During the Qing Dynasty, there was an old man Zhou who sold tofu in the shop street of Luoshi, Henan, making tofu and selling tofu, and often got up early and greedy for darkness.

One evening in late summer, Zhou Laohan finished selling tofu and drove the donkey cart home. While catching the car, Zhou Laohan hummed a Henan tune: "Kou allowed me to come down, and I thought while walking, and I cleverly set up a yin and yang plan...... "Unconsciously arrived at the noon crossing the river bridge."

At this time, there was a sudden sound of a woman crying.

The old man followed the prestige, and saw a woman with a disheveled hair curled up pitifully on the bridge. Zhou Laohan has done good deeds all his life, and when he encounters such a miserable scene today, how can he not ask?

"Phew—"

Old man Zhou drank the donkey, got out of the car, walked towards the woman, and asked kindly: "This little woman, why are you crying on the bridge so late?" Unexpectedly, the woman did not raise her head, but screamed, "Old man, what are you asking me for?" There you go! Zhou Laohan didn't care about this woman's rudeness, but felt a little weird, so he asked gently: "Good girl, what is the matter with you, tell me, maybe I can help you!" ”

The woman raised her head with a sigh, and Old Man Zhou shuddered. The woman had a grimace, a long red tongue, constantly expanding and contracting, a particularly ugly mouth, nostrils like the mouth of two bamboo pipes, and a black nose. Old Zhou, who has always been bold, was also frightened into a cold sweat at this time, thinking: Could it be that I really met a ghost?

The female ghost said, "Old man, since you ask, I will tell you, and you are not allowed to tell anyone." My family was originally in Touwudu Village, Qiaonan, and because I was angry with my sister-in-law, I jumped into the river three years ago, when I was only 17 years old. I'm a new ghost who is very depressed, and they won't let me find a replacement for the dead ghost. Tomorrow night, I'm three years old, and they've allowed me to find a stand-in, and I've already found it, haha! The female ghost let out an eerie grin.

Old man Zhou boldly asked, "Good girl, can you tell me, who is your stand-in?" ”

"It's Yuemei, the evil daughter-in-law of the old man Zhou who sells tofu in the shop street. She is virtuous and filial to her daughter-in-law, and I don't look for her. ”

Zhou Laohan almost screamed when he heard it: Oh, isn't the stand-in she is looking for her daughter-in-law? My daughter-in-law is a well-known good daughter-in-law, who doesn't know the daughter-in-law of the second material, but she is a wicked woman.

At this time, hearing the sound of "poof", the water surface of the river seemed to bloom a huge white flower, Zhou Laohan was stunned, and the female ghost was gone. He hurriedly got into the donkey cart and hurried home with a whip.

The donkey cart crossed the bridge, passed through an old peach grove, and arrived home. Zhou Laohan hurriedly called his wife and son Zhou Yin'er, told them the strange thing just now, and told them a thousand times, and instructed: "Tomorrow night, don't let Yuemei go out if you say anything." ”

By the next night, Zhou Yin'er closed the door early, and Yuemei was unusual, silent, and only cared about work.

When she was making noodles, she accidentally dropped the clay pot off the kang stove and shattered it. Zhou Laohan thought to himself: Don't blame her, noisy, she has to run out. So he smiled and said, "Yuemei, the pot is broken, Ming'er will buy two sturdy ones." ”

My wife also smiled and said, "Yuemei, you go and make a fire, I'll make some noodles." ”

Yuemei didn't say a word, entered the room, and as soon as she pulled the bellows, the bellows rod broke, and she cried, "I want to jump into the river, I won't do anything!" Zhou Yin'er hurriedly grabbed Yuemei and said, "The old ones don't go, the new ones don't come, let's rest!" ”

Zhou Laohan and his wife felt that the ghost had arrived at home, so they became more careful.

After dinner, Yuemei carried her son into the house and went to bed, and Zhou Yin'er brought the big toilet into the house and tightened the door bolt. Zhou Laohan and his wife, one on the left and the other on the right, sat on the door squatting outside the door.

In the middle of the night, the house began to toss.

Yuemei was in a hurry to go out, but Zhou Yin'er just wouldn't let her, and Yuemei cried, "I want!" "The is the same as the toilet, you see how big the toilet is!" Zhou Yin'er said softly. After a while, Yuemei was hungry again, and wanted to go to the stove to cook and eat, Zhou Yin grabbed her and said, "Yuemei, there is a meeting tomorrow, I will buy you something delicious, there is nothing to eat tonight." ”

Yuemei saw that she was not allowed to cook, so she was noisy and scolding, and she tossed vigorously. The rooster crowed all over the place, and Yuemei didn't have much strength to toss, so she went to bed, and Zhou Yin'er was still standing by the door, protecting the deadbolt.

Dongfang gradually turned white, and then he heard someone shouting outside the door, and when Zhou Laohan heard it, it turned out that he was scolding Ercai to the door: "Get out, slut, it's good to be dead!" Zhou Laohan said to his wife: "You guard the door, maybe the ghost has left, and the chickens have crowed three times." I went out to see Ercai, maybe I was fighting with his wicked woman again. ”

"Alas! A wicked woman with no conscience, it's better to die! ”

Tuesday Cai was standing at the door scolding, and when he saw Zhou Laohan coming out, he said aggrievedly: "Uncle, there is nothing too much to do these days, Ah Bao's mother is noisy every day, and my mother is also forced to live in the village livestock house." It's good that such a woman is dead. She woke up and quarreled just now, I was angry with her for a few years, I didn't scold her, I couldn't stand it, so I quarreled with her, she said she was going to jump into the river, hum, afraid of the dead ghost, deliberately scaring me. It's a little cheeky to be dead. ”

When Zhou Laohan heard this, he shouted "not good" and hurriedly ran to the Wudu Bridge.

At this time, the sky was already bright, Zhou Laohan walked through the old peach forest, only to see that the bridge was full of people, he looked at the crowd, and saw Zhou Ercai's daughter-in-law lying on the bridge, her stomach bulging, her lips were closed, purple like dead pig liver, and her body was drenched, and she had choked.

People talked a lot, the soft-hearted shed tears, and the hard-hearted ones were still scolding: "Evil daughter-in-law, you deserve it." ”

Tuesday Chai burst into tears of sadness. Zhou Laohan comforted him and said: "Ercai, you still have a boy to take over, don't be too sad, people will not be resurrected after death." Ercai wiped his tears: "I don't cry for this cheap woman." Alas, she's Ah Bao's mother, Ah Bao is only two years old! ”

Zhou Laohan was very guilty at this time, and said: "Ercai, you also know Yuemei's personality, in the future, Bao's clothes will be wrapped by Yuemei, take your mother back to live." If you don't dislike it, Po will recognize me as a godfather! ”

"Thank you, uncle."

At this time, Yuemei and her husband led Ah Bao to come, listened to her father-in-law's words, nodded, touched Ah Bao's forehead lovingly, and forcibly held back the tears that swirled.

Zhou Laohan knew that this was Yuemei's disaster, but the ghost went to Ercai's house to find another substitute. Zhou Laohan felt deeply guilty, and he specially erected a monument at the head of the bridge of the Huihe River and asked someone to write it: On the evening of July 5, the river ghost came out of the water, and passers-by were careful.

At that time, there were only three people who knew the truth, and now, I don't know why, almost everyone in the whole township knows about it.

(b)

Legend has it that in the early years, the head of hell was not called Hades.

At that time, there was a Jade Emperor in the sky, an emperor in the world, and a prison emperor in hell.

So what is the origin of Hades?

In ancient times, there was a village called Taipingzhuang, and there were many diligent and kind villagers living in Taipingzhuang, among whom there was a person named Yan Wu, who was kind-hearted and popular. On this day, the Emperor of Prison checked the book of life and death, and Yan Wu's Yangshou arrived, so he sent a bald ghost to arrest Yan Wu.

The bald ghost came to the world and couldn't find Yan Wu, so he asked an old man where Yan Wu lived, and the old man saw that others were not like people, and ghosts were not like ghosts, so he asked a few words, "Who are you, what are you looking for Yan Wu?" ”

The bald ghost told the old man the reason, the old man thought, Yan Wu is such a good person, I have to find a way to save him, so he deceived the bald ghost, ran to Yan Wu's house, told Yan Wu everything about it, and helped Yan Wu come up with a clever way, Yan Wu took a gourd float, buckled it on the old man's head, got some black dog hair, and pierced an eye on the scoop to insert these black dog hairs.

At this time, the bald ghost found Yan Wu's residence, and as soon as he saw Yan Wu, he said, "Yan Wu, your Yangshou has arrived, come with me." ”

Yan Wu said, "Okay! But when I'm done planting his hair, we'll leave. ”

The old man was also begging with a sharp voice: "You can do it, Yan Wu is in charge of my hair in the yang world." What should I do if I can't finish my hair, I have to become a bald ghost when I die. ”

When the bald ghost heard this, he thought to himself: Alas! I didn't know that there were still people who could plant hair in the yang world, and if I had planted hair at that time, wouldn't I have been discriminated against in the yang and the underworld? Thinking of this, he shouted loudly: "No, no, either plant it for me first." ”

Yan Wu said, "Okay, I'll plant it for you first." The old man reluctantly walked away. Yan Wu planted the "hair" of the bald ghost.

Besides, the Prison Emperor waited for Yan Wu on the left and didn't come back, and the bald ghost on the right didn't return, so he sent two more ghost pawns to catch Yan Wu. One is a red-eyed ghost, and the other is a Luo pot ghost. The two of them also inquired about Yan Wu's residence like bald ghosts, and the two young men knew about it, so they hurriedly ran to tell Yan Wu, and they thought of a way together.

One young man pretended to have pink eye, and the other young man pretended to be Luo Guojiao, saying that he had come to Yan Wu for treatment. When these two ghost pawns walked into Yan Wu's house, one of the two young men shouted Yan Wuzhi Zhiluo Pot, and the other shouted for Yan Wuzhi to have red eyes. As soon as the two ghost pawns heard that they could cure Luo Guo and pink eye, they shouted that they would treat them first.

So Yan Wu brought the cloth bag and bench that had been prepared long ago, put the red-eyed ghost in the cloth bag, and tied the Luo Guo ghost to the bench.

The Prison Emperor waited even more impatiently in the underworld, so he rode a thousand miles of horses to catch Yan Wu, and Yan Wu learned about it again.

Yan Wu walked to the pigsty and released an old sow, fetched a basin of water and brushed and washed, when the prison emperor came and saw it, he shouted: "Yan Wu, your Yangshou has arrived, why can't you pass it on." ”

Yan Wu said: "Got it, when I clean up Wanlihum, I'll be there right away." ”

As soon as the Prison Emperor heard Wanli hum, he became greedy: I, a Prison Emperor, only have a thousand miles of horses, but he has a thousand miles of hum, so he said: "Yan Wu, let's change our mounts." ”

Yan Wu said, "No, Wan Lihum knows me, you can't let you ride it if you wear that suit." ”

The Prison Emperor was afraid that Yan Wu would not change, so he hurriedly said, "Wouldn't it be okay for the two of us to change our clothes?" ”

So Yan Wu put on the court clothes of the Prison Emperor and said, "My mount is slow, I'll go first." At this time, the prison emperor got dressed, pulled the old sow, rode on the pig's back, and smacked, the pig snorted, and walked very slowly.

Yan Wu rode a thousand-mile horse, and after a while he came to the underworld, he ascended the throne of the Emperor of Prison, and shouted to the ghost soldiers below: "Little ones, Yan Wu has mentioned it, he will come in a while, and he will be executed as soon as he arrives." ”

Those ghost pawns only recognize clothes and not people, and the prison emperor will cut them down as soon as they are caught. The Prison Emperor was hacked to death.

Yan Wu became the emperor of prison, and he didn't want to be called the emperor of prison, so he wrote his name, but few of those ghost pawns could recognize the words, and there were those who read the white characters, so they read the five characters as the king characters, and some of them would flatter and pat the horses, and added a master word behind the king of Hades, which is the origin of the king of Hades.

(c)

Once upon a time, there was a scholar named Zhang Sheng, who came back from the capital to take the exam, and encountered a rainstorm on the way, which drenched him like a chicken in soup. He trembled forward, and suddenly saw an inn in front of him, so he hastened his pace.

When he walked into the inn, he saw that there was no one inside, and when he was hesitating, he saw a young woman coming down from upstairs, and when he saw him like this, he was startled at first, and then asked timidly: "Where does the son come from?" ”

"I came back from the capital to catch the exam, and it rained halfway, so I made it look like this, please don't be surprised." As he spoke, he wrung his wet clothes with his hands.

This young woman's name is Ah Niu, and she looks like a flower and a moon. At the age of sixteen, he married a man surnamed Wu and opened an inn here. I didn't want to go into the loess in less than two years, leaving Aniu to open a store alone for a living.

Seeing that Zhang Sheng was really embarrassed, Ah Niu took out the clothes left by her husband before his death and put them on for him, and also set up a table of sumptuous wine and food to entertain him. Zhang Sheng was very grateful, and while eating, he chatted with Ah Niu. Unknowingly, the two fell in love. When Zhang Sheng knew that Aniu was a widow, he couldn't help but hug her up and said warmly: "What a pity for a beautiful woman like you to keep an empty house for the rest of her life." ”

Aniu listened beautifully, she has been widowed for two years, and she has never met a man she likes, and she is so affectionate to her. Her heart was intoxicated, and she said silently with tears in her eyes, "Zhang Gongzi, you are so good." However, I'm afraid that you won't recognize me after you leave the store, and call me a happy ......"

"I'll send you for the time being," Zhang Sheng hurriedly knelt on the ground without waiting for her to finish, "After I go back, I will come to pick you up on August 15 this year." If there is half-heartedness, I Zhang Shengding will be hit by the sky and thunder! ”

Aniu helped Zhang Sheng upstairs in shame......

The next day, Zhang Sheng went back. Before leaving, Ah Niu gave him five hundred taels of silver, "The road is far away, and you can use it when you come to pick me up in the future." ”

After Zhang Sheng returned home, there was no news.

Ah Niu looked left and right, looking forward to August 15, and looking forward to the ninth day of September, but she still didn't see Zhang Sheng to pick her up. A year has passed, and Zhang Sheng's shadow is gone. Ah Niu knew that she had been deceived, and she was sad and angry, and she expected that there was no hope, so she hanged herself in the woods.

It just so happened that at this time, a tiger passed by, and when he saw that Aniu was still out of breath, he pounced on her and took her away. After the tiger sucked up Ah Niu's blood, he threw his body into the woods. After a long time, the sun and rain were exposed, and Ah Niu's body became a tiger-like ghost. I saw that her eyes were red, glowing with the flames of revenge, she roared, turned her head on the ground three times in a row, and turned into a young woman like a flower and jade, and she looked more beautiful than before. She sneered and walked towards where Zhang Sheng was.

Suddenly, a tiger blocked her way and asked sharply, "Ghost Wu, where are you going?" ”

"Thank you for saving your life." Wu Linggui knelt on the ground and said, "I'm going to find my Lang Jun, he has an appointment with me in advance, I hope you will be gracious and let me pass, he is waiting for me." ”

The tiger nodded and let her go.

After the ghost Wu got the tiger's promise, he walked faster and faster, and it didn't take much effort to come to Zhangjia Village. But when he was about to enter the village, he was stopped by the father-in-law of the land and said, "You are an extraordinary person, what are you doing in my village?" ”

Wu Linggui hurriedly knelt in front of her father-in-law, crying and telling about her love with Zhang Sheng, but Zhang Sheng is now missing, and he is alone from thousands of miles to find a husband......

The more Wu Linggui cried, the more sad he became, and the tears flowed into a river. The father-in-law of the land was moved, and thought: Since their love is so deep, let them meet. So he put Wu Ling into the village.

Wu Ling wiped his tears and snot and entered the village. Seeing Zhang Sheng sitting at the door, he wanted to show his original form, so he pounced over and pulled out Zhang Sheng's heart and liver. But thinking that he had walked such a long way, and had overcome one difficulty after another, he couldn't eliminate the resentment in his heart after ending it, so he shouted: "Husband, I've waited so hard for you!" He deliberately cried aloud.

When Zhang Sheng saw Aniu coming, he was surprised and delighted, and hurriedly helped her into the house and asked, "Why did you come by yourself?" ”

"What? You don't come to pick me up, I'm here myself, don't you want to? ”

"Yes, yes, I'm going to pick you up." Zhang Sheng said happily. But he didn't understand: how did Aniu come to be after such a long journey? However, he thought so in his heart, but he didn't dare to ask more.

It turned out that Zhang Sheng came home that time and told his partner about him and Ah Niu. The friends knew that he had money on him, so they did everything possible to gamble with him. Soon the five hundred taels of silver were lost. He was a poor scholar and didn't pass the exam, so he had to put aside the matter of picking up Ah Niu. Over time, it gradually faded into oblivion. Today, Aniu came to the door in person, in his heart

Naturally, it is an indescribable joy.

That night, Wu Linggui and Zhang Sheng worshipped heaven and earth.

As the days passed, it became clear that every three to five days a child was lost in the village. More than a dozen children were lost, and not even a single body could be found. The people became more and more frightened, so they went to an elder and prepared to find out what was going on to get rid of the evil.

The elder held a sword in his hand and summoned one person from every family in the village to gather at the drum tower. At this time, he looked over one by one to see which person's face had a demonic aura, and then he knew where the man-eating ghost was hiding. When he saw Zhang Sheng, the elder whispered to him, "Master Zhang, your wife is a cannibal. ”

"What? What did you say? Zhang Sheng couldn't believe his ears.

"Your wife is a cannibal." The elder repeated.

Zhang Sheng was stunned, he never expected that his beautiful wife would be said to be a ghost. He wanted to rush forward and beat the old fool up. It's just that my hands are weak and I can't lift them. It turned out that he had been sucked a lot of essence and blood by that Wu Ling ghost, and he had become yellow and thin, and he couldn't exert his strength.