While Nan Linghe was posting the notice, Ye Jie also walked into a magnificent, neat and elegant restaurant.
Stepping into this restaurant is like stepping into a palace that does not belong to this world. The tall gatehouse is engraved with exquisite reliefs, the marble floor is glittering and translucent, the walls are hung with calligraphy by literati with flying dragons and phoenixes, and the windows are filled with exquisitely shaped painted porcelain.
The floors of the restaurant are hollowed out. The center of the first floor is built with three-foot-high steps made of smooth jade. On the stage, there are flocks of orioles and swallows, dancing with sleeves, singing and dancing, and music. It is very lively. The ghosts passing by stop to watch, and the upper floors can also have a panoramic view.
"I want to book a private room for the three of us to dine at noon tomorrow."
Arriving at the front desk of Aunt Meng's Winery, Ye Jie spoke.
The restaurant's decoration was so luxurious and extravagant, which meant that a meal there would definitely cost a lot of money, making his already limited good karma even worse.
On second thought, who had he promised to treat Ghost Officer Mei to a meal? However, this was also a good opportunity to get the last recommendation order for Nan Linghe from Ghost Officer Mei.
"Tomorrow we'll have a private room for three people. The minimum spending for a private room is 3,000 Yin De. Please leave a deposit in advance. If it's not enough, we'll make up the difference tomorrow."
"Three thousand Yin De?" Ye Jie took a deep breath and left three thousand Yin De as a deposit. After the three thousand deposit was gone, he only had one thousand two hundred Yin De left, which was less than what Nan Linghe had. How could he buy a good technique for his apprentice Xia Wei?
Just as he was worrying, Ye Jie's eyes suddenly fell on the maid at the front desk. He saw that the person had a bun on her hair and a round face. She was wearing an elegant sky-blue off-shoulder dress with a light yellow transparent silk gauze on her shoulders. Her white jade arms were holding a flawless ivory pipa, but her eyes were full of fatigue and haggardness, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.
Seeing this person, Ye Jie clasped his fists and said, "So it's Sister Lan. What a coincidence! Seven days ago, my friend Short-lived Sun wanted to hear you play a pipa piece to send him off before he re-entered the cycle of reincarnation, hoping for a good omen. Unfortunately, his wish was not fulfilled."
Sister Lan smiled apologetically, "I've let her down... Nowadays, whenever I play the pipa, the sound reveals only endless bitterness and sorrow. Guests weep and their appetites diminish. It doesn't fit in with the joyful atmosphere of the wine country, and I'm completely unfitted to perform on stage."
Ye Jie asked with concern: "Sister Lan, are you okay? I heard from Guazi last time that you seemed to be seriously ill. If anything happened to you, it would be a great loss to the wine country..."
Sister Lan raised her eyes and smiled calmly: "My body is fine, but my illness is a mental one."
"I'd like to hear more about it."
Sister Lan put down her pipa, crossed her fingers, and her memories seemed to drift back to the past: "I grew up in poverty. My parents saved money to send me to a music troupe to learn the ways of rhythm. When I was twenty, in order to break through to the second stage of the Divine Path, I forced myself to practice my inner energy. I became possessed and died of a severed heart meridian. I never had the chance to repay my parents for raising me. Poor my parents, they only have me as their daughter..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in Sister Lan's eyes. "Another ten years have passed. A few days ago, I suddenly felt something deep within me. I felt an inexplicable sadness. I thought it was because my parents were nearing the end of their lives and would soon pass away... It's pitiful that they gave birth to such an unfilial daughter like me. Every time I think of this, my heart is filled with sorrow. The sound of the piano conveys the deepest emotions of the performer. I'm afraid I'll never be able to perform again."
Ye Jie pondered, "If that's the case, why don't you return to the living and see your parents in a dream for the last time, and pour out everything you want to say to them?"
Sister Lan raised her hand and wiped away her tears. "I've tried. I once returned to my old house in my hometown to look for them, but they moved away shortly after I died, and now there's no news of them. The sea of people is vast. Even if the ghost messenger could use the Earth-Shrinking Stone to move freely, trying to find my parents among billions of people would be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Ye Jie was silent for a long time. After a while, he suddenly said, "Maybe I can help you."
"You?" Hearing this, Sister Lan smiled politely. "You're only a second-level early-stage ghost messenger, not even as strong as me. How are you going to help me? To find my parents' whereabouts, I once sought help from the fourth-level Black and White Impermanence, but to no avail."
At the end, Sister Lan didn't hold out any hope, but continued softly, "However, you can indeed help me in some way. Your name is Ghost Messenger Jie, right? In the future, when you are carrying out your mission, please pay more attention to the names "Yugui" and "Zhang Xun". They are my parents.
Ye Jie didn't think so: "What if I say that I have a way to find the exact whereabouts of your parents?"
Seeing that Ye Jie was still pestering her, Sister Lan's eyes became cold and intimidating. As one of the seven head maids in the wine country, many ghost officials were very attentive to her, including some fourth-level Black and White Impermanence. They all claimed that they could find the whereabouts of Sister Lan's parents, which made Sister Lan's hope ignite again and again, and then her hope was shattered again and again, making her already sad heart even more broken.
There was no doubt that Ye Jie was the weakest of the ghost messengers who had come to offer their courtesy. Seeing this, Sister Lan couldn't help but feel a bit amused. A mere early-stage second-order ghost messenger dared to speak so arrogantly in front of her, truly looking down on her.
"So, if you really find my parents, what reward do you want?" Sister Lan shook her head.
"Ten thousand good deeds, or a set of skills." Ye Jie finally spoke and told the reward he had thought of long ago.
"Oh?" Hearing this, even Sister Lan was slightly taken aback. Those ghost messengers who came to show their courtesy either claimed they didn't want anything to show off their demeanor, or they just kept saying sweet nothings, which made her as annoying as flies. It was the first time she had seen someone like Ye Jie, who clearly stated his price, not wanting any intimacy, but only wanted good deeds.
"My time is very precious." Sister Lan opened her red lips slightly, her tone cold. "In the past, the price for ordering a song from me was 8,800 Yin De. If you waste my time, just treat it as if you ordered a song from me. I'll round off the difference for you, and you'll give me 8,000 Yin De. How about that?"
Logically speaking, most ghost messengers who were just good at talking would have given up after hearing such a price. To Sister Lan's surprise, Ye Jie not only did not back off, but instead patted his chest and said, "You won't be disappointed, just leave it to me!"
Seeing this, Sister Lan also became interested. She took out a white jade pendant of a dragon from her bosom, closed her eyes slightly, and soon saw the maid with shark teeth and triangular eyes, melon seeds, shrinking into an inch and moving towards her.
Just like the last time I saw her, Guazi still had a dull look in her eyes, looking as if she was living a life worse than death. The thick dark circles around her triangular eyes made it seem as if she hadn't slept in years. I don't know what she had been through.
Feeling the pressure from the fifth-order immortal realm, Ye Jie couldn't help but take a half step back and said helplessly: "Is it necessary to alarm the existence of the judge level for this matter?"
"Are you scared now?" Sister Lan glanced at Ye Jie. "If you're not afraid, I am. What if you try to trick me into leaving for the wilderness? With Guazi's help, I wonder what kind of trouble you can cause."
At the end, Sister Lan did not forget Ye Jie's embarrassment when he booked the private room. She snorted and said jokingly, "The contract is done, and with Guazi as a witness, it's too late for you to regret it now. If you don't have enough good karma, you can stay in the kitchen of the wine country and wash dishes."
