Lanke Chess Edge

Chapter 364: Mr. Jis Sacrificial Coins

Although this grave site could connect to the underworld to some extent, it was only suitable for sending offerings to descendants and relatives.Of course, Lu Shan Jun could not offer sacrifices to Dong Bicheng here. Moreover, even if he spoke a few words during the sacrificial ceremony and the other party could hear him to some extent, it wouldn’t be enough. They still had to meet face to face.

After half a day spent agonizing over Dong Bicheng’s tombstone, Ji Yuan still wasn’t sure whether Lu Shan Jun had come up with a suitable solution by the time he left.

As soon as Lu Shan Jun departed, a faint mist gradually approached Dong Bicheng’s grave, eventually itself to be Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan looked at the gray stone tombstone, which was inscribed with, “Tomb of Beloved Son Dong Bicheng.” The people who had erected the tombstone did not leave their names, but they must have been Dong Bicheng’s parents.

Looking around, he could see some ashes from joss paper offerings1 and a few bowls and plates with some moldy food offerings in them. The meat had probably been taken by wild animals.

“Alas, the elderly bury their children…”2

The echoes of his sigh still lingered as Ji Yuan vanished from the spot, only to reappear in the capital city of Laoyang Prefecture.

No matter how powerful Lu Shan Jun was, it was basically impossible for him to pass through the gates of the underworld unnoticed.

Ji Yuan had considerable influence among the ghosts and gods of Dazhen. At least in this prefecture-level underworld, if he revealed his identity, bringing someone in would be no problem at all. But he just claimed to have had something to do, and left. If he came back now, only a few days later, and jumped out to help again, wouldn’t that be tantamount to blatantly telling Lu Shan Jun “Your master has been following you”?

Ji Yuan was left both amused and exasperated. Of course, while he had some sense of pride, if Lu Shan Jun were truly in dire need, he would still have to assist him.

With these thoughts, Ji Yuan bought some pastries in the city and brought them with him. Inspired by what he had observed at Dong Bicheng’s tomb, he impulsively went to a rather unusual place.

In the capital of Laoyang Prefecture, Ji Yuan wandered down one of the streets of Temple Administration Lane.

This street was somewhat peculiar. There were plenty of pedestrians, but it wasn’t particularly busy, and everyone spoke rather quietly.

This was due to the number of unusual shops along this street, which locals called “funeral stores.” These were shops that sold coffins, joss paper offerings, and other items related to funerals and mourning.

Ji Yuan walked slowly down the street, his gaze wandering left and right, before settling on a shop that had hardly any customers.

The shop was nothing special, and due to his poor eyesight, Ji Yuan couldn’t make out the writing on the signboard. He only knew that it was a joss paper offering shop.

The owner of the joss paper shop was an old man with a white beard, small eyes, dark skin, and wrinkles that seemed to pull his face into a smile. Despite the early summer weather, he wore several layers of clothing and was busy clicking away on his abacus.

Ji Yuan silently entered the shop and looked around. The shop was filled with paper figures, paper horses, paper cars, paper beds, paper toilets, and all kinds of paper crafts, not to mention an abundance of paper money.

Despite having lived two lives, this was the first time Ji Yuan had ever entered such a shop, and he was a little curious. He walked over to a pile of paper money, picked up a piece, and examined it. The white paper was cut into a circle, with a square hole punched through the middle. When he held it up close to his eyes for a closer look, he could vaguely see the mold imprint of “Yin Yang Coin.”3 It looked much more sophisticated than the paper money that ordinary people cut out themselves with scissors.

Ji Yuan looked around the shop for a while before the shopkeeper looked up and noticed someone was there.

“Hey, hey, sir, please don’t touch our items. They’re all handcrafted by artisans, and they’re truly just made of paper, they can’t withstand any rough handling. If you break them, you’ll have to pay for them at the original price!”

Ji Yuan looked at him and nodded.

“Thank you for the reminder. I will handle them with care.”

The shopkeeper put down his abacus, stood up, walked out from behind the counter, approaching Ji Yuan. He looked closely and saw that although the man was dressed in a simple white robe, he had a refined and elegant demeanor. In addition, the black jade hairpin in his hair was translucent and gleaming, indicating that it was likely not a cheap item.

The shopkeeper’s expression immediately changed, and wrinkles deepened with his smile.

“Oh, sir, are you here to purchase goods for a funeral in your family?”

“Not really, it’s just that I might send something to a deceased friend. It’s not that easy to bring anything to the underworld, so I came here to take a look.”

The old man walked past Ji Yuan and stood in front of him, smiling as he spoke.

“Then you’ve come to the right place, sir! The items here are the most exquisite in the entire Laoyang Prefecture. Look at this paper figure, its features are well-proportioned and its expression is serene. The blush on its cheeks is made with genuine rouge and powder, and it even has a fragrance!”

In Ji Yuan’s experience, not even true cultivators would understand such trivial matters related to the underworld; it was often the common people with close ties to the subject at hand that knew most. As for whether the man’s statements were true or false, Ji Yuan could tell just by listening to him, so he inquired.

“Shopkeeper, how do the people of the underworld use or collect these things?”

The old man looked at Ji Yuan. He realized that this refined gentleman might seem very knowledgeable, but he knew very little about customs such as these.

“Sir, you may not know this, but our shop is famous for its exquisite items, all of which have been blessed. We’ve hired a special expert to perform rituals so that these items can reach the underworld. Let me explain…”

The shopkeeper began to ramble on, explaining that these kinds of offerings only worked if they were imbued with sacred intent; otherwise, they wouldn’t reach the underworld.

Without a skilled expert performing the ritual, then it all depended on the sincerity of the relatives and friends during the offering ceremony. If the mourning was sincere, the offerings would have some effect. If it was just done as a formality, then no matter how exquisite the offerings were, they would only look good on the outside and might not even reach the underworld.

“I’ve heard that things with spiritual power, like paper money that has been blessed by a powerful expert, become ‘spiritual money.’ No matter who burns it, it will work, and the deceased relatives in the underworld can use some of the spiritual power in this money to do whatever they want!”

The shopkeeper’s explanation was simply to explain that the items in his shop were not only exquisite, but also precious.

Ji Yuan listened with great interest, even finding that much of it made sense, and gained some inspiration. However, looking around the shop, almost none of the paper products contained any spiritual energy or power whatsoever. The so-called skilled expert’s ritual was obviously nonsense.

The shop owner thought Ji Yuan would be a big customer, and he also seemed to know nothing about funerals. This kind of customer was the kind that joss paper shop owners liked best, as many would listen to the shopkeeper’s advice.

Therefore, the shopkeeper answered all of Ji Yuan’s questions without reservation, striving to be both enthusiastic and attentive. He discussed about many related matters and customs, from his own guesses to experiences, until his throat was dry. Finally, he reached the crucial point.

“How much does this paper figure cost?”

Ji Yuan pointed to the paper maid figure the shopkeeper had introduced at the beginning.

The shopkeeper held up four fingers.

“Haha, forty coins each, a fair price for everyone, young and old. If you buy all the different kinds of paper stewards, maids, and servants, you’ll get a discount!”

It was quite expensive. Ji Yuan immediately lost interest in buying one and turned his attention to the paper money. Judging from the poor quality of the paper, it shouldn’t be too expensive. However, the paper money was cut very well, and with those marks, it was in quite good condition.

“And what about the paper money?”

“Oh, this Yin-Yang Coin, you can buy a thick stack with two coins. Don’t underestimate this stack of paper money. Our paper money all has the characters “Yin-Yang Coin” printed on it, which takes a lot of ink. No one else in all of Laoyang Prefecture does it like we do. As the saying goes, ink represents wisdom and is also a symbol of greatness. Otherwise, why would a line of ink be able to ward off evil?

“Moreover, don’t be fooled by the seemingly poor quality of this paper. Our shop guarantees on our reputation that it was made from Chinese scholar tree4 wood and a small amount of sandalwood. The process is simple but meticulous, making it perfect for making paper money. It’s also suitable for burning for the underworld, and it leaves a lingering fragrance!”

The shopkeeper took out a stack of paper money from a wooden stick. It was very tightly packed, and each sheet was very thin. The stack was so thick that it was hard to count how many there were. While showing it off, he kept talking eloquently, so enthusiastically that Ji Yuan felt a little embarrassed.

Ji Yuan immediately took out two copper coins.

“I’ll buy a stack.”

“Alright, sir, what else would you like? Look at this paper horse, it’s so lifelike, and this paper carriage too. If you buy both, your ancestors below can ride the horse and drive the carriage. Hmm, it would be best to buy a driver too, no, a pair of drivers, so they can take turns looking after each other!”

Ji Yuan smiled and waved his hand.

“No need, no need, just a stack of paper money will do.”

The old shopkeeper’s smile froze instantly. He stared intently at Ji Yuan, who didn’t flinch. It took him a long time to realize that Ji Yuan was serious, and his voice cooled noticeably.

“Please pay at the counter so I can wrap it up for you.”

“Alright.”

Even with his thick skin, Ji Yuan could only manage an awkward smile. But for just two coins, he had saved himself a lot of trouble and heard so many things that wouldn’t even be recorded in cultivation manuals, so it was still worth it.

After leaving the paper shop, Ji Yuan’s pace quickened considerably. He could feel a resentful gaze watching him from behind.

Two hours later, at the corner of a deserted alley in Laoyang Prefecture, Ji Yuan sat with a stack of paper money in his palm. A mysterious aura swirled around the paper money and slowly seeped into it.

Ji Yuan didn’t know how to perform these kinds of rituals, but after listening to the joss paper shop owner’s explanation, he was able to deduce some principles. In addition, he possessed his own experience in making the Golden Armored Warrior, so he could apply the same principles to other situations. After dozens of failed attempts, wasting most of the paper money, Ji Yuan finally achieved a similar result.

Gradually, the paper money in his hand began to change color to a coppery yellow, becoming thicker and more substantial. The four characters, “Yin-Yang Coin,” also gained a deeper texture, and the whole item became heavier.

This was not because the paper money itself had changed, but rather due to Ji Yuan’s spiritual guidance. It was a similar technique to the application of imaginary worlds and the subtle skill used when cutting paper for the Golden-Armored Warrior. It sounded simple, but even those with great spiritual power would be confused if they did not grasp the intricacies of this technique.

“Though it seems simple, that’s not without reason; every step is born from wisdom!”

Looking at the paper money in his hand, Ji Yuan couldn’t help but sigh. This method of sealing magical power and spiritual energy was undoubtedly another form of “folk wisdom.” The masters of the cultivation world would never consider such things, but where there was a demand, there was a market. The human world should never be underestimated.5

Moreover, this spiritual money would also have a considerable market in the underworld. It was similar to the Five Elements essences in the cultivation world, but even more sophisticated. The former was still a form of barter, while this spiritual money, although useless to highly skilled cultivators, would be a true hard currency in the underworld.

Of course, if the spiritual power and energy contained within could reach that level, it could even be used to enable cultivators to perform techniques or assist in constructing certain important formations, or perhaps this spiritual money had even more potential than that. However, the structure would need to be more complex, and the imbued spiritual energy more pure.

However, in addition to the above issues, production capacity was also a significant problem. Even if he perfected the technique, it might remain only a time-consuming, labor-intensive, expensive product.

Ji Yuan looked at the paper coin in his hand, which was growing increasingly thicker, now resembling a copper coin that had grown several sizes. His unintentional activities today had brought many thoughts to his mind.

T/n: JY: *casually comes up with a new insane technique* Hmm, I wonder if I can sell this?

Joss paper are intricate paper crafts that are burned in funerary rites, representing material wealth that the living wish for the dead to have. This includes things like paper mansions, paper dolls, and most commonly paper money. Lit. “the white-haired bury the black-haired” 阴阳 (yīnyáng): Yin and yang, 通 (tòng): connect/classifier for letters, 宝 (bǎo): treasure/precious –> Yin Yang Coin More commonly known as the Japanese pagoda tree In short, this new technique that JY came up with on the spot is very powerful, but based on the common sense of mortals, not cultivators, so cultivators would never have thought of it