Extra Story 2: Borrowing Years (Part 2)
"There must be something strange about this goddess of fortune." Lingxiang frowned, with the lights reflected in her eyes.
Long Qi was puzzled when he heard this. "Strange? What's so strange about it?" Isn't it normal for someone to live longer, given the blessing of the God of Fortune? Could it be that Lingxiang still doesn't believe in the existence of gods? She's a Taoist practitioner.
Mai Dong pondered for a moment and nodded in response, "It's indeed a bit strange."
Hearing Maidong's response, Long Qi became even more puzzled. He scratched his head, not knowing what was going on, and looked at the two of them with a bewildered look: What are these two little girls talking about?
Seeing Long Qi's bewildered look, Lingxiang couldn't help but think that this grown-up boy was rather amusing. However, she paused for a moment and suppressed her laughter before saying, "According to the 'Chronicles of the Immortals,' the so-called God of Fortune is the Purple Star Emperor of the Jade Purity Realm, the celestial official who bestows blessings on the Lantern Festival. The so-called God of Fortune in the countryside is actually the Earth God, who doesn't possess the divine power to grant longevity."
"So?" Long Qi looked puzzled. "What's so strange about this? Why can't it be Heaven Official's Blessing?"
"That's strange." Maidong's eyes were full of contempt, and he wondered in his heart where Lingxiang had picked up such a cheap commodity.
"Let's not even ask whether the so-called Goddess of Fortune was blessed by the Heavenly Officials. If the lunchbox is real, how could it fail so many times?"
Long Qi was even more confused after hearing this. How did Mai Dong know that the old lady had been unable to function again and again? Wasn't he cursing her out of the blue?
Just when Long Qi was confused, he suddenly remembered what Kuan Ge'er had said, and immediately understood:
"Grandma Fushen is dying again, and the village chief is calling everyone to come!"
Seeing Long Qi's understanding, Ling Xiang finally spoke: "That's right, if it was really a blessing from the Heavenly Official, how could such an old man be brought back to life and death? It's not a blessing at all, but..."
"It's torture..." Maidong frowned and turned to look in the direction of Aunt Chang's family. She really couldn't guess what was going on.
"In that case, why not go and find out? Long Qi, you wait here, lest you reveal your true identity."
By the time Long Qi reacted, Lingxiang and Maidong had already left the yard one after the other. He couldn't help but complain about Lingxiang in his heart, but he stayed at the door as she said - the incident in Liangcheng was still vivid in his mind, and he naturally understood that relatively speaking, the two little girls knew more about this kind of thing than he did. If he followed them, he might be held back.
But why do I feel so bad in my heart?
…
An old woman lay in bed, her hair white as snow, her face haggard. Although her chest rose and fell steadily, she looked as if she was dying. Beneath her bed, many people knelt, led by the chief of Yunluo Village.
Seeing the old woman with her eyes open as if searching for something, the village chief hurried forward and leaned close to her ear and asked, "Who are you looking for, grandma? Everyone is here."
It turned out that this person was the Goddess of Fortune that Kuan Ge'er had mentioned. She turned her head with great effort and looked at the people kneeling on the ground. She saw Aunt Chang and her family lying on the ground crying. When she saw Gou Wa kneeling on the ground, her cloudy eyes suddenly opened wide, and the wrinkles on her face trembled, as if it was extremely unbelievable.
The village chief had no idea what this goddess of fortune was thinking in such a state of excitement. He just cried out, "Grandma, just tell me who you want to see, and I'll find him for you."
The Goddess of Fortune was excited for a moment, then calmed down. After a long while, she raised her hand tremblingly and muttered something. The village chief didn't know what she was talking about, so he put his ear close to her and listened carefully.
The village chief listened for a long time before he finally understood what Grandma Fushen meant. He nodded, wiped away his tears, and said to everyone in the house, "Grandma cares about the younger generation, so she told the wives to take their children home to rest. Grandma is just a little tired, it's nothing serious."
Everyone listened, and though they admired the Goddess of Fortune's kindness, none of them moved, and they all cried incessantly. Seeing this, the village chief, with red eyes, scolded, "Grandma is fine, why are you all crying? Listen to her and take the children back home!"
Seeing the village chief say this, the wives of each family hurriedly kowtowed with their children, then stood up and led the children out of the house and went home.
At this time, Lingxiang and Maidong were using the invisibility talisman, practicing the invisibility technique, and staring intently at the old man on the bed in the corner of the room. To their surprise, although the old man on the bed was still alive, he was filled with the aura of the dead, as if...
It was like a battlefield that had just been fought, full of death!
…
When Aunt Chang brought Gou Wa home, Lingxiang and the other two were sitting in the house. Seeing the mother and daughter coming back, they hurried forward to ask if they were okay. Aunt Chang just sighed:
"Who knows? The old lady looked like she was suffering, but this isn't the first time. She's been like this before, looking like she was dying, only to be alive and kicking the next day. Who knows, maybe it'll be the same this time too." Aunt Chang sighed again, "The old lady probably knew it herself. She's a kind person who loves her children, so she told the wives to take the children home, for fear of scaring them."
Hearing this, Lingxiang Maidong looked at each other and understood what they meant, but Long Qi looked puzzled, not knowing what they were thinking.
Just when Long Qi was puzzled, he heard Aunt Chang say, "It's getting late. Why don't the fairies and immortals take a rest?"
Lingxiang smiled when she heard this, took Aunt Chang's arm and said, "Aunt, listen to me. Although Gou Wa is fine now, he did suffer a disaster today after all. It would be better to let him sleep with us. It would also help him calm down and have a better rest in the future."
Upon hearing Lingxiang say this, Aunt Chang was extremely happy. In her opinion, this was a blessing from the immortals to her dog boy. Maybe her dog boy could live as long as the goddess of fortune in the future!
What mother doesn't want her child to be well? Aunt Chang naturally agreed.
…
Maidong coaxed Gou Wa to sleep, while Lingxiang was waiting to draw talismans. After each one was drawn, she put a copper coin in it, folded the talisman paper into five corners, and tied it up with the red thread she got from her aunt Chang, and tied a strange knot.
Long Qi didn't know what Lingxiang was doing. He had been arranged by Aunt Chang to go to bed, but Lingxiang suddenly broke into his room and pulled him up.
He was only wearing his shirt. Could it be that this woman had no sense of distinction between men and women?
Just as Long Qi was complaining, Lingxiang called him and handed him a handful of five-edged talisman paper. "Go with Maidong to every household and quietly place this under everyone's pillow, especially the children. Remember not to let anyone find out!"
Long Qi didn't know what Lingxiang wanted to do. How could she go to someone else's house so late at night? He was not afraid of being discovered because of his martial arts skills, but it was still a bit dishonest.
Mai Dong had already coaxed Gou Wa to sleep. She quietly laid him down, walked over to Ling Xiang, took a handful of talismans, and said to Long Qi, "This is about saving lives. If you don't do this, someone will definitely die before tomorrow."
After hearing what Mai Dong said and seeing Ling Xiang's serious face, Long Qi took the other talisman paper she handed over without hesitation and left the house with Mai Dong.
Regardless of Maidong's explanation, he naturally believed Lingxiang, but he felt a little uncomfortable in his heart as to why he trusted her so much.
There was no movement outside the house. Lingxiang came to Gou Wa's bed and looked at the sleeping child in front of her. She whispered, "Don't worry, Gou Wa. Sister will definitely protect you." Then she took out a Huimeng Pill from her Qiankun bag and stuffed it into Gou Wa's mouth. She raised her hand to help Gou Wa swallow it.
Lingxiang looked calm, but no one knew she was already raging with rage. Earlier, when they were in the Goddess of Fortune's house, the old lady's look had made her very uncomfortable. If she was right...
If I'm not mistaken, she will come to see Gou Wa again today!
It's bad enough that he's afraid of death, but he even doesn't let the children go. It's so despicable!
…
Gou Wa was playing alone by the river, picking up stones and throwing them into the water.
His elder brother was very good at skipping stones on the water, but he could never learn how to do it. The stones he threw would sink, unlike his brother, whose stones would sometimes even float to the other side.
He also wanted to be like his brother, so that he could show off in front of other children in the village and appear proud.
Just as Gou Wa was throwing stones, he heard someone calling him from behind. He turned around and saw it was the Goddess of Fortune. She was carrying a cane and a bundle, waving at him from a distance.
Gou Wa quickly dropped the stone and ran to the old man: "Where are you going, old man?"
The old man looked at Gou Wa lovingly and coughed twice: "Grandfather is going out for a while, but he forgot to bring money. Can Gou Wa lend him some money?"
"But I don't have any money..."
The old man pointed at Gou Wa's chest and said, "Look carefully, isn't that money?"
Gou Wa suddenly felt his chest sink. He reached into his arms and touched a string of hard objects. He pulled it out and saw that it was a string of copper coins, about sixty or seventy of them.
Huh? When did I become so rich?
Just as Gou Wa was scratching his head, confused, the old man said, "Here, isn't this money? Can you lend it to me?"
"Since the ancestor wants it, of course it should be given to him. Since the ancestor is going out, we should give it all to him!" Although he was confused, his parents had told him that he must be a filial child.
Gou Wa stretched out his tender little hand and handed over a string of copper coins. The old man was about to take it with a smile, but just as he was about to touch the copper coins, a green figure flashed before his eyes, and suddenly a white hand appeared and pressed on Gou Wa's hand, and put the copper coins back into Gou Wa's arms.
"This money will be used to help Gou Wa get married in the future. Since the ancestor wants money, why don't I give it to him?"
It’s actually spiritual incense!
"Sister Lingxiang!"
Lingxiang squatted in front of Gou Wa, touched his little face and said with a smile: "Sister is richer than Gou Wa, can you lend me some money?"
Gou Wa blinked his eyes with an innocent look on his face, staring at Lingxiang. He had never seen such a beautiful sister before!
Seeing Gou Wa so cute, Lingxiang pinched his little face again and said, "Aunt Chang has made some delicious food and is looking for you. Be careful if you go back too late or Kuan Ge'er will eat it all!"
When Gou Wa heard that there was something delicious, his eyes lit up. Seeing this, Ling Xiang smiled and touched his head, then unnoticedly stuffed a five-edged yellow talisman into his arms.
"Go quickly!"
Gou Wa got his life back and ran and jumped towards the village, but he disappeared in a moment. Only then did Lingxiang look at the old man, only to see that his face was filled with gloom, completely devoid of his previous kind look.
"Where did this little girl come from? How dare she ruin my good thing!"
Lingxiang smiled calmly: "That's not important. What's important is that you and I have no blood relationship. If you want to snatch my life from me, I'm afraid it won't work!"
The old man stared at Lingxiang with a fierce look on his face for a long time, and then his body gradually disappeared.
…
When Long Qi returned, he saw Ling Xiang meditating with her eyes closed. This was the first time Long Qi had seen Ling Xiang so quiet, and she looked quite delicate.
He moved closer to Lingxiang and looked at her carefully, and gradually felt that Lingxiang was not only delicate, but also extremely beautiful. Moreover, she had a fragrance on her body, which made him a little addicted.
At this moment, Lingxiang suddenly opened her eyes, scaring Long Qi so much that he quickly took a few steps back, feeling his face flushed.
What is he doing! What's so good about this little girl!
Long Qi pretended to comfort himself by patting his chest, complaining, "I called you for a long time but you didn't respond. I thought something was wrong with you. But you actually tried to scare me. It's really... really..."
Lingxiang looked puzzled. She had just come out of Gou Wa’s dream, so how could she know that Long Qi would come back so soon?
"Have you let go of everything?" Lingxiang asked.
"That's it! Who am I!" Long Qi seemed very proud. He had just competed with Mai Dong. Each of them took on half a village to see who could put the object away first. It turned out that he was better.
Just then Mai Dong also entered the room. Seeing Ling Xiang sitting cross-legged, she frowned and said, "She fell asleep without waiting for me to come back. Isn't it dangerous without anyone to protect her?"
Dangerous? What dangerous thing did she do again?
Long Qi suddenly turned around and looked at Ling Xiang, but the latter smiled calmly: "It's okay."
Just when Long Qi was about to ask, he suddenly heard a bell ringing outside the door. The sound was ethereal and very strange.
Lingxiang Maidong naturally heard it as well. The two of them went to the window, opened a crack and looked out. Long Qi was also curious, so he also went to take a look. He saw a white figure outside the yard, holding a mourning stick and heading towards the east entrance of the village. There seemed to be another person beside him.
He suddenly felt a sudden chill all over his body, and he began to tremble unconsciously, his upper and lower teeth chattering. Seeing this, Lingxiang quickly stuffed a talisman into his mouth, twisted her fingers, pinched the seal, and chanted something. Only then did Long Qi feel better.
"It's the Black and White Impermanence," Lingxiang frowned and said to Maidong, "Watch Long Qi. He's just been touched by a ghost. Don't let them take his soul away. I'll go meet them."
Mai Dong nodded: "Be careful! These two are not easy to deal with."
Long Qi was dazed, but he could clearly hear Lingxiang's moans. He felt the danger outside, but he was too weak to move. He wanted to stop Lingxiang, so he raised his hand with all his strength, but he could only watch Lingxiang walk out the door.
Spiritual fragrance...
Spiritual fragrance...
…
Outside Grandma Fushen's yard, chains were moving like snakes, extending into her house. At the beginning of the chains were two figures, one black and one white.
"Life and death are determined by fate. Don't be greedy or obsessed. The road to the underworld is long. Come quickly!"
The chains jingled, and soon an old man came out of the house. It was none other than the Goddess of Fortune that the villagers talked about. At this time, bursts of crying were coming from the house.
"But even if she is greedy, what should we do?" Just as the Black and White Impermanence were about to lock the soul and leave, Lingxiang suddenly flashed out and spoke.
Hei Wuchang glared at Lingxiang angrily: "Who are you, you little bastard? How dare you obstruct me!" As he said that, he shook the black mourning stick in his hand, and the bell on the stick rang.
At this time, Bai Wuchang held up the white mourning stick in his hand and stopped Hei Wuchang: "Don't worry, don't worry, take her on her way, I have something to say to this little Taoist."
Hei Wuchang glanced at Lingxiang, then snorted and took the old man back the way they came. Bai Wuchang, on the other hand, looked at Lingxiang with a smile on his face.
Lingxiang always thought that the Black and White Impermanence were long-tongued soul-collecting messengers from the underworld, but she didn't expect that the White Impermanence in front of her was such a handsome man.
"It just so happens that I also have something unclear to me, and I need to ask Master Qi for advice."
Despite Lingxiang's rudeness, Bai Wuchang remained unperturbed. He simply continued, "I know what you're asking. When a person dies, their soul must return to the underworld to settle accounts, but that person isn't there. However, perhaps the man next to you can help you with what you're asking for."
Hearing this, Lingxiang was surprised for a moment, but then she thought, after all, he was the God of the Underworld, so it must be easy for him to see through her, but...
"That woman committed so many evil things and took away people's lifespans, and yet she was taken away without any pain?"
Bai Wuchang smiled and said softly, "Who are you defending by being so persistent? Is the underworld a pushover? What she did will eventually be judged in Yama Palace."
"So what if we try her? What about those people who died unjustly? Those... those..." Lingxiang was a little angry. How could she let that old woman go so easily?
Just when Lingxiang was furious, a voice came from behind her.
"Sister Shopkeeper."
It turned out to be Taoniu. Bai Wuchang waved at her and she ran over.
"Shopkeeper sister, thank you for catching the monster in the village." Taoniu smiled brightly.
Lingxiang's eyes welled up when she heard this, and she didn't know what to say. But Bai Wuchang said, "The Underworld has long known about the anomaly here, but due to that person's despicable methods, they couldn't take her away. That's why I deliberately left this child here and told her about you. I guess you knew from the beginning that she was not a living person, so you lit the soul-soothing incense."
"Since you are an outsider, if you achieve enlightenment in the future, the underworld will also be grateful to you."
After Bai Wuchang finished speaking, he waved his long sleeves, covered Taoniu and walked away. Not far away, Hei Wuchang was waiting for him, with the chained Goddess of Fortune beside her.
…
Lingxiang, who knew what she was up to, actually wanted him to attend the Yuanqing Sect's initiation meeting. Once he returned to Youran Residence, she told him to pack his bags and head to Jiuque Mountain, saying they were accepting disciples and asking him to go quickly. She also gave him a black jade plaque and a talisman.
Could it be that she is going to be a hands-off boss?
Long Qi was unwilling at first, but Lingxiang actually ordered Maidong to throw him out. He complained about the two of them all the way, but he was helpless.
Forget it, just deal with it first and then go back. Then he can say that they don’t want him. Then he can move back to Youranju, right?
Thinking of this, Long Qi was extremely proud and ran towards Yuanqing Sect humming a tuneless song all the way.
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