The dogs barked in the night and the chickens fluttered in the cage.
The ghosts' eyes widened, like little green sparks flying around in the yard.
This chaotic scene made Li Changan very puzzled:
"What is ghost checking?"
No one answered him. He only listened to the more ethereal sound of gongs and drums coming from the misty night fog outside the wall. Following the sound, the green flame slowly spread among the treetops on the wall - something was approaching.
Huang Tail took his arm.
"This way!"
A group of ghosts came to the base of the wall in panic, opened several rotten bamboo baskets, and revealed a hole.
Li Changan was still confused, why did he want to get into a dog hole for no reason?
But at this time, the sound of gongs and drums gradually became clearer, and green light seeped into the yard like grains of sand.
The swollen flesh all over Qiao Laogui's body and his mouth trembled wildly: "Asshole! Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!"
Li Changan had no choice but to put aside his doubts and followed the ghosts through the dog hole, bypassing several cramped and smelly alleys, leaving the chicken and feather shop far behind, and entered a slightly spacious alley, with the main road outside the alley.
Old Ghost Qiao hurriedly got out, and Huang Wei quickly stopped him: "You are dizzy, you are violating the curfew! Go this way."
He pointed to the end of the alley, where there was a drainage outlet sunk into the ground, mostly submerged by sewage and silt.
However, Old Ghost Qiao suddenly widened his ghost eyes and sighed: "You just lost your mind! How dare you break into Cave City?!"
Without saying a word, it turned into a ball of smoke and jumped out along the foot of the wall, followed by several ghosts who were traveling with it.
Only the ghosts in the tea shed and Li Changan were left. They had just arrived and knew nothing about it, so they had to follow Huangwei into the sewer.
…
"Cave City" is actually another name for the underground drainage ditch in Yuhang City.
Old Ghost Qiao was as afraid as a tiger of his attitude, and Huang Wei - even though he showed that he was very familiar with these open ditches and culverts, he knew exactly where there were common shortcuts and where there were dead ends submerged in mud.
But when passing through certain forks in the road and facing the dark cave entrance, which obviously leads to a deeper place underground, he would always stop and bow again and again, repeating in his mouth:
"Don't be surprised. We are temporarily passing by your place, and we don't mean to offend you."
Even though the entrance to the cave is empty.
At this time, Huangwei looked nervous, but the other ghosts relaxed their nerves a little.
Li Changan then asked at the right time:
"What exactly does ghost checking mean?"
The old shopkeeper in the tea shed ghost explained in a low voice:
"If you want to be a ghost in Yuhang City, you must register at the City God's Yamen and receive a ghost certificate. Otherwise, you will be a lonely ghost and are not allowed to stay in the city. The so-called 'ghost registration' means that the City God's soldiers and horses will catch us lonely souls in the middle of the night.
Wild ghost."
"What's wrong? Didn't it mean that there is no city god in the local area?"
"If there is no county magistrate, how can we lose the current governor? Although there is no city god, there are only more civil and military judges, shackles generals, and day and night wandering gods!"
Li Changan felt strange and couldn't explain why.
"What will happen if you are caught?"
The old shopkeeper sighed and was about to answer, but Huang Tail in front suddenly made a silent gesture and waved to everyone to look outside.
The ditch where the ghosts hide is separated from the ground by stone slabs with holes cut into them as water inlets.
The Taoist priest looked over.
I could see the street from a hole away. The mist on the street was like a rippling river. I could vaguely see the towering walls on the other side and the locked doors of several houses.
There is a faint sound of gongs and drums in Er.
Green light seeped miserably into the night fog.
A long shadow emerged from it, the fog was hazy, and the long shadow was even hazier, as blurry as a solid fog. Only a pair of ghost eyes shined, like a pair of green lanterns hanging on the eaves of the house facing the street, the green
The dim light reflected a face with a green face and fangs.
The ghosts were startled and quickly retreated into the ditch, covering their mouths and noses to avoid making any sound.
Huang's tail is like a mosquito: "The Night God."
Legend has it that in ancient times, there were sixteen brothers who patrolled the night under the orders of the Emperor of Heaven, and were called night wandering gods.
But this night tour is not that night tour.
The long-bodied ghost in front of me is actually a ghost official under the command of the City God. The green-faced fangs are not his original appearance, but the Dharmakaya manifested after being granted the role of City God.
For some reason, except for his head, body, and limbs, everything is like a phantom.
In the ditch, a few brave people continued to look.
Ghosts with the same green faces and fangs emerged from the mist one after another. They were holding chains in their hands, tying up rows of strange ghosts and staggering forward. One of the bloated ghosts wearing heavy shackles looked very familiar. If you look closely, you can see that he is
Old Man Qiao.
"Huh?!"
I don't know who accidentally made a sound in surprise.
But there was no time to blame him, because the night wanderer suddenly turned his head.
The shadow-like body swayed, and his eyes were like two sparks of fire shooting straight into the ditch.
Huangwei said without thinking:
"run!"
…
The ghosts rolled and crawled, and scurryed with their heads in their hands. There was no figure of the Night God behind them, only two green lights shot in from outside the ditch, following them closely like a shadow.
Fortunately, Huangwei was very familiar with these open ditches and culverts, and could always find the right direction to escape. Finally, he found a section of sewer where sewage was accumulated and plunged into it. All the ghosts followed suit.
The green light lingered on the water for a while, perhaps for fear of contaminating the Dharmakaya, and finally left.
a long time.
When the ghosts emerged from the water one by one, the ghost messengers were already gone.
Huang Tail put his hands on his hips and laughed twice.
"That stupid old ghost said that we have lost our minds! Look, if you don't have a ghost certificate, you will be fined a few dollars. Now, you broke the curfew, you are in shackles, and you have to go repair the seawall. The wind will cause blisters.
It’s such an unpleasant taste!”
Didn't wait long for him to complain.
The wind blew into the ditch, causing all the ghosts to grin.
The fog became thicker at night, and being in the fog felt like being immersed in ice water.
Don't stay in the ditch for long, as you might run into ghosts when you return to the chicken shop.
The ghosts huddled pitifully in the smelly ditch, helpless.
Huang Tai rolled his eyes.
"I have somewhere else to go."
…………
Huang Tail was indeed dizzy.
When everyone saw the "place" he mentioned, they all agreed that the dizzy Mr. Qiao was right.
In front of you is a low hill, with green trees covering the hill. You can vaguely see the overhangs on the treetops, and it is obvious that there is a courtyard sitting on it.
If they could really live in it, all the ghosts, including Li Changan, would definitely be willing to do so.
Such an environment, such a location, can not only "find tranquility in the hustle and bustle", but also "observe the bustling Yuhang from a high position". No matter what, it is ten thousand times better than a smelly and crowded chicken and feather shop.
However, even Li Changan, who had just arrived, knew that in Yuhang City, places like this were either Taoist temples or Buddhist temples.
The ghosts looked at Huangwei quietly, and their eyes clearly said: Is your head broken?
Huangwei was annoyed: "I'm afraid of a ball! Can you still save us?"
Then he held his head high and avoided the mountain gate in front and took a detour to the trail in the back.
…
The paths are not easy to walk either.
There are some small Buddha statues placed in the forest.
Even if they were far away, all the ghosts except Li Changan felt that the spiritual light on the Buddha statue was burning, and they did not dare to get even closer.
Huang Tail asked everyone to calm down.
He dug a mud pit, then took off his belt and poured a pot of urine into it. Then he mixed a pit of mud with local materials, dug out a small ball, aimed and threw it out, hitting the Buddha's head and blinding the Buddha's eyes.
The aura of the little Buddha statue suddenly dimmed a lot, and it gave way to the road ahead.
The Taoist priest was stunned, and his view of Huangwei was greatly changed for a moment - it's hard to say what else this ghost was, but at least he was very courageous.
In this way, Huang Tail led everyone up the mountain with the ghost urine mud clearing the way.
Arriving at a side door, there is a plaque hanging on the door, which reads: Xianyi Nunnery.