Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 65 - 65 65 Shehong Stockade!

65: Chapter 65: Shehong Stockade!

65: Chapter 65: Shehong Stockade!

“Song Dingbo, your name doesn’t sound like a farmer’s!

Why do I feel like it’s a name that only someone from a scholarly family could have?

You aren’t actually the son of some rich household out experiencing life in the countryside, are you?”

In order to extract the secret of the ghost-catching method from Song Dingbo’s dreams, Zhang San started to make small talk to bring them closer.

“Hahaha…

you’ve got it half right.”

As he said this, Song Dingbo’s face was full of pride.

“I was the first child in my family, so they originally called me Song Da.

But because I was born with a big butt, they ended up calling me Big Ass.

As a kid, I thought it was so cool!

However, as I grew up, I realized the name was just too embarrassing to attract a wife.”

“Then one day, I helped someone deliver goods to earn a little money, and I missed the inn where I was supposed to stay overnight, so I had to find a place to sleep on the road.”

“That night, I dreamt of a deity descending from the heavens on a cloud, who claimed to be the ‘Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor’ and said I was destined by heaven to help him catch ghosts that had escaped from the Underworld.

He then told me that ghosts dislike being spit on; if I spat on a ghost, it would turn into a sheep.

I could then sell the sheep for money.”

After listening to this, Zhang San realized it was different from his own Sun Golden Hand.

He always dreamt about an old man, then practiced for eight years.

Song Dingbo’s experience involved a specific deity and even taught him a method that seemed rather unreliable.

“So, did you make any money with that method?”

When this subject was brought up, Song Dingbo became even prouder.

“Hahahaha…

Of course, that very night I caught a ghost here and then sold it for One Thousand Five Hundred Qian.”

“It was with that One Thousand Five Hundred Qian that I hired someone to change my name.”

“Changing ‘Ass’ to ‘Ding,’ which means to fix the ghosts and spirits; changing ‘Da’ to ‘Bo,’ which itself means something large.

Song Dingbo, doesn’t that sound extraordinary?

Hahahaha…”

Zhang San could be sure that what Song Dingbo had was definitely different from his Sun Golden Hand, so he turned his head to look at Zhao Siyang.

Zhao Siyang, however, was somewhat puzzled.

“The Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor, even though he rules the Underworld, shouldn’t rely on ordinary people to catch ghosts.

The Underworld has its own messengers to deal with ghosts and monsters of the mortal world.

And…”

“Spitting on a ghost to turn it into a sheep, I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Song Dingbo felt questioned and instantly became unhappy.

“What do you mean by that?

Just because you haven’t heard of it means it’s fake?

There are many things you haven’t heard of!

Have you heard that a widow’s door sees more disputes, or that a widow’s house hears more noises?”

Zhao Siyang hurriedly explained, “Mr.

Song, I didn’t mean it that way, I was just curious.”

Song Dingbo gave Zhao Siyang a disdainful look, very displeased.

He still preferred someone like Zhang San who was willing to listen to his stories; look at him, not only is he more handsome than you, he’s also good at conversation.

“When we actually encounter a ghost later, I’ll show you what turning a ghost into a sheep looks like!”

Zhang San was also somewhat expectant, curious to see if spitting really worked.

“Song Dingbo, this guy is your friend, right?

I still don’t know what to call him.”

Having gotten most of the information he needed from Song Dingbo, Zhang San turned to the bearded strong man beside him.

Song Dingbo glanced at the strong man beside him and shrugged.

“I just met him too, I really don’t know what he calls himself.

Faint Heart, what’s your name?”

The bearded middle-aged strong man replied somewhat embarrassedly, “I’m called Wang Dada.”

Zhang San sized up the other person several times.

The name did match his physique and mutton-chop beard, but his courage, however, was truly…

“I’m not usually cowardly, it’s just that I’ve encountered something this time.”

“You might not believe this, but I am actually an executioner, specifically tasked with beheading death row inmates.”

Hearing this, Zhang San and the others were shocked.

“Can we not boast?

You were so scared just now, and then you tell me you are in charge of executions?

I doubt you could even handle beheading a pig.”

“Really!

Everything I’m saying is true!

I…

Ah!

I’ll just tell you directly.”

Wang Dada recounted his own experiences, and as Zhang San listened, he felt a chill run down his spine.

It turned out that about seven or eight years ago, Wang Dada’s nephew, Wang Laohao, was framed and ultimately received a death sentence.

Being afraid of death, Wang Dada tricked him, saying that during the execution he would cut the rope and his nephew just needed to close his eyes and run forward.

However, when Wang Dada brought down the sword to carry out the execution, his nephew’s head rolled on the ground, leaving no chance for escape.

Not long ago, someone said that they had seen Wang Dada’s nephew in this area, and that he had even settled down with a wife and children.

Wang Dada naturally didn’t believe it, but the informant was very descriptive.

His nephew had even inquired about Wang Dada’s situation.

For several nights in a row, Wang Dada dreamt about the day he decapitated his nephew.

He even fell seriously ill.

After recovering from his illness, Wang Dada had specifically come from the capital to see what exactly was going on.

Otherwise, he would not have felt at ease.

After Wang Dada finished speaking, Song Dingbo burst out laughing.

“It must be your fellow townsman deceiving you, and you actually believed it.”

Wang Dada replied with a serious face, “There’s no mistake.

He even thought he had remembered wrongly, that it wasn’t my nephew he killed.

He even asked for my nephew’s address, right here in this area, at a place called Shehong Stockade.”

“Hmph!”

Song Dingbo snorted through his nose: “I’ve been living around here for nearly thirty years, and I’ve never heard of any Shehong Stockade nearby.

You’ve been fooled!

Look Wang, I’m a local, don’t you trust me?

If I say there’s no Shehong Stockade, then there’s no Shehong Stockade!”

Just then, everyone suddenly felt the area around them become brightly illuminated.

What was once pitch dark, lit only by the moonlight in the sky and the light from the four streams of Sword Qi around Zhao Siyang, now featured a brightly lit village ahead.

On the village, a large, ancient plaque bore three big characters— “Shehong Stockade”.

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[Note 28]Reference Information

In “True Spirit Position and Industry Map” by Tao Hongjing of the Southern Qi and Liang dynasties, the Northern Yin Fengdu Great Emperor is listed at the Seventh Divine Tier, Mid position, Dominant over the Yin Underworld, known as “Emperor Great Court, surnamed Qing Jia, the progenitor of all ghosts and gods, ruling over Luofeng Mountain, replaced every three thousand years.”

The “Ghost City” of Fengdu County in Sichuan is famously known because, during the Han Dynasty, immortals like Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping practiced asceticism and achieved immortality on Pingdu Mountain.

Later generations combined the surnames of these two men to build the “Yin Wang Temple” in joint worship, leading to the misbelief that this “Yin Wang” ruled the Yin Underworld, considering Luofeng Mountain to be present-day Fengdu Mountain, thus making Fengdu County widely recognized as the “Ghost Kingdom’s Mansion”.

[Note 29]Reference Information

The setting of Song Dingbo is derived from Gan Bao’s “In Search of the Supernatural.” As far as I remember, it was also part of the school curriculum from my student days.

Although I was a poor student, I paid for my education, and I’m not willing to give everything back to the teacher.

Whatever I can keep, I keep.