Old man: "I am the 'King of Hell' of the night travellers."
Zhong Cheng said standing there expressionlessly. The old man's tone was indifferent, but in his eyes, the old man put his hand into his collar to scratch the itch while speaking, and then smelled his fingers after scratching. His movements were particularly unscrupulous.
He is a liar, there is no need for them to waste their time on this person.
As a result, before he could speak, Yin Ren took the lead.
"So you are the King of Hell!" Yin Ren exclaimed.
Yin Ren said while fidgeting with the incense burner curiously. The incense ash in the incense burner was reddish-brown, and gave off a faint smell of rust... It seemed to have been mixed with rust powder, Zhong Cheng said and moved his nose.
"That's right, I can provide you with any information you want and find anyone you want." The old stall owner hummed, "It's just the price—"
The old man stretched out the end of the sentence meaningfully.
"I really want to find someone whose price is negotiable." Yin Ren's smile was mostly obscured by the shadow, "Can you help me?"
Hearing this title, Xiao Wu burst into laughter on the spot: "Okay, Old Dog Peng, how dare you deceive a layman like this? If you were the King of Hell, I would be considered cruel."
The man was wearing a rider's helmet with the words "Eat is a Blessing" written on it, and was dressed in gray-yellow clothes. On the front he had three framed black characters "Are you dead?" written crookedly on the front. Unlike ordinary riders, he was not riding a bicycle at the moment, and there was no food delivery box on him.
Old man: "Haha, young man knows his stuff. I have been in the world of metaphysics for so many years, how could I possibly fool the younger generation?"
"Xiao, Xiao Wu, why are you here?"
The old man could no longer maintain his cold voice. In anger, two voices, one thick and one thin, came from his body: "Are you kidding me? Today I will let you know what it means to be easy to meet with the King of Hell and difficult to deal with the kid!"
Yin Ren stood up quickly and stepped behind Zhong Chengshuo in a swooping step: "Why, you asked me to tell you the characteristics. Didn't I tell you that?"
"You're lucky." He said sadly.
"For example, when making a transaction, that person will never come forward in person, let alone pay online. I think about it, he will probably ask someone to put the cash in a designated location, exchange it for other items, and then use it in various names to pay Minglu'.
Yin Ren narrowed his eyes, took his fingers out of the incense ashes, and blew twice in the direction of the old stall owner.
"The night walkers call him 'King of Hell', which is the same as your title. How about it? How much does it cost to find him?"
Perhaps because his tone was really uncertain, the old man's expression became even more angry. The old man sneered twice and was about to take something out of his pocket -
"The man is approximately between 23 and 57 years old. His gender is unknown. He is in good health and strong."
I don't know why, but when he said this, Yin Ren clutched the phone extra hard.
Old stall owner: "..."
Zhong Cheng said and looked at the old man: "Well, he was just joking...?"
Yin Ren turned around and saw a young man with a simple and honest face approaching quickly.
Zhong Cheng said that he raised his arms reflexively to protect Yin Ren. He instantly felt that something was not right, so he had to freeze his arms in the air.
"Why can't I come? Shi'an doesn't restrict side jobs during off-duty hours." Rider Xiao Wu scratched his helmet, "It's not like you don't know how much it costs to run errands in the ghost market. Okay, give me some face, don't do it It’s a toss up.”
"You said it." The old man was very confident.
"No answer."
Yin Ren turned to look at him: "Brother Jackie Chan, how do you know if you don't ask? Anyway, I haven't paid yet, so there is no loss if I ask."
Yin Ren came out from behind Zhong Cheng and said, "I really have something I want to inquire about."
A cheerful voice sounded.
"Your conditions are too broad, I can't find them." The old man clicked his tongue, "Just talking about this Haigu City, there must be millions of people who meet the conditions. Young man, even if I were the King of Hell, I would have to have enough clues. ”
Yin Ren glanced sideways at the stall owner - in the darkness, there was a nervous swallowing sound.
"Hey, Old Dog Peng, you are lying to this junior again!"
Yin Ren fiddled with the incense ashes with his slender fingers. Under the red lantern, his eyes became a little redder.
"That's natural."
Yin Ren came closer and said, "Then let me ask, is it okay to verbally describe the characteristics?"
"Grandpa Yama, we want to ask about Lu Guangzu." Yin Ren pretended not to hear.
In the darkness, the old man spat.
Zhong Cheng said: "..."
"Yin... Guo Dao." Zhong Cheng said to stop him, "Let's see again, the King of Hell will not come forward so easily."
"Yeah, that's right."
A very good practitioner.
"Oh, there is one more thing I forgot to mention. This is the most important feature."
There was still a smile in his voice: "Then let me add something. That person has nothing to do with our metaphysics world, but he should have a clear job, at least he will not attract attention by running around."
"What about his personality? That person is cautious and serious, and he is likely to live alone. He has most likely received formal education and knows how to cover up the traces of his actions. Even Shi'an can't catch him."
Old man: "Young man, you..."
"And in order to reduce contact with others, that person will not take small jobs, but will only choose those with the highest rewards and highest risks... Are these clues enough?"
"...Okay, you ask." Zhong Cheng said, pinching the bridge of his nose.
The stall owner was obviously very afraid of the rider named "Xiao Wu", who kept mumbling in the dark for a long time.
"Forget it, I really recognize Lu Guangzu. So, I'll sell the news for 1888." The old stall owner lowered his voice and coughed uncomfortably.
"It's past 1888." Xiao Wu said, "This is my descendant after all. I have to protect it. Can you please make it cheaper?"
Yin Ren raised his eyebrows in surprise—they had never seen this "Xiao Wu" before. Although they knew that this person was related to Shi'an, he really didn't expect to be recognized.
"Then 688...it's not like you can't reimburse me."
"Don't cheat the public when it comes to reimbursement. It's 600. I also know something about Lu Guangzu. In this case, I won't take the job tonight, and I will chat with you."
"648, no change. Since Xiao Wu is here, let's finish the payment before paying." The old stall owner grunted unhappily and flashed out of the shadows.
The old man has a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, and has sparse white hair on his head. He was wearing a yellow old man's shirt, with two belts around his neck, and a payment code card on each. He kept the incense burner and the red envelope in his handbag. He looked like a retired man seen everywhere on the street.
However, at the collar of his old man's shirt, the thin cloth stretched out a protruding outline of a human face. The thing made a tiny chirping sound, causing the fabric to ripple slightly.
Human face sores, no wonder there were two voices just now. Yin Ren looked at the old stall owner for a while and quickly lost interest.
"This is Old Dog Peng. He has been in the ghost market for more than ten years, and he only deceives you, strangers."
Xiao Wu took off his helmet, revealing his messy hair. He has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his skin still has the characteristic red and black color after being exposed to the sun. In the dim light of the lantern, only two rows of conspicuous white teeth remained on his face.
"My name is Wu Jiayi, Shi'an Heiyin. I have been hanging out among the night travelers before. I am familiar with this place. Come on, I will show you around."
Xiao Wu casually carried the helmet in his hand and pointed at the foggy ghost market streets. I don't know if it was Yin Ren's misunderstanding, but this man had the air of an elder bringing a junior back to his hometown in glory.
Zhong Cheng said: "How did you recognize us?"
"Didn't we just finish the fight at Ping'an Manor a while ago? When we go to fight, we have to check the information of nearby friendly forces first." Xiao Wu said sincerely, "The two brothers look awesome. Don't use such masks next time. Wear a mask."
No wonder this man's aura was so familiar, Yin Ren suddenly realized.
"I didn't think twice. I'll prepare some in the store next time." Seeing the lively conversation here, Xu Fang also took two steps forward.
She narrowed her eyes and looked at Xiao Wu for a long time: "Hey, it's me. Xiao Wu, if you're not busy, I'll go back here first - the child will definitely go to bed late when I'm not around. Next time you come to the store, I'll give you free lunch. one."
"You go ahead!" Xiao Wuhan waved his hand with a smile.
As soon as Sister Xu left, a group of old people and three young people gathered together and walked slowly along the ghost market.
Zhong Cheng said he was asking the old man nearby and recording while asking. Yin Ren's mind had already wandered - the stalls on both sides were filled with strange and weird gadgets, which were very different from the era he lived in.
As he walked, he couldn't help but stop in front of a stall: "What is this?"
He picked up a large square filled with small squares.
"You can buy a Rubik's Cube that returns to its original shape in the middle of the night for children to play with. There are also cosmetic mirrors that can show the back of your head from the front, and they are very popular... Hey, hey, don't touch them, they are moistened with corpse oil. The fidget spinner is so expensive.”
"What about this one?" Yin Ren pointed at two more black plastic blocks. The evil aura on these things was slightly stronger.
Facing these messy things, he suddenly had the illusion of returning to the Shi'an Spiritual Weapon Warehouse.
Stall owner: "Humph, these are rare items. Have you ever heard of a video tape that will kill you three days after watching it?"
"But now everyone doesn't use VCRs anymore. It seems everyone is buying CDs." Yin Ren recalled what he saw in life, "What's the use of buying them back?"
"Can't you collect it? Feelings, do you understand feelings?" The stall owner seemed to have been stabbed in the foot, and his voice became sharp, "It's not like I don't have any CDs. What's the matter, do you want to buy them?"
Yin Ren looked around and found no disc: "Let me take a look."
The disc was not displayed, could it be a curse of touching? In the past, evil was only caused by contact with evil objects. In this era, cursed spiritual weapons have quite kept pace with the times.
The stall owner hummed again, and secretly handed out a black leather bag from the darkness: "This is a great product, take it for yourself if you like it."
Strangely, there is no smell of sealing magic on the leather bag. Yin Ren opened the zipper doubtfully—
"○Love Spring Night" and "Ten Worlds of Destiny"... The disc covers are printed roughly, the color is gaudy, and it is a bright flesh color.
Yin Ren: "..."
He picked up a box speechlessly and looked left and right, but he didn't see any curse on it.
When the stall owner saw that he was silent, he quickly struck while the iron was hot: "You don't like it? You don't like it. I also have men's and women's ones here. They are of high quality and low price."
Your business is quite broad, Yin Ren let out a weak breath. Before he could refuse, a hand reached out to him and took the disc away.
Faced with all the mosaics, Zhong Cheng said calmly: "Don't buy this, it's illegal."
Yin Ren: "No, I don't want to..."
Zhong Cheng nodded expressionlessly, and Yin Ren didn't know whether he wanted to express "I understand" or "You don't need to say anything, I understand." Lord Ghost King wiped his face and felt that there was a small stain on his reputation. Wait, does evil have a reputation? Yin Ren thought about it seriously.
Five minutes later, the stall owner was carried out by the ghost market manager who came after hearing the news.
"I'm sorry." Facing three security employees, the city manager wiped his sweat and said, "There are always people who mix contraband from the world with contraband from the underworld and sell it. We also have a headache. Thank you for supporting our work."
Zhong Cheng said: "...Can you buy and sell contraband from the underworld here?"
"Don't take it too seriously, it's just a way of saying it. Just think of them as 'special collections.'" The city manager realized his mistake and quickly apologized.
"Hold me, be careful I get lost." After dealing with this little episode, Zhong Cheng said and turned to Yin Ren.
He was busy interviewing Peng Laogou just now, and after asking for a long time, he looked up. It was good to see that his partner was gone. This time Zhong Cheng said that he reached out his hand, but he grabbed Yin Ren's wrist.
Yin Ren knew he was in the wrong, but he didn't break free.
After looking around, Lord Ghost King did not notice these fragmentary objects. He decided to behave well and listen carefully to the two men talking about Lu Guangzu.
There was heavy fog on the street, and in the dim night, the faces of pedestrians were blurred.
A few people walked slowly, with green and red lanterns at their feet. There were only whispers in the whole street, giving off an eerie sense of silence. It really had a good atmosphere for telling stories.
In Peng Laogou's words, Lu Guangzu was a bit more vulgar than what Lu Xiaohe said.
Lu Guangzu is a standard night walker at the bottom level - he has more yin and yang eyes than ordinary people, which are not too strong, and has no other abilities. This person has always bullied the weak and feared the strong, and was lazy and lazy. He couldn't catch the culprit at all, and he was too lazy to make a living in the open, so he simply started a shady intermediary business.
"Black agents" are not uncommon among night travelers.
They will first find uninformed customers, use sweet talk to defraud them of high prices, and then take 70% to 80% of the "agency fee" and subcontract them to other night travelers with ordinary abilities.
But among this kind of people, there are three common pitfalls. Firstly, it does not defraud minors and the elderly; secondly, it does not defraud official matters related to the public; thirdly, it does not defraud the working people who are also at the bottom of society.
Lu Guangzu broke all the rules and especially liked to bluster in front of others. Many unscrupulous agents looked down on him.
But a few years ago, he suddenly kept a low profile. For a while, everyone thought he had changed his ways. Who would have thought that this name would appear again and be linked to a serial murder case.
"As far as I know, that kid doesn't look like someone who dares to kill." Peng Laogou chewed his teeth. "He is so timid when he is bad. Not to mention killing, his legs are weak when he sees a chicken being killed."
"Then you are still provoking the King of Hell. Could it be that he was sent to set up a trap for the King of Hell? That's not right. Then why is he naming An'an?" Xiao Wu sighed, "Oh, my partner is better at this."
"Speaking of finding the body... Lu Guangzu did mention the 'disappearance case'."
Peng Laogou held up his payment card and pretended to be profound.
"Listen, this is the most valuable information. Just a few months ago, I went drinking with Donkey Pi... Lu Guangzu, and he suddenly talked to me about the disappearance case on Bianzhu Street. He had never mentioned these things before. "
Yin Ren and Zhong Cheng looked at each other, and seeing Zhong Cheng's face looking sleepy, Lord Ghost King consciously answered: "Didn't you mention this before?"
This man was so sleepy that his hands were so weak that he could hardly hold him. Yin Ren took the man's hand and squeezed it tightly.
Zhong Cheng said Yuan shook his head and his face became a little more awake.
"Yes, Lu Guangzu doesn't care about those cases. So I was quite surprised when he suddenly said something that day. Well, you know about the disappearance case on Bianzhu Street, right?"
The three of them nodded silently.
As long as you are in Haigu, you must have heard of it more or less. Even Yin Ren, who had just woken up, had a lot of views on the short video platform—
In the case of disappearance on Bianzhu Street, the missing person was a nine-year-old boy named Lu Yuanyuan.
The case itself was very ordinary. The boy went out to help his grandfather buy plaster, walked into a blind spot under surveillance, and disappeared from the world.
The breaking point lies in Lu Yuanyuan's own situation.
The child's parents were both migrant workers. They passed away due to an accident a year ago, and the only surviving relative was his grandfather, who was in poor health. When the volunteers were away, Lu Yuanyuan took on a lot of chores and took good care of the elderly. Despite the constant suffering, the boy always had a smile on his face and deep dimples.
That smile was so contagious that the neighborhood committee specially filmed a video to organize donations. Who would have thought that the video attracted a lot of attention, and everything seemed to be developing in a good direction.
Then one sunny spring day, Lu Yuanyuan disappeared.
His grandfather moved a maza and waited impatiently at the door, asking everyone about his grandson's whereabouts. Volunteers go to deliver meals every day, but the elderly people don’t accept them and only say they will eat them at a neighbor’s house.
The police searched vigorously but found nothing. The boy was not an accident. He was most likely abducted or killed. The criminal was very cunning and left no clues. Shi'an once assisted in the investigation, but was unable to proceed due to insufficient clues.
The boy was like a drop of rainwater blending into the sea, disappearing quietly in the corner of the city.
But his grandfather just waited quietly, looking in the direction of the street. One night two weeks later, he collapsed on his doorstep.
After Lu Yuanyuan disappeared, the old man hardly ate much, and his body weakened very quickly.
After that day, the news that "Internet celebrity's grandson disappeared and a seriously ill old man starved to death" hit the headlines and caused an uproar on various websites. It took two months to subside.
"Is Lu Yuanyuan one of the seven victims?" Zhong Cheng frowned and suppressed a yawn.
Peng Laogou waved the payment code in front of the two of them: "I only know that Lu Guangzu mentioned this matter. He said that the boy was very difficult - he was clueless, that's all he said. As for other things, I really don’t know.”
Yin Ren simply scanned the QR code to pay: "Thank you, Mr. Peng."
"Hi, you're welcome."
Being thanked by Yin Ren, Peng Laogou felt a little uncomfortable. He shrank his head and pondered for a while, then poked the sore on his chest.
The big bulge of the sesame cake twisted, and he spoke softly: "I'll give you another piece of information... Lu Yuanyuan's grandfather has become a ghost and is still staying in the same place. You can ask him on the way. As long as Wu Jiayi I'll go with you, he can't hurt you."
Wu Jiayi: "Awesome, why didn't I think of this?"
"It's too late, we can't bother you. Bianzhu Street is in Jintang District." Yin Ren shook his head quickly, "Brother Wu, if this were not the case, we would still be at work tomorrow, and then we would formally apply with Shi'an..."
Zhong Cheng said that a person who went to bed early and got up early had a face full of pain from his biological clock being disrupted. Yin Ren couldn't bear to look closely.
Wu Jiayi: "Hey, why bother? It's not easy to ask ghosts during the day."
The ghost market is an interesting place. Its exit is at one end of the street, plunging straight into darkness. Wu Jiayi waved goodbye to Peng Laogou and led the two of them straight to the exit.
After the familiar breath-holding and guidance, the darkness dissipated, and they were standing at a crossroads on Bianzhu Street.
"Is the exit right here?" Zhong Cheng said as his sleepiness completely disappeared. Whatever comes to mind, this is too much of a coincidence.
"This thing is the same as the entrance. The person who leads the way can choose it by himself." Wu Jiayi patted his takeout clothes and put on his helmet. "Otherwise, if everyone goes in and out like a market every night, people will definitely notice."
It was two o'clock in the morning, and Bianzhu Street was empty, with no one around.
This street connects to the old city, with old shops and houses on both sides, and sparse trees on both sides of the street. The whole street was like a dead man's arm, cold and stiff, exuding the smell of decay.
Wu Jiayi: "Forget it, Xiao Zhong. Be careful, Xiao Yin. Lu Yuanyuan's grandfather is very powerful."
"How awesome is it?" Lord Ghost King humbly asked for advice.
"They are almost the same as the ghosts in Ping'an Manor." Wu Jiayi's expression became serious. "Lu Tanfei—Lu Yuanyuan's grandfather—registered in Shi'an, and we managed to get him to regain some sanity. But he is a new dead ghost, and he will appear again from time to time. Being confused is quite dangerous.”
Yin Ren thought about Hu Tao in the work group: "I should be fine."
"Ang, you can see for yourself." Wu Jiayi nodded.
Lu Yuanyuan disappeared, and Lu Tanfei turned into an evil creature. No one lives in the house of the grandfather and grandson, and it is still empty.
It is on the first floor of a red brick apartment. The door is made of green-painted iron with a mottled word "福" on it. The couplets are also on the same red paper, and the fonts on them are vigorous and powerful. It looks like they were written by my own hand.
The shoddy security bars on the windows were rusty, the glass was covered in dust, and it was dark inside.
Yin Ren subconsciously let go of Zhong Chengshuo's hand and looked closer. However, before he took a few steps forward, he saw six brown-red bright spots in the turbid darkness.
Those few bright spots flickered, appearing and disappearing. Just when Yin Ren was about to take a closer look, he saw them approaching quickly and pressing tightly against the window.
Those are six human eyes that are arranged horizontally and vertically.
They were embedded crookedly on the old man's head, covering the entire face, replacing the facial features that should have been there. Among the wrinkles, they blinked from time to time, staring outside.
Yin Ren looked at him for a while.
Yin Ren: "That's great, Brother Wu, the old man is at home."
Xiao Wu said "Oh" and opened the iron door: "I'll go in first, you two follow me."
The moment the door rang, the strange face on the other side of the window disappeared instantly.
There was a musty smell unique to unoccupied rooms from inside the door. Xiao Wu fumbled for a long time before he found the light cord.
Snapped.
Dim light filled the small room.
Yin Ren didn't look around for the first time, he raised his head naturally -
A spider-shaped evil thing was crawling on the ceiling.
It looked more like a twisted human body than a real spider.
The wrinkled man has six eyes randomly embedded in his head, and his thin neck almost shrinks into his chest. Near the chest and abdomen, the old man gave birth to two pairs of skinny legs and feet. His whole "person" was so thin that he was out of shape, but his abdomen filled with ascites was raised high.
"Where is Yuanyuan?" The evil thing has no mouth, but it can make a hoarse voice, "Yuanyuan is found? Yuanyuan is back?"
"That's about it." Xiao Wu whispered, "Evil ghosts cannot leave the place of death. If you have any questions, ask them quickly while he is still conscious..."
Yin Ren remained silent. He looked at the evil thing up and down, as if he was evaluating something.
Ten seconds later, he took two steps forward. The evil thing transformed into the old man climbed down the wall silently. He stretched his neck, and his six eyes almost touched Yin Ren's face.
"Is such that."
Yin Ren cleared his throat.
"Comrade Lu Tanfei, we have found clues about your grandson. Please come with us... Tell me your birthday first, and I will help you with the procedures."
The author has something to say:
Human facial sores are a relatively famous (?) legend. If you are interested, you can check it out XD
Xiao Wu is a member of Group 6, and his partners are Li Xiaozhen and Li Xiaoli. The two girls are probably not discharged from the hospital yet, so he is relatively free.
Hutao: Great, I'm no longer the only wage earner!
Xiao Zhong: Yin... fruit knife
Xiao Yin:? Are you okay, Jackie Chan
(End of chapter)