I thought in my mind.
"I started closing the stall at six in the morning and getting ready to go home... If it corresponds to the curfew habits of most ancient dynasties, it is probably equivalent to six in the evening? In other words, the work and rest time of this village is exactly the opposite of the outside world, right? Day and night The Upside Down, as a ghost village, is normal.”
Soon, it turned out that my guess was correct.
At eight o'clock in the morning, the whole village turned from lively to cold.
Many villagers have gone home, vendors have closed their stalls, and shops have closed...
There began to be police-looking people wearing black shorts and carrying knives at their waists, patrolling back and forth in the village. Drive away some villagers who have not returned home.
It seems that the curfew system of this "ghost village" is quite strict, and no one is allowed to appear on the street after dark.
Looking at the patrol coming in our direction, I frowned slightly and was thinking about how to deal with it.
Fortunately, there was another person who looked like an "outsider" in front of him, and he was also blocked by the patrol.
A strong man in the lead, with his hair and beard spread out, stared at him with eyes as big as copper bells and yelled.
"Foreigners, our village is not allowed to go out on the streets at night. Either leave, or find an inn to stay!"
"Okay, okay, I'll go right away."
The outsider nodded and bowed, not daring to compete with the patrol at all, and quickly entered a nearby inn with a "rest and stay" sign on it.
Li Miao and I looked at each other and followed the man's lead into the inn.
The strong men in black clothes from the patrol almost passed us by. The leader seemed to turn his head and glance at me, but didn't say anything. Gradually walked forward.
I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. I'm not worried about conflicts with these patrols. After all, I think it's not difficult to kill them all by myself if we really want to fight.
But the point is, we are not here to fight, we are here to find people!
Of course, you should try to be as low-key as possible.
Before finding Lao Cao, it is best not to have any conflicts with the "people" in this village.
Li Miao and I stepped into the inn, and immediately a cold and biting breath rushed towards us, just like the feeling that ordinary people feel when walking alone in the mountains and forests late at night and encountering mass graves.
But the "foreigner" walking in front sighed.
"This inn is so comfortable! As soon as I walked in, I felt warm all over. It's getting dark now, and it feels a bit chilly outside. Shopkeeper, how much does it cost to stay overnight?"
I was speechless for a while.
really!
This "foreigner" is not normal either.
A chubby middle-aged man wearing a scarf and silk clothes came out from behind the counter after hearing this. He said with a smile.
"Guard, you have really good eyesight! My hotel is the best inn in the whole village. And the price is not expensive. Would you like to stay, sir?"
"Live, of course you have to live! How do you pay for it?"
"Of course it's the old rule! One bowl."
"Okay, come on."
The stranger laughed heartily, rolled up his sleeves, and exposed his wrists.
The shopkeeper took out a black knife and a small black bowl from behind the counter - smaller than usual, about the same size as a white wine glass.
Seeing this scene, I felt even more suspicious and alert.
"What does it mean to roll up your sleeves without giving money? What are the so-called old rules? Fortunately, we followed him in. Otherwise, Brother Li and I wouldn't have figured out how to stay in a hotel in this village. .”
Indeed, when I was shopping outside just now, I saw that the villagers and vendors were selling money.
I also carry some precious metals such as gold and silver with me, all of which were left to me by Master. There are two big boxes.
The shopkeeper picked up the black dagger, lightly cut the "outsider"'s wrist, and then immediately put the small bowl underneath.
Blood immediately flowed down and filled the bowl.
"Okay, sir! That's enough."
The shopkeeper put away the bowl of blood with satisfaction, waved to a waiter, and took the man upstairs to stay.
Seeing this scene, I felt a chill in my heart.
It’s not that the scene of “cutting one’s wrists and letting out blood” is so terrifying. For me, who has experienced countless strange things and life-and-death battles since childhood, it is just childish.
It's because whether it's the innkeeper or the "foreigner", they all think it's normal to pay for the hotel with blood!
And they were talking and laughing while they were bleeding, and seemed very comfortable.
It's obviously a weird thing, but it seems normal.
It's obviously a painful thing, but it seems very comfortable.
This distorted contrast is what makes people feel creepy!
Li Miao whispered.
"Brother Wu, do we also need to bleed?"
Madoka's voice immediately sounded in both of our minds.
"This ghost place is too evil. You can't bleed casually. Especially Heizi...this black dog's blood is meant to get rid of evil spirits. It is also a black dog demon. Once you bleed, don't let the whole store explode."
Uh, that seems to make sense!
But no matter how much blood is shed, it’s not Heizi’s turn to shed blood, right?
But Madoka's words also reminded me, so when the shopkeeper walked up to me with a smile on his face and asked me if I wanted to stay in the hotel from time to time. I said carefully choosing my words.
"I want to stay in a hotel, but it's not convenient to pay according to the old rules recently. Shopkeeper, do you charge anything else?"
The shopkeeper was still smiling.
"If it is not convenient to use blood, then fingers, tongue, eyes, etc. can also be used. You see, the guest officer just paid with his eyes."
He pointed to the other side, where a man with a bloody left eye socket was eating meat and drinking wine. He seemed to feel no pain at all, and there were still traces of blood slowly flowing down in his eye sockets like earthworms.
My scalp suddenly felt numb.
Li Miao next to her rolled up her sleeves.
"Then let's stick to the old rules. I'll do it."
Li Miao knows that what I am practicing now is the Taoist method, and the blood is likely to contain the breath of the true energy of the righteous way. He is a corpse collector, he has dealt with corpses a lot, and he is a bit "yin", so it is not a big problem.
I said gratefully.
"Thank you, Brother Li! We only need one room."
"Okay! That's a bowl of blood."
The shopkeeper took out the gangster and a small bowl like a white wine glass, bled Li Miao, and then found a waiter to take us upstairs.
Except for the weird and horrifying way to pay for the hotel, the rest of the place is no different from the ancient inn in the TV series.
"Sir, this is your room. If you need anything, you can call me. I won't disturb you."
After the waiter finished speaking, he turned around and left.
After we entered the house, we closed the door and sat down to rest.
Madoka cursed.
"What the hell is this place? I'm scared! Mr. Cao is so courageous. With his little strength, it's a narrow escape to get into a place like this."
I said solemnly.
"Old Cao must have his own reasons for doing this. As long as we find him, everything will be revealed. The best clue so far is the Longhushan disciple Zhang Hui who was nailed to the altar in the center of the village."
Li Miao said: "From him, we should be able to know something about the situation in this village. So, Brother Wu, shall we sneak out to find him later?"
