Chapter 39: Kaleidoscope
The petals were inscribed with the following words: Although my daughter has done many evil things and is good at using curses, considering her young age and ignorance, I hope that the Taoist priest will show mercy and pity to her old father. I will be deeply grateful.
Just as Cang Ming finished reading these lines of flamboyant calligraphy, the petals withered with a crackling sound and turned into powder like burnt paper.
Cang Ming sneered again. Leaving Zhong Wuqi and the jar behind, she headed straight for the third block of Xiyuan.
Morning smoke rose from the roofs of the city's houses. The sounds of chickens and dogs could be heard. As the morning light faded, the gates of the three courtyards of Xiyuan were already open to welcome visitors.
When Cang Ming stepped into the lobby of the inn, everyone sitting at the table drinking porridge shuddered.
Wu Lu held up the bowl of porridge and asked, "Why have you become so... cold?"
"Really?" Cang Ming picked up a bowl of hot tea and drank it all, then took a piece of tortoise shell pancake, tossed it, put it under his fangs and took a bite.
"Ghost Buster has become quite depressed and cold." Wei Qiang recalled the tragic case just uncovered by fortune teller Li and said sympathetically, "After going through such a hellish thing, it will take at least three to five years to recover."
Xunyan and Mixia were still bringing sesame cakes to the table, but Xisheng was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had gone back to his room to sit quietly and relax.
Cang Ming said, "Old Gui Lian sent someone to deliver a letter."
Wu Lu groaned and said confidently, "He must have heard the rumors I spread and learned that Tian Xin Shu had fallen into the hands of your ghost nemesis. As expected, he began to get anxious and ready to make a move."
Cang Ming said contemptuously, "It's a pity that he said in the letter that all the evil deeds were done by Tian Xinshu. It seems that he is eager to let Tian Xinshu take the blame for him."
Wu Lu was puzzled: "I really don't understand him. Doesn't he care about the father-daughter relationship at all? Ah, I get it!"
He slapped his thigh suddenly: "Tian Xinshu is his wife's child with someone else!"
Wei Qiang looked at his smug face speechlessly and said, "That's not necessarily true. Since Tian Xin Shu acknowledges this father, I guess it's more likely that Old Gui Lian thinks his daughter has greater magical power and power, so he's using her as a shield!"
Cang Ming nodded and said, "Indeed. Having a daughter to support oneself is not uncommon. There are countless such people in the streets and alleys."
Wu Lu smashed a pancake with his fist, picked up the pieces and threw them into his mouth, mumbling, "Whatever. You're going to go find Old Gui Lian anyway. I know."
Wei Qiang asked, "Ghost Buster, where are we going next?"
"We need to follow Tian Xinshu's whereabouts and chase her all the way. She will definitely go find Old Ghost Lotus. Only by firmly controlling him can we save Li Xianzhen from certain death." Cang Ming sipped his tea and spoke slowly, "I actually hid a yellow locating talisman on Tian Xinshu's body. It's not made of leaves, so it won't lose its power easily."
Wei Qiang was filled with admiration: "Wow! That's amazing! We didn't even see when you put it up!"
Cang Ming raised his lips and continued, "However, Tian Xinshu is naturally suspicious and will surely guess that I will try every possible means to track her down. So she will probably wander around on her own while letting her deputy general find out the location of Old Ghost Lotus."
Wei Qiang slammed his fist into his other hand. "Then let's go find the deputy commander! How do we find him?"
Cang Ming said, "When the deputy general rushed to rescue the emperor, the leaves on the edge of the forest rustled and fell. A few leaves landed on his armor, and I cast a spell from afar, turning them into yellow talismans to locate him."
Wei Qiang was so excited that he couldn't breathe: "At that time, you still had the mind to cast a spell? Oh, you are worthy of being an immortal. I may never become an immortal in this lifetime——"
"When one reaches a certain level of cultivation, one can transform one's thoughts into form, following one's heart without restraint." Cang Ming smiled, and his icy white face warmed up a little. "However, we still have to pursue Tian Xinshu, so we can just keep one eye on the deputy general."
Wei Qiang was still savoring the thought when Wu Lu lazily said, "Yes, Tian Xinshu will definitely go find Old Guilian on his own. That deputy general is useless. It's probably just a decoy."
"Well, it's time for me to leave. Where's Xisheng?" Cang Ming stood up and swept the hem of his robe, and starlight flickered on the sea-blue fabric.
"Miss Xi received a letter and went back to her room. She hasn't come out for a long time." Mixia quietly emerged from the dark corner and answered truthfully with a grin.
Cang Ming said: "I'll go see her and say hello to her."
Xisheng's door was ajar. He knocked twice, but no one answered. Cang Ming pushed the door open and walked in.
The room was still a stone-colored room. Xisheng sat cross-legged on the stone bed, her long hair covering half her face.
Cang Ming thought that he had not changed into his pajamas and was still wearing the robe he wore when he was out, so he couldn't sit on the bed with them like he did when they were little. So he picked up two bricks and walked over, finding an empty spot nearby to sit down.
Xisheng turned to look at her and said faintly, "That thing is here again."
A chill immediately ran down Cang Ming's back. Holding the hilt of his sword, he glanced around calmly. The room was as quiet as a snowy night.
With a whoosh, a row of figures suddenly appeared on the wall.
Cang Ming suddenly turned around and drew his sword, and the sword energy made the opposite side roar.
It was a row of paper figures lying on the stone cabinet who sat up hand in hand, and were projected onto the wall by the morning sun.
The paper man floated around in Xisheng's room, then went to the lobby to play with a smile on his face.
"It's the Kaleidoscope, here it comes again." Xisheng took out a letter from under the pillow and handed it to Cang Ming.
Cang Ming glanced at it, holding his breath, his heart pounding. The letter said that Yin's father had been ill in bed for several days and was afraid that he might not have much time left. He asked Xisheng to leave immediately and return home.
Neither of Xisheng's parents could write, so this few words in tiny regular script were most likely written by Xisheng's mother through a ghostwriter.
Xisheng, who worked odd jobs outside, also wrote many such letters for customers, some of which were to announce deaths and some to announce good news.
Carrying a simple bundle, Xisheng stood upright at the threshold, lost in thought. Wu Lu and Wei Qiang, after hearing the news from Cang Ming, all looked at Xisheng, their faces at a loss for words.
Xisheng insisted on not letting them go home with her. She told Cangming to go find Weiyangguan and told the others to do whatever they needed to do. After a pause, she said, "I don't want you to see me. I want to be alone. I should have left a long time ago, but I don't know how to get there."
Wu Lu went over and patted her shoulders twice, and reminded her: "Go slowly on the road."
Wei Qiang suddenly realized what was happening. He turned around and rummaged through the boxes, finding some ginseng roots and various herbs. He said anxiously, "Zou Chaoxian, it doesn't matter if others don't go, but I must go and prescribe a prescription for Mr. Yin."
Xisheng's eyes lit up slightly, and he finally said, "Okay."
With Wei Qiang, dressed in a red robe, Xisheng set out on his journey home. According to Cang Ming's impression, Xisheng's hometown was somewhere in the southwest, three days' ride by horse carriage, two days' ride by donkey, one day's ride by oxen and plow, and one day's walk from Fengyan City.
Of course, Xisheng could use the Yellow Teleportation Talisman. One Yellow Talisman could reach a distance of a thousand miles, and three or five of them could be used in relays to return home. However, activating this talisman was very energy-intensive, and one had to rest for a long time between uses.
Before leaving, Xisheng looked back at Cangming and asked, "Are you really looking for someone that old?"
Cang Ming was stunned, not knowing how to describe his relationship with Wei Ci. From this dawn on, they might have become strangers.
Wu Lu answered for her: "It doesn't matter. Her heart is old, no less than a thousand years old."
Xisheng nodded, and walked away with Wei Qiang.
Xunyan and Mixia were lying on either side of the door, looking at Xisheng's back with concern and anxiety, but they still had bright smiles on their faces.
Cang Ming rubbed his brow, feeling confused. Wu Lu turned around with his cane and said, "What? Let's walk too?"
Cang Ming thought for a moment and said, "Since you're the only one left free, it's best not to leave the base camp. How about you stay at the inn and take care of daily affairs, and help me keep an eye on the deputy commander?"
Wu Lu said nonchalantly, "Of course that's fine. Just list what you need me to do."
Cang Ming taught him the secrets of his unique incantation: this way, this way, that way, he could sense the direction of the leaf locator. Wu Lu memorized them one by one.
Thinking of Zhong Wuqi, who was hidden under the jar outside the antique shop, Cang Ming decided to keep quiet about it for now, lest Wu Lu cause more trouble. Wu Lu hated Zhong Wuqi to the core. Yet, she was always bound by gratitude, and she even worried that Wu Lu would run to bring Zhong Wuqi food.
Although he had used the Yellow Talisman to immobilize Zhong Wuqi, Cang Ming had no idea what he could do with it. The Yellow Talisman was enough to keep a human from going without food or water for months, and the jar itself was well ventilated, providing a good living environment, perhaps even better than where he usually lived.
Thinking of his parents and Xisheng, all kinds of sorrow surged in his heart. Cang Ming decided to leave Zhong Wuqi there for the time being.
As for the pair of pottery men who were guilty of death, the thought of destroying them brought a shudder of cruel pleasure to his heart.
After all, before leaving the inn, Cang Ming asked Wu Lu: "Do you know of any way to reunite the souls that have been reduced to ashes? For example, if we can find all their remains, or know the place where they died..."
Wu Lu looked at her with understanding, and after a long while he slowly said, "Sister Cang, we are not gods. Even gods cannot revive people casually."
He also asked, "If you see Miss Li and Hua Yi again, will you still save them?"
Cang Ming was speechless.
Wearing a hooded cape and a rabbit-faced mask, Cang Ming walked onto the long street leading out of the city. The streets were filled with hawking, as vendors of life-saving locks and exorcism potions scrambled for space.
At the base of a wall, stale vegetable leaves were piled up, and a vendor was hawking his wares listlessly. Inside a row of shacks, women were cutting rough pieces of cloth with scissors.
In front of a narrow gold shop, a sullen-looking father bought his daughter a gilded copper lock, his face beaming with joy: "In the future, when you're old, at the very least, you can sell this for money and spend your retirement comfortably."
The thin lock did not look like it could be made of gold, and was a piece of jumbled material that rich people would not even look at. However, the father was still very happy and satisfied.
Cang Ming walked through the bizarre street scenes with an expressionless face, gazing at the ancient building. He decided to sneak in and steal Li Chongshan and his wife away when he returned. By then, Wei Ci would probably have forgotten about him and would probably have let his guard down.
Everyone can find what they want in an antique shop. No wonder the gods and demons of the three realms flock to them. Even Cang Ming is going to be a thief for once. Thinking of how much merit this will lose, Cang Ming's eyes darkened.
She thought back to the morning when she first arrived in Fengyan City. At this moment, it seemed like a lifetime ago, and she still had nothing.
Suddenly, she remembered that she wasn't empty-handed. Besides the Ice Blade sword at her waist, the sound-transmitting earrings were still firmly fastened to her ears. The small box of lipstick was tucked away in her lapel, alongside the deed to Tongduo Mountain.
And most importantly, before leaving Xiyuan Sanfang, she inexplicably put the silver hair crown on her hair.
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