye, and there was a pale white pupil standing upright in the darkness. It was rotating slightly in Zhang Jiuyang's palm, as if looking at everything around it. Zhang Jiuyang hesitated for a long time, but still didn't have the courage to eat it. After all, as a normal person, who would be willing to eat the eyes of a ghost? Aren't ghosts supposed to be invisible? How can they have a physical body? After thinking for a long time, he decided to search Blind Lin's room first. Although he had searched it once when he just traveled through time, he only paid attention to finding money at that time. Now he wanted to find things like talismans and magical instruments. Who knows whether the female ghost is dead or not? Even if you die, who knows if there will be other dirty things? The 聻 character on his body has been used once and has traces of being burned. It may not be usable again. He must find other protective tools! Night slowly fell. Holding an oil lamp, Zhang Jiuyang pushed open the door of Blind Lin's room and waved his hand to sweep away the fallen dust. He had not entered this room for many days. The room was simply furnished with a rattan chair, a wooden bed, and a table with some paint-chipped teacups on it. But there is a place in the room that is very eye-catching. There is a hole chiseled out on the east wall, which looks like a shrine in a temple, but what is placed inside is not a statue of a god, but a spirit tablet. "The spirit tablet of my late father Xu Heshan." Strange, why is Blind Lin’s father’s surname Xu? Is this really his father’s spirit tablet? Zhang Jiuyang suddenly felt a little eerie. He was not afraid before, but after the incident with the female ghost, he now felt scared when he saw the spirit tablets. This is also the reason why he doesn’t come to this room. Who normally places a memorial tablet at home? Zhang Jiuyang took a deep breath to calm his fear, and then searched the room carefully. The result was even cleaner than his pocket, it was completely empty. It seems that Blind Lin intentionally took all the magic weapons away when he went out that time. Zhang Jiuyang sat on the bed, panting, feeling somewhat disappointed. He had searched the entire room, but was there really no magical weapon left? At this moment, his eyes suddenly stopped on the memorial tablet opposite the bed, and his heart moved. Who in their right mind would place a memorial tablet in their bedroom, facing the bed, as if they were afraid that they wouldn't be able to see it when they opened their eyes? There was a hint of suspicion in Zhang Jiuyang's eyes. He walked forward, bowed three times to the spirit tablet, and then reached out to touch it. It felt cold and hard. He lifted it and found that the spirit tablet was motionless, as if it was nailed there. Zhang Jiuyang was immediately refreshed. He turned to the left, and the spirit tablet actually made a clicking sound. Then, the shrine on the wall turned back, revealing a dark iron box. There really was a secret room! Zhang Jiuyang suppressed his excitement and carefully took down the iron box. There was a rusty copper lock on it. It felt slippery to the touch, probably because it was damp. Although he didn't have the key, Zhang Jiuyang was not discouraged. He found a stone in the yard and smashed the copper lock with it. Finally, after a period of effort, the already rusty copper lock could not bear the weight and broke into several pieces. He slowly opened it, revealing what was inside. The first thing that caught my eye was three yellow talismans with the word "聻" written on them in cinnabar, neatly placed there. A hint of joy appeared in Zhang Jiuyang's eyes, and he held the three characters in his hand. Until this moment, he finally let go of his anxious heart and had a sense of security. Blind Lin really left some good stuff behind! He took out another two-foot-long willow branch, which seemed to be coated with some special wax, giving it a bronze luster. There was a lot of dust on the box, but the leaves on the willow branch were still green. In some folk legends, willow branches can ward off evil spirits and whip ghosts and gods, so some Taoists also use willow branches as magical instruments when exorcising ghosts. This willow branch was very tough, just like a whip. Zhang Jiuyang waved it in the air, and it made a snapping sound. What a baby! Zhang Jiuyang suddenly felt grateful to Blind Lin. This was a real master, it's a pity that he died early, otherwise he would have been able to curry favor with others.

There was one last thing in the box, a thin yellow booklet. Zhang Jiuyang's heart instantly became excited. Could it be that Master Lin not only left him a magical weapon to protect himself, but also a method of cultivation? The experience of time travel and the appearance of the female ghost made him believe that spiritual practice should exist. In this world similar to ancient China, perhaps there really are immortal immortals! Take the flying fairies with you to travel, embrace the bright moon and live forever! Which descendant of the Chinese nation has not had similar fantasies? Zhang Jiuyang opened the booklet with excitement, but the words he saw disappointed him. "The seventh year of Taiping, the month of Shen, the day of Jiazi, the hour of Hai." "Mr. Cui from Haifeng County invited me to his mansion to perform a ritual for three taels of silver. Haha, so fucking stingy... Don't forget to go and exorcise the evil spirits for the young widow in Chenjia Village tomorrow." "The seventh year of Taiping, the month of Shen, the day of Yichou, the hour of Zi." "The young widow's skin is so tender, and her voice is so lewd. She's exorcising evil spirits like she's selling sex. Damn, if she weren't too old, I would have done her!" "Damn it, I can't sleep at night, I miss women...Remember to go to Xiling Village to perform rituals tomorrow." …… Looking at these words, the image of a master that Blind Lin had just established in Zhang Jiuyang's mind collapsed in an instant. In a trance, he seemed to understand why Blind Lin hid this diary so carefully. Perhaps what Blind Lin was most concerned about before his death was that he was unable to get up and burn this diary. Wait, something seems wrong! Zhang Jiuyang suddenly realized a problem. Since he was blind, why could he still write a diary? Could it be that he has some supernatural power like the Dharma Eye or the Mind's Eye? There is another strange thing. Why does he add a sentence about what he wants to do tomorrow after each log? Zhang Jiuyang flipped through the diary and found that at the end of each entry, the other party would very stiffly add a sentence about what to do tomorrow, as if he was afraid that he would forget. Could it be that Blind Lin suffers from amnesia? Zhang Jiuyang continued to flip through the pages, and found that the contents were all similar, with a lot of obscene language. When he was about to finish reading, the content finally changed. "Damn it, that thing is getting more and more powerful, I can't control it anymore!" Zhang Jiuyang's expression became serious. There was only this sentence on the page, and the handwriting was very sloppy. It seemed that Blind Lin was very anxious at that time. Keep turning. "Damn it, I vomited blood three times today. It seems I have to go find Lu Yaoxing. I don't want to die in this shitty place!" Lu Yaoxing!!! Zhang Jiuyang's eyes narrowed. It was this name again, and the "it" in the diary, could it be referring to the female ghost in Xiaoyun River? He flipped down, only to find that the last page had been torn away, with obvious marks on the edge. After closing the booklet, Zhang Jiuyang frowned slightly. Blind Lin seemed to have many secrets, but...what did this have to do with me? A haunted county town, a blind fortune teller with a mysterious identity and a tragic death, left behind a name that contained a clue. Isn't this the beginning of a horror movie? disappear as far as you can! Zhang Jiuyang made up his mind. He just wanted to live an honest life. It would be best if he could cultivate immortality. If not, he would become a feudal master, marry dozens of concubines, have a bunch of children, and when the children grew up, marry dozens more concubines... He would never touch such a stupid thing that sounded like it could kill someone!

Gu~~ The next moment, I felt hungry. The familiar feeling of hunger came over me, and it seemed as if all the steamed buns I had eaten earlier had been digested. My stomach felt like it was being minced, making gurgling sounds like a hungry ghost wailing. Under this extreme hunger, Zhang Jiuyang's sense of smell seemed to be amplified. He could clearly smell the aroma of food coming from his arms, stirring his soul. Finally, hunger overcame reason. Zhang Jiuyang took out the ghost eye and slowly opened his mouth. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he seemed to see a hint of panic in the cold pupils. But none of this mattered anymore, because he made a swallowing motion, just like the image of Zhong Kui in his mind who was holding an evil ghost and swallowing it. At this moment, the two figures seemed to overlap. (End of this chapter)