Demon in the world

Half an hour later, at the roadside coffee shop, Ah Jiu saw Lu Xiaoman who was completely different from before.

His face was pale and haggard, and his eyes were empty and filled with sadness, as if it would flow out at any time.If it weren't for the still dazzling blue diamond earrings, Ah Jiu couldn't believe it was him.

In my memory, Lu Xiaoman was beautiful and flamboyant, but now he is depressed, gloomy, and the despair radiating from his body seems to be able to penetrate the air and infect everyone.

What happened in the past six months that can change a person's appearance and even spirit so much?

After a long silence, Ah Jiu hesitated and spoke first, "Brother Xiao Man."

Xiaoman raised his eyes to look at him, his eyes turned darker, as if everyone except himself could live a glamorous life and get what they wanted.

For example, the young man in front of me, he came down from a high mountain isolated from the world, he didn’t understand anything, and he didn’t have any backing relatives, but now he lives with a rosy complexion and a sunny face, and even the seemingly ordinary shirts are luxury brands that ordinary people dream of. SELF.

Xiaoman is confident that he is not bad in appearance, and his communication skills are several times better than him, but why is fate always so unfair to him?

When he was young, he wanted toys to be in the hands of other children forever. After going to school, he worked hard but couldn't get his father's approval. After being admitted to the school that everyone envied, he missed it because he couldn't pay the fees. The person he fell in love with will always be Ruthlessly saying that he has no human feelings...

After failing again and again in despair, he finally realized that for those who do not get the favor of fate, no matter how hard they manage, life is a pile of shit.

Today, he can no longer summon any energy to pursue the so-called happiness. He just wants to gamble with all his own one last time, to see if the so-called legend can really reverse the destiny of mankind.

Seeing the rapid change in his eyes, Ah Jiu asked worriedly, "Brother Xiaoman, are you alright?"

Xiaoman shook his head, "I want to say sorry to you about what happened before."

"Ah, is it about the swimming pool? It's over, you don't have to worry about it."

"No, I'm talking about this." Xiaoman spread his hands on the table, with four fingers spread out, but his index finger was missing.

Ah Jiu stretched out her hand to touch the healed wound, and said cautiously, "You must be in pain, right?"

Xiaoman stared at him coldly, hoping to find a trace of normal hatred and anger from his expression, "Do you know what you are doing? You are concerned about a murderer who once tried to kill you twice."

Ah Jiu said indifferently: "But I'm still fine now."

"Don't you want to know why I wanted to kill you?"

Ah Jiu thought for a while, and said, "You envy my brother for treating me well."

Xiaoman said coldly: "It's jealousy, hatred. I love him so much and I don't get any response. Why do you get his attention as soon as you show up?"

"Aunt Xue said that brother is also very kind to you..."

"That's different!" Xiaoman interrupted him, raising his voice and saying crazily: "Money has no temperature, it can't warm people's hearts! What I want is love, a little... oh no, a lot, all of it! I get what I want All his love! You have always been so kind, how can you forgive me for the wrong things I did before, and you can help me this time, right?"

Ah Jiu said confusedly: "Brother Xiaoman, I don't understand what you are saying."

"I saw the Fool's Inn just like Ouyang Fei! The man said that he needed to find someone with culinary powers and the heart of a child to inherit it. After he came out, Ouyang Fei's face changed...I don't know what is the relationship between you, but I know he must care about you very much! You can tell from this finger, can't you? I promise to give you the inn, but you have to help me cook a bright delicacy..."

Ah Jiu said in astonishment: "Give me the Fool's Inn...?"

"Yes! Didn't you always dream of finding your brother? If you don't own the Fool's Inn, your dream will come true, and you can do anything!"

Ah Jiu half-believingly asked: "But does it really exist?"

Lu Xiaoman grabbed his hand, "Don't believe me? I'll give it to you right now!"

As soon as Xiaoman finished speaking, a white light flashed in front of Ah Jiu's eyes, and he realized that he had arrived in a strange place.

A huge ancient building stands in the vast white mist, with a towering tree behind it.Two lanterns made of strings of skulls are hung in front of the door respectively, dancing with the wind and making creaking sounds from time to time.

Above the vermilion wooden door, hung a huge gold plaque: Fool's Inn!

It's really the Fool's Inn?Where exactly is this?In a dream?Ah Jiu pinched his face in disbelief.

At the same time, a hoarse excited voice said: "My master, you are welcome to take over the Fool's Inn!"

But Ah Jiu still couldn't see a figure, so he pointed to the tip of his nose and asked, "Who are you? Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, master, my name is Menye." A young man whose voice didn't match at all came out of the red wooden door and bowed to Ah Jiu.

He is about 30 years old, with delicate and handsome features, and a charming smile on his face. The only fatal flaw is that his height only reaches the knees of ordinary people.

In order to keep eye level with the other party, Ah Jiu had to squat down, "Excuse me, does this inn belong to you?"

Menye said: "No, I'm just in charge of taking care of it temporarily, and I've been staying here waiting for the real master to arrive."

"Then can you tell me, what is this place? How can I go back?"

"This place does not belong to any place, but an independent space in the crack of time. After you officially take over the inn, you will return to the world as the shopkeeper."

Ah Jiu scratched her head, "I don't quite understand, can you explain in more detail?"

Katono said with a smile: "It's a long story, please come with me to the inn for a short rest and you will understand everything." With a wave of his hand, the two doors opened by themselves, and the dark hall instantly lit up, including the hanging The skull lanterns at the door all glow orange.

Ah Jiu followed behind Monno, curiously looking at the layout of the inn.

The hall was clean, but there was no trace of life.

A total of six square tables were placed among them, and tea and snacks had already been arranged on one of them, and it was still steaming hot.

Menye asked Ah Jiu to sit down, pointed to a flying couplet behind the counter and said, "Master, please look, this is left by the first shopkeeper of the Fool's Inn."

Ah Jiu looked over, and saw that the first couplet read: Open the altar for thousands of gentlemen to relieve their worries, and go to the table for thousands of guests to relieve their worries. The second couplet follows: The small building has a big inside, and welcomes guests from the three realms from afar with a smile.It can be seen from the style of writing and mind that the shopkeeper is a chic and arrogant man of temperament, not a thing in the pool.

Monno said: "It has been 600 years since I guarded the Fool's Inn. You will become the ninth owner of the Inn. I hope that under your leadership, the Fool's Inn can flourish and help more people in need."

What happened now, and what the other party said, were just like the strange stories Master Kongxiang told him.

Ah Jiu looked away in a daze, looked at Monno curiously and said, "How can I help more people?"

"The original owner chose to build in this crack of time because he hoped that the Fool's Inn would last forever. This space is not bound by humans, demons, and the underworld. Time is static, and everyone can live forever. Here, the innkeeper is Absolute king, no one can rebel, you have the right to bring anyone in, and you have the right to drive everyone out. In the kitchen of our inn, there is a hidden "Bright Recipe", get it, you can make Food that fulfills all wishes. While dreaming of gaining, they must also lose something to keep as an account. You can ask for it as small as a hair of theirs, as large as their wealth, luck, sin, and even memory .”

Ah Jiu sighed, "What a magical place! Then can I make it for myself?"

Monye put away his smile, and said solemnly: "The first rule of the Fool's Inn, as the shopkeeper, you can never eat the things you make."

"Huh? What about someone else making it for me?"

"Only the shopkeeper can see that cookbook, and no one else can make bright food."

Ah Jiu showed a disappointment that could not be concealed, and said softly: "It turns out that it is like this, even if I make bright delicacies, I can't let my brother recognize me."

Menye continued: "The second rule is that each guest can only be entertained once with bright food, but the inn has many rooms, if they want, they can stay there unconditionally. The third rule..."

"Please wait a moment," Ah Jiu interrupted him, "I... don't want this inn, can you find someone else to inherit it?"

Katono showed a mysterious smile again, "This is what I'm going to say next, the third rule of the Fool's Inn: Once the shopkeeper accepts the inn, he must inherit it until he finds the next suitable heir, otherwise he will be trapped in time forever." In the crack."

"That means I will never be able to get out?" Ah Jiu asked extremely nervously, "Where did the previous innkeeper go?"

"He disappeared after eating what he made, and no one knows where he went." Damon said in a regretful tone: "Too irresponsible."

After hearing what he said, Ah Jiu felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He still wanted to be with Wen Renchu, and he wanted to eat delicious food from all over the world and make them. How could he be trapped here in a daze?

Ah Jiu said firmly: "I don't want to be the shopkeeper, and I never promised."

Monye looked at him with pity, "But my master, you have no choice now. Don't worry about affecting your private life, you can go through the formalities of taking over the inn first, and then go about your own business as usual But please don't forget, as the shopkeeper, you have to come to the inn at least once a day."

It's not bad to hear what he said, that is, it will not affect my life, and it can also help many people... Ah Jiu thought for a while, and asked: "Then can I eat the things I made outside?"

"Of course, the ingredients needed for Guangming Cuisine can only be found in the inn kitchen."

"How do I get here, and how do I get out?"

Menye drew a circle on his palm, and then spread his five fingers to cover the circle, "I will temporarily seal the inn in your left hand, and you can see the inn whenever you need it. If you want to enter the inn, close your eyes , Push open the door in your mind in your imagination. The method of leaving is the same, you only need to close the door of the inn to return to reality.”

As if getting a strange toy, Ah Jiu shook hands and let go, and asked, "Then can I go now?"

"Of course...no, we still need to sign a formal contract."

"contract?"

Menye took out the pen and paper he had prepared from his bosom, on which were written the few rules mentioned just now, pointed to the blank space and said to Ah Jiu: "Please sign your name here."

Ah Jiu glanced at the content, and inadvertently saw the contract time limit in the lower right corner: 600 years!Can't help but wonder: "Is there a problem with this time?"

Katono smiled and said, "How could it be? At your current age, 600 years is just a blink of an eye."

Ah Jiu couldn't believe it, "Are you joking? Although I'm not here yet, I can't live for so long."

"?" Monno looked at the small broken tooth in the corner of his mouth with a half-smile, "I think you just had your first deciduous tooth replaced, and the age of a demon should be less than 4500 years old. If you convert it into a human age, it is about nine years old. About 600 years old... [-] years is just a flick of your finger to you, it is really nothing."

Ah Jiu was puzzled: "I don't understand what you are saying, what kind of demon age..."

Seeing his confused face, Menye said, "Of course monsters are calculated based on their age. Although you are not yet an adult, your status should be more than enough for ordinary creatures of the three realms, so there is no need to have any scruples. "

Ah Jiu suddenly stood up, "Monster? You mean... I'm a monster?"

This time it was Damon who was surprised, "Huh? You don't know your true identity?"

Staring at Ah Jiu's face for a while, he suddenly said, "Please send me your face for a closer look." When his finger touched the red mole under Ah Jiu's eyes, it immediately bounced off as if being burned, and whispered Said to himself: "So that's how it is."

The moment he touched his skin, Ah Jiu's headache felt like it was going to explode, and countless fragmented images rushed out of his mind.

Familiar, unfamiliar, and the bloody war that has been in the dream for a long time...

It seems that there is something important that I have forgotten by myself.

……

"Little guy, come here and let my brother hug... well, it seems to be heavy again, and if you get fatter, I won't take you with you next time you go out to play!"

"Your Highness Ninth, Your Highness Ninth...it's strange, I used to lie down and sleep well at this time, where did I go today?"

"Report! Jing Yan ordered Fubo Palace to be set on fire! Now a large number of generals are coming in this direction!"

... It hurts, the headache is almost split, Ah Jiu crouched down holding her head.

So the real and trivial memories, as if they have been experienced personally, how could it... have no impression?

Seeing him lying on the ground, Monno yelled in a panic, "Master, master... are you alright? Master! Come quickly!"

Wen Renchu ​​was facing the computer in the office, and suddenly felt an inexplicable irritability in his heart.

Xu Nan noticed that his expression was not right, so she asked concerned: "Master, are you alright?"

Wen Renchu ​​shook his head, still feeling very uneasy after a while, and said, "Go and check Ah Jiu's location now, hurry up."

Xu Nan went to do it immediately. The mobile phone and computer that Wen Renchu ​​gave Ah Jiu contained location trackers, so it shouldn't be difficult to check.

Ten minutes later, Xu Nan walked into the office sweating profusely, "Master, something seems to be wrong..."

Wen Renchu ​​stood up immediately, "What's the situation? Tell me!"

"The locator shows that Ah Jiu should be at Qibao Coffee Shop on Wenyi Road, but I called to inquire, and the person in charge said that he saw Ah Jiu go in, but...it was with Lu Xiaoman! I have already had him watched... "

"Damn it," Wenren Chu heavy punched down the table, "I'm going there right away!"

Half an hour later, Wen Renchu ​​appeared at Qibao Coffee Shop. The guests had already been invited out, and only Lu Xiaoman was holding the cup with a gloomy expression.

When Wenrenchu ​​entered the door, he saw the backpack on the opposite side of him, walked straight over and grabbed Lu Xiaoman's arm, "Where's Ah Jiu? Where did you trick him to?"

Lu Xiaoman shook his head in joy and surprise, "I don't know, I really don't know... I just gave him the Fool's Inn, and then he disappeared."

Wenren Chuyi punched him in the abdomen, "What fool's inn? Who asked you to do these things? There are so many people in the world, why do you insist on pestering him?!"

Xiaoman's facial features wrinkled together in pain, he reluctantly said: "Ah Chu, listen to me, I just..."

Wen Renchu ​​raised his hand, and when he was about to hit again, Ah Jiu's voice sounded behind him, "Brother."

His heart trembled, he turned around and saw Ah Jiu with a timid face, he shook off Lu Xiaoman and let Xu Nan forcibly drag him away.

"Remember what you promised me last time?" Wen Renchu ​​tried his best to keep his voice calm, but his face was gloomy like the eve of a storm, but after seeing Ah Jiu's expression of ready to cry, his heart softened unconsciously Come down, "What the hell happened?"

Ah Jiu squinted her mouth, and big teardrops rolled down from the corners of her eyes, "Monye said I'm not human..."