荒墟牧神 - 第30章 舊怨循蹤入荒墟 - 雲海書庫

Shen Mu put the gold ingot away and said, "Big fellow, put your mind to your cultivation; I will come find you again tomorrow. Whatever you do, do not go into the side hall — that demon is a sly one!" The Dark Ape nodded. Shen Mu set off back to the village at once, and before long he came to the outskirts of Yincan Village. From afar he saw two paper boats moored in the air at the village gate, and a paper crane settled beneath the tree at the entrance; but there was no one aboard the boats or on the crane, so they must already have gone into the village. He walked in and saw that the old man who had spoken from the boat was sitting facing the village headman and talking with him, saying, "I have heard that Granny Zhu of your honorable village has remarkable skill, and so I have come to ask the old woman to cut out a few garments for me." "May I ask what sort of garments, and of what measurements?" said the village headman. "Burial clothes," the old man said, "nine sets in all; cut them to the measurements of your village folk. I have also heard that Old Ma's carpentry is excellent, so I must trouble him to make nine coffins as well — let their length be taken from your people's stature too." Suddenly the old man caught sight of Shen Mu walking up; a look of consternation came over his face and he corrected himself: "I misspoke — ten sets of burial clothes, ten coffins. Qianxun, pay the deposit." The man named Qianxun stepped forward and gave a slight wave of his hand; one of the paper boats at the village gate drifted over and came to rest beside the village headman, and Shen Mu saw at once that its cargo was nothing but paper money, gold ingots, candles, funeral staffs and white funeral banners — wares of ill omen, every one! The old man had him leave the paper boat at the village gate and said, "This is the deposit for ten sets of burial clothes and ten coffins. May I ask whether Granny and Old Ma can have them ready today? To be frank, I am in urgent need of them." In the village the Lame Elder, the blacksmith, the alchemist and the rest had been busy at their own work, but all at once everything fell quiet. Granny Zhu came over on trembling legs and said with a smile, "Ten sets of burial clothes, and you want them today? Guest, that is rather rushed." Old Ma came over and said coldly, "My hands are quick; the coffins can be done today. Can the old gentleman wait?" The old man laughed. "It is a little rushed, true, but you are all people of ability — surely you can manage it?" Granny Zhu glanced at the ingots and candles on the boat, gave a cold laugh and said, "If you are in a hurry to wear them, they can be made right now; it happens that I bought some bolts of cloth a few days ago." The old man bowed slightly. "I am much obliged to you, Granny." Granny Zhu went back into her house and brought out several bolts of cloth; with a shake of her hand she tossed them up, and bolt after bolt floated in midair; then a pair of scissors flew of itself from her basket and began cutting with a creak and a crunch in the air, and before long the garment patterns took shape. Then one silver needle after another flew from that little basket, threading and stitching, darting to and fro with a hiss, and in no time the burial clothes were sewn up one by one. Old Ma, meanwhile, walked out of the village to the thick willows by the river; green qi flew from between his fingers and whirled hissing around one willow after another, and before long the great trunks had been cut into white-wood coffins. The white-wood coffins flew over and came to rest at the village gate. Granny Zhu's garments were finished as well; the old woman waved her hand lightly, and the burial clothes settled one by one upon the coffins. Old Ma strode over and said coldly, "You brought a good deal of money, so I made two extra for you free of charge — twelve coffins, tailor-made; lie down in them and I guarantee not an inch too long, not a fraction too short! Is the old