Chapter 22 It’s better to talk about this earlier "Did the blood stains on your clothes, young master, come from when you killed the monster monkey outside the city?" "Exactly." "This needs to be cleaned quickly, otherwise it won't be washed off after a while." "I was planning to wash it after dinner." "Then we have to delay it for a while!" The man frowned and said solemnly, "Besides, there are women in this inn who can help with the laundry, why not ask them to do it?" The waiter at the inn next door was just serving the dishes. When he heard this, he immediately felt that business was coming and nodded repeatedly: "My mother washes clothes for guests in the inn. She has been washing clothes all her life. She can wash any dirty clothes clean without damaging them!" "Then what else do you have to say?" Before Lin Jue could speak, the man spoke first, reaching into his arms and taking out money and slapping it on the table, "Hurry up and wash the young master's clothes!" "okay!" "Hey..."
The waiter moved very quickly, almost jogging over. Without waiting for Lin Jue to stop him, he grabbed the copper coin with one hand, picked up the clothes that Lin Jue had placed on the bench with the other hand, and walked to the back. Lin Jue frowned in confusion and looked at the man. The man just bowed to him and said very politely: "What the man said makes sense. Washing clothes is not worth much money. If you are not skilled in washing and the clothes are damaged, then all the money will be wasted. It is better to leave such things to the women. Your hands are used to slay demons and eliminate evil for the people." However, Lin Jue began to feel that something was wrong. In fact, he had heard about this kind of thing from the village elders. A martial artist who had just eliminated evil for the people came to a tavern and met a man who was impressed by the heroism of martial artists. The man also happened to be a generous and magnanimous person, so he gave him a pot of wine and invited him to drink together. This is understandable. However, those who admire the heroism of warriors, in addition to sending them food and wine, do they also have to pay for washing their clothes? Lin Jue turned his head again and looked carefully. This time, I saw a hint of sadness between his brows and a hint of haggardness on his face. "I see……" Lin Jue remained silent and put down his chopsticks. "You have something to ask of me." This sentence made the man stunned. "This……" He was distracted for a moment, then he no longer concealed it, hurriedly stood up, took two steps to Lin Jue, and bowed deeply. "My name is Wei Yuanzhong. To be honest, some strange things happened in my family in the past month. My family and I were always woken up by being beaten for no reason in our sleep. We reported it to the authorities and asked someone to come and see. They said that there was a demon. We used a lot of prescriptions, but they didn't help much. People nearby said that if we asked a brave and energetic person to stay in our house for a night, maybe the demon would be scared away." "Being beaten for no reason?" Lin Jue found it novel and scary.
"Exactly!" The man named Wei Yuanzhong immediately lifted up his clothes and showed them to Lin Jue. There were scars all over his body, each one was about the thickness of a finger, or even thicker, some were purple, some were red, and some were black. They didn't look like they were caused by a beating in one day. In contrast to the white fat on his body, they looked extremely clear and hideous. "These were all caused by that thing beating me for no reason. Now my whole family doesn't dare to live at home! My brother is the same, he lives in the tea shed all day long!" "Tell me more about it." Lin Jue asked him to continue. "It's hard to explain in detail, because we don't know what happened." Wei Yuanzhong sat down helplessly. "My father died this year, and we took care of the funeral. Some people on the street said that we were unfilial and made our father angry, or that we angered the gods, but we didn't fail to follow the proper etiquette. At most, we had some problems dividing the family property, but it wasn't a big deal. Moreover, there was no such strange thing when my father died. It happened two months later, which is enough to prove that we were not unfilial and had nothing to do with this matter." Lin Jue just nodded and didn't dare to say more. How could someone come here for no reason, not say anything, give you food and wine for some other reason, and then ask you to do him a favor? Besides, he is not a real Taoist who can kill demons. "It started at the end of last month. We were living at home and sleeping peacefully when we were suddenly beaten. It hurt a lot and we could vaguely hear some noises. At first we thought there were thieves, but when we got up and turned on the light, there was nothing there and the doors and windows were all closed. This has happened repeatedly since then and we are all very scared." "It sounds a bit like what's said in a story, where a ghost wants to occupy a person's house, or someone offends a ghost and creates a scene." "That's what everyone says." "Just a whipping?" "It's just a beating. But it's also very tiring. Now we don't even dare to live at home. We can only live in an inn outside. There are more than 20 people in our family, and money flows out every day." "You just said that you used a lot of prescriptions, but they didn't help much?" "I used a lot of folk remedies. Some of them didn't work, but some did, but not much." "for example?" "For example, people in the market say that you can sprinkle black dog blood and boy's urine on the ground, and the evil spirits will not dare to enter. This is almost useless. Instead, it makes the evil spirits angrier and beats them even harder. Another example is sprinkling flour on the ground at night, saying that you can know where the evil spirits come from and where they go. This is completely useless. Another example is going to the temple to ask for talismans. This is a little helpful, but it only works for a few days." Wei Yuanzhong was also a little scared and took a sip of water. "The most useful thing was a statue of a military officer we got from the City God Temple. After that, my nephew slept in our house for several days in a row and was not beaten by that thing. We even moved in. However, after a few days, the statue was no longer effective and the whole family was beaten again. This is our last resort. Since the statue of the City God military officer didn't work, I don't think other methods will work either." "Too good to be true..." Lin Jue has already developed a strong interest in this story. These kinds of strange stories were what he loved to listen to when he was in the village. Listening to them now naturally sounded different, as if he had seen them with his own eyes and experienced them personally. They were gradually turning from stories into reality. The wonders of this world continued to unfold before his eyes. "Well, after all this trouble, we finally understand that the sorcerers and warlocks around here are all scammers and are of no use." "Why did Lord Wei come to me?" "It's because we have no other options, so we're desperate and try everything. Yesterday we heard that a powerful Taoist priest came to our neighborhood, and all the powerful monsters in the neighboring county were eliminated by his magic. We don't know if it's true or not, and we've asked the young people in our family to look for him. Now it seems that they probably won't be able to find him." Wei Yuanzhong became more and more worried as he spoke. "Fortunately, my brother came to look for me today and said that there are two knights outside the city who have eliminated those monster monkeys. As the saying goes, a bold and heroic person can also suppress monsters, so I came to find you, and I want you to come to my house and stay for a night. With your blood and courage, I'll see if I can drive that thing away." After saying this, he looked at Lin Jue expectantly.
It sounds like the idea is not much different from that of Old Master Wang in Heng Village, both of which are to use humans to control monsters. Lin Jue didn't say anything for a moment. It is true that he is interested in this kind of thing, but he is only interested in the story. But Wei Yuanzhong wants him to help, which is different. Lin Jue looked down at the food, the wine glass and the chicken soup on the table and fell into deep thought. Think and consider. If I agree, I am not a Taoist priest with magical powers, or a martial artist with extraordinary skills, so I may not be able to deal with that person. What if I refuse... He came out to seek immortals and ask for the way. There was also an ancient book that could react to magic. It would be wrong to say that he had no interest in fairies and ghosts. At least the Wang family in Hengcun and the roadside temple told him that as long as the magic of fairies and ghosts could be used by humans, it could also cause the ancient book to react. Besides, the soup has been drunk and the wine has been tasted. And today I feel like I am letting off some steam. Therefore, my thoughts are tangled. "Ugh……" Lin Jue couldn't help but sighed and said with emotion: "Brother, if you want to ask me for help, just come over and tell me your name and tell me what you want. If you want to borrow my knife, I may agree to it. Why do you have to do this?" “It’s really helpless…” "I really thought someone admired me and invited me to eat meat and drink wine." "My dear, you are wise! There is also this reason! Even if there is nothing wrong with my family, I am willing to treat you to a pot of meat and a bowl of wine!" "If what Lord Wei said is true, I will stay at Lord Wei's house for one night. Would Lord Wei dare to accompany me?" "With Langjun?" Wei Yuanzhong couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. "Do you dare?" Lin Jue stared at his expression. The man was a little timid, his eyes flickered, and he finally gritted his teeth and stamped his feet: "My dear, you dare to help my family, so why shouldn't I dare? The worst that can happen is that I will get another beating!" "it is good!" Seeing him like this, Lin Jue believed what he said, that the monster only whipped people and did not kill them. Most likely there is some connection. "With the half chicken and a glass of wine given by Duke Wei, and with the kindness of your brother in lending me his broadsword today, what's wrong with me staying at your house for a night? But let me make it clear in advance, I only agree to stay for a night, and I don't have the ability to exorcise demons. At worst, I will accompany you to get beaten up!" Lin Jue really thought so. Therefore, there is a certain straightforwardness in the words.
"I would never dare to ask you to do such a thing for half a chicken and a glass of wine. Please go first, and I will definitely reward you handsomely tomorrow." "I'll be polite." "When are you going?" "Wait till I finish eating!" Only then did Lin Jue pick up the chopsticks again. Now that the words were spoken and the request was granted, I felt relieved immediately, and after eating the meal, I felt much more at ease. He stretched out one hand and first tore a chicken leg off from half a chicken. He put it in his mouth and chewed it with big mouthfuls. He could smell the meat fibers and the aroma of the meat at the same time. He then took a big mouthful of rice. It was so delicious! If I stayed in the village, it would be difficult to live this kind of life. …… Quarter of an hour later, Lin Jue was already full of food and drink. He threw away his chopsticks, went upstairs to get a hatchet, and went out. (End of this chapter)
