Chapter 32: Clean the house, search the mind, purify the mind, purify the body, purify the self
"Is the magistrate of Fei a woman?"
This emotion is not coming from the three people here. They looked at the door at the same time and found Han Chang looking at them in surprise. Does this guy make no sound when he walks? Or rather, they were talking too seriously. After Han Zhang finished speaking, he walked straight in and knelt down next to Xie Zhe. He looked at them first and then at Ruan Xiang.
"Girl, do you mean this?" He confirmed again.
"I won't lie to you." She nodded lightly.
So the three of them looked at each other. Thinking about it carefully, it seems that this is really the case. Fei Zhixian's voice is inherently neutral. If you have trained your voice or are a woman with some natural advantages, you don't need to lower your voice too deliberately to achieve this effect. His body shape is also relatively petite, which makes people think he is a southern man. Especially with such a height, it is indeed a bit short compared to men, but it would make much more sense if she were a woman.
She didn't even need to do much to hide it, and she had already fooled them all.
"Why did she do this?" Ling Huan didn't understand. "What's the benefit of a woman pretending to be a man?"
Xie Zhe analyzed it quickly and said seriously: "First of all, many places don't allow women to be officials, right? I don't understand the rules of this place. Although there are many places where women can be officials, they are limited after all... and let Women's involvement in politics has only been allowed in the past 100 years. Furthermore, the identity of a man is safer than that of a woman in all aspects, and can reduce unnecessary troubles and rumors. If this aspect is really considered, we have to Admit it, she’s smart.”
"Although she is smart, she is stingy and extremely greedy." These harsh descriptions came from the mouth of the well-behaved Ruan Xiang, which seemed more convincing. "All the precious things in the world, if she knew them, would be useless." If you are interested, you should try your best to get it. This house is more valuable than you think. Don't look at the fact that there are only three floors here. The classic ancient books and bottles and jars stored on a single floor are only a drop in the bucket. Although I can't move around arbitrarily , but you can sense that there are more treasures buried under this house through the disturbance of spiritual power. The underground space is larger and more complicated. There must have been some kind of cellar, dark room, etc. before this."
"Do you know the specific structure and collection of items in the basement?" Xie Zhe asked.
Ruan Xiang sighed softly. She said that unless she could go there in person, she would still be limited in what she could feel.
Han Chang shrugged, with a look of helplessness on his face: "There is a problem now - I can't even get out of this house, let alone find the basement. As soon as I went down to the first floor, I was jumped out of nowhere. The clothes man stopped me. They brought the food, and I had already carried it to the room, but found that no one was there, so I followed the movement and came to the third floor to look for you."
"Are you talking about those people wearing tattered cloaks and covering their faces?" Ruan Fang asked.
"Ah, yes. It feels so much, and..."
Han Chang touched his chin, and the other two looked at him. Ling Huan asked: "And what? Did you notice anything?"
"Ah, when I took the dinner plate from that person's hand, I felt something strange. It seemed a bit like what Lao Xie said... a feeling of inhumanity? I can't tell what it was."
Xie Zhe frowned: "I didn't feel that. I just looked at them as they were too stiff and strange."
"Those are dummies."
"Ah...is that true?"
Ruan Xiang adjusted Ruan in his arms again and moved its long handle to the other side of his arm to lean on. She continued:
"It's a kind of witchcraft, woven from straw soaked in potion. If a stranger directly touches their skin, they will return to their original form. This is probably a self-made shikigami like a paper man."
"She really knows how to spread the word and make an army." Xie Zhe shrugged, showing a special emotion.
Hanshang added: "Let me tell you, after I went downstairs, I saw pedestrians walking by on the street - no umbrellas at all! But the rain kept falling, and he didn't look this way. I expected that this was also the case. It is a spell that can control wind and rain, but the range is not large, and it also uses a blinding method to the outside world."
"What you said makes sense. Then it is not a wise choice to directly confront her." Xie Zhe turned to look at the xun in Ling Huan's hand, "Well, we want to keep Miss Ye's things and leave as soon as possible without being ignored. The magistrate and her shikigami discovered..."
As he spoke, he looked at Ruan Xiang and said to her sincerely:
"Miss Ruan, are you willing to help us?"
When he said this, he was 90% sure. Fusangshen was born due to people's use and affection. Being alone in a dark room is probably not what Ruan Xiang really wants. Otherwise, how could she try every means to attract the attention of outsiders? He knew that she must want to leave here.
"Miss Ruan, it's boring to stay here alone." Han Zhang followed, "Let's go out and have a look. You will always meet people who really love musical instruments."
"...Really?" Her eyes suddenly dimmed.
This reaction was obvious, making the three of them a little at a loss. Shouldn't she be happy? Xie Zhe raised his head with concern, wanting to say something else. Ruan Xiang hesitated to speak, and no one urged her to speak. They just let her speak on her own.
"Don't you like humans?" Ling Huan tried to ask, "Have you... been bullied?"
Ruan Xiang denied it quickly: "No - at least not for humans. I don't like a person, but I am also afraid of being cheated. Many people always mean different things, say one thing and do another. .Pei is such a person, and my last owner was also the same. When she took over these instruments, she said she would take good care of everyone, but she never came to see them once after they were placed...Only some knowledgeable people came, and she He would bring them up to take a look, as if they were trophies. The same was true for the previous owner - he said he liked us and would treat us well, but he always made us sad. He was obviously so pious, and it definitely didn't look like a lie, but things turned out to be just like him When your wish happens, you suddenly change your face. I know there are good people among you, but I always don't understand you."
She said softly, her tone a little aggrieved. After hearing these words, the three of them felt inexplicably guilty, even though they had done nothing wrong. Han Chang took a deep breath, comforted her and said:
"Humans, like monsters, are very complicated. You can definitely see that I am also a monster, and I can understand how you feel. My friend is also a good guy among humans, so... can you tell us , what exactly did you say about the former master? Did he deceive you? "
"It's not really a lie..."
Ruan Xiang didn't hesitate much, just thought about it briefly, and then told his story. She was no longer as nervous as before. When it came to her last master's name, Han Chang had actually heard of it. Although not familiar with him, he was a famous musician in a certain area more than seventy years ago. In his early years, he had a wife and a daughter, and his family lived in harmony. However, he was not famous at that time, and his income was meager and he could barely make ends meet. Unfortunately, his wife became seriously ill and passed away at a young age, leaving behind a babbling child. What is even more unfortunate is that his daughter also died in a sudden accident when she was a teenager.
At his daughter's desolate funeral, he played the Ruan Xian he had made for his daughter. He played this with his own hands before his daughter was born, and her daughter also played it well before she was born. It's just that God failed to fulfill his wishes and he ended up in this situation. He held the harp and cried, and the sad and angry music continued for three days, seeming to condemn the injustice of God. Anyone who hears the music he plays in front of the grave will burst into tears and cry. Later, dignitaries passed by here and listened to the music and appreciated it. Since then, he has been on a meteoric rise.
He never married again and devoted the rest of his life to music theory. In his opinion, he was walking all the way on the bones of his wife and daughter. Every step he took was as painful as stepping on thorns, but he was even more unwilling to live up to it. He knew many musical instruments, and he could play each one with some skill, and became a well-known master. But his passion for music was truly insane. Many people said he was a weirdo. Inviting him to play a piece of music at a banquet is worth a fortune, and you have to exchange instruments for him. He has his own special set of measuring values, and the place you invite him must match the value of the gift you offer. Looking at his rare collection, you should know what occasions he attended. However, he never plays instruments that are expensive and made of extravagant materials. Instead, he likes to use the most ordinary instruments to produce heavenly sounds. He believes that only an instrument that has been played with for many years and poured into it can resonate with the human soul.
But some people also heard that a child from a poor family sang and danced for him in exchange for him playing a song on his parents' birthday. He didn't seem to refuse. From what he sounds like, he is a kind man—an odd kind man.
He also firmly believes that as long as he is sincere enough, these instruments can come back to life one day. He believed that he could eventually touch the "spirits" in these instruments, let them connect with his own mind, and guide him to take his skills to the next level. It seems that if you are immersed in the world of music, those sad pasts can disappear... albeit temporarily.
At this point, everyone can guess what happened next... It was just a farce about Ye Gong's love for dragons.
"Is he afraid of you?" Ling Huan was very surprised. "You are obviously so... so well-behaved, and you are not like other scary-looking monsters. Why should he be afraid of you? Besides, if his wish comes true, there is nothing to complain about. What about?"
"Some objects have to be forgotten for more than a hundred years before they can accumulate grudges and become spirits; or they can be placed in a good place, bathed in the essence of the sun and the moon, and they can also turn into monsters. I am just a piece of Ruan Xian with cheap materials and ordinary workmanship. That’s all, but I have been with him all year round and understood his strong obsession. When he was nearly sixty years old, I appeared in front of him.”
"But what's so scary about this?" Han Chang was also a little confused. "Although most humans spend their whole lives, they may never come face to face with monsters. And your appearance is just like that of ordinary people, so what reason does he have to be afraid of you."
"I look so much like his dead daughter... he said so."
Xie Zhe lowered his eyes and sighed: "There is nothing we can do about it."
"I am too much like him, who has been escaping from the past haze in his life, but has nothing to do. He was dumbfounded when he saw me for the first time, but he was not speechless. But when I played music, he went crazy."
Ling Huan asked: "Does the player look like his daughter?"
"...No, maybe it's much better. Even far beyond the level that this cheap creation can perform. He just went crazy, laughed loudly and ran out, clapping his hands, stamping his feet, jumping around, and disappeared into the night again. He didn’t come back. To this day, I don’t know why.”
I'm afraid no one knows the answer anymore.
