Chapter 112
There are two types of haunted houses in the hot spring villa.
One is simply scary without any connotation.
That is, a horror atmosphere is created through a dark environment, dim candlelight, and scary music. The other is to make some small mechanisms, so that the lid of the coffin is suddenly opened, or half a paper man falls from the ceiling, etc. The purpose is to scare people who enter the house to the point of pissing and screaming.
The other type has a bit of role-playing nature, allowing "players" to participate in the plot. It is more like a puzzle game, escape room, role-playing, etc. But there was no escape room or role-playing in ancient times, so Fu Wenyu classified them all as "haunted houses". The former has no plot, while the latter has a plot and characters.
It depends on which one the customer likes.
The latter has NPCs, so it is not free to enter, and you need to buy a ticket separately.
As for where the plot of the latter comes from, of course it comes from the storybook. For this reason, Fu Wenyu specially found his dusty trumpet "Yin Yang Scholar" and used it specifically to write horror stories.
In order to facilitate the switching of the horror stories experienced by the protagonist, he also wrote this story as a mini short story similar to "Collection of Tricks", and each horror story is only about 10,000 to 20,000 words.
The background of "Dream Man" is also set to infinite flow.
The protagonist Zhao Le is an ordinary peddler in the countryside. Because his family has little land, he followed his father to the city to buy some needles, thread, salt, cloth and other things when he was very young. He then made some wooden hairpins, fire sticks, grasshoppers and other things by himself, and then carried them to the nearby village to sell.
Then he exchanged some eggs, mountain products and so on from the village and sold them in the city.
Originally, such a life was very good.
But suddenly one day, he and five other people appeared in a strange place in their dreams. This is the first story of the "Dream Man" series, "Fox Fairy in the Mountain Village".
Zhao Le slept very soundly.
Because he and his father had just returned from the mountains yesterday, his shoes were worn out and he was very tired. Moreover, this time they were going to the mountains to sell goods. In order to prevent being robbed, both father and son were very nervous and dared not close their eyes.
So when he got home, Zhao Le drank a bowl of porridge and then fell asleep on the bed.
In a daze, he heard a noisy sound.
"Where is this?"
"You, who are you?!"
"I was sleeping at home, how did I get here, who are you?" A trembling young man shouted in a stern and restrained voice: "My father is the county magistrate of Yupu County!"
"I will let him punish you!"
At the same time, in addition to the young man with the loudest voice, Zhao Le also heard an older voice flattering: "Okay, two heroes, may I ask where this is?"
"I am Wang Dafu, a merchant from a certain county. I remember that I spent last night in a dilapidated temple with the caravan. How did I suddenly end up in such a place?"
"If you want money, just take it."
Although Wang Dafu tried his best to control himself, he could still hear a tremor in his voice, "I have an 80-year-old mother and a one-month-old granddaughter at home. Please be kind and let me go back."
"After I go back, I will definitely give you two heroes a long-term ranking!"
Wang Dafu from a certain county?
This name pierced Zhao Le's mind like a sharp sword, and he woke up instantly.
Because he had heard the name of Wang Dafu from his father. He was a wealthy businessman in another county not far from them. It was said that his family had seven or eight hectares of land. Zhao Le was very sure that he had returned to his home before he went to bed. It was not a long way from where Wang Dafu was, but at least three or five thousand miles away.
How could they be in the same place?
Then Zhao Le opened his eyes and was stunned.
Because he found himself lying under a tree, and the surrounding area was a wilderness, not the blue brick and tile house that had just been built not long ago.
In addition to him, Wang Dafu, and the man who just shouted "My father is the county magistrate", there were two other people here.
They were a man and a woman.
The man was about thirty years old. He was wearing a leather armor, as if he had just come down from a battlefield. At this time, he was wiping a long knife by himself.
The woman was only seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a white dress with a veil on her face, and a fiery red whip hanging from her waist. The whip glowed, and it was obvious that it was not an ordinary thing.
The two people had not made any sound just now, so Zhao Le, who was sleeping, did not notice.
Now seeing these two people who were obviously not ordinary people, Zhao Le's heart skipped a beat, and he asked the same question in a low voice, "You, who are you, what do you want to do?"
The man with the long knife raised his head, revealing a rough face, and said jokingly: "Oh, all three of you are awake, right? It's just right that I'll finish it all at once, and I don't have to say it again."
Then he looked at the woman in white, changed to a serious tone of negotiation and said: "Miss Chen, how about I explain to these three newcomers this time?"
The woman in white nodded indifferently.
So the rough man seemed to have picked up a bargain and began to explain to Zhao Le and others.
"You are lucky to have encountered this overwhelming wealth..."
The three of them listened attentively, and then learned from the rough man that his surname was also Zhao and he was the descendant of Zhao Le. His name is ‘Zhao Erqiang’, they can call him ‘Brother Zhao’ or ‘Brother Zhao’. But Zhao Le, who has followed his father on the streets since he was a child and imitated him in doing business, subconsciously felt that this was not his real name.
Because he was too casual when he said his name was ‘Zhao Erqiang’.
The subsequent development also confirmed his guess, because when he introduced the expressionless woman in white, he didn't say her name, he just said, "Just call me Miss Chen."
As for where this place is, ‘Zhao Erqiang’ said it was a dream.
"Hey, you can't think of it?"
Zhao Erqiang said somewhat proudly: "We are all in a dream, so you are in Yupu County." He pointed at the fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy who shouted, "My father is the county magistrate", and then pointed at Wang Dafu, "And you are in such-and-such county. If it wasn't in a dream, how could we be together?"
Looking at the surprised looks of the three people, he added: "As for why I said before that this is a fortune that is overwhelming, it is because we are all chosen by the immortals. As long as we solve the difficult problems given by the immortals in our dreams, , then we can get the reward from the immortal."
"Everything is available, ranging from food, silver, and cloth to weapons, armor, and even some special bloodlines, elixirs that can cure all diseases in the world, or make the manpower infinitely powerful and the body as light as a swallow, etc. For example, Just one pill of 'Infinite Strength' can make a person lift a heavy object."
The three people suddenly said "Wow", and they were all very surprised.
So Zhao Erqiang laughed and continued to explain. Zhao Le listened carefully and slowly understood what was going on from his words.
It turned out that they were really in a dream.
Everyone has dreams, some are sweet dreams and some are nightmares. But whether it is a sweet dream or a nightmare, there are very few things that can be remembered after waking up. Some even if they are remembered at the time, they are forgotten after a day or two.
Zhao Erqiang said this was because they failed the test of the ‘immortal’.
After passing the test of the 'immortal', not only will you clearly remember what happened in your dream, but you will also be able to obtain the benefits he just mentioned. Those who fail will forget everything and will never have a chance to be selected.
And if you die in a dream, reality will die too.
Zhao Le and the other three took a breath of cold air.
Yes, he will die!
Zhao Erqiang looked at the three people's faces that instantly turned pale, and snorted coldly: "You don't think there are good things that come at no cost in the world, do you?"
"There is no risk. Why would the immortals give you money, elixirs, weapons and strength?"
At the end, he reminded you, "Of course, as long as you don't die, it doesn't matter how injured you are, even if your arms and legs are gone. After the mission is over, the immortal will help you recover."
He then introduced the ‘mission’ in detail.
The five people’s ‘mission’ this time is to get rid of the rebellious fox demon.
This task was received by Zhao Erqiang and Miss Chen at the Immortal's residence. As for where the Immortal's residence was, Zhao Erqiang only said that they would know it after they completed the task. They couldn't understand it now, so they would not waste their breath.
As for why Zhao Erqiang patiently explained to the three newcomers, it was because 'explaining to the newcomers' was also a task. After Zhao Erqiang completed it, he could get some benefits from the immortal, so he said so much before the task started. .
As for Miss Chen, her strength is higher than that of Zhao Erqiang, and she no longer despises such a small benefit.
After listening to the explanation, Zhao Erqiang asked the three of them to introduce themselves and tell them what they were good at, so that they could easily arrange their next tasks.
Wang Dafu had already said it before, so only Zhao Le and the fourteen-year-old or fifteen-year-old boy who shouted, "My father is the county magistrate" were left.
The young man said before Zhao Le could speak: "My name is Du Runzhi, and my father is Zhao De, the magistrate of Yupu County in the south of the Yangtze River. I am studying at the age of three and will take the scholar examination next year. I can write poetry and draw. I No matter how well you write, as long as you protect me and let me go back safely, I will definitely let my father reward you!"
Zhao Erqiang raised his eyebrows slightly, "It turns out he is still a yameni."
Then he turned his attention to Zhao Le and asked, "What about you, little brother?"
Zhao Le rolled his eyes. He had just discovered a problem, that is, except for what he said to Wang Dafu, the five of them were different. Among them, Miss Chen didn’t speak, so she didn’t know, but Du Runzhi was speaking Mandarin, and although Zhao Erqiang was speaking Mandarin, he had a Northern accent.
So Zhao Le thought that when he was a child, because he was a quick tongue learner and could learn similar words from different places, his father took him to sell goods. When he grew up, it was logical that he also became a salesman.
He now earns more money than his two brothers.
So Zhao Le replied: "I, I am illiterate, and my family is in the peddler business, so I can understand many village dialects. As long as you give me a few days, I can learn the local dialect, which even my father cannot learn." meeting."
"By the way, Brother Zhao, my surname is also Zhao, and my name is Zhao Gouzi. My parents said that giving a cheap name can make a living, so Brother Zhao, just call me Gouzi."
Zhao Le's words made Miss Chen turn her head and look over. Zhao Erqiang was also shocked and asked: "Can you really understand what they said?"
As he spoke, he casually said something very awkward and asked, "What does this mean?"
Zhao Le thought about it carefully and felt that this was very similar to what he heard when he went to sell goods in a village that moved from the north, so he guessed and answered: "It should be 'Have you eaten yet'?"
Zhao Erqiang was delighted, "Not bad, not bad, you are really good at it!"
He reached out and patted Zhao Le on the shoulder, and said happily: "Okay, since you call me 'Brother Zhao' and you are my family member, then you can follow me."
So Zhao Erqiang then began to assign tasks to everyone.
The goal of this mission is to get rid of the fox demon, and the time limit is three days. However, they cannot rush in and kill them all, but they must find the fox demon first.
Zhao Erqiang said that when he was on a mission in the past, he and other people who did not understand had rushed into a mountain village to eliminate the tiger problem without any cover-up. But I didn't expect that the people in the village were xenophobic and worshiped the tiger as a 'Tiger Fairy'. When I heard that they were here to get rid of the tiger, they not only refused to reveal any information, but also summoned the whole village to kill them. Drive away.
In the end they returned without success.
So since then, they have learned their lesson and will arrange some background settings for themselves every time they do a task, such as a caravan passing by to stay overnight, or escorting someone to Beijing to take an exam, etc.
Then stay and slowly inquire about the news.
As for whether people will be suspicious if they don't leave for a long time, there is no need to worry about this, because after twelve hours, the immortal will naturally arrange some things so that they can live safely.
What Zhao Erqiang arranged this time was to "escort the two siblings to Beijing." The elder sister was Miss Chen, who looked like she was no ordinary person at first glance, while the younger brother was Du Runzhi, who had thin skin and tender flesh. As for the other three people, the older Wang Dafu was the housekeeper, Zhao Le was the boy, and he was the bodyguard of the family. The five of them passed by this place and wanted to repair it, so they found a nearby village to stay overnight.
After discussing, the five people walked towards the village not far away.