White Bone Monkey King

"What! He is Shi..."

Just as the yamen servant was about to stand up in surprise, he was immediately forced back to his seat by Zhang Hu, who had a mature and steady personality.

Zhang Hu glared at his own younger brother and said dissatisfiedly: "Don't scare the snake!"

Hearing that the "Zhao Yun" on the stage was Shi Zhiping, whom they had been looking for for a month, Jin An couldn't help but take a few more glances at the actors on the stage. He didn't expect such an unexpected surprise.

Who would have thought that Shi Zhiping, a criminal wanted by the imperial court, was quite versatile. He fled from the north to kidnap and kill people, to the south to work as a housekeeper for the Song family, and then fled from the Song family to sing in the Caotai opera troupe. He disguised himself and changed his identity along the way. One after another.

"It seems that you brought the old Taoist priest right this time." Jin An gave the old Taoist priest a thumbs up and did not hesitate to praise him. The old Taoist priest was so proud that he calmly twirled his beard and pretended to be a worldly expert in front of outsiders. The clouds are light and the wind is light.

Others may be dubious about the old Taoist priest's fortune-telling skills, but Jin An has absolute trust. The old Taoist priest said that the actor on the stage is Shi Zhiping, so he must be Shi Zhiping.

Well.

It has to be yes even if it’s not.

"It's a bit interesting."

"Brother Zhang, please tell me more about the spontaneous combustion of the evil amulet."

Jin An turned around and said.

Zhang Hu: "This matter starts with a woman."

It turned out that when Zhang Hu and the others were arresting the pickpocket, the pickpocket broke into the theater troupe's viewing booth. Zhang Hu and the others followed him into the viewing booth. When they passed by a simple house made of straw curtains, they heard a woman pinching her throat. The sound of singing and opera came from inside the house.

There was an indescribable feeling. The performance the woman sang always gave people a creepy feeling, like a mournful voice being strangled. As soon as the pickpocket climbed over the wall and hid in the theater troupe, he was frightened by the sound of the woman singing and wanted to retreat and find another way to escape. Then he was caught by Zhang Hu and others who were hot on their heels.

Even Zhang Hu and the others, who were government officials and courageous government servants, were frightened by the creepy singing and opera sounds coming from the house, sending chills to the back of their heads.

At this moment, all the evil-proof charms that several people carried with them spontaneously ignited, and then went out again after leaving the house.

Before they could find out what was going on with the woman living in the house, the troupe leader who heard the commotion came over with a few people, thinking that there was a thief in the troupe.

After resolving the misunderstanding, Zhang Hu and the others also asked the class leader about the situation of the women in the room.

That woman is the class leader's only daughter. She suddenly went crazy not long ago and doesn't allow anyone to get close to her. Even the class leader, an old father, almost had a piece of flesh bitten off his face when he came near. Since then, the class leader has locked up her daughter alone and tied it with an iron chain to prevent her from running around and hurting others.

That is to say, from that day on, the leader's daughter has been singing like crazy, singing so loudly that it makes people cry in mourning. Except for the leader who brings food, everyone in the theater troupe stays far away from the thatched room.

Zhang Hu continued: "When we brothers saw the evil talismans on our bodies spontaneously ignited, we knew that it was definitely not as simple as the class leader said. So we asked the class leader if he had ever suspected that his daughter suddenly went crazy and whether she might be possessed by evil spirits. , have you ever asked a Taoist monk or Taoist priest to show it to your daughter?"

"The class leader's answer at that time was that he had invited doctors and private doctors several times, but either the medicine was ineffective, or the husband was beaten to a bloody head by his daughter, and even though he was not cured, the class leader also subsidized the medicine."

"The Caotai opera troupe run by the troupe leader has a mediocre business, and the income is not high. It cannot afford to hire experts from famous temples and Taoist temples. It is probably because it is cheap and it encounters a charlatan."

"Catching robbers is the specialty of our brothers, and exorcism is the specialty of Taoist priest Jin An and Taoist Chen. Before we left, we were cautious and told the class leader that we knew an expert from the Wu Zang Taoist Temple and could help him. Call me and ask."

Jin An exaggerated Hu and the others, and they must be cautious when it comes to the human mirror.

"good!"

"Wonderful! Great singing!"

At this time, the audience applauded and shouted, interrupting the conversation. It was "Changban Slope" that had finished singing. People who watched it heartily threw coins on the stage. Immediately, someone brought members of the theater troupe to the stage to hold fists in thanks.

"The skinny old man leading the stage is the leader of this troupe, his name is Huang Fulin." Zhang Hu pointed at the stage and introduced Jin An.

At this time, the spectators were very enthusiastic and unwilling to leave, so the troupe continued to sing "House of Flying Daggers".

At this time, new spectators were coming in one after another outside the auditorium, and the aisles had already been crowded. Even the bright summer sun could not stop everyone's enthusiasm for watching the theater.

At this moment, Huang Fulin, the troupe leader, came towards Jin An and the others: "The official work efficiency of these poor men is so fast. I didn't expect that several Taoist priests were invited just after leaving. Huang Fulin, a common man, was not far away to greet us. , I hope you guys can forgive me."

The troupe leader Huang Fulin looked at Jin An and the old Taoist priest politely with a businessman's tact: "This must be the thunderous Taoist priest Jin An. I didn't expect that the little girl's illness could invite the master of the Five Zang Taoist Temple. Jiangzhou Prefecture's Taoist Master People all know that the master of Wu Zang Taoist Temple is young and promising, and he is one of the few truly Taoist masters. This time, with Taoist Master Jin'an coming forward, my daughter's illness will definitely be cured."

Huang Fulin is not all polite and tactful. When he talks about his daughter's illness, this leader who supports the stage opera troupe by himself and has lived a life full of hardships can't help but show sentimentality and his eyes are slightly red.

"Team Leader Huang, you're welcome. Miss Huang's illness cannot be delayed for a long time. Let's go and check on Miss Huang's condition." Jin An briefly greeted him, and under the leadership of Team Leader Huang, several people walked towards the back of the grass terrace.

During this period, Zhang Hu quietly arranged for someone to keep an eye on Shi Zhiping on the stage.

Although Jin An felt that this was unnecessary, he did not stop the actions of Zhang Hu and others.

Now that Shi Zhiping has been found, he is not worried that the other party will run away under his nose. He will let Shi Zhiping continue to perform and use up his excess energy. After finishing Miss Huang's matter, it will be easier for him to interrogate him.

As Zhang Hu said, this grass stage opera troupe is indeed very simple. After walking around the stage, you can see several very simple straw curtain houses. It may not be able to protect against heavy rain.

There are many bamboo poles supported in the open space, and rows of costumes are drying, which is quite spectacular.

Leader Huang led the way and said that the troupe was small and a bit chaotic...

After arriving at the stage, the sound of gongs and drums was much quieter, and Jin An actually heard the sound of women singing opera. Just like what Zhang Hu said, the voice sounded like a strangled cry and a crazy voice. Ordinary people would get goosebumps when listening to it.

No wonder it can scare a pickpocket away from taking another step forward.

Leader Huang is very considerate in taking care of his daughter. Ms. Huang’s current house faces the sun, with plenty of sunshine and good light. Jin An had just arrived at the straw curtain house, and before he opened the door and entered, with his spiritual consciousness, he had already keenly sensed that there was an aura similar to that of a human mirror lurking in the house.

The old Taoist priest took out a yellow talisman on his body. The yellow talisman ignited without fire, and the closer it got to the straw curtain house, the faster it burned.

"This is..." Team leader Huang was not a dull person, he was frightened and turned pale on the spot.

Jin An opened the door, and the sound of singing and opera in the room continued. Others followed Jin An and entered. Suddenly, a crazy woman with unkempt hair and dirty clothes rushed out from a corner and wanted to hurt someone.

"Oh, my mother!" The old Taoist priest and others were frightened by the sudden appearance of the person and hid behind Jin An.

Just like a group of chickens shivering and seeking shelter behind the old hen.

Jin An seemed to have expected it, and stood there with a calm face. He saw that the crazy woman's feet were covered with two iron chains, restricting her range of movement and preventing her from getting close to the door to hurt anyone.

At this time, Jin An noticed that large areas of skin on the woman's ankles had been worn out. Due to repeated wear and tear, the skin and flesh at the wounds had become eroded and turned black.

"It's hot weather now. The injury on your daughter's feet will be delayed for a few more days. The madness will not be cured, and both feet will be disabled first." Jin An frowned and looked at Team Leader Huang.

Team leader Huang said with a sad face that he also knew this truth, but his daughter was hurt when she saw others. Ordinary hemp ropes could not be tied and would be bitten, so she had to go to the blacksmith shop to tie her up with two iron chains.

"With two legs missing, you will be disabled at most, but it is better than running out and hurting people and losing their lives." Team Leader Huang expressed his helplessness.

"Ah!" Miss Huang suddenly screamed, covering her eyes with her hands and huddled in a corner. It looked like she had seen a scary person, was frightened, and tried her best to stay away from Jin'an.

"this……"

Leader Huang was stunned: "This has never happened before. What happened to the girl today?"

"Is this girl afraid of Taoist Jin An?"

The old Taoist priest forgot about his fright just now, his expression was calm, and he regained his ethereal image of immortality and said to Team Leader Huang: "My little brother is full of blood and has great righteousness in his heart. No one who has evil thoughts in his heart dares to confront my brother. See."

Team Leader Huang and Zhang Hu were stunned for a moment and looked at Jin An in surprise.

At this time, Team Leader Huang suddenly knelt down and said with tears, Taoist Jin'an, you are a real Taoist master at first sight. You are not the same as those gangsters. Taoist Jin'an, you must save my daughter today.

I pity the hearts of parents in the world.

Jin An helped Class Leader Huang up and felt relieved for a while before he persuaded Class Leader Huang to kneel down for the second time and promised to help him solve his daughter's strange disease.

After persuading Leader Huang, he did not take action immediately. Instead, he first looked at the layout of the house and then asked casually: "There are many women's daily items in this house. This was originally Miss Huang's room?"

Leader Huang said: "That's not entirely true."

"This girl in my family has been without a mother since she was a child. She has been living with the other female relatives of the troupe since she was a child. But since the girl went crazy, everyone moved away, leaving the girl alone here."

Jin An looked around and found no sign of a human-faced mirror in a conspicuous position. He casually asked Team Leader Huang, who said at a loss that he had never seen such a weird-looking thing in the troupe.

At this time, Miss Huang, who was huddled in the corner, was very quiet, her head buried deep in her knees, her back facing Jin An, as if she was too scared to look at Jin An.

Team leader Huang was once again surprised by Jin An's ability.

He went to see private gentlemen several times, but they were all charlatans who cheated her out of food and drink. No one could get close to his daughter. Only Jin An could not only get close, but he could also scare people so much that they huddled up in the corner and even looked back. I don't even have the courage to take a look.

Zhang Hu and other government officials all looked at Jin An with admiration.

"Master Huang, did your daughter behave strangely before she got sick?" Jin An walked towards Miss Huang. As soon as he was about to approach, Miss Huang was so frightened that she crawled to the other corner and huddled up.

"Weird behavior?"

Leader Huang said solemnly without thinking this time: "Once, the girl woke up from a nightmare and said that she dreamed that a dead person was buried underground in a certain area of ​​the theater troupe, and the dead person kept smiling at her. It was late at night, and other people who lived in the same room were taken to her. The ladies were all woken up."

"At that time, there was a lot of turmoil about this matter, and people were in panic. In order to dispel everyone's suspicions, I concentrated on preparing for the opera on the fifteenth day of the market. I specially led people to dig up several places. Except for mice and ants, there were no traces. Find the body."

"As the girl never had the same nightmare again, the matter gradually faded away. After all, it was just a nightmare and no one took it seriously."

"It's not a nightmare. It seems to be the mistrust of Class Leader Huang, which brought about emotional and psychological shadows on my daughter. Later, when I dreamed the same dream, I didn't dare to tell Class Leader Huang again for fear of being scolded by Class Leader Huang."

Jin An pointed to the location of the bed and said to Zhang Hu: "Everyone go find shovels and hoes, move the bed, and dig down six feet to a depth of six feet."

As soon as Zhang Hu heard this, he could accurately tell the location and depth, and knew that there was most likely something underground.

Faced with Jin An's words, Team Leader Huang was startled, and then regretted looking at the back of his crazy daughter: "Hey, because of the theater troupe, I'm usually a bit harsh on everyone, and my temper is a bit hot. Everyone thinks I am a class teacher who is difficult to get along with, and even the girls are afraid of seeing me angry."

"In addition, the theater troupe has been unable to make ends meet. Since I worry about the theater troupe's rehearsals during the day, and how the theater troupe will survive at night, sometimes I get angry and lose a lot of patience with the girl. Perhaps because of this, She started to keep her worries to herself."

Team leader Huang's eyes turned red and he regretted it endlessly.

"A disease of the heart must be healed by a doctor. We can wait until the things under the ground are dug out." It is said that it is difficult for an upright official to deal with household matters. Jin An did not know how to persuade this kind of conflict between father and daughter.

With the combined efforts of several people, a large pit was quickly dug out of the ground under the bed. As Zhang Hu and the others stopped what they were doing and called Jin'an, they found a female corpse buried under the pit.

Seeing the corpse, Team Leader Huang screamed and backed away in fright.

Only Jin An and the old Taoist priest were brave enough to descend into the pit.

This corpse was just like the nightmare that Miss Huang had, with a smile on its face. This smile was actually not scary, but it still gave people a scary and absurd feeling in broad daylight, because both eyelids of the dead man were sewn shut with needles and thread.

"Laughing corpse? Happy corpse? People have seven emotions: joy, anger, worry, thought, sadness, fear, and surprise. Little brother, do you think this is the joy after thoughts, surprise, fear, and anger?"

After the old Taoist priest finished speaking, he cursed loudly: "This thing must have been buried by that bastard Shi Zhiping!"