"Like a tiger, you can get along with the wood.
"Like a colt that does not lie on its shaft.
"But I know it's an empty mouse hole,
"I don't mean to be a fish..."
The night was getting deeper, and the cat was still lying on the bed, with its paws in the sky, staring at the tiled roof and reciting poems in a low voice.
Carrying it on my back, I turned over and looked at the paper next to me.
“No intention of fish meal!”
Song You sat cross-legged on the bed, feeling very quiet inside.
It's already snowing heavily today, and the Wu heroines have already returned, but the scholar ghost has yet to return.
Speaking of which, Toyosu is actually not that far away.
The journey of thousands of miles took Song You less than a month to go back and forth. An ordinary person should be able to complete it in a month. However, according to Wu Nuxia, Yeshan is remote, has many mountains, difficult roads, and no waterways. Sometimes there is no accommodation in the middle, and the official inns are deserted, so it takes more time. How could an ordinary person on the road complete the round trip in one and a half to two months?
If ghosts don't have special abilities, they can't walk any faster than people, and they have to walk slowly.
In addition, ghosts need to avoid the period just after dark and before dawn, to avoid encountering pedestrians walking at night, and to avoid being disturbed by the crowing of cocks and the barking of dogs. It was inconvenient for the ghost to stay overnight, and it was also inconvenient to ask for directions, so he gave the scholar ghost some extra time, even if he was on the road for three months.
But now half a year has passed.
Song You was worried that he was in danger, but also suspected that he might never come back, and he didn't know which possibility was better.
Just as I was thinking of this, the cat whispering in my ears suddenly stopped.
The cat turned his head instantly and looked out the door.
Then he quickly crawled up and ran to the window. He aimed one eye at the crack of the window, took a look outside, then turned back and said to the Taoist:
"It's the god in the temple over there."
"..."
Song You opened his eyes, thanked Empress Sanhua, stood up, opened the window, looked outside, closed the window again, turned and went downstairs.
When I opened the door, I saw that it was dark outside and there were several priests standing in the mist.
The first one was Lord Cheng Huang.
There were two auxiliary officers, one civil and one military, and two military attachés behind him, with a little boy who looked like a scholar.
Song You glanced at Scholar Ghost.
Compared with the last time we met, his figure was much thinner, and he felt vaguely erratic.
"Meet sir!"
Lord Cheng Huang spoke first.
"Lord City God."
"Sir, please forgive me for taking the liberty of visiting." After the city god finished the salute, he straightened his body. At this time, he looked far more majestic than he did this spring. "I am here to report to you, sir. Tonight, the king's priest As usual, he and Priest Zhao were patrolling Changjing at night. They saw a little ghost floating around the street like a transformed ghost. The little god caught it and asked about it. He refused to say anything, only that he came to see Mr. .”
"This is indeed an old acquaintance." Song You saluted the City God, "It's just such a small matter, why bother the City God to come here in person?"
"Sir, what's the big deal?"
"Anyway, thank you, Lord Chenghuang."
"Don't dare."
When the city god saw this, he didn't waste much time. He only looked back and the two military officers brought the scholar ghost to the front.
Then the city god saluted again:
"Since this ghost is really an old acquaintance of my husband, the little god has brought the ghost to him and left."
"City God, walk slowly."
Both parties saluted again, showing due etiquette.
Immediately, the city god's awning fluttered and disappeared out of thin air. Upon seeing this, the auxiliary officers and military attachés around him also bowed and dispersed. Suddenly, only the scholar ghost who could barely stand was left on the street.
"Immortal Master..."
The scholar ghost looked up at him, his lips trembling and his face pale.
"Please come in."
Song You made a gesture of invitation.
The scholar ghost drifted and slowly followed him into the house.
The door creaked shut and the oil lamp came on.
"Please take a seat."
"Don't dare..."
"Don't be too formal when you step down, please be sure to sit down!"
"Being respectful is worse than obeying orders..."
One person and one ghost imitated the way a shop usually entertains customers. The scholar ghost sat on the side of the square table near the door, the Taoist sat on the back side, and a calico cat stood on the wide bench with its two front paws on the table. He exposed his head and stared at the scholar ghost without blinking.
Song You stretched out his hand and a fire lit up on the stove next to him. He put the pottery pot filled with water on it, turned to look at the scholar ghost, and said with some emotion: "You are finally back."
"I've been delayed for too long and come back too late. Please forgive me, Master Immortal." The scholar ghost said weakly.
"Why did Shiba look like this?"
"It's a long story."
"Tonight is still long."
"call……"
The calico cat turned into a girl and went to fetch the good tea from General Chen for the Taoist.
The Taoist then carefully pounded and grinded the tea.
The scholar ghost sat across from him, weak and restrained, and a little uneasy: "It's easy to get to Fengzhou. I walked that road before I was born. But after arriving in Fengzhou, it will be difficult to get to Yeshan."
The Taoist still concentrated on studying the tea.
There was the sound of tea grinding back and forth.
"Yinnan County, where Naye Mountain is located, is almost alone. The so-called Yinnan refers to the south of the Yinjiang River. It is full of deep mountains. It is impossible to go anywhere. There are no special products or scenery. It is poor and remote. There is neither When merchants want to go there, there are no merchants coming out, and there are even very few people passing by. Yaozhou is to the south of Fengzhou, but because Zi County is deep in mountains and has miasma, even those who want to go to Yaozhou are very Very few would choose to pass through Zi County, and no one would pass through Yinnan County, which seems to be isolated from the world and has only tens of thousands of people."
Although the scholar ghost was weak, his conversation was not chaotic: "So when I went down, I often took the wrong road, and there was no one to ask for directions. I couldn't even find the ghost over there, and I wasted a lot of time."
"I thought I wouldn't come back again."
Song You said with a smile while sifting tea powder and thinking about the so-called remote and lonely place with neither business nor scenery.
"How dare I..."
The scholar ghost continued:
"After many twists and turns, I finally found Yeshan. But after arriving at Yeshan, I discovered that the place was heavily guarded, and there were masters setting up formations. There were many Taoist monks and monks coming and going, and there were constantly ghosts dressed as officials. In and out, it is not only difficult for mortals to enter, but also for people practicing Xuanmen, and also for ghosts.
"Fortunately, I'm good at this, so I got in.
“After entering, we encountered several dangers.
"After some investigation, I found out——
"Ye Mountain is a continuous stretch of land, and it forms its own space underground and in the mountains. In the past, people often killed people and dumped their bodies in it. Later, the national army enlisted civilians to repair and expand it, which was even more extraordinary. Now it is like a mountain in the middle of the mountain. And the underground city is even larger than many state cities.
“The Imperial Master gathered all the ghosts in the north.
"I don't know where so many people turned into ghosts came from. Anyway, after being brought here, they had to go through an interrogation first. Then some were burned to death, some were made ghosts, and some were said to be put underground. Went to a ghost town.
"I was discovered several times. Some ghosts and Taoist monks were quite powerful. By the time I hurriedly escaped from Yeshan, I had almost lost my soul. I returned to Beijing in a daze, took the wrong road several times, and encountered The ghost messenger who came back from the north to escort ghosts was almost captured, but he narrowly escaped. In the end, he almost went to Beijing out of obsession. Fortunately, he met the City God, who gave me a little bit of his divine power, and I finally woke up. You have to learn a lot, otherwise when you meet the immortal master, you may not even be able to speak well."
After the scholar ghost finished speaking, he finally relaxed a little.
He was already weak, but it was fine when he cheered up, but once he relaxed, the whole ghost became even more sluggish.
The water in the pottery pot next to it has boiled and made a gurgling sound.
"Is there anything you haven't said yet, Shiba?"
"One more thing..."
"Speaking."
"I heard from the ghosts in Ye Mountain that the Imperial Master seems to be building an underworld there to house all the ghosts in the world."
"Understood."
"There is nothing else, I just hope it will be useful to the immortal master."
"Thank you."
Song You already knew part of the situation in Yeshan. What the scholar ghost said was both a supplement and a confirmation. It might also raise some doubts. In any case, it was of great help.
"I said before that if I am willing to go and investigate for you, I will write off the previous matter and treat you to a cup of tea. But at that time, I never expected that I would be so attentive, let alone that I would go through this. After so many dangers and tribulations, even though I am a ghost, and although every detail is flawed, I admire you very much for keeping my promise, and I am afraid that a cup of tea cannot repay your kindness."
Song You picked up the pottery pot and poured water from a high place.
Water pours into the bowl, stirring up the tea powder and tea aroma.
The cup immediately becomes white and green.
"Immortal Master..."
The scholar stared at the cup of tea eagerly, anxiously and expectantly. He took a deep breath and seemed to smell the rich aroma of hot tea.
This cup of tea is unusual.
"please!"
Song You gave him the tea.
"Immortal Master!"
The scholar ghost also took it with both hands.
The pottery cup is insulated, so I don't feel hot for a while, but I can still clearly feel the temperature coming from the cup of scalding tea. The warmth spreads from my fingers to my body.
The scholar ghost even shuddered.
After turning into a ghost, there is no body or skin, so how can you feel the heat and cold? In fact, for him, this was a feeling he had not seen for a long time.
What's more, the heat in the cup is rising, carrying the aroma of tea.
"..."
The scholar ghost took a deep breath again.
The freshness of the green tea, mixed with the faint fragrance of beans, and the heat gave him a feeling of familiarity and strangeness.
Put it to your mouth and take a sip.
"..."
The tea was rich in aroma, slightly bitter, and slightly astringent. The scholar ghost held it in his mouth and tasted it for a long time. The hot tea was already cold before he swallowed it.
Then he returned to Gan, as if his saliva had been aroused.
This is a feeling I haven't experienced in a hundred years since I turned into a ghost.
"Sir, how do you like this tea?"
Song You looked at him with a smile and asked.
The scholar ghost then raised his head, with mixed feelings in his heart.
“Good tea…”
Then he lowered his head and drank carefully, unable to bear to say more.
The originally weak and erratic ghost body gradually solidified, and seemed to have regained some energy. By the time he finished the cup of tea in several sips, he had almost returned to his original appearance.
But in detail, it's a little different.
The scholar ghost held up the cup and refused to put it down, greedily smelling the remaining fragrance in the cup, like an orchid.
"If you can make up your mind to get rid of the habit of stealing, you will know a place where fairies and ghosts gather. With the blessing of the innate gods, you don't have to worry about being captured by Taoists. It is also a place where you can talk to your kind and go to the market to buy incense and candles. .”
"This place actually exists!"
"But it's a place where rules are enforced. If you refuse to get rid of your mistakes, I won't dare to tell you and listen to you. Besides, even if you leave and keep stealing, I'm afraid it's more of a disaster than a blessing."
"I have sworn before that I will never steal again!"
"I'm willing to believe in you..."
Song You then told him the location of Dashan Market in Pingzhou, and warned him repeatedly not to steal it again.
The scholar ghost promised many times. It was not until he was leaving that he suddenly remembered and asked him again: "May I ask the immortal master, is it possible for me to go to the ghost city in the underworld built by the imperial master in Fengzhou?"
"Better not go."
"Understood."
The scholar ghost bowed to him and then left.
…
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(End of chapter)
