Chapter 151 - 140: Greedy for Sacrifices

Chapter 151: Chapter 140: Greedy for SacrificesThe copper coin tattoo emitted a sound, as if in response. Zhou Xuan and Yun Ziliang were sitting at the table outside the door. Sister Cui, on the other hand, remained despondent, as she hadn’t placed her bets on the tattoo to improve her business. She pondered to herself, "Ordering from Old You Rice Noodle Shop on Ming Guang Road, everyone says their quality is reliable, but it’s too far. Even if business improves, I’m afraid we won’t make much profit." "The newly opened rice noodle shop on Lion Street seems decent, their sesame paste is fragrant, but in the current economy, its location is remote. I’m afraid it won’t last long either, and we’ll have to change suppliers sooner or later." "The one in front of the Water Company, both Aunt Liu and Uncle Jin recommended it, I’ll go and check it out tomorrow at noon..." Sister Cui was so absorbed in her calculations that she didn’t even hear when customers ordered food, until Zhou Xuan gently nudged her elbow: "Sister Cui, someone ordered soup noodles." "Really?!" "Soup noodles, one bowl each for us, both with pig intestines." Two middle-aged customers entered the shop, pulled out chairs, and sat down, also ordering two glasses of sour plum juice and a basket of dumplings. Sister Cui got up to serve them, but the worry on her face didn’t fade. The visit of these two diners didn’t make her associate it with the tattoo. *How can even the most deserted store not have a couple of customers?* After serving the food, the two customers devoured their meals, leaving their plates spotless, not even a single vermicelli left, and only a bit of soup remained at the bottom. After they paid and left, Zhou Xuan noticed the copper coin tattoo seemed to move slightly. The movement wasn’t significant, just a fluttering of the tattoo’s corner, as if blown by the wind. He got up and walked inside, observing carefully, and discovered that the copper coin tattoo had changed. The copper coin was round with a square hole, inscribed with four characters on the edges—Smooth Sailing and Great Prosperity. At this moment, the character "Prosperity" had an additional bloodstain, with the edges of the stain radiating outward. Zhou Xuan released his perception into the bloodstain of the copper coin and saw two scenes. The first scene. "In the shop, many diners were happily enjoying various foods, smiling as they ate. There was a small incense burner placed at the location where the copper coin tattoo hung. The burner was simple in design, with a torn Mao ticket pressed under the burner’s leg." The second scene. "There were still quite a few diners in the shop, but the food in their bowls was unsettling. Some soup bowls had eyes floating in them, and in others, diners were chewing on a severed finger. Where the tattoo hung, there was no incense burner, and the copper coin had turned into a blood coin, not only with its copper color replaced by blood red, but also with blood drops about to fall from it." Zhou Xuan saw the anomaly and vaguely guessed what the two scenes were expressing. He withdrew his perception and walked outside the shop, about to speak with Yun Ziliang. Suddenly, the conversation of three passersby not far away caught his attention. "Just finished eating, why do I feel a bit hungry?" "You just gorged yourself at the big restaurant and now you’re hungry... huh, I feel a bit hungry too." "Just perfect, there’s a snack stall here, let’s have a bite. My stomach is making noises too." "Let’s go, have something to eat." After their chat, the three passersby stopped walking and headed straight into Sister Cui’s shop. "Three bowls of noodle soup, three baskets of steamed buns, and a basket of sweet pancakes," "Plus three glasses of sour plum juice." The customers placed their orders, and Sister Cui glanced at the copper coin tattoo inside the shop with some confusion, as she was beginning to be somewhat skeptical of the copper coin tattoo’s effects. "Could this tattoo be stirring up the appetite in people’s stomachs?" Zhou Xuan asked Yun Ziliang. The three passersby each claimed to be hungry, but they had clearly just eaten at the big restaurant, and from their words, they had eaten quite a lot. The big restaurant wasn’t far from Sister Cui’s food stall; it made no sense for them to be hungry after just a few steps. The only possibility was that the copper coin tattoo affected them, making them feel hungry. Yun Ziliang stroked his beard with a smile and said, "This copper coin you made bestows wealth. Given that Sister Cui’s place is a food stall, the way to bestow wealth is to make passersby feel hungry. If Sister Cui’s place weren’t a food stall but a cotton workshop, the passersby wouldn’t feel hungry but suddenly cold all over, desiring nothing more than a thick quilt to fend off the chill at home." "This copper coin really is spiritual, different methods attract customers to different shops." Yun Ziliang’s explanation deepened Zhou Xuan’s understanding of the tattoo. He then discussed with Lao Yun, saying, "I heard before that tattoo evil ghosts are the most ruthless, needing to cultivate ghosts within living bodies. Only later did I understand that’s not entirely true. The tattoo can be done on human skin without necessarily being on a living person. So can it be understood that a tattoo itself is an evil ghost?" "That’s a fair understanding," Yun Ziliang replied. "So attracting wealth with a tattoo is somewhat like the Five Ghosts Transfer Technique from folklore, enslaving evil ghosts to do one’s bidding?" Zhou Xuan asked. "Pretty close, though the Five Ghosts Transfer Technique is limited in function, whereas tattoos become increasingly intricate with your skills, involving numerous methods, and the incense fire level becomes more dominating as it progresses!" Yun Ziliang explained knowledgeably, "Just the copper coin tattoo comes in many forms. The one you made is called the Merchant Coin, with the four characters Smooth Sailing and Great Prosperity engraved on the copper edge. But there are other types of copper coin tattoos like the Examination Coin, Talisman Money, and Triumph Over Evil Money, Examination Coin would have ’Top Marks’ inscribed on it, Talisman Money would have spells inscribed, such as ’Cut down demons, repel evil, expel ghosts and spirits, keep the mind always clear, swift and urgent as the law,’ And if it’s Triumph Over Evil Money, it would be engraved with the Wu family’s symbols, spells, and patterns for communicating with gods and controlling ghosts, turning misfortune into blessing." Listening to this, Zhou Xuan realized the profound artistry in tattoos. Just the category of copper coins could lead to so many variations. Yun Ziliang then said, "In Jing Country, any Tangkou titled as the Forbidden Hall possesses exquisite techniques. But these techniques, while advantageous, also have disadvantages. There are various mysteries among tattoo designs, yet each also comes with taboos; disobedience leads to backlash." "Tattoo Transformation!" Zhou Xuan suddenly thought of Peng Long. This member of the ancient tattoo clan indirectly died by Zhou Xuan’s hand, his demise caused by the ’Spiritual Snake Tattoo’ on his own skin. The Spiritual Snake tattoo transformed within his skin, consuming him completely. "Tattoo transformation is an extremely severe form of backlash." Yun Ziliang added, "The more mystical the effects of a tattoo design, the more brutal the backlash, like the copper coin tattoo done for Sister Cui’s is a small-scale Dao level for attracting minor wealth, with no life-threatening backlash, at worst bringing minor misfortunes." "Hence, you can view a tattoo as an evil ghost. If you offer appropriate sacrifices and do not violate its taboos, it will loyally assist you, But if you neither offer sacrifices nor heed its taboo warnings, it will extract its price from you." With this explanation, Zhou Xuan could clearly think through the two scenes he had witnessed earlier. The two scenes could be seen as requests made by the copper coin tattoo. It demanded that the shop hang the tattoo and place an incense burner beneath it, with a torn Mao ticket as a sacrificial offering underneath the burner. Once the tattoo was satisfied with the sacrificial offering, the copper coin would ensure the patrons enjoyed themselves, flocking in droves to the shop. However, without the offering of a Mao ticket, the tattoo would make diners see eyes and severed fingers in their meals, disrupting the shop’s business. Of course, if viewed as an evil ghost, this copper coin tattoo had limited abilities, unable to conjure real eyeballs and fingers, merely showing patrons frightening illusions to spoil their appetite. "So that’s to say, a tattoo is a means of making money!" Zhou Xuan immediately saw through the intricacies, suggesting, speaking of copper coin tattoos—I use tattoos to ensure your business prospers, and taking some fee from you, isn’t that fair and reasonable? "It truly is an enormous money-making technique." Yun Ziliang replied, "If not, why did I partner with a great tattoo master on dragon-seeking? Our businesses are quite lucrative! There’s a saying—master the art of dragon-slaying, offer it to the emperor, be it dragon-seeking or tattooing, only high officials and nobles can afford our Tangkou!" "What if others get jealous of my profits?" Zhou Xuan asked. These times were unstable, and people got envious of your earnings and might stab you in the back! "They’d need the guts to do so!" Yun Ziliang said, "If their incense fire level is low, they can’t contend with the tattoo master. If it’s high, they have too many apprehensions. Who in Jing Country’s upper echelons doesn’t know the tattoo lineage has an ancient clan behind it? No one dares to provoke the tattoo lineage." Talking about the ancient clan, Zhou Xuan inquired, "Lao Yun, do you know much about this ancient clan?" "I don’t know much." "Even you don’t know?" "The tattoo clan has its own faith known as the Lord of the Netherworld Stone. Relying on the Lord of Netherworld Stone, no one can locate the tattoo clan’s hidden main hall. Without finding the main hall, and with them rarely showing up in the martial arts world, nobody understands their secrets." Yun Ziliang crossed his legs nonchalantly and continued, "The tattoo clan is the oldest alien ghost heritage with unique skills. You, don’t worry and boldly pursue tattooing! As long as your identity cannot be deciphered, everyone will believe you have the ancient tattoo clan backing you, and nobody in Mingjiang Prefecture will dare to challenge you." "Using a tiger’s skin as a flag..." Zhou Xuan thought it wasn’t a long-term solution, but he had already seen the immense potential of the ’Tattoo’ Tangkou, *The martial arts world isn’t just about fights and kills; sometimes it’s about human relations and worldly affairs...* Zhou Xuan pondered. ... While Zhou Xuan and Yun Ziliang were chatting, Sister Cui was so busy that she was covered in sweat, her hair clumped and stuck to her forehead, but she was happy. The store’s business had never been this prosperous. The main room was bustling, and all six of the small square tables from home had been moved outside in a row, completely filled with customers. Furthermore, every customer had ordered a large amount of food, and Sister Cui’s hands were sore from receiving money. "Mu Hua, wash the bowls and cups, we can’t keep up." Not only Mu Hua was washing, but Little Fuzi was also helping with the cleaning. The shop was lively and bustling, yet Zhou Xuan found it increasingly eerie because many patrons weren’t actually hungry; they just felt hungry. They had ordered too much food, and as they forced themselves to eat, their faces were covered in veins. "See now how imposing the tattoo’s effect is?" Yun Ziliang slyly gave Zhou Xuan a thumbs-up, saying, "I told you before, your tattoo skills are as good as those from the tattoo Tangkou. The coin really has some power when people stuff themselves against their own will..." "But the blood on that copper coin seems to be full," Zhou Xuan pointed to the tattoo inside the shop. The copper coin’s color had been completely stained with blood, although the blood seemed to still be radiating out in droplets. Yun Ziliang turned his head to look and shouted, "Oh no, I got so caught up in our chat, look at my memory... The blood should never reach full, or else it’ll cause trouble..." He sprinted to the shop entrance...