A table is covered with a blue silk cloth, and several copper coins and a bamboo stick bucket are placed on the cloth. It is not stained by dust and is extremely delicate.
Sitting behind the table was a fairy-like old man with white beard and hair. He was chatting lively with a young woman in front of him.
"Girl, you were born to be rich and powerful. Although you haven't yet flown onto a branch and turned into a phoenix, from what I can see, my fortune is about to turn around."
"Taoist Priest, are you serious about this? I have suffered enough these days. Yesterday my father asked me to cook and feed the pigs. But when I think of what Taoist Priest said to me a few days ago, I am a golden person, how can I treat him so badly? Myself. Feed the pigs, he actually asked me to feed the pigs!"
"Girl...it's not harmful. Think about it, the pig can be fed by you yourself. Isn't that a blessing for the pig?"
"What blessing should I bestow on a pig?"
"Uh... Then I won't do it. I've finished what I said to the girl. Well..." The old man with a white beard rubbed his hands and kept winking at the girl in front of him.
The girl had a delicate heart. When she carefully took out a few beautiful coins from her arms, she did not forget to ask the immortal master in front of her to confirm, "Are you really so close?"
The old man with a white beard said righteously, "In less than a month, the girl will definitely be like a fish in water. If not, she will be in trouble. If I am not accurate, the girl can come here and destroy my stall."
Hearing this, the young woman beamed with joy, hurriedly put the money into the old fortune teller's hand, and ran back with trembling flowers.
Just when he was satisfied and ready to shout at the top of his lungs, the table suddenly shook. Before he could react, the old fortune teller's whole body flipped backwards and fell backwards. He rolled around on the ground before he got up in embarrassment.
The old man was about to curse, but when he opened his eyes and looked, there was a chubby little girl standing in front of him, with two braids hanging down by his ears, holding a bunch of candied haws in his hand, looking at him with a smile.
"Dumplings... dumplings?" The old fortune teller rubbed his eyes and murmured.
Dumpling grinned, called "Abba Abba" twice, and pointed behind him.
Looking in the direction of the dumplings, I saw two people standing in front of the table, smiling and looking at them.
"Master Hu Xian, if that girl is not rich and powerful in a month, you will have to pack up and get out." Yu Qinggong said with a squinting smile.
Hu Baxian smiled coquettishly and turned a deaf ear to Yu Qinggong's sarcasm. Instead, he dusted himself off and posed with a fairy-like appearance, saying, "Fate is really wonderful. I never expected that in this cold northern Gobi I can meet you in this place, so stay safe."
Mo Guyuan nodded and replied, "After three days of separation, Master Hu Xian's demeanor remains the same, and he is still so free and easy."
Hu Baxian twirled his beard and chuckled, "I dare not say it for three days. It was early winter when I went to Zhenhun Village, but now it is the end of winter in Qingyun Town."
"May I ask why Master Xian came to Qingyun Town?" Mo Guyuan asked curiously.
"I am a single descendant of the Tianji Sect, with the purpose of traveling around the world and the responsibility of benefiting one party. Of course, I came to Qingyun Town because I discovered that there is something unusual about Qingyun Town."
"Oh? What are you here for?"
"Conquer demons and eliminate demons."
Yu Qingqing raised his eyebrows and said amusedly, "Your ability to draw cats and insects, as well as to subjugate demons and demons, has subverted my understanding."
Hu Baxian's face turned red, then he glanced behind the two of them and asked curiously, "Hey, where is my brother Yu?"
"We just arrived in Qingyun Town a few days ago. After discovering some clues, I asked Yu Nie to go to Heli Mountain to check the situation. Miss Yu and I came to the town first to have a look." Mo Guyuan said truthfully. said.
Hu Baxian nodded slightly and said, "It's almost noon. Do you think we should find a place to have something to eat before we talk slowly?"
Yu Qinggong picked up the dumplings and said with a smile, "I have no appetite after eating too much, so just drink."
"Miss Yu has really benefited a lot from her trip to the river. I can tell at a glance that Miss Yu has accomplished something in her studies and has a lot of talent." After saying this, he took the lead and ran after Yu Qinggong.
"Master Hu Xian, your stall..."
"It's okay, just throw it away, it's not worth much."
In Qingyun Town, there is a restaurant called Jufulou. At this time, Mo Guyuan, Yu Qinggong and Hu Baxian are sitting around on the second floor of the restaurant.
Although it was said that they were eating, in fact, Hu Baxian and Diaozi were the only two people on the table who kept talking. Mo Guyuan and Yu Qinggong looked at the two of them with relish.
As early as before, Mo Guyuan told Hu Baxian all the news that Liang Yan had told him, but after hearing this, Hu Baxian just immersed himself in drinking, and sometimes followed the dumplings to grab food.
Yu Qinggong looked anxious and blurted out, "Hey, are you listening to Mo Guyuan? What is going on in this town? Do you know?"
Hu Baxian took a sip of the wine and looked at Mo Guyuan. The latter shook his head, still unwilling to drink.
"I left Zhenhun Village and headed north all the way. It wasn't until I wandered here a month ago that I discovered some clues. Qingyun Town turned out to be a ghost town!" Hu Baxian swallowed his throat and whispered to the two of them.
Mo Guyuan and Yu Qinggong were startled and looked around subconsciously. At this moment, there were several tables sitting on the second floor of Jufu Building, and they looked like ordinary people.
"Master Hu Xian, what do you mean, Qingyun Town is a ghost town? But these people clearly look like ordinary people to me." Mo Guyuan asked confused.
"That's right, weren't you setting up a stall at the gate of the town just now to tell people's fortunes?" Yu Qinggong was equally puzzled.
Hu Baxian shook his head and continued, "I am definitely not wrong about this. As far as I know, all the people in Qingyun Town died due to the plague a year ago. Qingyun Town is now a ghost town." . And the reason why you see these people just like ordinary people is because the people in the town don’t even know that they are dead.”
The two of them, Mo Guyuan, were in a fog. They had clearly seen people coming and going on the street while walking, and the market was shouting, which showed that the town was prosperous. But now what I heard from Hu Baxian was really unbelievable.
"Stop whining and speak clearly," Yu Qinggong urged.
Hu Baxian didn't seem to dare to offend Yu Qinggong. He had to put down the old wine that had just reached his mouth before he could swallow it. He continued, "You guys walked all the way just now. I guess you didn't see a single person on the road, right?".net
Mo Guyuan nodded and said, "That's right. Not only is there no one, but even the houses are closed and look lifeless."
Hu Baxian twisted his beard and whispered, "The people in Qingyun Town don't know that they all died in the plague a year ago, and the reason why the current situation seems to be normal is that the reason for all this is related to the City God's Temple in the east. That city god is so generous."
"Is it that City God again?" Yu Qinggong said with a frown.
"As for what you said earlier, there was news from the City God's Temple that the young boy's parents were the source of the plague. I'm not sure about that," Hu Baxian said truthfully.
Mo Guyuan once again looked at the two or three people at the tables next door and saw them changing glasses, talking and laughing. He never knew that he was already dead.
"Master Hu Xian, may I ask if you have been to the City God's Temple in the past month? What is the level of cultivation of the City God? Who is he?" Mo Guyuan asked from the side.
Hu Baxian nodded and said slowly, "Of course I have been there before. The City God was the founding hero of the Zhou Dynasty in the north of the Western Mountains. After his death, he was pardoned by the court and made a temple god. Because his hometown is in Qingyun Town. Therefore, the local people built the City God Temple here to worship the founding minister."
"I see. It seems that the background of this City God should not be underestimated."
"Not just his background, even his realm cultivation is also in the realm of returning to the virtual world. The city god's surname is Qin and his name is Qiong. He was a military general during his lifetime. He fought on the battlefield with a fighting spirit. Even the statues enshrined in the temple were... It’s majestic and full of momentum.”
"According to what you said, the people in the small town died from the plague. Did the people from the City God's Temple use magic to resurrect them?"
Hu Baxian smiled bitterly and said, "No, it was the City God who used a certain formation to seal all the souls of the people in the town in Qingyun Town to ensure that their souls would not be scattered. This allowed these people to still be able to function as before." Living in a small town.
"Then don't these people know? Or do they already know that they are dead and are using the power of the City God's Temple to get by?"
"Maybe you don't know. There is only one City God's Temple in the town, and the local people mainly worship him. You must know that once this place is deserted and the incense in the City God's Temple is cut off, even the City God will be finished. I think he The reason why he did this should be because he had this in mind, after all, the people here are his followers." Hu Baxian explained.
"I don't know? Don't these people just stay in the town every day and the truth will come to light as soon as they leave Qingyun Town?" Yu Qinggulhu asked.
"I had this idea earlier, and then the fortune-teller girl told me that during the plague a year ago, the City God appeared and not only solved the source of the disease, but also cured everyone's disease. It's just that The City God told the people of the town that since every household has been infected with the plague, no one is allowed to leave the town until he is sure to avoid any unexpected events."
"Hmph, I think this City God is obviously reluctant to lose his followers. Since these people are all dead, I think it is better to be buried as soon as possible, so as not to harm others here." Yu Qinggong said disdainfully.
Mo Guyuan nodded, and after a moment, he said to Hu Baxian, "Is Liang Yan a dead person at Zhenxikou?"
Hu Baxian raised his head and thought for a while, and said, "I have some impressions of that young boy. He once ran to the City God's Temple in the middle of the night to stir up trouble, and shouted that he wanted to avenge his parents. Hey, don't tell me, it seems like the whole Qingyun He is the only living person in the town."
Mo Guyuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Fortunately, if the whole town were full of ghosts, wouldn't we go into a haunted house?"
Hu Baxian sneered and said, "The City God's Temple has already greeted me and asked me to go back and forth from there. Tell me. As the ninety-ninth generation single disciple of Tianji Sect, how can I stand by and watch such strange news?" ?”
Yu Qinggong was about to echo a few words, when suddenly a gust of breeze blew by, and there was another person at the table of three people.
"Taoist Master, this is going to be difficult for me." A hoarse and deep voice sounded in the ears of the three of them.
