In a dream.
Xiaoshui City's transition from late night to day seems to take only an instant.
From the first light of day, to the rising voices of people, to the vendors setting up their shops, and finally to the crowd flooding the streets and alleys, from the beginning to the end, it was as if the fast forward button was pressed before my eyes. In the blink of an eye, a costume drama was unfolding in the market. The set is complete.
"Come here quickly! I'll treat you to some noodles."
At the other end of the crowd, the heroine stood on tiptoes and waved to Li Changan, her face facing the morning light, her eyebrows flying with a smile.
"There are more than a dozen breakfast shops in the city, and Aunt Shu's mutton soup noodles have the most ingredients. One bite is very warm."
The Shujia Noodle Soup mentioned by the heroine is a small shop opened on the street. Simply set up a boiler, set up a shed, put in a few sets of tables and benches, and start doing business among the neighbors.
When she arrived at the place, she didn't need to be greeted by the store. The heroine found a free seat and sat down.
He slapped the accompanying sword and a few copper coins on the table.
I want to serve two bowls of the signature mutton noodle soup, add more chopped green onion and more mutton, preferably no noodles.
"Okay, I'll be fine soon."
The proprietress who was busy at the stove immediately responded and turned her face, only to see Li Changan stunned.
It's not that the landlady is so charming, but that she has a round face and round eyes. If you take a closer look, she's the cat mother who wanted to eat people last night!
Why did he take off the cat hair on his face, put away the claws on his hands, and start doing business in the world?
What is the situation of this dream? A demon at night and a human during the day?
"What are you doing standing there? Sit down."
The girl patted the table and kept urging, but Li Changan had to hesitate. What if someone "meows" and jumps out to give him a paw as soon as he sits down?
This dream is weird, so it's better to be careful.
"Don't worry, Brother Dao, just take a seat."
Huh?
Li Changan turned around suddenly.
In the bustling crowd behind him, the round-faced Taoist nodded at him and smiled bitterly.
It was Feng Chong who had disappeared for a long time.
…
Li Changan was full of doubts.
for example.
Where did this dream come from?
Why did Feng Chong suddenly disappear last night?
Why did it suddenly appear at this moment?
And Feng Chong is clearly sitting here, so why does everyone, including the girl, who is suspected to be the owner of the dream, turn a blind eye to him, as if they are unaware of his existence?
Just before the Taoist priest couldn't help but speak, a bowl of hot noodle soup interrupted the inquiry.
What came out of the dish was a little kid. Although he was young, he was not very cute. He was small in stature and had even smaller eyes, like two soybeans.
The Taoist priest turned his eyes and landed on the empty sleeve on his left shoulder.
The little kid smiled shyly, showing a pair of big front teeth, and then turned around. Just like a little mouse, he slipped through the gap between the tables, stools and the crowd, and returned to the small area of the stove.
Seeing him come back, his mother, who was busy on the stove, called him softly and handed him a small bowl of noodle soup. He took it carefully, blew on it, and took another sip, not forgetting to raise his face and let it go. Mother wiped the sweat from his face with her sleeves.
The morning glow filtered through the diffuse water vapor and evenly spread over the bodies of the mother and son, creating a picture of a loving mother and a filial son that others envied.
Unfortunately, the "cat playing with mouse" last night is still fresh in my mind.
The Taoist priest did not feel warm, but only felt absurd and cold.
"What on earth is going on in this dream?!"
…………
"Ashamed."
"I was careless and fell into the hands of a demon!"
The bitterness on Feng Chong's face has not gone away since he showed his face.
"After Dao Brother rescued the thirty-seven members of the Jin family, I thought that the demon was already a turtle in the urn, with no way to escape. But I didn't expect that there would be an unexpected thirty-eighth dream, and I didn't expect that the nightmare was so cruel. I actually integrated myself into this dream! Inadvertently, I lost control of the dream, and both you and I were trapped in this dream."
"Fortunately, each time Brother Taoist dispelled a dream, it would be damaged a little bit. After thirty-seven dreams, it was also seriously injured. Even if it is integrated into this dream, I can still compete with it with the help of the altar."
Li Changan nodded slightly.
"So when hundreds of ghosts travel at night, it's because of nightmares; and when the sky is clear and it's daytime, it's because fellow Taoists have the upper hand."
"right."
Feng Chong nodded.
"The alternation of day and night in my dream is exactly the result of my struggle with the demon."
"But Brother Dao, there is no need to worry too much. Although the nightmare is integrated into the dream, making it more dangerous, maintaining the dream will also consume it. In addition, it is seriously injured, so it will not last long."
"Even if it can trap us both for a while, it will die on its own. Along with this dream, both body and soul will be destroyed. During this period, we only need to carefully protect ourselves and the master of the dream, so as not to be robbed of our energy by the nightmare. "
As they said that, both of them turned their eyes to the girl. The host of the dream was finishing the last mouthful of noodle soup. When they saw Li Changan's gaze, their eyes widened.
"What's wrong? I have no appetite."
She couldn't see Feng Chong, nor could she hear the conversation between the two. She could only see the Taoist priest staring at the bowl of mutton soup noodles in a daze, without touching a bite.
Li Changan calmly pushed his bowl over.
Shaked his head.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple."
"Brother Dao means..."
Feng Chong's expression suddenly changed and he stood up.
"Someone touched the altar!"
…………
Outside the dream.
A strong wind poured into the hall.
The sound of the wind was as shrill as people's screams.
Panic, despair, and a little bit of doubt.
Because the monster head that broke into the room, although it was ferocious and huge, was just a head.
It rolled from the gate to the middle hall, blood sprayed from its broken neck, and a river of blood flowed out.
dead?
Bo Ziyu licked his dry lips, stepped forward bravely, pulled out the knife, and tried to turn the head over to see what was going on.
"I advise you to stay away from it."
What?
Bo Ziyu retreated subconsciously.
On the seemingly dead monster's head, the shaggy beard and hair suddenly spread out, like countless tiny hands and feet, holding up the head and jumping around.
The strong smell of blood filled his nose.
Bo Ziyu's suddenly widened pupils reflected the monster's ferocious face and its suddenly opened mouth.
Clang!
Sparks flew everywhere, and the iron sword was bitten into pieces.
Bo Ziyu could even feel the roughness of the monster's mouth on his fingertips.
He hurriedly abandoned the knife and retreated, but the monster did not continue to bite. He could only see the last evil in its eyes gradually disappearing.
Bo Ziyu panted rapidly, and in just a short moment, cold sweat soaked through his clothes.
If not for that reminder, if not for taking that step back. What the monster bit off was probably not the knife, but his own arm, or even half of his body.
But...who is it?
He raised his eyes and looked towards where the sound came from.
door.
The wind pulled at the door and flapped against the wall.
Thick fog seems to be taking advantage of the situation.
But on the door beam, a talisman burned slowly, emitting a hazy yellow light, firmly blocking out the fog.
A tall and slender figure quietly emerged from the mist.
The bright red dress was mostly torn, the plain white top was stained with blood, and the mask on his face was even torn, revealing the edge of his eyebrows. Only the sword in his hand was as sharp as ever.
Bo Ziyu couldn't believe it.
"Demon...hey!"
But an object came through the air, hit him in the head, and bounced into his arms.
Immediately afterwards, I heard:
"The Zhenfu Division is handling the case."
"Don't be impatient and guard the door. Reinforcements will arrive shortly."
Hearing this, Bo Ziyu couldn't bear to cry out in pain and anger. He quickly picked up the object in his arms and took a look. It was a token with "Zhen Fu Si" engraved on the front and "Yu Mei" engraved on the back. Character.
At this moment, Bo Ziyu's expression was as exciting as it could be. Thousands of thoughts were stuck in his throat, and he squeezed out one.
"you……"
Yu Mei strode forward and said coldly.
"Why are you dawdling? Why don't you block the door?"
He walked past the confused policeman and walked quickly towards the Dharma altar.
until.
A long knife blocked the way.
Who doesn't know the famous or terrible name of Zhenfu Division?
When the people in the house heard that the people of the Zhenfu Division would arrive shortly, they were like a drowning man grabbing the last straw. They were so desperate before, but now they are so ecstatic.
But Zhang Yi, the ranger, was different. He was still thinking about the hundred-tael reward on Yu Mei's head, and he clearly remembered how the ghost-faced woman knocked him down twice on the night of the Dionysus Festival.
At this moment, although he was silent, the knife in his hand clearly told the other party.
I don't believe you.
But Yu Mei had no intention of winning anyone's trust.
"Just a few talismans cannot stop the demons outside the house."
She sheathed her sword, looked at the blade, and met the ranger's eyes.
"Either let me control the altar and awaken the Taoist priests; or let me wait for the demon to break in and devour you and me."
Zhang Yi took a deep look at Yu Mei.
After all, he got out of the way.
