Chapter 92 Chapter 92 How Grandma and the Monster Realize Grandma...
Seeing him suddenly lying on the ground and falling asleep, several people thought something had happened to him and hurriedly dropped their chopsticks. A Pan pushed him hard a few times and gently patted the little wolf's cheek.
He opened his eyes a little, said "sleepy", and fell asleep again.
Duan Zhiwei touched his forehead with the back of his hand and found out that he didn't have a fever, which made him feel relieved. The little wolf was small and light, so the three women carried him back to the room. Arriving at the familiar bed, the little wolf lay on his back in a comfortable position, and then began to snore softly.
Everyone was completely relieved now. Aunt Duan grumbled and complained, "I'm afraid this child must have been a thief last night."
He was sleeping soundly, curled up with his belly exposed. Duan Zhiwei picked up a handkerchief and wanted to cover him with it, but found that the handkerchief had been worn into several holes, and several thin cotton threads were hanging on it like spider silk.
Children really don't know how to take care of things. She shook her head, took out a new one and covered his belly with it, then carried the old one out the door.
The moonlight was shining like frost. Jinhua the cat was fighting with a calico cat that was two times smaller than him on the eaves. The tiles were broken into pieces. Duan Zhiwei couldn't bear to watch and shouted softly, "Jinhua, you are a demon. Why are you fighting with a kitten?"
The Jinhua cat's paw paused, and it meowed in grievance. The little Sanhua cat took the opportunity to run away.
Xiao Sanhua ran wildly towards the distance without stopping, ran past the clothesline covered with night dew, jumped over the quietly flowing Ziluo River, passed through an alley and finally ran into a simple tiled house.
This is the residence of Grandma Zeng.
There is a different world inside the tile-roofed house. The incense burner with inlaid gilt lotus petals from the previous dynasty is still emitting a faint fragrance, but it is missing an ear; the wind-breaking bell on the eaves is shiny and bright, but it does not ring because it lacks a bell; the Persian carpet on the floor is embroidered with exquisite date palm trees and hunting patterns, but it has become bald and faded due to age.
The little Sanhua shook its fur that was wet by the night dew, opened its mouth, and some star-like bright lights floated out of its mouth and then floated onto the forehead of the sleeping Grandma Zeng.
The earless incense burner suddenly spoke: "The soul light collected is not enough. Grandma's life span is coming to an end. I am afraid she won't live long enough to appreciate the chrysanthemums on Double Ninth Festival."
The little Sanhua ran to the table and stood there, transforming into a dressing table with a missing corner. It sighed and said, "This is all I have."
If only a little bit of the child's spirit is taken, the child can recover after a night of sleep and will not be harmed. But if too much is taken, it would be against the will of heaven and earth, not only will the child's spiritual practice be damaged, but the Monster Catchers will not let them go either.
The little monsters were chattering and discussing when Mrs. Bamboo, who was lying next to the old lady, suddenly fell to the ground. After a flash of light, Mrs. Bamboo turned into a woman in black gauze.
All the little monsters shut their mouths.
Madam Zhu looked at them gloomily and said, "I will take the soul light. If it harms my cultivation, it will only harm me. If I am caught by the demon catching department, I will accept the punishment willingly."
She gently put the old lady's hand into the quilt, then put on a black gauze veil and disappeared into the night.
Early the next morning, the sky in Chang'an became gloomy again, and only a little sunshine could be seen through the dark clouds. Fortunately, it did not rain. The people of Chang'an enjoyed the rare coolness, and the restaurant business was also better.
The restaurant sells buckwheat crackers, buckwheat fish and sweet mung bean soup for breakfast today.
Duan Zhiwei blended the buckwheat flour into a paste, picked it up with a bamboo chopstick and threw it into the soup pot. The vermicelli swam in the soup like many small fish. The vermicelli was smooth and chewy. Adding vinegar, soybean paste and a spoonful of mustard to the soup gave it a unique flavor.
Buckwheat crackers are rolled out thinly, brushed with a layer of bacon sauce in the middle, and baked to make crispy and salty crackers. They are delicious when paired with oatmeal porridge and mung bean soup.
The main hall was scorching hot, so she and Ah Pan set up an oilcloth tent outside, and the diners sat outside to enjoy the cool air while eating. Little Wolf had recovered his energy, and after finishing his work, he and Putao squatted there to watch the ants moving.
Mrs. Wu from the bookstore came to buy buckwheat crackers. When she saw the two children, her expression changed drastically. She pulled Duan Zhiwei and said, "How can we let the children stay outside? Let them go home quickly."
Duan Zhiwei was confused: "It's already past the middle of July, it's okay to be outside, it's still cool outside."
Madam Wu said mysteriously, "It's not about the Mid-Autumn Festival. You've heard about it, right?"
Seeing that Duan Zhiwei knew nothing, Madam Wu became interested in chatting with him: "There has been a problem with ghost carriage birds in Chang'an recently. They want to eat the essence of children. Don't let the children stay outside."
It is said that in July and August, especially when the weather is gloomy and gloomy, the ghost car bird will fly out of the cave weeping, transform into a woman, and then steal the souls of the children in the city and bring them back to the nest to be its own children.
Because it is the reincarnation of a woman who has just died, the ghost car bird is extremely resentful. If it sees a child it likes, it will mark the door of that family with blood and come out at night to steal.
Madam Wu continued, "Don't disbelieve me. The baby of the fan seller was either in a coma or crying non-stop. It's probably because the ghost car bird has eaten his soul."
Duan Zhiwei did not comment on this statement. She still felt that the baby's coma must be due to illness, but the medical level here was low and they couldn't find out what was wrong.
However, seeing that Madam Wu was so enthusiastic, Duan Zhiwei didn't know what to say. He had to send Little Wolf and Pu Tao back home, and then thanked Madam Wu.
Mrs. Wu bought the cakes and walked away. After thinking for a while, she came back and said, "Remember, you can't hang children's clothes in the yard!"
Duan Zhiwei turned around and went back to the courtyard to collect clothes. A Pan asked curiously, "Are you really collecting clothes just for a weird story?"
Duan Zhiwei pointed to the sky speechlessly: "It's not a ghost story, it looks like the sky is about to fall, help me put it away quickly."
As soon as he finished speaking, a torrential rain came down without hesitation.
Everyone hurried back to the restaurant. The rain hit the bluestone slabs outside the restaurant, exploding thousands of silver-leaf chrysanthemums. The rain formed a circle of light smoke, and a cool air filled the air.
The rain came and business was driven away by the rain. All the diners left and everyone stayed in the restaurant bored. Aunt Duan chose a seat near the windy door and sat there painting her nails boredly when she suddenly saw someone in the rain.
She sighed: "How come there are still people out in this horrible weather?"
Ah Pan was also leaning against the door cracking melon seeds. The more he looked, the more he felt something was wrong: "Is that... Grandma Zeng?"
The two of them quickly held an umbrella and pulled her into the restaurant. Aunt Duan took a clean ramie towel to wipe her, and Duan Zhiwei served her a bowl of ginger soup: "It's raining so hard, the road is slippery, why can't you stay idle, grandma?"
The old lady took the ramie and wiped her face. She looked a little panicked: "My Mrs. Zhu is missing."
Bamboo Lady is a kind of pillow used for cooling off. It is woven entirely with bamboo and is very cool to hold in the summer. In summer, there are many Bamboo Lady sellers in the East and West Markets, and the price is not high. After all, bamboo grows all year round on Mount Zhongnan and can be used whenever needed.
Duan Zhiwei comforted her, "Don't be sad, grandma. I have a new Bamboo Lady. I'll get one for you."
The old lady shook her head: "I don't want the new one. I have to go out and find the old one."
Aunt Duan whispered to Duan Zhiwei: "It must be that grandma's memory is wrong and she just threw it away somewhere. All her furniture was picked up and no one would steal it."
The old lady hurriedly finished the bowl of ginger soup and was about to leave. It was raining heavily outside, and everyone hurried to stop her.
Anyway, there was no one in the restaurant, so Duan Zhiwei had no choice but to say, "The rain came and went quickly. I'll take you home when it stops soon. If you accidentally dropped it at home, I'll help you find it."
Grandma Zeng had no choice but to sit down.
Fortunately, just as Duan Zhiwei said, the sun came out not long after the rain. She went to the backyard to pull the donkey cart. A Pan helped the old lady onto the donkey cart, and the three of them rode to Goldfish Lane where the old lady was.
The old lady became a widow three years after her marriage and never remarried. She had no children. It was a rare occasion for two young ladies to come to her house, so she was very happy and quickly took out two celadon bowls to pour water for them.
The celadon bowl was stained with a light sky blue color and looked really delicate, but it had a gap in it. Duan Zhiwei avoided the gap and carefully raised his mouth from the intact edge to take a sip.
The old lady sat down and began to chatter, saying how she had followed her husband by boat from Lin'an to Chang'an to sell umbrellas. After a few years of good life, her husband fell ill and died, and from then on she was left alone living in this small house.
She held up the incense burner with inlaid gold lotus petals and said proudly, "I was working at the county magistrate's house. His son broke the incense burner into pieces, so the lady gave it to me as a reward. At first, the incense burner was in tatters and couldn't burn incense. I went home and boiled fish glue myself, and after half a day of piecing it together, I managed to fix it."
She then talked about the faded dressing table on the incense table, the rattan chair with a broken corner, and finally about how she had lost the bamboo lady.
"That is the Bamboo Lady woven from the finest black bamboo." The old lady felt a little sad.
It turned out that several decades ago, a poor scholar made up a set of strange stories, saying that Madam Zhu had attained enlightenment and became a beautiful spirit, who lied that she was a descendant of Concubine Xiang and seduced young men in Chang'an City, making them indulge in her beauty and waste their energy.
The old lady of the Zeng family slammed her hand on the table and said, "Isn't this nonsense? Those playboys have been eating, drinking and having fun in Pingkang all day, and in the end they blamed it on Madam Zhu."
The ghost story spread widely. She worked for a wealthy merchant. The merchant's wife was afraid that her own Madam Bamboo would become a monster and take her husband's soul, so she wanted to burn Madam Bamboo when the yang energy was at its strongest. Granny Zeng had no choice but to pour water into the basin after the merchant's wife left, thus saving Madam Bamboo.
"Although the bottom of the bamboo lady is a little burnt, it is very good for cooling off during the dog days of summer. It would be a pity to burn it."
Grandma Zeng was very sad.
Her house was not big, with only one yard and one room. Duan Zhiwei and A Pan searched inside and outside but couldn't find any trace of Madam Zhu. Grandma Zeng looked worried and went out to look for her again.
Duan Zhiwei hurriedly stopped her: "No, no, no, the rain has just passed and the sun is scorching. Grandma, don't get too hot. If you really want to find it, wait until the evening when it's cooler and we'll go with you."
She was talking to Grandma Zeng when Ah Pan suddenly let go of the celadon bowl in his hand, and Duan Zhiwei quickly caught the bowl.
Fortunately, the bowl was not broken. Ah Pan kept apologizing. Duan Zhiwei whispered, "These old things are all grandma's treasures. Be careful not to let your hands slip."
Ah Pan was also confused and said hesitantly, "I just saw a little girl wearing a green skirt and the size of a thumb suddenly appear on the wall of this bowl. I was scared."
Duan Zhiwei silently stuffed a mint candy into her pocket to help her cool down.
It is so hot in Chang'an in August that it makes people start to talk nonsense.
They sat for a while, and seeing that it was past noon, they hurriedly pulled Grandma Zeng to lie down for a nap, and made an appointment with her to come back in the evening and go out with her to look for Madam Zhu.
Grandma Zeng thanked them repeatedly, escorted them out, and then closed the door. She sighed, paced around the room for a while, and gently stroked the faded old umbrella on the wall: "My good friend, I am not strong enough anymore, and I will come to accompany you soon. The chrysanthemums we saw together in Wanshou Garden were so beautiful that year, I don't know if I can see them again this year."
She sighed again, carefully washed and wiped the bowls on the table that Duan Zhiwei and A Pan had touched, then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.
The room fell silent in an instant, and the only sounds that could be heard were the unmistakable chirping of cicadas outside the window and Grandma Zeng's gentle breathing.
The missing page of the Avatamsaka Sutra on the table was transformed into a bald young monk in gray clothes. He said to the celadon bowl, "It's all your fault. We were almost discovered by outsiders just now."
A young lady in green slowly crawled out from the wall of the celadon bowl. She said aggrievedly: "I didn't notice it for a moment..."
The Persian carpet on the ground rolled up its fur edge and sighed, "Where on earth did Qingnu go? It's the hottest time of the year and Grandma can't live without something to cool off."
The little monsters in the room chirped for a while, but when they saw the old lady turn over on the couch, they immediately closed their mouths and turned back into their original forms.
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