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墨書 Inktalez
Hanno didn't understand why she had crossed over again. She still had a story to write, and she hadn't even finished brainstorming it. How did this happen? She wondered if Wei Feng had also crossed over and when she would be able to meet him.
"Han Yao, your letter," called a delivery man in his twenties from outside the Hanno Family's door. The delivery man was responsible for delivering letters; in the old countryside, there were no post offices, and communication relied mainly on people engaged in this special profession.
"Thank you! This is a homegrown pear; have one to quench your thirst." Hanno took the letter and handed the delivery man a pear before opening the letter. It was from her uncle in town, informing her that her cousin, who was studying in the Provincial Capital, had returned home and inviting Hanno to stay at her uncle's house for a couple of days to catch up with her cousin.
In this life, Hanno's name was Han Yao. She was an orphan from a small town in the south; her parents had passed away early, leaving her a large house and several acres of land. The land was rented out to others, and the rent was enough to support Hanno. In this life, she could be considered a landlady. Of course, this was mainly because she had an uncle with an unusual background as her support; otherwise, as an orphan, how could she possibly keep her parents' inheritance? It would have been divided among others in the village long ago.
Four months ago, Hanno regained all the memories of her past life. During these months, she worked hard to cultivate her abilities. Unfortunately, the Earth Qi in this world was far inferior to that of her previous life. After four months of effort, Hanno had only managed to reach the second level of Qi training. She was just slightly more agile and stronger than an ordinary person and could draw some simple talismans, but her other advantages were minimal.
Next, Hanno went to town where she not only met her cousin Ren Tingting, who was dressed beautifully and fashionably in Western clothes but also encountered her cousin Awei, who had a rather lewd expression. Awei was the son of another aunt of Hanno's and served as the security team leader in town. He was someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong but treated Hanno quite well.
"Yao Yao, you're getting more beautiful!" Ren Tingting smiled as she walked up and linked arms with Han Yao. The two girls were dressed differently—one in a lace-trimmed Western dress and the other in a traditional waist-length jacket dress. While everyone else might think Ren Tingting looked best in her Western outfit, Hanno preferred this kind of jacket dress from the Republic of China era.
"You’re even more beautiful," Hanno replied with a smile as she exchanged pleasantries with them. "Cousin, are you...?"
It seemed that her cousin Awei had quite an interest in Ren Tingting.
Awei grinned and flattered her: "Well, Yao Yao has the best taste."
Ren Tingting playfully scolded Awei: "Cousin, don’t you have patrol duty? Hurry up and go! I’ll take Yao Yao to find my father."
Although Awei wanted to follow along, since Ren Tingting had spoken up against him, he could only leave reluctantly while turning back to look at them.
Ren Tingting linked arms with Hanno and sighed with relief: "Finally gone."
Hanno chuckled: "Though he can be annoying at times, he really likes you."
Ren Tingting pouted, "It's a pity I don't like him. To be my husband, one must be capable and cultured. Just look at my cousin; with his lack of education, which girl would want to marry him?"
Hanno laughed; Awei didn't stand a chance. The two of them were not heading toward the Ren Family's direction. Hanno asked, "Aren't we going the wrong way?"
Ren Tingting replied, "I'm taking you to find my father first."
"Where could Uncle be going so early in the morning?" Hanno asked, puzzled. Her Uncle, Master Ren, was the most prominent person in town, wealthy beyond measure. People usually sought him out, so it was rare to see Master Ren going out to meet someone at such an early hour.
Ren Tingting shrugged, "My father went to see Uncle Jiu. He needs Uncle Jiu to help my grandfather with something."
Hanno's heart stirred. "Which Uncle Jiu?"
Ren Tingting answered, "The one who guards the corpses at the righteous manor, named Mao Fang. Since he is the ninth in line, everyone calls him Uncle Jiu."
Wait, it couldn't be the Uncle Jiu she was thinking of, right? Hanno glanced sideways at the beautiful girl beside her. Ren Tingting? Wasn't she the main character from Mr. Zombie? Hanno dug deep into her memory of that horror film; thankfully, her memory had improved significantly after her cultivation, or she wouldn't have recalled the plot at all. After all, that movie was older than she was.
While Hanno was reminiscing about the film's plot, Ren Tingting had already led her into a café where she spotted familiar whiskers and...
Li Wei Feng winked at Hanno but didn't immediately acknowledge her. Master Ren enthusiastically introduced everyone, and Hanno learned that Elder Brother Li had crossed over to become Uncle Jiu's disciple—Qiu Sheng from the original story who was agile and clever.
The group sat around a table as a server approached to take their orders. Hanno remembered how Uncle Jiu had been humiliated by Ren Tingting in the original story; she wondered if Uncle Jiu would still embarrass himself now that Elder Brother Li was present. Hanno ordered a cup of black tea and quietly watched the unfolding drama.
"Give me a cup of coffee," Ren Tingting said with a smile as she looked at Uncle Jiu and Wei Feng. In the original story, Qiu Sheng had been lecherous upon seeing Ren Tingting, which displeased her and led her to tease Uncle Jiu and his disciple. Now that Qiu Sheng had become Wei Feng, he certainly wouldn't disrespect Ren Tingting; however, she still couldn't stand Uncle Jiu and his disciple. Having just returned from studying abroad and being a proponent of science, she naturally disdained people like Uncle Jiu who engaged in superstitions, believing they were frauds—though she refrained from voicing her opinions out of respect for Master Ren.
"I..." Uncle Jiu began to speak but was cut off by Li Wei Feng. Having lived with Uncle Jiu for several months, he understood how much Uncle Jiu valued his pride and how he had never set foot in a café or restaurant before. Li Wei Feng glanced at Ren Tingting's amused expression and said, "Master, your tastes are best known by your disciple; let me order for you."
Letting his disciple order? That seemed like a good idea; even if he ordered something wrong and embarrassed himself, it would appear as if it were merely his disciple's lack of experience—saving face for himself as a master.
"Alright, you go ahead and order," Uncle Jiu said, though his eyes were filled with skepticism: Apprentice, do you really know how to place an order?
Li Wei Feng returned a reassuring glance to Uncle Jiu: "Don't worry, Master. I've seen how others order. Leave it to me, it will be fine."
Uncle Jiu felt relieved as Li Wei Feng began to place the order: "We'll have two cups of coffee and two slices of cheesecake. Um, Master Ren, neither my master nor I had breakfast, so I hope you don't mind if we order a bit more?"
Master Ren, who still needed Uncle Jiu's help, naturally didn't mind. Li Wei Feng then ordered two steaks. With someone else footing the bill, it was only right to indulge a little. After all, Li Wei Feng's situation after crossing over was a bit worse than Hanno's; Uncle Jiu wasn't wealthy and aside from having a place to stay, he didn't have extra money for good food. Elder Brother Li hadn't had meat in almost six months.
Once the food and coffee were served, Elder Brother Li began to show his filial piety by serving Uncle Jiu. He first added milk and sugar to Uncle Jiu's coffee before placing both plates of steak in front of himself. He cut one of the steaks into pieces and placed them in front of Uncle Jiu: "Master, this is just right; you can eat it with a fork."
Uncle Jiu was very pleased with Elder Brother Li's actions: Not bad, Qiu Sheng has grown up; not only does he no longer need to worry about me, but he can also take care of his master.
Seeing that Uncle Jiu had nearly finished eating, Master Ren revealed his purpose: When his father was buried, a feng shui master instructed that the coffin must be moved twenty years later, so he sought the local Maoshan master Uncle Jiu for assistance with this matter.
Having eaten well, Uncle Jiu naturally wanted to do his best for Master Ren. He took his two apprentices along with Master Ren up the mountain to investigate Master Ren's grave. Li Wei Feng and Uncle Jiu's other apprentice Wen Cai followed closely behind. As a member of the Ren family, Ren Tingting wouldn't be left out either. Awei and Hanno tagged along under the pretext of accompanying Ren Tingting and Uncle.
Along the way, Awei kept pestering Ren Tingting while Hanno and Elder Brother Li finally had a chance to talk privately.
The two walked at the back, about five or six meters away from the group ahead, their voices low enough that the others couldn't hear their conversation.
"Nono, when did you arrive?" Li Wei Feng wished he could hold Hanno's hand but restrained himself.
"I regained my memories four months ago," Hanno replied. "What about you?"
"I came back a little earlier than you—six months ago."
"No wonder your cultivation is higher than mine; you're almost at the fourth level of Qi Training."
Elder Brother Li chuckled, "There's no choice; if I don't work hard on my cultivation, I might lose my life. My current master is a Taoist who catches ghosts. I've gone out with him several times and faced attacks from evil spirits, all thanks to him saving me. But relying on others isn't as good as relying on myself. I'm currently practicing the Mausoleum Taoist techniques he taught me."
"Maoshan Taoism? That must be interesting! How does it compare to the spells we practice in Pure Yuan Great Six?" Hanno asked curiously.
"Each has its own merits. Although the spells in Pure Yuan Great Six are more powerful, Maoshan Taoism is more targeted against ghosts," Elder Brother Li replied. "I've almost mastered the Maoshan Taoism my master taught me. When I have some free time, I'll teach you."
"Great!" Hanno responded happily. "I didn't expect you to be so close to mastering Maoshan Taoism. You're much better than Qiu Sheng from the original story. Uncle Jiu must be very pleased to have such a diligent and talented disciple like you!"
Elder Brother Li asked in confusion, "Original story? Which one?"
"Mr. Zombie! Haven't you seen it? It's Lin Zhenying's representative work," Hanno explained.
Elder Brother Li shook his head. "I know Lin Zhenying; he's famous for playing Mao Fang. I heard that I Have a Date with a Zombie was made as a tribute to him. However, I've only seen one of his zombie movies and TV shows—Zombie Taoist."
Hanno asked, "Then you don't know that your master's real name is Mao Fang?"
"What?" Elder Brother Li exclaimed in surprise. "Are we in the world of the zombie stories? Nono, is this your new story? Why didn't you tell me first?"
Hanno shook his head. "No, I haven't even thought of it yet; how could I write a new story? I'm just as puzzled about how we ended up in Uncle Ying's zombie films."
Note: This time, the characters are from Uncle Ying's zombie movies and TV shows. To maintain narrative coherence, some names and plot points have been adjusted. Ren Tingting and Master Ren are characters from Mr. Zombie; for specific plot details, feel free to search online for more information.
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