Wandering Gods of Day and Night-Chapter 38 - 35 Alien Ghost Origins
38: Chapter 35 Alien Ghost Origins
38 -35 Alien Ghost Origins
The name ‘beer’ was borrowed, but more people in the Jing Country called it malt wine.
Local breweries didn’t build large fermentation tanks; the ratio of rice and syrup was low, but it tasted more strongly of malt.
Most of the masters of the Zhou Family’s Troupe loved drinking.
High-alcohol drinks could easily lead to drunken brawls, but the low-alcohol, refreshing beer quenched their thirst and gradually became the first choice for the troupe’s drinkers during work hours.
Zhou Xuan carried two large glass jars, filled them from the oak barrel, and returned to the kitchen.
Lao Ma, craving alcohol, had washed three cups in advance, placed two on the table, and held one in his arms, just waiting to pour the drink.
As soon as the metal lid of the glass jar was unscrewed, Lao Ma couldn’t wait and poured himself a full cup, gulping it down in big swigs, with some fine foam hanging on his beard, then exclaimed “Ah” and let out a burp,
Ah, the standard formula for drinking beer.
Zhou Xuan poured a cup for Yuan Buyu, handed it over, and joked, “Drink up and stop pretending to be a big deal.”
“Young people talk so harshly.
I’m old and waiting for you to pour me a drink, how is that pretending?”
Yuan Buyu sipped his drink, taking it slow and steady.
Zhou Xuan poured himself a cup, pulled up a small stool, and asked, “Big Belly Monk, what’s his story?
Is he a human or a ghost?”
“He’s both human and ghost.”
Yuan Buyu was being a bit cryptic, a common trait of storytellers.
If they revealed everything right away, how could they continue telling the story?
This trait was fine on stage, but in real life, it was annoying and hard to communicate with.
“Can you tell it properly?”
“Isn’t beer meant to be sipped slowly?
What’s the rush?
I ask you, do you know what an Alien Ghost is?” Yuan Buyu asked.
Zhou Xuan nodded and then shook his head.
He had heard of Alien Ghosts from his sister.
Ghosts learned their skills from Alien Ghosts, after all.
But he wasn’t sure of the difference between Alien Ghosts and ordinary wandering souls or evil ghosts.
“A wandering soul is a soul that leaves the body after death.
An evil ghost is formed when an obsession refuses to dissipate and merges with the soul.
Don’t underestimate obsessions; living people can spend their whole lives inventing all sorts of strange things because of them.
A wandering soul can resist the will of Soul Shepherd City and turn into an evil ghost due to its obsession.”
Yuan Buyu indeed had some insights.
He explained it well.
In Luoying Hall, Zhou Xuan, who had experienced being a ghost, had witnessed the female guest, Zheng Meizhu, almost transform into an evil ghost due to her intense hatred.
If it weren’t for Zhou Lingyi calming her down…
“No wonder after I died, I was summoned to Soul Shepherd City.
But there’s always some filth that can ignore the will’s summons and continue wandering the human world.”
Zhou Xuan suddenly wondered if there was a chance that Yuan Buyu was not a real chef.
A chef’s daily life was busy.
In the morning, they had to supervise apprentices preparing ingredients, and closer to mealtime, they had to circle around the stove.
Once the dishes were cooked, they could take a short lunch break, but then they got busy with dinner again.
After dinner, there was still supper to be made.
Day in and day out, being able to sneak in some leisure was a luxury.
Where would they find the energy to ponder other things…
Of course, there might be the occasional Eternal Rolling King, whose energy could rival that of a child, like a “human perpetual motion machine,” completely unaware of the word “tired.” No matter how busy or exhausting the work, they could always find extra time to roll themselves further.
But no matter how you looked at Yuan Buyu, he didn’t seem like an Eternal Rolling King.
He was the type to pant with just a little movement, yet a perpetual roller?
“Old Man Yuan, are you really a chef?”
“Chef…
Heh, I used to be a storyteller, a theater pillar.”
Ah, Old Yuan sure knew how to boast,
A theater pillar?
More like a kitchen pillar!
“Just keep boasting.
If you were so capable, how did you become a chef?”
“Storytelling is a job of serving others, constantly nodding and bowing to whoever you meet.
I got tired of serving them…”
Yuan Buyu was talking when suddenly he heard something wrong with the chopping sound on the cutting board, stood up, and picked up the shredded cucumber cut by his apprentice to take a look.
After just one glance, he became furious and started scolding harshly.
“White Kid, what the hell kind of shredded cucumber are you cutting?
How many times have I taught you?
Fine knife work is basic, but to cut well, it has to be neat.
When the shredded cucumber is opened, the holes should be the same size.
Look at your holes; some big, some small, cut into strips like a worn-out sock!
Even a beggar would refuse them.
Cut it again!”
The cucumber was thrown onto the table with a resounding “pa-pa.”
After scolding his apprentice, Yuan Buyu quickly switched back to chatting, “Xuanzi, you see, that’s the good thing about being a chef. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
Life is very satisfying, and you can scold whoever you want to!”
“…” Zhou Xuan.
So the old man became a chef just to vent his anger?
“Xuanzi, let me tell you, being a storyteller in the Jing Country is not easy.
You have to have a slick tongue, a stable stage presence, and the right expressions and actions during performances.
Years of learning and practicing go into honing these skills, but that’s not enough; you also need to have a lot in here…”
Yuan Buyu suddenly slapped his belly, “Tales of fox souls and wild ghosts, unofficial histories of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the diverse scenes of the marketplace, and the length of worldly affairs—all must be stored in your belly!
Just those weird things you asked about are merely a drop in the bucket of the strange reports I’ve heard in my life.”
“Well then, I’ll have to learn more from you in the future.”
Zhou Xuan was relatively reassured about Yuan Buyu’s sources of knowledge and then continued to ask about his doubts.
“You explained the wandering soul and the evil ghost, but what’s their connection to the Alien Ghost?”
“They are completely unrelated.”
“…” Zhou Xuan.
They’re all called ghosts, yet there’s no connection at all?
“A wandering soul is a departed soul, and an evil ghost is controlled by an obsession.
There’s not much difference between them in essence, but Alien Ghosts do not come from wandering souls.”
“The origin of Alien Ghosts is currently uncertain, but there are three mainstream theories.
The first is the ‘calamity theory,’ which suggests that disasters, both natural and man-made, occur all the time.
In every great calamity, countless people die tragically, suffering tremendous harm.
The bloodthirsty aura from numerous corpses and the sorrowful aura from the howls of countless people converge and give rise to Alien Ghosts.
The second theory is the ‘dragon vein theory.’ There’s a term called feng shui treasure land.
Wind is the shadow of water, and water takes the form of wind.
Areas with good feng shui are often suitable for habitation.
A feng shui master once said—beneath any feng shui treasure land lies an invisible great dragon, which we often refer to as a dragon vein.
Dragon veins can be big or small, long or short, with or without horns and claws that gather thunder and lightning, but no matter the type of dragon vein, they all have their lifespan.
When its lifespan ends, the dragon vein dies.
If a dragon vein is wide and vast enough, its death will give birth to an Alien Ghost.”
Zhou Xuan listened with great interest but couldn’t shake the sense of unreality.
“Unreal is exactly right; these are all mythological stories with speculation.
You’re not taking them seriously, are you?” Yuan Buyu replied in an unfriendly tone.
Alright,
Those words were down to earth, instantly pulling the sky-dreaming Zhou Xuan back to the ground, to the stove beside him.
“What’s the third theory?” Zhou Xuan held his cup, sipping beer.
“The third theory is even more mysterious, it is said that Alien Ghosts come from outside.”
“Outside?
Which outside?
Mingjiang Prefecture?”
“Further outside.”
“The Country of Amekan?”
“Even further outside,” Yuan Buyu stood by the window, gazing into the sky, “beyond the Heavenly Dome, in the world outside the Starry Sky!”
“Pfft!”
Zhou Xuan spat out a mouthful of beer.
He was too familiar with the content from the third source of Alien Ghosts.
After hearing it, it felt like coming home.
“What’s wrong?” Yuan Buyu looked at Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan pointed to the cup, saying, “There was a bug in the beer that jabbed my throat.”
“Of course, these theories are too fantastical.
You only need to understand that Alien Ghosts are not true ghosts; they stand equal with God.”
“By the way, weren’t we talking about the Big Belly Monk?
How did we get onto Alien Ghosts?”
Zhou Xuan finally remembered the original topic of their chat.
“Because the Big Belly Monk is a ‘walker’ who guides Alien Ghosts!”
“Or rather…
the Big Belly Monk is the feet chosen by Alien Ghosts!”
