Liaozhai: A scholar should draw a sword

Chapter 112 Yaksha
Searching all the way, I finally found clues by a river.

It was a herbal tea shed built on the side of the road.

According to the route of A Niu and Ersuo, this place is the only way to pass.

The two of them were thirsty when they came here, so it was reasonable to go in and drink a bowl of tea to quench their thirst and rest their feet.

Ying Ning looked at the owner of the tea stand from afar, and couldn't help but frowned and said, "It looks like that old man doesn't look like a ghost either."

"Go over and see the situation first."

"Oh."

The two walked into the tea stall together and sat down.

"Old man, here are two bowls of hot tea."

"okay."

The stall owner responded, and quickly scooped up two bowls of tea and put them on the table.

Zhou Yu took out a small handful of copper plates and handed them over: "Here!"

The stall owner's eyes lit up, but he said in his mouth: "Guest officer, I don't need so much, two Wen is enough."

"It's okay, you accept it all, I have something to ask you."

Having said that, the stall owner Yancai took the copper coin with a smile on his face: "If you have any questions, just ask the guest officer."

"Did two men come to your place around noon? They came from the direction of Liujiawan. One was wearing a gray homemade shirt, and the other..."

Before Zhou Yu could finish asking, the stall owner's expression changed, and he waved his hands hastily: "I've never been here..."

"Haven't you been here? Why do you look panicked, old man? Deny it before I finish asking?"

"Guest officer, I really don't know, the money will be refunded to you..."

Before the copper coins could be put away, the stall owner hastily put them back on the table, turned around and left without even confiscating the tea money.

"stop!"

Ying Ning also saw that something was wrong with the old man, and immediately slapped the table and shouted angrily.

"I said, two guest officers, are you bullying me as an old man?"

"Okay, since you don't admit it, there is no other way but to arrest you and go to the government for questioning."

Hearing the word "Government", the stall owner broke into a cold sweat with fright, and hurriedly said: "Why...why arrest me and go to the government? I...I didn't do anything bad..."

"Didn't do anything bad? You killed two people, how dare you say you didn't do anything wrong?"

As soon as these words came out, the stall owner was stunned, then turned around and ran away.

It's a pity that after running a few steps, Ying Ning grabbed him by the collar and carried him back like he was catching a chicken.

Zhou Yu said coldly: "I advise you to tell the truth, otherwise, when you go to the government, your body may not be able to withstand the severe punishment."

"My lord, please forgive me, the little old man was also forced."

"Who forced you?"

"It's...it's Master Kou from Kou's Village..."

"Master Kou?"

Zhou Yu was stunned.

He had seen this person before, and this person was a rich man in Koujiazhuang.In the past, when he was just canonized as Lord Marquis, this person visited with several squires in the city.

"Yes, this morning, Master Kou came to find the little old man and asked the little old man to do him a favor.

The little old man was very surprised and didn't know how he could help.

Later, Master Kou gave me some grass leaves and asked me to get the juice and find a suitable person to put it in the tea.

The little old man was taken aback, and asked again and again.

Master Kou finally told the truth, saying that his daughter was killed by the Shuimang ghost, and he had to find a substitute before he could be reincarnated.

Now, the little old man finally understood that Mr. Kou wanted to use the little old man's hand to harm others.

Such an outrageous thing, the little old man naturally refused, so Master Kou threatened the little old man..."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu couldn't help but sneered and said, "Just a threat? No lure?"

"This..." The muscles on the stall owner's face twitched, and he said embarrassingly, "Master Kou promised... a reward of 50 taels of silver..."

No wonder!
50 taels of silver is a huge fortune for a poor man.

"Yingning, let's go to Kou's Village."

After a cup of tea, Zhou Yu and Ying Ning came to Kou's Village together.

"Grandpa..."

A servant rushed into the Xikuan courtyard in a hurry.

"What's the habit of panicking?"

Koda scolded with dissatisfaction.

"Master, Jing... The Marquis of Jing'an is here..."

"What? How could Master Hou..."

Koda stood up abruptly, his eyes widened, with an expression of disbelief.

After being stunned for a moment, he quickly lifted the hem of his clothes and hurried to the front hall.

"The villain doesn't know that the Lord Marquis is coming, so he may be greeted from afar, and he may be greeted from afar..."

Before crossing the threshold, Kou Da subconsciously surrendered and sued.

"Hehe, this Marquis came here uninvited, so you didn't disturb Master Kou, did you?"

"Master Hou is an honored guest, it's really a small man's honor to come to my humble house..."

After being polite for a while, Zhou Yu got back to business and went straight to the point: "By the way, Benhou overheard that Master Kou's beloved daughter passed away unfortunately?"

As soon as this matter was mentioned, Kou Da's face changed in shock, and he said, "Yes... there is such a thing, but... it's just such a small matter, how could the Marquis personally... intervene in person?"

"Master Kou, everyone is a sensible person, so there is no need to pretend to be confused, right?
Ben Hou understands how you feel about losing your beloved daughter, but have you ever thought that what you did would cause the other two families to lose their loved ones just like you did? "

"This……"

Kou Da couldn't help wiping his sweat with his hands.

He knew that Zhou Yu must have figured out the situation, otherwise how would he know these things?

So, his denial is useless.

At this time, Ying Ning couldn't help saying: "Master Kou, two workers died on the construction site of our academy this afternoon.

My husband and I searched all the way, and finally found the tea stall owner, he confessed everything..."

"Ah?" Kou Da was taken aback, and then said with a sad face: "Master Hou, I really don't know about this, I just told the stall owner to find a suitable candidate, but... But I never know what a coincidence..."

"Master Kou, what you said is wrong. No matter who you choose, it is a disastrous thing."

"Yes, yes, Master Hou taught me this lesson. Actually...actually, the villain didn't want to do this either, but...but if there is no substitute, the little girl will not be able to reincarnate, and the villain will only...make such a bad plan when he is anxious for a while. "

"That's right, from your point of view, there is nothing wrong with it, but from another point of view, your behavior is murder."

"thump!"

Koda was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground and begged for mercy.

"Master Hou, the villain is wrong, the villain is wrong, please give the villain a chance..."

Ying Ning snorted, "If you're sensible, hurry up and find a dress that your daughter wore when she was alive.

In this case, those two people can still be saved, and you don't need to go to court. "

"This……"

It seems that Kou Da also knows the way to save people, so he is a little hesitant.

"What? Master Kou is not willing?" Zhou Yu asked.

"Daddy, give it to them..."

Suddenly, a woman's voice sounded in the room.

"Daughter, what do you do then?"

Koda's eyes were red and his voice was choked up.

"It's okay, my daughter has accepted her fate. Master Hou is right, we can't harm others just because we want to find a substitute. Even if we find a substitute in the end, I'm afraid it will bring karma."

"Hehe, it seems that Ms. Kou is still sensible."

Zhou Yu raised his head and smiled at the screen.

He knew that Miss Kou was hiding behind the screen right now.After all, she is a ghost now and dare not show her face easily.

"Yin and yang are different, please forgive me for not being able to salute my concubine."

Zhou Yu smiled: "It's okay, it's a good thing for you to have such an awareness. Also, don't worry, father and daughter, I believe that a solution can be found for this matter.

Go back and ask Ben Hou to see if there is another way to reincarnate Miss Kou. "

Hearing this, Kou Da was overjoyed, and thanked him again and again.

Miss Kou also thanked: "Thank you, Lord Hou, actually..."

Having said that, it seemed that there was something unspeakable and stopped talking.

"Actually what? Why are you half-talking?" Ying Ning said a little dissatisfied.

Miss Kou hesitated for a while, and finally said: "It's better for Master Hou to save people first, and I will tell you the inside story about Shuimangcao in detail when I turn around."

Hearing this, Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel moved. It seems that there is a story about this water mang grass?
"Okay, let's save people first..."

Now that Zhou Yu came forward, Kou Da naturally didn't dare to play tricks, and went to fetch a piece of clothing that his daughter had worn before she was alive, and handed it to Ying Ning.

After getting the clothes, the two immediately returned to the county seat and went to the county government office to save people.

It's really one thing down one thing, an ordinary piece of clothing, burned to ashes and boiled into a medicinal soup, and poured it down. After waiting for a long time, A Niu and Ersuo really woke up.

As soon as he woke up, he spit out a puddle of blue-black juice.

Now that the person was rescued, Duan Rui also breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the murder of two people was not a small case, and it saved him a lot of trouble.

The next day, Zhou Yu brought Ying Ning to Kou Da's house again.

After entering the front hall, Zhou Yu said to Kou Da: "Close the door and let Miss Kou show up."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

Kou Da responded, walked to the door and told the servant girl to wait outside the courtyard, and then closed the door.

After the door was closed, Miss Kou finally came out.

"Your Majesty, please accept my concubine's obeisance!"

As soon as she appeared, Miss Kou gave a big gift to Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu smiled and raised his hand: "Miss Kou, you don't need to be formal."

Ying Ning was a little impatient and couldn't wait to ask: "Miss Kou, what do you know about the water mangcao?"

Hearing this, Miss Kou subconsciously looked around.

Ying Ning said carelessly: "Don't worry, Mr. is here, you don't have to worry about any monsters daring to approach."

Miss Kou sighed: "It's a long story..."

No wonder she didn't tell it yesterday, the story is really a bit twisted and bizarre.

Miss Kou, nicknamed Xiuniang, got married at the age of 15.But it wasn't too far away, in Xilin Town, five or six miles away.

Her husband's surname is Gao, and they are in the medicinal material business. They can be regarded as a wealthy family, and they are in the same family as the Kou family.

After getting married, Xiuniang found that her husband treated her indifferently and rarely made out with her.

For this, Xiu Niang was secretly angry.In terms of appearance and family background, she is not bad in anything.

If you didn't like her, why did you marry her in the first place?
After a period of observation and inquiring secretly, Xiuniang finally knew the reason.

The husband didn't dislike her or have other women outside, but he was focused on learning the art of immortality.

For this reason, I even worshiped a master.

This person called himself Daxian and said that he had lived for more than 500 years.

At first, no one believed it, but later Yu Daxian showed his skills, not only catching ghosts, but also curing diseases.

There was an old man surnamed Fang in the town who had been paralyzed in bed for several years, but finally asked Yu Daxian to help him heal him, and he was able to get out of bed and walk within half a month.

Gao Daqian ran back and forth more than a dozen times in order to learn from his teacher, and Yu Daxian "reluctantly" accepted him 100 taels of silver, and accepted him as an apprentice to teach him the way of longevity.

As the so-called authorities are obsessed, bystanders are clear.

It's not that Xiuniang doesn't believe in immortals, but she absolutely doesn't believe that Yu Daxian really knows the art of longevity, and he is probably a magic stick.

So, I kindly reminded my husband to be careful and not to be deceived.

Unexpectedly, her kindness angered Gao Daqian, and he slapped Xiuniang several times on the spot, saying that she should never doubt Master's ability.

Xiu Niang is a stubborn woman, she did not give up.

However, instead of arguing with her husband face to face, she secretly observed her husband's every word and deed, and inquired about Yu Daxian's details.

One night, on a whim, Xiuniang quietly followed her husband out, hoping to see what he was learning from Yu Daxian.

Following along the way, Gao Daqian arrived at Yu Daxian's training place first, and then walked towards the river with Yu Daxian and another disciple, and that disciple was carrying a sack.

When they reached the river, the master and apprentice put down the sack, and then began to light incense, candles, and burn paper.

It took a while to untie the pocket...

"As soon as the pocket was untied, I almost didn't cry out. From the candlelight they lit, I can roughly tell how old it is...

They tied up the child and stuffed his mouth with a cloth.

At that time, I had a vague premonition in my heart.

As expected, Gao Daqian and another disciple ignored the child's struggle, stripped off the child's clothes, and took the child to the river to wash it.

Afterwards, Yu Daxian also recited some mantras.As soon as the incantation was finished, the river was churning..."

When she said this, Xiu Niang paused, as if she was trying to calm down her emotions.

"Is it possible that there are some monsters in the water?"

Ying Ning couldn't help asking.

"That's right!"

Xiu Niang let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

"A half-human, half-frog monster emerged from the water, and I later found out that it was the legendary Yasha..."

In folklore, yaksha is a special kind of existence. You can call it a ghost, but not all of them.

In short, that thing is quite evil, it can be regarded as a half-demon, half-ghost monster, with a ferocious and bloodthirsty nature.

"As soon as that yaksha appeared, it swallowed the child in one gulp..."

Xiu Niang continued to describe the situation with a look of lingering fear.

"If I hadn't been mentally prepared at the time, I'm afraid I couldn't help screaming.

Even so, his legs and feet were still weak from fright, and his head was in a cold sweat.

I didn't dare to watch any more, fearing that they would find me out of control, so I turned around and left quietly.

But I didn't expect that they had already noticed something. I arrived home on my front foot, and before I was relieved, Gao Daqian also returned home on the back foot...

He pressed me where I had been, but I could only lie, saying that I couldn't sleep, so I went for a walk in the yard.

He didn't say much at the time, just looked down, and then gave me a weird smile.

I didn't realize it until he left. I had some wet mud on my shoes. The guy should have guessed that I went to the river and saw the previous scene.

I was afraid in my heart, so I found an excuse to go back to my mother's house the next morning, hoping to avoid it..."

……

(End of this chapter)