The fat Taoist swallowed a mouthful of pancakes, drank some water, and said with a smile: "Old man, this won't scare us. Our Taoism is very powerful. What's more, it's just a story. Do you believe it?"
The yellowish light illuminated the earthen house quietly in the courtyard. The old man sitting under the wall was silent for a while, and then nodded slightly.
"It's not all a story."
The old man looked at the fire in a daze.
"Actually, I had seen the old man in white in the summer two years ago. About this time, a few guests from my hometown came to the village to stay overnight in a Zhang family house two houses away.
I couldn't sleep day and night. I was a little worried about the presence of a few strangers in the village, so I went out to take a look. I saw a white shadow standing outside Zhang's house, looking upright at the brightly lit room. At first I thought
It was because of my own dazzling eyes that I quietly got closer and saw clearly that it was an old man in white robes, older than the old man...
I called out, but the old man didn't respond. It wasn't until the oil lamp in the room went out that he walked into the house. At that time, the old man felt surprised and he quickly followed him, approaching the window and sneaking in.
Take a look and wonder if the old man is with these business travelers staying overnight.
The old man poked open a little window paper, and saw something he would never forget in his life. There were stars and moon at that time, and he could see clearly what was inside the house from the outside. The old man saw the old man in white clothes standing next to those men.
, those eyes were pale and dull, like a dead person, but also like a beast, staring straight at the man in front of him, and then... his mouth slowly opened, revealing his fangs...
...It opened wider and wider, and in the blink of an eye, the mouth was almost as big as a millstone. Before the man knew it, he was wrapped in the quilt, and was bitten into half by the big mouth, like a piece of meat.
The old man was so frightened that he screamed, and the monster spat out half of the body and looked this way. Fortunately, the moment the old man made a sound, he hunched over and ran away along the wall."
"Then what?" Chen Yuan is also somewhat interested in this story. It doesn't matter whether it is true or not. After all, it was really a monster at the time. The old man in front of him had no chance to leave. If he followed the scent of a stranger, he would be able to find him directly. Together,
Eat.
"later?"
The old man shook his head: "Later, the old man waited until dawn, and the village was already in turmoil. The three men who stayed overnight were crying so hard that they were heartbroken. After collecting their companions' belongings, they carried the bodies on their backs.
I went to Xiaoyi City to report to the official, and also visited several official missions in the city, but Xiaoyi was still not peaceful at that time. The government had no time to deal with these matters, so they posted an official document asking everyone to be careful, and then let it go. So
, you guys, it’s better not to run around, wait until daybreak, and leave here as soon as possible, at least go to a crowded place, otherwise, if you run into that old man in white clothes, you may be in trouble.”
Monk Zhenhai glanced at it.
"Aren't you afraid of the elderly?"
"What are you afraid of? I've lived here all my life, not to mention that at this age, with old arms and legs, and not much flesh on my body, I'm afraid I won't be able to show it to that monster."
After saying that, the old man stood up with his knees propped up and asked Chen Yuan and others to eat quickly. He then went to the bedroom to grab two beddings, as if talking to his wife, and then walked out amidst the old woman's coughs.
The beds in the side rooms on both sides are covered with quilts.
The voice of the old man mumbling could also be heard.
"So, we here are quite careful about strangers coming from other places. If a ghost sneaks in, the whole village will suffer. Don't you think so?"
"The Rebirth of Financial Giants"
Chen Yuan just smiled and said to Zhenhai and the fat Taoist: "This old man is kind-hearted. He will tell us later that we will go back home tomorrow so that we don't have to worry about it and can't sleep at night."
"Haha, even if there is a ghost, how can I be afraid of it?"
Chen Yuan and Monk Zhenhai showed their thumbs up: "Okay, you will be alone in the room tonight."
Over there, the fat Taoist was stunned and coughed quickly.
"One person per room is too wasteful. How can I allow this monk to share a room with my boss? How can three people sleep together? It's better for the monk to stay with me."
Seeing how he quickly changed his face and gave up, Chen Yuan couldn't help but laugh. Then the old man over there had almost finished his work, so he went over to thank him and pulled his master into the house.
The bed was made of rammed earth. Various kinds of hay were spread under the earth platform, plus bedding. There was only room for one person, so Master had to sleep on it alone. Chen Yuan made do on the ground, guessing the time and reading for a while.
He lay down in casual clothes and fell asleep.
In the room on the other side, Monk Zhenhai sat cross-legged on the table and regarded the night as Zen practice. He gave the bed to Sun Zhengde. Since he was chubby, he took up most of the bed when he lay down.
As the night went on, the monk who had just been chanting sutras in a low voice gradually fell into trance and sat cross-legged on the table motionless. Sun Zhengde could not sleep. He called the monk over and over again, but there was no response. All he could think about was what the previous owner of the house had said.
The story of the old man in white.
Although I didn't care in front of my boss and the others, it was late at night and the surroundings were dark, which made me feel somewhat uneasy.
The more I closed my eyes and couldn't sleep, the more I felt like I was holding urine in my bladder, and the light was on in the dark. Even if I had the Dharma, I felt a little scared when I went out to pee alone.
squeak~
Suddenly there was a sound of the wooden door opening outside. He thought it was his master who was getting up at night. The fat Taoist had some courage and sat up. When he saw the monk sitting cross-legged and motionless, he curled his lips, stood up and looked out through the slightly opened window.
After taking a look, I saw that the door opposite was closed, and all I saw was the old man named Zhao slowly walking over and climbing the stone steps back to the main room.
I don't know if it was an illusion, but the moment the old man walked in, Sun Zhengde felt that the old man glanced in this direction, as if he knew he was peeking in the room.
The fat Taoist was so frightened that he quickly went back and sat on the edge of the bed, and did not dare to pee.
"Hey, little monk, do you think that old man is strange?"
Zhenhai ignored him and could hear his breathing quietly.
"Why are you telling us these stories so well? Are you really driving us away?"
Seeing that the monk ignored him, the fat Taoist held his legs together to suppress his desire to urinate. The moment he lay back on the bed, he suddenly sat up again and his eyes widened.
'Two years ago... four overnight travelers, an old man in white... Two years later, the four of us, and an old man... can't be such a coincidence, right?!'
Thinking of this, the fat Taoist shuddered with a "Huh" sound, and the picture in his mind even frightened himself.
But when he thought about it, he didn't know if it was just an illusion, but he did feel that the old man was peeking at him...