East of the city.
There is a secluded alley between the two mansions.
The alley has been encroached upon by the courtyard walls on both sides several times, and is now too narrow to pass. In addition, the vines and vines flowing down from the top of the wall are like a waterfall, and the flowers are inundated, making it no longer suitable for pedestrians.
But that's talking about adults, not children.
Amei led a few friends and got into the flower cage in the alley.
There was a little kid behind him talking.
"There must be something going on at Fat Tou's house!"
"nonsense."
There was an immediate rebuttal.
"He didn't come out as scheduled today. He must have been prohibited from doing so at home. He was locked in his room studying. Why do you let you keep talking here?"
"My crow's mouth?"
The little boy was so angry at being rebutted that he squatted down and pulled out a dog hole from the corner of the wall.
"See for yourselves."
Then, several little heads gathered at the entrance of the cave and looked inside.
Inside this courtyard wall is a spacious courtyard with a grand layout and elegant buildings. You can tell at a glance that it is a luxurious home. But the strange thing is that there is no one in the huge yard, and no one can be heard. After the wind and rain last night, the fallen flowers and leaves were spread all over the ground without any care.
There is only an unspeakable deathly silence lingering in it, making people hold their breath.
"Since this morning, there has been no sound in this room. Could it be..."
The little kid paused.
"Is there a monster?"
These words seemed to bring out the dead silence in the yard. The children were silent for a while, only the thumping of their heartbeats could be heard one after another.
"What are you afraid of?!"
Amei suddenly spoke and waved the small wooden sword in her hand to encourage her.
"That's fine if there are no monsters. If there are..." She took out a small object from her pocket, but it was a rusty iron knife with a bell on the handle. "This is a treasure left by my father. Today is just the right time for the monsters to see it." This heroine’s methods!”
The knife "dinged" in his hand, but all the friends rolled their eyes.
Amei slowly bared her teeth.
"Do not believe?"
Believe it or not!
When playing house, you just have to be a heroine. We can't defeat you, so it's not just what you say? But right now, the courtyard is so strangely tight, and it looks eerie and scary. How can we take the bullshit we brag about when we are having fun and take it seriously?
then……
"Believe it! Grandson Gui doesn't believe it."
"If the eldest sister is so powerful, the eldest sister's father must also be powerful, and the things he leaves behind must be even more powerful!"
"Fat Tou is our brother. How can we not save our brother when he is in trouble?!"
The boys also wanted to retort loudly, but the opponent's fist was too painful.
Little Amei hummed a few times and lowered her fist.
"I'll take the lead."
Saying that, he grabbed the dog hole.
"Hurry up and follow."
As soon as he reached his waist, he slipped in neatly, leaving a group of boys staring at each other. They hesitated for a while and couldn't decide which one would go next.
It wasn't until Amei disappeared that the second "chivalrous man" was elected by his companions, but he was the thinnest among the boys.
He slowly lay down at the entrance of the hole before inserting half of his head.
At this time.
Suddenly a lot of moving and talking sounds were heard in the courtyard.
The dead silence just now was swept away, and the entire house came to life in an instant.
Immediately afterwards.
Men and maids poured out from all over the yard, sweeping the yard or taking care of the house, and it seemed to have returned to the normal daily appearance of the backyard of a wealthy family.
But in the midst of all the busyness, there was a stooped old man in short clothes walking slowly into the yard, dressed as a servant but looking like he was doing nothing.
He seemed to notice something, and suddenly turned his head and grinned at the dog hole at the base of the wall.
The boys outside the dog cave clamped their legs together and dispersed.
…………
The sun sets at dusk.
Another strange combination came to the front of the flower alley.
A mangy-headed beggar led a young policeman, a ranger armed with swords, and a short-haired Taoist.
The beggar pointed to the house in front, nodded and bowed: "Three gentlemen, this is the house."
The three "masters" he refers to are naturally Li Changan, Bo Ziyu and Zhang Yi.
In the afternoon, the Taoist priest met Sanniangzi. As soon as he left Li'er Tower, he was blocked by this beggar, who said that he was sent by the beggar's head to bring a piece of news about a suspected monster.
Li Changan simply called Zhang Yi and Bo Ziyu, let the beggar lead the way, and arrived at the mansion together.
As a local snake, Bo Ziyu has a clear reputation everywhere in the city.
"The owner of this house is named Jin, and it is one of the most luxurious houses in the city... If there really is a monster." He shook his head, "Trouble!"
Then he turned to ask the beggar.
"The yamen didn't even listen to the news, how could you find out what's going on in this house?"
"swill."
"swill?"
The beggar scratched his red scalp.
"So that the three masters will know that the Jin family has a big house, many servants, and a lot of swill poured out every day. We brothers who are begging for food have to live entirely on his family's swill."
"But in the past two or three days, the swill in his house has been getting less and less every day. Yesterday, there was even less swill."
"That's it?" Bo Ziyu frowned.
The beggar said nothing. According to the agreement between the Tuantou and Zhang Erlang, they were only responsible for providing information. As for whether it was true or false, they had to let the Taoist priests investigate on their own.
Li Changan understood this, took a few copper coins and sent the beggar away, then pressed his sword and stepped forward to knock on the door.
Whether there is a monster or not, you will know once you find out.
…………
Boom.
Boom.
Crunch~
Not long after knocking the door, the door opened and a stooped old man in short clothes came out.
Li Changan bowed his hands and saluted:
"Pindao..."
Before he finished speaking, the old man was already looking at the short hair on the Taoist priest's head: "You are Li Xuanxiao!"
The Taoist priest was stunned: "Do you know me?"
Without waiting for an answer, the old man's eyes widened and he suddenly ran into the yard.
While running, he shouted: "Master! Master! It's evil! It's evil! Then Taoist Li is coming to our door!"
Bo Ziyu's face twitched, and Li Changan was confused.
"Pfft~"
However, it was the ranger Zhang Yi who sneered. Seeing the two people looking over, he quickly straightened his features and regained his usual cold expression.
He explained with cold eyebrows and cold eyes:
"Maybe you don't know why you two are busy catching monsters. Just because wherever you appear, there are monsters causing trouble. According to street rumors, the two have become soul-spelling messengers who can be used to cure crying children. "
Li Changan:......
…
"Daozhang Li, Boss Bo, please forgive me, my old servant is old and dim, and he has taken the gossip in the market and made it true."
Jin Yuanwai repeatedly accused him.
After the old man ran into the yard shouting, not long after, the Jin member hurriedly greeted him out.
After the Taoist priest and others expressed their indifference, he wanted to invite the three of them to stay and have a banquet in order to express his apology. The Taoist priest and others naturally agreed.
The food is over five flavors, and the wine is over three rounds.
This member of the Jin family was talkative on the outside, and his posture was also low, which made Bo Ziyu very happy. Before he knew it, he was dizzy from drinking, and his belly was filled with yellow soup.
He confessed his crime, came out to relieve himself, and after draining the water, he found Li Changan standing motionless outside the kitchen.
"What is the Taoist doing here?"
He approached with a smile and saw the Taoist priest looking at a maid who was making fire in front of the stove.
"This girl hasn't grown up yet," he said teasingly through the wine glass, "Is this okay for you?"
Li Changan was too lazy to pay attention to him. He drew his sword and chopped some fresh branches in the yard. He went into the kitchen and after reaching the stove, he used the branches to replace the dry firewood that the maid had on hand.
When Bo Ziyu saw this, he muttered: "You are a Taoist priest who always plays tricks on people..."
Before she finished speaking, she saw the maid picking up branches to make dry firewood and stuffing it into the stove. She stirred it up with a fire stick a few times and stuffed the branches in one after another, ignoring that the stove fire was gradually extinguished.
Bo Ziyu was stunned: "Could he be a blind man?"
Li Changan remained silent and just took a bowl to scoop out some stove ashes.
On the counter next to him, a cook was kneading dough. The Taoist priest used stove ashes to replace the flour next to him, but the cook actually grabbed the stove ashes and kneaded them into the dough. Bai Shengsheng's countertop suddenly became dark. , but the cook is still busy making noodles.
No matter how arrogant you are, you should notice something is wrong.
Bo Ziyu suddenly woke up from the drunkenness and finally remembered what he was here for. A layer of white sweat appeared on the back of his neck unknowingly.
"These people..." His throat felt a little stiff, "What's wrong?"
"They're dreaming."
"dream?"
Bo Ziyu became even more confused.
The Taoist priest nodded:
"Half asleep."
