Third watch

Wang Xiaoming once saw something in Wang Dazhuang's work notes.

Someone asked Wang Dazhuang to see a doctor, saying that the young man in his family suddenly became seriously ill, but when he arrived at the hospital, nothing could be found out.

When Wang Dazhuang went, the young man had only one breath left, and he looked very miserable. His whole body was covered with yellow-green pustules, which were seeping water all the time, and the sheets were wet.

The hospital couldn't find out the specific cause, only said it was a strange skin disease, but the young man had always been in good health, so there was no reason why he was so sick.

Seeing that this incident was strange, Wang Dazhuang inquired about what happened before the onset of the disease in detail, and only then did he know that this young man had done something wrong.

The family said that nothing major happened recently, but one day at noon the young man suddenly took a sum of money home and said he had made a fortune.

It turned out that he was working in the fields, and the sun was very hot at noon, so he went to the big tree at the entrance of the village to have an afternoon rest with a few partners, but saw two outsiders driving by.

At that time, cars were still a rare thing, and people who could drive were either rich or expensive, and people in the village seldom saw them.

Seeing someone there, the car stopped, and got off, one old and one young, an old man and a young man, both combed their hair back, and that one was dressed, tsk tsk, old and elegant, and young and fashionable.

The old man bought clothes from them when he saw them.

Several young people wondered why they bought clothes. The old man said that he didn't expect it to be so hot in autumn. He didn't bring a towel, and his clothes were soaked in sweat.

At that time, most of the people wore blue work shirts and vests. Of course they would not wear work shirts in hot weather, but they were considered clean. Young people saw that they were rich, so they rushed to sell their clothes to them.

It was very strange to say that the two people really changed their work shirts immediately, and threw away the suits and jackets that they had taken off without feeling sorry for them - saying that sweating is not easy to wash, so they don't want it.

At that time, a suit was a very rare and decent piece of clothing, and many people had never touched it—as for that jacket, it was even more rare and fashionable.

Wang Dazhuang's face changed when he heard it, and he asked if they had picked up the clothes, and then asked what color the clothes were, so he hurried to get them.

He was right in thinking, people at that time were frugal, and it was a pity to see such good clothes gone, and they rushed to get them back.

Within half a month, both victors were down.

But after he said so, the young man's family only went to look for it, but they couldn't find that rare and expensive dress no matter what.

Wang Dazhuang sighed when he heard this, saying that the young man was really ignorant, and he was afraid of hitting the plague, so he asked the woman what color her clothes were.

If it is black, then Wang Dazhuang has a way to save it.If it is yellow or green, the chances of success are not high.

The young man's wife cried for a long time, saying that it seemed to be gray and white.

Wang Dazhuang had nothing to say at the moment, he packed his things and was about to leave.

Everyone in the room knelt down for him, and Wang Dazhuang couldn't bear it, so he sighed and told them that there are other clothes that can be used, but the gray ones are not clothes, but human skin.

If it is another color, it may be someone else's practice to cure diseases and replace disasters, but if it is off-white, it is undoubtedly plague.

It's diseased skin turned into good clothes, which are specially attractive for people to wear.

But once you put it on, it's impossible to take it off again.That layer of skin will cling to the human body, even if the whole body is scratched, it will not help, so the coffin can only be prepared.

If two people wiped their sweat and threw away their clothes, and no one picked them up, the two young people might get sick too, but they wouldn’t die—but he was reluctant to part with them, so he picked them up again, which was equivalent to picking up the disaster. himself.

Originally, Wang Xiaoming read Wang Dazhuang's work notes as ghost stories, but when he recalled this juncture, he couldn't help but look ugly.

But it shouldn't be that bad.

Wang Xiaoming immediately comforted himself.

He saw that the bracelet was really on that loli's hand. Even if it was a mysterious minority, such a young child would not wear something dangerous.

And Zhong Yi likes to engage in mysticism, maybe he just wants to scare them.

But it wasn't just Wang Xiaoming who was scared, Lu Xiaolu was honest enough along the way, he even secretly asked Wang Xiaoming if he could throw away the bracelet when he got off the car.

Wang Xiaoming was still hesitating, thinking whether he would greet Lu Xiaolu with all the methods of exorcising evil he knew when he got there, but when he raised his eyes, he saw a man in black standing in front of the train station, staring gloomyly at Lu Xiaolu. Look at the gate of the train station.

There were people coming and going in front of the train station, so the motionless man was particularly conspicuous.

Wang Xiaoming's heart skipped a beat, and he pulled Lu Xiaolu around the gate.

Zhong Yi walked behind them with a big bag on his back as if nothing had happened, and together they went to pick up Mrs. Bai who was consigned.

Master Bai obviously didn't like consignment, the hair on his tail was blown out, and a staff member next to him had three red marks on his nose, looking like he was being ravaged instead of molesting.

"That just now..." Wang Xiaoming asked Zhong Yi.

Zhong Yi hung Master Bai on his shoulder: "Don't look too much."

"It's noon now!" Wang Xiaoming was shocked: "Those things can appear at noon? Today is still the sun."

Wang Xiaoming has only seen something that is not a human being but can appear during the day, and that is the evil spirit holding a black umbrella - even if it is a evil spirit, it will not act rashly in the daytime.

"Before and after the Ghost Festival, they are more fierce, don't make eye contact with them." Zhong Yi confessed to them.

"Of course I know." Wang Xiaoming said.

"What? Is there something?" Lu Xiaolu touched his glasses: "Why didn't you remind me just now..."

"Remind you what? Remind you to look at it, and then be discovered by it, and drag us underground?" Wang Xiaoming said, "Don't drag me if you want to die."

"I'll take a peek." Lu Xiaolu said, "And the master gave me a water talisman."

"Don't call me Master." Zhong Yi frowned, and put Master Bai into Lu Xiaolu's arms: "Don't wear those glasses."

"If he moves around, scratch him." Zhong Yi instructed Master Bai again.

Lu Xiaolu lowered his head, just in time to meet Lord Shangbai's gloomy eyes, couldn't help but startled, and immediately became honest.

The three of them got out of the train station, found a motorcycle to take a bus to the bus station, and finally arrived at their destination when it was getting late.

This small county in the southwestern border of Guangxi looks very peaceful in the afterglow. I don’t know if it’s because of the approaching Ghost Festival. There are very few pedestrians on the street. In the twilight, there are only a few hurried pedestrians and open shops. Also very few.

The three of them randomly found a guest house on the side of the road and asked for news while resting.

Paixiu's guidance only ends here, and after that, they can only rely on themselves to find the location of the ghost market.

There was no WIFI in the guest house, so Zhong Yi and Lu Xiaolu found an Internet cafe to check the county annals, while Wang Xiaoming held Master Bai in his arms at the door of the guest house, worrying about the bracelet while touching the cat.

The uncles and aunts chatting at the side saw that Master Bai was interesting, and gave Wang Xiaoming a bench in exchange for the right to pet the cat.

Wang Xiaoming bought a few popsicles and melon seeds at the entrance of the guest house to bribe the grandchildren of the uncles and aunts. When Zhong Yi and Lu Xiaolu came back in the dark, Wang Xiaoming and Master Bai had already mingled with the local people and chatted in full swing.

"We're here for a tour, and we want to see a strong man in black." Wang Xiaoming said with a smile, "But when we came, we found that there weren't many people there."

"The time is not right." The old man in a white sweatshirt criticized him with his hands behind his back: "I have to go home to worship ancestors on Ghost Festival, how can I travel around?"

"Ghost Festival?" Wang Xiaoming pretended to be cute: "We don't have this custom there."

The uncles and aunts laughed together and said he was young.

Wang Xiaoming pulled the bench and leaned over: "What are you going to do on Ghost Festival? Is there a performance?"

"There are no performances, and even the shops will not be open." The aunt said: "When the time comes, every house will be closed, and there will be altars and candles at the door, and no one will go out. You should come back after a while."

"Then not as strong as black?" Wang Xiaoming said.

Several people laughed again.

"We are all Zhuang people, so it looks the same to us. But it depends on being strong in black, and you have to go to the countryside. Go into the mountains."

Lu Xiaolu also leaned over and grabbed a handful of melon seeds in Wang Xiaoming's palm: "How do we go?"

"Take a car and go to the village. But I can't go now."

"Why can't I go?"

"Halloween." They laughed again: "Where is there a ghost festival to play?"

Wang Xiaoming and Lu Xiaolu looked at each other.

Of course they also celebrate the Ghost Festival, but it’s nothing more than a good meal, burning incense and offering sacrifices. This is the first time I’ve seen something so solemn like this.

"It's because no one goes to play on Ghost Festival, so we go." Zhong Yi said with a smile: "It's better if there are fewer people, too many tourists can't enjoy it."

"Everyone is ignorant." An aunt said reproachfully: "Where are you going to play at this time? The moon is not in the sky, and ghosts don't open their eyes."

"What do you mean?" Wang Xiaoming and Lu Xiaolu raised their hands.

"This is an old saying." The old man who kept the freezer in the guest house also joined them: "I didn't build a road before, so I had to walk, and I didn't walk in July. I must walk, and I walked during the day. When the moon is up, I can't walk."

"why?"

"The moon in July is evil." The old man said: "The moon in this month is not the moon, it is a lamp. The ghosts in the ground look up, the moon in July is very bright, like a lamp. They see it from the bottom. I just followed the light and touched it up, and by that time, the streets will be full of them.”

"Old beard, you are talking nonsense again." The aunt said, "He is here for tourism, what are you doing?"

The old man said: "I didn't say it, the old man said that when I was a child."

"You can't walk when the moon is out?" Wang Xiaoming said, "What if I have to walk?"

"You must go. The ghost saw you and took you away." The aunt said solemnly: "You are young, always rough and rough, and you will not hesitate to die."

"There are no ghosts in this world." Zhong Yi hugged Master Bai, leaning against the wall carelessly.

"Look, look." Several locals laughed.

"That's right, ghosts are something that you can't see." Wang Xiaoming also said.

"Don't talk nonsense!" The aunt interrupted him: "Children talk nonsense."

Lu Xiaolu: "What he said is true."

"You can't talk like that casually." The aunt said mysteriously: "You can't say it. Some ghosts are very naughty. If you say you can't see ghosts, you will provoke them. They will come to you and turn into many scary appearances. They must be Just let you see it."

"How could such a thing happen?" The three of Wang Xiaoming laughed.

"That's why you are young." The old man said, "I heard that there was a child who was like this. He didn't believe in ghosts. He must make a bet with his classmates. He didn't go to study in the middle of the night and went to the mass grave to take pictures. When he came back, he would be stupid. , I can’t even pass the university entrance exam.”

"Scared?" Big Mom lowered her voice mysteriously.

"That's not true." The old man said, "I took a bunch of photos, and when I came back to wash them, none of them were finished. People are stupid. His mother went to the school to make trouble, saying that the teacher didn't like the students, and the school even lost money."

"You'll lose money like this!" Lu Xiaolu exclaimed together with the crowd: "This is the child's ignorance!"

"Everyone says that." The old man said, "I'm telling you, I'm stupid. I was completely frightened and stupid. I couldn't write the test papers, and then I spoke in a daze, and my reaction was very slow. People asked him to read in mass graves. He couldn't tell what it was."

"At that time, it was just after July." The old man made a meaningful conclusion: "People said that he saw that the door opened in July."