Chapter 2 Ruchen didn’t expect that something bad would happen the next day. Tang Suzi…
Unexpectedly, something happened the next day.
Tang Suzi collected the plum blossom dew as usual and walked into the Lingxin Palace, but did not see Ling An.
She searched everywhere inside and outside Tanshan Temple until night fell, but there was still no trace of Ling An.
The divine beast is supposed to strictly abide by its duties and not leave without permission. Where did Ling An go? Was he in danger?
Tang Suzi felt that this matter was of great importance and he had to report it to his master immediately.
Having made up his mind, Tang Suzi took out four butter lamps, lit them one by one, and placed them in the east, south, west and north directions.
Then she took out a silver bottle from her side pocket, dipped a branch in dew, and dropped three drops on each lamp.
Then, she used the branch to move above the lights in the order of east, south, west, north and east.
As her gesture ended, golden edges quickly appeared between the four butter lamps, and the center converged into a flowing golden light, like a piece of golden paper.
This is Tang Suzi's unique way of communicating with his master. He simply speaks his heart out to this golden "paper," and the corresponding words appear on it. After speaking, he drips three drops of water onto the "paper," and the words are conveyed to his master.
Tang Suzi thought for a moment and spoke slowly:
"Master, I returned from collecting dew yesterday and didn't see Ling An. I searched everywhere for him but to no avail. I'm afraid he's in danger, so I've come to report this. I hope Master can give me some advice."
After delivering the message, Tang Suzi sat on the steps and waited for his master's reply.
She recalled Ling An's strange behavior yesterday.
Ling An had seemed a little strange yesterday, but I had neglected to pay much attention to him. Where had he gone? Was he in any danger?
Tang Suzi felt increasingly guilty. Just as he was about to get up and go out to look for Ling An again, a Buddhist chant came from the hall:
"Tang Suzi."
It was the voice of the master.
"Ling An, driven by a mental obstacle, secretly transformed into a human form and descended to the mortal world of Weizhou. I now order you to go and bring him back."
The master paused for a moment and continued:
"To enter the mortal world, you need a mortal body. I will now allow you to enter the mortal world in the form of your previous life, growing up normally. The duration is six months, and I will bring you back to Ling'an."
"But Master, if Ling An has transformed into a human form, how can I recognize him?"
Tang Suzi asked.
"This glass bracelet will help you. The closer you get to Ling An, the redder the bracelet will become, until it becomes as blazing as a crimson flame."
As soon as the master finished speaking, a glass bracelet appeared in front of Tang Suzi.
Tang Suzi took it and nodded.
"Yes, sir."
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The market in Weizhou.
Although it is a cold day, it does not affect the rich and popular atmosphere here at all.
Shops are lined on both sides of the quaint stone road. The streets are bustling with people and the shouts of vendors can be heard one after another.
Tang Suzi felt like everything was a dream.
When she returned to the world, everything seemed new to her.
The supportive feeling of her footsteps on the stone pavement, the cool breeze on her face brought by the pedestrians passing by, and the smell of fireworks mixed with various aromas gave her a real touch of this long-lost world.
She stopped at a sugar-roasted chestnut stall for a long time, watching the vendor stir-frying the golden chestnuts and sugar in the wok over and over again. The steam was rising and the air was filled with a sweet fragrance.
She couldn't help but buy one, spending six cents.
When passing by the candied haws stall, the haystack filled with candied haws caught her attention.
The red hawthorns are wrapped in crystal clear sugar coating, shining with alluring light.
There were a few children gathered in front of the stall, vying to buy. Those who had already bought couldn't wait to take a bite, with a look of satisfaction on their faces as they listened to the crunching sound, and they smacked their lips with relish after finishing.
Tang Suzi forced herself to look away and walk forward, because she didn't have much silver on her and couldn't buy more.
But after walking a few steps, she couldn't help but turn back and buy a string.
It’s just five cents, it’s okay, she comforted herself.
When she got the candied haws, she couldn't bear to eat them, so she just held them up and walked around.
Suddenly a shout came from the crowd,
"Make way, make way, the new governor is here!"
In an instant, the crowd gathered, and soon two groups of soldiers came over to quickly separate the crowd. A wide lane was quickly cleared in the middle of the street that was just crowded.
Tang Suzi was surrounded and squeezed by the crowd, as if even the air had become thinner.
Through the whispers of the crowd, she learned that today was the day when the new governor of Weizhou took office.
Such a big fuss, where does this new prefect come from?
She stood on tiptoe, holding the candied haws high, and followed the crowd to look towards the city gate.
"Hey, have you heard that the new governor is also from Weizhou and is a third place winner in the imperial examination?"
"Really? Really? Then why haven't I heard of it before?"
"I heard that he went to the capital for treatment due to poor health when he was young, and later settled there."
"Then why was he transferred from the capital back to Weizhou?"
"Hey, wasn't the former prefect Lin Bowen thrown in jail? It also implicated so many local officials, causing panic among the people. I guess the higher-ups sent him here to calm the people down."
"I hope he's a good governor, but not like that sanctimonious Lin Bowen, who is full of evil and misfortune!"
"Stop talking! That must be the prefect's carriage! Here he comes!"
Everyone held their breath involuntarily, standing on tiptoe and looking towards the city gate.
At the end of the dark crowd, the sound of wheels and melodious bells came with the wind, and in the blink of an eye, two elegant and magnificent carriages came into view.
The leading carriage was pulled by a sturdy horse. The dark green embroidery on all sides of the carriage was elegant yet gorgeous. The black nanmu wood body was engraved with exquisite patterns. Four bells were pinned on the carriage scales, making crisp sounds as the carriage moved forward slowly.
As the carriage got closer, the crowd became more and more agitated.
More and more people gathered, pushing each other, and Tang Suzi's body swayed left and right in the cramped crowd.
Before she could see the appearance of the newly appointed prefect, there was suddenly a push from behind, and a force pressed against her back. She lost her balance and fell through the line of defense of the officers and soldiers, falling straight forward.
Her knees hit the ground hard, and she instinctively used her elbows to support her body, but unexpectedly the candied haws in her hand flew out, drew an arc in the air, and then fell to the ground with a "click".
Tang Suzi was lying on the ground, and out of the corner of his eye he could only see a bamboo skewer with only a few dots of sugar coating left on it.
“My candied haws…”
She bent her body and tried to stand up slowly, but as soon as her palms touched the ground, a dense, tingling pain like lightning instantly spread from her palms to her whole body.
She looked down and saw a scratch on the palm of her hand. The broken flesh was mixed with gray sand and dirt, and blood was slowly oozing out.
At the same time, she heard several footsteps approaching quickly, and soon several pairs of black leather boots appeared in her sight. One of them stepped on the half-petal of the candied haws that she had just dropped on the ground, making a dense rustling sound.
"Who dares to disturb the prefect's carriage?"
Tang Suzi was met with the oppressive gazes of the officers and soldiers when she looked up. She was a little at a loss.
"I……"
She was about to stand up while enduring the pain, but before she could finish her words, two officials held her arms and twisted them behind her back. She lost her balance again and fell to one knee with a bang. The pain in her knee and shoulder blade made her gasp.
The carriage suddenly stopped, and Zhou Jin inside felt something strange.
Today is his first day in office. He returns to his hometown as the prefect. To him, everything here is strange and familiar.
Many memories along the way swirled in his mind, making him feel mixed emotions.
Here, he spent a poor but brilliant childhood, but the person who gave him that beauty was buried forever in this land.
The abnormality ahead interrupted his thoughts.
He came to his senses and opened the car curtain.
As far as the eye could see, a woman wearing a thick, plain white cotton robe with cloud patterns was being held to the ground by two officials.
She looked frail, and due to her constant struggle, her bun had become somewhat loose, with a few strands of long hair falling to her shoulders and covering her cheeks.
"Shi Ying, don't be rude! Let her go!"
Zhou Jin scolded the leading guard.
"Sir, this woman is trying to block your way. I'm afraid she has some bad intentions."
"I...I just fell accidentally. I didn't mean to disturb your car."
Tang Suzi looked up at the handsome prefect and tried to defend himself eagerly.
The moment he met her pleading gaze, Zhou Jin froze, his breathing stopped for a few breaths, and a voice suddenly emerged in his mind.
"Sister."
The past reappeared like an old dream, churning in his mind endlessly, making his eyes slightly moist and his voice tremble with an imperceptible tremor.
"You...what's your name?"
"Tangsuzi, Tang from the Tang flower, Suzi from the Suzi leaf..."
Tang Suzi answered in response.
Her body was occupied by pain and she had no time to notice the strangeness of the prefect.
"Tang Suzi..."
Yes, his elder sister, Zhou Tiao, died ten years ago...
Zhou Jin suppressed the sadness in his eyes and once again looked at the woman named "Tang Suzi" in front of him.
She... is just a woman who looks like my elder sister.
In fact, they are not entirely similar.
My elder sister passed away at the age of 18. Although she often showed a maturity that was inconsistent with her age due to her difficult life since childhood, the childishness on her face was difficult to completely conceal.
The woman in front of me should be around twenty years old.
If my sister were still alive, she would probably look like this in her prime.
But Zhou Jin knew that his sister would never come back.
"Let her go. How could she, an unarmed woman, cause trouble for no reason?"
Zhou Jin said solemnly to the guard named Shi Ying.
Upon hearing this, Shi Ying signaled the two officials to let go of Tang Suzi.
Zhou Jin also got off the carriage and walked over to help Tang Suzi up until she slowly stood up, then apologized,
"I'm sorry, young lady. My men misunderstood."
"fine……"
Tang Su Zixu clenched his fist and stretched his wrist, which had been twisted stiffly. Without looking up at Zhou Jin, he staggered back towards the crowd.
Zhou Jin stared at her pacing backwards in a daze. Even the way she endured the pain was very similar to her elder sister...
It was not until his subordinate called "Sir" in his ear that he came to his senses.
"Sir, is it time to continue our journey?"
"Um."
Amid the noisy crowd, Zhou Jin withdrew his gaze and returned to the carriage.
The official carriage continued to move forward, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
Tang Suzi walked to the corner of the street and gently lifted the cotton sleeves at her wrists.
Blood from the scratched palm slid down the palm and formed several blood marks.
But she had no time to care about the wound. She didn't know if the glass bracelet would be broken after falling just now.
Fortunately, after she lifted up the cotton sleeve to check, she found that the glass bracelet on her wrist was intact, and she felt relieved.
But soon some worries came to my mind.
The glass bracelet didn't light up at all today.
Ling An, where is it...
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