one's door

At dawn the next day, Zhang Yan packed up his things, got off the mass grave, and was going to go to the city for a stroll, so he took a ride with a car dealer going northeast.

But when Zhang Yan just walked to the foot of the hillside of the mass grave, he saw a few people in the robes of government servants and a coachman driving a carriage slowly approaching.

None of the people were sitting in the carriage, including the coachman, they were all on foot.After getting closer, Zhang Yan saw that the reason these people did not ride in the carriage was because there were three corpses lying flat on the carriage, without even a white cloth to cover them, and the corpses on the carriage were only covered with tattered clothes, even their faces Visible dirt is also visible.In addition, besides the yamen servants, they were coachmen, and the companions had no family members, and they were going in the direction of mass graves. Zhang Yan felt that these three corpses were probably homeless refugees or beggars.

The yamen servant saw Zhang Yan coming down from the mass grave with a burden on his back, so he approached vigilantly to question him.It wasn't until Zhang Yan took out the paperwork for his return home that the vigilance on the faces of the two yamen servants eased.But I'm also curious why Zhang Yan appeared at the mass grave early in the morning.

"Why else? I went to drink just after entering the city yesterday, but I didn't expect to drink for more than two years, and the amount of alcohol turned into scum. After three or four measures, I was so drunk that I couldn't find it. Here, I was shocked when I woke up in the middle of the night. It's really time-consuming." Zhang Yan talked about his experience yesterday with annoyed expression, but he wasn't lying.

Although Zhang Yan's statement sounds a bit strange, but coming down from the army and coming to Xuanhua City for a day will not do anything bad, besides, what else can be disturbed in the mass grave besides bones and sticks?Even thieves who dig graves don't come here, and there is no oil or water.

"Huh? This is an unbearable death!" Zhang Yan narrowed his eyes, looked at the three corpses on the carriage and stopped in his tracks.

"You're not afraid, oh, that's right, there are more dead people in Yubei Mountain Fortress than in ours, so it's strange to be afraid." After a pause, the yamen servant continued: "Isn't that right, some refugees died in this place for no reason. In the alley, Wu Zuo said he was scared to death. It’s weird, what can scare people to death?”

After a brief chat, Zhang Yan watched these people go to the mass grave. There were no more pits at the foot of the mountain, so they had to be dragged up.

After a few people left, Zhang Yan also left the mass grave, but he had other thoughts in his heart.Because there was something wrong with the three corpses, others couldn't see the problem, but he could tell that the corpses were extremely dark, not what a normal corpse should look like at all.

"It looks more like the yin qi entered the body while alive, and because the time is too short after death, the yin qi in the body has not had time to dissipate and some of it remains.

But, what thing can bring such a strong Yin Qi?And can it get into the body of a living person? "

Chapter 39

Yin Qi is something that cannot be possessed by living things. Even if the yin and evil kung fu practiced with Yin Qi is only an external appearance, the inside must not escape the support of Yang Qi, otherwise nothing will be able to live.

It can only be evil things that are cloudy.Or ghosts.

Moreover, ghosts have always been said to be "possessed", which explains how to bring Yin Qi into the living body.

Zhang Yan had already seen what wild ghosts were like last night, and he even saved six of them with magic tricks.So he clearly remembered the evil spirit on the wild ghost.Even for those wild ghosts, the yin energy on their bodies before they were saved was definitely not as heavy as the yin energy emanating from the bodies of the three refugees.

"That was not done by wild ghosts, at least it was done by one or several ghosts." Zhang Yan soon became concerned.

There is essentially no difference between wild ghosts and fierce ghosts, even the king of ghosts.The reason why they are called separately is because these kinds of ghosts have different degrees of evil, different spirits, and even different methods.

Although wild ghosts are also ghosts, they are basically not harmful to people or living things.They can't manifest any means, they can't possess a living person with normal yang energy, and they don't have the ability to directly interfere with physical objects.Stirring the dark wind, creating some plausible hallucinations to scare people, this kind of thing is the limit of the skills of wild ghosts.Even wild ghosts are reluctant to stay in places with many living people, because the yang energy is too strong, and they instinctively feel uncomfortable, just like bats don't like to show up in the sun.

Therefore, wild ghosts generally appear in the wild or in places where there are not many people.Wild ghost, that's how it got its name.

Li Gui is as straightforward as the name of the wild ghost. As the name implies, powerful ghosts are called Li Gui.

It is different from wild ghosts, because when they transform into ghosts, they have more obsession and are accompanied by a deep hostility, so that ghosts can break free from the shackles of heaven and earth more thoroughly. Not only do they have relatively complete spiritual wisdom, but they also have some murderous methods based on Yin Qi .They can be females for a long time in densely populated places, sinking into the ground during the day to avoid the scorching sun, and coming out at night to make trouble.

Li ghosts can possess most ordinary people, and can also use their own yin means to interfere with real things and directly affect them.At the same time, they can also strengthen themselves by capturing negative emotions such as fear and tyranny in living souls, and even some powerful ghosts can even reach the level of directly devouring living souls.It is precisely because Li Gui's methods are powerful and can affect living people, the harm is not comparable to that of wild ghosts.

From Zhang Yan's point of view, the three refugees who were frightened to death probably died of fright after being possessed by a ghost and using their fantasy to induce them to have some kind of fear beyond their ability to bear.It is not even ruled out that after these three people were frightened to death, their souls were swallowed by the ghosts possessing them before they could return to heaven and earth.

Zhang Yan's guess is also based on the remaining Yin Qi on the corpse. After all, the remaining Yin Qi is heavier than that of ordinary wild ghosts, so the ghosts possessing them must have multiple Yin and evil breaths?

As for why Zhang Yan didn't guess the more powerful ghost king, it was mainly because there were too few ghost kings, and it was the existence of ghost cultivators.He didn't think that kind of existence would do anything for the lives of a few ordinary people.Compared with ordinary people, aren't general body-hardened warriors more suitable to be the target of the ghost king?

All the way back to Xuanhua City, I found a small stall selling breakfast and sat down.

"A bowl of porridge and two meatloaf. Did you get the pickles? Then come a plate."

"Okay, wait a minute, two meatloaf, a bowl of porridge, and a plate of pickles!"

The stall is small, and it seems to be a husband and wife stall, the woman's family is busy on the stove, and the man's family greets the guests.There were four tables around, placed in the alley facing the street, and they were full when Zhang Yan sat down.

"Boss, are there any refugees in Xuanhua City?"

"Yes! There are refugees coming here all year round, but not too many."

"Oh, then no one will take care of them when they arrive in the city?" Zhang Yan took the chopsticks from the shopkeeper, picked up the freshly served hot porridge and pancakes, and started eating. While eating, he chatted with the busy shopkeeper.

"Why is no one caring? The yamen specially set up refugee halls, put porridge, and also deal with them, so that those people can support themselves, and let those people go back to their original places when they have enough money."

When Zhang Yan heard this, he felt quite humane. He thought that the refugees would be directly arrested and cleaned up before being repatriated. Now Nanyuan Kingdom's approach is very reasonable.

The owner of the stall didn't care either. He met many people in a day, and he never took it to heart just to say a few words.Moreover, it is not strange to ask refugees about things. Many merchants like to find refugees as short-term labor, which is cheap and can be used to death.

After breakfast and paying the bill, Zhang Yan walked all the way to the east of the city according to the stall owner's instructions. After asking passers-by, he saw the so-called refugee hall in an alley that was not considered a street.It was a somewhat shabby-looking room, in which sat two middle-aged men with idle faces, dressed as scribes, who should be officials of the local yamen of Xuanhua City.

The refugee hall was deserted, and it could be seen that there were indeed not many refugees in Xuanhua City as the stall owner said earlier.

"What's the matter?" The two people in the room saw Zhang Yan coming in, and at first glance, they saw that Zhang Yan was not dressed as a refugee, but a businessman who came to recruit workers?

"Hello, two officials. I'm Xia Wuming. I'm a writer of story books. I just arrived in Xuanhua City a while ago. I was planning to go to Yubei Mountain to have a look. I wanted to write some books about the army to sell. I don't want to hear about it. The inexplicable frightening of the refugees in Xuanhua City, I think this can be written, so I want to come here to learn more about the situation.

Of course, I also understand the rules, so I don't ask in vain. This is tea money for the two of you, so just make friends? "

While talking, Zhang Yan handed over the two small paper bags that he had prepared earlier.Inside is what he called "tea money".Ask someone for help, the number of ways is the same in any world.Otherwise, if others don't owe you, why should you help me?

As for the "story book", it is the small book in Huang Tianyu, or the idle book here, and it also has everything in it.He knew it from Lin Zedong, who was a loyal buyer of the script.In his spare time, he also told Zhang Yan a lot about the script.That's why Zhang Yan used the script as his temporary excuse.

"The one who wrote the script?" The two officials looked at each other, tacitly put away the small paper bag on the table, weighed it and were satisfied with the weight.Moreover, although the writers of the story books are not on the stage, they are considered literati anyway, and they can get in a circle with them. At this time, it is not impossible to give convenience to the other party in their spare time.

"Yes, can the two officials say a few words to me?"

"Hehe, okay, although I don't think anyone will buy this kind of thing, but since you found it, let me tell you a few words. You want to know about the three refugees who died last night, right?" Right? Actually, it's not the first time that a refugee has died so inexplicably..."

40 Cut in

"Isn't this the first time such an inexplicable dead refugee?" Zhang Yan's face was filled with curiosity, his eyes widened a little, and he looked like he was listening carefully.But in fact, I have another idea in my heart.

"Well, it's not the first time. Before, three or four refugees would die every one or two months. The police in the yamen have checked it more than a dozen times, but they have never found anything useful, and it has always been an unsolved case. If it wasn't for the fact that the refugees who died were all alone and no one was looking for them, the yamen wouldn't be able to get away with it."

"Ahem. Why are you telling Wu Ming these things? Just talk about what happened last night!"

"Oh, hehe, yes, yes, it's too far away. Yesterday, it should be in the middle of the night, the watchman found the body and reported it to the official..."

At the beginning, the two people talked a little superficially, they were listening to so-and-so, and then they became more energetic, and they uttered some conjectures together with the words of the Yamen catcher and Wu Zuo, It was so lifelike that it was like helping Zhang Yan lay out the outline of a script for Zhang Yan.

At the end, I added a sentence: "Do you think it would be more fascinating to add these?"

It was almost noon after coming out of the refugee hall, and the tempting smell of food was already wafting from the street.But this time Zhang Yan was not as anxious as yesterday.I have something on my mind, so I don’t rush to eat.

Zhang Yan got a lot of information from the officials of the two refugee halls. After sorting it out, there were a few key points that he needed to verify further.For this reason, he was willing to pay the price of staying in Xuanhua City for half a month.

The reason is that the merit gained from saving the six wild ghosts is worth half a month of hard work by Zhang Yan.Which one or several ghosts?How beneficial will it be?

At the same time, Zhang Yan is also very curious about what kind of existence Li Gui is at the bottom, and wants to get closer and take a closer look.If I have a chance, I also want to try to see if Li Gui's various methods are similar to those recorded in the Longhushan classics.

After coming out, the first place Zhang Yan went to was the good porridge shop not far from the refugee hall.

There is an extra word "good" in front of the porridge shop, so you should know what's going on there.It is the shop where the local government distributes grain from the official warehouse.But generally it will not be eaten, but it will be made into porridge and given to people to eat.The targets are either beggars on the street, or refugees who have no source of livelihood.

Greed for petty gain?Even if they are greedy for petty gain, no one will go to the porridge shop to pretend to be a meal, because it is a very shameful thing.It is even more contemptible than a woman at home looking for a wild man.So unless there is no other way, normal people will not go to the porridge shop to beg for food.This is not the same as on the earth, and the people in the world of the earth are undoubtedly better in terms of face.

According to the information provided by the two officials in the refugee hall, the refugees would gather at the porridge shop during meal time.Unless you have already found a job that can solve the meal.

The three refugees who died before all came to the porridge shop on time before they died.For them, unless they earn a living, they can save as much as they can, because if they save enough money, they will be driven back to their hometowns, and they can gain more confidence after saving more.As for the face, they were considered refugees, so they were temporarily removed and put in their pockets.

"Do you know Ma Datou? Where's Li Mazi? Zhao Hou'er?" Zhang Yan did meet a lot of refugees during lunch time, there were almost 30 to [-] people, most of them were old and weak, and few were young and strong.The three names he asked were given to him by the two people from the refugee hall.In fact, this should not be the names of the three people who died, but more like a perfunctory nickname.The two of them didn't tell Zhang Yan what their real names were, they only said these three pronouns were enough.

Zhang Yan understood that the two of them had nothing to do with each other.The real names of the refugees belonged to the archives of the local yamen, and they were liable for leaks, but the nicknames were not used.

Moreover, the real name may not be as practical as the code name and nickname among the refugees.

After asking seven or eight people in a row, they didn't get an answer. They all shook their heads and walked away silently after looking at Zhang Yan.

"Hey, what do you want to ask? Is there any benefit?"

A loud voice sounded behind Zhang Yan, and when he turned his head, he saw a man missing an arm but with a strong body and dark skin. He seemed to be around 40 years old.Although this kind of person is missing an arm, he doesn't want to be bullied no matter what, and his figure doesn't look like a hungry person.But he was dressed in the same way as the refugees on the side.

"Do you know Ma Datou and the others?"

"Of course. Those three unlucky guys were originally with me. Of course I know them. But you're not like an official. It's probably not a serious way to inquire about these things, right? Just say how much benefit you can give?"

Zhang Yan laughed without hesitation, raised a bag of change and threw it over.Money is nothing to him, he has all the way, so it shouldn't be too easy to get money.

Zhang Yan's bag of loose change is not too much but it is also a lot, at least it can be worth the money saved by the homeless helpers for many days.

The one-armed man curled his lips and collected the money, as he accepted the deal.Then he waved to Zhang Yan, signaling Zhang Yan to follow him.The two left the porridge shop, walked for half a cup of tea, and finally stopped at a street corner.There are few people here, and it is barely a place to talk.

"What do you want to ask, just ask."

"What did Ma Datou and the others do with you before they died? Didn't they do it later?" Zhang Yan was not in a hurry, and bought two dry biscuits by the side of the road, tearing them up and eating them, while leaning against the wall and The one-armed man chatted.He didn't ask the other party's name, that was not what he was interested in.

"Being tortoises for the Hualou on Yuhua Street. Those three want to save face, and they can't stand it after a day. It's so stupid. What's the matter with being a tortoise? It's not tiring, and it's earned in a day." Not a lot, if you’re lucky, you’ll get rewards, one day is worth the wages of knocking stones for three or five days.”

Turtle?Zhang Yan felt that it was indeed not a job that ordinary people could do.Then he asked again: "What happened later? Where did they go?"

"Those three people have no strength, good face, and don't know any crafts. What else can they do? They live at the porridge shop all day, and spend the night in the old warehouse on the side of Dashu Lane. Basically, they plan to live in Xuan There was a bad battle in Huacheng."

"Abandoned warehouse? Didn't the refugee hall say that they have arranged a place for refugees to settle down?"

"Hey, you mean Datong Shop? It stinks badly and there are so many lice. Except for those who really can't stand the night wind, who would want to stay there? How did the masters of the Refuge Hall know this. Before Ma Datou and the others died , I have always spent the night with them on the ground floor in Dashu Lane, so I know."

"Oh? Then did you notice any unusual behaviors before they died?" Zhang Yan looked into the eyes of the one-armed man and asked.

Chapter 41 Possession

The one-armed man thought for a while, then nodded and said, "If you have to say it, they did have some abnormal things before the accident."

"What an anomaly?"

"Because they lived on the porridge from the porridge shop, they had flat stomachs, and they would coo before going to bed at night, and they would ask me if I had anything to eat."

"Why ask you?"

"Because I'm a tortoise in the flower building. The guests who go there don't really go to eat. Every time there is a lot of food on the table and they don't move much. You can pack some when you remove the table. The owner I don’t know what to say. Sometimes when I can’t finish eating by myself, I will bring them back to Dashu Lane to share with them.

But two days before the accident, Ma Datou and the others not only didn't cry hungry at night, they didn't even take the food I brought back.I didn't pay attention to it at the time, but now that I think about it, it feels a little wrong.

After they fell asleep, their stomachs were still growling, but they said they were not hungry, and they looked cold in those two days, which was very different from their usual dingy appearance. "

Zhang Yan took a deep look at the other party. This one-armed man didn't seem to be a good person, but he was honest and careful in what he did.Even about the death of Ma Datou and the other three, he must have doubts in his heart, otherwise he would not have said so many details.It can be guessed that this one-armed man also hoped that someone would take care of the deaths of Ma Datou and the three of them, instead of letting them die in ignorance.

In addition, the detail given by the one-armed man is also very interesting.Indeed, as he said, it is indeed easy to skip at first glance, but when you think about it later, you will find it very strange and abrupt.

The stomach growls, which is usually caused by hunger in the abdomen without guessing.And the three people who are willing to rely on good porridge shops to fight bad battles in Xuanhua City are unlikely to have the backbone of "not to be eaten by you". The so-called face.Would such a person refuse the food brought to his mouth when he was hungry?

Normally not.

On the other hand, the three Ma Datou who refused the food of the one-armed man at that time were no longer normal.

The one-armed man's face was already full of doubts, and he still couldn't figure out the strange behavior of the three Ma Datou at that time.Some blamed themselves for not asking too much at the time, otherwise they should have discovered something.

The reason why he is willing to talk so much with this unknown person in front of him is that the one-armed man also has his own ideas.There are indeed benefits to be gained.Secondly, the other party gave him a very strange feeling, there was a sense of justice that made him feel at ease, and he felt that this person would not be a bad person at first sight.I also hope that the other party may be able to find an explanation for Ma Datou's death.

But the one-armed man couldn't figure it out, but for Zhang Yan, the strange behavior of Ma Datou and the three of them before they died was not so difficult to explain.

Are you hungry and don’t eat?This violates the natural laws and basic survival needs of being born as a human being.There are not many reasons for people to do such abnormal things. There is only one explanation for Ma Datou and the three of them: ghost possession.

Ghosts don't get hungry, and they don't care about the life and feelings of the living person who possesses them. Even the possession itself will bring great damage to the living person. If Yin Qi invades the body, it will damage the body's foundation Yes, it is not an exaggeration to lose ten years of life.

According to Zhang Yan's guess, the two days when the one-armed man saw Ma Datou and the three of them refusing food and behaving strangely were no longer their own activities, but were controlled by the ghosts, and they couldn't help themselves.

"Did Ma Datou talk to you in those two days, did the other two talk to you?"

The one-armed man thought for a while, shook his head, and said strangely, "It seems true when you say that! Li Mazi and Zhao Hou'er usually talk a lot, but they didn't say a word in those two days, and followed Ma Datou. Beside me, it's really weird when I think about it!" After speaking, the eyes he looked at Zhang Yan also changed, and he asked curiously, "How did you guess this?"

As the person concerned, Zhang Yan asked about details that the one-armed man himself did not notice, and Zhang Yan's image became even more mysterious.Even the one-armed man secretly speculated, could this person in front of him also have something to do with the deaths of Ma Datou and the other three? !

Thinking of this, the one-armed man subconsciously took a few steps back. Even though the person in front of him really didn't feel like a bad person, who knows whether he is good or evil under his face?Right?

Naturally, the one-armed man's petty actions could not hide from Zhang Yan, but Zhang Yan didn't care, he didn't know you well, so there was no reason why he wouldn't take more precautions against you, not to mention that he also knew that his current search did seem to be so suspicious.But Zhang Yan was not going to explain, it was too troublesome.

The key point is the one-armed man's answer, which clearly stated that during the two days when the three of Ma Datou behaved strangely, only Ma Datou had a conversation with him, and the other two did not say a word.

Two possibilities.

The first possibility is that there are three ghosts possessed by the three of Ma Datou, and the one possessing Ma Datou is the head, and the master-slave relationship is obvious.

The second possibility is that only one ghost possessed the three people, and it was mainly attached to Ma Datou, so Ma Datou would speak words to talk to the one-armed man, but the other two did not speak.

But although there are two possibilities, Zhang Yan is more inclined to the latter, that is, a ghost possesses three people at the same time.

The reason is also very simple, it is based on the conclusion drawn by Zhang Yan based on Longhushan's description of the ghost.

According to the description in the Dragon and Tiger Mountain classics, the strength of ghosts is equal to their status, which is clearer than that of living people.Just like wild beasts in the mountains, the law of the jungle is the most fundamental law, and even ghosts with fairly complete intelligence must follow this law.

Although there are differences in strength between Li Gui and Li Gui, they are definitely not to the point where they can be divided into masters and slaves.In other words, Zhang Yan didn't think that there would be such a strict master-slave relationship among the three ghosts. It was impossible to obediently only talk to the one with the big head of the horse, and the other two would be obedient and silent. .

If one ghost possessed three people, it would make sense.But in this way, a new problem will appear.That is, the strength of this ghost is somewhat beyond Zhang Yan's expectation.

Just like a wild ghost cannot possess a living person with normal yang energy, a ghost will also be resisted by the yang energy when possessing it, but compared with the wild ghost, the ghost has a stronger erosive power against the yang energy, which is extremely powerful. Some ordinary people cannot resist the possession of ghosts.But one-on-one possession is one thing, and one-on-three is completely different.

This means that the evil power of this ghost is at least three times that of ordinary ghosts.For Zhang Yan, the difficulty of the challenge has also been increased by at least three times.