Chapter 212 Painted Skin Evil Ghost
The news that Taoist Master Jiang of Ziwei Temple was planning to hollow out half of Longjing Mountain and carve a Ziwei statue that was no less impressive than the Leshan Giant Buddha spread throughout Hangzhou.
The people were excited, as it meant they finally had work to do and it also meant more jobs.
Especially those who did not go up the mountain because of some concerns in their hearts, watched helplessly as those who went to work on Longjing Mountain were not only not harmed by the so-called snake demon in the rumors, but they even gained several pounds more than before.
If you eat rice, flour and fatty meat three times a day, you will get fat even if you work yourself to death.
The most important thing is that your children and wife can also go with you. Although the children don’t get any money, they can learn to read and write!
"Just for this one reason, I'd be willing to work for free even if you don't pay me or provide me with food."
Some people expressed such emotion, which attracted many people to agree with them.
"Silence! Get out of the way!"
Just as the people were talking about it, the sound of street-cleansing drums was suddenly heard.
I saw five official sedan chairs coming in a row and heading straight for the Hangzhou prefectural government office.
At the same time, there was a team of red-clad detectives guarding on both sides.
"By order of the Prime Minister!"
"Five censors will be stationed in Hangzhou starting today to clean up the bureaucracy, rectify the customs of the people, and put an end to the rumors!"
"Also! His Majesty has ordered! Taoist Master Jiang Xuanying of Ziwei Temple in Longjing Mountain, Hangzhou, has made a great wish! He will carve a statue out of the mountain! A spiritual official will appear! The rocks on the mountain are as soft as crispy cakes!"
"By order of His Majesty and the Prime Minister! All expenses for carving the stone statue at Longjing Mountain will be borne by the inner treasury!"
The herald's voice echoed in the widest street in Hangzhou.
The people started talking about it again.
"Look, I've said it before, Ziwei Temple is a legitimate place of good fortune, how could there be monsters that can harm people? Even if there are, they are good monsters that believe in the Emperor!"
"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes. The spirit master's appearance is real! The stones from Longjing Mountain, as long as you use tools to carve them, will become like peach cakes, and they will crumble when you touch them."
"That's right! The Spiritual Master has appeared. What monster dares to act rashly in front of the Spiritual Master?"
Zhang Xiaoning was wearing a short suit and blending into the crowd, looking like a real Li Ba. Who would have known that he was a seventh-rank detective from the Detective Department of the Ministry of Justice?
He listened quietly to the discussions of the people around him, nodding and agreeing from time to time, without being abrupt at all, and even spoke with an authentic southern accent.
It was just a pair of eyes, but they were observing everyone present very covertly.
It seems that the rumors have been completely reversed.
Zhang Xiaoning was thinking in his mind when his peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of a figure.
His expression changed, but he didn't turn his head. Instead, he was multitasking, talking to the people around him while looking out of the corner of his eye.
He was a seemingly ordinary citizen, about forty years old, wearing linen clothes, with wrinkles and sunburn marks on his weathered face from long years of labor.
But Zhang Xiaoning noticed his hand.
A very tender pair of hands.
If it were placed on the young courtesan in Yihong Garden, it would be a perfect match, and it would also be very harmonious on a girl of seventeen or eighteen.
But it shouldn't happen to a farmer in his forties.
Zhang Xiaoning did not try to remember his face, but remembered those hands deeply.
Although this person, like him, was echoing the words of those around him, as if he firmly believed that the rumor was false.
However, there are always hooks left between the lines and in the words, leading the people subconsciously towards the direction of rumors.
Zhang Xiaoning knew very well that the best way to deal with a rumor was to let it be completely forgotten, rather than being brought up from time to time like that guy did.
something wrong.
Zhang Xiaoning watched the guy naturally leave the crowd, and he followed him without leaving a trace.
This person was very sharp and his movements were natural, but he would suddenly dodge from time to time, which could dumbfound any possible stalkers.
But Zhang Xiaoning didn’t, this is what he eats for a living.
But even so, after leaving the crowded area, Zhang Xiaoning almost lost track several times.
It was not until they arrived in front of a restaurant that Zhang Xiaoning suddenly widened his eyes.
The old farmer disappeared so suddenly, without any trace, just like a bubble.
Zhang Xiaoning frowned, lowered his eyes, and walked towards the restaurant, but his eyes flashed across pairs of hands.
Finally, he settled on a man in his twenties dressed like a scholar.
The scholar walked into the restaurant in a dashing manner, fanning himself. Zhang Xiaoning followed him, touching his stomach and looking hungry.
He was very sure that this scholar was the old farmer just now.
Zhang Xiaoning's initial approach was correct, staring at the hands instead of the face.
Is it an evil spirit, an evil practitioner, or a demon?
Zhang Xiaoning was not sure, but no matter what it was, it seemed that he was not able to handle it. He was just a mortal who had seen evil.
But if he went back to report the news now, there was a 90% chance that he would be lost. He touched his sleeve covertly, as if the object inside gave him confidence.
Although his heart was in turmoil, he walked into the restaurant without showing any emotion.
Zhang Xiaoning found a corner to sit down, ordered a bowl of noodles, and looked around seemingly bored.
He locked his eyes on the scholar, who was sitting diagonally opposite him with his back to him, drinking.
Zhang Xiaoning looked at the white and tender hands and narrowed his eyes.
Soon, his noodles came, and Zhang Xiaoning ate them like a lion, shaking his head, also trying to use food to relieve the tension in his heart.
The scholar left the restaurant after having enough food and drink.
Zhang Xiaoning deliberately waited for a while, then paid the bill and left quickly.
The scholar walked slowly, heading out of the city.
Zhang Xiaoning naturally followed.
The closer you get to the outside of the city, the more people there are, because the city gate in this direction happens to lead to Longjing Mountain.
Although the large number of people made it difficult for Zhang Xiaoning to track them, it also made him more difficult to be discovered.
He looked at the scholar's back, and the next moment his eyes blurred and the scholar's figure disappeared.
Zhang Xiaoning was not panicked this time. He maintained his original speed and quickly re-locked the target.
A teenage girl skipped towards the city gate and passed through the city gate mixed with the crowd.
Zhang Xiaoning followed her out, but the girl disappeared.
Instead, there was a charming woman.
The woman's waist was not very slender, but it had a sense of maturity, especially from Zhang Xiaoning's perspective, the fullness under her waist looked like a full moon.
Zhang Xiaoning watched the woman's back out of the corner of his eye. He was not worried about being discovered because he was not the only one doing this.
Of course, Zhang Xiaoning was looking at the hands, while the other men were simply attracted by their big and round shape.
After leaving the city gate, you can follow the official road directly to Longjing Mountain. However, the woman suddenly changed direction.
Zhang Xiaoning frowned, but followed anyway.
He recalled the map of Hangzhou Prefecture. That direction seemed to be a mass grave?
Oh shit.
Mass graves and evil things are a perfect match.
As Zhang Xiaoning was thinking, the enchanting figure of the woman appeared in his mind, and he was distracted unconsciously, but he was unaware of it.
'call……'
A gust of cold wind blew along Zhang Xiaoning's neck, making him shiver.
I subconsciously raised my head, only to find a mess of tombstones in front of me, and densely packed grass rolls with some corners exposed on the ground.
Alas, only a few people have tombstones in mass graves, most of them just roll up straw mats, and being buried in the soil is already a blessing. Zhang Xiaoning thought to himself, but suddenly felt something was wrong.
How did I get here?
He realized belatedly that it had taken him at least half an hour to reach the mass grave, but he had no memory of that half an hour!
Zhang Xiaoning was extremely shocked, but he remained expressionless. He just shuddered and slowly clasped his hands together.
"Why the hell did we end up in this place?"
Feeling something in his sleeve breaking, Zhang Xiaoning felt a little relieved. He turned and left, muttering, with hurried steps, which was consistent with the normal reaction of a person seeing a mass grave.
However, Zhang Xiaoning discovered that no matter how he walked or which direction he went, he would eventually return to the starting point.
Ghost hits the wall!
Oh shit!
Zhang Xiaoning cursed in his heart, thinking about the instructions in the department, closed his eyes, lowered his head, and rushed forward with big strides!
He felt like he had been running for a very long time and fell many times along the way, but he still didn't dare to open his eyes.
Finally, he had no strength left and slowly opened his eyes. The familiar mass grave was still in front of him!
"enemy……"
At this moment, Zhang Xiaoning's eyes were covered, followed by a cold touch and an extremely sweet voice.
"You followed me all the way. I thought you were here to meet me, but why did you hesitate to come in when you got to the door?"
The voice was soft and crisp, with a hint of complaint, but more like a coquettish voice, making people want to hold the owner of the voice in their arms and love him/her tightly.
Zhang Xiaoning swore that if he were in another place, such as Yihong Garden, and if there was such a girl, he would spend all his life savings on her.
But now, Zhang Xiaoning just felt a chill down his spine.
He could clearly feel a cold body pressing tightly against his back.
If viewed from the perspective of others, this must be an extremely charming and intimate posture.
But Zhang Xiaoning was so frightened that his blood ran cold.
He dared not move, let alone look back, but said tremblingly: "Miss... No! Female Bodhisattva, I was blinded by lard and lust, so I did something stupid."
"You are a magnanimous person. Please have mercy and let me go."
"I promise that from now on, your offerings will be indispensable at all times of the year. If it is convenient, please give me a name, and I will set up a tablet for you at home and worship you every day!"
"Oh, right, it's not just the tablet, the three kinds of sacrificial animals are also necessary, and the incense, candles, and paper money must be good. The Zhang family shop in the east of the city is pretty good. The gold ingots in their shop are all made by his little girl one by one..."
"The girl is very careful and folded it neatly. It looks good. You can tell at a glance that it is high-quality..."
By the end, he no longer knew what he was saying and was just talking nonsense.
"Hehehehe~~"
A silver bell-like laughter came from behind him, and Zhang Xiaoning couldn't help but be fascinated.
But immediately, I was awakened by what the voice said.
"A detective from the Investigation Department is only so courageous?"
The voice was still charming and soft.
Zhang Xiaoning couldn't help but tremble, because the coldness that originally covered his eyes was gradually moving down.
Needless to say, the target must be his neck...
Damn...I’m really going to die this time!
Why haven't you come yet? !
Zhang Xiaoning felt like crying but had no tears.
'tread……'
At this moment, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly sounded, and the cold palm that had covered Zhang Xiaoning's chin suddenly stiffened.
"He dies, and you go to hell."
A cold and ruthless, familiar yet unfamiliar voice sounded behind Zhang Xiaoning.
He felt relieved, and his whole body collapsed to the ground like a soft noodle.
Not knowing where he got the strength from, Zhang Xiaoning crawled to his feet and looked back.
I saw that behind the place where I was originally standing, there was indeed the evil thing that had been following me all the way.
This thing still looks like a charming woman, and the familiar pair of hands are still in the raised and closed posture.
It’s not that this evil thing doesn’t want to move, but that it dares not.
Because right on her neck was a scarlet magic sword.
The hilt of the magic sword was held firmly by a Taoist priest in green.
"call……"
Zhang Xiaoning was breathing heavily and wiping the cold sweat that had suddenly appeared on his face.
As he moved, a bamboo stick broken into two pieces fell out from his sleeve, with some dark red marks faintly visible on it, as if left after burning.
This is a communication talisman, but it is a simplified version that can only be used once, and the way to do it is to break it directly.
Zhang Xiaoning wasn't really talking nonsense just now, he was just using this method to delay time as much as possible.
After all, no one knows how long it will take for Master Jiang to come back.
Now it seems that he did the right thing.
“It’s a critical moment…”
Zhang Xiaoning sighed, stood up, and said, "Master, I'm leaving now!"
Seeing the Taoist in green nodded slightly, Zhang Xiaoning ran away like a madman, and disappeared in a short while.
It's not that he didn't have the foresight to stay and help, but he was very clear that if he stayed here, he would be a complete hindrance.
Jiang Lin watched the constable he had met once leave and silently memorized the name Zhang Xiaoning.
I believe the other party would not mind letting Jiang Lin put this name on the desk of the emperor of the current dynasty - in the form of commendation.
Jiang Lin thought to himself, his eyes fell on the evil ghost in front of him.
This is a ghost, but not a complete ghost.
"Ghosts, human hearts, painted skins, what a good trick."
Jiang Lin revealed the origin of this weird thing in front of him in one sentence.
With the evil ghost as the core, it takes the hearts of living people and then fills them all into the painted skin, and then uses evil methods to refine it.
In the end it became what it is now.
An evil ghost who can walk in the mortal world under the sun, ignore the influence of the yang energy of living people, avoid the inspection of the sun god, and change his appearance at will.
"I……"
'Zheng! '
As soon as the evil ghost opened his mouth, his head was chopped off by a scarlet sword light.
Jiang Lin raised his hand with an indifferent expression, and the evil energy of the Black Law moved. Behind him, the burly figure of the Six-Hole Great Demon Feng Lixiao appeared, licking the corners of his mouth with a scarlet tongue.
'Om! '
Along with the surge of the evil energy of the black law's origin, the evil ghost's soul was pulled out and fell into Feng Lixiao's mouth.
Jiang Lin didn't have the heart to resort to torture or fishing tricks now.
There are other ways to get the information you want.
The most direct one is the soul-searching method of the Six-Hole Demon.
In this area, no one is more professional than the Six-hole Demon.
(End of this chapter)
