When I woke up the next day, the sky was still overcast, as if it was covered by a huge dark cloud. The weather suddenly turned cold, and there were many fewer pedestrians on the streets.

Xing Ruyi was wrapped in a big bag, holding a bowl of red bean porridge, sitting in front of the door, watching the young man Li Mao sweep the street. I heard that last night, Luoyang City fell the first snow of the year, but unfortunately, the snow was too small, and in the morning, there was no trace. The street was wet, with dead leaves scattered in the mud.

"The shopkeeper is afraid of the cold, why don't you go into the shop, but stand at this door and blow the cold." Li Mao cleaned up the dirt in front of the door, picked up a rag again, and wiped the pillar outside.

Xing Ruyi sighed lowly, looked at the street and said, "I'm bored, standing here, I can breathe." ”

"The shopkeeper's words, if you listen to our grandfather, I'm afraid that I will think about it more." Li Mao shook his head and smiled: "You, hurry up and go in, if you accidentally catch the wind cold, don't say it's Yin Ye, it's the cold knife of the little boy, it's enough for us." ”

"I know the cold face of the fox, and apart from me, he rarely smiles at others. Once you laugh, it's definitely not a good thing. Yin Yuan, why don't I know, he will also be a murderer? Fingers flicked along the edge of the bowl: "Anyway, I didn't see this kid this early in the morning, could it be that there is excitement in this city again?" ”

"Well, I've really let the shopkeeper tell you. Something happened on the other side of White Rock Lane, and I heard that a man had died. In this cold day, not only our little boy went to join in the fun, but everyone on the street who had nothing to do went to join in the fun. Oh, Master Chang and Xiao Shengzi also came, but the shopkeeper was still asleep at that time, and was shot away by a cold light from our grandfather. It is estimated that this case is unusual, otherwise Chang Daren would not have found the shopkeeper here. ”

"Brother Chang and Xiao Shengzi have been here? How I didn't hear the fox mention it. Xing Ruyi said, putting the bowl aside: "By the way, where is Baishi Lane?" I haven't been in Luoyang City for a day or two, why haven't I heard this name? Could it be that it is on the outskirts of the city? ”

"This white stone alley is in the city, but the alley is too small, and the people themselves called it open, and there is no mark on the map of the official mansion. Shopkeeper, you are a person who does big things, and it is normal for you to not know such a small alley. ”

"I don't think it's normal, why do you know the little alley, but I don't know." Xing Ruyi held his chin and wrinkled his nose: "I know that your kid is well-informed, tell me, what's the situation?" ”

"The shopkeeper is making fun of me again." Li Mao touched his head and put the rag in his hand in the basin to clean: "Actually, before I was taken in by the shopkeeper, Xiao Lizi lived in that Baishi Lane. Although the name is Baishi Lane, in fact, there are no alleys in that place. It is said that in the previous dynasty, the ground was different from the place next to it, and the stones inside were all white pebbles. Having said that, it looks like you came back from the White Rock Alley last night. ”

"I'm coming back from White Rock Lane?" Xing Ruyi knocked on his head: "I don't remember, I only know that I fell asleep, and I should have been picked up by a fox." ”

"Gu family's coffin shop, the shopkeeper should know, right? More than 20 years ago, it was the most famous place in our Luoyang City. This Gu family coffin shop, the reason why it is famous, one is because the Gu shopkeeper has good craftsmanship, the price of the coffin sold is fair, and Tong Su is not bullied, and the second is because the Gu shopkeeper will have some side doors, and the people rumored that he can listen to ghosts and argue ghosts, but it is not known whether it is true or false. At the moment, there is only one thing that has been handed down to this day. ”

"What's the matter?"

"Something related to his only daughter, Gu Anniang." Li Mao said, got up again, and wiped the doors and windows. While wiping, he continued to speak: "Actually, I also heard what others said about this matter, and the truth has yet to be verified." This incident happened when Gu Anniang was seven or eight years old. At that time, the shopkeeper Gu took a deal, and the person who bought the coffin was the richest man Li in Lijiazhuang, fifteen miles outside the city, and it was his wife who died.

As the so-called life is rare in seventy years, this old lady of the Li family, when she died, was already eight out of seventy, and in the local area, it was considered a joy and mourning. Therefore, this coffin is also red, not our usual black. ”

"You mean the red coffin?" In Xing Ruyi's mind, the mahogany coffin in Gu Anniang's coffin shop suddenly flashed.

"That's what the rumor says!" Li Mao stopped what he was doing, nodded, and continued: "This coffin, it is said that the shopkeeper Gu played it extremely finely, and it was done for seven days and seven nights, and in the early morning of the eighth day, he personally found a few guys, carried the coffin, went out of the city gate, and headed towards Lijiazhuang. It is said that when the shopkeeper Gu went out of the city, the weather was still fine, but when he walked halfway, it rained. Although the newly painted coffin can also prevent some rain, it can't stand being drenched like this, and the lottery gold on it still falls off a little. When it came to Li's family, this Li Yuanwai didn't feel sorry for him. Just keep the shopkeeper at home and repair the falling bonus.

Besides, at the Gu shopkeeper's house, Mrs. Gu saw that her husband had not returned for a long time, so she asked Gu Anniang, who was only seven or eight years old at the time, to go to Lijiazhuang to inquire. Don't look at this Gu Anniang's age, but she was born in the coffin shop since she was a child, grew up in the coffin shop, and she is not more courageous than ordinary people, and ordinary people will not take the initiative to provoke her. Because of fear, he was contaminated with the bad luck in this coffin shop. ”

Xing Ruyi recalled Gu Anniang's appearance and her bearing when she spoke, and felt that it was not difficult for her to be born alone at the age of seven or eight to find her father, so she nodded.

Gu Anniang walked very smoothly all the way, and it only took half a day to arrive at Lijiazhuang. It's just that as soon as I entered the village, I met a fool. The fool, when he saw someone, just stood there and laughed. But when you look closer, you will find that there is an image reflected in his pupils. The shadow, black, resembled a female ghost with a cloak of hair. ”

"When I heard this story, it finally got some meaning." Xing Ruyi said, changed his hand, and continued to support his chin.

"I know that you, the shopkeeper, are interested in these ghost things." Li Mao said that he simply threw the rag in the water, squatted in front of Xing Ruyi, and spoke more and more colorfully.

"Keep going!" Xing Ruyi said, pointing to the inside of the shop: "Take out some of the dried fruits in it." Also, don't crouch in front of me, I always want to touch your head with my hands. ”

Li Mao smiled, took the dried fruit, held it in both hands, sent it to Xing Ruyi, and continued: "Although this Gu Anniang is bold, her heart is not very meticulous, although she also thinks that the fool is strange, but she does not go to her heart. I found someone in Zhuangzi and asked for the specific location of Li Yuanwai's house, so I looked for it by myself.

Knowing that the shopkeeper Gu would have to delay in Lijiazhuang for a while, Gu Anniang also stayed. As for what happened next, the rumors are not very clear. It was only said that Gu Anniang was curious for a while, and broke into Mrs. Li's mourning hall, which frightened Mrs. Li's body, and she fainted there. When the shopkeeper Gu heard the news and rushed over, he only felt that Gu Anniang was cold all over, put it in hot water, and it took a long time to wake up. It's just that although this person woke up, he became like the fool in the Zhuangzi, he could only laugh stupidly, and there was also a person's shadow in these eyes.

This time, people can see it clearly, because what is reflected in Gu Anniang's pupils is not someone else, but the old lady of the Li family in the mourning hall. ”

"And then?" Xing Ruyi held the dried fruit and urged.

"And then? Then the shopkeeper Gu didn't know what to do, and rescued Gu Anniang again. I heard that for this matter, he also offended Li Yuanwai. The business of the Gu family's coffin shop, since then, has become much colder, but there are more people who come to the door to ask the Gu shopkeeper to exorcise evil spirits. ”

Xing Ruyi was originally happy to hear it, but he waited for a while, but he didn't hear the follow-up story, so he asked Li Mao: "This is the end?" ”

"It's over!" Li Mao smiled, got up, and continued to clean the window.

"What kind of story is this, anticlimactic, when I arrived, you couldn't tell me how this Gu Anniang was rescued by Shopkeeper Gu. And what's going on with the old lady Li in the pupil. ”

"This kind of thing, does the shopkeeper still need to ask Xiao Lizi about me? The shopkeeper guessed that Gu Anniang must have collided with the old lady Li at that time, and was robbed of her spiritual wisdom by a ghost, that is, one of the three souls and seven spirits. That's when it became silly. As for how to save it, I heard that Mrs. Gu is very good at being a paper figure, and if you think about it, it has something to do with paper people. After all, since that incident, Mrs. Gu has never been a paper figure again, and her health has not become very good, so she went within two years. ”

"You know this kind of thing, too?"

Li Mao touched his head: "I also mentioned to the shopkeeper just now, before I talked to the shopkeeper, Xiao Lizi and I lived in Baishi Lane for a while. It's just that the real body is used, and the place where he lives is not far from the Gu family's coffin shop. Therefore, there are some things that you need to know more than ordinary people. Oh, I just remembered one thing, that the Gu family's coffin shop has an enchantment, and before Gu Anniang left, low-level cultivators like us couldn't get close. At first, I thought it was because the coffin shop was too yin, but later I found out that the shopkeeper Gu seemed to know some tricks. ”

"I don't know if Shopkeeper Gu knows some techniques, but that Gu Anniang is definitely not as simple as she said." Xing Ruyi narrowed his eyes: "By the way, you just said that there was a case in Baishi Lane, but it is related to the coffin shop?" ”

"Is the shopkeeper asking about the Gu family's coffin shop?"

"Hmm!" Xing Ruyi nodded: "Last night, Gu Anniang came back. This morning, something happened to White Rock Alley, and I was thinking, isn't there anything to do with it? ”

"It's not easy to say about this, because the person who died also helped in the Gu family's coffin shop, and he was the last young guy hired by the Gu shopkeeper before he died."

"So, what caused this man's death?"

"I heard that he died of madness, but judging from the fact that Chang Daren came to find the shopkeeper, the cause of that person's death is not simple."

(Education 123 Literature Network)