He frowned and was about to scold, but was stopped by Qu Nanyi.

Qu Nan glanced at the low loess wall, tucked the hem of his robe into his belt, climbed to the wall, jumped into the courtyard, strode to the door of the main house, and said in a loud voice: "Is the patriarch himself opening the door to welcome the official, or is he letting the official kick open the door and enter uninvited?!" ”

The patriarch hurriedly shouted: "Don't kick, don't kick! Don't kick the door, adults! The little old man can't see the light now, and his skin burns like fire when he sees the light. ”

Qu Nanyi said: "The official doesn't believe it. The officer is coming in now. ”

The patriarch raised his voice and shouted in horror: "Don't, my lord! ”

Qu Nan nodded: "Now I believe it." ”

The patriarch leaned against the door panel, let out a long sigh, and asked, "My lord is here, I don't know what is going on?" ”

Qu Nanyi said: "Let's talk about your village first, what's going on?" ”

The patriarch sorted out his thoughts and replied, "Little Lao'er doesn't know what's going on. Just eight or nine days ago, as soon as the people in the village went out, they felt that their whole body was burning and hurting. I couldn't stand it, so I went back to the house and it was fine. After coming and going, it was clear that the people in the village could not see the light. Ay...... The people in the village were very panicked, and felt that they must have offended the river god and been punished. Everyone burns incense and worships, but they are also ...... Ay...... But he can only haunt after sunset, and he doesn't dare to touch a little sunshine. Otherwise, it will hurt people to death. My lord, why are you not afraid of the light? ”

Qu Nanyi stretched out his hand and slowly flipped it in the sun. His fingers are not as slender as those of ordinary literati, but they are even slender in the skeleton, and they seem to have a kind of power that turns the clouds and rain. He said, "It's not a punishment from the river god. If the river god punishes him, how can he let go of this official? ”

Qu Nanyi's voice is peaceful, his voice is low, and he has a convincing power.

The patriarch was very excited, his brain turned extremely fast, and he hurriedly pounded on the door and said: "If it wasn't for the punishment of the river god, it must be sick!" Please help me! ”

Qu Nanyi took a step back and said, "You show the illness to the official first." ”

The patriarch hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, removed the deadbolt, gently opened the wooden door, and stretched a hand out of the crack in the door.

As soon as he touched the sun, his wrinkled hand seemed to be roasted in a blazing fire, and white smoke burst out in an instant. At the same time, there was a slight snorting sound on the skin, as if you were throwing your hand into a hot pan of oil.

The patriarch screamed, immediately retracted his hand, slammed the door, and blew on his hand in the darkness where he couldn't see his fingers, trying to relieve the pain that seemed to kill him.

After a while, the patriarch asked in a hoarse voice, "My lord, can you see clearly?" ”

Qu Nan nodded: "The patriarch has worked hard." ”

The patriarch sighed and said, "If this is the sin that Qingmiao Village is destined to bear, let Xiao Lao'er bear it alone. My lord, you must save the villagers of Qingmiao County. Little old man kowtows to you! As he spoke, he knelt down and kowtowed across the door.

Qu Nan hurriedly said: "Patriarch, please get up, this official will definitely do his best." ”

The patriarch got up from the ground trembling and wiped away his old tears.

Qu Nan looked around the courtyard and didn't find a stool, so he lifted his robe and sat on the threshold. The threshold is a little narrow, and he can settle for it.

Through the door panel, Qu Nanyi asked: "Patriarch, let's tell me about the incident after the appearance of the river god, did you burn the woman clean?" ”

The patriarch patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, my lord, the little old man watched the officials ...... The woman was burned to ashes. The woman was so vicious that after the fire was up, she let out a roar, and the coffin lid almost made her lift it. If it weren't for the fact that Erhu threw a big stone, crushed the coffin lid, and hit the woman, I am afraid that she would come out and harm people. The voice paused slightly, and there were incomprehensible marks in his eyes, "My lord, didn't you watch the woman being burned with your own eyes?" I also picked up the silver lumps that melted into a ball! Why do you ask? ”

Qu Nanyi smiled a little embarrassedly, pondered for a moment, and asked instead of answering: "After burning that woman, can anyone else in the village disappear?" ”

The patriarch immediately shook his head and said, "No, no, the people in the village ......" paused slightly, "It's that the dog has not seen anyone for some time." This dog's day, the most worry-free, stealing chickens and touching dogs all day long! Discredit our Seedlings Village! ”

Qu Nanyi asked, "How long has he not been seen?" ”

The patriarch recalled for a moment and replied, "I guess it will take a month." ”

Qu Nanyi stretched out his index finger, drew a horizontal line on the ground under his feet, and asked, "Are the two tigers still in the village?" ”

The patriarch sighed, "Hey...... The daughter-in-law of the two tigers died. Erhu got sick and seemed to be dying, but as a result, his daughter-in-law died, and he was fine. Originally, the old child also suspected that it was the second tiger who killed his daughter-in-law's life, and then he pondered again, the second tiger was so sick that he was about to lose his breath, how could he have the strength to take the daughter-in-law's life? The old child estimated that the two tigers were sick, and her daughter-in-law did not take care of them wholeheartedly, which angered the mountain god. At this time, our entire village, and only Erhu can go out during the day to help everyone go to the county town to buy a needle thread brain ration or something. ”

Qun Nanyi wiped off a horizontal piece on the ground with his foot, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked, "When did the second tiger's daughter-in-law die?" ”

The patriarch thought for a moment and replied, "Just nine days ago. ”

Qu Nanyi thought thoughtfully, "That's ......"

The patriarch waited for a long time, but he didn't see Qu Nan have a book, so he continued: "By the way, my lord, after burning the woman, everyone in the village went home separately. Originally, everyone was fine, but it was estimated that ten days ago, a man suddenly came.

The man took the curtain and threw down a handful of round silver bills, and said let's tell us about the river god. There was that shallow eyelid, so he told the man the matter from beginning to end, and the little old man wanted to stop it, but it was too late. Ay......

Although the man didn't say anything, turned around and left, the little old man felt that his legs and stomach were trembling, and the cold sweat was wet with his clothes. is not afraid of adult jokes, at the moment when the man turned to leave, the little old man felt cold and piercing, as if he had walked around the knife and came back. ”

Qu Nanyi asked, "Does anyone see the man's appearance clearly?" Are you sure it's a man? ”

The patriarch affirmed, "It's a man." Although Xiao Lao'er and the others didn't see his appearance clearly, the eldest girl of the Tunzi family was washing clothes by the river, but they inadvertently caught a glimpse of the person's appearance. No, I don't know if it's scared or happy, sitting stupidly without eating or drinking all day. Ask, I can't ask anything; Don't ask, the eldest girl is where the god is muttering, saying that she 'sees, sees'. No one knows what she saw, and they all say that she has fascinated the spirit. ”

Qu Nanyi asked, "What happened later?" ”

The patriarch continued: "Later, the man left, and the people in the village could not see the light. Oh, by the way, the day the second tiger's daughter-in-law died, it was also the time when the man left. The people in the village said that he was sent by the river god to take care of things, to see if we respected his old man. As a result, we talked nonsense about the river god everywhere, offended the river god, and were punished. The two tongue-chewing villagers were removed from the clan and driven away. The village can't accommodate them now. ”

The patriarch babbled on and on about the details of their lives, hoping that it would help in healing. Originally, he thought that the people in the village couldn't see it because he offended the river god, but Qu Nanyi was the one who ordered the villagers to send the river god back to the river, and the river god didn't punish him, so naturally he wouldn't punish the villagers because the villagers said a few words casually.

After listening carefully, Qu Nan asked the mysterious man about his dress, and then said goodbye and left, and went straight to Erhu's house.

If his guess is correct, then the dog must be the unlucky ghost who was burned as a woman. And the reason why Erhu smashed the coffin with a big stone was because he knew that the person in the coffin was not the woman but the dog. When he first came to Qingmiao Village, he heard the villagers gossip, saying that the dog was sleeping with the second tiger daughter-in-law, so how could he do it without staring at it? But the death of the second tiger's daughter-in-law is a little abrupt.