Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 2 Fine Flower Flow and Duanmu Cui

As usual, it is to patrol the streets.

One street, another street, some people are leisurely, some people are busy.The leisurely man raised his head, with a smile on his face, and respectfully called out, "Lord Zhan."

Busy people are still busy, and they don't know that the person who suddenly came to help the leader is the guard Zhan of Kaifeng Mansion.

It is said that patrolling the streets is hard work, but from Zhan Zhao's point of view, it is nothing more than a leisurely job.

I am used to seeing swords, swords and shadows, sudden death and violent death, and suddenly I can slow down so leisurely, walking in the long streets and alleys when the sky is fading to dusk, even if what I hear is husband and wife quarreling, what I smell is burnt rice and lettuce, There is also a slight warmth in the chest.

These trivial troubles are unattainable for many people in their lives.

Turning across a street, a large group of people surrounded the entrance of Wanhua Building in the street, and there were faint voices of dispute.

Zhan Zhao exchanged glances with Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, and walked over quickly.

The one who was arguing was a young man with greasy hair and flour noodles, holding two silver bills in his hand, his face flushed with anger: "It was agreed that 200 taels of silver will be redeemed by me for emerald jade. Come, is the master here for your entertainment?"

The bustard of the middle-aged lady, her face was smeared white, and the white powder fell off as soon as she spoke: "Don't dare to lie to Mr. Zhang, that emerald jade has indeed left Wanhualou."

"Nonsense!" Mr. Zhang stared, his voice raised an octave, "You must have secretly promised Cuiyu to the Li family because Mr. Li paid a lot of money. If you can't hand it over to someone today, I will dismantle your money." Wanhua Building."

Hearing this, the evil servants behind Mr. Zhang immediately rolled up their sleeves, showing a vicious look.

The bustard was extremely embarrassed.

Mr. Zhang continued to intimidate and lure: "Cuiyu agreed to wait for me in Wanhualou, why did she leave without saying goodbye? Mom has accepted Mr. Li's favor, so why not come together to deceive me?"

The bustard still didn't speak.

Mr. Zhang stared again: "Smash me!"

All the evil servants let out a sound of joy, and the crowd of onlookers clamored loudly. Zhan Zhao felt that maybe it was time to act.

Suddenly, the shrill voice of the bustard soared, making people's ears buzz.

"It's Xihualiu, the person from Xihualiu took Cuiyu away!"

Mr. Zhang opened his mouth, as if he didn't understand: "What did you say?"

"It's Xihualiu." The old bustard said aggressively, "Go find Xihualiu and Duanmucui if you have the guts, don't be a hero here."

The crowd booed.

Mr. Zhang suddenly felt very humiliated.

"Look for it." Mr. Zhang said, patting his chest, "You are afraid of Duanmucui, but I am not."

The crowd booed again, and then dispersed in all directions.

"Don't leave." Mr. Zhang was anxious, "I really dare, I'm going to smash Duanmucui's house right now, don't leave."

One of the servants couldn't stand it any longer, and tugged at Young Master Zhang's sleeve: "Young Master, I heard that the Kaifeng Mansion has given way to Xi Hua for three minutes... It's getting late, it's time to go back."

"Go back for what?" Mr. Zhang glared at the man.His eyes are not big, but he likes to stare, and the corners of his eyes hurt, "I'll go to Duanmucui right away, I'll go to her to argue."

As he said that, he turned around and strode away. After walking for a while and looking back, none of the servants who pledged their allegiance to the death followed.

"You don't want to follow," Mr. Zhang asked himself to go down the steps, "I'll go find Duanmucui by myself."

"He's dead." Zhan Zhao suddenly patted a servant on the shoulder.

The servant nodded mournfully, then looked up to see who was speaking so boldly.

"Zhan...Zhan..." The servant stammered.

"My name is Zhan Zhao, not Zhan Zhan." Zhan Zhao patted him on the shoulder again, "You wait here, and I'll go and chase your undead young master back."

After taking two steps, he turned his head and said, "Of course, it is also possible to recover a dead one for you."

Judging by the situation, Mr. Zhang is really angry.

This can be analyzed from his walking posture - when he walked, his feet stepped heavily on the ground, and his arms swung exaggeratedly from left to right. same foot.

Zhan Zhao followed him for more than ten feet without haste. After Mr. Zhang noticed it, he turned his head provocatively: "Zhan Zhao, I'm going to smash Duanmucui's house, do you dare?"

"Zhan Zhao doesn't dare." Zhan Zhao replied honestly, and at the same time, from the alcohol that Mr. Zhang exhaled, he realized the reason why Mr. Zhang was so fearless.

Wine is strong and mediocre, Zhan Zhao thought to himself, the ancients were sincere and did not deceive me.

Duanmucui's home is at the foot of the mountain ten miles away in the western suburbs, surrounded by mountains and rivers, very quiet.After crossing a wooden bridge, you will see Duanmucui's thatched cottage, looking in from the fence gate, it is not much different from ordinary farmyards, except that it is much cleaner.

"Duanmucui," Mr. Zhang grabbed the fence door with both hands and shook, "Where did you hide the jade, Duanmucui?"

Looking back, he wanted to say something to Zhan Zhao, only to find that Zhan Zhao was still standing far away on the other side of the wooden bridge. "Why don't you come over?" Mr. Zhang wondered.

Why don't you come here? This is of course Bao Zheng's order.

——Leaning against the bluestone with the back, the trickle flows around the waist of the willow, it is not led by the owner, but the Duanmu Bridge.

It's not that they are full, who wants to provoke Duanmucui, who is the master of Xihualiu?
Mr. Zhang laughed at him: "Zhan Zhao, everyone says you are a royal cat, but I think you are as timid as a mouse."

Zhan Zhao smiled: "It's fine if you tell me this, but don't say it in front of Bai Yutang."

Before he finished speaking, Mr. Zhang suddenly grabbed his left hand with his right hand, and Zhang Huang yelled: "Bite me... this fence gate bites me!"

Who told you not to die, to grab Duanmucui's fence gate?Rumor has it that Xihualiu is famous for its ingenuity, not to mention making a door that can bite people, even if it is a door that can eat people, it is not surprising.

"It really bit me, I clearly saw a mouth, eh, why didn't it disappear?" Mr. Zhang rubbed his eyes, as if trapped in a cloud.

While speaking, a slender woman in a blue robe came out of the room with a smile.

Mr. Zhang immediately thought about Cuiyu again: "Are you Duanmucui?"

"Yes," Duanmucui smiled, "Are you here to look for Cuiyu?"

"Cuiyu is indeed with you." Mr. Zhang became angry, "Why did you arrest her?"

"If you want to know, come in and ask her yourself." Duanmucui opened the door.

Mr. Zhang snorted, tilted his head high, and pointed his chin to Duanmucui's face.

Duanmucui was smiling, not angry, and called Zhan Zhao: "Master Zhan, please come in together."

Zhan Zhao let out a breath before crossing the bridge.

Entering the room and sitting around the table, Mr. Zhang looked around: "Where is Cuiyu?"

"You're still putting on makeup." Duanmucui said, "You can't meet Young Master unkempt."

Mr. Zhang showed a proud look.

"There is a sentence that I want to ask the young master face to face, is the young master sincere to Cuiyu?"

Mr. Zhang stared and slapped his chest loudly: "This heart can show the sun and the moon."

Mr. Zhang really likes to stare, and he really likes to pat his chest.

"However," Duanmucui showed a melancholy expression, "Women use sex to serve others, and it will not last long. What if Cuiyu grows old and fades in the future..."

"Am I such a superficial person?" Mr. Zhang stared again.

"So that's how it is..." Duanmucui elongated her tone with deep meaning, "Since that's the case, I'm relieved. I need to remember what Mr. Zhang said, and don't go back on what I said, and hurt Cuiyu's heart."

"That's natural." Mr. Zhang agreed.

Duanmucui looked at Zhan Zhao again: "How courageous is Mr. Zhan?"

"Barely make sense."

"That's good, if something happens later..."

"Zhan will handle it himself."

Duanmu Cui smiled secretly.

What if something goes wrong?What will happen?
Duanmu Cuishicai's words seemed to point to something, could it be that this Cuiyu is not the beautiful and delicate jade in Mr. Zhang's imagination?Otherwise, why did Duanmucui repeatedly ask Mr. Zhang to say that he fell in love with Cuiyu "not for the sake of appearance"?
While thinking about it, the sound of silk and bamboo in the inner room gradually sounded, graceful and natural.Accompanied by the sound of silk and bamboo, a beautiful woman in a costume came out of the inner room.

Mr. Zhang was so excited, he stood up and went to meet her, holding the woman's hands: "Cuiyu."

Cuiyu lowered her head and smiled, she was extremely shy, she shook off Mr. Zhang's hands, and danced lightly in the abbot's place to the sound of silk and bamboo.

Mr. Zhang's eyes were straightened, he retreated to the table and sat down, followed Cuiyu's every frown and smile intently, he didn't know where he was.

Zhan Zhao looked at Cuiyu and then at Mr. Zhang, completely confused about what kind of medicine was sold in Duanmu Cui Gourd.Duanmucui just smiled slightly, signaling Zhan Zhao to pay attention to Cuiyu.

Zhan Zhao looked at it for a while, and gradually saw some clues.

As soon as this Cuiyu showed her face, she was indeed charming and charming, but as she gradually sang and danced, her appearance became more and more strange, but she couldn't tell where the strangeness lies.In the blink of an eye, Zhan Zhao suddenly understood: Cuiyu is old.

The Cuiyu in front of her, although her figure is delicate and beautiful, has fine lines between her eyebrows and eyes, she seems to be ten years older.

Zhan Zhao was shocked, when he looked at Duanmucui, Duanmucui knew that he had seen the truth, so he nodded slightly.That young master still didn't know it, and was still intoxicated by the graceful dance of Cuiyu.

After a while, Mr. Zhang's complexion gradually changed, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Cuiyu is really too old.

Her eyelids drooped, her cheeks sunken deeply, her complexion changed from white and rosy to dry and sallow, her back gradually bent, and her hair also turned pale.

Cold sweat broke out on Mr. Zhang's forehead, he suddenly yelled, and ran towards the door.Unexpectedly, Duanmucui's movements were faster, he clasped Mr. Zhang's arm between ups and downs, and said with a sneer, "Mr. Zhang, don't forget what you promised me. The person in front of you is a lady who wants to raise the eyebrows with you."

Mr. Zhang made a whoo-ho sound in his throat, but he couldn't utter a word.Cuiyu grinned suddenly, the original flat shell jade teeth turned into yellow and black loose old teeth, scarlet flesh was exposed between the sparse teeth.

Mr. Zhang couldn't bear it anymore, screamed, tore half of his sleeve, rolled and crawled, and ran away from the door.

Duanmu Cui laughed loudly, and suddenly looked at Cuiyu: "You beast, you haven't shown your form yet!"

As soon as the words fell, Cuiyu's clothes tore apart and flew away.When Zhan Zhao looked again, there was no trace of Cuiyu, it was clearly a shriveled old lady who was less than two feet tall and hunched over.There are only a few strands of white hair left on her head, her nails are curved and slender, and there are many wrinkles all over her body. It is impossible to tell how old she is.

Zhan Zhao gasped.The thing suddenly stuck out its tongue, licked around its mouth, raised its head and howled for a moment, then rushed into the inner room like a beast.

The sound of silk and bamboo stopped immediately, and there was no sound in the inner room. It just appeared, but it was like a dream.

After a long time, Zhan Zhao said, "Miss Duanmu, this can't be just a trick of disguise?"

Duanmucui smiled and said: "What disguise technique, this is a chinch that has lived for more than 400 years."

Zhan Zhao was shocked.

Duanmu Cui chuckled: "There are laws in the world, and ghosts and monsters have their way. The Kaifeng Mansion is in charge of the principles of the world, and the fine flowers collect the ghosts and monsters in the world. Master Zhan, do you understand now?"

Zhan Zhao was silent for a long time.

No wonder Mr. Bao always doesn't pursue the cases related to Xihualiu.He always thought that the so-called ghosts, sprites, ghosts and monsters were just ghost stories, but he never expected to see them with his own eyes today.

Duanmu Cui smiled and said: "People grow old and ghosts, and things grow old and fine. In this world, humans and monsters coexist. If Mr. Zhan sees too many people, he feels that there are no monsters in the world. If he sees too many monsters, doesn't he also feel that there is no one in the world, only monsters?" Is it Zun?"

Zhan Zhao is silent.

Duan Mucui said again: "This reason is not difficult to understand, you are a smart person, if Mr. Bao understands it, you must understand it too."

"Master Bao?"

"Xihualiu has taken criminals from the Kaifeng mansion many times. According to Mr. Bao's temperament, if you don't ask clearly, how can you give up?"

Seeing that Zhan Zhao was still confused, Duanmucui sneered in her heart, and said again: "You may not understand it for a while, but it's okay, you will naturally understand when we communicate with each other in the future."

"Communication... contacts?"

"Master Bao asked me to invite you into the Duanmu Thatched Cottage. You don't really think it's just for watching the opera, do you?" Duanmu Cui smiled sweetly, "Today's order ends, Mr. Zhan, please come back."

"Then Zhan will stop bothering you." Zhan Zhao got up and left, and turned around when he reached the door, "Just now Mr. Zhang said that he was bitten by the fence gate, and he also said that he saw a mouth..."

"It's still the same sentence, old things make perfect." Duanmucui smiled meaningfully.

Duanmucui smiled beautifully, but Zhan Zhao was chilled all over by her laughter. Looking at the courtyard again, every plant, every tree, every broom and dustpan, seemed to be whispering and had become living things.

You let Zhan Zhao go out by himself, he was genuinely frightened.

"It's not the master leading, but the Duanmu Bridge." Zhan Zhao was embarrassed, "Please ask the girl to lead the way."

Zhan Zhao, who never backed down even half a step in the face of Jiangyang's giant bandits, Shanze's bandits, couldn't help but shudder at the sight of ghosts.

Still want to communicate with each other?That's all, there are laws and ghosts in the world, and there are ways for people and ghosts to have different paths. It's better not to communicate with each other until old age and death.

(End of this chapter)