8 Drinking Blood
◎There is a monster deep in the ancestral hall◎
Ji Shijing looked towards the bathroom door, threw the candy wrapper in his hand into the fire, stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, and walked over slowly.
Long, distinct fingers knocked on the door.
Shu Yao stood by the door, hugging her clothes tightly. When she heard the sound, she quickly moved the things blocking the door away and smiled: "A Jing, I have a favor to ask of you."
There was a flash of confusion in Ji Shijing's eyes, as if he was asking something?
Shu Yao smiled a little embarrassedly, then turned around and put her hair in front of her: "A Jing, can you help me tie the straps at the back?"
She really didn't know how to tie this thing. She had just untied it casually when taking a shower. When she was about to tie it, she found that the straps on the back of the coarse linen shirt were crisscrossed and she couldn't figure it out at all. She fumbled with it for a long time, but still tied it in a mess.
In desperation, I had to ask for his help.
She waited for Ji Shijing to help her, but after waiting for a while, there was still no movement from him. She couldn't help but look back, but didn't want to see Ji Shijing's red earlobes. He was born pale and thin, so any color on him would be particularly obvious.
Seeing her looking at him, Ji Shijing looked away.
Shu Yao seemed to be lost in thought. She looked down at her clothes and saw nothing wrong with them, and there was no exposed area.
Then why is he blushing?
However, she still said, "I'll tie it myself." Then she closed the door.
The door panel almost hit his nose. He lowered his eyelids, his expression unclear, then turned around and walked away step by step.
But the image of that white neck in his mind could not be shaken off. Crystal clear water droplets fell on it, slowly sliding down, falling into a more mysterious realm that he could not see.
In a trance, he thought of the finest white jade, which was exquisitely carved and translucent, and as cold as snow in his hand. It was a pity that the white jade eventually cracked.
He never liked nice things.
He looked at his hands. They almost strangled her neck. Perhaps because of the turmoil in his heart, his cheeks turned even redder. Killing and destruction gave him an extreme pleasure in his heart.
Shu Yao in the room was still lost in thought.
Ji Shijing's reaction was not right. When she turned around just now, she seemed to see a hint of murderous intent in his eyes.
Shu Yao called out to the system in her mind: [System, did you feel that he was a little abnormal just now?]
System: [He blushed.]
She was a little anxious: [It's not this, why do I feel like he wants to... kill me.]
The system is silent.
Shu Yao was speechless. Her system did not provide any emotional value at all and did not even comfort her. She reached out to tie the straps at the back, but because it was not convenient, she tied them incorrectly many times.
At this moment, the system's voice sounded again, with a hint of excitement: [Master, Master, the trust value has increased.]
Shu Yao perked up when she heard this: [How much has it increased?]
System: [After testing, the trust value is 1%.]
Finally, there was a change. Shu Yao was a little excited. In her excitement, she tied all the straps at the back incorrectly.
She felt that progress was good, at least she was one step closer to success, although she didn't know why Ji Shijing trusted her. Maybe it was because she helped him when Ji Tianbao bullied him, or maybe it was because she touched him when she boiled medicine and made porridge for him.
As soon as I put on my clothes and came out, I saw two burly men in the yard. They were ordered by the old lady to take Shu Yao and Ji Shijing to kneel in the ancestral hall.
Shu Yao's mood, which had just been beautiful, suddenly fell to the bottom. She kept kneeling, kneeling, kneeling. All she did was make people kneel all day long. She almost got fasciitis from kneeling these past two days.
She ignored the two big men and walked straight to the stove. She scooped a bowl of porridge from the pot and drank it slowly. She asked Ji Shijing beside her: "Have you drunk it?"
Ji Shijing nodded.
She put down the bowl and walked over to the two big men: "Old lady, are you afraid that I will resist? I sent you two to invite me."
Each of them was three times her size. If she resisted, she would be beaten to pieces in less than two seconds.
The two big men spoke at the same time: "Miss Shu and the Second Young Master, please go to the ancestral hall as soon as possible."
…
Shoukang Pavilion.
The old lady was lying comfortably in a rocking chair with a pot of burning charcoal beside her. Ji Dayong was sitting next to her, eating the best crystal grapes in big mouthfuls.
When they were almost done eating, he asked, "Mom, are you sure you can get rid of them tomorrow?"
The old lady slowly opened her shrewd little eyes upon hearing this: "Dayong, do you know why we have to take the Yangzhuang road for the funeral tomorrow?"
Ji Dayong shook his head.
She went on to say, "Bandits often roam that road. It would be perfectly normal if that sickly and unlucky guy were to die at the hands of a bandit tomorrow."
Ji Dayong suddenly realized what was going on, but he started to worry again: "That bandit's knife is sharp, I'm afraid he might hurt Tianbao and me."
The old lady comforted him: "I have specially hired an escort agency to escort you and Tianbao tomorrow. Nothing will happen to you."
But he was still a little panicked, after all, swords and knives have no eyes: "Mom, are the bandits on Yangzhuang Road the same ones on Banyan Mountain?"
When he was in Xuyang County, he had heard about the bandits in Banyan Mountain. They were the most rampant lawless criminals in the capital area. They were not afraid of the passing convoys, whether they were official or royal. They were good at killing and setting fires. However, Banyan Mountain was easy to defend but difficult to attack, and the government could do nothing about them.
"Mom, can Tianbao and I not go to the funeral tomorrow?" He was a little timid.
But the old lady refused without a second thought: "Do you still want to inherit your second brother's property? If you don't even go to the funeral, what will the clan members think?"
When Ji Dayong heard about the property, he could only nod with lingering fear: "Mom, you must hire someone to protect Tianbao and me."
The old lady nodded: "Of course."
Ji Dayong picked up another duck leg and started chewing it. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something. He slapped his head and the fat on his face trembled a few times. "Mom, I heard from Xiuhua that my second brother left some land deeds and house deeds for that sickly guy. We can't let him get them for free."
Speaking of this, the old lady gritted her teeth and said, "Nonsense, your second brother didn't leave him anything."
That night, when she heard Shu Yao say that Bingyangzi had the house deeds and land deeds, she sent people to check, but it turned out that Lao Er didn't leave him anything.
He actually dared to lie to her. That jinx is really something.
However, they will die tomorrow. Thinking of this, the old lady slowly grinned, and the wrinkles on her face gathered together, revealing an ugly smile.
…
It was a dark and windy night, but the Ji family ancestral hall was brightly lit. A hundred candles were lit in front of the seats, and the light made the place as bright as day.
Shu Yao felt that it was slightly warmer here than the mourning hall. Moreover, the house was solid and the windows were not drafty. When the door was closed at this time, it was like a small furnace inside.
She was so bored that she looked at all the rankings here in order. She would not be so obedient as to kneel down when told.
If she encountered an unfamiliar character, she would ask Ji Shijing next to her. Later, she fell asleep while reading for some reason.
But in the second half of the night, she suddenly woke up. The candles in the ancestral hall had burned out and it was pitch black all around. She was sweating profusely on her forehead and felt indescribably panicked. She called out a few times, but no one answered her.
Where's Ji Shijing? Where did he go?
Shu Yao's heart was beating up and down in her chest, and she felt very anxious.
After her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she stood up and searched slowly.
"Ajing, where are you?"
But all she got in response was endless darkness.
She groped her way to the depths of the ancestral hall. Suddenly, she smelled a terrible smell of blood coming from inside. She frowned, and worry appeared on her face. Could something have happened to Ji Shijing? Thinking of this, she couldn't help but quicken her pace.
The smell of blood became stronger and stronger. With the white light coming in from the snow outside the window, she saw a thin figure standing in the corner with his head tilted up. Even in the dim light, she could still see his clear jawline.
He raised his hand, holding an unclear object. The blood of that object was dripping into his mouth. His Adam's apple rolled and he was enjoying it very much.
Shu Yao held her breath, not daring to breathe. He was actually...
Just as he was about to turn around and go back quietly, he accidentally stepped on an empty wooden board, which made a creaking sound. The sound was infinitely amplified in the silent night.
Shu Yao swallowed fearfully, thinking it was over.
She turned her head mechanically and met a face that looked like a human and a ghost.
His face was abnormally pale, and a trickle of blood was slowly flowing down from the corner of his mouth, falling onto his pale collar. His eyes were as dark as a pool, staring at her intently.
The two were less than an inch apart and could hear each other's breathing.
Shu Yao seemed to be really frightened and fainted at this moment.
…
"You jinx, you're still sleeping at this hour, why aren't you dying of sleep?"
Shu Yao seemed to hear someone scolding her in a daze. She rubbed her aching head and struggled to open her eyes, only to see the old lady in a mink dress standing in front of her condescendingly.
She still seemed a little dazed. She stood up slowly and pounded her aching head with her hand.
The old lady snorted coldly, "Today is the funeral. You will walk in front holding the rank." Then she pointed at Ji Shijing, "You too, carry your father's rank and walk at the front of the team."
Shu Yao's thoughts slowly returned, and she remembered the scene she saw last night. She suddenly turned her head to look at the person next to her.
He still had that calm and indifferent look, no different from before. She quickly looked at his collar, which was spotless, without a speck of blood or even dust.
She was momentarily dazed, looking at him again uncertainly. He looked exactly the same. She wondered if she had seen him wrongly the night before. But for some reason, she felt a little intimidated, so she quietly took a half step to distance herself from him.
Ji Shijing's eyes moved slightly.
At this time, the mourning hall was filled with mourners. Everyone wore the same mourning clothes and white cloth strips on their heads. They crowded in front of the coffins of Master Ji and the eldest son. Everyone wiped their eyes with their sleeves and made a whimpering sound from time to time.
Ji Dayong stood in front with tears in his eyes. He first lit two incense sticks, then turned around and said to his relatives: "My second brother and nephew passed away suddenly. I didn't expect that my family would suffer such a misfortune. I am really heartbroken." As he spoke, he lowered his head and looked very sad.
Everyone present began to comfort him.
Ji Dayong saw that it was almost time before he continued, "Thank you all for coming to pay your respects today. I want to thank you all on behalf of my second brother and nephew. Today is an auspicious day, so everyone should come and burn some incense. After that, they will be on their way."
Everyone rushed forward.
Some people took advantage of the time between burning incense to get to know Ji Dayong. They knew very well that the Ji family's property would fall into Ji Dayong's hands sooner or later, so they had to curry favor with him. The first step was to make Ji Dayong remember them.
Shu Yao and Ji Shijing changed into the same attire as everyone else, each holding a rank and walking at the front of the team, while Ji Dayong's family walked at the back. The old lady did not attend the funeral because of her old age.
The old lady looked at the team that was gradually moving away, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in her eyes.
The Ji Mansion's funeral procession was huge. The group marched through Chang'an Avenue with great momentum. The sounds of gongs, drums, and suona echoed from one end of the street to the other, and white paper money was scattered all along the way.
Shu Yao walked in front like a tool, Ji Shijing was on her left. She was still thinking about what happened last night. She secretly glanced at the person next to her, swallowed what she wanted to say, and decided to ask him again when she had the chance.
The sky was covered with dark clouds, and wisps of snowflakes were falling again.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the funeral procession's route became increasingly off-track, heading from the main road directly onto a weed-covered path. This place was deserted, with only a few crows flying out and cawing from time to time. Shu Yao had a bad feeling in her heart.
Sure enough, her premonition came true the next second.
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