While talking, the old lady at the noodle stall wiped the table with a water handkerchief and distributed the cold noodles all over the table.
"Auntie, isn't it time for the Bainuo Dragon King Festival yet? There are so many of us, and we still hope to come early and occupy a stall."
Yue Guanchao took a sip of the cold noodles. The chewy, sour and crispy fried pickles filled his mouth. Although it was not as good as restaurant dishes, it was still delicious.
"Hey, eldest nephew, you are late. In previous years, just come to the stall half a month in advance. This is the first year for the public feast. This is a major event near Dongting Lake. Even the people of Yueyang City have to prepare in advance. , I got my stall a month in advance, and you don’t even know about the ones that were occupied earlier.”
Seeing that the old aunt was willing to say a few more words, Yue Guanchao asked again: "Is the people's food so important? Didn't the common people come here in the past?"
The old aunt lowered her voice and said: "Oh, that's different. In the past, people burned paper and built treasure boats outside the Dragon King Temple. If you don't pay attention to the incense when you enter the temple, it doesn't count as a meritorious deed, and it won't have any effect. Starting from this year, the Dragon King Temple can accept people’s food, and they can also burn incense in the temple. This is called asking for the Dragon King’s blessing.”
"I heard that this year's battle is bigger than in previous years. By then, both the Buddhist and Taoist families will have to send people to perform rituals. In addition, ordinary people can also come to burn incense sticks. Even the incense shops that usually make incense sticks are here. I’m just waiting for the east wind from Lord Dragon to make a lot of money to live on.”
Yue Guanchao listened to the old aunt talking for so long, and finally understood that this year's Bainuo Dragon King Festival was so lively. People near Dongting Lake came to offer incense, and even some long-lived old people came here to pray for blessings. These people usually live so long. When they are old, they must be respected members of the country gentry and virtuous families. They are usually pampered and surrounded by people, and there are many people waiting on them.
Whether they are ordinary people or country squires, almost all their food, drink, food, clothing, housing, transportation, and entertainment during their visit to Longwang Temple must be settled near Junshan. This is a big business, and as long as it is a stall, you can make a lot of money. , if coupled with the siphon effect of the Dragon King Festival, more outsiders will continue to gather, which will bring no harm at all. Of course, department store vendors will not be able to afford it early.
In one word, money is all about money, worshiping God is sincere, and making money is also true.
"Oh, according to what you said, this Dragon King Festival is so important, but how did I hear that some people died nearby?"
As soon as Yue Guanchao said these words, the old lady looked shocked, and she quickly lowered her voice and continued: "Elder nephew, this is what I am willing to tell you. It is indeed the case. However, in order to prevent the people from being afraid, Junshan Town decided to The news is locked up and we are not asked to spread it outside."
It's a lie not to make the people afraid, but it's true because it's afraid of delaying Junshan Town's voice... Yue Guanchao pretended to be surprised, and lowered his voice and echoed: "Really, I thought it was just another gossip."
"It's no wonder that Junshan Town blocked the news. The deaths of these villagers were so strange."
The old aunt looked around for a moment with flashing eyes, then continued: "The corpse looks like a big golden-haired mouse."
"How is this possible? We only heard that he drowned in the water, but we didn't say he looked like a big mouse. Besides, it's impossible for this person to turn into a golden-haired mouse after death."
Yue Guanchao deliberately misinterpreted the meaning of her words, which made the old lady throw her hands away again: "You don't know, another person died a few days ago. After a day of death, there was no time to put the coffin in. He was really like a rat. The golden retriever has long fangs in its mouth. I heard that he died unjustly, so he was not allowed to be buried. He was all sealed with black dog blood and parked in the charity village."
"Then why did it happen suddenly? Didn't it mean that the Dragon King was blessing me?"
After Song Siyuan intervened, the old lady sneered and said: "The blessings of the Dragon King are true, but they can't withstand the difficulties of the shrimp soldiers and crab generals. Back then, the Dragon King and the Dragon Queen were carried out of the water by the Corpse King. Do you know this corpse?" What does the king look like? He has golden hair and set teeth, which makes people tremble."
"This is the seventh or eighth time. I heard from the villagers in Junshan Town that many people have died in the past few months. Some village sages are already considering whether to build a temple for the Dragon King instead of the Golden Rat Corpse King. The temple was unhappy with it, so it was fortunate that the Corpse King carried the jade coffin up, without any credit but with hard work, so he simply built a Rat Immortal Temple for the Corpse King, near Broken Island."
"Don't tell me, there haven't been any dead people since then."
It seems that the Mouse Immortal killed someone. They didn't expect that even the corpse had the characteristics of a rat. Song Siyuan immediately continued to ask: "Auntie, then, there is always an explanation for the Mouse Immortal's killing, right? There is an injustice and a debtor. , why did they harm those villagers? They couldn’t just harm people casually.”
"How do we know this? But one thing is certain. These villagers seem to be fishermen who go out to the lake to fish and hunt at night. They all approach Longjun Island at night and are found dead the next day. The rest of us small traders are not knew."
When asked about this, they became curious about the appearance of the corpse. At this moment, there was new movement in Sun Daqiao's stall. Several people pretended to lower their heads to eat noodles and began to pay attention to the movement on the bank of the front weir.
These people are obviously not here to tell fortunes. They are all dressed in martial arts trousers and jackets. The leader is wearing a long robe and a mandarin jacket. He is probably an old man in charge of things. This man first bowed to Sun Daqiao, and then Sun Daqiao returned the greeting with a smile and a kind attitude. Get talking.
Yue Guanchao looked at the people in the distance and guessed: "It seems that it is these people from Junshan Town. Judging from how polite they were to Sun Daqiao, they probably succeeded."
"That's true. None of us can compare to Sun Daqiao's talking skills. As long as we can make the old immortal's reputation known, the people in Junshan Town are worried about the Mouse Immortal's life. They will definitely ask him for help. When they leave, we will Just keep following up.”
Before Yue Qingshan finished speaking, he saw Sun Daqiao folding his cover and glancing in their direction, which was a signal to prepare to leave.
Seeing that it was done, Yue Guanchao threw down a few coins and took them forward, following Sun Daqiao's traces, bypassing the Longjun Temple and walking into Yizhuang, halfway up Junshan Mountain.
This place is far away from pedestrians, and few people come here. If they walk too fast, they will inevitably attract attention. They have to follow from a distance, and then take the path up the mountain, which will definitely be more difficult than Sun Daqiao and the others. By the time the group reaches the vicinity of Yizhuang , Sun Daqiao has entered Yizhuang.
"You wait here for them to come out. Brother Xu and I will go to Yizhuang to find out the news first."
After finishing speaking, Yue Guanchao and Xu Xiake walked all the way around the back of Yizhuang through the bushes, and jumped onto the beams of the house. Fortunately, the people led by the old steward had already entered the main hall of Yizhuang. There were few people in the yard, so they didn't need to hide from the patrol. The martial artist's inspection has already reached the roof.
Lift the tiles and take a breathless peek.
Yue Guanchao stared at the two people in the righteous village carefully. Sun Daqiao was led to the coffin by the old steward. As expected, he saw seven or eight unpainted white coffins placed in the main hall. It could be seen that the deceased died in a very hasty manner. They even painted the coffins with carvings. Hua didn't have time to prepare, so he had to hastily collect the body in an embryo coffin.
These white coffins were tightly covered. The lids were half-sealed with copper nails. Several straight red marks were drawn on the surface with cinnabar ink lines, as if a grid cage was drawn along the coffins. The front was also painted with black dog blood. A blood-suppressing talisman slightly larger than a water tank, with talisman seals affixed to all sides of the coffin, and pig bones tied around the coffin lid, which looked extremely evil.
Xu Xiake looked at the funeral procession of these coffins and explained: "Sealing the coffins with ink buckets, veneering with yellow talismans, and suppressing shock with pig bones are the methods of Jianghu Taoists. It is estimated that the people in Junshan Town have asked other Jianghu Taoists to show them, and then Give them this trick."
"It's just that this is a bluffing method after all, and it's basically useless."
As they spoke, several warriors began to pick up hammers and pull out all the nails on the coffin lid. There was a loud bang, and the coffin was completely opened by them. The body inside was also collected along the square tile opening by the two people on the roof. Eye.
The corpses were exactly what the cold noodle shop owner said. Most of the corpses were men. They were covered with a layer of furry hair and looked like a furry child. The fangs protruded from the mouth and the lips were dark in color. Some of them had straight teeth. Some of them have their fangs exposed, and with their furry beards and dark eyes, they really look like a big rat being put in a coffin.
"Oh, this is not good."
When Sun Daqiao saw the corpse, he pretended to be surprised and said.
"What's wrong, master, we have treated this corpse to ward off evil spirits according to the Taoist Taoist's instructions, but what's wrong with it?"
When the old steward saw Sun Daqiao's ugly face, he immediately became nervous and asked urgently.
"Old steward, when a corpse is placed in a coffin, it is important to die after death. These people died unknowingly and held their breath in the coffin. The longer it is sealed, the worse it becomes. After a hundred years, it will become an unjust old corpse. It is very scary. You guys If you want to avoid future troubles, you have to let me know how they died. To untie the bell, you have to tie the bell. Only if I know how they died can I know how to send them away."
Sun Daqiao's lie made the old steward look slightly embarrassed. The gossip tabloid report had already aroused curiosity from the outside world, so he wanted to block the news. Now that Sun Daqiao mentioned it again, he felt a little embarrassed.
"Ah? If you don't want to say it, then I won't force you to do anything. Just ask someone else."
"Hey, old god, it's not that we won't tell you, but the deaths of these people are so evil that it would be really dangerous to tell them."
The old steward's eyes signaled the warriors to block the door, and then he sneakily explained: "These corpses are all fishermen who stole fish at night."
"Poaching fishermen?"
"right!"
"For three years, fishing and hunting were not allowed for fifty miles around Longjun Island. Now three years have passed, and the fishing and hunting ban has been lifted. Some fresh goods companies have rented these waters. During the day, they are only allowed to fish. These villagers also want to make more money. With one stroke, he secretly drove a fishing boat into the Longjun Island area at night, which angered the Dragon King's envoy and took his life."
Some people died, but not completely...
