Marriage of the Ghost Chapter 10

The tiny pain in the palm of his hand pierced his heart like lightning. With his eyes wide open, Lucas Fu suddenly woke up from his dream. The night outside was dark and the wind was howling. He stood up, lit the candle, and spread his palm. There was a thin line of blood between his fingernails. The wound in the palm of his hand was barely visible but never healed. In recent days, the conversation with Oliver appeared in his dreams from time to time.

"Ding-ling, ding-ling, ding-ling..." The crisp sound of the bell echoed in the room. The Soul-Shocking Bell under the door rang automatically without wind, and its old surface emitted a light golden light.

Ghostly fog, boundless, gushed out from the cracks in the window and the ground, gradually filling the entire room.

Lucas Fu got up from the bed. The white smoke did not retreat, but gathered around him and slowly moved around him. The mist was lingering under his feet, and the only candle flame became blurred by the mist.

"Who?" He didn't hold a sword or raise his palm, and he didn't even have the energy to maintain the righteousness of the heavenly power that protected his body. He stood behind the table with his long hair loose, waiting with bated breath. He didn't have time to tie up his wide Taoist robe, and the long sleeves fell to his feet. This familiar mist, this familiar scene, Lucas Fu was waiting for that familiar figure.

"I heard that Master Zi Yang came down to earth to save the world and eliminate demons. Seeing him today, I find he is indeed extraordinary." Someone chuckled in the thick fog. The mellow voice was near and far, as if it was separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, and yet it was real and close to my ears.

Lucas Fu suddenly stepped back, the lights flickered, and the Taoist who had always been calm and composed had a desolate look in his eyes.

not him.

The alarm bell rang loudly and excitedly, and the ghostly aura was filled with the air. The door of the room opened silently, and the sound of wind filled the courtyard. In the darkness, a slender figure approached: "The wild spirits came to visit us at night. It was a last resort. I hope that the master of the state will forgive us."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone appeared in front of him. It was a woman with a gentle smile and eyebrows like a crescent moon: "My name is Chu Yu, nice to meet Master Fu."

"Miss Rain." The name that was often on the lips of ghosts suddenly jumped into Lucas Fu's mind, and his expression tightened.

The woman in a green dress was calm. She waved her sleeves to close the wide-open door, and as a gentle smile gradually appeared on her face, a faint fragrance slowly spread in the room: "I heard that the Taoist priest was looking for something. I do have one, but I don't know if it is what the Taoist priest is looking for."

She moved lightly and stood at the other end of the round table. Through the ghostly mist, the woman lowered her head slightly and smiled softly. In her hand, she held a small wooden knife.

Lucas Fu reached out and grabbed it hastily, nearly knocking over the candlestick with his waving sleeves. The woman smiled warmly, not caring about his recklessness at all. "It seems so." She said with relief, and the fragrance in the room became a little stronger.

The wooden sword is a toy for children. The carving may not be exquisite, and the wood may not be exquisite, but the workmanship has taken a lot of thought. From the tip of the sword to the handle, there is not a single splinter. The night when Han Zhi got drunk by the lake, he saw him throw it into the lake with his own eyes. The drunken ghost talked nonsense, saying that he had done a lot.

Using his hand as a blade, Lucas Fu raised his palm and the wooden sword split into two immediately. It turned out that the inside was actually hollow. A piece of paper gently fell on the table. There were only four lines on the paper, which was a doggerel poem: The sky is majestic and the earth is majestic. There is a crying Yelang in my family. A gentleman who passes by recites it three times and sleeps until dawn.

Exactly the same as in the rattle.

At her signal, Lucas Fu used his hand as a blade, raised his hand and fell, and the wooden sword immediately split into two. It turned out that the inside was hollow, and a piece of paper gently fell on the table. There were only four lines on the paper, which was a doggerel: The sky is majestic and the earth is majestic. There is a crying Yelang in my family. A gentleman who passes by recites it three times, and sleeps until dawn.

Exactly the same as in the rattle.

"At first, they always cried. Mortals couldn't hear them, but we could hear them clearly." The souls of the children imprisoned at the bottom of the lake were terrified and could not find peace. Every sunset, crying could be heard from the bottom of the water, and the wind whistled on the shore of Lin Lake. Mortals were unaware and slept soundly. The ghosts sat under the stone pavilion by the lake, listening from midnight to dawn.

Facing the Taoist's cold eyes, she told him the truth in a calm tone: "My brother thought they were too noisy, so he threw these little things into the lake. The Taoist is a real god from heaven, and he may not know that although humans and ghosts are different, the ghost world is still the same as the human world. A small bribe can always buy a worry-free night. Haha, he said this, but in fact he was moved by sympathy. He..."

A long sigh, a subtle fragrance floating in the room. A rattle, a few bamboo dragonflies, and sometimes two candy men. These small gifts soothed the children's restlessness.

The resentful souls in the blood array could not receive the offerings and sacrifices from their families. The ghost wrote down a doggerel poem used in the mortal world to comfort crying children at night, and put it in the things given to them.

"It's at least a consolation." Chu Yu said softly.

Ghost fog undulated and moved before the Taoist's eyes, and wisps of subtle fragrance spread to every corner of the room as the fog spread. Lucas Fu heard snow falling outside again, the "rustling" sound of falling snow echoed with the "crackling" sound of the candlesticks on the table. Ice particles were knocking on the paper window, and the cold wind penetrated the window gap and cried "woohoo".

"Sometimes, he would stand by the lake and recite it three times." The beautiful face of the woman was sometimes visible in the thin mist. She covered her mouth and laughed softly, "It only works if a gentleman recites it. But later, they really stopped crying."

Silk handkerchiefs and rouge were given to the ladies who died in vain, and paper and ink were given to the unwilling scholars. Occasionally, he would ask Shanzha to make some exquisite cakes, such as white rice dumplings with red bean paste for the Dragon Boat Festival, moon cakes with nuts for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and a few candied fruit candies for the New Year's Eve... Sometimes, he would also write something else on paper, such as scriptures for the dead, short and concise anecdotes, or even a few lines of love poems that he wanted to say but couldn't.

All mortals have seven emotions and six desires, greed, anger, ignorance, love, hate, separation and separation. Ghosts do not have these, because they have no heart. But ghosts also long for care and concern. The bottom of the lake is too cold, and a little familiarity is enough to comfort their restless souls.

"Then he plays the flute..." The Taoist's handsome face also hovered between light and darkness due to the flickering candlelight.

Chu Yu answered readily, "They like to listen to his music."

The sound of the wind on a winter night is very similar to the flute sound that once spread throughout the city, sobbing and distant, like crying and complaining.

"I always say that he is crying for them. But he never admits it." Her eyes flickered as she sat down calmly, ignoring the Taoist's dark eyes and pouring herself a cup of tea. "The blood array is there, the resentful souls are there, no matter what is thrown into the lake or the note hidden in the things, it is only a temporary comfort. Their anger and resentment must be expressed. Compared with crying, the sound of the flute is more pleasing to the ear. By the way, my brother actually doesn't understand music, he learned it on the spot."

The cold-talking ghost looked at everything with a sidelong look of disdain. Under the big tree in the middle of the night, he frowned and lowered his head, his expression was extremely impatient, he muttered all kinds of complaints, but his fingers still pressed the holes of the flute one by one seriously and laboriously. Without a finger, the gestures were weird and awkward, and the tune was also scattered. Just like this, he secretly learned behind people's backs, night after night, playing a broken sad song alone.

"No wonder there is no resentment despite the bloody battle in the city." Lucas Fu suddenly realized. He concluded that day that there must be accomplices in the city covering up, but afterwards, he always attributed it to the strong local earthy smell and abundant water vapor.

"In the eyes of the Taoist priest, he is hiding something on purpose. But in my opinion, he just doesn't want to see the resentful souls suffer. Moreover, the blood array feeds on souls and swallows resentment. Can your action be regarded as dissolving filth and weakening the power of the evil array? Everything has two sides. You and I stand on different sides. We see the same person, but one is evil and the other is good, which is very different. It is natural that we have different standpoints and opinions." Still in a soft and slow tone, she sat under the lamp, as quiet as looking at flowers in the water, raising her hand to touch the paper carefully, "Just like his actions, to the Taoist priest, he is an accomplice to the tiger. But to me, he... is just my brother who is cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

A pair of sharp eyes suddenly lifted up, the corners of her lips curved, she smiled at him who seemed to be lost: "Master, do you know why my brother insisted on inviting you to watch the ceremony when I got married?"

"Why?"

"Because he has an ulterior motive."

The Taoist with a gloomy face showed no surprise at all: "He never does anything in vain."

But everything he did was of no benefit to himself.

The uninvited flower demon lowered his eyes silently and looked at the tea in the cup.

After a while, Lucas Fu asked in a deep voice, "Why did he look for me?" Surrounded by mist, his clear face was coated with a layer of warm light and shadow by the candlelight, but a gloomy dark color fell between his eyebrows.

After staring at him silently for a long time, Chu Yu stopped smiling and said, "My husband's family is the Chen family of Wuzhou, a prominent family in the ghost world. My brother and I have been living in the human world without anyone to rely on. My brother said that in the mortal world, when a girl gets married, she must find a few strong young brothers to see her off, to show that her family has support and to avoid being bullied by her husband's family. He was worried that I would be weak and alone, and would be wronged if I married far away. So after hearing that True Lord Zi Yang had entered the city, he took the liberty to visit me at night and disturbed me again and again."

"I am honored to have the Taoist priest watching the ceremony. My husband's family really treated me with courtesy. I dare not neglect them. Taoist priest's kindness is as great as a mountain. Chu Yu is grateful." She stood up and bowed to Lucas Fu. The room was immediately filled with the fragrance of flowers.

Lucas Fu stared at the flower ornament on her forehead. She was just like her brother, always lowering her eyes when she smiled: "You should thank him."

"My little sister, Chuyu," the ghost kept saying. When he talked about his married sister, he smiled brightly.

"He always mentions you," Lucas Fu said, his steady voice dropping slightly.

"He also told me about you. When I got married, we were at the west city gate. Although the Taoist priest did not reveal his true identity, the uprightness of the Zhongnan disciples was definitely not comparable to the muddy and filthy people in the mountains. As soon as I arrived at the city gate, I knew that a distinguished guest had arrived. Later, he pointed to the locust tree and said that the person standing under the tree was Lucas Fu. There were thousands of Taoists, but he was the only one who could not be compared with him."

Lucas Fu was shocked. He didn't know that he had praised him so much: "He..."

Chu Yu was smiling all the time. She talked about the past in a rambling way, not excited, not sad, but casual and calm, like a conversation between close friends. She took a sip of tea and talked about a trivial matter that was neither big nor small, insignificant: "Master, do you know that my marriage was arranged by Tianji Zibao?"

Throwing a stone into a lake can cause a shocking explosion.

"What?" With a low cry, Lucas Fu stepped forward and was about to reach over the table to grab her hand.

She remained calm and greeted him with a seemingly ignorant smile: "So the Taoist priest didn't know? Then, you won't know anything about what happened next."

"My brother and I have been living in seclusion in the city for many years. At first, my brother and Oliver occasionally interacted, but they always parted on bad terms. Five years ago, Oliver saw that this place had rich geomantic energy, abundant water veins, and was remote, so he intended to build a blood array here in order to turn the tide of the war against the will of heaven. I only learned about this later. At that time, my brother noticed something was wrong in the city, so he invited him to be a guest. I never thought that not only would my persuasion be ineffective, but he threatened the lives of the three of us, so I had to get involved. Because my brother and Oliver are fellow practitioners in Zhongnan, they are familiar with the principles of array layout. He asked my brother to help him bury the corpse heart and build the tree array."

The candlelight flickered red, and the trembling flames danced with warm yellow light, illuminating the beautiful face of the woman. Looking at the speechless Lucas Fu, she lowered her eyes and spoke one sentence after another about the unknown origin: "That day, my brother had an agreement with Oliver that as long as I obeyed his orders, he would never embarrass me, Xingren and Shanzha. However, later my brother secretly replaced the sacrifices in the formation, and the matter was exposed. At that time, the situation of the two yin and yang twins had been completed, and there was no time to rebuild the formation to replace the finger bones buried under the tree by my brother. Oliver was furious and wanted me to marry far away in Wuzhou. It was called marriage, but in fact I was detained as a hostage. To prevent my brother from having other intentions again."

"Thanks to the great blessing of the Taoist priest, Oliver has been executed and his ghost army has dispersed. My husband's family no longer dares to keep me. I was able to rush back to Qujiang to thank him in person." She curled her lips, tilted her head, and smiled, bending her dark eyebrows, looking at him without blinking, "The Taoist priest just asked me to thank him. Unfortunately, I can't find him even if I search the whole world."

"He...Han, Han Zhi..." His lips trembled, and all the doubts, entanglements and resentments that troubled his heart disappeared.

He had never called him by his name. When they met, talked, and interacted, he always called him "Mr. Han" in a strange way. It seemed to be polite, but in fact, they were always drawing a clear line between them. When the ghost angrily called him "Mu Daoist priest", he replied with "Junior Master", with a playful tone and a bit of anger.

Damien Han, Damien Han, Damien Han... Lucas Fu held the table tightly with both hands, clenched his teeth, and his chest, which was as quiet as a dead water, was surging with pain, as if it was about to burst through his throat. He... Damien Han... raised his eyes to see the dazzling candlelight, which made his eyes sore. Between his hands, two pieces of paper of the same size were placed side by side, with his handwriting on them.

Lucas Fu recognized Damien Han's handwriting. The ghost with careless behavior wrote neatly. The handwriting was long and thin, but the strokes were powerful. Every stroke was meticulous. It just negated the saying "the handwriting reflects the person".

On a night of drinking in the backyard, he dipped his hands in wine and wrote on the table, shaking his head and shaking his head: The cicadas are crying sadly, it is late at the long pavilion, and the sudden rain has just stopped.

The Taoist was confused and thought he was drunk again. He rolled up his sleeves and tried to grab his hand: "You are drunk again."

He let him hold his wrist obediently, raised his head obediently, and his eyes were indeed drunken: "What a coincidence. Our two names can just make up a sentence. Eh? And Chu Yu."

While the Taoist was looking down, he waved his left hand and wiped it away with his sleeve.

The ghost frowned and said, "This is an unlucky omen."

Lucas Fu still remembered his cheeks, which were stained red by the alcohol. Under the moonlight, they looked even more white and rosy, and indescribably handsome. The drunkard broke free from his hand and buried his head in writing on the table. Fu, Chang, Ting, his name. One stroke after another, over and over again, the whole table was filled with it.

There are only two kinds of people in this world who would write the names of others repeatedly like this: one who hates others deeply, and one who loves others deeply.

"I...I..." Thoughts came one after another, and he fell into an endless loss with no way out. A woman with peaceful eyes sat at the other end of the round table. Lucas Fu looked past her and looked at the closed door. Qujiang City remained the same, and the inner courtyard of the inn was the same as before. He stood in the ghost fog in the room and searched everywhere, but there was no him who floated in a Taoist robe. "He was forced."

"Yes." Chu Yu answered without hesitation.

Lucas Fu stood up and clenched his hands into fists at his sides. His nails pierced into the wound on his palm, and the sharp pain ran from his palm into his heart. Blood flowed like a thread, wrapping around his curled fingers like a red thread. He looked around, blankly scanning everything in the room, and finally turned back to Chu Yu's calm face, looking lonely: "Why are you telling me this?"

"I want to talk to someone about him." The woman answered calmly. The ghostly atmosphere was gloomy, and the fragrance of flowers was enchanting. The tea in the teacup had cooled down. She picked up the teapot and slowly filled the cup. "Brother, you have very few friends in your life, so it's not easy to find someone to talk about the past. Although Master Fu is the teacher of a country and an important minister of the emperor, he must be busy and tired. It's rare that he has a relationship with the master. I dare to ask the national teacher to forgive me. Even if you don't give me face, please chat with me for the sake of people who are not here."

She spoke humbly and respectfully in every word. She just mentioned "the one who is not here" lightly, but it was a dagger hidden in her smile and a needle buried in cotton, which pierced deeply into his chest.

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to realize her mistake. She quickly covered her face with her sleeves and pretended to be surprised: "What's wrong with you, Taoist priest?"

Lucas Fu clenched his fists tighter and raised his head, unwilling to look at her calm and composed face: "What else do you want to say?"

She kept silent and took a sip of tea leisurely. She smiled slightly with a confused expression: "Have you ever believed him?"

... Lucas Fu stepped back dejectedly, and his sleeve knocked over the round stool under the table. The stool fell down with a loud bang and rolled all the way to the wall.

"When I was still by the Lin Lake, I often heard Li Ji say that in this world, whether it is ordinary people or the spirits like us, coming and going, meeting and parting, it is nothing but the word "faith". Only when you believe wholeheartedly can you have an everlasting love. Otherwise, no matter how lingering the love words are or how beautiful the vows are, they are nothing but illusions that will fall apart at the touch of a finger. In the ups and downs of life, if even knowing and believing in each other is a lie, how can we talk about staying together?" Looking at him with a sad expression, Chu Yu sipped tea, and her tone was still gentle as always, "Since ancient times, demons have been fighting each other, and good and evil have been invading each other. It is reasonable for the Taoist priest not to believe him. But..."

Changing the subject, she put down the teacup and slowly raised her face. The smile on her face, which had always been full of smiles, faded a little bit, and finally her eyes were full of sorrow: "You didn't believe him, but he believed you."

"! Bang--" The swift night wind finally blew open the old lattice window, and snowflakes flew wildly, rushing towards the Taoist in the room. The half-open window frame could not withstand the damage, and was pulled by the wind and snow, hitting the wall again and again. The candlestick on the table was instantly swallowed up by the night.

She raised her hands and made hand gestures, and kindly lit the lamp for him again. The moment the candle flame was lit, Chu Yu clearly saw that the Zhongnan Sect Master, who was rumored to have "forgotten to bring his human touch when he reincarnated", was sitting opposite her, with all his dignity and pride collapsed into a pile of broken snow.

His hand couldn't help but tremble, and the candle that had just been lit went out again.

"How... did you know?" His expression could not be seen in the darkness, only his calm tone had lost its usual steadyness.

Chu Yu sighed. The two pieces of paper on the table were grabbed by Lucas Fu the moment they were blown by the wind, and he held them tightly: "He entrusted those two idiots to you, didn't he?"

"They know nothing, and they haven't done anything", "Almonds love money, and hawthorns are greedy", "But they are very good, very good, very good..." On the eve of the battle of Yucheng, he pulled him aside and kept nagging him all night long, and the topic always revolved around those two slaves who looked weird and behaved strangely.

"They have never hurt anyone," said Han.

Lucas Fu knew that this was his only concern. The ghost who had nothing collected a room full of all kinds of miscellaneous items, but by his side, there were only those two ugly monsters to keep him company. He couldn't bear to leave them.

"I promised him that I would never take action as long as they did not do evil." Until the end, all he wanted was the safety of the two slaves. The proud ghost had a strong body and only bowed his head to beg him twice, once for his younger sister and once for the slaves. He never talked about himself.

Perhaps it was because he knew that even if he asked, he would not agree because he hated evil. Lucas Fu thought sadly.

"It is indeed so." The Taoist's words confirmed her guess. The flower demon looked shrewd, "Otherwise, how could the dignified Zhongnan Sect Master allow evildoers to sneak around outside his residence?"

There was another gust of wind, and a black shadow flashed on the window paper. Amid the rustling sound of falling snow, there were two soft "crackling" sounds, so low that if you didn't listen carefully, you would think that it was a dead branch broken by the strong wind.

"You... don't want to go and take a look?" Lucas Fu spoke in a heavy voice when he noticed her gaze looking outside the house.

"Master, don't you want to go and take a look?" Chu Yu asked back, retracting his gaze.

Lucas Fu shook his head, saying that it would scare it.

"It only makes me sad to see you." Chu Yu also shook his head, with a look of sadness on his face.

She opened her eyes and looked at him for a long time, her eyes burning, as if she had thousands of words to say, but she swallowed them all secretly: "It's getting late, I should go back. Wuzhou is a long way, a thousand miles away, if I don't hurry it will be dawn soon."

Seeing the Taoist's dull expression, she smiled again: "Even if it's a pretext of holding someone hostage, I'm married. As a wife of the Chen family, where else can I go if not to my husband's house? It's wrong to secretly meet a strange man alone, how can I run away and not come back? If my brother finds out, I'll be punished."

She stood up slowly, took two steps closer, and bowed to Lucas Fu again. Her movements were graceful, like moving clouds and flowing water, and her eyebrows and eyes were calm and gentle.

Lucas Fu was speechless and let her turn and leave.

The door of the room opened, and the fresh floral scent that had been lingering in my nose disappeared in an instant, and the thick fog sank into the ground again.

She walked slowly forward, and when she reached the door, she stopped suddenly.

"Even if you are controlled by others, but, wrong is wrong. Human life is at stake, and it cannot be forgiven lightly." In stark contrast to the quiet and leisurely tone just now, the woman who kept talking about the deep brotherly love suddenly turned around. Under the trembling hairpin, her beautiful face was about to cry, but she forced herself to be solemn, frowned and gritted her teeth, with a fierce look on her face, "Set up an evil formation, detain living beings, and slaughter the masses. Even if he is helpless and unwilling, he has done it. Blood debt must be paid with blood, and he deserves death. The law of nature is clear, and evil should be punished with justice. It is natural for you to kill him, and he deserves it for his crime. I understand this principle, so I don't hate you. But...but..."

She couldn't say the rest of the words, tears rolled down her cheeks, she cried bitterly: "He is my brother... He did it for me... I, I just want you to know... He is not an evil ghost."

"I know." Unfortunately, it was too late. Lucas Fu turned his head away and didn't want to look anymore. Seeing her leaning against the door and looking out, he couldn't help but imagine whether he, who wore a lotus crown that day, would come riding on the ghost mist.

"Really... there's no hope at all?"

"...No." The master admonished, eradicate all evil. The sword of the underworld pierced through his chest, and ordinary ghosts had already been shattered. Moreover, the entire courtyard was covered with nine-day thunder and fire. Even if he had the strength to barely hold on, he would have been burned to nothingness in the fire.

Damien Han, I really won’t come again.

"The monsters all say that being a human is the best. We mountain spirits and wild beasts have practiced hard for a hundred years to get a human body. Being a human is so precious. But think about him carefully, what's the good of being a human? He was born an abandoned child, and his parents didn't want him. Fortunately, he had a senior brother who took care of him and protected him. Even though Zhongnan Sect expelled him, his senior brothers visited him from time to time. But later, he didn't even have a senior brother. The three of us followed him for a long time, and we were reunited and harmonious. It's a pity that we are not human after all, and we don't understand the warmth and coldness of human hearts. It's better to say that he took care of us with all his heart rather than that we accompanied him." Tears kept flowing, she turned her back to him, looking at the heavy snow in the sky with a lot of emotion, "Over the years, you are the first one who can make him open his heart and drink happily... But it turns out that you don't want him either."

The last half of the sentence was scattered in the sound of the wind, which was like weeping, and in an instant it hit Lucas Fu inside the door.

With a sigh, the woman's figure disappeared without a trace.

Snowflakes are everywhere in the sky, just like that summer night, the crescent moon is like a hook, and the crabapple blossoms are blooming and falling all over the yard. It is an indescribable beautiful scene.

"Wait..." Heartbroken, Lucas Fu flew after him. Just as he stepped over the threshold, a merciless north wind blew away the last trace of ghostly spirit in the room.

After standing blankly in the middle of the snow and staring at the endless night for a long time, Lucas Fu slowly turned around and stumbled towards the other side of the yard.

The lights in the kitchen behind the store had been turned off long ago, and it was pitch black and nothing could be seen. Pushing open the half-closed door, the inside was neatly tidy and clean! A large iron pot sat on the stove, reflecting a few dim lights. The door of the green gauze cabinet next to the stove was wide open, and a black shadow was sitting under the cabinet, moving constantly, and accompanied by the shaking of the body, the sound of "tsk tsk" and swallowing of saliva could be heard from time to time.

Lucas Fu leaned against the door and watched silently, then quietly walked to its side.

"Chi--" the candle on the stove lit up. The shadow was startled and turned around with a cry of "Ah--". It was a round, furry face of a raccoon cat, with crumbs of white rice cake on its chin. On its bulging belly was a large blue-rimmed bowl from the old shopkeeper's house. There were two neatly arranged rows of rice cakes in the bowl, and only a few grains of white sugar were left on the bottom of the bowl.

"Dao, Dao, Dao..." It was so frightened that it couldn't speak. Its teeth were clattering as it stared in fear at the Taoist who suddenly appeared in front of it, "Oh my god..."

With a scream, the raccoon cat twisted its round body and tried to run away without saying a word, still holding the remaining half of the rice cake in its hand.

Unfortunately, the Taoist stretched out his hand and easily pulled it back: "There is another bowl in the cupboard. If it is not enough, you can take more."

After brushing the dust off its clothes, the Taoist stuffed the big bowl on the stove back into its hand, and then left quietly.

Shanzha held the bowl in disbelief, biting his fingers, and looked up into the gauze cupboard. Sure enough, there was another large bowl with freshly made pastries that smelled of rice and emitted an alluring luster in the night.

This Taoist priest... his back seems to be a little bent. Shanzha thought to himself as he looked at the Taoist priest who suddenly appeared and left with half belief and half doubt.

After a while, Lucas Fu came again. Seeing the civet cat retreating and about to get stuck in the stove, the Taoist said nothing, but bent down and put down a set of clean clothes beside it.

After not seeing it for a few years, it was obvious that it was not having a good time. It was still wearing the same clothes as before, which were dirty and almost ragged.

These days, he always asked the old shopkeeper and his wife to make some white rice cakes for him and put them in the gauze cabinet after sunset. Civet cats like to eat this, Lucas Fu remembered. Under the crabapple tree in the yard, he placed a small bronze mirror and a few shiny silver grains. After a few days, he found that the rice cakes in the kitchen were always swept away at night. But the things under the tree were never touched.

"You..." The raccoon rolled its eyes and bit its fingers desperately, until it saw him walk out the door and turned back to close the door for it, then it timidly said, "Can you... help me find almonds?"

Lucas Fu shook his head, feeling bitter again. The ghost had entrusted them to him, and he seemed to have failed him.

The raccoon cat was very disappointed: "It said it was going to look for its owner, and then it never came back. The fire in the yard was too big, and it wouldn't let me get close... I kept waiting in the store... Later, the fire burned down the owner's bedroom... What do you think, is it..."

The Taoist, who was not good at speaking, was nailed to the spot by its bright eyes. Looking at the raccoon's dark face, he could not harden his heart and told it that there would be no grass left in the thunder and fire: "I will help you find it."

Shanzha smiled. The naive raccoon cat was too well protected by its owner and could not distinguish between lies and truth in the world: "Then can you help me find my owner again?"

...

It didn't notice the Taoist's tightly pursed lips. It turned its waist with great interest, and with great effort, it stretched its arms around its fat belly and pulled a package from behind its back, panting: "He still has something here with me. I grabbed it from the closet when the fire broke into the bedroom."

The package was tied too tightly. He put his hands behind his back and tried to untie the knot until his face turned red, but he still couldn't untie it. The raccoon panted heavily, turned the package behind his back, hooked his two claws on his chest and fumbled for a long time, but still failed. Finally, he could only look at Lucas Fu: "I could untie it before, but I ate too much these two days..."

After years of carrying it on his back, the bag had become so black that his original color could no longer be seen. After Lucas Fu untied it from the civet cat, he discovered that it was actually a robe worn by Han Zhi, with a vivid cicada embroidered on the corner with silk thread of the same color. The cicada can only live for one summer, and he really didn't wait until early autumn...

The raccoon cat looked at the Taoist's eyes which suddenly turned red in surprise.

Under the outer robe was a real bundle. After opening it, there was another layer of bundle skin inside. He opened it layer by layer until the third layer, and then he saw a piece of oil paper. Wrapped tightly with oil paper was a Taoist robe, with a pure white background, inlaid with pale blue piping, and the snow-like hem was embroidered with flowing clouds. When he spread out the Taoist robe, a finger bone fell out. It was not Han Zhi's, but he found it from the shelf and stuffed it into his hand. He also gave him the Taoist robe.

He treasured the things Lucas Fu gave him so carefully. So carefully...

Standing up, Lucas Fu suddenly started to run, all the way back to his room. His long sleeves fluttered, and he shut the door heavily. The wind and snow outside could not get in, and the "woohoo" sounded around the door, one shrill sound after another, which sounded like crying in the ears.

With his back against the door, Lucas Fu closed his eyes and slowly slid to the ground.

Han Zhi...

In the winter of the first year of Yongfeng in the New Wei Dynasty, Lucas Fu, the head of Zhongnan Sect, returned to Zhongnan from Yingzhou and ordered a thorough investigation into the two old cases of the theft of the incense burner and Oliver's secret learning of forbidden techniques.

In the second year of Yongfeng, the Zhongnan Record was revised. The theft of the incense burner was the work of Oliver, and had nothing to do with his junior fellow apprentice Damien Han. After Damien Han went down the mountain, he devoted himself to practicing Taoism, and had nothing to do with the theft of the secret book. Damien Han concealed Oliver's theft of the treasure and accidentally killed his fellow apprentice. Although he was guilty, his crime was not punishable by death. Damien Han's life was enough to atone for his sin.

end

In the spring of the second year of Yongfeng, the four seas came to pay tribute, the nine provinces were united, and the people began to settle down. The country was peaceful and prosperous, with a wise ruler and clean officials.

On this day, a group of people suddenly came to Luoye Town outside Linyan City in Weizhou. Many officers and soldiers, either on horseback or on foot, surrounded a large sedan chair in the center of the queue. In addition to the guards, there were actually several Taoists in the queue. What surprised the townspeople even more was that even the governor of this state, who had only heard of him but never seen him, also followed on horseback with local officials of all ranks.

Except for the battles among the Qin clan princes, the town had not seen such a scene for a long time. As soon as the waiting party entered the town, they attracted many onlookers. Soldiers holding a "Silence" sign stopped in front of an alley in the east of the town. People dismounted one after another, except for the sedan chair that swayed forward and landed steadily at the entrance of the alley.

The little Taoist boy with two buns in his hair slowly opened the curtain of the sedan chair, and a Taoist priest came out, wearing a Taoist robe and a lotus crown on his head. He was tall and handsome, with a fair face, but a cold expression, and a righteous look between his eyebrows.

The governor of Weizhou dismounted and ran to the sedan chair, pointing to the deep alley and saying, "Master, this is it."

There was a sudden commotion all around - the famous imperial teacher of the current dynasty is still so young!

Lucas Fu nodded and whispered, "Thank you."

Then he started walking towards the alley.

There were many shops in the alley, with various signs along the way. A small shop was quietly squeezed in among them. The shop was inconspicuous, barely the size of a door panel. There was no plaque in front of the door, only a shabby copper bell hanging alone under the door.

The Taoist bent down and entered, the tip of his crown brushed against the bell, and the crisp "ding ding" sound echoed in the small shop.

"Here I come..." After hearing the bell, the shopkeeper in front of the shelf loudly attended to the visitor.

There were few things on the huge wooden rack that stretched from the ground to the roof. Pots, pans, tea sets, and umbrellas were lazily spread out on it. It was nothing like the past when you had to worry about knocking over the porcelain vase at your feet if you took a small step.

"Sir, do you want to consign or pawn? If you like, you can buy one piece..." The shopkeeper was very thin, wearing a yellow shirt, a small hat tilted on his head, and his voice was leaking. He turned his head while speaking, with a few sparse yellow beards on his chin. The most conspicuous thing was the exposed gold teeth, which were big and long, shining. But for some reason, one of them was missing, leaving only the other one on the lip, and his speech became unclear.

"Looking for someone." Lucas Fu said.

"How did you find this place? Well... OK, how much reward do you offer? This voice sounds familiar..." The Taoist in front of the door was tall and blocked the bright sunlight outside the room. The thin shopkeeper squinted and walked closer, trying to get a closer look at his face against the light, "Oh my god---"

With a scream, the large porcelain bowl in his hand suddenly fell to the ground beside his feet. The rabbit demon widened his eyes and stepped back tremblingly, "Dao, Dao, Dao...you..."

The powerful imperial master let him point at him, and his hasty steps finally revealed his anxiety, "Is he... here?"

"You, you, you..." The frightened goblin didn't listen to him at all, and crawled back to the depths of the shop, "Master, Master... He, he doesn't..."

In the panic, the items on the shelf were swept off, and porcelain fragments flew all over the room. With a loud bang, the huge wooden shelf fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

When the officers and soldiers outside the room heard the noise, they drew their swords and rushed into the alley.

“Back off!”

With a loud shout, the swords and knives fell silent, and everything became silent in an instant. The Taoist stepped forward on the messy ground, his clothes fluttering, his expression completely submerged in the dark light and shadow, only a pair of dark pupils shining.

As he approached, a little light shone into the room through the gap beside him. The frightened goblin collapsed to the ground against the wall, "Let go..."

"Where is he?" Standing one step away from him, Lucas Fu's tall figure made the skinny rabbit look even smaller.

"I, I don't know."

Before Xingren finished speaking, a sigh came from the darkness behind him, "Fool, he came here with such a grand ceremony, how could he return empty-handed just because you said you didn't know?"

The Taoist, who had always been expressionless, was shocked when he heard the words, and he cried out in surprise. After that, he did not move again, standing still in the same place, frozen like a statue.

Xingren timidly opened his eyes and looked up. He was trembling just like him. His hands clasped at his sides were clenched tightly, and there was a slight "crackling" sound between the joints.

This Taoist priest...I can't tell what's different about him, but the rabbit spirit feels that this Taoist priest is different from before. He seems more human...

"Han... Chan..." The trembling tone made it almost unbelievable that it came from the mouth of the Zhongnan Sect leader who was famous for his uprightness and integrity.

At first, it was just a vague shadow coming out of the darkness. Later, the shadow gradually became thicker, and I could vaguely see the long sleeves fluttering slightly. When I walked into the light, the figure became thinner, as if it was just a vague gray shadow.

"Let's talk inside," he said.

He just gave him a confused look from his back and then retreated deeper into the store.

Lucas Fu stared blankly at his long hair that fell to his waist, and took two quick steps, wanting to reach out and hold his wrist as usual. But his hand was cold, and as soon as he touched the cuff, he quickly pulled it away.

"Please sit down." The blurry figure suddenly stopped and moved aside to make room for the wooden armchair against the wall.

Han Wei lowered his head, with his long hair hanging down from his cheeks, and he refused to show his face.

Lucas Fu looked around. The tall shelves placed horizontally divided the small house into two parts. Most of it was used as a shop, with only a one-person-wide compartment behind the shelves, where an armchair was placed and a small square table was placed next to the chair. The shelves were placed very delicately, with slight gaps between the items, allowing light to shine in without directly shining on the person sitting on the chair.

Ghosts live here, and the space is so crowded that even turning around is a bit crowded.

I couldn't help but reach out to lift his hair and take a good look at him. Judging from his thin appearance when he just appeared, he was seriously injured. After all, no ghost has ever escaped from the nine-day thunder and fire.

Han Zhao turned his face away and dodged his hand again, "How did you find you?" His voice was low and hoarse, no longer as clear and mellow as before.

"This..." Lucas Fu took out a string of beads from his sleeve and slowly handed it to him. The chain was not long, and the wooden beads with a faint sandalwood scent had turned black after being smoked by cigarettes. Each bead was round and smooth, and it was just right to wrap around the Taoist's wrist, not too loose or tight, but it was too loose on the ghost's hand, and it was too loose, so two or three beads had to be removed.

"I saw someone wearing this." said Lucas Fu.

"No wonder." Han Zhai took a look and did not reach out to take it. "Things from Zhongnan must be returned to Zhongnan."

He imitated the words of the Taoist priest when he asked him for the incense burner. His throat was hoarse and his laughter was dark and rough. "Thanks to it, Xingren and I were able to escape death."

Not a blade of grass remains within the thunder and fire. Perhaps because he has been following the enlightened man for many years and absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, the bead necklace itself has also nurtured spiritual energy over the years. The moment the fire hit, the light on the necklace shone brightly, and the flames retreated for a moment. It was at this moment that he forcibly pulled Xing Ren, who was looking for him, and broke out.

Han Zhi had no intention of telling him this, and turned away his eyes to avoid his hand that was approaching again, "How did it end up in your hand again?"

"You pawned it." He tried hard to suppress his surging emotions, his eyes were heavy and full of pain.

A local official who was fond of Taoism took the opportunity to go to the capital to pay a visit to the Taoist temple in Beijing. When he saw the beads in his hand, the state teacher, who had always been tepid, almost lost his composure in public. He pulled the local official over without saying anything, his eyes were like torches, his expression was gloomy, as if he was going to tear off the man's arm in the next moment. After several investigations, it was found that the necklace came from the pawnshop in Luoye Town.

Lucas Fu kept approaching, trying to force him to raise his face. Han Zhao lowered his head to look at the tip of his shoes, unwilling to look him in the face. Facing the Taoist's anger, the ghost still said indifferently, "Food and firewood are expensive in the world."

Even though ghosts don't need to eat, there are still almonds... In order to live in this small house, the rabbit spirit broke off his gold tooth and pawned it.

"It's okay. You can redeem it when you have money." Xingren always told him.

The rabbit, who was missing his front teeth, could not speak clearly and could not eat as conveniently as before, but he was still optimistic. However, his cheerful tone could not hide his distress. Rabbits love gold and silver, but now they have no money and have to rack their brains to save a few coins every day.

"You're not doing well." He reached out again and tried to pull Han Di's hand that was hanging by his side.

This time, Gui Mei did not refuse. She let his fingertips brush the back of her hand and put the pearl necklace on her wrist again.

The skinny hands were full of bumps and dents where the fingertips passed. Lucas Fu couldn't help but pull him over and stand under the light and shadow. The ghost's hands were black, and the entire palm was burnt and uneven. The dark skin was entangled and torn with each other, forming a series of horrifying scars, some of which had not even scabbed yet and were still oozing blood. The festering scars were coiled and entangled like earthworms, winding along the wrist and under the long sleeves.

He had seen the doomsday scene of corpses piled up in the wilderness outside Yucheng. He had also seen the wounded soldiers who were barely alive and eager to reach out to him for help, but were quickly drowned by the army entering the city and turned into meat paste under the horses' hooves. There were also the refugees who were sent to the Taoist temple, who were often terminally ill and beyond medical help. Some of them were blind, with red, swollen and rotten eye sockets, and yellow water overflowing. Some had faces as white as gold paper, and foul-smelling black blood kept oozing out of their bodies, attracting countless flies... He had seen it all.

The world is often like purgatory, with all kinds of tortures, all kinds of tragic scenes, and bloody things happening before his eyes, but he watched them with indifference. He was not cultivating compassion, but subduing demons and monsters, and was born with a heart of stone.

The hand that was holding the ghost's arm was shaking uncontrollably. Just as Han Zhi wanted to twist his arm to break free, Lucas Fu suddenly rolled up his sleeves, and the ugly, wrinkled skin and dark red dead flesh after being burned once again stung his eyes.

"Have you asked anyone to take a look?" Lucas Fu stared at his festering wound. Under the charred rotten flesh, the white bones were vaguely visible.

Not wanting to be exposed to the sun, Han turned his face away and tried his best to hide in the shadow behind the shelf. "If it can't be cured, then it doesn't matter."

The warm palm touched his face without warning, and Han Zhi had to turn around to dodge. His evasive gaze happened to meet his deep eyes. The Taoist priest, who always had a blank expression on his face, gritted his teeth, his eyes were red, and faintly, it seemed that tears were seeping out of his eyes.

Han Wei had never seen him like this before, so sad, so depressed, and so gentle, so gentle that he seemed about to cry.

"It's nothing, it's better than being reduced to ashes." The ghost looked into his eyes and said honestly.

With trembling fingers, Lucas Fu slowly lifted the long hair covering his cheeks. He moved his hands to his shoulders and held them tightly. Han Zhi's right cheek was also burned, with thick charcoal-black scabs and hideous bloodshot veins crisscrossing. The torn scar even crossed the bridge of his nose and penetrated to the left side of his cheek.

Han Zhi, his Han Zhi, the ghost that floated in with the ghost fog in the middle of the night, raised his handsome and delicate face calmly under his sharp sword wind, revealing a small widow's peak above his eyebrows. His face...

"To be able to escape from the nine-day thunder and fire, this price is nothing..." He said meaninglessly while backing away again and again to avoid the light coming from the shelf.

Before he finished his words, a dark shadow covered Han Zhao's eyes, and all that was left was the Taoist robe, which was as white as snow.

He wanted to hug him tightly, but the ghostly figure in his arms felt increasingly thin, as if it would leave at any time. Lucas Fu could only tighten his arms and hug him tightly. Han Chan could not see the tears that suddenly rolled down his face.

"Come back to Zhongnan with me."

The sea of   clouds on the top of Mount Zhongnan is as vast as ever. The gilded eaves of the Sanqing Hall are always covered with clouds and mist. Above the incense burner in the main hall, green smoke curls and sandalwood fills the air, which is somewhat unreal and somewhat real.

It had been several months since Han Zhao returned to Zhongnan, and he had only been to the main hall once, after dusk.

At the evening class, the bells sounded far away and the sunset glowed. Taoists, both big and small, were scattered outside the main hall, with clouds around their knees and the dusk as golden as gold. The murmuring of scriptures made people feel peaceful. The ghost stopped at the high steps in front of the hall, only raised his head to take a look, turned around and walked away. Lucas Fu at the other end followed his gaze for a long time.

In the evening, Lucas Fu came to apply medicine to him. The Taoist said nothing, but applied the ointment with his fingers, carefully moving them back and forth on his cheeks that were burned by the fire. Han Zhi turned his eyes away, not looking at his elegant face, and even more unwilling to look directly into his complex and deep eyes. The Taoist's body was still burning hot, and the cool ointment spread from his forehead covered by hair to his entire face, and finally touched his fingers that were grabbing the hem of his clothes, wrapping his entire palm.

"Take a rest." said Lucas Fu.

The palms covering Han Zhi's hands were still lingering on the back of his hands. With their fingers intertwined, he considerately avoided the wounds that had not yet scabbed.

Han Zhiluo lowered his eyes to look at his hands. The Taoist's fingers were slender and strong, with distinct joints. His short nails were trimmed into a round shape, clean and tidy, just like him.

Before leaving, he left behind a set of Taoist robes. The new, stiff fabric still exuded the smell of being washed in the sun. Han Xi pulled the Taoist robe over and compared it to himself. It was neither too big nor too small, just right. There was also a book on the table, which wrote down the content of today's evening class.

To be a pure-hearted Taoist practitioner in Mount Zhongnan, to listen to the evening bells, to watch the sea of   clouds, to be free from worries, to live a peaceful life. This was once the biggest dream of Gui Mei. Later, things did not go as planned. Later, he no longer had the qualifications to "live a lifetime". So much so that now, Han Zhi almost forgot about it. He didn't know how Taoist Mu knew all this. The man looked dull and honest, but he was actually very clever. He had plenty of ways to understand what he wanted to know. So, Han Zhi was too lazy to guess, and casually hung his Taoist robe on the back of the chair, curled up by the stove, and fell asleep listening to the sound of falling snow outside the window.

When he woke up the next day, he was already in bed, with a thick quilt hugging him to keep him warm from the fire, and the thin blanket he had draped over his shoulders last night was neatly folded at his feet. Lucas Fu went to the morning class. As the head of a sect, every blade of grass and every tree on Mount Zhongnan was his responsibility. He had to be busy from dawn to midnight.

Leaning his head to look at the sky reflected on the window paper, Han Di estimated that the morning class should be over.

Recently, a distinguished guest came to the mountain, Princess Linghua, the adopted sister of the current emperor Gabriel Helian. Her father and brother were once capable generals under Gabriel Helian, and all the male members of the family died in the battlefield. Even her youngest brother, who was only twenty years old, died in the battle of Yucheng. It can be said that the whole family is full of loyal heroes.

Zhongnan Sect never accepted female disciples, and ordinary pilgrims were only allowed to stay in the front hall to burn incense. From ancient times to the present, this princess was the first person to drive straight into the mountain gate.

Relying on the shining imperial edict in her hand, the princess, who claimed that she came here to practice Taoism and cultivate her mind, stayed by Lucas Fu's side all day long, walking all over the mountains. In her spare time, she would take out a scripture and patiently ask for advice word by word, speaking softly and with a sweet smile.

Master Fu was also good-tempered. He accompanied her every day to climb mountains, enjoy the snow, drink tea and read scriptures. Even though he was exhausted by all the chores, he never complained. Whenever the princess summoned him, he would come in person.

The half-grown Taoist children gathered outside the door and chattered endlessly about the princess with golden branches and jade leaves and the capable and handsome headmaster. Han Zhai sat in the room flipping through the booklet left by Lucas Fu, listening to them sporadically.

Ghosts live a simple life in Zhongnan. They stay in their rooms during the day to avoid the sun and go out to roam at night. The most popular place is the Sutra Pavilion at the other end of the suspension bridge. The Taoist priest guarding the Sutra Pavilion is older than the uncle in the past, and he falls asleep after midnight. Be careful to restrain your breath and not make any noise, then you can sit under the bookshelf and browse freely in the moonlight. Sometimes, he looks up from the yellowed scriptures in a trance, and time flows backwards. Everything around him is the original appearance. He seems to be the little brother who was forced to follow his brother to take night duty. Everything before and after his life is just a dream. At dawn, he escaped from the window of the Sutra Pavilion, and some feelings lingered in his heart for a long time.

However, Lucas Fu didn't like him going out. The Taoist who had been waiting all night would stand up and hold his wrist tightly as soon as he saw him return to the room, with all five fingers grabbing, as if to crush his bones and muscles, "I haven't applied the medicine yet." His tone and demeanor were all full of great restraint.

The Taoist who never reveals his emotions, when he ripped open the ghost's clothes, the anger and anxiety on his face were obvious. However, the action of applying the medicine was still gentle.

"I thought you were gone." Pulling up his shirt, Lucas Fu began to treat the scar on Damien Han's face.

Only at this time every day would the ghost turn around and look at him.

"Where can I go?" Damien Han asked innocently. You are the leader of the Taoists today. With one command, all ghosts will submit. Even if they flee to the ends of the earth, they cannot escape your net.

Lucas Fu pursed his lips and suddenly exerted force on the hand that was on his neck.

Han Zhi's breath was caught and he stopped talking.

After just a moment, the Taoist relaxed again, and the face that was already so close to him moved even closer, holding his scarred face, his eyes full of pity, "We can go anywhere."

The ghost smiled meaninglessly, and was pulled into his arms and hugged tightly in the blink of an eye.

Han Zhi didn't believe him.

Since he insisted on leaving Xingren and Shanzha in the village at the foot of the mountain, Lucas Fu realized that he no longer believed in him. The reason why he agreed to return to Zhongnan to recuperate was because he didn't want Xingren to suffer anymore. In order to treat Han's injuries over the years, the Rabbit Spirit spent all the money he had saved on buying medicine, although those medicines were not effective at all. Moreover, Han later found out that Shanzha was in Lucas Fu's hands.

"They are not used to eating vegetarian food," Han explained.

Lucas Fu was silent.

The ghosts were on guard against him. Even though he was surprised after reading the revised Zhongnan Record, he was still skeptical and always prepared for the day when he would be brought to the Sanqing Hall to be questioned.

"Humans and ghosts have different paths. How can a place as pure and righteous as this allow evil spirits to run rampant?" He was unwilling to enter Zhongnan Mountain through the main gate, and deliberately avoided all Zhongnan disciples. On the first night after returning to Zhongnan Mountain, he went to the Cliff of Repentance.

Lucas Fu didn't want to disturb him, so he stood far away on the edge of the cliff and watched him sitting in silence facing the wall. Under the pale blue night sky, the seriously injured ghost figure was swaying, sometimes disappearing and sometimes floating, as if it would be shredded by the cold mountain wind in the next moment. In an instant, sweat soaked his heavy clothes and he was terrified.

As his injuries got better day by day, Gui Mei tentatively suggested leaving, "I want to go to Wuzhou to see Chu Yu."

Lucas Fu replied calmly, "Wait until you recover."

He nodded, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes, but he quickly wiped it away. He was so obedient, not at all like the Han Zhai who had dared to argue with him and make fun of him that day.

He was afraid of him and no longer believed him. The days of warming a pot of moonlight wine and speaking freely were gone forever.

Every night, when the ghosts turned their heads away, the Taoist who lowered his head and carefully applied medicine was filled with fear. Because when the wound under his fingers scabbed and fell off, it would be the day when Han Zhi left, and then he would have no reason to keep him.

Princess Linghua will stay in the mountain for a while. The Taoist priests were talking among themselves, saying that the princess had made up her mind to stay in Zhongnan. The little Taoist boy outside the door was laughing and joking, "The emperor's decree only said that she would come, but didn't say when she would leave."

"Tell me, if the headmaster goes to the capital, will she leave?"

"Of course... Eh? Can a Taoist priest marry a wife?"

"Well...wouldn't it be better if you just return to secular life?"

The little kid was led astray by his group of unruly senior brothers.

Gui Mei sat in the corner flipping through the book nonchalantly. The book left by Lucas Fu was getting thicker and thicker. The master was so busy that he didn't even have time to sit down and have a good meal, but he always took time to write down the contents of the morning and evening lessons for him, and he never slacked off for a day.

Start and finish, never give up halfway. This is also one of Lucas Fu's principles. Gui Mei shook his head and thought to himself, a Taoist priest is always a Taoist priest, he doesn't know how to be smooth and flexible. Why not just grab a disciple to listen to and copy.

There was a sudden commotion outside the courtyard, and the little Taoist children who had gathered together and laughed immediately scattered like startled sparrows.

A crisp female voice came from afar, "Master Fu is an outsider, so he doesn't care about the red tape of the secular world. I think it's not shocking to invite me in for a cup of tea, right?"

As expected of a woman who escaped from the flames of war, she is bold and straightforward.

"This is where I live and work. It is shabby and simple, and I am afraid that it may offend Your Highness." The head monk spoke in a stern voice.

The ghosts in the house sighed continuously, saying that he was so unromantic that he would not be able to find a wife even if he returned to secular life.

"Since this is Lucas Fu's immortal residence, Ling Hua must go in and absorb some of the spiritual energy."

"Your Highness, I think this is inappropriate."

"Why?"

"Men and women should be careful." He said righteously.

The princess was so angry that her voice rose a little unconsciously. "That's just the gossip of vulgar people. You and I are far away from the world, why should we care about those old rules and customs? Besides, you and I have no innocence in our hearts, so why should we care about other people's opinions? Besides, what's more, even if it is, so what? This is a matter between Lucas Fu and me, and my brother knows about it. Who dares to meddle in other people's business?"

"Your Highness!" She wanted to say more, but Lucas Fu interrupted her abruptly, his tone low and unquestionable, "Gossip can break gold, I hope the princess will respect herself."

After that, no matter how much the princess pestered him, the headmaster, who was as hard as a rock, refused to give in. He said firmly, "Men and women should not touch each other," which made Ling Hua so angry that she stomped her feet and left.

In the master's bedroom, Han Zhi sat on a chair in the corner and listened quietly, then suddenly raised his lips and laughed silently. The aloof and arrogant master Fu refused to let the princess enter your courtyard, but he hid an ugly evil ghost in his bedroom. Who would believe it if it got out?

That night, a Taoist boy knocked on the door, "Princess, please come over, Master."

Lucas Fu paused for a moment, then continued standing in front of the table to sort out the remaining plasters used by Damien Han. "It's inconvenient at night, I'll go early tomorrow morning."

The Taoist boy responded and hurried off to report. The ghost sitting behind Lucas Fu couldn't help but laugh.

Lucas Fu turned around and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Han Zhi looked at his serious face with interest, "You really don't know?"

The princess seems to have a bad reputation. This is what the little Taoist boy outside the door said. Scholars, young generals and heroes have all been the princess's lovers.

...

"You..." Seeing his puzzled expression, Gui Mei couldn't help but sigh, "You are such a wooden Taoist priest."

Lucas Fu put down the medicine bottle in his hand, took a step forward, and looked down at him from top to bottom, "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at you." Han Wei lowered his eyes. The newly formed thick scab on his right cheek was still bright red, covering his once beautiful and fair face. "There are many young and handsome heroes in the world, but there is only one young and handsome Zhongnan Sect Leader. He is really a rare thing..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly bent down, the smile on the ghostly face had not yet faded, his eyes were like crescent moons, and his pupils were like starlight. Han Zhi was caught off guard and stupidly looked at the Taoist's face getting closer and closer.

Lucas Fu's K!ss fell on his lips, just like his style of doing things, direct, straightforward, swift and decisive, "Master Zhongnan is nothing rare."

What is rare then? Han Zhi was stunned, half-opened his mouth, and let his tongue go straight in.

The Taoist priest, who usually behaved in a gentle manner, K!ssed him forcefully and almost overbearingly. He leaned over and hugged him, his lips and tongue entangled with each other relentlessly, as if expressing his endless desire.

In between breaths, he also held his shoulders tightly, his brows deep, looking straight into Han Zhi's eyes, "You stay."

Three days later, the princess returned to the palace.

Lucas Fu led all the disciples to see him off outside the mountain gate. Before leaving, Ling Hua looked back with regret. The woman who claimed to stay with him for the rest of his life in Zhongnan could not stand the loneliness and coldness of the mountains.

Sitting in the shadow under the window, Han Zhi nonchalantly listened to the Taoist children outside talking about what happened that day, the princess's tearful eyes and the headmaster's dignified and ruthless face.

"The mind is as calm as still water, without any distracting thoughts. This is the realm of immortals." The naive little boy smacked his lips in admiration.

The ghost shook his head repeatedly. What an inflexible Taoist priest. How dare he refuse such a great honor as the princess's marriage? He was going to drag all the Taoist priests in the mountain to join him in killing his entire clan!

When changing the dressing at night, she told Lucas Fu this. Gui Mei's words were full of ridicule and teasing, and she spoke with great sincerity, like a senior master. "Gabriel Helian has no sisters, and Ling Hua is the real golden branch and jade leaf. Even if you can't be husband and wife, leave some affection, so that it will be easier to talk in the future. Why do you have to clear yourself so cleanly? Will you really never ask her for help in the future of Zhongnan Sect?"

Lucas Fu stopped, stood up, and stared at him blankly. Under the candlelight, a pair of dark pupils flickered, intricate and complex.

Han Zhai was stunned by his gaze, then sneered and said, "Isn't this what your Zhongnan Sect has been planning from the beginning? Jin Yunzi sent you down the mountain in the name of killing Oliver, but in fact it was to get to know the new emperor and help him ascend the throne so that he would owe Zhongnan a favor, right?"

The Emperor Star and so on are just legends in the mouths of ordinary people. In the eyes of Taoists, they are the secrets of heaven. If you can get a glimpse of the secrets of heaven, you can control the world. Taoists outside the mortal world are out of this world, but they can't give up their hearts that are stained by the mortal world.

As a human being, what is not to worry about? What scriptures and instruments are not expensive? Every day when I open my eyes, even the mice in the kitchen in the back mountain are waiting to be eaten. There are so many Taoist temples in Zhongnan. If it is not the royal family, who in the world can afford to support such a huge family business? Are you really going to let all the disciples in the mountain starve?

Under the ghost's contemptuous gaze, the Taoist remained silent for a long time.

Slowly raising his hand, he frowned and rubbed his scarred cheek with his palm. The secret plaster of Zhongnan cured the wound from the thunder and fire, but it could not eliminate the scars left after the wound healed. The thick, uneven scabs meandered from the right side of the forehead to the chin, firmly entrenched on the once beautiful and handsome face. Even after the scabs fell off, the large area of   wrinkled skin and the reddish-brown scars would completely ruin his face.

"When did you know?" After a long silence, Lucas Fu slowly approached, with his nose touching hers. The ghost could almost feel his breathing.

He admitted it. It was rare that Master Fu, who always praised serving the country and the people, was willing to confess to him the shameful little thoughts of the Zhongnan Sect.

Han Zhi turned his head away suddenly. He didn't want to distract himself to find out the reason for the pity in the Taoist's eyes at this moment. "This kind of thing, you don't feel it at the time, but you will understand it all after thinking about it later."

Why did Lucas Fu choose to go down the mountain after Gabriel Helian captured three cities in one night? Why did he choose Alexander Qin instead of King Victor Lu? Why did he choose the taciturn Lucas Fu instead of other more sophisticated disciples?

These old Taoist priests on Mount Zhongnan are the ones who truly see through everything.

The world is like a chess game. The princes and kings use the country as a scale, and the civil officials and military generals as chess pieces. They play back and forth, enjoying themselves. But he, and the people they call the common people, are not even chess pieces, but just a layer of light dust. When he raises his hand to place the piece, it is ruthlessly brushed away by his sleeve.

King Victor Lu lost, completely defeated. Oliver died, justice was clear. Gabriel Helian won, and he ruled the world. Lucas Fu became the national teacher, and the Zhongnan School gained both fame and fortune. And what about Damien Han? What did the ghost in front of him get? A severely injured body, a broken face, and a sentence "You deserve it."

The north wind was strong, and the sound of the wind echoed outside the window, as mournful as crying. The candlelight in the room trembled and jumped with the rise and fall of the wind. Lucas Fu half-knelt on the ground, raised his head, and held the armrests on both sides of the armchair with both hands. Han Zhi refused to look back. What fell into Lucas Fu's eyes was only a fragmented profile, covered with scars, shocking.

"I'm sorry." said Lucas Fu.

Han Zhai blinked and said, "It's all over." His nonchalant tone and indifferent tone showed that he had let go of everything.

But even at this moment, he still didn't want to look at him.

Unable to resist the dejection, Lucas Fu lowered his head, only his hands were still tightly clenched and unwilling to let go, "You want to go to Wuzhou to see the first rain?"

Not understanding why he would suddenly ask this, the ghost was caught off guard.

Lucas Fu stopped talking and stood up. His tall figure almost completely covered Han Di who was sitting on the chair.

"You said you would wait until I recover from my injuries..." Recovering from my injuries was probably just an excuse. Who knows if I will go to Wuzhou or Zhongnan Sect's Judgment Hall after I recover from my injuries? Guimei answered casually.

The words stopped abruptly, and he stared at the Taoist's heavy expression with wide eyes. The man who was always intimidating without getting angry stood there with his back to the candlelight, his lotus crown half lowered, his lips pursed into a line. Even though he was forbearing in every way, sadness still spread from his eyes and occupied his entire face in an instant.

"Can I take you to see the first rain?"

This time, he asked very softly, his tone so weak that it seemed like a flame that would go out at any moment.

"Don't joke." Han Zhi opened his mouth and came to his senses. He turned his face away again and said solemnly, "A place where demons and ghosts gather is not a place where Zhongnan Sect Master should go."

Still didn't believe it, Han Zhi didn't believe him. In an instant, his eyes were full of disappointment. Lucas Fu took a step forward, determined to make him understand, "The Zhongnan Sect Master is nothing rare!"

"I know." Guimei closed his clothes lazily, stood up and said with his back to him, "It's late. Master, aren't you going to bed yet?" He said in a tone that showed he didn't want to talk anymore.

Lucas Fu is aphasic.

Before leaving, he stood in front of the door and said softly, "Heal your wound first."

Han Zhi nodded.

After a long time, Lucas Fu's sighs still lingered in the room.

About half a decade later, the imperial edict from the capital was not about the confiscation of property and extermination of the whole family, but about various rewards. The officials of various prefectures acted accordingly, and a long line of people offering gifts and incense lined up from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain.

The little Taoist boy who often chatters in front of the door bit his finger with envy, "Look, this is our Zhongnan's headmaster! So glorious and respectable. When he went to the capital, even the general came out of the city to pick him up. How many people like this are there in the world?"

There were countless compliments. Suddenly, another timid voice sounded, "But the headmaster is also very busy. Sometimes, he doesn't even have time to drink a cup of tea."

The snow fell silently. In the quiet world of the courtyard covered in silver, the scent of sandalwood from the Sanqing Temple lingered in the air. The ghost in the house and the child outside the door fell into deep thought.

Lucas Fu was very busy. Being the head of Zhongnan Sect was not an easy job, and being the national teacher was a life-threatening job. The idle uncles, uncles, and great-uncle masters in the sect were all very troublesome. After practicing for a hundred or eighty years, even a grass could become a spirit, let alone a living person?

Damien Han could vaguely guess what Lucas Fu was busy with. He couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Zhongnan Mountain was where he was born, grew up, and died. Now it seemed that he would eventually die here.

Shaking his head, the little Taoist children ran off to play mischief again. He pushed the lattice window open a little, and the whistling wind with a biting coldness blew in his face. The ghost looked at the snowflakes all over the sky and secretly decided where to go tonight.

Shanzha and Xingren lived in a small village at the foot of the mountain. The fields outside the house were the property of Zhongnan. The two monsters transformed into human form openly announced to the public that they were hired by the Taoist priests on Zhongnan Mountain to help take care of the fields. Zhongnan disciples came and went, but no one ever exposed them. I think someone must have taken special care of them. Master Fu always did things in a proper and thoughtful manner.

Not far from here is the courtyard where Han Zhai lived. Time flies, and the world changes. The courtyard surrounded by the low fence of the ghost has long disappeared. It is said that a Taoist priest on the mountain originally wanted to build a house here to live in seclusion, but it was a pity that it was not appropriate to build it in the middle of the farmland. Gradually, no one mentioned this matter anymore.

Shanzha Shen told Damien Han mysteriously that he heard from the villagers that the Zhongnan Sect bought this piece of land only in the past two years, which was around the time when Oliver died and Lucas Fu returned to Zhongnan to practice meditation.

After the chubby raccoon finished speaking, he raised his head and looked at Han Zhao without blinking, his eyes full of questions like "Master, did you understand what I said?"

Guimei poked its belly, which was about to burst its clothes, and smiled and praised its improved cooking skills. Shanzha stretched his neck and wanted to say something else, but Han Zhi had already turned around to talk to Xingren.

There is also a low fence outside the courtyard of Shanzhi and Xingren. The top of the fence is covered with snow, which is white and crystal clear.

Han Zhi could see the warm yellow light and shadow on the wallpaper from afar. When he walked to the door, the aroma of white rice cake filled his nose. He could also hear the two people bickering intermittently, "Hurry, pick it up, it will be over steamed if you steam it again."

"Don't worry, the longer you steam it, the more fragrant it will be."

"Steaming for too long will make your teeth sticky."

"Hehe, that's because your teeth are bad..."

The ghost stood in front of the door and couldn't help laughing. On the yellow window paper, there were two completely different silhouettes, one tall and one short, one fat and one thin. The thin one blocked the way left and right, and the fat one fled everywhere.

"You, you, you...you bullied me! I'm going to tell the master."

"The master is on the mountain. He can't hear me."

"you you you..."

"Ping pong pong", "ding-ling-dang-dang"...they tripped over the chair, broke the bowl, and a large basin of glutinous rice flour scattered over their heads, turning them into big clown faces.

Han Zhi pushed the door open and walked in, pointing at the two ugly slaves and laughing.

Hawthorn and almond are now living a good life, bickering and arguing, and spending the day in a lively manner. The civet cat is obsessed with the white rice cakes in the inn in Qujiang City, so he imitates them and makes them, and the taste is surprisingly good. The rabbit is thoughtful and urges him to make two more trays, so that they can be sold in the town while they are still hot during the market, and the business is unexpectedly good. The small cash box is ringing "ding ding dong dong" soon.

Rabbit's eyes lit up when he talked about money, and he grinned and said to Han, "In addition to selling cakes, we also get wages every month."

The ghost raised an eyebrow when he heard this, "Oh?"

"The Taoist priest gave it to us. He said it was the wages for hiring us to look after the land."

As soon as he said this, he realized that he had said something he shouldn't have. The rabbit spirit suddenly stopped talking and looked timidly at Damien Han.

The ghost didn't care at all. He turned his head and pointed at a wooden box on the table and asked, "What is this? Almonds, where did you get them from?"

Rabbits love all shiny things, so why do they even bring wood home now? Without waiting for their answer, Han Wei stood up and took a look. It was an exquisitely crafted food box, a reddish-brown wooden box made into a large lotus leaf shape, with a smooth lacquer finish and exquisite materials. It was obvious that it was not made by an ordinary family.

Damien Han looked at Shanzha suspiciously, "Who sent the snacks?"

The raccoon cat stammered, lowered its head and dared not speak directly.

Han Zhi understood, "He has been here?"

"He came yesterday." Looking at the ghost's face that suddenly concealed itself, Xingren answered in a low voice, and hurriedly grabbed the civet cat's sleeve and pulled it forward, "It was a reward from the palace. Taoist priest, no, he, he said that he probably likes to eat hawthorn. So... it's all hawthorn's fault, master, I ignored him."

"Go, go, go, you haven't dealt with him yet? Who's the first one to run out the door at the end of the month when the wages are paid?"

"You're greedy!"

"You are greedy for money!"

As they were talking, they started arguing again.

Han Zhi sat quietly on the side, his face unable to tell whether he was happy or angry, "He comes every month?"

The monster stopped making noises and lowered his head timidly again. "It's unpredictable. Sometimes he comes less often, maybe ten days or half a month. Sometimes he comes more often, maybe every three to five days."

"What is he doing here?" the ghost continued to ask, his long hair covering half of his face, and the other half was completely blocked by the candlelight.

Hawthorn and Almond looked at each other, and suddenly there was no sound.

I really don't know how to answer. The Taoist often comes, sits, looks, and drinks tea in silence. He usually comes after dark, but sometimes he comes unexpectedly during the day. The rabbit and the raccoon cat don't understand why he comes. Facing the Taoist's solemn face, they push each other for a long time, but no one dares to speak.

The Taoist would occasionally ask, "How are you doing?", "Are there any unresolved problems?", "Is your salary enough for food and clothing?" These questions made the monster feel warm inside, but no matter how dumb the monster was, it was clear that Master Fu had been driving down the mountain time and again, not just for them.

Lucas Fu would ask them about their past lives in Qujiang City. The morning glory outside the house, the small bells under the shop door, the shaky shelves of goods... going around in circles, winding and wandering, the conversation would always point to one place...

At this point, Xingren raised his eyes and looked at the ghost on the other side of the candlestick. "When he talks about you, he will laugh."

Sometimes I think about how terrifying it is to see the famous Master Fu, who never frowned, smile. Looking back, the Taoist priest who came in the snow and wind was sitting in Han's current position, holding a tea bowl. When he lowered his head, he could still see the unmelted snowflakes in his hair. In the warm candlelight, his eyelids drooped slightly, and the corners of his lips were half raised. In an instant, spring came. But after laughing, I often saw a trace of melancholy in his eyes.

"He asked us if we wanted to live here forever," Hawthorn interjected.

The sudden question frightened the timid monster. The Taoist himself probably felt awkward, so he made an excuse and left in a hurry.

"Forever..." A thoughtful expression appeared on the ghost's face, and his lips just curled up, but were immediately replaced by a sarcastic smile.

The monks these days are becoming more and more eloquent and they always say such ridiculous words... Aren't they afraid of getting their tongues rotten?

On the way back, Han Zhi unexpectedly met a Taoist priest who was not afraid of having his tongue rotted.

Lucas Fu originally disliked him going out at night, and he still did not like that now. However, the Taoist priest who always sat in the house waiting at first gradually changed his temper and often ran outside.

The suspension bridge outside the Sutra Repository, the huge rock on the Siguo Cliff, and the path leading to the back door of the Taoist temple, Han Zhi would always bump into him standing upright on the side of the road in the night. His figure, as straight as a pine tree, remained motionless despite the raging wind and snow.

Under the thick night, Gui Mei couldn't see his expression clearly, only his bright eyes still showed a trace of anxiety and anger. Han Zhi ignored him and walked forward slowly.

Behind him, Lucas Fu followed closely. The ghost didn't speak, and he didn't speak either, keeping a half-arm's distance, following like a shadow.

Every night, when he opened the door, facing the cold and darkness of the room, only Lucas Fu himself understood the panic and confusion of falling into an ice cave. The ghosts only went to three places when they wandered at night, from the Sutra Pavilion all the way to the Siguo Cliff, and then went down the mountain from the back door. The crisscrossing paths under his feet were just like his chaotic and uneasy mood.

It was unimaginable, if he couldn't find him, where would he go to look for him? It was even more unimaginable, what if he could never find him again? No one knew what kind of ups and downs the master, who was calm and composed in front of others, was experiencing in his heart when he saw the ghostly figure slowly approaching.

She reached out and grabbed his cold hand, interlocking her fingers and pressing her palms together, as if only this could soothe her violently beating heart. She held on tighter and tighter, until there was no gap between her palms, and her fingertips almost dug into the back of his hand.

The ghost on the other end never struggled, resisted, looked back, or cried out in pain. It just quietly gave him a blurry silhouette.

In fact, the way they get along has never changed since they found him in Luoye Town. Damien Han walked indifferently in front, and he followed closely behind. He wanted to catch up with him and hold his hand, but he dodged without leaving a trace before his fingertips touched. Even with their hands tightly clasped, he and he were still half an arm's length apart. They were just a few feet away, but they were thousands of miles apart.

"What are you busy with?" Damien Han, who was walking in front, suddenly asked, but the low question was quickly blown away by the night wind.

... The dull Taoist slowed down his pace and confirmed for a long time before he believed that the ghost was talking to him, "The things in the Taoist temple. Also, His Majesty wants to build another Taoist temple in the capital."

"Oh." Nodding, Damien Han continued to walk forward, "Anything else?"

"After a while, Jiangzhou Baiyun Temple will send a few disciples to practice here."

"Really?" The ghost's tone was emotionless. "What else?"

... The cold wind biting into his bones made the Taoist's wide skirt rustle. Lucas Fu followed him and stopped. The hand in his palm was still cold, and no matter how tight he held it, it would not change at all. "It's gone."

"How does Master Fu plan to deal with me?" Turning his head to look directly at his rapidly changing expression, Han Zhi asked expressionlessly, "Zhongnan is a place for Taoists to practice Taoism, and it is really appropriate to hide evil and filth? Can the uncles and uncles sit back and do nothing? Or have they already made some suggestions to the Master?"

Han Zhao could vaguely guess what Lucas Fu was busy with recently.

What is Mount Zhongnan? Even if Jin Yunzi is in seclusion, the old men who live in seclusion among the snowy peaks are very sharp-eyed and can tell the cause and effect of an ant being crushed to death in the Sanqing Temple. What's more, he is full of ghostly aura?

"You are not evil, and you are not filthy." The mountain wind was strong, and he stood in front of the ghost with his head lowered. Every word he said was serious and decisive, and he would not allow any objection.

The ghost shook his head and squinted at him, as if he was looking at a stubborn child. The Taoist's palm was as warm as ever, but he no longer dared to be greedy. He wanted to pull his hand out of his palm, but he held it tightly.

Han Zhao gave up helplessly, raised his head and looked at him again, who was silent, "How to deal with me? I wonder if Master Fu and the other Zhongnan elders have made up their minds? Be straightforward, give me a sword, and I will also be dead..."

Before he finished speaking, Lucas Fu took a step forward and leaned over to hug him. The ghost was stunned, still trapped in the sudden warmth. In his ears, the Taoist's voice penetrated the wind and came clearly, "I won't let you go."

All he could see were frantically flying snowflakes. Han looked at the faint lights on the distant mountaintops. "Why?"

"Stay." He hugged her tighter, just like every time he extended his hand to hold hers, wishing that his flesh and blood could merge into each other and become embedded in her bones and blood. "Life is too hard, I will stay with you."

Taoist Mu, even at this moment, does not want to be vain and reckless like a playboy in the mortal world, easily saying "until the end of time", making a vow and saying "I like you".

But, unfortunately...

He had also seen his affectionate eyes that day, his brows were deep, and they were full of love. At that time, the water of Lin Lake was shimmering, and he stood by the lake, holding his hand, looking into his eyes, with indescribable tenderness and pity, "Reincarnation, the world is too bitter."

At that time he believed it and took it to be true.

Han Zhi wanted to laugh, but for some reason, the corners of his mouth just wouldn't curl up. He could only close his eyes to prevent the cold snowflakes from falling into them. "I don't believe it."

"Whether you believe it or not, I will accompany you." Lucas Fu answered without hesitation.

Is that true? Han Zhi didn't know. But the simple words "I'll be with you" still went into his heart. No matter in the past or now, it still touched his heart and made his heart beat.