Ruyizhai

A tram stop was built opposite No. 23. It seemed that it was completed a few days ago. Wu Xingchen parked his car in an alley near No. 1, Yi Avenue. Two circuit workers wearing jet suspension suits at the stop sign above the commissioning station.The site is called "Nether Spiritual Society Headquarters". The font is slender and thin gold. The surrounding voltage seems to be unstable, and the red stop sign is blinking.Workers landed on top of the station to study the lines behind the lettering.

As for the cliff at the end of the highway where No. 23 is located, it is probably to prevent the church headquarters from collapsing due to the terrain, so some wood was used to make some reinforcements on the cliff, which looks a bit like supporting the front of the main hall of Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. Six-story torchwood structure.The wooden fence around No. 23 is gone, replaced by a row of nearly towering spruces, the trees are very close to each other, and the growth is still very lush, it is impossible to see what is going on behind the trees from the branches .Wu Xingchen could only see the top of a building when he raised his neck to look around—it hung like a beret from the crown of a spruce tree.Wu Xingchen walked around the spruces, and saw a wooden fence door, like the one ten years ago, but the wood that spliced ​​​​this wooden door has turned black, and the wooden boards can clearly see it. crack.The door was still ajar.

Suddenly there were two puffs behind him, and Wu Xingchen turned his head to see that the workers had returned to the ground and were stuffing the jet suspension suits into the toolbox.The stop sign of the tram station was changed to green, and the voltage was very stable.A worker looked up at him, Wu Xingchen quickly lowered his head and walked into No. 23.

A seven-storey building spiraling upwards with decreasing building space stood in front of him.Its top is the beret on the spruce.

Should it be a tower?But it is not as straight as the tower, like the grotesque Art Nouveau building that Gaudí paid tribute to?However, it lacks a fine sense of beauty. The building seems to be unfinished. On the top floor, some workers with ropes tied to their waists can be seen measuring something and gesturing with red tiles.The building is covered with these red tiles, much like a fish covered with thick scales.

The sun has set a little lower, the light is not so dazzling, and dusk has come.The red tiles present a romantic tone similar to pink roses, and Wu Xingchen finally thinks what this building looks like the most.It's like a wedding cake made in haste by a poorly crafted pastry chef. The pastry chef stacked layers of cakes on top of each other. Unfortunately, the support in the middle was not done properly, but it was irreparable. The pastry chef gave up on himself and squeezed on the cake. The scale-like cream was mixed, so that the whole cake was tilted to one side, as if it would collapse at any time.

The building casts a huge shadow on the lawn.

Wu Xingchen was sure that this building replaced the original Tengzhai.

As for the lawns, woods, farmland and greenhouses around the house, nothing has changed as far as the eye can see.Even the appearances of the people sitting in circles on the lawn remained the same. Men, women and children of different ethnicities had the same perfect appearance as the new human beings, and those who cooked jam, picked up the crops, and The twins walking around, and the children building the theater stage in front of the woods, still concentrate on their work and enjoy themselves.People's dress is the same as ten years ago, all white clothes, different shoes, but most of them are straw sandals that cover the feet, but there are various styles of weaving. Do embroidery on it.The girls still had yellow flowers on their skirts.A sorrel horse stood beside a cornfield as high as a person, pushing a millstone to grind flour. The horse snorted, and the freshly ground flour was blown away, surrounded by women who were drying clothes and chopping firewood. The middle-aged men seemed very happy when they saw this scene, and clapped their hands with a smile. The miller was also very happy, and the horse went to kick a few flour bags on the ground, and a bag of flour fell on the ground. The mouth was not tied tightly, the flour was scattered all over the ground, no one was angry, everyone was happy, talking and laughing together to clean up the mess on the grass.The horse stamped its hooves and walked away.

At this time, someone tugged Wu Xingchen's sleeve, and he saw that it was a little girl, about seven or eight years old, with blond hair, blue eyes, golden eyebrows, and a chubby little face. A cherub by the court painter.

The girl showed Wu Xingchen a snail in her hand, pointed to the seven-story building, and pointed to the snail's shell.

Wu Xingchen glanced back and forth a few times, and said, "It's really a bit like..."

The girl laughed, and gave Wu Xingchen the snail, joined a group of children who were running towards her happily, took the hand of a black-haired girl who was about her height, and ran away bouncing away.The black-haired girl looked back at Wu Xingchen.She had thick black hair, dark eyes, and black eyebrows.But her face shape and outline were exactly the same as that of the blonde girl.

The children ran to help set up the theater.The familiar banner was pulled up: always remember!Reviewing the Past and Knowing the New Theater.

This banner should also be the one from ten years ago, and the green fabric has faded a bit.

Wu Xingchen walked towards the seven-story building. The sun was almost setting, and he was listlessly hanging on the branch of an apple tree. Some young people who climbed up the tree to pick apples waved to Wu Xingchen. A squirrel held a piece of grass Ye ran past Wu Xingchen's feet, a sika deer rested under the apple tree, and a child wove a wreath on its body.

The only door that was open on the ground floor of the seven-story building was also ajar.

There is no trace of Teng Zhai in the building at all, it is very shady and empty, and the interior lighting is not good-there are no windows on the wall, only some small, bubble-like round holes.It was indeed unfinished, the top was empty, and there was a hole through which a ray of natural light penetrated the entire seventh floor and fell on the lower floor, allowing one to barely see the interior decoration.Except that there are no rooms on the ground floor, the other six floors have only rooms separated by a circle around the perimeter.The ground floor of the ground floor is randomly covered with carpets with rough patterns.

Wu Xingchen passed through the beam of light, and an oil painting came into his sight. The room was too dark, and he didn't realize that there was such a painting hanging on the dark wall behind the light just now.The painting is about two meters long and 1.8 meters wide, and it is mounted in a wooden frame decorated with golden feather-like reliefs.

Wu Xingchen recognized the painting immediately: "X12."

Archangel Michael holds a sword in his left hand, with the tip of the sword pointing straight to the sky.

Wu Xingchen couldn't help but search in the terminal: Pieter Brueghel the Elder.

Fifty paintings appeared, five of which were discovered in some ruins in the past 50 years, but none of them were X50.But one of them caught Wu Xingchen's attention—"Babel Tower" created in 12. The main body of the picture is a broken tower with its floors spiraling upwards, and a group of religious figures below the tower.Wu Xingchen took out the tower alone, formed it three-dimensionally, shrank it, and rotated it in his hand.He suddenly understood what the original shape of the seven-story building he was in was.

"No wonder it looks so familiar..." Wu Xingchen murmured, just as he was about to put away the Tongtian Tower in his hand, suddenly his whole body trembled, he remembered!Not only did he find this painting familiar because the building was built exactly like Tongtian Tower, but also because he had seen this incomplete tower at Tengyu's farewell ceremony. It was exhibited at that time and drawn by Tengyu. One of my paintings!

"Do you like this painting too? This is our president..."

A female voice came unexpectedly, Wu Xingchen was startled, quickly closed his palms together, and looked back, there was indeed a woman walking behind him at some point.Seeing him, the woman stepped forward and gave him a hug. After parting, she shook Wu Xingchen's hand excitedly: "Mr. Wu, it's you! Remember me?"

The woman pointed upwards, and Wu Xingchen said, "It's you! Did you wipe the floor together on the second floor before?"

The woman nodded again and again, she grew taller, her hair grew longer, she no longer wore cotton and linen clothes, she was wearing a white gauze skirt with suspenders, and a pair of white silk satin shoes on her feet, the uppers were spotless.

As for the black boots on Wu Xingchen's feet, Kowloon Road is muddy, and the lawn is not clean. Not to mention the boots have been dirty all the way along the way, leaving a string of muddy footprints on the floor.He said, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." The woman frantically covered the footprints with a few carpets, and stuck out her tongue at Wu Xingchen, "It's not as fancy as outside."

Wu Xingchen smiled and said, "Is no one willing to wipe the floor now?"

The woman laughed, pulled Wu Xingchen to sit down on the carpet, and said: "At that time, in order to clean up the room as soon as possible so that other members could use it, the president suggested Tengyu to share the room with everyone, but Everyone thinks that artists should be given enough creative space.”

Wu Xingchen pointed around: "Now you don't lack rooms, right?"

The woman nodded, still speaking briskly: "Is Mr. Wu still working in the museum?"

Wu Xingchen recalled it, since he walked through the fence gate, he didn't see anyone wearing a terminal. It seems that the people here still haven't cultivated the habit of news.Wu Xingchen cleared his throat and said, "I don't know if you know a man named Mai Barley?"

"I know you, are you looking for him? He is no longer here, how did you know him?" The woman leaned on the carpet with one hand, tilting her head slightly to look at Wu Xingchen.

Wu Xingchen said: "He seems... an orphan?"

"Yes, Mai Barley is a cosmic orphan who is psychic from the upper world. Her mother passed away because of dystocia. She must have been reincarnated. One day in the future, she may come back here and meet all the ancient souls again."

The woman stroked the rug and sat more relaxed.Wu Xingchen asked again: "Then his father..."

"His father is the psychic master of the upper world psychic."

"Has he passed away too?"

"Yes."

"Then the upper realm psychic no longer exists?"

"What are you talking about Mr. Wu, the spirit master can be reincarnated." The woman said, a little surprised.

Wu Xingchen said: "It's similar to the reincarnated soul boy in Tibetan Buddhism..." He added, "But the spirit master will be reincarnated, which means that he has always existed. So barley can't be regarded as an orphan?"

The woman said: "Mr. Wu, this is a very good question. The spirit master is the father of Mai Barley, and also the father of all people. This does not mean that the spirit master contributed a large number of mirrors, but that he gave the members of the psychic society For him, he exists with the eternal identity of father."

"You said members of the psychic society, do you mean also include members of your Nether psychic society?"

The woman smiled: "I heard that Christianity, Catholicism, Muslims, Orthodox, all believe in one God the Father."

The woman asked: "Then, why are you looking for barley?"

Wu Xingchen said: "Originally some relics were intended to be handed over to his relatives, since his parents are definitely gone, and he has no brothers or sisters..."

"Everyone here is his brother and sister."

"I mean the kind that is related by blood."

"Everyone here is more or less blood related." The woman crossed her legs and asked, "As long as they are human beings, are they more or less blood related?"

Wu Xingchen scratched the tip of his nose, and asked again: "I wonder if you have seen the person who came here with me before."

"Are you talking about the person with long and beautiful hair?" The woman shook her head, "Do I need to ask the patrol team for you?"

"Patrol?"

"A while ago, someone came to steal the ferns in the woods, and some members spontaneously organized a patrol team, four shifts a day, patrolling outside, maybe they have seen it."

"Outside the fence? Somebody came in through those trees."

"No, it refers to the outside here. The trees outside are also installed for anti-theft. Those spruce trees can grow so tall in a week after planting." The woman felt regretful, "Maybe this is a bit against the rules of nature. But theft is a greater sin, and people have to make sacrifices."

The woman asked: "The person you are looking for, does he want to join the Nether Channeling?"

Wu Xingchen shook his head: "I don't know, I just have a feeling... It feels like I will find him here, at least find some clues, and I will walk the path I walked with him again, as if detectives are like this .”

"detective?"

Wu Xingchen smiled wryly.The woman suggested again: "Or you can ask the guide group, they also walk around in various areas all day, maybe they have seen it too."

"Guide group?"

"Look." The woman pointed in a direction, Wu Xingchen looked over, a bald man led a group of people in, their footsteps were very light, they were all barefoot, and their voices were also very soft.Some of these people wear bracelets.Wu Xingchen quickly moved into the shadows.

The woman introduced: "Many people visit the headquarters every day, some are members of the branch, and some are interested in joining the club."

Wu Xingchen nodded, and the woman asked him, "You don't like crowds?" She smiled, and pulled Wu Xingchen around behind X12.It turned out that the X12 was not hung on some dark wall, but hung in the air, and everything was an illusion caused by light and shadow.Behind it was a small concealed black door leading to a spiral staircase.

The woman closed the door, took Wu Xingchen two steps up the stairs, sat on the steps, and said: "The general tour starts from the first floor and goes up floor by floor, and then enters through the entrance of the president's office on the top floor. The gallery, looking down at the paintings, so they won't come to the gallery for the time being."

"Gallery? You mean this is a gallery?" Wu Xingchen looked around. There were some wall lamps hanging on the wall, with candles burning inside. There were indeed paintings around the stairs, but the candlelight was weak, and only four or five pictures around him could be seen. painting.

The woman said: "That's right, these are all painted by Tengyu. No one in the church has the soul of such an outstanding painter."

Wu Xingchen took a few steps up, and by candlelight, and with his remaining memories of Tengyu's farewell ceremony, he pointed to some of them and said, "These didn't appear in the farewell ceremony, did they? They were sorted out and discovered later. ?"

The woman said: "I found it when I was renovating the house."

"Where did you find it?"

The woman couldn't speak anymore, Wu Xingchen climbed two more floors, looked at a painting, and was speechless for a while.

The woman ran up, stopped in front of him, and said, "You have also discovered it! It is the blueprint of the building here, the original shape."

In front of Wu Xingchen was "The Tower of Babel" by Pieter Brueghel the Elder.In addition, he also saw "Victory of the Dead" and "Hunter in the Snow" that he had just browsed in the terminal. He remembered that the terminal said that these two paintings were found in the remains of a wine cellar in Berlin 50 years ago. , but he never saw it in the terminal when he was an appraisal officer.

Voices came from downstairs.Wu Xingchen listened, and the person who spoke seemed to be the tour guide of the tour guide group, he said: "The oil painting you are seeing now is called "The Last Fall of the Rebel Angel", which was written by the president, Mr. Teng Rong. It is a pity that Mr. Tengyu has left this world, and may his soul be reincarnated as soon as possible."

Then there was silence, even the gallery was silent, Wu Xingchen looked at the woman, she lowered her head and clasped her hands in front of her chest.She is mourning.

After a while, the man continued to explain: "Everyone sees the Archangel Michael on the screen. There is no doubt that he symbolizes light, and this demon symbolizes darkness. Mr. Tengyu has been fighting against the dark side of the soul all his life. Just like the [-]th-century painter Beau de Bruegel the Elder who painted this painting, the soul of this painter has gone through several twists and turns, and finally settled in the body of Mr. Tengyu. As I introduced to you before, this The building is born out of the creation of the great immortal soul in Mr. Tengyu, who named it "Tiantian Tower."

Someone asked: "Why is it called Tongtian Tower?"

"Maybe we have to ask Mr. Tengyu about it."

Wu Xingchen was also curious, so he asked the girl, "Do you know why it's called Tongtian Tower?"

The girl said: "All souls are wandering in the sky, looking for a suitable body through dreams and calls. Maybe with this tower, the soul can fall to the ground and meet the suitable body more easily."

"A suitable physical body means..."

"Mr. Wu, is that you?"

Wu Xingchen was only halfway through his question when he was suddenly interrupted. He and the girl both looked up to find the speaker, and saw Teng Rong standing in front of a wall lamp on three steps, the candlelight in the lampshade Shaking, Teng Rong's eyes sparkled, he looked very surprised and very happy.