The ten thousand taels of silver made Gao Tianshi tempted, but it was more than just this handwritten "Di Bao" that made him board the pirate ship.
This "Di Bao" touched the deepest worry in his heart since the Australians came to the city. Can you still continue to enjoy this family fortune passed down from your ancestors?
Although Gao Tianshi said that the name "Huazitou" is a bit unpleasant and his status is despised by others, the Gao family has always been well-dressed and well-fed, with luxurious living and extravagant enjoyment. Let alone an ordinary well-off family, it is an ordinary family in Guangzhou. The big family cannot compare with his family.
The Gao family has been living like this for more than a hundred years. In the past few months since the Australians entered the city, although they have ignored them and acted completely indifferently, the lives of the Guandi Temple people have become increasingly sad. .
The "big bones" from various "Doukou" came to him one after another to complain, saying that since the Australians entered the city, the control has been extremely strict, and the streets are full of military and police, and nothing is done. Although beggars are not prohibited from begging, as long as there is even the slightest noise in the crowd, they will be dispersed immediately, and those who disobey the slightest will be taken away directly - once taken away, they will never be able to return to the "Doukou" . I heard that they were all shipped directly to desert islands overseas to do hard labor.
In the past, beggars extorted money from shops, and even those with large thresholds were not immune. In some places, they had to pay a monthly share of the money to the Guandi Temple personnel according to the size of the shop. Nowadays, the police are on the streets, and shops are on call at all times. Some large businesses even use "petition police" to strike beggars with their sticks at the slightest murmur. In the past, they were often used to deal with merchants, such as singing and cursing in front of the store, pooping and urinating directly in front of the store, or more cruelly nailing the ears and cheeks to the shop floor... All kinds of tricks have no effect now. As long as the store calls the police, the police will disperse as soon as they arrive. A few steps later, they will use sticks and pepper spray. If someone peed in the street, they wouldn't even have a chance to run away, and they would be caught directly by the "labor team" who went to sweep the trash and clean the toilets every day.
With the police so effective, the store owners were naturally unwilling to give money to Guandi Temple personnel, and the Guangzhou Municipal Government Taxation Bureau implemented the local tax: security fee in Guangzhou shops, and the implementation went smoothly.
There is no contribution in the shops, and ordinary residents can’t get much oil and water on their heads. Furthermore, the police will intervene if residents are harassed. As for the huge income from working as a thug for a wealthy family and participating in armed fights in the past, no one dared to care about it under the severe punishment and high pressure after the "Chaozhou Guild Hall Riot Incident". Not only did the Guandi Temple troops not benefit from it, but dozens of people were also taken in.
…
Such various measures are slowly squeezing the traditional living space of Guandi Temple people. Others, such as buying stolen goods, sheltering thieves, and black market transactions, are also shrinking under the oppression of Australians' harsh punishments and normalized patrol management. If this continues, even if the Australians do not directly attack the Guandi Temple troops, they will sooner or later become water without a source and a tree without roots. The big bones in various "Doukou" are already complaining and begging for a reduction in their monthly contributions.
Gao Tianshi knew very well that even though he was known as the "local prefect" in Guangzhou city, if the situation could not be reversed as soon as possible, without the help of the Australians, his position as "the head of the Guangzhou Prefecture" would sooner or later be dissatisfied. The "big bones" were overturned.
It was driven by this motivation that he decided to participate in this matter.
Even though he was involved in this matter, Gao Tianshi still held back a hand. He knew very well that what Fu Wen and the others were doing was a matter of witchcraft and evil spirits. Once this kind of case was exposed, it would be a major case that would shake the world. So he only promised to provide a place and "protection" for Fu Wen.
Fu Wen personally inspected the land for the Haipikai Inn outside Zhenhaimen and selected it. Although this is all unowned official land, anyone can occupy it. But in a place like this where the king's skills are not as good as the boxing skills, without him sending people behind to support him, it would be delusional to risk a lot of money to open an inn there.
After the Maojia Inn opened, Wu Zhiqi arrived. He did not stay at the Maojia Inn, but quietly lived in an abandoned Wutong Temple in the city - this place was naturally under the control of Gao Tianshi.
As soon as Wu Zhiqi arrived, he showed off some amazing magic skills. Gao Tianshi was both respectful and afraid, and regarded him as half a god.
But what this mage does is not so magical. However, the method used by this wizard to combine the medicine was really amazing: he took seven children with different birthdays and different animal signs, divided them into yin and yang, according to the five elements, took their hair, nails, facial features, fingers, heart and liver, and then used human corpse oil After soaking and setting up an altar to offer sacrifices for seventy-seven and forty-nine days to refine the great medicine, his soul must be extracted to refine into a Dharma ghost, so that the "Seven Star Soul Locking Formation" can be set up, and the power of the seven ghosts can be used to extend the life of that gentleman and improve his fortune. .
Gao Tianshi once went to see this method of extracting souls. As a result, even the hard-hearted man who had worked hard in the world since childhood was frightened to the point of numbness:
At Hai hour on the first day of the lunar calendar, a 13-year-old and 13-day-old boy whose horoscope is Yin is put on red clothes, tied with ropes, and hung from the beam. A weight is dropped on his feet. The red clothes lock the soul, and the weight drops the soul; The soul cannot escape with the soil; a steel needle tempered with corpse oil, called the soul-drawing needle, is inserted into the heavenly cap above the head, and a mud pill palace is opened to lure the soul out of the body; the eyeball of the deceased is removed and used as a nourishment The weapons of ghosts are sacrificed and refined in extremely yin places to become yin ghosts.
There was also a girl in black who was pricked with needles on the soles of her hands and feet, and then the blood was slowly squeezed out bit by bit. She was slowly suffocated to death from pain and torture, and then her hands and feet were sacrificed. There are also those that were drowned, put into earthen pots and roasted to death with strong fire, and put into iron pots and stewed to death...
The wizard also explained to Gao Tianshi with great interest: The purpose of this soul extraction is not to let him die too quickly, but to make people go through all the pain before death, and slowly die of torture. Ghosts who die in such pain, After death, the resentment is great, and the spiritual power derived from the sacrifice is also great. Gao Tianshi was so frightened that he couldn't sleep when he went back and opened his eyes. When he closed his eyes, they were full of ghosts. Wu Zhiqi had to be asked to come and get rid of it.
Since then, Gao Tianshi has completely boarded the pirate ship. Even if he wants to jump off the ship, he is still afraid of Wu Zhiqi's sorcery.
However, after all, this was an unreasonable act, so he specially sent his confidants to lead many brothers to "guard" around the Maojia Inn, firstly to prevent the government, and secondly, to avoid any accidents and leaking the secrets.
In order to ensure safety, Gao Tianshi also sent a special order to beggars everywhere to keep an eye on the movements of Australians. Special informants were placed at the entrances of all government offices. As soon as they saw large groups of police and troops dispatched, they would immediately report them.
Unexpectedly, the Maojia Inn was accidentally destroyed by his brother Gao Chongjiu, his disciples and several "white bodies"! The Australian police and military did not mobilize in large numbers at all! All his arrangements were in vain. The moment he knew that the Maojia Inn had been breached, Gao Tianshi suddenly felt a desperate feeling of retribution.
Asking Gao Chongjiu to kill Fu Wen failed, but his disciples and disciples incited the crowd to attack the inn with the intention of silencing him. In despair, Gao Tianshi once thought of committing suicide: to kill himself, so as not to suffer the pain of being cut into pieces and affecting his descendants.
Wu Zhiqi was calm and told him not to worry. He had already cast a spell to exorcise the soul of the Australian prefect of Guangzhou, Liu Xiang. Once Liu Xiang dies, Australians will inevitably be in chaos. The crisis will be resolved naturally by then.
It went well at first. On a dark night without the sun, moon and stars, Gao Tianshi saw with his own eyes that Wu Zhiqi killed an abducted child, used the soul and blood as a primer, and released the "little ghost". Although he was almost paralyzed with fear on the spot, he felt much more at ease.
Sure enough, the person he sent to inquire about the news came back the next day and reported that Liu Xiang had not come out to see anyone all day. The next day, he reported that Liu Xiang went to the police station in a sedan chair. There has been no movement since then. It is said that the door is completely closed. Even the naturalized citizens in the city government couldn't see him. He was said to be "sick" and the number of guards around his residence was increased.
This news greatly encouraged Gao Tianshi, and he became more and more convinced of Wu Zhiqi's magic. However, there has been no news since Liu Xiang became "sick", and recently news came out that Magistrate Liu has appeared again recently and "looks pretty good."
It was obvious that Wu Zhiqi's spell was not working. Gao Tianshi's heart was in his throat again.
The wizard coughed violently, and it took him a long time to say in his hoarse voice like a poisonous snake: "Why are you anxious? If it weren't for the face of 'Shi Weng', my ancestor would not take a trip into this muddy water. Now the Australians have broken How can I spare them if they have broken my formation and destroyed the fortune-telling method of that person in Jingli? However, since they have broken my formation, it is useless to stay here any longer, and there is a risk of the spell backlash. . Please make arrangements and I will leave the city as soon as possible."
When Gao Tianshi heard the words, it was like a basin of cold water was poured over his head. He no longer cared about his dignity, and fell to his knees with a thud. He walked a few steps and hugged the old man Wu's legs, crying and begging: "Master, you can't leave. If you leave, I will." But it’s all over. Besides, if you don’t look at the monk’s face and look at the Buddha’s face, you’re not even a villain, but there are still a few gentlemen in the city that you can’t ignore!!”
The thief Kun discovered the stronghold of the practice and captured both the people and the stolen goods. This matter of witchcraft and Gu has been tabooed in every dynasty, so how can the thief be an exception? Once the arrested Fu Wen leaks any information - although the wizard said that Fu Wen has taken the "secret medicine" and can withstand all severe punishments, this is too mysterious after all - Qifu Li, who ransacked his house and killed his family with thousands of cuts, Now, Wu Zhiqi speaks loudly but wants to grease the soles of his feet. How can Gao Tianshi not be anxious?
Wu Zhiqi struggled a few times but failed to break away from the deadly pull, and thought to himself: "If I don't give him some reassurance, I won't let me go." He sneered and said, "Don't worry! My ancestor left the city just to find another place. A place of practice, never leave! Since the Australians have ignored my ancestor, they naturally let them know my interests before leaving." (To be continued.)
