Human dimension reduction

Standing outside the door was a petite and slender woman, wearing layers of gorgeous Tang clothes, with long hair winding like a stream, and a pair of affectionate eyes that were clearly black and white, and besides that, on her fair and smooth skin, cracked A series of black gaps were opened, and plump red lips emerged from them. The mouths with sharp teeth opened wide, and they all let out sharp and mournful howls.

This scene was really scalp-numbing, but Abe Seimei accepted it well. He even leaned forward slightly to look at the woman's face, and nodded as if suddenly enlightened.

Lan Yin floated to his side, the mortician had seen many corpses with tragic death, of course he would not be frightened by this little battle, compared to Qingming, the mortician who was familiar with the direction of human bones, faces, muscles, etc. could only see them at a glance. Noticing the abnormality, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the shivering oiran Zao Ying by the wall.

——Even though it was just a glimpse, he was sure that the uninvited guest in front of the door had exactly the same face as Sakura.

"Bitter... bitter..."

The densely packed mouths opened, letting out a long sigh, and each mouth began to speak on its own.

"Another young girl has arrived, and the eyes on me are getting less and less..."

"I'm so scared, so scared, are you going to live here from now on? The clothes and jewelry of my sisters are very beautiful, maybe I will have them in the future, but I'm still so scared! So scared!"

"Resentment, jealousy, life as a foil all my life..."

"No matter how beautiful it is, it's just a momentary morning dew. When will it be abandoned in Zhangdian and become a wandering girl sitting in a wooden fence for people to make fun of? Such a life is really tragic..."

"Buried, the long ditch, the three weeping willows and the stars, where can the caged bird fly?"

Female voices with different vocal lines came out of these mouths, from immature and shrill little girls to soft and melancholy mature women, as well as hoarse and rough whispers of old women and the unique lightness of young girls. Speaking different words, the chatter and chatter converged into an indistinguishable river. On the face of the beautiful woman who was exactly the same as Zaozakura, a pair of eyes were bent, the left eye smiled shyly, and the right eye wept bitterly.

Abe Seimei closed the bat fan and made a crisp sound. The sudden short sound interrupted the mouths. After turning around twice, I looked straight at it.

The moment he saw Abe Seimei, all his mouths were tightly closed, and the one that reacted the slowest muttered, "Is it a guest? What a young and handsome man..."

The sound that came out of this mouth belonged to an old woman.

Abe Seimei nodded and smiled at her unhurriedly, but his footsteps were not slow, and he left the position directly opposite the door to Lan Yin's side in a flash.

"It is a white-toothed ghost born from the human heart. It often wanders in women's dreams and feeds on negative emotions such as resentment and fear. There are many tragic things in Gion, and it is the most suitable paradise for white-toothed ghosts."

"Then what's the matter with its appearance?"

Abe Seimei is not hesitant to answer questions for others: "The hundred-tooth ghost is a sad and greedy thing. They can only live in dreams. Once they can't get negative emotions from dreams, they will gradually weaken and disappear. In order to exist forever, they will Choose a host, try to swallow her emotions, change into her appearance, and finally become exactly the same as the host, and then replace the host in reality."

"Although it is very harmful, because it is a ghost that can only exist in dreams, there is no trace of it in reality. No matter how clever an onmyoji is, it is impossible to catch it in reality. This is the first time I have seen it in real life. .”

As he said that, he looked at the hundred-toothed ghost with the same face as Zao Sakura with a little sigh: "It's the end, a little later, when these articulate words are fused, Zao Sakura will be replaced."

Seeing that Seimei got out of the way, the white-toothed ghost stopped looking at him, and looked at Zaozakura who was shivering by the wall with laughing and crying eyes. His countless mouths opened, revealing his teeth and tongue, and began to let out a frightening sound. wailing and unceasing venomous words.

"That's how it generates negativity?"

Lan Yin was disturbed by the noise.

"Yeah, what they're talking about is the emotions that have been devoured from other women in Gion, so much resentment, jealousy, and fear, enough to drive a normal person crazy."

Abe Seimei said softly, raised the fan and drew the outline of a pentagram in the void, the pale golden platycodon was printed on the front of the fan and gave off a faint light, the onmyoji took out a piece of yellow talisman paper from his sleeve, and sent it to the platycodon As soon as the seal was stuck, the red lips moved, accompanied by a low and fast incantation, the bellflower seal shot away like a sharp arrow, covering the white-toothed ghost in the middle, and the spell rose in the wind, as if alive Zhiba wrapped around the Hundred-toothed Ghost again and again, until it was tightly wrapped from head to toe so that no gaps were exposed, and it shrank into a half-foot-long stick with Qingming's snapping of fingers. thing.

With a clang, the hundred-toothed ghost fell to the ground, rolled around twice and then stopped moving.

Onmyoji walked over, bent down and picked up the white-toothed ghost and stuffed it into his sleeve. Zao Ying was still shivering there, the girl who was completely occupied by fear did not realize what was happening outside.

"Hmm..." Abe Seimei stroked his chin and thought for a while, and suddenly the kimono he was wearing when he came appeared in his hand.

"Where do you think has the best scenery?" He shook off his kimono, tilted his head and asked Lan Yin.

The patterns on the kimono are complex and beautiful, ranging from the snow scene of Fuji to the spring cherry blossoms in Edo, and even the cloud cranes in the sky.

Abe Seimei nodded, held up the kimono in his hands, and gently slapped the bat fan against the waves on the hem of the clothes, one after another.

A strange thing happened. The pattern on the fabric gradually became three-dimensional, as if it was about to break free from the shackles of the fabric. As Abe Seimei's fan speeded up, it was unknown which cluster of snow-white and dark blue waves broke free from the fabric first. The salty sea water poured into the room, and the surrounding walls melted like candles. There were dark brown reefs, and silver trout curled up and down the waves. Shells, the vast sky spread out, and a few birds with white feathers flew over the top of the waves.

The scenery is vast and magnificent. Between the sea and the sky, there are sparkling waves. Sazaru, who is curled up in the corner, feels the light around her become soft and warm. The cold horror and sharp crying disappeared at some point, replaced by The long chirping of birds and the sound of waves.

birdsong?Where is the bird song coming from here?And the waves?

She raised her head tremblingly, and then her eyes widened.

What a beautiful scenery, is this...the sea?

Before leaving, Abe Seimei, who presented Zaozakura with a sweet dream, pulled Lan Yin back to his body. The two couples sat in the tea house and drank half a pot of tea before returning leisurely to Tsuchimikado Abe’s mansion—of course, back to himself Behind the body, Abe Seimei is still dressed as a gorgeous geisha.

The hazy car used as a means of transportation was a little restless along the way. The huge woman's face in front of the car wanted to sneak a glance back from time to time, which made Abe Seimei helpless and speechless.

Fortunately, Lan Yin finally realized his conscience and removed the complicated makeup for him, and put aside the high-knot hair and heavy jewelry. Careful, he flipped the hem of his clothes casually, sat cross-legged in front of Lan Yin, and let him mess with his face.

"Lan Jun's technique is very proficient." Abe Seimei half-closed his eyes as if he said casually, and moved his face closer to Lan Yin to observe his expression.

Lan Yin looked a little embarrassed because of his sudden approach, she tilted her head back, and her eyes moved uncomfortably: "Well...my profession is an embalmer, and I make up the remains of the dead."

"Hmm..." Onmyoji narrowed his eyes and smiled, "That's really an amazing profession, do you still deal with ghosts and living people part-time?"

Before Lan Yin showed surprise, Abe Seimei blinked at him: "Because Lan Jun's spiritual power is really powerful, you can feel it when you get close, and the way it works is self-contained."

Lan Yin pushed his face away and nodded: "You guessed it, the scope of business is not as wide as yours, and it seems to be ineffective against monsters."

When he said this, what he thought of was the lamp that was in a half-failed state.

Abe Seimei touched his chin: "Really?"

It was late at night when they returned to Tuyumon Gate. In order to catch up with the court meeting, Abe Seimei went out to Ouchi again without taking a long break. This time he could not use the oboroche to cheat, so he could only walk honestly on two legs, but According to Lan Yin's understanding of him, there are many ways this guy wants to be lazy, the worst is to use a cover-up to shrink into an inch, but Abe Seimei is noncommittal about this: "Some people in Yinyang Liao are very troublesome. If it is not in the palace, it will be accused of disrespecting His Majesty the Emperor."

He went there all morning, and when he came back, he had a strange expression on his face, as if he had encountered something incomprehensible. He sat on the porch and thought for a while, then slowly got up and knocked on Lan Yin's door .

The mortician was sitting cross-legged in the room looking at the half-bloomed plum tree. The structure of this room was also very strange. In the middle, a pit several feet square was dug without a floor or tatami, and the plum tree was planted in it. According to Die Die, this pit was originally used to house monsters of plants and trees who like shade.

"Sunny."

The undertaker noticed the movement as soon as he walked over, called his name to show that he knew who was coming, and then asked the purpose of coming in silence.

Abe Seimei suddenly realized that he didn't know when he could understand the meaning of these different silences, he couldn't help but shook his head, turning the bat fan in his hand: "Well... During the interview in the morning, I reported Gion's Things, the emperor is very curious about you and wants to see you."

Abe Seimei was actually quite annoyed by Yinyangliao's behavior of pushing all matters to him, so when he reported the result to Yinyangtou, he slapped him with a few words, and Yinyangtou, who has always been weird, turned to Seimei this time. Turning a blind eye to the words, instead mentioning Lan Yin who lives in Qingming's house.

A strange young man lived in Tsuchimikado Abe's mansion. This is something that can be known in Kyoto after a little inquiring. The nobles in Kyoto are all idle and have nothing to do. Those little miscellaneous monsters spreading rumors are not much different.

The emperor suddenly became interested in Lan Yin for some reason, and after hearing that Lan Yin also participated in the Gion event, he proposed to meet him, wondering "what is it like to be a Tang countryman who can become friends with Seimei".

... Is he some kind of monkey?The kind that is delivered to the door for people to visit?

This silent questioning was written all over Lan Yin's face.

"Or let's say it's a bogey," Abe Seimei said skillfully. "As soon as I went out, I met a black cat that died on the road. This is unlucky, and I must fast for seven days."

Judging from the speed at which Onmyoji tried to make excuses, he often used this method to avoid going to work.

People these days are extremely superstitious. When encountering any strange things, they will panic and think that they have bumped into a ghost. When encountering unlucky things, they need to fast and ask an onmyoji to come to drive away evil spirits. Some pillars in the house suddenly made strange noises, and the flowers and plants in the garden were inexplicable. Withering, a nest of bugs in the corner of the house... and so on, etc., are all reasons for the nobles to avoid things.

"No need, it's nothing to go there, I haven't visited your palace yet."

After thinking about it, Lan Yin gave a completely different answer.

——Finally I was able to enter the palace in a fair manner, how could I pass up such a good opportunity!Isn't he by Abe Seimei's side for this purpose.

The ruler of this country lives in the Qingliang Hall in Da Nei, and the meeting with Lan Yin was also placed here. The Tibetan who led the way bent his waist low and informed the inside of a series of words. Lan Yin did not listen carefully. , these are temporary titles given to him in order not to appear impolite during the meeting.

The emperor is a middle-aged man with a weak appearance and a little lack of energy. He does not have the sharpness and solemnity deliberately rendered by court painters. With a dejected head and a well-trimmed beard on his lips, leaving aside those vain crowns and power, he looks like an ordinary middle-aged man.

Ah, there is no need to add any nonsense such as leaving aside power, because isn't the power in this country now in the hands of the generals of Edo?

This is a very embarrassing situation for the Emperor.

However, the emperor had a good temper that was almost meek. He stopped Lan Yin from saluting to him, ordered the Tibetans to change him to the place closest to him, and then dismissed most of the attendants, and began to chat with him everywhere.

Their topics ranged from various customs to poetry and songs. Most of the time, the emperor was talking, and Lan Yin just listened in silence. Unlike his weak and meek appearance, the emperor seemed to have an excessive desire to express himself. Whether it's because he's usually too repressed or what's going on, he can talk to a stranger for so long.

In short, in Lan Yin’s view, this is a person with a very divided and weird personality. On the one hand, he seems to want to show his meekness and harmlessness, and on the other hand, he wants to show his majesty as the emperor to control the topic. This makes his own behavior Full of conflict and uncoordinated.

When the Tibetans served dim sum for the second time, the Emperor suddenly stopped talking and said in a friendly manner, "Lan Qing and Qingming have a good relationship, and are they also proficient in Yin Yang?"

Lan Yin rubbed the delicately patterned teacup and shook her head: "I'm not good at yin and yang."

"Oh..." The emperor didn't seem disappointed, and asked instead, "I heard that Lan Qing has a superb skill, which can change the appearance of a person into another person, and can control the body of a dead person." ,is this real?"

Lan Yin raised his eyelids slightly.

At some point, the emperor leaned forward and passed the short guy in front of him, a pair of medium-sized eyes stared straight at Lan Yin, a strange flame was burning deep in his pupils, and some inhuman twisted emotions were brewing in it, This makes him look more terrifying than a monster.

"Yes, what does Your Majesty want me to do?" Lan Yin skipped asking how he knew this secret that was still hidden. He didn't deliberately conceal the ability of the undertaker, but he didn't make a big deal of it either. The monsters have all watched him compete with Xue Nu and Qin Zhongji in his spare time, so it is not surprising that they know about it, and the monsters may also communicate with each other, so...

The emperor of this country actually has contacts with monsters?

Lan Yin casually kept this guess in his heart. He didn't care about other people's lives and choices, he only cared about his own career.

Lan Yin's answer obviously satisfied the emperor, and the other party's gaze became arrogant. During the conversation during this period, he was also constantly looking at this young man from a foreign country. He could feel that this young man had a similar appearance. Similar indifference, which is good, what he hates the most is people who are too emotional after taking the task, such people often ruin his work, which is why he gave up Abe Seimei's better reason for the choice.

"I can give you any reward you want, and what you have to do is to let a dead person continue to live as before, until he leaves Kyoto."

Lan Yin didn't change his face when he heard such a strange request, and asked coldly: "Who is it? Is it a man or a woman? How old is it?"

The emperor was very satisfied with his calm and professional attitude, and replied with a smile: "My daughter, Prince Zhang Zinai."

Prince Zhang Zinai, who is known to all the people and is most favored by His Majesty the Emperor, is dead? !

The father who said coldly about his daughter's death did not show any sadness on his face, and stared at Lan Yin with a pair of eyes: "How is it? Can it be done?"

Lan Yin lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, and an idea came to his mind.

The young undertaker slightly raised his lips, and said in a soft and slow voice, "I have a better idea than letting the dead move. Do you want to hear it, Your Majesty?"

The middle-aged man squinted his eyes and looked at his expression: "Let's hear it?"

The mortician poured himself a cup of tea: "The death of Prince Zhang Zinei must have made His Majesty very sad. If I can give His Majesty back an identical 'Prince Zhang Zi Nei' without any difference, what would His Majesty think?"

The emperor's pupils shrank for a moment, and he said to himself: "Exactly the same? There is no difference?"

The mortician keenly noticed that for the emperor, obtaining a living Akatsuki was definitely more important than a living dead person who just acted as usual. Although he didn't know the reason, it didn't prevent him from intervening.

"Yes, Your Majesty can imagine being resurrected from the dead, there is no difference, exactly the same." He emphasized it again in a soft tone like singing a ballad.

The emperor squeezed the edge of the table tightly with both hands, and after a long time, he asked, "What do you need?"

The undertaker opened his lips and said softly, "Please give me the body of Prince Zhang Zinei, and a person who knows her best."

******

Tsuchimikado Abe House

Ever since Lan Yin left, Abe Seimei seemed extremely uneasy. He couldn't tell where this feeling came from, but he just felt inexplicably uneasy.

What is going on here?

The Onmyoji was thinking hard about the astrolabe, while a few shikigami sat aside and whispered, peeking at him from time to time.

A butterfly flew in from the courtyard, landed in front of Qingming, and turned into a beautiful and graceful girl: "Master Qingming—"

Abe Seimei was startled, looked up and saw a butterfly, blurted out: "Lan Jun is back?"

The surrounding shikigami exchanged meaningful glances.

"Yes, and there are several Tibetans in the palace with me." Butterfly replied.

Abe Seimei's smile faded a little: "Is there a Tibetan traveling with you?"

After a few words, Lan Yin had already walked to the door, and he was indeed accompanied by several Tibetans. Abe Seimei quickly glanced at them, and there were two very familiar faces, serving His Majesty the Emperor.

"...Stayed in the palace?" Abe Seimei's face was a little strange after hearing the Tibetans finish the emperor's imperial decree, "Let Lan Jun... be His Majesty's instructor? Then why do you want to live in Ouchi?"

It wasn't that he asked too many questions, it was because there was no precedent for this matter, Lan Yin was not of royal blood, living in the palace was really awkward, it was completely different from working in the palace on duty.

"Because Your Majesty has a lot of knowledge, His Majesty really agrees with him, and hopes to sing with him often, so he chose a suitable residence for His Majesty in the palace, and in the future he will also teach Chinese studies to the princes..." The Tibetan patiently explained However, Abe Seimei didn't look at him, his eyes kept falling on Lan Yin, the corners of his lips that were smiling in the past were still curved, but his gaze was rare and sharp.

"In that case, I have no choice but to congratulate Mr. Lan," the Onmyoji was silent for a while, closed the bat fan, pressed it on his knees, and said lightly, "But Yinyang Liao is in Da Nei, I will visit often in the future, and invite Lan Don't get bored."

His words obviously contained other meanings. Stripping away the superficial harmony of these days, the reason why he invited Lan Yin to stay at Tuyumen temporarily was that he also had the idea of ​​exploring the origin of this strange warlock.

Lan Yin didn't know if she understood the meaning of his words, she nodded normally: "Okay."