This night, people in both guest rooms did not sleep well. I don’t know if Dai Luan is really big-hearted, or if she has been used to it since she was a child, and she seems not to notice the gloom gathering in the room. Mu Wan couldn't make a conclusion, but her intuition over the years told her that the Baigu family was indeed entangled with something. The seams between the bones were cold and painful with the slightest exertion. Being able to have such an obvious impact proves that things are much more complicated than she imagined - and Shan Hai will definitely not give up. Thinking of this, she got even more headache.
As for the mountains and seas, the situation is almost the same. He tossed and turned all night, restless. Although he had a strong yang energy, he could still detect subtle undercurrents in the courtyard and the room. Maybe it was the approaching Dragon Boat Festival, or maybe it was his visit that made the house much quieter, and no one heard the sound of home singing all night. The servants who got up early to work were all polite when they saw him, as if he had really become the mascot of the town house.
Having said that, this is only a temporary measure, not a long-term one.
Shan Hai woke up very early and walked around in the yard. At this time, he saw a maid in the corridor breaking something off a pillar. He walked up and asked, and the maid said it was a branch on a pillar.
"Branches? Why are there branches on the pillars?"
"I don't know. They grow a lot every two days. I told the old lady and she said just pick them."
"let me see."
The maid spread out her other hand and grasped seven or eight small branches, which really seemed to be stretched out from the tree. It's just that although this house is old, it doesn't give birth to spirits. Why do these pillars sprout branches and buds?
"What should I do if I pick it off?"
"Throw it into the flower bed."
As she spoke, she broke off another branch.
ah.
"...What?" Shanhai heard some voices.
"What's the matter?" The maid turned around.
"What did you... say just now?"
"No." She widened her eyes.
"Or is there someone nearby?"
"Oh, Taoist Priest, please don't scare me."
The maid's eyes became strange. It can be seen that she is not very courageous, and she seems to be resistant to the so-called evil ghosts. She picked the branch, hurried away, and threw the handful in her hand into the flower bed.
It's quite cold this morning.
Shanhai stared at the pillar and looked up and down. At this time, he found another small branch. It's a bit high, maybe the girl just now didn't see it. He stood on his tiptoes slightly and pulled it off.
ah.
There was that small, short sound again.
"..."
He went down the steps of the corridor and walked to the flower bed where the maid had just thrown the branches. He saw that in the dense grass, the branches were facing one side by coincidence, very neatly, and each branch was parallel to each other.
It's like pointing at something.
He walked through the flower bed and carefully picked up the branches one by one. Then he dropped them casually. Small branches were scattered on the ground in random patterns.
Are you too worried?
Just as he was thinking this, Shanhai suddenly noticed that the branches were trembling slightly. But there is no wind now. He squatted down and looked carefully, and found that they all turned in the same direction as before.
There was a shadow hanging over him.
"Master Lin, you are in a mood to get up so early and ruin the lawn?"
When he looked up, Mu Wan and Dai Luan looked at him condescendingly on the roadside. Dai Luan knelt down and poked Shan Hai in the face with a wooden stick.
"Nonsense." He pushed the stick away, "Did I ask you to wash the sword?"
"Wash it!" Her tone was quite stubborn.
"It's just in time. Then" he put the twig into her hand, "Aluan, walk around the house more and pay attention to the pillars. Some of them will have these twigs on them. If there are any, pull them out. Look carefully, pay more attention to high and low places. If you see anything special or hear anything, tell me immediately."
"oh--"
Dai Luan drawled, reluctantly took the branch and left. Mu Wan felt strange when he heard it, and asked him if he had discovered anything.
"Zhuzhu, something is not right. But... the old lady doesn't seem to take it seriously. Don't shock them. Please go find people and ask them to see if they have any unusual experiences. The more the better. "
"……good."
Seeing how serious he was, Mu Wan couldn't refuse. Besides, she was also curious about what Shanhai had discovered. So she turned away and did as he asked. Shan Hai stood up, patted the soil, walked out of the flower bed, and thought seriously again.
Think carefully about what happened earlier. There is no noticeable abnormality in the servants of the Baigu family, but the old lady Baigu has absolute power. As for Baigu's wife, she does seem to be loved by thousands of people. She is decent-looking, knows how to show off, and is charming and charming. As for Young Master Bai Gu, he looked a little dull. Although he was not obedient to his mother and wife, he did not have any opinions of his own. And I don’t know whether it’s because of insufficient money or what, but the young master doesn’t have any more concubines.
He thought as he walked slowly closer to the kitchen. Seeing someone inside, he walked in. The cook was squatting in front of the stove, seeming to be reading a piece of paper in the light of the fire. He came closer and pretended to be casually chatting with the cook.
"...Yo! Master Lin, you scared me. Can you eat something?"
She was really frightened by Shanhai's sudden conversation. She hurriedly stuffed the letter into her sleeve and asked him kindly.
"No, thank you very much. It seems that you have been working here for a long time, right?"
"Hey, it's been decades. Don't look at us now. In the past, our family was very big. The houses on the opposite street all belonged to us."
"Forgive me for being rude, but why are you like this now?"
"Sigh. The head of the house left early, and it was all supported by the old lady. Later, the government wanted to build a road, and the drawings had to cross our house. It was said that it was a subsidy, but it was not fair. Besides, everyone knew that those people The traders have been coveting this land for a long time, and they have stuffed their money into it to destroy the Bai Gu family!"
"How can this be done? But...it seems that I have indeed suffered a loss."
"No, it can't be done without a man in the family. Later, when I married a wife, my parents' family brought a dowry, which relieved their immediate needs... However, the family's expenses continued to increase. To this day, we really can't make ends meet... "
"It may not be appropriate for me to say this, but hasn't the young master ever considered borrowing some money from his parents' family to do some business?"
"Her mother's family doesn't have either... Ah, oops, I'll get some water, you have to work first..."
Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt that the cook was a little wary, just like the maid before.
When Shanhai returned to his room, someone brought him lunch. Not long after the meal, Mu Wan knocked on the door and came in.
"I chatted with the maids. There was nothing noteworthy, but I heard a lot of gossip."
She stretched and sat on the bed. Shan Hai asked her what she had inquired about.
"This old lady was actually not the old man's first wife, but a concubine. First, the first wife fell ill for no apparent reason and died. Not long after, the old man also suffered from the plague, and the family naturally fell into her hands. As for Bai Gu's wife Well, actually she is not the wife but also the concubine, what a coincidence. The old lady loves her very much because we share the same fate."
"Ah... Could it be that the person who gave the Baigu family a dowry back then was actually the first wife?"
"What dowry?" Mu Wan didn't know about it. "By the way, a servant said that the carpenter who repaired the house came before and said something, so the young master and the others drove him away. He said that the carpenter had a dream. There was a voice inside that said to him: 'My head hurts so much, my head hurts so much'. No matter how much I asked, no one knew."
"Headache?"
An idea vaguely emerged in Shanhai's mind. At this time, Dailuan hurried in without knocking on the door.
"Shanhai, you guys... go and see! Over there - there are strange pillars over there!"
She was out of breath. Shan Hai and Mu Wan looked at each other and rushed out of the house, following her. It was a somewhat remote house, and it was not built for a few years. Right here in the corner, around the corner, is the courtyard wall. But this place is too remote. Usually no one comes here, and they don’t know that there is a last pillar here after turning a corner.
This pillar is almost densely covered with new shoots. It's just... they grow downward. Moreover, the lines on this pillar are a bit strange. Unlike other trees, it has a twisted sore on it. It is estimated that there is such a tree scar on the log, so I chose such a remote corner to use it.
That's weird, shouldn't all the branches be pointing upward? Why do they grow downward like eaves or umbrellas?
"You... how did you find this place?" Shan Hai always felt that her attitude didn't seem like she was willing to search so carefully.
"Before I met you in the morning, I saw you throwing them on the ground. I threw them too, and after a while, I found that they were all pointing in the same direction. So, I walked over there and found here."
Dai Luan casually threw the branches to the ground, like a goddess scattering flowers. At this moment, the branches have not changed direction, but the frequency of trembling has obviously accelerated. Liangqiu Muwan looked around beside the pillar and felt strange. These dense twigs are so heart-wrenching to see.
"Besides, I can't pull it out!" Dai Luan said, bending down to pick up the branches on the ground.
"Why?" Shan Hai stepped forward and stretched out his hand to pull one of the buds.
ah.
His hand shook - it was coming again, the same cry from before!
Mu Wan didn't seem to hear it. She looked at the master and apprentice inexplicably, then turned her face and stared at the unplucked branches of Shanhai. She also reached out to pull it out, but when she tore it upwards against the branch, a dense red oozed out of the pillar.
"This...this is Qi?" Mu Wan's eyes widened.
"No...this..." Shanhai hesitated to speak.
"--ah!"
There was another scream, much louder than before. But this time, it wasn't that inexplicable voice.
——It’s Dai Luan.
