Chapter 33 A gathering of heroes in the garden
A chill wind, reeking of lime, swept through the towers and cottages of Fengyan City. The snow on the roofs had begun to melt into icy water, dripping down the roofs. Although the plague had passed, the people of the city still retained the habit of using lime water for disinfection.
Cang Ming, holding the jar under one arm, lifted the hem of his robe and stepped through the threshold of Xiyuan Sanfang. The aroma of simmering cooking oil and the sweet smell of cooking rice washed over him on the warm breeze. After returning from his ghost hunt, he felt like home for the first time.
Xunyan and Mixia, under the command of a man in red, were hurriedly bringing various soups and drinks, and placing them in front of the scattered guests along with hard baked buns.
The man in red turned around, blinked at Cang Ming, and then shouted, "Ghost Buster, it's you!"
The name "Ghost Buster" immediately stirred a commotion among the shop's casual customers. Those ordinary-looking and unassuming customers all looked at Cang Ming with fear. As expected, there wasn't a single living customer in the three Xiyuan aisles today.
In a moment, all the guests got up in a panic and fled out the door, whispering to each other desperately:
"Isn't the Ghost Buster a Taoist priest?"
"Go, go, do you want to die?"
Cang Ming shouted to the backs of the group of little demons and casual customers, "Everyone, come back next time. Our store is safe and comfortable, and you'll feel like home..." After shouting, he ran a few steps to the side of the man in red and punched him happily, "Wei Qiang, you're back?"
Wei Qiang complained, "I was just out for a bit of a wandering, and when I came back I found the inn deserted. Even the owner was gone. So of course I felt obligated to help."
Cang Ming laughed and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days. Your clothes are still as red as ever."
"Miss Cang, has Master Hua Yi been sent home?"
Cang Ming turned around and found that the smiling Mi Xia Shen appeared behind him without anyone noticing.
"He, that's a long story." Thinking of Hua Yi and Li Xianzhen's last image, Cang Ming's smile faded. Even if Wei Ci hadn't restrained her, what could she have done? Would she have tied Li Xianzhen up, blocked her choices, and rewritten her fate like a god? But if Li Xianzhen and Hua Yi had gone on a quest for revenge, slain Lianhua, and traveled all that distance, would they have truly survived?
Xunyan, beaming with joy, took the jar from Cangming's hand and was about to take it to the kitchen. Cangming hurriedly stopped him and asked him to take it to the room upstairs. In this bustling stall, Cangming suddenly felt a pair of dark gazes cast at him.
Turning around, she saw Xisheng sitting in the corner of the lobby, drinking alone and calmly watching her and the jar. Cang Ming's cloak was lying nearby, looking pristine and new. Meeting her surprised gaze, Xisheng nodded knowingly at the jar, and Cang Ming knew without further explanation that Xisheng had already figured out what was inside.
Xunyan carried the jar upstairs. Cangming sat heavily on the long bench opposite Xisheng and asked wearily, "Where's Wulu? Did you find him?"
Xisheng drank two cups at a time and then replied, "No. I searched for a long time on the shore, then jumped into the Spring and Autumn Ferry to look for it, but I was bewitched by an illusion."
"You also went underwater?" Cang Ming asked in surprise, "Being underwater will remind people of their most terrifying memories and suck them into a whirlpool... Then how did you come out?" She thought that this Xisheng might be a fake, so she immediately jumped up and took a step back.
Xisheng said calmly, "I've said before, the Kaleidoscope has been haunting me, making me uneasy all day long. I've long been accustomed to the feeling of fear."
“…”
"So, one day I suddenly decided not to be afraid anymore." Xisheng drank the last glass of wine in one gulp. "That's it."
Wei Qiang clasped his fists and said, "Zou Chaoxian, you are indeed an immortal. You are so cruel."
Cang Ming looked at Xi Sheng with sympathetic and sad eyes. Xi Sheng said, "You go up and look at the jar first."
"Where's Wu Lu? Why hasn't he come back yet?" Cang Ming glanced outside the door with a headache. "Could it be that Zhong Wu Qi really knocked him unconscious? Did he fall on the side of the road? Should we bring more people to pick him up?"
With a clatter, a customer nearby slammed down his plate. He hurled the pancake back onto the plate with two bangs and stood up angrily, "What do you mean? Can it be that I can't beat him?"
Several people looked at him in confusion. This man had an ordinary appearance, with scattered features and gray clothes. He was completely forgettable.
After staring at each other for a while, Cang Ming suddenly said, "No law!"
Everyone's figures swayed slightly in unison. The man with the blurry face laughed wildly: "Well, I've been sitting here for four or five days, and none of you recognized me!" As he spoke, he reached out and wiped his face. The fragmentary features on his face were wiped away like water marks, and Wu Lu's true face was revealed.
"Oh, boss!" This time, Xunyan and Mixia's smiles were even wider, and there was even a hint of genuine joy in their faces.
Wei Qiang strode up to Wu Lu, shook his hand with a fist bump, and shouted, "Yin Luxian, why are you sitting here pretending to be a guest? You've made me work like a waiter for several days!"
Wu Lu laughed heartily and said, "Because this is fun! I sit down and you all serve me...it's really fun!"
Xisheng looked at him speechlessly, while Cang Ming asked anxiously, "Did you catch that old guy?"
Wu Lu's face immediately fell: "How could this immortal not be able to catch up with a loser? It's a pity that even if I catch up with him, I can't do anything to him, alas..."
Even Cang Ming looked at him speechlessly. Only Wei Qiang didn't understand what the three were saying. He interpreted this conversation as a discussion between immortals about a secret mission, so he stood in awe and listened with his hands down, completely changing his usual nonchalant demeanor.
To save face, Wu Lu emphasized, "After I caught up with him, I beat him up! He was screaming."
"So?" Xi Sheng stared at him coldly, "Do you want the mortgage notes from Tongduo Mountain back?"
"You mean the deed?" Wu Lu said evasively, "It's in the silver box on his chest, yes."
"You didn't want to come back." Xisheng looked at him sternly.
Wu Lu raised his hand and transformed it into a crutch, leaning on it to escape the hall: "He used my uncle's kindness to threaten me, I really can't do anything... If I try to steal his silver box, he will commit suicide..."
Cang Ming said bitterly, "It's unlawful, unlawful. If you can't rob openly, can't you just steal secretly?"
"..." Wu Lu replied modestly, "That's you. I won't do that."
“…”
"Alright, alright. When I came back, I ran into your wealthy friend named You." Wu Lu said to Cang Ming, "I apologized to him on your behalf about the boat incident."
Cang Ming's face lit up. "That's great. I was wondering where to find him. I'll pay for it! Thank you so much for explaining it to me."
Wu Lu waved his hand generously and said, "What's the big deal? Just a word! I told him that you got into a fight and dropped the boat mid-air. If the boat was damaged, it's understandable."
"What?!" Cang Ming's eyes went dark with anger. For a moment, she wanted to snatch Wu Lu's crutch and break it on her thigh.
Xisheng showed a rare smile, and then said to Wulu: "By the way, how did you escape from Chunqiu Ferry? Underwater will-"
Wu Lu waved his cane and said nonchalantly, "I heard everything Cang Ming said just now. It's really scary and short of breath underwater. It's really weird. But what else can I be afraid of? I'm just worried that the inn will close down, I'll be homeless, and I won't have good food and wine."
Xisheng said coldly, "I really envy you people who are content with the mundane world."
Wu Lu answered modestly: "You haven't seen how miserable Zhong Wuqi was underwater. He seemed to be lucid for a while and confused the next. In the end, we got ashore while beating each other..."
After he finished his vivid description, Cang Ming waved to Wei Qiang and said, "Since you're all here, let's discuss the jar matter."
Xisheng signaled Xunyan to close the door of the inn, and Wei Qiang asked, "What happened to the jar?" No one paid any attention to Wu Lu's words.
Cang Ming said, "This time we captured the female ghost Tian Xin Shu and sealed her in my jar. Who is this Tian Xin Shu? Can you guess who she is?"
Wei Qiang was clueless, and Xi Sheng was hesitant. Cang Ming said quietly, "She's Hua Yi's mother's junior apprentice, and she's also Old Gui Lian's daughter. Old Gui Lian is her father!"
"Look at this!" Wu Lu shouted, "I told you! This old man might be her father!"
Cang Ming continued, "Although Old Ghost Lian is called Ghost, he's actually a demon, a humanoid form transformed from a lotus. Tian Xinshu, on the other hand, is a snow sculpture, unrelated to the lotus. These two don't look like father and daughter at all."
Wu Lu said, "Demons and ghosts can also marry each other. And between father and daughter, they don't have to be of the same origin or shape..."
Wei Qiang interrupted anxiously, "Should we catch her and that old ghost in one fell swoop? What a pity, she saved my life from her father...but I'm not the kind of person who can't tell right from wrong." He reached out and grabbed the scratcher under his collar, and nodded to the other three people in a sophisticated manner to show that he understood.
Cang Ming said: "The old ghost has committed many evil deeds and crimes. He almost captured you and ruined Hua Yi's life. Hua Yi's mother, Miss Li, took Hua Yi to Shiqiyan to seek revenge on the old ghost Lian."
Wu Lu shook his head and said, "My informant goes to Shiqiyan every day to spy, but Lao Gui is not there."
Cang Ming nodded and said, "Yes, Old Ghost Lian has escaped. No matter what, we must find Old Ghost before Miss Li does and lend her a helping hand, lest he and his son risk their lives in a desperate struggle." Thinking of Li Xianzhen's long journey to seek revenge, to help Hua Yi achieve a rebirth, Cang Ming felt a vague unease. Was it right or wrong to not interfere in the karma of others?
Xisheng said to Cang Ming, "Are you planning to use the snow sculpture in the jar to lure out Old Ghost Lotus? However, I don't think their father-daughter relationship is very good."
Cang Ming continued, "Indeed, that old ghost never raised Tian Xinshu. Instead, he abandoned her at the Li Mansion, a family friend and Hua Yi's mother's home. The old ghost did evil things, but left behind a fake shell of a snow sculpture, as if he was afraid his daughter wouldn't be exposed. It's dazzling, with so many appearances that it's hard to distinguish true from false."
Xisheng said, "Not bad." She and Cang Ming smiled at each other, feeling very satisfied with this kind of conversation without any nonsense.
Wu Lu said, "Anyway, I'll use my connections to spread the news. I'll say that Xue Diao knows her father's secret. I'm not afraid that Old Ghost Lian won't take the bait." He looked around the shabby inn lovingly and said reluctantly, "I hope that when the time comes, Old Ghost Lian comes to fight and doesn't destroy my inn."
Wu Lu then began to mutter to Wei Qiang how satisfied and content he was with this inn. His stable life was the perfect example of Xiao Man's perfect life. He wouldn't change even if Tongduo Mountain came... Cang Ming's mouth twitched, and he waved his sleeves at him, saying, "Don't worry, the jar won't stay in the inn forever. Xiyuan Sanfang is safe. After I interrogate Tian Xinshu, I'll suppress her under the pagoda."
Wu Lu hurriedly said, "Take him outside for interrogation, not here."
If Old Ghost Lotus really arrived with his host of demons, Cang Ming worried that this fragile old house would collapse. Furthermore, he had to be wary of Tian Xinshu's lieutenant and his crooked army. He also had to proactively search for Old Ghost Lotus to aid him in his revenge against Li Xianzhen and his son... The sheer volume of things to worry about was too numerous to count. Cang Ming sighed.
Xisheng patted her shoulder and said, "Go back to your room and rest."
Cang Ming returned to his bedroom on the second floor and closed the door. The furnishings in the room were as usual, but it seemed as if he had been away for a year.
She looked at her face in the mirror quietly for a while, then slowly reached out and took off the silver hair crown on her head.
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