Scourge

Chapter 2 Introduction
The tragedy of fate is not so much the tragedy of personality.

——San Mao

1.
Geng Lingcan came out of the revolving door of the office building dejectedly, and spat viciously on the ground.

Thinking back when he was an executive in Huayang, how many companies came to recruit him with high salaries. He didn't even take a look at such an unknown small company.But he never expected that after that incident, even they would have an official talk with him.

"Huluo Pingyang was bullied by dogs!" Geng Lingcan muttered to himself, and loosened his tie, which was a breath of anger.

Geng Lingcan looked up at the sun covered by the smog, and sighed that God was really unfair to him.Why is it okay for others to do that secretly, but when it's his turn, such a big thing will happen?If something goes wrong, let it go, why the key accounts were not destroyed by the fire, but the evidence was easily found by the police.What a great year and a half!In this way, it was sent to the high wall.

Now he, a talented student of a famous university, has fallen into a situation where he is looking for jobs everywhere, and he is always stared at.What's more, after being involved in a criminal and civil lawsuit, his solid savings are running out, and now he is even more cash-strapped. In the not-too-distant future, he should drink the northwest wind.

Geng Lingcan walked aimlessly along the sidewalk. Next, which company should he go to find a job?And how to clean up his black history during the interview?

"Instant redemption, the grand prize is 100 million, and the winning rate of the small prize is 20.00%!"

The radio of a small lottery station on the side of the road was noisy.

Geng Lingcan touched the pocket of his trousers, took out a crumpled 20 yuan bill, and said, "Boss, I'll give you ten bills."

The boss watched Geng Lingcan with a smile after scratching the last lottery ticket, and still revealed the four characters of "Thank you for your patronage", and said, "I said this little brother, you are really a bit of a loser. Others spend twenty, less I have to take ten yuan back. I’m a little embarrassed that you don’t take any money.”

Hearing the boss's sour words, Geng Lingcan gritted his molars fiercely, and walked out of the lottery station resentfully.As soon as he went out, Geng Lingcan was blocked by two fitness trainers.

"Sir, are you interested in learning about fitness?" the young man said with a playful smile.

"Not interested." Geng Lingcan waved his hand impatiently, trying to avoid the young man.

"I think you just lack exercise. You can think about it. Our clubhouse is offering discounts right now." The young man didn't take it seriously, and stood in front of Geng Lingcan again with a playful smile.

"No money! It's okay if you don't have any money!" Geng Lingcan roared, bypassing the young man again.

"Ouch." Geng Lingcan staggered and nearly fell. It turned out that he was almost tripped by a person sitting in a dark corner at the entrance of the lottery station.

"Sir, seeing that your seal is black, it's obviously not good for everything." A voice composed of air currents squeezed out from the throat of the person sitting.

"Yintang is black, Yintang is black, can you fake fortune tellers come up with some new words?" Geng Lingcan didn't even look at the person sitting there, spat viciously, and said, "Liars are also fools." Let's find the right one!"

"Sir, the five elements are short of water, but the name is full of fire. How can there be no reason for 'Fortune Star Breaks Seal'?" The sound of air flow sounded again.

Geng Lingcan, who had already walked five steps, stopped suddenly.

"Why? Sir finally believe me?" There was a sneer in the voice of the air flow.

Geng Lingcan froze on the spot for dozens of seconds, then turned around in a daze, and looked at the fortune teller carefully.

The fortune teller was sitting curled up in a dark corner, wearing a worn peaked cap, half of his thin face was hidden behind a pair of big sunglasses.Not only that, but the fortune-teller's neck and chin were tucked into his collar, so he couldn't see his face clearly.To be precise, neither body shape, gender nor age is known.The fortune teller wrapped his body with a military blanket, and judging from the exposed corners of his clothes, the inside should also be ragged.There were no fortune-telling signs around the fortune-teller, obviously he didn't use it as a means of making a living.He just sat there quietly, not moving a muscle even when he was talking.

Geng Lingcan walked up to the fortune teller and knelt down, but still couldn't see the fortune teller's appearance clearly, so he asked, "Do you know me?"

"It's so close to the world, how can you tell if you recognize it or not?" The fortune teller was noncommittal.

"If you don't know me, how do you know my name?" Geng Lingcan said.

"I can see through the secrets, so what's so difficult about a name?" said the fortune teller.

"Can't you speak a little louder?"

"If you reveal the secret of heaven, you will naturally be punished by God. It will be a matter of time if you don't say anything, if you don't see or listen."

Geng Lingcan froze for a moment, remembering that a colleague suffered from laryngeal cancer before, and he spoke like this after the operation.It seems that this fortune teller should have the same experience.

"What did you mean by 'Fortune Star Breaks the Seal' just now?" Geng Lingcan asked tentatively.

The fortune teller sneered, and began to chatter: "If the seal is used as a god in the pillar, and there are fortune stars and Yin stars in every pillar, it is an ominous omen. Occupation is uncertain, three is difficult to study, four is misfortune due to wealth, five is early death of mother, six is ​​weak and sick, seven is often moved, eight is vain and has no practical learning, nine is disharmony between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, all of the above Wait, you must commit one or two crimes, and let’s talk about it in detail depending on which pillar the wealth seal resides in. If you encounter it in luck, many people will suffer disasters, or lose their official positions, or die because of wealth.”

"You go around, can you speak briefly?" Geng Lingcan heard impatiently.

"Prison disaster..."

"You said that I will be imprisoned in the future?" Geng Lingcan interrupted the fortune teller.

The fortune teller finally moved his body, shook his head, and said: "This gentleman still doesn't believe me, are you testing my authenticity? I mean you, you have already passed the disaster of money and prison. pass."

Geng Lingcan was slightly startled, and said, "Then am I going to be fine?"

"These are just trivial matters." The fortune teller said, "If I didn't see that you were about to face a bloody disaster just now, I wouldn't bother you."

"You said a lot just now, but it's just that the occupation is uncertain or something?" Geng Lingcan asked nervously, "Why is it a bloody disaster again? Is it okay if I change my name?"

"Sir, there is a lack of water in the five elements. Although the name is full of fire, it is just the cause of the matter." The fortune teller said.

"What happened?"

"The thing that caused you to be imprisoned." The fortune teller said, "I'm afraid you won't be willing to face that thing for a long time, sir?"

Flames flashed in Geng Lingcan's mind.After a while, Geng Lingcan shook his head and said, "Is that just the cause? Could there be consequences?"

"Of course you know the consequences." The fortune teller said, "Now, the evil spirit behind Mr. Wang is soaring to the sky. It is obvious that he is possessed by a wronged soul, so after all, he cannot escape a calamity, and this calamity is a calamity of life and death."

"You mean, there are dead souls who came to ask for my life?" Geng Lingcan's face turned pale.

The fortune teller nodded.

Geng Lingcan bit her lip, and decided to make the last test: "Since you know everything, can you tell me how many ghosts are behind me?"

The fortune teller slowly extended a hand from under the army blanket.

That hand is not big, not rough, but pale and pale.

The shape of the hand slowly changed, and finally three fingers were erected.

Geng Lingcan sat down on the ground, dumbfounded.After a while, he scrambled to the side of the fortune teller, grabbed the fortune teller's military blanket and shouted: "Sir, help me!"

2.
A small room with a dark hole, you can't see your fingers.

Blackout curtains block the airtight windows, giving it a depressing feel.

With a "squeak", the old wooden door was slowly pushed open, and a ray of light instantly shone in through the crack of the opened door.

A thin figure blocked the light, walked in from the wooden door, and concealed the door with his backhand.

A faint light illuminated the interior of the room.

The room was too small, except for a long desk opposite the door, without any furnishings or decorations.

There was a black-framed portrait on the desk. On the portrait was a handsome young boy, about 23 or [-] years old, with a short frame.

The boy was wearing a light blue uniform, showing an incomparably sunny smile, and his white teeth looked particularly eye-catching under the faint light.

In front of the portrait, there is a copper censer. The censer is very small. The furnace wall is carved with dragons and phoenixes. The workmanship is exquisite. It looks expensive, but there is no incense in the censer.

The thin figure walked to the front of the table step by step, his back blocked the light coming in through the crack of the door, and the boy's smile on the portrait suddenly became blurred again.

The man stood in front of the table for a long time, as if he was meditating something, or staring at the portrait.In short, just stood there motionless.

After a while, the man stretched out his right hand and gently stroked the portrait, as if he was really stroking the boy's face, once, once, once.

"Cheng, are you okay?" The man finally spoke, his voice calm.

"... Is it really worth it?" After a while of silence, the man's voice seemed to be a little choked.

The man paused for a moment, but no one responded to him.

"This is the thousandth time I've asked you." The man's voice was not loud, but it was enough to echo in the hut, "Don't think I'm nagging, I'll ask you thirty times, and I won't ask you again. I believe , at that time, you will definitely understand why I keep asking you, keep asking you."

The wind blew the wooden door that was ajar, causing the light that entered the house to flicker, and the smile on the portrait remained the same.

"Oh, by the way, I have another story for you," said the man.

He took out an object from the pocket of his coat, and picked up the lighter on the desk.

With a "click", the lighter ignited, and the jumping yellow flame illuminated the man's chin.The razor-like chin is somewhat similar to the boy in the portrait opposite.

The object and the flame approached slowly, and with a sound of "chi", the object caught fire.

In an instant, a burnt smell accompanied by a puff of green smoke spread in the small house.

The object quickly turned to ashes and fell into the incense burner in front of the portrait.

The flames were extinguished, and the house returned to darkness.The man put the lighter back and twirled his fingers.

"I don't know if you can hear this story?" the man said, "I checked a lot of legends and asked a lot of great gods, so I know that I can tell the story to you. My hard work, you can feel it Are you there?"

The man returned to the previous posture, standing motionless, as if waiting for something.

After an unknown amount of time, the man started touching the portrait again: "Have you finished listening? How do you feel? Don't ask me where he is now, he is where he should be. I just want to ask you, is it really worth it? Okay , well, I already asked today, think about it carefully, and I will ask you again tomorrow. Is it really worth it?"

"I don't know if you can see it?" The man continued, "I searched hard, thought hard, and did it hard. You should be able to see it. Not for anything else, just for you, just for the sake of what you should have the result of."

The man withdrew his arm, turned around and walked towards the wooden door, his steps were heavy, as if he had hoped for everything.

He gently opened the wooden door, and looked back at the table.

The light fully illuminated the portrait, and the smile on the portrait seemed more sunny and beautiful.The boy grinned generously at him, showing a mouthful of neat white teeth.The light blue uniform is neat and fitting, which seems to add to the handsomeness of the boy.On the left breast of the uniform is a badge, a badge with simple lines.

Simple lines make up a mighty cheetah, shining brightly on its chest.

(End of this chapter)