Chapter 76



He Zhizhou was given a bowl of sobering soup and woke up with a shocking wail.

He blacked out immediately after drinking Jiuzhou Chungui, and now he can't remember anything. When he opened his eyes, he saw several unfamiliar faces with different expressions, including Ningning and Pei Ji, whom he knew.

"Zhou."

Ningning's eyes were very complicated. He Zhizhou had never seen her so cautious, as if he was a baby who needed to be well cared for and would burst into pieces if he was not careful: "Do you still remember what happened last night and today?"

He shook his head blankly.

The tip of his nose was lingering with a faint scent of incense, which was the smell he had come into contact with in the flower building.

Looking around, he saw red carved wooden chairs, pink and white embroidered butterfly curtains, and warm and light smoke that was extremely ambiguous. As for the girls who surrounded him, they all had beautiful features and were so beautiful that they looked like they had entered a cave.

He Zhizhou's eyes went dark.

No way. No way.

With so many girls, how could he be so beastly? Looking at this situation, even if he squeezed all the spirit stones out of him, he would definitely not be able to pay the price!

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything to them."

Ning Ning saw what he was thinking at a glance, and quickly spoke up to dispel He Zhizhou's doubts and fears.

This should have been a good thing, but she used a tone like a funeral. It didn't seem like she was coming to the brothel to pick him up, but rather like she was attending a memorial service for her good comrade He Zhizhou: "There are girls here who have written down what happened last night. Do you want to take a look?"

He Zhizhou's thoughts were still a little fuzzy. He tried to think with his congenitally underdeveloped and deformed little brain. Since he didn't do anything shameful to the girls, then of course there was nothing to be afraid of -

could he persecute himself?

He nodded without thinking too much. One of the young girls hesitated and handed him a mirror.

Through the vision spirit, the mirror immediately projected the scene of singing and dancing in Nuanyu Pavilion.

At night, the shadows of people were densely packed in the depths of Baihua. The women who came and went were well-dressed and charming. The sounds of conversation, shouting, and carriages were all swallowed up by the tide of laughter. Under the flickering firelight, the outline of the mahogany flower carvings on the eaves was reflected.

In the crowd of people coming and going, it wasn't long before two extremely familiar shadows appeared.

They were He Zhizhou and Tian Xianzi.

Ning Ning and Pei Ji should have watched this video once. At this time, they were silent and stared at the mirror.

"Two young men."

They were handsome and attracted the attention of many girls as soon as they entered the door. One of them smiled and greeted them, and shyly covered her lips with a round fan: "Young men are here to visit, are there any girls you like?"

The person asking is serious, but the person listening may not be.

He Zhizhou, who was outside the mirror, looked at his former self with tears streaming down his face. He said to the girl with great sorrow, "Sister, we are not here to spend money as guests - please take us in and let me be the courtesan here!"

He Zhizhou was confused and looked at Ningning with horror.

The latter shook her head with pity, indicating that there was more to come.

"Young Master, are you drunk?"

The woman's eyes twitched. She smelled the increasingly strong smell of alcohol on them and took a few steps back in fear: "What's the point of you two grown men staying in Nuanyu Pavilion?"

"I was forced to do it."

He Zhizhou wiped away the tears from his eyes with his sleeves and sobbed as he glanced at Tianxianzi beside him: "Have you seen my second uncle? It's a pity that he got the late stage of smallpox at such a young age. I can do anything to make money for his treatment - Hurry! Second uncle!"

The last three words were growled out, a bit like a wicked mother-in-law making things difficult for her daughter-in-law.

Tianxianzi was still in a daze and was startled for a moment. After staring at him blankly, he actually cooperated very well and began to shiver all over, rolling his eyes and twitching non-stop.

Outside the mirror, He Zhizhou's little head was twitching.

——Help! In order to become an oiran, he forced Master Tianxian to do such a thing!

Fortunately, Master Tianxian himself did not see this video here, otherwise the Xuanxu Sword Sect's dinner tonight would probably be stir-fried He Zhizhou meat.

No.

Maybe he had seen it before?

The woman in the mirror had never encountered such an outrageous thing. When she heard the word "smallpox", she was immediately frightened and continued to retreat.

In panic, I heard He Zhizhou continue to say: "If it was just this disease, maybe I could sell my pot and sell my iron to treat him, but who could have thought that my second uncle would suffer from hysteria not long after!"

After he finished speaking, he glared at Tian Xianzi again. Tian Xianzi was willing to be a servant to his children. He continued to twitch as if he had been electrocuted, and cried and laughed with his eyes blank, mumbling something in his mouth. It was very scary.

He Zhizhou no longer dared to look down, and shrank on the stool and trembled.

At the same time, he heard his own voice in the mirror: "Not only that, he was diagnosed with gastroenteritis, pharyngitis and severe postpartum depression yesterday - my second uncle! If you hadn't dropped out of school to support my studies, how could I have grown up like this!"

This time, even He Zhizhou himself couldn't help but complain.

- Get out! Your second uncle must be regretting that he has grown up like this! And what's the "severe postpartum depression"? Are you sick! ! !

Tian Xianzi in the picture showed a somewhat embarrassed look, his expression froze, and when he stared at him blankly, he met He Zhizhou's sinister and cruel eyes.

He Zhizhou finally knew why he felt that his eyes were very familiar.

Isn't this the expression of the vicious concubine in the palace drama when she feeds the little white flower cannon fodder with a deadly poison?

Tianxianzi felt so wronged that he spoke in a low voice: "I can't..."

He Zhizhou narrowed his eyes, his eyes were fierce, and he roared like an old cow from his throat: "Huh?!" He is

really not a human.

A tear fell silently from the corner of his eye.

He looked at himself in the mirror with his eyes, and his appearance became more and more hideous and hateful. Tianxian uncle was pitiful and had no way to escape, and the people around him were attracted by them, and many of them turned their heads curiously.

Under the threat of He Zhizhou's ferocious look, Tian Xianzi fell backwards with red eyes and the blood spitting out of his mouth was as sad and beautiful as a dream.

He has a strong craftsman spirit, adhering to the principle of never faking, he directly slapped his chest with sword energy, and in full view of the crowd, ushered in a performance belonging to the Xuanxu Sword School.

The young man in white fell heavily to the ground, and the blood at the corner of his lips was so clear. After a brief pause in the picture, Tianxianzi began to tremble wildly.

That was no longer a posture that humans could imagine.

At first, he just lay on the ground shivering, his limbs trembling constantly, and soon it seemed like he had a hysterical attack, gradually mumbling and whispering, crying and laughing like wearing a mask of pain, very scary.

And when he stretched out his hands, this shocking scene reached its climax.

Tianxianzi was seen shivering and talking to himself in a little girl's voice. He covered his stomach with his trembling left hand, bent his body into a shrimp shape, and strangled his throat with his right hand. His eyes were wide open, and he occasionally coughed hoarsely: "Uh, uh, ah..."

This scene was really weird, and several girls screamed in fear. He Zhizhou beside him cried loudly and shouted sincerely: "Second Uncle! I will definitely become an oiran and cure you! You must hold on!"

What a touching story of a master and a disciple, comparable to a world famous painting. It is recommended to name it: Zhizhou's Gratitude.

The crowd was in awe. I wonder if anyone recognized that the brother who was lying on the ground and twitching was the famous Elder Tianxian of the Xuanxu Sword Sect.

The girl who initially received the two men was frightened and turned pale, not daring to move.

In the chaos, a woman in a red dress suddenly came forward, asked about the whole story, and said hesitantly: "These two may be drunk and unconscious... It's not easy to act like this, so let's do them a favor and let them stay for now."

The scene ended here.

He Zhizhou was about to stuff his entire fist into his mouth. He trembled for a long time before he tentatively asked, "My handsome, noble, and arrogant master Tianxian, who is the best in swordsmanship, does he know about this?"

Ningning shook her head, looking at him as if he were a dead person, "He seems to be still drunk. I don't know if Master will remember this. You're on your own."

She paused and continued, "Not only that, you also stole Miss Hongyu's coat, disguised yourself as her, and hid in the guest's bed—"

He Zhizhou: ...

He Zhizhou: "Can you leave me alone? Have some shame."

=====

He Zhizhou suffered a psychological trauma. After crying and apologizing to the girls in Nuanyu Pavilion, he locked himself in the room and thought carefully about what expression he should use to face his uncle Tianxianzi.

Ningning sighed and patted his shoulder: "At this time, just smile."

She wanted to stay in Nuanyu Pavilion to continue to inquire about the news about Luan Niang, so she was not in a hurry to leave; and there were not many guests in Baihuashen during the day, so the girls had plenty of time, so they found a room and chatted again.

"We mentioned before that although Luanniang had never been to school, she suddenly learned to write and recite poetry - there's more to her strangeness!"

The cat-eyed girl blinked and swung her legs on the chair: "I'm a few years younger than her. When I came here, I was still young, so I only had to learn etiquette and didn't have to entertain guests. Therefore, I had much more free time than others. At that time, I was bored all day, so I would go to see what the other sisters were doing from time to time. Unexpectedly, I discovered something about her cat."

Her tone was mysterious, and not only Ningning, but also the girls in the Nuanyu Pavilion next to her showed curiosity and urged her to continue.

The cat-eyed girl pursed her lips and smiled, deliberately lowering her voice: "Luan Niang seems to be communicating with someone."

"Communicating?"

"Yes! She summoned a carrier pigeon at night, put the letter on it, and then the pigeon passed it to another person."

She chuckled: "It was the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep and stood in front of the window to watch the scenery. Unexpectedly, I saw a carrier pigeon flying into her room. It was like a guilty thief, afraid of being seen by others."

"So, Luan Niang has learned to write since then."

Ning Ning asked her curiously: "Why don't you use a communication talisman?"

This time the other girl chuckled: "Miss Ning Ning, it takes spiritual power to activate the talisman. We have never learned fairy magic, so we don't know how to use it."

"I wonder if you have ever heard of a rumor in Luan City?"

Someone else spoke softly, "It is said that if you use souls as chips and blood as a medium, and make a wish to the Luan bird, the wish will come true. Isn't the sacrifice of souls a perfect match for 'Taoists cannot summon souls'?"

This is a legend Ning Ning has never heard of.

In her mind, the Luan bird has always been a symbol of good fortune, and it has nothing to do with such a cruel sacrifice. Moreover, if all the wishes of everyone can be realized in this way...

it would be too easy.

"The city lord had married a wife before."

Seeing that she was half-believing and half-doubting, the cat-eyed girl continued, "You would never have thought that Luan Niang's personality changed drastically, I caught her delivering a letter in the middle of the night, and the previous city lord's wife suddenly became seriously ill... all at the same time."

Ning Ning was stunned, and she smiled and said in a deep voice, "The reason why she knew the method of sacrifice must be that she was instigated by the person who delivered the letter. First, she let the real city lord's wife die suddenly, and then slowly changed herself into the city lord's favorite appearance, setting traps step by step to get close to him - if you think about it this way, isn't it done in one go?"

In this way, who was secretly communicating with her became the biggest doubt in the whole incident.

But what was his purpose in helping Luan Niang? Were the subsequent missing girl cases also committed by the two of them?

Ning Ning thought about it but couldn't find any ideas, so she had to put this person aside and concentrate on asking for clues about Luan Niang: "You talked about her 'big change in temperament', I wonder where this came from?"

"Let me put it this way, she grew up in the red-light district since she was a child, and was the most ordinary prostitute. She would greet customers whenever she got one, and would say one thing to one person and another to another - we are all like this, and we all think it's for survival, there's nothing to say."

The cat-eyed girl said: "But since one day, she suddenly became a little bit wrong. I can't tell you exactly what it was, but I always felt like she had become a different person. She always stood aside gloomily, and I don't know what she was thinking."

"Yes, yes, yes! She seems to have become more aloof and cold day by day."

The braided girl lay on the table. Even if she just raised her eyebrows slightly, she had a charming charm that could capture the soul: "The former Luan Niang was no different from us. Since she started to get close to the city lord, she didn't like to laugh or talk. At most, she smiled at him vaguely. It was only two or three times that she completely attracted the city lord's soul."

She thought for a while before she made the final conclusion: "She seemed to know what kind of woman the city lord would like, and she completely turned herself into that type."

This sentence was very appropriate, causing several girls present to nod in agreement.

Only one person frowned and said softly to Ningning: "Miss Ningning, don't listen to their nonsense. Luanniang and I grew up together, and I know her best. She is definitely not a sinister person, and she would never do such a shameful thing."

It was Miss Hongyu.

"She has always fought hard. Once she has made up her mind, she will never let go. In the past, she wanted to raise enough money to leave Baihuashen, so she used all her skills to attract customers. If she wanted to marry the city lord, then it makes sense for her to study calligraphy and poetry for him and change herself into a personality he likes. It has nothing to do with gods and ghosts."

She is the oldest among the little girls. Although the others are not convinced, they all puff up their cheeks and keep silent out of respect for Hongyu herself, listening to her continue in a gentle voice:

"We are born poor. If you say you don't want to live a good life, it must be a lie. Even if Luan Niang deliberately changes herself into a different appearance in order to get close to the city lord, I don't think there is anything shameful in it."

"Sister Hongyu, are you still speaking for her?"

The cat-eyed girl snorted coldly: "She has never had any contact with us since she married into the city lord's mansion. The last time we met her at the lantern festival, the woman clearly saw you, but she looked at you as if you were a stranger - this is clearly not right!"

Hongyu touched her head: "With our identities, it is reasonable for her to deny us. Although I feel disappointed and angry, I don't want you to put the blame on innocent people out of personal likes and dislikes."

Although she said this, from the clues Ningning has already grasped, the truth behind the disappearance of the girl in Luancheng is likely to be related to Luan Niang.

But if we want to find out... where should we start?

Ning Ning's thoughts were a mess, without a beginning or an end. While she was thinking silently, she suddenly heard the wooden door of the room being pushed open. She heard He Zhizhou's desperate voice: "Ning Ning, help me! My money... my money is all gone!"

=====

He Zhizhou's wallet was empty.

He had found treasures in the pagoda before, and this time he had picked a lot of spiritual plants in the secret realm. He happily sold them and got a bag full of cute little spiritual stones.

However, when he finally sobered up from the drunkenness, in the despair after persecuting his uncle, in order to make himself happier, he wanted to take out the spiritual stones in his wallet to observe carefully, but found that there was not a single ash left. He

was not happy at all, and he was even more desperate.

Just like the heroine in the romance novel is the hero's fate, those stones are also the fate of the poor little ghost He Zhizhou. Thanks to him, Ning Ning and Pei Ji entered the Criminal Court in Luancheng for the first time.

The Criminal Court is not much different from the police station. After the public reported the case, the surveillance camera, that is, the Luan bird image, was quickly used to record the city.

According to the criminal justice envoy who received them, thanks to the magic set by the city lord, Luan City has been open at night and no one picks up lost items on the road in recent days. To be able to lose all his belongings under such circumstances is a talent.

The picture kept wandering in the depths of Baihua in the middle of the night. After an unknown amount of time, two extremely familiar shadows finally appeared in the mysterious mirror.

It was him and Tianxianzi.

He Zhizhou thought of the tragic case in Nuanyu Pavilion again and almost lost his balance.

Tianxianzi in the mirror stood blankly on the side of the road with a strange man standing in front of him. The man held a lush and green potted plant in his hand, smiling: "This is our ancestral money tree. As long as you give me money, I can turn into double the spiritual stones."

He took out three low-grade spiritual stones and shook them behind the potted plant. Then he spread his fingers and they actually became six.

- Because there was a lot of them hidden in the pot.

This was an extremely stupid street scam. Any normal person would never be fooled.

It was a pity that Tianxianzi was not a normal person at that time.

"So amazing, so magical!"

Tian Xianzi clapped his hands stupidly, grinned foolishly under the man's constant instigation, and took out a pitiful 100 spirit stones from his wallet: "This is all the money I have, please!"

Although the liar saw that this was a drunk fool, he never thought that he was actually a poor man who was so poor that he had to scratch his feet. For a moment, his smile froze and he was about to say something but stopped.

However, although a hundred is little, it is still money. The man just took them in his hand, and suddenly heard He Zhizhou's righteous roar from not far away:

"Uncle Master, what are you doing?"

He Zhizhou outside the mirror was so happy that his mouth was crooked. He slapped his thigh and said, "See it! I am worthy of being me. I can stay sober even after being drunk!"

Then he was seen in the picture throwing his head back and laughing loudly. Then he stood staggering in front of the man and made a three with his fingers: "The money tree is so magical, how can one hundred spirit stones be enough! I'll bet more!"

The tea that He Zhizhou had just drunk was puffed out. He took a deep breath of cool air and sipped it. Amidst the throbbing heartbeat, he heard his own voice: "Add more! Three! Million!" He

then grabbed Tianxianzi's wrist, tears welling up in his eyes: "Great, Uncle Master! We have encountered all the miracles in the world! We are so lucky!"

He Zhizhou: ...

He Zhizhou rolled off the chair with his eyes rolled up, not realizing that his entire fortune combined was not even a fraction of thirty million. Unfortunately, no

matter how much he regretted it at this moment, the scene in the mysterious mirror would not reverse or stop.

Being cheated out of 30 million overnight by the money-swinging scam, Senior Brother He seemed to have aged 30 million years in an instant. He sat on the floor with a sad face and suddenly heard Ning Ning's voice: "Wait - what you gave him doesn't seem to be a banknote."

He Zhizhou suddenly came to his senses and turned into a stick man, standing up straight from the ground.

He was seen in the mirror writing and drawing with a pen and paper, and immediately handed it to the scammer with a happy face after finishing.

The white paper was obviously not a banknote. The man was still smiling impatiently, but when he glanced at it, his face suddenly became strange.

"The spring breeze brings warmth, and thousands of households are laughing. A friend gives you 30 million--"

He began to shiver violently as he recited, his teeth chattering with anger, and his voice trembling non-stop: "You must be happy, you must be blessed, you must be healthy. With these 30 million, you will definitely have a happy New Year--I will bless you! How dare you, you little brat, play tricks on me?!"

He Zhizhou cried with joy, and in a short moment he experienced the greatest joy and sorrow in his life: "It's worthy of me!!!"

As soon as the man said the last sentence, Tianxianzi, who was half dumbfounded beside him, drew his sword and frowned in the reverberating sword light: "Who do you say is the brat?"

Although Tianxianzi was drunk, the instinct to protect the child was still there.

He had a very high level of cultivation. Now, just by drawing his sword and aiming at the man not far away, the latter suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood under the layers of pressure, unable to stand, and fell to the ground.

Even a fool could see that these two people were not ordinary people.

"You, you wait!"

The man knew he was in the wrong, and he was not as skilled as the other party. If a fight really broke out, not only would the 100 Lingshi he cheated be gone, he would also have to bear a large amount of medical expenses. In more serious cases, it would even become funeral expenses.

A real man can bend and stretch. He struggled to get up from the ground, stumbled and ran back, saying the most cruel words in the most fearful tone: "Two idiots! Don't let me meet them again!"

The cheater ran away like this.

The plot is full of twists and turns, and even He Zhizhou, the person involved, was confused. So where did his money go?

"You, you, you, what are you doing! Is this a place where you can just barge in?"

He was standing there in a daze, when he suddenly heard the gruff voice of the criminal judge behind him, followed by an inexplicably familiar young man's voice: "I'm looking for someone - the one inside! Hey, Mr. He!"

The three of them turned around together and saw a young man in white clothes who was sweating profusely.

"I finally caught up with you! You are indeed a cultivator, how can you walk so fast?"

He wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief and chuckled, "Mr. He, there is one more graveyard you bought last night that needs to be confirmed by fingerprints, otherwise I can't complete the task."

He Zhizhou was completely stunned: "Wait! What graveyard?"

"You bought it from me last night!"

The young man grinned, "Don't you remember? You bought more than a dozen graveyards for yourself, and said you wanted to make the entire cultivation world your graveyard!"

Make the entire cultivation world your graveyard.

He Zhizhou's heart sank.

"This, this," the young man continued with a smile and very professionally, "you had already planned it last night. The head is placed in Beihuang City, the body is buried in Zhuluzhou, and the hands and feet are scattered in various city-states on the border in turn. In this way--"

As he spoke, he took out a map and connected the dots, and it turned out to be a stickman shape spread all over the place:

"In this way, if you plant a few He Zhizhou in the spring, you can harvest tens of millions of He Zhizhou in the fall. When the He Zhizhou all over the country unite, a single spark can start a prairie fire, overthrow the feudal rule, and establish a great new socialist country--although I don't understand what you mean, but this is what you told me last night."

He Zhizhou: ...

Another tear fell from the corner of his fragile eyes.

How can this be considered buying a grave?

This is like sending yourself to be torn into pieces.

Ning Ning shook her head and just wanted to give him a thumbs up: "You are worthy of being like this."

"That's not the point."

Only Pei Ji frowned and said in a deep voice: "Since the City Lord's wife has a problem, and she specifically ordered us to drink the not-so-strong Jiuzhou Spring Return... didn't you notice? Senior Sister Zheng, who should have been with Master and Senior Brother, was not seen in the entire Baihua Deep when we were browsing the video just now."


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