"A funeral is taking place?"
Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, "Tell me about this person."
To be honest, he already had some doubts about this kid.
That pattern is Yellow Springs Organization used to mark it. It's like a thief stepping on the territory. Outsiders can't understand it. Once they get it, they will quickly erase the traces.
Since there is a funeral, how come the mark is still there?
Besides, this kid discovered it too quickly.
It is a habit of these people to deceive and kidnap.
It's possible to draw a sign yourself and trick him into asking for money...
"Uncle, how dare I lie to you!"
Seemingly sensing Li Yan's suspicion, Liang Biaozi quickly complained, "I won't hide this from you. I recruited some beggars to help me run errands and find out the news by serving warm sesame cakes on weekdays."
"As long as it's something about Jinmen, there's always some news. I was worried about the place they found, so I even ran around to find out the details of that family. It's really weird."
"Oh, tell me, what's the weird trick?"
"The family's surname is Wang, and the head of the family is Wang Chaoyi. He was originally an old bamboo stripper. The family lives in a muddy alley, where even a poor mouse would starve to death. The whole family only has one pair of cotton trousers, and whoever goes out in winter wears them."
"But just five years ago, Wang Chaoyi suffered from a serious illness and died. He was already seventy-five years old, so he was mourning. The family got a thin-skinned coffin with a dog's head for burial."
"Unexpectedly, the children here are crying, and the old man has calmed down again. The Wang family is too poor to take care of them, but they are afraid that the neighbors will say they are unfilial, so naturally they are not good-looking."
"But after the old Wangtou woke up, the Wang family seemed to have changed their fortunes. In just six months, they became rich and prosperous. They also bought a big house at South City. They survived until they suddenly died a few days ago..."
It's Returning Yang One!
Li Yan After hearing this, he was already convinced.
This Liang Biaozi is just a talker and likes to add fuel to the fire.
But it inadvertently revealed important information.
Ordinary people go through the underworld, even if they can't remember anything, but because Killing Intent infects Divine Soul, they will awaken a power similar to Divine Ability, which can curse people, communicate with ghosts and gods, and get benefits.
But this power must come at a price.
If Divine Soul is infected by Killing Intent, it will gradually become bloodthirsty and turn into an evil creature.
Sometimes without Living Underworld Messenger taking action, they will be discovered and killed by the warlock for causing trouble.
"Let's go, take me to see..."
As dusk falls, the city is filled with the smell of Sancha River Mouth reeds.
Li Yan followed Liang Biaozi and turned into Nanmenli Street.
On both sides of the green-brick alley, rows of small shops built in the early years of Daxuan are crowded together, with faded words such as "Dunrenli" and "Shudefang" remaining on the lintels.
"Jinmen has a large population, and the dignitaries all live in Beicheng."
As Liang Biaozi walked, he introduced, "We Jinmen have an old saying, the water of the sea and the river flow around the city, and there are eight great families in the north of the city. Prosperity There is no Three Dynasties. What I'm talking about is that Jinmen has been short-lived. Almost all of the eight richest families in Beicheng are salt merchants and grain merchants, but they have experienced ups and downs, and none of them are as rich as Three Dynasties."
"But Jinmen Ordinary people can't afford a large, clean house with a large number of people. If you are just a small fortune, you can only squeeze it together with a street shop..."
"Here we are, that's the house!"
What he said is indeed true. The Wang family residence is sandwiched between the pawn shop and the mutton bed.
It was already evening at this time, the street High Person was much less crowded, and the surrounding shops were closing.
Under the porch of Wang's house, the white gauze lantern hanging was blown by the draft, illuminating the newly painted red paint on the door panel.
This is an old custom. Jinmen insists that when people do official business, they need to repaint the door panels with the "true red thick material" of Three Righteous Public Paint.
Li Yan glanced at the old tree outside the Wang family mansion.
In the shadow of a tree branch, the mark Yellow Springs Organization was clearly drawn with ink.
It is crooked and intersects with the texture of the tree.
If you don't pay attention, you won't notice it at all.
"Uncle Li, there must be something wrong with this family!"
Liang Biaozi glanced a few more times and said with certainty.
"How do you say it?" Li Yan asked.
"Simple, look at that."
Liang Biaozi pointed to a canal outside Wang's house, "Although I don't know Feng Shui at home, I have been helping people find houses and setting up lines for errands all year round, so I also know some taboos."
"The memorial shed should not be facing the ditch. Jinmen old people are most afraid of this 'gutter flushing evil spirit'."
The two of them hid beside the Guangou Stone at the corner of the alley across the street, where they could just see the Wang family's gate.
Through the gap in the gate, one can see the temporary reed mat tent set up in Wang's courtyard.
The shed faced the opening of the culvert made of green strips of stone.
Li Yan can even smell the salty smell of river water coming up.
"Thank you!"
Li Yan nodded and threw out a few more taels of silver.
"Oh, this..."
Liang Biaozi's face was full of joy. He had already given me a reward before, but he didn't expect there would be a reward.
"Well, uncle, you are busy, I will leave first."
He was very sensible and knew that Li Yan gave him money just to ask him to leave.
Anyway, this job is easy and profitable, and he doesn't want to cause more trouble.
As for whether Li Yan was robbing houses or killing people and setting fires, he would pretend to be confused afterwards.
After he left, Li Yan ducked into the dark alley and waited calmly.
This time, he was the only one who came out.
After all, Tianjin has a large population, so it is more convenient for a single person.
Not long after, the sky became completely dark.
Except for one wine shop that was still lit with candles, the rest of the streets were closed.
Li Yan was hiding in a dark alley, making a secret with his left hand, and with a flick of his little finger, several Chuling Paper Figures flew out from his waist and revolved around him. As the <North Emperor Black Water Escape> mantra was recited, Yin Winds suddenly appeared around him, and his figure quickly disappeared.
A gust of wind blew through the night, and Li Yan was already standing on the wall of the Wang Family Courtyard.
He lowered his body and looked down.
Although the Wang family is not a wealthy family, it does have a neat courtyard with three entrances and three exits.
On the blue-tiled gate tower are engraved the four words "Good Neighbors", and there is a blue and white fish tank in front of the screen wall, in which several red lion heads are swimming happily, showing a bit of elegance.
The mourning hall is located in the front yard, and the coffin is covered with a brocade quilt with ten thousand characters and an endless head.
Three sons and daughters dressed in linen and wearing filial piety knelt on the futon. One of the filial sons burned paper money in the brazier. A monk was invited next to him, knocking on the wooden fish, closing his eyes slightly, and reciting scriptures.
It looks like a funeral held by ordinary people.
However, Li Yan can clearly find the problem.
In front of the coffin, there are three golden lacquered chopsticks stuck in the rice dumplings on the Eight Immortals table.
Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan do a lot of simple things and understand many rules.
This is a common custom during funerals. The so-called "incense, candles, and fruits are offered to the souls of the dead, and grains are stored in mourning basins. The five emperors gave rice dumplings, and three Zhu Zi sticks were placed in the middle."
Three chopsticks are placed on top of the rice, which represents the three talents of heaven, earth and man, and symbolizes that the food in the underworld has been exhausted.
But generally speaking, the chopsticks used to pour rice should be wrapped with cotton.
The taboo of this thing is "turn your head Three Incense Sticks, and chopsticks will not touch gold".
No one who knows a little bit about it would do this.
Also, the arrangement of the coffin and the Eight Immortals table does not look like a mourning hall, but rather resembles a woodblock print of an underworld trial.
As for those filial sons and grandsons, there was no sadness on their faces, they were all filled with fear and worry.
"Brother, do you think this matter is over?"
"I didn't know that the old man is dead and those people should stop."
"I'm afraid they won't be trustworthy."
"Don't be afraid. I have an arrangement. After the old man is buried, our family will immediately take a boat to Jiangsu and Zhejiang. We will stay there for a few years and come back after the news has passed."
"The industry in the city..."
"It's time to worry about these things. Anyway, the old man left more than this."
Listening to their conversation, Li Yan was thoughtful.
There is indeed something wrong with the Wang family. They seem to be being targeted?
Thinking of this, Li Yan immediately pinched Yang Seal.
Smelling Mystical Power and Ear Mystical Power are activated at the same time for sensing.
As soon as he smelled it, he frowned.
Inside the coffin, there was an unpleasant rotten smell.
This was not a corpse that had just died a few days ago. Although it was covered with lime and a lot of spices, the smell was still clearly discernible to him, and there was also a strong smell of urine.
Some elderly people who have been bedridden for a long time have this smell due to long-term urinary incontinence.
Living dead!
Li Yan immediately understood the reason and his eyes turned cold.
After the old man returned to life, he awakened some unknown Divine Ability and brought wealth to the Wang family. However, his body was old and had long since decayed and died, so he could only use a large amount of preservatives.
This is a kind of desperate pain, watching your body fester step by step.
Ordinary people may have collapsed and committed suicide long ago.
The fact that the old man was able to last five years was probably due to the work of these "filial sons and virtuous grandsons".
The question is, who taught them these methods?
At this moment, Li Yan frowned and looked outside the wall.
I saw three men walking carelessly and swaying their arms on the street under the moonlight.
The short, stocky man in the lead was wrapped in a short brown indigo cloth. His lapels were skewed, revealing a tattooed wave pattern. An ebony pipe was randomly tied around his waist with a straw rope. The Liuhe hat he wore had long been soaked yellow by oil and sweat.
Li Yan I have seen many of them on the road. This is the most typical outfit of Jinmen and "Guo Huo".
"Guo Huo" is the dialect of Jinmen, which means "eating from the same pot".
Jinmen's street scoundrels and vagrants live together for food, which is called "Guo Huo".
As a water transport hub and commercial and trade center, Tianjin Wei has attracted a large number of floating people in recent years.
Porters Guild, coolies, bankrupt farmers, deserters, etc. are everywhere. They are too lazy to endure hardships and earn a few pennies, so they gather together to commit evil and extort money.
They are shameless and difficult to deal with, but they are brave enough to fight and not afraid of death. These are the characteristics of this group of people.
Boom!
The three of them kicked open the door of Wang's house and wandered into the yard.
"Jie... what are you doing?"
The short, stocky green-skinned man stuttered a bit, tilted his neck and glared. "Take... take a string of broken rosary beads, just... dare to eat white food in our Jinghai Gang territory?!"
The monk was just an ordinary monk, and he suddenly trembled with fear.
He looked behind him as if asking for help, but the Wang family had already turned pale and kept retreating.
Jinghai Gang? Interesting...
Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and saw something fishy.
On the way here, disciple Cao Gang said that Jinghai Gang is the most powerful in Jinmen. He not only controls the dock, but also subdues all the "Guo Huo" in Tianjin Wei.
The stout man had a cigarette stick on his waist, and the smell of opium could still be smelled.
And there are members of the Wang family who obviously know these Guo Huo from Jinghai Gang.
"Go... go!"
The short and sturdy man in the lead slapped the monk away, and the two followers behind him blocked the door frame.
The one with the toothless left hand picked up the bronze chime and weighed it, while the one with the scarred face on the right had his clothes open, revealing three old centipede-shaped scars on his ribs. He touched the handle of the knife at his waist with a malicious look on his face.
The middle-aged man headed by the Wang family raised his hands with a bitter look on his face and said, "Brother Wu, didn't Mister Zhou say that we won't owe each other anything after the work is done? He..."
Before he finished speaking, he was pushed away by the short and sturdy man.
This man came to the coffin in a carefree manner, took out the end of the pipe from his waist, and banged the nanmu coffin board, causing the candlelight on the altar table to flicker. He said in a strange tone, "Mr. Wang, we helped you get this coffin you are lying in."
As he spoke, he took off a piece of patent leather and crushed it in his hands.
"The wood from Huanghuali and the paint from Three Righteous Public have not been paid yet!"
What he said was pure nonsense, but the middle-aged man headed by the Wang family immediately understood. He quickly ran into the room and took out a small black box. When he opened it, there were ten ingots of white silver.
"Brother Wu, I will settle the payment for you."
"Hey, Wang... the Wang family is indeed very wealthy..."
The stocky man nodded with satisfaction, winked, and asked his men to put away their things.
However, after extorting a sum of money, he did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he patted the face of the young man in the Wang family with his palm and said, "Listen... I heard that you found a boat to leave?"
The young man in the Wang family shivered and did not dare to speak.
"Tsk, tsk."
The short and stocky man slapped the middle-aged man's face until he turned red, and sneered, "This... this Tianjin Wei is so good, don't... don't go, be careful if you feed... the bastard on the way!"
The middle-aged man's face was full of grief and anger, and he couldn't help but said, "Mister Zhou agree..."
Snap!
Before he finished speaking, he was slapped hard.
"Scare... scare me?!"
The short and stocky man glared, "Honestly... to tell you the truth, that person surnamed Zhou has died a long time ago!"
After that, he left with his men triumphantly.
Before leaving, the scar-faced Guo Huo suddenly turned around and revealed a ferocious smile, "I'll come back tomorrow. Your Wang family is not short of money. From now on, you will have to worry about the food for the brothers, hahaha..."
After the three people left, everyone in the Wang family collapsed on the ground, their faces pale and confused.
"Brother, how do they know?"
"Needless to say, we were sold..."
"What should we do?"
Before he finished speaking, everyone's eyes widened.
But I saw the mist billowing in the yard, and a figure appeared, it was Li Yan.
Clang!
A woman was about to scream when she was stabbed in the throat by Li Yan.
"I asked, you said, if you dare to hide anything, you won't even think about living!"
Li Yan murderous intent Just like the truth, how could the Wang family dare to conceal it and tell the whole story.
It turns out that after their old man returned to Yang, he probably awakened Intent Mystical Power, and often dreamed that he turned into a fish and swam in the San Cha River.
Jinmen With developed water transport, there were frequent floods and numerous shipwrecks. The old man relied on this ability to control the fish to find some gold and silver jewelry from the shipwrecks. The Wang family was also good at business, bought a storefront, and gradually made a fortune.
However, the old man became more and more weird.
He is afraid of not seeing people in the light, his body smells bad, and he also likes to eat raw flesh and blood.
The Wang family was frightened and wanted to find a magician to exorcise the evil spirits.
Unexpectedly, the warlock surnamed Zhou did not do anything when he came to the door. Instead, he taught them a secret method to refine corpse oil, help the old man embalm, and then marked the tree branches at the door.
What happened there, they didn't know.
All I know is that since then, Mister Zhou has been living in his house, and there are people from Jinghai Gang coming and going, and they are lying in ambush nearby. I don't know who they are dealing with.
"Oh, right!"
The eldest son of the Wang family suddenly said, "Just a few days ago, Mister Zhou arrested an old fortune-teller, locked him up in the woodshed, and forced the old man to write a letter to Cangzhou. The old man refused, but he tortured him for several days before he wrote the letter."
"Since then, Mister Zhou left my house, saying it was the last time."
Listening to these words, Li Yan instantly understood the reason.
This is a trap for Yellow Springs Organization!
Yellow Springs Organization fell apart and its members were scattered all over the place.
Such an obvious goal naturally attracts a lot of Living Underworld Messenger.
Thinking of this, Li Yan can no longer hide murderous intent.
"Do you know who he wrote to in Cangzhou?"
"I haven't seen it, but I vaguely heard them saying it was someone named 'Wu'..."