Vengeful spirits? Let's get out of the dungeon first!

Chapter 2 Willow Wood

There was still a little ginger tea left in the pot, so Ma Ye poured it out and filled the pot with water to continue boiling.

The snoring in the small house was so loud that Ma Ye also wanted to doze off.

"Xiao Jin, wake up!"

The snoring stopped briefly, then resumed.

"You dare pretend to be asleep!"

The towels on the shelf somehow slipped into the basin of water.

Ma Ye didn't mind the wetness and simply carried it in his hand.

Inside the room, the girl lay flat on the bed with her hands raised above her head, drool dripping onto the pillowcase.

"Xiao Jin, the buns are getting cold, get up and have a bite."

"No, I'll eat it later. I'll eat the lobster first."

She pulled the hair out of her mouth, the taste of her dream still lingering in her mouth.

Ma Ye didn't indulge her and picked her up, blanket and all.

"Old Ma, what are you doing!"

"We'll eat the steamed buns later; there's still one claw left of the lobster we haven't finished."

"Hey, get ready! I bought you lobster tails."

"No! I want to eat lobster!"

A wet towel was placed directly on the girl's face, and the cold touch made her shiver as if in response.

She flailed her fists wildly, and one of them landed squarely on Ma Ye's chin.

"No, Xiao Jin, are you serious?!"

"Disturbing your sister Zhu's peace and quiet, this punch is too lenient!"

Zhu Jin grabbed a towel, wiped her face haphazardly, and then sat blankly on the bed.

"What do you want to eat? Go buy some steamed buns."

"There are cornbreads in the fridge, we can heat them up and eat them."

"You're just a pancake!"

A little black cat jumped in through the doorway.

I haven't seen him for a night, he must have gone out on a date.

The little black cat watched the two siblings playing around in the house. Afraid of getting caught in the crossfire, it simply flicked its tail and extinguished the candle by the window.

"Golden Three! Come here and let your big sister give you a hug!"

After Zhu Jin jumped off the bed, she saw the mascot and wanted to hug and cuddle it, but it dodged her.

It jumped back to its little den to lick its fur, and soon started snoring.

While brushing their teeth, Zhu Jin occupied the left side of the sink, while Ma Ye automatically moved to the right.

Neither of them minded spitting toothpaste foam onto the edge of the sink, because they had always stood like that since they were children.

Offering incense was Ma Ye's job, while Zhu Jin was responsible for wiping the memorial tablet.

On the left is Zhu Weisong, and on the right is Ma Qingyi.

He didn't know when this rule was set, but it seemed that in the few days after his master and mistress disappeared, they naturally divided up the tasks.

He manages the incense, she manages the ashes.

Ma Ye placed three incense sticks in front of his master and mistress's memorial tablets. The ash fell on the back of his hand, but he didn't wipe it off.

"Brother, the police station can't even issue a death certificate, and you're still burning incense for your master and mistress every day? Don't wait until they come back and beat you up."

"You're going to beat me up again? Maybe you'll have to give me a big red envelope out of respect for my sincerity."

Breakfast consisted of cornbread and pickled dried shrimp. Neither of them wanted to get a bowl, so they each took a cornbread and sat on the steps, with the pickled vegetable jar placed between them.

In summer, it gets light early, and sparrows chirp and chatter in the trees. If you look up, you can also see seagulls circling in the sky.

"Boss Ma, up so early?"

"Boss Zhao, you're still awake?"

In the back alley, a murder mystery game shop had been open for three years. The house was originally next to a feng shui shop, and the property deed was in Ma Ye's name.

Three years ago, Ma Ye's master rented out the house.

It's euphemistically called monetizing idle assets, but in reality, it's just being annoyed by being constantly scolded by the teacher's wife to clean the house.

A poster was also put up on the wall of Qingmutang for Boss Zhao.

Immersive Theater – Six Lives Await Your Experience

"Hehe, I also caught up on some sleep. There weren't many customers all night."

Zhao Fangqu threw the takeout bag in his hand into the trash can. There was still half a cup of cola left, which had turned into ordinary sugar water after sitting overnight.

For three consecutive months, the number of customers dwindled, leaving only two or three employees in the store, forcing him to personally take charge.

Seeing how meager the food was in Ma Ye's hands, he scratched his head in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ma, the rent is two months overdue."

"It's alright, it won't make a difference."

Once the area outside had quieted down a bit, Zhu Jin tilted her head back and managed to swallow the remaining bite of cornbread.

"Bro, ever since you graduated, that guy surnamed Zhao hasn't paid a single rent payment. That's outrageous!"

Ma Ye picked up another bite of pickled vegetables.

"He can't even pay his employees' salaries, so isn't it normal that he can't pay the rent?"

My master signed a five-year contract with him back then, and I couldn't say anything about it.

"If you can't explain, then don't eat!"

She snatched the pickled vegetables away and slammed the door shut, startling the sparrows in the tree.

Without pickled vegetables, Ma Ye had no choice but to eat cornbread plain.

"Xiao Jin, we're running out of paper figures, can you make me some more?"

"I'll hire you a nanny!"

The sun rose as usual, and the cabin fell silent.

The kitten's purring in the corner was faint, gradually being drowned out by the sound of the teapot boiling.

Brew a strong cup of tea and start a new day.

After changing into work pants, Ma Ye sandwiched the willow plank between his legs and slowly sketched the outline on the talisman paper next to him with a pencil.

This pencil was used by my teacher's wife to mark dimensions on bamboo strips. The end of the pencil still has teeth marks and is covered in burrs.

Ma Ye never uses a pencil sharpener when sharpening pencils, otherwise the pencil tip will be a little crooked. But his teacher's wife said that in this line of work, the sharpener can only be used to sharpen downwards, not upwards.

The rising sun slowly shone into the room, illuminating the wooden board on Ma Ye's legs.

The first tram of the morning passes by in the distance, and the bell can be heard inside the house. The last stroke is made before the bell stops ringing, and the draft is considered complete.

"Ouch, my neck!"

He placed the wooden board on the table, raised his hands above his head, and gently shook it, causing his upper body joints to collectively groan.

The last time I was this tired was ten years ago, when I stole money from home to go to the arcade and was punished by the master to kneel in front of my house and copy the Qingjing Sutra for an entire afternoon.

He knelt until dark, his ankles almost cramping, before his master finally placed a bowl of soup noodles beside him. The master even complained that his handwriting wasn't neat enough, so he copied two more pages.

Perhaps disturbed by Ma Ye, Jinzi III in the corner rolled over, its tail drooping off the cushion and swaying gently.

Ma Ye stopped working and squatted down next to the kitten, vigorously rubbing its belly.

"Meow!"

Jinzi III was annoyed by being touched so much that he looked up and tried to bite Ma Ye's hand, but only managed to bite air. He then curled up into a ball in a huff.

There's still quite a bit of the cinnabar I prepared last time left, and it's a little dry.

Ma Ye dabbed a little on the back of his hand with his finger; it was alright, he could spread it.

After placing the jar on the table, Ma Ye took out his master's set of knives, which he hadn't used since carving a decorative piece for a client.

The handle of the knife had been sitting for a while and was starting to peel. Since he didn't have the money to replace it, Ma Ye had no choice but to cover it with tape for now.

Typing text from a line drawing isn't difficult, but you can't keep it on your lap anymore.

Using a clamp, Ma Ye used three fingers to pinch the carving knife and carefully cut out the groove.

The carving knife became a bit stiff after being left for a while, and pushing the blade with my thumb produced a very fine friction sound, like stepping on snow at night.

With a steady hand and without using too much force, smooth grooves were carved into all six sides of the wooden board in less than half an hour.

Picking up the wooden board, Ma Ye gently blew on it, and the flying wood chips danced in the sunlight.

Applying the color is simple: just scoop a dollop from the cinnabar jar with your finger and spread it evenly. The crape myrtle coloring, covering the largest area, is now complete.

Without pausing, Ma Ye flipped the paper to the side and began filling in the next side.

As soon as the sun peeked out of the window, the talismans on the six faces began to take shape, and the kitten in the corner proudly showed off its belly.

"Not bad, you haven't lost your skills yet."

By clamping one corner with a clip, Ma Ye hung the wooden board in the corner to air dry. At this height, the kitten shouldn't be able to reach it.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the wooden board rotated slightly in the air. The cinnabar in the grooves was thick enough that it wouldn't drip.

All that's left is to seal it with beeswax; that should be enough for the freezer compartment.

The rising sunlight also shone on the calendar cabinet by the wall, and in the top drawer, there was the wooden toy that Ma Ye made for the first time when he was a child.

It was a pair of willow wood glasses. To make it easier to read comic books, a groove was made inside, and a piece of yellowish paper was stuck next to the groove.

The first time Ma Ye used these glasses, he almost drove his teacher's wife crazy. He could still recall the broom that was broken that day.

Fortunately, the two parents kept the items afterward, and now it seems that the willow plank can be just right to fill it in.

Ma Ye reached out and took it off, blowing away the dust on it.

"Xiao Jin, is the paper figure finished?"

A bamboo-woven paper figure peeks out from the window, and a small hand gently shakes the paper figure's head.

"Xiao Jin isn't here; she went out to play!"