The design of the palace is wonderful. The inner hall at the center is empty of a ghost, while the outer hall and the surrounding buildings are all filled with ghosts. There are long streets, taverns, theaters, and archways, just like a small city.
Of course, ordinary ghosts can't get in here.
Those who can operate here are either ghost bosses who own shops or prominent priests.
Jing Xian said: "It was even more lively here before. But in the past few months, I have sent many ghosts to look for formations. There are too many ghosts on business trips, so this place is not so prosperous anymore."
"There are quite a lot of people here." Lu Ying said.
This kind of traffic made him miss the weekend pedestrian streets in big cities.
Jing Xian led him through a jet-black gate several dozen meters high, and what came into view was a bustling long street.
Lu Yingjiu is here, and he decided to take a stroll here to experience the customs and practices of the ghost world.
Jing Xian certainly would not let go of this opportunity to enhance their relationship, he immediately raised his hand, and two little ghosts crawled out from the ground and presented something to him with both hands.
It was a half-face mask made of jade, black as the main body, with red wolf-tooth-like patterns on the edges. Overall, it gave people a solemn and uneasy feeling. Jing Xian put it on his face and said, "This is what I usually use when I go on incognito visits. Do you want one?"
Besides him, there are many other masked ghosts on the street.
Some were priests who did not want to show their faces and expose their identities, and some were born ugly and did not want to see people.
Lu Yingjiu shook his head and said, "No, no one here knows me anyway."
"How could that be?" Jing Xian asked, "I have kept your portrait on the wall for so many years."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He gave up arguing with Jingxian about this topic and took the lead to walk forward.
The long street is filled with gloomy atmosphere and is lined with various shops.
They walked on the road one after the other, Lu Yingjiu holding Maotuanzi in her arms - it moved left and right excitedly, full of curiosity.
"Baozi! Fresh Baozi on sale!"
"Don't miss it on your way down! Baozi are on sale!"
The ghost boss of the bun shop greeted him warmly. Lu Ying drank a sip of the wine, and black juice flowed out of the soup dumplings, hitting the ground with a sizzling sound.
Lu Yingjiu lowered his head and asked respectfully: "What's in this bun?"
"Rotten water." Jing Xian said, "It's made from corpses. If you eat it, your intestines will rot."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He grabbed the eager fur ball and walked away quickly.
Next, they went to a makeshift stage on the street.
An actor in gorgeous costumes was singing in a humming voice - it was the ancient language of the ghost world. Lu Yingjiu didn't understand it, but he felt that the tune was full of twists and turns and seemed to contain resentment.
The audience was dark and filled with ghosts, and they couldn't even get in.
Jing Xian explained: "The name of this play is "Thirteen More". It tells the story of a beautiful woman in Yangzhou who waited for her lover for thirteen years, and eventually died of a terminal illness - and her lover married three wives and four concubines in the capital and had long forgotten her."
Lu Yingjiu was a little surprised and asked, "Is this style of opera also popular in the ghost world?"
"Not really." Jing Xian hesitated for a few seconds and held his hand, "You'll be fine in a moment."
The front row of the stage was full of ghosts, and there was no place to sit.
Lu Yingjiu was wondering how Jing Xian was going to squeeze in when he saw Jing Xian snap his fingers.
A gust of cold wind.
The wind was like a sharp blade, lightly slicing off the heads of the ghosts. Lu Yingjiu only saw a "puff", and then there were ten flying heads in the air!
Road to welcome wine:
The heads of the ghosts in the front row were chopped off cleanly. Large amounts of blood flew out, but not a drop fell on their bodies. The heads in the air shouted in confusion, "Ah! Why did my head fall off!"
A group of headless corpses ran away in panic, each looking for their own head.
Road welcomes wine:?
Isn't this too gloomy?!
Now there was no one in front, and the other ghosts seemed to be used to it. They didn't react at all and were still concentrating on the show.
Jing Xian hugged him, and easily went to the bottom of the stage, where he picked a wooden table and sat down.
Immediately, a kid came up and gave them peanuts, melon seeds and... iced cola.
Lu Yingjiu had not yet recovered from the shock of "the audience was looking for their heads all over the floor". He weighed the Coke can and asked, "Is this also your creation?"
"Yes." Jing Xian nodded. "Coke is so delicious. It would be a waste not to promote it." After that, he opened the Coke in his hand and handed it to Lu Yingjiu.
The two of them drank Coke and joked.
Jing Xian acted as an interpreter. Every time the ghost on the stage sang a line, he would explain it to Lu Yingjiu.
The general plot is: the woman caught a cold in the thirteenth year of her wait, had a high fever for several days, and eventually died.
—When an ordinary opera sings this part, it is almost time to end, mainly expressing the woman’s “resentment”.
But the ghost world version of the play is obviously different.
After the woman died, she turned into a vengeful ghost.
The singer on the stage raised his sleeves, and a female ghost with a green face and fangs appeared. She used rouge to decorate her eyebrows, and her appearance soon returned to that of a normal person.
She was wearing a green dress, leaning against a locust tree at the entrance of the village, seducing passers-by with her beautiful singing voice.
When the pedestrians were enchanted, she would attach herself to them and control them to go to the capital. When the pedestrians were exhausted, she would eat them clean and continue to look for the next prey.
And so we headed all the way to the capital.
The woman found out that her lover had already become a high-ranking official with many wives and concubines.
She possessed a servant girl and sneaked into his mansion.
Lu Yingjiu was concentrating on drinking.
The play was performed quite exquisitely, and a lot of effort was put into the set design. Although simple, it was lifelike.
Jing Xian was eating peanuts, but soon his hands became restless. He sat closer and pulled his hand under the tablecloth.
Lu Yingjiu had gotten too used to his clinginess these days, so she just let him do what he wanted.
The stage is decorated with lights and colorful lights.
It was a coincidence that the lover had just divorced his wife and was preparing to marry his new love. The ghost appeared at his wedding, raised her sleeves, and a gust of cold wind blew down the guests.
The little wife screamed in surprise, and was blown away by the cold wind.
The red veil is still the red veil, the phoenix coronet and bridal robe are still the phoenix coronet and bridal robe.
The only difference is that the bride was replaced by a ghost.
The lover knew all about this.
The man and the ghost stood face to face, which was quite eerie.
A priest nearby sighed, "I like the ghost marriage drama the most!"
"That's right, it's so exciting to have a human and a ghost together!"
“Hehehehe!”
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Jing Xian smiled beside him and ate two peanuts feeling a little guilty.
The man and the ghost bowed to each other and were sent to the bridal chamber.
The female ghost was sitting on the bed with a veil on her head, not saying a word, her clothes soaked in blood.
When her lover sat beside her and gently held her hand, she slowly said, "Xiao Lang, do you remember me?"
Xiao Lang was stunned and recognized her voice!
He threw his hand away and tried to run, but his hand was grabbed like an iron clamp.
The woman held him with her cold hands and said slowly, "Xiao Lang, I have waited for you for thirteen years, a full thirteen years."
"I, I, I, I..." Xiao Lang's whole body was trembling, "This is a misunderstanding! I don't want to abandon you! I just, I just don't want to go back to my hometown!"
"You're lying." The ghost girl said in a cold tone, and she lifted her veil to reveal a miserable face. "You are living a happy life with many wives and concubines. Do you know how I have lived for the past thirteen years?"
Xiao Lang shook his head desperately.
The ghost girl's nails irritated the back of his hand, and streaks of blood flowed down.
She took something out of her arms...
Lu Yingjiu looked down with a fixed gaze.
The ghost girl was holding a can of Coke and yelling, "I drink Yin-Yan Coke to survive every day!! For thirteen years, every day, I drink Yin-Yan Coke!"
Road welcomes wine:
He was stunned.
The ghost waved her hand, and Xiao Lang's head fell to the ground. Then she took the Coke and walked towards the audience step by step: "Yin's Coke is good, you will never get old if you drink it; Yin's Coke is good, every sip will make you healthy."
There was a burst of fireworks, and two little ghosts held up a banner: Yin-Yang Coke, buy one get one free today
There was thunderous applause from the audience, and the ghosts took out their Cokes and poured them into their mouths.
Lu Yingjiu was shocked and asked Jing Xian: "This, this play couldn't have been arranged by you?!"
"How is that possible?" Jing Xian said, "I sent the advertising department of the Coca-Cola Company to do it. They were a civilian official who came up with this thing. It turns out to be quite useful. Last quarter, the sales volume of Coca-Cola increased by 30% to 40%."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Jing Xianyi: "There are other operas. Do you like them? We can book a table and enjoy them slowly."
Lu Yingjiu's scalp was numb: "No, no." Then he pulled Jing Xian and squeezed out of the crowd.
Next, Lu Yingjiu watched a Cuju match.
A group of ghosts are chasing and kicking a skull.
He also enjoyed the vaudeville performances.
The performance failed and the performer was swallowed by the ferocious beast he raised.
There are also street vendors.
There were people selling bones, beads, and heads everywhere.
By the time Lu Yingjiu had walked the rest of the street, he had experienced all the plots that a horror movie would have.
What's more terrifying is that he is exactly the same as Jing Xian...
He couldn't walk ten steps without seeing the damn stickman portrait on street corners and in front of shops.
Lu Yingjiu rubbed his brow and said, "Jingxian, let's go directly to the inner hall."
"Well," Jing Xian said with a little regret, "I was originally planning to go drinking with you."
"It's okay for us to drink at your place." Lu Yingjiu took a deep breath, "Just don't let me eat such sinister things for the time being."
Jing Xian blew a whistle.
Two horses came with will-o'-the-wisp lights under their feet.
They jumped on their horses and headed towards the inner hall one after the other.
I passed through countless busy streets and finally entered a heavy gate guarded by ghost soldiers. The noise finally faded away.
This place is far away from ghosts and there is no one on the road.
Magnificent palaces are scattered around, surrounding the main hall in the center.
The main hall is magnificent, with a long staircase in front of it.
The pure black stairs were made of jade and were carved with patterns, most of which were ferocious ghosts. There were at least a hundred steps. This was for all the ghosts to worship. Just by looking at it, one could imagine the grandeur of the priests kneeling here.
There's only one bad thing.
The alleys are still lined with stick figures.
The two ghost horses took light steps and stepped onto the stairs.
No more than a hundred steps up, there was mist lingering on my sleeves, which was cool.
Lu Yingjiu said: "Excuse me, I just read the title of the play."
"What?" Jing Xian asked, "If you want to drink Coke, I have plenty."
Lu Yingjiu: “…No.”
The surrounding clouds and mists were rising and falling, and the sound of horse hooves clattered on the jade.
Lu Yingjiu said: "I'm still confused. First, why haven't I met any servants of Heaven for more than 20 years? Second, if Heaven wants to take my life, why did it hold a fake wedding?"
He had left these two topics aside before.
Jingxian's attitude is a bit strange.
For the first question, he definitely didn’t know.
But the second question, he only mentioned it vaguely - that this place made Lu Yingjiu feel something was wrong.
Sure enough, this time Jing Xian still said: "I don't know either. Maybe when you figure out the formation, you'll know the answer."
Lu Yingjiu said "Oh" with a curious look in his eyes.
The ghost horse went up all the way to the palace.
At the end of the stairs, there is a plaque with large characters written in a flamboyant style: Mingdian
Below was a pitch-black throne. It was impossible to tell what material it was made of, but it only gave off a murderous aura, as if it was condensed from countless bones and souls.
Jing Xian: "Do you want to go up and sit for a while?"
"… No." Lu Ying was drunk, "The shadow of Yin Xi Sha has not yet dissipated for me."
Jing Xian felt very sorry and said, "Then there is nothing good here."
Lu Yingjiu believed it to be true.
Zhi Jingxian held him in his arms and went straight to a place that looked like a bedroom.
He instinctively felt danger: "… Why did you come directly to the sleeping place?"
"No, no." Jing Xian walked quickly, "It's your illusion. I'm just showing you around."
After that, he took Lu Yingjiu to the harem.
There are palaces of all sizes.
It's all harem.
The Shuangyue Tower, the Jiangzi Pavilion, the Qinghua Palace and the Rumeng Palace are all extremely gorgeous.
"..." Lu Yingjiu narrowed her eyes, "Jingxian, why do you have so many concubines in your harem?"
Jing Xian's feet paused, his heart felt cold, his back stiffened, and his scalp felt numb.
—He was so busy leading the way to the bedroom to welcome the wine that he actually forgot about this matter!
Something happened!
Something big happened!
He turned around and grabbed Lu Yingjiu tightly: "Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! This harem was not designed by me!"
Lu Yingjiu: “Oh.”
Jing Xian spoke quickly: "I have been sleeping for a long time. Part of this palace was completed while I was asleep. That's why they built so many harems!"
Lu Yingjiu: "Oh." He raised his eyebrows, "It seems your subordinates understand your intentions very well."
Jing Xian: ? ? !
He felt like he was about to kneel down on a durian... No, if this wasn't explained clearly, his wife would be gone!
He grabbed Lu Yingjiu and rushed into the Shuangyue Tower next door.
As the name suggests, Shuangyue Tower is a beautiful building. The top is immersed in clouds and mist, and in the middle of the night, it has a romantic feeling of picking stars and exploring the moon.
The two of them went in.
Jing Xian pointed at the wall and said, "You!"
There are exquisite paintings hanging on the walls.
There is a little stick figure drawn on the scroll.
Title: I love the road to welcome wine
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Jing Xian: "This building is for you!"
He took Lu Yingjiu to visit all the buildings in the harem, big and small.
Crimson Purple Pavilion, Qinghua Palace, Rumeng Palace, Luoyu Pavilion…
All of them have a stick figure stuck in the middle.
Jing Xian said: "These are all for you to live in." He pulled Lu Yingjiu to the corner again.
There was also a building in the corner, but it was simple and shabby, and did not fit in with the painting style.
Jing Xian emphasized: "This is the cold palace. Even your name is written in the cold palace!"
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Jing Xian was extremely nervous: "My love for you is endless and will last forever..."
"Stop, stop, stop." Lu Yingjiu interrupted him, "Stop."
He rubbed his brow, and after a few seconds he couldn't help but lower his head and smile.
Jing Xian looked at his face and said, "Are you still angry?"
"No." Lu Yingjiu kissed him and smiled, "From the beginning to the end, I never did. I was just teasing you, how could I doubt your sincerity?"
—However, his teasing and kissing caused trouble.
That night, Maotuanzi was left outside the palace by Jingxian. He was eating a pile of skulls with great joy.
There is a kind of magic called the spirit dog guarding the master.
It's obviously not capable of that. It completely forgets about its owner as soon as it's given something to eat.
Lu Yingjiu felt how soft the bed and bedding in the bedroom were.
The whole person was sunk into it, muffled by the vague moan. His body could not find a foothold, and it was floating in the raging waves. In the dim light, Jing Xian was only seen with one hand on the side of his head, his beautiful muscle lines were taut, and fire was burning in his deep eyes.
It was not until late at night that the two of them finished.
After a simple wash, there was a faint fragrance on the floor. There was also sleep-inducing incense burning in the house, which made people feel calm.
Jing Xian held Lu Yingjiu in his arms, just like He Ping, and his posture was like a male beast protecting his territory.
Lu Yingjiu lay in his arms with her eyes closed.
After a moment, he said, "Jingxian, what's going on with the fake wedding? You know the truth, right?"
Jing Xian does not answer.
It fell for a long time.
Until Lu Yingjiu was about to fall asleep, he thought Jing Xian would not speak anymore...
Jing Xiancai said in a low voice: "If the Heavenly Dao wants to take someone away, it will sever all your connections in the world. And connections are divided into different levels. Connections like master-disciple or friendship are less important. Blood ties are more important."
"When you encountered a fake wedding before, didn't I rescue you once? If it were your parents, they would be able to do the same thing - but it wouldn't be so easy and there would be casualties."
Lu Ying drank a little.
His mother Zhuang Xue died early, and his father has not appeared in ten years.
He has no blood relatives.
He asked sleepily: "But what does this have to do with the wedding?"
Jing Xian was silent for a few seconds: "Marriage is also included in the important fate." He reached out and gently stroked Lu Yingjiu's temples, "You and I are destined to be together. If God wants to take you away, it will take a lot more effort. The purpose of the fake wedding is to let you marry someone else. Once a new marriage contract is forced, the fate between you and me will disappear."
By then, I'm afraid no one in this world will be able to stop the way of heaven.
Lu Yingjiu's face changed slightly.
He was now completely sober, but didn't know what to do.
Then, a bad premonition quickly arose in his heart.
—This premonition did not come out of thin air.
This feeling of uneasiness has always existed since Jing Xian fought for him again and again against the Heavenly Dao.
His mind raced, and he soon realized that there was more than one way to break the marriage contract.
…If Jing Xian died, the effect would be the same.
He knew that Jing Xian's strength was far beyond his, and far beyond any ghost or god.
but…
Born as a ghost, born as a god.
Without any flesh, it floats aimlessly between heaven and earth.
The constraints that priests and humans are subject to by the laws of heaven are different.
Lu Yingjiu has been reading various books about the ghost world these days, and has learned many details about Jing Xian. He has a general conclusion in his mind: Heaven must send servants to hunt down humans, and there are many ways to deal with ghosts, such as thunder tribulations and inner demons, any of which is more deadly.
His heart was in a mess, and his frown was slowly smoothed out by Jing Xian.
Jing Xian smiled and said, "Oh, I didn't tell you because of this reason. You must be worried if you knew." He kissed Lu Yingjiu's forehead and said, "Go to sleep, don't worry so much. Your husband is very powerful, how could he lose to such a cruel and cruel thing?"
—What happened to him? Lu Yingjiu didn’t sleep well that night.
In his dreams, he hugged Jingxian tightly, fearing that if he relaxed even a little, Jingxian would disappear.
Jing Xian comforted him again and again when he was half asleep and half awake, loosely grasped his hand and kissed his brow lightly.
The next day, the sky was just getting light.
Lu Ying sobered up, opened the window, and fresh air blew in.
His head was dizzy and he was still thinking about what happened last night.
This couldn't go on any longer. He felt that he had to return to Yangzhou immediately and make a final decision with Tiandao.
I have made up my mind.
Lu Yingjiu turned around to discuss with Jing Xian, and suddenly stopped.
At the horizon, huge eyes slowly opened.
This time its gaze swept down the road to greet the wine.
He walked straight towards Jingxian.