Chapter 6, Old Black

The fat man is shouting from behind

The other party glanced back at the three people standing in the room, then looked at me and the fat man, and said: "Who told you to hide in my house on a rainy day? Get out, hurry up and get out!"

I continued to ask.

After the bell stopped ringing, the surroundings fell silent once again, with only the sound of rain "splashing". I looked around but saw no suspicious figures, thinking perhaps I had not startled any ghosts. Just as I was about to strike again with the shovel, a strange sound suddenly came from ahead in the rain

Brother Lao Hei, is there really a "Cakul"?

"Fellow villager, to be honest, the money we have left is almost all spent, and we only have enough for the fare to go back. If you see anything on us that you like, please feel free to take it. Let us stay for one night; the rain is too heavy, and there are no villages or shops around here. Where can we find shelter from the rain? As soon as the rain stops tomorrow morning, we will leave immediately"

Can ritual implements also be purchased

I took a step back, and the shadow opposite suddenly stopped in its tracks. Then, it suddenly charged towards me. I was startled and hurriedly turned to run into the house, tightly shutting the wooden door behind me

Li Qian asked in surprise

With questions in my heart, I dared not speak. After a moment, the villager sat down with us by the fire. Unable to set my mind at ease, I thought for a moment and asked, "What should I call you, villager?"

Old Hei squatted behind the wall and shouted at me. Last time, it was my own fault for seducing the female ghost, and this time it was my turn to seduce the monster. I suppose my luck has truly hit rock bottom.

If it were me, I would not act impulsively

It is not considered so; I am learning skills from the Daba in the "Cong".

I did not follow along; I was just startled a moment ago, and my body still feels a bit unsteady. Instead, I lowered my head to look at the bell brought by this fellow villager. The bell is not large, only about the length of my palm, with a small handle at the top. The surface of the bell is engraved with some minority scripts, entirely black, but in some places, it reveals a greenish copper rust.

Around 2 o'clock at night, the rain outside had slightly diminished. Lao Hei placed the bronze bell in front of me and said, "Don't you want to touch this bell? Perfect, take it to the door and strike it. Soon, when 'Sikur' hears the sound, he will appear, and then it will be my turn to act. Go on..."

Behind him, Lao Hei also spotted the dark figure and immediately spoke up. However, there seemed to be more of a sense of surprise in his voice.

His words seemed very mysterious, yet I felt it might not be a good thing. After handing over the staff, I frowned. The villager examined the staff from different angles for a while before saying: "This is the staff made by the disciple of Walur Niu Ruo. He is quite capable. If you can learn even a fraction of his skills, it will be of help to me. Alright, you can stay tonight, but you must help me. The others will stay in the house."

I was just about to explain when the fat man behind me gave me a knowing look. Daba holds significant prestige in the local community; if I were truly a Daba, many villagers would show me respect

Old Hei did not respond again. For the next half hour, no one spoke. I held the talisman given to me by the shaman and Daba, feeling somewhat anxious. Old Hei's background was mysterious, and his profession was particularly enigmatic. I had no idea what kind of ghosts and monsters we would be dealing with next, and I couldn't shake off the feeling of unease in my heart

He was fiddling with something while looking down, and casually replied. After hearing it, I pouted, thinking the name was indeed quite vivid

I hurriedly continued to ring the bell, and the howling in the rain seemed to echo my actions; with each strike, it responded with a sound.

Yes, but it's still a little brat. I can't handle the bigger ones by myself. Hehe, this is just right; I'm going to make a fortune this time!

Cui Pangzi hurriedly asked.

These words fell into my ears, yet I seemed to discern a hint of meaning; he mentioned "tonight," could it be that something is going to happen in the evening

The overweight man kept saying good things

Fellow villager, would you like to have a cigarette

Xiao Liu interjected a remark, and Lao Hei raised his head, his eyes sharp as knives, surveying all of us. He then accepted the Peony brand cigarettes that the fat man had given him, let out a cold laugh, and said: "You city folks really know nothing. It's not that easy to trap a local beast. You need to use some strategy, and this is exactly the kind of work I do. This bronze bell combined with 'scraping the kuer' can fetch a good price"

The fat man is an expert in this area and immediately recognized those few copper coins upon seeing them

As I gazed at the object, I felt it was somewhat peculiar. I wanted to reach out and touch it, but unexpectedly, just as my hand extended, a deep voice suddenly came from behind me

I was taken aback and quickly withdrew my hand. When I turned back, I saw the local man with a mouth full of black teeth looking at me coldly, appearing rather unfriendly

Brother Lao Hei, is that 'Cakur'?

I did not completely cut off my words, and I also left myself a few options.

I wore a苦着一张脸, with a heart full of unwillingness. However, under the eaves, one must bow their head. Carrying the clock, I walked to the door. After leaving the house, Lao Hei instructed everyone to extinguish the fire in the room. Once the flames were extinguished and the smoke cleared, the surroundings immediately fell into darkness.

Fellow villager, please be a bit more accommodating

The fat man pulled a peony out of his pocket and handed it over, then took the villager's arm and stepped outside, mumbling something, probably about a romantic proposal

My name is Lao Hei

A mouthful of black teeth, not a single one is white. The fat man also noticed it, and the words he wanted to say were just on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed them back.

"Do you still not understand after looking at this bell?" Lao Hei raised the copper bell in his hand, but seeing my still puzzled expression, he continued, "Did your master not tell you about this? Never mind, let me tell you, I stole this bell from a 'Sakoul' and tonight it will come to seek revenge on me. I will take the opportunity to lock it up."

Knock it.

The chubby man asked in a low voice from the side

Thinking that death is inevitable, I instead found courage within myself. Gripping the shovel, I began to strike the bell. Strangely enough, although the bell was not large, its sound was remarkably penetrating, carrying far even through the heavy rain. I could only hear the echoes of "clang, clang..." reverberating continuously in the downpour. I struck it more than ten times in succession, each strike harder than the last, until the vibrations became unbearable for my ears, prompting me to finally stop.

What do you need my assistance with

He spoke very vaguely, and none of us reacted at the time. The old man had prepared quite a few items; in addition to a uniquely shaped bone dagger, there was also a silver horn and several copper coins that looked quite old.

After Lao Hei finished speaking, he took out the horn hanging at his waist. At that moment, "Sakuer" suddenly crashed into the wooden door, and the expressions of all of us changed dramatically

The local villager in front of me grasped the bronze bell in his hand, shaking his head and said: "No, you cannot stay here tonight. Hurry up, leave, leave..."

Ah, there is someone who knows their stuff. This is a magical artifact from the Mottan school. I purchased it from an old mage at a considerable price

Brother Lao Hei, is this a magical artifact from the Mo Tan sect? It is quite rare to see these days

Upon hearing these words, the stout man immediately broke into a smile, patted my shoulder, and incessantly praised my abilities, speaking in extravagant terms. I took back the stick, feeling unsettled inside, wondering if I needed to rely on Daba to assist him. Who exactly is he? In any case, he is certainly not a farmer, and the favor he requires from me is destined to be anything but ordinary

This strange sound, at first hearing, resembles a wolf's howl, but it is much shorter than a wolf's howl, with one sound following another. I felt a chill in my heart, but the old black behind me urged, "Keep knocking, 'Sakuer' is coming!"

Old Hei weighed the copper coins in his hand and said with great satisfaction

As he spoke, he suddenly reached out and knocked forcefully on the door panel, making a loud "bang bang" sound, clamoring for us to leave immediately

Of course there are, there is more than one in this area, and at night these fellows specifically ring the bell to confuse people. Several villagers have lost their souls...

At that moment, the villager's eyes suddenly fell on me, looking down at the divination tool at my waist, frowning as he said: "Are you a Daba?"

As soon as those words were spoken, my eyes widened in shock, and I finally understood what Lao Hei needed my help with. The fat man beside me and the others also stared wide-eyed, realizing that the person in front of us had deliberately stolen the clock from the ghost, intending to provoke the ghost into seeking revenge just to lock it away? I pressed my lips together, but other thoughts began to form in my mind. The strange occurrences that had happened consecutively before, if they were indeed caused by this vengeful 'Cakuer', would make sense. This ghostly earth beast staring at the house might also be trying to cause trouble for Lao Hei tonight, and we just happened to be unfortunate enough to run into the line of fire!

Oh, if you truly possess some skills, perhaps you could assist me in the evening. You all can stay, and I would like to see the sorcerer behind you.

Then why didn't you just lock it directly? Why go through the trouble of luring it over? Isn't that just a waste of effort?

Arrived

In the heavy rain, I saw a small figure slowly emerge, resembling a little bear lying on the ground. Its body was not large, but its head appeared very round, looking like a child of about five or six years old. It crawled along the muddy road, inching closer to me.

At this moment, Lao Hei took out a short dagger resembling a bone from the bag and inserted it into his belt, then began to fiddle with the bronze bell