"It's said to be in the lower section of Wangjiacun. It's not easy to knock on the door and ask questions at this late hour. Let's take a look here first."
"good."
Wu Nuxia found a path leading to the river.
It rained last night, but fortunately the weather has been warm recently. The sun has shone down one day, and the path has been dried. It is a light grayish white under the moonlight, and the rest of the road is black. If there are puddles or breaks, they are also black. , it’s not easy to go astray.
I walked to the river in the moonlight, and the water was quiet.
"How does the heroine want to catch ghosts?"
"This water ghost has been very rampant in recent days. If someone makes noise by the river, whether it's taking a bath or washing clothes, it's fine during the day. If it's at night, it will definitely come to visit." Wu Nuxia said, "It just so happened that I had sex with someone today. I'm a bit sweaty and haven't taken a shower yet. I'll go down and seduce it later. If it's an ordinary monster in the water, I'll kill it with one knife. If it's a ghost, hehe, I came back today and happened to ask the butcher Fu in Xicheng to borrow it. I use a butcher knife to slaughter dozens of pigs and sheep every day. I heard that it is more useful for chopping ghosts. Let’s see if it works. Anyway, I’ll try it first. If it doesn’t work, you can do it again.”
"The heroine comes prepared."
"That is!"
Song You took advantage of the moonlight and took aim at the woman.
Seeing that she had let down her hair and pulled out her long knife, she seemed not to be afraid of this water ghost.
There didn't seem to be many ideas for him to take action.
Song You found it very interesting.
It's just a little water ghost. It can fail to seduce people, and it can break free even if it grabs people's ankles. It doesn't have much wisdom at all. As said before, she can do it on her own. Even if the other party is a ghost that is difficult for warriors to deal with, with her ability, it is difficult for ordinary ghosts to get close to her. Even if she cannot exorcise the ghosts, she will not be harmed by the ghosts. And if an ordinary monster becomes a spirit, as long as the knife can cut in, even if it takes advantage of the river water, it may be difficult to withstand the knife in her hand.
She can take the twenty taels of silver herself.
She thought that it was the same with Peach Blossom Mountain to catch ghosts, and then the wild geese returned to the mountain to eliminate demons. Song You could take her with him or not. She made a calculation in her mind, so she also called Song You this time. If the monster becomes a spirit, it is equivalent to taking him for a trip and giving him ten taels of silver for free. If it is a ghost, it will be an extra layer of insurance.
Song You smiled and asked without refusing:
"Is the heroine capable of water?"
"When I was a kid, I often went to the river."
"I heard that the trappers came several times but failed to catch it. The officers and soldiers couldn't shoot it with arrows. It is probably a ghost. Even if the heroine brings a butcher's knife, she still needs to be careful."
"Let's see and then talk."
Wu Nuxia has jumped into the river.
After all, the moonlight was no better than during the day, and people could still be seen clearly up close. But when she walked farther away, she couldn't see clearly, and could only see a dark mass. However, her movements broke the calmness of the water, and ripples appeared under the moonlight. Bursts, dots of silver light.
"Is the water deep?"
"It's not too deep, it reaches the chest."
"That is not bad."
Song You simply sat down on the shore and waited quietly.
Sanhua Empress disappeared again.
I don’t know how long it took, but Wu Nuxia’s voice came from the river, very low:
"I feel it."
Song You sat still and looked down.
Under the water, there was only a cloud of yin energy, but no trace.
As expected, it was a ghost under the water.
"coming!"
As soon as Wu Nuxia finished speaking, something seemed to pull her down. She was already unsteady in the water. She lost her balance and fell into the river.
It was with great difficulty that he regained his balance.
Then he drew his knife and cut the water.
"Wow!"
Water splashes on the water.
Wherever the blade reached, the river water was easily cut open. It was clear that he felt like something was grabbing his feet, but when the knife slashed through, it didn't hit anything obvious.
"It's a ghost."
Wu Nuxia said something.
Throwing the long knife back to the shore, he took out the butcher's knife from his waist.
The Hundred Butcher's Knife does have the effect of restraining Yin evil. In essence, it has killed too many creatures and has been stained with the evil energy of blood, and the Yin energy has also condensed in it, thus gradually becoming extraordinary. Among them, the killing knife is the best. It would be even better if the person killed is a Taoist master, a martial arts master, or even a demon or ghost.
It's just that such a knife is hard to find.
It kills few people and is of little use.
The butcher knife does not kill people, but it wins by quantity. Dozens of pigs and sheep are slaughtered every day. Over time, it also has the effect of restraining evil spirits. It is difficult to hurt big ghosts, but it is easy to kill small ghosts.
However, the butcher's knife was too short, less than a foot long.
Now in the water again, the water ghost grabbed Wu Nuxia's ankle and dragged it deeper. Wu Nuxia had to stabilize her body while using the short knife to hurt it, which was really not easy.
Song You took his time and picked up the bamboo stick beside him and threw it into the water:
"The heroine takes the staff and strikes it with the staff."
Wu Nuxia didn't even look at it. She was chopping with a knife in her right hand. She only stretched her left hand back to catch the bamboo stick firmly, and then struck it down hard with the stick.
"puff!"
It clearly felt like something had been stabbed.
Wu Nuxia exerted her strength for a while.
Based on the feedback from her hand, and her many years of experience in rivers and lakes fighting, she felt as if she had stabbed the bamboo stick into the thing's body.
"Pfft! Crack!"
The lake water below suddenly seemed to be boiling, rolling violently, as if an invisible thing was struggling, causing water splashing everywhere, and the bottom of the water bubbling upwards.
It is strange that the bamboo cane has neither edge nor point. Even after using it for many years, the bottom has been worn flat. How can it be inserted easily?
Is that water ghost made of tofu?
Or did you poke it somewhere?
Wu Nuxia didn't have time to use her imagination. She felt that it was about to run away, so she gritted her teeth and exerted force again.
The water splashed harder in the river, as if the thing was struggling desperately, and occasionally a few harsh screams could be heard, until the hand felt relaxed and felt like it had been stabbed through.
"Bang!"
It was like an explosion in the water, or like a giant thing exhaling. A big bubble appeared out of thin air and floated to the surface.
The blisters exploded, filled with fishy smell.
Wu Nuxia took out her bamboo stick with a dumbfounded expression. She glanced around, worried, and poked around in the river a few more times, but she couldn't poke anything. When the water stopped, there was no movement in the river.
Wu Nuxia frowned slightly and swam slowly to the shore. She felt that the water ghost might be dead, but she couldn't believe it.
"Ran?"
"Dead." The Taoist sitting cross-legged on the shore whispered, "The heroine has magical power, but a mere little devil can't withstand the heroine's killing."
"this……"
Wu Nuxia opened her eyes wide and raised her bamboo stick:
"Is this your magic weapon?"
"This is the bamboo stick I picked up when I left Anqing County. It is used for walking." Song You answered honestly, "But then it followed me for a long time and gradually became tainted with spiritual energy. Although it is not suitable for exterminating demons, it is better to use it for walking." It's suitable for fighting ghosts and imps, but it depends on who uses it, and it has to be a female hero."
"Taken with spiritual energy?"
Wu Nuxia blinked her eyes.
An ordinary bamboo stick, used for walking, can beat ghosts so easily just because it has been used for a long time and is stained with spiritual energy? She had only heard of this kind of thing in fairy tales.
I already knew that this Taoist was powerful, but I didn't expect that he would be so powerful.
Before she could think about it, there was a movement in the forest.
"who?"
Wu Nuxia quickly turned her head and looked over.
Under the moonlight, a cat emerged from the forest with a bamboo rat in its mouth. It walked up to them, put down the bamboo rat, and licked its mouth.
"Eat rabbit..."
"Thank you, Miss Sanhua."
Song You glanced down, then took the bamboo stick handed over by the heroine, looked at the heroine who was soaked all over, and whispered: "The heroine is all wet, won't she catch a cold?"
"It's getting warmer, I'm in good health, and it won't be a problem."
"Then now..."
"We can't go back to the city, but there is a thatched shop next to the official road in front of us. We can spend the night there tonight." Wu Nuxia said while wringing the water out of her clothes.
"Okay." Song You said, "This time it's all thanks to the work of the female hero. I didn't go into the water or catch ghosts. I only borrowed a bamboo stick and my clothes were still dry. Ten taels of silver was really worth it. Ashamed."
"Fart, it all depends on your bamboo stick."
"It just adds a little convenience to the heroine."
"Stop talking and let's go..."
Wu Nuxia wrung out the water from her clothes and brought a long knife, while the Taoist wielded his bamboo stick and did not forget to lift up the bamboo rat on the ground. The two of them and the cat left here under the moonlight.
On the way, we talked about the tigers in the city.
…
The next afternoon.
Song You packed up the bamboo rats caught by Empress Sanhua and ate them. They tasted very good.
She didn't know whether she didn't know bamboo rats, or she didn't want to call such a big rat a mouse, or she was afraid that Song You would not eat the rats she caught, so she kept calling them rabbits.
The ordinary mouse Song You naturally doesn't eat, and doesn't eat much of its head, but the bamboo mouse is different. The bamboo rat itself is as big as a rabbit, does not carry bacteria, and does not have much psychological resistance. Even today, it is a common food for people in some areas, and they really treat it as a rabbit. Even in the previous dynasty, bamboo rat was regarded as a delicacy for the aristocracy. The court issued a clear rule that only nobles could eat bamboo rat.
The most important thing is that its meat is very delicious.
"Taoist priest."
"Um?"
"Are we out of money again?"
"I thought Empress Sanhua couldn't hear us while we were eating."
"You can hear me." The little girl changed back to her calico cat appearance, with a serious look on her face, "I just don't have time to talk."
"There's some left."
"Is it much?"
"Not much."
Finances are indeed about to bottom out again.
The mountain monster in Yanhui Mountain first gave him fifteen taels of silver, but most of them were spent on the meal at Yunchunlou. Although I went to Peach Blossom Mountain first, I won the bounty later, and the female ghosts also gave me fifteen taels as gifts, but the minimum consumption to listen to Miss Wan Jiang playing the piano once at Hexian Tower was just that much, so there was not much left. .
But Sanhua Empress also made a lot of money.
It's hard to say whether it was Sanhua Empress's money that was used to buy mirrors and ceramics yesterday, or Sanhua Empress's money that was used to pay for room expenses during this period, but it's almost the same, and a lot was used anyway.
"Miss Sanhua, don't worry." Song You said to the Sanhua Cat, "Our money will be fine for another month or two. By the end of this month at the latest, the bounty from the Demon Catching List will come down, which is ten taels of silver. Enough to last us in Changjing for several more months."
"right!"
The calico cat said something and continued playing.
At this moment, a figure came in from the door, casually put the long knife in his hand on the table, then found a stool and sat down, heaving a sigh of relief and saying nothing.
The calico cat played with the ball with its paws, but looked up at her in confusion.
The woman frowned, seemingly unhappy.
The Taoist also noticed something, so he asked:
"What happened to the heroine?"
"fine."
"Is handing in the results a success today?"
"It didn't go well! It almost pissed me off!"
"Oh? Tell me."
The Taoist looked very interested.
"When I went to hand in the list, I met another charlatan. I posted the list at the west city gate, and he posted the list at the east city gate. Last night we went to Wangjia Village, and I guess he went too, but the water at the end was The ghost fell into our hands, and he was a little unwilling. Today I went to hand in the report, and he also went to hand in the report." Wu Nuxia narrowed her eyes, "I said we got rid of the water ghost, and he also said he got rid of it. Yes, from the looks of it, he probably just came to Changjing, is short of money, and wants to cut off our hands."
After saying that, she grinned: "Hey, interesting!"
"That's it..."
Song You also found it interesting.
At that time, when he went to Peach Blossom Mountain for a walk and the ghosts disappeared, he thought about the possibility of such a problem.
It's okay if the trouble is caused by mountain spirits and monsters, as long as the leader is rewarded. If it's a ghost, unless there are special tools to catch and pretend to be ghosts, the soul will be gone as soon as it is killed, and it will be difficult to leave any evidence.
Without proof, disputes will inevitably arise.
There are always accidents and messy people in the world.
Instead, you can ask an official to accompany you, so that you can avoid disputes. It's just that sometimes it's inconvenient to have an official, and some folk experts don't rely on magic to catch monsters and eliminate ghosts, but their own native methods. Once they are seen, there is a risk of being copied, and they are not happy.
"Who does the magistrate trust more?"
"He believes in us more. This is the third time for us. However, that person performed some charlatanism on the spot. It's hard to say who the county magistrate believes more. Anyway, he can't be sure."
"then what should we do?"
"It's okay! You don't have to worry about it!" Wu Nuxia waved her hand, "The official in the Yamen asked us to go and ask questions tomorrow. I will handle it by then. I can't let anyone snatch it away!"
"I wonder what the heroine plans to do?"
"That man was a little crazy. When he came out of the county office today, I said that if he was short of money, I could give him one tael of silver as a way to make a friend. But he didn't think it was enough and said he wanted at least half of it," Wu Nuxia said. He couldn't help but laugh, "Hey, no matter whether we can get a result tomorrow or not, no matter what the official decides, it will take at least a few days before we can get the money. That person is a charlatan and wants to reveal the results. Of course he has to go out of town to make money, which makes me anxious. I'll wait for him to leave town and talk to him again. If he doesn't make sense, I'll just kill him with a knife."
"..."
Song You thought for a moment.
In fact, for him, he didn't want to compete with the folk gentlemen and people in the world of Changjing for this simple monster hunting list. But it was one thing not to go. Now that he had gone, someone came to find him. It's another thing to want to take away all the credit and bounty from them.
After thinking for a while, he said: "Outside Changjing City, at the feet of the Emperor, there may be risks for a female hero to use force to commit murder."
"I have experience, the risk is not big!"
"I know that Jianghu means Jianghu, but Jianghu means are easy to use, and female heroes are also good at it, but it also depends on what the matter is. It is a matter of exorcising demons and catching ghosts, and it is also a charlatan warlock. Sometimes it may also be a spiritual practice. The methods of Xuanmen practitioners are easier to use."
"What can you do?"
"I will go to the county government office tomorrow. The heroine and I will go together. Just talk to him."
"how do you say?"
"Try it."
"..."
Wu Nuxia hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
Although I don't want to trouble him, it would be a good thing if there is a simpler and less troublesome way.
Let's see what he does.
(End of chapter)
