Chapter 95 Chapter 95 The real wish of Grandma Hua, the imperial daughter of the city...
The Ghost Car Bird sharpened its claws on the ground and bared its sharp fangs towards Duan Zhiwei: "I smell the scent of that little baby on you. It turns out that following you will yield great rewards."
This was the second time Duan Zhiwei saw such a strange bird in Chang'an.
There was a black and purple miasma lingering around its body, and its feathers were scorched as if they had been roasted by fire. Most importantly, there were some grayish-white bone residues mixed in among the feathers.
Duan Zhiwei tried his best not to let himself think about what kind of creature those bone fragments were.
Yuan Shenji protected her behind him and drew the Mo Dao from his waist. The cold light of the sword emitted a dazzling light.
"Give me that child."
Its voice is hoarse and low.
"You're dreaming." The one who spoke was Qing Nu behind her. She gently put the baby into the cradle, added a layer of barrier to the cradle, and then rushed towards the ghost car bird.
Yuan Shenji followed immediately.
Duan Zhiwei passed through the barrier that was as soft as warm water, picked up the baby who was crying sadly in the bamboo basket, and coaxed him gently.
Provoked like this, the Ghost Car Bird immediately stretched out its sharp claws and started fighting with them. Its claws collided with Yuan Shenji's Mo Dao, shaking the eaves.
The two sides fought back and forth, and his Mo Dao cut the wings of the ghost car bird, and a strong fishy smell immediately came out of the wound.
The ghost car bird was enraged, roaring and sticking out its sharp fangs and purple tongue. Then the black feathers on its body stood up and shot towards Yuan Shenji and Qing Nu like thousands of arrows.
Yuan Shenji skillfully used his Mo Dao to block the feathers attacking him. The feathers were as hard as steel, and sparks flew when they collided with the sword. However, he could only protect himself. It was quite difficult for him to protect Qing Nu. She was beaten back by these black feathers and a huge cut was scratched on her face.
The Ghost Car Bird no longer had the patience to waste any more time with this powerful Jinwu Guard. She suddenly flew into the air, bypassed him, and swooped down towards the baby in Duan Zhiwei's hands.
A torn Persian blanket flew out from the crack of the window, blocking the attack of the ghost car bird. The little green porcelain demon also crawled out, and kept creating stones in his hands and smashed them at the ghost car bird. The little monk transformed by the Avatamsaka Sutra closed his eyes and began to chant: "All the evil deeds I have committed in the past are due to my endless greed, anger and ignorance..."
The Avatamsaka Sutra was originally missing pages, and he recited it intermittently, but the ghost-chariot bird seemed to have really lost its magical power due to the intermittent recitation, and fell to the ground again.
Yuan Shenji finally got rid of the feathers that had been entangled around him and picked up his sword to fight the ghost car bird again. Duan Zhiwei also realized that the monster protecting her and the baby was a good monster. So she bent down and asked the Celadon Fairy: "Is there anything that this bird is afraid of?"
For example, cats, snakes and other natural enemies of birds. If it is afraid of cats, Duan Zhiwei plans to go back to the restaurant and bring the Jinhua cat over.
The little demons chattered and said, "The ghost car bird is afraid of dogs."
"Her head was bitten off by a vicious dog, and the ghost car bird is very afraid of dogs."
Duan Zhiwei thought of the two hounds chasing the little fox.
She has a plan.
Duan Zhiwei put the sleeping baby back into the basket, asked a few little demons to protect him, and then slipped away through the back door.
The shop selling honey pork elbows was just across the street from Goldfish Lane. She ran all the way over to me and saw the owner of the pork elbow shop struggling with a Uighur money lender in the front yard, with two hunting dogs barking at the money lender behind him.
There were no leashes.
Duan Zhiwei was far away. He picked up a stone and threw it at the dog's head, then turned and ran away.
Hounds love to catch prey that is running fast.
Duan Zhiwei ran a few steps and found that she could not outrun them at all. She climbed over the wall and carefully led the hounds from the eaves all the way back to the outside of Grandma Zeng's tile-roofed house, then shouted, "Yuan Lang, come out quickly!"
Yuan Shenji had already slashed the Ghost Carriage Bird several times and was gaining the upper hand. When he heard her cry for help, he hurried out. The Ghost Carriage Bird was afraid that he would escape, so it flapped its wings and chased him.
Then he saw the two salivating hounds.
Out of instinct, the two hounds immediately gave up on Duan Zhiwei and ran towards the ghost bird, biting its neck and raising a circle of dust on the ground.
Yuan Shenji joined the battle again. This time he finally succeeded in placing the sharp sword on the head of the Ghost Car Bird. Just as he was about to swing the sword, a voice suddenly came from behind:
"Spare the demon."
Dugu, wearing a tattered white robe, came to the old lady's house staggeringly with the two monster-catching men dressed strangely.
While Yuan Shenji was paused, the Ghost Chariot Bird was about to spread its wings and fly away. Dugu threw something casually, and the bird was tied up with a circle of golden thread and fell directly to the ground.
Duan Zhiwei was chased by two dogs. She had to escape and climb the wall, just like she was escaping from a temple. Her legs were shaking with exhaustion. Her husband had been fighting with the ghost-chariot bird for a long time, and two big gaps were cut on his Mo Dao, and his knuckles were cracked.
The highest officer of the Monster Catching Bureau came over and easily caught the exhausted ghost bird.
What’s the difference between this and getting something for nothing, reaping the benefits, or picking up a money box?
Duan Zhiwei couldn't help but say, "Dugu Luling came at the right time. If it was a little later, this ghost car bird would have been killed by my husband."
Dugu smiled and didn't argue with her: "Don't worry, this achievement will be credited to Captain Yuan. Any reward from the court will be yours. I will not take any of it."
Duan Zhiwei was too lazy to pay attention to him.
He gave her a meaningful look and said, "Maybe you will need my help later."
Duan Zhiwei was so angry that her nose almost became crooked. She would never beg him even if she jumped off the roof today.
Dugu clapped his hands, and one of his subordinates put the fallen Ghost Car Bird into his bag, then bowed to Dugu and left.
The remaining little monsters all sensed the powerful spiritual power in this man, and were so scared that they shrank behind Qing Nu, leaving only their heads exposed and staring at him cautiously.
Qing Nu had just been badly injured by the Ghost Chariot Bird and could not even stand steadily. However, she was the oldest and most powerful of all the monsters, so she could only grit her teeth and stand in front of the monsters to confront Dugu.
Dugu said: "You steal the souls of children in order to extend their lives?"
The little monsters chirped and explained:
"Each child only stole a little bit, it's not harmful."
"We were wrong, please forgive us."
Qing Nu sighed: "I asked them to do these things, it has nothing to do with them. I will go to the Monster Catching Division with you to receive the punishment."
Duan Zhiwei chimed in: "She even protected a baby from being harmed by the Ghost Car Bird."
Suddenly there was a violent cough in the room, and Duan Zhiwei ran in quickly: "Grandma."
Dugu also glanced at the room, counted with his fingers and said, "Someone in this house has reached the end of his life today. I'm afraid the Lord of Mount Tai has already set out to collect him."
Qingnu and the other monsters' expressions changed.
Grandma Zeng was leaning against the bed and coughing violently. Duan Zhiwei quickly supported her and patted her back.
Grandma Zeng looked at her weakly and said, "They are all here, right? Can you... let me see them one last time?"
Duan Zhiwei looked at her in surprise: "So you knew."
Granny Zeng said, "I've always known that."
Although she was old, her mind was still clear. The tea in the celadon bowl was quietly replaced with a new one overnight. She took a sip and the water was still warm.
The tiles on the eaves were blown away by the strong wind, and she didn't know who repaired them before she could find a bricklayer to fix them.
She felt very confused until one day, she woke up in the middle of the night and found the Persian blanket she had picked up standing there. The woman was using the silk thread on her body to mend the big hole in her clothes, while she was chatting with the dressing table on the table.
The Persian blanket had been carefully placed in the Hu merchant's tavern for decades. It was stained with countless traces of being trampled on, grease marks from roasted lamb legs, and wine accidentally spilled by drunkards. It had long been unrecognizable. The Hu merchant was rich, so he simply ordered his servants to throw the blanket out and hang a new one in the tavern.
The blanket lay sadly on the yellow earth.
Grandma Zeng was working outside and happened to see this scene. She went into the tavern and carefully asked Hu Shang if she could take the blanket away.
Hu Shang rolled his eyes and asked her to work for free in the tavern for a day in exchange for the blanket he didn't want.
So Grandma Zeng worked tirelessly in the tavern washing dishes and wine glasses for a whole day without asking for any wages. She carefully rolled up the blanket and carried it back home, then went outside to fetch several buckets of river water, carefully washed the blanket several times, and put it in the sun to dry. Finally, the blanket barely revealed its original gorgeous hunting pattern.
The monsters love her very much, and she cherishes their company.
But she never dared to say it, for fear that the little demons would leave, and she also felt that as long as they were by each other's side, that would be good enough.
Duan Zhiwei shouted, and all the monsters immediately crowded in.
Grandma Zeng asked Duan Zhiwei to take out a big box from under the bed. Inside it were the gifts she prepared for the monsters: green clothes for the little green porcelain monster, a jar of osmanthus-scented bath beans for the Persian blanket, a fan for the green slave, and a small wooden fish for the little monk who was reading the Avatamsaka Sutra...
She was already very weak, and the monsters were crying and gasping for breath.
Duan Zhiwei wiped her tears and looked at Dugu who was standing beside her: "Can you think of a solution?"
It was as if she wasn't the one who had just resolutely refused to make the request.
Dugu looked at the monster who was crying, and said, "I can only give you one day. My face with the Lord of Mount Tai is only worth one day." Then he turned away.
Duan Zhiwei also followed Yuan Shenji away, leaving time with the old lady and the monsters.
Duan Zhiwei pulled Yuan Shenji's arm and asked worriedly, "What will happen to the monsters? Will the Monster Catchers catch them all?"
She remembered the strange disciple who threw the ghost car bird into his bag like garbage.
Yuan Shenji comforted her: "If you are worried, we can come back tomorrow to have a look."
On the second day, the Duan family restaurant was closed for the day, and everyone came to Grandma Zeng's house. She was in good spirits today. She had her gray hair combed into a bun, pinned a chrysanthemum in her hair, and wore new clothes that she usually didn't want to wear.
Everyone in the restaurant praised: "Grandma, you look so beautiful today."
Grandma Zeng smiled and said, "That's right. I was also a beauty when I was young. My husband fell in love with me at first sight and brought a matchmaker to my house to propose marriage the next day."
Qingnu's eyes were already red and swollen. She supported the old lady and said, "We are going to take a walk along the Qujiang River today."
Duan Zhiwei said hurriedly: "We have a carriage at home, let's take a carriage, it's more comfortable this way."
Yuan Shenji quickly drove over in a carriage, Qingnu helped the old lady get on, and a group of people went to Qujiang in a mighty manner.
At the end of August, it rained a few more times, and the Qujiang River was filled with withered lotus leaves. Fortunately, the weather was fine today, and the sky was clear and blue, which dispelled a lot of the gloomy atmosphere.
As expected, the chrysanthemums by the pond have not yet bloomed, only small green buds, which will not reappear in the world until the golden autumn of October.
The old lady sighed, "It was autumn when we came to Chang'an. My husband always took me to the Wanshou Garden to appreciate the chrysanthemums. The flowers were in full bloom. He also said that when he had children in the future, he would bring them along. I was looking forward to it, but he fell ill and passed away."
Seeing everyone crying, she forced herself to cheer up and said, "It doesn't matter if I can't see it. I come here every year for decades. I don't feel sorry if I can't see it this year."
She looked at Qingnu lovingly. A group of little demons poked their heads out of the bag Qingnu was carrying and looked at her with tears in their eyes: "My real wish is that you continue to live happily and don't stay in that broken-down house all day missing me. I will be satisfied then."
A gust of wind blew by, and she seemed a little sleepy, and her eyelids began to droop.
Duan Zhiwei cried until her eyes were red and swollen. She buried herself in Yuan Shenji's arms and couldn't bear to watch any more. However, Yuan Shenji patted her shoulder and said gently, "Look."
The copper bells hanging by the Qujiang River suddenly rang, and spots of light suddenly appeared on the bodies of the monsters, and those spots of light slowly drifted onto the tightly closed chrysanthemum buds.
Those tightly closed buds suddenly began to sprout, stretch, cluster together, and bloom one after another. Soon, golden and snow-white chrysanthemum petals fell all over the ground, forming layer upon layer of ten-mile chrysanthemum sea along the Qujiang River.
Grandma Zeng opened her cloudy eyes again and looked at the sea of chrysanthemums in front of her with surprise. In a trance, she saw her husband holding the chrysanthemum hairpin given to her when they got engaged, and reaching out his hand towards her in the sea of flowers.
She smiled, raised her hand, shook it, and then walked on this dreamy road with him.
The light around the monsters became weaker and weaker, but the sea of flowers became more and more gorgeous.
Duan Zhiwei asked Qingnu sadly: "Are you guys leaving too?"
Qing Nu nodded: "For the monsters, being with their masters is the best ending. Don't feel sad for us, we are just following Grandma. Kind ladies of the Duan family, thank you for taking care of Grandma these days. This sea of flowers is also given to you. You can walk around and enjoy it with your family."
After saying that, the monsters waved goodbye to her, and then turned into thousands of points of light, scattering in the air, like fireflies in a summer night.
Only the ten-mile chrysanthemum sea along the Qujiang River remains, quietly blooming in the hot summer...
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