"Don't be disgusted, everyone. Who doesn't want to do business with someone who comes to their door? If I really couldn't accommodate you, I wouldn't say this, but it is indeed available. I will call my assistant to take you to have a look."
The shopkeeper bowed apologetically, went back behind the counter and called the waiter who had been there before. The latter was still looking closely at the eight burly men behind Lu Liangsheng. After hearing what the shopkeeper said, he hesitated for a moment, but still stretched out his hands.
"Sir, and everyone else, come this way!"
"Thank you for leading the way!"
Lu Liangsheng returned the greeting with a smile, called the Taoist priest, and Lu Pan, the other eight people followed the waiter out of the inn and turned into the alley next to it. The alley walls were old and covered with moss, and because of the rain, the ground was bumpy and muddy. Fortunately, the alley was not long. Compared with the noisy street on the other side, this side was a green bamboo forest. Occasionally, there were a few graves mixed in the forest, which looked a little eerie.
The guy was afraid that the bamboo forest view would scare these people, so he turned around and said:
"Everyone, these forests all have owners, and most of the dead are buried on their own land."
Lu Liangsheng looked at several graves in the distance. The tombstones were covered with moss, and the soil was overgrown with weeds. There was no sense of negative energy at all. It seemed that they had been reincarnated for some time.
He retracted his gaze and said with a smile:
"Brother, it's okay. We have walked a lot and have been through many wild mountains and wilderness. A few graves are not enough to scare us. By the way, why is that house so remote?"
"It's not that far actually. It's just ahead."
With rustling footsteps, the waiter pointed to a bamboo forest. The dry ditch was glowing green. They walked across the wooden bridge and arrived at the house that the shopkeeper had mentioned.
Wow wow —
A cluster of bamboos stood by the wall with their branches drooping. An old crow seemed to be startled by a human voice and let out a scream, then flapped its wings and flew out. The long walls were covered with dark blue moss, the courtyard gate was covered with withered and yellow bamboo leaves, and tattered lanterns hung on both sides of the eaves, swaying gently, revealing the broken bamboo strips inside.
"Sir, this is it."
The guy took out the key, opened the brass lock, and then pushed the gate open with difficulty. The accumulated dust fell down.
Ahem~~
The waiter coughed twice, waved his sleeves to fan away the dust, and invited Lu Liangsheng in.
"Everyone, do you think it's pleasing to the eye? This place was originally the residence of a wealthy family, but it later fell into decline and the family moved away. Many years later, it fell into the hands of my shopkeeper, who didn't have time to take care of it."
Lu Liangsheng naturally wouldn't believe all the words that the family had fallen into poverty and had to abandon such a big house. However, this courtyard was comparable to the residence of Grand Secretary Zhou in Hegu County. It was a pity that it was so dilapidated.
As far as the eye can see, the whole yard is withered and yellow, the eaves are covered with fallen leaves, the color of the feng shui walls has long since fallen off, leaving many spots from wind and rain, making it look dilapidated.
The scholar took a look at the Feng Shui wall and then turned to look at the shop assistant.
"It's okay. We'll just have to stay here for one night. Brother, go back and bring us some food."
"Okay, okay. Then you and the others can go find a few rooms to stay in. I will bring you food later."
After writing down the names of a few dishes, the waiter hurried out, looked back again, swallowed, and walked quickly across the wooden bridge to the backyard of the inn.
The Taoist stood at the door, retracted his gaze, and led the old donkey in: "The shop owner looked in a hurry and didn't want to stay any longer. I'm afraid this place is haunted?" When he said this, his eyes lit up.
Lu Pan, who was packing his luggage, raised his head, and Lu Xi, Lu Qing and others followed suit and dropped their things.
"Are you trying to harm the strangers? Let's go and find the innkeeper to argue with him. We must destroy his inn."
"No need, just let it be haunted."
Lu Liangsheng stopped the eight people from going out to find the shopkeeper, and used some magic to poke each of them. Then he waved his hand, took the bookshelf off the old donkey's back, picked it up in his hand, and walked straight to the backyard.
"If there really is a sneaky disturbance, it would add to the fun."
The eight people looked at each other in confusion. They could understand what was being said, but they just didn't understand why they were being pointed at.
At the side, the Taoist also tapped his forehead, took out a few yellow talismans from his cloth bag and hid them in his sleeves. Turning back to see them still standing there, he jumped onto the stone steps and said with a grin, "Ask me, and I'll tell you what it means."
beg
Lu Pan and the other eight men had solemn expressions on their faces. Their chest muscles bulged through their open clothes. Their fingers were clenched into fists, making slight "cracking" sounds.
"Take action? I won't tell you!" Sun Yingxian stood up and jumped directly to the eaves of the front hall. He leaped inside, passed through the empty front hall, and went along the corridor to the backyard.
There was an old well under a dead tree. Lu Liangsheng found a wooden barrel, tied it with a rope and threw it into the well. The water that came up was full of moss and had a fishy smell. After pouring out a few barrels, the water was finally tolerable.
Watching the dirt slowly settle in the water, you can still use it for washing after boiling it.
'Hmm... it's time to learn some magic to clean up the debris in the water.'
Thinking about this, he picked up the bucket and went to the nearest room. The sun gradually slanted in. After a while, someone outside called out, "Sir, good men, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"
The waiter who had led the way before came over with the dishes and the other two waiters in the store who were carrying bowls, chopsticks and rice buckets. He looked up at the sky, which was sunny. He exchanged a glance with his companions behind him and heard the eight big men shouting in the backyard. He breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over with a smile on his face.
"Dear guests, your food is here... This is spicy and sour cabbage shreds fried with old vinegar, two servings of steamed pork elbows with soy sauce, and three roast geese made with our secret recipe. Guests, don't underestimate the geese because they are a little small, there is something else inside! I guarantee you will enjoy it later."
While carefully placing the round table in the middle of the room, he announced the names of the dishes, which attracted eight big men to gather around. They looked at the table full of dishes and started drooling.
There are not many dishes, but I made two or three extra portions of each. We can't afford such delicious food at home every day, not to mention that we have been traveling for half a month, and when we see so many dishes, how can we control ourselves
Lu Pan and eight other people, including the Taoist priest, stood around the table and ate with their faces flushed. He turned around and called Lu Liangsheng, who was still washing up in the room, to come and eat.
"Liangsheng, what are you doing? Come over and eat."
In the next room, Lu Liangsheng, after washing up, changed into a simple scholar's robe and tied a silk scarf, came out looking quite refreshed. At the door of the dining room, the waiter who had led the way before was standing there looking around the yard.
When he saw the scholar crossing the threshold, he said, "Sir, be careful," and then spoke in a low voice.
"Sir, when it gets dark, go to bed early. If you hear anything, don't open the door. If you see a fire in the yard, don't go out."
Lu Liangsheng looked at the guy in front of him in surprise, then nodded with a smile, "Thank you for the reminder, brother, but is this place really haunted?"
"Yes, yes. I think you have a kind face and don't look like a bad person, so I told you this. Don't spread it around."
At this point, the waiter stretched his head to look at his two companions who were busy making the beds, then turned back and said:
"This house has actually changed hands many times, but people were scared away each time. Finally, my shopkeeper bought it at a low price. Two guests have stayed here before, but they were so scared that they ran to the inn and knocked on the door before dawn. They didn't dare to go back and stayed there, so they waited until dawn the next day to go back and pick up their luggage."
Lu Liangsheng frowned slightly: "Then why does your shopkeeper want to let others live here?"
"Ah." The waiter sighed, and seeing his companion coming out soon, he spoke faster: "The shopkeeper said that no one will die anyway, so it's a waste not to make money. There is only one inn in this town, and those who want to stay here can just stay here. Okay, okay, remember what I said just now, go to bed early, and don't open the door to anyone in the middle of the night, no one!"
The waiter's two companions came out, he apologized, and then they hurried away together.
Lu Liangsheng raised his head to look at the time and shook his head, "Let's eat first!"
Soon, the sky gradually darkened.