A certain Gengwu year and autumn.
On the top of Mount Qu, in front of the star-gazing pavilion on the second floor of the ancient building, Yaodao Longya, dressed in a black robe, leaned slantingly beside the wooden carved fence, folded his arms and looked at the people around him.
Although that man is no taller than Longya, he is tall, but a little thin. Wearing white clothes on him always looks a little loose, and because of the wide sleeves and wide swings, and only two thin layers, it is light and fluffy, give it to him Added a bit of celestiality.
He is none other than the "Ominous Star Yinghuo" who is passed down by word of mouth in the world and avoids the flood, and the people call him Yinghuo Xingjun.
When Long Ya first met him, he also called him that, but after getting familiar with him for a long time, he never called him by this name again.
Since the name "Yinghuo Xingjun" was omitted, Longya began to bark at random, remembering what it was called—
When he thinks he is thin, he calls him "Yihangzi", saying that he wears clothes like a wooden rack to hang clothes, and he can't see any flesh.
When I think he doesn't talk much, I call him "Suppressed Jar", I don't say a word for most of the day, and I don't know what I'm thinking.
When I think he is too worried, I call him a "nerd". If there is no major event, I don't go down the mountain. It takes ten days and a half months or even longer to go down the mountain. It looks thinner.
hate him...
Dignified and confused Xingjun, everyone has to shake when they say it, but Longya looks at him and dislikes him everywhere.
But he disliked it so much, but he always liked to run to the top of the Qushan Mountain. When he came, he couldn't chase him away. He often had to wait for many days before being called back to do something, and he came again after the matter was over. , I just treat this place as a resident place and come and go freely, without being polite.
You know, this Qu Shan is not everyone who dares to come up, anyone can come up.
Ordinary people are accustomed to hearing legends, and they wish to bypass Qushan 800 li all day long, for fear that if they approach it, they will be stained with some fierce aura, and they will suffer from blood and mildew for eight lifetimes. Only on the nineteenth of each month, in order to ensure safety, will they come to the mountain with lanterns and sacrifice to the Yinghuo Xingjun on the mountain.
At that time, fifteen white paper lanterns would be hung on the mountain road due to the west. From the night to the next morning, they swayed faintly in the wind all night before going out.
And even an old monster, similar to Longya, is very afraid of Qu Shan.
Most of them have only heard rumors about Yinghuo Xingjun, and have not really seen it. But the rumors alone are enough for them to think about avoiding it if they can, and only a few people have actually seen it because of chance.
Anyone who has seen Yinghuo Xingjun has only one impression of him - gentle and polite but very alienated.
It is not a very simple thing to get close to such a person, not to mention that this Yinghuo Xingjun has sealed Qu Shan for half a year, and no one dares to rashly come up.
Of course, there are always exceptions.
And Longya is here in Yinghuo Xingjun, that is the exception.
Hundreds and thousands of years have passed, the exception of Longya has become too familiar with Yinghuo Xingjun, and he has become the second mountain king on the top of Qushan.
This mountain king returned to Qushan and devoted himself to a certain cause - flickering Yinghuo Xingjun down the mountain to harm the world.
This time is no exception.
After drinking two cups of tea with Yinghuo and blowing the mountain wind for a while, he dragged Yinghuo over to the roof of the ancient building.
"You really have a special liking for the eaves and tiles of my shabby house." Yinghuo followed him and was pulled by him to sit on the sloping eaves.
Long Ya glanced at him: "Let you turn over and loosen your muscles and bones, you can either lie down or sit all day, what a lazy bone!"
Yinghuo is too lazy to be very calm, and there is a posture of standing still as you say.
Long Ya came up with a pot of wine, and was about to have a drink with him, but he heard him pointing somewhere far away and said, "Why is the mountain so lively?"
The scenery on the top of the ancient buildings in Qushan is very good. Raising your hand can stir up a galaxy, and you can look down at the lights of thousands of houses with your head down. It is no wonder that Longya always loves to turn it up.
He took a sip of the wine in the cup, and looked in the direction of Yinghuo's finger, and saw that there were lanterns, which were particularly bright in the large town under the mountain. With the power of their ears, they could hear the constant hustle and bustle of people there.
Longya counted the days, raised his chin at that place and said, "Oh—it's probably a temple fair. This year seems to be a good year, the weather is good, and it's time for a bumper harvest. Let's celebrate with sacrifices."
Yinghuo nodded, looked there from a distance, took the cup handed by Longya, and took a sip.
Longya glanced back and forth between the dazzling and the lanterns, and then took the opportunity to coax: "What? You haven't been to a temple fair yet? Lord, now it is more and more like a market, and it is more and more lively."
Yinghuo was stunned for a moment, and then shook the hand holding the wine cup, meaning not to go.
Don't go down the mountain if there is no major event... Yinghuo's stinky long tooth can't understand any more, but he can clearly see that Yinghuo still wants to go, but it is because of his identity as a malefic star. After all, the year he came into the world, The world is indeed a mess, and coupled with this inexplicable identity, everyone has to have some scruples in their hearts.
After coaxing for a while, there was no effect, and Long Ya was about to say it, and I will talk about it next time when I have a chance. It would be good for two to drink and appreciate the stars. As soon as he opened his mouth, he remembered a place.
"Yeah!" Long Ya slapped his bent knees, and with a sudden snap, Yinghuo jumped.
Yinghuo blinked and looked at him, wondering, "What's wrong?"
Long Ya said: "Today, there are not only temple fairs in the market place, aren't you just afraid that you will bump into those ordinary people and cause disasters and diseases? Let's go, let's go to another place!"
He said that he put away the jug and cup, and got up to grab Yinghu down the mountain.
Yinghuo twisted her wrist and grabbed him, but her feet didn't move, and said, "Where? Let's hear it—hey!"
As soon as he finished speaking the word "listen", he felt a tightness in his waist, followed by a whirlwind.
When he came back to his senses, Longya had already carried it on his shoulders, jumped off the roof, and swept all the way down the mountain.
Yinghuo: "..." Who would believe if the dignified malevolent star was being carried like this!
But the fact is - he has no idea how many times he has been carried by Longya.
Apart from the fact that Longya couldn't convince him and never messed up, the rest of the big and small matters, if Yinghuo pretended to stay still, he would be treated like this by Longya, but Yinghuo had no temper with him, so he had to show Xingjun's face , let him make trouble.
Crazy Saber's speed is always astonishingly fast. One second, he was inviting a star on the top of the mountain, and the next second, the two of them have arrived in the countryside of an unknown county or city.
Yinghuo glanced at a stone tablet on the ground, with three words inscribed on it - Five Graves.
These five burial mounds are a place close to the mass graves in Xixia County. According to folklore, wild ghosts can be heard crying here, night and night. No one came during the day.
In fact, there are indeed ghosts here, and many more.
There are not only ghosts, but also demons, mountain spirits and tree monsters, and various species that are different from ordinary people.
Because there is the largest market center in the non-human world, it appears at a specific time every year.
"This is... a demon city?" Although Yinghuo had never participated in it, he had heard of it.
Long Ya nodded and shook his head again: "In normal times, it is a serious demon market, but today it is a temple fair just like the human world, except that the human world worships ghosts and gods, and the demon market worships the sky here. Of course, now it has become a rush. A lively place."
As the name implies, these five graves are on this small hill. There are five graves, with remnants of monuments erected.
The way to enter the demon city is related to the five graves.
Long Ya grabbed Yinghuo's hand and said, "Follow me, don't make a mistake."
As he spoke, he circled three times between the five graves with a strange footwork and a specific sequence.
After the last step, the scenery in front of me suddenly swayed, rippling like water waves.
The dark and gloomy forest behind the five tombs suddenly lit up, and lanterns were hung between the two rows of tall trees, illuminating the path between the trees.
Longya led Yinghuo around the tomb, and walked forward along the path, and it didn't take long to reach the end.
The end of the path is no longer the wild and barren mountains that you see on weekdays, but an extremely lively street market.
At first glance, it looks exactly like a street in the world—
On both sides are a row of restaurants and inns of various merchants, and the places along the street that let the doors of these merchants open are crowded with stalls of various sizes.
Some of the more sophisticated ones also used a few wooden forks to support a shed, and put two or three square wooden tables and a few benches in it; more directly pushed a trolley, with a lower table on the car, and some under the table. Wooden barrels and other tools, even if it is a simple stall.
It's just that this street market is more dazzling than the human world, because each pavilion has made a bunch of strange decorations in order to attract customers.
Better yet, there were firefly-like spots of light floating around the shops, with clinking stone beads and silver flakes hanging.
Weird, the net hung some wild animal heads and broken bones on the foot of the table stool, and it looked very hideous.
Of course, the demon city and the demon market are naturally not human tastes, so there are customers in a circle in front of any kind of shop.
A long street, with heads everywhere, bustling and full of voices.
It was probably the first time that Yinghuo Xingjun saw such a battle, and he was stunned in place.
He had never been used to being too close to strangers, and at this time different spirits were shoving around him, making him stiff and almost stiffened into a coffin board.
Long Ya glanced at him, a little funny, then dragged him towards him again, and said, "What? Scared?"
Not to be frightened, he is a dignified and fierce star, and his temperament is always gentle and calm, and he rarely shows any exaggerated emotions.
So Yinghuo calmed down for a while, then shook his head and said, "It's just that I'm not used to it."
In such a place where demons dance wildly, no one will care whether you are holding a human or a beast, a demon or a ghost, and even if someone cares, Uncle Longya Long will only reply: "Let him die."
So he held Yinghuo Xingjun's hand very calmly, and went shopping in the street without any shame.
Although Yinghuo looks like a completely opposite character to Longya, he is quite similar to Longya in this respect.
Except for the accident of Longya, Yinghuo has little contact with other people, whether it is a demon or a monster, strong or weak, Yinghuo has never cared about it. Rarely will I change my habits and thoughts because of the eyes of others.
Although the dragon tooth is a demon saber, the demon saber is exquisitely crafted, with a smooth blade shape and a ferocious animal feel. Therefore, after transforming into a human form, he also retains this sublime temperament.
On the other hand, Yinghuo Xingjun was the exact opposite of his name of the evil star and evil spirit. It's just that there are less nerd stereotypes and more elusive fairy tales.
When two people like this walk together, they are going to go to the market in the world. It is estimated that no matter where they go, people can't help but glance at them.
The monster market is full of monsters. Even if there are one or two people occasionally, it is still a great practice. Most of these people or monsters look good... But even so, Longya and Yinghuo Xingjun are still outstanding.
Along the way, they will attract some attention from time to time, but they will not pay attention for too long. Generally, they will pass by after a glance and curiosity, and naturally they will not disturb the two of them.
The first time Yinghuo came to such a lively place, naturally, he followed Longya and walked with him. He would stop and take a look when he saw rare things, which was quite pleasant.
There are different types of stalls on the whole long street.
Most of the first half are all kinds of spiritual treasures and instruments, as well as many popular things in the world. And the second half... is basically eating.
Crossing the first half of the street and walking to the second half, Long Ya only felt that someone beside him was taking a step.
He turned his head and glanced at Yinghuo, and found that Yinghuo's eyes lit up.
Longya: "...Want something to eat?"
Yinghuo nodded, without any hesitation.
Longya: "..."
The food in this demon market is also dazzling, from heaven to earth, almost everything that can be eaten can be found here, but it is only the way that the demons eat, and the way that people eat.
Most of the people who come to visit the demon market are demons, and the other half are people with special identities.
So correspondingly, most of the food on this street is in line with the taste of demons, and the small part is more in line with the taste of people.
Since Yinghuo entered the second half of the street, the whole person has become more energetic, and his interest has been much higher. He walked along the street and was very greedy.
Transactions in the demon market have always had no fixed currency, and are always bartered.
Most spirits like spirit stones, and some especially like shiny things like jewelry. However, in recent years, spirits have been very interested in dzi beads, so most of them use dzi beads to buy things in the demon market.
To this end, Longya also specially collected some.
At this time, it is natural to not be stingy when buying food for Yinghuo Xingjun.
So after that, the conversation between the two became like this-
Yinghuo: "This is-"
Longya: "Crab flour tofu."
Yinghuo: "Oh-"
The stall owner: "It is said that this season is the most delicious fat crab in the world, and it is guaranteed to be fresh, so why don't you have two servings?"
Longya: "Eat or not?"
Yinghuo: "Eat."
The stall owner: "Hey - look at my glutinous rice sausage. It's crispy on the outside and glutinous on the inside. It's very refreshing. I'm sure you can get the next one before you finish it!"
Longya looked at Yinghuo.
Yinghuo: "Eat."
Longya: "What is this?"
The stall owner: "The pea cup, the food in the world! I ate it once last time, and I can't forget it, and I learned it! Come and try it! It's cool, sweet but not greasy, and it melts in the mouth—"
Longya: "It's alright, don't describe it. Do you want to eat it, idiot - well, I understand even if you don't say it, eat it!"
Yinghuo tilted his head to look at the scenery, and was silent.
On the way down, they tasted almost everything in most of the street. Longya never had to eat, and he didn't feel much about these foods, but it was meant to accompany him to take two bites.
But Yinghuo Xingjun is different. This adult has a calm expression on weekdays, but he eats things seriously. He eats gracefully, but eats quickly.
The most important thing is... You can eat as many things as you can, and it's amazing that you can't even eat it all in one street.
When eating at the last stall, Long Ya couldn't help but twitched the corners of his mouth and raised his hand to touch Yinghuo's belly.
Yinghuo raised his eyelids to look at him while eating, his cheeks moved and looked very innocent.
Long Ya said angrily, "Let me see if you are in a special situation, how can you eat so much!"
Yinghuo: "..."
Afterwards, Yinghuo, who returned to Qushan, spread out the paper on the table in front of the window and drew a picture of visiting the demon market at night.
Uncle Longya's translation: I had a good time eating.