The eldest of the Chen family, Tie Niu, was climbing on a tall jujube tree, and the little friends under the tree all looked at him with their necks raised and looked at him expectantly, which made him a little proud.
He quietly glanced at Mr. Yu's sister Xiang'er. When the sister first came, she had a yellow face and thin skin. She had been raised in her husband's house for two years, her face was bulging, her skin was white, and she was very slender. The appearance is very attractive, and there are no children in the alley who do not like to play with her. Maybe it's learning from her husband, she is not the same as the children here. Never get yourself dirty, don't cry, wear clean clothes and smile sweetly. But if Xiang'er wanted to do bad things, no one could escape her teasing.
Tie Niu took off a branch full of jujubes and threw it into the hands of his friends. Don't look at this crooked jujube, it's a bit ugly, it's sweet in the mouth, and it's one of the children's favorite snacks. Hiding his selfishness, he aimed at the branches with the most and fullest fruits and threw them into Yuan Xianger's hands.
Yuan Xianger stood under the tree and looked up at the children picking fruits on the tree. Her real childhood was actually spent in various hobby classes with expensive tuition fees.
High-end sedans, full-time drivers, breathless schedules, rushing back and forth every day on the way to various training courses, barely remembering any entertainment time.
Unexpectedly, it is already in his twenties, and he has relived his life once, but he can relax like this and get a carefree and playful childhood.
The children who were busy grabbing the dates were invisible. At this moment, a black figure several times taller than them stood beside Yuan Xianger. It was Yuan Xianger who saw "Yu" on the bridge pier when she came to town on the first day.
A tall and big man with broad shoulders, a small black head, and a big monster with erect eyes on his head, mixed with a group of children, looking up expectantly at the children on the tree throwing fruit down.
Yuan Xianger received another hanging of jujubes, and Daniel could always throw the fruit into her arms every now and then. She didn't even have to rush forward with her mates to fight for it, and the fruit in her arms was more than enough .
Yuan Xiang'er looked at the top of the tree without squinting, but in her hand, she calmly handed a hanging jujube to the demon beside her. The big monster stretched out his hand and caught them.
After coming here for so long, Yuan Xianger found that although the monster was huge, it really just likes to play in the crowd as the master said, and did not do anything out of the ordinary. Yuan Xianger gradually stopped being afraid of him. At this moment, she even felt that after watching this monster for so long, maybe she just wanted a piece of fruit.
Sure enough, the big monster held a small hanging fruit, looked left and right, squatted aside, and tilted his head to study the things in his hand.
Daniel jumped down from the tree and patted his trousers: "Okay, that's all, I can't pick any taller ones."
"Can't you pick it up? That's all I have."
"It's a pity, there are so many on it. Bring a bamboo pole next time."
The little friends walked back regretfully, and suddenly heard a clatter from the top of the tree. Jujubes, leaves, and caterpillars fell to their heads and covered their faces, smashing their heads and faces.
"Oh, where did the wind come from?"
"A lot of fruits, pick them up quickly."
The children giggled while dodging and picking up fruits all over the place.
In the world they couldn't see, the black figure standing beside the tree was puffing out his chest and blowing out a long breath, a hurricane was blowing in that breath, and the fruit on the tree was shaken down.
The children of the great harvest washed the jujube by the stream, put them in the front of their clothes, and ate a mouthful of sweetness. After they are full, they still have tasks to go into the mountains to pick up some firewood to take home.
Among these children, only Yuan Xianger did not need to do this work.
On weekdays, she doesn't need to pick up firewood or hog grass, or even carry water to cook. Every day she plays instead of studying homework. Her clothes are always clean, her hands are white and tender, and she often eats fragrant chicken legs when she gets home. The envy of all friends.
"Xiang'er, we'll be back in a while, you wait for us here."
The friends waved goodbye to her. Yuan Xianger was not bored sitting alone by the stream. Now this world without any electronic products is not as boring as she imagined, but every day makes her feel novel and interesting.
For example, at this moment, on the bank of the stream not far from her, a little man with human limbs, wearing blue clothes, but with a frog head, was climbing up a slippery rock. He seemed to want to pick the few red raspberries hanging on the shore. The stones were covered with moss and could not slip, so that every time he climbed a few steps, his feet slipped and his small body rolled down in a ball. go.
Yuan Xianger hid aside and peeked, thinking badly, she saw that the frog man was about to reach for the fruit, but quietly stretched out a branch and pushed it under his feet, causing him to plop and roll into the grass again. go.
She held back her laughter and watched the little frogman get up in a daze. The frogman's eyesight didn't seem to be very good. After getting up from the grass, he rubbed his head in a dazed way. He didn't understand why he fell down, so he had to continue to climb up. This attracted Yuan Xianger, the eldest lady with a bad heart, to laugh in the bottom of her heart.
After bullying the little goblin so many times, Yuan Xianger heard a faint cry from the depths of the jungle. She listened carefully for a while, stood up, and lifted the frogman by the collar to the top of the rock. Put it on the top of the tree, swipe a few raspberries, and place them in front of the silly frogman on the leaves.
"Stop teasing you, let's eat it."
Yuan Xianger followed the cry and searched for it. Parting the branches and leaves of the bushes, she saw a trap set by a hunter. A lynx cub was caught by sharp iron tongs. A soft cry.
Seeing Yuan Xianger's appearance, it was covered in fur, and shouted, "Ah, it's a terrible human being, Lord Father, save me, Lord Father, please save my life."
Yuan Xianger was attracted by his milky voice. She has liked such fluffy creatures since her last life. She stretched out her hand and broke open the iron clip forcefully while the kitten was yelling, pinched the back of the kitten's neck, and carefully lifted the injured kitten out of the trap.
"Yeah! It's a human, so scary. Don't lean over, don't grab me!" The little lynx was lifted by Yuan Xiang'er's hands, and stretched out its tender little fur claws to scratch around in the air in an attempt to resist.
"Don't make trouble," Yuan Xiang'er pinched the cat's neck skillfully, so as not to let this little thing succeed, "I'll just take a look at the wound on your leg."
The thin hairy legs are covered with blood, and a slight touch will cause the kitten to scream, and I don't know if it hurts or frightens.
There was a low and angry roar from the jungle, and in an instant, the wind was blowing, and the sand and stone were flying.
The cracked mouth was splashing with saliva, and Yuan Xianger could clearly see the row of gleaming sharp teeth and the giant tongue full of barbs.
She had no doubt that this bite would make her head go to a different place, and the blood splattered on the spot, and the gods could not save her life.
This is the first time Yuan Xianger has truly experienced the horror of demons. It's not play or practice, one accidental loss is one's own life.
The stench blew her body into chills, and the fear of death penetrated into her pores and captured her heart. Between life and death, all the forbidden spells and spells that Master had taught in the past two years went through her mind like a revolving beacon.
Hexa curse? No, that requires magic.
Draw five thunder symbols? Not to mention that in such a tense and chaotic moment, even at home on weekdays, setting up the desk, calming down, you may not be able to succeed in one out of ten, and it is not powerful.
Putting a heavenly gate array? Not in a hurry at all.
Call on the yang gods and yin soldiers? Oh, not this one yet.
Only then did Yuan Xianger panic. She found that she seemed to have learned a lot, but when it came to actual combat, she was still in a panic and couldn't come up with any means of defense.
The fierce claws of the big cat demon had already hit the skin, and Yuan Xianger's waist suddenly felt a burning sensation. On her way out of Yuanjiacun, she had always carried the talisman folded by her master's hand. The talisman placed in the sachet suddenly burst into a golden light, and a circle of complicated golden circles appeared in front of Yuan Xianger. Wen, the delicate and dignified rune shone with golden light, blocking the fierce attack of the cat demon at a critical moment.
Master's amulet protected her,
"Don't be impulsive, it's just a misunderstanding. I didn't hurt the kitten. I happened to pass by." Yuan Xianger raised the little lynx in her hand and took the opportunity to try to explain the situation.
The red-eyed cat demon couldn't listen to her words at this time, and attacked with claws in rage and madness. This fragile human can easily take her life with just one claws.
But no matter how angrily it changed its azimuth and angle, the golden round shield could always accurately appear in front of it, blocking the attack without leakage.
The coercion and ferocious offensive of the big demon swept up the dust in the sky, causing the ground to shake and the mountains to shake, flying sand and rocks. In the darkness, only the seemingly weak golden runes lit up with golden light, firmly blocking Yuan Xianger's eyes.
Yuan Xianger forced herself to calm down. She came out to play and didn't bring anything with her. She could only bite her fingers to restrain herself and volleyed to draw the five thunder talismans that could summon the thunder.
The talisman taught by Yu Yao is different from the complicated talisman-making process passed down in the world. What he pays attention to is that the Taoist method is natural and a little bit of aura is both a talisman. It seems to be a lot simpler, but it is actually very self-willed. The so-called consonance is extremely difficult to capture. Yuan Xianger has been practicing for a long time, but she still can't grasp the doorway. There are often a dozen or two talismans, but not one of them can be effective.
Master Yu Yao still doesn't care about her, he just says every day: Xiang'er is great, it's alright, let's play, let's play.
At this time, her life was hanging by a thread, Yuan Xianger did not dare to be careless, and concentrated her energy to form a talisman.
The red rune faintly appeared in the air.
It worked!
Yuan Xianger didn't have time to be happy, only to see a few thunderclouds floating in the sky unhurriedly, and a thin bolt of lightning struck down. The thin electric current hit the mountain-like cat demon. He was even more furious.
Yuan Xianger stomped her feet in anger, and could only point her sword fingers in parallel to raise the talisman again.
At this moment, a small blue fish suddenly appeared in front of her eyes.
The little fish quickly swam in the air with its tail wagging, Yuan Xianger rubbed her eyes, and it split into two, turning into two small fish, one red and one black.
The two small fishes are chasing each other end to end, and then turn around again, and gradually become larger, becoming a giant Pisces gossip.
The surroundings suddenly became quiet, as if being covered with a huge transparent circular shield, the wind and sand stopped blowing, the earth stopped shaking, and the messy grass blades in the air were slowly falling.
A familiar figure appeared in front of Yuan Xiang'er. The man raised his finger and waved lightly, and the cat demon outside the shield rolled out all the way, crushing the thick trees along the way.
There was a cry like a baby crying between the heavens and the earth, and the figure of Xiqu jumped out of the ground. His hind hoofs smashed the ground, and his black body instantly became huge. With a pair of sharp long horns, he lifted the cat demon that just got up. fell to the ground.
Yu Yao condensed four transparent water columns in the sky, restraining the cat demon's movements, and threw the shivering little milk cat in Yuan Xiang'er's hands far away.
"Give it back to you, don't show up again, or you will be banned for a hundred years."
That fierce beast hunched its back and roared lowly. In the end, he gave up the plan to continue the attack, picked up his own child, jumped up a few times, and disappeared among the mountains.
Yuan Xiang'er's terrified heart became stable in an instant, and she sat down on the ground with her limbs loose.
Yu Yao turned to look at her, and patted her head with a smile: "Oh, Xiang'er can already point to empty calligraphy. It looks like she will be able to graduate soon."
Yuan Xianger giggled with lingering fears, and at this moment she felt that the so-called graduation from the master was just a joke.
The giant beast that almost took her life just now was as unshakable as a mountain for her, but the master could easily solve it with his fingers.
With Master here, the carefree childhood seems to be able to continue indefinitely. Every day, I learn academic methods easily and casually, and play with my friends or goblins. Time is like a trickle, silent and silent. Flowing east.
When the leaves of the sycamore trees in the yard turned yellow again, Shi Niang's illness seemed to be getting worse. She stopped teaching Yuan Xiang'er, lying on the dim bed, barely able to get up.
Yuan Xianger went into the room to see her, only to see that her complexion was pale and her eyes were dull. If it weren't for the occasional breath of warm air, she almost looked like someone who had already died.
Master Yu Yao didn't go out during these days. He spent most of the time sitting by the bed, holding the pale and feeble hand, and silently looking at his wife on the bed.
Ever since we met, Master has been very casual about everything, even with a bit of innocence that is rarely seen in adults. It was the first time Yuan Xianger saw him show a faint sadness.
On a particularly fine day, Yuan Xianger stood under the sycamore tree and couldn't help asking about the demon who was lying on the branch.
"Shizhi, do you know what kind of disease the mistress has?"
A sneer came from the canopy, and the elegant white feathers fell gently, "What's wrong with her, it's just that her lifespan is up, and there's no way to continue it."
Stealing Zhi's handsome face protruded from the branches and leaves, "Xiao Xiang'er, do you know that the short lifespan of your human beings is no different from the mayfly that lives and dies in the eyes of our demon clan. Many of our demon clan are willing to cooperate with Humans form a contract, not because they are powerless to resist, but because the long years are too boring, so they play a game in the world."
He stretched out his white wings and scratched lightly on the tip of Yuan Xiang'er's nose, "I think I just took a few naps, why did you get taller. Is it because I sleep in the winter, you will get taller?" A white-haired old woman, rotting into the mud."
"Shizhi, she's still a child, don't scare her." Yu Yao's voice came from under the porch.
"Hmph, don't you have to know sooner or later?" Steal fat retracted his wings somewhat boringly.
Yu Yao walked out slowly from the shadow of the eaves porch. The noon sun was very bright, casting the mottled shade on his gentle face. He reached out and touched Yuan Xiang'er's head, and said with a smile like in the past, "It's true that he has grown a lot taller."
"Master, stealing fat he just said..."
"Xiang'er, this sect pays attention to Taoism and nature." Yu Yao squatted down in front of her and stared into her eyes earnestly, "Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things, and all things in this world are There is no way to get rid of the word "natural". Life and death in the world should go with the flow and should not be overly attached."
Yu Yao's teaching to Yuan Xiang'er has always been very casual. It's alright, let's play, it doesn't matter if you don't understand, it's the mantra he often talks about. He seldom said such mysterious and mysterious teachings, Yuan Xianger said that he did not understand it well.
"It's okay if you don't understand now, it's just that the master didn't want you to come into contact with those monsters in the mountains, but now think about it, how can you force things that you can't restrain yourself. I just hope that when you grow up, you can have peace with you. Master has a different view of life."
Yuan Xianger heard it in a fog. It was the first time she looked at Master's eyes so closely, only to find that Master's eyes seemed a little different from ordinary people. Thousands of worlds in the deep sea.
Maybe it was because she looked at such eyes for a long time. Yuan Xianger dreamed of the sea when she was taking a nap. She seemed to have had a long dream. After listening to the sound of the waves for a long time,
The afternoon sun came in through the paper windows, and the courtyard was silent.
Yuan Xianger woke up, rubbed her eyes, and walked into the yard, always feeling that something was different from usual.
Not quite right, too quiet.
In addition to Zhizhi and Xiqu, the master also has many apostles, large and small. In the past, even if the master was away from home, on the eaves of this courtyard, under the floor, in the shade of the walls and trees, and among the flowers and trees, those little elves could always be heard. Chattering.
But at this moment, everything seemed to disappear suddenly, so quiet that not even a chirping of insects could be heard.
"Stealing fat? Xiqu?" There was no such deep voice under the floor, and the leaves in the courtyard stood motionless on the treetops.
"Master? Where have everyone gone?" Yuan Xianger put her hands beside her mouth and shouted at the courtyard.
Sitting beside the stone table under the sycamore tree was a slender figure. The man was wearing a light Luo skirt, his hair on the temples high behind his head, and he was looking up at the clouds in the sky.
Hearing the shout, she turned her face, her complexion was ruddy, and she was as beautiful as jade.
"Mistress, why are you getting up?" Yuan Xiang'er grabbed her hand in surprise and joy, "Mistress, are you alright?",
Yunniang nodded and reached out to touch Yuan Xianger's cheek. Her palms were soft and warm, not as cold as usual,
"That's great, Master, does he know? By the way, Master, where is my Master? Why can't you see him everywhere."
Yun Niang smiled lightly, but did not answer her question. Instead, he stood up holding Yuan Xiang'er's hand and walked out of the courtyard with her.
"Your master has to go out for a trip, and he won't be back until a few days later."
Because Shi Niang said this with a faint smile, Yuan Xiang'er never thought that the so-called days could be three or two days, and of course it could be years and months.
The villagers in the market were very curious to see Lady Yun going out.
"Oh, ma'am, is this all right?"
"The gentleman is very happy."
"What kind of fruits do you want to buy for your wife? It's not good for your wife to be burdened. Let my boy bring it back to you."
Yun Niang smiled and responded one by one. She was like an ordinary woman, wearing a headscarf, carrying a bamboo blue, carrying Yuan Xianger, bending over to pick and choose vegetables at the market.
"What is Shi Niang doing?" Yuan Xiang'er asked in confusion.
"Buy some fruits and vegetables for dinner today."
"Master is not at home, and the mistress is not in good health. It's fine to leave these trivial matters to the disciples. How can I let the mistress do it herself?"
When Yu Yao was there, the chores of fetching water and cooking at home were always handled by Yu Yao. Yuan Xianger lived carefree like a real child for all these years, and she also enjoyed being treated like a child. The feeling of being pampered.
But now that the master has gone out, she feels that she is still a principled person, and it is up to her to provoke these things, and she cannot make the newly-recovered mistress tired. After all, she is not actually a child.
Although she has never been able to cook in two lifetimes, it is not too late to learn.
"Nonsense, how old are you, and the master is not here, so naturally there will be a wife to cook for you." Yunniang stretched out her white finger and tapped Yuan Xianger's nose, "How did your master dote on you in the first place, now the wife I love you the same. Tell me, what do you want to eat at night? Do you want to eat rock candy elbows?"
Yuan Xianger swallowed her saliva. She was very greedy for meat when she was growing, so she instantly gave up the principle she had just established, "Eat... eat it, who wouldn't eat rock candy elbows."
The two walked to the house hand in hand, the sky was covered with clouds and clouds, covered with fine scale clouds, and the glow was bright, like an exiled immortal crossing the border. Such a beautiful Xiaguang Yuan Xianger had only seen one time in memory, and that was the day when Master went to Yuanjia Village to pick him up.