Chapter 445 It’s all your fault
Several people took turns telling stories about strange anecdotes, gods, monsters and ghosts that they had heard. Most of them were extremely strange and amazing.
Lin Jue remembered that it was probably four rounds.
Because even he told three more stories.
One is the story of a scholar seeking the truth, and on the way he met a scary dog demon, but the demon was actually frightened by the scholar.
One is in the northwest of Qinzhou, where monsters harm people and the gods condone them. However, as a result, magic spells to get rid of monsters and restrain gods were born.
The other one is a bit longer and is a story about an ordinary down-and-out man pretending to be an enlightened master.
Everyone was amazed when they heard this.
Before I knew it, the long night was already halfway through.
The thunderstorm outside had stopped, and there was silence between heaven and earth. The firewood had been burned out, leaving only scarlet embers and sparks shining in the faces of the people, and the only sound was the sound of them telling stories.
Everyone was still not satisfied.
This is because the people present are either old enough or well-informed, and they all have a lot of good stories to tell.
Even the most timid scholar started to speak excitedly.
"It's really enjoyable! It's really enjoyable! It's a pity that it's too late, otherwise I really want to tell a few more stories!" The scholar clapped his hands in approval, but paused, "Although the stories you told are very exciting, they are not as good as the one I'm about to tell. How about ending with my story?"
"What story could be more exciting than the previous ones?" The official didn't believe it.
"Tell me about it!" said the businessman.
The old man was already sleepy and began to doze off.
"Half of what the previous speakers said was hearsay, and half was their own personal experience. After each story was told, they said it was true, but we don't know how much of it was true or false. We don't care at this point. Anyway, what I'm going to tell you next is indeed my personal experience."
The scholar said to them:
"One year ago, I went out for a walk. At dusk, after having eaten and drunk enough, I went out for a walk. As I was walking, I saw a teahouse with a few people inside. I chatted with them for a while and then I found out that these people were actually my fellow villagers, so I started chatting with them.
“It was evening, just like today.
“As we were chatting, we ended up talking about ghost stories.
"Then, as now, everyone was searching their brains for stories, telling stories so bizarre and fascinating, so funny and fantastic, that people couldn't stop listening.
"Ah! What a coincidence! Just like now, at the end of the story, a man named Xie, let's call him Xie Gong, stood up and said: The stories you told are indeed novel and wonderful, but none of them can compare to the one I am going to tell next!"
As the scholar spoke, he seemed to recall that day, with a look of surprise on his face.
Everyone couldn't help but feel strange.
If what the scholar said is true, what happened that day is actually very similar to what is happening today.
"That Mr. Xie said that he used to live in the home of a gardener in the capital. One night when he was out strolling, he met a scholar, who chatted with him.
"Xie Gong complained: This place is really nice, quiet, and there are many flowers blooming. Unfortunately, there are many tombs behind it, and many lonely ghosts live in the tombs. These ghosts are so annoying.
"The scholar shook his head and retorted: People in the world have many faces, which are complex and difficult to describe. Ghosts are transformed from humans, so how can we generalize? In fact, ghosts can also be divided into elegant and vulgar.
"The scholar then told him that when he was visiting Yushan Mountain, he met another man named Liu Gong. The scholar discussed poetry with Liu Gong. Liu Gong was very knowledgeable and had unique insights. He even recited his own poems to the scholar."
The scholar said this and shook his head:
"I heard these poems read by Mr. Xie at that time, and they were all well done, but now I have forgotten them.
"Anyway, the scholar was fascinated by what he heard. Just when he was about to ask where Mr. Liu lived and wanted to make friends with him, he suddenly heard the sound of a bell, and Mr. Liu disappeared into thin air.
"The scholars then realized that Mr. Liu was a ghost.
“This is the story the scholar told Xie Gong.
"After that, he asked Xie Gong: Do you think this ghost I'm talking about, this Mr. Liu, is annoying?
"When Mr. Xie heard this, he thought it was wonderful and felt that this scholar was very much to his liking, so he respectfully asked him his name and where he lived, and wanted to make friends with him.
"The scholar stood up, saluted him with a smile, and said, "I am very happy that you don't hate me. How dare I make friends with you?"
"After saying this, the scholar also disappeared.
"Only then did Xie Gong realize that the man who talked about ghosts was actually a ghost himself."
When the scholar said this, his expression became more and more terrified.
“When we heard this, we all thought that this kind of story of listening to ghosts telling ghost stories was very interesting, just like the goose cage story where the monster spits out monsters, with illusions overlapping and giving rise to illusions.
"I was very brave at the time, so I joked that the story you told was a ghost story told to you by a ghost, but how could I know that you who are telling me the story today, or even everyone here, might also be a ghost?
"I never thought that as soon as I finished speaking, the faces of the people at the table changed. Then a gust of cold wind blew, and the lights in the teahouse went out one after another. The people who were talking to me turned into smoke and disappeared."
When the scholar reached this point, his face turned pale.
Several people in the post station were also stunned when they heard it.
I thought I was listening to ghosts talking about ghosts, but it turned out to be listening to ghosts talking about themselves. It was really strange and interesting.
It took a long time for someone to recover.
"Thinking back, the situation that day was really similar to today." The official said, looking at the scholar, "No wonder Qi Sheng was so scared today, it turns out he had this experience before."
"Yes."
The scholar nodded and said.
Lin Jue was also savoring the memory, but at this moment, he opened his mouth and said:
"You are talking about listening to ghosts telling stories about ghosts. But since we are late at night today and we are meeting by chance, and there is no one on the deserted roadside, and you are also telling ghost stories, don't you have the slightest curiosity in your heart?"
"This……"
The scholar was stunned for a moment and looked around:
"Everyone, it's not a ghost, is it?"
As soon as the words fell, the expressions of several people present changed unexpectedly.
The official's amiable smile froze, and the servant beside him who was about to speak also stopped talking.
The middle-aged businessman was surprised.
The old man woke up instantly.
A gust of cold wind blew into the inn through the window, causing the almost burnt firewood in the middle to become a little redder again.
"Canopy!"
"Canopy!"
"Canopy!"
"Canopy!"
There were four explosions in succession.
The four people around him turned into smoke one after another and disappeared without a trace.
"This……"
The scholar suddenly opened his eyes wide and was shocked.
Then he immediately looked at Lin Jue beside him and said, "Master, why haven't you left yet?" "I'm not a ghost, why should I leave?"
"you are human?"
"A monk."
"Then why aren't you afraid?"
"I am a monk."
"This……"
The scholar was frightened and surprised.
I never expected that when I was talking about ghosts tonight, I would actually be talking to ghosts. And among the several people in this roadside inn, the only one who was not a ghost was actually the Taoist priest who looked the most abnormal, had the most difficult to explain purpose, and was the one I was most wary of at first.
At this moment, the official's voice suddenly came from the night sky outside the door:
"Hahahaha! Qisheng! You'd better run! I can't tell if that man is a ghost, but the white fox beside him is a rare great demon in the world!"
"what?"
The scholar was startled and sat on the ground, supporting himself with his hands, and backed away repeatedly.
Beyond the firelight, the Taoist's face could be vaguely seen.
The Taoist priest smiled calmly and said to him, "Among the five, your acting skills are the best."
"?"
The scholar paused in his movement to step back, his face frozen.
The next moment——
"Canopy!"
The scholar turned into the last wisp of smoke and was carried by a breeze, out of the window of the inn and disappeared without a trace.
Only his voice came from the night:
"What I have told you are all true stories. Unfortunately, they happened to me in my lifetime, and it has been two hundred years since then."
Lin Jue was unmoved and just responded loudly:
"Thank you for your stories. They helped us while away the night. Thank you for telling us about the Snow Lotus Society. We'll see you on Mount Tianshan."
There was only the night wind outside the window, no response.
At this time, there was only one person and one fox left in the entire post station.
Lin Jue stretched out his hand and pointed lightly——
"Pent~"
Fire was reignited in the burnt-out pile of fire, reflecting the Taoist priest in Taoist robes with a smile on his face, and the white fox next to him who was also listening with great interest and was still licking his paws to savor the experience.
Lin Jue looked down at Fu Yao.
Fuyao also looked up at him.
"See, it's all your fault. You scared them away."
"You scared me away!"
"It's you."
"It's you!"
"It's your fault."
"It's your fault!"
"I'm too lazy to talk to you..."
"The fox wants to talk to you! It's you!"
"You said, these guys are all old ghosts, quite experienced, do they know each other?"
"It's you!"
"At this time, they are all gathered on this road. They are not evil ghosts who are harming people. I am afraid they are all going to the Snow Lotus Society, right?"
"It's your fault!"
"..."
Lin Jue lay back and closed his eyes.
But I still can't help but sigh that in this world today, I have the illusion that there are more ghosts than people.
……
In the blink of an eye, it's morning.
It was already bright when Lin Jue woke up. The sunlight came through the window, illuminating the dilapidated appearance of the post station.
There was a pile of ashes in the middle, as if to say that what happened last night was not just a dream.
But last night was truly a dream.
Lin Jue waved his sleeves, and a gust of wind blew the pile of ashes out of the window. Then he took the fox to the mountain to pick up some dead branches while eating a piece of bread. He put them back in the post station so that travellers who came here to spend the night to avoid the rain would have dry firewood to burn, and then he went on the road.
"Chen Niu, Chen Niu."
A little brown-clothed ghost appeared out of nowhere.
"Go to the Snow Lotus Club."
When the brown-clothed kid heard this, his expression instantly became serious. He stretched out his hand and pointed forward:
"Go this way!"
One man and one fox, take a step forward.
But they couldn't help but look back.
After leaving the border, there is a grassland. After walking for another thousand miles, you will see a majestic snow-capped mountain standing on the land. They form a line, and from a distance, it looks like a wall of sky at the end of the world.
"Go this way!"
The little ghost pointed to the highest point of the Tianshan Mountains.
(End of this chapter)
