Chapter 10 Chapter Ten Shooting Lian Huaqing

Lian Huaqing made a confession, confessed to several murders, reported to him for a death sentence, and put him in death row awaiting execution.On the day of his execution, Lian Huaqing only wanted to meet with Master Guo, in order to identify who the person who caught him was. Knowing this, Master Guo agreed to go to the brick and tile yard of Xiaoliuzhuang on the same day and send him there. When it was time to go to the dharma field, Master Guo took Ding Mao with him, and the two came to see Lian Huaqing in the prison. Lian Huaqing, with his head down, shackles and shackles, was sitting in a single room, wearing a ragged prison uniform, with a trick on his back, sitting there without saying a word, without raising his head.

Ding Mao said: "I let you know my brother today, he is the one who took you." Lian Huaqing raised his head when he heard the words, his eyes with double pupils were like two black holes, he stared at Master Guo for a while, and said: "I didn't expect someone to fall into your hands, now I remember you, You wait, I will come to you sooner or later." Ding Mao saw that this person was still speaking harshly when he was about to die, so he couldn't help but want to scold him.Master Guo waved his hand and didn't let Ding Mao say anything, and said: "Lian Huaqing, you have done a lot of cases, and today you just pay for it with your death, so there shouldn't be any more complaints."

A fierce gleam flashed in Lian Huaqing's eyes, and he said, "Forget it, I'm going to the execution ground to be shot today, shouldn't I have a long rest and farewell wine?" Master Guo said: "That's right, there should be. A bowl of wine and a plate of meat before going to the execution ground is a common practice. It's getting late, and criminals will be taken to Xiaoliuzhuang execution ground to be shot at any time. Why haven't they sent them to rest for a long time?" meal?" He asked when the jailer would send it off, and the jailer said, "Second Master, what are you thinking? The world has been so chaotic these past few years, and too many people have been shot. If everyone gets a share of wine and meat, even if our death row is a restaurant I can't help them eat it. To tell you the truth, we only have stick noodles and corn buns in our prison. All the prisoners in the prison eat this. Prisoners only need to be half full, even on the day of shooting. If he has any relatives and friends, those people should give them food. He gave him wine, food and clothes, and let him eat and drink enough to put on new clothes and go on the road, and if no one gave him, he would be gone."

Master Guo thought for a while, took Ding Mao out, bought a few meat buns and two cooked vegetables, and put half a catty of wine on his back, intending to feed Lian Huaqing to go on the road, but when he went out, the law enforcement team arrived, and proposed The criminal, Wuhuada, was tied up on a cart, paraded all the way to the public, and went straight to the brick and tile yard of Xiaoliuzhuang outside Xiguan. The wind and rain were impenetrable, Master Guo and Ding Mao wanted to catch up from behind, but there were too many people, people on the road, people on the roof, people on the trees, they were so anxious that their foreheads were sweating, But there is no way to squeeze through.

It is always said that people in the old Tianjin Wei love to watch the excitement. Although people in all provinces of the country love to watch the excitement, it is not as good as this place. When someone was digging the gutter, a large circle of people could gather around to watch. There is also a comment: "Ningducheng The door, don’t block the gutter, whose gutter is blocked, it’s so interesting.” Let’s talk about the day of parade in the Fachang, when the spectators saw that Lian Huaqing was tied to the car in ragged clothes, with his head bowed and his mouth shut, as if he had died before being shot. It was really boring, but these idlers managed There was a great commotion to watch, and no one was willing to leave. The crowds were like a tide, and they all followed behind, thinking that if this person lost his energy, he sang suddenly: "Come at the entrance of the main street, and respectfully line up." Ladies and gentlemen, listen to the head..." It would be a big loss if you didn't listen to this.

In the past, when a prisoner was executed and escorted to the execution ground, the prisoner saw so many people looking up at him. No one in his life has received such attention. The most popular Peking Opera actor will not have so many people watching at the same time. Some want to tell their grievances, some want to pretend to be heroes, and the people watching the excitement in Tianjin Wei are different from other places, especially they can boo and shout, so no matter how greedy you are for life and fear of death, you have to confess a few words in front of everyone. There are also those big gangsters who have become famous. When they go to the execution ground, they wear arrow sleeves, centipede buttons on the body, thirteen Taibao knot loops, a hero belt around the waist, bloomers on the bottom, and tiger fast boots on their feet. Wearing a hero hat, he dresses up in the same way as the green forest hero in Pingshu Beijing Opera, with an extra white paper flower on his head, and he has questions and answers with the crowd looking down. People ask in unison: "Good man, tell everyone Said, how can you be willing to abandon your lovely wife and young son, how can you be willing to abandon your eighty-year-old father and father, how can you be willing to abandon your relatives, friends and brothers?"

That good man tied to the car must have been glaring and refusing to bow his head. He was full of curses on the way, from the president to the heavens. He dared to curse anyone. Son, I also hate that my old mother is old and tall, I hate that east and west are good, I hate that brothers and friends have deep loyalty, I only hate that my life's ambitions are not paid, but we are a good man who does things and is a good man. Today, one life is worth one life. Scar, come back after eighteen years for revenge." The hero confessed, and the crowd below shouted "Yes", resounding through the sky, and the sound shook the roof tiles. After the hero finished speaking and scolded enough, he sang two more verses to express his feelings, regardless of whether he sang well or not. , it must be moving and crying, this is the excitement of going to the execution ground, as for what happened to lose your head, that is secondary, the common people hate shouting slogans before shooting, anyway, no one can hear what they shout I understand, the second is that I don’t want to see people who are too frightened to open their mouths. The most boring thing is this kind of mouthless gourd, whose head falls to the ground in a blink of an eye.

When escorting Lian Huaqing to pass by on the street, people stretched their necks one by one and stood on tiptoe, looking forward to it, but this unsatisfactory one kept silent, like a wooden stake, but these lively people In a panic, someone pulled his neck and shouted: "Hero, you can sing a few words!" Someone else suggested: "Let's say hello to him, everyone, let me count, one... two... "After that, only thousands of people shouted at the same time: "Okay!" Lian Huaqing was drooping his head, but when he heard this good word, he raised his head slowly, the people immediately held their breaths, and no one spoke, their eyes widened and they waited for Lian Huaqing to speak. Young and old people in Tianjin Wei love to listen to the passage "Sighing that the hero will not be in danger when he dies." What should be sung in the execution ground and what should not be sung is all particular, and it is not good to sing it wrong.

Unexpectedly, Lian Huaqing didn't sing, but just looked at the crowd and begged: "Masters, Lian Huaqing's hometown is in Chentangzhuang. I didn't learn well when I grew up. I strayed into the ancient road of magic. I killed someone and violated the law. I will go to the court today. After being shot, I have nothing to say when I have ended up like this, I just want to ask for one thing, I hope everyone will remember that I will not be taken care of, and I will never come back this time, let me have a drink and a meal here, let me eat If you are full and go to Huangquan Road, you will not be a starving ghost who will never be restored, and I will never forget to repay everyone in my second life."

There was a saying back then - "Monsters and sorcerers are rare in the world, but few people know the righteous method of five thunders." Before the Qing Dynasty, you can still see witchcraft to cover your eyes, but it has been rare after the Republic of China. It is nothing more than a means of bluffing people in the Jianghu. Hearing what he said is pitiful, some people with good deeds will go to the restaurants for wine and meat, and they will come to the restaurants on the street. The people executed at the scene ate the wine and meat from your store, and there will be good rewards in the future. They will be handed over to the military police in charge of the law enforcement team and sent to Lian Huaqing's mouth. Lian Huaqing gobbled up all the wine and meat, bowed his head and closed His eyes were motionless.

The people around couldn't understand, now that he had drunk the long rest meal and drank the wine, why didn't he speak anymore?Do you think this wine and meat are not good?Everyone booed along the way, but the man didn't seem to hear him. He went all the way out of Xiguan and came to the brick and tile yard of Xiaoliuzhuang. After reading the reasons for the crime, three executioners came forward with guns and waited for an order to execute the execution. Most people saw the law enforcement team escorting Lian Huaqing out of Xiguan, so they coaxed him back, thinking it was boring, but there were more than a hundred people waiting to watch the shooting at the Xiaoliuzhuang court. Master Guo and Ding Mao followed all the way. A Taoist from the Bone Care Association was invited to collect Lian Huaqing's body. It was noon and the sky was gloomy. I saw Lian Huaqing kneeling in front of the pit with his hands tied behind his back, his head bowed, and he seemed to be muttering Suddenly, a mouthful of black water was vomited from his mouth. The people present were far away and smelled a stench, and they covered their mouths and noses one after another. The dead fish in it still stinks? In the past, people who were executed often couldn't stand the shock before they were shot. Because they were too nervous, their whole body trembled, their stomachs contracted sharply, and they spit out the food in their stomachs, but there was no such stench. Things seemed a little weird. There was a shower, the rain was heavy, and everyone was drenched. The law enforcement officer waved his hand, indicating that the execution should be executed quickly. He pulled out the gun and threw it aside. Three bailiffs stepped forward one by one, the first one came up with a gun, He shot Lian Huaqing who was kneeling on the ground in the back of the head, and the sound of the gun rang through the wilderness, causing the hearts of the onlookers to tremble. Following the gunshot, Lian Huaqing fell forward and rolled into the pit. The second bailiff came up and shot another shot at Lian Huaqing who had fallen into the pit, and then the third bailiff Add another shot, because I am afraid that one shot will not kill you, and I am also afraid that the law enforcement team will be bribed in advance, and the shot will not hit the vital point, so the execution is always three shots, and someone from the law enforcement team will go down to check if it is dead. , and then sign a document, if no family and friends come to collect the corpse, they will roll it up with a straw mat and throw it into a nearby death pit to feed the wild dogs. At that time, a Taoist from the Bone Society came to collect the corpse, and the law enforcement team will ignore the rest , hurriedly gathered the team back, when it started to rain, the people watching the excitement all around dispersed. Master Guo witnessed the whole process of shooting Lian Huaqing, and felt that something was wrong. He saw that Lian Huaqing spit out black water before being shot. The Taoist carried the dead body up, and he went closer to watch carefully, and saw that Lian Huaqing's head had been punched with a big hole. He was worried, so he lifted the dead body's eyelids and saw that there was only one pupil in his eyes, and then he saw that Lian Huaqing spit on the ground before he died. The black water has been washed away by the rain. Master Guo said in his heart: "No, it is said that Lian Qiuniang, who lived in Chentangzhuang, passed the Yongding River and unfortunately fell into the river. She did not drown and was pregnant when she returned home. , that is, Lian Huaqing, some people said that the water ghost in the Yongding River had an accident, so he was called a river demon. Although there is no way to prove this, Lian Huaqing spit out a mouthful of black water before he was shot, and his eyes changed after death. Turned into a single pupil, like a ghost hiding in the skin, Lian Huaqing who died in Xiaoliuzhuang Falun is just a humanoid skin, and the river demon in the Yongding River must have escaped through the heavy rain." Among the five rivers managed by the Wuhe Water Police Team, one is called the Yongding River. Just by hearing the name of this river, one knows that it is not very peaceful. , Master Guo felt that something was going to happen, but he didn't tell others, and no one might believe him, he just thought about it in his heart. Since it was not a floating corpse salvaged from the river, it was not sent to the Helong Temple Yizhuang. On that day, Taoist priests from the Bone Cultivation Association carried Lian Huaqing's body to be cremated, and his ashes were buried in the Bone Cultivation Pagoda. There were two burials in the city. There is Litan Temple in the north, and Bone Yanghui in the west. These two places are different. Litan Temple is dedicated to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who saves hungry ghosts. , have nothing to do with each other, but the monks of Litan Temple just wait in the temple. When someone brings a columbarium, they take it and don’t go looking for it. The old Taoists went to collect the corpses. This time, Master Guo also followed him from the beginning to the end, waiting for the Taoists from the Bone Care Association to collect the dead bodies and burn them, and put the ashes in the tower. Seeing that nothing went wrong, he thought maybe he was thinking too much Alright, but hope it's okay. At this time, it was getting dark, it was raining continuously, and there were few pedestrians on the road. He and Ding Mao got up and walked back. Over there, Li Daleng received a reward, and invited the people from the river patrol team to set up two tables, waiting for the two of them to go to eat , Master Guo's mind is not here, he didn't listen carefully to what others said during the meal, and it was nothing more than saying that he captured Lian Huaqing and solved several strange cases. Now, he didn't care about these words at all, he just felt his eyelids twitching. There was a saying in the old age-the left eye twitched for money and the right eye twitched for disaster, and his right eyelid twitched violently. In the previous superstitious concept, it was said that the right eyelid twitching is a sign of something going wrong. People are looking forward to the left eye twitching for money, but the right eyelid twitching makes people nervous. The eye jumps for money, the right eye jumps for someone", the right eyelid keeps twitching, it is a sign that someone is coming at home, it is better than a disaster, but it is also unpredictable, you know who is coming ? Master Guo's right eyelid twitched wildly first, and then his left eyelid twitched. He didn't know whether it was someone or a disaster, so he couldn't help feeling uneasy. He tore off a piece of white paper the size of a fingernail, wet it and stuck it under his eyelid. , I used to think that doing this could stop the eyelids from jumping around, come out of the restaurant, and go back to each house. On rainy nights and dark days, he walked home alone, returned to Helong Temple Yizhuang, and closed the front and back doors of the house. Well, my eyelids were jumping and I couldn't sleep well, so I simply lit the oil lamp and sat under the lamp to pinch paper ingots. In the old society, paper-making work, including paper people, horses, paper ingots, etc., is considered as anything that is burned to the dead. It is the same craft as papering houses. Papering the roof of the house makes a living, because this is something that is burnt and sent to the underworld. People who are not hard-boiled cannot suppress it. There are also many particularities and taboos in it. It is similar to the real one, but its shape is different. The real ingots have gold and silver ingots, which are called Dabao in the old saying. The gold and silver ingots are made of tin foil. Soul Ghosts took the paper money and came out to buy things. In the middle of the night, they looked at the money and ingots made of paper. After paying the money, I saw the words "Yinshi Hades" at the bottom, no matter how real it was, I didn't dare to accept it. The paper work made by Master Guo is so exquisite. He couldn't sleep well, so he got up and squeezed the tin foil in the room Yuan Bao, who was doing work, always felt that something was going to happen. Lian Huaqing was dragged to the brick and tile yard in Xiaoliuzhuang and shot. Although this man was dead, there was no guarantee that his ghost would linger and come to the door in the middle of the night. People in Chentangzhuang say that Lian Huaqing is a river demon who was reborn as a human in the Yongding River. The rumors are well-founded. Master Guo dare not be careless. He knows that everything in the water is afraid of iron, as the old saying goes It is often said that water can cure iron, and most of the towns and rivers are iron cows and iron tigers. He was worried about accidents in the middle of the night, so he moved the tin box in the Yizhuang, separated the upper and lower halves, and put one on the front door and one on the back door to withstand the door. He felt safe in his heart Too much, listening to the pattering rain outside, stacked a hundred tinfoil ingots under the lamp, remembering that there are buns I bought at noon, I happened to have a bite in the middle of the night, after eating the buns and then squeezing the ingots, I felt sleepy unconsciously , fell asleep lying on the table, the Helong Temple has two entrances, the front facing the street is a paperwork shop, and the back half of the main hall is the Yizhuang. , opened his eyes sleepily, and saw a man standing in front of him. This man was wearing a robe and was very tall, but the oil lamp in the room was very dim, so he couldn't see the face of the man opposite him clearly. He looked familiar in the attire. The back door was closed, and I don't know how this man got into the house. He was pointing at the roof of the back hall and speaking, his voice was not loud, but he seemed anxious, as if telling him: "There is something on the roof!" Master Guo was startled, and seeing that there was no one in front of him, and the oil lamp was still on, he hurriedly took the oil lamp to the back to check. The broken bricks and tiles fell down, revealing a big hole. He thought that if the roof of the temple collapsed, he could bury people alive on the spot. Just as he was thinking, he suddenly smelled a rotten smell of mud in the river. It smelled like the black water that Lian Huaqing spit out before he was shot, and then a monster that looked like a human but not human jumped in from the hole in the roof of the temple. This monster was three feet long, with claws on all fours, and a black body Qi, with torch-like eyes, rushed straight at him like two lamps. He knew it was something that escaped from Dalian Huaqing's body. The dark green river mud all over his body smelled like corpses, and there were many water plants hanging on it. There was only one oil lamp in the back hall of the righteous village of Helong Temple. The oil lamp was extinguished, and immediately it was so dark that you could stretch out your fingers. In the pitch-black hall, the monster's eyes were like will-o'-the-wisps, and he couldn't see what it was. He rushed in front of him, he didn't even have a dick in his hand, and he couldn't resist with two fists. It was too late to grab an iron weapon at this moment, so he had to avoid the coffin. He lived in this Yizhuang hall for many years. Even with his eyes closed, he knew exactly where the bricks and tiles were. He circled the coffin and circled around the coffin with all his strength. Although the monster covered in dead bodies was coming fiercely, he couldn't pounce on him for a while, but he knew how to hide like this. Going down is not an option, and I can't help crying in my heart. The monster that jumped down from the top of the hall failed to catch people several times in a row, chased after it, and jumped on the coffin. The broken coffin in Yizhuang has been used for decades. The bottom of the coffin is covered with a layer of white rice and cypress coffin board It was so rotten that it fell apart at the touch, and there was a click, and the coffin boards and white rice were scattered on the ground. Master Guo couldn't see where he was, so he stumbled and bumped into the clay statue of Lord Guangji Dragon. Live, hid behind the statue, felt the smelly wind approaching, at this moment, I was in a hurry, shoulders and head against the three-foot-high Dragon King statue, shouted and pushed it hard, I don't know where it came from. With all the strength, there was a bang, and the statue of the Dragon King Guangji enshrined in the temple collapsed immediately, smashing the monster to the bottom. Although the three-foot-high statue was made of mud, it was still heavy enough, covered in water plants The monster in the river mud scratched with both arms, but the statue of the Dragon King was unable to struggle, and soon he couldn't move. Master Guo exerted too much force and passed out in the hall. When the sky was bright, I woke up and looked out from the big hole on the top of the hall. The rain stopped outside, and the scorching sunlight came in. The thing crushed to death under the statue of the Dragon Lord of Guangji was a dead body with loose hair. The swelling is hard to distinguish, the body is full of silt and water plants, the skin and flesh are scaly, and the smell is unbearable. By noon, only dry bones are left, and the flesh and flesh have turned into black water on the ground. People who know it say that this is a river. By the way, Lian Huaqing, who was born after a miscarriage, was originally a river man in the Yongding River, and it was not easy to conceive a human after getting fetal gas, but Master Guo caught him in the Wei family grave, sent him to Xiaoliuzhuang's execution ground, and shot him. The ghosts fled back to the Yongding River with the help of the water, and took the original form, that is, an ancient corpse in the mud at the bottom of the river. The river demon. Master Guo thought the same way. He thought that when he was kneading paper ingots under the lamp, a man in a long robe reminded him that there was something on the top of the temple, but there was no such person at home.What's more, with his strength, he can't move such a heavy clay statue no matter what. It can be seen that the Dragon King Guangji is the real "river god". He made a wish to reshape the golden body of the Dragon King Guangji in the future, but he didn't know when The gods must never make a wish easily, and the wish must be paid back. At that time, I thought it could be done. I saved a little money. Sooner or later, the main hall of the Helong Temple could be rebuilt. Unexpectedly, within two years, the whole country was liberated, and the new After the founding of China, superstition was broken, and the Dragon King Temple was a remnant of feudalism. How could it be approved to be rebuilt?After liberation, the Yizhuang of Helong Temple was demolished, and bungalows were built around it. Few people know about the past events of the Dragon King of Guangji arresting the Drought Demon, and the mud statues appearing holy, and suppressing the corpses of Yongding River. When it comes to mentioning it, it is only regarded as folklore. After the arrest of Lian Huaqing, almost everyone in Tianjin knew about Guo Deyou, the god of the river. Master Guo didn't dare to call him that, and still led the river patrol team to rescue people.The Wuhe Water Police Team is only busy in summer, when there are many people swimming in the wild. In winter, the river freezes, and people who drown in ice holes cannot be salvaged. There is no work to do for several months. At that time, he will He made a living by pasting paper and organizing funerals. Let’s talk about the stone tablet at the Wei Family Tomb. During the Battle of Pingjin in early 1949, hundreds of thousands of troops from the Northeast Field Army attacked Tianjin. Intense, but the shelling was fierce. The stele was destroyed by shelling at that time. The residents who lived in Nanwa lived in Nanwa for more than one year. The stele was blown up, and the gloomy atmosphere in the Wei family grave disappeared, and no one saw the old man and the little girl selling wontons again. Starting from the case of sinking corpses at the mouth of the Sancha River, entrusting a dream in the land temple of Chentangzhuang, digging coffins in Li Shanren Park, exploring the ghost building in Weijia Tomb, catching demons in Egou Village, guiding the way by the snake fairy in Yinyang River, and shooting a company in Xiaoliuzhuang Brick and Tile Farm. Huaqing, until the Fifth Lord of the Dragon appeared and suppressed the corpse of Yongding River. The rumor about the river demon even Huaqing has been circulating in Tianjin Wei for many years. In the past, there were artists who talked about cross talk and storytelling. The lectures in the teahouse are mainly about the Yinyang River in Weijiafen, but there are more people preaching in the streets and alleys, and the content is even more bizarre. Tianjin used to have a flood every few years, but now the climate is changing too much, soil erosion is serious, and it is common to have no rain all year round. I can’t imagine the situation of floods in the past. The land at the bottom of the Jiuhe River was before liberation. Suffering from floods, there have been many legends about river monsters and water ghosts. Since the founding of New China in 1949 and the last flood in the 1950s, the population density has increased as time goes by. Foxes and yellow wolves One type of animals is almost extinct in the city, and those strange things are much less, but they are not completely absent, but there are few people who talk about it. Roughly starting from the salvage of the sunken corpse at the mouth of the Sancha River, to the time when the statue in the Yizhuang Hall collapsed and suppressed the monster, the book on the Yinyang River in Weijiafen is basically finished, but the story of the river god is far from over. It is the first half of "Catching Monsters in the Weijia Tomb", and the next part is "The Haunted House in Liangfang Hutong". It was a strange incident that happened by the Haihe River in the 1950s and 1960s after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Few people knew about it. .