At about the same time, there was a group of people from the Qingyang Dynasty from the north, was an old Taoist with a Tai Chi crown hat on his head, a peach wood sword on his back, and a string of silver bells hanging from his waist, a long zodiac robe on the southeast, northeast, southwest, northwest engraved with obscure innate gossip, the Taoist robe was shabby, the fairy spirit was not a little, and the charlatans were full of anger.

Behind him was a quirky young man, also dressed in a shabby long zodiac robe, with a white banner slashed on his shoulders that read "Slay Demons and Destroy Demons in Heaven and Earth", perhaps so old that the seven characters engraved on it in black ink were already pale in color.

The old Taoist raised his head and looked at the full moon hanging high in the night, a little surprised, and then lowered his head and stared at the remote town in the distance, twisted his two fingers, and said: "The auspicious time has not yet arrived." ”

If you rush over to catch demons at this time, you will get less money.

If you want to go on the road of catching ghosts for a long time, you must give up some human feelings, and replace them with money.

It was late, and it was raining in autumn, there were no pedestrians on the ordinary official road, and the full moon in the sky was not yet in the center, so the old Taoist priest was not in a hurry, shaking his head from side to side, and finally his eyes were locked on a dilapidated wooden house.

This wooden house was built as a temporary place for the hunters to go up the mountain to hunt in the past, not to mention that there are a lot of dry pine sticks, which is cheaper for the master and apprentice.

A moment later, a bonfire lit up in the hut.

The old Taoist bent down slightly, and whispered: "Fusheng Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, I'm bothered." ”

The young man only learned the Taoist's gestures, and did not speak.

The old Taoist didn't care, but continued to recite some strange incantations in the four directions, and when everything was over, he breathed a sigh of relief, and walked around the house at will, feeling that it was not too enjoyable, so he came to the door of the house, looked up to the sky, and from time to time admired or scolded with a sad face.

It's just that these have nothing to do with the young man, his face is pale, but he just stuffed wooden sticks into the fire, billowing smoke, he was choked and coughed, and then he stopped his movements.

The old Taoist's face changed from calm at the beginning to solemn so far, "Damn it, this town is not far from the Baiyun Taoist Temple in Wulingyuan, how can there be such a heavy resentment?" The imperial court doesn't care, isn't it that the Taoist priests of the Great Jin Dynasty are dead? ”

The young man in the robe in the house said hoarsely: "Master, last time you caught the fox demon in Changbai Mountain, and you also got some entanglement that is enough to eat for three years, and now you are not worried, or let's find a clean place to rest or wait until the day to catch ghosts, after all, life is more important than anything else." ”

The old Taoist lowered his eyebrows and said in a deep voice: "Rest? Hum! The poor road is cultivated to the sky, if the ghost thing can't meet me, it's just that, now that it has been hit by the poor road, it should be considered this catastrophe in its fate......"

The boy sighed, not knowing whether to believe it or not, but there was no more words after that.

It's silent.

The full moon above the sky in Qinglin Town seemed to flash a wisp of scarlet blood for a moment.

......

The historical roots of Qinglin Town have no way to obtain evidence, and a rough idea has been sorted out from the words of the older generation.

Qinglin Town in the pre-Qin period, not called Qinglin Town, but called Liangqi Village, it is said that the villagers here did not live on agriculture and animal husbandry, but were widely famous for their brothels.

Five hundred years ago, there was a famous prostitute who shocked Daqin, and recruited hundreds of prostitutes in the cardamom years, and the money she earned was enough to enjoy the happy and peaceful years, but when she was eighteen years old, it was the time when her appearance was the best, she met a down-and-out scholar, and they had feelings for each other, but the scholar took the princess of the dynasty as his wife when he was the top student in high school.

The famous prostitute couldn't stand the blow, so he hanged the beam of the house on the day of the scholar's marriage, and the incense disappeared.

It is rumored that the bright new day suddenly changed color, attracting three Maoshan Taoist priests from the outside world, locked it with a vermilion simple coffin, and the coffin was covered with yellow talismans.

Zhuang Min knew, only the hemp rope dyed with ink fountains on the coffin.

When he came, there were three Maoshan Taoist priests.

On the day he left, there was only one person.

After the famous prostitute went to the soil, the Great Qin Imperial Court sent hundreds of officers and soldiers on duty for this matter, which is the so-called "Dashengzhuang", but after the war with the Han Dynasty started, Liangqizhuang was gradually forgotten by the imperial court, but fortunately, there was no movement here, and there was nothing to do for a while.

Five hundred years is not a long time, but it is only the years when ten generations of people have blossomed, but the Qinglou business in Liangqizhuang has gradually declined for some reason, until it has disappeared without a trace.

As for the love and hatred of the famous prostitute and the scholar, with the death of the older generation, it was brought underground.

......

After the end of summer, it is the beginning of autumn, and there is a saying in ancient books that "the yin and yang of heaven and earth are reincarnated, the yang energy gradually retreats, and the yin energy gradually arises", which means that demons are rampant.

After the continuous autumn rain stopped, it was a rare autumn wind and moon, and the autumn wind struck, which seemed to be mixed with a little bloody breath, and these scenes frightened the sparrows perched on the branches, snakes, insects, rats and ants fled in all directions.

In the rice fields to the west, there are first white paper lanterns on both sides of the rice fields out of thin air, and then crows fly low from all directions to gather together, like a stone arch bridge several feet long, built on a peaceful and stable river.

The full moon hung high in the center, and the barking of dogs in the town was incessant.

Zhang Yuan, the mayor of a town in Qinglin Town, didn't care, but he just felt that the passer-by was in a hurry at night and didn't rest at home, so he was afraid that he was not sick in the brain.

It's just that the dog in the town, this bark, lasted for more than an hour, forging ahead, without the slightest intention of stopping, Zhang Yuan was annoyed by listening, and he lost his sleepiness, so he simply got out of bed and stood up to light the open fire, and slowly walked to the window with the lamp.

Dark clouds covered the sun, and it was pitch black outside the window.

——

Qinglin Town is in the border of the Great Jin Dynasty, it can be regarded as a third-rate town if it is broken, poor and remote, the land is barren, no matter how it is planted, it can only grow rice, and it can't feed too many people, some young and strong men, who have some ambition, will also take three or four days of dry food and leave their hometown to go to the capital to find a livelihood, see the world of flowers, and almost go to Wulingyuan, no matter what, fishing is better than sitting in a well and watching the sky for a lifetime, isn't it?

No matter how bad it is, it is to go to the border town to seek a livelihood work, not to mention whether the men who go out can make a fortune for the time being, just say that none of the people who go out will return after leaving, it can be roughly said that they "died outside", the people who went out died, and the spring and autumn of forty years came, and the town lost the passion of the younger generation, and naturally there were no young babies.

Looking at the town today, there are only more than 60 families left within a radius of a few miles, and the man who is gone and stands is compromised, except for the mayor of the town, a middle-aged man who is not confused about his age, the rest is some old, weak and sick Confucianism, just like a forgotten place outside the world, whose old man flowers bloom, no one cares.

It's just that in recent years, in addition to the steady stream of young people who go to the outside world, the only outsiders are the team of horses.

Except for the woman, no one cared.

Zhang Yuan muttered something in a low voice, he couldn't understand it generally, but looking at it like that, he was probably scolding, and then glanced at it casually, and was about to go back to the house with the lamp, but the next moment he stayed in place as if he had been struck by five lightning strikes, as if he didn't believe it, and rubbed his eyes again.

On the rice fields not far away, how could a white paper lantern appear out of thin air?

When I opened my eyes again, there was no flaw.

Isn't there a thief in the town stealing?

Zhang Yuan, the mayor of a town, actually said that he was the mayor of the town, and the things he could govern were nothing more than insignificant, and he sat in this position, relying on a few baskets of eggs on the eve of twenty years ago to honor the former mayor, not only inherited the position, but even the daughter of the former mayor was deceived into becoming a wife, and at that time Qinglin Town was considered a young man, but twenty years of spring and autumn, the wife of the small family Jade became yellow and thin, and she was tired.

Zhang Yuan took a big gulp of air, and accidentally, the candle flame fell to the ground.

The amplitude of this action was too large, and his wife Lu, who was sleeping deeply on the side of the bed, also woke up.

Lu Shi rubbed his eyes with sleepy eyes, looked at the candle that fell on the ground in front of the window, and couldn't help but be a little annoyed, "Dead old man, don't sleep at night, look for death!" ”

Zhang Yuan did not speak, he was accustomed to his wife's abusive words from time to time, but he silently squatted down and picked up the candle, and his movements were very familiar, but he did not blow it out, but put it firmly in front of the counter not far from the folding window, and draped a coarse cloth heavy clothes with the help of candlelight. After thinking for a moment, he walked a few steps back and forth, looked at the bedside, there was a big knife that was some years old, it is said that the Zhang family was brilliant in the ancestor generation, and became a founding general, this knife was personally given to the ancestor of the Zhang family by Emperor Taizu, It's just that Zhang Yuan just heard that the storyteller said that when he was young, he worshiped the old ancestor as a lifelong pursuit, and now he laughs at it.

Next to the big knife, there is a wooden stick that is no more than two fingers thick, Zhang Yuan usually goes into the mountains to hunt, and he doesn't like to hold a knife, but brings a wooden stick that is easy to carry, this time is no exception.

Seeing that Zhang Yuan ignored it, the Lu woman was probably troubled by the insignificant arrogance in her heart, and at this moment, she couldn't care about the relationship between husband and wife for many years, so she lost her sleepiness and sat up directly, but in the process, the bed board pressed by the bloated and fat body creaked.

"Dead old man, what kind of madness are you doing? Where are you going to die on the big night? ”

In fact, it's no wonder that Zhang Yuan heard some rumors and wanted to leave home, there is such a strong wife at home, and no one wants to face it, but the two have been together for more than 20 years, but there are no children and grandchildren under their knees, such trivial things in the prosperous world of Jiankang, it naturally only takes a moment to find out the cause, but in Qinglin Town, which is still more feudal, there is no doctor, and the gossip in the same town naturally falls on Zhang Yuan alone.

Zhang Yuan was silent for a while, "With such a loud dog barking, as the mayor of the town, I naturally want to go to the rice field to take a look, now that autumn is in autumn, the rice should be cooked, don't let the unclean hands and feet be ruined......"

Before a sentence is finished, the meaning expressed is enough, now such a town where most of the old and sick are disabled, and there are no outsiders, who has a three-handed hairy boy, the neighbors all know, see in the eyes without words, it is tacit.

Lu Shi was a little anxious, lost the momentum of scolding the woman on the street, and hurriedly said: "Then you should go and take a look, remember, don't beat Wang Xiaozi to death, just give a lesson." ”

Zhang Yuan said indifferently: "It's not good to steal anything, but you want to steal rice." ”

Most of the rice in autumn will ripen after autumn, and this is the time of harvest, and the residents in Qinglin Town do not ask for much, except for the occasional game catch on the mountain, every day is almost coarse tea and light rice.

The town has no contact with the outside caravan, so this rice is the "heart" of every household, and Zhang Yuan, as the mayor of the town, naturally has to take care of it.

......

Zhang Yuan, who walked out of the house, looked up at the sky, and was a little puzzled, how could the moon be dark and the wind was high now?

An autumn wind blew in, and he couldn't help but shudder, "Fuck it, it's not winter yet!" ”

Naturally, he couldn't bring candles when he went out, so no matter how wide Zhang Yuan's eyes were, it was pitch black, but it was worth it no matter how scared he was if he didn't stay at home and face the yellow-skinned woman.

It's just that judging from his shaking legs, there is probably still a fear of the night in his heart, and the opera lyrics are sung from Zhang Yuan's mouth at some point, "In order to save Li Lang from his homeland, who expected the champion in the emperor list to ......"

This move is to give himself courage, and secondly, if the kid of the Wang family is really wasting rice, he will leave when he smells it, and he will leave, the villagers, so if he lives in it, he will be a neighbor for life, even if he doesn't look at it right, he can't pick up the hoe and face each other, right?

Zhang Yuan has heard his grandfather sing this opera since he was born, and he likes it very much, but when he asks about its roots, his grandfather, who was reluctant to beat him all his life, slapped him for the first time, and Zhang Yuan didn't do it, but now that he sings it like this, he doesn't have the sense of joy at that time, but looks a little weird in the night.

A song has not yet been sung, he doesn't know why, a thought suddenly popped up in his heart, a few days ago there was a storyteller in the town, and the people of the town should not take it seriously, but when the storyteller recounted the affairs of the famous prostitute in Qinglin five hundred years ago, he said it with an eye and a plate, so he couldn't believe it.

Just thinking about it like this, it seems that there is a nonsensical depression welling up in my heart, if I didn't covet Hongchen at the beginning, I followed the self-proclaimed Confucian scholar to practice in the mountains, and now I must be calling for wind and rain in a heaven and earth.

He really couldn't think through, or in other words, there was really suffering, how could the beautiful woman who was half-pushed and half-satisfied with himself and looked like a fairy become an obese woman now?

It's just that Zhang Yuan suddenly turned his head, and saw a beautiful woman in a red wedding dress on the side of the rice field.

Smile and wave to him.