The next day, Sunshine gave Cheng Haidong courage. He added fuel to his story and said that if it wasn't for the courageous and big-hearted Lan He who woke him up, I really don't know what would have happened.
Everyone knew that he was pressed into bed by a ghost in the house of the deceased old man, and he shuddered. Soon, there was a filming incident last night that spread like wildfire in the crew.
The director's action to cancel the shooting plan didn't cause any waves last night. Today, it seems that the director has long noticed something strange. The quaintness of Yantang Village has also become a ghostly atmosphere overnight.
The director was very unhappy. He felt that the village was unkind. The house was leased to them, but he still wanted to respect the deceased. Thinking that it was not many days, I called Cheng Haidong to comfort him and arranged for them to be moved to the room next to him.
The crew invited people from the village to cook and even act as a group. News quickly spread from the entire crew to the entire village, and the villagers inevitably started gossiping.
Cheng Haidong bumped into a ghost once, and his face became a lot empty, and he still insisted on gossip, "There are rumors in the village, the big one you mentioned, the gold and silver banner, is said to be shoddy, so it can't stand up. The old man didn't leave, It's also because of this. You said that he was angry with his children and grandchildren, and went to the right master, what is it to find me, treat me as a grandson... "
Lan He was not surprised to hear it, but understood. He went to incense the old man yesterday, and the incense had a musty smell.
In addition, all paper money is made of yellow surface paper. Now many paper money printed on recycled paper, but many use old-fashioned paper money, which is not unusual. But he noticed that the imprints on the paper were fuzzy and rather rough.
What's the mark? This kind of traditional paper money needs to be smashed down with a special seal with a hammer to mark the yellow paper with a coin imprint.
In ancient times, craftsmen were invited to play at home, and there was also a special profession of "money chipper". You can buy it now or print it yourself. Only when it is stamped can it be counted as paper "money". Otherwise, it is just like a document without an official seal, a piece of waste paper.
Therefore, a considerable part of the burned paper money is still ordinary yellow paper, which cannot be circulated in the underworld.
Lan He also wondered why he was so stingy with incense and paper when he was willing to buy gold and silver flags. Now that I know that the gold and silver flags are also made randomly, it is a unified style.
…
Because of Cheng Haidong's incident, the crew had a lot of discussions. The work ended at eight o'clock that night, and they were still discussing how to ward off evil spirits, such as putting knives and money under the pillow.
Although it is time to finish work at night, it is by no means a simple rest. Everyone has to communicate and prepare for the next day's work. Cheng Haidong also went to their boss's room, and Lan He himself was preparing for tomorrow's play in the room.
It was around twelve o'clock in the evening that Lan He heard Cheng Haidong returning to the yard, and he didn't know who was still in the yard, chatting a few words in a low voice.
There is basically no sound insulation in this house. After Lan He listened to the voice and stopped, the sound of the door opening in the next room did not sound. At first, he thought that Cheng Haidong was going to the toilet, but he felt that it was not right, and went out to take a look.
I saw Cheng Haidong sitting on the steps in the yard, with his back to the door, and his head down, not knowing what to do.
"Dongzi?" Lan He stepped forward and shouted, but Cheng Haidong didn't respond. When he approached, he smelled the familiar paper dust. He hurriedly called Cheng Haidong. wood.
Lan He scolded lowly, looked around and saw that there was no figure, and helped Cheng Haidong to his room. He can walk as well, but he has no consciousness of his own, and he has lost his soul at all.
Lan He smelled the smell of inferior and musty in the paper dust. It seemed familiar, and he knew that Old Man Song might have taken it away. Cheng Haidong was only pressed by a ghost yesterday, and his anger was low, but he was taken away today.
Lan He's grandfather was a clothing maker who opened a paper shop - "clothes" here is a collective term for all paper-made utensils burned for the deceased, as large as gold and silver banners. People, as small as paper money, have to make them.
In this industry, it is inevitable to deal with ghosts and gods at ordinary times, and people are also counted as eaters of the underworld, because business is related to the underworld.
Lan He has been fascinated since childhood, knowing that if he can get Cheng Haidong back, he is afraid that he will become a fool.
Although now he has been adhering to the concept of people and ghosts, if it is not necessary, ignore the concept of the underworld. But Lan He couldn't watch his buddy lose his soul, and hurriedly searched the room.
As the Qingming Festival is approaching, many villagers have prepared incense, candles, paper money and other items at home. Lan He found a knife of yellow paper in the miscellaneous room, but it had not yet been stamped with money. With his fingers flying, he folded the yellow paper several times, and then opened it again, and it became a full ingot.
Lan He gets along with his grandfather a lot, and he also helps out with his work. Although it has not been done for a long time, a small pile has been stacked in a while.
After folding the paper ingots, I found the white paper and folded it into a paper coat. There is also colored paper, but the paper clothes of the new mourners should be cut from white paper, and the new ghosts dare not wear colored paper. He was given to the newly mourned old man Song, and naturally he used white.
He folded another small paper figurine and wrote his name and birthday according to Cheng Haidong's ID number.
In another envelope, the full name of the old man and the year of birth and death were written on it—this is what he saw in the bulletin posted on the Shoucai when he was offering incense. Write the name to ensure that the deceased receives it.
Lan He took everything out and piled up the ingots, paper clothes and paper figures on top, holding Cheng Haidong's lighter in his hand.
The paper-burning man was to serve as a substitute for Cheng Haidong, so that he could take the opportunity to come back. For the ingots and clothes, Lan He Nian thought that the old man's children and grandchildren didn't burn him anything real.
With these, the old man is also a little better.
Lan He pressed the lighter, and the small flame swayed, reflected in his pupils.
A hundred mountains of gold and silver are stacked, ten thousand sheets of silk are transformed into ghosts, and the way to Jiuquan for the dead—
Lan He suddenly felt a soreness in his arm, and stretched his hand forward uncontrollably. The flame of the lighter touched the Yuanbao, ignited quickly, and the Yuanbao Mountain burst into flames!
The ingot burned extremely fast, and the wind from nowhere rolled up the paper ashes and flew upward like a butterfly, flying so high that it even exceeded the roof.
Lan He's pupils shrank a little, the ingots were burned too fast, and all of them ignited in an instant. He didn't have time to put the envelope, so there was no guarantee that the ingots would be taken by the deceased.
Moreover, the paper ash flying horizontally is the sign that the deceased received. It is said that if the wind blows upward...
call-
A cool wind seemed to blow at the base of his neck.
There was a feeling of soreness and swelling in the bones again, as if the yin wind had been blowing into the cracks of the bones.
In the courtyard of the Qing-style ancient house in the middle of the night, only the cool moonlight shone down, there was almost no sound and no color, except for the flying paper butterflies, only the light breathing, as if it was close at hand, as if it was... just exist…
Lan He exhaled slowly, turned his body hard, facing a gray-white face, his dark pupils were dark and dull, and the cold breath he exhaled hit Lan He's face.
Lan He's heart shrank violently, his fingers digging into the palm of his hand, only then did he remain calm!
The straight-line distance between them was probably no more than one meter. Lan He met his eyes, only to feel the secluded aura wrapping around his body.
After looking at each other for two seconds, the other party moved his face closer, looking at Lan He who seemed to be unresponsive, his dark eyes full of scrutiny.
"... Hmm." Lan He slowly pinched the envelope, fanned the wind, and looked straight ahead, "I'm so hungry."
The other party looked at Lan He suspiciously, kept a close distance, and stared at Lan He.
Ordinary people would have collapsed long ago under this kind of scrutiny.
Lan He also saw more clearly. He was dressed in white and wore a tall hat with four words on it: Seeing the raw material. Holding a red lantern in his hand, there are four words written on the lantern: Dongyue Yinsi.
This is... White Impermanence
One of the most well-known civil servants in the underworld, the legendary ghost messenger, impermanent ghost, the image is well known in China.
It is said that the evil spirits are the most frightening, but obviously, the underworld agents responsible for catching the evil spirits are not far behind. Impermanence ghosts are also ghosts, even if their nature is kind, after so many times of duty, it is time to develop a suffocating spirit.
Evil ghosts are afraid when they see it, not to mention the living people in the world. It is said that if they accidentally bump into each other, they will be seriously ill.
Most of Lan He's theoretical knowledge is flying high, which is indeed a sign of being occupied by ghosts and gods in the underworld. It's just a little strange. According to legend, Bai Wuchang is also considered a big boss in the underworld.
He was so "lucky" to be stolen by Bai Wuchang? By the way, it is said that the black impermanence hat reads "Peace in the world", and the white impermanence hat reads "get rich at first sight". How is the word "material" written on the impermanence hat
Lan He was a little puzzled in his heart, but he still looked straight ahead with a relaxed expression on his face.
This is the quality of an actor: even if his eyes are facing Bai Wuchang, he can pretend to see nothing.
He just wanted to save Cheng Haidong and didn't want to deal with another world.
I saw Bai Wuchang staring at Lan He with good eyes for a long time, and then he took two steps to the side, holding the ingot to take a closer look, his voice was so cold that he could squeeze out ice water, but the joy was real, "Okay, In good condition!"
The more he looked at it, the more he fell in love, and suddenly asked Lan He, "Where did you buy this?"
Lan He turned a deaf ear, Yuanbaoshan had been burned, he took the broom and began to sweep the ashes.
Impermanence didn't cheat, he snorted, his doubts gradually dissipated, and he shoved Yuanbao Mountain into his arms that seemed to have a bottomless pit, and even picked his nostrils.
Lan He: "..."
He walked to the room as if nothing had happened, but suddenly heard the impermanent and cold voice behind him:
"Order Lan He's soul to be an official under the Seventy-two Cao case of the Yin Division of Dongyue!"
... Damn, how did he know my name? Lan He felt his body light up and closed his eyes unconsciously.
…
When he opened his eyes again, his feet were slightly off the ground, and when he looked down, he saw that his body fell to the ground, unlike Cheng Haidong who just lost his soul.
Bai Wuchang looked at him in shock, holding a letter in his hand, "You are Lan He? Then you couldn't have seen me just now!"
Lan He: "..."
Bai Wuchang: "… "
Lan He: "..."
This is a little embarrassing.
Bai Wuchang also laughed angrily, "You even lied to a ghost? Good, good little brother, you have potential. Let me tell you, from today onwards, you are a fierce general of our Dongyue Yin Division."
Lan He said mutely, "You mean, a temporary worker."
He has already realized what is going on. The underworld is busy, and if Impermanence is too busy, he will recruit living people from the world to serve as errands, help them seduce their souls, and put them back after work.
This kind of errand is called "walking impermanence" and "walking yin", and this kind of person is called "life impermanence", because it is a living person and corresponds to the ghost of impermanence.
Of course, in today's terms, it can also be called a temporary worker in the underworld.
But Lan He didn't know how he got on this roster and was forced to enlist in the army.
"Whatever you want to call it." Bai Wuchang smiled and said, "There is a lack of labor at the bottom lately, you can work hard with me, and I will not treat you badly."
Lan He tentatively said: "Sir Bai Wuchang, I am not interested in this..."
Maybe those witches, wizards and the like will look forward to getting in touch with the messenger. But Lan He has her own job and doesn't want to work part-time anymore. Besides, this underworld rice is not so delicious.
Bai Wuchang touched his face, showing a hint of joy, but on his dead face, he looked a little weird, "Oh, I'm not Mr. Xie, you are wrong. Of course, Mr. Xie is my role model... You call me old. White is."
It is said that the name of "Bai Wuchang" is Xie Bi'an. Lan He suddenly realized that he was an ordinary evil person instead of a genuine Bai Wuchang. I was afraid that he admired Bai Wuchang, so he dressed up like this, "Oh, no wonder, then you make money as soon as you see it." The word 'cai' is spelled wrong."
Old Bai: "That's a fake character."
Lan He: "..."
You... Lan Hu endured it and said, "I will write my resignation letter and burn it, please let Sir Bai accommodate."
He really didn't understand how he was favored, but the underworld was forced to recruit souls, and he would never follow the wishes of the victim, and was completely forced. It was useless to argue with them, and he could only try his best to deal with it.
"It's ridiculous, how can there be bargaining with ghosts and gods!" Sure enough, Lao Bai shouted, "Any souls who are recruited must be worth at least twelve years before they can step down."
Lan He: "I folded the ingots and paper clothes before."
The old white dead face immediately showed a different look, so...
Who can argue the authenticity of paper money? There is no way to go to the bank to ask, so not every piece of paper money burned is qualified and the condition is good enough.
In the underworld, there will be a mountain of broken money. Because the quality of the large amount of paper money burned in the underworld is not good enough and the quality is not enough for currency circulation, it is discarded and piled up like a mountain.
The ingot from Lan Hedi in front is different. Lao Bai has not seen such a fine ingot for a long time. Even if the material is the same, not everyone has such a craftsmanship.
The old vernacular immediately turned his head and said reservedly, "Okay, since you are sincere... But it will be worth 12 months."
Money can communicate with ghosts and spirits, and if Lao Bai is discounted at a discount, twelve years become one year.
A year is long enough, Lan He reluctantly said, "Can you arrange paperwork for me then?"
Impermanence is not only the work of ecstasy, it is mostly the case, and it is possible to do other work.
Old Bai also reluctantly said, "Do your best."
"Thank you." Lan He agreed sadly after bargaining.
It's really a disaster. You have to work as a temporary worker in the underworld for a year, and it's the kind of subsidy that you don't have any wages for.
Lao Bai took out his uniform from his arms, including the same tall hat as him, as well as a chain and a fan, "Here, this is yours, it's all made of one-to-one-dozen black-and-white originals, just the ones on the hat. You have to write your own words."
... It seemed that these eunuchs really admired their leader, Lan He picked up his hat and pondered for a while.
Lao Bai took out the pen again and gave it to him: "Do you want to write 'make money at first sight' or 'peace in the world'?"
Lan He asked, "Can you only choose between these two?"
Lao Bai looked at him strangely: "No... but everyone basically chooses one of the two. Black and white impermanence is very famous in the two worlds of yin and yang. When we learn to dress up from the two masters, it is like borrowing the light of the two. Fear of three points."
Lan He understood what he meant, "I can do paperwork, and I don't worry about it."
After he finished speaking, without waiting for Lao Bai to stop him, he wrote four words on the hat: come here.
Old Bai: "???"
"By the way, my friend's soul has been lost, can I use this to get him back?" Lan He pinched the fan and said, impermanent two props, the soul hook is used to hook the soul, and a fan to restore the soul can make The soul returns to the body.
"Of course, it's a trivial matter." Lao Bai glanced at Cheng Haidong, "But today, you are going to help me hook up a soul named Song Qinmin. The local city god reports that he is stuck in the world and doesn't want to leave. Soul help."
Song Qinmin, isn't that the name of the newly mourned old man Song
Lan He: "Then I probably know where he is."
…
Lan He was in a state of soul and floated to Old Man Song's house with Lao Bai. From a distance, he saw Old Man Song and Cheng Haidong at the door. He wanted to pull Cheng Haidong in, but Cheng Haidong pulled the door frame and refused.
Sure enough, it was taken away by Old Man Song...
Lan He thought about it and raised his fan to cover his face.
"What are you doing?" Lao Bai asked.
"I want to wear a vest." Lan He said in a muffled voice.
He was forced to do this part-time job reluctantly, but he didn't want to make a name for himself, so as to avoid causing trouble after the one-year term expires.
Besides, even if Old Man Song had never seen his drama, he might have seen him in the village. Cheng Haidong knew him even more, and if he saw him dressed like this, he wouldn't be scared out of his wits. It's better to cover it up.
Old Bai smiled, it was strange, if those who ate rice in the underworld were recruited, they would like to become famous, but fortunately they made money in the underworld, but Lan He was the opposite.
Looking at Song Qinmin again, he caught a glimpse of their red lanterns and hid in the door.
Cheng Haidong breathed a sigh of relief, sat on the ground, and saw two ghosts floating, wearing a tall hat with four characters written on the hat, "When I see a raw material" and "I've come here", holding a chain in his hand, One of them still covered his face.
Cheng Haidong was horrified. Not only did he see a ghost today, he actually saw a ghost!
It's the weird word on this ghost's head...
Cheng Haidong was brought here by the old man in a daze. The old man said he wanted to invite him to drink tea. When he arrived at the door, he suddenly realized that he was here.
Impermanence is full of ghosts. Ordinary living people see a serious illness, and ghosts tremble when they see it. Although Cheng Haidong didn't know them, he knew that he was afraid in the depths of his soul. He sat down against the wall with tears in his eyes, "I don't want to die..."
He was flustered when he saw the words "come here" written on the hat. He was afraid that they would say, "everyone has come. If the ghosts don't go away, I'll take you away."
Fortunately, the ghost messenger just said faintly: "The boy's life is not over yet, Master Bai will send you back."
Cheng Haidong was ecstatic, "Thank you, thank you big brother... Master Bai."
He didn't say a word when he saw the "come all come", although he couldn't see the other's face, but he was very flustered, "Also, thank you too..."
Old Bai said to popular science: "Lan Ye!"
Lan He couldn't stop it, and shook his head at Lao Bai under the fan. He couldn't reveal his real name.
Fortunately, Cheng Haidong didn't think of his friend. He just showed a confused look and said to himself: "White... blue... blue and white impermanence? I've only heard of black and white impermanence. Is there a navy in the underworld?"