Volume 1 Huangquan December Chapter 3: Shadows Never Leave the Lamp
"Shan Hai, did you ask someone to beat you in your dream?"
Ah Luan looked at the circles in Taoist Master Lin's eyes and held back these words for a long time.
"Just say a few words, and I will know that your dog's mouth can't spit out ivory." Just after he finished shouting, Lin Shanhai felt that all the bones in his body were aching. He might have caught a cold last night. But seeing that Aluan was jumping around, it should be
There was no problem. He didn't know who had weak horoscopes, so he kept muttering in his mind.
I didn't see the shadow girl all night, but it brought up other problems. If this matter is not resolved, I will leave with a slap on my face. I will ruin the reputation of Linxiaoguan, and I am afraid that I will not have the shame to come back to see the sect owner in the future.
"Rinse your mouth before eating the snack! I didn't cover it up all night, and I don't know how much dust has fallen on it. You can't bear to eat it."
He scolded Ah Luan as he stuffed a few snacks with quick eyes and hands.
"No problem, no problem, the outer layer is peeled off, but the inside is still clean."
"Rinse your mouth first."
Ah Luan ran out reluctantly again, his small steps making a sound on the floor. Shan Hai suddenly thought of something and thought about what Ah Luan had just said.
It's still clean inside.
The outer layer.
Maybe the thing about the shadow girl is not the real monster itself, but the shadow cast in from the outside?
It's not impossible.
The magic times outdoors are Youshi and Yinshi, that is, dusk and dawn. In addition to the servants working in the courtyard in the afternoon, Shanhai is also very busy. It is not so sunny now, and Shanhai is sitting on the outside porch.
, writing Taoist symbols one by one. Aluan’s medicine box was placed aside, and he was polishing the ink.
At this moment, a kind old woman came forward with two cups of tea. Shan Hai raised his head and recognized Granny Qi, whom the steward had introduced. He looked around briefly. She was in her sixties, and her gray hair was carefully
The ground was gathered together. Even though he was a servant in the family, he was dressed in quite exquisite fabrics. He wore a cracked jade pendant on his neck and two silver and black rings on his fingers.
Seeing Taoist Master Lin looking at this, she smiled warmly:
"These are all given to me by the Madam. The jade pendant she often wore was accidentally cracked one day, and she was reluctant to throw it away. The Madam said that if I don't dislike it, she would give it to me. The Madam put me there
In my eyes, it was too late for me to be happy. From then on, any old jewelry she had was stuffed into my hands."
When she said this, the folds on Grandma Qi's face were squeezed into the corners of her eyes, and her eyebrows were crooked in a smile. A-luan remained silent, staring at her exposed wrist. She saw it and pulled her sleeves outward.
.
"By the way, Taoist Master, what are you writing?"
"The manifestation talisman. It will be burned and dissolved in water later. It will be used later."
"It's serious in the house, can I ask you anything else?"
"You're too polite, just ask."
"I would like to ask you to write two peace charms. I would like to post them in my wife's room for peace of mind."
"That's easy to say."
Taoist Master Lin asked his apprentice to grind more cinnabar, but Aluan didn't move for a while. She raised her head and asked as if to confirm something:
"Two?"
"Ah, I also have a little grandson"
Grandma Qi knew that she was asking for compensation, so she smiled a little embarrassedly.
A Luan took out the cinnabar from the box, and Lin Daochang leaned over, took out the needle and thread bag from the small drawer, pricked his middle finger, and let the blood drip into the small dish. Shan Hai quickly drew two peace charms, and Grandma Qi was very happy.
Well, when Ah Luan set out to burn the talisman to turn it into water, Grandma Qi took the initiative to stop the work on her own body and left with a stack of talismans.
"It's just a peace charm, why should you sacrifice your life for them?"
Aluan was confused. She was referring to Shanhai pricking her finger. But her master just smiled and shook his head, as if he had his own answer. Aluan felt bored, put down the box and turned around to leave.
"Where are you going?"
"Let's go play with Xiao He."
Before leaving, I heard her muttering dissatisfiedly, "It's not my life that's being shortened, I don't care about you."
"Don't forget to go to the kitchen and ask for some salt -" he shouted loudly.
Ah Luan shouted, I know, I know.
Shanhai blew the tea and looked towards the courtyard. It was the end of spring and the beginning of summer, and the courtyard was full of flowers, colorful, but not a single bee or butterfly was seen among the flowers. So the scenery became very special.
Rigid, like a dry painting of flowers and plants, lacking some lively vitality.
At this time, Manager Qi walked over to him, Shan Hai put down his teacup, and the two of them bowed briefly.
Dahei was brought back early in the morning, but Rin Shanhai could tell at a glance that its coat was not pure, and there were a few yellow hairs stuck at the base of its tail. He said that it couldn't see anything and couldn't borrow it. The steward wanted to send it back, but a
When the boy heard the dog barking, he ran over excitedly and made a fuss with Dahei. After Shanhai asked, he found out that this was Grandma Qi's grandson, named Qiao Sheng. They both worked in Mrs. Qi's natal family at first.
His mother died after giving birth to him in childbirth. A few years later, Qiao’s father fell down while repairing the roof tiles and died.
So only Xiao Qiaosheng and grandma were left. Mrs. Qi took pity on them and took them all over with the master's consent.
Qiao Sheng loved to play with Dahei the most since he was a child. He cried all day after he was sent away. He was still angry for the past two days and the food was not delicious, but Grandma Qi was so anxious. Then the steward thought, today
Leave him alone and play with him for a while.
"The backyard is full of holes again. If the master finds out, he will scold me again, hahahaha."
"It's causing trouble."
"What happened?" Manager Qi didn't care.
When dinner was about to arrive, Xiao He and Aluan were walking around the room. In the morning, the steward saw the two of them chatting happily, and specially gave Xiao He a day off. The little girl was very happy.
After meeting, they walked to the east wing. Xiao He saw Qiao Sheng and Da Hei having a fight from a distance, and her pace became slow.
"What's wrong?" Aluan asked her.
"I'm a little afraid of dogs. When the young master and I came here, this dog just accepted the dog. It's so fierce."
"in this way."
As she said this, Aluan did not speed up her pace. She remembered that this was the place where she heard the sound of beads last night. She jumped down the steps and started searching carefully. Xiaohe held on to the door fearfully, urging her to come back quickly.
Under the wooden plank of the outer porch, she indeed picked up two beads.
But it wasn't made of colored glass - she sniffed it, and it looked like small-leaf red sandalwood.
"Where is Hashio's room?"
"I live with Grandma Qi in the back room. I'm in a larger room with several other maids. Do you want little Aluan to go and see it? Come on, let's not see Da Hei anymore."
"Then let's take a look."
In the evening, the master put more thought into a banquet with Taoist Master Lin. The master has just entered middle age, but the hair on his head is a lot grayer. He is almost as gray as Grandma Qi. It can be seen that he is very concerned about his wife and these trivial matters.
It was a waste of time. At the dinner table, he even said apologetically to Shan Hai for the poor reception. He would definitely thank Shan Hai deeply when the matter was resolved.
The mountains and seas were originally bottomless, until Aluan quietly stuffed something into his hand and whispered something, he knew it in his heart.
"There is no need to express my gratitude, but tonight at Yinshi, although the ghost issue may not necessarily be solved, I can at least give the master an explanation."
Tonight at Yinshi, Taoist Master Lin is going to do something!
The servants who were eavesdropping outside the door spread the word. Everyone was talking about it. Some looked happy, while others had doubts.
Some people frowned.
It was late at night, but people gathered in a group, and no matter how hard Manager Qi blasted them away, they all gathered behind the door and watched Taoist Master Lin and his little apprentice busy in the house. Every once in a while
, Taoist priest Lin placed a plate of fine salt. Several servants followed them with lamps on their hands. This battle was something no one had ever seen before, but so far there was nothing more unusual, it was just people looking at each other.
After everything was ready, Taoist Master Lin walked and muttered words. His voice was very soft, and the people who were so silent could only hear words such as "The way of heaven is permanent" and "Breaking Yin and Yang", and no one dared to discuss it.
A-luan held a large wooden basin in her hand. She followed her master and sprinkled water on the ground with a ladle. The water in this basin must be the spiritual water that was transformed into the manifesting talisman in the afternoon.
At first, people only felt quiet. The Taoist priest raised two fingers and put his other hand holding the compass behind his back for a while. His murmur was particularly obvious in the silent night. But soon, some small voices slowly started to appear.
They came from all directions. When these inconsistent sounds first appeared, people felt strange but couldn't say anything. After a while, someone exclaimed that he had heard this sound before. Then, more and more people began to echo this
statement.
By the end, everyone present could clearly hear what a familiar voice this was.
