Liaodong, Motianling, Zishi.

The two catchers from the Yamen of Dongliao County, each carrying a lantern in their hands, walked straight along the official road to the Motianling.

It was a gloomy day. There were no stars or moon in the sky, and it was pitch black all around. Although the two catchers were carrying lanterns in their hands, only the lanterns emitted yellow light, and only two hazy shadows of a foot wide shone in front of the two of them, which seemed to be even darker around them.

The terrain around Dongliao County is flat, Motianling is three miles north of the city, like a barrier, the mountain opens to both sides, and surrounds the north of Motianling. Because the Sky Ridge stands on a plain, it looks extremely steep.

The official road extending from the north gate of Dongliao County leads all the way to the north, to the foot of Motianling Mountain, and stretches straight to the top of the mountain along a gentle slope. There are valleys on both sides of the official road, and it is even more frightening to see the depth clearly in the night.

At this time, it was early summer, and if it was in other mountains and wilderness, there would definitely be insects chirping. It's just that this skyscraper ridge is an extremely strange place, and even in the middle of summer, there are very few insects and birds and beasts chirping.

The two catchers staggered towards the top of the mountain. Halfway up the mountain, the two were exhausted and out of breath. The catcher on the right clenched his left hand into a fist while walking, kept beating his waist and eyes, and said: "Damn, those officials are sleeping with their mothers in their arms, so let us patrol this ghost ridge!"

The catcher on the left smiled and said, "Didn't the county magistrate say it, the imperial court sent an official document, saying that there were Japanese robbers sneaking into Liaodong, and we should be careful ......"

The catcher on the right didn't wait for him to finish speaking, and immediately took a sip and said angrily: "Beware of a fart! The Japanese have always been stationed along the coast of Fujian, 108,000 miles away from our Liaodong, how could they come here to make trouble? It must be those officials who want to get more money and lie about the military situation to the imperial court." When the imperial court distributes military money and food, these big and small officials will be able to make a fortune. It's just that the unlucky ones are our errand soldiers, and this big night, we have to patrol the barren mountains and mountains. Fuck, how can it not make people more and more annoyed the more they think about it?!"

The catcher on the left said quickly: "Lao Xu, don't complain! Anyway, we have already walked to the mountainside, and in half an hour, we will climb to the top of the ridge and sign the book, and tonight's errand will be over." The next time it's our turn to be on duty, it's been more than half a month. Maybe at that time, the officials are greedy enough for money, and they won't let us patrol the Sky Ridge at night. ”

The two talked and talked, and before they knew it, they walked hundreds of steps. The catcher on the right said quickly: "Xiao Bi, although our brothers are on an errand in the same yamen, today is the first time to patrol together, and there are some things that I have to talk to you about." This Sky Ridge is not a good place, if you go around here at night, you will get into trouble if you don't get it right!"

The catcher on the left smiled and said, "Lao Xu, no wonder everyone gave you a nickname, called 'No Wind and Waves'." What do you do with all those rumors in the market?"

The catcher on the right shook his head and said, "You went to the Yamen on an errand with Master Jiang last year, but I'm afraid you don't know the horror of this Ferris Ridge." Motianling was a key pass in eastern Liaodong more than 100 years ago, and there was a city built on the ridge and thousands of Tartar soldiers stationed there. Later, Emperor Taizu entered Beijing and sent generals to the east, destroying 200,000 Tartar soldiers. The remaining Tartar soldiers refused to surrender and fled all the way south, where they were chased here by the Ming army. The two sides fought a fierce battle on the Sky Ridge, and it was really bloodied and corpses all over the field. Blood flowed down from the top of the ridge like a waterfall. The corpses of the soldiers who died in the battle were uncleaned, and after decomposing, the stench was so strong that all the birds and animals on and off the ridge were scared away. After more than 100 years, there are no birds and beasts on the Sky Ridge. Even the geese that flew south and returned to the north did not dare to pass over the ridge, but bypassed this place far away. ”

When he said this, his voice trembled slightly, and he couldn't help but turn his head to look left and right, and then said: "The elders of Dongliao County are talking nonsense, saying that after that battle, there were too many people killed in the battle, and many people were still not convinced when they died, turned into powerful ghosts, and made trouble on this ridge. Some unjust souls are bent on harming others, while others are looking for substitutes for the dead. The county magistrate chose Motianling as the law field, because he wanted to use the lives of death row prisoners to make a deal with those powerful ghosts, so that they would not run to the county town to harm people. ”

When the catcher on the left heard this, he couldn't help laughing and said, "Lao Xu, you still say that the old generation is talking nonsense, obviously you are talking nonsense here." There are so many people killed on the battlefield that if they all turned into powerful ghosts to ask for their lives, there would have been no living people in the world long ago. Although I was not born in Dongliao County, after I arrived at Yamen on an errand, I heard Master Jiang and Master Pan chatting and said that Emperor Taizu sent General Xu Da and General Chang Yuchun to the north to defeat the Tartar Emperor and seize the capital. The Tartar soldiers in Liaodong were so frightened that they didn't fight much at all, and they all surrendered. There are no castles on the Sky Ridge, but there are a few fortresses built indiscriminately by the Tartar soldiers. After the surrender of the Tartar soldiers, the Ming army marched into Liaodong and set up a command envoy in Liaodong. This Ferris Ridge is a dangerous terrain and is the throat road from Liaodong to Goryeo. Goryeo submitted to the Ming Dynasty and sent tribute every year, and the two countries were forever allied. It's just that in the bitter cold land of Liaodong, there are many horse thieves and robbers. If these robbers occupy Motianling, this place is easy to defend and difficult to attack, cutting off the land passage between the Ming Dynasty and Goryeo, and it is very easy to cause trouble. Only then did the imperial court order that the Tartar fortress on the Ferris Ridge be removed cleanly so that it would not be used by traitors. As for the red business trip on the ridge, it is because there are fertile fields outside our Dongliao County, and if we do the law field, I am afraid that the people will be dissatisfied. This Ferris Ridge is three miles north of the county seat, not far from the county seat, and it is a barren mountain range, which is the best for killing people. You are in your forties, why do you still believe those nonsense?"

The catcher on the right was unconvinced, and said angrily: "Xiao Bi, don't talk big! Last month, your wife went to Ziyangguan to burn incense, didn't you let her go? If you don't believe in ghosts and gods, why do you need your wife to burn incense? Haha, haha." ”

The catcher on the left snorted and said, "These old ladies have no opinions, and as soon as they were instigated by those witches and gods, they thought about going to the temple to burn incense." Last month, it was rumored in the city that the statue of Niangniang in the temple of Wang'er Mountain fell down, and the old Taoist in the temple pinched his fingers and said that the Lord of Yama was going to the world to accept boys and girls to serve. If you don't want your children to be taken in by Lord Yama, you have to go to the temple to burn high incense and donate sesame oil. The idiot in my family was so frightened that he went to Ziyang Temple with a group of old ladies. spent three coins of silver, burned a pillar of high incense, and donated three bottles of sesame oil. Fuck, nine times out of ten, it's the miscellaneous hair in the temple who came up with this method to cheat money. Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence, every few years, the statue of the god in the temple of Wang'er Mountain Niangniang will fall down? ”

The catcher on the right didn't wait for him to finish speaking, so he immediately "booed" at him, and said: "If you offend the gods, you can't just say it! Haven't you heard? The son of the king of the city married his daughter-in-law the year before, but after more than a year there was no heir. Wang Jusheng was afraid that the incense would be broken, so he begged his grandfather to tell his grandmother, but in the end, he was instructed by the master to go to the Niangniang Temple to burn incense and worship Niangniang. Guess what? After Wang Juren took his daughter-in-law to the temple to burn incense and worship her mother, within three months, his daughter-in-law had a big belly and gave birth to a big fat boy at the beginning of this year. You say God or not?"

The catcher on the left pouted his lips and said, "Do you believe this kind of nonsense? It has long been spread in the city, saying that Wang Juren's son is a eunuch and can't do anything." That woman's belly was made big by Wang Juren. It's just that in order to cover up the ugly things, I made up the nonsense of the mother to deceive people. ”

The catcher on the right said hatefully: "Xiao Bi, are you on the same bar with me?

The catcher on the left smiled and said, "Lao Xu, how dare I fight you! I just don't want you to be deceived." These ghosts and gods are all false, most of them are trying to cheat you out of money, and you must not believe it. Do you still remember that at the beginning of the year, we rounded up the thief Tang Sangou? The day before the move, Jiang Lao Liu spent 500 yuan to go to the Chengcheng Immortal's house in the east of the city to ask for a talisman. As a result, Tang Sangou was surrounded on the bank of the Dasha River the next day, and no one was injured. Only Jiang Lao Liu was stabbed by Tang Sangou and almost lost his life. Not to mention that the five hundred dollars were spent in vain, and they also suffered from flesh and skin. Therefore, the theory of ghosts and gods is ultimately slim, and it must not be believed. ”