Room 601, Building 4.
After dinner, Zhong Cheng said he locked himself in his bedroom early. When Yin Ren was waiting for the ghost market to open, he was checking the test paper in the room.
All kinds of curses are ineffective against Zhong Chengshuo himself. But many times, as the "Yan King", he needs to verify the remnants of curses on the scene. So Zhong Chengshuo invited a superb spirit craftsman to create such a set of test papers.
This is his trump card to identify unknown curses.
Zhong Cheng said he was reluctant to use up the test strips as they were used up. Unfortunately, he had already used up all other verification methods a few days ago.
There seemed to be no curse upon him.
This set of precision test papers was his last hope. Seeing Yin Ren leave the door, Zhong Cheng took out the test papers immediately.
He ran into the master bathroom, mixed the potion with his own blood, and dotted the extract on test strips. Dark red test strips were hung one by one, and the small bathroom became filled with an evil atmosphere.
The test strips swayed gently on the string, like a string of dried corpses. Zhong Chengshuo sat on the toilet lid, motionless, imitating the "Thinker" sculpture, with the lens glowing white under the light of the bathroom.
Time passed slowly, and the blood potion dried up completely. The color of the test paper did not change at all, and there was no trace of water.
Still no sign of the curse.
Unfortunately, my phone is still vibrating.
Is it because of the "bustle"
After all, Yin Ren said that he likes lively places...
It is also wrong to be polluted by evil spirits. To him, evil spirits are like water drops rolling over lotus leaves, leaving no trace.
This is not right, Zhong Cheng said and continued to ponder on the toilet lid.
Walnut: "Is he taking a nap? Why is he sleeping on the sofa?" He even forgot to wear a nightcap.
[Finally: I don’t have that much, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to turn it around. Do you want me to call the police for you? ]
Is there anything special here
Is it because his bedroom is easy to monitor? Or is it because he has the most advantageous angle for the fight? Zhong Cheng said, lying on the soft sofa, his eyes scanning the living room.
Zhong Chengshuo, who was sitting on the sofa, opened his eyes instantly and grabbed his phone swiftly.
Mr. Yan Wang took a deep breath and lay down like Yin Ren.
Judging from Yin Ren's performance, the man was suspicious of his identity and just kept his distance... Yin Ren sneaked into Shi An and did nothing... What exactly did Yin Ren do...
[Fruit knife: 100,000]
[Finally achieved success: … … … … … …]
Heart disease, unknown curses, and pollution from evil spirits were ruled out one by one... Could it really be a "psychological factor" as Sun Qi'an said
Zhong Cheng said that he knew he was not good at getting along with people, so in order to ensure that his identity was not exposed, he would preset various scenarios - such as dealing with strange enemies, and getting along with relatives and friends. He even rehearsed the details of being interrogated by the security guards and getting along with colleagues countless times in advance.
Since it is not a curse of instant death, the purpose of the curse is probably to intimidate. However, using this subtle curse that cannot be verified cannot have an effective "intimidation" effect at all - even if it is to avoid fear and consciousness, doing so is too roundabout.
Zhong Cheng said: “…” He knew that this guy was not honest, and sure enough, something happened!
Yin Ren left the house, and his residence returned to its former quietness. There was no more vague music and lines from movies and TV shows outside the door, and no more laughter or movement from another person. It was so quiet that it was a little abrupt.
[Fruit Knife: Is Brother Zhong here?]
[Finally achieved success: Forget it, how much do you need?]
Yin Ren liked staying in the living room very much. He almost never went back to the bedroom and would lie back on the sofa after washing up. Zhong Cheng said to lock the door and slowly approach the sofa in the living room, as if it was a sleeping beast.
Lu Tanfei: "Maybe he's worried about Xiao Yin."
From this angle, he could only see the French windows "below his feet". The French windows were decorated with the night view of Haigu City, with thousands of lights shining brightly, giving people the illusion of floating above the stars.
[Fruit Knife: Can I borrow some money?]
They lived together, and Yin Ren also knew where his parents lived. There was no telling how many ways he could use to control him.
Hu Tao: "Yin Ren won't be back for a while. Come on, Brother Lu, I'll teach you—"
Zhong Cheng said he couldn't help but open the bedroom door - the opportunity is rare, so he might as well investigate it thoroughly.
The sofa was soft, and the cushions were marinated with the flavor of Yin Ren. The subtle fragrance overwhelmed him, and Zhong Cheng's eyelids gradually became heavy. Relaxation and vigilance surged at the same time, and his heartbeat became disordered again.
[Fruit Knife: [Bitter]]
so terrible.
[Finally a happy ending: “Maybe”?]
But Yin Ren was different. That man broke into his territory openly and raided whenever he wanted. With such a guy around, Zhong Cheng said he gradually felt powerless.
The time turned to one o'clock in the morning, and Zhong Cheng slowly closed his eyes.
Walnut and Lu Tanfei in the corner: "…"
[Fruit Knife: Save me! It’s very important, maybe it’s related to the case, I can reimburse you!!!]
[Fruit Knife: I’m in the ghost market, hurry, hurry, hurry [bad]]
[Finally achieved success:?]
Her voice was drowned out by the vibration of her cell phone.
No, he should first guess Yin Ren's purpose.
an hour ago.
Zhong Cheng said as he slowly put down his phone and lay back on the sofa. He must have been half asleep to have dreamed of this "Yin Ren disturbed people in the middle of the night just to borrow money" scene.
After thinking for a long time without coming to a conclusion, Zhong Cheng quietly recycled the test paper and flushed the burnt paper ashes into the toilet.
"No problem, lead the way." Yin Ren said.
Old Dog Peng laughed twice, then he bent his back and walked towards the corner of the street with Yin Ren.
Those quaint old houses had gaps that were just wide enough for a person to pass through sideways. The doors and windows of the old houses were completely black, and in comparison, those gaps were inconspicuous, more like ditches overflowing with sewage.
Peng Laogou led Yin Ren along the edge and soon found two neighboring mansions. One of them looked like an ancient residence, and the other looked like an old-fashioned wine house. The gap between them was slightly wider and filled with turbid night fog.
Unlike the other gaps in the building, this gap has bright red spring couplets on both sides, as if to sew two large buildings together. The words on the couplets are like chewed bones, and it is impossible to tell what is written on them. Only the red paper is bright and juicy, like white silk that has just been soaked in blood.
A stone sculpture of a tomb beast was placed across the entrance to the crevice, turning it into a stone threshold.
Old Dog Peng plunged into the alley.
Entering the alley was like entering water. The voices in the ghost market suddenly became muffled. All that was left was the gray mist in front of and behind me, and the swaying figure of Peng Laogou. The road should have been straight, but it became more and more curved as I walked. The bluestone road surface gradually turned into mud, which made a gurgling sound when I stepped on it.
The two of them turned around and crossed countless intersections.
"Here—" The sound was very sharp, it should be the human acne on Peng Laogou's body.
Yin Ren looked up and saw two huge black characters on a white background. Dangpu has two floors with carved railings and painted buildings, which is particularly magnificent. It is built at the end of a road, with three or four meters high white walls on both sides. The walls are hung with various red lanterns of different shapes and sizes, and everything is painted with a layer of red light.
Looking up further, the top is no longer a clear starry sky, but a thick darkness.
They were surrounded by a crowd again. But this time, no one around them had their faces covered.
An old man here was carrying a bird cage, with birds jumping around in it and occasionally making sharp, hoarse cries. A young man over there was carrying a trendy bag, with his pupils flashing through the gaps in the zipper.
A simple peasant woman was carrying a bamboo basket, revealing two or three skinny hands from under the veil, with skinny fingers twitching from time to time. A child in a red shirt was running around, giggling. A closer look revealed that the child's facial features were all on the top of his head, and his laughter was floating up along his forehead.
Yin Ren made a rough estimate - the people here were completely different from the guests in the Ghost Market in terms of strength, and were a whole level stronger.
He subconsciously held his breath and became more cautious.
"Hey, did you notice something wrong?" Old Dog Peng laughed. "The ghost market is a place where people gather and buy daily necessities. If you are really capable, do you still need to go through such troublesome channels?"
The old man stretched his neck, looking proud.
"'Ghost Shop' is a place to find good stuff. What you see now is just the 'middle class' of night walkers. People like King Yan, Nirou Zhang, and Wu Laoxian'er, no matter what they want, as long as they open their mouths, someone will find them and give it to them."
"Who is that?" Yin Ren pointed at the "person" at the door.
It was clearly a zombie with long hair and ancient clothes. Its bruised flesh clung to its bones, a melon skin hat was fastened on its head, a pair of gold-rimmed round glasses were placed on the bridge of its nose, and there was an... electronic cigarette in its mouth.
It kept swallowing up clouds and spitting out mist, and the two glass eyes in its eye sockets rolled around.
"That's the owner of the 'Ghost Shop'. Everyone calls him Old Zombie."
Old Dog Peng introduced it mysteriously.
"Zombies are one of the few 'evil things with a physical body' in the world, and they are on the verge of extinction these days. This old zombie is a reclusive person, and he has lived in the ghost market for more than 300 years, and only his body is still alive."
As both of them were "evil entities with physical bodies", Yin Ren changed the subject without leaving a trace: "Little Meng Po will definitely come?"
"She's always here. She likes to look for materials here. If not, I'll write her last name backwards... Let's go in."
"No need to write it backwards. If she's not here, you can refund me half the money." Yin Ren suggested.
Old Dog Peng pretended not to hear.
The pawnshop only looks like a pawnshop in appearance, but it looks more like a crosstalk theater inside. There are rows of square tables at the bottom, with a lot of melon seeds and fruits on them. There is a golden and red background on the stage, and two black wooden couplets are hung on both sides. This time the words on them are serious words -
First couplet: There is nothing new in love, hate, and vengeance
Second line: There are old friends in sorrow and joy, separation and reunion
The horizontal inscription reads: Don't make a noise.
The front row was already full, and Peng Laogou dragged Yin Ren through the crowd, finally finding a corner to stand in. This place was far from the stage, but fortunately there wasn't much obstruction, so they could barely see what was going on on the stage.
When there was no more room in the audience, the old zombie came to the stage swinging his white silk ribbon. He leisurely put away his electronic cigarette, patted his loose silk clothes, and put a microphone on his collar.
"The auction is about to begin." In contrast to its dry appearance, its voice is very attractive. "As usual, we will auction 18 items today. Each one is carefully selected by me, please take a look, dear guests."
The first thing that was put on the table was an old-fashioned radio, the antenna was covered in blood, and a hoarse hissing sound came out from the machine from time to time. The old zombie turned the button casually, and the hissing sound turned into a human voice.
[… As usual, I will be bidding on 22 items today…]
"A naturally formed spiritual device, a Black Bull brand radio. Just place it in a fixed location and you can pick up sounds from the past. Ladies and gentlemen, this thing is perfect for reminiscing about the past."
The old zombie shook his head, and his thin neck made an ominous creaking sound.
"It's a pity that it can only go back one year, it's a bit limited, otherwise this thing would be a masterpiece."
There was a buzz from the audience, and many elderly people looked fascinated.
The ghost king, who had no past to remember, was not interested in the radio. Yin Ren carefully felt the crowd, trying to find the scent of the "little Meng Po".
The radio was quickly sold for $97,000.
"The next item is a good one, a 200-year-old pig-killing knife with a fierce aura. It's not as powerful as a weapon, but it can suppress evil spirits. Ghost masters, please take a look at it..." After selling a "wolf bone handle carving knife", Yin Ren finally found Little Meng Po. The old lady sat in the front row with a tense face. Maybe there were too many spiritual weapons auctioned today, and she hadn't found the material she wanted.
Yin Ren instantly abandoned Peng Laogou and started to squeeze towards Xiao Mengpo.
Just as he squeezed near the stage, the next item was put on the stage.
"A cherrywood chair of unknown origin. It has a human touch and body temperature, and occasionally causes vomiting and convulsions. The seller wishes to remain anonymous and has entrusted it to us for sale with a message."
Lao Jiang took out his cell phone in a serious manner and read every word.
"'The game of hide and seek has truly begun'... Well, that's all. Now let me show you the details of the workmanship of this chair..."
Yin Ren raised his head and saw the chair.
At first glance, it is a warm yellow wooden armchair. But upon closer inspection, the “all-wood” may be questionable.
The warm and moist wood surface is surprisingly filled with fine skin textures, with tiny hairs sticking out from the depressions. The joints between the chair legs and the hollow backrest also have subtle protrusions and gaps that look like folds of flesh.
The chair was trembling slightly, making a whimpering sound similar to a "light cough". The turbid liquid flowed down the legs of the stool, forming a fishy pool on the table. Every time the old stiff hand passed by, it would tremble obviously for a few seconds.
Yin Ren stopped.
Too strange.
From his perspective, the position of the chair seemed to be half a person curled up in it. It was like a baby in its mother's womb, far from being a complete life.
But it is indeed "alive" and has a bit of vitality, which is not something that a spirit craftsman can make.
Yin Ren changed his target and squeezed a little closer. He closed his eyes, blocked his ears, and concentrated on sniffing the chair. The stench of dirt, the sour smell of sweat, and the fragrance of wood mixed together, and at the bottom of the smell, he smelled a little bit of murderous smell.
The source of pollution in the Feng Qi case came from the same evil spirit, and even the concentration of the odor was similar.
This is indirect pollution from pollution sources.
"50,000!" Yin Ren came to his senses and heard someone bidding next to him.
Yin Ren quickly raised the locust wood sign: "60,000!"
"65,000—" Not far away, Little Mengpo looked at him twice.
"75,000!" Yin Ren gritted his teeth.
Items related to evil spirits would not appear randomly, and he had a hunch that this thing was related to the Lu Guangzu case. Even if it was not related, it was enough to lead to another case.
This chair is not very useful except for collection. Little Mengpo probably intends to buy it to study its medicinal value. Yin Ren hopes she will give up.
"80,000." The old lady snorted coldly.
"82,000..." His salary was almost gone, and he could get a formal loan to cover the rest in an emergency. But given his situation, he probably wouldn't be able to borrow much.
In a hurry, Yin Ren clicked on the Apple avatar that Zhong Cheng mentioned.
Comrade Xiao Zhong has woken up, but we can only give him spiritual support.
[Finally: I don’t have that much, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to turn it around. Do you want me to call the police for you? ]
[Fruit Knife: [Bitter]]
[Fruit knife: I really need it urgently]
"95,000—" Little Mengpo started raising the price again.
[Fruit Knife: Trust me this time]
[Finally achieved success: …]
[Finally: Okay, you order the things first, give me 20 minutes.]
"One hundred thousand!" Yin Ren held the locust wood sign high.
Little Mengpo stretched her face and squinted her eyes as she looked at Yin Ren, looking quite unhappy.
"100,000 yuan once - 100,000 yuan twice - OK, deal!"
This time, before Yin Ren came forward, Little Meng Po squeezed to Yin Ren's side. She had weasel-like facial features, and her eyes were fixed on Yin Ren.
"You're new to the ghost market, don't you know what's going on? You know how to leave even when the ghosts are setting up shop." She said with a sinister smile, "I really was blinded by the geese, I didn't recognize you. You didn't buy medicine yesterday, it was fake, you were looking for someone, right?"
Yin Ren did not deny it.
"Boy, I saw you were hesitant in making an offer just now. I hope you didn't buy that stool just to attract my attention. The rules of the ghost shop are very strict."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yin Ren saw Lao Zhuang take out a fan and knock it on his palm. Two things like shrews came out from the stage, they turned into two afterimages between the legs and rushed straight to Yin Ren's shoulder.
Two strange rats quickly climbed onto Yin Ren's shoulders. They looked like rats in every way, except that they had double human eyes, which made people feel uncomfortable.
Yin Ren didn't move. He let the two strange rats stick their noses into his ear holes and sniff deeply.
"This man doesn't have enough money!" shouted a strange rat.
"Not enough money!" the other one shouted.
"If you don't have enough money, give me some meat. Take off your mask and clothes and see how you can sell your bones." The two mice shouted in unison.
Around Yin Ren, the crowd retreated voluntarily, forming a circular vacuum zone. The night walkers whispered to each other, and there was a sense of schadenfreude in their whispers.
Peng Laogou came close at some point, pounding his chest and stamping his feet: "Hey, why don't you do something else? Why are you taking random photos?"
Yin Ren: "But I want that chair."
"People want so many things, how can they have everything they want?" The old man jumped off the stage with his knees stiff. "The last time the money was not enough to shoot, how many years ago was it? Nine years? Ten years? Old Peng, you didn't tell people the rules, did you?"
"This guy is a fool all his life. He just said he was looking for someone. It has nothing to do with me!"
"But rules are rules," said Lao Zhuang.
"I can make up for it later."
In the world of metaphysics, there is no order without rules. Lao Jiang was in the right, and Yin Ren did not want to ruin the situation: "Wait another ten minutes, my people will come to give you the money."
"No, hand over the collateral first."
The old zombie clapped his hands, and two mice responded by biting off the string of Yin Ren's mask. The silver mask slid in front of Yin Ren and was caught by him.
There were gasps of varying sizes all around.
Lao Jiang: "Isn't this a good thing to pledge? Just your face is worth at least 1 million. Put it in pledge with me first, and I'll pay you back when the money arrives."
Countless eyes from all around were cast upon Yin Ren's face.
Unlike in the outside world, there was no surprise or desire in those eyes, only greed of varying degrees. It was as if Yin Ren was not showing his face, but a treasure chest full of gold. In an instant, he seemed to have completed the transformation from "guest" to "commodity", from a living person to a dead object in the eyes of everyone.
"Why not just take the photo right here?" An unpleasant voice came from the crowd, "I'm just in need of a good-looking face—"
The old zombie's face twitched, but before he could say anything, a black light flashed from the crowd and headed straight for Yin Ren's heart.
In the shadows, Yin Ren made a move. The black light suddenly turned around and went back to where it came from.
But only for a moment.
The next moment, a scream broke out from the crowd. After a moment of movement, a complete human head rolled over from the ground, with smoke still coming out of the broken neck.
Yin Ren: "Oh, is this backlash? Is it so serious?"
After saying that, he turned to the old zombie with a smile and said, "So you guys can take other people's bodies as property. Why didn't you say so earlier?"
His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, and the crowd, who had been restless just now, instantly quieted down.
Yin Ren picked up the head and said, "Here, can this be worth 10,000 or 20,000 yuan? I'm not far behind."
Lao Jiang narrowed his eyes and looked at Yin Ren in an evaluating manner.
It has lived for four or five hundred years and has seen countless practitioners, but it just couldn't figure out what was going on in that confrontation.
The old zombie recognized the man who had just attacked. He was a spirit craftsman who wanted to join the Sunken Society and always came to him to break the rules. He had a bad temper, but his skills were not bad... Could it be that he was really eager to save face, and his evil magic backfired
Can't see through.
But it’s also not meant to be seen through.
"That's enough." Lao Jiang took the head calmly. "Ah, I told you several times not to make a fuss, not to make a fuss... Now that it backfired, who can I blame?"
"Boss, you are so generous. I will definitely bring enough money next time." Yin Ren smiled.
"It's quite interesting." Little Mengpo clasped her hands and said nothing more.
The two shrews ran away with the human head, and the old zombie jumped onto the stage again. He sat empty and waved his fan. "You just said ten minutes? There's less than half a minute left. Let's wait for this little friend—"
The end of the sentence is covered by the roar of a motorcycle engine.
A man in pajamas and a helmet rushed in on a motorcycle, with a dazed-looking delivery man sitting on the back of the motorcycle.
"19 minutes and 44 seconds." Zhong Cheng said as he took off his helmet.
"I have asked, and Shi'an has allowed you to use the mission funds. If it is proven to be related to the case, Shi'an will reimburse you. If it is not, interest will be calculated based on the average loan rate and deducted from your salary."
After he finished speaking in one breath, he looked at his watch again and breathed a sigh of relief.
“…Do you accept credit cards here?”
The author has something to say:
Don’t learn from Xiao Yin. Even if it is through formal channels, don’t spend money in advance, and don’t borrow large sums of money from others casually.
Learn from Xiao Zhong, don’t lend large sums of money blindly, go directly under official supervision.
By the way, don’t touch e-cigarettes… my old lungs have dried up (…
———
Xiao Zhong: Think carefully
Small bell: zzzZZZ
Xiao Yin: No problem, lead the way
Xiao Yin: ...The biggest enemy is having no money!
(End of this chapter)