This man named Lin Cheng lives in Wuyunfang in the east of the city. Wuyunfang is named after the "Five Clouds Tower" which is suitable for viewing the sea clouds.
The east and south of the city are both sea trade wharf areas, with a large flow of people and prosperous private capital.
Lin Cheng is an errand boy in a brothel.
"I'm familiar with Wuyunfang. It's a famous flower street and willow alley in Jiangzhou Prefecture." Fatty Li explained about Wuyunfang on the way.
"Some local literati like to go up to Wuyun Pagoda to view the sea together, and then recite poems and compose a poem impromptu. After reciting poems and composing poems, it is natural to have a gathering to eat and drink. How can such food and drink be without Yaxing and wine? Come and go, Wuyunfang's
The business in Goulan Wasi Alley became booming. It was a place that literati and poets flocked to, and ordinary people went to Wuyun Pagoda to view the sea one by one for the sake of being elegant, so the business in Huajie and Liuxiang was also connected. "
This place of fireworks is also divided into three, six or nine levels.
For example, the most common places visited by literati and poets were goulanwashi, which was a place where people could show off their skills but not their bodies, and brothels, where they could show off their talent and sex.
Liuxiang in the alleys and alleys is where ordinary people at the bottom go.
"Taoist Master Jin'an, please don't look at me like that. I, Mr. Li, am a reasonable person. Let's talk about a man and a woman who are in love with each other. Why would I go to such a place with fireworks and willows? Mainly because Taoist Jin'an, you are now very famous in Wuyunfang.
It’s big and as famous as the leading courtesans in brothels, so Mr. Li and I have paid special attention to that place for a while!”
"Taoist Master Jin'an, what's that look in your eyes? I, Fatty Li, am not telling any lies!" Fatty Li defended himself anxiously.
"To say that Wuyunfang is most famous now, firstly, it is the scenic Wuyun Tower, secondly, it is the leading courtesan of several famous brothels, and thirdly, you are Taoist Priest Jin'an... Although Taoist Jin'an has never been to these Fireworks Willow Alley,
However, the short story book "Jin'an Taoist Master Po Qiao Yuer's Lost Bead Eucalyptus" is very popular in Wuyunfang! I heard his name before I met him!"
Faced with Shen Zhuxiao's gaze, Fatty Li explained with excitement: "Think about it, who would be willing to jump into a fire pit like Fireworks Willow Alley unless they have no choice? So these women who have lost their feet all long for one day to have someone step on their feet.
A great hero with colorful auspicious clouds descended from the sky and rescued them from dire straits. From then on, they lived in seclusion in the countryside, living a life of a couple with an anonymity that everyone envied. Taoist priest Jin'an repeatedly solved strange cases and defended the people's grievances. In addition, he was young and promising.
, with beautiful features and beautiful eyes, and lives in Jiangzhou Prefecture. As the saying goes, the first to get the moon is the one who is near the water, isn't he the best dream lover, the most perfect unparalleled hero! All he has to do is step on the colorful auspicious clouds to marry them!"
"It really makes sense." Even Shen Zhuxiao was impressed by Fatty Li's genius and gave him a thumbs up.
Suddenly, Fatty Li’s proud tail would have turned up. If he had a tail: “Do you know who our relatives of the Li family are? Wise words!”
Jin An had a black line hanging on his forehead: "I think you are using strong words to make excuses!"
Fatty Li: "?"
…
It was broad daylight, and the brothel ladies were naturally still sleeping and had not opened the door, so the group went straight to where Lin Cheng lived.
Lin Cheng is a local who grew up in Wuyunfang. He has his own residence. He lives in an alley.
But this is not the key. When a young Taoist priest wearing Taoist robes appeared in Liuxiang, one can imagine how surprised the passers-by were, especially when they saw the young Taoist priest's back walking into one of the alleys, which attracted even more surprises.
Pay attention with multiple pairs of eyes.
"Hey, why do I always feel that the little Taoist priest just now looks familiar? It feels like deja vu, like I have seen him somewhere?" a passerby asked his companion.
…
Jin An and the others had just walked into the alley not far away when they met someone hurriedly walking with their head lowered. They almost bumped into them. Fatty Li yelled, and the other person came back from his confusion. He apologized casually and wanted to go around them and continue towards them.
Walk outside the alley.
"Lin Cheng!"
Ah, the distracted man looked up at the person calling his name.
He finally noticed Shen Zhuxiao, with an expression of astonishment on his bloodless face: "Why is it you! The owner of the pawn shop!"
Shen Zhuxiao said that we came here specially to find you.
Lin Cheng hesitated and said, "Why are you looking for me?" While speaking, he secretly glanced at Jin An, who was dressed in Taoist priest attire.
Unexpectedly, they would meet the Lin Cheng they were looking for in this place. Jin An noticed that Lin Cheng was pale, his yang energy was weak, his Ming Palace was dark and red, and his Yintang was black. He was obviously having bad luck and his life was in danger. Again
Lin Cheng's complexion was very poor, his eyes were frightened and uneasy, and he couldn't feel at home in broad daylight. All these characteristics showed that this person was most likely to be entangled by something.
Jin An is becoming more and more skilled in the art of physiognomy.
At this time, Lin Cheng was holding a baggage tightly in his hand, and he was probably about to run away, when they happened to bump into him.
It is said that arriving early is worse than arriving by chance. Fortunately, we were able to meet Lin Cheng in the alley. If we had arrived a little later, when Lin Cheng left the alley, it would have been difficult to find someone in the huge crowd.
Jin An knew that Lin Cheng was frightened and nervous at this time. It was the time when his psychological defense was the weakest and he least trusted people, so he did not speak rashly, but asked Shen Zhuxiao to communicate with Lin Cheng first. He just
He watched Lin Cheng carefully.
Facing Lin Cheng's question, Shen Zhuxiao did not answer immediately. Instead, he frowned and looked at the baggage in Lin Cheng's arms: "Brother Lin, are you going on a long trip?"
Lin Cheng tensed up and hugged the bag tightly: "It has nothing to do with you, Boss Shen."
At this time, he was nervous and didn't trust anyone. He wanted to leave in a hurry, but was stopped by Shen Zhuxiao: "Brother Lin, why are you leaving in such a hurry? Is it because there is something wrong with the mirror you gave me when you died this morning?
So Brother Lin, you have to run away in a hurry!"
Shen Zhuxiao said with a sneer.
As soon as he heard about the mirror, Lin Cheng's body trembled, and his eyes were extremely frightened: "What, what mirror, I don't know what you are talking about! Let me go quickly, or I will call someone!"
At this time, Fatty Li sneered and took out a waist card: "Just in time, the Criminal Investigation Department is investigating. We have reason to suspect that the face mirror has an unknown origin and that it is stolen goods. You'd better shout louder. It's better to say
Invite the street patrol officers as well, just in time to force you to return to the government office, put you in jail, and then slowly question you."
The waistband is dark copper in color and engraved with the characters "Xing Cha Si".
Hearing the word "criminal investigation department", Lin Cheng felt discouraged immediately. He said with a slumped head and slumped head, "How do you know that I stole that mirror from the brothel beauty?"
Fatty Li was happy when he heard this. Lin Cheng seemed to be very timid and would not accuse himself. It would be best for such a small character to be interrogated. He could confess everything with just a scare.
"This is Taoist Jin'an from Wu Zang Taoist Temple. Just answer whatever he asks you later." Fatty Li threatened with a glare.
Lin Chengcang nodded anxiously: "Jin, I recognize Taoist Jin An. Taoist Jin An is very famous in our place for his short stories."
Fatty Li and Shen Zhuxiao, who originally had serious faces, were almost amused by these words. Seeing that Jin An's expression was not right, they pretended to be serious, their faces twitched, and they tried hard to suppress laughter.
"Lin Cheng, right? Have you bumped into something recently, seen something unclean, and are you caught in something unclean? And is the thing that is wrapped around you the same thing that you took to the pawn shop this morning?
It has something to do with the mirror." With just a few words from Jin An, Lin Cheng was so frightened that he turned pale and collapsed to the ground.
Li and Shen, who were still trying to hold back their laughter a moment ago, lost their smiles this time, and both had expressions of surprise. What was so unusual about that mirror that it could scare a living person like this?
At this time, Jin An told the faces he had just seen one by one.
After hearing this, Lin Cheng's heart finally collapsed. He knelt down in front of Jin An, hugged Jin An's legs and cried loudly. An old man cried heartbrokenly during the day, repeatedly begging Jin An to save him.
.
At this time, Jin An, in Lin Cheng's eyes, was a true Taoist who knew everything, and he desperately grasped this only life-saving straw.
"If you have any questions, let's go to your house first." Seeing that the commotion here gradually attracted people to watch, and this was not the place to talk, Jin An helped Lin Cheng up.
When he heard that he was going home, Lin Cheng's body trembled subconsciously, and he was nervous and frightened. This made the three of them even more curious about the origin of the human-faced mirror. They took a pure yang viscera qi in Jin'an to help Lin Cheng regulate the vitality of his five internal organs and ignite the three weapons again.
Yang Huo, Lin Cheng slowly calmed down.
Lin Cheng's family lives in the deepest part of the alley, with a small yard. His parents died young and his family is poor. So far, no matchmaker has told him to marry him, so he lives alone in the house.
After returning home, looking for a pitiful sense of security with scalding hot tea in hand, Lin Cheng began to talk about his experiences these days in horror.
"Ever since I got that mirror, I have had the same nightmare every day. No matter how much I pinch myself or hit myself, I will fall asleep as soon as night falls."
"In the nightmare, I am running endlessly in a high-walled alley, running endlessly, and every time I meet a person wearing a hood and tied to a chair behind a door..."
When talking about the tied man, Lin Cheng looked panicked, obviously very afraid of this tied man.
Even just a few words can remind him of countless nightmares.
One can imagine how much of a psychological shadow it left on him.
Fatty Li leaned against the door and watched carefully for any movement outside. Shen Zhuxiao looked curiously at the furnishings in the room. Jin An and Lin Cheng sat at the table. The three of them did not interrupt and continued to listen to Lin Cheng's words.
"The hood was stained with thick blood... It was a man whose face had been completely peeled off... It was so, so scary, but the most frightening thing was his eyes! I... I don't know how to describe him.
Eyes, just looking at each other, I was so frightened that I woke up from a nightmare..."
"I still had the same nightmare the next night. This time I still met the tied man, and he still had the face of a flesh-and-blood mold with his entire face peeled off..."
The third night...
The fourth night...
The fifth night...
"The same nightmare repeated again and again, and I lifted the bloody hood again and again. I was horrified to find that... the flesh-moulded face was slowly growing a new skin, and the new facial features were mine! That person who was tied up was
Me! Can you understand how scared I was at that time!"
Lin Cheng suddenly shouted excitedly and became incoherent. As Jin An yelled his name and looked into each other's eyes, his body was shaken. Jin An's eyes seemed to have a kind of magic power, which made people feel like being slapped in the head, and they were shaken from nightmares.
I woke up with a start, regained my composure and sat down.
It was the mental martial arts that calmed Lin Cheng's mind and helped him calm down quickly.
Continue to describe below.
Ever since he discovered that his hands and feet were tied up in the nightmare and that he was the one being tortured, Lin Cheng had been trying every means to escape the nightmare and prevent himself from falling asleep, but it didn't help.
He has been trying to avoid the ghost door in the alley, but it does not help. Every time he is in crisis, he is forced to escape into the alley, and is chased behind the ghost door.
He also tried to get some talismans that had been blessed by the master, but they were either useless or found that the talismans were burnt to ashes when he woke up.
It wasn't until he accidentally saw that the human-faced mirror had been hung on the wall by him at some point, facing the bedside where he slept! Only then did he wake up, and there happened to be a human face engraved on the back of the mirror!
This mirror was given to Hua Niang by a customer. When he saw the mirror inlaid with silver, he became interested in making money and stole it when no one was prepared. He planned to find an opportunity to sell it quietly. Even he didn't know how he had managed it.
It's hung on the wall, right opposite the head of the bed where I sleep.
Thinking that his frightening experience these days might be related to this human mirror, Lin Cheng immediately pawned it and sold it this morning. Thinking about it, he still felt a little worried. He packed up his things and wanted to run away to his relatives' house in the countryside to hide for a few days until the situation calmed down.
Return to Fucheng again.
But before he left the city, he was blocked in an alley by Jin An and his three men.
After hearing that the human-faced mirror was so evil, Shen Zhuxiao got goosebumps and cursed Lin Cheng for not being a thing. He actually used such a harmful thing to bring trouble to the east. If he hadn't happened to know the master, the two brothers would have been killed by Lin Cheng.
It got him killed.
Lin Cheng was afraid of lowering his head and clenched his hands nervously: "I was forced to do nothing... I can feel... once that man grows a whole face... it will be the day of my death... I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!"
Lin Cheng suddenly raised his head. He looked a bit ferocious and crazy at this time, with red bloodshot eyes bulging out, as if they were about to pop out of his eye sockets, and he repeated the words crazily over and over again.
Huh? Fatty Li noticed something unusual about Lin Cheng.
Shen Zhuxiao hurriedly hid behind Jin An: "Taoist Master Jin An, is he, is he possessed by evil spirits?"
Looking at the ferocious and crazy Lin Cheng in front of him, Jin An nodded: "The evil spirit is deep in his heart, and the evil ghost in the nightmare is gradually eating away at his mind, trying to use his shell to return to the sun and replace him."
Shen Zhuxiao screamed in panic after hearing this, what should he do? He glanced at Lin Cheng unbearably and begged Jin An to find a way to save Lin Cheng.
At this time, Lin Cheng had recovered from the mad state just now. He seemed not to know how terrifying he looked just now, his expression was timid and frightened.
"Do you want to live?" Jin An shortened his words with four words. Lin Cheng's body was shaken, and then he knelt down and kowtowed with tears.
"You can stay here if you want to survive. I'll be keeping watch tonight. I'm somewhat interested in the nightmare you mentioned."
"Fat Li, hang the mirror back on the wall."
Fatty Li immediately ran to hang up the mirror, then looked at Jin An eagerly and asked him if he could also stay vigil?
Shen Zhuxiao looked at Fatty Li in shock! Everyone knew what it meant to stay vigil, so no one would rush to catch the evil spirit! It was too late to hide alone!