The phone number was already in his hand, but Lu Ying was still hesitant to order the wine.
"Why," Jing Xian glanced at him, "you don't want to find him?"
He knew Lu Yingjiu's interpersonal relationships very well and knew that he didn't know many members of the Ye family.
As long as you invite ghosts and gods to the designated location, the formation can be completed. Anyone from a noble family can do it.
Simply put, there is no difficulty.
"I don't want to look for it." Lu Yingjiu said, "This is a very dangerous thing."
Outside the car window, a few little birds with red tails were jumping around on the branches, chirping.
He continued, "It's not as simple as just 'inviting the gods'... Based on past experience, once they try to set up a formation, they will be blocked by the servants. Didn't Zhang Haokong and many others die in the same way?"
What's more, Zhang Haokong and his men are by no means ordinary people.
"It's too dangerous." Lu Yingjiu whispered, "Even if we find a group of elite soldiers to go with us, the risk is still very high."
"Besides, I don't actually want to find so many people..."
"If I don't tell them the truth, they have no reason to believe me. But if I tell them the whole story, they will be cursed by the Heavenly Dao. What if, I say what if, we fail to completely resolve the Heavenly Dao, won't these people's lives be ruined for half a century?"
If you know something you shouldn’t know, you will be punished.
This is why, only a small number of people knew about Lu Yingjiu; this is also why, when Zhang Yu was alone, he didn't know who to turn to for help.
It's difficult to advance or retreat.
Whoever you ask for help will be dragged into the sea of fire and blades.
Jing Xian was silent for a while, then said, "No matter what, I still think you should tell Ye Feng."
"Why?" Lu Yingjiu looked up at him.
"You pushed me away before, and it took me a long time to find you." Jing Xian looked at him, "Maybe five hours, maybe six hours. Such a short time, I feel like it's as long as hundreds or thousands of years."
Lu Yingjiu remained silent. In fact, he had always felt guilty about this.
"You always think about not dragging others down." Jing Xian said, "But in fact, it's the fact that you keep it a secret that makes people sad. If you switched identities with him, would you want him to keep it a secret from you?"
Lu Yingjiu was stunned for a few seconds.
If he were Ye Feng, and his friends had kept the truth from him until the most critical moment, he would probably feel angry and disappointed, right
Wouldn't it feel like their friendship of many years has gone to waste
Lu Yingjiu closed his eyes and said softly: "... Yeah, I understand. But before that, I will ask for his opinion."
…
The group flew back to Lujiang City.
When we arrived in the afternoon, we drove to Lu Ying Bar.
I haven't been back for several months, and the bar has completely changed. It is obviously much more popular. Even during the day on weekdays, I can see several customers.
This place was decorated more exquisitely by Ah Mei, attracting several young girls to stop and take pictures.
Yao Gou was in charge of publicity. He got a bunch of novel copywriting, dish names and designs from somewhere and hung them outside the bar. He also hired a new waiter and bartender. Both of them used to be insiders in the industry, but now they don't work much and are working outside.
Lu Yingjiu told them in advance that he would be back.
As soon as he entered the door, Ye Feng, the bartender, looked up and said, "Oh, rare guest—come on, have a cocktail that I just learned to mix."
Lu Yingjiu sat at the bar and drank the Blue Coral Reef he handed to him.
We chatted for a while.
After Ye Feng mixed drinks for a guest, he wiped his hands with a towel and said, "Why do you look so worried?"
"I have something to tell you." Lu Ying drank up the last bit of wine.
Ye Feng was startled by his serious expression and walked into the inner room full of doubts.
He said, "What's going on? Why do you look like that?" He thought for a moment and said, "Although the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons is coming soon, everyone is preparing for it. It will be fine. Don't worry too much."
"One Hundred Demons Night Parade is only one problem," Lu Yingjiu sat down, "but there is another one."
"What?" Ye Feng sat down opposite him and asked cautiously, "Are you saying you're bankrupt and can't run the bar anymore?"
Lu Yingjiu: "... not really."
"Is your fur ball starving to death?"
Lu Yingjiu: "... Do you think I would abuse anyone who dares to do something?"
"Ah!" Ye Feng suddenly exclaimed, "Does that mean you are divorced?!"
Lu Yingjiu: “… It’s impossible.”
Ye Feng scratched his head vigorously: "What else can make you look so sad?"
Lu Yingjiu took a deep breath: "Ye Feng, if there is something that concerns this Night Parade of One Hundred Ghosts and my life, but before you know it, there will be great danger, and even... you may die, do you still want to know?"
Ye Feng was stunned for half a second: "Think about it, then tell me."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
Lu Yingjiu: "Why don't you think about it carefully and stop being so hasty."
"Doesn't this concern you?" Ye Feng said, "I'm not careless. I've carefully thought about it for half a second."
Lu Yingjiu said: "I don't want to scare you, it's really very dangerous, you might really die."
Ye Feng: "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know, just tell me."
Lu Yingjiu: "... No, you should think about it again. How can you figure it out so quickly?"
Ye Feng said, "I may have always acted like a coward, but I am an exorcist after all. There is no one who is really timid in this line of work. I hesitated to stay in the Qingdeng Society for the sake of stability and did not come to your affairs. But it does not mean that I will hesitate when it comes to life and death."
"And I have already considered life and death."
Lu Yingjiu was stunned: "Have you considered this a long time ago?"
"Yes." Ye Feng said, "I just met you in high school. Not long after we met, you told me that you were surrounded by ghosts of all sizes, of all kinds, and it was like a party at night."
"It seems to be the case." Lu Yingjiu recalled.
Ye Feng sighed: "You were so serious at that time, saying that I might be killed by ghosts. My exorcism skills were terrible at that time, and I had never seen many ghosts in my life, but I believed them to be true."
"You don't know, I struggled for the whole night, and it was not until dawn that I made up my mind to look for you again. I thought, since I have made up my mind to do this job, how can I back down because of this problem?"
Lu Yingjiu's expression changed slightly.
Ye Feng smiled again: "Second Grandfather always told me that I should help others."
"Second Master spent the first half of his life as my role model. He betrayed his principles in a moment of confusion and resurrected me. But I have never forgotten what he told me."
"I had nightmares a while ago. I dreamed of a village, a sanatorium, and some spiders. I even quit my job at the Green Lantern Society and came to the bar to take a break. I didn't tell anyone the truth. I felt like I would live with guilt for the rest of my life."
He said: "But now think about it, eliminating guilt still depends on action. I have rested long enough, it's time to start again. Hey, tell me everything."
Lu Yingjiu: “…”
He smiled.
Over the next hour, he told the whole story.
From the living sacrifice five hundred years ago, to the efforts of the aristocratic families, to all kinds of protectors.
From the huge formation, to the ghost world, to the world in the mirror.
Ye Feng was greatly shocked and even said that this was really unimaginable.
When he had sorted out his thoughts, he asked again: "You said that we can find a way to find the polluted Heavenly Dao, but what should I do?"
Lu Yingjiu said: "According to the arrangement of the formation, you have to go... to the vicinity of Yueshan Sanatorium to summon the Li Snake."
This place is undoubtedly extremely special to Ye Feng.
Ye Feng nodded and said, "Okay, I got it. Leave it to me."
"Don't go alone." Lu Yingjiu said, "I have calculated that as long as there are no more than 5 people on site when summoning the Li Snake, the stability of the formation will not be affected." He hesitated, "But it may be very difficult to find people."
"I'll find someone from the Ye family to go with us." Ye Feng said, "If this can stop the Night Parade of Hundred Demons, someone will be willing to go. Don't worry, I won't tell them the whole story to avoid bringing about the 'bad luck' you mentioned, but other than that, I will find a way to convince them."
He stood up and said, "I can go find someone tonight."
"Don't be so anxious." Lu Yingjiu said, "The Chu family and the Chen family are still missing."
Ye Feng asked curiously, "I can understand the Chen family, but why don't you go find Chu Banyang?"
"He is indeed a good candidate," Lu Yingjiu said, "but I can't make a decision so hastily."
Ye Feng sighed, patted his shoulder and said, "You tend to overthink. Even someone like me who doesn't know Chu Banyang well knows that once he knows about this, he will definitely show off and find every opportunity to find you... So go ahead and do it. I just happened to be leaving, so I'll go home."
They all stood up.
As night fell, there were more customers in the bar.
The new bartender was working hard, Ah Mei was serving drinks to a table of guests, and Jing Xian was sitting in the corner watching. When he heard Lu Yingjiu's footsteps, he raised his head and his eyes lit up visibly.
After everyone left, Ye Feng said, "You guys go back. I'll go to the Ye family to look for someone. By the way... I'll take care of the current matter."
"What happened recently?" Lu Yingjiu asked.
Ye Feng smiled and said, "You will know it later."
Lu Yingjiu and Jingxian left.
Ye Feng got into his old car and drove through the evening rush hour traffic jam. Finally, after 50 minutes, he arrived in front of the villa.
The villa was large and luxuriously furnished, and it was obvious that it belonged to a wealthy family. There were also faint fluctuations of talisman paper in the air.
Ye Feng hadn't been back for many years. He parked the car and walked around the door for a while.
The key was in his pocket.
He held it in his hand, listening to the lively conversation in the room, and after a long while he took it out and unlocked the door.
There are many pairs of shoes at the door. There are guests today.
Ye Feng walked into the living room and saw many elders of the Ye family, as well as other famous exorcists. Seeing him coming, countless eyes were cast over him.
"Hey, Ye Feng is here!" an uncle called out, "Your dad and your uncle are both in high school, stay in the room."
"Okay." Ye Feng nodded.
"Come and sit down!" another aunt said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Every time I asked, your father said you were too busy at work. Come and see, have you gotten a little tanned?"
"Xiao Feng, would you like some fruit? We have grapes and peaches."
"How's your work going? Have you found a girlfriend? It's time to think about it at your age."
Most people didn't know him, they hadn't seen him for a long time, and his words revealed his kindness and enthusiasm.
Ye Feng was stuffed with snacks and fruits by the elders and exchanged a few simple words with them.
Seeing those familiar smiles, he felt a little dazed.
Just like he had seen these smiling faces in countless nightmares.
You were resurrected by a ghost, you don't even know whether you are a human or a ghost
What would your family think if they knew
The Ye family's house rules are so strict, they will kick you out.
You are a liar. You and Ye Deyong deceived them together.
After such a long time, Ye Feng no longer suffered from sleepless nights.
But he still remembers these dreams clearly.
He said goodbye to his elders and went up the stairs step by step.
Compared to the living room, the second floor is much quieter.
The carpet was soft, and the flowers were in expensive vases. He walked slowly to the end, turned around, and the reddish-brown door of the house appeared in front of him.
Ye Feng knocked on the door gently.
After a few seconds, a voice came from inside: "Come in."
Ye Feng pushed the door open and went in.
His father Ye Shou and his uncle were sitting on the sofa, drinking tea. When they saw him come in, they all looked a little surprised.
Ye Shou raised his eyebrows, with no joy on his face: "Why are you here?"
The tone is light.
He doesn't look like a father who hasn't seen his son in months.
He put down the teacup and leaned forward. Even though he was old, the muscles in his arms were still as tight as those of a tiger or leopard.
Ye Feng lowered his head and stood in front of him.
Ye Shou has five children, and Ye Feng is the middle one.
It is said that the older and younger children are favored, and he is the standard one who is ignored.
Ordinary talent, ordinary looks, ordinary character, ordinary everything.
Ye Shou's attitude towards him was always like this, neither cold nor hot, neither salty nor bland, and because of the strict discipline when he was a child, Ye Feng was a little afraid of him - he could always remember: when he couldn't learn talisman paper and couldn't understand the formation, Ye Shou never criticized him.
Ye Shou just stood aside with great indifference, glanced at Ye Feng, and left.
The look in his eyes was more painful than a scolding, and it hurt Ye Feng's heart.
In the end, even though they lived under the same roof and saw each other every day, he and Ye Shou would never speak more than five sentences a week.
In countless nightmares, the protagonist is Ye Shou.
Ye Feng dreamed that when he confessed, his father looked at him with disappointment and anger, and told him to get out of the house... In fact, this was the person he was afraid to face.
But…
Ye Feng raised his head and looked straight at Ye Shou.
He remembered the story Lu Yingjiu told him.
—Lu Yingjiu actually remembered the names and experiences of these people clearly and told them to him.
In order to protect everyone equally and to overthrow this cruel and inhumane way of heaven, he saw the perseverance of generation after generation of exorcists and the dedication of one unsung hero after another.
The endings are not perfect, and these stories are full of regret, unwillingness, love and courage.
Ye Feng recalled that a long time ago, when he was very young, Ye Shou once held him and asked, "Ye Feng, do you want to learn how to exorcise ghosts now?"
"I want to—" he replied, "Of course I want to—"
Ye Shou rarely smiled and said, "You will definitely be a brave person."
Yu Yefeng recalled his original intention of becoming a ghost exorcist.
Twenty years later, he looked into his father's eyes, his heart beating so hard it almost jumped out of his chest.
Ye Shou tapped his fingers on the table, seeming impatient.
Ye Feng took a deep breath: "I have something to tell you."
He felt that his voice was shaking.
"First, I died nineteen years ago and was resurrected by a ghost;"
"Secondly, I hope you can go back to Yueshan Sanatorium with me and complete the formation."