Chapter 31 A little-known night market vendor who can't eat spicy food, Mud Ghost really doesn't believe He Zhao can sell anything special...
The little guy, a late-night food vendor who couldn't handle spicy food, really didn't believe that He Zhao's extra-spicy rice could be that spicy. He was someone who ate red oil wontons downstairs from his house every day! Those wontons were so spicy, and they gave so much chili oil, yet he could eat them without batting an eye. He simply didn't believe He Zhao could do the same!
He Zhao couldn't do it, but her extra spicy rice was really spicy, to the point that even she didn't dare to eat it.
Seeing the mud demon so self-righteous and awe-inspiring, and with that disdainful look on his face, He Zhao could already picture the reaction of a lump of mud spinning on the ground. He Zhao revealed a sarcastic smile, his lips twitching to the sides, making him look anything but a good person.
Anyway, Qiao Yanyu, who was standing next to her, thought that if she had seen He Zhao's smile back then, she definitely wouldn't have thought He Zhao was a good person!
That smile was really wicked.
In the end, He Zhao still served the Mud Demon an extra-spicy rice. It has to be said that He Zhao's extra-spicy rice was really deceptive. It looked so cute, pink and tender, like a small rose, or like round pink pearls.
In short, the first impression people have of ghosts is that they are harmless and beautiful.
But if you are deceived by its harmless appearance, you will pay a heavy price, just like the Mud Demon.
It was deceived, deceived by its cute and beautiful appearance. It thought to itself, "Sure enough, the boss can't serve anything particularly spicy. This pink and tender thing doesn't even look as good as the red oil wontons." Those red oil wontons were really red, and the spiciness smelled particularly strong.
The extra-spicy rice in front of him looked completely harmless, and didn't even smell of chili. It lacked that pungent, spicy aroma. So, the Mud Demon dismissively picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
The most dangerous things are often hidden beneath the most alluring faces.
At that moment, the Mud Demon fully understood the meaning of those words. The instant it swallowed the extra-spicy rice, that spiciness etched deep into its soul surged up, shoving against its throat. It quickly reached its internal organs, scorching every corner of its body.
As a ghost, the Mud Ghost was ice-cold all over, and had no internal organs, so it couldn't feel pain. But the moment it ate the extra-spicy rice, just one bite was enough to bring tears to the Mud Ghost's eyes.
Yes, tears.
Ghosts don't have tears, but mud ghosts do. From what should be their "eyes," round, muddy drops fall, hanging to the ground and merging with the mud ghost's body. This gives the impression that the mud ghost is crying.
And she cried really hard.
The muddy tears fell like pearls from a broken string, relentlessly and rapidly. The mud demon also started his "hissing" cries, still wailing, "You've ruined me! How can it be so spicy! Why is it so spicy!"
Not only was it shedding tears, but its body was also shaking extremely irregularly, as if its entire muddy body was about to explode.
Seeing its reaction, Qiao Yanyu felt it wasn't just from the spiciness. After thinking for a moment, she looked at He Zhao, who was laughing heartily with great satisfaction, and asked, "He Zhao, do you know that being spicy is actually a form of pain?"
"I know, the internet says that if you feel very spicy, it's actually because the chili peppers have punched you several times."
Qiao Yanyu had an indescribable struggle on her face. She sighed and said, "But ghosts don't feel pain. The fact that they showed such obvious pain after eating your extra spicy version proves that they are also in pain."
"Huh? Such a good thing?"
"?" Qiao Yanyu was confused. This was actually a good thing?
He Zhao saw through Qiao Yanyu's thoughts and pointed directly at the Mud Ghost: "Sister Qiao, look, it couldn't cry or feel pain before, but now it can not only cry, but also writhe in pain. How can this not be a good thing for it?"
Qiao Yanyu felt that He Zhao was being unreasonable one day, but she also felt that He Zhao was right in some ways, which made her a little insecure: "Then, I guess it counts?"
"Yes, yes, that's right."
He Zhao is a wicked person. Although she told Qiao Yanyu that this was a good thing, what she was thinking was: if any ghost doesn't like it, she will secretly change it to the extra spicy version when the other person comes to eat!
He Zhao's wicked intentions were unknown to anyone, but that didn't stop the Mud Ghost from cursing her: "What kind of rice is this? Huh? You're really doing this to people! How can it be so spicy! Waaah! How can it be so spicy! I'm giving you a bad review! You sell this kind of thing and you still have the nerve to charge me ten ghost coins! You're a rip-off! This place is a total rip-off! Waaah!"
The mud monster's words immediately caught He Zhao's attention. It implied that it didn't want to pay, which was unacceptable! That was a full one hundred yuan! One hundred yuan! Moreover, the extra spicy version was much more difficult to make than the regular version. He Zhao had to wear plastic gloves to make the chili sauce and wash the rice, which added extra costs for no reason.
Costs have gone up, and some people still want to avoid paying. How can that be allowed?
In the past, when He Zhao was a rich girl with countless coins in her hands, she could have been very generous and said, "It's just a hundred yuan. If you don't want to give it, then don't. Look how angry you are."
They can put on that kind of old-fashioned, old-money attitude.
But not now.
He Zhao is now a real pauper. Let alone a hundred yuan, he wouldn't easily let go of even a single yuan—of course, Qiao Yanyu is an exception.
Who is Qiao Yanyu? Is he the person she fell in love with at first sight, or her bodyguard? Her life depends on Qiao Yanyu. Now, it's time for Qiao Yanyu to make his appearance again.
"Sister Qiao, look at it! It's still trying not to pay! It's already eaten the food, and its chopsticks are covered in its mud. Now it wants to avoid paying. That's too much!"
Qiao Yanyu knew He Zhao was just being silly and playful, but she still played along and pulled out a silver bracelet from her pocket: "Who wants to dine and dash without paying?"
The mud monster's tears stopped, and its eyes widened in disbelief, its gaze clearly conveying: You are simply scoundrels!
"I never said I wouldn't pay! I was just saying it! I've been eating here for so many days, do I look like a penniless pauper?! I did pay!" The Mud Demon seemed to still have a natural fear of government officials, and he cowered the moment he saw the silver bracelet.
After that, it could only eat while crying. It finally finished a bowl of rice, and it felt like its body had been completely reformed. Even while eating, it wouldn't behave; it kept howling and wailing.
After finishing its meal, it paid and prepared to leave, but He Zhao stopped it.
The moment He Zhao called out to the Mud Monster, he thought: This damned woman, she still won't let me go! All I do is have a sharp tongue and a stubborn personality! Why does she have to humiliate me after I've finished the extra spicy white rice?!
But the Mud Monster stopped, mainly because Qiao Yanyu was beside her, and the Mud Monster knew it couldn't afford to offend her. It stood there, intending to listen to how He Zhao was going to humiliate it.
Unexpectedly, He Zhao first took out a dilapidated iron basin. The basin was indeed dilapidated, and it looked like something had been burned inside it; the inside was pitch black with obvious charring marks.
The mud ghost was even more confused about what she was going to do. It thought she was going to humiliate it with the broken pot, but unexpectedly He Zhao said, "Don't move. I'll come out and burn something for you. Let's see if you can get it."
"Huh? Burn it for me?" The mud demon's expression changed instantly, a little flattered and unsure of what to make. It immediately straightened its muddy body, as if that would make it seem more confident.
He Zhao nodded and walked around from behind the food cart, with Qiao Yanyu following closely behind her.
This was something He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu discussed last night, but Qiao Yanyu prepared the items. Qiao Yanyu is incredibly efficient; since they talked about it yesterday, she prepared everything today. This iron basin wasn't some junk; Qiao Yanyu borrowed it from someone.
They found a basin that an ordinary citizen used for burning paper money during ancestral worship. The family had used it for many years and firmly believed that the paper money could be sent to their ancestors in the underworld. Qiao Yanyu tried her best to persuade them, and finally used the "money magic" to buy the basin from them, along with some paper money they had folded themselves.
Since we're going to do the experiment, we need to prepare these tools.
Not only that, Qiao Yanyu also figured out the local sacrificial customs and taught them all to He Zhao. Qiao Yanyu didn't go herself because her relationship with these ghosts was just so-so, while He Zhao, although a visitor from another world, had a good relationship with the ghosts.
He Zhao didn't refuse and even prepared some small things for himself.
So now, it's time for the experiment.
He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu called out to the Mud Ghost, moving a little further from the stall to a crossroads. The Mud Ghost also got off the stool and followed them. The rule in this city was that things burned had to be either at home or in a well-connected place for the ghost to get their hands on.
However, no one usually burns it in the middle of the night, as it is said that doing so makes it easy to encounter ghosts.
Only He Zhao and Qiao Yanyu didn't care, because they were already with ghosts anyway.
Fortunately, the park was indeed secluded, and it was the middle of the night, with no one around. Otherwise, their actions at night might have frightened passersby. However, the intersection also meant there was little shelter, and the cold night wind made He Zhao shiver, as he was now far from the sun.
Seeing this, Qiao Yanyu said, "Let's finish this quickly."
No one objected, so He Zhao squatted down at the corner of the sidewalk, placed the stone he had just found in the corner of the park on the ground, put the broken iron basin on the stone, took out the gold ingot that Qiao Yanyu had prepared, and began the fire-starting operation.
The paper ingots were made of tin foil. When lit with a lighter, they quickly caught fire and fell into the basin, allowing the flames to spread to the other paper ingots.
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