Chapter 187: Willow Shaotou on the Moon
At the end of the corridor of the yamen of the Exorcism Department headquarters, two young girls in gorgeous clothes stood.
One of them is tall with a slender waist, wearing a light green dress and an elegant smile on his face - undoubtedly Shangguan Jin.
The other one is petite and exquisite, wearing a lavender pleated skirt, with dark cloud-like hair combed into a bun, wearing a shiny gold walking stick, standing on tiptoes and waving to Gu Xu - exactly Shi Xiaohan.
"Gu Xu, you're here!" Shi Xiaohan said loudly.
"Yes, I'm here."
"I thought you wouldn't come."
"But I'm here anyway."
"This...this Will it delay your cultivation?"
"Of course not," Gu Xu walked to her side and smiled slightly, "Master Chen said before that the fourth realm of cultivation is called 'Wangxiang Terrace'. The key is to find your own "ordinary mind". It's definitely not possible to stay in the house and practice. You have to go out for a walk. Like Kongxuan Sanren, he often played in the market and interacted with ordinary people. Let’s go throw pot together.”
"That's good." Shi Xiaohan breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, Gu Xu noticed that this girl's face seemed to have undergone some changes -
The eyebrows had been trimmed and drawn, becoming more delicate, like curved willow leaves.
The face was painted with a touch of rouge, like the morning glow.
“My Lady, you look different today than usual.”
"Does it look good?" Shi Xiaohan put his hands on his hips and looked up at him, waiting expectantly for his answer.
“Good-looking.”
“Do you look better now or before?”
“The heroine is naturally beautiful, and makeup is just the icing on the cake.”
After hearing his words, two shallow dimples suddenly appeared on Shi Xiaohan's pretty oval face.
"Sister Shangguan made this for me!" She pointed to Shangguan Jin beside her, "She knows a lot of things! She knows swordsmanship, medicine, and dressing up... It seems that there is no such thing as her in the world. Something you know!”
“Where,” Shangguan Jin immediately smiled modestly after hearing her words, “These are just tricks and tricks, not worth mentioning at all, and they are not as good as Taoist friend Gu’s reading three chapters. Qian Daozang knows everything about spells, talismans, formations, and divination."
"Thank you, Lord Shangguan," Gu Xu also smiled and shook his head, "I only know a little bit about it."< br>
At the same time, he silently complained in his heart: This is another master of business bragging.
At this time, Shangguan Jin took advantage of the situation and mentioned: "Fellow Daoist Gu, I will go to Luoshui tonight to see the lanterns. Do you mind if I go with you? I have lived in Luojing City for more than ten years and I am very familiar with that area. I also know that there are several good restaurants there, maybe I can take you to try them..."
Before Gu Xu could speak, Shi Xiaohan immediately agreed for him with a smile: "Of course! Gu Xu and I have long wanted to try the delicious food in Luo Jing City."
Gu Xu glanced at her Taking one look at it, I silently sighed in my heart: This silly girl...if someone prepares enough delicious food for her in the future, she might even sell herself.
Of course, when it came to this level, he couldn't refuse, so he could only say politely to Shangguan Jin: "Then I'll thank you Taoist friend Shangguan."
.........
In the evening, the three of them rode a carriage without any decoration, passing through the neatly arranged houses and heading to the downtown area on the edge of Luoshui River.
On the way, Shangguan Jin and Shi Xiaohan sat side by side and chatted about special dishes from all over the country.
When it comes to food, Shi Xiaohan is like a little sparrow, his eyes shine and he chatters non-stop.
Shangguan Jin looked at her with a smile, always able to agree with her words and make additions just right.
As for Gu Xu, he sat across from them alone, as if he had become a superfluous person.
A quarter of an hour later, they came to a restaurant that looked inconspicuous but was busy, ordered a table full of inexpensive but delicious dishes, and quickly cleared them all.
There is no doubt that more than half of the food went into Shi Xiaohan's stomach and condensed into the "Seal of Gluttony".
After checking out, they went to the river.
Here, colorful buildings and lantern corridors stretch for miles, looking colorful and uninterrupted. The shops and houses on the roadside are all decorated with lights.
The colorful flowers are far away from the ground, and the bright light is far away in the sky.
The stars are falling in the Han Dynasty, and the moon is hanging by the building.
In addition, there are snack sellers and performers.
Both dignitaries and ordinary people came to the streets to join in the fun during the Lantern Festival, filling the streets and alleys of Luojing City with water.
Shi Xiaohan kept looking around, his almond-shaped eyes wide open, reflecting the colorful lights and bustling crowds.
Accidentally seeing a candy vendor, she immediately squeezed through the crowd and paid for five candies.
One shaped like a golden dragon was handed to Gu Xu.
One shaped like a wild goose was handed to Shangguan Jin.
The remaining three are the kitten, the bunny, and the sparrow, all of which belong to her.
In this regard, Gu Xu secretly commented: Although this girl Shi Xiaohan calls herself a "hero" all day long and shouts about "helping the world and bringing peace to the people", in fact she is still a little girl at heart and likes cute things.
Then, while nibbling on the candy figures, they came to the colorful light gallery.
"There is still half an hour before the start of the arena competition," Shangguan Jin said, "We can guess a few lantern riddles here first. If we guess correctly, we can also collect the prizes."
"What is the prize? Can I eat it?" Shi Xiaohan asked.
"There are candies, there are small toys..."
"That's good!"
After that, she said with a smile, and pulled Gu Xu and Shangguan at the same time. Hibiscus sleeves walked into the sea of lanterns.
Then she pulled a piece of colored paper under the lantern, squinted her eyes and said: "Let's take a look at this lantern riddle...
"'A small golden jar, filled with golden dumplings, eat the golden dumplings and spit out white beads'...
"Gu Xu, Sister Shangguan, do you know what the answer is? "
Gu Xu thought for a while and guessed: "Orange? "
Shangguan Jinze replied: "It should be orange! "
"It all sounds right..." Shi Xiaohan scratched his head, "Well, the difference between oranges and tangerines is..."
"Oranges are sweet, oranges are sour." Shangguan Jin replied with a smile.
They didn’t spend too much time worrying about this issue.
Then, Shi Xiaohan turned around again, stared at another piece of colored paper, and softly recited the lantern riddle written on the paper:
"'In winter, a dragon lies down, in summer the leaves bloom, and the dragon The beard grows upward and the pearls grow downward..." This time, she did not ask Gu Xu and Shangguan Jin for the answer, but shouted with joy: "I know the answer to this lantern riddle! It's grapes!"
Then she looked at the third lantern riddle: "'When you are young, you will be young and old, and you will be red. In the Beginning of Summer, you will attract naughty children. Please come down to the ground with your hands dancing on bamboo poles. After eating, your hands will be red'...
"I know this too! It must be a mulberry!
"This heroine is so smart!
"Also...'It looks like bamboo but not bamboo, has knots all over the body and is not too thick, is either purple or green, only eats what is born Can't be cooked'...
"I also know this...the answer is definitely 'sugar cane'! If not, I will stand on my head to eat tomorrow!
"..."
Maybe it's because most of the riddles on these lanterns are related to food, so Shi Xiaohan can guess the answers easily.
Soon, she tore off the colored papers, wrote down the answers, and then exchanged them for a pocket full of candies.
While Shi Xiaohan was busy guessing lantern riddles, Shangguan Jin came to Gu Xu and chatted with him about things in the Exorcism Department.
"Gu Daoyou, I heard that in the next few months, you will stay in Luojing City as an official?"
"That's right."
"What is the specific official position? As the saying goes, those who are capable work hard. Daoyou Gu has done such an earth-shattering thing in Qingzhou Mansion this time, I believe the chief minister will definitely let you shoulder the responsibility Let’s take on more important responsibilities!”
“I haven’t received the new appointment letter yet.”
“That should still be in the process,” Shangguan Jin said thoughtfully. "Based on the achievements that Gu Daoyou has made this time, there is a high probability that he will be promoted under special circumstances again, so the cabinet needs to spend more time to think about it... In just one year, Daoyou Gu has been promoted twice in a row, which is unprecedented in Daqi. The Exorcism Department is unprecedented!”
“Let’s wait for the dust to settle first!”
"By the way, Fellow Daoist Gu, will you be free in a week?"
"In a week... there should be nothing else besides cultivation! Does Fellow Daoist Shangguan need my help with anything?"< br>
Shangguan Jin pondered for two seconds and replied: "Actually, it is like this. As the personal followers of the Chief Secretary, Chu Fengge and I were brought up by the Chief Chief. To a certain extent, we can also be regarded as the Chief Chief. Your Excellency has an anonymous disciple. He has always put forward very strict requirements for us in the process of teaching us practice.
"Gu Daoyou should remember that when you were participating in the promotion assessment in Yishui County, You once entered a magical artifact called the 'Wengu Pot' and solved a ghost named 'Dream-Eating Tapir' in it, right? "
"Well, of course I remember. "Gu Xu nodded.
The "Review Pot" is a precious magic weapon of Luo Si Shou.
It can record the ghost cases in the history of the Exorcism Department in the form of illusions in the pot.
As long as the monks recite specific mantras, they can let their spiritual consciousness enter the pot and re-experience previous cases.
According to what Chu Fengge said at the time, the monks at the Exorcism Department headquarters often conducted actual combat training in the illusion of the pot.
During the promotion assessment, Gu Xu also entered this "reminiscing pot" with Yishui County Detective Ma Qin.
At that time, Gu Xu's skills in talisman, astonishing insight and fighting talent displayed in the illusion of the pot left a very deep impression on Chu Fengge, Shangguan Jin and Luo Sishou who were fighting outside the pot.
"The Chief of Staff requires Chu Fengge and I to enter the 'Reviewing Pot' once a month to review a past case," Shangguan Jin continued, "Of course the difficulty of this case cannot be too high. Low - at least, we need to deal with an 'evil spirit' level ghost that can threaten our life safety in the 'Wen Gu Pot'.
"The Chief Secretary believes that this kind of battle between life and death. It is an excellent training that can improve our practical skills and adaptability as quickly as possible.
"Of course, that guy Chu Fengge still hasn't learned any skills. He still just rushes in and does it without thinking. But he relies on his 'weed' magical power, rough skin and thick flesh, It allows injuries to heal quickly, true energy to recover quickly, and in the end, ghosts can always be beaten to death.
"Gu Daoyou, your cultivation talent is stronger than all of us. The Chief of Staff also has higher expectations for you than we do.
"The Chief of Staff mentioned to me that I hope you can participate in our actual training in the 'Reviewing Pot' in a week. I wonder if you are willing?"
Gu Xu did not answer immediately.
He knew that participating in this kind of practical training between life and death in the "Review Pot" was a very luxurious treatment.
On the one hand, the monks of the Exorcism Department go out to perform ghost-killing tasks, which not only require cultivation, but also strong psychological quality and the ability to deal with things calmly.
Many newcomers may have good qualifications, but when it comes to actual combat, they are too nervous to make correct decisions because they see scary-looking ghosts.
Especially sometimes, they need to deal with cases where their colleagues have been corrupted by Yin Qi and become obsessed - this is undoubtedly very easy for them to lose their minds.
But many old people may not have very high cultivation, but they can make great achievements by relying on their rich experience and strong psychological quality.
It’s just that experience is hard to come by and can only be accumulated through actual combat again and again.
If you are not careful, you may lose your life in the process of accumulating experience.
But a magic weapon like the "Review Pot" can greatly speed up this process while ensuring safety.
On the other hand, many epiphanies and breakthroughs in the process of spiritual practice occur only during life-and-death moments.
For example, when Gu Xu was forced into a desperate situation by Kongxuan Sanren, he stepped on the "Naihe Bridge" and successfully obtained "Time".
For example, when Chen Jisheng risked his life in Yishan and broke into the Snow Girl's territory to pick snow ginseng, he found his "ordinary heart" and was successfully promoted to become a strong man in the "Wangxiangtai" realm.
However, Shangguan Jin and Chu Fengge, as the personal followers of the Chief Secretary, were able to use the "warming pot" to simulate this process of narrow escape.
For example, Chu Fengge's "weed" supernatural power was awakened after being ravaged by ghosts over and over again in the "Warming Pot".
But now, Gu Xu's cultivation has come to a standstill.
He stood on the 240th step leading to the "Wangxiang Terrace", with clouds and mist in front of him, and ghosts and wolves howling all around him.
The surrounding environment disturbed his mind, making it difficult for him to continue moving forward and climb the steep "Homesickness Ridge".
He needs an opportunity that can give him an epiphany to try to break through this obstacle.
Maybe it’s the Lantern Festival today.
Perhaps it was a ghost-killing mission that needed to be carried out later.
Perhaps it is the tempering of life and death in the "Review Pot".
Today's invitation from Shangguan Jin was a timely help for him.
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Notes:
(1) "The colors are far away, and the light is far away in the sky. The stars are falling, and the moon is hanging against the building." - Tang Dynasty "Fifteen Nights Watching Lanterns" by Lu Zhaolin
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(End of this chapter)