The strange story of Huai'an Inn

The sound of firecrackers outside the door was still deafening one after another, as lively as a frying pan filled with water.But there was a deep silence in the lobby of the inn, as if there was an invisible knife hanging in the air, and it was about to fall at some point.

Chong Liu saw that Zhu Yi, Xiaosun, Fuzi Jiulang and the others were all walking towards the backyard, so he closed the door leading to the atrium.

Zhu Helan added a lamp, and the light of the fire danced endlessly between Qi Yao's eyebrows, making shadows faint.He looked at the messy wine cups on the table, and glared at Song Ming who was sitting next to him.

Song Mingzi touched his nose, looking around as if nothing had happened.

"Today, Uncle Jiuluan received this letter written by Mengku Guoshi a few days ago, which said that he had stopped using the copper basin you customized for him to wash his face for five days." Qi Yao said, looking at the expression on his face. Solemn Zhu Helan, "On the first day after stopping using it, the nightmare came back immediately, and it developed faster than before. He probably passed away the night he sent this letter, but he told his second disciple not to mourn , and don’t touch his body, lock his body in the room and no one can approach it until Master Jiuluan goes.”

Zhu Helan was silent for a while, and finally asked, "Did the letter say why he broke the contract and stopped using it without consulting me?"

"It is true that he has not been disturbed by nightmares for more than a year. Until a month ago, he was ordered to calculate the destiny of the dynasty for the officials. This was the last calculation before he resigned from the post of national teacher and returned to the mountains, but it was calculated. In the end...it seemed to be very wrong. After that, he didn't close his eyes for several days and nights to find the reason and solution, and calculated that this catastrophe was related to Qiongji Island."

Poor Island...

The hairs on Chong Liu's body stood up.

It was Poor Island again... and it happened when Master passed away...

Is all this a coincidence?

"So he stopped using the brass basin, trying to find clues from the dream?" Zhu Helan continued to ask.

Daoist Qi Yao nodded, "From the letter, he knew the consequences of what he did, so he wrote the suicide note in advance. In the letter, he asked his uncle to take him to apologize to you, saying that he had already made arrangements, and there would be Someone will escort the copper basin back and hand it over to you for disposal."

"Have you found the clues he was looking for?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure either. Maybe he has a clue, maybe he saw the truth in the last dream. All we know so far is here." Daoist Qi Yao said, taking out the letter from his sleeve Letter, "I only brought the second half of the letter, because the first half has already been taken away by Master Jiuluan."

Zhu Helan took the letter and opened it.It was full of five or six pages, but he finished it without a cup of tea.

Chong Liu also leaned over to read it, but the shopkeeper quickly folded the letter, and there was no emotion on his face.

Daoist Qi Yao said, "If what is said in the letter is true, the Tiangu people may have infiltrated into Tianliang City. The Huang Yi Ji before was their first attempt, at most it was a test of our strength. The following , I am afraid it is the 'main course'." "The real Wusheng is in your view at the moment, can you see whether he has been eroded by Tiangu's magic?"

Daoist Qi Yao nodded, "It was done by a master. I am afraid that some ideas were quietly planted in his mind through the invasion of dreams. His hostility towards you, everything he said to Xu Hanke, and his blind belief in his own ability, They were all guided. It's just that the seeds have been planted, and it's impossible to eradicate them..."

"If you want to invade his dream, you need to get his belongings. There must be spies among the people around him." Zhu Helan frowned and thought, "The Daluo faction is the head of the immortal faction, and it is the primary target of Tianguren. The most dangerous thing now is probably the emperor. Once he is also controlled..."

"That's exactly what I'm worried about. Tianguren's target is likely to be the capital. So I came this time, first to tell you the last words of the national teacher, and second, to discuss with you that after I bring people to Beijing with my uncle, The issue of the defense of Tianliang City."

Song Mingzi was shocked, "Brother, are you going to the capital?" "It's not just me, you are going too." Daoist Qi Yao glanced at him lightly, and couldn't help but say.

"Then what about Qingming Temple?"

"This is exactly what I want to ask the shopkeeper Zhu." Daoist Qi Yao said seriously to the shopkeeper, "As far as I know, the locust tree has not grown for 100 years. This time, if Mr. The spirit protects the entire Zilu Mountain and Tianliang City, and the Qi of Zilu Mountain can be used by you."

As soon as these words came out, both Zhu Helan and Song Mingzi were shocked.

"Senior brother... Did you break your brain when you went down the mountain?" Song Huang worriedly leaned over and carefully looked at the real Qi Yao's face.Daoist Qi Yao remained expressionless, and used the floating dust to push his face away.

Zhu Helan said, "Do you know... what will be the consequences of letting my locust tree invade the Zilu Mountain? It took you thousands of years to suppress the filth in the Zilu Mountain, and even the entire Qingming Sect is trying to suppress my tree. The locust tree does not allow it to grow. Now how many generations of ancestors do you want to hand over to me?"

"Zilu Mountain was originally named Gushe Mountain, and it is the holy mountain of your Gushe clan. This is considered to be the original owner." Daoist Qi Yao calmly said, "Besides, after the death of the other willow tree and its priest 100 years ago, I wish you the best of luck." Mister gave up the original mission of the priest of the Goddess of All Things, didn't you? That being the case, you and I are on the same front in front of Tiangu. When you helped the Qingming Sect to prevent the invasion of the God of Yellow Clothes, I am willing to believe in you today .”

Chongliu and Song Mingzi watched the real person and the shopkeeper reach a certain consensus with a very similar dull expression with their mouths slightly open. They just felt that the amount of information in this conversation was too much...

The locust tree never grows up because of Qingming Temple?

Chong Liu remembered that his boss said that out of ten eggs, only four hatched and only two grew into saplings.The other one is not a locust tree but a willow tree?

If the locust tree absorbs the atmosphere of Zilu Mountain, will it really grow up?

Daoist Qi Yao stood up and made a gesture to leave.He looked at Zhu Helan, and then fixedly stared at Chong Liu for a moment, seeing Chong Liu's hairy back.

"While I'm not around, Tianliang City and Zilu Mountain will be entrusted to you sir." After he finished speaking, he gave a deep bow, then turned around and told Song Mingzi, "Let's go."

Song Mingzi had no choice but to wave to Zhu Helan Guan Chongliu in a hurry, and chased after his senior brother.

After the door was closed, Master Liao, who had been sitting in the corner drinking tea in silence, slowly stood up, and said quietly, "Old Zhu, why did you take on such a burden? Now you're wrapping yourself in again." gone."

While talking, he left the lobby while beating his waist.

Chong Liu looked at the cups and plates on the table that had not yet been put away, and suddenly felt that the sound of firecrackers outside was very far away.A layer of icy cloud has rolled in silently.

Zhu Helan poured herself a glass of wine, raised her head and drank it, with a look of despair.

Is it sad because of the death of the national teacher?After all... they are also old acquaintances.

He also poured himself a glass of wine, and silently drank a few glasses with Zhu Helan.

After three glasses of wine, Chong Liu finally spoke.

"Dong... Helan... I want to see Mr. Qinglong and Mr. Xuanwu."

Zhu Helan turned to look at him, "Why? Tell them about Mr. Gou Chen's death?"

"This is one of them. I can use this as a bait in exchange for the news about Tiangu Dawu from all Baixiaomen." Chong Liu's eyes froze a little bit, and gradually became firm, "I've thought about it, we can't Waiting to die, that big witch knows us far more than we know him, which is extremely detrimental to us."

Zhu Helan was silent, with many emotions flashing in his eyes.Finally, he nodded, "Alright, I'll take you there, and you can return overnight."

"Then I'll pass on the message now. Mr. Xuanwu should reply soon." Chong Liu said, standing up immediately.In fact, he had already written the letter and put it in his arms, and originally planned to wait until everyone was asleep before posting it.

Zhu Helan pulled out a smile and said to him, "Be careful on the road, go and return quickly."

At this time, midnight had passed, and the bustling people on the street gradually dispersed.Chong Liu didn't deliberately deceive others, in fact, he hoped that the people who stayed in Tianliang City with Mr. Xuanwu would find out that he was leaving messages as soon as possible.He ran to the city gate familiarly, pasted a pair of couplets on the odds and ends, and then hurried back to the inn.

As soon as he entered, he froze.

But Zhu Helan was still lying on the table, holding the empty flagon in his hand, and fell asleep just like that.

It seems that the death of the national teacher Mengku really made him feel bad.

If you live forever, you are destined to watch the familiar people around you go away one by one.Gradually closed, gradually do not want to know more people, so less and less stay in life.

Think about it, it is an extremely cold fate.

He went over and gently shook Zhu Helan's shoulder, "Helan, wake up, what should I do if I catch the cold while sleeping here?"

Although he doesn't know if the shopkeeper's degree of distortion will get sick like ordinary people...

Zhu Helan uttered a vague sentence through his nose, and Chong Liu couldn't hear what he was saying.He hung Zhu Helan's arm on his shoulder, trying to stand up the shopkeeper who was a head taller than him, but just standing up made him sweat profusely.

Fortunately, Zhu Helan was still somewhat conscious, and followed Chongliu's footsteps in a daze. As soon as he went out, a gust of cool wind came, blowing snowflakes from the branches of the locust tree onto his face.

Zhu Helan raised his head, looked at the towering tree shadow in the dark night, and said softly, "Liu'er, look, Xiaohuai has grown so big."

"No, you still know how to raise dolls." Chong Liu coaxed sweetly, and continued to send people to the backyard.

"If Xiaohuai grows up, my mission will be completed..." Zhu Helan murmured.

mission accomplished...

For some reason, Chong Liu shuddered suddenly.

Master also said that his mission was completed...then left...

What about the shopkeeper?

"It can't be done, haven't you heard that in the eyes of parents, children will never grow up." Chongliu said firmly, "Look at our little Huai, he knows how to poke there every day. Blood it likes whoever it is, and if it gets someone to treat it better, it will admit its mother, so you can rest assured that it will be alone outside?"

Zhu Helan suddenly laughed loudly, which startled Chong Liu. After all, he seldom heard the shopkeeper laugh so brightly, "Hahaha... Liu'er, do you admit that it recognizes you as a mother?"

"The two of us are going to live with each other, why don't we let it know?" Chong Liu replied loudly, relying on his guts, thinking that anyway, the shopkeeper probably won't remember what he said now...

Stumbling and talking nonsense, Chong Liu finally brought Zhu Helan back to his courtyard.He helped Zhu Helan onto the bed, helped Zhu Helan take off his robe, and pulled the cup over to wrap him around.In the past, Zhu Helan seemed to take care of him like this every time. This was the first time that he came to take care of the shopkeeper who seemed surprisingly obedient and obedient.

After thinking about it, an unconscious smile appeared on his lips.

The shopkeeper looks lazy, but he is very vigilant, never letting others see his defenseless side.It can be seen that he treats himself differently.

"Sleep well, tomorrow will be a new year." He whispered in the shopkeeper's ear, then straightened up and wanted to leave.

Without warning, the hand was pulled suddenly.Chong Liu exclaimed and lost his center of gravity.The world was spinning, and he fell onto the shopkeeper's bed.While the quilt was rolled, he was already surrounded by Zhu Helan's arms, and his whole body was trapped in the narrow space by the quilt and the weight of another person, unable to move or want to move.

Chong Liu's eyes widened, and his heartbeat was as loud as thunder.

"Dongdong Dongdong's family?"

"Shh, didn't you just say, don't you call me boss?" Zhu Helan looked down at him, in the dim light, his long and narrow eyes were full of charm, like a ghost under the moon.

"What are you crazy about? Aren't you drunk?" Chong Liu felt his face was as hot as a fire, which could be used to roast sweet potatoes.He had never been so nervous before, and his palms were covered with sweat.

"Liu'er..." Zhu Helan's voice was deep and hoarse, like red velvet produced in the far west, "From now on, don't go back to the house, okay?"

"Don't go back to the house...Where will I sleep?" Chong Liu vaguely knew what Zhu Helan was going to say to him, but he didn't know what he should say, so he could only ask this sentence almost instinctively and dully.

Zhu Helan lowered his head and smiled lowly on his neck. The laughter vibrated in the chests of the two of them, and the breath he exhaled was hot, "My bed is so big, isn't it enough for two people to sleep?"