Big week.
In the tenth year of Zhaowu, the first month had just come out, and the New Year atmosphere had not yet dissipated. A strange thing happened in Xining County.
A town of thousands of people disappeared overnight, including the livestock.
"I know that town is built under a mountain. It must have encountered mountain spirits and wild monsters!"
"The mountain spirits and wild monsters don't have that much power. This is a bad ghost, or a man-eating evil ghost!"
People in the county all felt that the town's disappearance was related to ghosts, and people's hearts were agitated.
On the second day of February, the Spring Plowing Festival, which was the second day after the town disappeared, some people who were not afraid of trouble came over to watch the fun in the afternoon after finishing their spring plowing.
Mixi Town, the town that disappeared overnight, is now a wasteland.
"Really disappeared! Not even a tile is left, it's like it never existed!"
"This is definitely not something humans can do! Even if you move, you won't take away all the bricks and tiles! You must have encountered ghosts, only they have such great power!"
"It's getting dark, hurry up!"
It was getting dark, and the few people who came to watch the excitement didn't dare to stay, so they turned around and ran away.
Night falls, as deep as water.
A young man in his twenties came over, wearing a black gown, with a straight head, a healthy wheat-colored face, tough features, sharp edges, and dark and bright eyes.
The young man called Wang Cheng and was the only person in Mixi Town who did not disappear with him.
Yesterday, his master, Doctor Zhang, asked him to go up the mountain to collect herbs. It took him a long time to find the medicine, and he was delayed for a while. He only rushed back after dark. By then, Mixi Town had disappeared.
He walked around here many times, rummaging through every plant, tree, brick and stone, hoping to find some clues.
He found it at this time, when it was completely dark.
He kept walking forward, silently recording the number of steps in his mind, one hundred and twenty steps, no more, no less.
He stopped.
coming!
The calm night suddenly seemed like a stone had been dropped, causing ripples.
I saw a gate gradually emerging. It was actually supported by two logs and had a wooden board in the middle. There were words written on the wooden board. I could vaguely see three characters.
Behind the gate, two rows of quaint houses are winding like long snakes. In the middle of the houses is a road paved with bluestone bricks, but there is no one on the road.
This is the missing Mixi Town!
It reappeared at night!
Wang Cheng knew that this was not true, because the place where he stood at the moment was where he lived. Logically speaking, he was already in the town, but the town in front of him was still some distance away from him.
He walked further inside, trying to see if he could get in, even though he had tried many times last night.
Still like that, no matter how much he moved forward, there was still no way to get in.
It's like there's a world away, it's right in front of you, but you just can't get close, it's so far away!
Is it a mirage?
Or some kind of illusion?
Wang Cheng has no way to be sure, but what is certain is that Mixi Town must still be there and has not completely disappeared.
"Something must have happened here yesterday!" he thought to himself.
What happened?
He suddenly remembered a person. If anyone in Xining County knew about it, it must be that person.
He didn't want to wait for a moment, couldn't wait for a moment, so he turned and left under the cover of night.
Behind, a coffin can be vaguely seen hanging in mid-air. As the night falls, around the coffin, there are pairs of eyes looking over, many eyes.
…
Liang Daodao, whose original name was Li Shuangdao, had been the head catcher in Xining County before. He was good at using two swords, he was affable and liked to make friends. From the county magistrate to the ninth rank, he had friends, and he had a wide network of contacts.
If something happens in Xining County, it will be hidden from him. He is a well-known "know-it-all" in Xining.
Two years ago, he celebrated his 60th birthday and retired from the position of head catcher, but his network of connections was not broken because the person who succeeded him was his only son, Li Xiang.
Li Shuangdao lives in the east of Xining County. He has been a headcatcher all his life. His family has some money and a house with two entrances.
Wang Cheng was still wearing the same black gown and a bamboo hat on his head, with half of his face blocked. After walking in the middle of the night, he finally arrived here at around five o'clock in the morning.
There are two white lanterns hanging in front of the courtyard door, with the big word "Dian" written on them.
Wang Cheng's thoughts were suddenly like the wind in February, extremely messy and directionless.
Li Shuangdao is dead?
If that was the case, it would be troublesome. He quickly entered the courtyard to take a look.
The worst case scenario has occurred!
The person lying under the mourning hall was Li Shuangdao, and the person keeping watch was his only son Li Xiang, a young man of 26 or 27 years old, with handsome appearance, simple and capable.
Li Xiang was stunned for a moment when he saw Wang Cheng. He recognized Wang Cheng and had only met Wang Cheng a few times. He had basically no contact with him, but he still gave the family courtesy: "Little miracle doctor!"
Wang Cheng is the successor of Dr. Zhang. He has superb medical skills and everyone in Xining County calls him that.
He asked: "When did it happen?"
Li Xiang said: "The night before yesterday."
Wang Cheng was stunned. Isn't this timing a bit coincidental? It was the same day that Mixi Town disappeared!
He wanted to ask "how do people die", but it was too rude to ask such a question at this time.
It was still early, and no one else came to pay homage in the mourning hall. They were all Li Shuangdao's family members.
Li Xiang was no longer so restrained and said, "You came to see my father for something, right?"
Wang Cheng nodded and said: "Mixi Town is missing!"
Li Xiang was shocked: "Is this really happening?"
As the chief catcher of a county, Li Xiang actually got the news that day, but he didn't believe it at all. How could such a big town just disappear? If his father hadn't been seriously ill and newly deceased, he would have taken people there long ago. checked.
Li Xiang asked: "How did it disappear?"
Wang Cheng described the situation and expressed his guess: "Mixi Town must not have disappeared. It should have encountered some kind of change. Could someone have used some kind of illusion?"
Li Xiang directly shook his head in denial: "It can't be an illusion! A town with thousands of people, such a big place, is gone at the drop of a hat. This is not a magic trick!"
He groped the tip of his nose and muttered: "It seems like he hit a ghost!"
"Hit a ghost?"
Wang Cheng had never thought of this possibility. He didn't believe in ghosts or anything like that. But even Li Xiang said this, and the belief he had always adhered to collapsed: "Are there really ghosts?"
"I don't know!" Li Xiang shook his head, "I heard my father mention it before. There was a Mr. Qian in the west of the city. He took a house of beautiful concubines at the age of sixty. Since then, there has been no peace in Mr. Qian's family. Not a single person was seen.”
"Later, my father went to check it out in person, and guess what? He found those people under the willow tree in his yard! There were only bones left on each of them, and all flesh and blood was gone. They didn't look like they had been dead for ten days and a half. people."
"My dad thought the willow tree was weird, so he took out two knives and chopped it on the willow tree. Guess what? The willow tree was like a human being, but it actually shed human blood! My dad was so bold that he asked people to burn the willow tree. Then Mr. Qian His concubine died that day, and nothing like this happened again in Mr. Qian’s house.”
Wang Cheng was completely suspicious after hearing this. This matter came from Li Xiang's mouth, so it was probably true.
If Mixi Town really encountered a ghost, none of its thousands of people would be able to escape.
Master, Dahan, Ergou, and those neighbors, are they still alive today?
Thinking of evil spirits playing tricks on them in the dark, sucking their souls and chewing their bodies, Wang Cheng got goosebumps all over his body.
"Little miracle doctor, I should be responsible for investigating the disappearance of Mixi Town. You have also seen it. I can't get away now. If you have any new clues, please tell me."
As Li Xiang spoke, he remembered something again, "By the way! The person who reported the case to the Yamen was an hunter near your town named Chen Fu. You must know him too. He may know something."
Wang Cheng's eyes lit up, and hope rekindled in his heart. He thanked Li Xiang, bowed respectfully to Li Shuangdao, and left quickly.
