[75] Zhao Yan falls into a dream

In the blink of an eye, late autumn is approaching, Brother Huan and Brother Xi put on thin cotton-padded clothes early, and their already fat and puffy bodies are more round and round like two balls.Chunhong took the maids to arrange the autumn clothes of everyone in the family, especially Mu Yan and Zhan Zhao.But Zhan Zhao has been out for more than a month, and there has been no news, Mu Yan can't help feeling a little worried.

On this day, the girl made a lot of glutinous rice balls stuffed with red bean paste, and Mu Yan asked Qiu'er to send some to Kaifeng Mansion.Unexpectedly, Qiu'er shrank back as soon as she went out, and hurriedly came to find Mu Yan, saying that there was a strangely dressed old man at the door looking for Mu Yan.

Mu Yan was surprised, but she still respected those who practiced.Then he asked Qiu'er to take him to the front hall and brought Shuang'er to meet him.I saw the old Taoist wearing a black taoist robe embroidered with gold and silver threads, with white hair and silver beard, ruddy complexion, and a fairy-like appearance.But somehow, looking at the old man was uncomfortable.

"What is the fairy head doing?" Mu Yan was very polite.

"Hehe, the poor Taoist passed through your land, and suddenly felt a natural phenomenon. After divination by the poor Taoist, I found out that there is a monster in your mansion. If you don't subdue your mansion in time, you will be in great trouble." The old Taoist said it was true.

"Then what should I do according to what the elder said?" Mu Yan thought that this old man came from the autumn wind, but she didn't expect to say that there are monsters in the house. The strangest person in this family's history is probably herself, but she didn't hide it from Zhan Zhao and the others.This old Taoist came to the door now, could it be that he saw that his origin was different?Thinking of Mu Yan, he began to feel vigilant.

"It's better to get rid of this scourge for your house by the poor Taoist. I don't know what the girl's idea is? This demon's way is still shallow. After the poor Taoist casts spells, the demon will be completely destroyed in seven days. Otherwise, wait until the day when the demon will become a demon." If the weather is too bad, all the living beings in your mansion will be slaughtered, and the flesh and blood will be used for its cultivation." The old Taoist said it clearly and logically, and the two girls Qiu'er and Shuang'er were so scared that their faces turned ashen, especially Shuang'er was holding Mu Yan's clothes tightly. , as if the next moment will suddenly be taken away by a monster that sprang out from nowhere.

Mu Yan pondered for a moment, but did not answer.This old man must have plots to deceive people with evil words at home. Depending on the situation, if he is not allowed to stay and eliminate the demons, he will not let it go. Now the family is full of women and children, only Xingchen and Xiaoshu are considered males, but they are also unfettered The strength of the chicken, if there is really something to do, he can only stare blankly.But if you don't let him stay, you can't prevent this old man from playing tricks behind his back.While thinking about it, Mu Yan saw the food box on the table and thought about it.

"I don't know which treasure mountain the immortal is practicing? What is the immortal's name?" Mu Yan sat opposite the old Taoist, as if chatting.

"Poverty Dao practiced in Mang Mountain. The Dharma name is Zhiyanzi. Now he has joined the world to eliminate harm for the people. He has eliminated several demons along the way. Now that he has traveled here, he found that your house is not safe, so he came here to help." The old Taoist said With a compassionate look, Mu Yan would almost have been tricked by him if she hadn't seen too many deceptions in modern times.Not to mention whether there are monsters in the world, even if there are, they will not run around.It couldn't be that he saw several of them when he went down the mountain. The probability is too high. Does he think the capital is a wild place?

"The head of the fairy is high-minded and works for the well-being of all living beings. The little lady admires it very much. Originally, the head of the fairy came to cast down demons and eliminate monsters for the little lady's house. The little lady should have swept the bed and waited for it. If you don't come back, you really dare not leave a foreigner at home. If the elder does not give up, the little woman will find a quiet inn to invite the elder to stay. It is a good practice for the elder to come every day. Of course, after the ritual is done, he will definitely offer it Thank you." Mu Yan spoke in a gentle manner, feeling her tongue curling up.While talking, he observed the expression of the old Taoist. When she said that her husband would not return for a long time, the old Taoist showed a happy expression, but when she heard that she arranged for him to stay in the hotel, she frowned slightly, but when she heard Xie Yi, she remained indifferent. This old man really has a problem .It seems that this is not for money, but what else in this family is worth the old man's troubles?The old man probably didn't know that this is Zhan Zhao's house, otherwise he would not have dared to come here to confuse people; or there is another way of saying, this old man knows the situation at home, if so, he would have to think carefully about his intentions up.

Ask Qiu'er to arrange for the old Taoist priest to live in the Baijia restaurant.Mu Yan took the hemp ball to Kaifeng Mansion by herself, and told Mr. Gongsun the old-fashioned thing after seeing Mr. Gongsun.Gongsun Ce was also puzzled, but he didn't dare to be negligent, so he promised to arrange more yamen servants to pay more attention when patrolling the streets.Mu Yan wrote another letter asking the yamen servant to send it to the shopkeeper of Baijia Restaurant, asking him to pay more attention to the old man's movements.

"Sir, when will Zhan Zhao come back?" There is a weird person in the family who needs to be on guard, and Mu Yan can't help feeling anxious, and there has been no news about Zhan Zhao, and she hasn't even brought back a piece of paper.

"A few days ago, the carrier pigeon sent back a letter saying that it might take some time for the case to go smoothly, so you don't have to worry too much. Maybe it's just a wandering Taoist trying to cheat some money to make a sensational story." Gongsun Ce comforted Mu Yan, I also knew in my heart that she must be uneasy at the moment.

For two or three days in a row, Taoist Zhiyanzi came to the house to do the practice every day. He came at dawn and left at dusk.The house was so smoky and smoky every day that it was hard to keep one's eyes open.Gongsun Ce also came to see it a few times, but he didn't find anything unusual, so he comforted Mu Yan and said, "I guess I just wanted to cheat some incense, so I acted so hard." Yan also accepted Gongsun Ce's statement and slowly let go of her heart. Anyway, there are people everywhere in the house, and there is nothing to be afraid of if you pass through the courtyard wall to see Kaifeng Mansion.

Seeing that the [-]th day was approaching, the old Taoist didn't do anything other than practice.On the contrary, in the past two days, Kaifeng Mansion began to lose children one after another, both boys and girls, and most of them were children under three years old.Everyone in Kaifeng Mansion has been busy with this case recently. It is not unusual to lose a child, but this way of losing a child is a bit weird.

The lost children are all inexplicably missing at home, and sometimes they even sleep in their parents' bed at night, and they are lost overnight.What's even more bizarre is that there is a well-known Zhou Shanren in Kaifeng Mansion. The Yuyingtang he opened took in many children who were lost during the famine years and those who were abducted by other children and could not find their parents. At that time, the seven two- and three-year-old dolls of Shantang were all gone.

The philanthropy hall is not allowed to enter and leave casually. It is opened three times a month, once every ten days, by donating money and materials to those who want to live or have good intentions.But the days when the child was lost were not among these days. Wang Chao took the yamen servants to visit several times, but he had no clue. Not to mention the footprints on the scene, there was not even a trace left. The window sill was cleaner than swept, but I asked the women in the shantang a few times, but they all said that no one was going to clean it.

Naturally, Mu Yan was also afraid of being targeted by the inexplicable loss of children in the city.No matter what I do every day, I let the nanny bring the baby in front of my eyes.Even going to Kaifeng Mansion is no exception, with all precautions like this, accidents still happen.

On the last day of Zhi Yanzi's practice, Mu Yan watched the child play on the bed in the backyard.The careless girl in the front yard ran into the house scrambling and scrambling, and even dropped one of her shoes in such a hurry.I saw her saying incoherently: "Ma'am... madam, there is... There is a snake spirit, a snake spirit, such a big snake spirit." Mu Yan was terrified when she saw her, Poured her a cup of tea to appease her and drank it, and then she calmed down a little bit, and let her speak slowly.

"Ma'am, the Taoist priest caught a big snake from the well in the kitchen, a big flower snake. It was thicker than a bucket and more than ten feet long. It was about to bite people when it came out. Thanks to the Taoist priest's powerful spells, he has caught it now, Daoist Long said that is the true nature of the snake spirit. Please go and have a look." When Mu Yan heard this, a chill ran up her spine.But the more you hear it, the more wrong it becomes. A snake as thick as a bucket, more than ten feet long, lives in a well, how is it possible?She grew up watching the animal world, this statement is too unreliable.

Although puzzled, he followed the girl to the kitchen.Before going out, he told the nanny to take care of the child, and left Qiu'er to help them.When they arrived at the door of the kitchen, they saw a big flower snake writhing on the ground tied by hemp rope.The girl exaggerated a bit, this snake was as thick as an adult's thigh, three or four meters long, and it was covered in black and yellow spots, which made people feel cold all over.After taking a closer look, Mu Yan knew that it was a boa constrictor, which was considered a small one in the family of boa constrictors.

But this time it's even more strange, pythons usually stay in trees a lot.Even for species that live in water, most of those species are huge and live in deep pools of lakes, so there is absolutely no reason to live in wells.For Mu Yan, who grew up watching the animal world, it was a joke that there were boa constrictors in the well. It is estimated that this Taoist priest caught Zhenzi from the well, which would be more acceptable to her.

"The Immortal Chief has a good trick. He said that the monsters will appear on the seventh day, and it really came true." Mu Yan teased the old way.

"Suppressing demons and defending the Tao is the job of the poor. The female benefactor is too praised." The old Taoist was complacent.

Looking at him, Mu Yan could only be speechless.Just turning around and telling Shuang'er to pick up the prepared gift money, the nanny ran over with a pale face and said that the child was missing.Mu Yan was taken aback when she heard the words, and ran to the backyard like crazy.No one saw the weird smile on the corner of the mouth of the old man behind him.

Back in the child's room, Qiu'er knelt on the ground and shivered, while the two nannies also hid aside like cicadas.Mu Yan came all the way, and her mood has calmed down a lot when she entered the room, she asked in a flat tone: "Who can tell me what happened? What were you doing at that time?"

"At that time, Brother Xi was smelly, and Nanny Xi was washing Brother Xi's ass. Brother Huan was sleeping soundly on the shaker, and Nanny Huan helped take Brother Xi's diapers to be cleaned outside the house. I saw Brother Xi was sleeping. I was playing with Brother Huan, and I felt a gust of wind behind me. As soon as I turned around, Brother Xi was gone. We hurriedly looked for me and then in the house, and the nanny looked outside. Unexpectedly, Brother Xi hadn’t been found yet. Brother Kungfu Huan, who lowered his head and looked out the window, is gone too." Qiu'er knelt on the ground and cried.

After Mu Yan heard this, she felt strange, it was impossible for a person to disappear silently in the room.Even ghosts and gods will only be at night. If ghosts and gods are so rampant in the blue sky and daytime, the Tathagata Buddha and the Jade Emperor will probably be laid off.So this can only be artificial, it's just that we haven't found the key to it.

Mu Yan forced herself to be calm and asked Qiu'er to take the nanny to Kaifeng Mansion to report the case.Then she checked inside and outside the house by herself. After some observation, Mu Yan also strangely saw traces of a broom sweeping the floor beside the child's bed. It was similar to the feeling after sweeping cleanly as the yamen servant said before. Could it be something? Something swept to form?

While looking for clues everywhere, Ma Han hurried over with the yamen servants.Master Bao listened to Qiu'er and Nanny's narration, and arranged for Ma Han to bring experienced yamen servants to conduct investigations.Hearing what Mu Yan said, Ma Han carefully looked at the traces, and asked the government servants who had seen similar traces to identify them. After confirming that they were the same type of traces, a group of people began to identify what the traces were.

"Ma Han, do you think it's the trace of some kind of reptile?" Mu Yan stared at the trace like a broom.

"Could it be... a snake." Mu Yan stared at the trace, her eyes were almost bleeding. This was not only a trace of solving the case, but also the hope of finding the child.Somehow, Mu Yan thought of that flower boa constrictor and that wise old man.

They rushed to the front yard with Ma Han, only to see a loose hemp rope on the ground.The old Taoist and the boa constrictor were gone, and the trace left at the place where the snake was tied just now was exactly the same as the trace in the house.

"Sure enough, it's this monster." Mu Yan hated her so much that her teeth were bleeding.Hearing Mu Yan talk about what the old Taoist did just now, Ma Han also felt that the old Taoist was the most suspicious, so he sent someone back to report to Mr. Bao, and at the same time notified the yamen servants to notify the guards at each city gate to strengthen inspections.