Chapter 85, Crow House
In the north of Wan County, there is a low and dilapidated abandoned warehouse. Whenever the sun goes down and the lights first come on, this place where ghosts kill people during the day will appear out of thin air. In the blink of an eye, it will become the busiest place in Wan County. The place.
This is the famous "ghost market" in Wan County. It is called the ghost market because people who come here, whether they are buying things or selling things, will wear ghost masks. Even the most upright people will be embarrassed. He covered the ground with a scarf and refused to show his true face.
There are all kinds of things traded here. As long as you dare to buy, you dare to sell here. As long as you can think of it, you can basically buy it here.
The transaction method is also very flexible. You can use money or barter, but these transactions have a common characteristic. No matter how big the business is, as long as you leave the ghost market, you will not be responsible. Even if you recognize who the other party is in the future, the other party will fight. I won't admit it even to death.
In short, it is death in the face of light.
That's why it's called "Ghost Market".
In the corner of the ghost market, there is a dilapidated tavern.
The hotel is called "The Crow Pavilion" and is a one-story wooden tile house. Due to its age and the fact that the owner of the tavern is not a diligent person, the tavern is a bit shabby. Especially on the front wall, some new or old wooden boards are nailed here and there. At a glance, it looks like a piece of clothing with big patches patched one after another.
What's interesting is that these wooden boards were nailed layer after layer. Apparently this wall was damaged a little bit diligently and was repaired again and again.
Perhaps because of too diligent repair work, the owner of the tavern was too lazy in the past two days, so there were two more big holes in the front wall.
Fortunately, the tiles on the roof are still intact. When you sit in the lobby of the tavern and order a plate of peanuts and a pot of low-quality wine, you don't have to worry about rainwater spilling down, otherwise not even ghosts will want to come in.
Although the tavern is dilapidated, it still has the necessary layout. This is reflected in the fact that there is a wine flag on the door of the tavern, with the word "crow" faintly visible on the wine flag.
Generally, for those who open a hotel, in order to make more money, the boss will give the hotel a fancy name, such as: Zuixian Tower, Yuelai Inn, Peace Hotel, Good Luck Lai Restaurant...
If someone uses "crow" as the name of a hotel, then the owner of the hotel is either crazy or out of his mind.
But this is a ghost market, and the people who come here to consume are "ghosts", so it is somewhat appropriate to use "crow" as the name of the tavern. After all, crows are generally black in the world. As a tavern with ghosts as customers, if you use "crow" as the name of the tavern, Such an elegant name as Immortal Tower is somewhat inconsistent.
Of course, when doing business in a ghost market, the main business is usually very different from the actual business.
Just like the "Crow Pavilion", it is said to be a tavern, but its main business is not selling wine, but selling all kinds of news, undertaking or publishing various tasks that cannot be done in broad daylight, and then collecting a certain commission as remuneration.
The dim hall was filled with yellowish light.
The walls of the tavern have long been blackened by smoke and are covered with cloths of various colors. The corners are filled with empty wine bottles and dirty wine jars.
Behind the counter, there sat an old shopkeeper with a face full of vicissitudes of life. His faded and tattered coat was inlaid with pieces of old flags. If no one ordered a drink, the old shopkeeper's eyelids would feel like a heavy weight had been placed on him, and he would put his hands into his sleeves and take a nap. .
In the dilapidated hall, there were six or seven tables. The people sitting at the tables drinking were like the patches on the coat worn by the old shopkeeper. None of them were the same color. There are big men with beards, homeless people in ragged clothes, and killers with sinister eyes.
They made loud noises, slapped the table rudely, and the wine glasses in their hands often touched each other, making a crisp sound, which was very lively.
Sitting in the center of the tavern is a scholar wearing a Confucian shirt.
There were four or five people sitting in twos and threes at other tables in the tavern, but he was the only one sitting at the scholar's table.
Due to the bad world outside, there were a lot of "ghosts" coming to the tavern, but no matter who came in to pick up or give out tasks, they all avoided the scholar intentionally or unintentionally, and no one wanted to share a table with him.
In front of the scholar were a jar of wine, a plate of peanuts, and an ancient long sword.
Zhao Keman and Hu Ying, Wu Gou Shuang and Xue Ming.
The silver saddle shines on the white horse, rustling like a shooting star.
Kill one person in ten steps and leave no trace in a thousand miles.
Hello.
Li Bai's "Xia Ke Xing" is as mellow as fine wine, as exciting as strong liquor, and somewhat intoxicating.
At this moment, the scholar seemed to have drunk a little too much. His fingers tapped on the table rhythmically, like strings playing a piano under the moonlight. His eyes were blurred, as if he were flying in the sky.
It was as if his heart was like a drunken dancer, jumping between poetry and wine, and every breath was full of poetry and drunkenness.
Hua Shuixin walked into the Crow House wearing a green-faced and fanged imp mask.
As soon as he opened the door, a strong smell of tobacco and low-quality alcohol hit his face.
The furnishings inside the tavern are very simple, and a few tables and benches are covered with a thick layer of grease.
The floor was filthy, with wine stains, food remnants and slimy cigarette butts everywhere.
There was a sour smell in the air that made people cover their noses.
"Shopkeeper, send me a task!" Hua Shuixin knocked on the counter. The old shopkeeper threw a ledger in front of Hua Shuixin without raising his eyelids.
Hua Shuixin didn't touch the account book, put a heavy money bag on the counter, and said loudly: "Kill one person, ten small yellow croakers."
As soon as Hua Shuixin finished speaking, everyone in the tavern all looked over, but their eyes were not looking at Hua Shuixin or the old master, but at the scholar.
After hearing the price offered by Hua Shuixin, the old shopkeeper seemed to have just woken up and looked up at Hua Shuixin.
"Information!" the old shopkeeper said.
Hua Shuixin handed a portrait and a piece of letter paper to the old shopkeeper.
It was Xi Xingchen who was painted in the portrait. Hua Shuixin drew it based on the descriptions of the villagers. It actually looks like Xi Xingchen.
There was only one address written on the letter paper.
The old shopkeeper took a pen and wrote on the account book: "Mission A: Kill one person! Ten small yellow croakers."
"Mission A is his again." Someone in the lobby sighed.
"Ten little yellow croakers, my little heart hurts a little."
"Fortunately, he only accepts one order per month, and he only accepts orders of any size. Otherwise, most of them would starve to death."
"Why does he have to choose the remaining ones before we get our turn in every mission?" A tall and thick-set man stood up and walked towards the counter.
"boom!"
A figure was thrown out of the lobby, and there was another hole in the wall of the Crow House.
"I accepted this task." The scholar stretched out his fingers to pick up a peanut, put it in his mouth and chewed it slowly.
The shopkeeper raised his eyelids and said: "One small yellow croaker for the handling fee and one small yellow croaker for the house repair fee."
"It's expensive." The scholar turned around slowly.
This is a middle-aged man of about thirty years old. His eyes are black, deep and bright, and seem to contain a kind of magic that attracts people to fall deeply into them. Whenever he looks at you, you feel as if he can see right into your heart.
"It has always been a rule to take 10% of the commission as handling fee. Even you are no exception." The old shopkeeper Lao Shen said calmly.
"I mean house repairs."
"That's what you said!" The old shopkeeper laughed, "Every time you take on a task, you have to open a hole in the wall of my tavern. Aren't you going to give me some psychological comfort?"
"That's very reasonable." The scholar took four small yellow croakers from the money bag, "Pay half of the deposit first, and I will pick up the remaining medium small yellow croakers later."
"Wait!" Hua Shuixin said when he saw that the scholar was about to leave.
The scholar turned around, looked at Hua Shuixin with a puzzled face, and said, "Is there any question?"
"It's not a problem. I just feel that if you take my four little yellow croakers and leave..."
The scholar's face changed slightly and he said nothing.
"I will compensate you double. This is the rule, no one can be deceived." said the old shopkeeper.
"What if this brother fails to complete the mission?" Hua Shuixin asked again.
"There is only one situation, and that is that I die." The scholar said.
"Is this your first time here?" the old shopkeeper asked.
"A friend of mine introduced me and said that I can buy everything I want here, so I came over to take a look." Hua Shui thought to himself.
The old shopkeeper laughed: "Your friend lied to you. I have been guarding this tavern for most of my life. At least I know that there is one thing that cannot be bought here."
"what?"
"You can't buy life for the dead." The old shopkeeper said with a smile.
As soon as the old shopkeeper finished speaking, the people in the tavern burst into laughter.
"Friend, let me tell you a secret. Although you can't buy life for the dead here, you can buy death for the living."
