The strange story of Huai'an Inn

Guan Chongliu followed behind the shopkeeper, and the alchemist led him slowly along the winding corridors and secluded paths.Pavilions, terraces and buildings along the road are hidden among the smoke-like green trees and celestial radishes, cranes walk among lotus leaves and reed flowers, and the purple clouds are fragrant and the wind is curling up.All the Taoist alchemists who came and went along the way seemed as if they were immortals, as if the fairy palace had fallen into the mortal world.Chong Liu exclaimed as he walked, in exchange for a look from the shopkeeper, as if to warn him to restrain his unsophisticated expression that had never seen the world.

The alchemist led them to Lu Tingzhai where they received guests.In the elegant and antique hall, bluegrass Du Heng is planted everywhere, and the quiet fragrance is coiled between the ancient wooden beams and columns.The host and guests do not sit on chairs and stools, but they have to learn from the ancients to sit on seats. Although it is quite interesting, it is still a bit artificial.

The national teacher was sitting on the mat in front of the screen of the Yellow Crane Climbing to Heaven, wearing a Taoist robe of the same color as that of the Da Luo School, but covered with delicate dark pattern embroidery, and wearing a purple gold lotus crown on his head.Nearly 90 years old, with long snow-white hair, but a face as young as 40 years old, although not particularly handsome, but also very upright, better than a graceful and solemn demeanor.Looking at him with a pair of warm eyes at first glance, but concealing a kind of deterrent power, even the old Jianghu who has been in the world for half his life can't help but have the urge to restrain himself and become an obedient child.

This is the man Jiuluan Fairy never forgets, a legend that has been sung throughout the Central Plains.

The shopkeeper bowed respectfully and saluted, his movements were exquisite, and the angle of his eyebrows and eyes drooped exactly. It was like a model long bow, "Caomin Zhu Helan, see the national teacher."

Zhu Helan?The shopkeeper's name?

Guan Chongliu didn't have time to sigh that he knew the shopkeeper's full name, so he quickly followed the shopkeeper and kowtowed.

"You two, please forgive me." The voice of the national teacher was loud and deep, as if he could linger between the beams and wood for a few times, "Shi Ye, please wish the boss take the seat."

The shopkeeper was invited to the seat on the right side of the national teacher, and Chong Liu, as an attendant, knelt and sat behind the shopkeeper, lowered his eyebrows, but straightened his back.

The disciple of the Da Luo Sect who was called Shi Ye served tea for the shopkeeper, and then he listened to the teacher's indifferent order, "You go out first and close the door."

"Yes, Master."

After the light sound of the door being closed, the atmosphere in the living room changed subtly and silently.Obviously neither the shopkeeper nor the national teacher spoke, but a certain relationship between them was quietly reversed.

"This morning, Xiansi of Zhaoning Road came to see me and asked me about you. I heard that he lives in your inn?" The first sentence the national teacher said was simple and direct, without any politeness, as if He had already met the shopkeeper.

"Yes, Mr. Xianji is temporarily staying in my shop."

"Aren't you worried?"

The shopkeeper chuckled, put his hands into his sleeves, and said Shi Shiran, "I'm doing a serious business registered with the master book. What's so scary about it?"

"But the craftsmen you are in charge of... are all reliable? In recent years, there have been many incidents."

"My craftsmen are no different from other craftsmen. They just do what they can. No matter how good the medicine is, there must be a prescription. If someone does not follow the prescription and dies, how can it be blamed on the doctor? "

The national teacher was silent for a moment, and sighed softly, "Forget it, I just want to remind you. This Xu Hanke is young and looks weak, but he is not a simple character. He is quite ambitious and tricky. If he finds out, you can grasp I don’t know what will happen to these.”

Xu Hanke?Have means and ambition?

Chongliu recalled that the other party and himself had confided in Prince Zhong's Mansion on the mountain, and he couldn't feel the other party's scheming at all?

The shopkeeper said, "The foul smell on his body is so heavy, let's talk about it if he can live until next month."

"The people in your store are even more filthy than him, and they are all equally good." The national teacher paused, and his eyes fell on Chongliu who was behind the shopkeeper. "This little brother is troublesome to look at." It's not too small."

Chong Liu swallowed nervously, staring at the square inch seat in front of him, not daring to speak.

He was very curious, what kind of filth was seen in the eyes of the shopkeeper and the national teacher?

The shopkeeper seemed to glance back at him, "My man, I will take good care of myself. That Xiansi can only ask for blessings." He reached out to pick up the tea bowl, blew on it, and said, "But The national teacher called me here today, not just to remind me of a little Xiansi, right?"

The little Xiansi...is a senior official of the third rank, is this considered small?

The shopkeeper is good at bragging...

However, upon hearing this, the national teacher really showed some distress, as if he was struggling in his heart.After a while, he said, "Do you know any capable person... who has a way to stop people from dreaming?"

"Don't dream at all, or just dream?" The shopkeeper didn't seem to think that what the national teacher asked was unusual, and he put on a businessman's face, and introduced eagerly, "I know two people, and one asks for a higher price. But the things made can not only achieve the above two points, but also give you the ability to control your dreams as you like."

"I don't need to control the dream, just stop it completely."

"Are you sure? Although dreams seem useless, they actually play an important role in stabilizing one's mind. If it is completely stopped, it may damage the brain in the long run."

The national teacher nodded slowly but firmly.

The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, and said after deliberation, "Dreams have a deeper meaning to alchemists than ordinary people. Due to the loss of the interference of thinking during the day, people's consciousness becomes more easily affected, and it is easier to react with Tao or filth. No A few alchemists use their dreams to gain inspiration and prove the truth, and they can even predict the future and watch the past. Without dreams, it is like cutting off an arm for alchemists, and I am afraid that they will gradually lose decades in a short period of time. the way."

"I've thought about all of this."

"There is another point, presumably the national teacher already knows. Before I take over the business, the customer needs to explain the cause and effect of the demand clearly, why it is needed, and what it will be used for. There must be no concealment or deception. Otherwise, even if I accept the business With this business, there is no guarantee that there will be no accidents in the future."

The national teacher was not surprised, "Of course I know your rules."

The shopkeeper nodded and looked back at Chongliu, "You should try to write down the conversation between me and the national teacher next."

Chong Liu hurriedly opened the brocade box, poured some water from the tea bowl into the inkstone, and quickly ground the ink.Picking up the writing brush again, and habitually licking it with the tip of my tongue, after licking it, I suddenly remembered that this was not my brush...

Fortunately, the shopkeeper didn't seem to care much...

Seeing Chongliu take out his notebook and ink, the national teacher seemed a little uncomfortable.Anyone who knows that their words and actions will be recorded will be a little uncomfortable, especially if you are about to reveal something that is extremely private.But he didn't say much, just looked at the shopkeeper and asked, "What do you want to know?"

"It's very simple, why don't you want to dream?"

The national teacher fiddled with the jasper flow beads wrapped around his wrist, probably thinking about where to start.After finally making up his mind, he said slowly, "Before and after the battle of Buhuanling 50 years ago, I was haunted by nightmares. But it hasn't happened again in the past 30 years, until the last few months..."

Chong Liu quickly wrote down what the national teacher said, and heard the shopkeeper ask, "What kind of nightmare?"

"They are all similar dreams." The national teacher paused, his eyes seemed to drift in a distant direction, "I dreamed that Mr. Gou Chen and I were on a boat, and we were looking for Qiongji Island."

"Did it happen before the Battle of Bu Huan Ling?"

"That's right." Mengku Guoshi sighed, "At that time, in order to close the door of Buhuanling, we alone were not enough. So we asked for help from Baixiaomen, which claims to know all the secrets of the world. But Baixiao The sect has never been involved in matters of life and death, and among the six sect masters, only Mr. Gou Chen is willing to help us."

Shopkeeper Zhu: "It's not surprising. Baixiaomen is a mysterious sect that is both righteous and evil. They only focus on collecting secrets and knowledge, and the lives of mortals are meaningless to them. How many of you are decent sects of the Dao of Subduing Demons?" Going to find them shows that there was indeed no way out at that time."

Mengku nodded and sighed, "But this Mr. Gou Chen is a bit different. He told us a lot about Tianguren and that sect, and he also helped us find a way to improve the Taoism in the shortest possible time. method. According to an ancient fragment in his hand, there is an island in the East China Sea, and there is a book of the pole on the island, which contains all the secrets in this world. As long as you can read the book, you can get the key The method and ability of Taoism. Mr. Gou Chen and I decided to go to sea to find that Taoism, and the others will be in charge of several other ways to enhance Taoism. It’s just... for some reason, I can’t remember whether we found that island or not .”

Shopkeeper Zhu frowned, "What do you mean?"

"To be honest, I am still troubled by this past event. I remember we went out to sea and spent several days on the boat. I also remember that we walked into a thick fog that lingered, and Mr. Gou Chen told me, saying Found it. But after that, my memory came in fits and starts like a mess, and it was hard for me to tell if those were my own imaginations, or false memories added to my mind by later strange dreams. Waiting until my consciousness changed again To be clear and continuous, I have already returned to land. But Mr. Gou Chen did not go ashore with me, he disappeared."

"It disappeared but didn't he go with you and never returned?"

"He did go, but he appeared suddenly, and none of us could find him." Mengku frowned, and the demeanor of being in control when we first met was gone, replaced by a young man's confusion and Dazed, "Mr. Gou Chen... I always feel a little strange. Over the years, we can't find any rumors or words about him, and even the documents he wrote have gradually disappeared in the world. Even Bai Xiaomen The Chinese also avoided mentioning him. I have been trying to recall the past of Bu Huan Ling all these years, but he is like sand, no matter how I try, he is quickly forgotten by me. Until now, my mind Only his name is left in the book, and I don’t even remember his voice or personality.”

"The six heads of Baixiaomen are unwilling to disclose their identities in the secular world, so they all wear masks. Even the six of them don't know each other's appearance. You must have never seen his face, right?"

"No."

"Then... what did you see in your dream that made you so scared?" asked the shopkeeper.

The national teacher tried his best to cover it up, but Chong Liu could still see the fear in the depths of his eyes.

What is it that makes the leaders of the three alchemists so afraid?

"Do you have to say it?" The national teacher asked in a low voice.

The shopkeeper didn't speak, but just stared at the national teacher.

After all, the national teacher backed down and said: "... I dreamed about that island... I dreamed that Mr. Gou Chen and I got on the island. On that island, there were no flowers, plants or animals, only a lot of huge stones. The strange palace piled up is something I have never seen before. All the pillars are surprisingly huge, as if rising from the bottom of the sea, covered with dead seaweed and coral, and even ancient conch embedded in it to become Something as hard as a rock.

We can't see when those things were built, but we can feel that it is very old, maybe even earlier than us.Looking at the leaning columns and the exceptionally well-preserved carvings on the walls, I felt... scared.I can't tell why I'm afraid.In the dream, all the hairs on my body stood on end, and I could even smell the stench of rotting water after dead fish and shellfish.

But Mr. Gou Chen was very excited, he kept walking into the depths of the ruins, no matter how I called him, he would not respond.I had to follow him inside.Walking is actually the same as climbing in. There is no suitable road for people to pass through. Those stones are so huge that we are as small as ants when we climb on them. I can’t think of how the people who built them transported them. to the island. "

The national teacher's description was very detailed. Chong Liu followed his words, and for some reason, some huge black shadows appeared in front of him.They are covered by ancient seashell bones, twisting and piercing the sky at weird angles, as if they are some kind of legendary relics that have been lost for tens of thousands of years, but they are extremely well preserved.

In those ruins, there is no door suitable for people to pass through. Although everything is huge, it seems that it is not suitable for creatures with two legs to walk. There are too many obstacles, and there are gaps in ditches everywhere. Fall into a crack, or bruise your forehead.

"It all feels so real, like it's happening. I still remember seeing a very complete conch skeleton embedded in the stone on a sloping wall. It's not like the species that still exists now. , a huge spiral shell with a diameter of about seven or eight meters. I thought it was some kind of sea worm in ancient times, but I saw two vertebrae protruding from the shell, with heads growing on the top of the bones. And the skull looks a bit like a human... The spiral shape is so well preserved, I don’t know why I feel like I’m sucking people into it when I look at it. I remember I took a few steps forward and reached out to touch it. But when you touch it...it turns out to be soft."

"Soft?"

"Well, not only the softness, but also the temperature..."