Chu Banyang took a short knife and cut his palm. Blood dripped onto the box, alternating red and black.
Ordinary ashes may not be that heavy.
This must be related to some kind of spell.
As the blood flowed, the spell on the ground became brighter and brighter, and the temperature dropped. Chu Banyang concentrated his attention, gently pressing his other hand on the box, and whispered a sentence - all very strange, very fragmented syllables, belonging to non-human. His clothes fluttered in the wind, and his hair floated in the air.
After a certain moment, the air suddenly stopped.
The temperature dropped below zero and Chu Banyang suddenly fell silent.
Lu Yingjiu could feel that a certain existence had descended into this narrow space.
It was bound by the Chu family's contract and the surrounding spells, and was manic and cold.
The Peacock God of the Chu family is very powerful among all the ghosts and gods. Lu Yingjiu thought that this is indeed completely different from other ghosts and gods, and its reputation is well-deserved.
Chu Banyang slowly uttered the syllables and chanted the ancient spell.
The air was stagnant again for a few seconds.
Then the blood-red lines on the ground lit up one by one, and the surroundings seemed to be covered by a thick black fog. Chu Banyang was only about one meter away from Lu Yingjiu, but Lu Yingjiu could already see him clearly.
A few seconds later, a cool breeze blew up from under my feet.
With a crackling sound, green flames lit up one by one in a clockwise direction around them. There were nine flames in total, surrounding the two of them in the center, burning quietly.
The base of the flame is made of pure gold, and the brilliant metal is dotted with various gems, cat's eye green, crow blue, dusk cloud gray, dark purple... They are strung together by golden silk threads, flashing a dreamy luster in the firelight.
The ground under Lu Yingjiu's feet became soft.
It felt like thick, moving fur. He looked down and saw feathers interwoven with emerald green and gold under his feet.
It is the same gorgeous color as the Peacock God.
Looking around, the whole layout of the room has changed, and the gorgeous feathers of the peacock are spreading to who knows where. Above the green fire, there are dots of light, flickering, and at first glance they look like stars.
In the blink of an eye, they arrived at a unique space.
Lu Yingjiu thought again, it is worthy of being the most gorgeous ghost.
Peacocks love beauty and want to spread their feathers to show off all the time. Even this ceremony reveals a sense of luxury.
Chu Banyang was used to this scene. He walked forward until he was under the flame in the front.
There was a small altar with a stone tablet in the center - it was almost identical to the stone tablet under the 20th pavilion when Lu Yingjiu was in Yueshan Village. The Chu family, like the Zhang family, highly respected and revered the Way of Heaven, and had erected such stone tablets in many places.
On the altar, there was a small wooden bowl filled with a liquid that was also a mixture of emerald green and gold.
Chu Banyang picked up the bowl, walked carefully back to Lu Yingjiu, and handed it over: "Drink it."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Lu Yingjiu said: "Although I know you have always liked me, you still want to poison me so blatantly... This looks a bit like diluted paint."
Chu Banyang assured, "It's absolutely safe. I used to drink it when I was a kid."
"What's the use of drinking it?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
"You can dream," Chu Banyang said, "Do you have a lot of confusion? Dreams can answer many questions."
—Lu Yingjiu had heard about this.
Every eye spot on the peacock's tail feathers is a golden eye, flashing with different brilliance like a kaleidoscope. If you look deeply into it, you can see a bewitching power.
In addition, it is said that the Peacock God guards a pool of sacred water.
After drinking the holy water that has dried up for thousands of years, one can have predictive dreams or dreams that can explain doubts.
Generally speaking, the Chu family would not give the holy water to outsiders.
Perhaps it was because this matter involved Chu You that Chu Banyang brought the wine here.
In that case, Lu Ying drank the wine without any hesitation. After thanking Chu Banyang, he took the wooden bowl and drank it all.
Unexpectedly, the holy water has a beautiful luster, but it tastes like ordinary spring water when you drink it. After a few sips, your throat is filled with the aftertaste of sweetness.
Then Lu Yingjiu’s eyes blurred.
The flames, the feathers under his feet, Chu Banyang… they all disappeared, and the whole world was left with only a pale white.
His whole body felt vague and his mind was in a trance, as if his soul had left his body.
It took Lu Yingjiu several seconds to realize that the paleness in front of him was actually wind and snow.
The snowstorm was so overwhelming that it almost buried the entire world.
He felt that he was walking in the snow, the snow under his feet hindered his steps, there was no light in the sky and the earth, and the only source of light was the lantern in his hand.
The lantern was oddly shaped, hexagonal, with a sharp tip like a blade. A bright yellow fist-sized light source was slowly burning inside, bringing a little warmth.
"He" continued to move forward against the wind and snow, his thin clothes rustling in the strong wind - his clothes were of ancient style, with wide sleeves and neatly closed lapels, pure white, so white that it was flawless and blended perfectly with the wind and snow.
Occasionally, for a moment, "he" looked back.
Only then did Lu Yingjiu notice that he was holding someone with his left hand.
He was a pale young man in black with a new wound on his face. Bright red blood was flowing, becoming the most gorgeous color in the world.
Lu Yingjiu saw his face clearly.
The blood was almost flowing to the boy's chin, but he had no intention of wiping it. He just held "his" hand tightly, not daring to let go for half a second.
It was as if if I relaxed for just a moment, the whole world would be lost.
They walked side by side in the snow.
There is no way forward, no goal, and I don’t know whether the strong wind will end or the snow will melt.
But they kept going down.
…Where am I
Lu Yingjiu was in a trance.
His consciousness was still scattered, his thinking became slow, and all the images seemed to have a filter, allowing him to see clearly even after a long time.
In the haze, I felt like I was drowning or drunk.
Another flash before my eyes.
The ground under my feet returned to its soft texture, and the peacock feathers reappeared.
Lu Yingjiu was still holding the wooden bowl in his hand.
It all seemed like an illusion.
After regaining consciousness, Lu Yingjiu calmed down and asked Chu Banyang, "How long has it been?"
“Not even a second.” Chu Banyang said, “No matter how long you have been in your dream, in reality, it will seem like you are distracted.”
He then asked, “So, have your doubts been answered?”
"... No." Lu Ying handed the wine bowl back to him and rubbed his brow. "I even understand what I saw. I seem to see... people from ancient times? Anyway, the clothes look modern."
"Ah." Chu Banyang said.
"What's wrong?" Lu Yingjiu noticed that he looked a little strange.
Chu Banyang paused for a moment before saying, "Then you may have seen your past life."
Lu Yingjiu: "Where is the dream interpretation service you promised me? Why are you offering other services as well?"
Chu Banyang said, "An answering dream is just a possibility. Some people's dreams can answer questions, some people's dreams can predict things, and a very small number of people can dream about their past lives." He hesitated for a while, "But, according to experience, people who dream about their past lives..."
"What is it like to dream about someone's past life?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
Chu Banyang hesitated for a long time, and finally said, "They all died miserably in their previous lives."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Lu Yingjiu took a deep breath and said, "Forget it. I don't care about my past life. Anyway, I remember it now. No matter how miserable it was, it has nothing to do with me. Let me drink the magic water again. I'm sure this time I'll be able to solve my doubts."
"Okay," Chu Banyang said, "The holy water has side effects. You can only drink it once every three years. Otherwise, you will die miserably in this life."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Lu Yingjiu said: "This holy water of yours sounds like it belongs to a great god."
"Indeed." Chu Banyang rarely expressed his agreement.
There are simply too many people in the Chu family who want to benefit from the holy water.
Chu Banyang's cousin, who is still in junior high school, wants to drink magic water before the exam to predict the final question.
He did not predict the result of the test. He dreamed about the tragic love in his previous life and cried so much that he couldn't stop. He took the test and ran away from home with his schoolbag on his back, saying that he wanted to find his lover in the previous life to renew their relationship.
Later, he was beaten up by his father, packed up and sent to school, and the problem was naturally cured.
And his cousin drank a bowl of magic water before buying the lottery ticket, hoping to win the jackpot.
The grand prize was not predicted, but the dream solved her doubts.
She felt that her vision suddenly became clear, as if the clouds had cleared and a road she had never seen before was slowly appearing before her.
But she was obviously too awake.
Because she became a nun that night.
In short, there are only a few times when the magic water can work accurately.
The possibility of relying on its power to change your life is basically zero.
Chu Banyang added: "If the divine water was so effective, why would the Chu family still engage in business? They could have made a fortune by simply reselling some of the divine water in the past."
Lu Yingjiu thought about it and felt that it made sense and was impeccable.
He said: "Since there is no other way, I'd better find a way to check it myself."
"This is the only way." Chu Banyang nodded. "I didn't have much hope at first, but it's better to try than not to try."
He returned to the urn, pasted new talisman paper on it, and prepared to go home.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lu Yingjiu looked around.
Everywhere you look, you see gorgeous decorations with gems, and the star-like points of light above your head are growing brighter and brighter.
So bright that it can’t be ignored.
He looked carefully and actually saw countless images in the light source.
There are farmers under the scorching sun, buses in the cold rain, students jumping happily in the school, and huge windmills towering in the fog...
Every detail is incredibly realistic.
Lu Yingjiu asked Chu Banyang: "What are those things in the sky?"
“Oh.” Chu Banyang answered him while sticking talismans on his hands, “Those were all dreams of the Peacock God.”
"What did it dream about?" Lu Yingjiu looked up again and looked at it carefully.
"Yes," Chu Banyang said, "How can outsiders know? In fact, the Peacock God has been sleeping all the time. Our Chu family has only borrowed its power, but we can't communicate with it."
He pasted the last piece of talisman on it and said, "It was born in the holy water. It has no doubts to be answered, so it will always wander in its past life and premonitions, and will never wake up. It is rumored that every time it falls asleep, it will have 59 dreams at the same time."
"Every star in the sky is a dream of its own."
Lu Yingjiu was stunned for a moment.
59.
This number is particularly familiar.
Where was he looking
His memory went back to the past, time was turning, and he was back to Wanming Mountain.
On the way to pay homage to the ancestors, he entered a wooden house where the worshippers had rested before, and found a photo of himself as a child in Zhang Nianyun's room.
He brought out all those photos.
On the back of one of them was written in black pen: 1/59
Is this a coincidence, or...
Lu Yingjiu quickly stepped forward and asked Chu Banyang, "Why is it 59? Is there anything special about this number?"
Chu Banyang noticed that he suddenly became serious, and answered in confusion, "No reason, it just happened to be like that."
Lu Yingjiu asked him word by word: "Besides here, is there any other place where the number '59' appears?"
"I know clearly." Chu Banyang thought for a moment, "I know about other families, but Peacock God should only have this one. However..." He thought about it carefully again, "There seems to be similar rumors about the Zhang family."
Lu Yingjiu said: "Can you still remember the details?"
So Chu Banyang sat on the soft feathers, touching the urn, and thinking carefully.
Even when he was recalling it, there was still a hint of joy on his face.
Perhaps it was because this was the first time in all these years that he was able to answer Lu Yingjiu’s questions and resolve his doubts.
After a long while, Chu Banyang finally spoke up: "It happened when I was very young. At that time, the Zhang family had not yet fallen, and the Chu family once planned a large-scale sacrifice with them."
He continued, "Before, our two families worshiped the Heavenly Dao separately. This is the first time we worshiped together, and it will be the last time - of course, the subsequent decline of the Zhang family is beside the point."
"Anyway, I followed them up the mountain and met people of the same age as the Zhang family on the way. One of them told me the story of Di Ting."
The ghost and god that made a pact with the Zhang family was Di Ting.
But the Zhang family is a rather mysterious family and they seldom communicate with outsiders, so Lu Yingjiu knows very little about them.
Chu Banyang said, "The child told me that the Di Ting who made the contract with them likes to collect gems. It has to put 59 gems in its nest every time before it is satisfied. But gems are easily covered with dust and corroded by the Yin in the ghost world, and finally turn into nothing."
"Whenever a gem is broken, Di Ting will collect new gems until there are 59 in the nest."
"During that worship, the Zhang family brought 59 gems."
"If you really want to trace the source of '59', it may be in the Zhang family. They are the most fanatical worshippers of the Heavenly Dao, far better than the Chu family."
Lu Yingjiu was silent for a while before he started to speak: "That is to say, the Zhang family believes that the number '59' is special to ghosts, gods, or the way of heaven."
"Yes." Chu Banyang said.
Lu Yingjiu looked up at the sky again, the light was as dazzling as stars, and asked: "So is there any way to see these dreams? Or in other words, what is so special about them?"
"Each dream corresponds to a place in reality." Chu Banyang said, "If you want to say it's special, it's nothing special."
"However," he looked up at a corner of the starry sky, "Speaking of this, there have always been two places in the Peacock God's dream that have collapsed. The Chu family has always known the reason."
He pointed to the corner.
There were indeed two extremely dim lights there.
Compared with other dreams, they are so inconspicuous that they seem to be extinguished in the next second.
Lu Yingjiu asked: "Which two places do they correspond to in the present?"
Chu Banyang told the location.
One is a village by the sea, and the other is a school.
Lu Yingjiu wrote down the two place names, thinking that no matter whether they were related to him or not, he would eventually find clues.
Chu Banyang asked: "So, the number '59' is related to you?"
"Yes." Lu Yingjiu said, "But I don't understand it now."
Chu Banyang's face was immediately filled with curiosity, and a look of "I want to know" was written all over his face.
But he just wanted to open his mouth and hold it in.
If it were any other time, Lu Yingjiu would have started teasing him.
But today he really wasn't in the mood, and began to say, "I'm sorry, I haven't told you my plan yet. I'll wait until the truth comes out and too many people are involved. I intuitively feel safe."
"Oh." Chu Banyang said, "It doesn't matter. I'm not interested at all."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Chu Banyang was still seriously ill. It seemed that the magic water had cured his tsundereness.
If we continue to stay here, we will never see any new developments.
Chu Banyang pinched his fingers and the wind blew their sleeves again.
Lu Yingjiu's eyes suddenly went dark and then bright.
They returned to the Chu family's basement.
The blood-red lines on the floor flickered a few times, then dimmed. Chu Banyang bent down and lifted the urn with great effort, preparing to carry it back.
When Lu Yingjiu saw his unhappy look, she started to worry again.
If he drops the family barrel, it would directly drop the entire Chu family's ancestors. The elderly have osteoporosis and are prone to fractures. How pitiful that would be.
When going up the stairs, he saw Chu Banyang getting more and more anxious, so he said, "Let me carry him aside, in case Grandpa or Grandma falls..."
As soon as the voice fell, a "bang" was heard.
Chu Banyang's grip loosened and the box fell directly!
It was so heavy that it knocked off a corner of the stairs.
Lu Yingjiu: "... How wonderful."
Chu Banyang was very calm. His face changed color. He bent down and picked it up again. "It's okay. I often played with it when I was a kid. We have many urns at home. They are very precious. Every young generation has one."
Lu Yingjiu said: "How come your family has so many ashes? Everyone can have one."
"After all, it's a big family." Chu Banyang continued to walk forward, "Everyone gets a shovel after they die. A little bit adds up to a lot."
Lu Ying drinks and holds his forehead.
"When someone dies, they are dead." Chu Banyang said, "The Chu family doesn't care much about life and death. It's enough to erect a monument to commemorate the ancestor. Everything else is meaningless. There's no need to be too particular about it."
When he went upstairs and said goodbye to Chu Banyang, Chu Banyang asked him again: "Are you going to go to the two damaged places in the dream?"
"Yes." Lu Yingjiu nodded.
Chu Banyang hesitated for a long time, as if he wanted to say something.
But he didn't open it in the end.
It was getting late, and when Lu Yingjiu got into the car, he realized it was almost six o'clock.
A red sunset is sinking in the distance, casting a golden glow on the mountains and clouds.
Jingxian sent him a text message, asking him when he would be back.
Lu Yingjiu raised his lips and replied: Within 40 minutes
After saying that, he started his Land Rover and drove onto the road, joining the thousands of cars heading home, like a group of tired birds returning to their nests.
In the past, he would go home alone and feel very calm, because he knew that apart from the greedy cow cat, there would be no other people at home.
But this time it's different.
The way home was filled with anticipation and joy.
After returning home and parking the car, Lu Yingjiu went upstairs. As soon as he took out the key from his wife, she drove the car directly.
—The soundproofing here is not very good, maybe Jingxian heard the sound of the keys.
Then Lu Yingjiu felt empty under his feet and was carried into the house by Jing Xian.
Road to welcome wine:
For a moment, Lu Yingjiu only felt the warm embrace.
Jing Xian whispered in his ear: "You're back too late!"
"I was delayed on the way." Lu Yingjiu patted his back and comforted him, "You're back before dinner time, so you're still on time... Hey, hurry up and put me down."
Jing Xian then put him down with a complicated look on his face, as if he wanted to continue hugging him.
Lu Yingjiu asked, "What did you do today?"
He felt a little guilty. If Jingxian really stayed in the house for the whole day, it would be really boring.
As far as he was concerned, Jing Xian could use electronic devices, and he used them quite well, but he never played any games and only watched a movie occasionally.
Jing Xian said: "I watched a movie."
"Hmm." Lu Yingjiu thought, as expected.
Jing Xian added: "If you haven't come back yet, I'll go out for a walk and kill a dozen ghosts."
Lu Yingjiu: “…?”
"And fed more than a dozen ferocious beasts."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
It sounds like Jingxian had a fulfilling day and there's no need for him to worry.
But Lu Yingjiu unconsciously relaxed his brows.
The sense of security when returning home always makes people feel warm all over and their eyes curl up.
After all, Jing Xian has been waiting for him.
Lu Yingjiu looked around the room again.
I saw Maotuanzi lying lazily in the corner, burping continuously.
He was puzzled: "What did you feed it again?"
"Nothing." Jing Xian blinked.
It's obvious that he is lying.
Lu Yingjiu changed his shoes, walked over and sat down on the spot, touched Maotuan's round belly, and then touched the cow cat that came over.
Two furry little animals rubbed against each other under his hands.
After a few seconds, Jing Xian sat next to him, leaned closer to him, and put his arms around his waist with his usual gentle hands.
Lu Yingjiu was helpless, so she reached out to pull away his hand that was about to lift his clothes without stopping him, and said with a smile: "Jingxian, you..."
He suddenly froze.
When he touched the dirty hand, everything in front of his eyes turned pale again.
The blowing snow and wind, the dim lanterns, the white clothes, and the road with no end in sight.
The young man in black behind him held his hand tightly, his cheek was injured and a bright red.
Lu Yingjiu could still see the young man's face clearly, but she heard his voice.
The young man opened his mouth and asked cautiously: "... Will you die?"
The "he" in the dream did not answer.
The only answer to the boy was the sound of the wind screaming hysterically.