Spirit Doll
The man reacted even more strongly, looking as if You Youju was the one who intended to commit a crime.
Suddenly, the silk thread lost its strength, slumped down, and stopped struggling.
You Youju held a piece of silk ribbon in her hand and showed it to everyone: "It is a spirit doll. The master named it and engraved it on the inside of its wrist."
Song Song clapped his hands: "I know this. A spirit puppet is made by a craftsman who bestows blood and spirit upon it. It is then raised in a spirit stone array. After eighty-one days, it can develop spiritual consciousness and become like a real person."
Huai Jing leaned against Yao Guang and asked He Gui, who had already stood up, "You are not a complete spirit puppet, are you? I noticed that your expression seems to have never changed. You are a defective product that has not been refined for 81 days, but you have the ability to kill people and open barriers. You are quite capable. Have you fallen into demonic possession?"
He Gui's voice was mournful, and his eyes were filled with resentment: "If you don't kill me today, I will kill all those people."
You Youju couldn't see very clearly, so she took off her veil and asked, "He Gui, are you Ah Zhong's spirit doll?"
When He Gui saw You Youju's true face, his gaze lingered for a moment before he scrutinized You Youju closely, not missing a single detail.
"Are you... an immortal?" he replied in a completely irrelevant manner.
The other four were all taken aback, especially Zhu Xun and Huai Jing, each of them displaying their own unique talents.
You Youju chose to skip the question: "I see that you are dressed in exquisite and luxurious clothes, and even your appearance is extraordinary. I suppose your existence is also very important to Ah Zhong."
He Gui pressed his face almost against You Youju's, his voice excited: "Immortal, we have met before."
He turned around and looked the four people over from all angles. There was a bewildered young nobleman, an expressionless guard, a puzzled Taoist priest, and a disgruntled page who was gritting his teeth.
You Youju placed her gauze hat on He Gui's head and said in a relaxed tone, "Let's go in and talk."
He covered He Gui's face, and sure enough, his tone became normal.
Sure enough, the desolation outside Ah Zhong's house was just an illusion. Inside, you could still see almost everything he had lived in: sawdust on the ground, lots of chopped wood, unfinished furniture, and herbs drying in the sun...
There is a small niche on the wall of the hall, which seems to have once housed a deity. Next to the niche hangs a portrait. The person in the portrait looks somewhat nervous, and a crane-shaped doll sits in his arms.
This is Ah Zhong.
Song Song looked around: "Was this something he left behind before he died?"
He Gui nodded woodenly, and after putting the curtain hat down, he brought out several cute little round chairs shaped like animals, each one a different animal.
The expressions on their faces softened, and He Gui said apologetically, "It was mostly children who came to our house before. Ah Zhong has no relatives, so these chairs were made according to the children's preferences."
Song Song chose a tiger chair, seemingly quite excited, and waved his hand, saying, "We don't mind, but Ah Zhong is truly an innocent person."
After the group sat down in a circle, He Gui brought out a small square chair with cushions and cranes carved on both sides from inside the room, and sat down properly next to You Youju.
You Youju found it amusing: "Did Ah Zhong make this especially for you?"
He Gui nodded: "This is our home."
Song Song laughed: "Of course we know!" He looked around and chattered on and on, probably tired: "But, may I ask you for a glass of water? I'm so thirsty after going back and forth like that."
He Gui paused for a moment, his tone somewhat flustered: "No...no water."
Song Song didn't mind at all and waved his hand generously: "It's alright, Qi, go back and bring my tea set."
Several people felt ashamed.
Seeing that it was about time to get to the point, You Youju cut to the chase: "He Gui, could you tell us what happened back then again?"
He Gui cleared his throat and revealed the truth of what happened back then:
"I was originally a hundred-year-old camphor tree, but I was struck by lightning and broken. My remaining spiritual consciousness was stored in a section of the trunk, which was later picked up by Ah Zhong."
I thought I would be made into some kind of farm tools or wooden furniture, but he carved me into a human figure instead.
Sometimes, while the children were playing in the yard, he would hold me and carefully carve me.
But one day, he struggled with what kind of face to give me, and couldn't bring himself to write it down.
During the year I followed him, I witnessed him almost sacrifice his life for this town. He wasn't a demon hunter; he was just strong, had spiritual energy, and I protected him with my insignificant spiritual power... I helped him drive away weak demons and wandering souls, becoming his talisman.
"Over the years, he's only protected his fellow villagers a few times. How did he get the title of demon hunter?"
At this moment, the sorrowful expression on He Gui's face added a layer of grief to the story, and everyone present fell silent.
Qi served tea to the others, but declined when he reached He Gui's place.
He continued, recalling, "Once again, the townspeople used a clumsy trick to push him into the mountains to exorcise the so-called monster. He was willing to risk it and almost died... almost died."
Her watery eyes, with a stiff expression, stared straight at You Youju.
"His blood almost soaked me red."
Zhu Xun continued, quickly diverting He Gui's attention: "So you fully gained sentience back then?"
He Gui nodded, looked at You Youju, and smiled at him: "But at that time, an immortal came, saved Ah Zhong, killed the demon beast, and helped us a lot. Ah Zhong picked up the spirit stone that the demon beast had turned to ash. From then on, Ah Zhong was inexplicably regarded as a demon hunter by the villagers, and his near-death experience was used as a shield by this title."
None of them spoke. An unusual silence fell.
Song Song looked left and right, left and right: "He Gui, just say what you want to say, why are you always staring at our Brother Ju?"
He Gui realized his rudeness, turned his head, and continued, "My apologies. To express my gratitude, my face is probably sculpted based on that immortal."
Song Song opened his mouth in surprise: "What kind of immortal is so gorgeous?" He looked He Gui up and down: "An immortal? So... flamboyant and gorgeous?"
He Gui quickly waved his hand: "No, no, this garment was sewn for me by Ah Zhong. It is my garment. After the immortal left, Ah Zhong could not remember what the immortal looked like, and could only vaguely recall some outlines. However, Ah Zhong was very good to me. He gave me the best nourishment he could, and even placed me on the shrine and used spirit stones to nourish the array eye."
Song Song added, "Ah Zhong is skilled; he sculpted your face so lifelike, yet it's a sorrowful expression."
He Gui waved his hand again, looking somewhat aggrieved: "No, no! My face is furrowed and tearful because Ah Zhong believes that the immortals have compassion for all living beings. I am very grateful."
After saying that, he glanced nervously at You Youju. Unexpectedly, You Youju looked at him with a smile, her eyes filled with gentle, spring-like tears.
When He Gui's gaze met hers, You Youju's smile deepened, and she said admiringly, "Very beautiful. Ah Zhong is amazing. You must be his most perfect masterpiece."
He Gui forced a smile, his imperfect facial expression looking somewhat stiff and strange, but he didn't notice it. He was only very happy about You Youju's approval.
He continued speaking. You Youju turned his head slightly to look at Zhu Xun, who met his gaze. Zhu Xun felt a strange tightness in his chest and his breathing became slightly labored.
“Ah Zhong has always been kind to the villagers. When I was able to transform into human form, I took the initiative to take on some exorcisms so that he would not be in any more danger. But one day, a very powerful evil spirit came to the village. It specifically targeted young boys and girls. Before this, some children had already gone missing, but it became more and more rampant.”
I couldn't find him because he was hiding, but later I discovered that he was hiding in Fu Cheng's mansion.
But I didn't tell Ah Zhong about this, and I wanted to solve it myself. As a result, I was seriously injured, which frightened the children... Fu Cheng took the initiative and, taking advantage of my weakened magic, guided the villagers to kill Ah Zhong.
Even at that critical moment, he hid me and broke my master-servant contract.
He Gui almost smiled bitterly, his body radiating resentment like strands of red thread.
The group exchanged glances but remained silent.
Huai Jing placed her hand on his shoulder to suppress his inner demons and whispered, "Don't let your inner demons out. I will help you."
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