The strange story of Huai'an Inn

Zhu Yi went back to his hometown this month, probably because of his previous narrow escape experience, he suddenly started homesick, so he asked the shopkeeper for leave.So now besides cleaning the guest room, Chong Liu has to stay in the hall all day long to entertain guests.

When Chongliu came to the back kitchen to serve the dishes, Fuzi asked Chongliu in a low voice, "Those three people outside with a guy thing... what names did they register?"

Kuro also leaned over and listened.Chong Liu recalled what he wrote in the registration book, "The one who registered was the tallest one. It was said that his name was Li Xiao, but it was a fake name."

Master Liao said, "It doesn't look like a good stubble, and there is a bloody smell on his body, probably there are many lives in his hands."

"Oh... don't mess with them..." Jiulang still held an unfinished bun in his hand, and said nervously to Chongliu, "Last time, a few people from Jianghu took the Jiayue Tower on the side of Douhua Lane. It was smashed, one of the guys in the restaurant was beaten badly, it was scary!"

Chongliu saw Jiulang trembling, and teased, "We have seen so many big scenes in this inn, how many Jianghu people are you afraid of?"

"Hey, don't take it lightly. If this person sometimes messes up, he's scarier than those ghosts and ghosts." Master Liao put the three people's haggis and bamboo shoots and shredded pork noodles on the dinner plate. Let's serve."

Chongliu came out of the back kitchen with the dinner plate in his hands as usual, shouted the name of the dish, and placed a pot of haggis and three bowls of noodles in front of the three Jianghu people with smooth movements.The young man in black asked, "When will your shopkeeper come back?"

Chong Liu hurriedly laughed and said, "I'm really sorry, it may take a while, you eat first, or I will serve you a pot of Tieguanyin?"

"No tea, is there any wine?" The girl who pretended to be a man and deliberately lowered her voice asked with interest, her eyes glanced at the wine gourd hanging from Zhongliu's waist.

Chong Liuqian said with a smile, "Yes..."

"Tsk, what wine do you have? Why are you so stupid!"

Chong Liuxin thought it was because he was afraid that you would drink and cause trouble...but he obediently reported the name of the wine.She wanted a jug of turbid wine, but the tall man who was probably the leader glanced at her, and immediately changed to sweet-scented osmanthus wine.

At this time, the young man in black raised his hand to pick up the meat in the haggis, rolled up his sleeves, and Chong Liu saw a tattoo on his arm.

It looks like a Kunpeng...

Chong Liu glanced quickly, and took note of Kunpeng's appearance.

After a stick of incense, the shopkeeper finally came back.Today he said that he wanted to have breakfast with a few shopkeepers of wine shops, restaurants and tea shops he knew, and he was dressed more casually.The shopkeeper wore a thick crimson fur-collared cloak, held an oiled paper umbrella in one hand, and a few oiled paper bags strung together in the other. You can see it at a glance.

Chongliu Mao watched from a distance at the door, his heart jumped up like a habit.

"Boss, you are back!" When the shopkeeper approached, he greeted him and took the things in the shopkeeper's hand.A smell of food wafted out.

"Boss, you go back and bring food from other people's homes. Master Liao will be upset again."

"It's okay, you guys split up quietly, just don't let him know." The shopkeeper smiled at him and entered the lobby without saying anything.

Or that kind of indifferent attitude...

Chong Liu felt a little sore in his heart, sighed softly, turned around and chased after him with a smile on his face, and whispered to Zhu Helan, "There are three people looking for you over there... maybe people from Ming Yuandao..."

When Chong Liu saw the Kunpeng tattoo, he matched it with a piece of previously collected knowledge stored in his memory.Ming Yuandao is a very powerful gang from the lower reaches of the Bianhe River to the coast of Baitu Mountain. The business they operate is on the surface of merchant shipping, but in fact they also do some business of smuggling and transporting spices, herbs, rare birds and animals from exotic countries in the Far East.

The name of Ming Yuandao's head is Xiao Yi, his ancestors have done a lot of military service, and they have inextricable connections with the imperial court, and may even have business ties with some court officials.Therefore, there are very few sects in the Jianghu who can have the strength of Ming Yuandao to dominate both black and white.

The shopkeeper untied his cloak, shook the snowflakes on it, and watched the three people who were eating lunch carefully with his eyes.

"Probably not a good business." The shopkeeper said in a voice that only he and Chong Liu could hear, and let Chong Liu take over his cloak familiarly, "The room is ready."

"Ready. Shall I follow?"

"No, Zhu Yi is not here now, you still have to watch in the hall."

Chong Liu felt a sense of loss again.

Is he not allowed to participate in business matters now?

But you can't blame the owner.With so many doubts about him, if he was the owner, he wouldn't dare to believe himself.

Chong Liu controlled his emotions, watching the shopkeeper salute "Li Xiao" with a bright smile with a trace of melancholy, after exchanging pleasantries, Li Xiao went upstairs to talk with the shopkeeper in detail, leaving only the two The younger followers were still drinking and chatting.

After two sticks of incense, the number of diners gradually decreased, and the two young men began to wait impatiently.The handsome young man in black came over to Chong Liu to ask if there was anything interesting in Tianliang City.

Chong Liu enthusiastically introduced various scenic spots to him, and there are many places on Zilu Mountain alone, but he did not expect that the young man said impatiently, "Oh, who asked you about those mountains and rivers. I mean 'fun' place!"

Chong Liu blinked his eyes twice, and he understood in an instant, "Eh... Pomegranate Street is very lively and bustling, especially after sunset..." He then introduced several famous actresses and beauties on Flower Street in detail. The young man's eyes lit up, and he stuffed a lot of rewards for Chong Liu.

Chong Liu was finally in a better mood, put the money into the pocket of his apron, and took the opportunity to ask, "Where did the three guest officers come from? How did you know our shopkeeper?"

"We are in the merchant shipping business, why don't we come out to relax?" The young man in black leaned on the counter, but he was quite good at chatting, "As for your shopkeeper, we also heard people say that he sells some... Gadgets with special effects?" "Our boss is actually just a white man. He knows a lot of craftsmen, and they all have some amazing skills. But our boss is only responsible for soliciting sales and signing contracts, and the rest of the production is made by those craftsmen. work." Chong Liu said, rolled his eyes deliberately, made a mysterious expression and approached the young man in black and said, "But... the things made by those craftsmen are as they look. The use is not the same…”

"I came to you because of the difference." The young man in black said indifferently, "We have been running on the sea all year round, and we often encounter strange things, especially recently..."

Having said this, he suddenly stopped alertly.As if realizing that he had already said too much, he changed the subject and started asking where the wine in Tianliang City was good.

Chongliu was thinking secretly.

Strange things happened at sea...

He unconsciously thought of his weird and weird dreams...the warm sea water surrounding his body...

Chong Liuchang has heard many storytellers say that those sailors who make a living at sea are tantamount to entrusting their lives to a god who tolerates everything and is also moody.They don't know when they will encounter violent storms, and every sailing may be the last time they set foot on land.Also because of this reason, these people are usually very superstitious, and have many taboos and rules of their own.

At the same time, they often encounter unexplainable strange things at sea.

The sea is too vast, no one knows if it has an end, after all no one has ever reached the other shore.The bottom of the abyss, where the sun cannot find it, is like an eternal dusty box, hiding the original secrets and traces of the universe inside.Who knows what maddening things are gestating in that darkness?

Chong Liu wanted to know more, so he sighed and said, "You guys are working too hard. My old uncle also made a living at sea, and worked as a jobber for half of his life. Later, he never came back when he went out to sea. I gave my uncle a dream, saying that he was trapped on the boat and couldn't get off..."

Seeing Zhong Liuyi's sad and lamenting appearance, the young man in black seemed to empathize with him very much, "Yes, in this line of work, there is always today and no tomorrow, so you have to enjoy yourself in time!"

"Little brother, do you think it's possible that my uncle is still alive? Didn't they say that they occasionally encounter ghost ships with intact hulls but no one can be found?"

"Who knows... at sea, anything is possible." When the young man in black said this, fear flashed in his eyes for a moment.He looked at Chong Liu, obviously there was some kind of suppressed desire to talk out.

And Chong Liu's gentle, pleasing and very sincere face often catalyzes and intensifies this desire to confide in others.

"If I tell you, don't yell around. Even if you yell, no one will believe you."

Chong Liu suppressed his excitement of smelling the secret, and tried to open his eyes wide, showing the appearance of listening sincerely, "Guest officer, don't worry, I won't break my mouth."

The young man in black saw two jugs of wine on the counter, took one over, said "put it on the account", opened it and took a sip, and then said slowly: "About eight months ago, we carried a It is a long journey, and it takes about a year to go back and forth.

The first two months were smooth, with few storms.There were about a hundred people on our boat, except for some green-headed firemen and more than 20 passengers, most of them were old sailors.

By the third month, we had a sudden and huge storm.We put up our sails and dropped anchor, and hid in the barn to wait for the wind and waves to pass.You can't do much at this time. There is no sheltered port nearby, so you can only resign yourself to fate.

No matter how experienced sailors are, they are also frightened at that time.No one knows if this time will be the one with bad luck.We carried several sheep on board, and they were all afraid of the storm, so we wanted to throw them down to give gifts to the Dragon Lord.

Then the storm finally passed.I was one of the first people to get out of the cabin.At that time, the sky had just started to clear up, and I was too busy looking at the sky, not my feet.As soon as I stepped on it, I felt like I guessed something wet, soft and slippery...

I looked down and found myself stepping on a translucent mass that appeared to be a strangely colored jellyfish.But under its skin, there are many eyeballs...human eyeballs.

I grew up on a boat, so I haven't seen any kind of fish or white skin, but this kind of jellyfish... It's the first time I've seen it.When I stepped on it, many eyeballs were squeezed out, and some even burst open. What flowed out was not blood, but sticky gray-white stuff.

At that time, the deck was full of dead fish that we had never seen before.There was a fish whose legs were as long as a man, with two human-like faces, and dense beards all over its stomach.There is also a fish that looks like a big long centipede.

Then we were near the bow and saw something...

It's definitely not a fish, but it's not a person either... It feels like a deformed monster was born from a person and a fish.Its head looks like a fish, with protruding eyeballs and a mouth full of fangs.There is no hair on the body, there are several layers of gills on the neck, fins on the arms and heads on the back, webs on the feet and hands, and fish scales all over the body.

This thing looked like it was dead, with a lot of dark green mucus coming out of its mouth and eyes, it smelled bad, and its stomach was rotten.At that time, many of us said that it should be thrown overboard, and some people said that it should be taken away, saying that it could be sold for a lot of money.

Later, our leader decided to keep it, and dragged it ashore at the next port to sell it.The other strange fish also picked a few to keep, and threw the rest back into the sea.

Now that I think about it, we're all fucking idiots.That kind of thing dares to stay on the boat, it's so fucking fascinating!

When going to bed that night, many people could not sleep well.Everyone, including me, could hear a strange noise.It was like knocking on a door.

Except for the passenger cabin, the ship is covered with curtains, where is the door, and the direction of the sound is not right.Then we found out...that knocking sound was coming from outside the cabin...

The question is, is the sea outside the cabin?

We didn't take it seriously, thinking it might be the waves.

But then day by day it got worse, and the knocking got louder and more intense, like a crowd of people clapping the bottom of our boat with their hands up.All of us dared not sleep or discuss, so we just opened our eyes and listened to the crackling sound.

Later, an anchorman couldn't take it anymore and wanted to send two sailors with good water skills down to have a look.Then who dares to respond.The anchorman lost his temper and grabbed a sailor to follow him, wanting to go to the sea to see for himself.

Everyone advised him not to go, but this man is stubborn, he will die.We tied ropes around his waist and the other sailor, and agreed that if he pulled the rope three times we would bring them back.This is all by convention.

They dived, the rope dropped quickly, and then there was nothing.At that time, it was very bright, and the sea water was so black that we couldn't see anything clearly.

Then one of the ropes suddenly began to jerk violently, but the other remained silent.We don't care, anyway, both of them start to pull up.

One side was pulled up quickly because the weight was shockingly light.After pulling it up, the other end of the rope is only the part tied in the middle of the anchor's body, and the top and bottom are gone...

The sailor on the other side was still alive when he was pulled up, but his two legs and half of his face were gone, his bones were exposed, and there was even very little blood... That sailor only lived for a few hours, with his mouth full Crazy talk, can't ask anything.He kept saying things he didn't understand.

There were a few Nanyang people among the passengers, and their faces changed after hearing this, saying that the sailor spoke a language of "water ghosts", and that we kept the monster's body and blasphemed the gods of the sea, so we should be punished. punished.

The gods that the Nanyang people believe in are a little evil, and they are not the same as our Bodhisattvas and gods.

All of us said we didn't believe it, but we were flustered.In the end, Gangshou decided to set up an altar to worship the gods, and then threw all the corpses into the sea.

I thought it would be fine.But all the next day, we could see the monster's body floating on the sea.At that time, we were sailing with the wind, traveling four hundred miles a day, but the corpse of the monster was always floating and sinking near our boat... as if it was following us.

But it is obviously dead, why is it still following us?Is there something underwater, pulling it to follow us?

It's not just this thing that's wrong, everyone was not quite right in those days.A good old man with a good temperament would fight with others and bite off the ears of others because of the amount of food.Some people talked in their dreams in the middle of the night, saying that all of us would be taken away, which was an unlucky thing, and they were beaten to death... Everyone became very irritable, as if they were different people.

The boss and I were very afraid of killing people, so we found a few confidantes to watch closely, thinking that anyway, according to the schedule, we will arrive at Suwang Wharf in two days, and it will be fine if we make it through.

But three days passed, and we didn't even see the shadow of the land.

The boss had a big quarrel with Shaotou, but Shaotou said that he followed the compass-guided path and could not be wrong.Xiaotou was so familiar with this route that he had traveled no less than a dozen times that he could find it with his eyes closed, but the land that should have appeared just disappeared.

This time the ship was in total chaos.Those people in Nanyang said that we were cursed, which made people panic all the time.About the fifth day, there was still a death.One sailor suddenly and inexplicably stabbed another sailor to death for no reason at all.We tied up the murderer for questioning, and he just said that the people under the boat told him to do it.

And this is just the beginning.People on board began to die one after another.Sometimes accidents happened out of nowhere, some people disappeared the next day after waking up, and some people were killed by others, but it was impossible to find out who did it.Judging by the mental state of the people on board at that time, I fucking think it's okay for anyone.In those days, I didn't even dare to sleep, because I was afraid that someone would wipe my neck in my dream.

We were trapped on the boat day by day, and two months passed in a blink of an eye, and we never saw a trace of land.There was an unchanging sea on all sides, the wind never stopped, the compass seemed to be completely broken, and no other ships could be seen.

We don't even know where we are.

At that time, I really thought I was going to die at sea. "

Listening to the narration of the young man in black, Chong Liu seemed to really follow him on that terrifying merchant ship, trapped among a group of people who suddenly went mad.He shuddered and asked nervously, "Then how did you come back alive?"

The young man in black took another sip of wine, "To be honest, I don't even know it. There are fewer and fewer people alive on the boat, it's like a nightmare. Later, a Nanyang man said, we have to sacrifice to The gods in the sea and those water ghosts."

"Water ghost... is that kind of monster that looks like a man and a fish?"

"Maybe... I can't be sure. After all, no one dares to go into the water, for fear of ending up like Iktou. Anyway, my boss and I strongly opposed the prohibition at the time, but under the circumstances at that time, everyone seemed crazy. They can't hold back. They must draw lots to choose sacrifices, and everyone must participate. Those who don't participate in the lottery will be thrown directly into the water.

The boss was angry at the time, and said that he refused to draw lots, and if they dared to disobey, they would simply throw his leader out.Unexpectedly, those bastards really rebelled and directly tied up the boss.I was trying to save the boss, but they tied me up too...they forced us onto the diving board and forced us to jump off by ourselves with knives...

I was terrified at the time, but I was so afraid that I knew I was going to die, so I became numb for some reason.I saw the boss jump, and I jumped too.

I remember sinking down in the water and I seemed to see the depths of the water...a very large shadow swam past very fast...and then I lost consciousness.When I woke up, I found myself lying on the shore, and the boss was lying next to me.

None of us can remember when the rope was untied from our bodies, nor how we got to the land where we could never find it.Later, when we came back by boat at Suwang Port, we found out that our merchant ship was missing. All the more than 100 people on board were alive or dead, and we were the only ones who survived. "

Chongliu rested his chin, immersed in this thrilling story.He knew that there were many more frightening details probably omitted by the young man, "So...you came to find the boss this time because of those water ghosts and sea gods?"

Just as the young man in black was about to speak, he suddenly heard a rather solemn and majestic voice, "Ah Liang."

The young man in black immediately put down the jug, and walked obediently to the side of the tall man who called himself Li Xiao.The shopkeeper was also coming down the stairs, his expression as usual.

"Liu'er, have the guest's rooms been tidied up?"

"It's ready to come out. Guest officer, here is the key."

Li Xiao took the key and took his two attendants to the atrium.

Chong Liu quietly walked to the shopkeeper, glanced at the shopkeeper's expression, and asked cautiously, "Boss, it seems like a big business?"

Zhu Helan folded his hands and looked at Chong Liu, "Did you find out again?"

"Just chatting with people for a while..."

"You guessed right, they are indeed from Ming Yuan Dao. That Li Xiao is none other than Xiao Yi, the head of Ming Yuan Dao." Zhu Helan said softly, "So let everyone be vigilant these two days, and don't provoke others. Necessary trouble."

"Boss, who are you going to ask to help them make things?" Chong Liu took a few steps forward and asked cheekily, "Do you want me to go with you?"

Zhu Helan finally put all his attention on him, but the look in his eyes seemed to return to the alienation from a year ago, which still made Chong Liu feel tight in his chest.

"It's okay, you are still busy with the inn. I can handle it myself."

After speaking, he went to fetch the hanging cloak and oil-paper umbrella, and went back to his own yard.Chong Liu couldn't bear it anymore, and deliberately grabbed the other side of the cloak when the shopkeeper was taking it.

Zhu Helan pulled the cloak without pulling it, and looked at Chong Liu with raised eyebrows.

Chong Liu held back for a moment, and said, "Master, what did I do wrong, tell me."

Zhu Helan frowned slightly, "Why did you say that?"

"... If you insist on pretending you don't know, I'll just say it straight... I really don't know what happened three months ago. I didn't lie to you. If I knew, I would definitely tell you. If you mind, wait later When Zhu Yi comes back, I can ask for a leave of absence to find out about my own background..."

Zhu Helan looked at Chong Liu's flushed face, sighed softly, and said in a slow voice, "You don't have to worry too much. I'm just afraid that if you get involved in these things again, it won't be good for you."

As he spoke, he glanced at the wine gourd on Chong Liu's waist.

Chong Liu's heart felt a little hot.

So the shopkeeper ignored him because he was worried that there would be more irreparable distortions on him?

The hope in my heart was ignited again, and I said again, "I'm fine, am I fine?"

"Once you drink Master Liao's tea, you can't stop it for the rest of your life. If you stop... I can't predict what will happen. Is this still good?"

Chong Liu lowered his head and looked at the cloak in his hand, "The tea is actually not bad..."

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes lightly, "You are really a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers, if one day you become blind or Zhuang Cheng, are you not afraid?"

"..."

He was afraid, but he also wanted to continue to follow the shopkeeper to see the vast and strange world.

As his master said, if you are always afraid of this and that, you will not be able to achieve anything in the end.

He didn't want to accomplish anything.Before coming to Huai'an Inn, he just wanted to observe, and he always felt that observation was enough.But now, after experiencing these things with the shopkeeper, he began to want to experience it.

Experience the feeling of getting closer to another soul little by little.

"I'm not afraid." Chong Liu raised his head and looked straight into Zhu Helan's eyes, "I want to continue. I can help you."

Zhu Helan frowned, as if she didn't know how to persuade him.Thinking about it, there are not many people in this world who can give him a headache... To be precise, there seems to be only one of them...

"If you want to follow so much, come to my yard after closing tonight." After Zhu Helan finished speaking, she pulled back her cloak, turned and left.

Chong Liu watched the shopkeeper leave, and after a while, he heard Master Liao shout, "Guan Chong Liu! Why are you giggling all by yourself! Come and help me peel the garlic!"