It was a cold night and the dew was heavy. On both sides of the dirt road in front of the temple, clusters of new weed stems and leaves were covered with white frost.
When illuminated by the moonlight, it reflects the snow-white luster.
The candlelight flickered slightly in the windows of the temple, and the two red lacquered wooden doors were locked.
Old Miao Zhu was awakened by the accident at night, but he could no longer fall asleep. He renewed the incense for the Wutong God, picked up a small bench from the corner of the temple, and took care of himself.
Sitting under the statue of the god, with his hands in his sleeves, curled up, eyes slightly closed, he took a nap in front of the fire.
The firewood filled into the fire has been burned into red charcoal,
The charcoal emitted heat, which made Laomiao Zhu who was standing by the fire feel warm on his chest, but his back was still cold.
He sat for a while, unable to bear the chill on his back, so he stood up, turned his back to the fire, stamped his feet, and moved his body to generate a slight warmth in his body.
At this time, there were knocks on the door outside the temple.
The knocking on the door was slow and rhythmic.
Tuk, Tuk, Tuk!
"Who?"
Lao Miao Zhu held up a candlestick and walked towards the door while asking questions.
No one outside the door responded to his inquiry, only the knocking on the door still sounded slowly and slowly.
"I asked you who you are?
What are you doing in the temple in the middle of the night?" Old Miao Zhu stood at the door, frowning and repeating the previous question.
This time, the knocking on the door stopped.
The knocking on the door paused for a while,
Then a deep female voice sounded: "I still wish...
We are here to fulfill our wish..."
"You still wish?
Why come here in the middle of the night and wish for something?!" Lao Miaozhu looked suspicious, holding a candlestick and approaching the crack of the door, and looked out through the crack of the door - outside the crack of the door, there seemed to be someone wearing floral clothes that were soaked in water.
Old Miao Zhu stooped and looked out the door, only seeing the waist and abdomen of a few people.
Colorful clothes that seemed to be soaked in water stuck to the abdomens of those people, outlining the extremely bulging abdomens of several people.
His eyes gradually moved upward,
Passing by the swollen chest, the whitened neck with layers of wrinkles, I saw a swollen, smiling face with its tongue stretched out, and black hair like water plants sticking to the woman's cheek.
On her temples, in her eye sockets, there are only the whites of her eyes, but no kernels.
‘Her head was slightly lowered, causing the layers of folds on her neck to ooze fishy water——
A pair of heartless eyes looked at the old Miao Zhu in the crack of the door,
The dark purple lips squirmed slightly,
His tongue flicked: "Let's come and fulfill our wish..."
Several swollen faces came closer, with only the whites of their eyes staring at the old temple minister in the door. They all moved their dark purple lips and said, "We are here to fulfill our wish..."
"ah!"
Even though Laomiao Zhu has served the God of Five Powers for many years, he has heard many weird things, but this is the first time he has experienced it personally, seeing those pale and swollen faces.
The whites of his eyes stared at him, and he was so frightened that he fell to the ground. The candlestick in his hand instantly fell over and fell to the ground, and the candle flame went out!
in the temple,
Only the candlelight under the statue of the god and the fire beside the incense burner gave off a faint light!
But outside the crack in the door, there was moonlight seeping in thread by thread!….
The moonlight shone on Lao Miao Zhu's chest, making him feel cold all over!
He got up hastily from the ground, trembling all over, walked towards the statue, grabbed a handful of incense, lit it on the candle, and offered the incense to the Wutong statue: "I have served you with all my heart for more than ten years, and I ask for your blessing this time.
Please bless me from the God of Five Powers——"
The temple has been guarding the Wutong Temple for more than ten years, and it has strong faith in the efficaciousness of the "Wutong God".
At this critical moment, the first thing he thought of was to offer incense to the Wutong God and ask him to save his life!
The statues of the ‘Five-Tong Gods’ on the wall, scented by the curling incense and illuminated by candlelight, give rise to an unspeakable sense of mystery - the five figures in the painting.
The snake-headed god is silent and motionless, and the five snake-heads open their bloody mouths, opening five portals called "Fu, Lu, Longevity, Luck, and Heirs."
And behind the old temple blessing,
The two red lacquered doors of the Wutong Temple also opened silently——
The door bolt on the door was brushed by an invisible force and slid open quietly!
The moonlight shines in from outside the door,
It landed on the back of Old Miao Zhu and spread out on most of the floor tiles in the temple!
outside the door,
The white moonlight is bright.
Outside the open red lacquered wooden door, where can you see any long-tongued woman wearing colorful clothes, with a swollen belly like a pregnant woman?
inside the temple,
In the old temple, Zhu holds a handful of incense in both hands and maintains the posture of offering incense to the Wutong statue.
He was motionless,
——On his chest, the thin clothes were torn open,
The chest was wide open and blood was flowing down.
But inside the opened chest, there was no trace of the heart!
on the wall,
The bloody mouth of the five snake heads of Wutong Shen is getting redder and redder, and the fangs and sharp teeth seem to be covered with blood!
…
It was a long night of silence, and except for the occasional barking of dogs and the sound of wind coming and going, there was no other sound.
While walking in the village, Huang Liuzi couldn't help but lower his footsteps and lower his voice: "The intersection ahead, diagonally opposite the courtyard where you turn, is my home."
Su Wu nodded and led the horse to follow Huang Liuzi.
Perhaps because of his timidity at home, Huang Liuzi, who had been anxiously urging Su Wu before, slowed down his pace again and walked side by side to the door of his house with Su Wu.
Huang Liuzi's home is a courtyard surrounded by earthen walls.
At this time, Huang Liuzi and Su Wu stood in front of the black door of the courtyard. The former banged the door hard, and shouted inside: "Tweedy, Tweetie, open the door quickly, I'm back!"
The sound of knocking on the door caused the dogs kept in the neighboring houses to start barking.
The village that originally seemed quite quiet suddenly became lively.
Huang Liuzi patted the door a few times, but when he didn't hear any response from the door, he turned his attention to the earthen wall on the side and wanted to climb over the wall directly to the home to check.
At this time, a female voice came from the door: "I heard it, I heard it, I will open the door for you!"
Why are you back so late at night?
Have you finished all the work in the county?"
Hearing the female voice, Huang Liuzi breathed a sigh of relief obviously, turned to look at Su Wu, and then turned back to the female voice inside the door and replied: "Hey, something big happened, I saved my life..."
How are you?
Didn't you encounter anything strange?"
"We haven't seen each other for just a day, what weird thing could happen to me?" The female voice inside the door became much gentler, and there was a sound of pulling the door bolt from inside.
With a squeaking sound,
Two black doors were opened, and a woman with an oval face and big eyes stood inside the door holding a huge belly. When she saw Huang Liuzi in front of her, her eyes were full of joy, and she saw Su Wu behind Huang Liuzi.
, the joy in his eyes suddenly turned into panic and vigilance.
"Liuzi, who is this behind you?" She only glanced at Su Wu, then looked away from Su Wu, and turned to her husband, Huang Liuzi, to ask.
Huang Liuzi brought Su Wu to him and introduced him to his wife: "This is Taoist Priest Dingyang who stayed at Wutong Temple. It was he who rode his horse back to the village in the middle of the night!"
Hey, there are too many things going on here!
Cui'er, I'm a little hungry, is there anything to eat at home?"
While talking, Huang Liuzi supported his wife and took her arm to walk into the main room. After walking a few steps, he turned back and greeted Su Wu: "Taoist priest, come to my house first and sit for a while!"
"good."
Su Wu nodded, led the horse through the gatehouse, and closed the courtyard gate.
Huang Liuzi’s wife watched it from the beginning
After he glanced at him, he never saw him again or took the initiative to talk to him. This behavior was actually a bit contemptuous of the guest, but Su Wu actually also understood a little bit - after a woman sincerely follows someone and becomes a good person, she will definitely become a good person. She knows how to avoid suspicion better than ordinary women, and regulates her words and deeds everywhere.
This can prevent other people from thinking wrongly about her, and it can also prevent others from looking down upon her and still treating her as the former prostitute.
Su Wu tied the horse to a tree in the yard,
He followed Huang Liuzi into the main room.
Huang Liuzi invited him to sit down at the table. Madam-in-law silently brought a pot of hot tea and asked him to help pour a cup for Su Wu. Then he was busy in the kitchen for a while, bringing two bowls of egg tea and a few cups. Zhangyou cake.
"It's dark at night, and it's hard to turn on the stove and cook.
Let me make you some egg tea with hot water and eat some pancakes.
When daybreak, I will kill the old hen at home and cook a good meal for you." Madam-in-law sat on a round stool three or five steps away from the table, holding her belly and Huang, who was snoring and drinking egg tea. Liu Zi spoke.
Huang Liuzi soaked the pancakes in the bowl and nodded repeatedly when he heard the words: "Okay, okay, call me when the time comes and I'll kill the chicken. You're still pregnant, so it's best not to see the blood!"
Madam-in-law pursed her lips and smiled and nodded.
Su Wu said at this time: "There is no need to kill the chicken. I was ordered by the master to send brother Liuzi home. Now I have to turn back and meet the master and others at the mouth of Shaxi River to see how the situation is there. .”
"It's so late, do you still have to go back?" Huang Liuzi put down the bowl and looked at Su Wu with hesitation in his eyes.
Madam-in-law was standing by but stopped talking.
"Seven or eight people drowned at the mouth of the river in one night, which is a bit strange.
Now it is definitely necessary to get to the scene sooner,
The more likely it is that we can find some clues." Su Wu's eyes covertly glanced at the swollen belly of Huang Liuzi's wife - this woman's belly was so big that it didn't look like she was only three months pregnant.
However, when a woman is pregnant, the size of her belly often cannot accurately determine the month of pregnancy.
Some people are seven or eight months pregnant and still not showing signs of pregnancy.
Some people may have a big belly in two or three months, so we cannot generalize.
Su Wu also needs to look for opportunities now to see if there is any abnormality in the fetus in the belly of Huang Liuzi's wife!
"Those women who drowned all have one thing in common - they are all pregnant. This matter is quite strange. Madam-in-law is also pregnant now. You should pay more attention and be more careful." Su Wu said to Huang seriously. Liuzi said.
Huang Liuzi hasn't spoken yet,
The lady-in-law sitting on the round stool turned slightly pale and said, "Liuzi, what happened when you went boating today?
Someone drowned?
How is this going?"
..
Cut the spring breeze with a bare blade
This chapter has been completed!