209, Taotie
In the darkness, a small ball of paper was thrown over the high walls of the Chen Mansion and landed in a dark alley outside. In the darkness, a calloused hand caught it steadily.
A middle-aged man, who had been selling hot tofu pudding from street to street with a shoulder pole, put down his shoulder pole and carefully unfolded a piece of paper. The calluses on his hands rustled against the paper. Once he had a clear view of the contents, he immediately put down his shoulder pole.
There are two wooden boxes on the shoulder pole. The front box contains a small ceramic stove, which keeps the tofu pudding warm over a low fire; the back box contains pots, pans, and utensils. These are all the belongings a peddler needs to make a living.
The middle-aged man opened the wooden box behind him, rummaged in for a long time, and actually took out a gray carrier pigeon.
He tied a ball of paper to the legs of a carrier pigeon, raised his hand suddenly and released it into the air. The pigeon flapped its wings and flew over the buildings towards the north.
Watching the pigeon disappear in the night sky, the middle-aged man picked up his shoulder pole again and staggered out of the alley.
On the distant roof, dark, furry clouds rose up and followed quietly behind, the pads of their paws stepping on the gray tiles without making a sound.
The middle-aged man was completely unaware.
However, when he was about to leave the alley, he suddenly turned around. His eyes no longer had the simplicity and honesty of a peddler, but were instead as sharp as an eagle: "Who?"
The dark cloud stopped and curled up into a ball.
It was puzzled. Had it been discovered? Impossible. It was several feet away. How could the other party have discovered it? Moreover, the direction the other party was looking at was not its direction.
Wuyun thought that perhaps this middle-aged man wanted to trick the person who was following him secretly and search for him in the void.
The next moment, the middle-aged man shook his shoulders slightly, and the two wooden boxes on the shoulder pole fell to the ground.
He then threw the bamboo pole with all his might, and it flew into the darkness like a spear. But the pole disappeared into the darkness like a stone sinking into the sea.
The alley was silent, as if the carrying pole had disappeared into the void.
A dark cloud, perched on the rooftops of distant buildings, looked down with a startled look. It looked left and right... Where had the shoulder pole gone? Could there really be someone else in that alley?
In a flash, there was a buzzing sound, and the carrying pole went away and came back again. It came back as fast as it went away.
The middle-aged man's face changed and he picked up the wooden box beside him to resist.
With a bang, the front end of the carrying pole pierced into the wooden box, smashing the ceramic stove and iron pot inside. The back end could not withstand the huge force, and it bent and broke into bamboo strips and twisted into a dough twist.
The middle-aged man was hit by this and staggered back five or six steps before stopping.
There really are other people in the alley!
Wu Yun was a little confused. Not only was Chen Ji targeted as soon as he returned to the Chen Mansion, but who was the other person in the alley?
Who is watching Chen Ji? Who, like him, wants to find out the identity of the watcher?
Wuyun was confused. Where did these people come from?
At this time, a black shadow as tall as a person walked out of the darkness in the alley step by step into the moonlight. Wuyun widened his eyes. The person who walked out was not a person, but a black monster with a strange appearance.
It has a sheep's body and a human face, with the human face growing on the chest and abdomen. A bloody mouth extends from the left armpit to the right armpit. The black hair curled on its four hooves looks like four black auspicious clouds.
The monster was covered in black mist, as if it had just walked out of the underworld.
The middle-aged man looked
Zhen: "Tantric Mandala Seal?"
After saying that, he turned and ran.
The black monster jumped lightly onto the roof and followed closely.
In the dead of night, the man was walking through the alleys, but he could not shake off the black monster on the roof. The monster was like an antelope, walking on the undulating roof as if it were flat ground.
Fierce!
The dark clouds didn't dare to get too close and could only follow from a distance.
The man had been running for a long time and was out of breath. He took out a short knife from his sleeve and turned around to face the monster, panting.
The dark monster stood on the eaves, quietly looking at the man, as if thinking about how to deal with him.
A moment later, the monster suddenly pounced down, opened its bloody mouth, and swallowed the middle-aged man and the dagger whole.
…
…
In Mingquan Garden, Xiaoman, who was curled up on a small bench, burped.
The burp was so loud and strong that it woke her up.
Xiaoman opened her tired eyes, turned her head and looked at the honey three knives on the table, muttering in frustration, "I can't eat anymore... Young Master said it would cause indigestion."
But even though he said this, he still got up on tiptoe, pinched three honey pills from the table and stuffed them into his mouth: "Hehe, I won't have food accumulation."
Xiaoman rolled her eyes and looked at Chen Ji who was sleeping soundly on the bed with puffed cheeks. She tiptoed to the bed and waved her palm back and forth on Chen Ji's face.
Seeing that Chen Ji didn't respond, she raised the corner of her mouth slightly, carefully turned to the clothes rack, and groped for Chen Ji's clothes. While touching, she looked back cautiously.
On the bed, Chen Ji opened his eyes and looked at Xiaoman's back. When Xiaoman looked back, he closed his eyes again.
After a while, Xiaoman took out two strings of Buddhist Tongbao from Chen Ji's clothes. One string was given by Prince Jing for two thousand five hundred taels, and the other was given by Chen Wenzong, which was the one thousand one hundred taels left after Chen Ji bought the ginseng.
She carefully touched the micro-carved patterns on the Tongbao and kissed it on the lips. Then, with a conflicted look in her eyes, she stuffed the Buddhist Tongbao back.
Xiaoman sat back on the small stool in frustration, holding her face with her hands as she stared at the flickering charcoal fire, muttering softly, "Don't let anyone trick you again..."
As he spoke, the window moved, and dark clouds came in from the gap like a stream of liquid.
Xiaoman put her finger to her lips and hushed: "Be quiet, the master is still sleeping."
Wuyun glanced at Xiaoman, jumped lightly out of the window, then jumped onto Chenji's bed, and meowed softly.
Xiaoman glared at it: "Didn't I tell you not to disturb the young master's sleep? You're not cute anymore!"
At this moment, a rooster crowed outside the house, and then someone in Cuiyun Lane set off firecrackers, and the crackling sound tore through the night.
Chen Ji stood up and asked in confusion, "Who is setting off firecrackers so early in the morning?"
Xiaoman explained, "Sir, have you forgotten? Today is the promotion banquet for the Zhang and Chen families. According to the rules, to celebrate a big event, you should set off a string of firecrackers at dawn, another string at noon, and another string at midnight. It has the same meaning as setting off firecrackers on New Year's Day, which means bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new, and taking up a new position."
Chen Ji let out a long "oh".
At this moment, Xiaoman rolled her eyes and asked knowingly, "Sir, I heard that you received 2,500 taels of silver from the Construction Preparation Bureau. Is that true?"
Chen Ji looked at Xiao Man with a half-smile: "It's true, what's wrong?"
Xiaoman suddenly looked up at Chen Ji expectantly and said, "Why don't you let me take care of this money?"
Chen Ji was stunned. He didn't expect Xiaoman to speak so directly: "What are you going to do with so much silver?"
Xiaoman looked down at her toes. "I'm really worried that someone will swindle your money away again. If you want to marry someone else's legitimate daughter, you won't be able to afford the betrothal gifts. Nanny Li said that I could have married into a small family as a wife, but I decided to marry into the Chen family as a concubine just to give you a better family background and support."
Chen Ji remained silent. He knew that it was not so easy for Lu to marry into the Chen family. Back then, a minister of the Ministry of Revenue had died in the Chen family.
Xiaoman counted on her fingers, "You want to marry the daughter of a wealthy family. Not to mention the elaborate dowry, first consider the 6,400 taels of silver for the betrothal gift, 80 taels for the farewell gift, 40 taels for the door-knocking gift, 60 taels for the net bonus, 10 taels for the calligraphy gift, and 8 taels for the welcoming letter. Then there are eight pieces of gold, two wild geese, four chickens and ducks, two cattle and two sheep, and twelve bolts of silk... The master and mistress certainly won't prepare so much for you. You'll have to save up some money yourself."
Chen Ji was dumbfounded: "Stop, stop, why do you need so much?"
Xiaoman looked at him suspiciously. "This is the custom among the wealthy families in the capital. This is what we call respectability. But don't worry, the dowry the bride brings won't be less than your betrothal gift."
Chen Ji waved his hand and said, "Stop talking. I have no plans to get married, let alone marry the daughter of a wealthy family."
Xiaoman thought for a moment and said, "You don't have to marry the daughter of a wealthy family. You can marry a girl from a humble family. I'll help you manage your money, buy you some good farmland and a shop, and you'll be a wealthy man forever. Will you let me take care of your money? It doesn't have to be much. Just give me five hundred taels of silver when we get to the capital. If I can make money for you, you can let me manage the rest."
Chen Ji ruthlessly refused: "No, forget it, I can manage it myself. Besides, maybe one day when I become a high-ranking official, I can take back my aunt's property."
Xiaoman was full of anticipation: "Really? I feel so bad for you because of those businesses. I feel so tight in my chest."
Chen Ji hummed.
Xiaoman rolled her eyes again: "How about I help you manage your property when you get it back?"
Chen Ji sighed: "Why are you so persistent?"
Xiaoman muttered quietly, "It's been tough these days. I'm so anxious because I have no money... Never mind, I'll go boil some water for you to wash your face and comb your hair. A lot of important people are coming today. I heard that the Zhang family brought back several carts of fish from the East Market yesterday, as well as palm-sized shrimp and crabs. You'll take me with you, right?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take you with me."
Xiaoman hummed a song and skipped out of the house. Chen Ji watched her from behind and whispered to Wuyun, "Sheep body, human face?"
Wuyun meowed, "Absolutely true."
Chen Ji lowered his head and thought for a moment: "Taotie?"
The Classic of Mountains and Seas records that Taotie has a human face and a goat's body, with its features under its armpits, tiger teeth and human claws, and a voice like a baby. This monster, appearing out of nowhere, clearly bears a striking resemblance to the Taotie.
But who drives this Taotie?
I have no relatives around me in this world. Who was the first to discover that someone was monitoring me and wanted to find out who was behind it?
While I was thinking, the sound of Xiaoman humming a ballad floated in from the right ear room.
Chen Ji seemed to be lost in thought.
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