The place the old bookkeeper mentioned was an incense and candle shop, just at the end of the alley. At this moment, two white lanterns have been hung at the door, and the faint yellow light inside seeps out from the pale white, making the alley that is not yet completely dark appear mysterious and deep.
Under the lantern, a pair of paper figures of a boy and a girl sat. It had just rained, so the color of the paper figurine was as good as new. The painting on the face was exactly the same as that of the paper bride Song Yu had seen. She had a strange cherry-shaped mouth and a blood-red color. She smiled at the passers-by.
The door panel of the shop was placed behind the boy and girl, but the door of the shop was dark, and a curtain hung tightly to cover the inside.
Song Yuben had already walked to the front. He glanced at the paper man, then made a mistake in his steps and hid behind Nan Shi as if nothing had happened.
Xie Nanshi frowned slightly. When he first came to Qinghe Town, he didn't think there was anything strange about this place. So five years ago, he only stayed for one night and set off to the next town the next day. But now, Qinghe Town is still pure and white. Only this incense shop is lingering with the gloomy atmosphere that comes from the other world, which is hidden. There is probably a White Walker inside that has already put on human skin.
Seeing that the two of them were facing formidable enemies, Du Anchen let out a light tut and took the lead to step forward and open the door of the shop. With a squeaking sound, fine dust floated out from the incense candle shop, carrying a smell of rotten wood.
Du Anchen immediately took half a step away, and Xie Nanshi immediately covered his mouth and nose with his sleeves. On the contrary, Song Yu, who was hiding behind Xie Nanshi and looking around, was caught by the dust and couldn't help coughing. , muttered: "How long has it been since we cleaned..."
The incense and candle shop looked a bit dilapidated, with all kinds of paper money and paper figurines piled messily on the floor. Various incense candles, shrouds, and various tribute boxes were placed on the surrounding cabinets. Things were placed randomly and looked disorganized. The whole incense and candle shop gave people the feeling of having nowhere to go.
Song Yu stood at the door, holding on to the door frame and not wanting to move. He had never been to this store back then. In fact, after he completed the basic tasks step by step, the entire town was almost completely occupied by the White Walkers. The last task given by the system was to escape from the town.
At that time, Song Yu had the skills provided by the game and the ability to avoid pain. Although the crisis was a hundred times higher than now, there was no sense of fear, and there was not even a sense of reality. And now...he found that he was not only afraid of pain, but also afraid of ghosts. Don't ask, asking means your heart almost stopped.
Especially when you see the old man's face emerging from behind the counter.
The face clearly belonged to an old man who was over fifty years old, but there were no wrinkles on it, as if it had been forcibly flattened. It was so thin that it seemed like there was only a piece of skin left, and his eyes were only pure white. Coupled with this room full of paper figures, it suddenly feels less like a real person.
"What does the customer want to buy?" The boss's voice was thick and precise, with a frosted texture.
Song Yu hid behind Jie Nanshi and looked at his boss: "White Walker?"
Xie Nanshi did not answer, and he was not sure about the answer. Strange ghosts are not people from this world, and the energy they carry is different from ordinary people. Taoists mainly observe the energy to distinguish strange ghosts. But the White Walkers are not without the ability to cover up their own aura, and the darkness here is so entangled that Xie Nanshi didn't dare to judge whether the other party was or not for a while.
He clasped his hands behind his back and took out a talisman with two fingers hidden in his sleeves: "Practice Qi and transform it into Qing."
On the talisman, golden dark lines flowed across, and then the entire talisman paper lost its original bright luster. At the same time, a breeze swept through the incense and candle shop, and the original scent disappeared in a moment, as if it was just an ordinary incense and candle shop that was messy and neglected.
Song Yu also said "Hey". He had never seen Xie Nanshi's environmental dispersion skill before. What's more important is that he was originally a cultivator, but now he has suddenly changed into an ordinary person, and his experience of dispersion is much fresher. I felt a faint scent of incense emerge from Jie Nanshi's sleeve, and the incense candle shop suddenly became brighter and more refreshing. Even the face of the shop owner has lost its original weirdness. He seems to be just an ordinary old man with a shadow in his eyes, which makes people feel pity for him. The biting coldness I felt when I first stepped into the shop suddenly lightened up.
The old shopkeeper didn't seem to notice the change in the atmosphere in the store. He just used his blurred cataract eyes to try hard to find the blurry figure of the customer at the door: "Do you need to buy something?"
After Du Anchen kicked open the store door, he did not enter the store, but just leaned against the door with his arms crossed. Her eyes were flowing, but they didn't match the color of her bright face. She just paused briefly at Jie Nanshi in a slightly obscure way. At this time, Song Yu and Xie Nanshi were all focused on the old man and did not notice it.
Not to mention how satisfied he was with the thigh he was hugging, Song Yu stopped hiding now and walked towards the old shopkeeper: "Boss, please rest for now, I'll just take a look."
Can I just browse the incense and candle shop like other stores? The old shopkeeper's tense face immediately collapsed. He returned to the counter with his hands behind his back, his stooped figure blocked by the old counter. Song Yu was not embarrassed at all. Every time he saw a paper man, he would get closer and take a look. After watching for a while, he turned back to look at Xie Nanshi for help.
Xie Nanshi is a cultivator. Although his cultivation at this time is not as good as five years ago, his eyesight has not dropped much, and he was immediately caught by Song Yu's supposed puppeteyes. He didn't want to pay attention to it, but the strange connection between it and the White Walkers still made him speak: "It was painted by the same person."
After the expert spoke, Song Yu folded and pressed most of his body onto the counter. He poked his head inside while knocking: "Shopkeeper, did you draw all these paper figures yourself?"
The old shopkeeper probably thought that these people were here to cause trouble. After being tortured by Song Yu for a long time, he breathed weakly: "Yes."
"Who have they been sold to?"
"Whoever has something to do with his family will sell it to him. How many of you have something to do with your family?"
Du Anchen heard these words harshly. He didn't want to be like Song Yu and Xie Nanshi, whose family members were being treated eccentrically by such a villain but still looked kind and cheerful. He immediately said: "The Department of Safety is handling the case. If you have anything to say, please answer."
It is estimated that this small Qinghe Town has always been peaceful, and the Safety Department is not taken seriously by the local people. The shopkeeper was not stopped by these words, but just twisted his face without a trace of wrinkles. The word "Chuan" between the eyebrows: "Oh, women can't be allowed in the shop, it's unlucky."
Song Yu certainly does not advocate feudal superstition, but he does not advocate Du Anchen directly smashing stores in order to fight against feudal superstition. Seeing that her giant sword was about to move, she hurriedly took two steps to stand between the two of them: "How long has your shop been open? It must have been more than ten years. The people who come to your place to do things for free must be people from nearby, why? , don’t remember any of them?”
His voice suddenly became more serious. Although the Ping An Department could not suppress the old shopkeeper, the power gained from dealing with various big shots in "Meeting Gods" for five years still made him cooperate: "I remember. But there are not many people in the town, and there has been no business recently."
"What about the last time? Who bought the paper man last time? How much did you buy?" Song Yu felt like a mirror. They first looked for this shop because they suspected that the White Walkers were hiding here. But judging from Xie Nanshi's reaction, there is only the aura of the White Walkers left here. Therefore, it is very likely that the White Walkers who have taken over human skin bought paper figures here and made the paper bride outside Qinghe Town.
In order for the White Walkers to seize a human body, they need to make a human into a container first. Only if their luck matches and their spiritual will is far superior to that of the person being taken away can they succeed in taking the body. This is also the reason why many White Walkers dissipate directly before they can seize human skin. . Paper Man is a good storage space, but the paper is too thin and brittle, so it is not easy to successfully join, and there is no way to store it permanently. This precise control is enough to conquer human beings, so why make do with pieces of paper.
It seems that the people behind the scenes are quite thoughtful, and their skills are as meticulous as a tiger sniffing roses.
The old shopkeeper lingered, still reminiscing. Xie Nanshi has found a paper figurine that is almost the same as the paper bride he met outside the town: "Who has the boss sold to this kind of paper bride recently?"
The old shopkeeper glanced twice with his white-clouded eyes, and finally came to his senses and realized that the Safety Department was really here to handle the case. He stopped talking for fear of getting into trouble.
Song Yu took in the stupid philistine look on the old shopkeeper's face. He didn't want to miss the clue, so he simply used the money to clear the way. Using the cover of his pocket, he took out a couple of silver coins and put them on the counter. He then pointed at the paper bride in Nanshi's hand and said, "I want this paper figurine. But the one in our underground room Brother, you need to know if your wife has been sold to several businessmen like you. Who else have you sold to the same paper figures besides us?"
Xie Nanshi couldn't help but frowned again at Song Yu's messy words, and Du Anchen even turned around and left the shop. Only the old shopkeeper couldn't see people clearly, but he saw money very clearly.
He hadn't opened a business for a long time, and this one tael of silver was not only a help in times of need, it was enough to light up a raging fire for him, but he managed to put on a smile: "Anyone who has died in the family will buy some paper figurine brides. Let's see. ...Oh, that's it. Don't worry, sir, because I changed the paper, the drawings of this batch of paper brides are not smooth and they don't look pretty, so I only made ten of them in total, and each one is different..."
Song Yu interrupted him: "What about the other nine? Who were they sold to?"
The old shopkeeper was choked, but for the sake of money, he was not annoyed at all: "There is no difference, it was bought by someone about two or three months ago."
"who?"
"I don't recognize him. I'm afraid he's a stranger. He's wearing a big black cloak. He speaks in a strange tone that I've never heard before. He bought some paper brides and boys and girls. There's nothing unusual about that."
Song Yu and Jie Nanshi looked at each other and felt that the possibility that the man was a strange ghost increased sharply. The human skin worn by the White Walkers is not their own, and most of their appearance will not change. So Song Yu asked again: "Is that person a boy or a girl, fat or thin, tall or short, and does he have any facial features?"
The old shopkeeper didn't answer. He only looked at Song Yu with his cataract eyes and gave a silent reply.
Song Yu tentatively asked some more questions, and when he saw that the old shopkeeper really had no more information, he took the lead in leaving the incense and candle shop. Xie Nanshi was about to leave, but he remembered something and turned back to pick up the paper bride worth one tael of silver.
