Chapter 121: Tail Ship 39
Jiang Yuelu opened his eyes again and found himself in a magnificent palace. The light from the colorful lights almost blinded his eyes. Such an exaggerated style could only belong to the governor holding a golden fan.
Golden mignonette.
Is this his palace?
As he walked along, he discovered more differences.
Inside this palace, there were many ghosts with lowered eyebrows, bared teeth, sweeping, mopping and wiping the floor. They were wearing tattered clothes and looked like prisoners, which was totally out of place in this magnificent palace.
These ghosts' attitude towards themselves is also very suspicious.
They bowed respectfully to a white dog. Wherever Jiang Yuelu went, he received countless humility and fear. He felt that he was not like a dog, but like an arrogant lion...
After walking for a long time, he finally saw a huge round table. There were candlesticks and tableware on the table, the tablecloth was painted with exquisite patterns, and five high chairs were surrounded by people.
Will's family of four sat neatly.
The seat of honor was Jin Muxi, whom Jiang Yuelu had met several times. He was not holding the golden folding fan he usually used, but instead holding a porcelain cup and shaking it slightly.
Seeing her puppy coming, Rongrong called out in surprise, "Yuanyuan!"
"Where did you go just now? I've been looking for you!"
After being picked up and placed in his arms, Jiang Yuelu looked around calmly and discovered something strange.
Rongrong sat far away from her family, but very close to Jin Muxi. Looking at the expressions of Will and the others, they seemed to have been intimidated and tried their best to hide their fear, but because they were not good at hiding their expressions, their facial features became very stiff and they looked a little ridiculous.
What are they afraid of?
Golden Osmanthus?
"Um……"
Hearing Jin Muxi's voice, except for Rongrong who was still playing with the dog, the others stood up straight, as if they were facing a great enemy. But Jin Muxi just put down the porcelain cup and looked at the ugly monsters who were busy with their heads down and dared not say a word. It seemed that they were an eyesore because of their shabby clothes. After looking for a long time, Jin Muxi turned his head and said, "Look at them, aren't they too ugly?"
Rongrong tilted her head and looked across with her dark eyes.
“It seems so.”
Jin Muxi nodded, "Then send them off."
He spoke very gently, as if he was talking about a very simple thing, but after hearing it, the ghosts could not even stand, and they knelt down tremblingly, crying and begging for mercy. Such indecent behavior made the smile on Jin Muxi's face slowly disappear, and the next second, he appeared next to the tearful ghosts.
The golden fan suddenly appeared, and the fan head gently lifted the ghost's chin.
An ugly face with tears and snot was reflected in the clear eyes.
Jin Muxi said softly, "Don't cry."
"Thank you... Big..."
With a creaking sound, the monster's head and body separated instantly, and the head rolled far away, still repeating the words that had not been finished just now: "Thank you, sir... Thank you."
But all that was left for him was a gorgeous back.
Jin Muxi said indifferently: "Your tears cannot fall in such a beautiful palace." He lowered his head, glanced at the golden fan, and looked at the wet traces of tears on it thoughtfully. Suddenly, he frowned in a very bad mood. After returning to his seat, the atmosphere at the table became more solemn.
If Jiang Yuelu wasn't a dog who knew nothing, he would have found it difficult to breathe.
Will and the others turned pale, only Rongrong was still innocent and romantic. Jiang Yuelu remembered that she was full of sorrow before the strange ceremony, but now, those emotions seemed to have disappeared. Rongrong was in better spirits than ever before, and her clear voice was full of joy.
"Where are you sending them?"
"That's where they should be."
Realizing that his words were too cold, Jin Muxi turned his head and said, "They would like another place similar to this palace."
Rongrong's eyes lit up, "That's great!"
Jiang Yuelu curled her lips.
Such words can only deceive ignorant children. You just killed one on the spot... Where can you send them to a good place? It seems that Jin Muxi particularly hates ugly and dark things. These ghosts died because of this guy's aesthetic quirk... Even so, Jiang Yuelu did not have much sympathy.
The ghosts in the ghost den have been causing trouble for many years, and death is their best ending.
The little disturbance was over and the meal continued.
Except for Rongrong and Jin Muxi talking from time to time, everyone else at the table was dead silent. Jiang Yuelu even suspected that Will and the others had their tongues cut off by that bad guy Jin Muxi.
"Dad, are you unhappy lately?"
Hearing his daughter's concern, Will's heart trembled. He pulled himself together and smiled reluctantly, "No, how could that be? It's nothing. I'm very happy!"
Rongrong nodded as if she understood, but said nothing more.
Jin Muxi didn't say a word. Cold sweat broke out on Will's forehead. He couldn't guess what this monster was thinking at all - he thought desperately, monster!
A light laugh came from Rongrong's side.
Jin Muxi smiled and said, "Your father may be worried that the former Lord of the Capital is still alive and well and will come back to take away his peaceful life."
Will moved his lips but said nothing.
But Jiang Yuelu could see despair in his eyes: compared to the former capital lord whose life or death was unknown, he was more afraid of the monster sitting next to his daughter!
Perhaps it was because he had stayed in the den of ghosts for too long, or perhaps the golden osmanthus in front of him was not as hideous as the previous city master. Will actually imagined the possibility of escape. The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was possible.
Not long ago, the mysterious young man in the golden shirt appeared in front of him and promised that he would soon solve the threat to his family. Will didn't take it seriously at first. As for this young man who suddenly appeared, there were so many mysterious things that appeared in the ghost den, so he didn't pay attention to it.
But soon, he found that no one summoned him.
No one knew where all the ghosts who were originally preparing for the sacrificial ceremony had gone.
Will went to the Ghost City in confusion and found that the entire sea was in ruins, as if it had experienced a great war. The huge city lord who could crush him to death with just a flick of his finger disappeared in the sea, and his foul breath could no longer be smelled.
Have you given up?
Thinking of the Lord's persistent desire for the Sky-Boat, Will felt that it was unlikely.
It was not until he saw the young man in a golden shirt standing on the edge of the boat, half of his body stained with blood, that he realized what he said was true.
He really has the ability to kill the Lord!
The ruins at the scene may be the scene after the fight between the two!
"Thank you...thank you..." Will knelt on the ground, thanking with tears streaming down his face.
The young man in the golden shirt frowned and asked unhappily, "Why are you here?" He immediately hid his bloody half body in the hazy sea fog, but he didn't know that compared to the precious and delicate young man, this brutal picture with blood all over his body was more in line with the image of a monster who "killed the former capital lord."
Will became even more convinced of his abilities.
When he slowly calmed down from his ecstasy, the young man in the golden shirt also explained his identity in a few words. Jin Muxi, who traveled far away to help their family, did a small favor.
Hearing that the former city lord had escaped and his life or death was unknown, Will's heart was just lifted, but he was comforted by the nonchalant attitude of the young man in the golden shirt. He was extremely surprised - the other party did not take the terrible city lord seriously at all, what a great ability!
Before Will could be happy, he changed the subject and mentioned his daughter Rongrong, saying that he killed Duzhu in order to help Rongrong and their family.
"...That's the situation." Jin Muxi finished speaking.
Will knelt there in a daze.
The cold wind blew against his back, and he could hardly hear his own voice. "So...what do you need us to do? What can we...do for you?"
Jin Muxi smiled and said, "Well, there's no rush. Let's talk about it slowly in the future."
Speak slowly...
Will thought they could leave the den, but it turned out not to be the case. He wanted to ask, but he shuddered again.
This is the guy who can kill the Lord!
If the former Lord could crush him to death with just a flick of his finger, then this young man could drown their entire family with just a spit… Moreover, he knew exactly what the former Lord wanted. To a certain extent, he had laid out his plans in the open. He wanted his life, and he wanted the Sky-reaching Ship… He knew exactly what the former Lord desired.
Where there is desire, there will be weakness.
He was just too weak to do anything with these weaknesses.
But golden osmanthus is different.
He had no idea what he was planning.
Suddenly, Will's eyes widened——
Could it be... Rongrong?
"Let's go back." A gentle voice sounded not far away. Jin Muxi had already changed into a dazzling new outfit. She looked around and was very satisfied. "I have wanted to meet your family for a long time. Rongrong said that she would introduce you to me one by one."
Will opened his mouth.
"I will follow...your orders."
…
Jiang Yuelu watched Will's expression change dramatically.
In this fantasy world that didn't conform to common sense, he also had a little privilege. It was like seeing Will's memories from a God's perspective, and he quickly understood what Will wanted to do next.
He is planning to escape!
Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed reasonable. Although Jin Muxi was cruel, he was very good to their family. Moreover, he was more human than a human, and the food he used was very precious. If Will had not met him in the ghost cave, he would probably have thought he was a royal noble of some country. He was sure that Jin Muxi was very well-educated and would not do the cruel vomiting behavior of the previous Lord.
Just as Will's thoughts were wavering violently, Jin Muxi suddenly spoke.
"I brought you a gift."
Will was stunned, "What, a gift?"
"Bang!"
A bloody head fell from the sky and landed on the dining table. When they saw what it was, the Will family's faces turned pale. They felt that the food in their stomachs had turned into garbage, constantly torturing their intestines and stomachs, rolling violently back into their throats, wanting to vomit it all out.
Only Rongrong pointed at the bloody head in surprise.
"It's the bad guy that made mom and dad unhappy. It's dead? Hahahaha!"
Jin Muxi smiled and said, "Yes, I caught it and killed it, and it will no longer trouble you. You can return to your previous life."
Can I really go back...
Rongrong's innocent laughter echoed loudly, and there seemed to be an insurmountable gap between her laughter and the gloomy-faced Will and others.
Even Jiang Yuelu felt something strange about the girl who was hugging him.
Not to mention the parents and brothers who watched her being born and growing up, taught her to walk, and listened to her talk? Even if Rongrong gained half a pound, they could tell. How could they not know that the girl who could laugh at a bloody monster head could not be their daughter, nor his sister?
She laughed so much like the smiling Rhinoceros... Will looked away in horror.
Only at this moment did he understand.
It wasn't the golden osmanthus that he was afraid of.
But it was his little daughter who was sitting next to him, and whose appearance was becoming increasingly unrecognizable.
The picture is about to disperse like water, and this memory is about to end.
Jiang Yuelu could sense the heavy mood of the Will family from the remaining afterimages. They didn't know how to stop Rongrong from changing. She was like a highly contagious virus, corroding her mind and quickly turning her into a cold-blooded, innocent monster.
Can they stop it?
With doubts in mind, Jiang Yuelu fell into the crack again.
…
It was still the magnificent palace, but Jiang Yuelu raised his hand in confusion, and his furry paws were gone. This time, he did not turn into a puppy.
The stroller's laughter came from behind him, "The dog is dead."
The beloved dog died, but the girl sitting in the palace seemed fine. Jiang Yuelu looked away.
"It seems that your soul can't hold out for too long in this illusion, poor human body." It pouted, "In this huge palace, I can't even find a single living thing for you to move to."
"But there is always a way out."
Jiang Yuelu felt as if the world was turning upside down, and the next second, he raised a strange hand.
The hand was very small, the slender and tender hand that only girls have. He looked around and found that the tables and chairs around him had become much taller, just like the fairy tale book of Alice in Wonderland that he had read for Yan Lu before, where after the protagonist became smaller, everything around him became huge.
He was lost in thought. The stroller stuffed him into Rongrong's body?
At this moment, he discovered that he could touch Rongrong's spirit.
It was a magical feeling.
There are two souls in her body, but the other one is unaware of her own existence, and her thoughts are completely exposed to her own eyes.
Jiang Yuelu discovered that Rongrong's heart was not as happy and relaxed as she appeared on the outside. These emotions hidden on the outside were like fine sand on the outermost layer, which would flow away with a slight touch.
He saw that there was another layer of transparent wall inside that was even thicker, and it was very similar to the square transparent box that contained Rongrong's howling flesh. It reminded him of some unpleasant memories.
Inside the transparent wall, a dark torrent was surging that had nothing to do with happiness. It was even more chaotic than the storm in the depths of the Dead Sea.
Just then, he heard footsteps.
"what's on your mind?"
That was the voice of Jin Muxi.
His inquiry seemed to be "concern", but Jiang Yuelu found it very strange. Maybe this metaphor is inappropriate, but Jin Muxi's curiosity about the surroundings reminded him of human children who would seize every opportunity to learn and understand the world when they were just born.
Of course, golden rhinoceros can't be the same as human children.
He was more like an insect observing Rongrong's joys and sorrows.
Rongrong looked up and said, "My brother... doesn't seem very happy."
Jiang Yuelu read the memory that emerged in Rongrong's mind when this sentence was said. It turned out that Rongrong found out that her brother had a girl he had liked for a long time. In order to give him a surprise, she asked Jin Muxi to secretly bring the girl from a faraway place to Guicui, and introduced her to her parents after dinner yesterday.
But my brother was not as happy as I imagined.
Jin Muxi asked with interest, "Why do you think he is unhappy?"
"Because he looked at me like that." Rongrong whispered, "He has never looked at me like that before."
Jin Muxi said, "But he likes that girl, right? For humans, if they like each other, they will want to be together. Isn't that the case with your parents? He will fall in love with the girl he likes and give birth to children like you. Wouldn't your brother be happy when naming them and celebrating their birthdays?"
The future he described was so happy that Rongrong couldn't help but smile. "Yes, he will be very happy."
Jiang Yuelu watched with her own eyes as the dark mist inside the transparent wall began to stir and constantly crash against the wall, as if it was struggling violently to wake up from its enchanting dream.
But at the outermost layer, those false and beautiful fine sands once again wrapped up Rongrong's heart.
Rongrong raised her head and curled the corners of her mouth towards the sky.
An exaggerated and somewhat scary smile appeared on her childish face.
"We have a wonderful life now. Mom and Dad are back together, and my brother is with the person he loves. All the threats are gone. They should be happy. Why not?"
Jin Muxi smiled and repeated, "Yeah, why not?"
He placed an object on the table.
Rongrong tilted her head to look, "What is this?"
"A gift." Jin Muxi smiled and said, "You just made me feel very happy. According to human etiquette, we must reciprocate. You satisfied me, and I will relieve your worries."
"With something like this, you can know their mood more accurately. I heard that human children often pay attention to whether their parents are in good health and happy, which helps them live longer."
Jin Muxi said: "So, you have to make them happy."
"Yes, you are right."
The girl picked up the gift and Jiang Yuelu glanced at it.
It was a smiley face imprint.
…
Jiang Yuelu followed the girl and walked in the rebuilt ghost city.
"This gift that Lord Du gave me is really good, Mom." Rongrong looked at the smiley face mark over and over again, "I can tell how happy everyone is right now, it's magical."
"Mom...why aren't you talking?"
The woman forced a smile and said, "I'm not feeling well."
"Did you have a fight with Dad?"
Her daughter's sincere concern made her shudder. "No, how could that be? I won't quarrel with your father anymore. We have a very good relationship now..." She kept explaining, as if she was possessed by obsessive-compulsive disorder. She seemed to be afraid that Rongrong would confirm that their relationship was not good.
"Really, we are fine, don't think too much about it."
Rongrong looked at her nervous mother and said, "I know. Can you let go of my hand? It hurts me."
The woman then slowly released her hand.
The fingers were connected until the end, but then they clenched again.
"Mother?"
"Rongrong, you can't...can't..." The woman was so anxious that tears were about to flow out, but at this moment, her blurred vision suddenly saw a figure walking slowly towards her.
Jin Muxi smiled and said, "It looks like you are chatting? What are you talking about?"
Rongrong turned around and said, "I don't know either. Mom was just about to tell me."
"Mom, what can't you say?"
Under Jin Muxi's gaze, she shook her head with difficulty, "No... Always running and jumping around, children are prone to falling, this is not good."
Rongrong curled her lips, "I'm not a child anymore."
Jin Muxi watched the complaints and bickering between the mother and daughter with curiosity, just like watching a play. With him present, the woman did not dare to stay too long, looked at her daughter, and finally left, looking back every few steps.
"My mother is weird." Rongrong looked at her back.
"I don't know what she's thinking. She's the same as before."
Jin Muxi comforted the dejected little girl, "It won't be the same as before, you have this." He pointed to the smiley face mark.
"I give you this gift in the hope that it will be useful."
"Come on, now see if your mother is sad or happy."
"Here? Are you going to use it on my mother?" Rongrong instinctively felt bad, but after thinking for a while, she agreed: "Okay, just this once."
She raised the mark and recited it silently in her mind.
It must be happy...it must be happy...
The raised hand stayed in the air for a long time. Jiang Yuelu felt the depression and disappointment constantly washing over Rongrong's heart. He saw the mark turned into a drooping crying face. Rongrong's hand holding the mark was shaking, "But she said she was doing well and very happy recently. How could this happen? I thought everything was resolved."
Jin Muxi thought for a moment, "I think you guys are a little weird."
"strangeness?"
"Actually, this isn't the first time I've met your family. One year when it was your birthday, I happened to pass by here and was attracted by the lights on in your room."
“I’ve met a lot of people.”
He smiled. "My brother and I are very different. He doesn't like to interact with people, but I like humans very much. My brother and I have debated about this... well, it was more like I was the only one who was speaking out. He was a very lazy guy. That day, we traced back to the moment of our birth and came to a tacit conclusion."
"What he naturally dislikes happens to be my favorite."
"And what attracts him doesn't attract me at all."
"Believe me, if your family had fallen into despair that night, he would have been happy to stay at your house. This is what makes us brothers very different... Haha, I seem to have gone off topic a bit."
Jin Muxi took the girl for a walk on the beach. In order to cooperate with the new Lord of the Capital, this place was no longer the dark and dreary Dead Sea. The beach was covered with a layer of golden sand. Jin Muxi walked in it intoxicatedly, speaking slowly in a melodious tone like reciting a poem.
"I've met so many people, some extremely wealthy, some deeply in love. I've been to weddings and the starting points of trips, but I've never felt true happiness on those people's smiling faces. Until that day, I met your family." His tone was a little fanatical.
"You are a family full of laughter and joy. I feel pure happiness from you."
Rongrong couldn't help but recall the happiness she had at that time.
"We were very happy before, very happy..."
She thought to herself, if it were her old self, she wouldn’t have so many worries.
"You've sensed it, right? Your parents and brother said they were fine, but they were actually lying to you." Jin Muxi paused, "As for why they lied to you, I don't know. I thought humans' stupid tricks of deception would never happen to your family."
"Lie to me?" Rongrong was stunned. "Mom and Dad, are you lying to me..."
"What they say may not be true. You have to find the real answer yourself." Jin Muxi rubbed the mark into the girl's palm kindly and gently, "It will help you see what is concealed and what is happiness."
…
Jiang Yuelu slowly escaped from the host's body and fell into a dark place. The baby carriage did not show him the next scene.
"Then what?"
The sound of baby carriages echoed everywhere, as if he had split into millions of them in the dream.
"Isn't it obvious that the well-bred little girl is starting to get good with her tools? Oh, doesn't this tool look damn familiar to you?"
A spot lit up in front of him, and Jiang Yuelu saw Drake being devoured. A crying mark appeared on his forehead.
Then Joan and his men appeared again, and these ghosts who were qualified to live in happiness had smiling faces.
He suddenly realized, "The luck scale..."
"Haha. It's not all about the shipping scale. Didn't you notice? On this ship, measuring and marking are done separately."
Jiang Yuelu thought about the measurements before boarding the ship, and the registration center he went to afterwards. He had always wondered who was stamping the marks for the new ghosts at the registration center. Now he knew that it was the ghost who couldn't leave the stern ship, and she was locked in the center of the ship forever.
Locked in a square transparent wall, unable to ever come out.
"Jin Muxi has a good eye. The little girl he dug up learned his strengths and knows how to squeeze out the surplus value of her tools." Jiang Yuelu could hear the sarcasm in the words of the stroller.
"Not long after receiving the gift, she mastered it. Soon, even without the face mark, she could measure it herself. Just by looking at it, you know, she can make the precise value appear on the other person's face. Whether it's a smiling face or a crying face, nothing can escape her eyes. Hehe, guess, can her parents bear it?"
Along with the laughter of the baby carriage, Drake's afterimage disappeared, and the light suddenly became stronger, so bright that Jiang Yuelu couldn't open his eyes. When he covered his eyes with his hands and looked again, he found that the corridor in front of him turned into an illusion.
Countless transparent and glowing seaweeds swayed at the breakpoints.
Rongrongs who look alike stand at the nodes.
"Mom, stop lying. You have a smile on one face but you're crying on the other."
"Dad, you too? We've already escaped from danger, why are you still frowning?"
"And you, brother. You are the one I am most worried about. Alice is your favorite person, and I can't understand why you pushed her away."
…
The girl Rongrong frowned, becoming increasingly confused as to why her family was unhappy.
In a sense, what she saw was true, and the family members who forced themselves to smile were not really happy. But her parents and brother were so worried because they were worried about their daughter's safety. They witnessed their daughter's terrible transformation into an inhuman monster that they were not familiar with but was very common in this ghost town.
In this world, there are always some lies that are difficult to distinguish, difficult to measure, and difficult to evaluate.
This is a life mechanism unique to humans and will not be understood by monsters.
Jiang Yuelu walked over and squatted down with mixed feelings.
He knew it was just an illusion and everyone was dead. But he inexplicably remembered Rongrong who fought alongside him in the No. 1 Mansion, the first dream he had when he came to this sea, and the surprised smile of the ghost when he saw him for the first time.
"Is that why you keep asking for help?" he whispered.
After a long time, he made a promise.
"I will get you out."
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