"Master." Chen Ling said in a dry voice, "There is something I want to tell you."
Zhao Xunchang was still immersed in distress, regretting why he had not calculated for his apprentice earlier. If he had discovered it earlier, he might have been able to find out the reason for the appearance of this hexagram and then find a way to solve it.
"The person who just came to see me was the old ancestor of the Jiang family." Chen Ling said, "He said he was my future daughter-in-law, and there was a red thread between him and me."
Zhao Xunchang's hands froze as he was packing his things. He was so shocked that the wrinkles on his face were almost flattened. "Did that old ghost say that himself?!"
"Well, I saw the thread." Chen Ling said sullenly, "He also said that my fate is compatible with his."
Zhao Xunchang slammed the thing in his hand on the table: "I said he had a crush on you!"
Zhao Xunchang walked up to his young apprentice, put his hands behind his back and said, "The thread of marriage is tied by heaven, and no one can break it, unless you can break through this heaven and earth."
The sky is too high and too thick, so it is definitely impossible to poke it. What Chen Ling wants most now is to stab Jiang Yu, but he can't beat him.
"Where is the Huang Shen Yue Zhang Seal that I gave you before?" Zhao Xunchang suddenly changed the subject, leaving people confused.
Chen Ling obediently pulled the seal out of his clothes.
Zhao Xunchang: "No use to that old ghost?"
Chen Ling said with a sad face, "Not at all, just a little bit of feeling." Speaking frankly, "But it has a great deterrent effect on ordinary evil spirits. I used it to burn the skin of a reincarnated evil spirit before."
Zhao Xunchang held the seal and read it over and over again twice, then shook his head and sighed.
"I guess he should be from the Netherworld, and his status is not low."
The master's idea coincided with his previous guess. Chen Ling said hurriedly: "But how did he know that I was his partner? Did he follow the marriage line to find me?"
"The world is divided into yin and yang. There are yang gods above and yin gods below. They are in charge of the cause and effect of the world. You should know that a simple marriage is not a piece of cake." Zhao Xunchang put down his crossed legs and walked back and forth on the ground. It is not known whether he was excited or anxious. His tone of voice was anxious and trembling. "So it was his intention that the Jiang family's order fell on you?"
Chen Ling thought it was not the case: "My ad has been posted for so long. If it was really him, why didn't he let the Jiang family contact me earlier?"
"That's right." Zhao Xunchang touched his stubbled chin and thought for a moment, "That was when you first visited the grave, and then he recognized you."
Chen Ling agreed with this reasoning.
Zhao Xunchang paced a few more times, helplessly saying, "How can we get rid of the fate that was predestined? Master knows that you feel awkward, but you will get used to it after a few days. Think about the bright side, you will have a backer in the future."
Chen Ling said that he didn't want to have a backstage at all, because the backdoor might not be able to be protected!
Seeing his face full of resentment, Zhao Xunchang said, "Disciple, you don't know that it really won't work without a backer. Every time Master invites the ghost messenger to come up, he has to kowtow three times and four times, and burn a lot of ghost money. It's really troublesome."
Chen Ling: "But he is a male ghost."
"What's wrong with male ghosts? Didn't you tell Master that we should be tolerant of different sexual orientations?" Zhao Xunchang said, "Moreover, those high-ranking Yin gods enjoy the worship and worship of the human world. They have no fear of Yang energy and sunlight, and they have a moral golden light on their bodies. Most importantly, their bodies are solid and no different from ordinary people."
After a pause, his tone became subtle: "Of course, getting along with each other is no different from being a living person."
Chen Ling didn't notice the change in his master's tone, and said speechlessly: "Master, why do I feel that you are very supportive of what the ancestor and I are doing?"
"I'm teaching you to face reality bravely and think on the bright side of things." Zhao Xunchang pointed to the top of his head. "God is the rule of all things. No one can change what he has set. In this case, why not accept it happily?"
Chen Ling's heart was shaken, and he sighed, he was indeed worthy of being his master.
Looking at his apprentice's slowly calming face, Zhao Xunchang sighed softly and said with an ambiguous meaning, "Everything is destined."
Chen Ling didn't get any comfort from his master. Instead, he was no longer so averse to Jiang Yu's appearance. He returned to his room lightly and heavily. When he pushed the door open, he saw three incense sticks on the table that he had not had time to light.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he picked up the incense, went to the kitchen and picked out two apples, and took them up the mountain.
The construction work on the mountain is proceeding in an orderly manner according to the plan. The contractor, wearing a safety helmet, is directing the workers to use a wire-laying vehicle to divide the various areas according to the plan.
Seeing the young boss coming up, he took a safety helmet and said, "Mr. Chen, we have been working according to the schedule these days without any delay. If things continue as planned, the first step will be completed in about half a month."
The design of the cemetery is similar to terraced fields. Climbing up layer by layer, the area near the top of the mountain has the best feng shui. First, it is closest to the flow of dragon energy. Second, there are two shorter peaks in the east and west directions not far away as barriers. This is a good location for the protection of the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger.
The two chatted about the progress of the project for a while. Chen Ling thanked the contractor for the cigarette and asked something else: "Brother Yang, how much do you know about the Starry Sculpture Studio?"
"Fanxing Carving Studio?" The contractor was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered, "You are talking about the one I introduced to you last time, right? I don't know much about it, but I heard from others that the carving masters there can take private jobs."
He paused and asked, "Why, are you dissatisfied?"
"I am satisfied. The carving master is very nice and efficient." Chen Ling said in a chatty tone, "I went there twice. The first time business was not so good. It was okay on weekends. One of the classrooms was full."
The contractor took a puff of his cigarette and said in surprise, "Really? But I heard that their students are all weird and often don't come after a few days."
"Why?" This phenomenon is consistent with what Wu Weiwei said before.
"I don't know about that. Maybe there is a problem with the teaching."
Chen Ling smiled and said, "Brother Yang, you told me before that their family has a good reputation."
Realizing that his words were inconsistent, the contractor said embarrassedly: "Actually, I don't know either. I just heard it from others."
Chen Ling nodded and changed the subject.
After sitting and chatting with the contractor for half an hour, he walked around the area wearing a safety helmet, then went to the top of the mountain alone, carrying a plastic bag.
Jiang Yu's tomb was sunken underground, and the soft soil that had covered it had become much more compact. The stone tablet had not yet been completed, so in order to prevent someone from accidentally stepping on the tomb, a larger stone was placed in front of the tomb as a mark and warning.
Chen Ling squatted down, took out three incense sticks, lit them, and inserted them in front of the stone. He muttered, "Anyone would be unhappy if they suddenly had multiple partners. You understand." Then he took out the apples and placed them on the plate he brought. "I thought about it. We can be friends first and try different relationships. If one day you think it's feasible, we can also be brothers instead of husband and wife."
The sun on the mountain was hotter than at the foot of the mountain. After a while, the black hair on my head was burned to the touch.
Wiping his sweat-soaked hairline, Chen Ling felt unsure. He was terribly afraid that his ancestor might suddenly lose his partner and do something too violent in excitement.
"Besides, I have a lot of bad habits. You shouldn't conclude our relationship so early. This is for your own good." After racking his brains to belittle himself, Chen Ling didn't know what to say.
He squatted down, staring at the three lit incense sticks.
The position where each incense stick burned was highly consistent, and the burning speed was extremely fast. Chen Ling was confused: "Are you agreeing or not? Are you in a good mood or a bad mood?"
Jiang Yu didn't respond. I didn't know whether he was lying underground or standing next to me.
The next day, Wu Weiwei got up early, made breakfast diligently, and ran to knock on his brother Chen's door to wake him up.
Chen Ling's curtains were light in color, so if someone moved inside, their outline would be very clear. Wu Weiwei was sure that he was not mistaken, there was a tall man sitting at the desk.
But when he heard the answer and pushed the door open, Chen Ling was still lying in bed, his hair disheveled from sleeping, his eyes unable to open, and he was in a daze.
Wu Weiwei looked toward the window stiffly. The stool in front of the desk was empty. He walked over and touched the stool with his fingers. It was cold, so no one must have sat on it.
On the tidy desk, there was a piece of white paper standing out from the ordinary. There was only one word on the paper: Yes.
The words were written with a fountain pen, and the font was firm and unrestrained.
Next to the white paper, an open book was lying there quietly. The book was full of notes. The handwriting was neat, but it was also not difficult to see that the writing was a bit light and there was no sense of strength between the strokes.
Therefore, the white paper and the words on the book should have been written by two different people.
Wu Weiwei remembered the figure he saw before entering the room. He shuddered with fear and quickly lifted the quilt and pulled Chen Ling out of bed.
"Brother Chen, don't sleep anymore. Wake up." He grabbed Chen Ling's shoulders and shook him madly, "There was someone in your room just now!"
Chen Ling yawned and drooped his eyelids lazily: "Isn't it you?"
"Oh, it's not me." Wu Weiwei told Chen Ling what he saw. Afraid that Chen Ling would not believe him, he ran to the desk and took the white paper.
The handwriting on the A4 paper is eye-catching.
Chen Ling suddenly woke up, and read the paper over and over again without getting tired of it. His fingertips gently wiped across the already dried words, and he felt extremely happy.
He knew that Jiang Yu had agreed to his suggestion yesterday that they should be friends first.
Wu Weiwei was confused by the smile on his face: "Brother Chen, what are you laughing at?"
What's there to laugh at? Just laugh at that old antique for being reasonable and it's not difficult to communicate with him.
"Nothing." Chen Ling climbed out of bed, humming a song, and stretched himself into the bathroom.
Today is Monday, a workday, and the roads are crowded with people rushing to work.
In order to avoid traffic jams, Chen Ling and Wu Weiwei first took a bus to the suburbs, and then took the subway to the old city. After coming out of the crowded subway station, they both felt like they were alive again, breathing in the fresh air in big gulps.
Wu Weiwei went to the newsstand and bought two bottles of mineral water. He handed one to Chen Ling and said, "Brother Chen, our Yuhe Mountain is too far from the city. Don't you consider buying a car?"
Chen Ling: “I’ve been watching.”
Wu Weiwei followed behind and asked, "What kind? I'll give you some reference."
"Let's talk about it later." After saying that, Chen Ling led his men around a corner. When they looked up, they could see the Starry Sky Sculpture Studio at the end of the street.
From a distance, the two saw the almost withered sycamore tree outside the carving room.
Compared to the last time Chen Ling saw it, the sycamore tree is now completely bare, with its branches stretched out in a frenzy, and a black crow with red eyes is actually perched on top.
Before we got close, a car stopped outside the sculpture room.
Ding Junyuan got out of the car first, then opened the passenger door, bent over and reached in, and struggled to carry out the huge black bag that Chen Ling had seen in the utility room before.