The strange story of Huai'an Inn

Tonight, Jiulang was looking after the store, Chongliu got off work, after thinking about it, he went to the small courtyard of the shopkeeper.

Yuanchu was also sitting in the room, looking at the shopkeeper's room with some astonishment, which was gradually filled with all kinds of filthy objects.He sat very stiffly, and the house was surrounded by monsters ready to bite at any time.

When Chong Liu entered the room, Zhu Helan was coming out of the room, holding something wrapped in red silk in his hand.

Seeing Chong Liu, Zhu Helan laughed, "Here you come? Sit down."

Chongliu sat next to Yuanchu, took off the cotton hat he wore when working, and asked curiously, "What are you going to do?"

Yuan Chu said, "I've checked all over the inn, and I've hidden a few charms in suitable positions to form a fire formation. As long as I activate the formation, the fire in the formation will increase. Although it's not an open flame, the naked eye I don’t see it, but any demons that are afraid of fire from water will show their true colors.”

Chong Liu thought for a while, then looked nervously at the shopkeeper, "Then, will I also..."

After all, when he got out of control, the things that grew seemed to be from the sea...

"You don't have to worry about that." The shopkeeper put the thing wrapped in red silk on the table, "If you drink a few more teas later, the formation will not affect you."

Yuan Chu said again, "I have already checked the room where Chong Liu saw the vision. There are many traces of being corroded by foul air. The humidity is very heavy. It really seems to be brought by a monster in the water. And I found it in the corner of the wall. There are a few strange symbols covered with mold, which I have never seen before, and they are not spells drawn by alchemists."

As he spoke, he dipped the water in the teacup and drew a few fishbone-like symbols on the table.

When Chong Liu looked at it, his heart moved.

In the past few days, he has been reading the notes given to him by Mr. Xuanwu, which records that in the far west country that can only be reached by crossing the South Seas, tomb robbers found some extremely strange ancient tombs in the cemetery of a small town near the sea.There is no name on the tombstone, and it is so old that it is covered with weeds, and the tomb robbers only discovered it by accident.

Those ancient tombs are full of priceless funerary objects with a long history.Tridacna, pearls, corals... are all incredibly huge, and after wiping off the dust on the surface, they burst out with dazzling brilliance.

But many of these funerary objects are engraved with some symbols shaped like fish bones.Mr. Xuanwu speculates that these symbols are words.

That town is a treacherous area that is inextricably linked with water ghosts. There are even rumors that many strange-looking people in the town are descendants of water ghosts, and sooner or later they will completely transform into water ghosts. Disappeared in the ocean.Therefore, these symbols are likely to be the words of the water ghost.

Since Yuanchu was there, he couldn't tell the shopkeeper.But the shopkeeper gave a slight snort, and opened the red silk wrapping things on the table.

It was a statue, a very strange and treacherous statue.

The whole body is carved from some kind of dark but shiny ore, a monster squatting with its knees curled up.Its head looked like a giant medallion at first glance, and a pair of evil red eyes gleamed in the firelight.Lifelike tentacles dangle from its face, covered in suction cups, unidentified bumps and barbs.On its back was a pair of huge bat-like wings that folded around his body.

It squatted there quietly, and just looking at it gave people a sense of oppression for no apparent reason.It seems that through those red eyes, you can see a fiery flame that is more terrifying than hell.

Chong Liu shuddered suddenly, his eyes were attracted to the statue, and he couldn't move for a long time.

Why... do you feel familiar?

Yuanchu also turned pale, and whispered in a tone almost condemning, "How could you have such a thing!"

Zhu Helan said, "So you know what this looks like."

"Of course I do! I didn't expect someone to make a statue of it! It's crazy!"

"I got this thing a long time ago. A sailor encountered a Nanyang merchant ship that had been missing for a long time at sea. Everyone on the ship disappeared, but all the goods on the ship were still there. This statue is one of them."

Chong Liu suppressed the inexplicable fear in his heart when he saw the statue, and asked, "What is this?"

"This is one of the most powerful filthy gods, the sea devourer who dominates water. Many towns and sailors in the far west and the southeast coast know it and fear it. Although it is also isolated from us like other filthy gods It's outside this universe, but its rumors and appearance are recorded in many inscriptions." Zhu Helan said, with a look of fear that is rarely seen in ordinary times, "People in the far west call it Cthulhu."

Chong Liu frowned, "What the hell kind of name is that?"

However, most of the names given by people in the Far West are long and weird, which are hard to pronounce and difficult to remember.At least the name isn't that long...

"Then... this statue was found on a ghost ship?" Thinking of the big ship floating in the sea fog, intact but with no one there, Chongliu felt terrified, "It feels very evil... Boss, won't it be dangerous for you to keep it?"

"As long as it is preserved properly, there will be no problem. Besides, it is much safer for me to preserve it than to be bought home by someone who does not know why."

Zhu Helan paused, wrapped the statue with a cloth, and tilted it over.However, the fishbone-shaped symbol was also engraved under the base of the statue.

Yuanchu snorted, "It's the same language!"

"That's right, it's probably written by water ghosts." Zhu Helan looked at Chong Liu and explained, "Water ghosts believe in Cthulhu and are even more afraid of it than us. Because they are closer to it than us. If I remove this red cloth, it will have an impact on everyone's mind, but the impact on the water ghost will be far greater than the impact on us."

Yuan Chu said, "So, you have to use this statue to shake Xiao Yi's mind and let him show his feet, and then I will use the refining fire array to trap him."

"That's right." Zhu Helan paused, and said to Chong Liu, "Liu'er, I want you to go to the pagoda tree."

Chong Liu was puzzled, "Acacia tree? But didn't you say..."

"The locust tree will let you see everything, and it is the safest place." The shopkeeper paused, and continued, "Besides, whether Xiao Yi is a water ghost or not, he is proficient in some tricks that are difficult for humans to understand. It will not affect the pagoda tree. The pagoda tree trusts you, and with you around, I will feel more at ease."

Zhu Helan's eyes were calm and peaceful, and the weight of trust overflowed from behind the deep black pupils.

A burst of warmth spread in Chong Liu's chest.

When the locust tree was mentioned, Yuan Chu became visibly uncomfortable.Probably his master Master Wusheng told him what this locust tree is...

After getting ready, Chong Liu quietly went up to the top floor of the east building and entered the secret room.

The locust tree has returned to its original appearance, and the fleshy vines that cover the sky and the sun are woven into a dome filled with red light in the air.When Chong Liu appeared, it trembled a few times, a few branches waved around Chong Liu, and even gently pushed Chong Liu's back.

This is...Xiao Huai is saying hello?

Chong Liu tentatively reached out and patted a cane in front of him, but he touched a sticky translucent resin... He grinned and rubbed his hands on his clothes.

"Xiaohuai, your father asked me to accompany you. They will fight in a while, don't be afraid."

Chong Liu couldn't believe that he was talking to a tree...

Though it's a tree full of tentacles and chunks of flesh...

But the locust tree seemed to understand, and pushed his shoulder with the cane.

This is the first time for Chong Liu to spend time alone with the pagoda tree, and he was at a loss for a while.He tentatively approached the huge locust tree, which is composed of countless knotted tumors, rhythmically vibrating vessels, and flesh covered by cracked bark. His heart was moved by an inexplicable feeling close to a miracle. Trembling.

The descendants left behind by the Mother Goddess of all things... are connected with the vast and terrifying unknown seedlings that human beings will never understand.

Chong Liu tentatively put his palm on the tree trunk, feeling the heat of life transmitted to his own blood through the pulsation.

The vines of the locust tree surround him, enclosing him little by little in the center.But he didn't feel horrible, and even had a sense of belonging that was almost reunited after a long absence.This contact brought him back to the dark and enveloping sea in his dream.

A few thinner tree vines stretched out from behind him, and the sharp branches pierced the skin near his forehead and temples, but the mucus secreted paralyzed his meridians, making him hardly feel any pain.

Suddenly, Chong Liu's field of vision unfolded.

No... that may not be the field of vision, but a strange perception that transcends vision and completely integrates and sublimates the five senses.He is like a person looking at a long scroll, and can see every corner of the inn at the same time.

This perception has a further extension, but the locust tree seems to confine him to the inn.

What is further away?This perception obviously has a deeper level. If they are all opened, what can they see?

Chong Liu became more and more curious, but also knew that now was not the time to focus on this.

He saw Yuanchu flash into a guest room near Xiao Yi, waiting quietly, while Zhu Helan held the guide fish and the statue wrapped in red cloth in his hand, standing still brightly lit, drinking and making noise sound outside the room.

Today, several people from Ming Yuandao are in Xiao Yi's room, it seems that they are celebrating and negotiating a business deal.

Zhu Helan knocked on the door, and soon someone answered.

Ah Liang said, "Yo! Isn't this the shopkeeper! Please hurry!"

Zhu Helan followed him into the room, but saw that the rosewood round table in the room was full of wine and vegetables, and there were two actors invited from Pomegranate Street playing pipa and singing in the corner.

Zhu Helan looked around quickly, there were about ten people from Ming Yuan Dao in the room, besides that there were five other people including the actor and young lady.Xiao Yi sat on the main seat, raised a pair of eagle-like sharp eyes, "I wish the boss."

Seeing Zhu Helan's outstanding appearance, a few members of Mingyuan Dao flirted and said, "Yo! The shopkeeper also wants to come and have fun with us? Come, come! Let's drink this cup!"

Everyone was obviously a little drunk, and followed suit.Zhu Helan's eyes were cold, but her smile didn't fade, "I'm too drunk to drink, and I'm here to give something to the master."

Xiao Yi immediately sat up straight, her eyes fell on the two things held by the shopkeeper.

Zhu Helan first put the box of the guide fish in the center of the messy cup and plate, then took out a contract from his sleeve pocket and put it next to the box.

Xiao Yi immediately reached out to open the box.A beautifully crafted wooden fish carving with a magnetic needle inserted in the middle.

All the younger brothers at the side came over to look at it, commenting on the wooden guide fish one by one, "Is this thing so expensive?"

"It looks very ordinary."

"I thought it was something magical."

Zhu Helan said, "When sailing on the sea, you can take a basin of sea water and put the fish on the water. You need to put a piece of meat or pour a small cup of blood into the basin every day before midnight and Mao. Any animal is fine. The size of the meat and The amount of blood has been stipulated in the contract. If the foul smell is approaching, the fish will come alive when the foul smell catches up with the previous stick of incense. You can see which direction it is swimming in, and then turn to the opposite direction to get rid of it. The filth is entangled."

"Come back to life? Is it real or not?" Ah Hao curiously reached out to touch the guide fish, but was stopped by the shopkeeper, "It's best not to touch it on weekdays."

Xiao Yi closed the box with satisfaction, and told A Liang to bring the reward.But Zhu Helan said, "Don't be busy, I have one more thing to ask, if the master is willing to help, Zhu's reward can be waived."

Xiao Yi leaned back on the back of the chair and made a gesture of invitation, "Sir, just speak."

The shopkeeper carefully placed the statue on the table, looked around the room, and suddenly removed the red cloth.

After a brief silence, several Taoist Ming Yuan stood up from their seats in fright and retreated a long way.

Zhu Helan stared closely at Xiao Yi's expression, but saw that the other person's face turned pale, and his eyes were filled with horror, but he still managed to maintain his expression, "Why do you have this thing?"

Zhu Helan frowned slightly.Although Xiao Yi showed a look of fear, it still seemed to be lacking a bit...

Zhu Helan smiled and said, "I know what this is?"

"This is the evil god in the sea! People from Nanyang and Far West believe it!" A younger brother said tremblingly, "This thing...you will be in bad luck if you see it!!!"

"You damn bastard! How can you take such a thing!"

The younger brothers cursed at one another, but no one dared to approach the statue.

Sailors have many taboos because they rely on the cloudy sea to eat.Although these people's reactions to the idols are strong, they are still within the "normal" range.

But where Zhu Helan couldn't see, Chong Liu could see that there was something wrong with the expression on A Liang's face.

The moment the statue was exposed, he hurriedly turned around, not looking in the direction of the statue, and was still moving quickly towards the door.

Chong Liu suddenly realized that the ghost was not on Xiao Yi...

It's Ah Liang!

The survivors on that boat at that time were two people, Xiao Yi and A Liang.But since it was Xiao Yi who asked him to clean the room, they always thought it was Xiao Yi.But A Liang is the mastermind!

Chong Liu was very anxious, and wanted to tell Zhu Helan but had no choice.But coincidentally, Zhu Helan seemed to have thought of this too, and turned his head.

The moment he saw Ah Liang trying to go out, he shot suddenly, and a talisman flew out and stuck to the door, and the door was immediately sealed.When Ah Liang stretched out his hand to touch it, he withdrew his hand as if he had been scalded.

Several actors screamed in fear, and all the people in Ming Yuandao stood up and grabbed their weapons.

Xiao Yi said angrily, "Boss Zhu, what is the meaning of this!"

Zhu Helan stared at A Liang, and said awe-inspiringly, "He is not your subordinate A Liang, since you escaped from the merchant ship together, he is no longer."

After the words fell, Yuanchu, who had been hiding in the vacant room next door, sat on the ground with his hands in mudra, activating the fire refining formation.

Immediately, the earth's air surged in the entire inn, and the sudden gust of wind howled in the courtyard, the shadows of the trees shook wildly, and a row of cold wind ghosts and shadows danced wildly.

Several spells lit up, leading the fire into that room.The air became dry and stuffy, as if it was on fire.

And the crowd exclaimed.

But he saw that A Liang's face began to hang down, as if the skin lost its support and was sliding down from the bones.Some black goo started to leak from his eyes, nose and ears.

That layer of skin drooped, no longer looking like a person, but like a piece of clothing.Immediately afterwards, the skin began to peel off and tear, and fell off piece by piece, and under that layer of human skin, another layer of skin appeared.

A layer of bluish-white bloated skin, as if a corpse had been soaked in water for several days.

This time it wasn't just the actors who screamed, even the younger brothers of Ming Yuandao, who usually boasted that they were fearless, were scared out of their wits. After all, ordinary people can't see such a terrifying scene.

"Ah Liang" still had half of the human skin on his face, and a cloudy and protruding eye stared at Zhu Helan coldly, but suddenly there were a few strange grunts from his throat.

Immediately afterwards, he suddenly melted away.

The black mucus quickly covered its whole body, and it was like a large snowdrift soaked in water, getting shorter and shorter, and completely collapsed on the ground in an instant, with clothes and human skin piled up in a pile.

However, Zhu Helan noticed that the black slime quickly rushed out through the crack of the door!

It has never been heard that water ghosts have this ability to transform water. This must be some kind of unknown witchcraft among water ghosts.

It wants to run!

Zhu Helan immediately tore off the talisman that closed the door and rushed out, only to see that a large piece of black mucus spread out on the ground and quickly fell into the atrium. It did not reflect light at all in the night, just like a large hole in the ground.They moved quickly towards the locust tree, and in an instant, they completely infiltrated into the soil around the locust tree.

It turns out that the last time someone invaded the real body of the locust tree, this method was used...

Zhu Helan thought for a moment, ignoring the fact that there were people watching behind him, her whole body turned into a cloud of red mist and stretched out from the east building, and a red silk was shot in the direction of the locust tree.

Chong Liu knew something was wrong when he saw the cloud of black water rushing towards the locust tree.A gloomy, dark, deathly chill spread along the locust tree to his body, almost completely freezing his blood.

That kind of feeling is like a person who dies and resurrects inexplicably, only to find that his back is buried deep under the heavy earth, permanently sealed in a small box, and no matter how much he screams, struggles and scratches, he cannot be rescued.

He yelled in fear, and the connection between the locust tree and him was broken.The whole locust tree was trembling in horror, and the vines around Chong Liu shrank back as if they were afraid.

And Chong Liu saw that black mucus began to seep out on the ground in front of them.They are gathering rapidly, gradually forming a strange appearance that is human-shaped but not human-shaped.

Chongliu was terrified, the shopkeeper was not there at this time, only him and Xiaohuai were here.He must protect Xiaohuai...

But...but how would he do it?What did he do the last time he faced the door?

He had no memory of it at all, and the whole thing was out of his control at the time.

The black water gradually condensed and was sucked under a layer of bluish-white sticky skin.It was tall and stooped, its back was covered with layers of gray scales, a row of blade-like spikes grew on the spine, and the membrane of the fin was connected in the middle.Its hands and feet are huge, all with webs. It looks like a human, but it doesn't have many human characteristics.

Its head looks like a huge deformed deep-sea fish.Protruding, lifeless eyes, lidless, stared straight at him.Black mucus dripped from the slit-like mouth.

Chong Liu was so frightened that his teeth chattered, but he still stood in front of the locust tree, "Don't come here! I'm warning you! I won't let you touch the locust tree!"

What he said was not so much a threat to the other party, but more like speaking to himself.

He had to hold on, he had to stall for time, and wait for his boss and the others to catch up.

But the water ghost opened its mouth, revealing rows of fine and sharp teeth, strode towards Chongliu, and said in Ah Liang's voice, "The person I'm looking for is you."

Chong Liu was stunned, and before he had time to react, the arm of the water ghost, which was so long that it could almost stand upright and hang to the ground, had already been thrown in front of him, and the huge cold and slippery palm wrapped around his throat like a pair of iron clamps. blocked his trachea.

Chongliu struggled desperately, but it was useless.He felt that his body was being lifted up, and he grabbed the strong arm with his hands, but he couldn't exert any force because the surface was too wet and slippery.

The oxygen he could inhale was getting less and less, and the strength to struggle was gradually gone.In a trance, he heard the water ghost say to him, "It's time to go home."

At this moment, suddenly a red mist burst out in the darkness, and Zhu Helan's figure emerged from the mist, shouting angrily, "Let him go!"

The water ghost turned his head and stared at Zhu Helan sternly, but he loosened his grip on Chong Liu.Chong Liu grabbed its arm and breathed with all his strength, but he still felt that it was not enough.My lungs hurt like they were going to explode.

The water ghost stared at Zhu Helan, and said in human language, "He belongs to the sea. He belongs to the Devourer of the Sea."

Zhu Helan's expression at this time was quite different from his usual calm and self-possessed.The moment he saw Chong Liu being lifted up in the air by the water ghost twice as tall, the fear of heart-stopping seized him again.

As long as the water ghost exerted a little force, Chong Liu's neck bone would be broken.

Zhu Helan suppressed the too strong emotional fluctuations, and said calmly, "He is just a waiter, infected by filth. He doesn't know anything, and he doesn't understand anything. We can trade what you want."

"It doesn't matter whether he knows it or not." The water ghost's voice began to look less like Ah Liang, and a certain grunt in his throat distorted the voice even more sinisterly, "He belongs to us. We only want him."

"no!"

The water ghost let out a weird laugh, and then tightened his grip again.

Chong Liu opened his eyes wide, feeling as if his head was about to be squeezed and exploded by some kind of pressure.My eyes began to darken.He heard Zhu Helan's angry and frightened cry.

"Six children!!!"

Before the darkness swallowed him completely, the shopkeeper's appearance seemed to change.

Red mist erupted from his body, and his body also deformed in the dim light.

Then Chong Liu lost consciousness.

Chong Liu was not in a coma for a long time, and soon he was pulled out of the lightless, silent, cold darkness again.It was like being forcibly ripped out of the depths of death.

Someone pinched his nose and chin, opened his mouth, and...a pair of lips fell on his...

what happened?

Chong Liu coughed and barely opened his eyes, only to see that the shopkeeper was lying on top of him almost completely, his terrified face bursting out with unconcealable relaxation and joy the moment he woke up.Before he could react, Zhu Helan hugged him tightly.

"It's okay...it's okay..." Zhu Helan kept murmuring, with his chin resting on the top of Chong Liu's head.It was as if he was afraid that if he let go, Chong Liu would disappear.

"Boss..." Chongliu realized that his voice was too hoarse and unpleasant, and he wanted to cough when he said it, "Locust tree..."

"The locust tree is fine, you are the one who almost died!" Zhu Helan said in a low voice, but with self-blame in his tone, "I shouldn't have kept you here, I shouldn't have let you participate in this..."

"Where's the water ghost?"

"... ran away." Zhu Helan finally relaxed his embrace a little bit, seeing the scary circle of red marks on Chong Liu's neck, he was still terrified.

For a moment just now, Chong Liu was not breathing.

He almost couldn't snatch Chong Liu back, the water ghost's witchcraft...was too weird.

Chong Liu looked at Zhu Helan's still terrified eyes, Chong Liu couldn't bear it anymore.He tentatively put his hand on the back of Zhu Helan's hand, pulled out a smile, and said in a hoarse voice, "Boss, don't worry. You saved me, I'm fine."

Zhu Helan looked at him, seemingly in a daze.He suddenly raised his hand and gently touched Chong Liu's cheek.

Chong Liu was caught by his gaze, and suddenly thought of a question...

The one who used his mouth to breathe air into his lips just now...is it his boss?After all, there is no one else here except the two of them, right?

The author has something to say: There was no change yesterday, so today’s chapter has two more chapters~ Cthulhu comes from Lovecraft’s "The Call of Cthulhu"