It was deathly silent outside Lucheng, but inside the inn there were still flickering candles. Xu Huaigu was attracted by the incident in Lucheng, and continued to ask the old man: "Since such a terrible thing happened in Lucheng, have the government found out the cause?" The old man replied: "The government has been investigating for a long time, and they have found out the cause long ago. . Those dead men and women were all possessed by ghost magic. The men died after their essence was sucked away, while the women died after being bewitched and skinned alive." Xu Huaigu took a slight breath of cold air.
Just thinking about it, being skinned off and dying, is extremely terrifying.
"So, there are ghosts running rampant in this city?" The old man nodded heavily and said, "That's right. Sometimes we can hear the howling of ghosts at night. It's heartbreaking. I just I heard it in the house, and I felt like my heart was going to be broken." Xu Huaigu asked again: "How long has this ghost been there?" The old man lowered his head, counted on his fingers, and said, "It must have been ten and a half years ago. Twelve people have died in Lucheng so far. Everyone is in danger. Some well-off and wealthy families have moved out of Lucheng. The rest of us, ordinary people with no power and money, have nowhere to go, so we have no choice but to continue to stay here. ." Xu Huaigu's face was gloomy: "Ten and a half, it has been so long? Then what can't the government do?" The old man said helplessly: "The government can't do anything. From the day they investigated, all the officers who go out to catch ghosts at night have to do something. They are all dead, and the two martial artists of the third level in the government are no exception. They all died after being drained of their essence. Five of the twelve dead people were from the government."
"I don't know what kind of disaster our Lucheng has caused to end up in such a troublesome situation. But it is said that the government has contacted people in the county, and more powerful monks will come to cure the ghosts soon, so as long as we get through this After a while, it should be fine. Fortunately, the ghost never enters other people's homes. As long as he stays at home and doesn't go out, nothing will happen. "The ghost doesn't enter the house... How can there be such a reason?
Xu Huaigu couldn't help but think. If it's just to kill people, why not go into people's homes and just kill people left on the streets at night?
He has never heard that ghosts cannot enter other people's homes, and the peach wood and paper charms placed by these residents at the door are just ordinary objects with weak spiritual energy. Although they have some suppressive effects on ghosts, they are not yet As for making them afraid.
So what is the reason behind the strange behavior of these ghosts? He couldn't think of an answer for a while.
The old man hesitated for a while and then carefully asked Xu Huaigu again: "This guest officer uses a sword. I wonder who the sword immortal is?" Xu Huaigu said hurriedly: "Who is the sword immortal? It's just for fun. My surname is Xu, please call me Xu Huaigu. That's good." The old man also said: "It turns out to be Mr. Xu. My surname is Tang, just call me shopkeeper Tang. This is a clerk in our store. He didn't have a name since he was a child, so he is called Changle. He is a bit stupid, but he still has a good heart. Excellent. If you offend Mr. Xu in some way, please do it for my sake." Xu Huaigu looked at the waiter Chang Le who was huddled in the corner, and he immediately became like a hare frightened by a bow and arrow. , ran away in a hurry.
Xu Huaigu was a little helpless, this Chang Le must be a weird person. So he no longer took care of the guy, but said to Shopkeeper Tang: "Shopkeeper, our group is tired from traveling today. Let's stay in your inn for the next few days. You can arrange the best room." Shopkeeper Tang smiled and said, "Okay, would you ladies like some more food?" "Xu Huaigu thought for a while. Yu Qin was still an ordinary person. He had traveled for a long time and had been eating dry food these days. He must have been greedy, so he said to the shopkeeper: "Do you have venison here? Shopkeeper Tang chuckled: "Are you here for the venison in our Lucheng?" Venison is a specialty of our Lucheng city, and I do have it in this shop, but my skills are only average, so I'm afraid I won't be able to please you all. When the weather clears up tomorrow, you can go to a restaurant called Shi Yeping in the west of Lucheng. That’s where we have the best venison hotpot in Lucheng. Xu Huaigu also smiled and replied: "Thank you for the reminder, shopkeeper, but we are also hungry. Today, the shopkeeper will make two kilograms of venison for us to try." Shopkeeper Tang said, "Okay, I'll be here right away." Seeing that shopkeeper Tang was about to leave, Huang Shan became anxious and quickly reminded him: "Shopkeeper, please bring two more jars of the local good wine here." It must be good wine, I can taste it with just one sip if it is mixed with water! "The shopkeeper agreed repeatedly: "Okay! "After ordering their food, the group went upstairs to the lobby on the second floor.
The second floor is built in a ring shape, with only five or six rooms, and most of the doorways are covered with dust and look like they have been neglected for a long time.
Xu Huaigu said to himself: "It's really deserted. It seems that the haunting in Lucheng has really had a great impact on the shopkeeper's business." Zuo Qiuxun looked at the straw shoe prints on the door of one of the rooms and said nothing.
Soon, shopkeeper Tang and the waiter named Chang Le came up with a large pot full of venison, and two large jars of unopened wine. Suddenly, the aroma of meat and wine filled the lobby on the second floor. Come on.
Huang Shan was starving for a long time, so he took a small dagger to cut the meat and ate it, while also grabbing a jar of wine and drinking it.
Yu Qin ate very carefully, as did Zuo Qiuxun, while Xu Huaigu was eating venison while thinking about whether he should intervene in Lucheng's affairs next.
Their original goal was not Lucheng, but to go to Baihai to make peace with Yiyun. Moreover, as long as the imperial court of Yamato took action, it was not easy to deal with a ghost in the mountains.
But Xu Huaigu always had a bad premonition in his heart. Baihai is not far from here, and Lichuan Mountain is only dozens of miles away. Such a coincidence of hauntings, are they two different groups of ghosts, or are they related to each other? Related?
Huang Shancai, who was reading a book, didn't think so much. He just stuffed his mouth full of venison and praised him full of praise: "What a great shopkeeper Tang, and he dares to claim that his craftsmanship is average. I think this venison is very delicious. This deer is very delicious." The meat is fresh but not old. After one bite, your lips and teeth will be filled with the scent of venison, and various spices and braised flavors are mixed in. It is full of color, flavor and flavor. I haven't eaten such delicious food in many years." Xu Huaigu also ate very well. Happy, he agreed and said: "It is indeed delicious, but the old shopkeeper must not have lied. I really look forward to how delicious the venison in the wild duck he said is." Huang Shan took a sip of wine and laughed: "I'll try it tomorrow. Just try it and you will know!" A few people were in the mood for eating meat and drinking wine when they suddenly heard the door click open, and a man wearing straw sandals came out, rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning.
Before the man could approach the group, a stench suddenly hit his face, almost suppressing the smell of venison.
Xu Huaigu and his group immediately stopped talking and looked at this man. The man opened his eyes and looked at the people in the lobby in surprise, seemingly at a loss.
But then he caught a glimpse of the large plate of venison in the middle of Xu Huaigu's group. His eyes suddenly lit up and he salivated: "It smells so good. Is this venison?" It was fine in the room, but as soon as he walked out, the stench spread out from his body, and Xu Huaigu suddenly couldn't even get up the slightest appetite for venison.
Xu Huaigu looked at the other three people. Huang Shan was a little unhappy, while Zuo Qiuxun looked at the man angrily, wishing he could kill him with a sword.
So Xu Huaigu replied coldly: "Yes, it is indeed venison." The man chuckled, took a few steps closer, leaned next to Xu Huaigu, and said close to him: "This little brother, the world is so big, how can we be in this place?" It is a great fate to meet each other in Lucheng. It is rare to meet by chance in life, how about we sit down to eat meat, drink wine, and have a good chat?" The stench became stronger and stronger, and Xu Huaigu almost wanted to eat it in his stomach. He vomited out all the venison, and he was about to drive this sloppy man away, but the man didn't wait for his answer, and shamelessly sat next to Xu Huaigu, looking at the venison, salivating.
Xu Huaigu had an idea and quickly covered his nose with spiritual energy to disperse the stench from this man.
He looked at the other three people and saw that Huang Shan was doing the same. Zuo Qiuxun went even further. She even covered herself and Yu Qin with spiritual energy, fearing that their clothes would be stained by the smell.
The man didn't feel that he was being disliked. Instead, he introduced himself: "My name is Kong Xiong. I am from the north. I just live in this inn in Lucheng temporarily. What is my name?" Xu Huaigu replied coldly: " My surname is Xu." The man looked around at the other people, his eyes did not stop at the faces of Zuo Qiuxun and Yu Qin, he just glanced around and gave up. This small move made Xu Huaigu feel a little more comfortable.
Although this man is sloppy, he should still be a serious person. The man also saw the sword box next to Xu Huaigu, and then asked doubtfully: "Brother Xu is a swordsman in the world?" Xu Huaigu replied: "About half of it." The man suddenly laughed boldly and said: "I didn't expect that little brother would be with me. He's a member of the same profession! I, Kong Xiong, am also a Jianghu, but I use a knife instead of a sword." The man then quickly took out a scabbard from his waist, pulled out the knife inside, and said in a show-off manner: "Brother, what are you doing? Take a look, this is a first-class knife. I think I spent three hundred taels of silver to buy it from a dilapidated monastery. Those monks didn't know the goods, and they couldn't use this knife, so I bought it. I bought it. Although this knife is indeed good, I didn't take advantage of them. Three hundred taels of silver is worthy of this good knife!" Xu Huaigu looked at the knife carefully. The cold edge shone, and the blade was made of fine steel. It is indeed a good knife.
But it's just a secular sword. Otherwise, even the lowest level spiritual weapon would be priced in beads, and it wouldn't involve secular silver anyway.
Xu Huaigu echoed a few words, nodded and said: "It is indeed a good knife." When the man heard the praise, he became more enthusiastic, hugged Xu Huaigu's neck heroically, laughed and said: "Haha, Brother Xu, I finally met a You know what you’re good at. I’ve been here in Lucheng for a day or two, but no one I met could see how powerful this knife is. But I know that all of us wild cultivators will definitely recognize this knife. How good is the knife?" Xu Huaigu frowned and subconsciously retorted: "Who is the wild cultivator?" The man was a little confused, looked at Xu Huaigu and said, "Aren't you?" Then he looked at Xu Huaigu again, and it seemed that he had He had an epiphany and said, "No wonder, Brother Xu, you are still so young and haven't found a suitable method to enter the world of spiritual practice?" Xu Huaigu was stunned and didn't know how to answer for a moment.
The man then smiled, patted Xu Huaigu's shoulder, and said comfortingly: "It's okay, I have personal destiny. You still have a long way to go in the future, don't be in a hurry." Xu Huaigu looked at Huang Shan with a strange expression, looking at Huang Shan with a bit of joking.
Huang Shan naturally understood what Xu Huaigu meant. Are you wild cultivators all like this? No wonder he was laughed at by the children of the Xian family.
Huang Shan was also helpless, but having said that, most low-level wild cultivators were really like this. The cultivation level of the second and third realms holds a tattered book, a knife or a sword, and that's it.
However, the man named Kong Xiong was particularly miserable. Huang Shanneng could tell that he had just entered the world of cultivation and was at the first level of cultivation. Moreover, it seemed that because of buying that knife, he was now very poor and could not even eat a deer. There is no money for meat.
Huang Shan shrugged, meaning what can I do? This has been the case in wild cultivation since ancient times. Xu Huaigu ignored it and continued to listen to the man talking to himself.
