Fu Shifeng

Chapter 113
"Wake up! There is movement!"

While Cheng Sanwu was sleeping soundly, he was suddenly awakened by Zhang Fan's forceful shaking, and the corners of his mouth were dripping with saliva.

"What's the matter, what's the matter?" Cheng San Wu Yi wiped the corners of his mouth, picked up the weapon beside him, and immediately sat up.In order to be able to deal with emergencies, he can only sleep with his clothes on.

Zhang Fan beckoned, beckoning him to come to the door, and gently opened the thread. At this moment, it was late at night outdoors, and the snow was falling heavily. Little snowflakes immediately poured in along the crack of the door along with the biting chill.

Cheng Sanwu squatted down with a knife, squinted his eyes to see, it was so dark outside that he couldn't see his fingers, he muttered: "There is nothing."

"Listen carefully." Zhang Fan raised his chin slightly.

At this time, apart from the whistling wind and snow, there was also a faint voice of a woman singing, weeping and complaining, cold and strange.

"Is it really haunted?" Cheng Sanwu asked.

Zhang Fan looked at Hu Yi, who had already taken out the iron mace full of talismans, and wiped his nose by the way: "There is Yin energy in the wind, but I'm not sure it's a ghost."

"Then what should we do now?" Cheng Sanwu looked eager to try.

"Let's take a look first, we are not sure about the origin of the other party at the moment." Zhang Fan still remembers that Mrs. Liu's dossier mentioned that the people who went to Yanchi to investigate also heard strange singing.

If the unknown ghost appearing in Tianshui Village at this moment is really a monster in Yanchi, it means that the territory where this monster is haunting is also expanding, and it is no longer allowed to sit idly by, to the extent that someone must be sent to deal with it.

The singing was intermittent, the words were difficult to understand, and the wind and snow became more and more violent at night, as if following the unknown ghost wandering in the village, everyone in the house was on alert to prepare for a battle at any time.

Suddenly, a baby crying at night was heard from a family in the village, and the wind and snow seemed to turn accordingly.

Seeing that Cheng Sanwu was about to move with the knife, Zhang Fan held him down and dissuaded him in a low voice: "Don't worry, if you rush out at this time, there will be changes."

"Tsk." Cheng Sanwu grabbed the handle of the knife impatiently.

After a while, the baby's night crying slowed down, the wind and snow seemed to subside gradually, and the woman's singing was no longer heard.

"The Yin Qi has disappeared." After waiting for a while, Hu Yi gave the exact explanation.

Cheng Sanwu and the others hurried out of the outdoors and inspected quietly. They were safe and did not see any ghosts or ghosts.

"Damn, what a hell." Returning to the house, Cheng Sanwu cursed, "With such a heavy snow, there are no other people's footprints on the ground except the four of us!"

Xu 23 sneered coldly: "Maybe it's not a female ghost, but a master who has practiced lightness kung fu to the point where she can walk on the snow without a trace."

"The wind and snow just now should have been brought on by that monster." Hu Yi's expression was slightly serious.

"The monster's mana is very powerful?" Zhang Fan asked.

"I'm not sure." Hu Yi shook his head: "Monsters that can manipulate wind and snow are not uncommon in the Northland. Now that the Shuofang area is far from spring, taking advantage of the weather and solar terms to intensify the wind and snow in Tianshui Village, for this kind of monsters , it's not a problem."

Cheng Sanwu was puzzled and said, "I'm asking a serious question—how do your embroidered envoys from the Ministry of Internal Affairs deal with demons and ghosts on weekdays?"

Zhang Fan replied: "The manpower arrangement is roughly the same as it is now, but it doesn't have to be done by the embroidered clothes messengers themselves. After finding out the truth, they will also contact the local Buddhists and Taoists who are proficient in magic, and ask the local states and counties to send soldiers and horses to assist. "

"Uh... Shuofang soldiers and horses seem to be hopeless." Cheng Sanwu looked a little embarrassed.

Zhang Fan and the others glared at Cheng Sanwu angrily, and then continued: "Actually, these days, there are not many big monsters causing trouble. Especially those big monsters who have opened up their intelligence, they are also very clear , if the matter becomes a big deal, it will inevitably attract crusade. Even if these big monsters have powerful mana, who is willing to face the wanted and killed by the court all day long?"

When Cheng Sanwu heard this, the first thing that came to his mind was Afu, and he said with a smile: "Maybe some big monsters are hanging around in the government!"

"What's so strange about this?" Hu Yi said: "There is a Guose Garden in Luoyang, the eastern capital, which is a training dojo specially arranged by the imperial court for the peony flower essence. Besides, those who are willing to serve the imperial court are not mountain monsters, there will be Correspondingly canonized and enshrined."

"Anyway, we should go to Baiyanchi as soon as possible." Zhang Fan said: "Pang Guanzhu of Xuanwu Temple should be in that area, not only can help us investigate the monster, but also prove his identity by the way, so that he can explain the cause and effect to Yang Taichu. "

Every time Zhang Fan thinks about this, he feels a headache. Cheng Sanwu's actions can be regarded as a complete enmity with Shuofang Jun and Yang Taichu, and he is implicated in it, so he still can't please him.

In the early morning of the next day, before Cheng Sanwu and his party were about to leave Tianshui Village, Zhang Fan asked the old man in the village about the haunting last night——

"Old man, is Tianshui Village always haunted at night?"

"No way! It's only been a while." The old man folded his sleeves to keep warm, and said cursingly: "A few days ago, a man in the village went out at night to relieve himself, but he died outside the house for no apparent reason. His face looked like he had seen a ghost. .”

Zhang Fan asked again: "Then did the deceased have wounds or fractures?"

"I'm not looking at anything." The old man shook his head: "Anyway, there are customs in our area, just don't walk at night."

"Why is there such a custom?" Zhang Fan asked.

"In the early years, the people with the most incense in the vicinity were not Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, nor gods, but Heiyanggong." The old man seemed to feel a chill blowing in, and tightened his old clothes: "When I was young, I heard from my elders that there used to be festivals They have to use big animals to offer offerings to the black goat, if there is less, the black goat will come out at night and catch passers-by to eat, especially children."

"Bullshit!" Cheng Sanwu interrupted suddenly.

Zhang Fan was puzzled: "Why nonsense?"

"Where are there so many passers-by to catch at night? They are still children, don't they sleep?" Cheng Sanwu said: "And if it is really a powerful guy, do you need to catch people quietly at night? It must be a mountain monster Pretending to be a fairy!"

Zhang Fan has no way to refute, and similar situations have happened in other places from time to time. Small monsters occupy uninhabited shrines and wild temples, pretend to be gods and Buddhas, and show off their magic powers to blackmail nearby people and passing business travelers. They are no different from green forest thieves. It is not worth paying more attention to by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Heiyanggong is also this kind of unrecognizable mountain monster. He might have been taken care of by the way during the Great Xia's opening of the frontier.

……

After leaving Tianshui Village, Cheng Sanwu and others turned north to Baiyanchi.

The Shuofang prefectures south of Hetao are not all lands with abundant water and grass. On the contrary, there are large deserts, among which the lakes are mostly bitter and salty water. Largest and produces the most salt.

It is cold in winter and it is not the season for drying salt, but the thenardite condensed in the lake is also an important product of the white salt pond.

Looking from a distance, in the pool dug by manpower, clusters of rime like white flowers emerged. Salt households shoveled up the thenardite formed on the bank and sent it to other places for hoarding via small trolleys. They were very busy. In full swing.

"I can't rest even in winter." Cheng Sanwu couldn't help sighing when he saw this scene.

Xu 23 sneered: "We have nowhere to rest."

Hu Yi said to himself, "I don't know the price of Glauber's salt?"

Cheng Sanwu asked, "What is the use of Glauber's salt?"

"It can be used as medicine, which is good for laxative and diarrhea." Hu Yi said: "I heard that the Daoist alchemy can also be used, but I don't know how to do it."

At this time, Zhang Fan came on horseback: "Stop chatting, I have already found out where Guanzhu Pang is, hurry over there, so as not to be preempted by others."

Zhang Fan knew very well that although these people escaped from Lingwu City, Shuofang Jiedushi would definitely not let them go.

Even if they can get rid of the pursuers in a short period of time, as long as Shuofang Jiedu envoys send a large number of people to the prefectures and counties under their jurisdiction and distribute arrest documents widely, Zhang Fan and the others will have nowhere to stay in the Shuofang area sooner or later.

But to reverse this situation, we can only place our hopes on Pang Guanzhu, who used to have contacts with Mrs. Liu.

There is also a city wall near Baiyanchi, where many salt merchants gather.Because it is dangerous to go out, businessmen naturally prefer to worship gods and Buddhas and pray for safety.When these salt merchants learned that Pang Guanzhu had come to Yanchi City to settle down, they also came to ask for a wishful amulet.

When Cheng Sanwu and others saw Pang Guanzhu, he had just sent away a businessman, and he seemed impatient, and was about to tell his disciples to close the courtyard door, Zhang Fan hurried forward, pushed the door open, and said in a hurry: "The Minister of Internal Affairs Embroidered clothes messenger Zhang Fan, please see Pang Guanzhu!"

Hearing this, Guanzhu Pang stopped in his tracks, turned around, and seemed to be thinking. He looked like a middle-aged Taoist with a sparse beard and a red crane cloak. He asked, "The Ministry of Internal Affairs ? What can you do, Your Excellency?"

"It's a confidential matter, I wonder if you can let me in for a detailed discussion?" Zhang Fan took out the Kanhe Fish Talisman representing the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Pang Guanzhu took a few glances at the fish talisman, and signaled his disciples to open the courtyard door: "Come in."

Zhang Fan and his entourage entered this ordinary courtyard, and saw Guanzhu Pang instructing several disciples to pack up all kinds of magic objects.

"Is Guanzhu Pang here to investigate the monster in Yanchi?" Zhang Fan asked first.

"That's right." Guanzhu Pang led everyone to the main hall to sit down. He sat on the couch casually, cross-legged and rested his mind: "Obviously Mrs. Liu from your Ministry of Internal Affairs asked me to come forward to find out what happened, so why did you send a few of you here? Could it be that you are afraid of the old way?" I was lazy and slippery, so I arranged for manual monitoring?"

Pang Guanzhu seems to be well-mannered, but he is not forgiving at all. Zhang Fan quickly said: "It seems that Pang Guanzhu still doesn't know that Mrs. Liu... is dead."

"Dead?" Pang Guanzhu was startled when he heard the words, raised his head and asked, "Who killed it?"

Zhang Fan opened his mouth slightly, and before he could speak, Cheng Sanwu asked, "Who told you that Mrs. Liu was killed?"

Guanzhu Pang was slightly startled, and then said in a deep voice: "Madam Liu is a spy sent by your Ministry of Internal Affairs to Lingwu City. She came to Xuanwu Temple to look for me before. Harm and die!"

"That's right." Zhang Fan signaled Cheng Sanwu to shut up with his eyes, and quickly explained: "We were ordered by Eunuch Feng to come to Lingzhou to investigate the monsters in Yanchi, and we originally planned to contact Mrs. Liu first to find out the local news in Lingzhou. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Liu's whole family was killed, and we were mistaken by the Shuofang Jiedu envoy as the murderers."

Pang Guanzhu had a strange expression after listening to the narration, and he couldn't help asking: "Yang Jieshuai is not an unreasonable person, how could he think you are murderers?"

"We...we didn't reveal our identities to the public according to the practice of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in investigating cases, so there was some misunderstanding between the two sides." Zhang Fan said: "I came here this time not only to find out the evil spirit in Yanchi, but also to hope that Pang Guanzhu Come forward and bring a message to Yang Jieshuai."

Pang Guanzhu let out a long sigh: "I probably understand that you have clashed with Yang Jieshuai, and you may have killed Shuofang soldiers. You are afraid that things will get out of hand, and you dare not return to Chang'an directly, so you came to me in another way."

"Pang Guanzhu's enlightenment." Zhang Fan crossed his hands in salute. Now that he has something to ask for, he dare not rely on his status as an embroidered messenger to order him around.

"Thanks for your appreciation." That's what he said, but Pang Guanzhu's tone was a little cold: "It's not that I don't want to help you, but that I may not be able to speak in front of Yang Jieshuai. And it's also related to Mrs. Liu... ...Wait, you don't know about the relationship between Mrs. Liu and Yang Jieshuai, do you?"

Zhang Fan and Cheng Sanwu looked at each other, and then looked at Guanzhu Pang with doubts. The other party smiled helplessly: "Mrs. That's what it says on the face."

"Ah? They are adulterers and prostitutes?" Cheng Sanwu blurted out.

Zhang Fan is already used to Cheng Sanwu's non-surprise and endless talk, but Pang Guanzhu is not used to it, and said angrily: "Your Ministry of Internal Affairs doesn't follow any rules? Can you stop such rude people from interjecting?" ?”

"You guys avoid it first, let me talk to Pang Guanzhu alone." Zhang Fan had no choice but to let the other three people leave the main hall, so as not to make Cheng Sanwu say bad things.

"I never thought that Mrs. Liu and Yang Jieshuai still have such a relationship." This time, Zhang Fan understood why Mrs. Liu was able to inquire about Shuofang's military affairs in almost every detail.

It's not about placing people in the Jiedu Mansion, but Madam Liu coming out in person, which is indeed much more convenient than others.

But now Zhang Fan only feels that the trouble is even worse. In this way, they and Yang Taichu can be said to have a public-private enmity, and it would be an understatement to say that they will never die.

Zhang Fan even once planned to hand over Cheng Sanwu directly to Yang Taichu to vent his anger, in order to get rid of the prosecution.But if you do this, I'm afraid you won't be able to treat Mr. Feng after you return to Chang'an.

"Are you directly in conflict with Yang Jieshuai?" Pang Guanzhu asked softly.

Zhang Fan nodded in despair: "The one who interrupted just now is called Cheng Sanwu, he... probably killed dozens of people, all of them were soldiers and horses of the Shuofang Army."

"Dozens of people?" Pang Guanzhu looked out of the house, with a look of surprise on his face.

"This man has extraordinary martial arts skills." Zhang Fan added: "To tell the truth, Guanzhu Pang, I came here to investigate the evil spirits in Yanchi or not. The real purpose of this trip..."

"Okay, this is a matter for your Ministry of Internal Affairs. I don't want to inquire about it." Pang Guanzhu interrupted the other party's words very tactfully, and then sighed: "You think highly of me. I don’t have a place in the Jiedu Mansion, if Yang Jieshuai is offended, he doesn’t need to impeach Chang’an, he just sends troops to take me down, you have found the wrong person.”

(End of this chapter)