At the end of the corridor of the exorcism department's headquarters, two young girls in gorgeous clothes stood.
One of them was tall, with a slender waist, wearing a light green dress and an elegant smile on his face - undoubtedly Shangguan Jin.
The other one was petite and exquisite, wearing a lavender pleated skirt, her dark cloud-like hair was combed into a bun, and she was wearing a shiny gold walking stick. She was standing on tiptoes and waving to Gu Xu - it was Shi Xiaohan.
"Gu Xu, you're here!" Shi Xiaohan said loudly.
"Yes, I'm here."
"I thought you wouldn't come."
"But I'm still here."
"This...will this delay your cultivation?"
"Of course not," Gu Xu walked to her side and smiled slightly, "Master Chen said before that the fourth state of spiritual practice is called 'Wangxiang Terrace', and the key is to find one's own 'ordinary heart'. Always. It's definitely not possible to stay in the house and practice. You have to go out for a walk. Back in the days of Kong Xuan Sanren, he often played in the market, and even went to throw pots with the mortals."
"That's good." Shi Xiaohan breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, Gu Xu noticed that this girl's face seemed to have undergone some changes——
After trimming and shaping, the eyebrows become more delicate, like curved willow leaves.
There was a touch of rouge on her face, like the morning glow.
"My lady, you look different today than usual."
"Does it look good?" Shi Xiaohan put his hands on his hips and looked up at him, waiting expectantly for his answer.
"nice."
"Does it look better now or before?"
"The heroine is naturally beautiful, and makeup is just the icing on the cake."
After hearing his words, two shallow dimples suddenly appeared on Shi Xiaohan's pretty oval face.
"Sister Shangguan made this for me!" She pointed to Shangguan Jin beside her, "She knows a lot of things! She knows swordsmanship, medicine, and dressing up... It seems that there is no such thing as her in the world. Something you know!”
"What the hell," Shangguan Jin immediately smiled modestly after hearing her words, "These are just tricks and tricks, not worth mentioning at all. They are not as good as Taoist friend Gu who read through the Three Thousand Taoist Canons, spells, talismans, formations, Divination knows everything.”
"Thank you, Lord Shangguan." Gu Xu also smiled and shook his head, "I only know a little bit about it."
At the same time, he silently complained in his heart: This is another master of business bragging.
At this time, Shangguan Jin mentioned it again: "Fellow Daoist Gu, if you go to Luoshui tonight to see the lanterns, do you mind if I go with you? I have lived in Luojing City for more than ten years, and I am very familiar with that area. I also know several restaurants there. It’s a nice restaurant, maybe I can take you to try it..."
Before Gu Xu could speak, Shi Xiaohan immediately agreed for him with a smile: "Of course! I've long wanted to try the delicious food in Luo Jing City."
Gu Xu glanced at her and sighed silently: This silly girl... If someone prepares enough delicacies for her in the future, she might even sell herself.
Of course, when it came to this level, he couldn't refuse. He could only say politely to Shangguan Jin: "Then I'll thank you Taoist friend Shangguan."
…………
In the evening, the three of them rode a carriage without any decoration, passing through the neatly arranged houses and heading to the downtown area on the edge of Luoshui River.
On the way, Shangguan Jin and Shi Xiaohan sat side by side and chatted about special dishes from all over the country.
When it comes to delicious food, Shi Xiaohan is like a little sparrow, his eyes shine and he chatters non-stop.
Shangguan Jin looked at her with a smile, always agreeing with her words and adding something to her words.
As for Gu Xu, he sat alone opposite them, as if he had become a superfluous person.
A quarter of an hour later, they arrived at an inconspicuous but busy restaurant, ordered a table full of inexpensive but delicious dishes, and quickly cleared them all.
There is no doubt that more than half of the food went into Shi Xiaohan's stomach and condensed into the "Seal of Gluttony".
After paying the bill, they went to the river.
Here, colorful buildings and lantern corridors stretch for miles, looking colorful and uninterrupted. The shops and houses on the roadside are all decorated with lights.
The colors are scattered far away from the ground, and the bright light is far away in the sky. ?The stars are falling in the Han Dynasty, and the moon is hanging by the building.
In addition, there are snack sellers and performers.
No matter they were dignitaries or ordinary people, they came to the streets to join in the fun during the Lantern Festival, filling the streets and alleys of Luojing City with water.
Shi Xiaohan kept looking around, his almond-shaped eyes wide open, reflecting the colorful lights and bustling crowds.
Occasionally she saw a candy vendor, and she immediately squeezed through the crowd and paid for five candies.
One shaped like a golden dragon was handed to Gu Xu.
One shaped like a wild goose was handed to Shangguan Jin.
The remaining three are the kitten, the bunny, and the sparrow, all of which belong to her.
In this regard, Gu Xu secretly commented: Although this girl Shi Xiaohan calls herself a "hero" all day long and shouts about "helping the world and bringing peace to the people", in fact she is still a little girl at heart and likes cute things.
Then, while nibbling on the candy man, they came to the colorful light gallery.
"It's still half an hour before the arena competition starts," Shangguan Jin said. "We can guess a few lantern riddles here first. If we guess correctly, we can also go and collect the prizes."
"What is the prize? Can I eat it?" Shi Xiaohan asked.
"There are candies, there are small toys..."
"That's good!"
After that, she said with a smile, and at the same time pulled Gu Xu and Shangguan Jin's sleeves and walked into the sea of lanterns.
Then she pulled a piece of colored paper under the lantern, squinted her eyes and said, "Let's take a look at this lantern riddle...
"'A small golden jar, filled with golden dumplings, eat the golden dumplings and spit out white beads'...
"Gu Xu, Sister Shangguan, do you know what the answer is?"
Gu Xu thought for a while and guessed: "Orange?"
Shangguan Jin replied: "It should be orange!"
"It all sounds right..." Shi Xiaohan scratched his head, "Well, the difference between oranges and tangerines is..."
"Oranges are sweet, oranges are sour." Shangguan Jin glanced at Gu Xu casually and replied with a smile.
They didn't spend much time dwelling on the issue.
Then, Shi Xiaohan turned around again, stared at another piece of colored paper, and softly recited the lantern riddle written on the paper:
"'The dragon lies down in winter, the branches and leaves bloom in summer, the dragon's whiskers grow upwards, and the pearls line up downwards'..."
This time, she did not ask Gu Xu and Shangguan Jin for the answer, but shouted with joy: "I know the answer to this lantern riddle! It's grapes!"
Then she looked at the third lantern riddle: "'When you are young, you will be young and old, and when you are old, you will be red. At the beginning of summer, you will attract naughty children. Please come down to the ground while dancing with bamboo poles. After eating, your hands will be glowing red'...
"I know this too! It must be mulberry!
"This heroine is so smart!
"Also... 'It looks like bamboo, but not bamboo. It has knots all over the body and is not too thick. It is either purple or green. If you eat it raw, it will not be cooked.'...
"I know this too...the answer is definitely 'sugar cane'! If not, I will stand on my head to eat tomorrow!"
"..."
Perhaps it was because most of the riddles on these lanterns were related to food, so Shi Xiaohan could easily guess the answers.
Soon, she tore off the colored papers, wrote down the answers, and then exchanged them for a pocket full of candies.
While Shi Xiaohan was busy guessing lantern riddles, Shangguan Jin came to Gu Xu and chatted with him about things in the Exorcism Department.
"Fellow Daoist Gu, I heard that in the next few months, you will stay in Luojing City and serve as an official?"
"That's right."
"What is the specific official position? As the saying goes, those who are capable work hard. You Daoyou Gu has done such an earth-shattering thing in Qingzhou Mansion this time, I believe the chief minister will let you shoulder more important responsibilities!"
"I have not received the new appointment letter yet."
"That should still be in the process," Shangguan Jin said thoughtfully, "Given the achievements Gu Daoyou has made this time, there is a high probability that he will be promoted again, so the cabinet needs to spend more time to consider it... In just a short time Within one year, Daoyou Gu was promoted twice in a row, which is unprecedented in the Daqi Exorcism Department!"
"It's better to wait for the dust to settle first!"
"By the way, Fellow Daoist Gu, will you be free in a week?"
"A week later... apart from cultivation, there should be nothing else! Does fellow Taoist Shangguan need my help with anything?"
Shangguan Jin pondered for two seconds and replied: "Actually, it is like this. As the personal followers of the Chief of Staff, Chu Fengge and I were brought up by the Chief of Staff. To a certain extent, it can be regarded as the real and unnamed role of the Chief of Staff. Disciple. In the process of teaching us to practice, he has always put forward very strict requirements for us.
"Fellow Daoist Gu, you should remember that when you were participating in the promotion assessment in Yishui County, you once entered a magical artifact called the 'Wen Gu Pot' and solved a ghost named 'Dream-Eating Tapir' in it, right? "
"Yes, of course I remember." Gu Xu nodded.
The "Review Pot" is a precious magic weapon of Luo Si Shou.
It can record the ghost cases in the history of the Exorcism Department in the form of illusions in the pot.
As long as the monks recite specific mantras, they can let their spiritual consciousness enter the pot and re-experience past cases.
According to what Chu Fengge said at the time, the monks at the Exorcism Department headquarters often conducted practical training in the illusion of the pot.
During the promotion assessment, Gu Xu also entered this "reminiscing pot" with Ma Qin, the police officer of Yishui County.
Gu Xu's proficiency in talisman seals, astonishing insight and fighting talent displayed in the illusion of the pot once left a very deep impression on Chu Fengge, Shangguan Jin and Luo Sishou who were fighting outside the pot.
"The Chief of Staff requires Chu Fengge and I to enter the 'Review Pot' once a month to review a past case," Shangguan Jin continued, "Of course the difficulty of this case cannot be too low - at least, we We need to deal with an 'evil spirit' level ghost that is enough to threaten our life safety in the 'warming pot'.
"The Chief of Staff believes that this kind of life-and-death battle is an excellent training that can improve our actual combat skills and adaptability as quickly as possible.
"Of course, that guy Chu Fengge still hasn't learned any skills. He still just rushes forward without thinking and does it recklessly. But he relies on his 'weed' magical power, rough skin and thick flesh, which can heal injuries quickly. , the true energy recovers quickly, and in the end the ghosts can always be boiled to death.
"Fellow Daoist Gu, your cultivation talent is stronger than all of us. The Chief of Staff also has higher expectations for you than we do.
"The Chief of Staff hopes that you can also participate in our actual combat training in the 'Warming Pot' at the end of this month. I wonder if you are willing?"
Gu Xu did not answer immediately.
He knew that participating in this kind of practical training between life and death in the "Review Pot" was a very luxurious treatment.
On the one hand, the monks of the Exorcism Department go out to perform ghost-killing tasks, which not only require cultivation, but also strong psychological quality and the ability to deal with things calmly.
Many newcomers may have good qualifications, but when it comes to actual combat, they are too nervous to make correct decisions because they see scary-looking ghosts.
But many old people may not have very high cultivation level, but they can make great achievements by relying on their rich experience and strong psychological quality.
Experience is something that can undoubtedly only be obtained through actual combat again and again. If you are not careful, you will lose your life.
But a magic weapon like the "Review Pot" can greatly speed up this process while ensuring safety.
On the other hand, many epiphanies and breakthroughs in the process of spiritual practice occur only during life-and-death moments.
For example, when Gu Xu was on the verge of despair, he stepped on the "Naihe Bridge" and successfully gained "time".
For example, when Chen Jisheng risked his life to pick snow ginseng on Mount Yi, he suddenly found his "ordinary heart" and was successfully promoted to become a strong man in the "Wangxiangtai" realm.
However, Shangguan Jin and Chu Fengge were able to use the "warming pot" to simulate this narrow escape process.
For example, Chu Fengge's "weed" magical power was obtained from the "Wen Gu Pot".
But now, Gu Xu's cultivation has come to a standstill.
He stood on the stairs leading to the "Wangxiang Terrace", with clouds and mist in front of him, and ghosts and wolves howling all around, making it difficult for him to continue climbing the steep Homesickness Ridge.
However, Shangguan Jin and Chu Fengge were able to use the "warming pot" to simulate this narrow escape process.
For example, Chu Fengge's "weed" magical power was obtained from the "Wen Gu Pot".
But now, Gu Xu's cultivation has come to a standstill.
He stood on the stairs leading to the "Wangxiang Terrace", with clouds and mist in front of him, and ghosts and wolves howling all around, making it difficult for him to continue climbing the steep Homesickness Ridge.
However, Shangguan Jin and Chu Fengge were able to use the "warming pot" to simulate this narrow escape process.
For example, Chu Fengge's "weed" magical power was obtained from the "Wen Gu Pot".
But now, Gu Xu's cultivation has come to a standstill.
He stood on the stairs leading to the "Wangxiang Terrace", with clouds and mist in front of him, and ghosts and wolves howling all around, making it difficult for him to continue climbing the steep Homesickness Ridge.
(Change first and then change)
ps: It’s the end of the month, please double the monthly ticket! If you don’t vote, your monthly vote will become invalid!
ps2: There will be an update tomorrow!
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Note:
(1) "The colors are far away from the ground, and the light is far away in the sky. The stars are falling, and the moon is hanging from the building." - Tang Dynasty Lu Zhaolin's "Fifteen Nights Watching Lanterns"
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