After leaving the office, Chen Ke was very happy today because his salary was paid.
Chen Ke is a helper and has two hundred and fifty Wen. He had received one hundred Wen from Capt. Xie before. This time Chen Ke returned the one hundred Wen to Capt. Xie's pension.
Capt. Xie didn't deserve to die, but he did.
Zhao Jia was such a villain, and Chen Ke always felt that he was easily killed, which really gave him an advantage!
"If I meet someone like Zhao Jiachu again, I hope I can have the power to make him regret it!" Chen Ke took the money and went back.
Back at the inn, Chen Ke gave the money to Sister Qin for safekeeping again. Last time, Chen Ke took out some of the money kept by Sister Qin because he bought osmanthus cake. Sister Qin actually didn't keep much.
"Is this another salary payment?" Sister-in-law Qin asked in surprise.
Chen Ke smiled and said: "It was not distributed before. I will make up for it this time. I will keep some. Please help me keep the extra money."
Sister-in-law Qin smiled and said, "Don't worry, I will put it away for you."
"Brother Chen Ke, I want to eat candied haws on a stick." Xiaobao walked out of the room and said with a smile.
"Let's go, I'll take you to buy something." Chen Ke pulled Xiaobao downstairs.
Sister-in-law Qin quickly shouted: "Hey, don't spoil him too much."
After dinner, Chen Ke bought two more packages of osmanthus cakes and left one package for Sister Qin. After cleaning up, he went to see Old Man Li with the broken wood in his arms.
When dusk and night alternated, Chen Ke looked at the wild fields. When he walked with Old Man Li, he had no special feeling. Walking alone on the deserted and silent path, Chen Ke always felt that there was something strange in the hazy darkness. Eyes were on him.
Chen Ke looked back and saw nothing, only the dark woods on both sides.
"Am I too worried?" Chen Ke felt that he was very brave, but he still quickened his pace and ran to the ruined temple earlier to see Old Man Li.
Along the way, the more he walked, the more he could feel the strange gaze. Chen Ke kept running forward without looking back. It wasn't until I came to the door of the ruined temple that I felt the strange eyes disappear.
"Next time I should ask for a knife from the Yamen to defend myself. If I really encounter a robber, I can hold on for a few times." Chen Ke thought to himself.
Inside the ruined temple, dim light shines through the windows of the main hall.
Chen Ke walked in carrying the sweet-scented osmanthus cake: "Teacher, I'm here. Have you eaten?"
Chen Ke walked into the main hall. Old Man Li was not there, and the lights were still on. He looked left and right and found a sentence written in charcoal on the floor tiles nearby.
"I'm going to eat porridge and I'll be back later. You just need to practice and don't worry about me."
When Chen Ke saw this, he didn't care much. He put the sweet-scented osmanthus cake aside, sat back to the place where he had been meditating, and practiced according to the method taught by Old Man Li.
What's so valuable about simply breathing?
The Minister of Dali Temple did not believe that Chen Ke could become a practitioner. Chen Ke planned to wait until the end of the eighty-one day to become an official practitioner and impress the Minister of Dali Temple.
He will also become a strong practitioner like the Minister of Dali Temple!
Two quarters of an hour later, Chen Ke finished meditating. Although he did not feel any changes in his body, Chen Ke felt that he had done nothing wrong because his chest pain did not reappear!
Instead of practicing the breathing method taught by Uncle Wang, nor reciting the Taoist books given by Old Man Li, Chen Ke only practiced the Taoist methods taught by Old Man Li, and the chest pain did not occur.
This is proof!
What he practices is true immortality.
The door creaked, the wind from outside blew in, and the lights swayed. Upon seeing this, Chen Ke got up and closed the door.
It has completely entered the dark night outside. The night is dark, there are no stars and moon, and it is very dark outside. Chen Ke does not see Old Man Li coming back, and is a little worried that he will not be able to see the road clearly in such a dark sky.
But thinking that Old Man Li was a god, Chen Ke felt that it was unnecessary to worry.
"cough!"
An old cough sounded outside the door.
Chen Ke listened to this strange voice and thought to himself, who else would come to this ruined temple so late?
Chen Ke walked to the door without opening the door, and asked cautiously: "Who is it?"
"This little brother, I'm an old man passing by. It's too dark outside and the wind is strong. I want to come in and hide for a while. Is it convenient?" An old voice came from outside the gate.
Chen Ke looked around and saw only a few bricks in the corner. He picked up the bricks with his left hand, carried them behind his back, and opened the door with his right hand.
Outside the yard, an old man with white hair and a white beard stood at the gate. He was not tall and hunched over, smiling at Chen Ke.
Chen Ke couldn't see clearly and said, "It's dark outside, come in."
"Thank you, brother." The old man nodded with a smile and walked into the hall with his hands behind his back.
Chen Ke closed the door and kept holding the brick in his left hand. If something was wrong with the old man, he would knock the old man unconscious first.
The old man did not go to the innermost part, but sat in the main hall near the door. He looked inside, sniffed and said, "What is it? It smells so good."
Chen Ke followed the old man's gaze and saw the fragrance of the osmanthus cake. However, it had been out of the pot for a long time and the fragrance of the osmanthus cake had long since dissipated, leaving only a faint lingering fragrance.
"You old man has a good nose. It's the osmanthus cake I bought." Chen Ke stood next to the old man.
The old man sheepishly covered his stomach and said, "Brother, I am unbearably hungry. Can you give me two pieces of sweet-scented osmanthus cake to try? I have money here."
As the old man spoke, he took out a piece of silver from his arms. Chen Ke was a little surprised when he saw the silver.
He didn't ask for the old man's money, so he went to get two pieces of sweet-scented osmanthus cake and gave them to the old man. The old man took them and ate them.
"Yeah, yeah, delicious, delicious! Brother, you are a good person."
The old man held the sweet-scented osmanthus cake in his hands and ate it, praising it as he ate it.
Chen Ke saw that it was dark here, so he brought some oil lamps over and illuminated the old man's side.
Chen Ke was about to tell the old man not to eat so fast when he suddenly saw the old man's shadow appearing under the oil lamp. It was not the shadow of an old man, but a bent-over monster, a bit like a mouse, but a mouse bigger than a child. !
Chen Ke was suspicious. The teacher was a fairy, and the teacher's lamp should also be a fairy's treasure. The lamp couldn't be wrong, but there was something wrong with the old man!
Chen Ke waited for the old man to finish, then asked with a smile: "Do you still want to eat?"
"If the little brother doesn't hesitate to donate, the old man can reluctantly eat a few more pieces." The old man said with a smile.
"I think you want to eat my bricks!" Chen Ke said, jumping over like a tiger pouncing on food, grabbing the old man's neck and pressing him to the ground. He held up the bricks with his other hand and wanted to give it to the old man. His face blossomed.
"Don't hit me, don't hit me!" the old man shouted quickly.
Chen Ke didn't smash it down. He had already pinched the old man's neck with one hand. He pinched the old man's soft throat. With just a little force, he could break the old man's neck.
"Who are you? Why is Shadow a monster!"
Chen Ke put the brick against the old man's face, ready to smash it at any time.
The old man rolled his eyes with difficulty, saw the shadow on the wall, and said, "Oh, I was careless."
"Stop talking nonsense, tell me what kind of monster you are. If you don't tell me, I'll smash you down." Chen Ke said and was about to raise the brick and throw it down.
The old man said: "I am not a monster, I am a demon here. Don't kill me. I have never harmed anyone, and I am not a bad demon!"
"Demon!"
Chen Ke was a little nervous and a little excited. This was the first time for him to see a demon in his life.
"Are you a shadow monster?" Chen Ke asked, pointing to the shadow next to him.
The old man said: "No, I am a rat demon, but I have never stolen other people's things. I usually beg for food to survive."
"Then how did you become an old man? Don't lie to me, I'm smart." Chen Ke said, and gave a fierce look, which made the old man nervous for a while, not because he was afraid of Chen Ke's eyes, but because he was afraid of the hand in his hand. brick.
The old man pointed at Chen Ke's hand that was squeezing his neck, smiled dryly, and said, "You're squeezing my neck. I'm so angry that I can't change back."
Chen Ke let go of his hand, took the bricks and retreated to the door, guarding the door. Although the main hall of the ruined temple was empty, it was not as damaged as the other three houses. The old man wanted to escape, so he had to go out through the door.
Guard the door so the old man can't escape.
The old man stood up, patted the dust on his body, and gave a slight salute to Chen Ke. He held the secret in his hand and muttered something, and heard him spit out the word "change" at the end.
The light steam blew away from the old man. There was no old man in front of Chen Ke. He was a big gray-haired mouse in clothes. The mouse's eyes were the same as those of humans, black and white, and its front paws were like children's arms, but a little thin.
"Brother, I'm being polite." The gray-haired mouse followed the example of a human being and saluted Chen Ke.
Chen Ke looked at it blankly and asked, "Are you a rat spirit?"
"It's a mouse demon, and demons are more powerful than elves." The gray-haired mouse emphasized its identity.
"What are you doing here, lying to me and killing me?" Chen Ke said, raising the brick.
The gray-haired mouse quickly stretched out his hand to deny, "Brother, I didn't coax you for money, and I stole your food. How could I lie to you? I smelled the fragrance of your pastries and felt hungry, so I came to ask for a few pieces. How could I lie to you? Come on. Don't think too much, I'm not a bad monster."
Chen Ke put the brick behind him, and the gray-haired mouse's eyelids jumped as he looked at it. Chen Ke said, "Okay, let me ask you, where is your home?"
The mouse demon pointed to the back of the temple and said, "I live here. I was originally a mouse in this temple. After listening to the sermons of the immortals, I gained wisdom in my heart. Only then can I understand human speech and understand good and evil."
Chen Ke said in surprise: "Have you ever heard the teacher preach?"
The mouse nodded complacently and said: "That's natural. Immortals' Taoist methods have endless wonderful uses. It's a pity that I have become a spirit and dare not come here. I saw the Immortal going out today and saw you coming with cakes, so I plucked up the courage. Come and ask for a few bucks.”
"Well, wait until the teacher comes back and let him take a look at you." Chen Ke said.
When the gray-haired mouse heard this, he quickly shook his head and said, "Oh, no, no, I'm ugly. If I disturb the immortal, it would be my fault. Wait until I turn into a human form, and then I will kowtow to the immortal to thank you."
"Then how can I believe that what you say is true or false?" Chen Ke said.
The gray-haired mouse adjusted his robe and said slowly: "I am leaving today and we will see you tomorrow. If I don't come tomorrow, I am lying to you. If I come back tomorrow, I am not lying."
"That's okay." Chen Ke thought for a while, "It's just a few pieces of cake. If you lie to me, I will hit you with a brick next time!"
"Don't worry, little brother, I am also a face-seeking mouse demon, and I won't lie to you." The gray-haired mouse puffed out its chest.
Chen Ke let the mouse demon go, thinking that when the teacher came back, he would tell him the mysterious story.
