As an orphan whose parents both died, Gu Xu used to make a few cabbage-filled dumplings with other children of the same age in the almshouse on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, and then go to the yard to make do with two bunches of crudely made dumplings. Firecrackers are used to celebrate the New Year.
After entering the exorcism department, he would have New Year's Eve dinner with Chen Jisheng and several homeless handymen.
Since the death of his wife and son, Chen Jisheng has rarely returned to his home.
He would work late almost every day, and then spend the night in the Yamen duty room.
To a certain extent, he almost regarded this yamen as his own home, and he also regarded the young people in the yamen as his own children.
So, that night, Gu Xu and Chen Jisheng went to a small restaurant outside the Yamen together, ordered a few home-cooked dishes, and had a simple New Year's Eve dinner in advance.
Because the Chinese New Year is approaching, the restaurant is deserted, and with this simple meal, the atmosphere is quite deserted.
At this time, Chen Jisheng said with a stern expression: "Gu Xu, according to the recent news in the Di Di newspaper, the range of Yin Qi in Yishan is rapidly spreading outward, and the predatory activities of the Snow Girl and her monsters are becoming more and more frequent. About a month later, the Yin Qi will The gas may spread to the Yishui area - by then, we will face a difficult test."
Snow girl...
In recent times, Gu Xu has heard this familiar name from others more than once.
"Actually, Mr. Chen, I have always been a little confused - because in my impression, snow girls usually only start hunting in June."
At the same time, the vow he heard in the Lu family's haunted house emerged in Gu Xu's mind - "If the Lu family is really unjust, there will be three feet of snow falling in the dog days of June from now on."
Chen Jisheng sighed and said: "The imperial court said that this year's situation is quite special. As the snow girl becomes stronger, she seems to have become more bloodthirsty than before. To this day, in the area near Yishan, there are already Hundreds of casualties.”
Gu Xu thought for a moment and then said: "Master Chen, I have another question - I remember that Snow Girl used to control large-scale blizzards and hail to kill people, but this time she relied on the evil spirit. You know this Why?"
Chen Jisheng shook his head and replied: "Who knows? But you should know very well that for 'fierce god' level evil spirits, controlling Yin Qi is their basic ability."
Gu Xu remained silent.
He recalled what the "Jinghong Pen" weapon spirit had said to him before it dissipated: "My young lady would rather starve herself than harm an innocent soul."
"If what Mr. Chen said is true, it seems that she failed to hold on to herself under the attack of the evil spirit after all..." Gu Xu thought silently in his heart.
"Master Chen, what do you need me to do?" he asked.
According to Chen Jisheng, Yishui County will no longer be safe in a month. He brought him in for a talk today, presumably hoping that he would prepare for battle in advance and go all out to protect the people of Yishui.
However, what Chen Jisheng said next was far beyond his expectation.
"Gu Xu, after you go to Laizhou Mansion, don't come back for the time being," Chen Jisheng said expressionlessly, "To deal with ghosts of Xue Nu's level, we can only rely on the support of the capital. Your power is It's far from helpful. It's better to stay in a safe place.
"You are still young and there is no need to get involved in this kind of thing."
Gu Xu knew that Chen Jisheng was right.
And according to his own character, he should also take this opportunity to hide far away and try his best to save his life.
He just didn't expect that Chen Jisheng, who had always taught them to be "selfless and caring about the common people," would actually say such selfish words.
"So has the capital expressed its position on this?" Gu Xu asked.
"Currently, the headquarters of the Exorcism Department has sent many sixth-level experts to Yishan to deal with Xue Nu," Chen Jisheng replied. "In addition, Daqi Imperial Master, Luo Sishou of the Exorcism Department, Yan Guo of Youzhou Gongdu said they would join the fight at the right time."
"The saint takes action..."
Gu Xu remembered that Chu Fengge once said to him, "The saints of the Daqi Dynasty have scruples about taking action."
And he learned from the books that there are also "fierce god" level ghosts in the wilderness who are as intelligent as humans and have fighting power comparable to saints - such as the fierce god near Luojing who is known as the "Ghost King of Mang Mountain", which has always made him a big believer. Qi Chaoting had a very headache.
The number of ghosts of this level is even greater than that of human saints.
The status of the strong saints in the wilderness is like the status of nuclear weapons in previous lives.
Never use it lightly.
Once used, it means that the entire wilderness will be shaken up.
By then, the entire Da Qi Dynasty will surely face an even more terrifying situation.
"No matter what, Mr. Chen, after I leave, you must take care and don't show off your strength." Gu Xu said seriously.
"You kid, why are you suddenly educating me?" Hearing his words, Chen Jisheng chuckled, "Do you still need to teach me such a simple truth?"
"Don't dare." Gu Xu immediately shook his head.
"By the way, Gu Xu, I brought you here today, and I want to ask you to do something for me." Chen Jisheng raised the tea cup, took a sip of hot tea, and then said to Gu Xu, "You should know , after Da Qi Imperial Master took action to deal with the 'Nine Infant Snake Demon', he sealed it underground in Qingzhou Mansion, right?"
Gu Xu nodded.
"What I want to ask you to do today is related to the seal of the Nine Infant Snake Demon."
…………
A quarter of an hour later.
After the two of them finished their simple dinner, they returned to the exorcism department's office.
Chen Jisheng walked in front, and Gu Xu followed him, walking straight towards the empty library.
I heard Chen Jisheng introduce as he walked:
"Back then, after the Imperial Master of Da Qi sealed the Nine-Infant Snake Demon, he divided the sealing array diagram into eight, and stored them in eight counties according to the directions of the Eight Diagrams acquired the day after tomorrow.
“Yishui County is one of them.
“Only the governor of each county knows about the existence of these formations.
"The obligation that the governors need to fulfill is to take out these formation diagrams every three years and strengthen the seals to prevent the 'Nine Infant Snake Demon' from breaking out - although the probability of this happening is very small. Small, but we must also follow the instructions of the national master and treat it with caution.
“Logically speaking, this matter should be completed next year.
"But because the Yishan Snow Girl is coming this year, I'm worried about the Nine Infant Snake Demon causing trouble again, so I want to do this in advance.
"I think, Gu Xu, you know something about talismans and formations - strengthening the seal will allow you to directly contact the formations left by the national master, which should be very helpful for your future practice."
