The next day, Grandma Fang's son received a notice and came to pick up Grandma Fang, who was already unbearable and demented.

I looked across the river, looking from a distance, and saw that Grandma Fang's son and daughter-in-law were also followed by a hairy baby, presumably their other child, and when he saw Grandma Fang, he was obviously frightened, hiding behind his mother, and watched cautiously.

And Grandma Fang's daughter-in-law had been standing far away, expressionless, showing impatience from time to time, pointing at Grandma Fang, arguing with her husband, showing a look of disgust.

Although I couldn't hear their conversation clearly, seeing such a scene made my heart feel mixed.

Five years ago, the two grandparents lived in poverty, but they were able to rely on each other for their lives and enjoy each other, and in the eyes of others, their faces were full of smiles and happiness. However, all this was completely shattered because of a purposeful murder. Fang Xuan died tragically, Grandma Fang's dementia was also neglected by her family, but the mastermind behind the scenes was still at large.

I was angry, unwilling, and I didn't understand why Master didn't pursue it to the end! Is there no justice or goodness in their hearts?

……

The following days were peaceful, and Grandpa Gan recited unintelligible scriptures to the wine jar where Fang Xuan's evil soul was imprisoned all day long, and his thoughts were five to nine, never stopping.

Master told me that my godfather was using the Dao Sect Sutra to sharpen the resentment of Fang Xuan's evil soul, twin ghosts, two souls coexist, and now the two thoughts of good and evil are divided into two souls, and the evil soul is nourished by evil arts, and it is obviously stronger than the good soul, so before melting the soul, the evil soul needs to be weakened, so as not to become the dominant one. However, in terms of the kung fu of using scriptures to grind and soak, no sect can compare to Buddhism, so after this matter is over, Grandpa Gan will take Fang Xuan back and hand it over to Buddhist monks to chant scriptures and probation.

During this time, in addition to carving the locust wood plaque every day, Master taught me to read and write, and to recite the Tao Te Ching. I am in the third grade, and during the winter break, I was able to read most of the texts through, and with Master's teachings, it was not difficult to understand.

A week later, the injury on my leg was almost healed, and Master's locust wood plaque was ready, strung with a red rope, and handed to me.

Master told me that this amulet is called the Golden Stripe Divine Protector, which is a life-saving talisman and should not be used unless absolutely necessary. Because the texture of the wooden sign is average, and the production is rushed, this life-saving charm can only be used three times. Later, Master taught me the urging mantra and forced me to memorize it by rote.

On the evening of January 2, 1990, after dinner, Master told me that he and my godfather were going out to run errands, and asked me to go with me to gain some knowledge, and that I might come back later. I asked him where he was going, and Master didn't say a word in front of the whole family.

After getting along for a while, my grandparents trusted Master very much, so they didn't ask too much, but just warned me to be careful not to run around and not to get into trouble.

So I followed Master out in a daze.

We traveled south, out of the village, over two bridges, through a vast mulberry forest that looked like a ghost in the night, and finally came to an abandoned shore port in the middle of nowhere.

I looked up, on the bank of the reed-covered river, there was a black canopy moored, Master used a flashlight to shine through, the boat was mottled, there was moss on the side, it looked old, the canopy was blocked by a thick curtain, there was no light, like a black hole bottomless, I felt that people would be completely swallowed up as soon as they entered. There was an oil lamp in the bow, which was fastened to the boat with four screws.

In the light, a rickety figure stood up, with sparks flashing at the corners of his mouth, and the smoke was filled, it was a person.

The man turned around, and saw that he was wearing a shabby blue linen jacket, which seemed to be wearing a cotton vest, but he was still a little thin, his body was thin, his face was full of wrinkles, very dry, and even a little molting, which was the vicissitudes of life, and his eyes were also very cloudy, with a little tiredness and sadness, as if there were countless stories behind him, and his back was slightly hunched and difficult to straighten, making the whole person a little shorter.

He squinted his eyes, and after getting used to the light of the flashlight, he patted the dust on his buttocks and said, "Old Wu, have all the people arrived?" His tone was as flat as the quiet of the river.

"Well, everyone has arrived." Grandpa nodded in response.

I took Master's hand, but my eyes never took off the old man.

Xu was aware of my gaze, he glanced at me and asked, "It's not good for children to go." After speaking, he took a few deep puffs of the remaining cigarette butt, and it could be seen that his life was very poor, and he was reluctant to waste even a few puffs of cigarettes.

"It's okay, he's my apprentice, come and see for a long time." Master explained.

When the old man heard this, he did not delve into it, but took another hard puff of his cigarette, then threw the cigarette butt at his feet, crushed it, and said, "But you must take care of him, and don't let him run around, or it will be very troublesome." The tone is still flat, as if he is used to seeing all kinds of things in the world.

Then he said to us, "Get on board." ”

So, the three of us got on the boat in turn and entered the canopy. I grew up in a water town, and the canopy boat and the narrower ferry boat were the main means of transportation, so I was naturally familiar with it, and I could also row, but the oars were too heavy to hold. So I didn't need to be pulled, I jumped on the boat easily, and the boat swayed from side to side all of a sudden, and I slowly stabilized with my feet.

Then I got into the canopy, it was as dark as ink, and even the light from the flashlight seemed to be reduced by half, and even the four walls of the small cabin could not be illuminated, as if I had suddenly entered a huge cave, completely cut off from the outside world, and I couldn't help but feel my heart beat faster, and then I was pulled by the master to sit on the bench, and my heart fell to the ground.

After a while, there was the sound of hemp rope being thrown on the board of the boat. Immediately after, the curtain was lifted, and a figure flashed in with a subtle wind. The old man fumbled for a while, struck a match, lit something, and suddenly the cabin lit up, and when he looked closely, there was a narrow wooden table in the middle of the small cabin, and there was an old copper lamp on the table, the flame was very small, but the whole cabin was illuminated, and the cabin was very low, and ordinary adults could not straighten up at all, and there was a narrow plank nailed on each side, which was for people to sit on. The brightness of the flashlight is much stronger than this small flame, but it can't even shine on the bamboo canopy in the cabin, which is a bit unbelievable, maybe there is some special doorway in it.

"Elder Wu, Master Sun, you all know the rules, I won't say more, I'll call you when I arrive." The old man picked up the oar in the cabin and said.

"Yes." Grandpa nodded.

Then the man turned and went out, and at that moment, the master stopped him: "Old Qian, wait. As he spoke, the master took out a copper cigarette from his pocket, and a delicate cigarette pouch hung on it, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Take it, I brought it from outside, don't smoke cigarettes in the future, it's not good for your health," Master handed him the cigarette stick, "There is also tobacco inside, you can ask me again after smoking." ”

"This ......" Old Qian was obviously a little hesitant, but his eyes kept staring at the cigarette, and his longing eyes were like a stream out of a hole.

"Take it, and you'll be paid for showing us the way." After the master finished speaking, he stuffed it into Lao Qian's arms.

Lao Qian looked at Grandpa Gan, and Grandpa Gan also nodded at him with a smile, at this time something seemed to be flickering in his eyes, and the hand holding the dry tobacco was also trembling slightly, and he bowed to the two of them helplessly, and then turned around and went out with his head down.

There are many copper dry tobacco on the street, but in the eyes of Lao Qian, it is like a treasure, and it is difficult to imagine how poor his life is.

After a while, the boat shook slightly, moved, and soon stabilized, and was able to control the canopy boat so smoothly, which shows that Lao Qian's rowing skills are very superb.

At this time, I couldn't help but ask Master where we were going.

Only then did the master say leisurely: "Ghost town! ”

A cold wind poured in, and my cold hair stood on end in an instant, and I was fooled again!

I knew that I would ask on the road, but now I asked, it was already difficult to ride a tiger, and my face instantly turned the color of pig liver. Now when I mention something related to ghosts, I will have palpitations, what I see is not strange It is all fake, when I looked at Fang Xuan's ghost for ten thousand years, I was completely fallen.

Master glared at me with disdain and asked in a mocking tone, "What?" Are you scared? If you're afraid, you can go back, because the teacher won't stop you. ”

When I heard this, I suddenly felt unhappy in my heart, and I looked down on me.

So he stiffened his neck and said, "I'm not afraid!" I've seen a lot of ghosts or something! When I said the word goblin, my vocal cords trembled.

The master didn't hear it, patted me on the shoulder and said, "That's pretty much the same, if it is spread that my apprentice is afraid of ghosts, then the face of the master will be lost." ”

I suddenly cursed in my heart, and I don't know where I got the courage to be a dead duck, whether your face is important, or your apprentice's little heart is important!

In order to change the topic, I asked Master what Lao Qian did, which felt like a mysterious profession.

Master told me that Lao Qian is a Duyin person, and what is a Duyin person is like a taxi, traveling between ghost towns and reality, transporting ghosts and people.

I asked him what was the difference between the Yin Crossing and the black-and-white impermanence or ghost difference in the book, so it involved the existence of a ghost town, which is different from the Xudu or the Youdu, and is a place that is closer to reality than the latter two, just like a blessed land and a paradise, which requires a special method to enter.

It is a secret method arranged by the Dana in ancient times in order to prevent ghosts and monsters from causing trouble in the world, and then it has been expanded and strengthened by generations of masters to form a scale, and its history and formation are no longer exquisite.

A ghost town is like a shelter or a transit station, and it is a place to shelter the homeless and lonely ghosts of the world. Ghost towns are all over the place, according to the scale is divided into five levels, there are special passages to communicate with each other, each ghost town has a city lord, maintain the order of the whole city, the identity of the city lord is different, demons and monsters have.

Generally, lonely ghosts and ghosts do not take the initiative to go to ghost towns. Therefore, there are people who cross the yin, that is, the lonely souls and wild ghosts are extradited to the ghost town, and gradually form a unique inheritance.

People who do not transition to yin because they are exposed to yin evil all the year round, affecting their own luck, will face a fate, that is, they will either be poor or die, either poor for a lifetime, or short life and early death, only those who are desperate or have a righteous mind are willing to do it, and once they enter the industry, they cannot regret it. In terms of his profession, it is a kind of sacrificing the small self to become the big self, which is worthy of admiration and respect.

Not all of them rowed boats, but they also drove horse-drawn carriages and cars, and so on, they all crossed the Yin after 11 o'clock in the evening until 5 o'clock the next day, and after receiving a certain number of ghosts, they would go to the ghost town and then return. If you say that you make an appointment like we do, you will go straight to the ghost town as soon as you arrive.

After being explained by Master and Godgrandpa word by word, I was not afraid, and I felt that the ghost town was covered with a veil of mystery, and I was a little fascinated.

So I asked Master what they were going to do.

Master said that there are two largest gatherings in the circle, one is the Midyear Festival on the 15th day of the seventh month, and the other is the ghost town and ghost market in the twelfth lunar month.

Also known as Halloween or Obon, the festival is a festival celebration with a variety of events, flowers, and a large stream of guests.

And the ghost market, which is mainly for trading, will be there in every ghost town, and it lasts for fifteen days. At that time, all kinds of treasures and exotic items will appear in the ghost market, whether it is demons, monsters, or people, they will go to find the items they need, and then trade. The way of trading is also very special, that is, barter, the value of the item is completely assessed by the buyer and the seller, so once there is a sought-after item, the exchange will become very expensive and outrageous.

This time, they got the news that the ghost town we were going to was a military level, small in scale, but it had what they needed. However, as for what it was, Master didn't tell me.

At this moment, the curtain was lifted again, and Lao Qian poked his head in and said, "Old Wu, Master Sun, we have arrived outside the secret border, and we won't be able to come out for another half an hour." ”