Merchant of the Underworld

The aunt shook her head: "I don't know. I spend most of my time at my eldest son's house to look after my son, and rarely come back to live there. The old cook often lives at home, how could he not notice it?"

Li Mazi, who had been observing the floor, came over and said to us: "These things have been building a nest for at least a month. We heard some noise just now. I don't believe the old cook couldn't hear it."

I asked thoughtfully: "Could he be mentally disturbed at night, for example, being disturbed by dirty things?"

Li Mazi nodded immediately: "There is such a possibility."

"You two, you must save our old cook." My aunt cried.

I immediately comforted her, and when she felt better, she asked: "I don't understand. Isn't it said that the Baojiaxian will protect the family and the courtyard? Why did the Baojiaxian want to harm our old cook? Although our old cook does not worship Baojiaxian, he never hurts these little animals."

"Wait, what did you say?" I suddenly caught a very important clue.

My aunt was stunned for a moment, probably not understanding what I meant or what I said wrong.

I asked: "You were talking about Baojiaxian just now, right?"

I looked at the cave. Rats, snakes, and hedgehogs. Aren't these three animals three of the five kinds of protectors? There are also yellow skins and foxes. Maybe it’s because these two animals rarely appear in this kind of place, so they don’t appear.

In other words, the one who punished the old cook was actually the Five Immortals from the Northeast? But why do they want to punish the old cook?

My mind suddenly opened up and I thought of many possibilities.

Baojiaxian is very popular in the Northeast. The reason why it is so popular is entirely because of Chumaxian.

Chuma Xian, to put it bluntly, is the Great God Dance. It is a ritual left by shamans to slay demons.

The method of Chu Ma Xian requires the use of two props, Wen Wang Drum and Wu Wang Whip. By using these two things and combining them with Chu Ma Xian's formula, you can invite the Baojiaxian to protect the house and ward off evil spirits.

Isn’t the drum that the old cook kept talking about the same as King Wen’s drum? The old cook also said he was going to lay eggs, and he was probably being attacked by the 'Snake Fairy' at that time.

I said coldly: "It seems that I understand some of the truth. Auntie, let me ask you, is Zhao Dafa from the Northeast? Is the ranking of Baojiaxian enshrined in the family? Mrs. Hu Santa's wife, Mrs. Hu Santa's, etc. etc."

The aunt looked confused: "I'm not sure about this, because I've never been to his house before. But he is from the northeast, and the neighbors in this building can see it."

I smiled and said: "It seems that this matter has a lot to do with Zhao Dafa! In this way, Fengshen Nana, we have to divide our forces into two groups now. If we can solve it tonight, try not to delay it until tomorrow. Hurry up It’s time to get uncle out, no matter what method, even bribery will do, Li Mazi and I will go monitor Zhao Dafa and see if we can find any clues."

Fengshen Nana hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded resolutely: "Okay, if it is really Zhao Dafa who harmed my uncle, I will let him walk around without food."

I smiled bitterly and said stop talking nonsense and act quickly.

Li Mazi and I tiptoed to the door of Zhao Dafa's house.

Zhao Dafa's home was on the second floor. It was broad daylight and the doors and windows were closed. It was quiet inside without any movement.

Presumably Zhao Dafa has gone out to set up a stall by now, right?

But I was wondering, how could a person who sells vegetables at a vegetable market buy a house in this nice community? Even if you don't buy it but rent it, it's not common sense. You must know that the rent here must be very expensive, at least five to six thousand. Can a vegetable farmer afford this?

Li Mazi stood by the window and looked inside for a while. However, the window was equipped with special glass. We could only see the outside from the inside, but not from the outside. We knew nothing about the scene inside.

Li Mazi said if it doesn't work, let's break the window and take a look inside? We will definitely be able to collect evidence. Are you afraid that Zhao Dafa won't buy it then?

I thought about it carefully and rejected Li Mazi's suggestion.

"We are here to save people, not to catch the murderer. If Zhao Dafa is alerted, Zhao Dafa will definitely try to escape, or directly show his hand with us, which will inevitably lead to a fight. I can't guarantee that the person who tied the bell must be tied to untie the bell. I can cure the old cook!"

Li Mazi had a headache and cursed fiercely: "This matter is really fucking troublesome. You said that the old cook is too. He can't offend anyone but this guy from the northeast. Isn't this because he's full?"

Nothing can be said now. All we can do is wait patiently for Zhao Dafa to close the stall.

It’s just that I can’t figure it out why such a capable person would sell vegetables in the market to make a living? This person is really interesting. Is he hiding in the world in a small way, and hiding in the court in a big way?

Li Mazi and I found a relatively hidden spot and squatted down.

I kept squatting until night, but Zhao Dafa didn't come back. Just then, Nana Fengshen called me and told me that she had brought my uncle back and was downstairs now. Let us go down and take care of him.

I had no choice but to give up squatting and go to the first floor with Li Mazi to help the old cook.

The old cook looked even more tragic. His eyes were dull and he had a foolish expression. There was even drooling at the corner of his mouth and his teeth were chattering.

When Li Mazi approached the old cook, the old cook even opened his mouth to bite Li Mazi. Li Mazi was so angry that he pinched the old cook secretly.

The three of us finally carried the old cook home, but the old cook became restless and yelled: "Let me out, let me out, I don't want to be here."

His fear was released from his heart. It seemed that he had experienced extraordinary torture in this residence!

The old cook was running around, trying to escape, but we couldn't stop him at all. We could only tie him up tightly with a rope and throw him on the sofa. He became much quieter.

Seeing the pillar of her family turning into such a crazy look, my aunt couldn't help but feel sad. She hugged the old cook and cried: "Old cook, what's wrong with you? Open your eyes and look at me. Do you want to do this?" Hold on, if you have any shortcomings, how will I live in the future..."

But the old cook just rolled his eyes at his aunt, as coldly as if he were looking at a stranger. I was afraid that the old cook would hurt my aunt, so I simply stopped her aside.

"Old Zhao, you came back so late." Someone suddenly said hello outside the window.

"Yeah, business is good today, come on, come on, I'll give you a pound of mung bean sprouts."

Hearing the voice of greeting, my aunt's temper immediately rose: "Damn it, Zhao Dafa is back. I'm going to find Zhao Dafa for comment now."

I immediately stopped my aunt: "Don't be impulsive, leave it to us. Nana, keep an eye on your uncle here and don't let him run away again. Li Mazi and I will go do our business."

Fengshen Nana nodded immediately: "If you need any help, just ask."

I said yes and took Li Mazi out.

As soon as he walked out of the door, he saw Zhao Fafa.

Zhao Dafa looked to be in his fifties or sixties. He was riding a tricycle with many vegetable baskets on it.

After Zhao Dafa locked up the tricycle, he dragged his tired body upstairs.

His face was covered with gray beard, he was stooped and staggered when he walked, as if he would fall down the steps at any time.

This figure from the back looks pitiful. If we hadn't encountered this, we wouldn't even suspect that this man was trying to kill his neighbor, right?

Just as I was thinking about it, Zhao Dafa had already reached the end of the steps. For some reason, he suddenly turned his head.

My eyes met his inadvertently, and I immediately felt a little panicked. Oh no, could I have been discovered?

But I still managed to stay calm and said, "Old sir, that cart selling vegetables belongs to you, right?"

Zhao Dafa suddenly became nervous: "What...what's wrong?"

"I am from the property management company. Someone complained that there is a problem with the parking of your car, which affects other people's parking. You should move it."

Zhao Dafa breathed a sigh of relief, obviously believing me, and immediately ran down to move the car without any complaints.

But from this, I concluded that there was something wrong with the other party. If I didn’t do anything wrong, how could I be afraid that others would come to my door? But what I didn't expect was that Zhao Dafa's temper was surprisingly good.

After Zhao Dafa moved the car, Li Mazi and I left. This was just to block people's hearing. After Zhao Dafa went upstairs and entered his room, we followed him sneakily and stood there. Listening to the movement inside at the door.

Zhao Dafa was probably too tired. Not long after lying on the bed, he snored slightly.

Li Mazi was a little impatient and asked me, are we just going to watch Zhao Dafa sleep like this?

I said helplessly: "Why don't you go down and watch uncle? I'll continue to keep an eye on him here."

Li Mazi nodded: "Okay, the more people there are, the greater the possibility of exposure."

After Li Mazi finished speaking, he went down, while I continued to stand at the door and stare.

Not long after, I heard movement in the room. Zhao Dafa's snoring suddenly stopped. Then, he sighed vaguely: "What's going on?"

I knew there must be something wrong with his sigh, so I pricked up my ears and listened carefully.

Sure enough, not long after, I heard the sound of moving in the room and the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets.

Not long after, the sound of rummaging through boxes and cabinets stopped. Zhao Dafa was silent for a long time, and then he heard the sound of drums.

The voice was hoarse and dull, not as long and far-reaching as imagined. It just made a quick sound and then there was no movement.

Then there is the sound of dancing master.

"The sun sets in the west and the sky turns dark. Birds fly to the mountains and forests, and tigers return to the mountains. Place the incense table to invite the gods, first the fox, then the yellow, third the python, and fourth the gray..."

My hair stood on end after listening to it for a while. Was he asking for help from a great master?

Not long after singing, I suddenly felt a gust of cold wind coming from behind me, which made my back feel chilly and gave me goosebumps.

I immediately turned around, but was horrified to find a bunch of black shadows standing behind me. The black shadow had a pointed face, a deformed head, and a vaguely lewd smile at the corner of its mouth.

It moved forward step by step, and soon forced me back.

I didn't dare to have a direct conflict with it, so I had to pretend to be passing by, and then stomped down the stairs.

I didn't really leave, but stood at the corner and secretly observed the black shadow. After the black shadow floated into Zhao Dafa's room, I heard Zhao Dafa whispering to the black shadow. I don’t know exactly what he said, but the ghostly figure should have told Zhao Dafa about me being sneaky at the door. In short, not long after the black shadow entered, Zhao Dafa hurriedly opened the door and looked outside.

Fortunately, I hid well, otherwise I would have been discovered by Zhao Dafa.

At this moment, someone suddenly poked me in the spine. I was shocked and immediately turned around to look, only to find that it was Li Mazi.

Li Mazi had an anxious look on his face: "Brother Zhang, it's not good, please go down and see the old cook!"

"Let's go." I realized that something was wrong with the old cook and went downstairs without hesitation.