"Look at it, I'll just say there's something wrong with that place, and another one died yesterday, and he was hanged." A middle-aged woman looked like I had already said it, and said to another middle-aged woman who was going to buy groceries next to her.

The middle-aged woman said that this place is an abandoned square in a small town, the square is overgrown with weeds and no one manages it, the sports equipment has rusted, the green paint on it is like burnt paper ash, it will break when touched, the only two swings in the square are broken, the rubber seat is connected to a rope dangling, and the other rope is hanging on the rusty high horizontal bar, and a knot, a round knot, the middle-aged woman said that the one who hanged was hanged here.

This is not uncommon for this dilapidated little square, such things happen from time to time, not far from here to be developed into a residential area, the buildings are demolished, this square is not in the plan, so no one cares about it, but strange things happen here all the time, workers will hear a lot of people crying when they sleep at night, the sound is not very loud, but it seems that many people are crying, there are children, old people, women, men, workers think they are dreaming and ignore it.

Later, some curious people, disgusted and curious, got up and came out to have a look, the place where the workers slept at night was less than a hundred meters away from the small square, the curious workers followed the sound closer and closer, and finally came to the small square, but after arriving they involuntarily swayed to the swing, stood on the swing and began to swing, swinging higher and higher, and then let go of the hands that grabbed the rope, and the person fell backwards like this.

But because the swing was in the sand, he just fainted, and his life was not in danger, and the next day the workers found him, and three or four people carried him out and sent him to the hospital, where he has been in a coma ever since.

In the evening, some of the workers heard the crying, shouting, and begging for mercy, curiosity killed the cat, and some people were curious to pass, and walked to the small square, walked to the high horizontal bar in a daze, and not long after, he untied his belt and hanged himself.

The next morning, passers-by found out and called the police, the police came to investigate, went to the construction site to find the foreman, the foreman was worried about how there was no one at this time, and he didn't know where to go, and no one said a word, this is dead.

The police explained the situation to the foreman, and then began an investigation, the deceased who hanged himself did not drink, only smoked, usually had no bad habits, did not gamble, did not take drugs, had no debts at home, although he did not have a love life, but did not show anything for this, which made the police officer very incomprehensible, why did he commit suicide? There are no signs of a fight on his body, and strangely enough, there are no signs of struggle, which is strange, even if he commits suicide, he will struggle a few times because he is in pain when he is suffocated, but he seems to have been hanged motionless as if he had been entangled in his hands and feet, and it is more like being hanged than suicide.

This made the police officer very puzzled, and when he talked about it with his master while drinking at night, he shook his head. Told the master that someone committed suicide in the small square again, as before, there was no trace of struggle, the deceased did not owe gambling debts before his death, and he had no bad habits, so why did he commit suicide in a dignified manner? The master has stopped doing this business, because the police station said that he was a magic stick, at first it was nothing, and then the bureau felt that the impact was not good, if this was a leader or something, he was talking nonsense all day long, and he was a ghost and a god, so he talked to him and asked him to talk less about these things in the future, but the master himself firmly believed that there must be, because there were many such cases in the square at that time, and those who committed suicide did not want to commit suicide, like going to be executed, and the case could not be solved, and they found a lot of so-called capable people, and they didn't see the truthThe master heard that there were strange sounds in the small square every night, so he took a tape recorder and tape to record it, at that time, technology was not developed, and the tape was just to buy it, but the tape recorder was still borrowed from others, not that he couldn't afford it, but he didn't need it, and he didn't have any children at home, a bachelor, and he didn't need to buy it for his children to practice listening.

Originally, it was nothing, but after going to the night, he stood in the central open space and always felt that he was drowsy, always wanted to sleep, and always wanted to be in a daze, and did not hear any sound, turned on the tape recorder and began to record, I don't know if it was too tired during the day, he sat down and fell asleep against the central flower bed, in the dream he saw his partner who had been transferred, once his colleague, the two sat together in the car, chatted, after a few words, the partner slammed on the brakes, and said to him: "Get out of the car, you are not yet time, You're a little too early now. ”

Then the master woke up suddenly, he opened his eyes, the tape recorder was still spinning, as if he hadn't slept for long, "It seems that there is nothing to gain tonight, go home and sleep, and come back tomorrow." The master muttered two sentences in his heart and got up, ready to leave, just walked out of the small square when he took out the tape and put it back, pressed the playback recording, some people cried, some shouted, and the rope was tightly tied up and made a nasty sound, the master was cold, he didn't dare to move, he didn't even dare to look back at the small square, the sound didn't last long and stopped, and then the rest of the sound, like a whole bag of flour or the sound of a person falling, slowly the master dared to look back, the small square was still like that, There was nothing special, the master wanted to record another part, but he never mustered up the courage, gritted his teeth and closed his eyes and took a big step forward, stepping into the small square, at this time he began to feel the desire to sleep again, he quickly turned around and strode out, picked up the tape recorder and ran home.

He didn't find that when he strode into the small square, the recording key of the tape recorder started again, ran all the way home, put the tape recorder on the table when he got home, fell asleep on the bed without taking off his shoes, woke up the next day, came to the bureau with the tape recorder, and found the deputy director, the deputy director sighed when he saw him and said that he was very busy, and he didn't have time to listen to his story, and the master firmly said that as long as he listened, he would know what was going on, so that the director must believe in himself, and the director said impatiently that you should hurry up, The master excitedly turned on the tape recorder, but did not hear the sound recorded last night, but only the sound of him running and panting, and the sound of him snoring in his sleep at home, which made the deputy director very angry and told him to let him not be in charge of these cases.

The master was very angry, but in the eyes of other colleagues, it was good not to fire you, the master did not give up, and often persuaded others to go with him to investigate, and finally he was fired, because the final result of the investigation of all the deceased was suicide, whether it was from the scene or the situation of the body.

It's been 8 years since the master was expelled, and he usually has nothing to do, so he plays chess to raise flowers, goes out for a walk, picks up mineral water bottles and paper shells, it looks like nothing on the surface, but the master has always wanted to know what is going on, 9 people die every year in this abandoned square, why? Sometimes 9 people die in a summer, sometimes 9 people die in a month, and they just say that the place is evil, but no one says anything specific.

A month has passed, 7 people have died here, although the master is no longer a policeman, but after hearing the news, he rushed to the scene of the crime to discuss the case with his apprentice, the apprentice was very impatient, but rarely showed it, because in the bottom of his heart the apprentice still admired the master.

There are no useful clues, the master can only go home with his head down, and the apprentice has never told the master that these cases have actually been ordered by the above, and the suicide case that occurred in this small square in the future can be directly determined as suicide. Don't interfere too much with anything else, so the apprentice has long been unconcerned, he once asked why, and the above just told him that this is not something that the police can solve, they have already found someone to see, and this is not something that ordinary people like us can stop.

The apprentice never said these words to his master, until a new deceased appeared, 9 people, enough to count, no one will commit suicide here this year, the apprentice advised the master not to interfere too much, this year is fine, this year is enough. Don't worry about it anymore, the master looked at the apprentice as if he suddenly understood something, and the apprentice was afraid that the master would look at him like this, so he subconsciously took out a cigarette and lit it to escape the master's gaze.

The master slowly said as if pleading: "The master knows that he is no longer a policeman, and you have also seen what the master has been like all these years, and the master doesn't want to be nosy, but do you know how I got over the years?" Do you know what I dream about every night when I sleep? One day I don't know the truth, I can't sleep peacefully, you know, the master never drank before, since I got involved with this case, I can't do without wine every day, whether it's a headache and eye pain the next day, or dizziness, I must drink some wine before going to bed, the master is not alcoholic, but not drunk The master really can't sleep, and he doesn't dare to sleep, you must know something, if you want to say it, just tell me, if there is anything unspeakable, forget it, I don't want you to live like the master in the future, no one is a ghost, no ghost. ”

The apprentice sighed, frowned tightly for a long time before telling the master what he said to himself, the master was both happy and angry, these people above said that I had a bad influence, said that I was a god, but he invited someone to come and see, and then pressed everything down, when it didn't exist, and fired me from the police force, the more the master thought about it, the more angry he became, and hammered the wooden wall hard, which scared the apprentice and attracted some unnecessary attention.

The master gave the apprentice the last task, let him find out who these people were looking for to see this matter, we want to meet this person, to know the truth, the apprentice only shook his head, he didn't want to do this thing, how can it be so simple, in case he is known by the above, he will be expelled from the house It will not be far away, the master also thought of this after speaking, and then changed his words and said forget it, even if you look for it for so many years, you don't know where to look for it, forget it, forget it.

The apprentice also knew why the master said this, and he didn't say anything, on the one hand, the master's heart that had been hanging for several years, and on the other hand, his future life, what should he do? Neither of them spoke, the master asked for a cigarette and lit it and left alone, the apprentice went home and lay on the bed, recalling the past scenes, including the moment he first entered the police station, he couldn't help laughing at himself, why is he so cowardly, he doesn't dare to investigate this little thing, what kind of policeman is it!

He sat up suddenly, put on his clothes, and quietly entered the bureau by himself, he wanted to know the truth, for the master, for the deceased, and for himself, there were colleagues on duty in the bureau, he claimed to them that the USB flash drive on his key did not know where it fell, the key ring was opened, and his colleagues wanted to help him find it, he declined, took a flashlight and began to pretend to find it, he went to the archives to find the information he wanted, according to the above records, he found a person to see, and called him Li senior, This Li seniors are not a great person, he is a seller of dead people's supplies, how can he have anything to do with him? Could it be that he is a master of the world?

He packed everything, and when he came out, he told his colleagues on duty that he didn't find it, I went to the noodle shop to look for it, ran to the master's house and smashed the door, the master opened the door, he told the master everything, the master tried to remember who this person was, where to find it? Let my apprentice investigate it when he goes to work tomorrow, and when he finds it, he will leave immediately.

The next day, the apprentice found out the useful news, called the master, and the two drove to the store of Mr. Li's predecessors together, the store of Mr. Li was far away, probably because of the special relationship of the industry, the two of them arrived at the door and found that the store was not open, and a note was posted on the door, which read: "Today's situation is special, there are customers visiting, temporarily closed." ”

The apprentice said, "Master, what should I do?" Someone, is this out, or is it inside, let's come back another day? The master glanced at him angrily and said, "How can you change the day, the sooner you solve it, the better, knock on the door!" The apprentice said like a child who had done something wrong, and then knocked on the door, knocked lightly, and found that the door was not locked, and opened as soon as he knocked, the master stretched out his hand and pushed the door open, and looked inside, there were paper people, paper money, candles, and other things used everywhere, and looked in from the door, and there was a door inside, and the master glanced at the apprentice and asked the apprentice to go, and the apprentice was at a loss in place, and at the same time a strong old man's voice came from the door inside, and said: "Please sit here, you have been waiting for a long time." ”

The apprentice was a little scared when he heard it, and motioned for his master to go first, the master glanced at the apprentice, took out the wine and drank a sip and then walked forward, when he walked to the door, he didn't dare to go in, and took a sip of wine before he mustered up the courage to open the door, the scene in the door was nothing special, an old man with silver hair sat with his eyes closed, in front of him was a square table, four benches, the old man was sitting opposite, the two looked at each other, and walked in cautiously.

This house is not very big, it looks like 30 square meters, there is no lamp lighting, there are five lampshade candles, one in the four corners, one on the table, the master looked around, there are a lot of calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, but they are all some unintelligible words, and there are uncomfortable portraits.

The master cleared his throat and said, "Senior Li? The old man who closed his eyes slowly opened his eyes and said, "Please sit down, I will tell you what you want to know, let's not talk about it, you are here for the murder of 9 people." The master hummed in a low voice, and the apprentice didn't dare to breathe as he sat next to him.

Li said that "there are nine people who die every year, each time in a cycle of 37 years, and now it has begun to be the 9th year, and there are still 28 years to end, this matter has to start from the third year of tomorrow Qi (1623) to the seventeenth year of Shunzhi (1660), when the Manchu Qing Dynasty rose, a lot of Han people were killed, you should have learned, the place where the square is located, is the place where the Qing soldiers slaughtered the people at that time, and the men, women, children, and children in the vicinity were all arrested, and then hacked to death, Hanged, among which the children are the most pitiful, there are many children who were taken away in front of their mothers, thrown aside, and trampled to death by other Qing soldiers riding horses, the children were trampled to death by horses in front of their parents, their intestines were rotten, and their internal organs were trampled out, and then the women were forced, and the organs on their bodies were cut off to reward their merits, and the men were cut off their ears and tongues, tortured to death, and many people were hanged, and those who were hanged were tied hands and feet, and their mouths were stuffed with other people's flesh and hair by the Qing soldiers, Those who were hanged watched their children, relatives, or parents being killed, and then their mouths were stuffed with their flesh and hair, and they were hanged alive. ”

The master and apprentice got goosebumps all over their bodies when they heard this, and the apprentice boldly asked, "But what does this have to do with the nine dead people every year?" The master glanced at the apprentice and motioned him to listen quietly, and he would naturally know later.

Senior Li ignored it and continued: "Those children who were trampled to death by chariots and horses, women who were killed and forced to bao, and others, all because their heads were in different places, so they couldn't even be ghosts, and those who were hanged died with great grievances and resentment, although they died, but the corpses were still there, and they were very complete, their grievances were very strong, and they turned into ghosts in the place where they died, and the Qing army that killed them at that time was exactly 9 people, so 9 people died every year, and the massacre lasted for 37 years. So it will take 37 years to stop each time, unless you deceive them, or break them. ”

The master's hand trembled a little, opened the wine he was carrying, took a sip, and said, "How can you deceive them?" Senior Li pointed to the master and said: "This still depends on you people, find 9 death row prisoners, and then dress up as Qing soldiers, and then find 100 people to watch these death row prisoners being executed by Ling Chi, so that you can calm the anger of the unjust soul, and there will be no more people in a hundred years, otherwise there will be 37 consecutive deaths in a hundred years, all in a small square, 9 per year, but I also know that this is impossible now, death row prisoners are not difficult to find, just dress up as Qing soldiers, and find 100 people to watch, and Ling Chi is executed, It is indeed impossible to do in today's society, but it is the only way. ”

The master's face showed a little embarrassment, and he said for a long time: "This is deception, right, so what about breaking it?" Senior Li shook his head slightly and said: "Prevent a person from dying, as long as a person does not die, it will be broken in exchange for a hundred years of peace, but ordinary people will be uncontrolled as long as they enter the small square, and it may be impossible to break it, you can send someone to guard it during the day, but at night even people with souls are hooked in, wouldn't it be more convenient for these unjust souls." ”

The master and the apprentice thanked Senior Li and walked out, and when they walked to the gate, Senior Li tore off the note and looked at the master and said: "There is someone around you who is protecting you, there is no kinship, it can be said that you are born and died together, he is full of righteousness just like you, he will bless you." The apprentice asked suspiciously, "Is it a ghost?" The master knew who he was talking about, it was his partner, and Senior Li sank for a moment and said, "I prefer to say that it is a protector god rather than a ghost, although he appears in the form of a ghost." ”

The master said with some emotion, "Can I do something for him?" Li said to the senior: "Live well, as soon as possible, but his own wishes, so that he can return to the sky, if it is not for you to rest assured, he is afraid that he will leave a long time ago, you will break, this is what he said, he also said the hospital, go to the hospital you can break it all, I don't know why he said this, but I believe him." ”

As if he suddenly knew something, the master suddenly raised his head and looked at Senior Li and said, "Thank you, thank you, I know!" I know! Then he turned to his apprentice and said, "Quick! Go to the hospital!! Then he ran into the car, the apprentice followed the car, started and drove to the hospital, after arriving at the hospital, found the worker who had fallen unconscious, the master said to the apprentice: "Is he also counted?" He's not dead, he's just unconscious. ”

The apprentice suddenly understood, because every year there are deaths, every year there are nine deaths, so naturally this one is also counted as the dead, in fact, he knocked on the sand floor, just fell into a coma, did not die, the master and the apprentice seemed to have found hope in the hospital corridor laughed loudly, hugged each other, the nurse came and kicked the two out and told them not to disturb the patient's rest.

The master and the apprentice went to the bureau to find the deputy director, and told the deputy director all the things, the deputy director didn't want to get involved, and proposed to let the apprentice stay and talk alone, as for the master... He was no longer a police officer, so he didn't think there was any need to say anything to him, but the master didn't think so, not only did he not go out, but stared at the deputy director loudly and said, "You waste!!" Say I'm a god stick!! Say I'm not a good influence!! You know what you're doing in private!! Now we can solve this problem!! But you're still hesitating!! You deserve to be called a cop too!? The deputy director suddenly smiled helplessly and said, "Sooner or later, I will be killed by the two of you!" Then he got up and picked up the car keys, walked to the door, opened the door, looked at the two of them, and said, "Hurry up, or I'll go to the hospital by myself." ”

The two walked out happily, the three came to the hospital, the deputy director through his own relationship, contacted the better hospital, contacted the foreman, and the bosses who handled the case at the time, later, the worker was transferred to a better hospital, received more comprehensive care and treatment, after the efforts and treatment of the doctors, the worker regained consciousness, no longer in a coma, the deputy director learned the news, notified the master and apprentice, everyone went to the hospital to visit the worker, the worker looked at these strange visitors on the hospital bed, and was very puzzledHow did I end up here? Who are these people? Why are they so happy? Why did they shake my hand and congratulate me? Why do they call me "hero?" ”

A few days later, the apprentice and the master came to visit the worker again, and the worker was no longer in serious trouble, and he was about to be discharged from the hospital in the afternoon, and the apprentice asked, "Do you remember how you fainted?" The worker recalled and said: "I remember not sleeping well that day, and then it seemed to be a dream, I dreamed that someone was crying, shouting, I wanted to help, but my body was very heavy and I fell asleep, I vaguely felt as if I was dreaming, I dreamed that I got up, walked to a strange place, and suddenly felt that I was back in ancient times, someone tied me to a pillar, I was scared, someone kicked the pillar, I fell to the ground with the pillar, and I didn't know it at all, I felt that I had slept for a long time, I don't know how I got to the hospital, I don't know how I got injured, what happened to the police comrades? ”

The master glanced at the apprentice, stepped forward, looked at the worker and said: "You were too tired that day, next to the place where you live is an illegal processing point, the processing produces chemical toxins, you dare not start work during the day, and secretly process at night, those toxins will hallucinate when you inhale them, and the place where you sleep is the closest to there, you just happened to hallucinate, and now it's okay, we have put this illegal den to the end, a total of nine people have been arrested, you can rest assured, you are hallucinating and then sleepwalking and falling, now it's fine." ”

When the two of them came out of the hospital, the apprentice lit a cigarette for the master, lit one himself, and said, "Master, can he believe these words you make up?" The master laughed, spat out his cigarette, and said, "Do you look at him like he doesn't believe it?" ”

The two of them walked to the small square while talking, and the master said, "It's over." The apprentice nodded and said, "It's over, have a drink tonight?" The master smiled happily, put his hand on the apprentice's shoulder, and the two of them left happily.

On the other hand, the tape recorder borrowed by the master and others at that time has been returned to the owner's house, but the recording function is broken, the family did not pursue it, bought another one, this one was thrown in the trash, the next day the garbage truck came to clean up the garbage, and when leaving the small square, at this time, the recording key of the tape recorder moved by itself...