My master is the coffin

Chapter 5 Ghost City
I couldn't bear the meal today, and I was in a trance all morning. I paid the bill in a hurry, asked the boss for directions, and walked to the paper-making shop.

The paper shop is deserted, and no customers like to stay here.When I entered, a dry middle-aged woman was sitting in a chair watching TV.

I scratched my head and said to the woman, "I buy paper money."

The woman raised her eyes, glanced at me, then raised her chin, and pointed to the piles of paper money at the door: "Choose it yourself."

I lowered my head and looked at the rows. There are two types of paper money. One is well-printed, imitating the style and face value of RMB, either fifty or one hundred.The other kind is rough in printing, but has a relatively large face value, which can reach hundreds of millions at every turn.

I study economics, and I am particularly sensitive to currency. After a little thought, I chose the well-printed one. Regardless of the small denomination, this is definitely a hard currency. The exchange rate is high, and one dollar is equivalent to millions of others.

I picked out some bundles of paper money, handed them to the woman, and paid the bill.

The woman found a black plastic bag, put paper money into it one by one, and counted while filling it.

While she was counting the money, I began to look around the store involuntarily.This store is not big, let alone piled up with paper money, wreaths, paper people and horses, so it looks even more cramped.But in such a small place, I saw a table in the innermost place, with an incense table on it, and the one enshrined was neither the God of Wealth nor the Lord of Hell.It's a paper man, with painted eyebrows and eyes, and a naive look.Especially a pair of eyes are particularly expressive and lifelike, as if they are looking at me.

I was staring at the paper figurine, and the woman put the plastic bag in front of me: "Okay, ten yuan."

I took ten yuan out of my pocket, hurriedly paid the bill, and left.

At this time, it was already mid-morning, and the sun was hanging above the head, which made people feel warm and felt very safe.Carrying a bag of paper money, I slowly found the street where I ran into the ghost last night.

Burning paper money is prohibited in urban areas. I have known this rule for a long time.But this road is different, there are no pedestrians at all, so I boldly took out the paper money, lit it with a lighter, and burned pile after pile.

I believe that everyone has the experience of playing with fire when they were young. Jumping flames are definitely a fun thing in childhood.But now, these flames that are active on the paper money make me feel a little uneasy.

The paper money was scorched black, and the portraits on it were gradually distorted and deformed.The original benevolent eyebrows have become a little ferocious.

Then, suddenly, the fire went out.The pile of paper money did not burn out, and those heads kept their hideous appearance.One by one was placed in front of me.

In broad daylight, a layer of cold sweat broke out on my body: "Is this a hint of something?"

I didn't dare to neglect, so I took the lighter and lit it again.

The paper money burned for more than ten seconds, and then went out quickly. I counted it about twenty times.In the end, the more I thought about it, the angrier I became, and I cursed the paper money seller as a profiteer.

It was so easy to burn all the paper money, I looked at the paper ashes all over the place, and left here quickly.

With no debts and a light body, I let out a long sigh of relief and hurried to the school.

When I returned to the dormitory, I saw that the messy dormitory had been tidied up after all the trouble last night.

Li Xiaoxing led a monk and a Taoist priest to chant sutras in the dormitory.I know this Taoist priest, the skinny Taoist priest who caught ghosts with a compass last night, and the monk is also familiar, so he must be from the religious class.

Seeing me coming back, Li Xiaoxing pointed to two monks and said to me: "I invite two masters to come here to chant mantras to drive away evil spirits."

I nodded and sat on the bed.

In a few minutes, the monks finished the work together.

The monk told the two of us: "Our Buddhist Heart Sutra contains a sentence of 'Prajna Paramita', which is a mantra for exorcising evil spirits. You can recite it more when you are free."

The skinny Taoist next to him quit, and said: "Student, the most powerful one is of course our Taoist 'Taishang Laojun, hurry like a law', you listen to me, that's right, don't worry about big pineapples."

The monk smiled slightly, and without arguing with him, said a few words to us, and left.

The skinny Taoist priest asked me, "Is the paper money burned?"

I nodded: "It's burning, it should be fine now, right? I'm going to take a bath to drive away evil spirits."

The skinny Taoist priest nodded, turned around and chatted with Li Xiaoxing.I was about to change clothes just now, when Li Xiaoxing suddenly pointed at my chest and said, "Xu You, what's wrong with you?"

I didn't know why I looked down, and I was scared out of my wits: "Corpse, I have a corpse on my body."

This scar is very familiar, it is clearly seen in the Public Security Bureau before, in the post-mortem photos of the robbers, it is in the same location and exactly the same spot.Suddenly, I felt like the sky was going to collapse.

I sat on the bed and thought quietly: "What's going on? Which step went wrong?"

The skinny Taoist next to him muttered in a low voice: "This is so familiar, where have you seen it?"

I also answered subconsciously: "On the robber's body."

The skinny Taoist suddenly turned around and went out, saying, "Wait a minute, I'll check."

My mind is in a mess right now. When I heard this sentence in my ears, I only caught a fragment: "Go and check, go and check."

I stood up abruptly, and said to Li Xiaoxing, "Wait, I'll check."

Then I galloped out.

I'm going to find that Mrs. Chen, since she is the robber's mother, she must know about her son.

However, when I arrived at the gate of the Public Security Bureau, I found that the boss who sold tofu nao had long since left.

I stood on the side of the road, stopped passers-by one by one and asked, "Do you know Mrs. Chen? The one where her son is going to be buried today."

After asking dozens of people like this, one person finally nodded.He pointed in one direction: "The old woman rented a house near here, you can go find it, the poorest and poorest house is their house."

I walked in the direction the man said, asked a few more people along the way, and finally found Mrs. Chen's house.

This house is indeed very poor. If I hadn't come here by twists and turns, I really can't believe that there is such a dilapidated house in a big city.

There are white elegiac couplets pasted on the two doors, it seems that Granny Chen really lives here.

I knocked on the door, but no one answered.I suddenly remembered: "Mrs. Chen's son is going to the funeral, she probably hasn't come back yet."

I had no choice but to find two broken bricks and sit on them and wait.This wait is an afternoon.Until it was dark, finally an old woman came tremblingly from outside.

When she saw me, the sadness on her face instantly turned into anger: "My son is dead, what else do you want? Come on, come on, then arrest me and take me to the police station for interrogation. I will let you arrest..."

While talking, Mrs. Chen rushed over, bent over, and hit my stomach with her head.

This old lady can't be beaten or scolded. I haven't figured out a countermeasure yet, her head has already hit my stomach.

I was in so much pain that tears were about to come down my eyes, and I bent down involuntarily.The old woman still refused to let go, she hugged my waist with both hands, and pushed me against the wall with her head as if she was dying.

I had no choice but to keep shouting: "I'm not from the Public Security Bureau, I'm here to visit your old man."

After shouting a few times, Mrs. Chen was probably tired too, so she took a few steps back and looked at me suspiciously: "Kill hi to come and see me?"

My mind was spinning quickly, and I immediately changed to a sad expression: "Actually, I'm here to see your son."

As soon as she mentioned her son, the anger on Granny Chen's face disappeared completely, her lips trembled twice, and she said in a crying voice: "Our little one died so inexplicably."

While crying, he opened the door and let me in.

I silently followed behind the old lady, quickly collecting knowledge about the wanted criminal in my mind, and then tentatively said: "Xiaoer is usually honest, why did he suddenly go to rob? Was someone framed him?"

Chen Po shook her head: "No one framed him, he went there by himself, I know, hey, this kid."

Chen Po asked me to sit down, poured me a bowl of water, and said slowly: "I am just such a son. Two years ago, I sent him to a technical school to learn how to repair cars. The teachers in this technical school are good. By the way, teach him how to drive..."

A sentence quickly flashed in my mind: "Learn to drive, learn to drive for free, try to learn for one month..."

I shook my head, pulled my thoughts back, and continued to listen to Granny Chen crying, "I planned to let him do transportation to earn some money, but unexpectedly, he fell ill later on."

I scratched my head: "Sick?"

Chen Po nodded: "He has three or five sores on his chest, the size of a copper coin."

Upon hearing this, my heart was shocked, and I couldn't help but lifted up my shirt, pointed to my chest and said, "Is it this kind of sore?"

Grandma Chen looked at me, her face changed drastically: "That's right, that's right, it's this kind of sore. Hey, the family's money was all spent to see this disease, Xiao Er was afraid of death, so he went to rob..."

I stopped her: "Why does he have this kind of sore? What did the hospital say? What did he say?"

Grandma Chen shook her head: "No one knows why he has this kind of sore. It's so good. Huh? I remembered that the day before he got sore, he suddenly ran home in a panic, saying he had met a ghost."

I was startled: "Meet a ghost?"

Chen Po nodded: "He told me that he ate a bowl of rice in the night market outside. The hawkers who set up the stalls were all ghosts. Then, in the middle of the night, he became ill, had a fever, and talked nonsense. The next day, I saw He has sores."

Mrs. Chen was still babbling, but I had already slumped on the chair: "That's right, everything is because of that ghost market. I have also been to a ghost market, and I also have scars on my body."

At this moment, the cell phone in my pocket rang.It was Li Xiaoxing calling.

I picked it up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Xiaoxing said on the other side: "Xu You, I found out that the scarlet on your body is called a copper coin scarlet."

My expression changed, and I repeated subconsciously: "Copper coins?"

Li Xiaoxing hummed: "The skinny Taoist said that according to legend, some ghosts will deliberately disguise themselves as peddlers to trick people into eating ghost food. People who eat ghost food will grow copper coins on their bodies, and they will die within seven days, and those who die You can't reincarnate unless you find another scapegoat with scars..."

The news was an absolute shock and my mind went blank.

Li Xiaoxing hung up the phone, I sighed, turned my head, and found that Granny Chen's head was very close to me, as if she was listening to my call.

Startled, I took a step back.

There were still tears on Chen Po's face, but she grinned and said with a smile: "Young man, what did you just say?"

Seeing her appearance, I was a little scared, and quickly waved my hand: "It's nothing, it's nothing, I'm leaving first, and I'll see you in two days."

Then, I ran away in a flash.

It's late at night, and Granny Chen lives in a remote place.I fled frantically along the way, for fear of encountering something dirty.

When I finally escaped to the main road and saw the streets full of people coming and going, I felt a little more at ease.

I hailed a taxi and rushed all the way to the school.

When I returned to the dormitory, I saw Li Xiaoxing and the Taoist priest waiting for me.

I asked the skinny Taoist priest, "What's the matter? Is it true that I can't survive seven days?"

The skinny Taoist nodded: "Theoretically so."

In fact, I thought everything clearly along the way. Now that I listened to the answer again, I just felt like my whole body was hollowed out. I sat on the bed blankly and sighed: "If you die, you will die." Right. But I have to buy myself an insurance policy before I die."

I lay on the bed and covered my head with a quilt.

Then, I heard the hesitant voice of the skinny Taoist outside: "Unless..."

I jumped up: "Unless what?"

The skinny Taoist priest was not too sure: "I once met a tall man, if you can find him, maybe he can save your life."

As soon as I heard this, I immediately jumped up excitedly: "Why didn't you say it earlier? Okay, okay. Where is the expert? I'll look for it right away. Master, can you take me there?"

The skinny Taoist priest scratched his head, and said with some embarrassment: "Me? I can't go, I'm not in good shape yet, and I haven't gone out for a week."

I was a little surprised: "Are you sick?"

The skinny Taoist priest nodded: "This matter has something to do with that tall man."

As soon as I heard that I had something to do with an expert, I quickly asked, "What's going on? Tell me about it."

The skinny Taoist thought about it and told us about his experience.

It turned out that, as the elder brother of the skinny Taoist said, the skinny Taoist has always been extremely obsessed with Taoism.It's just that I can't get the true biography, so I haven't been able to get started.I had no choice but to piece things together and explore by myself based on hearsay.

One day, the skinny Taoist accidentally heard about some methods of summoning souls, so he sneaked to the river and tried it out himself.

That night, the sky was very cloudy, and the street lights by the river were also out of order.Although the skinny Taoist priest didn't know much about Taoism, he had studied it for a long time after all, so relying on his instincts, he could feel that there was a lot of Yin energy tonight.

The yin is heavy and the ghosts come out. Not only is the skinny Taoist not afraid, but a little excited.Because what he was going to do today was to recruit ghosts.

The mountain is yang, and the water is yin. Based on this superficial knowledge, the skinny Taoist came to the river. He sat under a tree and lit a candle at the place where the river bank meets the river.

The bank of the river is yang, and the river is yin.This candle is at the junction of yin and yang.The flame was burning quietly in the air, and there was also a flame burning quietly in the water.

The skinny Taoist looked down into the river, the river was brightly lit by candles, and there was another skinny Taoist inside, looking at him.

Gradually, the river became brighter and brighter, and the face in the river also began to change slowly.The skinny Taoist felt a burst of joy, this time he was going to succeed.

At this time, suddenly, the candle went out.However, in just a split second, the candle was lit again.However, this time the flames became faintly green.

When the skinny Taoist looked into the river again, his face in the water also turned green.

At this time, the skinny Taoist priest was a little scared. Although this was his own reflection, it was too weird after all.

The skinny Taoist packed up his things and was about to leave. At this moment, he suddenly noticed that his face was smiling towards the shore.

The skinny Taoist was startled and stayed on the shore, not knowing what to do.Immediately afterwards, there was a whirring sound of water, and the face floated up from the water.

Not only the face, but also the body.

There was a fishy, ​​rancid smell in the air.

In a few seconds, a drenched person climbed up from the water, no doubt it should be a water ghost.

(End of this chapter)