Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 61 Closing the City
Zhou Ping saw a cat transformed into a human form through the spider's memory.

Zhou Ping had an impression of this person.

At that time, He Yunqing bumped into the old woman and the kitten in her bamboo basket.

Zhou Ping also helped put the kitten back into the bamboo basket.

"The cat turns into a man, a tiger."

"She was obviously about to do something to Aunt Liu, but was interrupted by Xiao Bai."

Zhou Ping vaguely felt that the incident of the missing child was related to this, but he couldn't figure out the connection.

"What does this old woman want to do to Aunt Liu?"

Zhou Ping couldn't figure it out, so he looked at the spider's memory over and over again.

In the spider's memory, after Aunt Mei was frightened by Xiaobai, she quickly turned into a cat and ran away.

"Cats become people, and people become cats."

Zhou Ping's eyes lit up. He understood that Aunt Mei was a human trafficker!
Aunt Mei wanted to turn Liu Ruyan into a cat and take her away.

If a human trafficker has someone with him, he will be an obvious target.

But if the human traffickers carry a cat with them, they will not be easily discovered.

After realizing this, Zhou Ping also realized that the kitten in Aunt Mei’s bamboo basket is actually a human being!

"Mr. Yuan's daughter is one of those kittens!"

Zhou Ping understood everything at once.

Aunt May's magic can turn people into cats!

Zhou Ping remembered that the storyteller had talked about this evil magic, which was called the Art of Creating Animals.

Some evil people turn people into animals and then sell them.

But I didn’t expect that human traffickers would use this magic to steal children.

Zhou Ping sorted out the situation.

Aunt Mei is a human trafficker and Meow is a lost child.

Aunt Mei appeared in the rouge shop, also wanting to turn Liu Ruyan and her daughter into cats and steal them away.

In order to understand the situation, Zhou Ping controlled the ghost baby and began to wander around the county town.

Sure enough, Aunt Mei was really met by the ghost baby.

From the ghost baby's perspective, there was a bamboo basket with seven or eight kittens inside.

A big cat came out of a man's house with a kitten in its mouth, and then put the kitten into a bamboo basket.

Then, the big cat turned into Aunt May.

Zhou Ping was watching attentively through the ghost baby's perspective.

Suddenly, a big yellow cat appeared in front of the ghost baby.

The big yellow cat stared at the ghost baby, and its eyes seemed to be able to see Zhou Ping.

"No, let's go!"

Zhou Ping quickly gave orders to the ghost baby.

The ghost baby fled in a hurry.

The big yellow cat stood in front of the ghost baby, then its body grew bigger and began to turn into a tiger.

From the ghost baby's perspective, the tiger is surrounded by countless child ghosts.

"Follow the tiger!"

It is said that after a tiger kills a person, the person will become the tiger's ghost and be controlled by the tiger.

"How many children has this tiger eaten? Why are there so many ghosts of children on its body?"

Zhou Ping finally understood why tigers were so picky when it came to eating humans.

How can a child who eats so much not be picky about food?

The ghost of the child on the tiger flew out and chased after it like a ghost baby.

The ghost baby was so scared that he started crying.

Ghost babies are timid. When they are frightened by something, they don’t know how to run away and can only cry.

However, the crying child gets the milk.

As soon as the ghost baby cries, the ghost bride appears.

The ghost bride hugged the ghost baby and then waved gently at the group of ghosts.

A bunch of ghosts immediately turned into ashes and disappeared.

After the group of child ghosts disappeared, there was an obvious sense of liberation before death.

Seeing his minions disappear, the tiger demon also became angry.

The tiger demon roared at the ghost bride.

The tiger's roar shook the earth.

The tiger's roar was so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire county.

The whole county suddenly felt as if the earth was shaking.

The tiger's roar alarmed people in the entire county.

After the tiger roared, the ghost bride disappeared holding the ghost baby.

"What are you doing!"

Aunt Mei came to the tiger demon and slapped him with her hand.

The tiger demon looked aggrieved, and then turned into a big yellow cat.

The big yellow cat meowed a few times.

"Is there a ghost?"

Aunt Mei said with a frown.

In the rouge shop.

Zhou Ping looked at the ghost bride in front of him.

The ghost bride left after saving the ghost baby, without fighting with the tiger demon.

"What's the level of that tiger demon?"

Zhou Ping asked.

In Zhou Ping's opinion, the ghost bride's cultivation should be higher than that of the tiger demon.

The ghost bride didn't take action because there was no need.

The ghost bride's main purpose is to save the ghost baby.

"My dear husband, I don't know the tiger monster's cultivation level, but it should be higher than mine."

The ghost bride replied.

Zhou Ping was surprised.

The Ghost Bride originally had a ninth-grade cultivation level, but after being injured she fell to the tenth-grade level.

Zhou Ping gave the ghost bride two Yin Ling flowers.

According to Fan Shiyi, Yinling Flower is of great help to demons and ghosts.

It is said that the Ghost Bride's cultivation has recovered to the ninth level.

"What is your cultivation level?"

Zhou Ping asked.

You are already at the ninth level, could it be that the tiger demon is at the eighth level! ?
"My lord, I am an eighth-rank servant."

The ghost bride replied that she was grateful to Ping.

Not to mention that at the beginning, Zhou Ping rescued the ghost bride.

Later, the ghost bride was beaten by the devil and almost lost her soul.

Zhou Ping used his own blood and essence to feed the ghost bride.

Later, Zhou Ping gave the Yin Ling Flower to the ghost bride.

The ghost bride's cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds and has reached the eighth level.

Although the ghost bride did not sign a contract with Zhou Ping, she was very convinced of Zhou Ping and kept a low profile.

Humans and ghosts are different, and many people don't want to have anything to do with ghosts. Of course, for Zhou Ping, he has two Buddhist treasures, so he is not afraid of ghosts at all.

The ghost bride's words shocked Zhou Ping! Seventh rank, could it be that the tiger demon is also of the seventh rank!

Zhou Ping's face looked a little ugly.

The seventh-rank tiger demon is already the most powerful in the vicinity.

Of course, this doesn’t count as Xiaoqing.

Xiaoqing is also a seventh-grade monster that can transform.

"Seventh rank, it's so difficult."

Zhou Ping wanted to save those children.

But according to the ghost bride, if the tiger demon is of the seventh grade, she would be no match for it.

And there is also Aunt Mei, her cultivation level is still unclear.

If Aunt Mei is also a seventh-grade cultivator, then this man and this tiger would be invincible in Qinghe County.

When Zhou Ping didn't know what to do, an ancient voice suddenly came from Qinghe County.

"Lock the city."

As this ancient voice fell, Zhou Ping suddenly felt an invisible pressure on his body.

However, this pressure only lasted for a moment, and Zhou Ping felt relaxed again.

However, the ghost bride and ghost baby are not so easy.

The ghost bride's body suddenly became illusory, and the ghost baby's body also became much more transparent.

"Husband, I don't know what happened, but I suddenly felt a pressure on me just now."

"This pressure makes me very uncomfortable, and it suppresses my cultivation!"

There was some discomfort in the ghost bride's tone.

Zhou Ping didn't understand what was going on either.

"Let's hide for a while."

Zhou Ping said.

The ghost bride nodded, then disappeared with the ghost baby.

The two ghosts like to hide in places like underground.

Zhou Ping was silent all night, thinking about how to spread the news about the human traffickers. The next day, Uncle Bo came to the Rouge Shop to find Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping also received shocking news.

Qinghe County is under lockdown!

Locking down a city does not simply mean closing the city gates.

Warriors or Taoists have various means to disguise themselves or escape underground.

The so-called closure of the city was actually the opening of a formation.

In the formation, people outside cannot come in, and people inside cannot leave.

"Uncle Lame, when can this formation be activated?"

He Yunqing asked.

Qinghe County is under lockdown, so there is no way to do business with the outside world.

Not being able to do business is a big blow to merchants.

Uncle Lame shook his head, he didn't know either.

Liu Ruyan brought tea to Uncle Lame.

Uncle Lame didn't hesitate and started drinking.

"Uncle Lame, who has the formation to seal the city?"

Zhou Ping asked.

Uncle Bo looked at Zhou Ping with satisfaction, and Zhou Ping immediately asked the key point.

"The formation of Qinghe County is in the hands of the county magistrate."

Uncle Lame replied.

"The one who can drive the formation must be a Confucian scholar of high rank."

"In the formation, Confucianists are not affected, but everyone else will be affected, especially evil things like ghosts and monsters."

"The formation will suppress the cultivation of people other than Confucianists, especially ghosts and monsters!"

Uncle Lame added.

Zhou Ping nodded. He finally understood where the suppressed feeling of the ghost bride came from, and why he only had this feeling for a moment.

He has reached the tenth level of Confucian cultivation, so the formation has no effect on Zhou Ping.

"Perhaps the formation is related to the tiger's roar last night, and a monster has entered the city."

Zhou Ping guessed.

"Well, I heard along the way that the county magistrate's child is missing."

Uncle Lame answered.

"This county magistrate is really interesting. So many people have lost their children, but the people in the government office don't care."

"A dog was lost, and the government officials were looking for it all over the street."

"Now that their own child is missing, they are anxious and have directly closed the city."

Liu Ruyan chuckled.

Not only Liu Ruyan, but people in the entire county had a bad impression of the new county magistrate.

Zhou Ping didn't say anything.

Locking down the city is a good thing!
Judging from the time, the entire city was sealed off just as the ghost bride escaped from the tiger demon.

The tiger demon didn't have time to leave.

Zhou Ping thought of the kitten that Aunt Mei brought back after turning into a cat.

Could that little kitten be the county magistrate’s son?

This makes sense.

Human traffickers kidnapped the county magistrate's son, and the county magistrate immediately sealed off the city after discovering the incident.

"Okay, I don't have anything to do. I just came to see you. There's a curfew now, so don't run around at night."

Uncle Lame just came to see Zhou Ping, and also to see if He Yunqing and her daughter needed anything.

He Yunqing had already given the escort agency two taels of silver to hire a bodyguard.

As an escort agency, it is normal to see how Zhou Ping performs his duties.

"Uncle Lame, the world is so chaotic now. We want Zhou Ping to protect us for a little longer. Here is fifty taels!"

He Yunqing was generous and was ready to sponsor Zhou Ping for two years.

Uncle Lame looked at Zhou Ping meaningfully.

"The escort agency can send people to protect you for two years, as long as you pay."

"As for whether Zhou Ping is willing or not, that's hard to say."

Uncle Lame didn't take the money.

Fifty taels of silver. If Zhou Ping is willing to be a bodyguard for the mother and daughter, he can earn twenty-five taels in two years.

An average of more than ten taels of silver per year.

Even the tenth-rank official in the escort agency would be willing to pay this amount.

There is no risk, and you can also be in the company of beautiful women.

No matter how you calculate this account, you can make money.

But Zhou Ping didn't want to.

After all, Zhou Ping’s panel is an escort panel, not a bodyguard panel.

Zhou Ping still has to complete tasks to gain longer life.

"Miss Yunqing, there are many good escorts in the escort agency. You can hire other escorts. I think there will be more people willing to come."

Zhou Ping politely declined.

"Zhou Ping, we think you are more trustworthy."

He Yunqing said.

He Yunqing was right. After observing for a period of time, she found that Zhou Ping was indeed a good person.

More importantly, Zhou Ping also has the ability!
"Yes, Zhou Ping, as long as you stay, what price are you willing to pay!"

Liu Ruyan also said.

"It's not about the money."

Zhou Ping smiled faintly.

"The world is so big, I want to see it."

Zhou Ping said.

Uncle Lame glanced at Zhou Ping, his mouth twitching slightly. Why does this reason sound so familiar?

Zhou Ping politely declined the mother and daughter's offer to let him be their personal bodyguard, but promised to protect them until the city closure formation in Qinghe County was opened.

Zhou Ping told the mother and daughter his guess.

The person who caught the child should be the same person who broke into the rouge shop that night.

The human traffickers wanted to kidnap the mother and daughter.

Therefore, as long as the city seal is activated, it means that the human traffickers have been found, and then the mother and daughter will be in no danger.

in the afternoon.

People from the yamen searched every house.

When the bailiffs were searching, Zhou Ping also told them how the mother and daughter were almost abducted by human traffickers.

"What? The people who arrested children also came here to arrest people?"

The yamen runners didn't believe Zhou Ping's statement at all.

Judging from the clues the government has, it was probably a tiger demon that stole the children.

So the yamen runners didn't believe Zhou Ping's statement at all.

"Be a good escort!"

The yamen runners didn't believe Zhou Ping's words at all.

Zhou Ping had no way to tell them the truth.

Zhou Ping couldn't say that he had a demon seed or a ghost baby, so he saw the human traffickers and the tiger demon.

In this way, too many secrets are exposed.

Just the demon seed, Zhou Ping felt that once this thing was exposed, he would probably be arrested as a member of the demon cult.

The yamen runners didn't believe it, and Zhou Ping couldn't reveal too much information.

Over the next three days, yamen runners would take turns to search every day.

However, after searching the entire Qinghe County, no clues were found about the missing child.

Qinghe County Government.

The new county magistrate’s surname is Lu, and he is a ninth-rank Confucian.

"What do you do? How can you just throw away a child that big?"

County Magistrate Lu got angry at a group of yamen runners.

The yamen runners had a hard time these days. They searched every house but could not find anything.

"Sir, I'm afraid the child will be eaten by a monster!"

Captain Leng said from the side.

The bailiffs had searched many places but could not find any clues about the missing child.

Captain Leng has been investigating cases for many years and he guessed that the monster had eaten the missing children.

Otherwise, how come there is no trace of the missing children?

"I don't believe it. I don't believe it. I want to see him alive or dead. You said he was eaten by a monster."

"Bring the monster to me, I want to interrogate it myself!"

Magistrate Lu said angrily.

"Whoever can find the child and catch the monster will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver, and he will also be the head of the police force!"

County Magistrate Lu used his ultimate move.

First, it's the money, and second, it's the temptation of the head of the police.

The chief constable is in charge of the public security of the entire Qinghe County and has great power.

The yamen runners became more active.

County Magistrate Lu's words gave the yamen runners a shot of confidence.

(End of this chapter)