There is a bluestone road, mottled wall corners, a gurgling stream, and continuous white walls and black tiles beside the stream. An old stone arch bridge crosses the stream, and an eight-pillar wooden pavilion on the bridge. The wooden pillars have faded.
Sitting in the pavilion was an old man leaning on a stick, surrounded by seven or eight children.
Talking about ancient times.
A young man in old clothes, about fifteen or sixteen years old, holding a bag of rice in his hand, stood alone by the wall, silently looking ahead.
You can hear the old man's words and the children's exclamations.
The old man is the elder of the village. He is old and free, so he often talks about ancient times under the tree at the entrance of the village. This not only lets the young people know the world affairs and the rise and fall of history, but also passes on his life experience and lessons to the future generations of the village.
In these days, many things in rural villages are passed down orally from generation to generation.
But once there are more children, talking about ancient times changes its flavor.
From talking about ancient and modern events, it has turned into fairy tales.
This kind of story has been popular throughout the ages.
Those who listen love to listen, and those who speak love to speak.
Lin Jue also came here often to listen during the previous year.
Speaking of which, it was only a year ago that he came to this world. He came to a strange and backward place for nothing, and few people were willing to do so. But since he was already here, there was no other way, so he could only try his best not to be ignored.
I have spent my life trapped in this small village.
It is expected that every world should have its own splendor, and different eras will also have their own fun, so you have to experience it.
Going out is difficult or easy.
It depends on how you move.
Lin Jue initially planned to study hard, get a good name, leave this place, and say hello to the world first.
It just so happens that business has been booming here in recent years. Most of the Shu families in the village have organized business groups and sold local pens, inks, paper, inkstones, tea leaves and wood to the capital. They have gradually become rich. In addition, this place is influenced by the Confucian clan's local concept and culture.
When the rich people became more and more wealthy, they hoped that there would be more scholars among their tribesmen and villagers, so that they could help each other by taking the exams, so they raised funds to open ethnic studies academies. Even people from the same village with foreign surnames like Lin Jue got a little bit of it.
Light.
So I studied for a year and listened to the ancients for a year.
Life is hard, but after getting used to it, it becomes leisurely.
But now there is sadness——
Last month, my uncle went out fishing and suddenly became seriously ill when he came back. He had sores all over his body. Not long after, he was on the verge of death.
It turned out that his family was poor when he was young. His mother was abducted by a salesman, and his father raised him alone. Later, he went out to do business with a family named Shu in the village. He made some hard money, but in the past two years, bandits and thieves were rampant in the world.
The year before last, after a trip, a group of businessmen did not come back. After that, the uncle took over the responsibility of his father and provided for him with food, clothing and education.
He even fell into the water when he came, but this uncle risked his life to rescue him from the river.
After his uncle fell ill, his cousin went to see a well-known miracle doctor in the surrounding area and prescribed medicine. The medicine was effective, but it was also expensive.
For ordinary people, thanks to the convenience of the place, it is good to have enough food and clothing. The limit is to support a scholar. A month's worth of medicine has already emptied their savings.
The money left by his original father has also been used up.
The owner surnamed Shu in the village was kind-hearted and asked him to go to his house every ten days to receive a small bag of rice so that the villagers would not starve to death at home.
Lin Jue had just returned from the house of his master surnamed Shu.
According to what the miracle doctor said, stubborn diseases can be treated slowly. If you want to be cured, you have to drink this kind of medicine for at least three months, and it costs at least ten or twenty dollars.
But I don’t know where to find it.
Lin felt really sad.
When I came to my senses in a daze, I heard a voice coming from the pavilion in front of me:
"...That man was not a Taoist judge with moral integrity, but a brave and strong man. After drinking some wine, he struggled with the ghost for half the night. By the time it was dawn, he was exhausted and got up.
Take a look, guess what happened?
"There are no ghosts around. There is only a piece of skin on the ground like a rag bag. When the sun comes out, it emits green smoke and smells bad."
Many children were shocked, stunned, and obsessed with it.
But one child had a hint of doubt in his eyes:
"Second Master, are there really ghosts in the world?"
Over the past year, Lin Jue often thought about this issue while listening to the story.
Are there really gods and ghosts in this world?
I have never seen it, so I dare not say so lightly.
But if not, the rumors are so common and true.
"Of course! Why not?" The village elder raised his eyebrows, "I have told you so many stories about fairies and ghosts, many of them have names, but are they all made up?"
"Have you seen it?"
"I've seen it before! Didn't I tell you about it?"
"But Master said that there are no monsters or monsters in this world, and he has never seen any monsters or monsters in his life."
"Master..."
The old man held the crutch he was leaning on, smiled and pondered, thought carefully, and then said:
"There are thousands of kinds of people in this world. Some are afraid of ghosts, and some are not afraid of ghosts. The same goes for ghosts. Some ghosts are afraid of people, and some are not afraid of people. Therefore, some people walk around ghosts, and some ghosts walk around people. The Master has read many sages.
He is well-educated and well-educated. He is upright and despises ghosts and monsters. How can any ghosts dare to appear in front of him?"
Many children listened in a daze and seemed to understand.
The old man smiled again, stroked his beard and said:
"What I just talked about is about the county next door. If you don't believe it, the Wang family branch temple in Hengcun has also been haunted by ghosts recently. The Wang family has offered a reward of ten thousand to anyone who dares to stay in the temple for one night.
It just so happens that you guys are very angry, so how dare you go to the ancestral hall and sleep together all night?"
"real?"
"If you don't believe me, go home and ask your parents!"
Many children looked at each other, very scared.
"Has anyone been there?"
"Yes. There are several gamblers and drunkards in our village. Except for the bold one who got the money last month, the others were so frightened that they ran out in the middle of the night. Some even fell ill for several days after they came back."
After the old man finished speaking, he added:
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask!”
Many children immediately shut up.
Only Lin Jue's face looked strange.
The reason why I am waiting here is to wait for the knowledgeable village elder to finish telling a story about ghosts and ghosts, and then go over to ask him for advice on how to make money, whether it is a side job he can do, or based on his seniority as a village elder.
Let him do something in the caravan of the Shu clan, as long as he can make money, it will be good.
Unexpectedly, I happened to hear this...
In the past, I had heard of drinking buddies making bets and sleeping in cemeteries after getting drunk, and I had also heard many ghost stories told by old people in this bridge pavilion. At this time, all these things came to mind.
Think carefully and think carefully.
Finally, the young man took the rice bag and took steps.
Along the stream, we went up to the bridge pavilion and came to the village elder. Naturally, we had to be a little more respectful to the kind old man and shouted:
"Grandpa Shu."
"It's the Lin family's doll, what's wrong?"
"What you just said is that the Grand Master of the Wang family in Hengcun offered a reward of ten thousand yuan for sleeping in the ancestral hall for one night. Is it true or false?"
"Huh? Do you want to try it?"
Although the Lin family has a foreign surname, they are from the same village. How could the old man not know about his family's situation? He usually helps a lot. When he asked this question, he immediately guessed what he was thinking.
"Are there really ghosts in the Wang family ancestral hall?" Lin Jue asked first.
"How do I know? I just told these idiots to try it, but it was just to scare them. You can't just go after hearing what I said."
"..." Lin Jue was silent for a moment and then asked, "Did anyone really get that ten thousand yuan?"
"Of course. I heard that he is a Jiu Mengzi from the county. He is strong and courageous. I wonder if he has ever practiced martial arts. He stayed there all night and came out the next morning, took the money and left."
"Did anyone lose their lives?"
"I haven't heard of this," the old man said, "killing people is a big deal. It's not like deep mountains and old forests, but wherever mortals live, there are royal laws. Even if there are real monsters, they don't dare to kill people casually."
Lin Jue stood still and thought for a while before saying:
"Thank you, Grandpa Shu."
"You really want to go? Are you not afraid?"
The old man had already seen what he was thinking.
"..."
Lin Jue was not a real young man. He had both thoughts and calculations in his heart. However, he did not say anything at this time, but continued to bow and salute:
"Please Grandpa Shu, please give me more advice."
"well……"
The old man sighed: "I am not a Taoist judge, a witch or an alchemist. How can I know any methods to ward off demons and eliminate evil spirits? Even if there is one, it is useless. If it is useful, why will it be your turn?"
Then he paused and thought for a moment:
"I often hear people say that people become ghosts only after they die. Ghosts are inherently weaker than humans. Even if a fox rat in the mountains becomes a spirit, it will only be slightly stronger at first. In fact, few people are very advanced.
"Another old saying goes: Demons arise from people.
"You have never done anything bad, you have no guilt in your heart, you are young and have no disease or disaster, and your energy and blood are strong. Ordinary monsters and ghosts will not trouble you. If you do encounter them, you must not be afraid when facing them. Fear will make you confused and heartbroken.
If there is chaos, the mind will disperse, and if the mind disperses, the ghosts will take advantage of it. If you are not afraid, the mind will be calm, and if the mind is calm, the mind will be intact. If the mind is calm, then demons and ghosts will not be able to invade it.
"So when something strange happens in a house, a bold and courageous person should be hired to take charge. Boldness is the first, and courage is the second!
"Not talking about demons and ghosts, it's the same when confronting people.
"You must never let go of your courage..."
Lin Jue listened carefully, his expression relatively calm.
Over the past year, most of the strange and strange stories I have heard from village elders are like this.
Demons and ghosts are not necessarily stronger than humans.
Humans are not necessarily weaker than demons.
There are demons and ghosts who deceive people, and there are people who deceive demons and ghosts.
And there are often people who are on good terms with each other.
There are often chance encounters and short-lived relationships.
Weird, romantic and weird.
fascinating.
If there really are demons and ghosts in the world, they should be somewhat consistent with the secular legends.
It was still early in the morning, and the village at the foot of the mountain was very quiet. The houses were shrouded in a light white mist. For a while, the only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of birds in the trees and the sound of running water. The young man had already thanked the old man, carried the rice bag, and returned home.
Think about it as you walk.
But I don’t know if the strange things happening in the Wang Family Ancestral Hall in Hengcun are really caused by ghosts or are caused by people with ulterior motives.
I don’t know what this world is like.
Give me ten thousand...
Let’s go and see it today.
Chapter completed!