Inscription of Different Cases

A shrill scream exploded in the ear, like a thousand sharp knives piercing directly into the brain, the pain was heart-piercing.Han Lang wanted to struggle, to get rid of this terrifying voice, but his whole body seemed to be tied up and he couldn't move.This sound is definitely not a scream that humans can make, but rather like the scream of some kind of bird. It soaked through his whole body like venom, swam into the meridians, and drilled into the cracks in the bones.He felt his internal organs were torn apart by the sound, leaving only a dry skin lying on the ground, bleeding everywhere.

It hurts, it hurts everywhere, it hurts like being dismembered, like being pulled out of the soul, and then forcefully stuffed back into the body.At this moment, the screams gradually disappeared, and he heard a man and a woman talking not far away.The voices of the two were quite unfamiliar, he had never heard them before, and what they said seemed to be separated by a wall, so he couldn't hear clearly.

Is this a dream?

With this thought in his mind, it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything.Not long after, the gnat-like voice gradually became clear. It was the strange woman who was speaking. She seemed to be in a hurry, and her voice was tinged with tears.

"He lied to us and brought a man--"

Who?

"Be sure to calm down! You take the child and go first!"

This should be the man's voice.The woman then answered something, but her voice became blurred again.He felt as if he was being grabbed by the back of the neck and dragged back quickly.He was shocked, but still couldn't make a sound, he just felt that he was getting farther and farther away from those two people, as if he was being dragged into the sky in a daze.

"A-Lang--!"

... He Yijiu's voice?

"A-Lang! Wake up!"

He opened his eyes, as if suddenly breaking through the water, sucking in fresh air.There was a constant buzzing in the ears, which changed from blurred to clear. It was the familiar sound of the Xu family's night banquet, the sound of silk and bamboo, and the sound of talking and laughing, coming from afar.

This is back?

A huge force hugged him into his arms, strangling him almost out of breath.Then the back of the head was rubbed repeatedly, and He Yijiu's eager voice came to his ears: "You fucking scared me to death!"

"What's wrong with me?" Before Han Lang could figure out what happened, he looked over his shoulder and found that he was in a cubicle near the lobby. There was no one else in the room except He Yijiu, and he was lying on the bed. Like an unlucky guy recovering from a long illness.

"I still want to ask you!" He Yijiu hugged him and did not let go, "After a while, someone found you lying in the yard outside, and you couldn't wake up no matter how you screamed."

Han Lang was a little confused for a moment, what happened before was an illusion?A toothless cat, Shen Minggui who suddenly appeared, and a strange dream of a man and a woman?No, no, Shen Minggui should be real, and so is the cat... Shen Minggui splashed some kind of water on him, he had a high fever, and then passed out.

"Shen Minggui did it." He pushed He Yijiu away, gritted his teeth.

"Shen Minggui?!" He Yijiu was startled, feeling a little guilty for no reason, "He, he came here too?"

"It seems so..." Han Lang muttered, and then repeated all the previous encounters.He Yijiu first scolded Shen Minggui severely, as if he wanted to tear him into pieces.But Han Lang found that the other party was a little nervous, the tip of his nose was sweating, and his eyes wandered a bit strangely...

"What are you afraid of him doing?" Han Lang said bluntly.

He Yijiuyi was at a loss for words for a while, suddenly slapped his forehead, and said firmly: "A man, why should I be afraid of him?"

Han Lang looked at him suspiciously, feeling that something was wrong.When he caught sight of the scar on He Yijiu's neck, his doubts were instantly replaced by heartache.Shen Minggui, that lunatic, made He Yijiu suffer for no reason before, and this time it's his turn, do you really think they are easy to bully?Immediately, he gritted his teeth and said: "I have no enmity with him, but he has come to provoke me again and again. One day I will liquidate everything he has done to us, so that I can vent my great hatred."

He Yijiu had a ghost in his heart, always worried that Shen Minggui would tell Han Lang his identity, so he hurriedly started to appease him.At this time, a maid came in from outside the door and said respectfully: "My lords, the hangover soup is ready."

He Yijiu took it over, thanked him, and sent him away.Seeing this, Han Lang was at a loss, and couldn't help but ask, "Why do you want hangover soup?"

"I'm afraid to scare the snake away, so I just say you're drunk," He Yijiu said, and poured the hangover soup into the flowerpot beside him, "By the way, I also saw that cat just now. I'm sorry for Xu Shigu said he wanted to see the legendary Persian cat, so he brought it here."

Han Lang immediately straightened his back: "How is it? Is it the cat's fault?"

"I don't think so," He Yijiu pondered, "It's an ordinary cat. As for the teeth, the owner pulled them out."

"Pull it out?"

"Well, it is rumored that cats are popular in the palace, but they are afraid of cat ghosts making trouble, so a eunuch came up with this idea. Cats with no teeth and clipped nails are no longer aggressive, so they can be enjoyed as pets with peace of mind. Things in this palace are very Soon it spread in the capital again, Xu Shigu said that now the rich and noble people in Beijing raise cats, all of them raise such toothless cats."

Han Lang was horrified when he heard this, and thought that these high-ranking officials and nobles were really cruel, and they needed to be careful even when enjoying antiques and jade objects. After all, cats are living creatures, how could they be so cruel?

As if seeing through what he was thinking, He Yijiu sighed slightly and said, "Such a beastly behavior, if there is a cat monster, it can be regarded as evil with evil."

"But don't you think there are no cat demons?"

"I'm not sure," He Yijiu reached out and rubbed Han Lang's head a few times, "It depends on you, you are the one who knows how to do it."

Han Lang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he thought that He Yijiu took over the business, and he came to join in the fun, but he still wanted to do it himself.Forget it, He Yijiu's wishful thinking may have been settled long ago, so he could only cast a sideways glance at the other party and said, "In that case, we'll pay fifty to five cents for the commission."

"It's all right for you," He Yijiu accepted quite graciously, and leaned over to arch his side face, "What's mine is yours."

As for yours, of course it is also mine.

At this time, Han Lang had almost recovered, his head was no longer dizzy, and his body was no longer hot. I really don't know what Shen Minggui did to him.His original clothes were dirty, so he had no choice but to borrow a new outfit from Xu's house. "I told them you vomited all over." He Yijiu leaned close to Han Lang's ear and laughed, but he pushed him away angrily.

"What's the matter, how else can I explain it?" He Yijiu was indignant.

"..."

He Yijiu's bad intentions came up again: "Do you think it's embarrassing?"

Han Lang wanted to knock him down and beat him up, angry at him for being mean, and even more angry at himself for being negligent and causing such a thing.Just as he was about to explain a few words, he suddenly heard small footsteps not far away, he hurriedly grabbed He Yijiu and said, "Shh - something is coming."

The corridor was dark, only the few red paper lanterns still gave off a strange light.The two of them tensed up and were on high alert, waiting for the sound of footsteps to approach from a distance from the bush, and finally appear in front of them suddenly—

"It can be regarded as slipping out!"

It turned out to be Bai Zitu, the child walked lightly, which made the two of them think too much.He Yijiu breathed a sigh of relief, and ruthlessly stroked the boy's head with a pair of big palms: "You bastard, what are you doing playing tricks in the middle of the night!"

"I, I didn't." Bai Zitu was extremely aggrieved, and his eyes began to turn red when he was aggrieved, "Master and Madam are the same as three days ago, they urged me to sleep early, and I ran out from the dark to avoid them. gone."

Han Lang frowned: "You said they are repeating the previous thing today? But we were not there three days ago, and Xu Shigu still talked to us just now. What's the explanation?"

Bai Zitu blinked his eyes and said: "What they do has not changed. They set up banquets first, hold wine orders, and then leave when they are about to be ugly. The guests who came are also those people. When you are not here, they are chatting about what happened three days ago. topic."

"It's useless for us to chat here, just go back to the lobby." He Yijiu suggested.

Bai Zitu nodded: "At this moment, they should still be enforcing the drinking order. I'll go to the lobby to cry in a while, maybe the master will be willing to keep me."

So he led the way, Han Lang and He Yijiu followed behind.Not far away, He Yijiu pointed at the back of the bookboy, and whispered to Han Lang: "What do you think?"

"Suspicious," Han Lang said honestly, "He still doesn't speak and act like a ten-year-old child."

"Since entering this house, suspicious things have never stopped," He Yijiu added, "By the way, where is that bastard Shen Minggui?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since then."

"Why don't you ask?"

Han Lang nodded, and immediately stopped Bai Zitu in front of him: "Hey -- do you remember every guest here?"

"Of course!" Bai Zitu replied confidently.

"Is there a Taoist in green shirt?"

Bai Zitu was startled, with a dazed expression: "No, the master invites all his colleagues, people who have had business with him. If you don't believe me, why don't you go and see the guest list later?"

Han Lang nodded: "That's it."

When a group of people entered the lobby, Bai Zitu quickly started crying, which attracted everyone's attention.He Yijiu hastily dragged Han Lang into the room and sat down together, only to see Bai Zitu getting more and more ruthless, trying to get into Xu's arms.The old man of the Xu family on the main seat softened his heart, sighed and said, "That's all right, if you want to stay, you can keep it, it's good to gain some insight."

Only then did Bai Zitu sniff his snot and show an innocent smile.

Han Lang tugged at He Yijiu's clothes, and said in a low voice, "Why do I feel that this kid is trying to cheat?"

He Yijiu tapped him: "What is this? I was skinnier than him when I was young."

Han Lang rolled his eyes, thinking that you are the only one who would say this out as something you are proud of.

After the two sat for a while, He Yijiu got up and secretly went to check the guest list, and sure enough, Shen Minggui's name was not there.Counting again, a total of 33 people came. Looking back at the field, it happened to be 33 people, no more, no less.It can be seen that Shen Minggui sneaked in and was not among the invitees at all.

"How about I go find him alone?" He Yijiu suggested.

Han Lang disagreed: "Forget it, since he is also here to catch the demon, he will show up sooner or later. This man is secretive, and it is impossible to guard against him. Let's not meet him alone, we will be careful and suffer."

He Yijiu nodded, thinking of Shen Minggui's mean look, he gritted his teeth with hatred.At this time, only a slight meow was heard, and the two were startled at the same time, looking towards the source of the sound.It turned out to be the same Persian cat, and now it slowly came out from behind the screen. There were guests everywhere, but no one dared to touch it, and let it wander around the house like a leisurely stroll.

"This cat, the Xu family's old couple really love it, and raise it like their own child," He Yijiu approached Han Lang and whispered, "Look, this cat is rolling around on the dining table, and they don't reprimand it."

Mrs. Xu held the cat in her arms and stroked its snow-white fur. The cat stretched out its tongue to lick it, so she followed the trend and put her hand into the cat's mouth.Han Lang sat close, and heard Xu's soft voice: "Hey, let me see, are you teething again?"

Thinking of these people pulling out all the teeth in the cat's mouth, Han Lang shuddered at this loving tone.But the cat was very obedient, obediently sucking Xu's finger, purring like a whimper sounded from its throat.The cat's eyes were watery, like a lamb who was completely ignorant.

Is it really a monster?

Because there are no teeth, the cat's mouth often does not close, sticking out half of its pink tongue.Seeing Xu stand up, Han Lang ordered the maidservant to bring a bowl of fish cake-like food, mashed it into mud and fed it to the cat's mouth.The cat licked it very happily, and when it was full, it lazily napped on Xu's lap, not bothering to move.

Han Lang hesitated, and bumped He Yijiu's ribs with his elbow: "It doesn't look like it did it to me."

The two looked at each other, feeling a little helpless for a while.Han Lang raised his eyes and saw Bai Zitu on the main seat looking at the cat with a worried face, full of worries.A thought flashed through his mind, and Han Lang felt that he seemed to have captured something, but the clue was not clear and fleeting.

The banquet reached its climax and was very lively.The guests were in high spirits, and they didn't look like they were possessed by a demon at all. One of them volunteered to stand up, saying that he was tired of playing the wine order, and wanted to invite everyone to play Tibetan hooks.This mention caused many people to respond, the banquet became more and more noisy, Xu Shigu on the main seat also stood up, laughed and said: "Very good, very good, I'm afraid it's been a long time since I played, you all have new hands, right? "

The response from below was even worse, and someone replied: "How is it possible, my title of King of Tibetan Hooks is still there!"

Then there was another burst of laughter, but Bai Zitu turned his short body uneasily, his mouth was flattened and his face became more gloomy.Han Lang and He Yijiu didn't join in the laughing either, one lowered his head in deep thought, the other looked surprised, his eyes kept slipping on everyone present.After a short while, the guests were all ready to hide their hooks, and He Yijiu tugged at Han Lang's sleeve and whispered, "They actually play this."

Han Lang nodded gloomyly.

The game of hidden hook was quite popular decades ago.The participants are divided into two groups, and then take out a silver hook, a ring or other small gadgets, hide them in the hands of one person, and let the other team guess.There is only one chance to guess, and if you make a mistake, you will be punished with alcohol.But before identifying who has the hook, the hook hunting team can test and ask at will, even proper physical contact is allowed.

Therefore, the person holding the hook must sit still and pretend to be nonchalant and continue talking and laughing with other people in order to confuse the opponent.A seemingly simple game, but it tests the patience of the hook-holding team, and the ability of the hook-seeking team to observe the situation.If anyone can't help laughing, or if they can't guess and have to identify randomly, then they will lose.

Decades ago, when Tibetan hooks were popular, a tragedy happened in the palace of the former dynasty.It is said that it was the night of the Dragon Boat Festival, and a group of concubines were playing hide hooks with the maids. One group stretched out their hands with clenched fists, and asked the other group to guess.Among them was a concubine Zhen who grinningly touched each of them, and suddenly touched a pair of hands as cold as ice.She screamed and was grabbed by the hand.But when everyone looked carefully again, they saw Concubine Zhen curled up on the ground in shock, and the hand could no longer be found.

Three days later, Concubine Zhen died suddenly.

Rumors abounded in the palace, saying that Concubine Zhen used vicious methods during her lifetime, and the concubine she killed came to seek revenge.Since then, no one dared to play the hidden hook in the palace, and the news spread to the people, and similar grotesque things appeared one after another, and gradually no one played it anymore.There is a saying circulating that hiding the hook will bring disaster, which is an ominous play.

So, this hidden hook scene, which hadn't been seen in the world for a long time, suddenly appeared at the Xu family's banquet. How could Han Lang and He Yijiu not be surprised?Could it be... that's the problem?

It is said that Tibetan Hook is more interesting if there are many people, so someone trotted over and wanted to invite them to participate.Han Lang had no choice but to walk into the crowd with the thought of "how can you get a tiger cub if you don't enter the tiger's lair".Seeing Han Lang put himself to the test, He Yijiu would definitely not sit still, even Bai Zitu participated.All of a sudden, the tables and chairs were removed by the servants, and a group of people stood in groups with great momentum.

Han Lang and He Yijiu were divided into different teams, and they looked at each other nervously. The "hook" was a white jade finger wrench that Xu Shigu took off, and it was handed over to He Yijiu's team, but it was unknown in whose hands it was.

At this moment, there was a little commotion in the crowd, they were actually making fun of a musician.The musician was there at the beginning, sitting in the corner playing the piano, and did not really participate in the banquet.But he is also a guest invited by Xu Shigu, and he is familiar with everyone present, and everyone is encouraging him to participate.

The man said with a bitter face: "I really don't know how to play Tibetan hooks, so why don't you play the piano for fun."

All the guests at the scene drank, and they spoke more straightforwardly: "I'm missing you, not to add to the fun, but to spoil the fun. Come on, come on, at worst, I won't let you hold the hook for now."

The musician still refused, and the scene became a little stiff.At this time, Xu Shigu stepped forward to make a rescue, and said to the musician: "I heard that Mr. just got a rare music not long ago, how is your practice?"

When the music score was mentioned, the musician's eyes lit up immediately: "I have played it intermittently at home, but I haven't played it completely."

At this time, someone who loves music in the crowd interrupted: "When did you get a new score, why didn't you tell me? It can't be the long-lost 'Unknown Music'?"

"It's not nameless, I have named it 'Beautiful Cong Fengqu'."

When He Yijiu heard this, his uneducated nature was exposed, and he approached Han Lang and whispered, "According to you?"

Han Lang had no choice but to say, "You idiot. You are charming, used to praise scenery or women."

"Haven't you not read many books?" He Yijiu glared at him.

Han Lang smiled slightly: "Just be more than you."

At this time, Xu Shigu was already praising again and again: "Good name, good name! Mr. is not good at hiding hooks, why don't you play this charming Congfeng song and make fun of it for us."

"As long as the seniors don't think I'm unfamiliar with my skills, it will be fine if I tarnish a good song."

Xu Shigu laughed and said, "How could that be?"

After a few words, the embarrassment on the field was easily resolved, only to see that the musician flicked his fingers, and the quiet sound of the piano immediately circulated.It was really a beautiful piece of music, and everyone was mesmerized by it, and did not move for a while.Even Han Lang was a little dazed, thinking that the music is good and the musician's skills are quite superb, it's really a great enjoyment.

Only He Yijiu, who not only doesn't understand the rhythm, but also disdains to enjoy elegance, leans on the beam and looks around indifferently.After a while, everyone gradually woke up, and then laughed again.The two teams stood apart again, and with an order, the game began.