As if he hadn't heard Mu Qingyang's question, the old man continued to mumble to himself.

"Heaven is evil, it is forgivable, self-inflicted, you can't live ......" The old man slowly stood up and staggered across the bridge while saying something that no one could understand.

"Hey ......"

Mu Qingyang shouted, but as if the person couldn't hear what he said at all, he just walked to himself.

Forget it, maybe a madman.

Mu Qingyang comforted himself, not all people who pass by here are normal people, it seems that the old man just now belongs to the category of mentally abnormal, there is no need to meet him in general. However, what the old man said seemed to be a little pointed, and it was not as simple as nonsense.

……

This is a very ordinary bridge, zigzag and zigzag to connect the two banks, with cement guardrails but no decoration, the only special thing is that a lot of aquatic plants are planted under the bridge, without exception they grow very luxuriant. The river was rushing underneath, and it was peaceful and quiet, and you could hear the sound of the water rolling in small pieces to your ears.

Mu Qingyang had a lazy feeling spontaneously, this was actually a very good place, and it seemed that he could completely relax his mind.

Suddenly, all worries were gone, a strange sensation seeped into the veins, like being surrounded by a warm tide, and every cell and pore seemed to wake up from sleep, ready to welcome a new and beautiful outside world.

The thick mist gradually evaporated, and it was constantly spit out from the dark corners, and the filth like ink spread little by little, and the clear water of the river gradually became turbid. Mu Qingyang, who was on the bridge, suddenly felt that his mind was unusual, the current of thought was not boiling, only the dark and turbid fog was floating dimly, like a dying patient; No irritation, no pain. This is a deeper and deeper sorrowful sorrow, an unfathomable deep, lonely, and sad sorrow.

A low and sorrowful cry came out shortly, and he coaxed in his ears, as if he had been pricked by a sharp needle, and his whole body was a little numb. His face was pale, and he stood there motionless, only to feel a cold sweat running down his spine. There was a dull red glow in his eyes, and he felt a terrible whimper in his chest, as if it was about to tear his chest.

Like an ant on a hot pot, remorse, shame and anxiety, tormenting him mercilessly, crumbling and tearing his heart apart. He opened his mouth as wide as the mouth of a box, and was stunned for a moment, and then swallowed two or three more mouthfuls of saliva, as if his throat was dry.

An incomparable heat swept over him in an instant, like hot sand grinding his internal organs, he felt the fire all over his body, his hands clutched the guardrail, and it took almost all his strength to contain the desire to jump into the river......

Hiss!

Feeling a little surprised, there was an imperceptible inhaling movement in the river, and the ink-like dirt was deposited, and as the water continued to wash, the surface of the river returned to its rippling blue waves, only the branches and leaves of the water lotus that had been branched up swayed slightly, as if they were still in shock.

Cold sweat continued to drip down, and Mu Qingyang felt a little scared - he couldn't help but underestimate the existence in this river.

If it weren't for the fact that there was still a trace of sanity, the uncontrollable emotion just now was enough for him to plunge into it regardless of it.

Turning his head to see that there was no one around, Mu Qing raised his hand and nodded his eyebrows, and his heart flashed with brilliance, and he took a step forward, and the whole person disappeared into the air in an instant......

"It's been a long time since you've been back," the fully armored teacher whispered.

Mu Qingyang sighed: "I've been a little busy lately. ”

"Your face is not good, what happened?"

"Nothing...... Belch...... Teacher, do you know anything about water monsters? ”

"Water monsters? Speaking of which, I seem to think of a very fierce guy...... But as far as I know, it shouldn't be here in the hinterland......"

"Can you tell me?"

The teacher pondered for a moment and said, "It's called a ghost eel, and some people call it a koehead or a water demon. This creature is very active in the sea, and it is extremely large, and it can often be seen near the high seas near the Wa Kingdom. In the past, before fishermen went out to fish, they would remind each other not to whistle or make similar noises in the places where they were haunting, so as not to invite accidents. If you encounter it by accident, you should avoid it from afar, and once you let it into the cabin, it is inevitable that the crew will be swept away instantly. It was covered in a thick slime, almost useless with sharp weapons, and it was said to emit some strange noises that could manipulate people's emotions and make the sailors at the helm unwittingly turn their ships towards it and feast on it. ”

Mu Qingyang hesitated for a moment, recounted the previous incident, and then asked, "Do you think it will have anything to do with it?" ”

"It's a bit like, but I'm not sure...... If this guy has killed a few people, you'll need to be careful that those unjust souls turn into drowning ghosts and cause you trouble. ”

"You mean...... Water ghosts, yes? "Mu Qingyang had read legends about water ghosts on the Internet before.

In fact, there are stories about water ghosts circulating all over China. The name of the water ghost varies from place to place, some places call it "water ghost", others call it "water ghost", etc.; In short, water spirits, like kappa in Japan, are youkai that inhabit the bottom of the water. Legend has it that in this part of S Province, people believe that people who drown will become "drowning ghosts", and according to those who have seen them, they have green eyes that resemble otters. Locally, legend has it that water spirits even appeared on fishing boats.

It is said that a woman was frying broad beans on the boat, and the water ghost smelled the fragrance and stretched out a furry hand from the side of the boat to ask her for broad beans to eat. The woman immediately recognized that this was the "Reservoir", but agreed to its request and placed the broad beans in its hands. At this time, because the broad beans were very hot, the "water ghost" squeaked and withdrew his hand.

Water ghosts seem to be very afraid of hot things or fire, and people often drown in ponds in rural areas, but it is because the water spirits in the pond are looking for a substitute. In the past, a scholar named Ji Jiu opened a private school near this pond. He always rescues people who are about to drown, so he is regarded as a thorn in the side of the water ghosts. In particular, there was a female water ghost who seemed to be very competitive, constantly appearing in front of Ji Shusheng's window, shouting: "Give me fire!" ”

Once, Ji Shusheng was working hard, and the female water ghost came again to ask for fire. So, Ji Shusheng took out the red ink pen and wrote the word "fire" on its palm, and the female water ghost retracted her hand with a loud shout. Because the word "fire" on the palm of the hand really caught fire and burned. Later, under the bitter pleading of the female water ghost, Ji Shusheng erased the words with paper. Therefore, in many stories, the kind of scholar with heroic righteousness is often a ghostly and inviolable character.

Related to this is also the legend of the turtle monster - Song, who lived in Qinghe, one summer, his wife Shizong said that he wanted to take a bath alone, drove the whole family out of the bath, and stayed alone in it for a long time. Suspicious family members peeked through holes in the wall to see what was going on in the bath. There was not even a figure in the bath, only a large turtle in the bucket. The family didn't know what was going on, so they entered the bath together, but they still didn't see the figure of Shizong, and they still saw a big turtle in the bucket. The turtle was completely oblivious to the other people in the room, and looked nonchalant. On its head was a silver hairpin, which was the same one that Shizong wore before bathing. Her husband and children cried, but everything remained the same. Soon after, the family found out that the turtle wanted to go out, so they decided to watch over in order to observe the situation. However, a few days later, the turtle took advantage of the lax guards to crawl out of the house. The family panicked to catch the turtle, but it escaped faster. The family followed it, but they never caught it; The turtle eventually slipped into a nearby river.

After a few more days, the turtle suddenly returned to Song's house, and, walking back and forth in the house like a human, after a while, it left silently again. The neighbors suggested that Song should hold a funeral for his wife and mourn her; However, Song said that his wife was still alive, but her body had changed, and the funeral was not held in the end.

……

Mu Qingyang told the stories he knew, and the teacher couldn't help but be a little fascinated by it, which couldn't help but make Mu Qingyang feel a little funny, it turned out that this person who didn't smile would have such a humane appearance? He has always had the conjecture that this teacher is the incarnation of the world in this book, but seeing his appearance at this time, Mu Qingyang completely dispelled this idea, if he is the incarnation of that book, then what is the strange book spirit on the cover? Moreover, the teacher's performance at this time was too emotional.

Since he is back here, it is natural to avoid those regular tests and exercises, and when Mu Qingyang finished the last thousand sword swinging exercises with a bitter face, the teacher took out the stone used for the test again.

"Chop it down and try it!"

With a sonorous sound, the sword slashed down, and a line of sparks came out of the boulder, showing a trace of an inch deep on the stone surface.

"It doesn't seem like your strength has increased significantly, and you still need to speed up your practice. The spiritual power you gained after that experience has not yet been fully integrated, and now your strength is only hovering at the peak of the demon spirit, if you can further master those two cold and hot spiritual powers, I think you can break through the shackles of the monster in one fell swoop and directly step into the list of demons. ”

Mu Qingyang knew that the teacher was talking about the two skills passed on to him by the impermanences, but he had tried countless times in the past year, and he was always unable to find the method. "I know too, alas...... Maybe it's not too late, right? He sighed softly.

"If you're looking for the water demons, I'd like to pay attention to the movements of those water ghosts......" The teacher abruptly changed the subject.

"What do you mean?"

"The demon is tangible, the ghost has no shadow, the water demon attacks people just for the sake of appetite, those water ghosts are looking for a substitute......"

"You mean it could be an endless cycle?" Mu Qingyang's face changed, and his mind quickly thought of this aspect.

The teacher nodded, and walked into the darkness with the greatsword, leaving him stunned......

……

Sometimes the Internet is really an extremely convenient query option, as long as you enter a certain key keyword, all the relevant information will be instantly gathered and presented. Mu Qingyang rubbed his eyes, the hard work in the middle of the night in the Internet café finally paid off, and he got a brief information about all the deaths in the water in the past year. Of course, some things may not be accurate, and for reasons of privacy protection, there are true and false ones, but it can be seen from the time of death of all people that tragedy will occur around the 24th day of the lunar calendar, which has almost become a common practice.

Flipping through the calendar on the website, he looked at today's date - the 24th day of the seventh lunar month, and at the same time, the hands of the watch were just past midnight.

Mu Qingyang immediately got up and went to the checkout counter and walked out of the door, he had a hunch...... Tonight, not a peaceful night.

The night sky is dark, as if soaked in ink, and there is no light in sight, and the pollution in the city has begun to give the people who live here a bitter fruit, except for the occasional moonlight, the starlight seems to be less often in everyone's sight. The heat of midsummer continues at night, and many people have not returned home at midnight, some of them because of the need to escape the heat, and some of them simply can't sleep, such as the middle-aged man who is still strolling by the river.

He was dressed in an old uniform, and his tall figure was a little thin. A thin face, with some not very dense beards, which looked unscrupulous because of the sickly pale appearance of his face. In fact, he did not have any major physical ailments, except for some problems with his trachea. It's only because of years of manual labor that the body looks a little thinner. Yuan Zhifang, an ordinary mechanical welder, on the surface, except for some smoke, he is an example of an honest person.

The reason why he didn't come home so late was actually a secret that was difficult to tell, just yesterday during the day, Zhang Li, who had just graduated from high school on the same street as him, committed suicide by jumping into the river. It stands to reason that they were originally two kinds of people who couldn't be beaten by eight poles, but secretly, the precocious classmate Zhang Li had already had an ambiguous relationship with the middle-aged single Yuan Zhifang, and just last month, Zhang Li accidentally discovered that she was pregnant.

The girl who was panicked by this discovery came to Yuan Zhifang several times, but this middle-aged man who looked honest was actually messed up, and he began to persuade Zhang Li to go to the hospital to kill the child, but the girl was afraid that her parents would find out about her abnormality, and resolutely disagreed to do so. She wanted Yuan Zhifang to go to her parents to confess everything and determine the relationship between the two.

Where did Yuan Zhifang dare to do this? Zhang Li didn't know this truth when he was young, but he knew very well that if he came to the door to admit the facts, it would not bring him a good future, but only a pair of cold handcuffs, and a secret ** would definitely make the girl be sent to the police station immediately by her angry and crazy parents, accusing him of a hooligan and seduction. According to his age, when he comes out of prison, he will probably have to go to the coffin.

In a panic, Yuan Zhifang simply pushed the girl out of the door, and refused to admit that this matter had anything to do with him. Zhang Li went home but ushered in the severe scolding of her parents, not that she found anything, but after the results of this tutoring, she was hovering on the line of hanging on the line for almost all her homework, which made the husband and wife who loved their daughter couldn't help but worry about the way out of this only daughter, and for a moment of anger, Zhang Li's father actually let out a roar for Zhang Li to get out. This series of blows completely caused the girl to fall into a state of collapse, and for a moment she couldn't think of a dead word left in her thoughts......

When the news of her death spread, Zhang Li's parents were in pain, and Yuan Zhifang, who lived on the street corner, also fell into deep remorse. That day and night he had no sticky teeth, but smoked at home, until midnight, when he could no longer sit still at home, and he was eager to go to the river to see......

Look at the place where the girl who once had a relationship with him finally left this world......