Demon Book and Strange Essay

After the midwinter, Hang County was covered with a thick layer of snow in early January after a night of heavy snowfall.On the mountain of Lingyin Temple, a fat chicken with bright red fur and a strange appearance paved the snow with its red paws until it dug through the thick snow and the ground under the snow and found the white snake sleeping in the ground. It poked its head down, grabbed the hibernating white snake and ate it.After eating the third white snake that he dug up, the fat chicken continued to shake the three fiery red vertical feathers on its head and the bald buttocks to continue looking for the next white snake in hibernation.

After walking several steps, the fiery red fat chicken stopped, and then continued to dig the snow with its claws until it found the fourth hibernating white snake underground.Just when it picked up the white snake and was about to eat it, Yanshi Zhenwo, a lay disciple of Lingyin Temple, came stepping on the thick snow. The 15-year-old blind boy with his eyes closed bent down, and he took the white snake from the fat chicken's mouth and said: "You will eat up all the white snakes on this mountain." Said he saved the unawakened white snake from the mouth of the fat chicken, so the young blind man put the white snake back into the ground and buried it.

"Miss Bishu is waiting for you at the gate of the temple." As he said that, he picked up the fat chicken, and the fat chicken struggled for a while with a "cuckoo" cry.

So, Yanshi Zhenwo hugged the fat chicken, and he walked around the snow-covered branches and walked down the mountain through the dilapidated Lingyin Temple.At the foot of the mountain, Bi Shu, with his hair tied up and wearing a cotton padded jacket, was waiting for him to bring the fat chicken down the mountain with a handkerchief in his hand.

"Master Yanshi." Bi Shu stepped forward.

The fat chicken went to Lingyin Temple to dig snakes and eat them again and again.

Yanshi Zhenwo handed over the fat chicken in his arms to Bishu: "Miss Bishu."

"It's work."

"You are Welcome."

After bidding farewell to the young blind man, Bi Shu went down the mountain with the fiery red chicken in his arms.

"Cuckoo" the fat chicken cried out in a low voice.

After they left, Yanshi Zhenwo opened his blind eyes, which were pure black without pupils.He looked in the direction of the West Lake, and he didn't know what he was looking at with his blind eyes.

***

In the first year of the Republic of China, the ice and snow in the West Lake of Hangxian County began to melt in February of the Gregorian calendar. There are still more than ten days before the Lunar New Year. New Year's travel workers and peddlers.

"Seeded biscuits, warm sesame seed cakes."

"Five-spice kohlrabi, all five yuan are sold!"

"Glutinous rice! Sweet glutinous rice, delicious and filling!"

Peddlers and workers from all over Hangzhou County peddled in the cold winter, passing by people carrying sedan chairs and carriages.On the bustling West Street, a bald boy with a purple face from the cold followed behind the peddler, and stole his sesame seed cakes while the peddler was not paying attention.

It's only been a few months. In the former Hangzhou Prefecture and the post-liberation Hangzhou County, those children no longer dare to wear braids, for fear of being mistaken for bannermen and being beaten.Last November, a gunshot ended the last of the late Qing Dynasty, and Hangzhou Mansion moved forward to the first year of the Republic of China between the old and the new, between chaos and order.In the past six months, Hangzhou County has issued many new decrees, including the abolition of Hangzhou Mansion and Qiantang, and Renhe as Hangzhou County.There are also bans on opium, braid cutting, ban on base women's feet, and so on.Of course, the most serious thing is that hair cutting and easy clothing lead to the prevalence of western clothes and make Jiangnan silk unsalable.Right now, silk merchants are complaining.

The old and the new alternate, the dynasty was still there yesterday, and today it has become a sunset.

These large and small measures implemented by Hang County have affected the people of Hangzhou Prefecture, but no matter how serious the impact is, for them, neither the emperor yesterday nor the president today is as important as their livelihood .

"Cuckoo"

"Shang Yin, I want to eat fish."

On the busy street, when they saw Shang Yin smoking opium with a cigarette stick, people gave way one after another.Behind him, a fat chicken with bright fur and three fiery red vertical feathers on its head walked behind Shang Yin.As it walked, the vertical feathers on his head swayed with its body, and the back of its buttocks was bald, with only a few hairs left, as if it had been plucked.

Following the thin back with shoulder-length short hair in front, the chicken made a "cuckoo" sound, as if talking to the person in front.

Shang Yin stopped in his tracks. He turned his head and took a puff of smoke and sneered, "Why don't you roast you and send it to Gao Fei."

All of a sudden, the chicken fell silent.

At last the silence behind him, Shang Yin continued to go to his home in Fuqian Street.

On the way to the house, all pedestrians and traffickers gave way one after another, as if he was a plague god.Wearing this thin brocade gown in such a cold winter, it makes people feel cold just by looking at it.

"Is it true that people who smoke opium are not afraid of the cold?" asked a diner in a padded jacket at a noodle stall on the side of the street.

"Don't say you're not afraid of the cold, some even say you've become a fairy." Another person replied.

"I think those smokers are all dead. Even if they don't die, they will have a hard time. You said that Shang Yin has been smoking for so many years, and you don't see anything wrong with him. It's really strange."

"There are many strange people and strange things in Hangzhou, and the Gao family and the Xu family's affairs were so violent back then, who didn't know." A diner shook his head.

"Gao Fei is so cruel, he even got his hands on his own cousin. Isn't it because Shang Yin followed his mother's surname."

Shang Yin followed his mother's surname. The Shang family was from Nanjing, and later married the Xu family in Hangzhou.Only one son was born, and this child was Shang Yin.On the day Shang Yin was born, his father, the head of the Xu family, fell ill and died.Later, for some reason, it was rumored that the child's life was not good, and he beat Xu's family.As a last resort, Shang let the child take his surname, and let him pretend to be 20 years old from his young daughter.In the end, without the head of the family, the Xu family finally fell into ruin. The family was scattered, leaving only the Shang family, Shang Yin, Shang Yin's married aunt, his half-sister, who married his cousin Gao Fei. Xu Ying and a girl who has served him for many years.But before Shang Yin was 20 years old, his mother left when he was 15 years old. This Shang Yin survived under the care of the girl Shang left behind.It was him in this year that a change that shocked the entire Hangzhou government happened——

His cousin Gao Fei and Banner General Deji arrested Shang Yin, and then stripped Shang Yin dressed as a daughter and forced him to swallow his wife.Afterwards, he was beaten severely, and then he was thrown on the edge of the West Lake to fend for himself.Just when everyone thought Shang Yin couldn't survive, he suddenly survived.

So far, Shang Yin, who escaped from the dead, not only changed his temperament drastically, but also cut off his long hair and changed into a girl's outfit to return to a man.

Shang Yin, whose temperament has changed drastically, has become stern and ruthless. If you dare to touch his chicken feathers, he will chop off your dog.And the strange thing is that in Hangzhou, where there are so many yin and yang ghosts, once someone encounters an evil spirit, they all like to go to Baopu Taoist Temple and ask Taoist priests and crazy monks from Lingyin Temple to solve some things. So, they asked these people to invite Shang Yin.Some people were skeptical about this move, but most of them were rejected in front of Shang Yin's house.Everyone cursed at this.

The only person who could invite him didn't pay a huge price.

Afterwards, the news that Shang Yin was able to get rid of yin and yang ghosts still spread.If you ask him, he may not necessarily help you.Therefore, all the people in Hangzhou Mansion were angry and hated him, so much that they wanted to kill him.There are many people with such ideas, but no one dares to step forward.

The great changes in Shang Yin were seen by everyone. Everyone in Hang County believed that Gao Fei's intention to harm Shang Yin was under the instruction of his mother, Xu, and believed that Shang Yin had brought down the entire Xu family, so the former Xu family The young lady can't tolerate Shang Yin, even if he has blood from the Xu family on his body.

Now, Shang Yin, who is escaping from the dead, has changed greatly, so that his cousin Gao Fei, who once harmed him, has to take a detour when he sees it.Even the crazy monks in Lingyin Temple would be afraid to avoid it when they saw it, let alone people from Hang County.

Watching Shang Yin walk by, the diners at the noodle stall were talking about Shang Yin.

"Hey, the fat chicken that was following Shang Yin was bitten by the vicious dog raised by Mr. Gao's family until its tail lost its hair."

"It's nothing to be hairless. Didn't you see Shang Yin chop up Young Master Gao's vicious dog and send it back to him?"

Because of this incident, everyone in Hang County knew not to provoke Shang Yin, not even a chicken.Otherwise, wait for revenge.

"Boss, give me a bowl of plain noodles."

As soon as the voice fell, everyone looked at the 15-year-old blind boy with his eyes closed at the table next door.

This boy is Yanshi Zhenwo, the apprentice of the mad monk.

One of the strange people in Hang County.

Yanshi Zhenwo's mother was originally a concubine of the Zhuang family, and later married a minister of the Nanyang Navy.A son was born in Yanshi, the true self.Although this child was not as miserable as Shang Yin, he still had a bad life. He was blind at the age of three and was sent to Lingyin Temple by his mother to be a lay disciple. Later, he somehow became a disciple of a crazy monk.

This is really puzzling.

If Shang Yin's temper is eccentric, harsh and ruthless, then Yanshi Zhenwo's temper can be regarded as good.It's just that you don't bully him, otherwise the crazy monk will make your house restless.

Yanshi Zhenwo is the darling of the mad monk. For many things, you can go to the mad monk for help. If the mad monk refuses, you ask Yanshi Zhenwo again, and basically the mad monk will not refuse again.

Seeing the real self in Yanshi, everyone stopped talking about Shang Yin.There seems to be no friendship between these two people, but they have had a hard time since they were young, and it's really bad to let people listen to it.

Who knows if there will be something in the future to rush to ask the other party?

The fat chicken behind Shang Yin followed Shang Yin into Fuqian Street.

When he arrived at the door of the merchant, Bishu, the girl who grew up with him and took care of him for many years, was anxiously waiting for him to come home.

"Master, you are back."

"What's the matter?" Holding a cigarette stick, Shang Yin stepped into the house.Bi Shu followed behind him and said, "The Gao family is going to throw Miss's child into the West Lake and drown it!"

Shang Yin stopped.

His older sister, the daughter of the concubine of the Xu family, who was three years older than him, was Xu Ying who married into the Gao family.Speaking of which, his aunt who married into Gao's family, Gao Fei's mother personally arranged the marriage contract.

Xu Ying, who married Gao Fei, did not leave for many years, and she was a daughter when she came out. The Gao family who wanted a boy did not want it, so they obeyed the old grandmother's wishes and drowned the child who was reincarnated from a female soul. It is a son, so the child must be drowned.

The Gao family was ill, and many generations of Gao family heads died at a young age.I don't know what the disease is, no matter what the disease is, anyway, in this Gao family, there are rumors of people being cursed by evil spirits, framed by outsiders, and hidden diseases everywhere.The Gao family has been single-handed for many years, and it is easy to know who is going to drown Xu Ying's daughter.

After hearing the ins and outs of the matter, Shang Yin replied blankly: "It has nothing to do with me."

If you intervene, even if the child is saved in the future, the Gao family will not let it go.As an aunt, Xu will not let Gao Fei and Xu Yingli leave easily, but she will definitely let Gao Fei take a concubine.If Gao Fei really takes a concubine, then Xu Ying's life will become more and more difficult.

If this child dies, the Gao family can only treat Xu Ying well for the sake of the next child and to prevent others from breaking their mouths.

The child died, and Xu Ying lived a stable life.

Xu Ying had a hard time living in Gao's house as a child.

"Master, the child is innocent."

"so what."

"Young master, do you still remember that Madam said that the young master should take care of the young lady for a while."

Bi Shu's words made Shang Yin pause.

He remembered this, but it was just that his father, whom he had never met, asked his mother to do so.Since childhood, he was not close to Xu Ying, because Xu Ying was taken and raised by his aunt Xu when she was very young.According to Xu's words, their Shang family was the chief culprit who harmed the Xu family, and they were the ones who caused the real decline of the Xu family.Therefore, he really didn't have any friendship with Xu Ying.Did his father say such things to her mother because he guessed that the Xu family would fall after his death?After all, it was his blood, so he was worried.

Bi Shu was a little nervous, Gao Fei's harm to Shang Yin was vividly remembered.If she could, she wouldn't open the mouth.She knew about Shang Yin, but Madam said that Shang Yin must help the Xu family once.From then on, Shang Yin was Shang Yin, not "Shang Yin of the Xu family".

The Gao family, the Xu family, and the Shang family far away in Nanjing.

For the last time, the grievances between Shang Yin and the surname Xu were over.

I don't know if Shang Yin wants to be transparent.He took a puff of smoke: "Take me there."

Bi Shu was overjoyed: "Okay."

Shang Yin, who was shackled by the "Xu family", will be cleared in the future.

It is not far from Fuqian Street to the West Lake.When they arrived, the West Lake was already full of people, and a woman's mournful cry came from the crowd, and she knew it was Xu Ying.

In the West Lake of Hangzhou, I do not know how many baby girls were drowned.But the Gao family was the only one that made such a big commotion.

When Shang Yin and Bi Shu arrived, someone saw them yelling, "Shang Yin is here!"

As a result, the crowd automatically separated all the way, and a sneer flashed across Shang Yin's lips after taking a puff of cigarette.They entered the crowd and saw Xu Ying sitting paralyzed on the ground holding the baby girl.The baby girl closed her eyes, her little face was red from the cold.The old mother of the Gao family pointed at Xu Ying and said loudly: "Drown this money-loser, and the young lady can continue the incense for the Gao family's son!"

Gao Fei was not there, but his servant, Sun Suer, was there. Sun Suer was running around in a hurry, wondering if he should call Gao Fei, but he did. The old grandmother not only wanted to break his legs, but also To drive him out of Gao's house.

Ouch, what can I do!

Sun Su'er remembers going around.

"Miss!" Bi Shu stepped forward.

The old mother saw that it was Shang Yin and Bi Shu who had come, and she stepped forward displeasedly, "What are you doing here?"

When Xu Ying saw Bi Shu, she cried loudly: "Bi Shu woo woo woo woo..."

Bi Shu stepped forward to help Xu Ying up, while the old lady of the Gao family spoke among them: "This is our Gao family's business, and it's not up to outsiders to take care of it."

Seeing Shang Yin coming, Sun Su'er quietly stepped aside.

Others whispered, wanting to see what Shang Yin would do.

Xu Ying's eyes were red and swollen from crying, she knew that the only one who could save the child was Shang Yin.But she didn't know what to say to this unfriendly brother, so she could only wait.

Hearing what Gao's mother said, Bi Shu's face was not very good-looking: "Miss is my young master's elder sister, why is she an outsider."

The old nanny said rudely to Bi Shu: "I remember, the Xu family in Fuqian Street is no longer here. Now, Xu Ying is my Gao family, and it's not your turn to have a business to point fingers at our Gao family's affairs."

Xu Ying's expression turned ugly.

This Nanny Gao is Gao Fei's father's wet nurse, she is someone close to the old grandmother of the Gao family, and she only obeys the old grandmother.Standing on this standpoint, Bi Shu really had no stand.So she looked at Shang Yin.

Shang Yin took down the cigarette stick and poured out the remaining ash inside, then pinned the stick to his waist.Seeing Shang Yin's actions, the old lady felt that something was wrong.

Seeing that Shang Yin was about to move, everyone fell silent.

Shang Yin took a step forward and said to Xu Ying, "Take this child back."

After listening to his words, Gao's mother firmly grasped Xu Ying who was about to leave: "Shang Yin don't meddle in his own business."

Shang Yin sneered: "From today onwards, if I hear something wrong with this child, I will let your Gao family go around in Hangzhou Mansion!"

All the onlookers knew that since Shang Yin was stripped naked, beaten and forced to swallow opium, his spirit was a bit abnormal, so it is not false to say these words to him now.

The old mother's face changed when she heard Shang Yin's words, and the stone in Xu Ying's heart finally came down.

Bi Shu thought in his heart: From now on, Shang Yin will be Shang Yin, not the Shang Yin of the Xu family on Fuqian Street.

Just when Xu Ying left with the child in her arms, the Gao family mother suddenly grabbed the child in her arms and threw it into the West Lake. The old grandmother of the Gao family was right, this child cannot be kept!Otherwise, the next child will be a girl!The family members of the Gao family will not live long, and no one knows when Gao Fei will get sick!This Gao family can't be followed by no one!

"Ah—" Xu Ying exclaimed.

"Be careful!" A figure jumped out of the crowd following the voice, and then, this person jumped in with the baby thrown into the West Lake, trying to catch the baby thrown into the West Lake.

But he didn't catch it because there was someone faster than him—

Everyone only saw that at the moment when Gao's mother threw the baby into the West Lake, the bald fiery red chicken that had been following behind Shang Yin actually flapped its short wings and grabbed the baby that was about to fall with its claws. The baby who entered the West Lake.

With a "plop", the person who jumped out to save the baby fell into the cold West Lake.Then the fat chicken flapped its wings and sent the little baby back to the shore with difficulty.

Seeing that the child was fine, Sun Su'er felt relieved, and he could finally go to Gao Fei.

The old mother glared at the fat chicken: one day she will kill this bald-tailed chicken!How could the fat chicken next to Shang Yin not be killed by the vicious dog raised by the young master!

Before Fei Ji sent the baby back to the shore, Shang Yin kicked the Gao family's mother into the West Lake.

"Ah—" With a "plop", the old mother of the Gao family was kicked into the West Lake.

Shang Yin pulled out his cigarette stick, then took out a cigarette from the pouch hanging on the stick, put it in and lit it.He looked at the old nanny who was struggling in the West Lake with a deadly gaze, and the people around him also took a step back in fright when they saw such a gaze, before Fat Chicken sent the baby back to Xu Ying's arms At that time, Shang Yin said: "Go back!" As he said, he took Bishu home.

As for Nanny Gao in West Lake, he doesn't care about life or death.

Bi Shu saw that the matter was settled, she picked up the fat chicken and followed Shang Yin back.The people surrounding this farce were divided into threes and only twos and threes were left to wait for the two who fell into the water.

In the end, those two people crawled out of the freezing West Lake, and these good people immediately stepped forward to help.

But Gao Fei came late in a hurry, and when he saw the old mother who was shivering from the cold, he was so angry that his teeth itch.I don't know whether it is Shang Yin or the old mother who is angry.He gave money to some of the boatmen who hadn't left to take the old nanny back.

The old mother was shivering from the cold: "Shang Yin, you little bastard! Wait for me!"

And the other man who jumped into the West Lake to save someone also left the West Lake tremblingly and returned to the inn where he was staying.

The author has something to say: Happy writing.

Today's Lantern Festival, I wish you all a happy Lantern Festival.

Thanks to Haidao, Sui Sui Zi, and Pan Pan for throwing mines.