Chapter 032: Ancient House Phantom (4)
Tao Xing stroked his brows and said to the man, "Tao Sansi, you and I are close relatives, do you want to be beaten?"
The visitor was puzzled for a moment, then turned and walked out.
"Close the door." Tao Xing said.
"Tao Sansi" closed the door.
Tao Xing did not lie down. He sat cross-legged on the bed, supporting his head with his arms, looking at the door.
After a while, the housekeeper Lao Qu came in: "I'll sleep with you."
The housekeeper’s surname is Qu, not Tao, so they are not relatives, but this time it should be okay.
080: “…”
Tao Xing was quite calm: "I like young people."
"Old Qu" left, and this time there was no need to remind him, he just closed the door.
After a while, another young man walked in. He looked familiar. Tao Xing remembered that she had seen him at dinner tonight. This was Lao Qu's son.
Before she could speak, Tao Xing said, "I like good-looking things."
The visitor stopped, stood still for a moment, then turned and walked out.
The door frame slammed loudly, but he still closed the door, but he closed it with great force. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was angry.
Tao Xing chuckled secretly and lay down leisurely.
In the second half of the night, the quaint house became truly quiet, with no one moving around. Several night lights flickered with a faint white light in the courtyard. In the corridor of the courtyard, the lanterns were turned off on time, and the red shadows disappeared. Only a small yellow night light was left at the head of Tao Xing's bed.
The wind started to blow again and the door creaked.
Something brushed across my cheek, bringing a slight itchiness and the fragrance of ancient wood.
Tao Xing stretched out his hand and grabbed a piece of the hem of the clothes.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
I don't know when the door opened.
Looking at his hand again, he saw a corner of red clothes. His heart skipped a beat and he looked up in the direction of the hem of the clothes.
Late in the night, a man sat quietly on the bedside cabinet.
She was wearing a red ancient costume with wide sleeves, with gold threads running through the cuffs, collar, and waist. Her long hair was half-tied up in a low bun, with golden tassels hanging on both sides. A small gold pendant hung in front of her forehead, swaying gently with the strands of hair.
Tao Xing's hand shuddered and she loosened the corner of her clothes. The red gauze dress moved in the wind, rising and falling in front of her eyes.
It was a dim room with a small lamp on, but even though she was so close, she could still make out the exquisite peony embroidery on the red dress. As the light flickered, the flowers sometimes seemed lifelike, and sometimes looked like old, rich images left over from years of drying. The gold threads and tassels flickered slightly in the light, bringing some vitality to the old, dried images.
Tao Xing sat up and turned on the light in the room.
The figure moved because of the sudden light and raised his sleeves to cover his eyes. After a moment, he slowly put them down, revealing an extremely beautiful face, as noble and cold as the peony on his body.
The eyes under the sleeves moved and looked over indifferently.
Tao Xing's expression changed slightly.
There was fog outside the window again, swirling around. In the light and shadow, Tao Xing saw a pair of red eyes.
The dark red is like the red flowers blooming on the other side of the underworld.
The man met Tao Xing's eyes and said, "Am I good-looking?" His voice was like the sound of a quiet spring.
This time, a huge investment was made and the real face was used.
Tao Xing came back to her senses and didn't reply to him. She just leaned forward a little and smiled happily, "It's you."
The red eyes that were so memorable had a new face, an identity, a different form, and the color was not quite the same.
But it is still recognizable at a glance.
His little shadow.
Has he come to this world?
His joy startled the other person a little, but judging from his expression, he guessed that he liked this look, so he continued: "I'll sleep with you."
Tao Xing's smile did not diminish as she looked at him: "Are you serious?"
"Of course." The response was firm, but those dark red eyes were still a little scary, like a ghost in the dark night.
Tao Xing changed her posture, put her arm on the bedside table, and moved closer to him: "What is your current status?"
The man in red paused, then said in silence after a moment: "I am... your ancestor's concubine, who was secretly kept by him, and you all don't know about it."
Tao Xing: “…”
When did you learn to talk nonsense?
"Which ancestor?" he asked, "Do I still have an ancestor who is still alive?"
The man thought for a moment: "After your father's... wife died, he wanted to marry me as his second wife, so he locked me up. Now that he is dead, it is lonely at night, so I... slipped out."
Tao Xing stroked his brows and sighed, "Dad, although I have never met you, after your death... your integrity will be lost."
"Then you..." He wanted to continue asking, but the other party suddenly interrupted him. The man in red said in a slightly sharp tone, "I'm here to sleep with you, not to gossip with you."
Tao Xing stopped talking and raised his eyes.
He was sitting on the bed. The bedside table was slightly higher. He needed to look up to see the other person. He was so close that his clothes were blown by the wind and brushed against his face. The room suddenly became quiet.
I don’t know if it was due to unstable voltage, but the glass lamp on the ceiling went out with a crackling sound. Only the small lamp on the bedside was left, flickering a few times and barely maintaining a dim brightness.
Tao Xing's face flashed dark and bright in the blink of an eye.
Seeing that he didn't react, the man in red raised his sleeves and swept them past him.
The small bedside lamp was also blocked by the sleeves. Tao Xing's expression fell into darkness. The fragrance of ancient wood filled his nose. He raised his hand, grabbed the floating sleeves in front of him, and asked again: "Are you serious?"
"Of course." The man answered firmly again.
"Okay." Tao Xing's voice was slightly hoarse, and he pulled the sleeve with force.
The man didn't notice and fell over. Tao Xing caught him, held him in his arms, turned over, and pressed him under her.
There was a hint of confusion in the man's eyes, but he said nothing and just lay there obediently.
080 popped up at an inopportune moment: "Host, although I don't want to disturb you, I just received a notification from the program that the mission target has been found, and it is the person under you. I don't know why the prompt appeared at this time. Maybe we have unlocked some plot. Host, do you realize that he is the mission target?"
"Yeah." Realizing that he was the mission target, that meant he had realized it a long time ago. As for what plot was unlocked, it was probably because he had just seen his true face.
"No wonder, but the host, he is the target of the mission, which means he is not human. We don't know what his true identity is, and he is a villain, so he might be dangerous. You want to follow him..."
"No matter what he is." Tao Xing smiled, "You can block him now."
080 Don’t disturb good things, dive deep into consciousness, and block out the outside world.
Holding the warm body in his arms, Tao Xing gently stroked the face of the person under him, and his fingertips brushed across his eyes. After looking at him for a long time, he smiled and bent down to kiss the lips.
Warm touch, gentle caress, separation and reunion, some joy and some emotion.
The breath was breathless, and the man lying on the ground finally moved. He looked at the person on him curiously, touched the lips that had been kissed, and then touched Tao Xing's.
Tao Xing: "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing, just continue." The man just didn't understand why the touching of lips, which was obviously an ordinary contact, brought numbness all over the body, and the heat that surged up, as if every blood in his body was jumping.
It's a very unusual feeling, but it's so attractive that you don't want to stop.
Tao Xing continued to kiss him, unable to control her passion, and gradually increased her strength. The man under her felt a little pain, raised his hand, paused for a moment, then slowly put it down and instead hugged Tao Xing's shoulders.
Even though it hurts, it's still attractive.
Tao Xing kissed her neck, hooked her fingers, and unbuttoned her clothes.
The complicated red clothes slid down layer by layer and spread under the bed. There was a white inner garment that did not fall off completely and hung on the edge of the bed, shaking slightly.
The man felt more pain, but also more attractive. Not only did he not want to refuse, but he wanted to get closer. He hugged the person tightly and couldn't help but let out a little sound.
The white dress shook even more violently, and finally fell to the ground, joining the red dress. Suddenly, something else fell down. It was a silk pillow, and I didn't know whether it was dropped or accidentally dropped while being rubbed.
The pillow fell, revealing the mahogany plaque underneath. The long-haired man rested his head on the plaque, and beads of sweat fell on the golden inscription. He glanced at it from the side, but from this angle he could only see two of the three words. The two words "Xian Yue" glowed slightly with gold under the light and shadow as he moved.
The sky was getting light and the wind and rain in the room finally stopped.
The man stretched out his white arms from under the quilt and lazily reached out to the ground to pick up his clothes.
Tao Xing had already gotten up. She picked up the folded clothes at the head of the bed and sat down beside the bed.
The man didn't touch the clothes. He opened his eyes, and his red eyes swept across the room and fell on Tao Xing's face. There was a bit of satisfied laziness in his eyes.
Tao Xing smiled and stretched out her hand: "Do you want to get up? These clothes are very troublesome. I will help you put them on."
The man took his hand and stood up. Tao Xing then shook out his clothes and put them on him one by one: "We don't wear clothes like this anymore. My... Dad, you have this special hobby."
The man regained consciousness and remembered the important matter: "Yes." Then he turned around and said, "I want you to give me this plaque."
Tao Xing raised her eyebrows, buttoned up the last button, smoothed his long hair, adjusted the gold pendant on his forehead, and said, "Okay."
The man was startled: "You agreed?"
"I promise." Tao Xing smiled, "If you want it, I will give it to you." He took the plaque, wiped it, and handed it to the man, "Here you go."
A hint of surprise flashed across the man's face and he took the plaque.
A faint white light appeared on his hand, circled around the plaque, and disappeared. The man breathed a sigh of relief, held the plaque in his arms, and got out of bed: "I'm leaving."
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going back to where I live."
"Where do you live?" Tao Xing stepped forward and said seriously, "What my father did is illegal. Where did he imprison you before? How did he force you? Tell me and I will take you to the police."
The man stammered, "He didn't force me. I wanted to follow him because I wanted wealth and fame. He didn't imprison me, he just let me live somewhere else. Now... he is dead, and all the grudges are wiped out." After saying this, he was about to leave again.
Tao Xing stopped him and said, "We are so close, how can we write it off?"
"Don't take it seriously. I really have to leave." The man flicked his sleeves, broke free from Tao Xing's hand, turned around and walked out.
There was a breeze outside the door, and when Tao Xing walked out, he could no longer be seen.
Someone was cleaning outside the yard, making the sound of ding-dong and non-stop movements. No one saw him leaving the yard.
It came at midnight and went at dawn. Tao Xing thought of the female ghost in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio and smiled helplessly.
I have to get up early today because there is a ceremony to take over the head of the family.
Many side branches came, filling the yard. This family has been together for generations, and there are really a lot of people.
Tao Xing sat in a wheelchair, pushed to the high platform by Old Qu, and listened to the Great Elder chanting some words of blessing. Then he sprinkled water around him with willow leaves, lit a few paper figures with incense and candles, and burned them in front of everyone. Then he said loudly: "The eleventh head of the Tao family, Tao Xing, officially succeeds."
Once this was finalized, the position of the head of the family was settled, and it would be useless for anyone to try to snatch the plaque.
When many people first arrived, they talked a lot, questioning why a sickly person should be the head of the family, as he might die any day. However, the three nephews exaggeratedly talked about how capable their uncle was, so by the time the ceremony took place, everyone was convinced, and at this time, warm applause broke out from the crowd.
After a busy morning under the scorching sun, the ceremony was over. Large numbers of Tao family members came and went. Some went back first, some stayed to chat with the new head of the family, and some had to report things.
"Master, please take a look at our accounts for this month," they said.
Tao Xing: "Okay, show it to the finance department."
"Master, what is the personnel turnover in the courtyard this month?"
Tao Xing: "Okay, let's show it to the HR department."
"Master, there is no such position in our private courtyard."
"Oh, let the butler recruit one and then show it to him."
“…”
In less than half a day, everything was arranged.
080 was amazed: "Host, you don't take care of anything at all. You have assigned everything to others."
Tao Xing: "Why do I need to take care of it myself? Can't someone else take care of it?"
By the time everyone left, it was already evening.
The great elder came to Tao Xing respectfully and said, "Master, now is an auspicious time. Please offer the tablet to the ancestral hall. I will lead the way, and Yiming and Erxian will follow behind to protect you."
"Oh." Tao Xing smiled leisurely, "The plaque is not with me."
Several people were startled and came up quickly: "Was it stolen?"
That's not right. If someone stole it, it was just for the sake of the head of the family. If someone really took it, they should have stood up at the succession ceremony today, but today's ceremony went smoothly.
"No." Tao Xing said frankly, "He's gone."
"Who left?" The Great Elder was puzzled.
"A plaque." Tao Xing said, "He said he wanted to go back to where he lived, and then he left."
The Great Elder and his three nephews blinked, unable to speak.
These two sentences from the patriarch are indeed a bit abstract. I recognize each word, but why can't I understand them when they are put together?
Tao Xing continued, "He left at dawn. Don't you believe it?"
"This..." Several people hesitated, "You mean, the plaque can speak and move?"
At this point, 080 finally reacted, "Oh, so the guy last night was the plaque. Our target for this mission is a spirit that was transformed from a plaque. He can separate from his real body, so he's not a spirit, but a spirit. This time he has a human form. I remember that last night, someone came back and forth to ask for the plaque, the ancestor, your father, that girl, Lao Qu... They were all transformed by him, right? He transformed into other people's appearances."
Tao Xing nodded.
080 exclaimed: "Host, you actually knew that those people were his illusions from the beginning. Host is awesome. You confirmed the mission target the first time you met."
Tao Xing smiled faintly. This was not the first time they met. They had met before in Tao's old house. He even came over and supported her for a long time.
The three brothers looked at each other in bewilderment. They should not have believed such a ridiculous statement, but the Tao family had all attained spiritual enlightenment and were not atheists.
The Great Elder suddenly remembered that he met the ancestor and the master last night.
He thought it was an illusion several times last night, but after hearing what Tao Xing said today, he felt panic-stricken and thought that what he saw, even if it was an illusion, was a foreshadowing.
Otherwise, why didn't it appear earlier or later, but just on the night the plaque returned, the illusion appeared?
"Maybe... the plaque really has a spirit." He murmured.
"Great Elder, are you serious?" the three brothers were shocked.
The elder was not sure and did not dare to draw a conclusion, while the three brothers were furious: "It's really a spirit, my God, what is this, is it called a house god?"
"We really have invited the God of House here. He will surely bless our Tao family. With him here, we don't have to worry anymore, right?"
"But why did he leave? Doesn't he like staying here?"
"Our ancestors once sealed him away. Does he bear a grudge?"
"What should we do? How can we invite him to come again?"
The Great Elder also wanted to know this question. He looked at Tao Xing and said, "Master, can we invite him back?"
"Yes, Third Uncle, what did he say when he left? Will he bless us?"
Tao Xing pointed at the wheelchair armrest and thought for a moment: "Well, I'll go find him."
"Yes, yes, Uncle San, go look for him. After all, you were the one who removed his seal, and he stayed at your place for a night. He even said hello to you before leaving, so he should have a good impression of you. Maybe you can invite him back."
Tao Xing rested for the whole night. The next morning, under the gaze and expectation of everyone, he ate breakfast leisurely, wiped his hands, patted his clothes, pulled a box, then stood up and walked out: "No need to send me, I will go by myself so as not to disturb him."
Everyone in the yard was stunned and didn't even notice the chopsticks and bowls that had fallen on the ground.
Tao Sansi stood up in a daze: "Uncle...Uncle, can you walk now?"
"Yeah." Tao Xing raised her eyebrows.
080 was also surprised: "Host, you can walk."
"I can walk anyway. The original owner was too weak to walk, but my body is still there, so I'm not that weak."
"Oh." 080 suddenly realized, "So the host, you were holding the table in the old house for a long time without moving a step the day before yesterday. You did it on purpose."
"These three guys have no manners at all. Let them be anxious for a while."
At this moment, everyone in the courtyard exclaimed and reacted: "Is it possible that the plaque has spirit and healed the patriarch's leg?"
"Yes, it must be. That's great. The plaque will bless us."
Tao Xing pushed the door open and walked out amid the cheers of the crowd, passing through the long bluestone street of the town and arriving at the old house at the end of the road.
The place where the plaque should be returned is naturally this old house.
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