Holiday Tea House (VIII)
There was no door in the room, and the glass floor was slowly rising. As far as I could tell, the glass would either break and fall, or get crushed.
"There is no way out." Yu Huan searched a second time, but found no hidden mechanism or movable secret passage.
Yu Shu stared at the pattern on the ceiling for a long time.
Several severely tilted M's are connected into an arc, and there is also a large triangular arc in the upper left corner.
"The pattern he painted on the window." Yu Shu murmured.
The other three people had never seen that scene and naturally had no impression of it, but the pattern on their heads was indeed very strange.
Li Qingyan narrowed his eyes and observed for a long time: "A witch's curse."
As expected of someone from Bureau 749, he was knowledgeable and quickly recognized that the pattern on the head was the witchcraft carrier of the Western Witch.
Bureau 749's records list four witches, but they haven't reached this level of skill. Moreover, they work for Bureau 749 and it's impossible for them to be here.
"Ah?" Yu Shu gasped. The word "witch" drilled into his eardrums, and the playful and mature appearance of the man in black robes immediately emerged in his mind. "But isn't he a man?"
"It's just a pseudonym for most, and it applies to both men and women." Li Qingyan walked to the tarot card table and looked at it carefully.
In times of oppression, people with special abilities are often targeted and harmed, and women are the majority, so the term "witch" has become synonymous with them. Among these "witches," there are also some male wizards, but they are more often called warlocks, which sounds more righteous.
The most famous is the witch-hunting period in history, when countless so-called "witches" died tragically under torture and at the stake.
It is not surprising that Li Qingyan would think of the witch hunt. It is not difficult to have his own soul leave his body and parade in dreams, but it is not easy to make the souls of other people, or even four people, leave their bodies and build an illusion for those people that is so detailed that it can rival reality. Without delicate and profound witchcraft skills and control, it is impossible to do it.
So Li Qingyan suspected that they had encountered a senior "witch" who was not recorded in the register.
"Hearing you say that, the witch doesn't seem like a bad person, but he doesn't seem like a good person at all."
The four people's souls were out of their bodies in the strange room, which was indeed not convincing.
"If he really wants to, we can't find a way out here." Li Qingyan sat in the fortune teller's seat: "The solution is already obvious."
Witches and wizards who have lived to this age have mastered witchcraft to the point of being bored. They will pursue more profound things, such as changing a person's destiny and making someone make a choice.
“We don’t know how to do this.”
Yu Shu glanced at Li Qingyan, then turned and stared at Yu Huan and Wang Zhiyao, who had been silent the whole time.
In the dim candlelight, Li Qingyan's eyes were particularly bright, and his expression of curling his lips and smiling faintly made it clear that he knew tarot cards.
"But let me make it clear first, only one of us is his target, and time is precious." Li Qingyan picked up the card.
Yu Huan and Wang Zhiyao looked at Yu Shu in tacit understanding.
The answer is obvious.
"Tell me your problem." Li Qingyan's tone became serious.
Yu Shu's mind was blank. The questions he wanted to ask had already been answered in his dream. Now he had no clue no matter how hard he tried.
He looked at Li Qingyan, Yu Huan, and Wang Zhiyao in turn, hoping to gain some inspiration from their expressions. Unfortunately, he still didn't expect that when he lowered his head, he would see another small crack on the glass floor and a dense mass of sharp thorns beneath it.
He broke out in a cold sweat, and when he looked up, his sight happened to fall on the heart-shaped carving on the candlestick. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind, and Li Chen's words: You have some big troubles in interpersonal relationships, hit his ears like a tide hitting the mudflat.
"What kind of person will I meet?" When Yu Shu asked this question, a vague figure flashed through his mind, which scared him and made him shake his head vigorously.
Li Qingyan raised his eyebrows, quite surprised that Yu Shu asked this question.
Li Qingyan drew a card and placed it in the middle of the six card slots on the table.
Each of the six slots holds seven cards. The center slot is Position 1, representing the identity of the person seeking the question. The single slot directly in front of the center slot is Position 2, representing the reason for the question. The left and right slots represent the path back, the lessons and experiences gained by the person seeking the question. The right and left slots represent the path forward, representing growth and discovery. The left and right slots correspond to obstacles encountered and gains gained. The final position, Position 7, is stacked horizontally on top of Position 1, representing the destination.
"Pope." Li Qingyan glanced at his ID card and smiled with satisfaction. "He adheres to rituals, is kind, merciful, and forgiving. Trapped in his own thoughts, he adheres to outdated rules and concepts."
The first description is quite accurate, and the last two sentences about the technique are even more to the point.
"Crack." A half-meter-long crack appeared on the glass under my feet.
"Why is it still cracking?!" Yu Huan first patted Yu Shu and asked his brother to move the chair to a safer place. Then he took Wang Zhiyao's hand and walked to the other side where there was no crack.
Li Qingyan drew the second card.
"What is it this time?" Yu Shu asked first.
"Power." Li Qingyan showed the cards to Yu Shu. He couldn't help but wonder whether the divination was really so accurate, or whether the man in black robe was controlling everything in secret.
Strength: Power, courage, and perseverance. Things over mind or mind over things.
Courage is indeed what Yu Shu lacks now. He has never had the courage to face it, so he has never been able to take that step.
“Sizzle!”
Larger cracks spread from the edges to the middle.
If they continue like this, they will soon fall down. Although their souls are out of their bodies, who knows what will happen if they touch those black thorns.
"No, it's not me." Yu Shu quickly stood up and walked to the edge to avoid danger.
When he left, even more trouble happened.
Some fine dust fell from above my head, and the ceiling also pressed down.
"I see. The three of us have to take turns trying it."
Li Qingyan took a deep breath, picked up the two cards again, added them to the deck, and shuffled them.
"I'll do it." Yu Huan walked forward and sat down calmly. "How's my academic fortune?"
Li Qingyan knew that Yu Huan was self-studying for the law exam, so he was not surprised by his question.
Li Qingyan sensed it and took out a tarot card from the middle of the arc-shaped tarot cards.
"The Hanged Man. Living in suspense, in a period of transition, a period of changing ideas on the path of life. It also symbolizes giving up, repentance, and adjustment and renewal."
After the card was placed, the ceiling stopped moving, but a large crack appeared in the glass underfoot.
Not Yu Huan either.
Li Qingyan wanted to ask Wang Zhiyao to come over and give it a try, but when he turned around, he found that Wang Zhiyao was nowhere to be seen: "Where is he?"
Yu Shu's eyes widened. Wang Zhiyao had been right beside him just a moment ago, and in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Yu Huan's eyelids twitched three or four times. He paced around the room in minute steps, searching to no avail.
During this time, the ceiling and the floor exerted force together, pressing down and cracking continuously.
"We can't stop. If we stop, the ceiling will come down, but if we ask the wrong people, the floor will crack."
Li Qingyan summarized the rules.
Yu Shu looked up at the rune and murmured unconsciously, "It would be great if Jiang Yu was here. He might have a solution."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
Now only Li Qingyan was left. He steadied himself and stood up, thinking: "Was my choice correct?"
He had the right to choose, but because he wanted to be closer to Yu Shu, he accepted the arrangement to be transferred to Yangcheng.
In fact, he himself didn't know why he missed someone he had only met once, but Yu Shu's unconscious words just now almost made him lose his balance.
"moon."
Yu Shu leaned over and took a look.
When the Moon Card was revealed, Li Qingyan's heart suddenly settled. The upright Moon signified enlightenment, haziness, and ambiguity.
As soon as the card was put on, there was a louder "squeaking" sound that hurt my ears.
It's over now.
None of the three meet the requirements, and the one who might meet the requirements, Wang Zhiyao, is missing.
"I heard you called me?"
Jiang Yu leaned close to Yu Shu's ear and pulled up his hand.
Yu Shu didn't shake off his hand!
He wanted to bite Yu Shu's earlobe, but there was no point in doing that while his soul was out of his body. He wanted to feel her fresh breath, warm skin, and a body that was slowly heating up.
Yu Shu was stunned. Although he had a feeling Jiang Yu would come looking for him, he had never imagined that they would meet in such a setting. Seeing Jiang Yu appear, he was shocked at first, then relieved. Although things had not been going smoothly before, hearing Jiang Yu's voice and seeing him appear before him, he felt stable.
"How did you get involved?" Yu Shu said stubbornly. He didn't dare to look Jiang Yu in the eye, but turned his head to glance at him out of the corner of his eye. However, he didn't notice that the tension and uneasiness in his tone of voice had mostly subsided, and he felt relaxed.
Those involved in the matter are often confused, while those who are watching can see things clearly. Li Qingyan saw all the changes in Yu Shu, and he felt a little stuffy in his chest.
"It seems that you don't welcome me very much?" Jiang Yu raised his eyebrows and smiled.
Yu Shu finally reacted, shook off his hand, and whispered a rebuke: "No, you showed up without even knowing what was going on. I was just worried."
"Oh? Worried?" Jiang Yu moved closer.
Li Qingyan coughed twice, interrupting the two people's casual chatting and flirting as if no one was around. Didn't they have conflicts? Why did they look so harmonious when they appeared in the same frame?
"Find a way to get out first." Li Qingyan pointed to the tarot card table.
Jiang Yu understood it immediately, sat down in front of the divination seat, and explained to Yu Shu with a calm smile: "Wang Zhiyao is very safe." As he spoke, his eyes moved towards Yu Huan.
Yu Shu nodded with satisfaction, and Yu Huan's tense expression relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Sizzle~!”
A huge diagonal crack appeared in an instant, and many cracks of varying sizes were spreading. It was estimated that the floor would not last much longer.
Except for Jiang Yu who looked confident and at ease, the other three people were very nervous.
"We've all tried." Li Qingyan was a little reluctant.
Jiang Yu didn't respond, but sat down and pushed the tarot cards away.
He closed his eyes and felt it, his fingertips gently moving across the backs of the tarot cards arranged in an arc shape.
Yu Shu saw a faint and soft golden light passing through the carved patterns on the card cup.
"I survive by breaking the rules." Jiang Yu did not express his doubts, but closed his eyes and talked to himself.
Yu Shu's heart skipped a beat. He had heard this sentence before; it sounded so familiar.
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Yu pulled out a card and placed it in the middle slot.
"The Fool." A soft golden light flowed across the card. Jiang Yu still closed his eyes, but accurately said the content on the card.
The Fool symbolizes a newborn calf, a fearless and ignorant person, full of new strength and curiosity, standing tall and breaking free from constraints, and is suitable for exploring new journeys and opportunities.
It is true as he said, he survives by breaking the rules.
Jiang Yu was an abandoned child, left in the mountains in the dead of winter. His master, out of pity, saved him from freezing or starving to death. His master taught him magic, encouraging him to punish evil and promote good, a form of protection and remediation. Those whose fate should have been tragically lost survive, only to encounter more disasters and dangers. Stabilizing yin and yang, and accumulating virtue, can mitigate and mitigate the punishment that alters fate.
Good, the cracks in the floor have stopped spreading.
Jiang Yu still closed his eyes and sensed, then drew out the second card.
"Queen of Cups, patience and the ability to listen."
Golden waves flowed across the card surface again.
At the same time, Zeng Zhiqiang's advice rang in Jiang Yu's ears.
"Yu Shu is a very shrewd person and won't do anything too radical. This time, he seems decisive, but he's actually very confused. I think you know where he is, so there's no need to disturb him. Give him time to think it through and he'll be fine. If you continue to provoke him, it might even exacerbate the problem."
As the tarot cards indicate, he needs patience and the ability to listen, which will turn things around.
"Knight of Cups, opportunity and invitation." The third card.
After waiting patiently, there will be a turning point.
Jiang Yu closed his eyes and continued to draw the cards, then explained them accurately.
“The world, the fulfillment, the reward, the result of all efforts.”
Understand what you lack, fill the gaps, embrace opportunities, seize opportunities and your wishes will be realized, and all your efforts will pay off.
"Three of Pentacles, collaboration, combined strength."
Jiang Yu frowned, cooperation or collaboration would be an obstacle in his way.
"The body has been separated for too long, and the soul cannot merge. Go and sew it up."
"Listen, a living person can't cross the Naihe Bridge. Although you have a pure Yin constitution, to be on the safe side, I will let He Yuhua take the lead and lead the little ghosts I raised to build a bridge for you."
The scenes of tacit cooperation replayed in Jiang Yu's mind.
Also, because of the cooperation, Yu Shu was in danger again and again.
They followed the filming, and Yu Shu was drugged by the director who wanted traffic and locked in a hot and closed RV, where he suffered from heatstroke and fell into a coma.
Because of the cycle, and influenced by the dragon vein with independent consciousness, he slept with the person without Yu Shu's consent.
All of these things have actually happened, so it's no surprise that they become obstacles. Who would want to live a life without knowing what will happen tomorrow?
So, he and Yu Shu started out as a collaboration, and their relationship had a vague outline from the very beginning, but he unknowingly crossed the line, which made things complicated.
"The Tower Reversed..."
Jiang Yu's fingers trembled.
The Tower card, whether upright or reversed, carries a bad connotation. An upright Tower signifies drastic changes, sudden disasters, destruction, and reconstruction. A reversed Tower signifies unpredictable, unexpected transformations.
The known unknown makes people more uneasy, and Jiang Yu is no exception. When he understands the missing things, experience, growth and obstacles from the predictions of the deck, the sudden changes disrupt the originally orderly closed loop.
Jiang Yu took out the last card in a confused mood.
"die."
Death signifies transformation and rebirth, the end of familiar situations or friendships.
Jiang Yu slowly opened his eyes and looked at Yu Shu.
"How is it?" Yu Shu asked nervously.
"Look." Jiang Yu pointed above his head, and the runes above disappeared, revealing a neat ceiling.
The seven cards returned to their places, seemingly solving the problem, but the predicament did not change much. They neither returned to their bodies nor saw the room return to its original state.
Jiang Yu lowered his head and looked carefully at the glass floor.
He hadn't looked carefully before, but now he discovered something.
"Look at the surrounding pillars and the fireplace." Jiang Yu said.
"It's just a European-style sculpture." Li Qingyan was confused.
Yu Shu thought that Jiang Yu was there, so he became bolder and touched her directly.
He touched the side of the fireplace, and the flames went out instantly, and the entire fireplace rose to the ceiling with a "whoosh".
He was startled and took a big step back.
Yu Huan and Li Qingyan also touched the pillar, but it didn't bring any changes. However, Li Qingyan felt the changes and had a strong premonition that he would soon be able to leave here and return to his body.
"It's upside down." Yu Shu looked at the pillars around him and said affirmatively.
"Come here." Jiang Yu waved his hand, and Yu Shu walked over in confusion.
Jiang Yu took Yu Shu's hand again: "If you let go, you won't be able to get out."
"Oh." Yu Shu was stunned for a moment, then turned to Yu Huan and said, "Hold Li Qingyan's hand tightly, otherwise you won't be able to get out."
He never doubted Jiang Yu's words and let Jiang Yu hold his fingers together. He even clenched the hand that gave him warmth and security.
Jiang Yu let out a soft sigh, his lips curled up in satisfaction.
Jiang Yu picked up the Tower card and turned it into the upright position.
In the blink of an eye, they were on the other side of the floor. The sky above their heads turned into twisted and dense thorns, and the ceiling of the original room was rapidly lowering.
Before Yu Shu could ask what was going on, countless cracks quickly appeared on the glass under his feet.
Sizzle——
The dense cracking sound was sharp and piercing.
The strong feeling of weightlessness made Yu Shu hold Jiang Yu's hand even tighter.
The whole process took only a few seconds, and they landed steadily on the ground, standing on the original ceiling.
Meanwhile, the room began to recover.
Yu Shu's consciousness gradually became blurred. Before he completely lost control of himself, he tried his best to shout, but his voice was as soft as a mosquito's.
"Jiang Yu."
These two simple words floated like feathers and fell into the boundless void.
“Huff, huff, huff…”
Yu Shu opened his eyes, stood up suddenly, and gasped for breath.
He returned to reality!
The others were beside him, also awake, staring at each other, all grateful to have returned to their physical bodies from this strange out-of-body experience.
Wang Zhiyao smiled with relief, his lips turning white from the effort he put in: "I'm relieved that you're back." When he said the last two words, his eyes went dark and he fell to the ground with a thud.
Yu Shu's face turned pale. He reached out to help Wang Zhiyao, but his hand brushed against something.
He looked down and found Jiang Yu sleeping next to him with a frown on his face.
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