The gold-rimmed glasses entered and a candle placed on the lamp holder was lit. Under the bright light was a large iron cabinet with money inside. The gold-rimmed glasses were unlocked again. At this moment, he put a cloth bag next to him. When he opened the big iron cabinet and tried to pour the coins in the bag, he found that the cloth bag beside him was missing. He quickly locked the big iron cabinet, fearing that something would happen again, and then shouted - a robber broke into the pawn shop... After repeating it many times, a scene similar to this one that happened in Duanhei yesterday immediately appeared in his mind, except that the crime occurred at the counter in the lobby. What happened made him very confused.
When they heard the shouting, more than 20 people from the pawn shop came out together, using their hands and dragging sticks, especially the two big men guarding the entrance. They immediately entered and locked the door. The back door was also bolted by a housekeeper. and put on a locking ring. There was a wooden ladder to the west, and a crew member lowered it to the ground as if he was ordered to do so. They lit torches and searched everywhere, and talked and said: As long as the robbers don't go out, they will not be able to escape.
Since he took away the bag of coins, Tao Qinghu didn't dare to walk fast. As soon as he walked fast, the coins in the bag would make noises, but he couldn't move quickly, so he had to hold down the bag hidden in the invisibility suit and left the dark room. , when he was about to escape to the back door, the shouting from the gold-rimmed glasses was tantamount to an alarm, and the back door was already locked. Looking at the front door, there was also an "Iron General" hanging on it. What made him even more panicked was that dozens of people in the business were on high alert, and all of them were holding weapons and looking for thieves throughout the house.
At this time, Gold-rimmed Glasses ran out and led a group of people to the darkroom to search without success, so he locked the darkroom door and searched the middle hall. Tao Qinghu had nowhere to escape and hid under a ledger. The moment he leaned over, the coins in the bag made a metallic sound. The gold-rimmed glasses he was looking for with a candle had poor eyesight but good hearing. , he said, there seems to be a noise over there at the accounting cabinet, look quickly.
One of the operators took a closer look and said he didn't find anything. Then he discovered something again and said there was a green line shaking in front of him. He ran over and picked off the green thread. What he picked was not a thread, but an upright object like a human. He grabbed hold of a person, but he couldn't see the person's form. Without time to think about it, he swung his knife towards Cut this object off. This object turned out to be a human being, screaming for mercy.
In the blink of an eye, the object took form. He was a young man in his 20s. I saw him, who was not injured by the knife, holding the cloth bag and saying that there is money in it, and I will return it to you intact. He also kept begging for mercy and said, I was wrong and shouldn't steal...
The man with gold-rimmed glasses was extremely angry. He picked up the cloth bag that the young man had thrown on the ground and said, I lost so many coins last time but you stole them.
Yes, I stole it, please forgive me. As he spoke, he raised his hands as if surrendering. But the gold-rimmed glasses didn't care about that. The more he listened, the angrier he became, so he took out a razor blade and stabbed him straight at the ankle. He screamed, and blood flowed out, staining his trousers red. The gold-rimmed glasses turned a blind eye, thinking that he deserved it. Asked again what his name was and where he was from, he knelt down again and begged for mercy. He told them everything. The gold-rimmed glasses heard that he was Tao Qinghu, a Taoist from Wudang Mountain, so he said he would go to Wudang Mountain Taoist Temple to find the Taoist priest for comment.
At this moment, the two guards who came over there were addicted to beating people. One of them hit Tao Qinghu hard on the back of the head with a wooden stick. This time, he screamed and fell down like a pile of firewood. Another man holding a wooden stick said that he was pretending to be dead, and hit him on the chest a few times with all his strength. The hot-blooded men who came over kicked him hard, as if they were going to the market to show off, and they kicked him an unknown number of times. Gold-rimmed glasses could no longer hear his screams, so he said no, no, don't beat him to death.
Everyone knew that the robber was not guilty of death, so they kept silent and never fought again. With his gold-rimmed glasses, he reached out to explore his nostrils and found that he was out of breath. He said in a panic: Why can't you fight so hard? Who was beaten to death? He knew that everyone could be considered a murderer. As everyone was about to leave, he said, "You guys didn't say anything. Just say that this person jumped to his death during a robbery." At this moment, he dragged Tao Qinghu's body out of the back door and threw it under the corridor window facing the vegetable garden.
He immediately reported the case to the government, handed the five thousand hanging coins to the manager and said: Please find out and notify the thief's family to claim it. In fact, he was worried that the government would investigate their pawn shop and their own responsibilities, so he bribed them. The chief case officer took someone to collect the body and asked a painter to draw his face and put it up in the market. Within half a day, a Taoist who claimed to be Wudang Mountain said that the deceased was his Taoist disciple, and he burst into tears.
When he learned that the deceased Tao Qinghu was avoiding him and stealing, he was extremely angry and regretted that he should not have accepted him as a Taoist disciple in the first place. Now that the invisibility suit was gone, he recalled what his master had said in his dream. When he claimed the body, he silently prayed that the master would not blame him, saying that he had never considered that Tao Qinghu was such a snake-hearted person and did everything he did without telling him. bad thing. He notified Tao Qinghu's family to claim the body and take care of the funeral affairs, then went to the Wudang Mountain Taoist Temple, looking very lonely, and changed his Taoist name from Miaoyi Zhenren to Guiyin Zhenren. After that, he never left the mountain again and continued to practice Taoism devoutly. Until he ascended to heaven a hundred years later.
After Tao Qinghu died, his soul still guarded the body for 24 hours. When leaving, a gust of cold wind drifted to the inner hall of the Wooden Building Hotel, and I found that there was a spiritual tablet there, which was set up by Kuai Yi and others. I was filled with joy, thinking that this leader was a very loyal person, and I had failed him when he was still alive. Thinking about it, I still feel a little guilty. Tao Qinghu's soul came here to say goodbye to Feng Tou. He saw Feng Tou sitting a few meters away from the memorial seat and flirting with a young man. There was no trace of sadness or uneasiness at all. On the contrary, Kuai Yi and Hu Wei were very solemn. They burned money, paper, lit incense and candles, kowtowed and bowed in full funeral etiquette. Then, Kuai Yi called Feng Tuolai over there to kowtow and said that although Tao Qinghu had not made any contribution to us, he could still be considered a member of the Green Forest family. Although what he did was shameful to the world, he sacrificed his life to seek wealth. Courage is worthy of our admiration. Besides, if someone else is dead, their faults should not be remembered. But Feng Tou remained motionless. She said that I was almost harmed by that traitor. If he hadn't been beaten to death, would I have been able to escape if he was caught alive? I hate him when I think of this, and it is impossible for me to kowtow in front of his shrine now.
Feng Tou said similar words many times at first, but Kuai Yi smiled and scolded her for being ungrateful. If Tao Qinghu has contributed to anyone, it can't be said, only to you, right? He stole a ring and jade bracelet for you.
Every time he talked about this, Feng Tuo didn't answer. He only said secretly: That thief has not got rid of his vulgar thoughts and is too lustful. He wants to take advantage of me and only gives me benefits. If you, Kuai Yi, were a woman and were charming and cute, it wouldn't be the same. Can you charm that thief?
Feng Tou is a woman who adapts to the changing circumstances. In order to protect herself, she waited near the pawn shop on West Street that evening when Tao Qinghu didn't come. She mingled among the residents and approached the door of the shop. She heard shouting inside and heard Tao Qinghu's appearance. She screamed for mercy, knowing that something was wrong, so she quickly returned to the Mulou Hotel and informed the leader of Kuai Yi about the matter. They rushed over and watched the movement outside the pawn shop. At this moment, there was no sound inside. They expected that Tao Qinghu had been killed, but they still had doubts. Could it be that the invisibility suit had lost its effect?
Now Feng Tou didn't care about Tao Qinghu's spiritual status, and he didn't know what to say sweetly to the young man around him. Tao Qinghu's soul was very angry when he saw her being so heartless and unrighteous, and thought to himself: Isn't it just for you that I was martyred this time? If you hadn't said that the elopement expenses were not enough and encouraged me to steal, would I have been killed in an accident? So, he swore: I must torture you to death, otherwise how can I get rid of this stagnation in my heart? Tao Qinghu's soul took advantage of a cold wind and hit her on the back of her neck. Her body trembled and she choked twice.
Just as he was thinking about how to take revenge on Feng Tou, Tao Qinghu's soul was held by an iron chain around his neck. When he looked back, it was Bai Wuchang who stuck out his long scarlet tongue and caught him. He was about to break free, but another iron chain locked him. On his left leg, a ferocious-looking Hei Wuchang stood in front of him. He said angrily: Why did you two secret agents come to arrest me? I have no fault or enmity with you, do you have nothing to do? Hei Wuchang sneered and said nothing, Bai Wuchang shouted, why are you so arrogant? The two of us were ordered by King Yama to catch you, a short-lived ghost.
My revenge has not been avenged yet? I can say that I died unjustly because I died for Feng Tou, that bastard. Can you come and arrest me after I get my revenge?
No, your life span ends here. Bai Wuchang pulled the chain, and Tao Qinghu's soul followed them on the road. What a road that is! The path is dark, deep, and windy. This is the underworld road leading to the underworld. Tao Qinghu's soul trembled, and he confessed his sins to Black and White. Hei Wuchang still sneered. Bai Wuchang said that everything was your own fault. You are a thief and addicted to women. You have sinned so much that it is too late to repent now.
Suddenly, the air on the other side of the road seemed to pick up and heat up, and Tao Qinghu's soul felt comfortable. However, after only taking a few steps, he let out a miserable scream and saw a rattlesnake slip out, first wrap around his body, and then wrap around his body. The snake's head turned around and bit him, with two curved whiskers extending out of its nostrils, snorting out poisonous gas.
Not only did Hei Wuchang not drive away the rattlesnakes, he laughed.
Tao Qinghu's soul cried and said: Why are the ghosts and gods in the underworld so heartless and unjust, refusing to save anyone even if they die?
Hei Wuchang laughed again, and then said that he remembered that nine years ago, when you were 13 years old, you killed a rattlesnake, cut off the skin, took out its internal organs, and ate a snake gallbladder. It was said that it was used as a medicine. Eye-Brightening Drugs. Did you consider the rattlesnake's pain at the time?
Tao Qinghu's soul was speechless. Hei Wuchang said again, so now we don't consider your pain. Just like Bai Wuchang said, it's your own fault.
Tao Qinghu's soul suddenly shed bitter tears. He recalled one evening in the winter when he was 13 years old. It was already very dark. He passed by a small village under Wulong Mountain. To the southwest of the small village was a field, which was surrounded by a long canal. Scratch, the end of the year is the dry season, the water flow is very small, but there is a gurgling sound. Tao Qinghu sang slang songs to strengthen his courage. As he ran quickly and struggled to cross the small stone bridge across the ditch, he suddenly felt that his body was "caught" by something, which became heavier and heavier. He continued to cross the fields risking his life. Then he ran, guessing whether there was a ghost, so he screamed that there was a ghost, and then he screamed, but something forced him to change his tone, until he couldn't scream anymore. The invisible monster had weight, but after all, it couldn't hold Tao back. Qinghu, Tao Qinghu continued to run through the fields, but the monster refused to let go. He also understood that there was a pond in front of the village, and the water was very deep. Before this, he had heard that he had a water evil spirit. If the ditch just now The water was so deep that he might be pushed down by the monster and drowned. Now that he had escaped, why didn't the monster let him go? He considered whether the monster wanted to push him into the deep water of the pond and drown him. die.
This idea of self-defense saved him. Fortunately, there was no water in the winter fields, which were full of rice stubble. He ran through the fields, and the direction he ran deviated from the owner's pond and went straight to the north without ditches and wells. When Dang ran in front of a village house in Jiatang, sure enough, the monster let go of him. He felt relaxed all over and could speak, but his face turned pale with fear. After he returned, he told his mother about this thrilling and terrifying experience. Listen, the mother was very angry after hearing this. Because the monster had played tricks on her child, she stood at the gate and shouted to Tao Qinghu in the open field. She also cursed the monster fiercely and said, "I will do evil to you when you do evil." The place sifted out rapeseed to ward off evil spirits, so that you will never be transcended, etc. My mother said many harsh words until she felt a little calmer.
A few days later, she took Tao Qinghu to find a fortune teller to calculate his horoscopes. After the fortune teller was confused for a while, he was surprised and said: I still don't know how he survived? He pondered for a moment and then said that his parents must have been kind-hearted and brought him here. Finally, the fortune teller said to his mother: Some of your child's behaviors are too bad and need to be changed.
Tao Qinghu was a little scared when he heard this. His behavior was indeed bad. He said that when he was in private school, every time he came home late and had finished his meal, he always said that his family did not wait for him and always wanted to be the first to eat. After arguing, he lost his temper, picked up the preheated food in the pot with chopsticks and a spoon, and threw it behind his head as if he was angry. What made his family even more indignant was that even on a day when guests were having dinner, he ignored any etiquette and picked up the meat slices with chopsticks, took one or two bites, and then threw the meat skin that he didn't want to eat or the bacon skin that he couldn't bite back into the meat bowl. , making family members or guests frown. At that time, the mother asked the fortune teller how to save the child's life. The fortune teller said bluntly, don’t be forceful, use iron tools or something to drive away ghosts and scare the gods. In fact, you can’t scare them away. Don’t insult the ghosts and gods, but use reconciliation to save the child. It’s best to prepare a table of wine and meat at midnight. Please invite the deceased ancestors to enjoy the meal, so that they can save the child's life, and then repent for the child. They also burn some paper money a hundred meters away from the small stone bridge where the child was frightened to apologize, because the child had some festivals with that ghost and god in his previous life and must not make mistakes. For the next hundred days, the child is not allowed to go near the place where paper money is burned. Otherwise, the child will be tricked by the corresponding ghosts and gods, and his life will not be saved. His mother did as the fortune teller said, and it had some effect.
After Tao Qinghu was frightened that time, he had two symptoms: First, when he sat down or squatted down for a while, when he stood up, his eyes were filled with stars and darkness, and he felt dizzy. It took about a quarter of an hour to return to normal. For this reason, he went to the hospital everywhere for examinations and found out that he was not sick. Secondly, he was frightened when he saw slightly deep water and did not dare to go near rivers, lakes, harbors or anything like that. He would go around when he saw it, especially he did not dare to go near the water alone.
One morning, his brother woke up and told him that he had a strange dream last night. In the dream, it was a rainy day. An old man with a white beard held an umbrella and stopped him and said: Your brother has done many bad things, and he should be punished for his crimes. The elder brother asked if he could save his younger brother. The white-bearded old man said yes. He had to kill a hundred snakes to avoid the death penalty. Tao Qinghu, who was greedy for life, fearful of death, and evil and cowardly, believed what his brother said in his dream and believed it to be true, so he went to the wild grass every day to look for snakes to kill. I killed more than 10 snakes in a row for two or three years. Later I heard that snakes were just for tonics, and they also ate snake meat. They were even so cruel that they picked out snake gallbladders and ate about four or five snake gallbladders of various types.
At this moment, Bai Wuchang looked at Tao Qinghu's soul and said, "Don't you worship Master Miaoyi as your teacher?" If you concentrate on following him to enlightenment, learn to be a good person, and achieve righteousness, these pains can be avoided and resolved. Tao Qinghu's soul asked if there was any way to save himself now, but Bai Wuchang said it was impossible and could only follow the flow of the industry. Do you know that human life is rare? You have been a human being for more than 20 years, and you have had a lot of opportunities to get rid of your bad habits and truly liberate yourself. However, you have lost your good time in vain and committed many evil deeds. In the end, you have ended up like this. No one can save you. It is your own fault.
The soul of Tao Qinghu, who was bitten by the rattlesnake and was in great pain, burst into tears and told Black and White Wuchang that crimes committed in the human world would be punished by the official and it was not appropriate to use lynching. How could he suffer unexplained harm from his enemies in the underworld? Black and white were speechless, they just pushed him forward one after another, but the rattlesnake spoke, saying that the underworld has more laws, I am offended and bite you, just to remind you, a guy with an ugly soul. Then, the rattlesnake slithered away.
