Above the Great Dao
Chapter 268 - 140 Simple Folk Customs in Xinxiang County, Outstanding People and Earth Spirit in Gongzhou Province_3

Chapter 268: Chapter 140 Simple Folk Customs in Xinxiang County, Outstanding People and Earth Spirit in Gongzhou Province_3

The power of those Ten Thousand Soul Banners made even him tremble, feeling their terrifying strength.

"The Ten Thousand Soul Banners of Gongzhou, so strong!"

Chen Shi looked puzzled, those Ten Thousand Soul Banners constantly absorbed the souls of the deceased citizens of Gongzhou, their power had been refined to the level of a precious treasure!

At this time, many scholars headed to Gongzhou Province to take the exams, although scholars were literati, without official positions, they also needed to make a living. When he arrived in Gongzhou Province, he saw scholars everywhere looking for work, overcrowded.

Especially, since Xin Xiang Province didn’t open its autumn examinations, the scholars from Xin Xiang Province also rushed to Gongzhou, resulting in even more scholars here.

He was observing the Ten Thousand Soul Banners when suddenly a few porters approached, asking, "Scholar, did you also come to the city to find work?"

Chen Shi hesitated for a moment. With more than ten days left until the 7th of June, he indeed wanted to find some work to do rather than sit idle.

But, what work could he do in the city?

Sell talismans?

At that moment, a tall man pushed through the porters and approached, looking Chen Shi up and down, he said, "Brother, are you from Xinxiang County?"

Chen Shi replied, "Exactly from Xinxiang County."

The tall man, hearing his accent, smiled and said, "From Bridge Bay Town?"

He spoke with a Xinxiang accent, "I am also from Bridge Bay Town. Don’t bother with these porters; these fellows are wicked at heart! If you go with them, they will sell you to a farmhouse on the outskirts of the city. First, they’ll feed you a meal, and if you eat it, you will be poisoned with corpse poison and turned into a zombie. Then, you’ll be a mindless worker, tirelessly laboring alongside dozens, eating swill, sleeping on the floor, wearing the tattiest clothes until you drop dead. After death, you’ll be exposed to the moonlight to turn into a corpse demon, still laboring for them."

Chen Shi was dumbfounded and managed to say, "Is there really such a thing?"

The tall man smiled and said, "You are my fellow townsman, so I saved you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother telling a stranger. Have you had dinner yet? If not, I can take you."

Chen Shi followed him, and the tall man said, "There’s also a kind of Evil Skill here in Gongzhou. It can brainwash cultivators into serving willingly, fearless of death, never tiring, without asking for any reward. Those who practice this Skill have dozens to hundreds of scholars under them, all akin to foster sons, sworn to them as foster fathers. Serving one’s foster father is considered natural, why should they ask for any reward?"

Chen Shi exclaimed, "How can this be?"

The tall man took him to a restaurant, seated at a street-facing spot, he said, "There is another Skill called the Cultivation Skill. It involves rearing dozens of disciples who obey one’s commands, passing down Cultivation Techniques. The mana cultivated by the disciples unknowingly splits with half flowing to the master, aiding the master’s cultivation. Similarly, disciples can also recruit their disciples enabling them to rear their own, but the prerequisite is that you know how to modify the Cultivation Techniques."

Chen Shi was dumbstruck.

The tall man said, "These are all harmful malpractices; decent people disdain doing them. I usually engage in exorcism and refining corpse demons, and have joined the Gongzhou Talisman Master Association. Sign this paper and I’ll get you into the association, doing business in Gongzhou Province. It won’t make you rich, but it is enough for a basic living."

He took out a paper, which indeed had the name of the Gongzhou Talisman Master Association on it.

Under his guidance, Chen Shi signed his marks, and the tall man took the paper, saying, "I have an urgent need, I’ll head to the restroom first. You order some dishes; I’ll be right back."

He stood up and spoke briefly to the shopkeeper before heading towards the backyard.

The shopkeeper approached with some sturdy men, smiling said, "Scholar, you have been sold to our restaurant by your ’big brother.’"

Chen Shi’s eyes widened, "What? I’ve been sold?"

The shopkeeper unfolded the paper he had signed, which now had additional lines, a document of servitude, he sneered, "You signed this yourself, don’t you recognize it?"

Chen Shi laughed in extreme frustration, "These words weren’t there originally, they were added later! Does Gongzhou Province have no laws?"

"Come here!"

The shopkeeper clapped his hands, sneered, "Let this poor scholar from the countryside experience what the law is here!"

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