Chapter 37 Chapter 4: The Devil’s Alchemy to Defraud Money

The onlookers probably heard that what the ghost chef said made some sense, so they turned their eyes to us, expecting us to make a reasonable explanation. Unexpectedly, in addition to killing people, this group of villains is also very scheming and knows how to be deceitful. "Okay, I have a way to make you tell the truth." I came to the wooden pillar in Pingzhong, and the three murderers were still tied to the pillar.I pointed at them and said, "These three murderers belong to the same family as the store owner. They often disguise themselves as hotel guests to lure passers-by to stay in the store, and then act accordingly."

I asked the three people who were tied up to tell the truth, but the three of them refused to admit it. The cook and his gang looked at me triumphantly.So Tian Gudao walked up to a man and whispered in his ear: "If you don't admit it, I'll take out the garlic seeds from your mouth and let them beat you to death!" "He threatened me!" Unexpectedly, the guy shouted presumptuously. There was a commotion in the crowd, and everyone whispered.These guys are really the stones in the latrine, smelly and hard. It's obviously not good for us to go on like this, so we have to find a way to deal with them.

So, I secretly cast the Yin spell, and said to all the wild ghosts killed by the store: "The wrong has its leader, and the debt has its owner. Now is a good opportunity for you to take revenge." After listening to my decree, all the ghosts surrounded the villains. One of the wronged souls ran towards a villain on the pillar and attached his soul to him. "Brave man, don't hesitate to tell the truth about the atrocities, otherwise you will be fried in hell." I shouted loudly. The tough-mouthed villain just now confessed everything as if pouring beans. The cook and his gang looked panic-stricken, trying to flee, but were surrounded by crowds.

"Don't let the shop owner run away..." Someone shouted, and everyone rushed towards the boss's residence as if waking up from a dream. When I came to the residence, there was no sign of the shop owner. Everyone searched around and found the shop owner shaking under the bed, clutching a bundle tightly in his hand. Everyone snatched it up and saw that it was actually a bag full of shining gold. Everyone tied up several people in the black shop and tied them to the wooden posts outside. At this time, the sky was already pale.Several guests staying in the hotel volunteered to go to the Yamen to report the crime.

After a while, a group of arresters came from the yamen and took a group of villains back. The crowd set fire to the remaining two houses. We chased the dead body and traveled far away under the eyes of everyone... Yongsui.Tofu Po. Why this place is called Tofu Slope, no one knows. The mountain is shallow and the path is oblique.The dry wind is rustling.A deserted emptiness. On the road, occasionally villagers passed by, hurrying, their faces ashen.When we walked to a mountain temple, we finally saw a group of people gathered together.Fang felt that it was still in the sun, and he could smell a little popularity.When I walked in, I found that nearby villagers were burning incense and making wishes in the mountain temple.

On a table of the Eight Immortals, there is a fat offering pig.Everyone offered incense, knelt down, and kept chanting, with piety written on their faces.A Taoist priest held a silver sword, picked up a stack of talismans, and flew in the air.There was a wave of prostration, and a wave of sword dancing in the west wind. "What happened?" Tian Xiaomei and Wang Erya asked us in confusion. God knows!But seeing the sadness shrouded along the way, it is estimated that something serious happened. Finally saw the Taoist began to practice.Then burn incense, kowtow again... I saw that he asked someone to fetch a bowl of pine mud, and then took out a lotus seed from his body, soaked it in boiling water, and planted it in the mud.

"To cast a spell today, the success or failure depends on one action. If, after a while, the lotus seed blooms, then our blessing will be successful, and everyone will be safe from now on." The Taoist said in Chenzhou official dialect. There was a roar from the crowd, and people whispered to each other: "How is that possible! Dried lotus seeds will bloom immediately after planting, even the gods can't do it." Faced with doubts, the Taoist priest was not angry, but closed his eyes and cast a spell. After a while, an unimaginable scene happened: the lotus seeds that had just been planted not long ago bloomed!

The people watching the ceremony were stunned, and they couldn't believe their eyes. The villagers showed admiration for the Taoist priest.So, people lined up and came to the altar in front of the Taoist one by one, and each respectfully put silver dollars or silver tickets on the table.The Taoist priest is sitting at the table with a sense of accomplishment, which is very useful.It didn't take long, and people's incense money for filial piety to the Taoist priests piled up into a hill. Out of curiosity, we also stopped and mingled with the crowd to watch. Chasing corpses and Taoism already have a lot of mysticism.After reading it, we feel that this Taoist priest is not like an authentic Taoist believer, but more like a wanderer in the rivers and lakes.

The lotus seed blossoming performed by the Taoist priest is not a Taoist technique, and it does not require Taoism, it is just a wild technique.The method is: take one egg, remove the white and keep the yellow, put in seven lotus seeds, stir well, seal it, put it in a turkey cage for 21 days, take it out, and wash it with tea.When performing, take one grain and wash it with boiling water, plant it in the mud, and bloom for a few hectares. However, this kind of wild technique is rarely known, and it can naturally arouse people's astonishment, so many people in the world and warlocks use it to blackmail people.

"Xiucai, this Taoist priest is completely cheating people to get money. We have to expose him so that others will not be fooled again." Tian Gudao is not lacking in justice. I was about to persuade Tian Gudao to keep his mind on his own business, so as not to cause complications.In the rivers and lakes, try not to form beams with others, so as not to leave future troubles. Unexpectedly, Tian Gudao had already walked out of the crowd, came to the Taoist priest, and said to the villagers: "Fellow folks, this Taoist priest is a charlatan, and the lotus seed blooming just performed is nothing more than a folk art. Don't be fooled by him, it's a waste of money." .”

The Taoist was stunned for a moment, but he was not willing to give in. He collected himself, stabilized his position, and began to counterattack: "Bold madman, dare to run out and bark, affecting the way of casting spells. Folks, I think this monster is the chief culprit of the disaster." He is secretly manipulating all the incidents that have happened to the neighbors recently. Today, seeing that the Dao subdued his sorcery and cut off his evil ways, he was unwilling to give up, so he came out to frame the Dao and take revenge. Don’t listen to him He, quickly take him down and send him to the official." Unexpectedly, the villain would file a complaint first, and Tian Gudao became a little anxious: "In the eyes of the wild art practitioners, it is not unusual for the lotus seeds he performed just now to bloom. What's more, planting watermelon seeds can produce watermelons..." The trustworthy men and women next to him said that Tian Gudao was a fool's dream. "If you have the ability, show us!" An old woman next to him thought that Tian Gudao was talking nonsense. The others echoed in unison. "These tricks can only be carried out if the materials are prepared in advance. Where will I get those things in a while." Tian Gudao replied. Everyone was not convinced, and the Taoist priest fanned the flames. Tian Gudao simply revealed the whole process of casting the spell: "Take the eggs and drill a small hole, remove the egg whites and keep the yolks, scoop out the watermelon seeds, grind them into powder with two coins each of official pillars and licorice, mix them and put them in the eggshells , and then seal its mouth and bury it against a damp wall, do not let it dry, and leave it for seven to forty-nine days before use. Take a bowl of loose soil, put the melon seeds in, spray water several times, and it will germinate after a little pouring. The vines spread their leaves, bloom and produce melons in an instant, like money, and it will not last for a while." The Taoist was very annoyed when he saw Tian Gudao exposed his tricks. According to the rules of the rivers and lakes, it is not allowed to disclose the secrets of alchemy to the public.Because alchemy is mostly known and used by the three religions and nine schools of the rivers and lakes, the original intention of inventing alchemy is just to make a living, not to blackmail people and cheat. "This person is full of slander, he must be the monster who keeps making troubles. If he is not subdued, he will continue to make troubles. Everyone quickly catch him and soak him in a pig cage." After hearing the Taoist's bewitching, the mountain people immediately surrounded him, tied up Tian Gudao, and prepared to put him in a pig cage. When I saw that the situation was urgent, I stood up and said, "Who is the Dao and who is the demon? It is difficult to determine for a while. But the lotus seeds blooming performed by the Taoist priest is indeed not caused by blessings, but just a common wild art. If you don't believe me , I can now turn the pink lotus that bloomed just now into white. However, the first thing I want to declare is that this is not a blessing from a god, it is just a trick." The reason why I say this is because I accidentally saw sulfur placed on the table by a Taoist priest. So, I poured out the offering in a long-mouthed sand bowl on the table, took a small piece of sulfur on the table and ignited it, and then put the sand bowl upside down on the sulfur.After a while, it was estimated that the sulfur had finished burning, so he quickly picked up the earthen sand bowl and put it on the safflower.Half an hour later, when the soil and sand bowls were removed, the flowers turned white, and everyone who saw them was amazed. In fact, it is just the smoke from burning sulfur in the soil sand bowl, which can turn the safflower white. After watching my performance and listening to my explanation, the mountain people started to commotion. The Taoist refused to give in: "Fellow folks, where did this group of people come from and what is their purpose? I don't know if they are people or ghosts. I think they have bad intentions. I was born and raised here and have stayed here all my life. Would I Will you make fun of your own reputation if you harm everyone? Folks, think about it carefully, don’t be blackmailed by outsiders, this is not good for exorcising ghosts and evil spirits. Otherwise, everything we have done before will be in vain!” Some of the mountain people nodded, probably thinking that what the Taoist said made sense. I asked the mountain people around me why the Taoist priests practiced the method. It turned out that in the area of ​​Tofu Slope recently, the livestock raised by the mountain people often died at night for no reason.Without exception, the dead poultry and livestock had a big hole left in their necks, and they seemed to have been bitten and killed by unknown monsters.And more and more mountain people are suffering, and the area is spreading more and more. For a time, the folks here aroused fear, people panicked, and the city was full of disturbances. There are also many versions circulating among the people.Some said that monsters that ate living things came nearby, and after eating livestock, it was their turn to eat people next; some said that there were ghosts haunting the mountains, and they were hungry ghosts. Look for poultry and livestock; some say that monsters are coming, and the village will be in great trouble... All these kinds, and so on. The nearby cottage was shrouded in an atmosphere of terror.Therefore, some elderly people thought that it is necessary to immediately ask a good mage to cast spells to catch ghosts and eliminate evil spirits, so as to restore people's peace.This Taoist priest was invited by people to perform rituals.Taoist priests, if they are really profound, ghosts will be afraid of him.And Taoist priests mostly use the secrets of their teachers, rather than the wild tricks of blackmailing people. Looking at our outfits, the Taoist priest has long guessed that we are exorcising corpses. Seeing that we have ruined his good deed, how can we let us go: "Folks, look at this group of people, whether there are people, ghosts or ghosts. Yes, I know it’s not a serious thing. Two men, two women, and two zombies, and some magic tricks to deceive people, what are they if they are not demon spirits! Recently, the livestock in various villages are just These two zombies were slaughtered, and these two zombies were controlled by them." When the mountain people heard that we were chasing the wounding zombies, they retreated one after another, but they held up poles and other utensils in their hands and refused to let us go. When I saw this scene, I thought it was very funny.Because I was slandered by the Taoist priest, out of helplessness, I had no choice but to say: "Fellow folks, it is better to say that the public is right now, and the mother-in-law is right, if we find out the monster who caused the trouble, we can prove our innocence, How do you feel about being able to debunk the lie of the demon way?" The mountain people whispered to each other, talking a lot, and some people nodded their heads. The Taoist became anxious when he saw it: "Fellow folks, this group of people is trying to escape by taking the opportunity, don't be fooled!" "If we are afraid of us escaping, we will keep the two women as hostages, and then go find the evil monster." The mountain people didn't have a good solution either. They felt that my proposal was feasible, so they agreed. Tian Xiaomei and Wang Erya were very anxious, thinking that we wanted to take this opportunity to dump them: "Xiucai, you heartless thing, take us as hostages, are you still a man!" In fact, how did they know that entrusting the mountain people to take care of them in this way will prevent us from being distracted and protect them better. The Taoist priest was also powerless, so he had to pack up the magic weapon and leave angrily. The mountain people went back to the village with the two girls in their arms.Everyone dispersed. I got angry at Tian Gudao: "You're out of your mind, you said don't make extra troubles. We should concentrate on driving the dead body back to the destination as soon as possible. If it takes too long, what should we do if the body smells bad? Besides, shorten the time, we still have to Can you drive a few more corpses, so won't you earn more money?" Tian Gudao said innocently: "Master also said that you should stop blackmailing with sorcery..." This kid actually brought out his master to make an argument, and I have no excuses. The two thought it over and decided to go to the market to inquire about the situation before making a decision.So, Tian Gudao, Gui Zaiyao, and I drove the two dead bodies to a market in Tofu Slope. This market is open every three, six and nine.Today just went to the market, and the market was crowded with people. "Xiucai, we have to find a way to collect some valuable information. It is obviously unrealistic for us to inquire about the corpses one by one. I think we might as well set up a temporary booth and use alchemy to attract passers-by to watch, and then we will play by ear." "That's a good idea!" We found a slightly more open place and set up a posture. Tian Gudao and Gui Zai Yao brought two large altars of wine from the wine shop, spread out more than a dozen sea bowls, and then filled the sea bowls with water and wine. When he was ready, Tian Gudao pointed at the ghost cub and shouted presumptuously: "Come on, come on, this little guy is the world's number one wine master, and he doesn't get drunk after drinking. If you don't accept it, you can compete with him, who will win?" If you can get him drunk, he will hand over the title of the world's number one wine fairy, and I will also give you ten taels of silver. Pass by, don't miss the opportunity, drinking is not only free of money, but also profitable Oh." The ghost cub sat in front of the bowl, looking like an expert. After a while, people kept coming around. The two young men with full-blooded spirits were very unconvinced by the ghost cub demon being called the world's number one wine fairy: "A little boy like him deserves the brand name of the world's number one wine fairy. " Everyone laughed.Tian Gudao was not angry either: "Yes or no, just try it and you will know." After finishing speaking, the ghost cub picked up a sea bowl in front of him and drank it down in one gulp.One of the young men did not show weakness, he picked up a bowl and drank it down.The two of you come and go, and you don't realize that it is the fifth bowl. The ghost boy's face didn't change.The young people have been gradually exhausted, and finally lost. Others followed suit.Another young man came up and continued to drink. One bowl for you, one bowl for me, each of them drank eight bowls without realizing it. "Plop", suddenly the young man fell to the ground, unconscious, and was carried out.Everyone applauds the ghost cub. At this time, a brash man with bare arms broke in, yelling non-stop: "I have never met an opponent when I drink alcohol. Is there anyone stronger than me?" The ghost cub and the reckless man fought fiercely again.Soon, the reckless man's legs went limp, he collapsed to the ground, and then fell asleep by himself.After a while, there was a snoring sound, and there was no response to being pushed or supported. But the ghost cub demon was not drunk, his face didn't change and his heart didn't beat. "You are truly a god, you can hold a lot of alcohol, you are worthy of being the number one wine master in the world!" The ghost cub was being complimented by others, with innocent complacency on his face. I am secretly amused.The ghost cub is playing the trick of "not getting drunk after a thousand cups". This prescription is ground in advance with the traditional Chinese medicine Hovenia trifoliate, and honey is made into pills, as big as a thumb, and an appropriate amount of camphor wood and kudzu flower, decocted in a bowl, and taken with the pills, you can drink a lot of wine without getting drunk. Sex disappears. Of course, this drinking method can be cracked by a cup of drunkenness.Grind fine powder with Naoyanghua and Zuixiantao, hide it in the nails, and secretly pour it into other people's wine. The drinker will be drunk for a while, and it will be dissolved by drinking licorice water. The news that the little hairy boy was not drunk after drinking spread like wildfire in this small place. After a while, many people came to watch the excitement, and we were surrounded by water. "I'm afraid this kid can't be regarded as the world's number one drinker. I've seen an old man who didn't get drunk. He drank more than you. There are about twenty people who got drunk by him." A cobbler stood up and said. "Then quickly call that old man and let them compete!" Tian Gudao said.Others followed suit. "The old man is not here, he lives in a deep mountain nest near our West Village." "Then call him quickly, you can earn ten taels of silver!" "The old man often goes out, and it is difficult to meet people. When he comes back, he occasionally sees a child with him." After listening to the cobbler's introduction, I vaguely feel that this old man is a little mysterious. He knows the alchemy of a thousand cups of non-drunk.And often with children around, it is not normal. I immediately found a reason to let the onlookers disperse.After the crowd dispersed, I found the cobbler and asked about the old man's situation. "The old man is a bit weird, he seems to be a hermit, with gray beard and hair, he doesn't know where he came from, and he never allows others to enter his house." We learned from the cobbler where the strange old man lived, and other things, and we thanked the cobbler. "I think the old man's behavior is weird. I'm afraid it has something to do with the slaughter of poultry and livestock that happened here. We have to go and meet him." It was getting late at this time, the three of us rushed the two corpses and found an inn to stay in first. When I woke up the next day, the streets were bustling with activity. I am very puzzled, today is not a day to go to the market, why is it so lively. When I opened the window, I saw that the street was crowded with people, talking in twos and threes. "The three-year-old child of the Song family on the street disappeared last night!" "Do you think it was taken away by that monster?" "That monster has no humanity, I'm afraid that child has already been tortured and killed!" "Hey, there's no way to stay in this place." "The government doesn't want to take care of it. How can people live!" "It wasn't like this before. This kind of thing happened only after two corpse chasers came yesterday." Tian Gudao and I were very annoyed when we heard this. It seems that the monster must be pulled out quickly.One can save the folks from being frightened, and the other can restore our innocence. After discussing with Tian Gudao, I decided that Tian Gudao would stay at the inn to take care of the two corpses.Gui Xiyao and I went to the West Village to look for that weird old man.