The prosperous Jing'an City is different from the closed military fortress.
There are all kinds of professions and crafts here. If Zhou Yuan is willing to spend more time, he may be able to master a few skills.
But he paid more attention to the widely circulated Buddhist and Taoist classics, and the medical classics with their own system.
Compared with medical theories that require earnest teaching, Buddhist and Taoist classics with the purpose of preaching are easier to obtain.
Zhou Yuan spent only 320 coins to gain the right to view the meaning of the scriptures and the divine mantras.
He didn't know how much truth the Buddhist and Taoist sects had left in these books claiming to be fundamental laws, but he didn't mind giving it a try.
Interestingly, in addition to the "Songhe Changsheng Sutra" and the "Dajin Yaoming Wang Sutra", Zhou Yuan also discovered a mountain and sea record that interprets the heavens and the earth.
The first chapter begins with a proverb: When the universe was first created, the world was pure, all things were hidden in the four seas and eight wildernesses, exotic herbs and magical medicines grew everywhere, and demons and monsters disappeared from human traces.
This poem may seem mysterious, but it actually introduces some phenomena of heaven and earth. People who know about worldly affairs can understand it at a glance, and people who don't know the truth can also see some secrets from it.
The publication of this book shows that the Wei court was open to the existence of the secret realm of heaven and earth, at least to the literate population.
"Isn't this a display of self-confidence? Speaking openly and without reservation demonstrates courage."
When Zhou Yuan first got the book Shan Hai Zhi, which introduced strange geography, he couldn't help but stay up late to study it.
The person who woke him up the next day was not the innkeeper or a malicious ghost, but the military commander Cai Cheng.
"Brother Cai, why are you here? Do you want to treat me to a drink?"
"Hmm! You're such a good fellow, Zhou Yuan. I'm a guest, but you actually want me to treat you."
The two of them joked for a while, then walked to the tea table and sat down seriously.
Zhou Yuan knew that Cai Cheng would not come to the inn for no reason.
This visit even has the meaning of investigation and tracking. If there is nothing serious, Cai Cheng will not be so reckless.
"Brother, there's been trouble at my wife's home. I'm going to take my personal soldiers to take a look. I hope you can help me with your sharpshooting skills."
"You and I are brothers, no need to say more.
I just want to ask Brother Cai to explain the reason for this incident, so that we can determine the enemy's situation."
"That's right. My wife is the daughter of the Zhang family, a prominent family in the city. She has a younger sister named Manning, who is graceful, gentle and beautiful.
The child is beautiful and sensible, and is very popular among friends and relatives."
"Last night, Manning suddenly had a seizure and fell into a coma, and woke up at dawn in the morning.
Later, she told her family that she saw vengeful ghosts eating her flesh and peeling her skin in her dreams. She was in unbearable pain and begged her parents to save her life.
The Zhang family initially thought it was just a nightmare, but they didn't expect Manning to fall into a coma again, groaning and whimpering, calling out "Mom, it hurts!" and "Dad, save me."
"What parents could have witnessed such a tragedy? My parents-in-law were heartbroken, so I had to go and see it.
Cai Cheng earnestly asks you to come with us. If it is a visible demon, we will try our swords and arrows. If it is an invisible demon, I will return to the camp to invite the captain.
Cai Cheng's words gave Zhou Yuan a feeling of coincidence, too much of a coincidence.
He had just killed four painted-skin scoundrels yesterday, and today he encountered a ghost incident at his friend's house.
Moreover, Cai Cheng's sister-in-law happened to be extremely beautiful and needed the help of a young soldier like him to rescue her.
"There's something. I don't know if this medicine is a hero saving a beautiful woman, or falling in love at first sight. It's better to be saved by someone in trouble, rather than be blinded by a ghost."
Zhou Yuan thought for a moment, then stood up and left with Cai Cheng.
Now he is not afraid of being besieged by the painted skins. It's just a painted skin, no matter who he is.
If he gets angry, he will just use the prop 【Painted Skin Rogue】 to sneak into their midst and see what they are planning.
Military Sima Cai Cheng, Jing'an Du Zhou Yuan, and ten elite soldiers from Wuwei.
After taking swords, spears, shields, leather armor, and bows and arrows from the military Sima Mansion, the group headed straight for Zhang Mansion in Chunrongfang, east of the city.
Before leaving, Cai Cheng's wife also wanted to go with him to visit her sister, but Cai Cheng sternly refused.
In addition, the old lady who said she was a vegetarian and chanted Buddhist scriptures also appeared and told Cai Cheng to be careful and not to show off.
The scene of a painted-skin ghost instructing an officer who has to deal with a ghost problem is really weird.
"Don't worry, mother. My brothers and I will give it a try. If we fail, we will report it to the higher-ups."
Zhou Yuan saw that when the Painted Skin Old Woman heard the words "report to your superiors", her skinny hands suddenly trembled a few times.
This shows that they are afraid, so why did they bring Cai Cheng into the game?
The Zhang Mansion in Chunrongfang, east of Jing'an City, is larger than Cai Cheng's military Sima Mansion, and the number of servants coming and going far exceeds that of Cai Cheng's mansion.
But these are not important. What is important is the identity information of the monsters that appear from time to time.
【Level 5 Painted Skin Maid】, 【Level 6 Painted Skin Butler】, 【Level 8 Painted Skin Young Master】
"Master is here, lead the way quickly, let me see if there are any evil spirits causing trouble in the mansion."
The common people could not tell the difference between the soldiers wearing the divine arms and black armor and the warriors. The person in charge of the Zhang Mansion probably could tell the difference, but he still placed his hopes on Cai Cheng.
"Cheng'er, come and see Manning, you must save her.
If only my son could be saved, I would be willing to donate all my gold, silver, and other valuables to the army."
Cai Cheng's father-in-law was obviously very anxious and promised a generous reward before the work even started.
After crossing a door, Zhou Yuan and his ten personal soldiers were all surprised, but the reasons for their surprise were different.
The ten personal soldiers saw Zhang Manning's beauty and her pitiful, beautiful and sorrowful figure.
Zhou Yuan was surprised to see the elite monster with a name 【Level 15 Painted Skin Manning】.
"Cheng'er, did you see anything?"
Before Mr. Zhang finished speaking, three dark shadows emerged from under Painted Skin Manning's bed, 【Level 5 Yin Spirits】.
They waved their hands and pulled at Painted Skin Manning's body, causing Painted Skin Manning to groan weakly.
"This skin is good, don't fight with me, it's mine."
"Nonsense, I discovered this, get out of here."
"Don't tear my skin, or I'll kill both of you."
The three evil spirits fought each other and restrained each other, creating the illusion that they could not peel off the human skin temporarily.
Cai Cheng and his ten personal soldiers naturally could not see the evil spirits, nor could they hear the evil spirits' words that resembled soul fluctuations.
At this moment, all the hidden Painted Skins in Zhang's mansion, including the Painted Skin Manning who pretended to be unconscious, were waiting for Zhou Yuan to take action.
"Hurry up and take action! Didn't you see the ghosts that broke the skin yesterday? Hurry up and take care of those ghosts."
"The beauty was persecuted by an evil spirit, who wanted to peel off her skin.
I can't stand this, he can be indifferent, is he a human being?"
"This is a hard-hearted imperial spy. Change Plan B."
After a few Painted Skins talked to each other, 【Level 8 Painted Skin Master】 seemed to suddenly remember something and rushed towards Cai Cheng.
"Brother-in-law, don't you have the psychic fluid given by the captain? Take it out and try it, maybe you can see something."
Cai Cheng didn't think much about it and casually pulled a pendant from his neck.
It turned out to be a small copper pot as thin as a fingertip. He unscrewed the copper pot mouth and dripped two drops of green liquid into his eyes.
"There really is a ghost haunting the place. Zhou Yuan, take the medicine."