The old woman's eyes were dark, but her gaze remained calm and fixed on the crowd. She asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"
"..." Ji Rongxue stuttered slightly, but still calmly transmitted his voice: "She is still human."
"He's a good person, and he seems to have spiritual roots in his body." But his cultivation level is probably that of an elderly person who has practiced to strengthen his body. Yun Xian took a deep breath and said, "Is that why she can't see? That's why she doesn't find it strange?"
Feng Ye: "How can you know we are standing here if you can't see..."
Only Xue Lingxiu seemed relatively calm. After all, due to his profession, he had always been more receptive to such things. "People who have been blind for a long time tend to have sharper hearing. She probably heard us."
The old lady stood there, stunned and asked, "Didn't the children come here? Is it because I look scary?"
As she spoke, her expression grew somewhat forlorn. It had to be said that if this truly was some demon, it was disguised rather closely, its expression like that of an elderly person who hadn't seen their children for a month or two. If it weren't for its lack of eyes, Yun Xian would probably have felt a little sad.
The old woman complained again, "Losing my eyes wasn't a disaster. I chose this on my own initiative. This way I won't judge people by appearance and develop a discriminatory mindset. It will be more helpful for my Buddhist practice."
Yun Xian: "..." It's even scarier after the explanation, okay? !
Wait, she seems to have discovered something.
From beginning to end, apart from breathing, no one made a sound. How did the old lady know that the people in front of her were all young people?
Ji Rongxue must have also realized this. Yun Xian realized that she had realized this and quickly sent a message: "Miss, calm down! Your nails are hooked on my clothes!"
Qi Zhiye took a half step forward, stared intently, and asked, "Where is this place?"
The old lady smiled and said, "One step forward, and you will find the lotus seat."
Qi Zhiye: "What is a lotus seat?"
The old woman said without hesitation: "Everyone yearns for a place without suffering."
Yun Xian and the others were all silent in the background, thinking Qi Zhiye was going to engage in a debate with the old woman without further ado, asking philosophical questions like, "Where do you come from?", "Where are you going?", "All living things are a melting pot of suffering," etc. However, after Qi Zhiye finished listening, he turned around and pointed with an unhappy look on his face, "That's right."
Everyone: “…………”
It seems you live in the opposite house! ! !
Yun Xian calmed herself down and looked down at the Buddha statue on her chest. Master Mingguang hadn't said much when he gave her the wooden Buddha statue, only asking her to take good care of it.
The wooden Buddha statue was so crudely carved that it was difficult to tell whether it was male or female. Only the compassionate facial features could be vaguely seen. But now, the golden light had gone out, and there was a faint hint of anger on the Buddha's face.
"Alright." Yun Xian gestured for everyone to check if their weapons were hidden properly, then raised his head and said, "Let's go."
“…”
Everyone lined up and followed grandma into the narrow path, with Qi Zhiye in the front and Ji Rongxue following behind.
"The 'door' that Senior Brother mentioned is probably this entrance." Yun Xian turned around. After the last person stepped in, the scenery suddenly changed. The desolate countryside and the dilapidated temple were all transformed into wild grass, a withered and bleak scene. "To be able to create a barrier to this extent, the Smiling Buddha's strength is unfathomable."
This reminded her of something else.
I'm really sorry about that big pendulum clock from Tang Lingguo before, but Yun Xian didn't know his real name until the end, so he could only call him by the most memorable nickname for the time being. He also set up a barrier that prevented anyone from entering or leaving, but this was not something he could easily do as a person in the Spirit Severing stage.
Being able to open up such a large space and roam and hide freely, the barrier of the lotus seat now seems to have similarities with the mysterious headquarters of the demon cult.
When Yun Xian thought of the Demon Sect, he thought of Jimo Shu. He didn't know where she was or what she was doing now.
But unexpectedly, as they approached the road, the scene before them was truly peaceful and simple, exactly as Xiaofang had described. Yellow autumn fields surrounded them, and a scarecrow stood in the center, a few daring crows resting on its shoulders. A gentle autumn breeze brushed across their faces, and in front of houses emitting smoke, a few elderly people sat on benches, chatting casually, while children nestled in their laps, playing with insects.
The scene is heartwarming. No one is missing limbs without permission. An old lady is painstakingly teaching her grandchildren: "Don't catch ants. Release them quickly. Also, be careful where you walk. Don't step on them. All living things have spirits. Remember this."
The children, with runny noses, suddenly realized: "Grandma, we understand. We will never do this again."
Then they looked at each other and smiled.
The joy of family life is full of happiness.
But Yun Xian suspected they didn't even know each other before entering the lotus seat. Even though "Grandma" was old, she could still tell she once had big eyes, double eyelids, and a well-proportioned frame. These children looked vastly different, with no single aspect of them resembling her. And their conversations somehow felt artificial and stiff, like a performance. Or, to put it another way, it was simply too idealistic.
Back then, when Yun Lang asked her to sit down and memorize more books, she could fight with others for three hundred rounds. It is understandable that a child is so obedient, but how can everyone be so obedient?
At the other end of the path, two farmers were violently pushing and shoving each other:
"I'll just retreat an inch. I'll retreat! Don't negotiate with me. No need!"
"How can that be possible? It was you who helped my family build a house last time! Liu Jian, we are brothers, don't be so fussy! This time I must withdraw!"
The two seemed to be arguing over the boundaries of their respective lands, but most people argued over who could advance an inch, while these two were arguing over who could retreat an inch. No matter how urgent their tone was, the smiles on their faces remained unchanged as if welded. Yun Xian looked behind them and was stunned.
Xue Lingxiu transmitted the message: "Fenghua."
The endless fields were planted with wind flowers. The immature wind flowers looked no different from ordinary crops, except that they emitted a faint poisonous fragrance. The two arguing people were bathed in this strange fragrance, their faces turned blue and black, but they were completely unaware of it.
Walking past the houses and fields, and continuing forward, one could see a magnificent Buddhist temple in the distance, which made one look up. Pavilions, terraces, gurgling water, and a faint white mist surrounded it, like a fairyland, a world apart from the dilapidated temple they had just seen in the wilderness.
However, the gate of the Buddhist temple was tightly closed. When I looked up, I could only see the treetops over the courtyard wall. Several Bodhi trees stood quietly in the courtyard, their branches unmoved by the wind, which was extremely quiet and elegant.
Yun Xian: "...Under normal circumstances, temples are open during the day, right?"
Qi Zhiye: "It's not about opening a door, it's about opening a mountain."
It truly lived up to its name, the Reverse Buddha. Could it be that even the opening hours had to be reversed? At this moment, the old woman finally stopped tremblingly, turned around, and said kindly, "You all must be destined to come here. Why don't you stay for a few days before leaving?"
Ji Rongxue asked, "Can we still get out if we go back the same way now?"
The old lady suddenly scratched her head and said, "I'm sorry, I'm a little hard of hearing and can't hear what you are saying."
"..." Suddenly feeling like a sheep in a tiger's mouth, Qiao Lingshan hid her sword in her pocket again and said, "Then, where should we live? It seems that all the people around here are Tian families. If we move in with someone else's house, it would be too much trouble."
The old lady smiled and said, "We are all brothers and sisters, so why would there be any trouble?"
A few children who were releasing butterflies didn't look where they were going and stumbled over. When they saw everyone, they smiled brightly and said, "Are there new brothers and sisters? Can you walk?"
The old lady touched the children's heads, and a loving expression reappeared on her old face: "This time, the brothers and sisters will not leave."
Yun Xian frowned slightly and asked, "Leaving? Have the brothers and sisters gone home yet?"
The children said innocently, "No."
Yun Xian asked again: "Then why did you say they left?"
The children laughed and said, "Because we never see them again!"
Yun Xian looked around and found that all the indigenous people in his sight stopped what they were doing and turned towards him with smiles on their faces.
They didn't speak or chat, they just kept smiling. Suddenly, the curves of everyone's mouths and the degree of half-closed eyelids were all exactly the same, like a template-like mask, put on everyone's face in a stiff way.
It has to be said that, in Yun Xian's opinion, if the Smiling Buddha was deliberately so scary, it would be vulgar and make him look completely unrefined. However, based on our current understanding of him, the most terrifying thing is that the Smiling Buddha himself doesn't seem to find this scary at all, and actually thinks it's quite beautiful. It's unclear what kind of aesthetic he has.
Ji Rongxue: “…”
Yun Xian patted her and said earnestly, "Miss, you regret coming here. But it's actually not that bad. Think about it, it would be even scarier if you went to Tangling Country. There are all these weird hair, eyeballs, and spirit bodies there. They look very rude. At least here we are all human."
"If a person is not complete, then he is not really a human being." Ji Rongxue said quietly, "This old lady said that she simply felt that judging people by appearance would make her discriminate, so she dug out her own eyes. Let's not talk about whether this reason is valid. Even if it is, the incision is so smooth and neat, without a trace of flesh left. You can't dig out such a round hole even if you dig out a watermelon with a spoon."
Yun Xian closed his eyes: "You are so good at describing!"
Qiao Lingshan was shocked: "Miss, are you observing so carefully? I thought you were so scared that you were about to hide."
"There's no necessary connection between being afraid and hiding." Ji Rongxue said coldly, "I'm not Feng Ye."
Feng Ye said weakly: "Why does it concern me again..."
If the enemy comes, we will fight him; if the water comes, we will block it with earth. No matter what, let's just go along. The old lady had no intention of taking the group to visit the Buddhist temple. Instead, she led them straight around the courtyard wall and into an extremely spacious courtyard.
In a blink of an eye, it was dusk, the sun was setting, and the wind was cold.
The courtyard looked a bit like the servants' quarters of a wealthy family—simple and shabby, with moss covering the exterior walls, unscrambled. Within the dimly lit rooms, each lit only by oil lamps, were a constant swarm of figures, their shadows constantly shifting, as if they were packed with people. But as they entered, the only sound in the courtyard was the gentle rush of water.
"In recent days, so many people have come to the Lotus Seat to pray to the Buddha that the village house is no longer able to accommodate them. The Buddha is so kind that he specially opened this place outside the temple for them to stay." The old woman walked very slowly, but no one passed her. They just followed silently behind her and listened to her explanation. "This place is very close to the Buddhist temple. You can hear the bells morning and night, and you can be deeply influenced by the Zen spirit. Others are so envious. You know, this kind of blessing is rare."
Feng Ye complained again in a voice transmission: "The influence is so strong that the paint on the wall is peeling off. Whoever gets this blessing will want it."
Qiao Lingshan exclaimed, "I counted, there are at least ten people crammed into such a small room! If one of them snores at night, how can we sleep?"
Yun Xian said sarcastically, "Lingshan, don't you know that you grind your teeth even when you sleep?"
Ji Rongxue enviously said, "You two have such a good relationship. I've never slept with anyone else."
Qiao Lingshan blushed: "...How could I have that?!"
I don’t know whether she was denying grinding her teeth while sleeping or because she was in a good relationship.
Xue Lingxiu couldn't stand the constant chatter anymore. She couldn't stand these naughty kids always calling in small groups to communicate in person. She said angrily, "You haven't even seen the Smiling Buddha yet, and you're already relaxing? Pay attention!"
The ears instantly became clear.
"You're incredibly lucky! You'll happen to be there the day after tomorrow when the Buddha himself will hold the funeral for Master Jide." The old woman led the group all the way to the last room, then continued, "As long as you receive the Buddha's grace, enlightenment is not far away. As long as you don't make any mistakes in the next two days, absolutely don't make any mistakes, and you can enter the hall and witness it together..."
Yun Xian took a quick glance and found that the next room was dead silent. The shadow by the window was still swaying slightly, as if it was stubbornly looking at the passerby.
Finally, the old lady opened the dusty door and said, "We're here. You can stay here for the next few days."
Xue Lingxiu's face suddenly became a thousand times uglier than when he first came in.
It was not for any other reason, because this house did not look like anyone had ever lived in it. It was comparable to the shabby yard where Yun Xian lived when he first went to the Four Directions War. There were cobwebs and dust everywhere. Apart from a broken three-legged table, two or three cushions, and a large bunk bed on the ground, there was not even a quilt. Apart from that, the house was bare, even emptier than Yun Xian's head when he just woke up.
"Wait, Grandma." Yun Xian stepped forward and asked in surprise, "We, all live here?"
The old lady looked at her blankly with dark eyes: "What's wrong? Is there not enough space?"
The bunk bed was naturally big enough that Yun Xian could roll on it three times without reaching the end.
"Although I don't really care about this, but..." Yun Xian pointed at herself, then pointed at Feng Ye beside her, and said: "I'm a woman. He's a man. Logically speaking, shouldn't we be able to live together?"
Even in Buddhist temples, nuns and monks cannot eat and live together. This is the rule.
The old lady said without hesitation: "We are all brothers and sisters, why bother about this."
"...Okay, you're right." In an emergency, it's better to act if everyone stays together. That's just right. Yun Xian glanced at Xue Lingxiu, who was already furiously cleaning with a frown on her face, and said, "Grandma, is there anything we need to do tomorrow?"
She has now discovered a characteristic of this type of people.
They might appear easy to talk to, quite friendly, and wouldn't say anything bad about you, but convincing them is impossible. It's not because they're stubborn, but because in their minds, what they say is as natural as drinking water, the laws of nature. If Yun Xian tried to explain the "three-year-olds, don't sit together" thing to her, she would look at him with kind eyes, thinking he was talking nonsense.
The old lady kindly lit the candle, holding a cane, and stood in front of the door. The candle flickered, swaying the small dark shadow behind her:
"Every morning, the Buddha bell rings." Her expression seemed to change, yet it also seemed to remain unchanged. Her tone suddenly became stiff as she said, "No one is allowed to go out before the third bell rings."
Dusk gradually encroached, and the six people worked hard in the room, finally tidying it up to the point where they could lie down and rest.
In fact, if Xue Lingxiu wasn't there, the other five probably wouldn't do this job. Whether it was dirty or not was another matter. At most, they could just sit down and cover themselves with clothes to make do for the night. It wouldn't hurt a cultivator to go without sleep for a few nights. But Xue Lingxiu was a very picky person. He didn't even clean up and wouldn't let Yun Xian sit on the ground.
The large bunk bed was also covered with the cloth in his storage ring. Yun Xian sighed and sat down, still confused.
"Fellow Daoist Qi," Yun Xian asked, "What's so special about this Buddhist bell? Why must it ring three times before one can 'leave the house'?"
"The bell tolls three times when the porridge is served, when meditation is finished, when making rounds in the morning and evening, or when getting out of bed after having tea." Qi Zhiye, who must have been pondering this, said, "But I've never heard of any custom of not letting people go out."
Yun Xian said, "Well, it seems we have to find a way out. But I see, this door isn't locked from the outside. If she really didn't want us to go out, she could have just locked the door."
Qiao Lingshan squatted on the ground and laid out the edges and corners. "Just because the door is locked, you can't get out? Even if it's an iron door, you can chew a hole to get out. Why do you keep saying this?"
Yun Xian: “…”
Qiao Lingshan seemed to still be holding a grudge against me for catching her grinding her teeth while sleeping, and now she was speaking in an extremely aggressive manner.
The oil lamp outside suddenly went out, and the sky and the earth were dark. It seemed that it was time to go to bed. There was silence all around. What was going on? This bungalow was separated by a thin wall, and the sound insulation should be very poor. With so many people living next door, there was no sound at all?
Is there anything else to do in the evening?
Xue Lingxiu saw Yun Xian's coat hanging on the hilt of his sword under the oil lamp, and a vein on his forehead throbbed again: "In just one day, you wrinkled it like this?"
Yun Xian lied with his eyes wide open: "It's wrinkled to begin with! You've been traveling all day, how could clothes not be wrinkled?"
Xue Lingxiu showed her her clothes, which were as smooth as new, without a speck of dust.
"..." Yun Xian fell into a coma. "I'm going to sleep first. Good night."
No matter what, let's lie down first. The six people lay down in a row, in order:
Yun Xian, Ji Rongxue, Qiao Lingshan, Feng Ye, Xue Lingxiu, and Qi Zhiye.
Although according to this division, the two people on the right must be looking as disgusting as shit, but there is nothing that can be done about it, they can only make do with it for now.
Yun Xian crossed his hands on his stomach and said, "Come on, everyone, let's talk about what we've gained today. By the way, proceed step by step. Don't talk about things that are too unreasonable. Some people will be scared."
"The people in the house next door are all dead," Qi Zhiye said bluntly. "The shadows are swaying because they're hanging from the beams. I don't sense any signs of life."
Ji Rongxue: “…”
Yun Xian felt Ji Rongxue moving towards him subtly. The bed suddenly felt warm and filled with a dry air. He smiled bitterly and said, "...When did he die? Can you tell?"
Xue Lingxiu's voice got closer: "Very fresh."
"It was just a few days ago." Yun Xian pondered. "From the tone of those children, it seems that people have been coming in frequently recently. It is reasonable to speculate that it is the cultivators who recently disappeared in Qiankun City. Maybe they were lured here after eating the wind flower."
Ji Rongxue took advantage of the chaos to get next to Yun Xian. His mood had calmed down considerably, and he asked quietly, "Head hanging from the beam? Can you tell if he did it himself or if someone else did it?"
Xue Lingxiu said briefly, "I need to see the body first before I can make a judgment."
"If you want to see, I'll break the door down tomorrow." Ji Rongxue was much more receptive to corpses than to old ladies. He pondered, "Just now she said that if you 'don't make mistakes,' you can attend the funeral of Master Jude the day after tomorrow. If that's true, we can see the Smiling Buddha in person there and confirm his true relationship with Senior Mingren."
Qiao Lingshan asked, "Fellow Daoist Qi, what does the virtuous master mean?"
Qi Zhiye has become the encyclopedia of Buddhist lexicon: "A monk who benefits sentient beings with a genuine bodhicitta and who has not committed the 128 evil views and erroneous knowledge."
Yun Xian: "Is there any easy-to-understand explanation?"
Qi Zhiye said simply and rudely, "You must not make mistakes to earn this title."
Needless to say, someone like Qi Zhiye, who breaks precepts like water and even refuses to shave his head, is definitely not acceptable. Generally, those who can be called masters are highly respected and command respect. If they themselves can get angry, how can they teach others the Dharma?
The funeral of a virtuous master?
There was a moment of silence in the room. At this moment, Qi Zhiye suddenly said, "Many of those villagers we met on the way here were not human."
Ji Rongxue: “…”
She had had enough of it all.
"What do you mean it's not a human?" Yun Xian said calmly, "If it were a spirit, I wouldn't be unable to tell."
"They're not spirits, but they're close to them." Qi Zhiye's expression darkened. "I can discern the original Buddha Qi. It's like those people are phantoms constructed with the Buddha Qi, acting only according to a single command. If you follow these phantoms home, you'll find they'll just stand motionless in the corner, waiting to leave at the same time the next day."
"for what?"
"I don't know."
This behavior is time-consuming and laborious, and requires a terrifying level of cultivation. The Smiling Buddha can use his own original Buddha energy to create so many lifelike phantoms, and can also continuously maintain the operation within this barrier, which really proves this statement.
At least in this field, she is the absolute controller and reigns supreme.
In the silence, Xue Lingxiu saw a figure sitting up, and Yun Xian tiptoed to put on the pair of earth-level defensive socks that Su Chi had given him: "…………"
He really couldn't stand Yun Xian anymore. Did she wash her feet just now? No, it seemed she didn't even wash her hands...or her face!
Yun Xian put on his socks and lay back down in a flash, saying, "Then tomorrow we'll do as the old lady said and familiarize ourselves with the venue. The next day, we'll attend the funeral. But, what did she mean by 'don't make mistakes'... If she wants me to not make mistakes, at least tell me what's right and what's wrong."
As she complained, she felt something rough scratch her neck. It seemed to be the edge of a piece of straw paper, pressed under the blanket, which had moved out slightly with her movement.
"Hmm?" Yun Xian subconsciously reached out to fish it out, actually pulling out several pieces of rough paper covered in messy handwriting. Ji Rongxue, who was very close to her, also made a similarly confused sound, "Day 1."
She stretched out her hand, and a flash of fire appeared at her fingertips. Finally, everyone present could clearly see the contents of the handwriting.
Day 1
I've arrived at this place without realizing it, fortunately with my companions. The old lady told me to relax and, as long as I don't make any mistakes, we can return in a month after the funeral of Master Jide. Strange, is this some strange village where, during special times, only people are allowed in and no one is allowed out, to prevent the secrets of the ritual from being leaked? Of course, the world is full of wonders, and such things are indeed possible. I'll write this down so I don't forget again. Remember, don't get up until the bell rings three times, never open the door in the middle of the night, don't gaze at the moon alone, and enter the temple together with reverence. I understand the first part, but what does the second part mean?
Day 2
We're having a vegetarian meal today. There's no meat, but since we're Buddhists, we can't be too picky. The cabbage and tofu are quite delicious. There are more people in the hall than I expected. Are they all here for the funeral? But why are they all smiling so happily and staring at me? Do I look funny?
Day 3
Today we had vegetarian food and chanted sutras. Strange, the Buddhist symbol is like this? Something feels off. One of those people seemed to be trying to escape, but was unlucky. He tripped and hit his head on a pillar just as he was running down the stairs, dying instantly. My companion told me he heard a bell last night. Where did that bell come from? Why didn't I hear it? Are you kidding me?
Day 4
Sure enough, I asked the old lady, and she said that Buddhist temples never ring bells at night, and no one wanders around outside. Everyone works from sunrise to sunset, without exception. I was like, I'm already in the Nascent Soul stage, how could I not hear the bells at night?
Day 5
[Why did I hear that? The night bell, three times. Did I hear it wrongly?]
Day 6
I heard it again, three times. It was the same bell as in the morning. My friend rushed out and never came back.
Day 7
He returned, right in the main hall. He'd tried to escape, but he was unlucky. He tripped and hit his head on a pillar as he ran down the steps, dying instantly. The old lady told me that Buddhist temples never ring bells at night. There was no way there would be anyone outside, and there was no way there would be a shadow on the window, no blood. You must be too nervous, hallucinating. As long as I don't make any mistakes and attend the funeral, I can go back.
Day 8
What do I see?
【……】
What am I seeing? What is it? What is it? I don't understand. What am I doing here? I think I'm here for a funeral. That makes sense.
【……】
I didn't dare open the door; I couldn't make a mistake. But I pried open the window and saw a lot of things. So that's how it was. So that's how it was. My companion was among them. He wasn't unlucky; he was the lucky one, and I'll be next.
Nothing
Today's chanting. The Buddha's compassion saves all beings from ignorance and slaughter. This is a land free from suffering, where one will surely ascend to the Pure Land. The Buddha's compassion saves the world and sympathizes with all. If others do not harm me, I will not harm others. This is the source of peach blossoms.
This is how the Buddhist symbol is supposed to be. There's nothing wrong with that. Why did I think it was reversed at first? Weird, weird, weird, weird.
Today I will recite the sutra. Free from suffering and distractions, I will soar across the world and become the happiest.
【blank】
【blank】
【I am very happy, very happy, happy, happy, happy all my life】
[Do not harm, harm, harm others, do not harm others, do not harm yourself, I, I, I am immortal]
The handwriting changed from neat and brisk at the beginning to frantic and crazy later on, and it was almost impossible to tell that it was written by the same person. On the blank side in the middle, his own name was repeatedly and painfully written in the corner with brushstrokes, layer upon layer, but you could still vaguely see that the person who wrote these notes was named "Liu Jian".
Feng Ye exclaimed in surprise: "Ah!! When we came in, one of the two farmers who were arguing was called Liu Jian!!"
If the information on the note was true, then the person across from him might be his long-dead companion. However, there was no sign that Liu Jian had once been a Nascent Soul cultivator; his cultivation had fallen to less than the Foundation Establishment stage. He was like the illusion created by the Buddha's energy, working from sunrise to sunset, simple and honest, as if he had been born on the Lotus Seat from the very beginning, and had never had any doubts about the world.
Yun Xian's hand holding the paper trembled slightly: "..."
She remembered that Master Mingguang had clapped the wooden fish to assure Senior Mingren that he would not beat her, and she suddenly wanted to die for no reason.
Ah!! Beat her up!! Just beat her to death! This soft knife cutting flesh is too painful. Tang Lingguo didn't do this at the beginning!
At this moment, Qi Zhiye suddenly said, "Did you hear that?"
"What did you hear?" Yun Xian listened carefully. The outside was still silent, with only the sound of the wind. He said inexplicably, "I didn't hear anything!"
Qiao Lingshan also heard it and said solemnly, "I heard someone ringing the bell three times."
Feng Ye almost fainted: "Don't scare me! Please don't scare me! Ahhhhh!! Light the lamp, who can light the lamp? Why is no one paying attention to me? Forget it, I will light it myself... Hey, why is there no one next to me?? Don't all move to the sides, I'm so scared! Brother Xue!! Sister Qiao!! Help!!"
Xue Lingxiu and Qiao Lingshan said in unison: "Who said I leaned to the side?!"
In the chaos, only Ji Rongxue was silent. He might have already lost consciousness.
To make matters worse, although Yun Xian did not hear the bell that Qi Zhiye and Qiao Lingshan mentioned, she heard sudden footsteps.
Like two people, no, three? What? I can't tell.
Small feet clattered along the ground, making a loud, almost dragging sound. It started in the first room in the hallway. Could it be that old woman? No, that wasn't right. Old women walked much slower than this, and definitely not in such a rush.
Yun Xian whispered, "Ready."
The leader leaning against the wall began to ring his sword softly, signaling that he was ready at any time. Everyone else also began to touch their weapons, put on their coats, and held their breath, ready for battle.
The footsteps suddenly stopped outside the door.
Under the dim moonlight, a human figure was imprinted on the window paper. The shadow appeared and disappeared in the candlelight, deformed and distorted, and it was impossible to make out its true outline.
But the man did not open the door.
Just watch.
In the quiet air, the shadows came closer and closer. Finally, everyone saw two shadows under the crack of the door. They were a pair of small feet wearing bright red embroidered shoes.
In an instant, with a "bang", the tattered wooden door was pushed open directly with a loud noise. Although Yun Xian was prepared, he was still frightened. Just as he was about to call Taiping over, he felt a ball of hard hair rubbing against his neck.
No way, the young lady wouldn't be so scared that her ears and tail are exposed. Look quickly or you will be in trouble. Yun Xian subconsciously looked down and fell silent: "..."
Buried in her chest was a complete, massive, perfectly round lion's head. It was a whole piece, no secondhand dealers, no cut corners! Its sideburns were devoid of lush hair, its quivering beard white. Its ears, however, appeared short and round, twitching restlessly. Noticing Yun Xian's gaze, Ji Rongxue looked up, her black nose dry with fear, and she almost forgot to close her mouth.
The man and the lion looked at each other for a moment, and Yun Xian actually saw a vivid look of embarrassment in those green and cold animal eyes.
Qiao Lingshan wanted to move to the side, but ended up leaning against nothing. Then she looked again and saw a big lion's head curled up in Yun Xian's arms like a chick. She almost burst out laughing, but she was not very familiar with Ji Rongxue after all, so it was not appropriate to laugh openly. Besides, now was not the time to look at this -
In the middle of the wide-open door stood an old lady with a cane who had just escorted a group of people here not long ago.
But her expression at this moment was completely different. If it was still unnatural, then her previous expression was more like a bodhisattva with drooping brows. Now, her eyes were wide open, her brows were raised, and she looked like a furious vajra. In front of the six people piled up in a circle, she slowly said, "You..."
Yun Xian: "We...?"
The old woman slammed her cane against the ground and said in a booming voice, "Do you know what time it is now?! In this whole Lotus Seat, your room is the noisiest!!"
"Isn't it?" Feng Ye sat alone with the oil lamp, and he even had time to complain in his voice: "Our room is the only one in this row with living people, so of course it's noisy."
"What are you mumbling about down there?" the old woman continued, glaring. "If you're so inclined, I'll have you officiate at the funeral the day after tomorrow! Speak on the stage, not down below! Aren't you that powerful?! Go on, keep talking!"
Yun Xian: "...Grandma, we know we were wrong."
"Hmph!" The old woman continued to look sullen, her temperament changing drastically. Before leaving, she leaned heavily on her cane: "You guys are truly the worst family I've ever led!!"
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