frivolous

The small boat floated along the waterway for two days and two nights, which was enough to calm people down.

Originally, he thought about floating to Yecheng like this, but when the boatman docked in Lin'an to replenish dry food, Xie Yan suddenly heard the people on the shore mutter something, recently heard that there are monsters in Lin'an, and suddenly became interested; In addition, Lin'an was his favorite place, so he left behind some broken silver that he picked up from the young master, and left without a trace.

The boatman was so anxious that he shouted behind him: "My lord, stop! You have given too much, this, this, this, this, this old man, I can't find it!"

Relying on childhood memories, Xie Yan found an inn by the West Lake, where there were many people and bustling.

The owner of the inn was sitting behind the counter, knocking on his abacus with one hand. He didn't know if he had been busy for too long, and his face was a little gray and tired. In contrast, the proprietress's spirit was much better, she put on a little makeup, and was greeting The guests were very busy, and their three-year-old son was leaning on a small stool, shaking the rattle, and kept muttering "Amao! I want Amao to play with me!"

"My name is Amao! I'll play with you!" Xie Yan coaxed.

The child glanced at him with tears in his eyes, then turned his head away, his disgust was beyond words.

Xie Yan looked funny, leaned down and couldn't help but poked the child's chubby face, so that the teardrop-stained doll opened its mouth and bit on his fingertip.

The innkeeper and his wife hurriedly apologized to him. Seeing that he was alone, they probably were away from home, so they kindly gave him a bowl of sweet glutinous rice balls just out of the pot.

It's been a long time since I tasted the delicacies of the world. After Xie Yan happily finished eating, he slumped in the big bed and slept peacefully for two days.

I don't know if he was sleeping too lightly, or if he was dreaming too deeply, but he always felt that someone was standing at the head of his bed, watching him quietly while he was half asleep.

"My lord, it's almost five o'clock now, it's better to go out cautiously." The innkeeper raised his head, and the extra dark circles under his eyes showed that the owner was exhausted. "Recently there are some bad rumors in Lin'an City."

"Oh?" Xie Yan showed a big smile, retracted the foot that stepped out of the threshold, grabbed a stool, and leaned in front of the counter, propping his chin with one hand, blinking his peach blossom eyes, "I would like to hear more about it."

The boss was caught by his smile, coughed, looked around, saw that no one was paying attention, lowered his voice and said: "Young master, I don't know. A few days ago, the little nephew of the king's family in the north of the city got married. It was originally a joyful wedding." Unexpectedly, when the prince was toasting at the wedding banquet, he suddenly convulsed, his face was distorted, his eyes closed, and he fell to the ground unconscious. It’s just gone, you said that no one would have thought of a day of great joy, and it turned into a great mourning—”

oh? "Boss, you speak as if you came to the scene in person. Could it be that you are the murderer." Xie Yan smiled, and stretched out his hand to fiddle with the beads on the abacus. "If it's not good enough, that man is promiscuous and got into some kind of romantic debt. I'm afraid he owed some little lady. It's not a rare thing for someone to take revenge."

"My lord, you are joking." The boss slapped his troublesome hand away, widened his eyes, and said seriously: "Don't mention it, this lord is really a disciple who hangs around Fireworks and Willow Lane, but if he is the only one who disappears Forget it. Who knows that in the next time, young men will die suddenly in Lin'an City from time to time, with distorted faces and no wounds on their bodies. , I don’t know what it is. After that day, the government strictly prohibited talking about ghosts and gods, and everyone privately rumored that there was a female ghost who took her life. For a young and handsome young master like you, it’s better to be cautious.”

"I heard that female ghosts like to possess people with weak yang energy the most, and suck the essence of living people, causing them to die." Xie Yan swept his gaze across the boss's forehead, and said jokingly, "I see that there is a frown between your brows, boss. The cloud of black air seems to be haunted by treacherous things, and you still need to go to the temple to burn incense and ask God for blessings or something, it is best to ask for a consecrated jade to wear next to your body." Xie Yan frowned imperceptibly , his spiritual consciousness was not as sensitive as in his previous life, and he mistook the loss of energy for fatigue.

"To tell the truth, my lord, the villain was seriously ill some time ago—" The innkeeper hurriedly poured a cup of tea, stared at himself in the water for a moment in horror, suddenly realized, and quickly thanked: "Thank you, my lord, for your enlightenment! Thank you very much!"

With a movement of Xie Yan's fingertips, a strong wind passed by, and the teacup next to the shopkeeper suddenly hit the ground with a "slap".

"Housekeeper, which guest knocked something off? Are you hurt?" Suddenly came the urgent voice of the proprietress from the backyard.

"No—no, I just accidentally knocked the cup off, it's okay." He said as he knelt down to dispose of the debris.

While the boss turned his back, the pens on the counter flew up, leaving a messy talisman on his back.

"Oh? You have something to say, my lord! The villain's new clothes are still made by my wife, please be merciful!"

Although due to the rumors of the female ghost taking her life, there were indeed a lot of people in the outer alleys of Lin'an City in Wushi, but it did not affect its original prosperity.

At the beginning of the Chinese lanterns, the willows are on the top of the moon, and people make appointments after dusk.

Merchants of all kinds gathered on the Ten Mile Long Street, the bustling crowd was full of people, and everyone's faces were full of joy.

Xie Yan didn't wear a gauze hat, but was dressed in crimson clothes, walking through the streets in the busy city.

It's not that he likes shopping, it's just that being in the middle of the bustle will give him the illusion that he is not alone, at least he can get a lot of fireworks.

Finally he stopped in front of a candied haws vendor.

I vaguely remember that when I was in Lanyue, my favorite food was candied haws.

They are childhood sweethearts, and their relationship has had ups and downs, because they fight every now and then.From the age of five, what Lanyue threw at him was no longer books and brushes, but knives and daggers.Later, when she grew up, she went to Lan's house to stay for a few years and then came back. She did not change her aggressive nature at all, and whipped him with a nine-section whip so that he could find his teeth all over the floor.

So one day he couldn't bear it anymore, and used the demon-binding curse to trap Lan Yueshi on a tree with his nine-section whip for most of the day.The little girl was stubborn and knew how to hold back tears. She just stayed on the tree all night without saying a word. When she was finally let down by her uncle, her hands were worn out by the rope, and she didn't cry out for pain.Naturally, after this, he was fined to copy the family instructions a hundred times, kneel down in front of the ancestral hall wall and think about his mistakes.

After all, he suddenly realized his conscience and knew that he had gone too far, so he did what he liked and secretly bought a candied haws and put it in Lan Yueshi's room.Unexpectedly, Lan Yueshi suddenly apologized to him that day, and the two reconciled inexplicably.

So the friendship of children is really amazing.

"I want a bunch of—"

"Candied haws, I want all of them." A young man suddenly stood in front of him, paid the money, and carried a whole candied haws stick, turned around beamingly, and suddenly looked at him in surprise, "It's you, senior, my uncle has always wanted to thank you in person ah."

He didn't mean to stab me in the face.Xie Yan smiled and asked, "No need, why are you buying so many candied haws?"

Yun Xi scratched his head embarrassedly: "Master asked me to take some back and distribute them to the senior brothers and sisters on the mountain. Candied haws - most people like it."

His shy look made him look like a teenager.Xie Yan couldn't help but tease: "Your uncle, do you like it too?"

"Master, I think he likes it—" Yunxi gave him a strange look, and just about to speak in a low voice, he heard a cold call, which could be clearly heard in the downtown area.

"Yunxi?"

Xie Yan also heard it, and with a stride, squeezed into the sea of ​​people.

"Eh? Senior? Senior!"

Ignoring the call of the young man behind him, Xie Yan took out the fastest escape speed in his life.

Glancing unhappily at the last bunch of candied haws in his hand from the boy's side, he was almost caught.

There is always a faint agitation in the body, vaguely guessing what it is, Xie Yan took a deep breath to suppress the agitation.

As soon as they returned to the inn, who knew that the government's swordsmen were all tall and burly, with cold brows, they had already surrounded the inn tightly, and the onlookers surrounded the inn three floors and three floors outside whispering, nothing could be seen at all.

Could it be that the sigil he left played a role?

Just about to enter the door, but was stopped by the officers and soldiers guarding the door,

Just when Xie Yan was about to show his emotion to reason, the innkeeper with two dark circles under his eyes saw him in the crowd, and even waved at him in surprise: "Young master!"

While the officers and soldiers guarding the gate were stunned, Xie Yan squeezed sideways into the door, forced tears out of his eyes, held the boss's hand tightly with both hands, and looked worried: "It's fine, it's fine, I'll go out for a while." I was frightened, I was always terrified in my heart, afraid that something would happen. Let's go, let's go and find out who the hell is, who dares to act wildly in Lin'an City! Such treacherous creatures must not be lightly spared!"

Innkeeper: "..."

The confused boss was dragged to the backyard before he recovered his senses.

Xu saw that he had a close relationship with the victim's family, so the government didn't stop him.

In the open space in the backyard, a ball of snow-white fur curled up in the open space, shivering. The original snow-white fur was glued to the dark gray ground by something, which was very conspicuous in contrast.

"Is this a monster?" Xie Yan hesitated, and asked the boss's family beside him.

It's just a cat who has just cultivated human form, and now the little monsters who have just transformed into human form have learned to absorb human energy, is he behind?

"Young Master is back—" The proprietress, who was holding the child in her arms, had disheveled hair and didn't care about her image, she seemed to be still in fear: "But I was terrified, I never thought that we, ordinary people, who have worked hard for most of our lives, would still meet this kind of person." This kind of thing. Just now I steamed some rice cakes for Yao’er, thinking it’s time, I went into the kitchen, but as soon as I came out, I saw this monster standing next to Yao’er, and I was so scared that I immediately called for the head of the house. When I saw the head of the house, I curled up into a ball and couldn't move."

"Maybe it's because of the calligraphy that the young master left behind me." The innkeeper chimed in.

calligraphy?Xie Yan couldn't laugh or cry, it was just a simple exorcism talisman.

The child in the proprietress's arms was still sobbing pitifully, and it seemed that he was really frightened.

"Such a monster that harms people's lives must be punished on the spot just in case." Xie Yan glanced at the little guy after speaking righteously. come over.

Looking around, everyone else was standing two feet away, but there was only one bearded man who dared to step forward to check the situation of the cat demon, he must be a leader.Now he is frowning tightly, thinking that he doesn't know how to deal with the aftermath.

He approached the bearded man politely, and Xie Yan suggested: "Brother Guancha, this monster has been lurking these days before it was discovered. I think it's a bit cunning, and I'm not good at it. I worshiped under the gate of Lingshan in the early years, and I happen to know something about exorcising evil spirits and suppressing demons." I have no choice but to give this monster to me, and he will be wiped out in my blind fire! Wouldn't everyone be happy?"

"Meow -" the white cat trembled even more when he heard the words, raised his fluffy head, and looked at him with pleading blue eyes.

Just as the bearded man was looking at him suspiciously, Xie Yan was grinning, a small cluster of open flames sprouted from the tip of his right finger, and flew towards the cat demon.

"Meow!" The white cat in the open space neighed miserably, and the air seemed to be filled with the smell of burnt flesh.

"Amao! Woooooooo—Amao! Amao—" the little guy burst into tears, struggled to get out of the proprietress' arms, and then hugged Xie Yan's calf tightly, crying incessantly with. "Amao Amao!"

"Then please trouble Master, it will save me waiting to invite Master to the temple on the mountain." Seeing this, the bearded man nodded to Xie Yan, cupped his hands, and left with the officials.

Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Xie Yan put his brows together, raised his hand, retracted his anger, and said with a headache: "You kitty, stop acting, okay?"

It was so noisy that his brain was about to explode.If it wasn't for this kid's ability to make noise, he would definitely burn the cat demon for a stick of incense!

The other three people froze on the spot, at a loss, but stared at Xie Yan with fear and timidity.

This look made Xie Yan dazed for a moment, he bent down, touched the little guy's head, and explained softly: "It's not that simple, so your Ah Mao will be fine, don't worry."

Hearing his words, the little guy's eyes were filled with joy, he swayed for a moment, leaned over, and lightly touched his cheek.

This child...feeling something wet on his cheek, which could barely be called a "kiss", Xie Yan really couldn't laugh or cry.

"Young master, this cat—" the proprietress boldly asked.

Xie Yan stood up and asked sternly, "Your name is Amao, right? I'll ask you to answer, and tell me honestly, otherwise—" Looking at the shining eyes of the little guy at his feet, Xie Yan stopped talking unconsciously.

The white cat huddled weakly when he heard his words, and both cat ears drooped in fright: "Yes."

Seeing him like this, Xie Yan knew that there was an inside story, even his simplest exorcism talisman couldn't bear it, how could he have the ability and courage to absorb the essence of living people? "It's hard for you to cultivate a human form. You should keep your mind calm and practice diligently. When the opportunity comes, it's not impossible to become an immortal, instead of relying on some crooked ways, which will lead to demons, you know?"

Seeing how pitiful he was, the little guy at his feet stumbled over amidst the exclamation of his parents, and stroked the cat's head soothingly.

Seemingly regaining some courage, Amao licked the little guy's hand, and said slowly: "My lord, I haven't hurt anyone, meow—"

Seeing that his son was getting along very well with the white cat, the boss couldn't help pleading: "Master, he said that he didn't hurt anyone, or——or just let it go."

Did he say that there is no harm?Do bad guys have the words "I am a bad guy" written on their faces?can you?

Xie Yan secretly rolled his eyes, and said contemptuously: "Speak well, don't be cute! A few days ago, I discovered that the innkeeper's eyes are black and black, and his forehead is always black. This is not because of your influence, is it because of my influence?"

Hearing this, Amao gave him an innocent look with his big blue eyes, which made him choke.

"Amao didn't harm anyone. Some time ago, Yaoer's father was seriously ill, and Yaoer cried very sadly. Only when Dad gets better, Yaoer will not be sad."

"You..." Xie Yan looked at him in surprise, one person and one cat looked at each other for a moment, Xie Yan first looked away, "You gave Yao'er's father a life?!"

No wonder the boss always has a demonic aura that can't go away.

"Meow meow—" Amao happily admitted.

The innkeeper and the proprietress looked at each other, apparently in disbelief.

I have also heard that cats have nine lives before, so many cat demons rely on their own nine lives to cultivate into immortals.It's just that he didn't expect that this cat would give his precious life to others.

"Amao, Amao—be good, eat—eat rice cakes—" the little guy gently touched the cat's ears with one hand, and handed the already dark rice cakes to Amao with the other, coaxing with.

Amao ate the rice cake, meowing contentedly, completely forgetting that he was beaten back to his original shape by Xie Yan's talisman before, and the pain was excruciating.

Xie Yan took a step, but felt that his sleeve was tightly grasped, and turned to meet the proprietress' pleading eyes.

"My lord, why don't you let this cat go, at least it saved my head, and Yao'er likes it too..."

"Yes, son, although we are not rich, we can still afford one more cat."

Xie Yan glanced at these people and sighed: "Amao, people often die suddenly in that city, do you know anything?"