The carpenter stayed in the deserted house at night, and when he saw that most of the roast chickens had disappeared inexplicably, he hurriedly took out an ink fountain
On the mountain road to Cangqian Town, a young carpenter, Yang Shan, walked alone. He limped forward in plain coarse cloth clothes with a toolbox around his waist. Yang Shan first came out of the rivers and lakes, and after learning about his life experience, he decided to leave ** and embark on a journey to find his father's three disciples. He longs to learn the best martial arts skills to save his mother from the cold pool and find out the truth.
Yang Shan has been learning carpentry skills from Carpenter Liu in Qiantang County, but has never set foot in the rivers and lakes. I don't know much about the affairs of the rivers and lakes, and I don't know where to go as soon as I leave Qiantang County. He walked aimlessly all day, and when he saw that it was getting late, he decided to rest for the night in Kuramae Town, which was ahead. Half an hour later, he arrived at Kuramae Town.
After a long day's travel, he felt hungry, so he found a restaurant to eat. It was evening, and there was an endless stream of people in the restaurant. Yang Shan was arranged by the waiter at a table in the corner and ordered a pot of wine and a few side dishes. The waiter made a note and left, going to the back kitchen to prepare the food. Yang Shan poured a cup of tea and waited quietly while looking at his surroundings.
He noticed two people sitting at the next table. One was dressed in a bright silk merchant attire, the other was dressed in a green coat, and a long sword was placed beside him, obviously a Jianghu figure. The merchant asked, "Cousin, why are you leaving after only two days?"”
The man in Tsing Yi replied: "Originally, I also wanted to stay for a few more days, but in another month, the old man Jin of Luoyang Golden Dao Villa will be 60 years old." Old Man Jin has a high status in the rivers and lakes, and his family's "Broken Water Flow" knife technique has been with the first person in the martial arts, Mo Daxia, for more than 100 rounds. As soon as Yang Shan heard his father's name, he immediately listened attentively.
The man in Tsing Yi continued: "It's a pity that no one of the Jin family's broken water flow knife technique has been inherited so far, and the son and two grandsons of Old Man Jin have mediocre qualifications and cannot comprehend the essence of the knife technique. Therefore, this time, Mr. Jin not only celebrates his birthday, but also wants to find a talented husband for his granddaughter Jin Ruolan to pass on the water breaking knife technique. ”
The merchant asked curiously, "Cousin, how does Jin Ruolan look?"The man in Tsing Yi fell into deep thought, and only replied after a while: "Miss Jin is one of the four beauties in today's martial arts, and she is as beautiful as a flower, which has attracted the pursuit of many handsome young people. The merchant patted the man in Tsing Yi on the shoulder and smiled, "Cousin, are you here to ......?"The man in Tsing Yi shook his head and said, "Cousin, you misunderstood, I just want to see a lively scene, how can my qualifications be ......."”
The two chatted while eating, and Yang Shan listened with relish on the side. Knowing that Old Man Jin is going to choose his grandson-in-law for his 60th birthday, it will definitely attract many people from the rivers and lakes to come, and this is a good opportunity for him to inquire about the news. So he decided to stay in Kuramae Town for one night and rush to Golden Knife Villa tomorrow. After eating, Yang Shan prepared to find an inn to stay.
As soon as he walked out of the restaurant, he heard a commotion nearby. Following the voice, I found a family member in Tsing Yi pulling a girl, and an old woman tried to stop her, but was pushed to the ground by the family. The girl called for help: "Mother, are you okay?"Yang Shan stepped forward to help the old woman and glared at the family member angrily: "Why did you forcibly pull the girl and push the old woman down?."”
A middle-aged man dressed in a bright costume walked out and sneered mockingly: "Their family owes me a lot of money, and now there is nothing left." I plan to take the girl back as a concubine, so that their family's debts will be written off. I'm helping them out, so don't worry about it. An old woman pleaded and said, "Lord Wu, please give me more time, we will definitely pay back." ”
Lord Wu replied disdainfully: "Debts should be repaid when they are due, and arrears cannot be tolerated." If I don't have the money to pay it back, then your daughter will make up for my loss. Yang Shan interjected and asked, "How much does their family owe you?"Lord Wu replied indifferently: "Sixty taels." Without hesitation, Yang Shan took out sixty taels of silver, handed it to Lord Wu, and said, "The money they owe you, I will pay it back for them, and now please let go of that girl in your family." ”
Lord Wu had no choice but to take the money, motioned for the family to let go of the girl, and then left with a look of resentment. The old woman said gratefully, "Leave your name, and I will give you back." Yang Shan smiled and said, "No need, it's just a few taels of silver." With that, he walked away. After Lord Wu's master and servant left, the family proposed, "Master, do you want me to arrange for someone to teach that carpenter a lesson?"”
Master Wu sneered and said, "No need, I have my own way." After speaking, he whispered a few words in the ears of his family, and the family nodded frequently. Yang Shan learned that there were two inns in Cangqian Town, one in the east and one in the west. It was getting late, and Yang Shan hurried to the inn in the east of the town.
When I arrived, I found that the inn was full and there were no rooms. Yang Shan had no choice but to rush to the west of the town. There, the same situation was encountered. Yang Shan walked out of the inn and looked around, not knowing whether to spend the night in ** tonight. At this time, an old man passing by kindly asked, "Young man, can't you find a place to stay?"”
Yang Shan replied: "That's right, uncle, do you know that there are other places where you can find accommodation?"The old man pondered for a moment, pointed to the alley on the right, and said, "Go all the way, and after a cup of tea, you will see a deserted mansion, which is uninhabited, and several houses are still in good condition." You can spend the night there, it's better than spending the night outside in the open air. ”
Yang Shan was quite happy to hear this, and after thanking the old man, he headed towards the path on the right. After Yang Shan left, Wu Yuanwai's servants appeared in front of the old man. Wu Yuanwai said: "Lao Li, you have done a good job, I will reward you." Then he took out dozens of dollars, threw them to the old man, and sneered: "Master, you are really discerning." The deserted mansion had been haunted for five years, and everyone who had been in it had come out seriously ill. This kid probably can't escape this fate. ”
Yang Shan didn't know that he was being calculated on the road. When he passed by a butcher's shop, he bought a roast chicken and prepared it for supper. Yang Shan carried the roast chicken into the deserted mansion. Although it is overgrown with vegetation, the house remains relatively intact and there are no holes in the roof. Yang Shan found some dry wood and built a fire to light and keep warm.
He found a stone, placed it next to the pillar, and sat on it to rest. Yang Shan closed his eyes, but he couldn't sleep. After a while, he took out the roast chicken wrapped in oil-paper wrapping, tore off a chicken thigh, and began to enjoy it. While he was eating, he suddenly heard a desolate cry: "Give me back my life......”
The bleak sound was particularly harsh and chilling in the quiet of the night. Yang Shan shouted loudly: "Who is it?".Who is doing these tricks of false gods?He walked out of the lobby and looked around, but found nothing out of the ordinary. When he returned to the lobby, he was surprised to find that most of the roast chicken was missing. Yang Shan hurriedly took out the ink fountain and shouted, "Are you a human or a ghost?"If you have the ability, come out, don't steal. ”
After a while, an eerie figure floated in, the man was dressed in tattered **, his hair was unkempt, and his beard was half white, like a ghost. The man stepped out in one step, and turned into three, surrounding Yang Shan. He said bitterly, "Give me back my life......."”
Yang Shan was not afraid, stepped forward, and shouted: "Come out, ink fountain line!."With a finger of his finger, the ink fountain line flew out instantly, quickly weaving into a large net, heading towards the one on the left. The man was caught off guard and trapped by the net, while the other three quickly disappeared. Yang Shan finally saw that the other three were just phantoms created by that person.
The person trapped by the net struggled desperately, and Yang Shan said calmly: "Don't bother, this ink fountain line is made of special materials, and it's useless for you to struggle." The man pleaded, "Brother, just because I ate half of your roast chicken, treat me like this?"Yang Shan looked at him in surprise and smiled helplessly: "You are so old, why do you still call me brother?."”
The man smiled innocently and said, "Isn't it kinder to call brother?"Brother, can you spare me?Yang Shan felt that he was a little pitiful when he was old, but his temperament was like that of a child, and he didn't seem to have any malice, so he let go of the net. The man asked, "Brother, I just used the Phantom Nine Steps, how do you know that my true body is on your left?"”
Yang Shan replied: "You are obviously standing in front of me, but three phantoms have been produced in one step, and the real body has moved to my left hand side at some point, this trick is indeed exquisite." But illusion may be able to deceive the eye, but not the nose. If you hadn't stolen my roast chicken and made me smell it, I wouldn't have been able to find your true identity. ”
The man suddenly realized and smiled: "Brother, you are really smart. Yang Shan bowed and said, "Senior, you have won the award." Please also ask the seniors' surnames?The man said impatiently: "Don't want the seniors and juniors, just call me Lao Zhou." ”
Yang Shan smiled bitterly and said, "Okay, Lao Zhou, why did you deliberately scare me?"Lao Zhou replied with a smile: "The night here is the most peaceful, and I choose to practice my Phantom Nine Steps here every night." In the past, people stayed here, and I used to scare them away so as not to disturb my practice. Subsequently, rumors were spread in the neighborhood that there were ghosts in the abandoned mansion, so few people dared to come. I don't know how you got here to stay, dude”
Yang Shan replied: "I was just passing by here and didn't know anything about the situation. Lao Zhou smiled: "In this case, you can live here, but you can't disturb my practice." Yang Shan said comfortingly: "Don't worry, I won't bother you." With that, he sat down and closed his eyes. Lao Zhou took out a book of "Phantom Nine Steps" and concentrated on research.
Sometimes he lowered his head in contemplation, sometimes scratched his ears and cheeks, staring intently at the cheats, as if there were many incomprehensible things. Lao Zhou woke up Yang Shan and asked, "Brother, I think you are very smart, can you help me see how the phantom nine steps should be practiced?"I've been researching for five years and still only scratching the surface. ”
Yang Shan replied, "This is not very good, aren't you worried that I have learned your Phantom Nine Steps?"Lao Zhou smiled and said, "Don't worry, "Phantom Nine Steps" was obtained by accident from a cave, not my originality. Moreover, I think you are a kind person, brother, and you will not use it for ** purposes if you learn it. After speaking, he handed the "Phantom Nine Steps" to Yang Shan.
Yang Shan took the book and turned the first page. It turns out that the nine steps of the phantom are composed of nine ingenious footwork, which are constantly changing, producing a phantom that confuses the human eye. In hostile battles, this can achieve a surprise effect, and you can skip the level against the enemy after learning this skill. Yang Shan carefully read "Nine Steps of the Phantom", and because he was quite perceptive, he quickly understood the key to it.
So, he practiced it several times in the lobby. Two hours later, he had mastered the Phantom Nine Steps. Subsequently, he told Lao Zhou about his realization. When it was almost dawn, Lao Zhou said goodbye and left. Yang Shan then left the deserted mansion as well. As soon as I turned a corner, I saw the old woman of yesterday sitting in a corner crying.
He stepped forward to inquire about the reason, and learned that Wu Yuanwai sent Jia Ding to forcibly bring her daughter into the mansion last night. After Yang Shan understood Wu Yuanwai's home address, he went to the rescue. He searched in Wu Yuanwai's mansion and finally found the old woman's daughter in the firewood room. It turned out that after the woman was arrested, she would rather die than obey, and Wu Yuanwai locked her in the firewood room, trying to suppress her by starvation.
Yang Shan took the woman to easily avoid the family and successfully left the Wu Mansion. He told the woman to go home as soon as possible and leave with her mother. The woman thanked her gratefully and left. Yang Shan remembered Lao Zhou's teasing of people, and felt that the sky was not completely bright.
So, he deliberately made his hair unkempt and embarrassed, and quietly came to Wu Yuanwai's bedroom. He cried out in a terrible voice: "Give me back my life......Wu Yuanwai woke up and saw Yang Shan's sneaky face, and was so frightened that he foamed at the mouth and fainted. Yang Shan sneered: "As the saying goes, don't do bad things on weekdays, and don't be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door in the middle of the night." Wu Yuanwai usually has a lot of evil deeds, which leads to being so easily intimidated, which is considered to be deserved. ”
Yang Shan silently bid farewell to Wu Mansion, bought several fragrant buns in the early morning, and began to embark on the journey to Luoyang Mansion.