It's not only a stringed instrument, it's also a plucked instrument. Xie Zhe and Ye Linghua walked slowly in the corridor, like cats, not daring to make a single step. They carefully identified the sound and traced its origin. On this floor, the doors to almost all rooms are paper doors that can be pushed and pulled, instead of the wooden doors that open and close like downstairs.
"Ah, Ah Zhe, you see there is no one in this room, could it be..." Ling Huan said angrily, lowering his tone even lower, "could it be haunted...?"
"It's noon, don't scare yourself. Shhh."
He listened carefully to this special sound. It is not as melodious as the zither, nor as clear as the pipa; it is not as high-pitched as the liuqin, nor as soft as the yueqin. Its tone is richer, its rhythm is quieter, and its melody is slightly duller. In an empty house where the pattering of rain can only be vaguely heard, this music is like a girl trapped in a boudoir playing alone. But from this melody, there is no trace of expectation, but rather a sense of morbid exhaustion. It's as if even if the sky clears, the performer will just put down his instrument, sit quietly in the room, and sigh. This makes people speculate about what kind of actor can play such music.
The two found the source of the sound. Xie Zhe pressed against a paper door to confirm that the music was coming from here. Through the door, the gray skylight only cast a very blurry and scattered shadow. But they all could indeed see that there was a human-shaped silhouette holding something, silently performing a person's performance. It seems impolite to interrupt suddenly, but it doesn't seem to be a very good virtue to keep squatting at the door and "peeping". Xie Zhe tried to open the door a crack, hesitating on how to speak so as not to feel embarrassed. Ye Lingquan quietly looked over from below, trying to see what it looked like inside.
"ah!"
She let out a short exclamation. The music stopped suddenly, and Xie Zhe's situation became even more embarrassing. He immediately let go, as if the door was hot, and then glanced at Ling Huan quickly. He was surprised to find that the girl's face was pale and her eyes were wide open. She was obviously frightened. What could be inside that could scare her like this?
"nobody--"
She suddenly said "highly". This high-pitched voice was a breath that she tried to suppress, even though it might have been obvious from inside the room. Ye Lingquan opened her eyes wide again, made fierce gestures with a gesture that was a bit exaggerated for her, and repeated:
"There's no one in the house!"
Xie Zhe reacted quickly and opened the door before Ye Linghua finished speaking. To his surprise, Ling Huan was right. There was no one in the place where the shadow should be cast, only a piano lying quietly on the ground.
Ruan?
Xie Zhe boldly walked in, looked around and confirmed that there was no one else smelling except him. This Ruan is placed here like this. I don’t know who put it there, but it looks a bit casual. This seems to be a special place for storing musical instruments, but it is basically against the wall, in a position where the sun will never reach it. What's more, this place is originally shady, and only the weak light from diffuse reflection provides illumination for this place. However, the musical instruments here are all available. Shengxiao, flute, zither, harp, pipa, gongs, drums and erhu are really like a collection room for a music lover.
Ye Linghua stuck his head in and looked around for a while, then slowly climbed in and stood up. She followed Xie Zhe very cautiously and did not dare to run around. Xie Zhe boldly picked up the handful of Ruan and looked at it repeatedly. It was made of ordinary wood, but it seemed to have aged. There are beautiful birds painted on the wooden surface on both sides of the string, one on the left and one on the right. The string is clean and spotless, but there is still a lot of dirty dust in other parts of the string, such as some gaps.
He held the Ruan in his hands and walked in front of the other musical instruments, keeping half a foot away without taking a closer look.
"These are all very good materials..." Ye Linghua followed him and said, "Any piece of it, if it can be sold at a high price, will be enough to feed and clothe an ordinary family for half a lifetime."
"But this Ruan is very ordinary, right?"
Ling Huan carefully looked over and nodded slightly.
"Hmm... Indeed. It's not too expensive, but it's also a very old piano."
Xie Zhe took a deep breath. There was a faint woody scent throughout the house, as if some expensive incense had been burned. But in fact, no, they all know that this smell is emitted by musical instruments made of these valuable and rare woods. Moreover, it is not a single scent, but a mixture of various materials. I am afraid that it would be impossible to make such a scent specially.
"Stop hiding." Xie Zhe suddenly said, "Come out, we won't hurt you."
"……who are you talking to?"
As soon as Ye Linghua finished asking, she saw a girl's head peeking out from behind a row of chimes. She was startled and immediately tightened her grip on Xie Zhe's sleeves, and he turned around and looked over there. The shy girl realized that she had been discovered. She just retracted her head and then reluctantly poked it out. She hesitated, but finally stepped out of the shelter.
She was wearing simple light lake blue clothes. She hesitated for a few steps, reached a distance in front of the two of them, leaned down and knelt down. Her hair color is similar to that of Ling Huan, both have a woody texture, but it is lighter, and she wears her hair in a hanging bun.
"Why does the girl need to give such a big gift?"
Xie Zhe stepped forward, but did not help her up, but pushed Ruan in front of her. So the girl stood up, stretched out her hands, silently took it back into her arms, and held it tightly. This thing looks like her treasure at first glance. Ye Lingquan hid behind Xie Zhe and looked at her quietly, feeling that this girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old. The girl closed her lips tightly and said nothing.
"It is indeed our fault to intrude into your territory without saying hello." After saying that, Xie Zhe also knelt down in front of you, and then continued, "I'm sorry, we should also apologize for this."
After he finished speaking, Ye Lingquan sat down next to him and also faced the girl face to face. The girl looked them over calmly, and then whispered:
"...I also brought you here on purpose."
Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's cry, and you couldn't hear her clearly unless you listened carefully. Fortunately there was no one else in the room. If the rain outside was heavier, the sound of rain could drown out her voice. But judging from her timid appearance, it seems that no matter whether the sound in the environment is loud or soft, she can always suppress her voice accurately to the level that the other party can hear.
"Really?" Xie Zhe was a little confused, but he introduced himself anyway, "I am Xie Zhe, a fledgling onmyoji. This is my friend, my name is Ye Lingyu. Don't you know the girl's name?"
"Ruan Xiang." She still whispered, "My name is Ruan Xiang."
"Does Miss Ruan also live here?" Ling Huan asked, "Are you a relative, friend, or family member of Feizhi County? Or do you work here?"
"I'm sorry to speculate. Miss Ruan Xiang, I'm afraid she's not a human being, right?"
Before Ruan Xiang could answer, Xie Zhe asked straight to the point. This puzzled Ye Lingquan, and she asked confusedly:
"How could it be? Miss Ruan, isn't this..."
One with a nose and eyes? She swallowed it hard, feeling that it was a bit inappropriate to say this. But Ye Lingyu's mind was still a little blank, and he had not yet followed the conversation ideas of the other two people.
"Well..." Ruan Xiang said, "I can also guess your identity. So... I don't dare to make it too public."
"Don't worry. If Fu Sangshen doesn't do evil, the Onmyoji who practices the right path will never take action."
"Fu Sangshen?" Ling Huan hadn't followed yet.
"I played here last night, but I didn't dare to play too loudly."
"You don't want others to hear?" Xie Zhe frowned slightly, "But we were really sleepy and no one heard us. Ah, that's not right. Zhongli might have heard it... but he might not have taken it seriously. .If you were a human, he might be able to detect your aura, but you are a fusangshen."
Ruan Xiang nodded. She always lowered her eyes slightly, looking a little sleepy and confused, and her timidity always lingered in her eyes. She seemed to have too much to fear, not just the two outsiders in front of her. Otherwise, she wouldn't be thinking about how to attract their attention.
"In other words, you took the initiative to find us?"
Ruan Xiang nodded again, but she no longer looked at Xie Zhe, but moved her gaze to Ye Lingyu aside. She stretched out her slender hand, pointed at her and said:
"The girl...has musical instruments from heaven."
"Ah!" She hurriedly took out the xun, "Is it this? Are you talking about this?"
"Yes."
Xie Zhe explained to Ruan Xiang: "The head of the family here seems to want to get it. Could it be that the magistrate is a music lover and wants to collect rare musical instruments? This may be a bit unpleasant, but your true nature... forgive me for my blindness. , it doesn’t seem to be that kind of expensive material, is it because he knows there is a monster living in it?”
This time, Ruan Xiang shook his head.
"That person likes musical instruments, but he only likes their own value. More than half of the instruments in this room are relics left by an old musician. After hearing the news, he tried every means to stop most of them. , and I was among them, so he took it all in without distinguishing it. Today, my spiritual power has been extremely weak, and it has become difficult to even walk out of this house. If I want to contact others, I have to This is the next step..."
"I see……"
"Pei likes more than just musical instruments. The entire house, except for the second floor, is almost entirely used for his collection. He likes gold, silver and jewelry the most. Those things don't take up much space, but they occupy more boxes and cabinets. Cabinets, more empty rooms. His vanity is very big and empty, and there is no way to fill it... If this xun from heaven falls into his hands, I am afraid he will not be my companion."
Ye Lingyu didn't understand. She scratched her head and asked, "If the instruments are not placed with you, where else can they be placed?"
"With the texture of this agate, he is afraid that he will break it into pieces and make more small pieces of jewelry..."
Xie Zhe and Ye Lingquan looked at each other without saying anything, feeling like their hairs were standing on end. How could there be such a person? If Ruan Xiang is telling the truth, such behavior is really outrageous and unbelievable. At this time, Xie Zhe suddenly remembered something.
"In addition to Magistrate Fei, isn't there his wife in this house? Are all the gold and silver jewelry prepared for her?"
Ruan Xiang's eyes became a little strange. She hugged the instrument tightly in her arms and fine-tuned her sitting position.
"He is the only one living in this house. Those things are for his own use."
"ha?"
The two of them were stunned and didn't say the second half of the sentence - this hobby is really strange.
"Most women in the world love jewelry, gold and silver... especially Li."
ha? ? ?
