Third watch

At the end of He Lina's speech, her voice was already hoarse: "How can someone get a dead man's clothes for a wedding? I was so scared that I stayed up all night. I wanted to ask Wen Na to find out, but her mobile phone was completely disconnected."

"That sounds," Wang Xiaoming hesitated, "like a ghost marriage."

He Lina shuddered again, and tears began to roll: "I don't understand anything, and I lost my mind for a while. I don't know what it means, but I can't get in touch with Wenna, which makes me very flustered. Wenna is not in S City. Other relatives, I really regret that I was angry with her and didn't insist on stopping her. I asked for leave to find Wenna's colleagues and wanted to find out where Wenna's boyfriend lived, but no one knew. Wenna didn't tell her that she was getting married Colleagues. I was in such a panic that I didn’t know what to do.”

"I also called the police." He Lena said: "But I know too little, except for those terrible betrothals, I have no clues about the man at hand. I have only seen him a few times, each time through Wenna. I don't know what he does, or his full name."

"The police also said that those Mingyis might be just a prank, but I knew it wasn't! That man had no good intentions from the beginning! My family is in the countryside, and I've heard of people digging up graves for people whose sons died in their families to make shady marriages. Paper dowry! But my sister is a living creature!"

Wang Xiaoming also felt a little strange.

Marriage in the shadows has existed since ancient times. In ancient times, Cao Cao even arranged a marriage in the shadows for his son, and almost every dynasty recorded similar things.

But generally speaking, the so-called ghost marriage is because some boys and girls die young and have never been married. The family members are not willing to let them be alone in the underground after death, so they will ask ghost matchmakers to talk about marriage, and find young boys of similar age who died young to be with each other. Marriage, married in the underground.

This kind of practice is a waste of money and has little practical significance, so there has never been a formal custom, but it has never been really curbed. Indeed, in some dynasties, those in power would also perform ghost marriages for their relatives, so this practice has always been Remnants to this day.

This kind of thing is not uncommon, so even Wang Xiaoming has heard of it.

But according to He Lina, her sister's boyfriend is clearly a living person, so what kind of ghost marriage do two living people get married?

Could it be that the two sisters were so bewitched by ghosts that they couldn't even tell whether the man was a human or a ghost?

Zhong Yi obviously also thought of what Wang Xiaoming was thinking. He observed He Lina, and found that although she looked miserable and haggard, Yintang had no black air, and she had all three fires, and she didn't look like she was bewitched by ghosts.

"Is that man normal before?" Zhong Yi asked.

He Lina nodded: "Although I have always been suspicious in my heart, I have rarely met him, and I don't know if his family background is..."

"No." Wang Xiaoming took over her words: "Miss He, are you sure your sister's boyfriend...has a shadow?"

It's midnight now, facing a girl, Wang Xiaoming wanted to use euphemistic words as much as possible.

He Lina was taken aback for a moment, and after realizing what Wang Xiaoming was saying, her tone became a little more determined: "When I met him, it was during the daytime, and there was nothing weird about him, and he seemed to be in good health...I still talked to him Shaked hands. He's a human...shouldn't he?"

He Lina herself was not sure as she talked.

"At least his hands are warm." He Lina whispered.

"Then there should be no problem." Zhong Yi said.

Wang Xiaoming and Zhong Yi looked at each other.

It would be fun if it was really a prank played by two big living people, and it would be fun to find out that sister He Lina just went on a trip with her boyfriend and got married.

"If the man has no problem, and you are sure that the other party took your sister away and sent Ming Yi, there are only two possibilities." Wang Xiaoming said, "One, their young lovers are working together to play pranks. Two, your sister has indeed been plotted against, But it's not her boyfriend who wants to marry her in the dark."

"Does that man have any brothers? Or relatives of similar age?"

"I don't know." He Lina hung her head, tears rolling down her cheeks: "They fell in love too quickly, and I was a little angry... I don't really like hearing my sister talk about him."

"I really don't know what to do. I can't find that man, and I don't know how to find him. He is from S City, and he must have many helpers. My parents are also on the train to S City now, and I I really don't know what to do..."

It seems that the loss of her sister puts a lot of pressure on He Lina, and she looks like she will collapse at any time.

"I have another question." Zhong Yi said again: "You said you have no other relatives or friends in City S, how did you find this place?"

He Lina looked up: "It was an old fortune-teller at the gate of Puyuan Temple who gave me advice."

"I went to Puyuan Temple with my colleagues a few years ago. At that time, I went to fortune-telling for fun. The old man was very accurate. After Wenna's accident, I was desperate, and I didn't know where to find someone who could help me in S City. I panicked. I panicked and thought of the fortune teller. Besides, it was also a temple after all, and the monk who practiced Buddhism might have the magic power to help me. I took a dark robe to ask, but those monks didn’t care, and the fortune teller said he couldn’t do it. I was worried. After several days, I hurried up the mountain to look for the temple, and I couldn’t hold on any longer, and I was about to faint in front of the temple. The old man looked at me pitifully, and said to show me a way.”

"What way?" Zhong Yi looked at her.

He Lina said in a low voice: "He only taught me to come here after 12 o'clock and find a stationery store with lanterns on for business. If someone opens the door with lanterns on for business, maybe my sister will be saved. He didn't say anything else .”

There is only one stationery store here that lights lanterns for business.

The man clearly asked her to come to Wang Dazhuang.

If it was a fortune teller who set up a stall in a temple in the outskirts of the city, he might really recognize Wang Dazhuang.That makes sense.

Wang Xiaoming thought for a while: "I understand. Ms. He, please leave me your contact information. I will go to your house tomorrow to investigate those Mingyi, and then see if I can help you."

He Lina was a little anxious: "Master, I beg you..."

Seeing that He Lina was about to kneel down, Wang Xiaoming also became anxious: "Hey, don't worry, I have to investigate, this may be a prank. Just wait a moment, let me find out..."

"I can't wait any longer." He Lina took a deep breath, showing a smile that seemed to be crying, "My parents are on the train now, and they will arrive in City S tomorrow. Because of the wedding date written on the wedding invitation, It's the day after tomorrow."

"So fast!" Wang Xiaoming was taken aback.

He Lina was about to cry again: "Please, as long as you can save my sister, we will find a way to get the reward! Please save my sister first!"

"It's not a reward—uh!" Wang Xiaoming shrank suddenly before speaking halfway, and looked at Zhong Yi with grinning teeth.

Just now Zhong Yi pinched him severely from behind.

"Since time is tight, let's go and see what he sent first." Zhong Yi said, "Maybe we can find some clues."

"Don't worry too much, we will try our best." Wang Xiaoming comforted He Lina by rubbing his lower back.

He Lina was very grateful and watched them put away the lanterns and close the door, and they hurried out of the back alley.

It was almost 2 o'clock now, the bus had already stopped, and the three of them walked a long way to take the last subway, and when they arrived at the house He Lina rented, it was almost early morning.

He Lina rented a single room, with only a small living room and a room, and the kitchen and toilet were only big enough to turn around.

It can be seen that more than one person has lived in this single room recently. There are a lot of things piled up in the living room, and there are two suitcases.

He Lina put all the things sent by He Wenna's boyfriend in the corner: "I don't dare to go back to sleep alone at night now, I get scared when I see those things."

Wang Xiaoming and Zhong Yi took a closer look, and there was a large jewelry box in the order, with a classical style, much like an ancient dressing box.

The box is divided into four layers, and the upper two layers are indeed full of jewelry, gold necklaces, silver earrings, jade bracelets, and even a few small gold bricks. Zhong Yi looked at them one by one: "It's all real."

The lower two floors are also jewelry, but they are all made of paper. The colors are bright and the workmanship is exquisite. If you take a quick look at it in a dimly lit place, it is really almost unreal.

Zhong Yi, a handicraft elite born in Lubanmen, has been tried again.

"It's paper." He appraised.

"Nonsense." Wang Xiaoming said, "I can tell it's paper."

"I mean, this is from a living person." Zhong Yi glared at him.

"You mean, can the dead still do handwork?" Wang Xiaoming blinked.

Zhong Yi said in a low voice: "No. However, the Mingyi of the paper-zhatingtai is either burned to sacrifice, or placed in the tomb as a symbolic representative. Sometimes when people go to dig the tomb, they can also dig out some paper-made clothes from the tomb. Things. Those things are personal."

Wang Xiaoming got goosebumps when he said it: "I understand. You mean that these paper things are still very fresh and have never been in the ground."

Zhong Yi nodded: "The other party should be a human, not a ghost."

, which is of the living. "Zhong Yi glared at him.

"You mean, can the dead still do handwork?" Wang Xiaoming blinked.

Zhong Yi said in a low voice: "No. However, the Mingyi of the paper-zhatingtai is either burned to sacrifice, or placed in the tomb as a symbolic representative. Sometimes when people go to dig the tomb, they can also dig out some paper-made clothes from the tomb. Something. Those things belong to the dead.”

Wang Xiaoming got goosebumps when he said it: "I understand. You mean that these paper things are still very fresh and have never been in the ground."

Zhong Yi nodded: "The other party should be a human, not a ghost."

"The wedding is the day after tomorrow?" Zhong Yi turned around and asked He Lina.

He Lina nodded: "The wedding invitation has the name of the hotel on it. I went to look for it, but the hotel refused to disclose the information of the guests. I'm not sure if this wedding invitation is real."

"It's really hard to do anything, so I have to go to the hotel the day after tomorrow to watch." He Lina said, "My parents are going to S city today, and I don't know how to tell the old man."

Zhong Yi nodded: "Let's go back and prepare first,

"Are you willing to help me?" He Lina's eyes were red again.

"You came to us, didn't you want us to help?" Wang Xiaoming snorted.

He Lina shook her head quickly, smiled wryly, and stopped talking.

Zhong Yi took away some Mingyi and paper jewelry and went home with Wang Xiaoming.

The genius was dim, and there was no bus yet. The two of them found a breakfast stand and sat down to discuss while drinking soy milk.

"I've seen similar things in my grandfather's notes." Wang Xiaoming said slowly while recalling: "It's not uncommon to get married in a dark place, but it's rare to find such a living person."

"What did your grandfather say?" Zhong Yi asked.

Wang Xiaoming shook his head: "I just mentioned a few words, and the situation is not the same. At that time, a girl died of a sudden illness at the age of 16. Two years later, her mother dreamed that her daughter cried and said that she was forced to marry a drunkard husband. When she woke up, she felt I was very worried, and when I went to see it, I found that the tomb was wrong."

"Passive?"

"It was stolen." Wang Xiaoming said: "It is said that this kind of young female bone is very sought-after. A family in a neighboring village whose son died of an alcoholic hired someone to secretly dig up his yin relatives. The alcoholic had a wife who was still alive. "

"For this matter, the two villages fought several times, but the yin relationship has already been married, and no one can do anything about it. The girl's mother felt sorry for her daughter and asked my grandfather to divorce them."

Zhong Yi was scalded by soy milk: "Divorce?"

Wang Xiaoming glanced at him: "If you can get married, of course you can leave. But my grandfather didn't record the specific method. He simply said that the two yin relatives were terminated."

Zhong Yi pondered for a while.

The custom of yin kissing, which is not considered a custom, has been passed down for a long time, and some unwritten rules have been formed.Yin marriage must follow these rules to take effect, but since ancient times, it is mostly heard that the dead are married to each other, but I have never heard of the dead being divorced.It's not like living people, if you go to get a certificate, you will be disbanded, and things related to the underworld, even if the operation is not more complicated than making yin relatives, it is not easy to deal with it.Although Wang Dazhuang didn't elaborate in detail, he must have gone through some deliberation before arriving at an effective method.

This is not Lu Banmen's strong point, Wang Dazhuang can figure out a set of rules by himself, but Zhong Yi can't.

And He Wenna is not dead - although her whereabouts are unknown now, it cannot be concluded that she is no longer alive.

Then this weird wedding operation is even weirder.

Does He Wenna know the truth herself?

It is impossible for a normal person to accept such a thing. How is that man going to deal with her?Force her to have a wedding?

"Generally speaking, this rule cannot be messed up." Zhong Yi said: "Since the other party has prepared a post, we can assume that the time and place of the wedding are true."

"Even if it is, there is no way." Wang Xiaoming said: "If I were to do this kind of thing, I would definitely not stay in that hotel and wait two days before the wedding. If I waited until the wedding to save people, maybe They are preparing bodyguards to deal with the disturbance."

"That's right." Zhong Yi pondered: "If you do this kind of thing——"

"Hey!"

"I mean, your thinking is right." Zhong Yi said: "If it were you, would you think it's fair to cheat people into marriages?"

"Of course not." Wang Xiaoming thought for a while, and understood: "Such a despicable thing, they dare to book a hotel to send wedding invitations openly, it seems that they want to hold it according to the standards of living people. That restaurant is quite high-end, can do this The most important thing is either more money or more power.”

"Or both." Zhong Yi said.

"And... this kind of disgraceful and wicked thing, except for parents and brothers, I am afraid that no one will easily do it." Wang Xiaoming said: "The handsome and rich guy who caught He Wenna was either hired or a ghost groom. Brothers."

Zhong Yi said: "Even if you want to have a yin marriage, why don't you follow the usual method and spend money to find a well-matched female bone? As long as you get the consent of the other party's family, no one will care about it without anyone noticing it."

"But they're thinking about living people." Wang Xiaoming frowned: "There must be a reason."

"Looking for a living person is a bit of a sacrifice." Zhong Yi said slowly: "Do you know what usually happened in ancient times when sacrifices were made?"

"Sacrificing to the gods." Without hesitation, Wang Xiaoming said, "It's either offering sacrifices to the river god or the mountain god. In short, it's the route."

"Why do you usually worship those gods?"

Wang Xiaoming understood: "You mean..."

"Troubleshooting." Zhong Yi looked at Wang Xiaoming and said.