Chapter 69
"Ah... Uh-huh!"
Just as Tan Wenbin was about to scream, a hand covered his mouth and blocked him.
His eyes widened, staring at the old face in front of him in horror.
The old man smiled, and when he was about to say something, he found that the young man's arms were wrapped up, his legs were wrapped down, and his waist was twisting with force.
"Huh?"
The old man made a sound of surprise, as if he recognized this technique of fighting to the death in close combat.
"Huh?"
Tan Wenbin was completely shocked, because he found that his grasp was empty, as if the old man had no body at all, but the problem was that his mouth was actually covered by the other party.
"Young man, I'll let you go, but don't make any noise. I'm too old to hear you scream."
Tan Wenbin nodded.
The old man took his hand away from Tan Wenbin's mouth.
"Yuanzi, Runsheng, there is a ghost!"
"Haha."
The old man was amused, stood up, and pulled out the coffin where Tan Wenbin was.
"Yuanzi, Runsheng!"
Tan Wenbin sat up while continuing to shout, looking at the old man warily.
The old man ignored it at all. He walked to another coffin and waved his hand at an incense burner placed below. The incense burned and white smoke rose.
I saw him take a deep breath, and the white smoke divided into two streams and entered his nose.
"Ah..."
The old man made a comfortable sound, and a sickly blush appeared on his face.
"Yuanzi, Runsheng!"
Seeing that Tan Wenbin was still persevering, the old man sighed: "Stop shouting, they can't hear you."
Tan Wenbin finally stopped shouting and asked doubtfully: "Who are you?"
"You are sleeping in my house. Who am I?"
"Your family?" Tan Wenbin seemed to realize something and asked, "Are you Yin Meng's grandfather?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Are you still haunted?"
"What does it mean to be haunted? I'm not dead."
"Not dead?"
"Nonsense, if I die, why would I haunt my granddaughter and ruin her luck? I'm out of my mind."
"Then you..."
The old man pointed to the coffin behind him: "Here, I will sleep on this bed."
There were two coffins in the outer room, that is, the shop, and three in the inner room. Tan Wenbin had previously assumed that all three coffins were empty, but he did not expect that someone was lying in one of them.
"Then what are you? It's not a ghost. Why couldn't I touch you just now?"
"I'm surprised, silly boy, aren't you an expert in the industry?"
"What line of work?"
"The business of fishing for corpses."
Tan Wenbin puffed up his chest and said firmly: "Of course!"
"Then you don't know that you are in trouble right now?"
"Going to the underworld?" Tan Wenbin touched his body, "Is this called going to the underworld?"
"When I came out, I didn't want to talk to you. Who knew you were jumping there all the time, so I pulled you up. Unexpectedly, you started to scream."
"What about my friends?"
"When you walk in the underworld, you can't see any living people, so it's useless no matter what you shouted just now."
"No..."
"What can't you do?"
"Um, it's nothing, it's nothing, no, I haven't seen you come out during the day, why are you coming out in the dark at night?"
"I wish I could come out during the day. My bones are broken." The old man pointed to his head, "I'm paralyzed due to cerebral infarction."
"So you just go out and do some activities every night?"
"Fuck you, do you really not understand or are you pretending not to understand? Who can be as simple and frequent as eating and drinking?"
"Isn't it?"
Tan Wenbin raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
"Crack!"
He always felt that Xiaoyuan's action of closing his eyes and walking away from the scene with a snap of his fingers was very stylish.
"Today is the Ghost Festival, so I have to do business at night."
"It's so late, it's a hell of a deal."
"That's right."
Tan Wenbin: "..."
"No more talking to you, I have to open the store."
The old man passed through the curtain and walked into the front room of the shop. Then, he was stunned because he saw the boy standing in the front room.
The boy was looking at him with an appraising look.
The old man said in surprise: "I haven't opened the shop door yet, how did you get in?"
Li Zhuiyuan didn't answer.
The old man touched his head: "No, you are not wearing a robe. I understand. Are you with that stupid kid?"
Li Zhuiyuan nodded.
Tan Wenbin also ran over from the back room at this moment. When he saw Li Zhuiyuan, he immediately waved his arms excitedly: "Brother Xiaoyuan, I'm in trouble, I'm in trouble!"
The excitement was like a child discovering that he had just learned to ride a bicycle.
The old man touched his chin, looked at the boy, and said, "So, you are the real deal."
"What do you mean?" Tan Wenbin asked curiously.
The old man pointed at the boy: "I didn't know he was standing here before, which proves that he is very strong."
"Strong?"
"Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp, you are the shrimp."
"Are you a big fish?"
The old man glanced at the boy again and said calmly: "Little fish."
Li Zhuiyuan had noticed the "movement" in the house a long time ago, and he had gone to the dark side a long time ago. He had also heard the previous conversation in the house, and knew the identity of the old man as Grandpa Yin Meng, but he did not let down his guard because of this.
But now, he has confirmed that the other party is "harmless" because the other party has shown weakness.
In fact, what the boy has been struggling with in his mind just now is: Should he pounce on him and bite him?
There's no way, he really doesn't know how to fight in a Yin state.
The last time I faced the little girl in red in Roadhog Village, I also used powder to disperse her.
In the books of Wei Zhengdao that I have read so far, there is no detailed discussion of the Yin movement.
This should be a basic subject. Even Wei Zhengdao didn't bother to mention the basics, but Li Zhuiyuan didn't know how to do it.
It's like he can do high-order operations, but "can't" add, subtract, multiply and divide.
It works, because although he doesn't understand what "addition, subtraction, multiplication and division" means, he has memorized the answers to basic arithmetic.
This is also why he often suffers from overdraft and nosebleeds. Although there is a reason why he is still young and his body is not well developed, it is mainly because his calculation method is massive.
"Brother Yuan, right?"
The old man did have a different attitude towards Li Zhuiyuan. He even added a polite word after his address, unlike calling him Tan Wenbin, who was a fool.
"Yes." Li Zhuiyuan responded, "Hello."
"Yin Fuhai, I'm sitting at Fengdu Pier. I don't know which Pier Yuan brother should sit on or which Dragon King should I worship?"
As he spoke, the old man also made a set of gestures similar to those on the river.
Not every industry will produce slang and gestures. This form of mutual identity is intended to eliminate contradictions and avoid conflicts.
Another person who is familiar to the public and likes to put on this posture is the bandit.
Pier means a local snake, and Zazui means that he is only a part of this Pier, not his owner.
The Dragon King refers to everyone on the river.
Li Zhuiyuan rarely comes into contact with serious colleagues, and these messages are analyzed literally.
But he didn't know what to do. What was the position of his great-grandfather?
Where to sit at Nantong Haohe Pier?
But in fact, the place where my great-grandfather lives is far away from the Haohe River in the city. The most important thing is that no one has taught him how to do the local gestures. He can't just follow the instructions and go back, right?
I still blame my great-grandfather for being so unreliable that he, his great-grandson, doesn’t even know how to report to his family when he goes out.
In comparison, Li Zhuiyuan felt that Uncle Shan of Runsheng's family might know something about this, but Uncle Shan never did this to his elder brother. Maybe he didn't regard Li Sanjiang as a real colleague at all.
Li Zhuiyuan only knows the inner rites of the Qin and Liu families, but this is not very suitable.
However, when the boy didn't return the greeting, the old man became angry and his tone became stronger:
"If you don't look down on me, who sits on the Fengdu Pier, why do you want to live in my house?"
Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to return a set of Liu family's inner rites.
If you return this gift, you don't have to talk anymore to announce your family status.
Obviously, the old man knows the goods. The moment he saw this set of return gifts, the old man became transparent.
I was so frightened that I almost ended my wandering state.
It was estimated that even the body lying in the coffin, which was paralyzed by a cerebral infarction, had twitched twice.
It took a long time for the old man to calm down. When he spoke this time, not only did his previous anger dissipate, but he also put on a flattering look:
"It's great that the Liu family comes to visit us as distinguished and rare guests. After many years, someone from the Liu family has left the river again."
There was no flattery in the flattery on the old man's face.
Li Zhuiyuan asked: "Do you know the Liu family?"
"Every old bastard on this river has heard of it."
"I mean, did you know that there is no one in the Liu family?"
"I know." The old man said calmly, "It's precisely because I know how the Liu family died that I respect them even more."
"My surname is not Liu."
"A registered outer door?"
"Yeah."
That night at the banquet of the Ding family in the mountain city, Grandma Liu pushed herself out to return the favor. Although she had not officially entered the apprenticeship yet, it was a tacit understanding between the two parties to become a named disciple in the future, as long as Ah Li recovered from her illness.
"That's the same thing. Please forgive me for being a distinguished guest. I can't entertain you in person, old man."
"Don't stay out of sight. I'll call you old man, and you can call me Xiaoyuan. This way we will feel more comfortable."
"Honorable guest... Oh no, brother Xiaoyuan and my Mengmeng are friends?"
"That's right, but I'm here to repay Yin Zhiwang's favor."
"Ancestor? Oh, I see, then your seniority is too high."
"Is the old man no longer in business?"
"Ah, what needs to be done, what needs to be done."
The old man walked to the door of the store. When the store was closed for the night, Yinmeng inserted the door panel back. Instead of moving the door panel, the old man put his hand on a mirror on the wall and turned it gently.
The originally thick door panel became somewhat transparent at this moment.
Both Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin saw black figures appearing on the street that should have been quiet in the middle of the night outside.
However, among these black figures, there are also a few bright ones.
They should be living people, there were two drunk people holding each other's back, and two people who were alone.
So when you have nothing to do at night, it is best not to wander alone on the cold streets, because the streets may be much livelier than you see.
The old man sat back behind the counter, as if waiting for customers to come.
Tan Wenbin stood at the end corner of the counter, carefully looking at the "passers-by" outside.
Li Zhuiyuan walked to the opposite side of the old man and asked: "Is this a characteristic of ghost streets?"
"I have heard that there are similar ones in several other places, but I have never been there. I don't know the specific situation, but there should not be many like our Fengdu Ghost Street."
"Are they ghosts?"
"Yes and no, they come out on this street at night every ghost festival."
Tan Wenbin asked: "Have you ever caught one to study?"
The old man hurriedly waved his hand and said: "You are a customer when you come to your door. I am not running a black shop."
At this time, a black figure walked in. His figure was blurry and could not be seen clearly. He could only be vaguely seen as a person.
He stood in front of the counter, and the old man murmured to him. Li Zhuiyuan didn't hear what he was talking about clearly.
After a while, the shadow left, and at the door of the store, a piece of money was dropped and fell into the water tank.
As soon as the money fell in, it turned into black ashes and scattered.
The old man smiled and touched his beard.
Only then did Li Zhuiyuan realize that the water tanks in front of these shops were originally used for this purpose.
But Yinmeng herself didn't know that she was talking about the wrong usage of spreading rumors.
Li Zhuiyuan asked: "What is the transaction?"
The old man smiled and said: "Yangshou."
"Huh?"
"If I could still move my body, I could make other things myself and sell them here tonight, and I could also help out with some errands to fulfill my wish, but now I can only sit here and not be able to do anything practical. The only thing that can be sold is this Yangshou.
Although I am paralyzed, I still have a lot of time left. But in my situation, one more day of living is just one more day of dragging down Mengmeng.
It's better to sell these burdensome days and give Mengmeng some moral virtue.
My granddaughter is not bad, but she is very proud. She is staying in this coffin shop for me. It is really unnecessary and will only delay her years. ”
The old man's attitude towards his granddaughter reminded Li Zhuiyuan of his own great-grandfather.
"How much can it sell for?"
"You can't sell it for much, but you really have great merits. How can you become such a lonely ghost?"
"Same."
"But if you can sell it, it's worth it. Mosquito legs are also meat."
Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the inner room and asked, "Don't you call me Yinmeng?"
"You can't wake up if you shout. Not everyone can escape. She can't leave." Tan Wenbin smiled immediately after hearing this. This meant that Runsheng couldn't leave either, but he did it!
“Can’t we learn this the day after tomorrow?”
"Some people are born with it, and some people can learn it by chance if something happens to them the day after tomorrow, but they can indeed learn it."
"So, you didn't teach her on purpose?"
"Well, what's the point of learning this? Being able to see these things is not necessarily a good thing. In peacetime, this industry will not be prosperous.
To be honest, I hope she can live happily, find something she likes to do, marry a good man, have a child, and live an ordinary life. ”
Grandpa, this is what I look forward to.
"I think she is quite good at learning."
"Just think of it as physical fitness. Girls can learn some skills and are less likely to be bullied."
At this time, Tan Wenbin said: "Brother Xiaoyuan, I feel dizzy and hurt."
The old man said: "Stupid boy, you go back to sleep. People will not be able to bear it if they stay in the dark for a long time. Don't lose control and float into the street later. Then you will become a lonely ghost."
Tan Wenbin asked with some fear: "That...how will it end?"
"Each family has its own formula." The old man looked at Li Zhuiyuan, "Have you never taught him?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "Close your eyes and imagine that you are at the bottom of the sea and rising."
Old man: "..."
Tan Wenbin obediently closed his eyes and began to imagine that he was standing on tiptoes and his hands were gently moving up and down.
After a while, Tan Wenbin opened his eyes with a very painful expression: "I can't wake up, Xiaoyuan, my head hurts even more, ah..."
Li Zhuiyuan didn't know what to do, so he could only look at the old man: "Old man, do you have any idea?"
"I..." The old man stood up, walked to Tan Wenbin, muttered for a while, and then slapped Tan Wenbin on the forehead. Tan Wenbin flew out, penetrated the wall, and entered the inner room.
Tan Wenbin woke up in the coffin. Although he had a splitting headache and was very sleepy, he still climbed out of the coffin, opened the curtain, and came to the outhouse again.
But when he saw that the door panel was still standing there and there was no other figure, he realized something. He patted his forehead, got back into the coffin, closed his eyes, and started snoring.
"Okay, he's back. If this kid hasn't learned anything before, he is somewhat spiritual. Has he experienced anything?"
"Been there."
"Oh, that's because there are too many things happening."
"Will you feel tired if you have been walking for a long time?"
"Of course you are not tired, you are very strong."
"What's the best way to strengthen it?"
"You should have been standing outside the inner room and listened to our speech, but I didn't feel your presence the whole time."
"Be more specific."
"This... you really don't know?"
"Does it look like it's just pretending?"
"No, it's just surprising. You don't know how you exercise?"
"It's also a lot of history."
The old man shook his head: "No, history can only enlighten you. You have obviously tempered yourself."
Li Zhuiyuan thought of Ah Li.
If it refers to tempering, it should be to enter Ali's "field of vision" to see the scenery.
Every time he "comes out" after watching the scenery, he will feel confused and uncomfortable for a while, but as time passes, the side effects become less and less.
After waiting for a long time, the second dark figure did not come to the door.
Li Zhuiyuan asked: "Business is not good?"
The old man smiled and said: "If you open a coffin shop, you will never be overcrowded with guests."
"Whether you do another business or not, it won't cost you your life."
"Besides Yangshou, what else can I give now?"
"In real life, I give Yinmeng money, and now you teach me how to be Yinmeng."
The old man leaned back. Although he had already noticed something was wrong, he really didn't expect such words to come out of the boy's mouth.
"Are you doubting the identity of my Liu family?"
"No, it's confirmed, because only in the Dragon King Temple can such strange things happen."
"Should we do this business?"
"Do it, but I can't take your money."
"No, I have to pay because free ones tend to be more expensive."
"You misunderstood. I feel that all I can teach is the basics. I am really embarrassed to accept your money."
"What I lack is the foundation."
"Okay, I can teach you the twelve methods of walking in the Yin passed down by my Yin family, but it will take a long time to learn this. How long will you stay here?"
"Leave tomorrow afternoon."
"There are many details and taboos in this Yin-traveling method. It is difficult to really learn to get started without someone to teach you by words and deeds.
Otherwise, would you consider staying here longer?
For example, stay for a month, so that you can ensure that you learn at least one subject. ”
"It's okay, you can teach me."
"Then I'll list all the twelve methods. You choose one. Let's get familiar with it tonight?"
"No, let's start from the first one."
"Oh...okay."
At first, even though he knew that the other party was from the Liu family, the old man still thought that the child was a madman and his heart was as high as the sky.
But as he continued to teach, he realized that he was the frog in the well.
He first described each method, then demonstrated it, and finally mentioned some points to pay attention to.
The boy sat on the chair and after thinking for a while, he was able to use it. The first time he was unfamiliar, the second time he was skillful, and the third time he was perfect.
The second path, the third path...all are like this.
In the middle of the process, he began to wonder if the other party had already learned the Yin family's Yin-traveling method and came to him specially to pretend to prove it, but he quickly gave up this idea.
Because he didn't know the last three techniques himself, he could only repeat to the boy the formulas and precautions passed down from generation to generation, but he couldn't demonstrate them.
The boy was still the same as before. After sitting on the chair and thinking for a while, he came to analyze with him: According to the characteristics of the previous nine methods, should it be like this, should it be like that, and what are the key points here.
Then the boy used it.
After the opponent used it, he taught me the reverse and let me try it out.
The relationship between teachers and students has quietly reversed.
The old man never dreamed that one day, he would be taught his ancestral skills. This was really ridiculous, but the fact was before him, and he couldn't help but believe it.
What’s even more shocking is that the other party learned it, crushed it up and then explained it to me in detail. I felt greatly inspired and my understanding became deeper, but I still couldn’t use it for a while.
After the other party finished learning everything, the sky outside was actually still dark, and it was still a long time before the rooster crowed.
The old man was very frustrated. He leaned slumped against the wall, looked at the boy who was still in high spirits, and sighed: "No wonder you are from the Liu family."
Li Zhuiyuan just smiled at this. For him, this was really just a basic question. He was going back to make up for the conceptual understanding after seriously skipping steps in the past.
"You are now liberated. If it had been before, when you grow up, you will definitely be the kind of big shot who can control everything."
"Old man, was the Liu family very powerful before?"
After studying, Li Zhuiyuan was willing to chat, especially about the past stories of the Liu family.
"Look at what you said. There used to be a saying on the river, called the court with running water and the canal gang with iron.
Many of the famous Cao Gang bosses in history were just minor gods pushed onto the stage by Dragon Princes like the Liu family.
Back then, the only people who could rival the Liu family in terms of reputation were the Qin family.
This kind of big family doesn't care about the little things on the river surface at all. They are more focused on the secrets below the river surface. This is their true heritage. ”
"Old man, you know so much."
"Ha, there are many travelers here from all over the world. In my early years, I loved making friends and setting up a dragon gate array.
It's almost dawn, and it's time for you to rest. In fact, I'm almost exhausted too, haha. ”
"Yes." Li Zhuiyuan nodded, "Are there only two guests today?"
"Yes, yes."
The first customer came in as soon as the door opened, and the second customer was the professor who came in midway.
“But the second customer didn’t pay.”
"Ah?" The old man was stunned for a moment. He remembered that the boy was thinking with his eyes closed at that time. Unexpectedly, he noticed this and immediately explained, "The deal has not been concluded, so naturally there is no need to pay."
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"Didn't the deal come to an end? But after the second guest left, your face immediately became ugly."
"I'm really tired. I haven't worked this hard for a long time."
"As you said, these are all basic things. Even if you demonstrate the first nine methods, it will only be a piece of cake.
So, old man, is it because you are tired, or because you paid a large sum of money to the second guest? ”
"You're kidding, haha."
"I will meet you. Your end is approaching now."
"You..."
"Isn't it convenient to say it?"
"I have no shame to say it."
The old man lowered his head and rubbed his face with his hands. He was half ashamed and half frightened. The boy in front of him had obviously noticed it a long time ago, but he didn't mention it until he had finished teaching all the twelve techniques.
This state of mind is really terrible.
"Then, let's not talk about it."
Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand and prepared to snap his fingers to end the walk. It took a long time today and he felt that he should sleep until noon. Fortunately, it would not delay the afternoon boat.
"Let's talk about it, I'm afraid you might still find out if you leave late during the day."
"Would I know?"
"My son is dead."
"Yinmeng said that after her parents divorced, her father went to the south to work and has not been heard from since."
"I originally thought that he couldn't stand the excitement of divorce. After the divorce, he immediately ran south by himself, leaving his daughter and this family behind."
"What about the facts?"
"He's dead."
"Dead?"
"He did not agree to divorce, so he was killed by the woman and the man she was now married to, and his body sank under Xiwanzi."
"How did you get divorced?"
"In our small place, the rules may be stricter now. In the past, it was enough to have a wedding party without having to get a certificate. When the certificate was needed, it could be replaced temporarily.
Divorce is even simpler, just go back to each other's homes and consider it divorced.
At that time, he left a letter saying that he was useless, a waste, his wife could not keep him, he had no shame to stay at home anymore, and he went to the south to work and try to look good, so don't read it.
The man died at that time, and the letter was a forgery. ”
"You never doubted it?"
"I'm stupid, I never doubted it."
"Who told you that?"
"He came back on his own. Last month at the temple fair, he came home and told me personally.
Because the bridge was being built in Xiwanzi and his body was found when the foundation was being laid. It has been a long time and the police have no way to investigate.
I'm angry, so I'm going to..."
"I'm tired and my head hurts."
"Huh?"
"No more chatting, let's go to sleep."
When I woke up, I slept until noon.
Li Zhuiyuan got up from the coffin, and Runsheng was holding a rag to help wipe the counter.
Seeing that Xiao Yuan was awake, he immediately went into the inner room and pushed Tan Wenbin up, who was also sleeping soundly to catch up on his sleep.
"Hey, you can really sleep." Yinmeng said with a smile.
"Yeah." Li Zhuiyuan responded.
Tan Wenbin rubbed his eyes and shouted directly at noon: "Yinmeng, your grandfather is not dead."
"Of course he's not dead. I never said he was dead yesterday. He just had a cerebral infarction and won't wake up."
"Really? Didn't you say that yesterday?" Tan Wenbin recalled carefully.
Li Zhuiyuan: "She never said that."
But the meaning behind the words is similar to the death of grandpa, although it is indeed similar.
Tan Wenbin immediately apologized with a smile on his face: "Well, I'm sorry, haha, I made a mistake."
Yinmeng said: "Would you like lunch? I'll do it."
Li Zhuiyuan: "Let's go out to eat."
The pig's trotters from last night were still a bit shadowy.
At this time, two boys walked in from outside the store. They looked to be two or three years older than Li Zhuiyuan. They ran in with red eyes.
"Sister, sister."
"Sister."
As soon as the two boys came in, they called Sister Yinmeng.
"Who are they?" Tan Wenbin asked.
"My mother gave birth to me from the back of my head."
"Why do I feel like I have a good relationship with you?"
"Well, when they occasionally go to the county town, I will buy them some food and give them some pocket money."
Tan Wenbin: "You are quite strange."
"Really?"
"It's as good as having water in your head."
At this time, two boys ran over, hugged Yinmeng and cried:
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, sister, it's not good, my parents fell into the pond and drowned this morning!"
(End of chapter)