Chapter 1 Rainy Night and Cold Autumn, First Meeting
Late autumn. The night is cold, drizzle, and the cold wind howls.
On the eastern outskirts of Flag City, it is desolate and quiet, and the wild color is like ink. Under the desolate soil mountain, a deserted temple is isolated in a dark cave.
The north wind is cold and cold, and the remaining leaves of the sycamore trees are blown up.
From a distance, you can see a hole in the temple door, a rusty lock hanging from the door, and fog and cold haze coming in.
Hidden inside, the four heavenly kings' Dharma bodies have collapsed. They look like ghosts with broken heads and disemboweled bodies. They have ferocious faces and look evilly at the world.
In the hall, there was an overturned altar table with broken legs, scattered incense sticks and short candles, and yellow paper and random talismans.
The empty space of the Buddhist gate is more like a house where ghosts gather, or a hall of Yama's Dharma. Who would dare to enter this gate if it is not a beggar who has no place to live, or a bandit who steals wealth and seeks life.
The shadows covered the place and the cold rain poured down. A shadow suddenly appeared in the rain and mist, as fast as a ghost and as cold as Shura!
Wearing black clothes, he is invisible, with a steel knife behind his back that is as cold as blood. He is as graceful as a swallow hunting for a shadow, and passes by as quickly as a powerful knife, like a handful of breeze sneaking into the palace.
The hall was empty, and after a quick glance, he walked through the hall, quietly crossed the vestibule, and came to the front of the Guangming Buddha Hall.
Looking forward, the red door is wide open, the leaky window opens into a dark hole, and the Buddhist temple is like a devil's cave.
The man in black hid under the side window and listened carefully. The only sound in the hall was the whistling of the wind. Enter the hall carefully.
In the hall, the clay Buddha had collapsed and the Three Treasures were missing. The man in black moved against the wall and scanned everywhere with his eyes, but could not find the target. He continued to search forward and chased him to the backyard.
There is not enough grass in the backyard, ruins are buried in ruins, and foxes and snakes live in the Zen room. The windows are leaky and broken, and the wind is blowing, like a group of demons dancing wildly. The bamboo curtain is half broken, like a hanging hanging ghost, knocking on the door and chanting for a long time.
A deserted house is no different, but the human heart hides its ghosts.
The mind of a night walker is comparable to Yama, specializing in dealing with imps, and the night is his retinue. He hears no difference in his surroundings, and his eyes scan the ground. When he looks at the subtle details, he is as quiet as a civet cat watching the night.
There was a faint mist, a slight drizzle, and continuous falling grass, mixed with the noise of rats scrambling for food. A line of shallow footprints was visible on the damp mud.
The man in black opened his eyes and quickly followed the footsteps.
After walking a few dozen steps, there is an ancient stone well hidden in the grass in the corner of the east wall.
When I looked down the well, I saw that it was dark and unfathomable, as deep as a dark nest in the underworld. Immediately, the stench hit my nostrils and reached straight to the sky.
The man in black looked at it, thought briefly, grabbed the hemp rope on the windlass, and climbed into the well like an ape.
Sliding quietly into the bottom of the well, everything is darker and invisible. The air is much warmer and the stench is stronger. It is like a dead pig with a rotted belly and intestines buried underground for many days to ferment. If an ordinary person had covered his mouth and nose earlier, he would have vomited.
The man in black seemed unaffected, standing calmly, his breathing and heartbeat stopped. He seemed like a heartless dead thing, blending into the night.
When I was young, I gradually adapted to the darkness and could see things blurry. I began to look around. I saw that the ground was soaked with dust and mud, and there were traces of people coming and going. There was a black door panel on the dark side of the well wall, and when I gently pushed it open, I saw a secret passage.
The secret passage can accommodate two people standing side by side, but they don't know how long it is, and it is completely dark. The man in black pulled out a steel knife and guarded it in front of his chest. He did not light a fire to illuminate it, but only used tiger gall to touch the wall and feel inside.
In the dark, sound is more reliable than fire. If a fire is lit and there are enemies dormant in front of the secret passage, they will be passive. Even if the enemy is not in the secret passage at this time, if the smell of smoke is left, they will be noticed by those who come after.
He was like a prowling panther hunting in the dark night, brave yet quiet. He moved forward cautiously and vigilantly, and the sound of wind and rain outside the well was lost to the softness of his feet. He moved forward cautiously, and the stench became stronger and seemed to be poured into his lungs.
Thirty steps away, there was a faint wisp of yellow in front of me, like a floating ghost.
Oil lamp!
Seeing the bright light, the man in black became more cautious, like the silent night slowly approaching.
At the end of the dim light, there was originally a narrow and dirty earthen chamber, which should have been used by the temple to store food during the famine.
The earthen chamber was one foot long and wide, and there were several female corpses in bright clothes piled up randomly. Some of them were rotten, covered with maggots and rats, and emitted a strong stench! There was also a woman hiding in the corner.
A frail young woman wearing a white peach blossom skirt!
She was different, sitting quietly, like a white lotus blooming hidden in a night cave.
His eyes were covered, and his slender hands and feet were tightly bound with iron chains. He was sitting against the wall with his knees folded, as if he was sleeping peacefully, or perhaps dead.
The man in black looked at her quietly and saw that the woman's breath was even and her heartbeat was steady, without any trace of fear or depression.
Think a little.
He quietly hid in the earthen room, stood against the wall, closed one eye, and looked like a corpse.
The earthen chamber was unusually quiet and seemed empty.
suddenly!
The woman slowly raised her head and looked at the man in black with her blindfolded head.
Suddenly he spoke, his voice was cold, as weak as a weeping willow in March, soft but clear, and asked: "Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
The woman asked quietly.
It seemed that he was really sure of his existence, without any hint of temptation. The man in black couldn't help but be surprised. With one open eye, he stared at her quietly!
Although her face is pale, her expression is calm, soft and proud.
It was quiet for a while.
Seeing that he didn't respond, she became more self-conscious and explained slowly: "I am born with six psychic eyes, and I can detect things that others cannot. Although your movement is light, I can hear you clearly even thirty steps away.
, I can also tell your taste! The gangster has no accomplices, you should be chasing the murderer. In this case, he is considered a comrade, why don't you say anything?"
Seeing her indifference, the man in black was even more surprised.
Rumor has it that she is the most beautiful woman in Qicheng, well-read in poetry and books, and extremely smart. Now, she has been kidnapped for three days, in a bad situation, with no water or rice, but she is still so sharp and calm. It is indeed evident.
However, the murderer will be back soon. We can't let this smart man ruin his good deeds.
He quietly came to the woman and wanted to knock her unconscious.
The man in black raised his hand, and the woman noticed it and said calmly: "You want to knock me unconscious. Wait until the prisoner comes before arresting me. But with all due respect, you are no match for that monk. I advise you not to commit suicide."
big!"
Men in black stop!
He thought to himself: Hey! Even if you are blindfolded, you can still guess my thoughts! This is the first time I have met such a smart woman! I want to see how smart you are!
Thinking of this, he stood still.
The woman was also confused when she saw that the other party stood quietly and did not speak.
Suddenly remembering something, he raised his head and said, "Are you the Luofan arrester?! The new bad arrester from Long County."
The man in black raised an eyebrow!
She actually guessed her identity.
Such a smart person deserved her efforts to save her. But her tone of voice was arrogant and she called herself a bad catch, which was really rude!
The woman shook her head: "You want to wait and wait. But you are no match for him. Why don't you choose to take me away, or go to the chief arrest officer to save me? In any case, please don't be brave and take risks. You only have one life, and you should not use it to gamble.
chips."
The man in black remained silent.
He was as quiet as if he didn't exist, as if he was just a fantasy in this woman's mind.
Silence is now the most powerful rebuttal.
He deliberately didn't respond, really wanting to see what other unexpected words she could say.
She seems to have seen through everything.
He said slightly angrily: "Are you deliberately silent to scare me? Long County's evil arrester is really worthy of his name. You are twenty steps away, and I have noticed your footsteps. And every time that monk is ten steps away from me,
Only then can I hear his footsteps. I hope your ability is as surprising as your arrogance."
"Shh!"
The man in black suddenly hissed in the woman's ear.