"Youkai?" Although Xiang Ling is extremely demonic, he is not a warlock who has specialized in learning the art of looking at qi, so in this case, he will listen to Hua Jiuxi's statement.

Hua Jiuxi nodded: "This is a sudden trivial matter, which can be solved in three or five minutes - the time is still rich at the moment - let's go and take a look." ”

Xiang Ling had no objections, and Hua Jiuxi came to the bookstore with her one after another.

Just look at the door of this bookstore is very small, and there is a large plaque on the top, on which are written the two big characters "ink cave". Although the font is large, the power is not scattered in the slightest - at first glance, it is from everyone's hands.

Hua Jiuxi lifted the simple door curtain composed of strings of copper rings, and looked at the interior - the light was really dim.

But there's a lot more space than it looks from the outside—books of all kinds are stacked on top of each other. It's not like someone's study, it's like a sloppy list of goods on the docks.

Hua Jiuxi's steps are not very open, because there are too many books inside, and if you are not careful, you will squeeze some.

It's not yet the peak of the customer flow, so there aren't many customers in the store. A few children were flipping through the villain books on the counter, and one of the older children was stumbling to read to the rest.

Hua Jiuxi originally wanted to ask, "Why don't you go to the school", but after thinking about it, forget it.

Holding a duster on the counter was a middle-aged man with a short figure and a pleasant face—a middle-aged man who had all the qualities of a small businessman. At the moment, the boss seems to be burdened with the task of taking care of the children.

But he wasn't very conscientious—for he was holding his cheek in one hand—and his eyes were dazed and he was about to fall asleep.

There were two other customers in the store - one was also middle-aged, and the other was a young man who looked a few years older than Hua Jiuxi. The young man wore a collared robe—not a long tunic or riding gown, as most people do.

"Orientals?" A thought flashed in Hua Jiuxi's heart, but there was no reason to greet him now.

The man was intently looking for some kind of book, and it was clear from his eyes that he was a book lover. Don't ask Hua Jiuxi how he knows, because he is this kind of person.

Hua Jiuxi first picked out a few lithographed novels - not to mention, there were really good goods in them, and then used the time at checkout to talk with the boss.

The boss woke up from his dream when he heard someone call him, and he was confronted by a young man dressed as a poor student—followed by a beautiful girl dressed strangely, a kind of diorama that is not usually seen.

Hua Jiuxi is not a person who is good at talking to people, the two first discussed the market of the book market - after turning a few topics, Hua Jiuxi pretended to ask casually: "Boss, did there be anything unusual in your store a few days ago?" ”

The boss's small eyes immediately widened, and he hurriedly said, "Yes, yes!" ”

Many of the small businessmen are superstitious — and this somewhat literate one may also be obsessed with easy learning and feng shui — and when something strange happens in the shop, he is more curious than afraid.

Hua Jiuxi's eyes rolled and said, "Don't say it, I'll guess." ”

His style of being like a liar instantly aroused the vigilance of the boss - Hua Jiuxi saw that his face was a little heavy, and he didn't know what was going on.

"Okay, okay—you watch first." The boss planned to stabilize this liar first, and his eyes hit Xiang Ling behind Hua Jiuxi - this girl must be his nursery.

"I smell some burnt smell in this shop - but it's not caused by fire, is there such a thing?" Hua Jiuxi asked.

The boss nodded and said, "Yes, and when the fire starts, you can hear a crackling sound - fortunately, the loss is not large......"

Hua Jiuxi said again: "Since I said that it is not mortal fire, I mean thunder." I guess the flaws and damages in your damaged books are all big and small round spots, right? Hua Jiuxi asked further.

The boss nodded hurriedly - so many details this young man has said, Bajiu Cheng is a liar, and he hasn't seen him come before, how can he easily set up this game?

Speaking of this, Hua Jiuxi pretended to mysteriously stick it to the boss's ear and said, "Can you let me see what kind of books have been burned?" ”

"This—" The boss looked around with a look on his face, and said, "If you are the only one in the store now, of course I will present it generously." But—I have children here, and you have daughters there—it's not very convenient......"

Hua Jiuxi laughed a few times.

"If not, I'll shy away from it—I can almost guess what's going on." Xiang Ling said to Hua Jiuxi.

"Forget it, boss, you can't put those books in such a prominent place - they must be in the back room, right?" Hua Jiuxi spread his hand and said.

"Hehe, yes, you come with me." The boss led Hua Jiuxi to his own bedroom—his bed board had been remodeled, and when he pushed and pulled, he could see many satin-wrapped tomes.

"Can I reach out and see?" Hua Jiuxi asked for instructions.

"Of course." The boss doesn't have much to say about this job.

"Oh, this is "Embroidered Couch Proverbs", which has been banned in Zhengde for fifteen years, and there are very few engraved copies in circulation." Hua Jiuxi casually picked up a copy and said.

The boss couldn't help but be impressed by this young man - he was so young, and he was quite knowledgeable.

""Two Jade Yuan" - this is a typical example of meat drama sketching, although there are many versions on the market, but it is rare for you to be a little school-based." Hua Jiuxi muttered, "Can't you see that the boss is small in your store—there are still a lot of good things?" ”

The boss was praised by Hua Jiuxi, and couldn't help but be a little proud, and said: "To tell you, my family has a penchant for accumulating lonely books for four generations - although I am not good, I have also collected a lot." Before, some foreigners spent a lot of money to buy our treasures - these are all strange things left by the ancestors, how can these ghosts be cheaper?! ”

"Well said!" Hua Jiuxi clapped his hands and picked up another book, which was a picture album.

"Jin Vase Mei Tuzan", first published in the fifty-third year of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty." Hua Jiuxi carefully flipped through it, and there were very explicit and exquisite prints on it—not a single detail was extremely detailed and gorgeous.

"It's the hero of the spring painting." Hua Jiuxi turned over and saw that the important places of the characters in the picture left a large charred hole - this is what it looks like to be burned by a small thunderbolt.

"It's a pity." Hua Jiuxi said.

The boss also felt sorry for a while, and said, "Not really." ”

"Do you want to know what's going on?" Hua Jiuxi said, "This is a ball lightning - and this lightning is released by the monster, boss, are you afraid?" ”

The boss shook his head and said, "Then let me meet the monsters?" ”

"It's simple—to be honest, I'm not good at what I do, but I'm not going to leave a name for doing good deeds—it's not hard to secretly take this monster away—don't I want to take the opportunity to see your cache?" As he spoke, he laughed wickedly.

The boss understood and said, "I know, after the matter is completed, I will pick a few copies and give them to the honorable driver." ”

Hua Jiuxi hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Then there is no need - I'll have an eye addiction first - there are many women and children in the family, and there is no place to put them." ”

The boss thought that this was better, so he hurriedly said, "Then why do you do it now?" Do you want to raise the altar? ”

"No—we're not old-fashioned." Hua Jiuxi said, "I'm a single person, but I have to take advantage of your treasures." ”

"It's up to you." The boss rubbed his hands and said.

Hua Jiuxi immediately took out a collection of embroidered images from these rare books, in which there were many men and women of all colors.

"Let's show you something fresh—" Hua Jiuxi took out a small white gourd from his waist and sprinkled some snow-like medicinal powder around the two people on the embroidered statue, which had an inexplicable pungent smell.

The boss endured it so that he would not sneeze, and he saw that the powder seemed to melt into the paper in an instant—the little man in the painting actually stirred, and he walked around with his mouth and nose covered.

"Haha, they're out." Hua Jiuxi pointed to the book and smiled.

The little figures sketched in ink were really on the page—their bodies were transparent, unpainted, after all. As soon as these villains appeared, they were like singing, rehearsing the plot of the book according to their respective roles.

"What kind of trick is this?" The boss's eyes widened and he asked puzzled.

"Tricks? You still think I'm a liar? Hua Jiuxi said, "These are real monsters." ”

Fortunately, the boss didn't accept this very badly, so he asked again: "Then this little babbling villain is the culprit who broke the atlas?" ”

Hua Jiuxi shook his head and said, "No, these are actually a bait - let me tell you how these monsters came to be." ”

Hua Jiuxi began to explain: "Most of the monsters are old and become essences - but there are still some naturally existing demonic qi between heaven and earth, and these demonic qi cannot evolve into monsters in 10,000 years if they are used in ordinary ways. However, they can often take on a concrete shape depending on something - this is how many non-living forms, such as broomsticks and shoes, can also become essences. And objects that resemble human shapes, such as puppets or figure paintings, are the most common dependencies - boss, you have so many figure paintings in your collection, so you have attracted a lot of demonic energy. ”

"I can see from a long distance that you're at the most demonic here—but don't worry, because this level of demonic energy doesn't cause any substantial damage, so I'd better save it for you." Hua Jiuxi said with a grin, "There is another thing to pay attention to - I see that this group of villains is almost singing, and the monster should be here." ”

The boss looked at the place where Hua Jiuxi's finger pointed, and there was a small figure like a bat flying rapidly under the roof, only hovering over the heads of the two of them and not falling.

"You and I go a little farther away." Hua Jiuxi motioned for the boss and himself to take a few steps back, and they crept behind a screen.

The little monster in the air saw that there was no one, so it "swished" and flew down.

What the boss saw was the image of a military general less than a foot tall, wearing armor and red silk. This thing has wings on its back, its face looks like the head of Lei Gong in the temple and wants to be a black dog, and it holds a thing in its hand that looks like a net that beats insects and butterflies.

When the little people in the painting saw the monster coming, they were all astonished—and they didn't wait for the monster to come, and they ran for a while.

The monster snorted - because he was too small, so although he was hoarse, to Hua Jiuxi and the others, it was not as loud as the cry of a little milk cat.

Seeing the villain scattered, the monster swung the net in his hand violently, and saw a thunderbolt of lightning - several small balls of lightning flew out of the net.

"See? This is ball lightning. Hua Jiuxi and the boss watched from not far away.