Chapter 22 Isn't this just like a god descending to earth...?
The young shopkeeper was pleased to receive the copper coins. He walked in with his hands in his pockets, closed the window, and said mysteriously, "You two are from Yejing, aren't you? Such an air of authority is not that of ordinary people."
Long Zhaoming smiled and waved his folding fan: "No, we come from Jiangnan."
"I see. Jiangnan is a wonderful place, nurturing such grace in you two."
The waiter flattered him, and the wariness in his eyes seemed to have lessened somewhat. Long Zhaoming took in his expression.
“Alas, you two do not know, this is our custom. If someone in a family suddenly falls into a coma, it is because the Night Weeping Maiden has taken away that person’s soul. A ritual must be performed to bring the soul back.”
The waiter spoke mysteriously, but Long Zhaoming revealed a disdainful smile: "Didn't they even think of asking a doctor to take a look?"
The waiter wasn't annoyed by the questioning and continued to explain, "Of course we consulted doctors! How could we not? We even went to Yejing to invite a famous doctor to take a look! But they just couldn't find anything wrong with him!"
Long Zhaoming and Mingyue exchanged a glance, then questioned again, "Since even the doctors in Yejing can't cure her, how do you know she's lost her soul?"
The man refused to say anything more, and said with a grin, "We have our own way of dealing with this. Please don't look outside, I have other things to do."
After saying that, he slipped away as fast as he could.
"This waiter is a bit strange."
Mingyue watched the waiter's retreating figure and whispered. Long Zhaoming nodded, covering his mouth with his folding fan: "Yes, they even specifically inquired whether we were from Yejing. I suspect there's something fishy going on, and they're worried we're officials from the capital."
"Let's stay a few more days and find out the truth."
The waiter's attitude was clearly problematic, yet it ultimately piqued their interest...
This place is not far from Yejing, so if there is anything unusual, he will definitely investigate it thoroughly.
Long Zhaoming shared the same feeling and stretched out his hand to whistle softly. Even Mingyue, who was next to him, did not notice the whistle.
A moment later, a small black bird, fluttering its wings, stood on the eaves of the opposite house, tilting its head. Long Zhaoming glanced around and saw that no one had noticed this bird, which seemed out of place in winter. He opened the window a crack, and the little black bird fluttered its wings and squeezed in.
"Here, take this back."
While waiting for the bird, he had already written a letter and handed it to the bird to deliver to Xiao Mowen and the others, instructing them to continue their journey without revealing any flaws.
Mingyue wasn't entirely aware of his younger brother's occasional clever tricks, but he didn't care much; he trusted Long Zhaoming.
"Your Highness? Brother Yue?"
Seventeen pushed open the door and walked in, carrying a bag of fried dough balls, probably containing three or four pieces, along with some other food.
"Little Seventeen, did you find anything when you went out on the street?"
After a moment's pause, Shiqi turned around and closed the door. Seeing this, Long Zhaoming also immediately turned around and closed the window. The three of them sat around the square table, where the steaming food was still emitting a fragrant aroma.
Long Zhaoming couldn't resist. Although it was just an excuse to get Seventeen away, he really liked eating these lumps of oil.
He simply reached out and took one to slowly nibble on, while listening to Seventeen recount his "adventures".
"I had just gone out looking for a vendor selling fried dough sticks when I heard a bell ringing."
"We heard that too."
Seventeen took a bite of the oily lump in her hand and continued, "The oily lump vendor pulled me into a side alley. I thought he was going to do something to me and almost beat him up."
He recalled that after being pulled inside by the vendor, his first thought was that the other party was trying to assassinate him again, and he almost knocked the other person down. Fortunately, the vendor spoke up in time.
"Don't look outside!"
Seventeen paused, then withdrew his outstretched hand without batting an eye, asking in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"You're not a local?"
The vendor's eyes swept over Seventeen from head to toe. Seventeen shook his head: "No, I'm from... Jiangnan."
He originally wanted to say Yejing, but after thinking for a moment, he changed his mind and said Jiangnan instead.
"Oh, no wonder she's so beautiful."
The vendor's praise, though insincere, was not malicious either; Seventeen simply smiled.
Why can't we look outside?
“They’re calling back the soul outside. If you see it, they’ll call your soul away. This bell sound is to remind us.”
Seventeen frowned, puzzled: "Summoning a spirit?"
The vendor thought for a moment and said, "I guess it's the Xu butcher's family on the west side of the city. His daughter suddenly fell into a coma the day before her wedding. They consulted a doctor, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong. So they chose an auspicious day to summon her soul."
Summoning the soul... Seventeen understood the meaning but didn't pay much attention. Not to mention ordinary people, even in Yejing, there were people who believed in gods and ghosts, so it wasn't unusual.
"Does this soul-summoning method work?"
The vendor chuckled: "Young man, you don't know, do you? We have a master here!"
"master?"
"Yes! This master also traveled here a few years ago. He has incredibly amazing skills! If he hadn't told us that these people who were having convulsions and fainting were because their souls had been taken by the underworld, we would still be foolishly waiting for the doctor to treat us!"
Seventeen disagreed with this statement. He argued that the concepts of gods and ghosts were ultimately vague and unfounded, so how could they be going over the doctor's head?
However, he wisely remained silent. The keen senses he had developed while serving His Majesty during this period of time made him realize that something might be amiss. He feigned shock and inquired, "Is it that amazing? This... I wonder if this master would be willing to take a look elsewhere?"
The vendor looked at Seventeen with an expression that seemed to know everything about him: "What? Do you have a sick person in your family too?"
"Alas! My father worked hard to build the family business for his brothers when he was young, which left him with many health problems. Now the family business has grown, but he has fallen ill!"
Seventeen spoke with great distress, her eyes filled with sorrow: "We are going to Yejing to find some skilled doctors to accompany us back to Jiangnan!"
"Hehe, if you ask me, the imperial physicians in the palace might not be as good as this master!"
After saying that, Seventeen took a sip of tea and said, "I roughly found out the basic information about that master. He came here four or five years ago and was just a fortune teller at first, but he was always very accurate in his predictions, and over time he made a name for himself."
"Since it's so famous, we've never heard of it in Yejing."
Long Zhaoming picked up another steamed bun, took a bite, and said, "This is a bit strange. This place isn't far from Yejing, and many people frequently travel between Yejing and here. Why haven't we heard a single word about it?"
"Because this master said that he was a celestial being who came down from heaven to gain experience. He came to do good because he had received kindness from the people of this place. However, since only this place had been kind to him, he could only stay here. If outsiders found out or he went to another place, he would not be able to use his divine power."
Seventeen also picked up a white steamed bun and ate it face to face with Long Zhaoming, looking just like two little mice.
Strangely enough, the white flour steamed buns here taste much better than those elsewhere; perhaps it's because the preparation methods differ from place to place.
"Tsk, what a pretentious charlatan."
Long Zhaoming was extremely disdainful of these things. He thought that gods and divine powers were nothing more than a bunch of swindlers trying to cheat people.
Mingyue pondered for a moment and then asked, "Did this master accept any money?"
Seventeen shook his head: "No, the master said that since he came to do good deeds, he felt he would not accept money again, so that he would incur karmic debts."
"Still not taking money? Is he some kind of deity?"
“Impossible, there must be something fishy about this.” Mingyue said decisively. Seventeen glanced at him, then at Long Zhaoming.
Why does it feel like...Brother Yue is so... authoritative in front of His Highness?
"Little Seventeen, let's stay here a few more days and figure out what this so-called master is all about."
Seventeen nodded and said, "I know where the family that performed the soul-summoning ceremony today is. I'll sneak over there and take a look later."
"I'll be with you."
Mingyue spoke in a deep voice from the side. Seventeen didn't think anything of it, but Long Zhaoming's eyes widened: "What are you doing following along?"
A speechless gaze shot over: "Seventeen's kung fu isn't particularly good, so what if the master knows martial arts?"
"Oh, oh, oh..."
Long Zhaoming chuckled, seemingly disgusted by his own filthy thoughts.
Mingyue glanced at him silently. Seventeen, who was standing to the side, was completely confused about what the two were talking about. He stuffed another bun into his mouth in a daze.
The dough for these buns is so fluffy and soft; he should buy more to take with him before he leaves.
Late at night, the entire street fell silent, except for the Xu Butcher's house in the west of the city, where candles were still lit.
His wife was sitting on the edge of the bed, silently weeping. Butcher Xu gently put his arm around her shoulder and softly comforted her, "It has nothing to do with you. It's because I've killed too many animals in my life and committed sins. But if you want to punish someone, punish me. Why drag the children into it?"
Madam Xu hugged him back and choked up, saying, "If it weren't for you, we'd still be rolling around in the mud. Don't talk about yourself like that."
"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more. Let's wait. The master said that once the soul is summoned today, Qianniang will wake up."
"Well, the master is always right, so let's believe him."
The couple began to sob softly again, the sound echoing in the small room.
Two dark figures crouched silently on the eaves above them, making no sound. Even the chickens in the yard were soundly asleep.
Seventeen and Mingyue waited for a while and found that the girl lying on the bed had not yet woken up, but the couple did not seem to be going to rest, which puzzled them.
"Brother Yue, should we go and see the master?"
Seventeen said in a low voice, and Mingyue gently shook her head, raising a finger to signal him to be quiet.
After a while, Seventeen's ears twitched; there seemed to be some movement outside the courtyard.
He turned his head slightly to look outside the courtyard, where a man radiating light and wearing a colorful robe "floated" in.
It was really floating; at least Seventeen didn't see the other person's footsteps at all.
The couple inside seemed to sense something and hurriedly went out to greet them.
"master!"
The master in the colorful robes lowered his eyebrows and looked holy, but his eyes did not look at the couple; instead, they were completely lifeless.
"Go inside."
His voice was also very ethereal, truly like a sound coming from the sky.
At first glance, isn't this just like a deity descended to earth?
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Author's Note: ★★★ Next up: "After Transmigrating into a Book, I Was Pampered by My Childhood Sweetheart" ★★★
Childhood sweetheart, seemingly innocent yet secretly cunning and taciturn, x delicate, weak, and shy, please have mercy on me (reaching out).
Delicate and pampered type, the kind who expects everything to be done for him. Enter at your own risk if you don't like this.
As a perpetually unlucky guy who could choke on water and end up in the hospital while eating, Li Huai had only one thought in his mind when the out-of-control truck sped towards him: "Finally, I'm free."
But when he regained consciousness, his eyes were filled with despair: How come he didn't die again?
But soon he realized that this place didn't seem to be a hospital?
A group of people dressed in mismatched clothes around him were crying and shouting about something like "Young Master" or "Alliance Leader." The flood of memories squeezed Li Huai's already aching brain, and he fainted again.
When he woke up again, he understood his current situation: he had transmigrated and become the beloved, silly boy of the martial arts alliance leader.
Sha Geda was born an idiot. Although she was beautiful, she was physically weak and needed to be taken care of in everything, like a flawed flower grown in a greenhouse.
Li Huai wanted to continue feigning madness and not let others know that he had been given a new soul, but things didn't go as he wished.
Since waking up, his childhood friend and elder brother have visited him every day. Their cold eyes seem to see through Li Huai's disguise, and before he knew it, he had confessed everything.
Fortunately, his elder brother did not doubt his identity, but only thought that Li Huai had recovered from his illness.
Li Huai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, only to find himself surrounded by so many people.
In just a few words, Li Huai finally understood what they were talking about: that he was blessed with good fortune, and that even a trace of it would bring him a string of good luck, and so on...
Li Ze found it utterly absurd. How could such an incredibly unlucky person be the reincarnation of a lucky koi fish? These people must be out of their minds!
His good brother stood in front of him, keeping all the madmen outside the door. Li Huai was completely unaware of the bloodlust that flashed in his eyes. He only felt that the tall and straight figure was exceptionally handsome, and a flower seemed to quietly bloom in his heart.
"Good brother, I feel much better now, I can go out and play."
Li Huai held his elder brother's hand, swaying like a spoiled child, while Lu Ze'an looked at him with his gloomy black eyes. The fleeting madness seemed like an illusion, but upon closer inspection, only tenderness remained.
"Really? I think I heard Ah Huai calling out my brother's name last night... Then it seems Ah Huai is capable of..."
Li Huai's earlobes turned bright red. How could his deeply hidden secret be exposed by a few words he uttered in his sleep?
Lu Ze'an rolled his dark eyes, and when they landed on Li Huai's reddened neck, his madness intensified.
Delicate and beautiful flowers, yet fragile, should be kept indoors, allowing oneself to admire them day and night.
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