Qizhou

At the foot of the mountain, the people of Zhuxi Village were terrified and couldn't close their eyes all night.

They were close to the entrance of the village, with their hands sticking to the barrier made by He Qizhou, afraid that the dawn would come, and they were also afraid that the dawn would not come.The few young people who made fun of Sui Nian were scolded, but at this moment they couldn't utter a word of excuse, so they could only sit on the ground one by one, letting the elders around them babble non-stop.

"It's not that you offended that fox. How could it remove that enchantment? I've said that young people must be organized! How can they act like you!" Mrs. Zhu Si, as an elder, naturally shouldered the responsibility. Regarding the responsibility of educating the younger generation, the fourth sister-in-law has always been eloquent, but now she is impatient, and she can't stop talking.

Zhu Yuan was still wearing that dress, and she had been scolded by her for almost five rounds, so he could only say lazily: "But didn't you all always dislike that fox... Let's teach him what's wrong, and the fourth sister-in-law didn't say much No, he said he stole your dried radish..."

"What do you know about children!" Mrs. Zhu Si got angry, and continued to scold with her hands on her hips, "I'm the one who said it, did I do it! I didn't tell him in front of him, he just talked about it with He Daochang Shuangjin is right, Daoist He is kind to me... How can I not give him face! How can I be like you! Throw him into the water when he comes up!"

"Aren't we..." Zhu Yuan wanted to defend himself, but was interrupted by a serious cough.

Everyone shut their mouths and hurriedly looked in the direction of the cough.Zhu Wentao coughed, and didn't want to say anything more. Zhu Fuxue was still on the mountain, and his life and death were uncertain. He really didn't have the patience to deal with the verbal disputes between the old and the young in this village.Everyone saw that he had nothing to say, so they started to chatter again, but all the criticisms in these words were pointed at Zhusheng who was squatting aside.

If he hadn't killed the fox and offended the fox, maybe Zhuxi Village wouldn't have suffered such a catastrophe.

These words stuck in Zhusheng's ears, making him extremely uncomfortable.But it was indeed caused by him, and it was useless to argue at this time, so he could only stay where he was, and let the villagers teach him a lesson.

"I told you not to provoke him, but you will not listen. Look at this big mess, who can take responsibility! It's useless for us to pack things up now, and we can't run away. See what you want to share and say, so let’s pull it off.”

"What did you say earlier! You also said that the fox stole your vase. If you don't push these young men, can they seek justice for you?"

"Then I... that is to say, did I let them do it? They themselves..."

"Shut up!" The middle-aged man who stood aside and listened for a long time cursed impatiently, and everyone stopped talking again.The man stood up slowly, patted Zhu Wentao's shoulder lightly, cleared his throat, and said seriously: "What's the benefit of your appearance? My son Zhu Sheng did not behave properly, but he is our My own people, you are now arguing with yourself because of an outsider, is it interesting?"

The person who spoke was none other than Zhu Shangwu, the elder of the village who had been busy outside for the past few months and came back only recently.And here, he has another identity: Zhusheng's father.

Zhu Shangwu naturally thinks that for so many years, this child has been raised by him alone, and sometimes he has spoiled him too much, which made Zhu Sheng domineering, but this is still a child after all, so he will not blame all the crimes for this mistake. It's all his fault.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhu Shangwu continued: "Zhu Sheng acted recklessly, but it doesn't mean that Daoist He is completely innocent. As an elder, let me be fair, if it wasn't for that fox demon who committed crimes first, let The people in the village suffered so much, how could Zhusheng target him like this for the sake of the village? If he suffered because of this, it was because of his fault first. Since he is a monster, he should be prepared to be targeted by others, isn't this the truth? "

When the villagers heard the words, they felt that there was some truth in the words.

Zhu Shangwu said again: "Ten thousand steps back, even if Zhusheng made any mistakes, there is a reason for it. This fox stole Fuxue, which is my future daughter-in-law's dowry. Zhusheng asked for the dowry back for his fiancée, to seek justice. What's the problem with a little punishment? Are you so guilty of targeting your own people for this?"

"This..." The village had just criticized Zhusheng with one voice, and it seemed to make sense.He Qizhou is an outsider, and Ci Nian is not even a human being at all. Do they deserve to blame Zhusheng for these two guys who won't stay in the village for a long time?You must know that Zhusheng and Zhufuxue had a marriage contract long ago, and they will be married in the future. Zhusheng will be the next village chief in all likelihood...

Thinking of this, the people of Zhuxi Village all realized, "That's right..."

"That's right, maybe he really stole Fuxue's dowry!"

"Zhusheng just pushed him into the water. He said he would remove the enchantment as soon as he said it would be too stingy..."

"That's the truth, that's the truth..."

"What's the reason, let me hear it?" Before the villagers started talking, a familiar voice came from the mountain road outside the village.Everyone raised their heads one after another, and saw He Qizhou on the left and Zhu Fuxue on the right. The two were walking slowly along the mountain road with their exhausted Bi Nian.

On the way they walked, the falling bamboo leaves were turning green, and every step they took, the sun on the mountain top shone brighter.The sky is gradually turning blue, and the morning light is about to break.When Zhu Wentao saw his daughter came back, he couldn't care about anything else, he rushed out of the village, hugged Zhu Fuxue in his arms, and sighed heavily.It had nothing to do with punishment or anger. The father just put his heart that had been hanging all night back in his stomach, and kept saying, "It's good to be back, it's good to be safe..."

Zhu Fuxue smiled with her mouth flattened, tears were about to fall again, she said softly: "Father, it was the Taoist priest and the young master who saved me, they brought me back."

Without further ado, Zhu Wentao took a step back and was about to kneel and kowtow to the two of them.He Qizhou was still supporting him, but he couldn't stop him at all. They were in a hurry to settle the father who had been waiting all night.This whole night, he seemed to have aged ten years. The obsessions of ordinary people are nothing more than good health and a safe house. No matter how strange this Zhuxi Mountain is, he who guards a village is just an ordinary person.

"Is everything all right?" Zhu Wentao's hands trembled, he lifted Zhu Fuxue to trim her forehead hair, but he was afraid of touching the wound on her forehead.

Zhu Fuxue shook her head: "I'm fine, I'm fine with nothing!"

Zhu Wentao asked again: "Then...the one on the back mountain, what exactly is it? What does it want? Our village..."

"The village is fine, we are fine." Zhu Fuxue threw the sack on her shoulders and threw it heavily at the entrance of the village. The bag was wet and heavy, and there was an unspeakable stench. The moment the sack landed , and there was a strange sound of something being crushed, which scared the whole village back, but no one dared to take a step forward.

Seeing that no one dared to move, He Qizhou drew his sword and opened the sack so that the villagers could clearly see what was inside.The more courageous villagers took two steps forward, saw the wide-eyed head at a glance, screamed strangely in surprise, and hurriedly hid behind and dared not move again.

The timid ones asked him what he saw, but he shivered for a while and didn't hesitate to come out.

Zhu Fuxue said: "This thing is the monster that has been hiding in the back mountain for so many years and has been causing trouble everywhere."

There was a commotion in the village, and they all looked at the filth on the ground. No matter how they looked at it, they felt that this thing, which was only the size of a dustpan, did not look like a vicious spirit.Zhu Fuxue said again: "Its head has been chopped off by us, and it is here."

"Us?!" There was another uproar in the village.

Zhu Fuxue took two steps forward and turned slightly sideways. The early morning sun just shone on her side face. She bit her lower lip and introduced firmly: "He Qizhou, Master He. Farewell to the year, the fox from Zhuxi Mountain Daxian, it was they who saved me, killed this monster, and they also kept the peace of Zhuxi Village. Xi Nian is not an overbearing, unreasonable and vicious monster. New Year's...Little Immortal!"

She spoke the last few words slowly and firmly.

Ci Nian couldn't stand stably, so he could only hang on He Qizhou's shoulders. Hearing this, he suddenly raised his head and stared blankly at Zhu Fuxue, his drooping ears trembling slightly.

What was she talking about... what did she call herself?

Not only the resignation, but also the villagers present were all stunned.They seem to have just remembered that the night Zhuqing entered the village, it was this frightening fox who cut the monster cleanly and neatly.

But after all, he has blocked Zhuxi Mountain for so many years...

He Qizhou sighed slowly, and said: "Hundreds of years ago, the ancestors of Zhuxi Village settled here. At that time, there was already this monster in the mountain. He was in the shape of a toad, and his name was Zelao. On this point, if you look over the village records, you can get relevant information.”

As soon as they heard the word village chronicle, everyone's eyes fell on Zhu Fuxue again. After all, in this village, except for her and the village chief, no one knew what was written in the village chronicle. Sharing, but other people are not willing to turn the book at all.

Hearing this, Zhu Fuxue nodded firmly: "That's right. There have been records about toad spirits in the village chronicles."

He Qizhou said again: "After a while, the fox demon Su Nian suddenly appeared in Zhuxi Mountain. He was deeply moved by the kindness of an old woman and witnessed the care and care of the village people for the old woman. In order to repay his kindness, he I stayed in Zhuxi Mountain and fought against the evil spirits of the back mountain. Since then, there has been no living person swallowed by Zelao in Zhuxi Mountain. This point is also proved by the village chronicles."

Zhu Fuxue nodded again: "Yes."

Miss Zhu was confused when she heard this, she silently raised her fat hand, and said softly: "Wait a minute, Daoist He... Let us understand for now that this Great Immortal Fox doesn't let us go up the mountain because he wants to keep us from going up the mountain." We are isolated from the man-eating monsters in the mountains... But the things we lost in the past few months, those chickens and ducks... and the monster in red, isn't it related to him?"

He Qizhou said firmly: "No."

"If you say no, then don't you? Don't forget, the night you came, he admitted himself that he is the ghost in red!" Zhu Sheng came out at some point, and it seemed that he was very displeased with He Qizhou's speech. Satisfied, "You protect a fox demon to such an extent! Do you really think that everyone in Zhuxi Village is a fool!"

He Qizhou stared at Zhu Sheng's round face full of anger for a long time, and then suddenly smiled with a corner of his mouth: "Because from the beginning, there have been two ghosts in red."

"Two?!" The crowd was in an uproar.

One is enough, but two more, who can bear it!The chicken, duck and fish in the village have been stolen a long time ago!

Zhu Sheng laughed back angrily: "You said two, just two?! Is there another one? Catch it for me!"

He Qizhou said calmly: "Young master Zhusheng, why are you so irritable today? You haven't slept all night, could it be that your anger has also come up?"

Zhusheng choked on being hit by him, unable to utter a word for a while.He Qizhou didn't bother to talk to him, so he continued: "I also ask Village Chief Zhu to be a witness."

Zhu Wentao received He Qizhou's favor of saving his daughter, and hurriedly nodded: "Yes."

He Qizhou said: "The day I first arrived in Zhuxi Village, all the people in the village saw two men in red in the village. They fought together, and there was no winner. One was the fox fairy next to me. The other is a fat and strong man in a red dress, isn't that right?"

Zhu Wentao said: "That's right."

He Qizhou continued: "According to my observations and visits during the period of time in the village, the legend of this red-clothed ghost began to rise a few months ago. It is said that at night, there will be a red-clothed ghost. Everyone I dare not look, I dare not listen, I dare not ask, if this monster finds me, I will definitely disappear, and there will be no trace left, is it so?"

Before Zhu Wentao could answer, all the villagers agreed together: "Yes, yes, everyone spreads it like this!"

He Qizhou asked: "Then do you still remember where this news first came from?"

"This..." When everyone heard this, they hurriedly began to think carefully. After thinking about it, they all thought of one person. When they realized it, everyone's eyes had unconsciously turned to Zhusheng who was standing in the middle.When Zhusheng saw this battle, he was furious: "Look at what I am doing! What do you mean, could it be that I made up this thing! This is the rumor I heard! How do I know who made it up!"

He Qizhou smiled: "Okay. Let's take it as a rumor, but the rumor is really useful. Its greatest usefulness is to make the whole village panic and turn off the lights early at night. It's best to cover your head with a quilt. Don't dare I don’t even dare to listen, so even if something is lost in the yard, it can be pushed to the fox demon in the mountain as a matter of course!”

With a serious look on his face, he suddenly shouted: "Mr. Zhusheng! Is that so?"

Zhusheng was startled by his sudden drinking, but even so, he still refused to soften his mouth, and even tried to argue hoarsely: "What do you mean? You ask me? What do I know! I don't understand that red-clothed The origin of the ghost! The fox himself admitted it! If he wasn't a ghost in red, what would he recognize!"

"Because we will be afraid." Zhu Fuxue took a breath, and said slowly: "If we pretend to be red-clothed ghosts, at least it will make us afraid, and it will also make us less likely to go out at night. The monsters in the back mountains are farther away."

Zhusheng was taken aback for a moment, and couldn't hold back a word.

This fox... what the hell is this fox thinking!There are still such people in this world... such monsters? !Zhu Sheng stared blankly at these people, not knowing what else to reason for.

He Qizhou suddenly threw the package in his hand, and threw it firmly into Zhu Fuxue's arms.Zhu Fuxue took the package, her face became more and more serious.She bit her lower lip tightly, without saying a word, and quickly moved her hands, peeling off the burden skin layer by layer. After unfolding the last layer, what came into view was a bag of golden jewelry, a few small Purse, and an ink-stained ledger.

Zhu Fuxue raised her head slowly, and looked at Zhu Sheng, her eyes were full of disappointment, as if she wanted to dig a hole out of the tall and thick man in front of her.When Zhusheng saw this scene, he immediately became flustered. He wanted to step forward to hold his fiancée's hand, but found that Zhu Fuxue took a step back following his movements, and he didn't want to get close to him at all.

Zhusheng shivered and called out: "Fuxue..."

In the package that was spread out, neatly placed one by one, was her lost dowry, which was all that her deceased mother had left for her.Zhu Fuxue opened the account book and read word by word: "June [-]th, pawn a vase, one tael, five dollars."

"Fuxue, stop, stop reading..."

"June [-]th, pawn a bracelet, three, two or six dollars."

"do not……"

Zhu Fuxue's voice gradually trembled, and despite Zhu Sheng's strong resistance, she read the entire account book from beginning to end without saying a single word.At the end of the last word, Zhu Fuxue seemed to lose her strength, and slowly closed the page in her hand.Her voice has long since lost the gentleness and vitality of the past, and some are full of disappointment: "Every time I pawn, it can correspond to the time when the item was lost in the village. If you steal today, you will pawn tomorrow."

She took a deep breath and said angrily: "And then! Then I squandered all this money! It was all handed over to the owner of the gambling shop in Fuji Town! Everyone knows you! You stole these things and blamed all of them on the little one." Young Master! You even planned to throw him into the pool because you were afraid that he would expose your lies in your defense..."

Zhu Fuxue frowned tightly, and her tone was sad: "Brother Zhusheng, when did you become such a selfish, cruel, unreasonable person! The pearl hairpin you gave Zhuyuan hairpin is also my dowry, how can you open your eyes?" Talking nonsense to this point!"

Zhu Sheng lost all face, he covered his head and squatted down abruptly, trembling like chaff.But even so, he still muttered: "No...it's not me, I didn't make it, it's all the fox, it's the fox who stole things! It's not me..."

The people in Zhuxi Village had never seen such a battle before, everyone was stunned in place, and no one dared to say a word.

The red-clothed ghost is fake, but the inner ghost's theft is real.Blocking mountain roads is false, blocking demons is true.This is true and false, false and true, all staged in turn under their noses, but no one can see clearly and clearly.

"That's enough!" Zhu Shangwu could no longer just sit on the sidelines, he pulled up Zhusheng who was slumped on the ground, pointed at He Qizhou and cursed, "You outsider! What are your intentions! Why do you dictate the affairs of Zhuxi Village! Zhusheng ... No matter how cowardly or bastard Zhusheng is, that is our village's business, so it has nothing to do with you! Why should I believe your words, why should you say that a monster is a monster! I also said that you were talking nonsense in order to cover that fox, you……"

"Why?" The Taoist in white suddenly smiled, freed one hand, and slowly took out a waist card from his arms, flashed it in front of everyone in Zhuxi Village, and said seriously, "Because I am the imperial envoy of the imperial censor, the five sense organs of the Qin Tianjian Bao Zhangzheng, He Qizhou."