For a few days in a row, there seemed to be nothing supernatural happening in the entire Yangzhou City, at least it didn't arouse Su Yu's interest. Su Yu secretly guessed that the bad embryo of this God of Wealth Temple should not have grown up yet, and he had to think of an opportunity to recruit a few good hands to prevent them from coming to the door to grab the treasure hanging around his neck.

Zi Xin laughed at him, how could the God of Wealth Temple use such indiscriminate hooligan methods? If they really come to the door in person, I am afraid that not only the treasure hanging around your neck will be gone, but even the head attached to your neck will be gone.

Su Yu was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Jiang Lin was kind and comforted,

"The God of Wealth Temple doesn't know for the time being that the Qi Jade Peiming has returned to you, these days are still safe, when the time comes, I will perform another secret technique for you, which can protect you for another ten years. ”

Although Su Yu was grateful on his face, he rolled his eyes in his heart, the magic stick is the god stick, he likes to play tricks, and if he wants to cast a spell directly, he has to wait for the right time.

And Dou Qiuyu personally led a few people to guard the main road in and out, not letting Su Yu go out. Stewing ginseng soup tonic every day to force him to drink it, saying that the bruises on his face would get better faster. Su Yu drank a stomach of soup and had to wander around the garden, Su Mansion had less than half of the people, and those who could usually talk were not in the garden. He was so bored that he panicked, where could he be idle, and thought that it would be good to run to Huachatzhai to find Jiang Lin to listen to the story. So I secretly climbed over the wall, turned left, and went straight to Chunhua Gate.

He hadn't walked a few steps down the street when he heard someone calling out to him from afar.

Su Yu's neck shrank, thinking that his deeds were revealed. At a glance, I found that it was a snake from the lantern shop. When he approached the lantern shop, Snake was startled. Hurriedly pulled him to sit down,

"Alas, young master, what's wrong with your face?"

Su Yu touched his face, his eyes were still slightly swollen, but they didn't hurt anymore, so he replied vaguely:

"I fell. ”

"It's—it's not a light fall. ”

Snake frowned.

He hurriedly poured a glass of water and handed it over with a grin,

"That's right, young master, if you read a lot and can still see clearly, can you tell me what is written on it. ”

Embarrassed, Snake pulled out a handkerchief that was soft and light, exuding the scent of rouge, and embroidered with landscape paintings and a few lines of poetry. Ah Snake had never read and was illiterate, so he had to ask Su Yu for help.

Su Yu squinted, raised his eyes and looked at Ah Snake strangely, and asked,

"This was given to you by Miss?"

"Of course, we've been together for a while, she's beautiful, soft-spoken, and can write poetry. Read me what is written on it......"

A snake is not without shyness.

Su Yu hesitated for a moment, thinking in his heart where there would be such a girl, with such a unique taste, and such a creepy love poem?

"The eyes are like fish's eyes,

The heart is like a wicker hanging all day long.

The moon is bright and the wind is tight on the thirteenth floor,

Up and down alone.

Brother Snake, this is a poem about ghosts, not a love poem. ”

As soon as he heard the words "thirteenth floor", Ah Snake's face turned pale, and he asked anxiously,

"Young Master, are you ...... You've just come back from Liuyang, so you can't be wrong about how to read, right?

Su Yu rolled his eyes. Okay, you snake, does this young master look so much like a straw bag who doesn't know how to learn? I read the young lady on the handkerchief to Ah Snake's "love poem" again. But the more he heard it, the more frightened he became, and finally he screamed strangely, and plunged into the lantern pile with his head in his hands.

Su Yu was startled and hurriedly dragged him.

"Dead man, dead man, the thirteenth floor is going to kill!"

"Kill? who, who are you going to kill? What is the thirteenth floor?"

A snake is the most honest on weekdays, why is he so shocked today? Su Yu is nervous now, and he is most afraid of hearing something unusual.

He struggled to lift the snake out of the lantern pile. A snake still hugged his head and shouted:

"If you want to kill me, everyone who receives this poem will be killed by the female ghost on the thirteenth floor, and seven people have died in half a month!

As he spoke, tears flowed down his eyes.

Suyu Daqi. Ah, the snake is scared enough. This poem is just a play written by Yuan Mei in the book of the former Qing Dynasty, how can it be related to murder? Seven people have died, why haven't I heard Jia Ding talk about it before?

"Don't panic, don't panic! Snake, tell me which thirteenth floor it is? I'll help you out. ”

"It's the thirteenth floor where you threw flowers the day you returned to the city. ”

The snake was almost crying.

Su Yu was stunned, isn't that thirteenth floor the largest brothel in Yangzhou City? No wonder he can't find out about it in his home.

Su Yu's eyes rolled, and he was just going to paint and talk about it, and by the way, he brought this trouble over. So he picked up the snake and walked towards the Chunhua Gate.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of Huachatzhai, he saw Zi Xin running out angrily, Zi Chou dragging his thighs behind, puffing and exhaling on his mouth, and his two front teeth shining.

Su Yu was happy when he saw this, "Are you two playing a game of mouse biting cat?"

Zi Chou saw that Su Yu seemed to have seen a savior, and hurriedly said:

"Young Master Su, you can help me persuade you, Zixin wants to go to the thirteenth floor to make trouble, and he can't stop him. ”

Su Yu's eyes lit up when he heard the words "Thirteenth Floor", and he knew that there must be an article in it, so he threw a sentence to Zichou:

"Take good care of Brother Snake. ”

grabbed Zixin in his armpit and walked inside, ignoring Zixin's yelling.

Jiang Lin was not in that strange room, but in the pavilion in the back garden. It is said to be a pavilion, but it is better to say that it is a two-story pavilion. The pavilion is unobstructed on all sides, and the carved railings are very ordinary, except for four strange beasts of different shapes and postures standing on the four flying wings. To the south of the pavilion is a large pond, and to the north of the pavilion is a small pond. The curvatures of the edges of the two ponds are opposite, and they coincide from afar. The two ponds are connected by the Luo River as a living water source, and dozens of geese play happily on them. Jiang Lin sat upright on the chair and flipped through the books, his back straight.

Su Yu stepped into the first step of the garden, and suddenly felt a streamer on the surface of the pond sweeping towards him, his body was light and floating, and the boredom was swept away. When Su Yuhu looked at it again, there was nothing, and the streamer was like an illusion caused by water waves. Su Yu glanced at this wide garden, and at first glance he always felt that the pond or this cluster of flowers and plants was slightly abrupt, but at first glance, it seemed to be natural. I guessed in my heart that one was the formation set up by Jiang Lin's magic stick.

Su Yu sandwiched Zixin, climbed the pavilion, walked out of breath, and asked:

"Jiang Lin, what kind of heart do you have to let a hairy boy go to a brothel?"

Jiang Lin raised his head and glanced at Zixin faintly, and Zixin immediately quieted down like a cat seeing a tiger.

"Have you heard rumors about the thirteenth floor?"

Su Yu took out a snake's handkerchief and threw it in front of Jiang Lin's eyes,

"That's what I'm here for today, it's a poem that a young lady gave to the lantern shop snake. What oddities do you see?"

Jiang Lin spread out his handkerchief and saw the four lines of poetry above, and said softly,

"This is not a poem given to a snake by the young lady, but a gift from the Temple of Wealth to you by the hand of a snake. No, you can use it to draw and talk about fasting. ”

Su Yu was surprised, there was no special mark on it over and over again, how could he tell that it was given to him by the God of Wealth Temple?

Jiang Lin took out another handkerchief, and the pattern was exactly the same as this handkerchief.

"This is a handkerchief taken out of Dou Xinyan's quilt. Before the charm is completed, the back hand of the God of Wealth Temple has arrived. They were afraid that I hadn't noticed, so they kindly asked Ah Snake to tell me a reminder. ”

Jiang Lin smiled, his eyes full of mockery.

Su Yu looked at Jiang Lin's eyes and felt that it was inappropriate, so he secretly thought to himself: Could it be that this poem was deliberately transferred to him by the God of Wealth Temple's hand through the hand of Ah Snake, and then knew that he Su Yu would definitely be sent to the painting to Liao Zhai? Then he was so rash, wouldn't he fall into the calculation of the God of Wealth Temple? Thinking of this, Su Yu's scalp was numb, and cold sweat suddenly flowed on his forehead, I am afraid that the young lady who had a tryst with Ah Snake was also a pawn of the God of Wealth Temple. The God of Wealth Temple is a good means, and even he has unknowingly become a tool in his hands!

Jiang Lin seemed to see that Su Yu was embarrassed, and said with a smile:

"It's okay, if you don't send it this time, he will definitely think of another way, anyway, sooner or later, it will be sent to me. It's a blessing or a curse, and it's a disaster that can't be avoided. And then I'll do it. Besides, although this handkerchief has means, it can't hurt me. ”

When Su Yu heard that he had a means, he was immediately afraid, rubbed his hands vigorously, and only scolded himself for being reckless.

"There is a curse in this poem. ”

Jiang Lin said again,

"A drop of blood can activate the spell. And what kind of ghost is on the other side, I can't know for a while. ”

"Ah Snake said that it was a female ghost on the thirteenth floor who hanged herself a few years ago. often wears red clothes in the middle of the night on the third watch, and the shawl is scattered up and down the thirteenth floor. These handkerchiefs must have been embroidered by her, and whoever receives them will be hanged by her!"

The more Su Yu said that the cooler his heart became, Dou Xinyan was ready to leave the charm killing game at the beginning, and then use this method to kill herself, right?

Jiang Lin was noncommittal, but said,

"The snake's blood hasn't dripped yet, and he's not going to be the next target. ”

Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he could directly let Zichou go home later.

looked at Zixin next to him, still puffing up. What does this have to do with Zixin Tongzi, what is he in a hurry to blow up what hair?

"Could it be that you're worried about me?"

Zi Xin snorted sideways.

Jiang Lin glanced at Zi Xin and sighed slightly.

"Yesterday, Ye Shao of Quehua Street also died under this poem, so it is eight people, Zixin was angry when he got the news, so he wanted to find out on the thirteenth floor. It's really impulsive. ”

In a word, Zixin lowered his head, and Su Yu was even more confused.

Jiang Lin pushed the book in his hand to Su Yu, and Su Yu saw that it was Yuan Mei's "Suiyuan Poems". The ghost poem inscribed on the handkerchief is from the record inside. Could it be that there is another mystery hidden in the book?

At this time, Zixin gritted his teeth and said:

"Mr. Jian Zhai is the third master of my paintings, they dare to kill people with Mr. Zhai's poems, I must peel their skins!"

What? Yuan Mei is the third master of the painting Liaozhai?

Su Yu was dumbfounded.

Yuan Mei is a famous genius in the former Qing Dynasty, and he is a scholar! He made many friends, lived a free and uninhibited life, and later lived in seclusion in the garden of Xiaocang Mountain.

Seeing Su Yu's shocked appearance, Jiang Lin smiled faintly and said:

"Painting and talking about the Lord, thinking and acting, famous and invisible. ”

"Famous and invisible?"

Su Yu's heart moved, Master Hua is a farmer, Jiang Lin is still an officer, and it is not difficult to understand that the poet and ink artist have become the master of painting and chatting. Isn't this the so-called generosity and intangibility, the elephant is invisible? The gentleman is not a weapon, the real master is like water, what container he meets, what shape he becomes, and he is integrated with the environment, and heaven and man can be one. This painting Liaozhai implants the essence of Taoism and Confucianism into the root and uses it freely, which is really remarkable! Suddenly, I thought that this Yuan Mei is not the author of 24 volumes of "Zi Buyu", which is dedicated to recording ghost things, which is affectionate and interesting. This comparison, although unexpected, is also reasonable. I can't help but sigh that this painting is really a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger, and I am surprised step by step, I don't know how many famous people in the world are actually people who paint Liaozhai behind their backs.

No wonder Zixin is so angry. Su Yu realized.

This poem is a strange thing that happened to my husband back then. Mr. mentioned in the book that a man named Liu Kai-shek invited immortals at home, and this poem was written on the sand table. 'The eyes are like fish's eyes hanging all night, and the heart is like a wicker hanging all day long. The moon is bright and the wind is tight on the thirteenth floor, and he goes up and down alone. The gentleman found the poem inappropriate, so Liu Kai-shek had to move quickly and destroy the sand table. Liu Kai-shek didn't listen, and that night there was a hanged ghost in red makeup who came over to haunt him. Liu Kai-shek was shocked, destroyed the sand table early the next morning, and then moved to live elsewhere, which was the end of the matter. At the time, people called this poem a 'ghost poem'. I didn't expect it to be used by the people of the God of Wealth Temple. ”

When it comes to ghosts, Su Yu's spirit suddenly lifts up. The questions that had been buried in my heart for a long time all blurted out:

"When it comes to ghosts, both the East and the West are the same. What is the difference between ghosts and those before life, ghosts do not die, and what do ghosts become when they die......?"

His eyes sparkled with excitement.

Jiang Lin explained: "People die as ghosts, this statement is actually only half true. The Sheyang Mountain people divided the animals of Zhou Tian into five immortals and five insects: heaven and earth, gods, men and ghosts, and scales and feathers. The truth of heaven and earth is untraceable, and it is also the ultimate goal of a practitioner.

As for gods, men and ghosts, there is not much difference. The human spirit can only remain in the sea of physical knowledge. If a person's cultivation is correct, the spirit can become stronger, and he will no longer rely on the physical body, and he will be able to have all kinds of supernatural powers. And the gods can completely abandon the body, and the spirit can travel the world and catch the sun and the moon.

And ghosts, which are uncultivated spirits, are accidentally stripped from the physical body. Because spirits that are separated from the physical body are very weak and difficult to survive, most ghosts have to absorb the essence of living people. The aura of heaven and earth, the essence of the sun and the moon, are all the same thing. However, the sunlight is too strong, and the ghosts are too weak to absorb it, but will be destroyed, so most ghosts are afraid of the daylight.

In the same way, if the physical body loses its spirit, it will rot if it takes too long, and it will look like it is dead. Therefore, death does not necessarily mean that a person can become a ghost, and it does not have to die to become a ghost. Otherwise, wouldn't there be more ghosts than people in this world, and they would be crowded to death? The spirit must be very strong in order to be separated from the body, so ghosts are a contradictory thing. It is necessary to have a great will or a great grudge before death, or to use a spell to turn a person into a ghost. People often say that resentment can turn into ghosts, but in fact, resentment is also a kind of curse. ”

Su Yu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he seemed to find a common ground in his memory, and couldn't help but interject:

"Isn't it like the Western theory of celestial evolution and evolution?

What you just said, heaven and earth, gods, men and ghosts, is it true that heaven and earth are the same as man, and the truth of the stars in the universe is the same as the truth of our spirit? Yes, yes, it is said that heaven and man are one, and indeed the sages can see it! It is really an eye-opener—— by the way, the human spirit must be the result of the evolution of all things in the environment of the universe and stars, but it is only a link in the evolution of the river! In this way, the theory of gods and ghosts is not necessarily a mess and nonsense. ”

Jiang Lin smiled and nodded, although it was not exactly the same, but it was generally not wrong. Although Su Yu's thinking is strange, it is rare to understand it so quickly and accurately.

"If there is any difference between a ghost and a human, in fact, it is only a physical shell. The ghost is the embodiment of the human consciousness and the spirit of the sea of human beings, which is a kind of perception, ethereal, and has nothing to rely on......"

"Consciousness!" Su Yu interrupted loudly as he opened his throat, the flame of excitement burning in his eyes, and he didn't feel that he was being rude at all.

"In this way, isn't the predecessor of a ghost what Westerners call consciousness? There is a synthesis of knowledge, memory, and thinking in the human brain, and if they are extracted from the brain and combined, they must be ghosts!"

Jiang Lin smiled a little bitterly, how could this Su Yu be involved with the West Ocean, and it was difficult for him.

Therefore, ghosts also have emotions, and they will also be happy and sad. They can only be seen in a certain environment and time, just like a rainbow, which can only be seen when the rain has passed and the sky is clear. Ghosts can see people, people can't see ghosts, ghosts are scarce and lonely, and after they die, they return to heaven and earth, and turn into nothingness, which is the final destination. If a person can become a ghost, he will continue his grievances, love and hatred in life, and what dies at the hands of the ghost is the retribution of good and evil, the cycle of cause and effect. Therefore, we have to be careful in this matter so as not to break the law. ”

Su Yu scratched his head and fell into deep thought for a long time, not knowing what strange thoughts came to mind again.

Jiang Lin said again,

"The Temple of the God of Wealth is pressing on me, the new master, step by step, and I can bear it, but he will never be able to smear the poems he painted and talked about Zhai! ”

When Su Yu heard this, he came back to his senses, and the inexplicable excitement in his heart ignited again. This ghost is a rare thing, and female ghosts are not something that can be seen casually. This time, he may be able to open his eyes, gain a long insight, and save first-hand information, if he can find out what rules and start a theory of ghosts, how majestic and proud would that be?

"To go or not?"

"Go naturally!"

"To the thirteenth floor?"

"No," Jiang Lin said with a smile, "Go to Ye Shao's house!"

Ye Shao, Ye Shuren's third son, is a well-known romantic embryo in Yangzhou City. Ye Shuren is the owner of the rice shop on Quehua Street. The whole Yangzhou city is crossed with Qiuhua Street and Longhua Street from north to south, and Quehua Street and Chunhua Street from east to west. This Quehua Street is the main road into Yangzhou City, with many shops and crowds, and it is the most prosperous area of Yangzhou City.

At this time, there were white cloths, green silks, and soul-attracting flags floating in the front and back of Yejiatang, and Ye Shuren sat in the side hall with a sad expression, as if he had aged twenty years old overnight. There were low and muffled cries of women in the mourning hall, and the monks muttered scriptures, and Ye Shuren only felt upset and exhausted.

At this time, a subordinate dressed as filial piety hurriedly stepped forward, his face frightened.

"Master, a few chiefs came outside, saying that they wanted to investigate the affairs of the third young master before his death......"

Ye Shuren raised his dirty eyes and thought to himself, everyone is dead, what else is there to investigate.

The police station posted a notice three days ago, saying that there have been a number of deceased people in recent days, and the investigation found that it was a serial homicide case, so please wait with peace of mind, and the police station will find out the murderer on the same day and give an explanation to the family and the general public.

At that time, Ye Shuren happened to walk by under the notice, and secretly laughed at himself, how could the police do this, and it was the best policy to quickly find a monk and Taoist priest to go to the thirteenth floor to exorcise evil spirits. Who would have thought that three days later it would be his son's turn?

Ye Shuren walked towards the hall with heavy feet.

I saw three spirited young men sitting in the hall, two people wearing government uniforms, and one who looked like a rich young master. He took two more steps forward and recognized that the rich man's son was the only son of the Su family, did he come back from the Su family? Ye Shuren's head hurt, this young master of the Su family acted frivolously, hated the things of gods and monsters the most, and always liked to seize the opportunity to dismantle other people's platforms, and then preach the knowledge of Westerners everywhere. I heard that I dared to make trouble with painting and chatting last time, I was really daring! This time I came to my Ye family, I am afraid that I also came to teach Shao'er about it.

Inspector Zhang Shaowu of the police station got up and saluted Ye Shuren, took out a reward announcement for solving the case file, and said:

"Boss Ye should know why we came to the door. In less than a month, there were eight victims, and the urging to solve the case was urgent, so we had to use extraordinary means. This bounty announcement was unveiled by this Young Master Su Yu, Young Master Su is quite experienced in this area, and he will be able to quickly find out the flaws left by the murderer. This is Chief Jiang Lin, the inspector of Yangzhou City, and he is also a friend of Young Master Su, and he is very good at investigating cases. With the three of us together, we will definitely be able to give justice to my son. ”

Ye Shuren's face flickered and darkened, and he did not answer.

The four of them sat in the hall and drank tea, greeted and comforted for a while, and began to get down to business.

Zhang Shaowu asked,

"The deceased had been to the thirteenth floor before his death and had received a handkerchief. I wonder if Ling Gongzi is the same?"

Ye Shuren's face was cloudy, although Ye Shao was dead, but the thirteenth floor was not a glamorous place after all, and when he was pointed out in person, his old face was really a little unbearable.

"There is a handkerchief, but after marrying the eldest lady of the Wu family, I didn't go to the thirteenth floor again. If you come to investigate the murder, you don't have to, my son...... It was suicidal. Ye Shuren said gloomily.

Su Yu and Jiang Lin looked at each other, and then Zhang Shaowu looked anxious,

"Suicide? Can you tell me about Ye Gongzi's situation before he died?"

Ye Shuren's cloudy eyes seemed to be excited again,

Shao'er...... I drank alcohol last night and ran to sleep in the study alone. The subordinate heard the movement in his room, heard him chanting, 'Thirteenth floor!!!', looked at him through the glass, but he was just dreaming, so he ignored it, who knew that he ......would look at it today."

Ye Shuren couldn't go on.

Su Yu's eyes widened, he was cursed and killed by the female ghost on the thirteenth floor, how could he die so ordinary?

"Can Boss Ye believe that Ling Gongzi committed suicide?"

The red silk in Ye Shuren's eyes suddenly burst out, as if he heard hope from Jiang Lin's words, his eyes were full of tears, and then a painful look appeared on his face, and finally the loose muscles on his face drooped.

"Shao'er will get married in half a month, I'm ...... I would never believe that my son committed suicide. It must have been the female ghost who had come to take revenge when she saw that my son had left the thirteenth floor. ”

Jiang Lin glanced at Su Yu, and Su Yu understood. So he stood up and said with dignity and awe:

"With me Su Yu here, whether it is a human or a ghost, I can find out everything. Boss Ye, my officer friend has fought countless battles, and he is the most experienced in examining death and injury, and when we give Ye Gongzi a check-up, we will know whether he committed suicide or killed him. ”

Although it was Su Yu who spoke, the two officials were in the hall, how could Ye Shuren say no? He had to call someone to take Su Yu and Jiang Lin to the mourning hall.

The white curtains on the mourning hall floated in all directions, and countless candles and incense were lit. Su Yu drove all the people in the hall out, and then looked at Jiang Lin and said:

"What's next?"

"Open the coffin. ”

"Open the coffin?"

Su Yu glared at Jiang Lin, thinking that he would use some means, but saw him standing still and staring at the coffin covered with yellow talismans. Su Yu couldn't stop slandering, okay Jiang Lin, stand by yourself, let me do hard labor! Finally, he picked up the screwdriver next to him and struggled to push the coffin away.

Ye Shao was neatly dressed, and his gray-white face lay quietly in the coffin. Su Yu's original mood suddenly calmed down, and he was still a little disappointed in his heart. He thought that the person who was killed by the legendary thirteenth floor would have a hideous face, and it turned out that he was no different from an ordinary dead person.

Jiang Lin stepped forward and flipped over Zhang Shaowu's body, pressed it, and finally stopped at his neck. A white strangulation mark is unusually noticeable.

Su Yu couldn't help but interject:

"Strangulation is inverted, close to the chin, this Ye Shao hanged himself, not strangled to death. ”

Jiang Lin glanced at Su Yu and did not refute. Then he rolled up his sleeves and said,

"Help take off his clothes. ”

Su Yu's expression was like swallowing a live frog, asking him to undress a man? Is he still a dead man? How can he be supported like this when he is so big? But seeing that Jiang Lin has already started to move, Su Yu has no choice but to admit that he is unlucky, this time it is really a big loss!

After the person died, he was extremely stiff, and it took a lot of effort for the two of them to rip off Ye Shao's clothes, Su Yu was already tired and sweaty, and seeing Jiang Lin's skillful technique, he secretly guessed that he must have picked off the clothes of dead people before.

I saw Jiang Lin sweep up and down, back and forth, and then said:

"Let's wear it back. ”

Su Yu jumped up, his face full of anger.

"You're done checking it out?!"

Jiang Lin nodded, "There are obvious traces on the bodies of people who have been cursed and killed, such as the enchantment you have been subjected to, causing the flesh and bones to shrink and the essence to be lost. But there were no traces on him. It seems that the handkerchief is only half of the spell. If it was really a female ghost, it was not the ghost who killed him, but he was willing to die for the ghost. ”

Su Yu didn't understand what he heard, but said with bad intentions:

"Is this the meaning of the peony flower's death? Could it be that the female ghost is a beauty, otherwise why would he die willingly?"

Jiang Lin was silent, as if he was seriously thinking about this question:

"It's clear if it's a beauty going to the thirteenth floor to take a look. ”