The strange story of Huai'an Inn

It is not surprising that Mr. Xuanwu would ask this question.

Master also mentioned to Chong Liu about his senior brothers and senior sisters, and none had the best relationship with him than Mr. Xuan Wu, who was as obsessed with collecting knowledge of mysterious and strange arts as he was.After the master went into seclusion, Mr. Xuanwu was also looking for him the longest.

Now most of the other four gentlemen have resigned or passed away due to reasons such as old age or illness, and their respective disciples have taken over their seats.Only Mr. Xuanwu probably took some miraculous medicine obtained overseas, and he has not shown many signs of aging so far.

Guan Chongliu leaned slightly, and replied in a soft tone, "Before Wansheng came out, the master told him not to disclose his place of residence. Wansheng dare not disobey the order of his family teacher."

Mr. Xuanwu took a few steps towards him, and the feeling of oppression became heavier, "How is your master?"

"The late student has not seen the master for eight years. But he suffers from serious illness all year round and has been bedridden all the time."

"Eight years? Then you go, who will take care of him? After so many years, you don't know how to go back and have a look?"

"Master has his arrangements, and it's not time for Wansheng to go back. However, Wansheng knows that Master's life is safe at this moment."

Mr. Xuanwu sneered, "How do you know?"

Chong Liu carefully raised his eyes behind the mask, and said in a low voice, "Forgive Wansheng for not being able to explain more, but...there is a connection between Master and Wansheng. If Master is in danger, Wansheng will know immediately."

Mr. Xuanwu walked slowly, walked around behind Chong Liu, and glanced at every inch of his body, "I have seen the five disciples he accepted before, only you are the last one, I have never seen it before. But you But he has a cinnabar order that he has never given to anyone else. He seems to have a preference for you."

Chong Liu hurriedly lowered his head even lower, "Late-born without talent, I am fortunate to be loved by my tutor."

"You are quite capable. In the nearly a year since you came to Tianliang, you have made two big disturbances. It really was his disciple who entered the room."

The sarcasm and chill in the words made Chongliu shudder.Chong Liu didn't dare to say much, so he had to listen to the lecture calmly.

But Mr. Xuanwu had no intention of reprimanding him, he walked to the other side of the cabin, took out a few books from the cabinet, and walked in front of Chong Liu.

"I know that you have already gained the trust of the owner of the Huai'an Inn. I sent a few people before, but he found out and drove them away within a few months. From this point of view, you do have some skills. "

Chongliu recalled the rumors from the neighbors in the neighborhood, saying that the waiters who worked before him disappeared quickly... Could it be Mr. Xuanwu's person?

Chong Liu felt anxious.When the time came, he had to rush back to the inn to go to the secret room to see what was going on with the owner and the pagoda tree. It was really not good to spend too long here.So he tentatively asked, "I don't know if Mr. Summoned me today, but is there anything the late student can do for me?"

"It's really something." Mr. Xuanwu said, and handed the books to Chongliu.Each book has the words "Xuanwu Notes" written on it.

Chong Liu was surprised.Is this the record compiled by Mr. Xuanwu himself?

Looking at the booklet number, it seems that it is not continuous, but it also covers a lot of years.

The records of previous gentlemen have always been seen only among the six gentlemen or the succeeding gentlemen.

"Mr. Xuanwu, how can the late He De read your notes?"

"This is an exception, you must not tell anyone." Mr. Xuanwu said in a low voice, "My Xuanwu Sect is mainly responsible for collecting anecdotes and anecdotes from overseas exotic lands. These books are compilations of the knowledge and information I have collected in the past 50 years. , I don’t know everything, but everything you need to know is in it.”

"Sir, why did you show these to the late students?"

Mr. Xuanwu said coldly, "If you can't guess, Gou Chen has misjudged you."

"Is it related to the fact that the god in yellow almost completed the gate in Tianliang City, and the recent appearance of water ghosts in the sea?"

"That's right." Mr. Xuanwu turned around and sat down in front of his Yaoqin. "These you see are just relatively obvious waves, but you probably don't know the deeper undercurrent. Since the catastrophe 50 years ago, The existence of the god of uncleanness has only begun to attract attention in our school. My Xuanwu school is responsible for combing and codifying all the knowledge about God of uncleanness collected by Gou Chen and the information we have collected ourselves, trying to understand that which is completely above A world beyond our world.

We discovered that the Unholy Gods didn't come into our world only 50 years ago.They have always had believers and servants on earth.There is even a god of uncleanness, who may be able to travel freely between the human world and other worlds.

The Unholy Gods wanted to enter this universe for reasons beyond our comprehension, and this wasn't their first attempt.Every time before they try, abnormal changes will occur in the movement and flow of the filthy qi and dao qi in the world, and the believers and servants of the filthy gods will also start to have abnormal movements.My guess is that the remaining servants of the Unholy Gods in our world feel some sort of call from them. "

Chong Liu immediately thought of those water ghosts staring at him in the darkness outside the window.I also thought of Zhuang Cheng smiling crazily and saying that he is the priest of the God of Yellow Clothes...

Dong is also a priest of the Mother Goddess, isn't he... But he doesn't seem to feel any special call yet?

Chong Liudao, "I heard that Tiangu's previous great witch passed away, and a new great witch will succeed him. How much do you know about this new great witch?"

"It's in Book Nine about Heaven's Witches and Great Witches." Chong Liu nodded and asked again, "Then what should I do after reading it?"

"Don't do anything for the time being, but you have to keep a close eye on Zhu Helan. He is the priest of the Mother God, and the power of the Mother God... Let's put it this way, compared with it, the God in Yellow Clothes who was going to invade before is nothing He is a junior. Once there is anything abnormal about him, you must report it to me immediately."

"Zhu Helan didn't intend to open the door. If the God in Yellow didn't have him before, Tianliang would have fallen."

There was a sound of the piano, and Mr. Xuanwu said solemnly, "Have you forgotten what is the most important thing about being Bai Xiaosheng?"

Chong Liu was silent for a moment, and said, "You don't have to be emotional to watch, and you don't have to be emotional when you record things."

"It seems that Gou Chen has taught everything that should be taught. You are not my disciple, so I won't say much."

"Yes……"

"Before you leave, I have one more thing to ask you." Mr. Xuanwu plucked the strings again, and the cold sound of the piano vibrated in the air, "Your master, did you give you a book?"

Chong Liu was stunned for a moment, isn't this the same as what the boss asked him before?

"No, Master didn't even pass on his notes to me. The books he showed me were all secular books, and they were used to teach me to read and write when I was young."

"Really?" Mr. Xuanwu turned his head and stared into his eyes, "Maybe it's not a book, anything that can record knowledge, such as engraved utensils, scrolls, or even formulas and mental methods? "

Chong Liu thought about it seriously, shook his head, "No."

Mr. Xuanwu observed his expression, and turned back after a while, "You go."

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

Chongliu hurried back to the inn full of worries, and looked at the time, almost everyone had already fallen asleep, and the secret room should be visible.

He first hid a few books in his box, then changed his clothes, took a lantern and hurried up to the top floor of the north building, covered his eyes with his fingers, and opened the door.

The inside of the door is still dark and quiet as before, and the rows of shelves are full of strange objects.Chong Liu used bright red lanterns to illuminate the aisle between the rows of shelves, and whispered, "Master? Master?"

No one was seen.

Are you going to go inside?Chongliu took big strides to walk in, and gradually the airs disappeared, and there was thick and persistent darkness all around, only a red starlight in the distance guiding the way forward.

The locust tree gradually appeared in the field of vision, and it looked... not very good.

All the branches drooped and limply slumped on the ground. Huge vines were stacked together like hills, and the flesh quivered, gushing out bright red mucus.

And Zhu Helan was lying on his side surrounded by a few vines, his black hair was disheveled, covering his face, as if he had passed out.

"Master!!!" Chong Liu panicked, rushed over in two or three steps, stretched out his hand to gently brush away the long hair, and saw the shopkeeper's bloodless face.A long and hideous wound on the inside of his arm was still bleeding out, and a few thin vines were stuck in the wound, as if it was gurgling and sucking.

"Master! Master!" Chong Liu was at a loss, he could only hold Zhu Helan's head in his arms, and patted his cheek with his hand.Zhu Helan's eyelashes trembled a few times before opening them hesitantly, but his eyes focused on the fabric for a moment.

Chong Liu remembered that he was sweating profusely, but his hands were cold from fright, "Master... what's wrong with you, this is..." He wanted to pull those tree roots out of Dong's arm, but was stopped by the shopkeeper. . "Don't..." Zhu Helan said hoarsely, "something stole its blood, a lot of blood... I have to make up..."

"How much do you have to make up?! It will kill you!" Chong Liu still reached out to pull it out, but the shopkeeper blocked the wound with his hand to prevent Chong Liu from touching it, and insisted on a serious face, "Don't make trouble!"

"What trouble! I think you are desperate!"

"I'm fine... just some blood, I can't die."

"Look at the difference between the heads of the two of you, it's strange if you don't die!" Chong Liu couldn't hold back the shopkeeper, but suddenly saw a dagger falling on the ground nearby.He suddenly thought of something, grabbed the dagger, and drew a line on his arm.

pain!

It's just a small cut on the arm, and Chong Liu can't draw it... But at least some blood came out, so it should work, right?

Zhu Helan's eyes widened, his face full of shock, "What are you doing!"

Chong Liu raised his bloody arm and waved at the locust tree, "Hey, little locust tree, don't just stare at your father's blood and eat it, how about a change?"

As soon as the words fell, the locust tree trembled.Several thin vines gathered from all around, wrapped around Chong Liu's arm, and squeezed into the wound brutally.

Chong Liu was so painful that his teeth chattered, and he had to suppress it desperately not to cry out.Those vines tore the small opening into a big one, but not much blood gushed out.

Chong Liu immediately felt the heat in his body draining rapidly.

"Are you crazy!" Zhu Helan was anxious and angry, reaching out to grab Chong Liu's arm.

Chong Liu grabbed the shopkeeper's hand trying to stop him, and said seriously, "Boss, it's okay. I'm in good health recently, and there should be a lot of blood. I'll help you share some of it, so that you don't turn into a human being." "

Zhu Helan's mind was buzzing.

There were quite a few people who were willing to offer sacrifices to the locust tree, but this Xiao Paotang was the first one who voluntarily offered sacrifices to the locust tree for the sake of him as a priest.

It has been a long, long time since the locust tree has drunk the blood of anyone other than Zhu Helan. It seems that it has tasted something delicious in the world, and its whole body trembled for a while, and the large tree vines surrounding the two of them became tighter , as if forming a huge bird's nest, gathering the two of them in the middle.

He was obviously bleeding, but Chong Liu was not worried that he would be drunk dry by the locust tree.He knew that the pagoda tree would not hurt his master, and he also believed that his master would protect him.

"Boss, in the future, don't force yourself to do this kind of thing by yourself. You have to learn to ask others for help." Chong Liu sat cross-legged and said with a persuasive expression, "Look, If I had come later, maybe I would have only found a piece of bacon called Zhu Helan."

Zhu Helan looked at him, twitched the corners of his mouth, but suddenly touched Chong Liu's fingertips with his fingertips, and said in a low voice, "You brat, you don't want to meddle in other people's business."

"Tsk, how can your affairs be regarded as nosy? If you die, who will pay me this month's wages?"

"You worked so hard just for that little wage?" Zhu Helan leaned on the vine next to Chong Liu as if he was a little tired.The two people are so close that their arms are close together, and they can hold with a slight movement of their fingertips.

Chong Liu's heart was pounding, but the blood flowed faster.He pretended to be calm and was still joking, "Boss, am I the most dedicated waiter on the entire Bianhe Street? Are you considering raising my salary?"

After finishing speaking, he showed Zhu Helan a foolish smile.

In the dense light, Zhu Helan looked at him quietly, looking at the white teeth, the shallow smile lines, and suddenly felt that the smile was very cute.

At that moment, an impulse just revived from the depths of the originally dry heart.He leaned forward, and his breath fell on Chong Liu's face.

Chong Liu's heart stopped for a moment, and then it almost jumped out of his throat.

The boss wants to... kiss him?

Zhu Helan's gaze was deep and enchanting in the dense red light, as if it wanted to suck him into the depths of his soul.

So Chong Liu also leaned forward, even closed his eyes, waiting for the unreal feeling like a dream to come.

But after waiting for a while, it didn't arrive.Chong Liu tentatively opened his eyelids, but saw that the shopkeeper had turned his head back, staring in another direction in a daze.

The heavy loss was like cold water, pouring from head to toe.Chong Liu almost shuddered.

That feeling was half like being slapped across the face, half like being scalded by a soldering iron.

He couldn't even tell whether he was disappointed, sad or angry.

But it was not easy for him to ask questions, because he didn't know if he might have made a mistake just now.