Painter

Chapter 99 Chapter 99: Nine Shadows
No one outside Ximoju could hear the strange singing, and a fire in Lin'an Fang quietly disappeared.Soldiers patrolling the streets and alleys, yellow leather lanterns shuttle like a dragon, only the occasional sound of watch drums and barking dogs.

This night seems to have become silent, but in the depths of the silence that no one sees, there is an old woman with white hair who climbs the window to cut the candle and steals the baby; a tick climbs the beam of the roof, as big as a washbasin; and the face of a virgin appears on the wall up, peeping at the sleeping man.

In Changle Workshop, under the dim light, a woman puts on makeup in front of the mirror, but her technique is unfamiliar, and she draws her eyebrows very thickly, which is not satisfactory after repeated times.Simply tear off the whole body of human skin, spread it on the table, and paint it with black and white.After such treatment, she put on human skin and looked in the mirror. She had peach cheeks and cherry lips, and her complexion was excellent.

The woman smiled slightly, very satisfied, grabbed the peach blossom bag on the table, and put it on her waist.Every peach festival, the people of Xuandu sew the dried peach petals of previous years into bags, and tie them with five-color threads for peace and longevity.It's just that this peach blossom bag obviously failed to bless the original owner who sewed a four-fish concentric knot on it.The scent of lamp oil and rouge powder is mixed with an imperceptible smell of blood.

The woman finished her makeup, went out with a candle, and lit the lantern under the eaves.The lantern is shaped like a gardenia fruit, has a thin neck and a big belly, and is pasted with red gauze, so it is called "red gardenia lamp".This lantern has a beautiful shape and is placed securely. It is often seen in major hotels in Xuandu.In some hotels, a layer of Ruo cover is added on the red gardenia lamps. These hotels are called "secret doors" by veterans in the fireworks venues, and the second floor is also engaged in skin and meat business.

There are some women who live alone in Xuandu, and they also light up red gardenia lamps and cover them in the middle of the night.There is no need for a hotel with colorful doors, scarlet curtains and green curtains. Others will know at a glance that this is a prostitute building.

The woman lit the red gardenia lamp with a candle, covered the lid, went back to the house, and looked out the window.In the past, the night market in Xuandu was bustling and brightly lit until midnight, but the curfew was imposed the day before yesterday, and the people in the Taoist space were desolate.However, the government has official bans, and the folks have folk methods.Although the gates of the various workshops prohibit the common people from passing through, there are still people walking in the workshops, and some stall vendors are still operating. After all, the curfew came suddenly, and the food and goods prepared for the small fish and dragon meeting could not afford to lose money.

A middle-aged man in a purple shirt reeked of alcohol as he walked through the alley, looking around with blurred eyes.I saw a faint light in the shop in the alley, and I could still see the wine flag that said "Everything will be done", and the smell of alcohol and meat wafted out.There is a secluded hall and a deep courtyard in the alley, and the faint red light of the red gardenia lamp can be vaguely seen, as if to dazzle the dark night with a charming rouge color.

The man walking around at night walked into the alley, passed the red gardenia lamp, and the woman called out softly from the window: "My lord, the road outside is dark, why don't you come and sit inside?"

The man looked sideways, looked at the woman's appearance through the window, hesitated, turned and walked into the house.

The woman gave him a charming look, and said softly: "Your Majesty, stay here for a while, I'll go and pour some water." Tingting turned around and went to the bedside.

There is a water bottle with a round belly under the bed, the bottom of the bottle is hollow, engraved with a picture of a strongman lifting fire, and affixed with the "Warm Water Curse" Nine-Rank Ouija Talisman.This bottle is paired with a spiritual charm, which can keep hot water for two days.This spirit should last for one month, worth one tael and a half official silver.The woman leaned over to hold the bottle, but the man hugged her waist from behind, and said with a smile: "My lady lives alone, so she is not afraid of bad people?"

The woman giggled, twisted her waist like a snake, turned around and hooked the man's neck, and said angrily: "So what if I'm afraid, it's because you, a villain, broke in."

The man was hooked by the woman's eyes, his breathing was heavy, and he began to fumble with his hands.After a while, the two rolled onto the bed.As the ears and temples rubbed together, the man's breath gradually became chaotic.The woman's smile grew stronger. Seeing that the man had taken off his clothes and was defenseless, she hugged the man and grinned, with the corners of her mouth reaching behind her ears, biting the back of the man's head.

All of a sudden, the man who was originally infatuated with love hugged the woman's body tightly and shouted: "Guo Duwei!"

Before he finished speaking, a saber light broke through the window like a horse's sword, and cut off the woman's head.The light of the knife was only half an inch away from the man's ear, and then stopped suddenly, congealing into a bright blade, reflecting the dim lights in the room, and the four characters "Zhuxiebuyi" engraved on the spine of the knife, a red light burst out.

In an instant, the man's head was covered with cold sweat, and he kicked away the woman's headless body.But he saw that the woman's severed head was deflated, without splashing a drop of blood, it fell gently, only a piece of human skin.He hurriedly shouted: "Run away!"

With a snap, sawdust flew, and a big Tibetan man crashed into the house.In the headless body, there was also a swish, and a black shadow slipped out, the human skin shriveled.Guo Xun looked stern, but he didn't give chase, and only blocked this window.

The black shadow smashed through the wall of the house and was stopped by a yellow line.The black shadow continued to castrate, breaking through the yellow line, followed by the second, and the third... Countless yellow lines had a glimmer of light, entangled into a net!
The black shadow couldn't dodge in time, and was tightly entangled by the yellow thread, and several long daggers were stabbed out of the darkness, piercing the black shadow.The black shadow screamed loudly, the tone was like that of a young girl, and it made people feel compassionate when they heard it.

However, Guo Xun strode forward, split the black shadow in half with one knife, and swung the knife again, a line of blood splashed on the wardrobe, leaving no trace of blood on the blade, and inserted it back into the sheath with a "clang".

Guo Xun held onto the handle of the knife and looked down at the ground.Two demon hunters came out from nowhere, lifted the lanterns, and saw the monsters on the ground.The monster was split in half, bloody and bloody, but judging from only half of its body, it can be seen that its body shape is no different from that of a human, but it has a blue face with long fangs and a huge mouth, which is quite different from the beautiful woman before.

After a while, the scene was cleared up, the military officers of the state government appeased the people nearby, and a group of demon hunters left Changlefang.The man in Geshan came out of Yongmen, his face was still ashen, and the demon guard next to him comforted him: "Since the monster has been beheaded by Guo Duwei, what are you thinking about?"

Another person took advantage of the situation to flatter: "Guo Duwei is unparalleled in swordsmanship, even if there are a few more monsters like this, it's just a few more knives."

Captain Si, who has always followed the wind, listened to flattery, but he didn't feel it was useful. The evil wind that pervaded Xuandu recently woke him up. Something important happened in Xuandu recently. He frowned and scolded: "That monster It is precisely because of my low strength that I am good at changing disguises, so I am easy to deal with. Even such a monster needs many arrangements to kill, how dare you take it lightly! If you encounter a powerful one, it will be me..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw a white shadow not far ahead, crossing the street.Guo Xun took a closer look, he was a tall and tall gentleman in white clothes, followed by a hunchbacked old man.As if aware of Guo Xun's gaze, the white-clothed gentleman glanced in this direction, and kept walking.Guo Xun's heart felt cold for no reason, and he saw the gentleman in white walking through the street and disappearing into the alley.

Suddenly someone behind him said "Huh", and Guo Xun turned his head.A demon hunter looked down at Guo Xun's heels: "Captain Guo, your shadow..."

Guo Xun held the lantern and looked down. The light was dim, and there was nothing under his feet, but the shadow disappeared.Guo Xun's heart turned cold, and his eyes swept away, and the few demon hunters behind him disappeared under their feet.His face was pale, he turned his head to look at the place where the gentleman in white had disappeared, and started to chase after him.

He didn't take a step, but fell face down and fell to the ground.With a series of plopping sounds, all the demon officials fell to the ground one after another, and the tongue of fire touched the lantern paper and burst into flames.

After a while, there was only the crackling sound of burning lanterns, without the slightest human voice.

The man in white was crossing the streets and alleys, passing by a house with a hanging lamp at the door, there were nine shadows under his feet.

He led the hunchbacked old servant all the way eastward, passed through several squares, and finally stopped in front of the bronze mirror shop in Banri Square, knocking on the door lightly.

(End of this chapter)