Painter

Chapter 1: The Eye of the Mandarin Duck
Xuandu, located in the west of Dayong, has three wonders.

Except for the big green lotus on the top of Fuyu Mountain and the peach blossoms that turn red as soon as February is over, there is the spring rain that never stops.

On rainy days, the vaults of Xuandu are as green as emeralds, and the rain is hard to distinguish with the naked eye. It is often only noticed when people wet their spring clothes. kill."

Guo Xun in the hall had no intention of admiring the rain. This godly Captain Si looked down at the soaked bullfighting boots and green embroidered clothes, and glanced at the blue stone steps outside the hall from the corner of his eye. Qingpi Mule, who came all the way from Yujing, carefully explained: "It really happened in a hurry. Don't worry, Sun Sicheng. In a few days, the subordinates will definitely catch the murderer!"

"Three days!"

Shenzha Si Sicheng sat on the Tie Limu seat on the right side of the hall, and pointed at the captain three times from a distance, "Three days have passed, and the demons have not been punished, and a few demon-hunters have been brought in instead! The saint personally set up Shenzha Si , personally set up Shenzhasi! It is to let Shenzhasi catch witches and investigate ghosts and foxes! You are good, there is no fat man who catches wind and shadows, and something really happened to you...you!"

The captain lowered his head by another three points. Shangfeng was obviously really angry, but this anger seemed to be staged for the nobleman sitting on the left.

Shen Zha, Si Cheng and Du Wei have one in charge of literature and the other in charge of military affairs. Although they have different official positions, they share weal and woe in private. How can they be harsh in front of outsiders?
But this morning, after this nobleman rode a green mule into Shenzhasi, Si Cheng's face changed like a book.

The nobleman is an old man, his temples are stained with frost, and he looks like he has passed the age of knowing his fate.Beside him was a handsome young man in brocade clothes, who was probably the boy who always waited by his side.

Guo Xun is still not sure about the identity of the old man.

But as long as he saw the old man wearing a deer crown, and he was wearing neither official nor casual clothes, but a frosty crane cloak, he could guess the identity of the old man halfway.The Dayong Kingdom worships Xuan and worships Buddhism, and the status of Xuan Buddhism and Buddhism is detached. This crane cloak is not worn by ordinary people.

What's more, there was a green sparrow jade talisman hanging on the old man's belt.

On the small-leaf red sandalwood token next to the jade talisman, the six characters "directly pointing to the messenger in crane clothes" are engraved on it.

Good guy.

Based on this signboard alone, not to mention that the old man entered Shenzhasi, even if he was going to the Governor's Mansion, the Zhenxi King in the mansion would probably go out to greet him in person.

Gazing at Si Cheng comprehensibly, Du Wei explained: "At first, it was Lizheng from Bailuli who reported the case to Zhao Judicial, who was in Facao. When we took over, the monster killed four more people. It's not like Sun Sicheng doesn't know that the more the monster harms people, the more ferocious it becomes... Si Li's brothers, of course, take it as their duty to eliminate harm from the people. Over the years, Sun Sicheng From what I can see, there have been no monsters and ghosts in Xuandu for more than twenty years, it is really the first time for the brothers to deal with monsters that have become popular, and it is inevitable to deal with them incorrectly..."

"Subduing demons and demons is the job of Shenzha, why wait for Facao to come to find out the news!" Si Cheng slapped the table and scolded, then took a deep breath, and cupped his hands to the old man, "Don't worry, Mr. Shen. For this case, Shenzhasi will definitely give an explanation as soon as possible."

The old man called Mr. Shen didn't seem to see through the harmony between the two, and said with a smile: "Listen to what Guo Duwei said, this case can't be blamed on Shen Zhasi, how about this, since I have taken the official position of 'Qingque Supervisor', I also have the responsibility to maintain the law and order of Xuandu, so I might as well go to the Qingque Palace on Fuyu Mountain tomorrow, and ask Gao Gong to go down the mountain to eliminate demons, so that Xuandu can be kept clean."

Si Cheng secretly scolded the old treacherous and cunning, the gods and Buddhas of the Dayong Kingdom showed their holiness, and the status of the two religions was detached, and their status was hidden above the human dynasty.Back then, when the sage established Shen Zhasi, Jitian made a vow to wipe out the world's demons.Now there are monsters making trouble, but Shen Zhasi is helpless, and in the end he has to rely on the Taoist priests of Qingque Palace to take action. Where will the saint's face be put?

Si Cheng was hesitating, but the boy next to the old man snorted, Si Cheng frowned, and saw the boy folded his sleeves and lowered his eyes, with an arrogant look that had nothing to do with him.

The old man didn't seem to notice the boy's impolite behavior, so he turned his eyes to a budding peach blossom in the yard, and said, "Forget it, there is still one month left before the Taozhi Festival. I heard that the sage will go to the country this year." Going west, we will sacrifice to Taodu Mountain. At this juncture, I am afraid that there will be no trouble."

The east wind passed through the hall through the window, a row of black flags on the side of the hall swayed slightly, and Si Cheng broke out in a cold sweat.Before leaving Beijing, this Mr. Shen was waiting for an edict at the North Gate. His official position was not high, but he was a close minister of the emperor.It is related to the whereabouts of the saint, of course he will not lie.Si Cheng's expression was suddenly grim, he pressed the tiger's head firmly on the armrest, and asked, "Guo Duwei, you are in charge of the demon-hunters, how sure are you of breaking this case?"

The captain knew that it was not time to take everything in hand, so he replied, "Twenty percent."

"Ok?"

The captain hurriedly explained: "Those monsters have become powerful, their minds are not inferior to human beings, and they possess witchcraft. Brothers in Sili, after all, have not practiced the true method, and the worst thing is that they are inexperienced..." Before Si Cheng had an attack, he again Said: "But I think of a person, this person may be able to help, but he..." He glanced at the old man, "He is still in prison."

Si Cheng was taken aback for a moment, and his face darkened: "A leftist demon?"

The captain bowed his head and remained silent.

The young man next to the old man opened his eyes and looked at Guo Xun coldly.

After a short moment of silence, Si Cheng shook his head and said, "If you use leftist monsters, no matter the result, you will lose your dignity."

The old man was rather interested: "What's so special about this man?"

"This person is proficient in the science of ghosts."

"Just like that?"

Guo Xun hesitated to speak, the old man paused for a moment, and without further questioning, he turned his head and said, "What does Sicheng Sun mean?"

Si Cheng said: "It's a very important matter, please let Mr. Shen decide."

Seeing that Si Cheng was slippery, the old man just smiled and said: "It's neither emotional nor reasonable to call a leftist monster. But the matter has come to this point, so what if you try it. I don't want to interfere with Shen Zhasi's affairs, but I have the ability to monitor it." Responsibility, raccoon."

The young man turned his body sideways to the old man, "Mr. Shen."

The old man took off his waist badge, and the young man caught it with both hands.

"Oversee the case for me."

……

The continuous rain has washed the tiles of Yuantu black and bright.

On the west side of Shenzhasi, outside the prison known as Senluo on the ground, Guo Xun held an umbrella for the boy who was only in his teens, and he couldn't help feeling a little aggrieved.But the noble's close servant is the most difficult to deal with, not to mention, this young man is still loved.So much so that Shen Gong gave the young man his waist card with "Jian Nan Dao" engraved on the front and "Directly Pointing to the Envoy in Crane Clothes" engraved on the back.

With this waist card, the young man has the right to directly investigate cases in the states of Jiannan Road. In this way, he can dispose of any criminals in Xuandu City who are related to the matter of witches, ghosts and foxes at will.

Being able to get into the seat of Captain Shen Zha Si, Guo Xun has mastered the kung fu of being able to bend and stretch, and comforting himself with respecting the old and loving the young, he finally ignored the young man's contemptuous look, and he could accompany him with a natural smile from time to time, turning the prison I briefly talked about the situation of the leftist demon in the movie.

"what is his name?"

"Li Chan, the cicada that sings the cicada."

"What happened?"

"That's a long story."

"I've never seen a leftist demon with my own eyes. I just heard that this kind of person is quite vicious. Some people make green clam money to disrupt the market, some harvest live animals and cut them up, turn people into animals, skin them and change their faces, and raise ghosts to harm people. Do whatever it takes.”

"What Mr. Xiaolang has heard is not the most insidious. There are tens of thousands of heresy techniques. Even if the Law of Yongyong is ten times thicker, they will not be punished. Therefore, as long as you practice heresy techniques, you will be punished." As far as leftist demons are concerned, some people actually don't have that..."

"Not that bad?"

Guo Xun wanted to answer yes, but seeing the young man frowned slightly, he said, "However, to practice heresy is to have bad intentions, you can kill whatever you want."

The boy was quite satisfied with the answer and nodded.Guo Xun took the opportunity to say: "But Li Chan does have some abilities, this person is especially proficient in the study of ghosts, in terms of this aspect of knowledge, no one in Xuandu can match him."

But the young man glanced at Guo Xun indifferently, "The study of ghosts and monsters is just heresy, when can it be called knowledge?"

Guo Xun said calmly: "Mr. Xiaolang is right. This person is a man who studies heresy, so he should be kicked out of the mountain gate by Qingque Palace."

The boy raised his eyebrows, stopped in his footsteps, stared at Guo Xun and asked, "Has he been to Qingque Palace?"

Guo Xun also stopped, moved the umbrella back three inches, and replied, "I've been there. He was recommended by the Lingzhu of the Town God's Temple a few years ago."

The young man smiled, shook his head and continued to walk forward, "The Lingzhu of the Town God's Temple is only assisting the Foreign Affairs Office of the Qingque Palace to take care of the mundane affairs. The method of transcending the world is not something that mere Lingzhu can intervene in."

Guo Xun sighed secretly, followed the boy's footsteps, "Xiao Langjun is right, then Li Chan went up to the Qingque Palace, and only visited the mountain gate for two years. After two years, maybe he violated some taboos, and he was punished." After being expelled, the immortal master on the mountain didn't say anything, no one can ask, but he just put Li Chan in prison for half a year."

The boy's eyelids drooped, "It's a chance to go to Qingque Palace to clean the mountain gate, but this person didn't catch it. It turned out that he was eager for success and fell into... heresy."

Spitting out the word "Zuo Dao", the young man seemed to spit out a breath of frost.

……

The land in the far west is barren, with ravines and ravines among the gray-blue Gobi, like knives and axes.In a fissure like a ground opening, there is a huge root system entrenched for three thousand miles like a horned dragon.A big peach tree pierces the sky, its skin is as rough as a rock, but the peach blossoms on the branches are as red as a fire.

Under the peach tree, surrounded by monsters, Li Chan fought desperately, screaming silently.Suddenly, the peach blossoms that covered the sky and the sun burned, and all the demons melted like candle wax.The melted candle wax spilled into quicksand all over the ground.The strong wind is howling, and the sand dunes are like a dragon running like a galloping elephant.In the flying sand, Li Chan's vision became increasingly blurred.The scorching sun burst into white light, and under the white light, the flying sand became as white as snow, which made him feel icy cold.He struggled to get up from the ice and snow, and in the wind and snow, the iron-like city was far away.He lowered his head and let go of his tightly clenched right hand. On the bare tip of the pen was the miscellaneous hair of an unknown animal, covered with black and red wet spots.

Bang Bang!

The sound of the prison door being knocked woke Li Chan from her dream.

He hasn't come back to his senses yet, the past experience, in retrospect, has suddenly become like a dream.

The prison was pitch black, he blinked, and the monsters, flying sand and wind and snow around him still had afterimages.

Going back to Taodu Mountain, can I come out again? Li Chan murmured in his heart. The stench caused by the moldy rice stalks in the prison and the smell of urine barrels got into his nose, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

The shouts of the jailer passed through the iron gate, and there was a murmur of urgency.

"The one inside! The nobleman asked you for questioning!"

Li Chan flicked the rice stalks from her sleeves, and said, "What's the matter?"

"I heard that you are proficient in the science of ghosts?" A clear but immature voice came from outside the door, obviously the person who spoke was not very old.

"Zhiguai..." Li Chan muttered and glanced at the wall, "Why do you ask this?"

The voice outside the door said: "What did I ask, what did you say?"

Li Chan raised her head and glanced at the prison window, and replied: "Since ancient times, there are 520 kinds of monsters in the world that have been transformed into spirits and spirits, and I don't know any of them."

The outsider sneered: "It's quite loud. I heard that you have also been to the Qingque Palace. Did you learn these things from the Qingque Palace?"

Li Chan was silent for a while, then said with a smile: "The gods in Qingque Palace are busy reconciling dragons and tigers, and repairing the road of longevity. The dirty things of demons and ghosts cannot enter the eyes of immortal masters."

"You're self-aware."

Outside the door, the young man tilted his head and asked, "Captain Guo has made up his mind, do you really want to use him?"

Guo Xun nodded.

The young man said: "That's good! I'm just supervising this case on behalf of Mr. Shen, so of course I have no right to interfere with the captain's decision." Then he turned to the prison door, "The one inside, Shen Zhasi has an errand for you right now, this case has nothing to do with it. Xiao, if it is done, Shen Heyi may be able to let you off the hook and let you be released. If it is not done, there will be a delay in important matters, and you will slap yourself ten times. The reputation of Sparrow Palace!"

After speaking, he raised his chin to the prison: "Open the door."

The jailer stepped forward and inserted the key into the lock, twisted it, and pushed open the iron door with a creak.

The yellow light of the pine oil torch spread into the prison cell, in the middle of the dark shadow, the young man was wearing ocher clothes, his hair was disheveled, his face was covered with black marks, and his appearance could hardly be seen clearly.Those eyes that reflected the firelight were so clear and energetic that people couldn't take their eyes off once they saw it.

The left pupil is as red as a black pill, and the right pupil is as green as a green mall——

It turned out to be double mandarin duck eyes!

For no reason, the young man felt palpitations and took half a step back. The pungent smell of the urinal in the prison came out suddenly. He was caught off guard and covered his nose with a muffled snort before recovering.Realizing his gaffe, he glanced coldly at Li Chan in the prison.

"Take him out and wash him well."

With the next word, the boy walked away.Li Chan looked at the back of the young man in brocade clothes who left in a hurry, his gaze focused on the token on the young man's waist.When he was released from the shackles in prison, the figure of the boy also disappeared around the corner under the escort of the jailer. He got up and murmured, "There is such an old Heyi Yushi?"

"It's He Yi who is pointing at the entourage next to the lord." Guo Xun glanced at the place where the boy disappeared, and when he saw the boy walking away, he said in a low voice, "This guy doesn't like you very much, so be careful."

Just follow along?Li Chan recalled the boy's tone and demeanor, but he didn't ask any more questions. He patted the rice stalks and dirt off his buttocks, and said with a smile, "It seems that this time the trouble is not small, and it even alarmed Yushi Heyi."

"Go out first." Guo Xun took a look at the prison, and the prison said, "Follow me." He went ahead.After the jailer walked away a few steps, Guo Xun set off and said to Li Chan, "A demon has emerged from Xuandu."

"Where are the demon hunters in Sili?"

"Seven dead!" Guo Xun said in a low voice.

Li Chan raised her eyebrows and didn't ask further questions.Follow the captain of Shenzha Si, and follow behind the jailer.After leaving the dungeon, it was the corridor leading to the ground, and the air gradually changed from stuffy to refreshing.Outside the corridor, there is an external prison on the ground, in which some liars and magic sticks are locked up.After passing through the twelve cells of the outer prison and going out three doors, he finally saw the light of day.The weather in the rainy season is soft, but Li Chan's eyes are squinted by the long-lost sky light.

He was stunned for a while as if he had been in a world before he stepped out of the threshold and out of the eaves.Guo Xun walked in front and turned his head, just as he was about to urge him, he saw this young man in dirty ocher clothes raised his head at the bottom of the steps, among the black tiles, the drizzle gathered into beads, fell on his smudged face, and was wiped vigorously by him. Go, revealing a pale face, pale but unusually clean.After being imprisoned in a dark prison cell for half a year, those eyes reflected the blue sky, without any trace of gloom.

Guo Xun froze for a moment.

Ever since Li Chan was taken into custody, he felt that this guy didn't belong in that dark, rancid place.

The sky is as green as emerald, under the sky in the east of Xuandu City, the blue shadow of Fuyu Mountain is hazy, reaching into the sky.

……

In the dungeon, the jailer was about to go out after cleaning the cell, but he staggered and was hit by something. He looked down and saw that it was a piece of charcoal.He raised his torch and took a closer look, and was attracted by some black traces at the base of the wall. When he took a closer look, it turned out to be a muscular ghost claw!
With a cry of surprise, he took three steps back and saw all the black marks on it. It turned out that there was a ferocious green-faced and long-toothed evil ghost painted on the wall!

It turned out to be a painting!

The jailer let out a sigh of relief by scolding his mother, glanced to the side, and was stunned for a moment.

There is no one evil ghost on the wall, densely packed, there are also fox ghosts, mountain ghosts, water ghosts, little ghosts, beast ghosts, weapon ghosts...

There are countless ghosts and monsters!
The flames were faint, and the dungeon was seven feet in radius.

There are hundreds of ghosts walking in the night, and the evil spirit is soaring!

　The opening verse is adapted from "Dangtu Zhaoyan Shaofu Fentu Landscape Song"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)