Chapter 458 The God of Bliss visits the Taoist at night
"Boom..."
"Boom..."
The heavy drumming seems to beat people's heartbeats. Even in an empty street with countless people on the roadside, it gives people a mysterious and solemn feeling.
"Nuo..."
"Nuo..."
The first four people are all played by experienced old men. They are dressed in red robes that seem to be stained with blood. They wear fierce and terrifying masks with four eyes. They constantly make low sounds similar to "Nuo" in their mouths, and their dances are also fierce.
Radical and full of power. The morning fog is already thick, and with the smoke from firecrackers, the streets are filled with smoke. Four "Fang Xiang" jump out from behind, really like ghosts and gods dancing wildly, rushing towards you.
"Nuo..."
There was another group of teenagers behind them, wearing the same fierce masks, but they only had two eyes.
Behind them are twelve beasts.
After the twelve beasts, there were many beggars, who also wore masks or blackened their faces. They followed behind with great momentum, reaching out to the people on both sides to ask for money. Not many people gave it to them, and most of them just threw a copper plate.
The Taoist priest and the girl were also standing beside the street, under a willow tree, with a swallow on their shoulders, watching this scene intently.
"Nuo opera is also called ghost opera. They all play ghosts, and they are all fierce and ancient ghosts. At first, Nuo opera was performed by the emperor, and later it was also performed by the people. The purpose was to pay tribute to the gods and drive away plagues and avoid epidemics." Song Dynasty
You explained to the two little monsters while staring ahead, "In the past, Nuo opera was mysterious, solemn and inviolable, but gradually it turned into a performance. It was mainly for fun and celebration."
"Can the plague really be driven away?" The little girl raised her head and looked at the Taoist priest behind her from the top of her forehead.
"Can we not know about ancient times? Anyway, in modern times..." Song You looked down at her inverted facial features and smiled at her, "People in Hezhou also dance Nuo dance."
"Can't understand."
"Useless."
"understood."
"The one in the front is called Fang Xiang, who is a madman and warrior. He was originally an official, but later became the god of catching ghosts. People believe that he can catch ghosts." Song You said, "The one in the back is called Zuotou, who was originally the same as Fang Xiang.
He was the divine king who cleared the way to catch ghosts, but later he gradually became inferior to Fang Xiang..."
Fang Xiang and Zuotou were walking past them.
Fang Xiang is played by an old man, who is relatively stable, while the boss is played by a boy and a young man, with a light and naughty figure. When he saw the fair and beautiful girl in front of the Taoist, he deliberately tried to scare her when he passed by.
Sanhua Empress only stood in front of the Taoists, motionless, staring at them with a serious face.
I don't know what she is thinking.
When they passed by, she raised her head again and continued to ask her Taoist priest: "Can they catch the God of Paradise?"
The sound was clear and thin, just at the moment when the sound of gongs, drums and firecrackers stopped.
Many people around me heard it and looked sideways.
Song You smiled slightly and said without hesitation: "If it was really useful, there would be no Paradise God long ago."
"Is it all fake?"
"Not entirely."
"Not entirely?"
"Young lady from elementary school." Song You reached out to touch her head and found that it was a little taller than before. "I heard that ghosts and gods can be seen through Nuo opera masks. This seems to be true."
"Miss Sanhua can still see it like this!"
"Of course she's not as powerful as Empress Sanhua."
The Taoist lowered his head and spoke to her. The swallow on his shoulder turned its head and put it into its feathers, as if it was combing its hair, but also as if it couldn't bear to listen.
"Spend money to reward the gods!"
“Spend money to buy Jiluo!”
A group of beggars wearing tattered red clothes and masks, pretending to be gods, walked past them, jumping around and reaching out to take out money.
Many people threw out one or two coins, causing beggars to rob them.
"Crush all the Yin Qi..."
"For Yang Dao..."
"Your family is lucky..."
These beggars also learned to say a few kind words.
The beggars gradually passed by the Taoist.
Finally, I saw the expression on Sanhua Empress’s face——
Be alert! Full of vigilance!
Fortunately, these beggars could see the Taoist priest behind her, and when they saw it was a Taoist priest, they jumped over them.
"call……"
Empress Sanhua breathed a sigh of relief.
The mighty team gradually moved away, disappearing into the morning mist and gunpowder smoke.
“So lively.”
The little girl turned back and said to the Taoist.
"The plum blossoms are blooming."
The Taoist raised his head and said to her.
Only then did the little girl look ahead. Plum blossoms were planted on the other side of the street. They were in full bloom in the cold winter months.
The Taoist has already taken steps.
"Puff puff..."
The swallow flew away quickly.
The girl also followed.
There are people selling Ningxiang ink on the streets of Yangdu. Since Ningxiang is produced here, it is much cheaper than Yidu.
But it costs about 6,000 yuan each.
Song You visited three stores and chose the cheapest one, which cost five thousand and eight pieces. Under the dull eyes of Empress Sanhua, he bought four pieces, which were probably enough for a long time.
"Sanhua Empress's calligraphy is likely to be passed down through the ages. Words are priceless, so don't be stingy with this little money." Song You continued to touch her head, "Besides, we don't spend much money on weekdays."
“So expensive!”
"go home."
Song You took the ink and walked to the mansion.
There were still sounds of gongs and drums in the distance, mysterious and solemn, and "nuo"-like shouts came from the fog, like the low roars of evil ghosts and gods.
This will last almost a whole day and take you around the entire city of Yangdu.
Dancing Nuo dance is also hard work.
It's still early now, and as it gets later, people from outside the city will gradually enter the city, and more people will participate. The government, shops along the street, restaurants, and even ordinary people will prepare wine and food for them. This is not only a sacrificial ceremony,
It is also a lively event for the whole city. It is like the so-called gathering of parties and groups, staying up all night and looking for food and wine.
Song You has already returned to the house.
As soon as I opened the door and walked in, someone knocked on the door. It turned out to be a gentleman from the folk who did not know whether it was true or false. He had brought talismans, a bell and a wooden sword, and wanted to exorcise them from evil spirits and remove filth, and collect some money by the way.
Naturally, such "experts" usually won't tell you the money directly, and will just let you give it as you like.
Naturally, Sanhua Empress didn't want to give me a penny.
However, after Song You's persuasion, he was still allowed to walk around the house and mutter some words, which made him feel more involved. Before leaving, he asked Empress Sanhua to give him a penny.
The moment he took the penny, the private gentleman was stunned for a moment.
After that, Sanhua Empress had been standing guard at the door, holding the door open to see what was going on outside. Several people knocked on the door one after another. She immediately withdrew her gaze, then looked back at the Taoist, telling him not to say anything with her eyes, pretending to be a housekeeper.
There is no human appearance in it.
Song You didn't disobey her either.
The sky slowly darkened.
At night, after dinner, the Taoist was not in a hurry to fall asleep. Instead, he asked his children to light the oil lamps in the house, and fetched well water to grind the ink until it was light. He spread the paper on the table and drew plum blossoms.
.
I wrote leisurely, with just a few strokes, and the ink spread naturally on the paper, revealing the plum blossom branches.
The cat jumped on the table and looked down at it carefully.
Ningxiang ink exudes the familiar fragrance of medicinal materials, neither strong nor light, deep and quiet.