Return to the Mountains
This is exactly why those who knew the inside story of that year only burned paper and worshipped in the dark alleys.
Everyone in the city is in danger now because of the rampant monsters, and notices to catch monsters have been posted long ago. They are doing this to prevent the incident from being discovered by those who are tracking down monsters, for fear of disturbing the peace after Zhao Sheng's death.
The reason why Aunt Wu told Ding Can was simply because she thought that Ding Can looked young and kind, and should be a reasonable person. In addition, she had just been told that she might be possessed by an evil spirit, so she told everything out of fear.
"This matter should have nothing to do with Zhao Sheng." She hurried to explain, not wanting her good intentions to do something bad.
Ding Can nodded: "Don't worry, Aunt Wu, now that I know what kind of person he is, even if the demon exorcism really involves him, I will have my own judgment."
Aunt Wu remembered the reason why she came with her: "Miss, didn't you say you would give me some talismans to ward off evil spirits? Things have been really going wrong lately."
Ding Can had just made up this story because he wanted to get more information out of her. After listening to the story for a while, he almost forgot about it. "I'll give you a few more. It's good to put them up around your house to keep away ghosts."
She looked around and noticed a ghostwriting stall nearby.
After borrowing paper and pen from someone, he dipped the pen in the ink on the corner of the table. The moment the tip of the pen touched the paper, a barely perceptible golden light flashed.
Then she wrote a string of runes directly on the paper in an orderly manner, and repeated the process many times. A piece of paper was filled with a long string of neatly arranged runes. She lifted it up and found that the ink had dried up automatically by the time she finished writing.
Ding Can handed it to Aunt Wu and said, "When you get home, cut these into different shapes. They should last you half a year without any problem."
Aunt Wu took it. Although she didn't understand what was written on it, she felt a little clearer and brighter when she looked at it. "Shouldn't it be made of yellow paper and cinnabar?"
She had seen Taoist priests walking around the city selling various talismans before, and they were all made of the same materials.
"As long as the person who wrote the talisman has enough skills, the material has nothing to do with it. Don't worry, you will definitely sleep well tonight."
"Thank you very much, young lady. I have something to do at home, so I will go home first." Aunt Wu thanked her and left in a hurry.
Ding Can took out his purse from his pocket and asked, "Excuse me, how much does it cost to use your paper?"
"No, no," the boss handed over another piece of paper. "How about you write two for me? Maybe it can help ward off demons."
"No problem." The talismans she wrote were much more useful than those written by charlatans. If they were really sold for money, they could indeed be worth a lot.
After finishing his business, Ding Can turned around and went to Caifangzhai to buy the rouge that A Lian wanted. On the way back to the City Lord's Mansion, he was thinking that what he heard was just what happened from Aunt Wu's mouth. Maybe there was really nothing wrong with it. Zhao Sheng was a man of integrity, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be people with evil intentions around him.
If someone is angry about this and wants to avenge him, it is actually understandable, but many years have passed, and it is not known whether it is possible to find out who were his relatives and friends at the time.
There is still some time before evening, so don’t be idle.
When she entered, she saw A-Lian taking a nap in the room. However, the little white snake on her wrist raised its head to greet her first, and then jumped over to her as if it had springs, sticking to the pillars and gauze curtains in the middle of the room.
It was so small that Ding Can subconsciously caught it with his hand. He really felt the cold body temperature of the cold-blooded animal, but it was not as wet as he had imagined. It was actually dry.
She didn't know if it could understand what she was saying. Just as she was about to speak, the little snake's tail wrapped around her, grabbed the box of rouge in her hand, and ran away.
Ding Can breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was there to greet him, but it turned out that he was just there to get something for his master.
Only then did A-Lian turn over in bed. She had been sleeping with her head propped up, and her neck was bent upward into a very beautiful arc. When she opened her eyes, the corners of her eyes were slightly raised.
"It likes you very much."
Ding Can smiled and walked over: "Alian, how long have you been in Lancheng?"
"About half a month ago. I originally wanted to go to the nearby mountains to get some ingredients for refining medicine, but then I heard that monsters appeared here. I thought I could eat and drink well here, so I came here. The treatment at the City Lord's Mansion is really good."
There was someone to take care of her food, clothing, housing and transportation at the mansion, which was much better than the inns she found in the city.
"Well, I heard an old story today. I wonder if it has something to do with the monster we are looking for."
Ding Can also sat on the couch and told A Lian everything in detail. If this monster really had some connection with Zhao Sheng, could it be that it took advantage of Zhao Sheng's depression to devour his mind?
But no one knows why he chose to lie dormant for several years.
A Lian held her chin in her hand and said, "Why not dig up Zhao Sheng's grave and see if he has any special reaction when he encounters a monster? Then we'll know."
Digging graves is really disturbing, and those who secretly worship in the city certainly don't want to disturb him too much.
However, A Lian's words did remind Ding Can that although he couldn't dig up the grave, he could go to his grave and take a look.
A-Lian adjusted her sleeves a few times, and the faint buzzing of insects became apparent. "I'll go with you. I'll take my pets with me. They also miss the moist soil, and they're most comfortable in places with strong yin energy."
She used to live in the deep mountains of the southwest, and the poisonous insects were used to living in the fog. Whenever she went away, they were never as active as at home.
After agreeing with Qin Ran and the others to meet at a residential house in the northwest of the city in the evening, Ding Can and A Lian went to the cemetery on the outskirts of the city.
The Zhao family was not a wealthy family and did not have any family cemetery. According to inquiries, it was arranged in a circle of cemeteries around the charity cemetery, but the exact location was unknown.
The two stopped at the door of the charity cemetery where white lanterns were floating. The door was half open and covered with obvious spider webs. It was unknown whether anyone was still living there.
When A-Lian first arrived here, small insects flew out from her sleeves and the sachet she carried with her, fell into the soil and disappeared.
After walking in, the scene inside was different from the messy one had imagined. Many coffins were neatly arranged on the left and right, and they looked like they were wiped frequently, and looked spotless.
"Is anyone there?" Ding Can asked, but the surroundings were extremely silent, as if there was no living creature except the two of them.
No one responded. I thought they must have gone out to deal with someone else's body. Just when I was wondering if they had run away, there was a clanging sound from one of the coffins that was not closed tightly, and then a bony hand came out.
The curved joints looked particularly hideous, and now the sun was obscured by thick clouds, making the scene look gloomy.
"You are looking for me." First, an old and deliberately drawn-out voice was heard, and then a man with white hair sat up from among them, with a few strands of hair covering his forehead.
After the old man finished speaking, he saw that the two of them did not look frightened. A moment of regret flashed across his face, and then he supported the coffin lid with his hands and jumped out of it very neatly.
When he stepped on the ground, a small cloud of dust flew up. He sighed and said, "Why are there two little girls? Aren't you afraid?"
"Since you are a living person, what is there to be afraid of?"
This man's surname was Chang. He had been the undertaker of the previous charity cemetery since he was a child and had been here for about fifty or sixty years. He curled his lips and said, "But what's the matter with you guys coming here? Someone in your family has died and you need to bury them? You seem to be ignored at home, so I guess that's why I sent you here."
"No, we want to ask you about a person, no, a body, a soldier from Lancheng who died about twenty years ago, Zhao Sheng."
She saw that Lao Chang's brows knitted slightly when he heard Zhao Sheng's name, lost in reminiscence. It was obvious that he had an impression of the name. "Do you remember him?"
"I was indeed the one who buried this man, but as far as I know, he probably has no descendants. Are you his relatives?"
Lao Chang covered the coffin again. Now that the weather was warm, he would occasionally take a nap in the yard.
Ding Can shook his head: "No, I just heard about his deeds back then, so I wanted to come and pay my respects. I just didn't know the exact location, so I came here to ask."
Old Chang looked at the two men's empty hands and immediately knew that they were not here for this matter. "I deal with corpses all day long. There are no paper money or gold ingots to sell here. As for the ones I picked up, they can only be used for wandering ghosts. They are not worthy of proper worship."
"I came in a hurry and forgot to prepare these, but the thought is there, isn't it?" Ding Can said cheerfully, thinking about his face which looked a few years younger now. It should be useful to make such an expression.
Fortunately, Lao Chang was not aggressive: "I know where he is buried. Follow me."
"Do you know who was taking care of Zhao Sheng when he was seriously ill?"
At that time, Zhao Sheng's wound infection must have been very serious, and he definitely needed someone to apply medicine and take care of his daily life. If we can find this person, we may be able to know what his mental state was like before he died.
Do you feel resentful because you were hurt, or do you accept it calmly?
"One of his neighbors heard his dog barking one day and thought something was wrong, so he went to check on Zhao Sheng. He was already dead, but his body was still warm when he touched it. He must have died not long ago, and there must have been no one else around."
"Both his parents were deceased, and he had been living alone his entire life, so no one held a funeral for him. In the end, they just found a place to bury him hastily."
Even though he has collected many bodies over the years, he has a very good memory. Even if he forgets the name, as long as he remembers the place where he collected the body, he can remember where the body was buried.
After leaving the charity cemetery, walk along the path and you will soon see small mounds of different sizes. Some of them have tombstones, while others only have thin wooden pieces inserted, without even the names written on them.
As Lao Chang walked along, he came across some blank tombstones and scattered some sacrificial items he had made on them, so that even if there were no descendants to worship them, they would still have some comfort in the afterlife.
"Look, this is the grave in front. Over the years, I've probably only come here occasionally to pay my respects, but I've never seen anyone else come here."
A-Lian glanced at it calmly: "There's no grass on this grave?"
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