Chen Yuan opened the window and let the sunshine drive away the coldness in the room. He looked at the table over there and saw San'er sitting on the stool, staring at the table blankly, still shivering all over.
Opposite, Qiao'er, a crazy old man, one old and one young, made lotus-shaped hands with their hands, holding their chins and looking at him curiously.
"What happened to the troupe? Where are the others?"
Over there, Chen Yuan took out the half piece of pancake that he had not finished in the morning from his sleeve and gave it to him. San'er turned his gaze, grabbed the pancake, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed hard.
I have been hiding in the closet these days and dare not go out, which shows how hungry I am.
"Don't choke, drink some water."
San'er took the pottery bowl that was handed to him and poured cold water into his stomach. Only then did he regain his breath. After hesitating for a moment, he opened his mouth.
"...all gone."
After he murmured the words, he suddenly became excited and grabbed Chen Yuan's arms: "They are all gone, they were all eaten by that woman!"
"What woman?"
"...a very beautiful woman." After San'er got excited, he gradually told the whole story following Chen Yuan's words, "...I learned the skills from my master, opened another opera troupe, and hired four people.
As a helper, I came all the way over here. Luodu is the capital city and there are many people, so I thought I could earn more money by doing wood carving here..."
…
Ever since the elder brother abandoned his wife and son to avoid gambling debts, San'er has been able to stand alone. After marrying the elder brother's wife and having a family, San'er no longer lives in the same miserable state as before.
Old Man Zhao also saw this and asked him and his second apprentice to set up a new troupe and travel around.
The wind brought warmth to people's bodies, making them feel hot. The five people driving the two donkey carts looked at the majestic city wall with infinite longing in their hearts, and excitedly stepped into this city in the center of the world.
It is impossible to become famous here. Buying a small courtyard can be regarded as establishing a foundation, and then taking over the mother-in-law and children, you can actually wake up laughing when you sleep.
The few people hired were also hard-working people. After entering the city, they found out where stalls could be set up and where there were many people buying and selling. They set up a stage in a lively manner. Southern woodcarving operas are rare here. For several days, there were many people.
Made a lot of money.
After the performance one day, the four of them were invited to a party outside the city to have a happy meal and drink to celebrate their arrival in Luodu.
Soon after the banquet, San'er went back with everyone. As they approached Taoliu Forest, there was a sobbing woman on the roadside. After asking, they found out that the woman's husband had died of illness and she was kicked out by her mother's family. She was about to leave.
I went to live with relatives in a neighboring county, but I thought of my husband halfway and became sad on the way.
The woman was wearing a green skirt, a white scarf on her head, a pair of peach blossom eyes, picturesque eyebrows, and a graceful figure that made people want to kiss her. For some reason, San'er always felt that the woman was not a good person, but
Unable to stand it any longer, several of his companions felt pity for him and took him back to his residence.
…
In the room, San'er's voice continued, trembling as he sorted out the story one by one.
"The woman came to our place, and we felt safe for two days. But some time later, one of the four helpers, Lao Jiu, suddenly brought the woman over and said goodbye to me, saying that she wanted to marry her.
Go to a neighboring county to join her relatives.
Strange to say, at night, I dreamed about Lao Jiu. He was outside the door and refused to come in. When I asked him what was wrong, he didn’t say anything. He just lowered his head. After a while, he spoke with a strange voice.
It was a bit vague and I said: He was almost eaten. At that time, I just thought it was a dream and didn't care."
Chen Yuan frowned: "The next day, the woman came back again?"
"Brother Chen, how did you know?" San'er was a little surprised. Thinking that the fourth child was not an ordinary person, he felt relieved and continued talking.
"The woman did come back again, crying to us, saying that Lao Jiu had taken away all her money and ran away without a trace. She came to us to ask for an explanation!"
"In broad daylight, there was no way to let a woman cry outside the door, so I had to invite her into the house. I didn't think much about it at the time. I just thought that Lao Jiu had played with the woman and had the idea of stealing. But the next day, the woman took the arm of another helper, and the two were going to get married in this courtyard..."
"...The marriage was simple and tight. The two of them bowed curtly in the hall and entered the bridal chamber. The remaining two helpers wanted to make trouble for the bride, but found that the door was locked... The next morning, they did not see each other. The married helper, the woman said she had gone out early in the morning to buy rouge for her, but not long after, I came from the backyard and saw the woman dragging a helper named Wang Qi into the room."
When San'er said this, he swallowed his saliva and his body couldn't stop shaking. "I was a little angry at that time, so I called Liu Fu, the last helper, and we went to break the door open so that the two of them could have sex. We couldn't succeed...but when we got inside...Liu Fu and I saw the woman...no, I should say a weird-looking thing squatting on the bedside, chewing on Wang Qi's head...when we saw the two of us, we laughed a few times and jumped. The window is gone."
"At this time, we realized that Lao Jiu and the others had actually been eaten a long time ago. We originally wanted to report it to the government, but the government didn't believe this. They were busy with the affairs of the barbarians in the north, so Liu Fu and I had to buy some on the street. The yellow charm was posted at the door... But as soon as night fell, the woman came over and called people by name outside the door... Liu Fu was called by her without paying attention..."
After explaining the whole story in one breath, San'er relaxed a lot. With Chen Yuan here, she felt at ease.
Across the table, the crazy old man raised his elbow and nudged the little girl: "What do you think?"
"I...I don't dare to look!" Qiao'er thought of the weird and terrifying story San'er just talked about, and the scene at that time seemed to appear in her mind. She screamed "Ah!" and covered her face in fear.
Over there, Chen Yuan put his hands behind his hands and looked at San'er's expression. If he saw that it didn't look like he was lying, then he really encountered a monster.
'This is ruining my cultivation path...'
Immediately, he asked San'er to pack up, and went back to the city to settle down together. He sent Qiao'er back to Mingguang, and asked if there was any talisman to block his breath. After all, if he let the other party know that there was magic in the courtyard, wouldn't he stop coming?
"What do fellow Taoists do with this talisman?"
"Demonslayer!"
Chen Yuan took the talisman and turned around and strode out of the courtyard gate. Qiaoer chased after him. He walked to the door and waved at his back: "Brother, be careful, catch that monster!"
In response, the retreating figure raised his hand and waved, and quickly disappeared around the corner in front.
The sky gradually darkened.
Before dark, Chen Yuan returned to the courtyard, put the talisman that concealed his cultivation on the back of the chair in the outer room, lit a candle, and held "Miscellaneous Mysteries of Huangchuan" and read the story above in the dim light of the fire.
The night was quiet, with only the wind rustling the almond trees in the courtyard.
The old cow in the backyard was lying on the ground. He blew away a yellow charm stuck between his eyes with a bored breath. He suddenly twitched his ears and raised his head to look at the night sky. The clear moon was gradually covered by night clouds.
The apricot trees in the courtyard swayed back and forth in the wind, and the lanterns under the eaves reflected the swaying branches and cast them on the window lattice, as if something sneaky was waving its teeth and claws outside.
swish swish...
Lang Jun~~Lang Jun~~
In the sound of the branches stroking, words as crisp as silver bells floated in from outside along the night wind. Chen Yuan raised his face, and the closed door opened with a creak, and the wind blew the leaves to his feet. .
In the dark courtyard, there was a faint red lantern swaying, slowly floating along the eaves towards this side, shouting "Langjun."
Walking past the light of the lantern under the eaves, behind the red lantern, there was a woman in a green skirt, with thick skin and beautiful peach eyes. When she saw that sitting in the open nave, it was not San'er, that charming face. Her pretty face was puzzled for a moment, then she lowered her face slightly and pursed her lips into a shy smile.
"It turns out that there is such a handsome husband here, making me so uncomfortable."
"Since it's so abrupt, let's leave." Chen Yuan patted the book in his hand and said, "Don't bother me reading."
The sudden words made the beautiful woman stunned, and then she laughed softly, walked in with lotus steps, gently pushed the door leaf with her jade fingers, closed the door, and looked at the candlelight charmingly against the door. His face looked attentive.
"Lang Jun, is that book as good as mine?!"
In the light room, the graceful figure cut against the door of the room took off her dress. Her white jade feet stepped over the skirt on the floor. She swayed her waist and slowly approached Chen Yuan under the lamp. She dragged her towering breasts and leaned over to blow the wind. Take a breath and speak softly.
"The night is short, how can you read a book instead of looking at me?"
Looking at the man who was immersed in reading, she couldn't help but want to lick the man's neck with her tongue. At this time, Chen Yuan looked away from the book and raised her face. The woman hurriedly closed her mouth and showed a charming smile. However, , what fell on her beautiful face was a rolled-up book tapping her forehead.
The eyes that look out are majestic.
"What's so good about you? It's all nothing but skin."
Chen Yuan's words were so cold that the woman's expression changed. In her eyes, she could faintly see the figure of four figures holding dragon knives, snake spears, double maces, and iron whips in the air above and behind the handsome man. Silhouette, wearing a golden armor, looking at him angrily.
"Wow!" cried out, and the woman was so frightened that she fell to the ground.