Yun Kong waited for him to continue.
"I was furious at the moment, thinking that Madam had treated her badly, but Madam had always been kind to her servants, and I shouldn't have falsely accused her; so I also suspected that someone was mistreating her, so I asked other servants, and they all said in unison that Wenxiang was born in one day. , suddenly lost weight."
"Too thin?"
At this moment, the servant girl who brought tea that day appeared again. She brought tea and snacks for the host and guest to chat and eat.
She glanced at Yunkong uneasily, and Yunkong immediately stopped her: "What's your name?"
She glanced at the bamboo boat uneasily, and when she saw the bamboo boat nodding, she said a blessing and timidly replied: "My name is Ningxiang."
"Okay, Ningxiang," Yun Kongfang softened his voice, "You heard Master Yu say, have you seen what Wenxiang looked like before he died?"
Ningxiang glanced at Zhuzhou again and said, "I saw her. She is... very thin."
"Very thin? Did she lose weight before she died?"
"No, it was two days before her death. After a period of dizziness, she could not stand steadily. She said she was feeling unwell, so she went back to lie down. After only one day of lying there, she became as thin as a skeleton and could not even speak. ." The more Ningxiang spoke, the more frightened she became, and she began to tremble unknowingly.
"Ningxiang," Yun Kong's voice was gentle enough to make the cat turn over obediently, "tell me, Wenxiang is not the first one, right?"
Ningxiang suddenly opened her eyes wide, frozen in fear.
"tell me."
"Taoist Master..." Ningxiang bent down and pulled Yun Kong's sleeve, "Help me..."
"Ningxiang, speak slowly."
"I...my health has gotten worse these past few days. Sometimes I feel groggy. I can't remember what I'm doing, and I can't use my strength..." She grabbed Yun Kong's sleeves with both hands, pulling Yun Kong's sleeves apart. The whole person was shaking.
She was so scared that she forgot that the master was by her side, and conveyed her fear to Yunkong without any reservation, even the cold sweat wetted Yunkong's sleeves.
Yunkong was afraid that she would cry again, so he quickly pointed his finger between her eyebrows and said, "Concentrate your mind." He took a breath and gently poured it into Ningxiang's eyebrows.
Ningxiang suddenly felt a warmth all over her body, and most of the fear in her heart was suddenly dispelled.
Realizing that she had lost her composure, she quickly retracted her hand and stood aside.
Zhuzhou could not help but be stunned on the spot when he saw his servant being so frightened.
After coming back to his senses, Zhuzhou immediately begged Yunkong: "If there is such a strange thing in my family, Taoist Master must make the decision for me!"
"Mr. Zhuzhou," Yun Kong said, "Pindao does things based on his enthusiasm. If I can solve your problem, I dare not agree. I will try my best."
※※※
As if she was deliberately going against Yun Kong, Ningxiang fell ill the next day.
She was fine in the morning, but after working until noon, she became dizzy and couldn't stand up.
She was sent back to the room, and was guarded by several servant girls who were usually close friends. Thinking that she might die, everyone burst into tears.
Ningxiang didn't feel hot or cold, but her eyes were dazed, and her dry and cracked lips were mumbling something. No one could understand her murmurs, like a spell brought from the underworld, which made people's hearts tremble.
A depressing chill ripples in the room, and the winter air outside wears down people's willpower.
Yun Kong walked through the corridor and walked to the corner of the backyard where women gathered. The night wind in the corridor brought the faint fragrance of winter plums and narcissus, but he had no intention of admiring it.
In order to avoid having an affair, men are not allowed to come here on weekdays where the servant girls live together.
Yun Kong asked Zhu Zhou for confirmation before running to a place where men at home were not allowed to come.
Yunkong didn't want anyone to gossip, so he asked a servant to accompany him to watch Ningxiang together.
He wanted to see with his own eyes what the so-called "suddenly thinning into a skeleton" meant.
If it was really an infectious disease, he himself would inevitably catch it.
But he kept thinking about the black air lingering in the air, which made him believe that it was definitely not a disease.
So what could it be?
There was no wind outside, and the branches and leaves outside the window were quiet.
But the lights suddenly went out.
The servant girl accompanying him screamed and stumbled to find the flint.
Yun Kong clearly heard a strange wind passing through the room.
The gust of wind passed in front of Yun Kong's eyes, then turned back and passed by him again, this time slipping out of the room.
That gust of wind still has hands.
That hand touched Yun Kong.
At this touch, Yun Kong shuddered, and a breath of energy flowed from his body to that hand.
After just touching it, my hand disappeared into the darkness again and was blown away by the wind.
When the girl lit the lamp again, Yunkong felt his eyes were dim and his head was dizzy. He couldn't even straighten his waist and had to use his arms to support his body.
In his dizzy state, Yun Kong heard the scream of his servant girl, and his mind was shaken immediately, and he raised his eyes to look at Ningxiang.
Ningxiang on the bed has stopped talking.
Her eyes were sunken almost to the bottom, as if they couldn't be taken out without a spoon.
Her plump body was so dry that only a thin layer of skin remained, flimsily draped over the frame.
It's really too thin.
He was so thin that he didn't even have the strength to breathe, and his heart was too tired to beat.
Waves of chill came from Yun Kong's body, and his whole heart seemed to be immersed in a glacier, and he began to tremble uncontrollably.
※※※
That night, Yufu was full of uneasiness.
Ningxiang's body, which looked like tattered cotton cloth, was wrapped in a straw mat, waiting to buy a coffin and return it to her parents tomorrow.
Yun Kong put on two cold clothes, drank ginger soup with shaking hands, and kept circulating the innate energy in his body, hoping to warm up his body quickly.
"Come on, the brazier is here." A shout came from outside the door, and the servants of the Yu Mansion brought the stove, which was only used in the harsh winter, and lit the briquettes.
Zhu Zhou came to visit Yun Kong, and two burly close servants, Qi'er and Hua'er, guarded him.
"Mr. Zhuzhou..." Yun Kong finally managed to steady his voice, "Can I meet my lady?"
"What's wrong?" Zhuzhou said, turning around and saying, "Hurry, Madam."
The servant girls hurriedly went to invite him.
"Taoist Master, what happened?" Zhu Zhou asked close to Yun Kong's ear.
"Don't make any noise yet," Yun Kong said, "It's not that there is a disease in your house, but there is someone..."
"Of course everything in my house belongs to people."
"No, Mr. Zhuzhou, someone killed someone..." Yun Kong sneezed.
"Kill someone?" Zhu Zhou couldn't believe it.
When it comes to killing, either a white knife goes in and a red knife comes out, or someone is beaten to death from internal injuries, or someone is poisoned and bleeds from seven holes.
How can anyone kill someone only to lose weight to death?
"Madam is here." The servant hurried back and quickly brought a chair.
"Mr. Zhuzhou," Yun Kong said, "My wife will take care of your house's internal affairs, so you won't interfere, right?"
Zhuzhou nodded.
"In this case, I want to ask Madam about some household matters. I hope you don't blame me."
"I know."
Mrs. Yu walked slowly, with a well-proportioned figure and elegant steps. It was obvious at first glance that she was a well-educated woman. The expression on her face was tepid, as if nothing in the world could disturb her.
"Mr. Sir," Mrs. Yu said softly and politely, "it's late at night. I don't know why you called me to the guest room. What's the important thing?" Her tone was displeased with this unethical thing.
"Madam," Zhuzhou stood up and gently helped his wife sit down, "Ningxiang just died."
"I already know. I've given out money and food. I'm just waiting to buy a coffin tomorrow and give it to her parents."
"Madam, this Taoist priest..."
Mrs. Yu immediately stood up and said a blessing: "I don't know what to call you?"
"Pindao Yunkong." Yunkong quickly returned the courtesy.
"Is it the Taoist priest who was with Ningxiang when she died?"
"It's Pindao."
"Oh..." Madam raised her eyebrows and quickly looked at Yun Kong.
"The Taoist Master has something to ask Madam," Zhu Zhou said from the side. "What the Taoist Master asks, Madam can just answer it."
"Excuse me, Taoist Master." Mrs. Yu's tone was still unavoidable with dissatisfaction.
"I'm offended." Yun Kong's body recovered a little, and he tried to sit up straight and asked respectfully: "May I ask, Madam, how many people in your house have passed away like this?"
"Taoist priest, what do you mean, like Wenxiang or Ningxiang?"
Yun Kong nodded weakly and said yes.
"I remember it was Mo Lan first, about three years ago, then Qiu Ju and Chun Die. It's strange to say that most of them were servant girls..."
"Aren't there any men?"
"Yes, there are only two of them, after Chundie, Wen Huan, and Xia Meng. One is named Liu Er, and the other is named Zhang Lao'er's family."
Zhuzhou said in surprise: "So many people died, why didn't Madam tell me?"
