The strange story of Huai'an Inn

Chong Liu stared at the closed door, the "child"'s weird and disgusting ganoderma face was still in front of his eyes.Until he felt the shopkeeper touch his hand, probably reminding him to cover up his expression.

Fortunately, Yuanchu has been talking to Lizheng, asking him if there is anything unusual in the village recently, and mentioning that he saw a lot of strange mushrooms in the woods.

"That's right, there are a lot of mushrooms in the mountains this year!" Li was pointing excitedly at the dishes on the table, "And the taste is so good, you can't stop eating it." As he spoke, he picked up a large chopstick and stuffed it into the In his mouth, there was an intoxicated expression that could almost be described as exaggerated.

Chong Liu turned his eyes, and saw Mrs. Lizheng next to her also stuffing mushrooms into her mouth in a "wild" posture that is rarely seen among women.The children at the same table were the same, they kept stuffing mushrooms into their mouths, and swallowed them as if they didn't need to chew.

"Is the food not to your taste?" Li Zheng saw that the three of them didn't move their chopsticks, and asked with concern, "Do you want my wife to cook two more dishes?"

Yuan Chu hurriedly said, "No need, we're not hungry. May I ask how the Ji family's wife is doing? Last time I left in a hurry, I didn't have time to check whether the filth on her body was clean."

When mentioning the widow, Li Zheng's expression seemed to stiffen for a moment, "Ah, she has caught a cold recently, so it's inconvenient to see people."

Chongliu and Zhu Helan looked at each other, obviously smelling something hidden.

Lizheng Zhao Xing tried to persuade them to eat vegetables again and again, and in the end it was almost half-forced.Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper smiled at the end, and really picked up the chopsticks to pick up a few slices of mushrooms and put them in his mouth.

Chong Liu was dumbfounded, thinking why do you really eat the shopkeeper? !Who knows what will happen to such a strange-looking mushroom? !

Yuanchu also stared wide-eyed, not knowing what was going on.

"Well, it's immortal and beautiful, the meat is thick and the taste is really good." The shopkeeper praised with a smile.

Li Zheng and the people around showed very happy expressions, as if they were being praised instead of mushrooms.And in that joy, there was also a kind of relief that took a breath.

The three of them borrowed again at Lizheng's house, which was still the room where Yuanchu was arranged to live last time.As soon as I entered the room, there was a damp and damp smell, almost reminiscent of a coffin wood that had been soaked in water.

There may be two people sleeping on the bunk, and another bunk on the ground can make it through the night.Chong Liuyi wanted to be a waiter by himself, and of course he had to show his style at this time, so he said, "Or I'll sleep on the ground..."

But before he finished speaking, the shopkeeper said, "Liu'er, I'm afraid you and I won't have time to sleep tonight. Let Yuanchu rest on this bed."

Yuanchu was stunned when he heard that, "What are you two going to do? I'll be with you."

Zhu Helan said, "It's nothing else, I just want to teach him some short-term methods of controlling the bad smell. And I suspect that the village will look different at night, so stay alert so that you can see the mushrooms in the end. what's going on."

"Speaking of which, Master, you ate that mushroom...are you alright?"

"It should be fine. I just want to know how the filth of this mushroom works." The shopkeeper smiled indifferently, "The taste is a bit weird, it tastes like raw meat. When I chew it in my mouth, I feel that it will It’s moving. Although the foul smell is strong, it’s not difficult for me to absorb and assimilate it. So far, I haven’t felt anything unusual.”

"Boss, you are too reckless! How can you eat this thing in your stomach!" Chong Liu was angry, and the shopkeeper was relying on his body full of filth, did he smash the can?

The shopkeeper looked at Chong Liu patiently, "Every time I encounter filthy things, how do you think I measure their efficacy?"

Could it be... every time the shopkeeper comes by himself? !

The previous wedding dress, copperware, fan... were all tried out by the shopkeeper himself?

Seeing that both Chongliu and Yuanchu were stunned, Zhu Helan said to them in a comforting voice, "Don't worry, although the filth has different manifestations, it is not as difficult to reconcile as Dao qi and filth. What I can feel The impact may be only a few tenths of that of ordinary people. But anything that affects me a little bit may be life-threatening for ordinary people."

Good guy...does Shennong taste the filthy version of Baicao?

Chong Liu is half distressed and half worshiped...

Yuan Chu was almost shocked.When the shopkeeper went out to observe the details of the surrounding environment in the yard, he secretly asked Chongliu, "So your shopkeeper can really find out the law of the operation of the filth? Relying on... him to intentionally get infected by the filth?"

Chong Liudao, "Of course! As long as the guests use dirty items according to the rules written by our shopkeeper, there will be no accidents. Go out and listen, and if anything happens, you must have broken the rules, whether it is intentional or not." Still unintentional. Even if it's all their fault, our boss will be responsible for rescuing them no matter how long ago they sold. To be honest, you can't find a businessman with a conscience like our boss with a lantern! "

Yuanchu was taken aback for a moment, then was amused, "I'll ask you a question, and you'll be boastful."

"So if your master tells you something bad about the shopkeeper, saying that we disregard human lives, it's pure fart!"

"Hey, you're talking about my master, can you be a little more polite?"

"The last time I grabbed a fan, I didn't see you being polite..."

"Tsk, why haven't you turned this matter over?"

At this time, the shopkeeper called out the window, "Liu'er, come with me. Let's go and look around."

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

The two of them walked slowly one after the other on the undulating bluestone road in the town. On both sides were small wooden two-story buildings or courtyards built with loess, all of which looked like very ordinary villages and towns in the mountains.But at this time the sun had not yet set, and Chongliu could not see any children playing outside, nor could he see the smoke rising from cooking.All the people walking towards them stared blankly at them.

"Liu'er, you haven't had tea for a day, do you feel any abnormalities in your body?"

Chong Liu shook his head, "It seems not yet."

"Your foul smell initially seems to collect on your hands. If you start to feel any abnormal sensations in your hands, such as itching, dryness, pain ... this is usually a precursor to the occurrence of distortion. When this feeling When present, if you can, find a quiet and safe place, try to clear your own mind of thoughts, and focus all your attention on the sensations in your hands."

Chong Liu nodded and listened carefully, as if studying obediently.

Zhu Helan continued, "Since your filth is probably something you were born with, you need to treat them as part of yourself, not as something foreign and dangerous. You need to accept them, just as you accept your The same as my hands and feet.

Some people's aberrations come on slowly, but based on your previous performance, your aberrations are more likely to occur when your life or the life of someone you care about is threatened.Also, you usually have no control over it, not even a memory.This may be your own self-preservation, because you are unwilling to accept what you have, and you are even afraid of what you have.

So... if you accept them, if you are willing to see them and even understand them, you can start to control them. "

Chong Liu unconsciously looked at his hands.The weird bumps on my nails that I had before all disappeared after I started drinking tea.A hand with several calluses looks like anyone's hand.

"Boss... what you said is a bit too mysterious."

"Actually, there's nothing mysterious about it. When you no longer fear that you will become a monster, that's when you truly accept all your own possibilities." Zhu Helan paused, turned around and smiled at Chong Liu, "Where is that?" I will also show you my real appearance."

Chong Liu's heart was thumping, and his hands were inexplicably hot from excitement, "You mean...your appearance after distortion?"

Zhu Helan nodded inconspicuously, her smile becoming more gentle.

Chong Liu raised his head slightly to look at him, and suddenly saw the end of the goal full of energy.

The shopkeeper suddenly turned his eyes, and reached out to pick a mushroom from a corner of a small building.The mushrooms were flesh-pink, but at certain angles they had greasy colored reflections.It is as big as the palm of your hand, and its surface is spherical but covered with strips of hooks, some of which are like brains, and some are like knotted intestines.

Chong Liu said with disgust, "This is the most disgusting mushroom I've ever seen..."

As soon as the shopkeeper broke open the mushrooms hard, the sticky and silky sound made the scalp tingle.Some translucent juice gushes out from the gap, hanging down like snot.

And on that cross section, there are many intertwined translucent filaments, and many of them are still wriggling and twisting like worms.

Chong Liu felt nauseous, but the shopkeeper put the mushroom in his nose and smelled it. "The foul smell of these mushrooms seems to be of the same origin as the one I ate just now."

"Same origin? Then why do you still look so casual?"

"When the mushrooms are opened, the bacteria will fly in the air, and when they fall on the decaying things, they will start to take root and grow hyphae. And their appearance may be largely related to the nutrients and filth they absorb related to the reactions that occurred. But I thought ... maybe they all came from one source."

"Boss, do you think it might be the widow?"

After wandering around the town, the two returned to the room, only to find that Yuanchu had just returned, his face full of worry.After careful questioning, he found out that he tried to visit the widow's house, but saw townspeople guarding the door.

"It seems that we can only wait until night to get in in the dark." Yuan Chu said a little uncomfortable.Probably because he is an alchemist, he sneaked into the courtyard of other women's houses in the middle of the night, and it didn't sound good to spread the word...

They waited patiently until late at night, when everything was silent, and then quietly pushed open the room and went out.

The moonlight is dim tonight, and a mist is gradually drifting down from the distant hillside, like a gray and thick quilt sliding towards the town little by little.Those dusty bacteria were floating in every inch of the void around them, as if they were waiting for an opportunity to enter their bodies and take root.

But they're not dead yet, and the fungus only wants to grow on something that's dead.

The three quietly approached the courtyard where the widow lived under the cover of the shadow.Of the two men who were watching at the door, only one remained, still snoring against the wall.

It is not difficult for Yuanchu and the shopkeeper to climb over the wall, but it is extremely difficult for Chongliu.In the end, the shopkeeper grabbed Chong Liu's belt and led him in.

Not a single chicken or duck was seen in the yard, and the lights in the house were dark, and there was no movement.

Yuan Chu quietly pushed open the door and walked in lightly.Zhu Helan and Guan Chongliu followed behind.

But the three of them hadn't taken a few steps before they were almost taken three steps back by a disgusting stench.

Even if it is the most disgusting hut that has not been cleaned for decades, plus ten pigs covered in maggots, plus a dozen baskets of rotten eggs that have grown green hairs, I am afraid that there is no such smell that makes people feel disgusting. vomit.

Chong Liu hurriedly pinched his nose with his hand, "What's the smell! It stinks!"

When that smell is inhaled into the lungs, it feels like the lungs will start to become moldy.

The shopkeeper was very calm, and said softly, "The corpse stinks."

After that, he strode towards the back room.Chongliu and Yuanchu were stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed.

They found the widow, or rather, the widow's body, on the bed.

It was not the first time for Chong Liu to see a dead person, but even the Tianzhu made up of countless twisted human bodies that he saw in Tianliang City was not as terrifying as the corpse in front of him.

Her originally petite body had swelled more than three times at this moment, and her skin was sticky and wet with a strange green color.Her face has been completely deformed, the first rotted eyes have turned into pus, maggots are wriggling deep in the eye sockets, a dense and white nightmare.

But the scariest thing was her stomach.

Due to the swelling of the dead body after decay, her abdomen was stretched, as if she was pregnant at full term.Then, the rotting skin of the abdomen could no longer bear the pressure and burst open.

The spewed matter spread radially around the corpse, leaving traces from the bed to the walls and even the ceiling.But now, in the broken abdomen, there is a mushroom that is extremely gorgeous and coquettish, and even exudes a faint fluorescence.

Not only her abdomen, but her arms, calves, and wherever the eyes can see, there are large pieces of irregularly shaped Ganoderma lucidum.It was as if she had become a fertile field where countless bacteria grew wantonly.

Yuanchu stared at her in a daze, self-blame and pain distorted his handsome face, "I... I was late! I should have taken her with me!"

"How could this happen! Who killed her?" Chong Liu resisted the urge to vomit, not daring to take another look.

"She is not dead, she is transforming!"

A sudden voice came from outside the door.The three of them turned around, only to see that Li Zheng was leading behind him a dozen burly men, completely blocking the door.

Zhao Xing's kindly smiling face in the daytime glowed in the darkness with a weird green light like a mushroom, frightening like a ghost.He stood in the darkness, bent his body, and smiled fiercely, "Look carefully, isn't she still alive?"

Chong Liu couldn't help but turn his eyes back to the widow's poor corpse again.

However, he saw that the chest that was obviously still just now suddenly began to rise and fall slowly.