First encounter with Strange Island
Once upon a time, there was a scholar named Zheng Ming, who studied diligently and hard, and wanted to gain fame, but failed repeatedly. This year, Zheng Ming failed the list again, and he was in a low mood. In order to cheer up Zheng Ming, his friend Gao Hong had a wealthy family, so he spent a lot of money to charter a boat, brought a few entourages, and invited Zheng Ming to travel to the sea with him.
On this day, when the ship was moving on the sea, a small island suddenly appeared in front of it, and from a distance, the island was rocky and the scenery was unique. On a whim, Zheng Ming asked the boatman to dock so that he could go ashore for a tour. Unexpectedly, the shipman's face turned pale, and he waved his hand again and again: "I can't go, I can't go!" ”
Zheng Ming asked why he couldn't go, and the boatman told the two that there was a cocoon country on the island, and the people of the cocoon country were outstanding, most of them were handsome men and beautiful women, which attracted many travelers who wanted to see their faces.
Hearing this, Gao Hong couldn't help but ask: "In that case, what's the reason to go?" ”
The boat man said: "Childe doesn't know, the reason why this cocoon country is called this is because the people there turn into cocoons one by one at night. That cocoon has a demon law, if a living person accidentally touches it, he will be firmly sucked by the cocoon until his essence is exhausted and he dies! ”
When Zheng Ming heard this, he was shocked, and the faces of his entourage also showed horror. Unexpectedly, Gao Hong was interested, and he had to go to the island to have a look, no matter how the shipman persuaded him, he didn't listen.
Gao Hong wants to go, and Zheng Ming can't back down. In order not to disturb others, they asked the shipman to leave with his entourage first, and to pick them up on the next high tide day.
The boatman docked the boat on the shore, and the two got off the boat and walked to the shore, but just a few steps, Gao Hong suddenly said that he still had something to say to the boatman, and Zheng Ming was waiting for him on the shore. When Gao Hong came back, Zheng Ming asked him what he said to the shipman, and Gao Hong said: "This ** is unpredictable, I gave the shipman some silver, and told him that if he can't pick us up when he comes, don't stay, just send my entourage home safely." ”
Zheng Ming listened and said to Gao Hong with admiration: "Senior brother is righteous, junior brother is ashamed!" Gao Hong said with a smile: "Brother Xian, don't worry, this silver is eighty percent cheap, the shipman is cheap, you see that this ** is like a place to eat people?" Zheng Ming looked around, and they had arrived at a busy city, with many shops and pedestrians on the street, a thriving and lively scene.
The two wandered along the street, and when they were tired of shopping, they found a restaurant to eat. As soon as they sat down, a young man approached them and asked if they were travelers from the Central Plains.
Zheng Ming saw that this person was well-dressed and looked like a noble son, so he said politely: "Exactly, the two of us have been in the Middle Plains since the Middle Plains and want to visit your place for a few days." The young man said: "What a coincidence, I have many friends who are from the Central Plains, and today I met two brothers, it is really fate!" ”
Gao Hong already loves to make friends, so he invited him to sit right away. Unexpectedly, the boy said: "You two have come from afar, I should do my best to be a landlord!" After speaking, he called the shopkeeper of the restaurant, took out a piece of gold, and asked the other party to arrange the best wine and food.
Make great friends
Subsequently, the three exchanged names, and the son said that everyone in the cocoon country was surnamed cocoon, and Zheng Ming and Gao Hong respectfully called him "Cocoon Gongzi". The three of them had a good time drinking and talking, and they were very happy. When night fell, the cocoon boy bowed and said: "It's getting late, the environment of this restaurant is elegant, the two brothers can rest here!" After speaking, the cocoon boy got up and left, Zheng Ming and Gao Hong looked at each other, this restaurant has neither guest rooms nor beds, how to rest?
So, the two went to chase the cocoon boy, wanting to stop him and ask if there was an inn. As soon as they reached the door, they were stunned, and saw some round, white-flowered cocoons lying on the street, large and small, glowing green in the moonlight, very terrible.
The two of them were so frightened that their legs were weak, and they turned around and wanted to run back to the restaurant, but when they turned around, they found that the people inside had also turned into calluses.
The two of them couldn't advance or retreat, so they could only squeeze at the door and didn't dare to move. At this time, the cocoon boy suddenly came back and said: "Oh, I forgot, the way people in the Central Plains go to bed is different from that of our people, it's too late today, so I'll ask the two brothers to take a break, and I'll let people build two beds tomorrow!" ”
Seeing that the cocoon boy was still a human being, the two of them hurriedly told the cocoon what the boat man had said, and begged him to save his life.
The cocoon boy first comforted them not to panic, and then said: "The people of the cocoon country are human during the day and turn into cocoons at night, this is indeed the truth. The people of the cocoon country have always had the tradition of sleeping on the ground, so many people will rest and fall asleep at night, but the so-called words of sucking people's essence are all absurd words made up by travelers in the past, you must not believe it! Besides, if I had the intention of harming you, I could have easily done it when I was drinking in a restaurant during the day, so why wait until now? ”
After speaking, the cocoon boy casually pointed to a cocoon and said, "You can touch the cocoon at will, and I guarantee with my life that the cocoon will not hurt you in the slightest!" ”
Zheng Ming thought about it and felt that what the cocoon boy said made sense, so he boldly walked to the side of the cocoon, stretched out his finger and touched it, and sure enough, nothing happened. Seeing this, Gao Hong also walked over to touch the cocoon, and the two of them became more and more bold, and finally touched the cocoon all over, and they were all safe and sound.
The cocoon boy said: "The two brothers can rest assured now?" Both of them nodded, and the cocoon boy smiled and said that he would not go home tonight and would stay in the restaurant with them.
After speaking, the cocoon boy lay down on the bench next to him, and saw silk instantly appear all over his body, and those silks grew quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the cocoon boy also became a cocoon.
Zheng Ming and Gao Hong watched the cocoon turn into a cocoon, and they were still a little apprehensive in their hearts. The two of them shrank in the corner, not daring to close their eyes, and did not fall into a deep sleep until it was almost dawn. By the time they woke up, the cocoon boy had already asked someone to separate a room for them on the second floor and set up two beds. The two couldn't help but thank the cocoon boy repeatedly.
Zheng Ming was still thinking about the days when he made a good deal with the ship, and after the cocoon boy found out, he said that there was no need to worry, there were often merchant ships passing by here, and if he wanted to leave, he could arrange it. At this time, both of them were relieved, and in the following days, the cocoon boy took them around to play.
On this day, the three of them were walking down the street when a melodious sound of the piano suddenly came from a pavilion on the side of the street. Gao Hong asked Cocoon Gongzi what kind of place it was, and Cocoon Gongzi said that the building was called Tianyin Building, which was a local music workshop.
Gao Hong said that he wanted to go in to listen to the piano, so the cocoon boy led the two of them in, and saw a woman playing the piano on stage. As soon as the woman raised her head, Zheng Ming and Gao Hong were stunned, the women they had seen on the island these days were more beautiful than the other, but they were far inferior to this woman's stunning appearance.
The cocoon boy called the woman "Zhen Niang", and Zhen Niang got off the stage, saluted Zheng Ming and Gao Hong, and offered to play a song for the two. The sound of Zhen Niang's piano is like fairy music, and the two of them are fascinated by it, and they can't come back to their senses at the end of the song. Before going to bed that night, Gao Hong sighed: "It's a pity that such a stunning woman can't stay with her for a long time!" ”
Zheng Ming saw that Gao Hong was moved by Zhen Niang, so he persuaded: "Although Zhen Niang is beautiful, she is a woman of different races after all, and she has to turn into a cocoon every night, how can she stay with her for a long time, what a pity!"
Zheng Ming saw that Gao Hong was moved by Zhen Niang, so he persuaded: "Although Zhen Niang is beautiful, she is a foreign woman after all, and she has to turn into a cocoon every night, how can she stay with you?" Brother Gao still broke off this thought! Gao Hong's face turned gloomy after hearing this, and he went to sleep without saying a word.
Since then, Gao Hong has gone to Tianyinlou every day to listen to Zhenniang play the piano, and he doesn't travel with Cocoon Gongzi and Zheng Ming.
A frightening scene
This morning, when Zheng Ming woke up, he found that Gao Hong's bed was empty, he was taken aback, and was about to go out to look for it, but he saw the cocoon boy rushing in in a panic and said, "Brother Zheng, Zhen Niang is gone!" ”
Zheng Ming secretly said that it was not good, so he called the cocoon boy to chase in the direction of the shore together, and when he was halfway there, he found that there was a person lying on the ground in front of him, and Zhen Niang was crying beside him. When I got closer, the person lying on the ground was Gao Hong, and I saw that he described it as withered and had turned into a dried corpse.
Zheng Ming was grief-stricken and asked Zhen Niang what was going on, Zhen Niang cried: "Gao Gongzi confessed his heart to me and asked me if I would like to go back to the Central Plains with him, I didn't agree, I didn't expect him to secretly carry me out of Tianyin Tower ...... at night."”
Zheng Ming was puzzled: "No matter how Gao Hong and I touched the cocoon that day, the cocoon didn't hurt us a point, why did Zhen Niang's cocoon take Gao Hong's life last night?" ”
The cocoon boy sighed and said, "Alas, it's all my fault, I didn't tell you earlier!" "It turns out that after the cocoon is turned into a cocoon, it will lose its consciousness, and the cocoon will not hurt people in a static state; However, if it is moved, the cocoon will attack. Gao Hong carried Zhen Niang's cocoon on his back and hurried overnight, and the cocoon felt that he was in danger, so he killed Gao Hong.
After speaking, the cocoon boy said again: "The people of the cocoon country are beautiful but frail, in order to protect themselves, they gave birth to such skills, but I never expected that today's senior brother will die because of this!" ”
Zhen Niang cried: "Gao Gongzi is very affectionate to me, I have no intention of harming him, but it's a pity that he ......."At this point, Zheng Ming had nothing to say, so he could only ask the cocoon boy to find someone to help bury Gao Hong.
Back at the restaurant, Zheng Ming was lying on the bed and looked sad, and suddenly felt a little awkward at the head of the bed, and when he opened it, it was actually a purse. There were some silver taels in the purse, and there was a letter, which was written by Gao Hong. Gao Hong said that before he went to the island, he had asked the boatman to hide a small boat in a hidden place on the shore, and he and Zhenniang took the first step; Gao Hong also asked Zheng Ming to wait with peace of mind, saying that when he arrived at a safe place, he would immediately send a boat to pick up Zheng Ming.
After reading the letter, Zheng Ming felt very uncomfortable. That night, he couldn't sleep at night, and as soon as he closed his eyes, Gao Hong was sucked by a cocoon and shouted for help. He decided to say goodbye to the cocoon boy and set off.
The next day, Zheng Ming went to say goodbye to the cocoon boy, and asked someone to say that the cocoon boy was in Tianyin Tower. After Zheng Ming arrived, he didn't see anyone, but he heard the voice of the cocoon boy from upstairs: "If you hadn't lied to him, as long as you left the cocoon country, you would be able to become an ordinary person, and he wouldn't have stolen your cocoon in the middle of the night!" ”
Zheng Ming was shocked, feeling that things were not simple, so he quickly squatted down and found a corner to hide.
I only heard Zhen Niang say: "This is true, but I also told Gao Hong that once I leave the Cocoon Country, I can only live for a year at most." Gao Hong covets my beauty, but he doesn't care about my life, it can be seen that he has no sincerity for me, and he abandons his friends for his own selfishness, which is also unrighteous! ”
The cocoon boy sighed: "Counting Gao Hong, I have made friends, I don't know how many have died at your hands!" ”
Zhen Niang smiled and said: "All of them are lustful and selfish, and it is not a pity to die!" But if I don't have them, how can I have a permanent face? ”
Hearing this, Zheng Ming was so frightened that he didn't dare to come out, and cautiously slipped out with his back against the wall. That night, after everyone around him had turned into cocoons, he ran all the way to the shore, and after a lot of effort, he finally found the boat that Gao Hong said.
Zheng Ming got on a small boat and after drifting at sea for a few days, he was rescued by a passing merchant ship. After returning home, Zheng Ming fell seriously ill, and the next year he went to Beijing to take the exam, and he was named on the gold list.