"Sir, all the old wine in my shop is here. Look..." The wine shop owner stood next to Wu Ming with a smile on his face and a flattering look on his face.
Wu Ming sat on a chair, holding a tea cup in his hand, looking at the large and small wine jars, and nodded with satisfaction: "Not bad, let's pay."
As soon as the bill was settled, all the old wines were counted, but they only cost more than one hundred taels of silver, which can be said to be of high quality and low price.
Wu Ming did not ask the wine shop owner to ask for money. Instead, he collected dozens of bottles of old wine and kept all the remaining money so that the wine shop owner could continue to collect good wine.
After leaving the wine shop, Wu Ming walked on the street and experienced the customs and customs of Liaozhai.
I saw countless traders and footmen, some carrying burdens, some pushing carts, some carrying their hands on their shoulders, forming the appearance of countless living beings.
"Daughter, my miserable daughter, you just left like this, how can I live..."
On the street, countless pedestrians formed a circle, and the sound of crying could be heard from inside.
Wu Ming stepped forward curiously and found out that it was an old woman who was getting married. However, she did not get married and was killed by an evil spirit on the way to the wedding.
"Aunt Zhang really has a hard life. The conditions at home are not good to begin with. She managed to raise her child with great difficulty, and in the end something like this happened!"
"Oh, who says it's not the case? Counting the butcher Zhang's family in Dongzhen, Wang Yuan's wife in Zaozhuang, and the girl from Aunt Zhang's family, three brides have been killed. Why is this ghost king so arrogant?
Isn’t it an evil act to attack the bride specifically?”
"Shh, keep your voices down. The Ghost King is not something we can talk about. Let me tell you, let's move as soon as possible. We can't live like this anymore!"
There were comments from the crowd, and Wu Ming frowned when he heard it.
The nine-tailed fox, the king of ghosts, killed three brides one after another. Not to mention that he had no taboos.
Being so crazy and unscrupulous shows that the Nine-tailed Fox is very powerful and doesn't care about causing chaos or public outrage.
You know, this is the world of Liao Zhai. While demons and ghosts are rampant, there are also many people with real abilities.
Not to mention the distance, on the mountain behind Jiuxiang Town is the Wumen Residence where Yan Chixia lives in seclusion.
If this situation continues, Yan Chixia, who has been slapped in the face all the time, will be unable to bear it sooner or later.
"Really seeking death, who does this nine-tailed fox think she is, the Da Luo Jinxian who has conquered the Golden Immortal Avenue? She has made people so angry and resentful. Even if you are more powerful than Yan Chixia, you can't act like this in a place where the bearded man is in charge.
Go ahead and play with the slap in the face!" Wu Ming shook his head and left, feeling sad for the nine-tailed fox's unwiseness.
After walking around the street twice, Wu Ming couldn't find Yan Shi and the others, so he went to the restaurant to wait.
By chance, there was an old man telling a story in the restaurant. Wu Ming came over and sat down to listen to a story. It turned out that the old man was telling a story from many years ago.
"Eighty miles west of Jiuxiang Town, there is Hujiazhuang, and the whole village is full of people named Hu. Sixty years ago, Mr. Hu from Hujiazhuang married a daughter, and she married Liu Shusheng from the county town.
On the day of the wedding, I happened to encounter a bandit coming down the mountain and bumped into the wedding party. At that time, in the wedding party, apart from Hu Jiumei who was about to be married, there was Liu Shusheng who came to welcome the bride. As a result, I encountered a bandit.
None of the people who were welcoming the bride ran away, they were all surrounded by bandits.
At that time, the bandit leader made a statement. As long as the groom survives, the bride must stay. As long as the bride survives, the groom cannot leave.
Liu Shusheng had never seen such a formation before. He was so frightened that he ran away, leaving only Hu Jiumei who was about to be married.
That night, Hu Jiumei, who was left behind, hanged herself in her wedding dress. In the sixty years since then, ghost kings have been robbing brides here."
The old man is getting older. When telling a story, he has to stop for a moment to drink water.
Wu Ming sat on the bench and looked at each other thoughtfully.
If this story is true, it sounds like the nine-tailed fox ghost king who stole the bride is probably Hu Jiumei.
I just don’t know how the old man knew so clearly about this matter sixty years later.
"Old sir, do you think this ghost king who stole the bride is Hu Jiumei?" Wu Ming stood up and asked the old storyteller.
The old man shook his head slightly and whispered: "I'm not sure, everyone who has seen the Ghost King has died in these years. I'm afraid no one alive knows who the Ghost King is, and no one knows whether it is Hu Jiumei. If so,
If anyone knows, I would also like to ask who this ghost king is."
"No one knows, that's not necessarily true!" Wu Ming thought of Yan Chixia. Yan Chixia must have known what Hu Jiumei looked like.
After all, Yan Chixia came to Jiuxiang Town to live in seclusion twenty years ago, and the two parties must have met each other.
The only thing that made Wu Ming a little strange was the identity of the old man, so he said, "Old man, may I ask your surname?"
"Haha, this old man's surname is Hu..."
The old storyteller’s surname is Hu, and Hu Jiumei in the story is also surnamed Hu. The connection is very thought-provoking.
Wu Ming has been thinking about the weakness of the Nine-tailed Fox, the Ghost King.
If this old storyteller is really a family member of the nine-tailed fox, this will be good news for him.
"Brother Wu Ming, we are back." Before Wu Ming could speak again, Yan Shi and Cui Hongjian rushed to the restaurant.
Seeing Yan Shi and the others coming back, Wu Ming waved to them and said, "Yan Shi, do you recognize this old man?"
"Um..." Yan Shi looked at the old storyteller, thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "I know, Old Man Hu has been telling stories nearby. Almost every year, he goes to see my master, but my master is not very good.
Wait to see him."
"That's it!"
Wu Ming thought for a moment, then stood up and came to Old Man Hu's side, inviting him: "Old sir, I am very interested in your story. How about we go upstairs to discuss it in detail?"
"Okay, okay..." Old Man Hu looked very happy and followed Wu Ming and the others to the second floor without any hint of displeasure.
Sitting in the private room on the second floor, Wu Ming ordered a few side dishes and asked the waiter to serve two pots of warm wine.
Afterwards, Wu Ming signaled Yan Shi and the two of them not to talk, and he sat next to Old Man Hu and asked kindly: "Mr. Hu, I heard Yan Shi say that you have visited Hero Yan many times. Dare I ask?
, are you from Hujiazhuang, related to that Hu Jiumei?"
"Why would an irrelevant person come in here?" Old Man Hu walked around. Knowing what Wu Ming wanted to ask, he said calmly: "In the family, I am the sixth eldest son, and the one who was hanged is my eldest sister.
I'm looking for Master Yan just to ask if this ghost king who stole my bride is actually my eldest sister!"
Although Wumenju has no doors, it does not welcome anyone.
When Wu Ming heard this statement, he first poured a cup of tea for the old gentleman, and then asked: "Old sir, what did Master Yan say?"
"Why..."
Old Man Hu sighed, shook his head and said: "Master Yan doesn't want to care, he just said that people and ghosts have different paths, don't have other ideas. However, since the ghost king came out to steal the bride, people in our Hujiazhuang are also panicked, and we also want to find an answer!"
"
"So, you don't know if the ghost king who stole the bride is your sister?"
"I don't know, I haven't met the Ghost King. I just calculated the time and it should be my sister. Otherwise, you can let me meet him, and then it will be clear..."