"Shan Hai, did you ask someone to beat you in your dream?"
A Luan looked at the circles in Taoist Master Lin's eyes and held back these words for a long time.
"Just say a few words, and I will know that your dog's mouth can't spit out ivory." Just after he finished shouting, Lin Shanhai felt that all the bones in his body were aching. He might have caught a cold last night. But seeing that Aluan is jumping around, there should be no problem. He didn't know who had the weakest horoscope, so he kept muttering in his heart.
I didn't see the shadow girl all night, which brought up other questions. If this matter is not resolved, he will just leave and tarnish the reputation of Linxiaoguan. I am afraid that he will not be able to come back to see the sect master in the future.
"Rinse your mouth before eating the snack! I didn't cover it up all night, and I don't know how much dust has fallen on it. You can't bear to eat it."
He scolded Ah Luan as he stuffed a few snacks with quick eyes and hands.
"No problem, no problem. The outer layer is peeled off, but the inside is still clean."
"...Rinse your mouth first."
Aluan ran out reluctantly again, making a sound on the floor with his small steps. Shan Hai suddenly thought of something and thought about what Aluan just said.
It's still clean inside.
The outer layer.
...Maybe the thing about the shadow girl is not the real monster itself, but the shadow cast in from the outside?
It's not impossible.
The times when you encounter evil spirits outdoors are Youshi and Yinshi, that is, dusk and dawn. In addition to the servants working in the courtyard all afternoon, Shanhai was also very busy. Not so sunny now, Shan Hai was sitting on the verandah, writing Taoist symbols one by one. Aluan's medicine box was placed aside and he was polishing the ink.
At this moment, a kind old woman came forward with two cups of tea. Shan Hai raised his head and recognized Granny Qi, whom the steward had introduced. He took a quick look and saw that grandma was nearly sixty years old, and her gray hair was carefully pulled up. Although he is a servant in the family, he wears quite exquisite fabrics. He wears a cracked jade pendant on his neck and two silver and black rings on his fingers.
Seeing Taoist Master Lin looking at this, she smiled warmly:
"These are all given to me by the Madam. The jade pendant she often wore was accidentally cracked one day, and she was reluctant to throw it away. The Madam said that if I don't dislike it, she would give it to me. The Madam put me there In my eyes, it was too late for me to be happy. From then on, any old jewelry she had was stuffed into my hands."
When she said this, the wrinkles on Granny Qi's face were squeezed into the corners of her eyes, and her eyebrows were crooked in a smile. A Luan remained silent, staring at her exposed wrist. She saw it and pulled her sleeves outward.
"By the way, Taoist Master, what are you writing?"
"The manifestation talisman. It will be burned and dissolved in water later. It will be used later."
"It's serious in the house...then, can I ask you anything else?"
"You're too polite, just ask."
"I would like to ask you to write two peace charms. I would like to post them in Madam's room for peace of mind..."
"That's easy to say."
Taoist Master Lin asked his apprentice to grind more cinnabar, but Aluan did not move for a long time. She raised her head and asked as if to confirm something:
"Two?"
"Ah, I also have a little grandson..."
Grandma Qi knew that she was asking for compensation, so she smiled a little embarrassedly.
A Luan took out the cinnabar from the box. Dao Lin leaned over, took out the needle and thread bag from the small drawer, pricked his middle finger, and let the blood drip into the small dish. Shan Hai quickly drew two peace talismans, and Grandma Qi was very happy. When Ah Luan set out to burn the talisman to turn it into water, Grandma Qi took the initiative to stop the work on herself and left with a stack of talismans.
"It's just a peace charm, why should you sacrifice your life for them?"
A Luan was confused, she was referring to Shan Hai pricking her finger. But her master just smiled and shook his head, as if he had his own answer. Aluan felt bored, put down the box and turned around to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Let's go play with Xiao He."
Before leaving, I heard her muttering dissatisfiedly, "It's not my life that's being shortened, I don't care about you."
"Don't forget to go to the kitchen and ask for some salt -" he shouted.
Ah Luan shouted, "I know, I know."
Shanhai blew some tea and looked towards the courtyard. It was late spring and early summer, and the courtyard was filled with colorful flowers, but not a single bee or butterfly was seen among the flowers. As a result, this kind of scenery becomes very stereotyped, like a dry painting of flowers and plants, lacking some vitality.
At this time, Manager Qi walked over to him, Shan Hai put down his tea cup, and the two of them bowed briefly.
Dahei was brought back early in the morning, but Rin Shanhai could tell at a glance that its coat was not pure, and there were a few yellow hairs stuck at the base of its tail. He said it couldn't see or borrow anything. The steward wanted to send it back, but a boy ran over excitedly when he heard the dog barking, hugging Dahei and making a fuss. Shan Hai asked and found out that this was Grandma Qi's grandson, named Qiao Sheng. They all worked in Mrs. Qi's natal family at first, and Qiao's mother died in childbirth after giving birth to him. A few years later, Qiao Sheng's father fell down while repairing the roof tiles and died.
So only Xiao Qiaosheng and grandma were left. Mrs. Qi took pity on them and took them all over with the master's consent.
Qiao Sheng loved playing with Dahei the most since he was a child. He cried all day after he was sent away. I have been angry for the past two days and the food has not tasted good, but Grandma Qi is very anxious. The steward then thought that he would keep it and play with him for a while today.
"The backyard is full of holes again. If the master finds out, he will scold me again, hahahaha."
"It's causing trouble."
"What happened?" Manager Qi didn't care.
When dinner was about to arrive, Xiao He and Aluan were walking around the room. In the morning, the steward saw the two of them chatting happily, and specially gave Xiao He a day off. The little girl was very happy. At this moment, they walked to the east wing. Xiao He saw Qiao Sheng and Da Hei having a fight from a distance, and her pace became slow.
"What's wrong?" A Luan asked her.
"I'm a little... afraid of dogs. When the young master and I came here, the dog recognized itself, but it was so fierce."
"in this way."
As he said this, Aluan did not speed up his pace. She remembered that this was the place where she heard the sound of beads last night. She jumped down the steps and started rummaging through it. Xiao He fearfully grabbed the door, urging her to come back quickly.
Under the wooden planks of the outer porch, she indeed picked up two beads.
But it wasn't from Liuli - she sniffed it, and it looked like small-leaf red sandalwood.
"Where is Hashio's room?"
"I live with Grandma Qi in the back room. I'm in a larger room with several other maids. Do you want little A-luan to go take a look? Come on, let's not look at Dahei anymore..."
"Then let's take a look."
In the evening, the master spent more time entertaining Taoist Master Lin. The old man has just entered middle age, but the hair on his head is quite gray, almost comparable to that of Grandma Qi. It can be seen that he is very troubled about his wife and these trivial matters. At the dinner table, he even said apologetically to Shan Hai for the poor hospitality, saying that he would be grateful once the matter was resolved.
The mountains and seas were originally bottomless, until Aluan quietly stuffed something into his hand and whispered something, he knew it in his heart.
"There is no need to express my gratitude, but tonight at Yinshi, although the ghost issue may not necessarily be solved, I can at least give the master an explanation."
Tonight at Yinshi, Taoist Master Lin is going to do something!
The servants who were eavesdropping outside the door spread the word, and everyone was talking about it. Some people are happy, others are doubtful.
Others frowned.
It was late at night, but people gathered in a group, and no matter how hard Qi managed, he couldn't drive them away. They all gathered behind the door and watched Taoist Master Lin and his young apprentice busy in the room. Every once in a while, Master Lin placed a plate of fine salt. Several servants followed them with lamps on their hands. This battle is something that everyone has never seen before, but so far there is nothing more unusual, it's just people looking at people.
After everything was ready, Master Lin walked and muttered something. His voice was very soft, and the silent people could only hear words such as "The way of heaven is permanent" and "Breaking Yin and Yang", and no one dared to comment. Aluan held a large wooden basin in her hand. She followed the master and sprinkled water on the ground with a ladle. This basin of water must be the spiritual water that turned into a manifestation talisman in the afternoon.
At first, people only felt quiet. The Taoist priest raised two fingers and held the compass in his other hand behind his back for the time being. His murmur was particularly obvious in the silent night. But soon, some small voices slowly emerged from all directions. When these inconsistent loudspeakers first appeared, people felt strange but could not say anything. After a while, someone exclaimed that he had heard this sound before. Then, more and more people began to echo this statement.
By the end, everyone present could clearly hear what a familiar voice it was.
It is the cry of a baby.
