The old man with the goatee seemed to be politely inviting Zhao Ting, but in fact, he had already moved a few steps under his feet, blocking Zhao Ting's way out.

After Zhao Ting took a deep look at him, he walked out of the alley quietly.

Although he didn't look back, Zhao Ting could clearly feel that the eyes of the old man with a goatee behind him were staring at him without blinking, and he didn't relax for a moment.

After the two of them got out of the alley and turned into another long street in the village along the main street, the old man with the goatee suddenly said out: "Son, the house in front is the old family." ”

As soon as he reminded him, Zhao Ting looked up in the direction he pointed, and saw a courtyard in front of him covering an area of about one or two acres and surrounded by gray stone walls, with two vermilion gates half-open, and two miniature stone lions carved from white rock standing in front of the door, which looked a little magnificent.

At least, it stands out in this cluster of houses, which are mostly surrounded by earthen walls.

After Zhao Ting glanced at it casually, he was silent and walked in with the old man with the goatee.

Although this courtyard is far less spacious than the Zhao Mansion, and the layout and scenery in the courtyard are also very different, it is much stronger than other houses in the village.

After Zhao Ting sat down in the welcoming hall in the inner courtyard, the old man with a goatee quickly brewed two steaming hot teas and sent them over.

"Childe, let's have a sip of tea first. ”

Although he was serving tea to the table, the old man's dim old eyes with a goatee never left Zhao Ting, and there was a strange smile on his stiff old face like dead wood.

He looked at Zhao Ting's gaze so focused that he didn't even notice that the thumb holding the edge of the teacup was stuck into the hot tea, which also made Zhao Ting feel sick to his stomach.

Not to mention that he already knew that this old man with a goatee was not a good thing, even if he didn't know, after seeing this disgusting scene in front of him, he couldn't eat this tea.

"Thank you Li Cun for your intentions," Zhao Ting endured the discomfort and waved his hand, "It's just that Xiaosheng is not very thirsty now, let's drink it later." ”

Seeing that he refused to drink tea, the old man with the goatee did not insist anymore, but sat on the dark red Eight Immortals chair beside him.

"Cough, Childe, let Lao Yu ask more, who is Childe?"

Zhao Ting arched his hand and replied: "Xiaosheng is a native of Fucheng in Linshan County, and it was late when he passed by Guicun today, and he saw that he couldn't get to Fucheng before dark, so he had to come and disturb him all night, and I hope to forgive me." ”

"Eh, Childe is polite," the goatee old man smiled, "Who can go out without encountering two difficulties? Besides, we have not had any outsiders in Niushou Village for a long time, and we need fresh blood like Childe." ”

Whether he was talking or smiling, the old man's gaze was not away from Zhao Ting's face for a moment, as if he was looking at some rare treasure.

Fang was a little better when he was on the street, but now when he entered the house, the greed and malice in his eyes were almost impossible to hide.

This also made Zhao Ting a little speechless, and when he saw that the old man with a goatee was about to flow out of his mouth, he couldn't help coughing and reminded: "Li Cunzheng, what have you been looking at me, is there anything on my face?"

"Huh?" was asked so suddenly by Zhao Ting, the old man with the goatee suddenly felt a little embarrassed, he didn't expect Zhao Ting to actually notice his small movements, "I...... Uh, no, is there old decay?"

Zhao Ting nodded seriously and said, "Yes, Muramasa." Xiaosheng also studied medicine with his ancestors for a few years, and he has gained a little. I see that you are a little delirious, your mouth is crooked, and your eyes are slanted, this is ...... This seems to be an early complication of epilepsy!"

"This disease can't be delayed, and it needs to be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. ”

“......”

Seeing that the old man with the goatee was "silent", as if he didn't want to speak, Zhao Ting admonished bitterly: "In this way, Li Cunzheng, Xiao Sheng also has a lot of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of "epilepsy". For this disease, you need to open your cranium first to find out the cause, and then prescribe the right medicine. ”

"You might as well let Xiaosheng help you. ”

Hearing that the person in front of him didn't agree with a word, he actually wanted to open his "head", and the old man with the goatee was also taken aback, and then waved his hand again and again, and squeezed out a kind smile on his stiff old face, and said, "No need, no need, I don't think I'm sick!"

"Oh, well. Seeing that the old man with the goatee refused very resolutely, Zhao Ting was not good at persuading him more.

The two fell silent.

After a while, Zhao Ting opened his mouth and asked again: "Li Cunzheng, dare to ask, where is Xiaosheng going to live at night?"

"Forehead ......" was reminded by Zhao Tingyi, and the old man with the goatee remembered that he had to arrange a place to live for him, "Hmm...... Childe waited for a while, and the old man had already ordered to go down. ”

Just now, the old man with the goatee panicked, claiming to have changed from "old" to "me", but now after calming down, he has changed back, which is really a bit funny.

......

After Zhao Ting refused the old man's invitation to dinner, the old man with the goatee didn't force it, but called a middle-aged man with a somewhat similar face to him to lead Zhao Ting to the west wing room to check in.

The middle-aged man had an expressionless face, dull eyes, and stiff body movements like a puppet, exactly like the "Niu Youde" in the alley.

After Zhao Ting tried two sentences, he saw that the middle-aged man had no reaction, and he also knew it.

He stepped into the chamber, picked up the fire fold on the dark yellow wooden table in the room, and lit the candle embedded in the wall and on the candlestick stand.

As soon as the candles lit, the room suddenly became bright.

By the dim yellow light of the fire, Zhao Ting began to observe the objects placed in this side room.

In the center of the room, on the dark yellow low-legged wooden table, a thin layer of dust had piled up, and it was clear that no one had entered this room for a long time.

On the left hand is a somewhat faded bright silver copper basin, which still contains a bottom of water, probably after being placed here for a long time, and the water in the basin looks a little muddy.

Other than that, I don't seem to see anything else.

Zhao Ting turned around, sat down next to the bed, and thought carefully.

Based on what he saw and heard after entering the village, he preliminarily judged that the people in Niushou Village seemed to have been turned into "puppets" by this strange old man with a goatee by some mysterious means.

That's why he's been wandering around the village for a long time without even finding a single figure.

It's just that Zhao Ting doesn't know what this mysterious means is for the time being.

He worked tirelessly from Linshan County to this Niushou Village, where birds don't poop, just to catch a "ghost" and go back to study and study, so as to find out where the power of the "ghosts and gods" comes from!

As a result, he didn't expect that this old man with a goatee would be so enduring, and he was still making a false deal with him, and he was reluctant to do it.

If you don't do it, you won't show your feet. Without revealing the "horse's feet", Zhao Ting had no way of knowing how this old man with a goatee turned a living villager into a zombie-like "puppet".

Oh, and that crazy man "Niu Tie", although Zhao Ting doesn't know why he survived, but one thing Zhao Ting knows, that is, what should the party "Niu Tie" know about the strange things that have happened in Niushou Village in the past month.

It's a pity that Zhao Ting can't ask him face-to-face, otherwise if he is discovered by the weird goatee old man, he will definitely suspect the purpose of Zhao Ting's trip.

Zhao Ting didn't want to show his flaws before he caught the "ghost", which is why he kept pretending to be stupid in front of the old man with a goatee.

......

The sky was getting darker, and the moon was covered by thick clouds, and there was not a single ray of light.

I really can't see my fingers.

West Wing.

Zhao Tingzheng was lying on the bed bored, looking at the mahogany beams above his head, thoughtful.

Ever since he had eaten the dry food he had brought with him and filled his stomach, Zhao Ting had been waiting silently, waiting for the old man with the goatee to do it.

"Hey, when the hell is this old ghost going to do it? ”

Zhao Ting was a little helpless and turned over on the bed.

"Huh?"

Turning over, through the dim light in the room, he found that outside his wing, a thin black shadow appeared at some point, and the black shadow seemed to be clinging to the wooden door of the wing, standing there motionless, without making a sound.

If it weren't for Zhao Ting's sudden turn, he really wouldn't have been able to discover the existence of this black shadow.

"Playing voyeurism again?" Zhao Ting rolled his eyes and sat up from the bed, "I don't know how long this guy has been standing here and peeping......

He had something on his mind, so when he went to bed, he was already undressed, and he didn't even take off the boots on his feet.

At this time, he found that someone was peeping, and he did not pick it, but stood up on tiptoe, walked to the door, lowered his head and looked out through the gap between the two doors.

The first thing that catches your eye is a stiff face with a dull expression.

On the human face, there was no half of the light in those black eyes.

It was the "puppet" middle-aged man who had led Zhao Ting before!

I saw that he was standing straight at this time, with a lifeless face close to the crack in the door, and he was about to be next to Zhao Ting's face. His eyes didn't blink, as if he was glaring at Zhao Ting.

Zhao Ting glanced out, and after seeing that the person outside the door was the "puppet" middle-aged man, he withdrew his gaze.

"This old ghost really didn't worry about me, and even arranged a "puppet" to guard the door, it seems that ...... It's going to kill me!" he said to himself.

Thinking of this, he was not in a hurry, turned around and sat back on the bed.

Anyway, the "old ghost" will come sooner or later.

What Zhao Ting is afraid of is not that he doesn't know when the "old ghost" will come, but that the "old ghost" will not come.

For if he does not come, who will he study?

As time slowly fades away, the candles in the candlesticks on the walls are also burning and consuming little by little.

The light of the fire flickered on and off, reflecting Zhao Ting's shadow on the wall on the other side.

I don't know how long it took.

suddenly

Another shadow slowly seeped out of the wall like flowing water, and the color of the shadow went from light to dark, but it solidified in a moment, and from the shape, it looked like a person, like a gecko, lying on the wall in a strange posture.

But looking around the house, where else was there besides Zhao Ting?

In other words, this strange black shadow appeared out of thin air without a physical reflection!

It's really weird.

"Hey, why is it so cold all of a sudden?"

After Zhao Ting muttered a sentence, he wrapped the quilt tightly.

Hearing Zhao Ting suddenly speak, the strange humanoid black shadow on the wall turned his head sharply and looked this way.

After staring at Zhao Ting for a while, and finding that he didn't move again, the black shadow turned his head again, leaned on the wall, and approached Zhao Ting's shadow with his hands and feet.

Slowly, slowly......

The black shadow had unconsciously crawled to Zhao Ting's shadow.

I saw that it couldn't wait to stretch out its snake-like neck, open its mouth and bite Zhao Ting's shadow.

"Boom...... Why,"

Immediately, there was a tooth-aching chewing sound in the quiet room, like a wild beast gnawing on bones.

"Boom...... Boom ......"

While the shadow was eating happily and feasting,

On the wall, Zhao Ting's shadow suddenly moved, and the owner of the shadow stood up suddenly, approaching the wall here, and the shadow on the wall quickly magnified several times.

At the same time, a voice rang out in the room.

"What are you doing?"

The black shadow on the wall was frightened, and quickly turned its head one hundred and eighty degrees strangely, looking behind it.

I saw that Zhao Ting, who was still sleeping on the bed and talking in his sleep just now, had already appeared behind him at this time. And grinning, revealing a mouthful of fine white teeth, his eyes are looking at it with interest.

"I ...... No, old ......"

This black shadow was really frightened by Zhao Ting, and his words became a little incoherent.

Zhao Ting smiled slightly, and said, "You calm down first, don't be afraid! Let me guess, if I eat up my shadow, I will become your puppet?"

"You...... How do you know?"

Zhao Ting quietly put the small bronze mirror in his palm into his sleeve and said, "Because, as soon as you come in, I will find out!"

"You don't really think I'm a fool, do you?"

The shadow was silent, as if feeling that he was being suppressed by his intelligence.

After a while, it controlled its emotions, its tone changed, and it said viciously to Zhao Ting: "What if you find out? I can still eat your shadow and turn you into a 'corpse puppet'!"

"You are a two-legged sheep, you can stop me......"

Before the black shadow could finish speaking, Zhao Ting flew up and kicked over the candlestick on the south wall.

The candle fell to the floor and went out!

The room suddenly darkened, and I couldn't see my fingers.

The huge shadow of Zhao Ting, which was originally reflected on the wall, was suddenly gone!

"What," Zhao Ting didn't seem to hear clearly, "What did you just say?"

"I ......"

The shadow was silent again.

Zhao Ting smiled evilly, took out the dagger from his sleeve, which had become a little hot and hot, and put it on the dragon's teeth, and approached the wall.

"Don't move, let me see if I can rip you off the wall!"

“......”

"Ah, it didn't work," Zhao Ting withdrew the dragon tooth in some surprise.

Just now he wanted to try to use the dragon's teeth to rip out this strange black shadow and pack it and take it home.

Unexpectedly, after trying it, they found that the dragon's teeth could not do any harm to this black shadow.

Could it be because this black shadow is an imaginary body?

At this time, the "shadow ghost" on the wall, which had been hidden in the darkness, also reacted, and roared hoarsely: "Let me out, let me out...... You wicked man!"

Listening to the amount of information revealed in its unwilling roar, Zhao Ting couldn't help but hold his chin and ponder.

Let it out?

Listening to the meaning of this "shadow ghost", it is obvious that it has been trapped in the darkness after the candlelight has just been extinguished!

Could it be that it is only in a place of light that it can manifest itself and harm others?

Well, this is similar to the "water ghost" last time.

The "water ghost" is desperately trying to lure him to the water's edge, which is obviously its home field.

It's the same with this "shadow ghost", when there is no light, it is like a headless fly, and it is trapped.

It seems that ghosts are not impossible to deal with!

It's just that although he has trapped this "shadow ghost" now, he can't hurt it, and he can't even touch it.

That's a problem!

......

The "shadow ghost" trapped in the wall was still cursing him at this time, and his tone was vicious.

"I warn you, let me out quickly, or I will kill your whole family as soon as I get out of trouble!"

“*********”

Zhao Ting shook his head, ignored it, and walked to the door and opened the door of the wing.

Sure enough, as he expected.

The middle-aged man in front of the door, who was still staring at the "puppet" guarding him, seemed to lose control after the "shadow ghost" was trapped, and he had fallen to the ground stiffly at this time.

Because it was too dark to see a trace of light, Zhao Ting had to squat down and grope for a while, and then he reached under the bridge of the middle-aged man's nose.

"Well," he sighed, retracting his hand, "I'm out of gas." ”