Regarding the difficult situation at hand, Li Changan had a vague idea in his mind, but in order for this idea to become a practical plan, he needed to go deep into the demon jungle and understand the situation in detail.
Therefore, his next step is to enter Xiaoshui Fantasyland again - this volcano that may erupt at any time.
…………
Fantasy.
Yujia Di Store.
Sometimes it is sparse and sometimes dense when it is windy and rainy.
In the center of the yard, the branches and leaves of the locust tree are much sparser.
The surrounding vines were in full bloom, and their flowers were as richly colored as overripe fruits that had fallen to the ground. They were so purple that they seemed to be dripping with pus, as if they were about to melt, as if they were about to rot. When washed away by the rain, the whole yard was filled with disgusting flowers. Strong aroma.
"sneeze."
The shopkeeper rubbed his nose, arranged the moved stools one by one in the corridor, and pulled out a rag - it had been rainy and damp recently, and the seats and benches were always covered in mold spots - he did it meticulously, even the wooden seams on the back. All dirt inside must be cleaned.
But it didn’t last long.
"Woo~"
A strange horn sound suddenly sounded from all over the city.
The sound of the horn was both thin and scratchy, sweeping across the sky and pulling the slanting raindrops intermittently.
The store owner froze suddenly at the sound of the horn.
Quite a while.
Just woke up with a jolt.
It seemed like he had been given some instructions.
He quickly ran to the door and picked up the door stick next to the door.
It's not dark yet, but the business is about to close.
But the door didn't have time to close.
A pair of calfskin boots crossed the threshold first, and then a tall figure squeezed into the yard covered in moisture.
The visitor put down a large bamboo box, took off his raincoat and bamboo hat, turned his back to the store, revealing a pair of big bright earrings, and took a selfie while patting the mud on his body.
The shop owner saw that he had grown in stature and did not dare to stop him: "This customer, I'm really sorry, the shop is closed."
"Do you want to open a store and push your business to other places?"
The voice of the person who came was clearer and clearer. He thought he was young, but when he turned his face, he revealed a big beard.
Brown and curly.
If you look closely, you can see that the eyes are high and the nose is deep.
At this time of year, what else can outsiders come to Xiaoshui for?
Let's buy wine.
This person is probably a Hu businessman.
The store owner's waist suddenly became much straighter.
"There's nothing we can do. This is the government's rule. The curfew has been strict recently. No one is allowed to go in or out at night, and all hotels and shops have to close early. Besides, the inn is already full, and guests want to stay, but there are no rooms."
After saying that, the store owner bowed and pushed the door open.
"I think the guests should go elsewhere quickly before it's too late..."
Before he finished speaking, a bright silver naked body was thrust in front of his eyes.
The storekeeper calmly closed the door, his waist slumped.
It's like changing faces.
"It turns out we are a distinguished guest! Please come inside."
Hu Shang smiled and said: "There is another room."
"A distinguished guest like you must have a guest room at all times."
The shopkeeper laughed along with him and reached out to help Mr. Hu carry his luggage, but Mr. Hu held the bamboo box in his own hand. The shopkeeper was very discerning and did not miss the embarrassment at all. He turned around and grabbed the bamboo box on the side. In bamboo hats and coir raincoats, without changing their expressions, they led Hu Shang to the corridor.
The corridor was filled with low tables and stools, making it difficult to get down. The merchant Hu couldn't help but wonder:
"What kind of battle is this?"
The shopkeeper led the way: "Since the guests have come to Xiaoshui City, they must know that the Dionysus Festival will be held in a few days. There are many friends from all over the world, and my small shop also benefits from it. It is full of wealthy people who come to buy wine. But these days The government has a strict curfew and no one is allowed to come in or out at night. I was afraid that the guests would be bored at night, so I made an appointment with some girls to sing songs on the porch to relieve their boredom."
"Jin Ling'er, who is on stage today, is a well-known speaker and singer. What a lucky guest."
Hu Shang didn't care about Jin Ling'er, who the store said was sweet and sweet, but he was more interested in the curfew.
"Curfew? In these peaceful times? Why? Murderers? Bandits? Or..."
Hu Shang paused and swallowed a word slowly.
"monster."
The store owner suddenly stood firm.
His eyes suddenly became empty, and his neck seemed to be swinging unconsciously.
The air seemed to become heavy, neither of them spoke a word, and the surroundings were strangely quiet. Except for the "whispering" wind and rain, there was no other sound in this restaurant full of guests.
for a long time.
Until Hu Shang silently explored the bamboo box.
The store owner suddenly came back to life.
"We are just a small business person, how do we know about the Yamen? You'd better come to the backyard with me to check in first."
"backyard?"
Unexpectedly, it was Hu Shang's turn to stand still.
He grimaced, his eyebrows and beard wrinkled down.
"I heard that there is a stable for donkeys and horses in the backyard of this shop. What's wrong? The distinguished guests have to sleep next to the animals?"
For the sake of money, the store owner quickly explained:
"The guest was joking. We are separated by several walls, so how can we say we are next to each other? Besides, even if we are next to each other, they are sleeping next to me. Today I live in the donkey stable."
"What do you mean?"
"It's not full. I vacated the room you're staying in."
"No, this is so unfair."
"No grievances. Most of the guests who come to our Xiaoshui are by boat, but few are riding donkeys. My donkey stable has been empty for half a month, but it is clean."
The store owner tried his best to persuade him, but Hu Shang still refused.
"It's better to waive it. How can any hotel drive the host to sleep in a straw hut?"
Hu Shang looked around, and finally landed on a tightly locked guest room.
"I'll stay in this room."
The shopkeeper was surprised and looked embarrassed. "This room..."
"Is there anyone living there?"
Hu Shang stuffed him with another silver nugget.
"I'm sure he would be happy to give me the room."
The shopkeeper hesitantly took the silver, turned it over and over in his hand a few times, and finally pushed it back.
There was a smile on her face, but it was uglier than crying.
"To be honest with the guests, no one is actually living in that room, it's just a little..." He hesitated for a while, "It's not clean."
"Not clean?"
Seeing that the other party didn't understand, the shopkeeper stamped his feet and came closer, his voice low and urgent.
"There's a ghost!"
Hu Shang was stunned for a moment, but then he burst into laughter:
"That's not good."
"There's a lot of movement, noisy voices, and a strong smell of sweat. I just like sleeping in a room with ghosts."
…………
The breeze carrying raindrops drives away the dullness in the room.
The shopkeeper swept the room and turned around to see Hu Shang still looking at the wall.
On the wall, black spots as big as copper coins or as small as grains of rice were covered with stains, and they were densely packed. At a glance, they looked like countless black eyeballs, like wormholes filling the wall. People shudder.
"There has been a lot of rain recently, the weather is humid, and there are a lot of mold spots everywhere. This house has not been occupied for a long time, so it is inevitable that there will be more mold spots."
"If the guest is really not used to it, why not change the room?"
The shopkeeper still tried tirelessly to let him live in the donkey shed, but seeing that Hu Shang had no intention of paying attention, he had no choice but to leave.
Then he closed the door.
The Hu Shang suddenly stretched out his hand and wiped it on the wall.
Of course, my hands were stained with black mold.
He gave it another gentle twist.
The mildew suddenly faded, and wisps of black air floated back to the wall, forming a few spots of mildew.
"I didn't expect the resentment to be so deep."
There was a sigh in the room.
The strange thing is that Hu Shang kept his mouth shut and never spoke, and there was no second person in the room.
If others were listening, they would probably immediately think of what the store owner was saying - there is a ghost in the house!
But Hu Shang didn't show any panic at all, and instead responded:
"Looking along the way, there are such phenomena of being eroded by resentment everywhere. Not only on objects, but also on people. It's just that they were confused by the illusion and the monsters turned a blind eye."
The voice in the void sighed again.
"Three feet of ice does not freeze in one day."
Hu Shang nodded: "Such a large-scale erosion of resentment is probably due to the accumulated resentment in the subconscious of the monsters over the past few decades. It was just covered up by illusions in the past. Even without my wind, fire and thunder, this resentment is still there. Sooner or later, the illusion will be destroyed, and if there is another monster born out of resentment, it will be a lot of fun."
These words were indeed frivolous, but the voice in the void was obviously not serious either, and actually laughed:
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, as long as all the sorrow and resentment can be eliminated with wine, I have nothing but thousands of good wines! I can pour out the rivers and seas to eliminate the sorrow and resentment in the city."
At this point in the conversation, everyone should have heard it.
The voice in the void is none other than Dionysus.
certainly.
It was not that he personally sneaked into the illusion. His spiritual power was weak and his range of movement was only a few steps around the statue. This was just a means of transmitting sounds. According to him, the illusion was built with his own eyes. How much could it give Li Changan? A little detail.
And Hu Shang is of course Li Changan.
After the thunder and fire, the timeline in the fantasy world has been reset in a cycle.
Most of the characters in it, such as the owner of the Di shop, Amei, Feng Chong, and even Yu Mei, have forgotten his existence.
But Yu Mei and Bai Huandie must have remembered him in their hearts. If accidentally discovered by the two parties, they would be surprised at the tenacity of the Taoist priest's vitality, and at the same time call in rampant soldiers or monsters to kill him completely. .
For the sake of his own destiny, the Taoist priest must act secretly and change his appearance this time.
Coincidentally, when Yu Zhenren created the illusion, he was very casual and filled it with many strange characters and objects, such as Jiangyang robbers who are good at disguise.
That's why Li Changan was able to run around the city like this, but looking along the way, the situation was surprising.
It's not that the condition of the fantasy world is too bad, but that it's too good.
According to the original estimate, it is not surprising that the illusion has become a hell where monsters are devouring each other, but the reality is: except for a little "mildew", the illusion is still running in an orderly manner, and the monsters still contribute their energy to the illusion. On one side, "selflessness" plays its own role.
"No matter who controls the illusion right now, its control over the illusion must be much stronger than we expected." Li Changan smiled, "That's good, at least you don't have to worry about the illusion suddenly disintegrating and tens of thousands of monsters running around eating people. "
The words trailed off.
"Bang."
It was a pottery pot on the cabinet that suddenly fell and broke into pieces.
Another candlestick on the table was lifted up by an invisible hand and smashed over.
Li Changan turned aside to avoid it, and there was a cold wind swirling in the room again, and the sound of the wind was filled with vague and malicious murmurs.
The Taoist priest ignored these strange statues and chatted casually with the God of Wine. He walked to the bed, leaned over and pulled out a large box from under the bed.
Open it up.
Patriarch plaques, thunder god statues, moon lamps, yellow paper, cinnabar and other scattered objects are all inside.
That's right.
This room was the one Li Changan stayed in last time. He came here mainly to see if he could retrieve the things he left behind.
The result is gratifying, and there are a lot of things.
Li Changan breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and said: "You're still a good boy."
"After all, it is the picture on the plaque of the God of Heaven who has been consecrated. The Vine Demon and Huan Die are very thoughtful and have some knowledge. How can they dare to deal with it casually at this moment? Play some tricks and hide in a haunted house to avoid being bumped into by other monsters. It’s a smart emergency solution.”
The Dionysus responded and changed the subject.
"Although the situation seems to be calm, in fact it is still full of crises. We still need to be cautious."
Li Changan knew that he was talking about what he had just said to irritate the store owner and almost make him become a monster. After all, one or two monsters are not a threat, but if they attract the attention of Yu Mei or Huan Die, the situation will be dangerous.
The Taoist priest nodded:
"I think about myself."
He packed his things into the bamboo box. The store was still a little more conspicuous, so he had to find another private place, or invite another Feng Huolei.
But after packing up, he was about to climb out of the window and run away.
But he was surprised to see that at some point, there was already a heavy rain outside the window, as if a wall of water had sealed the window. However, despite such heavy rain, the sound of drizzle was still heard in his ears.
What you see with your eyes and what you hear with your ears are completely different.
The Taoist priest's heart skipped a beat.
Can't be so unlucky? !
Just as he said bad luck, the store owner's voice came from outside the door.
"The dinner has begun, and the seats have been prepared for you."
"careful!"
Dionysian reminder.
"know."
Li Changan pushed the door open and walked out.
All of a sudden.
A strong demonic aura rushed into his nose.
really.
Judging from the previous test results of the store, although the illusion is still operating in an orderly manner on the surface, in fact the monsters are on the verge of awakening at any time. As long as there is enough stimulation, it doesn't matter whether they are honest workers, shrewd traders, or domineering scoundrels. Even the shy girl will tear off the outer skin and transform into the hungry monster!
The Taoist priest looked around. Outside the courtyard, the sky and the water met. The heavy rain blocked the store like a wall. However, in the courtyard, there was still a gentle wind and a light drizzle.
Such abnormality is exactly the sign of the demon awakening to cause trouble.
The situation was unclear and the Taoist priest could not act randomly. He followed the store's instructions and sat down at his seat.
Looking at it with cold eyes, the originally dead restaurant and the deserted corridor were filled with residents who appeared one after another like mushrooms after the rain.
It was so lively with people drinking and drinking.
And on the porch facing the door, a beautiful woman with plain makeup sang tactfully.
"Our love is as thick as honey, and I would like to serve my heart and liver."
