Laiyang County is quite far away from Qinghua County. Even if experts like Jiang Chen and Yan Chixia ride fast horses, it would take two days to get there. What's more, there are more than ten people in Uncle Song Yu's party, even if there are carriages and horses to travel. , also slowed down the journey. At the end of the day, not to mention half of the road, not even one-fifth of the road had been walked.
At night, because it was located in the wilderness with no village or shop in front or behind, everyone had no choice but to set up camp in a small forest next to the official road and build a bonfire.
Although everyone carried dry food with them, Jiang Chen still took action himself and went to hunt some wild animals. When they came back, Uncle Song Yu's servants and maids cleaned and roasted them, and everyone had a full meal.
After eating and drinking, Jiang Chen simply asked Uncle Song Yu about the events before and after Song Yuniang's death because he had nothing to do. Uncle Song Yu only hesitated for a moment and then told Jiang Chen everything about Song Yuniang's death. After listening to Yan Chixia, he said: "Actually, everything must start from a year ago."
A year ago, Uncle Song Yu was admitted to Jinshi, passed the imperial examination, and was sent to Laiyang County as a county magistrate. Because he was far away from his hometown, he moved his wife, children, and sister with his family from Qinghua County to Laiyang County to settle down. Due to its geographical advantage, Laiyang County is much more prosperous than Qinghua County. The county government compound has several courtyards, which are enough for his family to live in. There is no need for him to buy a new house.
When you become an official, especially a local official, you naturally take on the responsibility of governing a party. Most people who are passionate about officialdom have ideals and ambitions, especially young people like Song Yushu who have just entered the officialdom. This is when their blood boils. , since he was appointed magistrate of Laiyang County, he naturally wanted to work hard to govern and be a good official. To be a good official, you have to be diligent in government affairs, and you will naturally be busy. As a result, Uncle Song Yu inevitably neglected his family.
Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye, and I don’t know who first spread it, let alone when it started spreading. It is said that the back garden of the county government compound is haunted. It is said that as long as late at night, there will be a red streak in the garden. The light appeared, and a vague figure appeared in the red light. The figure seemed to be an old woman, with a short body, a hunched back, and snow-white hair like a broom. She was holding a two-foot-long bun and wandering around the garden. Walk; bow and bow, just like a crane walking. As you walk, you keep spraying water from your mouth, which is red blood, one after another, no matter how long you walk or how far you go, I can't finish spraying.
As a scholar, Uncle Song Yu naturally sneered at this and did not believe it at all. He immediately ordered his wife, children, sister Song Yuniang, and many servants and maids: "In these troubled times, no more rumors can be spread. Since there is something strange in the garden, after nightfall, you guys Then you are not allowed to wander around in the garden again."
Because he is the head of the family, and he has been an official for more than half a year. Although the county magistrate is only a seventh-grade official, he has accumulated some official prestige, and the servants and maids naturally do not dare to do it. from. In this way, more than half a year passed in the blink of an eye. Although the rumor that the back garden was haunted had not disappeared, there were no problems, and Uncle Song Yu gradually forgot about it.
However, by ignoring this, he overlooked something that made him regret his whole life. More than half a month ago, his sister Song Yuniang suddenly died in the back garden.
Except for a faint trace of red water, no clues were left at the scene. An autopsy was performed and there were no wounds on the body. Uncle Song Yu wanted to investigate the truth about the death of his sister Song Yuniang, but before he could get anything, Song Yuniang's body was discovered. There was a strange change.
"Master Yan, Taoist Master Zhiqiu, you have no idea. I saw the tragedy that night, and I was almost scared to death on the spot." Although half a month had passed, Uncle Song Yu recalled that day. What happened at night, I still couldn't help but tremble all over, and my absent-minded eyes were full of fear.
It was the night of the third day after Song Yuniang's death. Song Yuniang's body suddenly opened its eyes. Like a wild beast, she killed several servants and maids in the mourning hall, then broke out of the county government compound and disappeared into the night. middle.
When Uncle Song Yu rushed over after hearing the news, he saw that several servants and maids in the mourning hall had died tragically on the spot. The corpses seemed to have been stripped of all flesh and blood and turned into mummies, which broke into pieces when touched.
"What... what on earth is going on?!" In addition to being horrified, Uncle Song Yu also knew that something big had happened. He immediately sent all the officials in the yamen to find the whereabouts of his sister Song Yuniang's body. However, everyone searched. After a whole night, Song Yuniang's body was not found.
After a tiring night of running around, Uncle Song Yu led a kind of official servant back to the county government office. Before he could take a breath and rest, he never thought that someone would come to report the crime early in the morning, and there was more than one person. A large group of people rushed in. I went to the county government office and reported that a murder had occurred.
More than a dozen people, all young and strong men, died mysteriously last night, and their bodies turned into mummies. This made the people wonder if there was a monster in the county causing trouble. Otherwise, how could it be like this? A terrible disaster occurs? !
The people were afraid, and Uncle Song Yu couldn't help being horrified. The death of those young and strong men reminded him of the servants and maids who died in his mourning hall, and compared with the death of many deceased people. Like, why doesn't he understand what is going on
His sister may have transformed into a corpse!
The theory of corpse transformation has been around since ancient times and has been widely circulated among the people. Almost everyone has heard of it, and Uncle Song Yu is no exception. He doesn't know what happened to the corpse of his sister Song Yuniang, but he also knows that this matter has already happened. When the commotion became serious, they immediately invited a Laoshan Taoist priest to come and perform the ritual.
This Laoshan Taoist priest was also a capable person. After he came to the county government, he held an altar in Song Yuniang's mourning hall that night. Not long after, everyone saw Song Yuniang's corpse walking back from outside like a zombie. , sharp nails, sharp fangs, and blood all over her body, all showing how terrifying she is!
Immediately afterwards, the Laoshan Taoist priest had a fierce fight with Song Yuniang's corpse. Unfortunately, although the Taoist priest had some magical power, he could not do enough. Although he sealed Song Yuniang with a blood talisman, he himself died of serious injuries. He only left a warning before his death. Never remove the blood talisman from Song Yuniang's body. It is best to burn Song Yuniang's body with peach or lychee wood during the day.
Hearing this, Yan Chixia couldn't help but snorted: "The warning left by the Taoist priest was correct, but you didn't follow it."
"Yes." Uncle Song Yu responded with a face full of shame: "I thought at that time, since there was already a blood talisman to suppress it, why destroy my sister's body, so I didn't follow the Taoist priest's instructions, but asked for menstrual leave from Shangfeng and took the people myself. Send my sister’s body back to my hometown for burial in the ancestral grave.”
"Ignorant, fearless, and self-righteous, you so-called scholars are really annoying." Yan Chixia couldn't help but scolded: "Although the blood talisman was drawn by a Taoist priest using his own essence and blood to stimulate his magic power, and it is extremely powerful, in the end it can only The body was restrained for a period of time. The night before yesterday, if brother Zhiqiu and I hadn't happened to be there, no one in the inn, including you, would have survived!"
"Ah?!" Hearing this, Uncle Song Yu couldn't help but startled, his face turned pale, obviously thinking of the tragic situation of those people who were killed by the female corpse Song Yuniang.
"The matter of your sister Song Yuniang has come to an end. Let's ignore it for the time being. All matters need to be returned to the original question, that is, how did your sister die? Why did she transform into a corpse?" Jiang Chen pondered for a long time, and finally He interrupted and asked: "Master Song, can you tell me specifically about the haunting in the garden behind the county government office?"
"This..." Uncle Song Yu pondered for a while, and after a while, he frowned and responded: "I also investigated this matter at the beginning, and repeatedly asked the servants and maids at home, and they all said , at night, I saw a red light emerging in the garden, and in the red light there was an old woman who kept spraying water..."
"Red light? Old lady? Spraying water?" When Jiang Chen heard this, he and Yan Chixia looked at each other. They both saw the confusion in each other's eyes, but they were talking in vain. How could they find out the whole story? He frowned and thought. After a while, he could only say in a deep voice: "That's all, that's all. Early tomorrow morning, we will hurry up and find out what happened at the Laiyang County Government Office. I'm afraid we will have to investigate from the back garden... . ... "