"So," Lu Yingjiu asked, "why didn't the Chu family try to solve the curse after so much time?"
Chu Qianju and Peacock God, one is a genius in exorcising ghosts, and the other is a ghost god that the family has made a pact with. Both are extremely important to the Chu family.
If the curse can be broken, the Chu family will definitely benefit.
Chu Banyang said: "We have been trying to find a solution for hundreds of years, but we have never been able to solve it. We haven't even seen a glimmer of hope. It's an unsolvable dead end."
It is not easy to make Chu Banyang admit that there is no solution to a problem.
Lu Yingjiu asked: "Where did the curse on them come from?"
Chu Banyang did not answer him immediately.
He hesitated for a few seconds, looked back, and saw that the others were some distance away from them, so he whispered, "I'll talk to you somewhere else later."
After saying that, he quickened his pace: "Let's go, Chu Qianju's former home is just ahead."
Lu Yingjiu looked forward and saw a small house appearing in the corner of the village.
Because no one had lived there for many years, the house was in a state of disrepair. The security windows were rusty, the glass was blurred by dust, and the wooden door was about to rot. There was also a big, red sign on the wall.
Just now, Chu Banyang had already thought of a way to force the door open using violence.
They pushed the door open and walked in.
The room was not very spacious, with only the simplest furniture, such as a bed, bookcase, wardrobe, etc., all covered with a few centimeters of dust. Chu Qianju was probably a minimalist, everything was very simple, without even a trace of decoration.
Chu Banyang went to the bedroom, bent down and pulled out the drawer under the bed, revealing the densely packed books underneath.
He said: "I just took a rough look and most of his books and notes are under the bed. We can look through them and then I will take the things back to the Chu family."
"Where should I put it when I take it back?" Lu Yingjiu blew away the dust and took out a notebook.
"The warehouse," Chu Banyang replied. "There is a corner dedicated to storing his things. When he returns in the next reincarnation, he will be able to see them. Of course, showing him those things is useless. He can only remember the past when he sees the Peacock God."
Yao Gou muttered beside him: "They are so loving."
They each went to look at their notes.
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the rustling of flipping notes.
Yao Gou couldn't bear to look at this kind of thing, so he ran to the back of the house and walked around. Chu Banyang was also in the next room, looking through other things.
Jing Xian sat next to Lu Yingjiu, reading Chu Qianju's collection of books in silence.
Lu Yingjiu took a glance and saw that he was holding a ghost picture book, on which there were ghostly lights with human faces, six-legged flaming horses raising their front hooves, and phoenixes rising from the ashes.
The illustrations are beautifully drawn.
Ke Jingxian is equally nonchalant.
Along the way, there were not many people who were free.
It seemed that ever since the female ghost mentioned Chu Qianju, Jing Xian had remained unusually taciturn.
Lu Yingjiu turned the page of the notebook in his hand and asked Jing Xian softly, "What's wrong with you?"
Jing Xian said: "I miss you."
Lu Yingjiu said: "I have never been apart from you."
"Just now you were whispering with that guy surnamed Chu," Jing Xian said, "and I felt that our hearts have been separated for a long time."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He ignored Jing Xian's usual nonsense, but was still worried that something was wrong with him, so he reached out and covered the back of Jing Xian's left hand, gently stroking it: "Are you in a bad mood?"
"I didn't..." Jing Xian suddenly stopped talking and turned his head, "Yes, I am in a bad mood. Unless tonight is my wedding night, then I will be in a good mood."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
It's another day when Jing Xian can't spit out ivory.
However, he could roughly guess Jing Xian's thoughts.
Chu Qianju's curse was similar to the one on him, which must have caused some kind of worry in Jingxian.
In countless reincarnations, Chu Qianju and the Peacock God fought each other.
So, do he and Jing Xian have the same past
Lu Yingjiu really wanted to ask Jing Xian a question.
But he knew that Jing Xian would not tell it.
Jing Xian always keeps many things to himself.
Jing Xian said that he would never dare to hide any private money, and he was honest with him about everything during the marriage, even reporting to him if he saw a stray dog on the street.
As a result, on the most critical issue, Jing Xian said nothing.
Lu Yingjiu became more and more unhappy the more he thought about it, so he reached out and poked Jing Xian.
Jingxian:
Jing Xian was immediately happy: "Hurry up, hurry up, poke me again."
Lu Yingjiu said: "Do you have any strange hobbies..."
"That's great," Jing Xian said, "I love flirting with you the most."
—After saying that, he got what he wanted and was stabbed mercilessly by Lu Yingjiu.
There weren't many things left by Chu Qianju, so they quickly finished reading them.
Lu Yingjiu deliberately read his notes carefully to see if there were any clues.
But no.
It is said that one can get a glimpse of a person's character from his belongings.
In Chu Banyang's memory, Chu Qianju was aloof and extremely self-disciplined. His notes were neat and tidy, horizontal and vertical, and he was very serious. The notes he made for the books he read were also very simple and neat, just like the effect of a printer.
Except for one place...
Lu Yingjiu turned the book to the last page and saw that Chu Qianju had drawn a small peacock with a black pen on the blank space on the last page.
His painting skills are average, but what he draws are exceptionally lifelike.
The little peacock opened its eyes, its eyes were sparkling, its feathers were fluffy, and it must feel great to hold it in your arms.
It doesn't have the majesty and splendor of a temple, but looks cute, but the tsundere vibe is still portrayed. If we use today's style to evaluate it, it's just a cute little peacock.
You can tell at first glance that the artist likes it very much.
Books from more than ten years ago were placed in front of them.
is the only place where Chu Qianju reveals his emotions.
Lu Yingjiu couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
When they had almost piled the books together, Yao Gou was planning to tie up the books and bring them here, but Chu Banyang was still in the next room, and no one knew what he was doing.
Lu Yingjiu said, "I'll go call him."
When he walked over, Chu Banyang was still reading his last notebook.
Lu Yingjiu asked, "Why, did you find anything?"
"No." Chu Banyang shook his head quickly and closed the book. "I'll be right there."
But before they had taken a few steps, Chu Banyang suddenly said, "Actually, ever since I met Chu Qianju, I have been thinking about a question."
"What?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
"I was wondering whether the curse was a good or bad thing for that person." Chu Banyang said, "Chu Qianju is a human, and his lifespan is not at the same level as the Peacock God. If there was no curse, Chu Qianju would be dead, and they wouldn't even have the chance to meet."
Lu Yingjiu said: "It depends on what they think. It's possible that, as you said, Chu Qianju feels that being able to meet Kong Que forever is enough; it's also possible that he just hopes to live his life in peace, as aging is part of life."
"Yes." Chu Banyang nodded. "If it were my life, I would choose to reincarnate like this forever. Once you die, you are really dead, and there is no room for regret or rebirth. When you go to the ghost world, most ghosts have to reincarnate, and they can't live with the priests. But in reincarnation, I can still see this world a few more times and see my love again."
Just as Lu Yingjiu was about to answer, a voice came from behind: "I hope he can grow old peacefully."
Lu Yingjiu turned around and saw Jing Xian standing at the door.
I don't know when, he has followed me.
Jing Xian's face showed no emotion as he continued, "What's good about reincarnation? No memories, just repeating yourself forever, with only a few seconds of clarity before death. What's good about dying over and over again? If I were Peacock, I would definitely not want to see my lover die. That kind of death is too painful, I can't bear to let him endure it."
Chu Banyang was stunned for a second, then said, "Well, you have a point, but I stick to my point of view."
"I will stick to my own opinion, too." Jing Xian smiled and put his arm around Lu Yingjiu's shoulder. "Let's go."
Chu Banyang's gaze stayed on his hand for a few seconds, then moved away: "Hmm."
The four of them packed up the books and prepared to move them outside.
…
Young Master Chu went on a trip with a driver and an assistant. Three or four luxury cars were parked in the parking lot outside the village, showing off his ostentatiousness and attracting several little boys to peek in from the side.
While Chu Banyang was instructing his assistant to sort out the books, Yao Gou went to the village and started collecting the money for the commission.
When he happily got the money from the villagers, he wanted to share it with Lu Yingjiu and Jingxian as agreed.
Lu Yingjiu refused him, saying, "Forget it, he has money, and it was you who took the commission first."
He was thinking that Yao Gou seemed to need the money more than he did, so there was no need to share it.
"How can I say that!" Yao Gou's eyes widened. "You also contributed a lot this time! No matter what, I should at least give you half of the money!"
After saying that, he insisted on transferring the money to Lu Yingjiu. Lu Yingjiu refused, and he got anxious.
Lu Yingjiu was so dizzy from refusing the invitation that he thought about how greedy Yao Gou was in the past. He would bargain whenever he bought something at a very young age. He would be so happy to see fifty cents on the way that he would hold it in his hand and play with it for three days.
Even towards his friends, Yao Gou has always been very generous and would often buy a portion of wine for Lu Ying when he buys food.
So many years have passed, but Yao Gou hasn't changed at all.
Seeing that Lu Yingjiu refused to accept the money, the stalemate lasted for nearly ten minutes. Yao Gou slapped his thigh and said, "Oh! Although we have been out of touch for a few years due to an accident, I haven't forgotten you at all! You don't treat me as a brother at all, I'm so sad! You can't forget your old friends when you get married, and you can't forget your old love when you have a new love!"
Lu Yingjiu felt dizzy from his nonsense. Seeing that Yao Gou was really getting anxious, she could only reluctantly hold back a little, just to show her respect.
Although Yao Gou was not very satisfied, he patted his shoulder and said at least they should take a break.
After they finally finished pulling the cart, all their things were packed up.
Chu Banyang watched the driver close the trunk, then said to Lu Yingjiu, "Come with me, and I'll tell you what happened just now."
He was referring to Lu Yingjiu's question, "Where did the curse on them come from?"
Lu Yingjiu nodded.
Then Chu Banyang opened the car seat again and took out a black object with great effort.
Lu Yingjiu stuck his head out to take a look.
It is both the urn of the Chu family’s ancestors and the Chu family’s family bucket.
Lu Yingjiu: "... Why do you still carry these things with you?"
"We have a lot of backups, so we just take them with us." Chu Banyang said, "We think we might need them." He patted the urn and said, "Let's go to the holy water place again."
Lu Yingjiu nodded.
Just as he was about to follow Chu Banyang, he felt a strong gaze falling on his back.
He looked back and saw that Jing Xian's expression was not obvious, but his eyes were filled with resentment.
At first glance, it is obvious that he has changed from being respectful to being jealous.
The vinegar jar was overturned again, and the sour smell swept across the entire Lintian Village.
Lu Yingjiu smiled, then turned back and whispered to him, "I'll be back soon, don't be jealous again."
Jing Xian also whispered: "I feel like our hearts are about to separate again."
Lu Yingjiu: "... That's not the case. Where did you learn this weird trick from?"
Jing Xian said: "I watch a lot of romance movies."
Lu Yingjiu: "... All right." He patted Jing Xian's shoulder and comforted him, "I'll be back soon."
Jing Xian asked: "Can we have a wedding night after we come back?"
"No." Lu Yingjiu said, "Aren't you the bride? How can a bride be so anxious? You should be reserved and stay calm in front of your husband."
After he finished speaking, he even laughed.
"No," Jing Xian said, "I have no shame and I just want you to abuse me and ravage me."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He said: "Jingxian, you are really a strange person."
"I'll take it as a compliment." Jing Xian smiled.
So Lu Yingjiu said goodbye to Chu Banyang and left.
Arriving at a secluded place, Chu Banyang took out a knife, cut his palm, and dyed the talisman paper red with his blood.
Then he lit the talisman paper, and they flew over by themselves, automatically and consciously outlining the formation on the ground.
Before, Chu Banyang used the urn to summon an illusion of the Peacock God.
There are 59 dreams of peacock and holy water in the cave.
Now that he has the formation, he can bring Lu Yingjiu in again.
After all the talismans stopped moving, Chu Banyang placed the urn in the middle, stroked it with his palm, and recited complicated and difficult words.
A gust of wind blew from the flat ground, lifting their sleeves.
Lu Yingjiu's eyes blurred.
When the vision became clear again, nine turquoise flames lit up clockwise, and the decorative gems were strung together with gold threads, giving off a colorful glow.
There is an altar in front of him, golden-green feathers under his feet, and stars of light above his head, brewing 59 dreams.
Lu Yingjiu asked: "Why did you come here?"
“Because there are some things that cannot be heard by others.” Chu Banyang raised his head and looked at the stars.
Lu Yingjiu was confused for half a second and asked him, "Who is ''?"
Chu Banyang said nothing.
He still looked at the starlight.
The light fell into his eyes, illuminating his complex expression.
Lu Yingjiu could see that some turbulent and chaotic thoughts were rising in his heart, drowning him. Even the bright stars could not guide the way forward.
After a long while, Chu Banyang pointed his finger into the air and said, "Heaven."
"The curse of Peacock God and Chu Qianju came from heaven."
Lu Yingjiu was slightly startled.
That is the law that binds humans and ghosts, invisible, but omnipresent.
If a priest comes to the human world in the flesh and defies heaven, his soul will be scattered if he dies; if a human trespasses into the ghost world and violates the rules, he will also be forever barred from reincarnation.
There are many laws in the world.
Just like humans cannot defy gravity, and the sea cannot resist the tide. Just like a winged eagle falling to the ground and dying, overturned water cannot be recovered, and an arrow that has left the bow will never turn back...
Just like us.
The terrifying thing is that no one can disobey it.
Lu Yingjiu was silent for a moment, then said, "I have never heard of a curse from heaven."
“I haven’t heard of it either.” Chu Banyang said, “I don’t know what Chu Qianju has been through. I only know that the heavens originally wanted him to die, but the Peacock God sacrificed himself to block half of the curse for him, so Chu Qianju didn’t die, and that’s why we are in the situation today.”
He paused and continued, "I once learned the art of exorcism from Chu Qianju for a period of time."
"Chu Qianju once mentioned to me unintentionally that at certain moments, he would see an eye in the sky."
“… has an eye?” Lu Yingjiu asked.
"Yes." Chu Banyang nodded. "According to him, the eye has been staring at him all the time. It will disappear after a few minutes, sometimes hours."
"He didn't tell me in detail, but I guess that might be a curse from heaven."
“So,” he sighed softly, “It’s not that the Chu family doesn’t want to help them remove the curse. It’s just that a curse of this level cannot be removed by anyone. It’s a dead end.”
It's creepy just to think about it.
It's like there's always someone watching you, but you're unaware and unable to resist. If you look back unintentionally, a crack appears in the sky, and its eyes spy on everything about you.
Lu Yingjiu was silent for a moment, then said, "Well, I know."
He also looked up at the starry sky and asked, "Then you should also have some guesses about the Peacock God's shattered dream, right?"
"Yes." Chu Banyang said, "I didn't tell you at first."
He led the way to welcome the wine, bypassed the altar, and walked directly under the starlight.
The sky seemed limited, but it was actually larger than Lu Yingjiu had imagined. They walked around the bright fire for more than ten minutes before they were really close to the starlight.
The light was dim, the wind was howling, and it almost looked like a wasteland.
Chu Banyang bent down and picked up something on the ground.
The thing was almost transparent, about the size of a fist. If the light had not slightly bent when passing through it, and the thing itself was a bit light gray, Lu Yingjiu would have hardly been able to see it.
Looking around again, there are quite a few things scattered around.
Chu Banyang took the sword, felt the coldness in his hand, and said, "These are all the shattered dreams of the Peacock God."
"If a dream is broken for too long, it will fall down like a tree. This is the graveyard of dreams."
"I was there when Chu Qianju died. There was a meteor shower at that time."
At that time, countless dreams, dragging with starlight, descended from the sky.
The colors burst out, brilliant and gorgeous, and for a moment it seemed like a miracle. The young Chu Banyang looked up, shocked by the wonder, and could not forget it for a long time.
At that time he didn't know that it was not only Chu Qianju's death, but also the tears of the gods.
Chu Banyang said: "Now Peacock God still has a broken dream."
"One is a village, and the other is a school far away. Both places are places Chu Qianju has been to before."
"The Chu family has never come to a conclusion about the shattered dream. But my guess is that he just doesn't want to dream about Chu Qianju again."
"After killing his lover with his own hands, perhaps every dream about Chu Qianju is torture for him."
You can always see it, but never touch it, and it will always be just a fleeting glimpse.
“Of course,” Chu Banyang looked at the dim sphere in his hand and the broken dream, “It’s just my personal guess. No one can confirm it except Peacock God himself.”
"Wait until Chu Qianju's next reincarnation, perhaps, these dreams can be rekindled."
Lu Yingjiu listened silently.
A gust of wind blew, making their clothes rustle.
Looking around, the stars above are dim and gentle, with many colors. Among them, rain flows through the glass, windmills turn slowly in the mist, trains whistle through the valley, the summer breeze and the warm winter sun, the endless reed marshes, the cats on the street corners and my favorite bookstore...
Colorful.
There is no Chu Qianju in every dream.
They were completely different from the broken, dead dreams at their feet. On one side were living people, and on the other side was cold cruelty.
Lu Yingjiu suddenly thought of a sentence:
I only dream of idle people, not you.
When Chu Banyang finally led him away, he looked up into the sky again.
Looking at those dreams, he thought of Jing Xian.
Everything was dark.
He wondered if Jing Xian would have the same kind of time.
The life span of a priest is endless, and even his loneliness will be eternal.
…
The second shattered dream of the Peacock God was in Xiaoguang City, a thousand meters away from Lintian Village.
Lu Yingjiu wanted to know more about Chu Qianju's affairs, so of course he planned to go there.
Yao Gou tried every means to find out whether his firm was still hiring.
Lu Yingjiu knew what he meant, so he smiled and said, "Who knows, do you want to come with us again?"
Yao Gou quickly agreed, patted his chest and said, "You don't have to be afraid as long as your brother is here! With my tonnage, no matter what kind of ghost comes, I will knock it away for you!"
Chu Banyang also said calmly, I'll go with you guys.
Therefore, the group booked their tickets very efficiently and set off for Xiaoguang in the evening.
We had dinner in the village, packed up our things, and drove on our way.
In order to express his usefulness, Yao Gou volunteered to drive, and Jing Xian sat in the second row with Lu Yingjiu.
As a result, it drizzled on the way to the airport and the weather was gloomy.
Lu Yingjiu was catching up on sleep as usual, and affected by the low pressure on the rainy day, she leaned drowsily on Jing Xian's shoulder.
I looked out unintentionally and saw leaden clouds gathering above my head. Thousands of raindrops fell from the sky. Several passers-by who didn't bring umbrellas fled in a hurry, splashing water droplets with their footsteps.
When the strong wind blew, the roof of the car made a crackling sound.
Lu Yingjiu reached out and touched the car window glass.
My fingertips were icy cold.
The next second, Jing Xian gently held his hand.
A sufficient warmth surged up, and he whispered, "Sleep a little longer."
"... Yeah." Lu Yingjiu responded and rubbed against his shoulder, making sure she found the most comfortable position.
The car didn't stop once it got on the highway, speeding forward all the way.
He fell asleep in a half-awake state, listening to the sound of rain, and in his dreams he still smelled the cool fragrance of Jing Xian's body.
fine.
—He thought vaguely.
I can still dream about Jing Xian.
He didn't know how much time had passed before his sleepiness dissipated into a peaceful slumber, and he opened his eyes drowsily.
The sound of rain drops.
It had been too long since he spoke, so his voice was a little hoarse. Before he regained consciousness, he subconsciously called out, "Jing Xian..."
The sentence paused.
Through the window covered with crystal water droplets, he saw the iron-blue sky and the stratus clouds that could come down at any time.
A violent storm was brewing over the city, as if it was the end of the world. The highest building peaks were swallowed by the cloud curtain, and the strong wind blew over them, making them seem like they were about to collapse. Several bolts of lightning struck, and the frantic light tore everything apart, about to strike me.
Thunder exploded in my ears and my heart pounded.
However, these were not the reasons for Lu Yingjiu to stop.
At the very end of the sky, where lightning and thunder clouds intersected, a huge eye stared at him intently.