Daming's Bizarre Story: Painted Skin

The door squeaked, and a middle-aged man with a gentle complexion stepped out from the inside. He was dressed in a brown shirt, stepped forward and bowed: "The villain is Zhao Zhongbo, Master Yang has been waiting for a long time."

Zhao Zhongbo, the younger brother of the patriarch Zhao Kangbo, two brothers, but only one son, no wonder they were named Tianci.

Yang Xueshi stepped forward to pay respects: "Old man, you don't have to be polite, I also have something to bother the patriarch, so I came to pay a special visit."

Zhao Ran squinted at him for a moment, then chuckled in his heart: "I don't know who said such harsh words just now, and got weak so quickly."

Thinking of the word "waist soft", he couldn't help but glance at Yang Xueshi's straight and narrow waist again, his heart felt hot, and he turned his head quickly.

Zhao Zhongbo glanced at the coquettish old woman behind Yang Xueshi and asked, "This is..."

Yang Xueshi said: "This is a psychic old woman I met during my tenure. She is well-known in the local area. I was originally entrusted by a friend to pick her up to solve another matter in Beijing. Now I pass by Dangyu Village. I heard that There are also some strange things here, so let her come over to take a look, and please don't blame the old man."

Zhao Zhongbo's eyes lit up immediately, and he said repeatedly: "Don't blame it, don't blame it! Master Yang's kindness is such a kind gesture, how can I blame you, please hurry up."

As soon as he said please, the two gates opened, and Zhao Zhongbo welcomed them in.

After passing the main entrance on the top of the rolling shed, there is a shadow wall without characters, and the door of the full moon is on the right hand. It can be seen that the bearers are carrying the soft sedan in through the side door. Did not call her over.

Zhao Zhongbo welcomed them into a side hall on the left and waited for them, while he hurried through the second gate of hanging flowers, apparently going to the inner mansion to report to the patriarch of the Zhao clan.

Sitting in the living room, Zhao Ran opened his head and poked his brain to look around, and said in his mouth: "This Zhao family does not show mountains or waters, but it is a rich family. Look at a side hall in an outer courtyard that is full of lacquerware."

Yang Xueshi looked at his nose, looked at his nose, and ignored him. After a while, footsteps came from outside the hall, and Yang Xueshi stood up to greet him.

Zhao Ran smacked his lips at his back, wanting to see the snobbery of this sour scholar climbing up and down.

A middle-aged man came in outside the door, with thick eyebrows and a square face, quite powerful, he seemed to be Zhao Kangbo, the patriarch of the Zhao family, when Zhao Zhongbo saw Yang Xueshi, he pointed at Zhao Ran and said: "This is Lord Yang, and that is the one he brought Come, a psychic psychic."

Zhao Kangbo said indifferently: "It's just wind and evil entering the body, why do you believe in these non-existent things?"

Zhao Zhongbo was a little embarrassed, Yang Xueshi stepped forward to salute: "Patriarch Zhao."

Zhao Kangbo returned the salute and said, "Recently, my family members are seriously ill, so please don't be offended if they didn't come out to see Mr. Yang right away."

"The patriarch is polite."

----

After several people were seated, a maidservant brought tea, and Yang Xueshi said with a slightly concerned expression: "I don't know what disease your family members are suffering from, but I know some good doctors."

"It's a godsend for my child. I feel a little cold and take the wrong medicine, so it seems a little serious." Zhao Kangbo's words were polite, but before he finished speaking, a young man rushed in from the yard. He was handsome, but his eyes were black and his face was distorted. As soon as he rushed in, he shouted loudly: "Where is Lingma, where is Lingma?"

Then from outside the hall, a bunch of women and maids followed, shouting, "Young master, young master, hurry back to us."

Zhao Ran looked at it, and waved the handkerchief at the young man with a smile: "My slave is here!"

The man immediately grabbed Zhao Ran's hand and shouted, "Lingpo, hurry up, expel the ghost for me!"

Zhao Kangbo lowered his face and shouted: "Tianci, what do you look like, why don't you get out of here!"

But Zhao Tianci ignored Zhao Ran's hand and held Zhao Ran's hand firmly, his eyes widened: "Drive the ghost away, we will give you whatever money you want!"

Zhao Zhongbo looked a little embarrassed, stepped forward and grabbed Zhao Tianci and said, "Tianci, let the patriarch finish talking with Master Yang first."

However, Zhao Ran raised a hand and drew a Taoist talisman on Zhao Tianci's forehead: "This Taoist talisman can temporarily prevent ghosts from approaching you."

Zhao Tianci's body trembled, as if he had let out a breath, and then he fell back slowly. The maid rushed forward anxiously, Zhao Kangbo's always flat face showed a trace of concern, and Zhao Zhongbo was even more anxious like a hot boy. The ant in the pot lifted Zhao Tianci, turned around and asked, "You, what kind of talisman did you draw for Tianci?"

As soon as his words fell, Zhao Tianci woke up slowly in the arms of everyone, and said weakly: "Second Uncle."

Zhao Zhongbo said in surprise and joy: "Tianci, what do you think?"

Zhao Tianci snorted twice, as if he was still a little frightened, he looked around for a while and said: "Second, Second Uncle, the ghost is gone, he is finally gone!"

Zhao Zhongbo heaved a sigh of relief, and said, "Send the young master down to rest."

After the group of people left in a row, Zhao Kangbo ordered tea to be served again, and his conversation became more polite.

"Where is Lingpo from?" Zhao Kangbo asked politely.

"From Guangxi." Yang Xueshi replied.

"Oh, the accent sounds like someone from the north."

"When I was young, because I could see ghosts and gods, my house was often disturbed. Later, a famous monk gave me a talisman, and said that in the future, I would need to marry thousands of miles away in order to have a safe life. Coincidentally, in the year when the slave family and Ji, On a boat coming from Fujiang River, a scholar accidentally saw the Nujia, and he couldn't forget the Nujia, so he got off the boat and asked to marry the Nujia. My parents remembered the words of the eminent monk, and married the Nujia to the scholar. "

He picked up the handkerchief as he spoke, and Yang Xueshi couldn't help but glanced at him, and then said sadly: "Who knows that he is a short-lived ghost, he never left a son and a half for the slave family, and even killed the slave family for many years. I was guarding a grave in vain, earning food by myself. Later, I ran into this lord who said that I had something to ask my family, and my family also wanted to return to the north, so I agreed."

Zhao Kangbo was more polite: "Madam has been able to keep the festival for her deceased husband for many years, now that Ye Luo has returned to her roots, the deceased must know about it and forgive Madam."

Zhao Zhongbo said: "I don't know if your wife is willing to sell the Taoist talisman of the eminent monk to my house. As long as my wife asks for a price, I will find ways to raise money."

Zhao Ran shook his head: "But this talisman cannot be sold to you."

Zhao Zhongbo couldn't help showing disappointment on his face: "Why is this?"

Zhao Kangbo said indifferently: "Second brother, how can such a talisman be easily shown to others? Don't make things difficult for the old lady."

Zhao Ran said: "It's not that I don't want to part with this talisman, but that this talisman can't cure your young master's illness."

Zhao Zhongbo said anxiously: "Could it be possible that God also wants to travel thousands of miles?"

Zhao Ran shook his head again: "No, this talisman is just like a talisman with a clear heart. If the heart is clear, the power of ghosts and spirits will not appear, and naturally the vision in front of you will disappear. But if the source cannot be found, I am afraid that the ghost Going and coming back sooner or later won't help."

"This..." Zhao Zhongbo couldn't help looking at Zhao Kangbo.

Zhao Kangbo nodded his head and said: "I see, Mr. Yang probably came here for this case. Our Zhao family has nothing to say to others. We have already figured out the ins and outs of this matter back then, so we have nothing to say to others. Uncle Zhong, go and find all the people involved in the case back then."

As he spoke, he got up and saluted: "Let my younger brother accompany you for the rest of the matter. I still have some important matters, so I won't accompany you two more."

Yang Xueshi quickly stood up and returned the salute.

After Zhao Kangbo finished speaking, he turned around and left, Zhao Zhongbo then said: "You two wait a moment, I will go and find the witnesses when Zhao Jing committed a crime back then."

"Wait, I heard that Zhao Jing's body is still there. I wonder if it was buried?" Zhao Ran asked.

Zhao Zhongbo said with a gloomy expression: "Originally we were going to bury him. Although he did something shameful, he still entered Dang Fishing Village and took the surname Zhao. But Zhao Jing's younger sister made a big fuss. He was talking nonsense, and it is inconvenient for us to bury him, lest someone will pursue him and make irresponsible remarks in the future, so we had to store his body in the ancestral hall first."

"May I wait to have a look?" Yang Xueshi understood Zhao Ran's meaning and asked.

Zhao Zhongbo said: "Why not? Come with me, both of you."

Zhaoran and Yang Xueshi followed Zhao Zhongbo out of the gate of the Zhao Mansion, Zhao Ran saw the silver-haired old man with two rough servants waiting at the door, it seems that these three are the concierges of the Zhao Mansion, presumably because of the Zhao Mansion Some distinguished guests would come here often, and in order to prevent the concierge from knowing people and offending the nobles, such a literate old man was specially arranged.

When they came out of the side hall, Ji Niang at the other end of the sedan chair room looked through the full moon flower gate, and when she saw Zhao Zhongbo, she quickly shrank back in fright.

"Xiangli, you go and get the other witnesses of Zhao Jing's case back then. Master Yang has something to ask them later." Zhao Zhongbo ordered the old man.

After leaving the door, Zhao Ran asked: "That silver-haired old man just now is also a witness?"

Zhao Zhongbo nodded and said: "That's right... how did the old lady know?" He paused and asked again.

Zhao Ran raised his hand to touch Xia Hua beside his forehead and said embarrassingly: "I have had this psychic ability since I was a child, and I seem to be able to understand everything as long as I look at it twice."

Zhao Zhongbo's eyes could not help revealing the color of fear: "The old lady's ability is really amazing."

----

In front of the gate of the Zhao Mansion is a grain-drying field. Walking up through this field, you will find the ancestral hall of the Zhao family.

Taking advantage of Zhao Zhongbo knocking on the door, Yang Xueshi approached him and said, "I'm afraid you heard the word "other" in Zhao Zhongbo's words, so you didn't realize that Zhao Xiangli was also one of the witnesses.

He leaned closer to talk like this, and the heat sprayed on Zhaoran's ear, Zhaoran felt itchy all the way from the earlobe to his heart in an instant, looking sideways, Yang Xueshi's profile was really similar, and he seemed to be looking forward to him doing so much more. Say a few words.

Yang Xueshi also really said one more sentence: "It's just what happened to your Taoist talisman?"

"Guess?" Zhao Ran resisted the itch in his heart.

Yang Xueshi asked suspiciously: "Are you really good at drawing talismans to drive away ghosts?"

"That's right..." Zhao Ran looked at his fingers and smiled leisurely, "But this is also the first time I know today that I can draw ghost talismans."

Yang Xueshi frowned: "You, you don't know?"

"Real ghosts can't, but I'm the best at driving away ghosts and ghosts." Zhao Ran touched Xia Hua on his head as he spoke, and walked towards Zhao's ancestral hall.

Yang Xueshi glanced at Zhaoran, twisted coquettishly, lowered his head and followed, and when he got close, he heard Zhaoran touching the gate of the ancestral hall and saying: "Uncle Zhao, the gate of your ancestral hall can't be repaired!" (Note: Dialect, no shame)

Zhao Zhongbo said with a smile: "The ancestral hall is the foundation of the clan, so it is inevitable that we must pay more attention to repairing it, which will make the old lady laugh."

These two gates are very thickly built, and they are indeed very stylish, but the gates of the Zhao Mansion are not bad either. It is obvious that the gates of others are not boastful, but when they came to praise the gates of their ancestral halls, Yang Xueshi couldn't help taking a deep breath, but When he stepped into the gate, he still couldn't help but take a look at the place Zhaoran touched just now, and saw a few interlaced marks on the gate, like scratches, and the breath he sucked in suddenly stopped, He coughed several times.

Zhao Ran patted his face on the back and flattered him: "Master Yang, did you accidentally inhale the cold air?"

He looked like he was patting Yang Xueshi's back, but the palm of his hand was actually his waist. Yang Xueshi knew that he was teasing him deliberately, but it was inconvenient to scold him on the spot, so he had to hold back, and a flash appeared on his face. A trace of blush.

"Please come with me, both of you." Zhao Zhongbo took the key, led them through the courtyard, and saw clearly that there were many memorial tablets in the main wing room at the back, so he asked: "All the people enshrined here are members of the Zhao clan. Bar."

"They are all descendants of the Zhao family." Zhao Zhongbo sighed, "Our family has few descendants. My father only had two sons, my elder brother and me, and our generation has only one son, God-given."

Zhao Ran nodded, Zhao Zhongbo pointed to the side room and said: "Zhao Jing's body is stored here for the time being."

As he spoke, he used the key to open the door, and indeed there was a coffin parked in the middle of the room, and he asked plainly, "Zhao Jing is placed in this coffin."

"Exactly." Zhao Zhongbo said, "This is what the patriarch meant. We can't see his dead body in the wilderness after all. At the beginning, we took them in because we saw their brothers and sisters were lonely. I never thought that he was such a person..." He said here Like both sad and angry.

The room faced north and south, and the light was a bit cloudy. Even in broad daylight, it was a bit unclear. Zhao Zhongbo asked someone to pick up a lantern, and then ordered someone to open the coffin. Zhao Ran looked into the coffin through the lantern until he could see the coffin clearly. Zhongren's face, his hands and feet were cold for a moment.

"What's wrong with you?" Yang Xueshi couldn't help asking when he saw him trembling slightly.

Zhao Ran didn't answer him, but took a step forward, the face of the person in the coffin was sallow and thin, but it was indeed Jiu Ru's face.

For a moment, he felt that the blood all over his body was rushing to his head, and he just wanted to find someone to fight.

"Lingpo...but what do you feel?" Zhao Zhongbo couldn't help asking.

Zhaoran forced himself to stand upright from the side of the coffin, looked around for a while, wondering whether he had entered the world of Yinli, Zhaoran closed his eyes slightly, and a strong sense of crisis came to his face, but he didn't know where Something went wrong.

He turned around and walked towards the door, walked out of the door, he raised his face to the sun, the warm sun seemed to have dispelled a little of the coldness in his body, it was obvious that he could regain his reason, and it was as if he could die So silent, but...

Zhao Ran looked up at the gate of Zhao Mansion in the distance, no matter who killed Zhao Jing, even if he was just a symbol of Jiu Ru, a replacement puppet of Jiu Ru, he would have to pay the price!

----

Yang Xueshi came out after examining the corpse, saw Zhaoran sitting on the outer threshold before standing up, he couldn't help asking in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

"I'm hungry." Zhao Ran stood up and spread his hands.

"Hungry?" Yang Xueshi couldn't help but be dumbfounded.

Zhao Ran sighed: "This old woman of mine can't understand the spirit, and once she understands the spirit, she will be empty."

As he spoke, he pretended to be weak in hands and feet, and he fell on Yang Xueshi. Yang Xueshi instinctively supported him, hugged Yang Xueshi clearly, and smelled the faint fragrance of lavender from his body, although it was not sandalwood. smell, but he didn't know why he always felt an indescribable resemblance, so he couldn't help but hug a little tighter.

"Are you enough?" Yang Xueshi held back his breath and said in a low voice.

Zhao Zhongbo also said with concern: "Does Lingpo need to find a doctor?"

Zhao Ran hurriedly waved his hand and said, "No, no, I don't need a doctor, just bring me some food."

"Oh, we were negligent, I'll make some breakfast for the old lady."

Zhao Ran hurriedly said: "You're welcome, just braise the elbow."

Zhao Zhongbo was taken aback for a moment, although he felt that it was strange that the lingma had to eat elbows in the morning, but it was not impossible to find such a big place in Zhao's mansion, so he ordered a servant to go to Zhao's mansion first to prepare.

When they returned to the side hall, there were already several people standing in front of the hall, both men and women, who all came forward to salute Zhao Zhongbo.

Zhao Zhongbo said: "You wait for the time being. Later, your lord has something to ask."

Sitting in the chair, Zhao Ran still felt powerless. He only felt that there was a thread in his heart, and that thread was hooking his heart and brain. He couldn't think of that name, and his heart ached faintly when he thought about it.

This is a completely unfamiliar feeling to him, he has never had it before, and he has never felt it before.

And a journey of mountains, a journey of water, thousands of achievements, supreme elegance, and contemplating the past are all but in the stream of light that is one finger wide in front of the door. The things that have hurt will not be buried by the quicksand of time.

"Old lady, here comes the braised elbow." Zhao Zhongbo said.

Zhaoran sniffed, the fragrant meat smell made him seem to come alive again, he didn't use chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, then said: "Let those witnesses come in."