Chapter 1185 The Returnee's Notes 259
Ouyang Lin tucked her sleeves into Xie Ning's arms. She was someone who could only eat but not cook; her only culinary skill was probably making instant noodles.
To be honest, instant noodles are really delicious. When she was younger, she often used instant noodles to get her junior sister to do chores for her, since the junior sister was still young and couldn't freely spend her New Year's money.
Xie Ning's cooking skills are only so-so, but they have improved a lot compared to when he first started. It's impossible that he has lived for so long and still can't control the saltiness.
Of course, she still needs to practice to reach the level of a master chef, but she doesn't have the time to put that into it.
Ouyang Lin highly praised Grandma Yang's dumplings, especially her boiled fish skin dumplings. "Xiao Ning, Grandma Yang, are you really not planning to open a dumpling restaurant?"
When she's not busy, she can go eat there every day!
Xie Ning chuckled, then curiously inquired about Ouyang Lin's experiences abroad.
As for Ouyang Lin, she rarely receives commissions from abroad, and the few times she has gone were all with her master.
"If you're asking what's different about ghosts abroad, it's probably just the way they're called."
In China, they are called ghosts, while abroad they are sometimes called phantoms. There are also different classifications of ghosts, such as ghost towns.
In China, the mainstream belief is that the underworld is associated with Yama, the King of Hell, and figures like Ox-Head and Horse-Face, while in other countries, it's associated with hell and the Grim Reaper.
But these are all human definitions; no one knows what the truth is.
Ouyang Lin chuckled, "The one underground isn't necessarily Yama, the King of Hell. My master said it should be Houtu, the Goddess of the Six Paths of Reincarnation."
It's just that the former is more widely known. In terms of status, both the King of Hell and the Great Emperor should be subordinates of the Goddess Houtu.
Xie Ning nodded; that's how the old lady taught her too.
Ouyang Lin silently filled another bowl with dumplings, and then continued chatting about foreign ghosts.
Whether in China or abroad, people are all human, and they will become ghosts after death. In essence, there is no difference. Of course, the ghosts they become will be similar to their former selves, and only some special cases will mutate.
Like the water monkeys in China, their original appearance is no longer recognizable.
There are also similar practitioners abroad, some of whom are called wizards or something else, and their methods and tools for dealing with ghosts are different from theirs.
After all, different countries have different cultures.
During her trip abroad, Ouyang Lin also obtained a small prop from her colleagues there—a wolf's tooth, which they use to ward off evil spirits, similar to the function of a red rope.
However, in local culture, wolf teeth seem to have the same function. Ouyang Lin remembers that there is such a saying in Tibet and Mongolia.
However, she hadn't looked into it and wasn't very clear about it.
As darkness fell, Ouyang Lin mentioned the time to leave for the mountain city. Xie Ning still had two days of rest, and she needed to adjust to the time difference.
Speaking of this mission, Ouyang Lin quickly ran into her room and took out her newly made uniform, since Xie Ning had grown quite a bit taller and the old one definitely wouldn't fit anymore.
The new uniform is actually a dark blue cape. Because the weather is cold now, Ouyang Lin made it thicker and added a frayed edge, so it doesn't look so dull.
Of course, the mask she had been longing for was still there, but it was no longer as glamorous as before; instead, a simple design was created.
Xie Ning didn't refuse. Although it seemed a bit exaggerated, she really didn't want too many people to recognize her face.
However, when she saw other people, she no longer felt that she was exaggerating.
Because everyone else was dressed similarly, they weren't wearing cloaks but all wore various masks, as no one wanted to reveal their identities.
Ouyang Lin winked at Xie Ning; she hadn't prepared this haphazardly.
Beneath a hazy, silvery mist lies an ancient city.
Besides Xie Ning and the other person, Yuan Ming recruited three more people, making a total of six people including himself—three women and three men. Judging from their positions and actions, he and one of them, who was said to be named Huifa, were clearly acquainted.
Ouyang Lin put her bag aside. The area was mostly low-rise houses, with no tall hotels, so Yuan Ming had come early to rent a small courtyard for them to stay in for a few days.
It was a very cold day, and Xie Ning and the others arrived in the afternoon, so they agreed to get together that evening to discuss their "adventure".
The purpose is to depart as soon as possible.
Xie Ning and Ouyang Lin didn't quite understand why Yuan Ming was in such a hurry. After all, the weather wasn't very good right now, and they could have waited for a more suitable season to go on the adventure.
However, both of them asked Yuan Ming, but he said they would explain it together after they gathered.
The remaining man and woman also stood up when Yuan Ming introduced them. Xuehu was a slightly overweight man with pure white hair. It was impossible to tell his age, but judging from his hands, he should be about the same age as Ouyang Lin.
The woman named Xu Jiu was the same; she was probably not familiar with anyone here, so she sat alone in the corner the whole time.
Of course, everyone here is using code names; no one would be foolish enough to use their real name.
Everyone else was dressed normally except for their masks, so nothing could be seen. However, the one named Huifa always carried a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand and had another string hanging around his neck.
He was wearing a hat, and it was unclear whether he had shaved his head, but Ouyang Lin was certain that he was a monk, that is, a Buddhist or Taoist.
Ouyang Lin was surprised by this, because there are quite a few people who follow the Buddhist path. She once met an old woman who could possess spirits and was a Buddhist, but there are very few real monks in this line of work.
I just don't know which sect of monks this is.
Is there any difference between them?
Xie Ning had heard from Wang Laodao that there was a senior monk in a temple who did this kind of work, meaning he had some real skills.
After all, although there are many temples nowadays, most of the monks there study scriptures, which in another sense means they are studying philosophy.
Another issue is "profiteering," among which very few people actually perform rituals to help others achieve liberation.
This "profit" does not refer to Buddhist and Taoist practitioners accepting commissions to handle special matters for monetary gain, but rather to profiting from temples and their derivatives.
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