To practice the "Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse," one must consider the feeding concerns of the "Five Ghosts Bag."
If the bag is rarely opened, a single meal can suffice for a long period.
But if opened frequently, it requires a steady supply of fresh meat.
Back in Qingshan County, to nourish the bag, there was a time when he spent his entire days by the Bailang River pretending to be a fisherman.
Now that he's left for Luo River, he dared not capture any.
First came the long-haired woman by the river, followed by the red ghost ship at midnight. Chen Mu now had an allergy to rivers, dare not stay long for fear of encountering ghosts again.
Thinking of this, he looked through the window towards the small pond around the gazebo.
The reason he chose this residence in the first place was partly because of the pond that connected to the Luo River.
The pond was linked to the Luo River through five or six large bamboo poles buried underground.
It ensured the circulation of fresh water and allowed some small fish to enter.
The fish would suffice for his own meals every now and then, but were hardly enough to feed the "Five Ghosts Bag."
...
The next day, Chen Mu disguised himself and went to the North Market.
He found a shop selling pottery and ordered a hundred large water jars in one go.
The jars were one meter in diameter and about one meter three in height.
By evening, as the shop had gathered supplies from various places and delivered them, a hundred water jars were stacked in the courtyard, occupying more than half of it even when piled up on top of each other.
After hastily finishing dinner and sending the puzzled Jie Jia away, Chen Mu returned to his room to rest.
When the night was quiet and everyone else was asleep, Chen Mu quietly went out to the courtyard.
He climbed up to the roof to ensure that no one was around, then went down to the pond beneath the gazebo.
"Let's get to work!"
He was to excavate a larger passage for the pond to facilitate the trapping of live fish.
He first blocked the bamboo pipes that connected to the Luo River and used the "Five Ghosts Bag" to move the water out of the pond.
Then he began to dig slanted from the bottom of the pond towards the Luo River.
Billowing black smoke settled at the bottom of the pond as layers of soil vanished into thin air. For every meter dug, he inserted a jar with its bottom cut off to serve as a conduit.
After a busy night, he finally completed the channel just before sunrise.
The tunnel was four meters underground and stretched over ninety meters in total.
As he broke through the last bit of dirt, the Luo River's water gushed through the tunnel into the pond, quickly filling the dried bed.
Staring at the figures of fish faintly visible under the murky water, Chen Mu nodded in satisfaction, "It's done."
...
South Market's Fan Tower, Four Seas Building.
Within a private room on the third floor, a group of people were toasting and drinking merrily.
"Hall Master Zhang truly is a hero of Qingshan County, having taken the seat of hall master not long after arriving in Nanyang Prefecture. Quite impressive!" Zuo Sheng raised his cup with a smile as he offered his flattery.
At that moment, Zuo Sheng just happened to turn his head with a smile.
Sun Fu's scalp went numb.
Could it be that the hall leader knew about him secretly investigating that scholar?!
Doomed!
He couldn't be blamed, that high reward was simply too tempting!
"What should I do?" Sun Fu pretended nothing was amiss as he clinked cups with Zhen Fan.
...
Chen Residence, Shanglin Neighborhood.
Jie Jia walked into the courtyard, frowning at the five or six large jars by the wall, filled with fish.
In the shady area beside the wall, several bamboo racks were placed, with layers of flat bamboo baskets on top, drying fish meat and rice balls in the shade.
Walking into the gazebo, he saw a table full of dishes, all fish except for a specialty smoked meat, including fried, steamed, and stewed varieties!
He felt as though he had returned to Qingshan County.
"How did you catch so many fish?" Jie Jia was very curious.
Chen Mu waved his hand lethargically, "Trade secret, no disclosure."
He had toiled over the Five Ghosts Moving Mountain Curse the entire day and was nursing a headache.
Here's your stuff," Jie Jia handed Chen Mu a long wooden box.
"Sleeve Sword Technique?" Chen Mu's eyes lit up.
Opening the wooden box, a pair of short daggers, each the length of a forearm and completely grey, were revealed.
"No scabbard is provided, as the Sleeve Sword Technique isn't suited for scabbards," said Jie Jia.
Chen Mu nodded repeatedly, caressing the daggers fondly.
The blade, hilt, and the small, oval-shaped sword guard were seamlessly integrated, without the slightest joint or crevice.
"Ebony wood is unique, requiring only a special technique to melt. Once cast into shape and refined with careful polishing, it becomes a top-tier weapon."
"After removing impurities and the associated loss, your piece of ebony wood was just enough to forge these two daggers."
Chen Mu thrust out his hand casually.
Poof!
A soft sound ensued, and a hole appeared in the stone table in front of him.
These were much sharper than the previous two daggers he owned!
He tossed a fabric bag filled with silver taels to Jie Jia and contentedly pocketed the daggers.
Now equipped with these sharp weapons, Chen Mu felt a slight increase in his sense of security... by a fraction.
It couldn't be more.
After all, these things couldn't kill ghosts.