The strange story of Huai'an Inn

Chong Liu sat cross-legged on the rug, his forehead was covered with layers of dress and dress, so he had no choice but to grab his big sleeves and keep fanning the wind.

On the low table in front of him, there was a writing brush and a small plate.

The shopkeeper Zhu brought a glazed incense burner with amber brilliant colors, and carefully placed it in the middle of the low table.There were a few pieces of wood-like things in the incense burner, quietly simmering, and the green smoke was steaming, exuding a thick and sweet aroma.

If blood could burn, it should smell like this.

"Boss, why are we dressed like this?" Chong Liu asked a little worriedly.

But don't be like a dream...

Zhu Helan sat down opposite him across the low table and said to him, "We are going to a place where many of the routines you are used to are different, and I need to help you prepare."

"Where are we going?" Chong Liu asked.

"In fact, you have already gone in." The shopkeeper said, pointing to Zhongliu's chest.

that key...

They want to enter the room that can only be seen between the fingers?

He suddenly remembered the last time, in the house, the tree roots entangled his ankles...

The locust tree in the dream, the tree roots in the house.What is that locust tree in the atrium?

At this time, the shopkeeper suddenly took out a small knife and cut the palm of his left hand.Chong Liu was taken aback, "Ah! What are you doing, Master!"

The shopkeeper raised his bleeding hand above the small celadon plate, letting the blood flow into the plate and gradually gather into a small pool, "Liu Er, stretch out your hand."

Chong Liu thought that the shopkeeper was going to cut off his hand, so he stretched out his left hand tremblingly, "Master...then what...you start lightly..." Zhu Helan sneered, rolled his eyes at him, picked up the brush and dipped it into the plate He grabbed Chong Liu's left hand and began to draw on his palm seriously.

Chong Liu felt itchy as the brush brushed across his palm, and the shopkeeper's breath was warm on his skin.

"This mark can protect you, let it know that you and I are together, so it won't hurt you. At the same time, it can also protect your mind to a certain extent."

Chong Liu raised his left hand and looked at it. On it was a mark composed of sharp corners and twisted lines, a bit like a goat's head wrapped by many roots or tentacles, with two hooves sticking out from below.

"Give me the other hand too."

So the shopkeeper drew the same marks on the palms of both his hands, and said, "Let them dry, and be careful not to rub them off."

"Boss... What is that thing in that room?" Chong Liu asked, staring at the mark on his palm, "Does it have anything to do with that locust tree in our yard...?"

The shopkeeper was holding a long red rope at this time, and tied a complex knot on his left wrist with one hand, "It seems that you have already made some guesses? Yes, the locust tree in our yard, It's not a real locust tree."

"Then what is it?"

The shopkeeper said, "The world that our five senses can perceive is dominated by Dao Qi. If any filthy creatures want to survive in this world of Dao, at least they need to put on a disguise before they are strong enough. .”

Chong Liu sighed thoughtfully, "Is the pagoda tree a disguise? Then what is it? Why did our inn build around it?"

"If you have seen the city god, you should already know that there are many creatures in this world that we can't see or feel in ordinary times, but are far beyond human beings. Things like blindness, worm miasma, or Su Lang fan are all Obscene creatures are already very dangerous and terrifying in the eyes of humans, but compared with creatures like City God, they are as different as livestock and humans in terms of spirituality. Compared with this locust tree, City God They are like docile elephants and horses."

Chong Liu's eyes widened.

Chenghuang... is already very scary.And the locust tree in their yard is actually higher than the "level" of the City God?

Zhu Helan shook his head and said, "However, it hasn't grown up yet, it's still a 'sapling'. So it must be taken care of and protected."

"Tree...sapling?" Chongliu laughed, "Boss, isn't the sapling in our yard a bit too big?"

"As I said, it's just a disguise. If it really grows into..." The shopkeeper didn't finish speaking, and left a paragraph of imaginary space meaningfully.

It's hard to imagine how scary a locust tree can be.

"Then...why are you responsible for taking care of it?" Chong Liu asked a more critical question.

Zhu Helan lowered his head and continued to tie another red rope on his right hand, "It's a long time to talk about it, I may have a chance another day. However, I called you here so early to teach you a few formulas. Wait until we enter In that room, go to a deeper place, and after seeing the locust tree, I will set up a formation and perform a ceremony.

During the ceremony, I need you to protect me.You just need to keep repeating the mantra outside the magic circle, and watch the lines I draw on the ground. If any lines start to fade or disappear during the ceremony, you have to help me make them up in time.

This ceremony can draw out the spiritual consciousness of the locust tree and resonate with people's consciousness.That is to say, within a certain period of time, people in the formation can get the consciousness fragments of the locust tree.

Filth always has a stronger sense of filth.The more powerful the foul creature is, the more sensitive it will be.If the disaster after ten days is really related to the giant Tai Sui tower you saw, the pagoda tree may be able to perceive it.Then we can find the root of a series of changes in Tianliang City in the near future. "

Chong Liu listened carefully, and nodded obediently even though he didn't understand much.

If you can really find out what will happen ten days later, you will have a way to deal with it.

"However... one problem is that in the process of consciousness, a sacrifice is required, and it is a blood sacrifice."

Blood... blood sacrifice...

Chong Liu swallowed, "Boss...you won't let me..."

Zhu Helan chuckled twice, "It scares you, don't worry, I didn't plan to feed you to the locust tree. It has only been drinking my blood in recent years, so you don't have to worry."

Chong Liu immediately got in touch with the previous incident, "So...you said that you watered the locust tree...with your own blood?"

"good."

"...Boss, how can you hold on like this? If you don't do it right, you will die!"

Zhu Helan shook his head with a smile, and said slowly, "I have a sense of proportion. But it is true that I will become weaker after watering, so the control over the magic circle may not be stable. If the inspiration of the locust tree leaks, it will It starts to affect your sanity.

I drew an amulet on your hand specifically for it, but it's impossible to be watertight.

So if you start to see strange scenes, or start hearing strange noises, or have unusual thoughts, or the formation on the ground starts to be destroyed quickly, leave me alone and leave that room immediately. "

The more Chong Liu listened, the more he felt that this matter seemed extremely dangerous, "Then...then what do you do?"

"It won't hurt me." Zhu Helan replied simply, "It's just that if it successfully invades my spirit, I don't know if it will use me to hurt you..."

Chong Liu opened his mouth slightly, not knowing how to react.

"Of course, if I can support the magic circle, you will be fine." Shopkeeper Zhu stared at him, paused and asked, "How, it's too late to regret it now."

Chong Liu looked down at his palm, thought for a moment, and then replied firmly, "Boss, I'm not afraid. I think I should be able to."

"Is it because you are curious about the tree, or are you worried about me?" the shopkeeper asked with interest, holding his cheek.

Chong Liu coughed, "Boss, you seem to like to take advantage of me more and more recently."

"You can take it back too." Someone said with an innocent face.

............................................................

The mantra that the shopkeeper Zhu taught Chong Liu was not the language he would use in everyday speech, but a strange foreign language with tricky pronunciation.Chong Liu spelled out the sounds and recited them over and over again. Fortunately, the formulas were not long, so he memorized them after a long time.

It's just... "What does this formula say?" Chong Liu asked in wonder.

The shopkeeper Zhu prevaricated, "Praise the goddess."

"Goddess? What kind of goddess?"

"Mother Goddess of All Things."

The Goddess of All Things... Could it be the Queen Mother of the West?Houtu?Or Nuwa?

Certainly not... After all, if these three were here, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to understand what the formula said...

The shopkeeper packed up a pack of things to make the magic circle, and looked out of the window, it was quite late at night.

The entire Tianliang City fell into a deep sleep and silence.

The two of them carried lanterns, quietly entered the atrium, and went up to the top floor of the North Building.

The door that shouldn't exist between the fingers is quietly waiting on the white wall at the end of the corridor.The shopkeeper obviously still had a key in his hand, and he opened the lock quickly and neatly.

Chong Liu followed the shopkeeper in.

Only a small part of the things that were transferred here by the shopkeeper were moved back to the small courtyard by the shopkeeper at some point.Rows of wooden shelves stretched forward until engulfed in darkness.

The shopkeeper walked in front, very fast.Chong Liu followed suit step by step, the more he walked, the quieter he felt, and the air stagnated.

Why is this "room" so big? After walking for so long, I still haven't seen the end.

Some time ago, the light of the lantern could not shine on any wooden frame, and the originally flat ground under the feet was replaced by finely tangled tree roots and soil at some point.

But the light of the lanterns illuminated nothing but this rough texture of the ground that seemed to be eternal.

The secret and solitude is pushed forward layer by layer by the darkness, which gradually makes people panic.

There is darkness in the front, back, left, and right, a darkness where you can't see your fingers.

Suddenly, the shopkeeper's footsteps stopped.

Chong Liu held his breath.

Zhu Helan raised his head, looked at a certain place in the void, and said softly, "It's me."

Accompanied by two simple words, two light spots suddenly lit up in the dark sky.

Two abrupt red light spots the size of lanterns.

Is that... eyes?

This height... how big this thing must be...

But then, Chong Liu knew he was wrong.

The red light spots and blood vessel-like veins spread rapidly, spreading like a spreading plague to cover the entire dark "sky curtain".The melancholy and ominous red bloomed above their heads like grand fireworks, illuminating all the ancient secrets that were originally hidden in the darkness.

Chong Liu raised his head, looked at the... thing that appeared in front of them, and was completely stunned.After a brief blank in his mind, it was suddenly filled with strong, primitive, and instinctive fear. He seemed to have returned to those nightmares that he couldn't remember the ending, but this time, he couldn't use forgetting to escape.