It's obviously a life skill, but you developed it into a magical skill

Year?

After Hou Sizhou finished these words, Zhou An fell into deep thought.

He was searching the books he had read before, and soon found some information about Nian in his mind.

In previous lives, there were actually many legends about Nian.

Among them, the most enduring one is the Nian beast.

In ancient legends, Nian is a magical beast.

It has two terrifying heads, four ears, and eight legs, and specializes in eating humans.

But Nian is very lazy. He sleeps drowsily all year round. It is not until New Year's Eve that he crawls out of the dark cave to look for his food.

Nian is afraid of sunlight, dislikes the color red, and especially hates loud sounds.

Therefore, according to ancient customs, on New Year's Eve, red couplets were posted on the door, red paper flowers were posted on the windows, and dazzling lights were lit. At the same time, drums and firecrackers were played to scare the New Year in order to ensure peace. Purpose.

These are all legends related to Zhou An's previous life.

But in the Great Chu State, the year is different.

Year is weird.

Strange things are not limited to after death.

As long as there is enough resentment, mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, birds, fish and insects, and even flowers, grass, trees and trees may turn into strange things.

For example, the Moon River is strange, for example, there is a gathering of spooks.

The same goes for years.

Logically speaking, everyone is very happy during the New Year and the holidays, and there should be no basis for such things as resentment.

But on the contrary, during the Chinese New Year, there is actually not a lot of resentment, on the contrary, there will be a lot more.

the reason is simple.

In this world, some people have a good life, and some people naturally have a bad life.

If you live well, this year will naturally be a good one.

If you are not living well, you will be living in poverty.

We have already passed the poverty-stricken years, how can we feel less resentful?

So during the Chinese New Year, it happens to be an extremely busy time for Zhensi Si.

"I see. It seems that Mr. Hou will not be able to live the Pure Year." Zhou An said with emotion.

Hou Sizhou said helplessly: "It's your duty to do what you want in your position. Lord Zhou, I won't disturb you anymore. I'll take my leave now."

After chatting for so long, Hou Sizhou still had things to do, so he was ready to leave.

Zhou An nodded.

Next to him, Ling Lu Zhou also held up his hands and said, "Master Zhou, I'm leaving too. It's also a very busy time of year for our Yamen, so I won't stay for a long time."

The two of them have no time to relax.

Zhou An is a complete hands-off shopkeeper.

When I agreed to do this, it was for the sake of being the boss.

Zhou An knew in his heart that when others came to pay New Year's greetings, they actually gave him enough face, and they also had important things to do, so naturally they didn't force him to stay.

The visitors were guests, so Zhou An took Hou Sizhou to the door and did not close the door until they left.

Beside him, Black Jade looked left and right, looking eager to try.

"In the morning, let's go out for a walk." Zhou An said.

If he keeps a black jade at home and doesn't take him out for a walk, black jade will look at him with pitiful eyes. What man can bear this?

Heiyu heard this and took Zhou An's hand with joy.

The two of them left without saying much.

——

Zhou An took Black Jade and went shopping for an hour before returning home.

The Chinese New Year is naturally festive.

Many vendors on both sides of the street are very enthusiastic.

Zhou An also bought a lot of gadgets for Black Jade, which are enough for Black Jade to play with for a long time.

He wanted to buy a new chair for Heiyu. After all, the chair was shaken back and forth by Heiyu every day, and Zhou An was afraid that it would break.

But Bai Yu was determined not to, saying that his chair was a treasure and other people's chairs were just chairs.

Zhou An was helpless about this, but he allowed Black Jade to think of it.

After returning home, he was not idle, and began to use the black jade liver to open up the eyes of Delirium.

The proficiency level is slowly rising, and there is no problem for Zhou An.

——

The sun rises from the east, adding a touch of color to this winter.

Warm winter is extremely comfortable.

There is both the beauty of winter and the warmth of the sun.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the people are very happy.

After a busy year, this day is naturally full of joy.

The sound of firecrackers has been going off since the morning, and everyone is enthusiastic to welcome the arrival of the New Year.

Fu Jingui is naturally no exception.

He is a small vendor in Maplewood State, and he usually sells breakfast on both sides of the street.

Most of them are steamed buns and steamed buns, and paired with some white porridge, they can actually feed a family.

Not to mention being rich and powerful, at least his family would not have to suffer from hunger if he followed him, and they could still have a good meal from time to time.

"In the previous dynasty, how could we have such a good life now?"

Sometimes, Fu Jingui would sigh with emotion.

Today's emperor has risen from humble beginnings and is better able to understand the sufferings of the people.

Not to mention that everyone can have enough to eat, but at least they don't have to go hungry, which is great for the Chu Kingdom that has been established for ten years.

Today, Fu Jingui said goodbye to his family. Instead of spending time with his children at home, he chose to visit for New Year greetings.

Bring the whole family together to celebrate the New Year, and the flavor of the New Year will naturally come.

He, his wife, and a five-year-old child were walking towards a remote house.

Fu Jingui did not go to a relative's house, but planned to go to another family to pay New Year's greetings.

Speaking of which, this family has nothing to do with Fu Jingui, but Fu Jingui feels that that family should be the first place to visit this New Year.

"Xiaotuanzi, after you go, you have to call me Uncle Zhou, you know?" Fu Jingui teased his daughter.

The five-year-old little baby nodded in confusion.

Next to me, the woman joked: "You are busy all day long, but it is not perfunctory to entertain children."

"That's right, my daughter is the treasure in my hand." Fu Jingui said with a smile: "When we get to Mr. Zhou's house later, you should talk less and don't talk nonsense. Mr. Zhou has given us a lot of help."

"I understand." The woman nodded and responded.

Only then did Fu Jingui lead Xiao Tuanzi again and walked towards the remote street.

To say that Mr. Zhou was a benefactor to Fu Jingui.

During that time, Fu Jingui's daughter got sick and sighed every day.

The money spent on medical treatment was too much, which made him unable to resist.

He has never blamed the court for being bad, because the current court is already very good.

But after this happened, Fu Jingui felt that his life was dark.

His daughter was well-behaved and sensible, but she suffered such a disaster. Fu Jingui wanted to cut off his own flesh and sell it for money.

But these days, even if the meat is cut, no one else will buy it.

Just when Fu Jingui was getting more and more depressed, he met Mr. Zhou.

That day, Mr. Zhou was taking his daughter-in-law, a very beautiful woman, to eat at his stall.

When he learned about Fu Jingui during a casual chat, Mr. Zhou asked him to go to the Hengtong Chamber of Commerce.

Fu Jingui was stunned at that time and didn't know why Mr. Zhou wanted him to go.

Because in the eyes of ordinary people, the Hengtong Chamber of Commerce is a giant.

But when he thought of his daughter's illness, Fu Jingui gritted his teeth and tried it after closing the stall.

He originally thought that he would be kicked out, but what he didn't expect was that the Hengtong Chamber of Commerce heard that it was Mr. Zhou and immediately arranged the best doctor for them.

Don't ask them to pay.

It didn't take long for my daughter's illness to be cured.

Fu Jingui wanted to kneel down and thank Mr. Zhou.

When he saved his daughter, he saved the lives of his entire family.

Fu Jingui is a person who knows how to repay kindness. Since he was a child, his parents told him that he should do his best to repay his benefactors.

He knew that he was a little person and Mr. Zhou was a big shot, so he could not give much feedback.

But it was the New Year's Eve, and Fu Jingui felt that he had to go and pay New Year's greetings to Mr. Zhou.

Fu Jingui took his family with him and arrived at the remote Zhou Mansion not long after walking.

"Master Zhou is really low-key. The house is so big, but it is built in a remote place." The woman said with emotion.

Fu Jingui nodded: "Yes, it's no wonder that Mr. Zhou is rich, he has such strength."

After speaking, he stepped forward and knocked on the door.

Not long after, the door was opened.

Zhou An looked at the family of three standing in front of him and remained silent.

He was practicing proficiency just now when he suddenly sensed someone at the door and opened the door.

At this time, Fu Jingui was a little restrained.

"Happy New Year, Mr. Zhou, let's come over... to pay New Year's greetings."

Next to him, the woman also responded repeatedly.

The little girl Xiao Tuanzi, who is only five years old, is the most free-spirited. She has already jumped to Zhou An's side, raising her little face, looking cute and cute.

"Hello, brother Zhou. Thank you, brother Zhou, for saving me."

The crisp words brought Zhou An back to his senses.

Zhou An looked at the family of three with a complicated expression, and then moved out of the way: "It's cold outside, come in and talk."

"Thank you, thank you Mr. Zhou." Fu Jingui thanked him quickly.

He crossed the threshold carefully, as if he were afraid of dirtying the ground, and even looked down at the soil under his feet.

This is a common people's caution, especially in this era.

Zhou An took Xiaotuanzi's hand and led the family into the house.

He took a lot of food and gave it to Xiaotuanzi to eat.

In the middle, he was chatting with Fu Jingui.

"Have you been having a good time recently?"

"Thanks to Mr. Zhou, my life has been getting better and better recently."

"That's good."

"My life will get better and better in the future. I will also save enough dowry for Xiao Tuanzi, so that Xiao Tuanzi can get married peacefully in the future."

When he said this, Fu Jingui looked happy.

Zhou An fell into silence looking at Fu Jingui's happiness.

He didn't know how to speak.

This conversation actually didn't last long.

Soon, Fu Jingui was ready to leave.

"Mr. Zhou, we won't bother you. It's Chinese New Year, and you should also have a happy New Year." Fu Jingui cupped his hand and held Xiao Tuanzi: "Why don't you say a few auspicious words to Brother Zhou?"

Xiaotuanzi said crisply: "Happy New Year, brother Zhou, everything goes well!"

Zhou An touched Xiaotuanzi's head: "Xiaotuanzi is also happy every year."

"Xiao Tuanzi is very happy. He can eat well every day, and he is not sick anymore. When he was sick before, it was very uncomfortable." Xiao Tuanzi shook his head like a rattle.

"Then I will be happy from now on." Zhou An said with a smile.

Xiaotuanzi hummed hard, as if to cheer himself up.

Fu Jingui took Xiaotuanzi and went out.

"Mr. Zhou, there is no need to send it away. Let's go."

"Well, slow down on the road." Zhou An stood at the door and looked at the family of three who were gradually leaving.

Although it is winter, the sun is shining.

In the sunshine, the figures of this family of three gradually faded and finally disappeared.

Zhou An turned his head and looked at the New Year's gift brought by Fu Jingui in the yard.

It's not expensive, but Fu Jingui bought it with the little money he had left.

These gifts were stained with bright red blood.

Zhou An was silent for a long time, and then said: "Let's go."

Beside him, Black Jade didn't know why, but felt that there was a cold air emanating from Zhou An's body.

She held Zhou An's hand and nodded gently.

Zhou An didn't say anything, took Black Jade's hand and walked out of the door.

Along this street, Zhou An went out.

——

At this time, the streets outside were busy.

Zhou An walked on the street, moving forward silently without saying a word.

Following this street, Zhou An quickly brought Black Jade to a remote alleyway.

The surrounding houses are somewhat dilapidated, but many people live in such dilapidated houses.

At this time, in the originally quiet alleyway, not far ahead, there were more than a dozen people wearing Zhensi clothes, carrying three stretchers and walking out.

The stretcher was covered with white cloth and stained with blood.

As if sensing someone was coming, the leading member of the Suppression Division turned his eyes and happened to see Zhou An.

"Master Zhou, why are you here?" the leading member of the Suppression Division asked in confusion.

Zhou An had no expression on his face, and led Black Jade to the stretcher: "Come and take a look, open the white cloth."

Although the members of the Suppression Division didn't understand what Zhou An meant, looking at Zhou An's appearance, he couldn't help but feel cold and quickly asked several colleagues to open the white cloth.

Under the white cloth, there were three corpses.

The three Fu Jingui who were still alive just now have turned into three corpses.

Especially Xiaotuanzi, with a look of fear in his big eyes, and dense scars on his small body.

Zhou An thought about the chat just now and said in a deep voice: "Is it the new year?"

The members of the Zhengui nodded cautiously: "Yes, Mr. Zhou, it is the year."

Today, they were on routine inspection, and they encountered this incident.

Almost every member of Zhengui was in a heavy mood.

They are all veterans, but every time they see the people who have been harmed by the strange, they will feel sad for no reason.

There seem to be a lot of people in the town, but they can't radiate all of them.

Sometimes surprises like this happen.

Although it seems reasonable, in the eyes of every Suppressor member, this kind of reasonableness is his dereliction of duty.

Several lives were lost due to accidents, which they could not accept.

Zhou Andao: "Don't blame yourself too much, cheer up and deal with more incidents. Also, tell me, what are you going to do?"

The members of the Suppression Division were slightly startled: "Master Zhou, are you planning to take action?"

"Help me as much as I can," Zhou An said.

In fact, this morning, Zhou An had already seen that Fu Jingui and others who came to find him were actually dead.

Just like the little girl I met in Anding County, only a trace of regret remains.

Zhou An felt quite uncomfortable when encountering this kind of thing.

He was not the Virgin, but one second he was chatting freely with him about how good he would be in the future, and the next second he turned into a cold corpse, and it would be uncomfortable for anyone else.

Especially thinking about the little girl's appearance, Zhou An felt that there was a kind of anger rising up about this matter.

He has always believed that he is not a good person because he is cruel to his enemies.

But he is not a bad person. The scene in front of him is enough to empathize with him.

It's convenient to help as much as you can.

"You said... something like weirdness is actually pretty useless." Zhou An suddenly said.

The members of the Zhenguisi didn't understand what Zhou An meant.

Zhou An continued: "Think about it, after a person dies, he turns into a weird thing. Instead of looking for the person who harmed him, he kills innocent people. And this year, after he turns into a weird thing, he doesn't look for those who made it weird. Isn't it quite foolish for someone with a grudge to harm this happy family of three?"

The members of the Suppressing Secret Service did not understand what Shabui meant, but they understood the previous words: "Because of this, His Majesty said that all weird things should be killed. If one person cannot kill them, then a group of people must be eliminated completely. .”

"Well..." Zhou An nodded: "Tell me, what are you going to do?"

Since he wanted to take action along the way, Zhou An naturally wanted to listen to what Zhen Guisi wanted.

The members of the Suppression Division were silent for two seconds, organized their speech, and then said: "Actually, this depends on the characteristics of Nian to solve the problem. Mr. Zhou also knows that things like Nian are the grievances of people who are not living well. , broke out during the Chinese New Year.”

"So we focus specifically on those who are not doing well and focus on testing."

"What I didn't expect was that an accident would happen this time. This family should be living well."

Hearing this, Zhou An touched his chin and seemed to have figured out the reason.

Not long ago, Fu Jingui's woman fell seriously ill, perhaps because of this.

For this reason, Zhou An thinks this approach is reasonable.

But Zhou An felt that if he wanted to have a good year this year, he had to deal with it quickly.

Thinking of this, Zhou An circulated the Qi in his body.

Everything has its origin.

After the root cause is solved, subsequent troubles will be alleviated accordingly.

At this time, Zhou An ran his fortune-telling skills.

Now, after reaching the fifth level of fortune-telling skills, although it has not yet ushered in a qualitative change, it is already powerful enough.

The golden gossip that only Zhou An could see emerged.

When the Golden Bagua appeared, although the members of Zhensui couldn't see it, they could feel that everything around them had changed.

The most obvious change came from Zhou An.

The members of the Suppression Division could sense that Zhou An's aura had changed differently.

He felt that Zhou An's eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.

Even the fog as deep as the earth can be seen through by Zhou An at a glance.

The members of the Suppression Division only dared to take one look and immediately lowered their heads.

Only by looking less can you live longer. This is the truth in the world.

He knows very well that Mr. Zhou has already reached a state that many people in the industry cannot reach, so he must not show his curiosity at certain moments.

Even though Mr. Zhou is usually amiable, but these days, no matter how amiable a big man like Mr. Zhou is, he cannot cross the line.

Of course Zhou An didn't know what the members of the Zhenguisi were thinking, because he had already started to promote the gossip and made calculations.

As Zhou An began to calculate, the gossip in front of him gradually turned.

Zhou An used Fu Jingui's family as an introduction and began to trace Nian's whereabouts.

In front of his eyes, golden threads gradually spread from the golden Bagua.

Not long after, it spread to the endless edges.

A lot, very messy.

This proves that the appearance of the year will have a very chaotic probability.

But the problem is not big, the fortune-telling skill is too powerful.

With this skill, everything related to this aspect can become simple.

It's like the original hard mode has become an easy mode because of fortune telling.

Zhou An started to sort it out carefully.

Not long after, he discovered a relatively thick golden thread among the golden threads.

This means that the probability is greater.

Seeing this, Zhou An has already got the result.

He turned around, just said a word, let the members of the Town Guild continue to do their own things, and then left the street.

The members of the Suppression Division subconsciously asked: "Master Zhou, do you want us to cooperate?"

Zhou An had already arrived outside the street. After hearing this, he turned around and said, "I'm faster alone. I'm also very professional in killing weirdos."

After the words fell, he left completely.

The members of the Zhenshisi looked at the direction Zhou An left, fell into silence, and sighed after a long time.

"Pack up the body and bury it properly."

Several members of the Zhengui began to get busy.

——

Zhou An didn't care about what happened next, because he had already started chasing the thread and running towards a certain place.

There were many threads, but he chased the thickest one.

Chasing after him, Zhou An unknowingly took Black Jade and was far away from the downtown area.

At this time, Zhou An stood in front of an alleyway, looking confused.

He couldn't figure out why he was here.

The alleyway in front of him was already dilapidated.

A place like this is uninhabitable and is about to be abandoned.

Because of the prosperity of Maplewood State, it is planned to be completely demolished and rebuilt.

This is what Zhou An doesn't understand.

Why is this place where the thickest lines are?

Although Zhou An was a little confused, his fortune-telling skills would not fool him, so he followed the golden thread and walked inside.

As Zhou An walked inside, there were two men in the ruins deep in the alleyway, looking at the things in front of them with smiles.

The two men, one fat and one thin, looked extremely disharmonious, but upon closer inspection, they were extremely harmonious with each other.

Not far ahead is a huge wine jar.

And in this wine jar, there is a seven or eight-year-old boy.

The boy's face was as pale as a blank sheet of paper.

If you look carefully, you will find that inside the wine jar, the boy has no limbs, all soaked in a pool of transparent liquid.

The transparent liquid seemed to be corrosive and emitted bursts of white smoke.

There was a look of pain in the boy's eyes. When he opened his mouth, there was no tongue inside and it was completely empty.

"You can't even scream, so why waste time?" said one of the fat men.

"We two brothers have worked so hard to create you just for this moment." The thin man said with a smile.

The two sang in harmony, and after the sound came, the boy couldn't help but open his eyes.

There were black holes in his eyes, with no eyeballs visible.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, how about we talk about the essence of our country's poison master?"

The fat man joked: "Being soaked in venom, not being able to die, and having to endure huge pain, this feeling is really incredible, the resentment is really deep."

"The ears cannot hear, the eyes cannot see, the mouth cannot speak, and the nose cannot smell. Only in this way can we arouse resentment to a greater extent."

While talking, the fat man even licked his lips, looking at the child in front of him with a hint of greed.

Seeing the fat man's expression, the thin man frowned and said, "He still has great uses, but he can't be eaten. Do you understand?"

The fat man curled his lips in boredom and sighed: "I don't know why Your Majesty wants to do this? It's really annoying to use resentment to test the probability of the year appearing."

"What do you know? If we can test how much resentment can elicit weirdness, then many special weirdnesses can be induced through techniques. This will be beneficial to our barbarian country." said the thin man.

Now that they had reached this point, the fat man naturally did not continue speaking. He also withdrew his gaze and continued to guard here.

The thin man seemed to have thought of something and said: "Be careful, this Maplewood State is not simple. I heard that Zhou An, who has caused a lot of trouble in the world recently, is also here, so be careful."

The fat man chuckled and said: "You and I, together, can defeat the peak of the innate world. In this Maplewood State, I'm afraid there won't be any masters like us. Just be careful not to be surrounded by the Suppressors. As for that surrounding area?" An, I don’t know why you are so careful, it’s just a name for yourself, you’re not that strong at this age.”

When the thin man heard this, he wanted to say something more.

The two of them came from a country called Manguo. This time, they used a special method to test whether resentment can induce weirdness, and even how much resentment can be used to induce weirdness.

So everything has to be done with caution.

But his partner was a little relaxed.

He thought of a few words of warning, after all, one must be careful in other people's territory.

But before he could say these words, footsteps suddenly sounded outside the street.

To be precise, it was two footsteps.

Because there was a particularly light footsteps, as if they were following the person in front.

Both fat and thin were masters, so they naturally reacted instantly and looked towards the end of the street.

At this moment, at the end of the street, a man slowly appeared holding a woman in black.

The man is extremely handsome, and the woman also has a forbidden beauty.

But at this moment, this man's expression was as cold as the one on the mountain.

As if sensing their gazes, the man smiled.

"Who I thought was causing trouble here, turned out to be those savages from the Barbarian Kingdom."

Savage?

After these words were spoken, the expressions of the fat and thin people changed instantly.

His originally calm expression turned angry, like a volcano about to erupt.

Especially the fat man took two steps forward, as if he was about to take action at any time.

The thin man reacted quickly and was calmer than the fat man. Although he could not suppress the fire in his heart, he still spoke slowly: "Who are you and what do you want to do here?"

The man smiled and said: "Didn't you just say that? Zhou An has nothing to fear, so Zhou An is here. Are you satisfied now?"

As soon as these words came out, the fat and thin people opened their eyes wide.

"Are you Zhou An?" the thin man asked gloomily.

Zhou An nodded, but did not speak. Instead, he looked at the boy in the wine jar.

His eyes were gouged out, his limbs were chopped off, his ears were poked, and even his tongue was cut out.

Seeing this scene, he fell silent.

He heard clearly outside just now and knew what the Barbarian Country was.

In the book given to him by the emperor of Chu State, there are also many things about the situation between the countries.

In fact, so far, the countries are relatively stable.

But there is only one country that is different.

This country is a barbarian country.

Just like the literal meaning, this country is not engaged in production, but is accustomed to hunting.

In fact, if you really make a living by hunting, you can live a good life, but the people of the barbarian country are very aggressive.

They are good at invading everything around them and are good at waging war.

For example, many years ago, there was a battle between the barbarian country and neighboring countries.

That battle allowed Da Chu and other countries to see this so-called barbarian country clearly.

At that time, the fighting was fierce, and the barbarian country was not engaged in production, so there was a big problem in terms of food and grass.

As a result, the people of this country actually killed the prisoners and set up a pot.

Since then, the image of a tyrannical and unreasonable person has been completely established.

But the most important thing is that this country cannot be destroyed yet.

Because since that battle, the barbarian country has gone to an extremely remote place, almost a barren land.

Several other countries seem to be at peace with each other, but no one is willing to take action. After all, each country is just cleaning up the troubles in front of them. No one wants to have their home stolen by others after taking action, thereby changing the situation.

When Zhou An read the information, he originally read it as a story. But now after seeing the real story, he feels that those stories may not really be stories.

Especially the boy in the wine jar made Zhou An furious.

The fat man and the thin man looked at each other and quietly surrounded Zhou An.

"The two of us have a mission. We didn't want to cause trouble to you, but you came here anyway. Forget it, let me have a taste of what it's like to be a master like you." The fat man sneered.

Zhou An smiled and said nothing.

The thin man said: "Just silence him."

"I know, I know, don't worry, I still understand the seriousness of the matter. Look at this kid, he can still laugh."

The fat man said indifferently: "He didn't know that he would face a master who was at the peak of his innate nature. That's right. He probably didn't understand, but it doesn't matter. After we kill him, we will eat him and the woman next to him." She is quite beautiful. There are too few women with this temperament in our country, so why not..."

The two of them chatted as if Zhou An was not here, as if no one else was around.

Zhou An was still smiling at first, but when he heard the last words said by the fat man, the smile in his eyes disappeared.

The cold marrow knife was drawn out by him.

"Oh, you do care about the women around you, but you won't care about it later, because..." The fat man wanted to tease her a few more words, but couldn't say anything else.

In front of his eyes, the sky was filled with dark green sword light.

Zhou An glanced at the boy in the wine jar and said, "Soon, they will be like you."

The black-green sword light fell from the sky, unrivaled. (End of chapter)