At dawn the next day, they went to the shrine to worship. The two little witches sweeping the floor were dozing off. Other than that, there was nothing particularly noteworthy. The shrine is actually very deserted. It is more lively during New Years and holidays. On weekdays, there are no special rules for burying old people. Even if there is a wake, it is done at home.
Shanhai asked the witch if anyone special had been here. The two little girls just looked at each other and shook their heads. But one person told him that he seemed to see someone breaking into the shrine in the middle of the night - it might have been a dream, she wasn't sure.
"What does that man look like?"
"I didn't see it clearly. We were too sleepy... I just thought it was a tall, strong man. But maybe I was dreaming. Hey, don't tell people in the village about us dozing off. …”
"No, when it's time for me to rest, it's your turn to be awake!"
"Bah, it's your fault!"
The two little guys started to quarrel, like fighting cats, which almost gave people the illusion that their backs were arched.
There are many bells throughout the courtyard, and they rustle when the wind blows. While praying, all three of them put money into the box. First ring the bell, then bow twice, clap your hands twice, and then bow once. Mu Wan and Dai Luan learned from each other. They all have different wishes, but no one says it clearly. After making a wish, Mu Wan couldn't help but asked him curiously:
"Apart from Taoist matters, how come you know so many different rules?"
"Well...I know a little bit of everything, but not much of everything."
There was another pattering sound outside the house, maybe it was the wind picking up again. Shan Hai turned around and glanced out the window, and suddenly saw the shadow of a woman.
"……Um?"
"What's wrong?"
He looked carefully again, but there was nothing outside the window. Shanhai thought it was his illusion. The other two people didn't understand what it meant, so they also looked out the empty window, and naturally found nothing.
"It's okay, maybe I didn't sleep well and am a little blind..."
The moment he turned around, Shan Hai was trembling. The two girls naturally knew why - a woman appeared in the room for some reason, and for some reason, she just appeared in front of Shan Hai.
She was beautiful, tall and straight, standing upright in front of the cash box. Her hair was smooth and shimmering, and her bangs and temples were trimmed neatly. The clothes were very similar to ordinary miko clothes, but the style was more complicated. The clothes are overall white, decorated with water red and apricot patterns. The color is gentle and comfortable. The hem of her clothes has a richer color, red and brown, like a wet edge, but it doesn't make people feel cumbersome.
But what is even fairer is her finely carved face and the arm holding the Kagura bell. It's better to say pale than pale, like the waves in the sea, the snow in the sky, or the clouds in the sky. Clean and clear, but too dazzling.
Like the remaining flowers that can be carried away by a gust of wind.
Her eyes are beautiful too.
"Mao..."
"Qinghe Broken Flower·Mao Yuejun."
Woman smiling. In this cold weather, her smile is like warm water falling on the snow, blooming naturally and condensing quietly.
"Ah, we are looking for you! We have many things and want to ask you..." Mu Wan took a step forward. She had completely ignored how Lord Uoyue came in. "Ah, I'm sorry, I almost forgot to introduce you." ,I am……"
"You are Liangqiu Muwan. This Taoist priest is famous as Shanhai, and his disciple is Dailuan, the princess of Dailuan City. I know your story, and Mu Ranyan told me all about it."
"Well, is that so..."
"You were accompanied by Shi Wuqi, Master of Hundred Bones. But for some reasons, he and the woman disappeared into the gap between the six paths. I have also heard about this. But unfortunately, I told Ye Yuejun, Today, there is no trace of this person in the two realms of heaven and earth."
"Is he... back? Or..." Dai Luan asked tentatively.
At this time, a paper man flew in from outside the house. She stretched out her hand, and the paper figures danced vividly on her fingertips, bowing. Then, she jumped onto Utsuki-kun's shoulder and leaned close to her ear as if to say something, although no one else heard anything.
"Let's go out and talk." She pointed to the door, "The lily of the valley over there has bloomed. Do you want to take a look?"
"Ling...lan?"
This is certainly not the season when lilies of the valley are in bloom. The three of them were full of suspicion, but they still followed her out. After passing through the torii gate and walking along the path for a while, Uzuki-kun stopped at the base of a wall. There was a faint fragrance here. When they lowered their heads, they discovered that there were actually several clusters of lilies of the valley blooming here. They are clustered together, like small bells carved from white jade.
"Why are there lilies of the valley in this season?" Mu Wan stretched out her hand and brushed over the flowers, "It's not hot here either..."
“In a place with abundant spiritual energy, it is easy for untimely flowers to bloom.”
Lord Uoyue stretched out his hand and gently held a small bone. The lily of the valley is like a sleeping little fairy being awakened, lazily stretching its petals and relaxing its muscles.
Shan Hai asked: "You mean, there are six spiritual veins nearby?"
"Well, that's right. But of course I can't let you travel safely by myself."
"I really don't dare to trouble you. We are very grateful that you have this heart."
"Oh, there's nothing to thank you for. In the final analysis, I haven't helped you at all. As for Master Bai Skeleton...the one next to you, that girl..." Lord Uoyue paused, "I know that."
"Do you know?" Dai Luan suddenly came up, "Do you know about Wu Qi and Ah Qi?"
"About thirty or forty years ago, or even earlier, I have been in the area of Xuanzhuang Town. There is also a shrine there, and I have visited it many times. I do know something about the two of them. In the end, they had a quarrel because of some things. He fought, moved his hands... and released the evil spirits suppressed in the ancient well."
"Stop!" Dai Luan interrupted, "Stop, stop, stop... No, I remember they said that the ghost ran out on its own, and the shrine maiden finally suppressed it. How did the two of them get involved with the witch? Fighting with Xuan Zhen? And since then, Wu Qi has said that he doesn’t remember anything about his past. We guess he hit his head during the battle."
"Well... I'm not wrong. In fact, Xuan Sui had a conflict between them in the shrine. The woman was going to kill him, but she saved his life when Xuan Sui attacked. When the situation calmed down , the witch and the demon disappeared, and people only saw Shi Wuqi holding the body of a woman, looking in a trance and feeling lost."
"These can match up with some things we know." Shan Hai thought for a while, "They...actually fell in love? Of course, this is my presumption. I just think that before this, their relationship It must be more than that."
Mu Wan nodded in agreement: "That's right. Miss Qi is willing to risk her life to protect him... maybe she really cares about him?"
Utsuki-kun is still smiling. Her eyes fell quietly on the white lily of the valley, and the smile at the corner of her mouth suddenly became extremely desolate for some reason. Winter is already cold enough, but next to the lily-of-the-valley snow that seems to have not melted, there is another pale and frail woman standing. Anyone who sees this scene will feel cold to the heart.
"Probably." She chuckled twice, "But surviving is not necessarily a good thing."
"For the impermanence of the six realms, endless life is indeed a bit too boring." Shanhai comforted her, "But regarding the relationship between humans and demons... The reason why I feel that the relationship between them is different from ordinary people is not just because of the It’s revealed in daily behaviors and cooperation, and there’s that, that…something that’s innate. To put it bluntly, it makes sense to say that the catastrophe was God’s condemnation for this relationship.”
"Hehehe, you are right."
Uoyuki-kun turned his face sideways and put his hand under the lily of the valley flower again. The little bell, which had only been in full bloom for a short time, suddenly faded, dried up, and withered under some invisible external force.
"Sigh... I think it's nothing." Dai Luan complained, "The world is so big, it's not easy to meet someone you like. Why should you care if the other person is a human or a monster?"
"You are still too young - this is very painful." Mu Wan said seriously, "It's not like Shanhai has never told you about the disadvantages... But I want to say that even if we live in peace for a lifetime, for monsters It’s unfair that human life is fleeting.”
Utsuki-kun raised the Kagura bell and shook it gently twice. Many small paper figures protruded from her wide sleeves, like little birds surrounding the Kagura bell.
"Let you take a look. The relationship between humans and monsters will indeed only breed disaster."
Suddenly, several people felt dizzy - but it was not their own heads that were dizzy, but the surrounding scenery. All the wall tiles and grass and trees were twisted together, as if they were broken by the trilling sound of the bell, mixed, and diluted again to create a completely different color.
All the scenes that had been sealed away from many years ago were vividly replayed in front of them.
Thousands of years ago, deep in the mountains, there was an isolated small village.
There is a shrine in a mountain village, and a goddess is enshrined in the shrine.
The reason why a goddess is a goddess is because she can talk to gods and tell oracles.
The whole village loved her and treated her to delicious food and fun every day.
Later, a monster from another place came to the mountains, and he met the goddess by chance.
They talked happily and developed feelings over time.
Everyone hated the monster and told her to be careful, but she just smiled.
Rumors were spread that the son of God falling in love with a demon would inevitably lead to natural disasters.
They wanted to offer the goddess to the mountain god.
So, natural disasters came as promised.
So, her lover slaughtered the entire village.
The mountain god suppressed the monsters and cursed the goddess who violated the taboo.
She will live forever, immortal, and will never see her beloved again.
The mountains have no mausoleums and the rivers are exhausted. Thunder trembles in winter, rain and snow occur in summer, and heaven and earth unite.
Not seen in this life, never seen in eternity.
That lovely goddess, that poor goddess.
——Having a face exactly like Qing and Canhua.
Recommended: The Witch Doctor Awakens to read on your mobile phone.
