I was also stunned, and then asked Da Mao, "Why, isn't it because of the girl that you are upset?" Da Mao smiled bitterly and shook his head and said, Brother Shankong, it’s really not the case. I'm upset because I'm a little overwhelmed by the things I've encountered these days.
I said jokingly, "Hey, if you're not a girl, then it's not a big deal." If you are holding back discomfort and are willing to tell me, you can tell me. I am older than you and have seen more things than you, so I may be able to give you some advice. Being slightly tipsy, I started to talk too much. And Da Mao, who was also a bit too drunk, squinted his eyes and said to me with a smile, "Brother Shankong, I'm afraid this is the first time you've heard about this."
I lit a cigarette and did not answer his question, but what I meant was to tell him that the things I have experienced may be things that many masters have never experienced in their lives. Nothing surprises me. Da Mao stood up with some vigilance, walked to the door and looked outside, then went back to the house and closed the door. He lowered his voice and asked me, "Brother Shankong, have you ever heard of human traffickers?"
I said of course I have heard of him. Such a guy is like a street rat. He destroys other families and changes the lives of children. Everyone calls for beating him. I have never encountered him in my life. If I did, he would be worse off than dead! This is indeed true. Among the people I hate most, human traffickers are undoubtedly the number one, even more hateful than those who bullied me back then. When I was a child, there was a child who was taken away by someone when he was more than four years old because his parents were negligent. He has never been found. And even now, when I go back to Baixiang Street, I can still see it. The parents of the abducted child, even though they were quite old, still sit on the street every day and watch passers-by, trying to find their child.
So I hate human traffickers, and I thought Da Mao was saying that he had encountered something related to human traffickers during these days, and wanted him to speak more carefully, so that I could go see that guy and give him some pain. Da Mao said, "You think it's hateful, too. Children are sold as commodities. Do you think those who sell the ghosts of the dead are also hateful?"
I was stunned, what kind of a problem was this? Aren’t the ghosts of the dead always sent as far as they can? Why are you still talking about a deal? After a while, I asked Da Mao, what happened? Did you and Mr. Wang go to match someone for a secret marriage recently?
Because as far as I know, there are some families with northern ancestry, perhaps because of deep-rooted traditions. They think that if a man or woman dies before getting married, future generations will not be able to enjoy the blessings, because his grave Having no children, no one would pay homage to his parents once they died, and they would become a lonely grave. This would have a great negative impact on the family. So when such a family appears, although the parents are heartbroken, there will still be people who try to find a secret marriage for their dead son or daughter.
Therefore, there must be a matchmaker. This person is in the business of selling ghosts. For example, if the family of a deceased man finds such a person, he will use the other party's relevant information to find a matching female deceased. . However, there will be several problems with this deceased woman. Firstly, whether the horoscope conditions are met, and secondly, whether her family members are willing. If you are willing, then the matter will be easy to handle. You can come and go with the families of both parties, just like a formal matchmaker, just go and propose marriage, and then give this person some reward after the completion. And if the other party is unwilling, and the dead girl from this family happens to be a good match for the dead man, then this person is very likely to capture the ghost of the woman under the inducement of a high reward, and then sell it to the man as a commodity.
This is very wicked, of course I know it, but in some relatively isolated places, this phenomenon has existed for thousands of years. Instead of blaming the person who sells ghosts, people will respect him very much and think that he helped their family. A big favor, so the monetary reward is a given. And the ghost of the girl who was captured and then sold will be completely put to rest because she was matched with this shady marriage, which can be regarded as transcending the other person. In this way, in general, she is still accumulating merit and doing good deeds, but The act of stealing in the middle makes people feel that the morality is questionable.
So when Da Mao talked about selling ghosts, this was the first thing that came to my mind. But we are in the south and there is no such custom at all. Even if northerners come to the local area, they will not do this. You have to be sneaky, right? Mr. Wang Chengqian is considered a well-known person in the local area. How could he agree to do such an immoral thing, and how could he do it with Da Mao?
Da Mao once again shook his head and said that he was not a matchmaker for a yin marriage. It’s not like you don’t know who my master is. Anyone who asked him to help with a yin marriage would have been chased and beaten away by him long ago. I nodded, thinking that was indeed the case, but since it was selling ghosts, there had to be a buyer and a seller, right? Besides, apart from the ghost marriage, I really can’t think of anything else that requires buying and selling ghosts. So I asked Da Mao, just tell me what is going on.
Damao said, do you still remember that when I came to your house for a drink in the first month, I once told you that I would go to Shuzhong with Master to buy some things, because both of us have the skill of clairvoyance, so It would be easier to pick, remember? I said I remember, at that time I thought you were going to buy or sell some ancient artifacts. Damao said that at that time, he and his master both thought that they might be buying some old things, but they were not for personal use, because Wang Chengqian was also invited there, and they thought they were afraid of buying some haunted house or underground palace. I was worried that there would be dirty things on it, so I felt more at ease with the two of us. However, when we got there, we found that it was an old town that had been abandoned for many years. It was deserted and there was no one there.
I was surprised when I heard this. I can understand old ancient towns. Sichuan originally had many ancient towns and cities, and most of the old things came from these places. But how can there be no one to buy and sell them? Da Mao said that he thought so at the time, but seeing that the master was somewhat respectful to those who took them there, he didn't dare to ask any more questions. The group of people took the master and apprentice to an abandoned house. The house had been tidied up in advance, and all the utensils were prepared for them. They were told not to go out during the day, and someone would naturally come to take them out at night. .
Damao said, Brother Shankong, you also know my master's temper. He always strikes first but never speaks. When he encounters something that he is dissatisfied with, even if he doesn't hit someone, he still has to scold the other person bloody to feel happy. But that day, Master didn't get angry at all. Instead, he was a little respectful, which made me feel that something was wrong. Do you know what’s the weirdest thing? Those people took us master and apprentice into the house and left. Before leaving, they even locked the door and locked us in.
I said this is too strange. Even if you despise people in our industry, they won't go to such an extent. What is the difference between this and people under house arrest? Is it because when those people came to you, their attitudes were completely different? Da Mao shook his head and said, this is one of the things he doesn't understand the most, because when those people came to Master for help with letters, they were actually arrogant and indifferent. I don't understand what Master did. Will take this matter.
I frowned, because Mr. Wang Chengqian and my master Lin Qishan have been old friends for decades, so I am very familiar with him. From what I know about Wang Chengqian, he is definitely not a person with such a personality, unless he has something to do with the other party. or the other party has irresistible reasons.
What Da Mao said next confirmed my thoughts. He said that the master and the apprentice were imprisoned at noon that day. Da Mao was young and energetic, and felt that this was too rude and not the way to treat guests. He wanted to put them under house arrest anyway. Such a master can't hold himself under house arrest at all. If Da Mao wants to open this door, he almost doesn't have to do it himself. So he was a little angry and asked Wang Chengqian why he was so submissive in his clothes. Wasn't this a clear sign of bullying? Mr. Wang Chengqian shook his head helplessly and said, forget it, his thumb can't hold his thigh.
Sure enough, as I guessed, the other party had reasons that Wang Chengqian couldn't resist.
Da Mao went on to say that at that time, he asked the other person who he was, and even you would be scared. Wang Chengqian then told Damao that the people who came to invite them and brought them here were actually employed by the real employer behind the scenes, and that employer, I heard, was young but had a strong military background. .
In our era, those people had always kept a low profile, for fear that others would know that their parents were officials, so they knew how to avoid suspicion since they were young. As for this young man with a military background, he might be about the same age as me. His parents would have been in their twenties when he was born, so he might be the son of a certain chief.
Da Mao went on to say that he saw that his master was intimidated at that time, so he could not show off any more to avoid getting into trouble and letting his master take the blame. So the master and the apprentice stayed in silence until the evening. When talking about this, Damao said, Brother Shankong, do you know? We knew it was dark and dawn from the light coming from the crack of the door. The dilapidated house was sealed tightly, and the original windows were all boarded up. But those people came again in the evening and took them both out. It was strange when they went out. There were many people outside and it was very lively. Various lanterns were hung on both sides of the small streets in the ancient town, bustling with people. Street stalls are full.
When Da Mao said this, he took a sip of soju, slapped his chopsticks on the table a little excitedly, and then said to me, only then did I know that this place was called "Sanchuan Ghost Market"!
