Embrace the blade

When the food in the main hall was removed, it was already dark outside, and the maid raised a lamp to lead the three of them through the corridor of the courtyard to the wing rooms of the other courtyard.

This section of the road was quite lively, and within a few steps, Qi Zhaoxi chatted with the maidservant without any trace, revealing the long-standing quarrel between Qin Zheng and his wife Ruan Ning.The two of them have no children, and now they sleep in separate rooms. They are cold and alienated from each other. At most, every day Ruan Ning will personally cook dinner and wait in the room, so that the couple can see each other for a short time. There are more times of relative silence, otherwise it will be arguing and noisy.

"It's strange to say that I heard from my sisters in the mansion that Madam was not like this when she first passed the door, and the master treated her very well. Who knows how she became like this now."

Qi Zhaoxi glanced across the courtyard wall in the distance, and asked, "It's strange, why don't you have stickers in your mansion? After we entered the city, we saw that every family had them. Isn't it a custom in the godly city?"

The maidservant in front of him stopped talking suddenly, glanced at him hastily, answered vaguely a few times, but didn't say anything, and then she just buried her head in leading the way until she sent them to the side room They refused to answer any more.

The rooms of the three of them were adjacent to each other. As soon as Xue Le's figure disappeared behind the door, Jiang Li, who had been quiet all the way, suddenly said, "I have something to ask you."

Qi Zhaoxi pushed open the door: "Let's talk in the room."

As soon as he stepped into the room, he seemed to be drained of strength, and threw himself into the armchair. While taking off the mask on his face and throwing it away, he raised his head and sighed half-deadly: "This Liu Qiubai who has just entered the rivers and lakes is really tiring. .”

Jiang Li closed the door, followed behind and picked up the human skin mask, silently wiped off the dust with his sleeve and put it on the table, couldn't help saying: "You are so warm tonight."

"..." Qi Zhaoxi froze, and gave him a meaningful look, "Jiang Li, you can say this to me, but you must never tell others."

Jiang Li was puzzled: "Why?"

Qi Zhaoxi held back that little smile, bent her eyes, and changed the subject: "What do you want to ask me?"

Jiang Li didn't ask, but hesitated unexpectedly for a moment, before asking, "Do you have anyone who wants to come back from the dead?"

"It's been ten years since my mother passed away." Qi Zhaoxi shook her head, unable to help being surprised, "You actually believe Qin Zheng's words and think that the "Secret of Longevity" can bring people back to life?"

Jiang Li looked at him quietly for a while, then whispered, "Then why did you come back?"

Qi Zhaoxi stopped laughing, sat up slowly, and met his gaze: "Do you think I came back to find you on the same road because I believed this rumor?"

"Yes, I've been thinking for the past few days, since you said you have no interest in peerless martial arts, why did you go and come back again. The only answer that can be explained is that "Longevity Formula" can bring the dead back to life."

Qi Zhaoxi said: "What if I don't intend to answer?"

Jiang Li looked away: "I can't go on the same road with a person whose purpose is unknown."

Qi Zhaoxi frowned: "So in your opinion, I'm just a person with unknown purpose?"

Jiang Li's voice froze, and he hurriedly defended, "I...I didn't mean that..."

Qi Zhaoxi leaned forward, and Jiang Li was standing in front of him, close at hand, and he could see all the changes in his expression by raising his head slightly: "What does that mean? Who am I in your eyes?"

This seemed to be a huge problem, Jiang Li couldn't help but frowned, and wanted to open his mouth several times, but he couldn't find an appropriate answer after all, so he fell into a mess of thoughts.

"Then let me ask you." Qi Zhaoxi stared at him without blinking, "Jiang Li, you don't hate me, do you?"

His voice was as slow and gentle as running water, which made Jiang Li feel uncomfortable, but he still responded, "Yes."

"Don't you hate me being with you?"

"……Um."

Qi Zhaoxi smiled softly, and stood up: "Then do you still remember that night outside Juyi Village, you pushed me away at once?"

Jiang Li didn't know why, but before he could ask, he was overwhelmed by astonishment.

Qi Zhaoxi hugged him, with his chin touching his forehead, and his voice was low, trembling even with his tight chest: "Will you push me away again?"

It was a quiet night.Qi Zhaoxi's fingers rested lightly on his back, and clearly felt his tension. She couldn't tell whose heartbeat was chaotic, but felt that he was extremely stiff in her arms, unable to answer anything. There is the sound of breathing.

After waiting for a while, Qi Zhaoxi slowly let go of his hand, lowered his eyes to look at him, but saw Jiang Li immediately took a few steps back, almost bumping into the corner of the table, his eyes dodged away, and he still pursed his lips and did not speak , only a thin blush couldn't be suppressed on his face.

Qi Zhaoxi was used to his silent thinking, but this time she didn't want to guess, and waited patiently for him to speak.

Finally, as if Jiang Li had made up his mind, he said, "I..." His face changed suddenly, and he looked outside vigilantly, "...what's the smell?"

A burning smell came from nowhere.

They looked at each other, Qi Zhaoxi took the mask and put it on, and then pushed the door out.The door next door squeaked, and it was Xue Le who also came out to check. When he bumped into the two of them, he was taken aback: "Why are you in the same room?"

"Just get used to it." Qi Zhaoxi said casually.The burning smell outside the door became more and more intense, Jiang Li followed it first, and saw a mysterious fire dancing in the grass in the corner of the other courtyard. A thin black figure was kneeling beside the fire, holding something in his hands. , chanting words in a low and rapid manner, unaware that someone was approaching.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Li suddenly asked.

The black shadow was terrified, and threw the things in his hands out of fear. He tremblingly got up and tried to escape, but Jiang Li grabbed his wrist, and then forcibly turned around. Look, it was the maid who led the way with a lamp.

The servant girl was terrified, staring at Jiang Li with wide eyes, as if she couldn't recognize who he was, cold sweat kept rolling down her forehead, and her voice was more like being pinched in the throat, unable to speak , until she caught a glimpse of the long shadows of Xue Le and Qi Zhaoxi walking behind Jiang Li, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and fell limply to the ground.

Qi Zhaoxi picked up the thing on the ground, it was a triangle folded with yellow talismans, and when it was taken apart, a strand of black hair was revealed, coiled like a small snake.He threw it into the fire with disgust, and then smiled at the maidservant: "So your talisman was not pasted on the wall, but burned at night?"

The maidservant's face was still pale, and she seemed to be escaping death more than she was afraid. She heard that her shoulders trembled, but she cried out without warning. She knelt down in front of them and cried, "Don't tell the master I beg you, please don't tell the master! The servants are really afraid...the servants are for the good of the whole city, and also for the sake of the master!"

These words are confusing.Xue Le stepped forward to help her up, and comforted her gently: "Don't be afraid, we won't harm you. Tell me slowly, what's going on?"

The servant girl looked at Jiang Li with tears in her eyes, and then at Qi Zhaoxi, but she still had lingering fear, her legs and feet were weak, and she had to rely on Xue Le's arm to stand still.She hesitated in fear, as if she was afraid of disturbing something, her voice was low and small: "This city... has ghosts!"

Both Xue Le and Jiang Li were taken aback, but a sudden laugh sounded from beside them, and Qi Zhaoxi couldn't help laughing.

Seeing his reaction like this, the servant girl was so anxious that she disregarded her dignity and pulled his sleeves in a hurry: "Don't laugh! Don't take it seriously! Earlier, there were people in the city who didn't believe me like you. The result is either crazy, or after dawn, people find that they have been skinned and spread on the road, so what is it if it is not a ghost!"

Qi Zhaoxi nodded: "Okay, then tell me, where did this ghost come from?"

The maid cautiously glanced out, this courtyard was opposite to the other courtyard where Ye Xinghe lived, and through the courtyard door, one could just obliquely see a cluster of lights in the wing room over there.She clenched her teeth and said, "Master forbids us to mention it, but who doesn't know that Chen Changfeng and Chen Daxia are already dead, and he died when he was rescued back then! But... But it's been half a month, and his The corpse is not decomposed at all." Her voice was trembling, "Since then, people in the city can always hear the movement of digging graves at night, but there is nothing when they go out to see. Please come here Chang said, this is called a living corpse, Hun'er has not been arrested by the ghost messenger, so the corpse will not rot for a long time, but he can't return to the body, and he can't be buried in peace, so he will wander around at night, digging graves for himself Find a place to go."

Jiang Li said: "There are ghost talismans posted in the city, so what are you burning?"

"This is a ghost-suppressing talisman. You have to burn it for seven to forty-nine days according to the formation to suppress him, otherwise you will turn into a ghost and take your life!" The maid said, tears fell again, "but the Taoist priest came before The hexagram for a few days is a big ominous one. This method is used to deal with ordinary living corpses. Chen Daxia possessed martial arts skills in his life, and he is also very good at being a ghost after death. Fu Zhen is a ghost, in this way the formation will be broken, and I am the only one left guarding the eye of the formation, but I feel... even if it is doomed to a dead end, I should try it, what if it works together?"

She sobbed with sincerity, and the fear in her eyes was not even a little false.

Xue Le murmured: "The situation is so serious, didn't Daxia Qin say anything?"

The maid shook her head again and again, and became anxious again: "You can't mention it, you must never mention it! The master has always valued love and righteousness, not to mention that Chen Daxia is still his sworn brother, and even Madam would have a big fight if he talked about it. How dare you annoy him?"

Xue Le couldn't help being silent for a moment, then comforted the maidservant and sent her out of the courtyard gate, only telling her to go back to rest with peace of mind, and when she turned back again, the fire had been trampled out, leaving behind a pool of black ashes mixed with bits of yellow paper .He asked, "What do you think?"

Jiang Li frowned and shook his head, but Qi Zhaoxi was still smiling a bit: "I never believe these ghost stories."

"I also think there must be some weirdness in it." Xue Le sighed, "Let's find out from Madam Chen tomorrow."

As he said so, he couldn't help but look out of the courtyard door. The lights in the room in the courtyard were still on, and he looked lonely and stubborn in the dark night.