The more Wu Weiwei thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. A vague idea flashed through his mind, but before he could catch it, he was suddenly patted on the shoulder.
Zhao Xunchang had gotten up at some point, wearing a white training suit, and stared at him seriously: "What are you peeking at?"
"Nothing..." Wu Weiwei rolled his eyes left and right, clearly not telling the truth.
Zhao Xunchang didn't have time to investigate further. At most, he was just peeking at the two people in the room. He withdrew his hand and looked into the room through the half-open window.
"How is he?"
Wu Weiwei knew who the old man was talking about. He shook his head hesitantly, "I don't know either. Brother Chen started to sleep on the way back. He wasn't in good spirits when he got out of the car. He fell asleep as soon as he entered the room."
Zhao Xunchang recalled his previous experience with the thunderbolt, "Did he use the Five Thunder Talisman?"
"Yes, five of them came down." Wu Weiwei said proudly, "Brother Chen is so awesome, thunders from the five directions of east, south, west, north and center all came down, and each one chased Xiao Yang and beat her to a pulp."
Zhao Xunchang's face turned grim. He turned around and went into the house. He lifted the quilt, grabbed the young man's wrist with one hand, and carefully felt his pulse.
Jiang Yu stood up from the bed, his drooping eyelashes hiding the emotions in his eyes: "He's fine, just tired."
Zhao Xunchang breathed a sigh of relief after feeling his pulse, and his complexion improved a little: "He shouldn't have been able to control the Five Thunder Talisman, did you help him?"
Jiang Yu: "I am protecting the law." After a pause, he continued, "Chen Ling used the blood from the tip of his tongue."
"No wonder..." Zhao Xunchang raised his eyebrows, "This is too ridiculous. When he called me, he said that he couldn't invite Wu Lei, but now he turned around and forgot about it completely!"
Wu Weiwei couldn't help but run in to speak for Chen Ling: "Mr. Zhao, Brother Chen had no choice at the time. You didn't see that the mountain spirit was too powerful."
Zhao Xunchang: "Humph!"
Wu Weiwei didn't dare to say anything, as he felt that he would be kicked out if he continued.
Zhao Xunchang looked at Jiang Yu: "Why didn't you stop him?!"
"I know he can." Jiang Yu put back the hand that Chen Ling had used to check his pulse, and rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb. "Besides, he will be fine with me watching over him."
Zhao Xunchang dared to be mean to Wu Weiwei and dared to point at his little apprentice's forehead and curse at him, but he did not dare to overstep the boundaries towards Jiang Yu.
Ever since his young apprentice first invited the Yin gods to come to the world of the living, he knew that at least two of the three Yin gods were coming for the ancestor of the Jiang family. These were not simply old ghosts who had lived for thousands of years, and they were certainly not ordinary Yin gods or ghost messengers.
If the other party were to be in the world of the living, I'm afraid no one would be able to defeat him.
So he was sure that Jiang Yu was not bragging, and as long as he was watching over his little disciple, nothing would happen.
But I still feel sad.
Zhao Xunchang stared at the opposite side in frustration.
Jiang Yu knew that he had something to say and he had to get it out, so he gestured to the old man to go out and talk.
Zhao Xunchang walked out of the yard with his hands behind his back and came to the newly grown sapling beside the house.
He was not vague and said straight to the point: "I can't see through Chen Ling's fate."
"I know." Ever since Jiang Yu saw Chen Ling, he knew that his fate would not be the ordinary life of birth, aging, sickness and death.
So at this moment, he seemed much calmer than Zhao Xunchang, "If you have anything to say, just say it."
"Then I won't beat around the bush. There are very few people like them in the world, and their fate is full of twists and turns. The road ahead will be a mixture of good and bad, and no one can predict it."
Zhao Xunchang usually gave people the impression of an old man walking his bird. He had never been as determined and tough as he was now. "At the beginning, I persuaded that kid to get along with you first because I knew that you were different from ordinary evil spirits. If you two have a deep relationship, you can protect him if he encounters a disaster in the future."
Jiang Yu's indifferent expression turned serious: "Even if you don't say this, I will protect him to the end." The only person connected with him for all these years is Chen Ling. Protecting him is his responsibility and also comes from his heart.
Zhao Xunchang's tense shoulders relaxed. Thinking of the past, the old man's face softened and was full of smiles: "Chen Ling is extremely talented and has a strong learning ability. I was soft-hearted towards him and couldn't bear to train him. Besides, I do have limited abilities. What I can teach him is what my master taught me before. If Mr. Jiang is willing, you can teach him something else. I will never interfere."
The rest naturally refers to unorthodox methods.
Unlike some pedantic ascetics, Zhao Xunchang never thought that practicing so-called evil arts meant having an evil mind. As long as one has a kind heart, evil arts can also save the world and do justice.
Jiang Yu: “Okay.”
Zhao Xunchang knew that this was a man who kept his word, so he raised his hand, hesitated for a few seconds before putting his hand on the other's shoulder and pressing hard.
He thought for a moment and asked, "Mr. Jiang, may I ask you how long you have lived?"
Jiang Yu's face almost twisted, his lips pursed into a straight line.
Seeing that the old man was unwilling to give up, he said coldly: "Don't worry, Mr. Zhao, no matter how long I live, I am worthy of him."
"Of course." Zhao Xunchang tried hard to hold back his mouth twitching, and complained in his heart, "If I wasn't afraid that my little disciple would suffer many disasters in the future and have no one to protect him, I wouldn't be willing to give him to you!"
If he hadn't asked before, he wouldn't have thought about it. But now that he asked, Zhao Xunchang felt more and more that the man in front of him who called him "Mr. Zhao" was probably very old.
The more he thought about it, the more sad and angry he became. Zhao Xunchang just walked away and went to the yard to play with the birds to ease his mood.
Jiang Yu stood in place, with his fingertips hanging by his side, one foot away from the newly grown saplings.
He lowered his eyes and rubbed the delicate green leaves with his fingertips. The weak leaves collapsed, looking pitiful.
After a long time, the man finally let it go, with a look of pleasure on his face.
Although Zhao Xunchang did not explicitly say that he was entrusting Chen Ling to him, that was almost what he meant. Jiang Yu's eyes deepened, and there was a subtle joy of being recognized.
The sun that was about to rise in the sky was suddenly blocked by dark clouds, and the slight cool breeze became sharp, cutting people's faces like a knife.
Not far away, a shadow gradually appeared, and as it slowly moved, the outline of a human figure was revealed.
The ghost came over with a hunched back, and stopped when he was two steps away from Jiang Yu. He maintained a respectful bow and handed over a letter sealed with wax with both hands.
Zhao Xunchang returned to the courtyard, and before he even sat down, he saw Jiang Yu following him in.
He was very unhappy about handing over his young disciple just like that, just like a father-in-law looking at his son-in-law, the more he looked at Jiang Yu, the more he disliked him.
"I need to leave for a few days for something." Jiang Yu left his words and disappeared in an instant.
Zhao Xunchang got even angrier. I had already made my stance ready, but you just turned around and left. Would saying a few words of filial piety cost me anything? Couldn't you just coax me, your elder
He picked up an apple and started peeling it with a fierce look on his face, scaring the talkative parrot so much that it dared not breathe.
Wu Weiwei picked up the little weasel, stuffed it back into its nest, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Each person in this yard is a big shot. He can't afford to offend them and has to hide from them.
Chen Ling slept soundly, not feeling hungry, and his dreams came and went. There were no thrilling chases or sudden ghost faces. Everything was peaceful.
It feels like lying in a soft and warm ball of cotton, safe and warm, with the body and consciousness sinking into it together. The soreness and swelling in the limbs before going to bed is gone, replaced by an unprecedented relaxation.
This kind of sleep quality is really rare, and Chen Ling simply doesn't want to wake up.
But I couldn't bear to leave, so I woke up after all.
Looking out the window, it was already late in the day. The sunset dyed the sky a fiery red, and voices could be heard in the yard.
Chen Ling rested his palms on the headboard, stretched himself, turned over and sat up, then walked out in his slippers.
In the yard, the master and the parrot were not there. Only Wu Weiwei was holding a mobile phone, tapping the screen with his fingers, probably chatting with someone.
His stomach growled and Chen Ling covered his stomach awkwardly. When he looked up, he found Wu Weiwei looking at him.
Wu Weiwei was stunned for a moment, and rubbed his eyes exaggeratedly in disbelief. The next second, he stood up from the stone bench, "Brother Chen, damn, Brother Chen, you are really awake!"
Chen Ling was puzzled. He sounded like a paralyzed vegetative person. He cleared his throat and nodded, "Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."
"Yes, yes, yes. I'll get it. You sit down first." Wu Weiwei ran into the kitchen. After a noise, he came out with hot meals and placed them on the stone table one by one.
Huang Daxian, who was sleeping in the corner of the yard, also jumped out, tucked in his two little paws, squatted on the stone table with his hind legs, and stared at Chen Ling with his head tilted, with the same look that Wu Weiwei gave Chen Ling.
Chen Ling felt so uncomfortable being stared at from both sides that he almost couldn't eat.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"
“No, no.” Wu Weiwei waved his hands repeatedly, “It’s just that you slept for too long. I was a little surprised that you woke up so suddenly.”
Chen Ling stopped eating and asked, "How long have I slept?"
Wu Weiwei stretched out his hand and gestured a number, "Three and a half days, right? It will be four days after tonight."
Chen Ling almost spit out the food in his mouth, "So long?!" He wiped his mouth, his heart pounding, "Is there something wrong with my body? But I don't feel uncomfortable anywhere. Master, have you checked my pulse?"
"Take it over and say you're fine. Brother Jiang also said that you just fell asleep because you were too tired."
Speaking of Jiang Yu, Chen Ling subconsciously looked diagonally forward. The door of Jiang Yu's room was closed, so he should not be inside.
"Where are the others?"
"You mean Brother Jiang? On the morning we came back, he suddenly said he had something to do and had to leave for a few days. He never came back."
Chen Ling chewed the food in his mouth, nodded, and asked something else, "What about Li Hongyu? Did he call me when I was sleeping?"
"I did call. Mr. Zhao answered the phone because he was afraid that it would disturb your rest. Li Hongyu said that the remains have been burned to ashes and are temporarily placed in the warehouse of the Special Investigation Department. They will be stored there when the mausoleum is built in Yuhe Mountain."
Chen Ling asked curiously, "All of them? Not a single one of them could find their family?"
"No one was found." Wu Weiwei remembered that he had asked the same question that day, so he relayed Li Hongyu's answer. "The Special Investigation Department later sought cooperation from the police, hoping to use the police system to see if there were any missing persons in other places. As a result, they only found one case locally. It was a homeless man who called the police to report that his companion was missing."
"Many homeless people act alone, and even if they are missing, it is not easy to attract social attention." Chen Ling's face was gloomy. Xiao Yang's targets should all be this kind of people.
Wu Weiwei said: "Yes, based on this clue, the police visited some homeless gathering places and indeed found out some missing persons information."
Chen Ling sighed softly. He had to admit that Xiaoyang was indeed very smart.
Seeing that he was in a bad mood, Wu Weiwei whispered, "However, because of this incident, the higher-ups have paid more attention to the homeless group. I heard from Li Hongyu that it seems that a shelter will be set up in every block. This will not only provide a place to shelter from the wind and rain, but also more or less guarantee their personal safety."
Chen Ling smiled, "This is a good thing."
"What good news makes you so happy?" Zhao Xunchang came in from the courtyard gate with the parrot, and saw that his little disciple had woken up with a smile on his face.
Chen Ling shouted in surprise, "Master." Then he saw two people behind Zhao Xunchang, one was Jiang Shengxing, and the other was holding a handbag, who was Jiang Shengxing's assistant.
After Jiang Shengxing entered the room, he greeted Chen Ling in a very friendly manner, "Mr. Chen."
Chen Ling asked him to sit down and turned to look at Zhao Xunchang in confusion.
Knowing what he wanted to ask, Zhao Xunchang took the initiative to speak: "Sheng Xing specially brought the construction party to see the site."
"But haven't we already asked Brother Yang to be in charge?"
"The new construction party is not responsible for the scope previously covered by contractor Yang. They are mainly responsible for the back hill of Yuhe Mountain and road construction." Jiang Shengxing took over and explained himself, "In addition, they are also responsible for the breeding pilot of macaws and the construction of new houses."
"New house?" Chen Ling widened his eyes slightly.
"There are too many people in our courtyard, and it's not convenient to live here." Zhao Xunchang glanced at Jiang Yu's closed door, "Look at the room where our financial manager lives, there's not even a window."
Chen Ling had the same idea. He held his chopsticks and said, "We should indeed build a new yard. In the future, there will be more trees on Yuhe Mountain, and there will be snakes, rats, insects and ants. Now the door of this house doesn't close tightly, and there are gaps in the tiles above our heads. It's not very safe."
After thinking for a while, Chen Ling asked, "What about our current courtyard? Should we give it up?"
"I talked to the landlord yesterday and have already bought it," Zhao Xunchang said. "Once the new courtyard is built, this small courtyard will be transformed into a reception hall and lounge."
Chen Ling: "What about the land at the back? Have you bought it?"
Zhao Xunchang: “I bought it.”
Yuhe Mountain is located in a remote area, and the price of land for self-built houses is cheap, so Zhao Xunchang paid for it out of his own pocket. "I'll go to handle the formalities in two days and write your name on it."
Chen Ling wanted to refuse, but Zhao Xunchang continued, "Just think of it as a betrothal gift from your master. It's not worth much."
Jiang Shengxing's ears moved and he blurted out, "Mr. Chen has a girlfriend?"
Chen Ling said while eating his food: "Not yet."
Zhao Xunchang was relieved that his little disciple was very capable in terms of feelings. How could the cabbage he had taken such careful care of be taken away by a pig so easily
Jiang Shengxing nodded, and while Chen Ling just woke up, he asked his assistant to take out all the drawings drawn by the designer and place them in the empty space in front of the food.
"Mr. Chen, take a look. This is the planning map of the back mountain. This is the road around the mountain. This is the breeding pilot. And this is the renovation map of the new and old yards in the future. If you are not satisfied with anything, don't hesitate to raise it directly."
Chen Ling knew that Jiang Shengxing was calling him Mr. Chen out of Jiang Yu's face, so he gently scratched his earlobe and said, "Mr. Jiang, we are already acquaintances now, so stop calling me Mr. Jiang and call me Mr. Chen. Just call me by my name. As for me...if you don't mind, I'll call you Uncle Jiang."
Jiang Shengxing almost fell off the stool, and threw away his usual calmness: "Mr. Chen, please don't make me suffer!"
Chen Ling was confused by the other party's intense reaction.
Zhao Xunchang reminded: "The generations are messed up."
Chen Ling: “…”
The last time Jiang Shengxing came here, he discovered that the old ancestor's attitude towards Chen Ling was completely different from theirs. At the time, he just felt strange, but after returning, he thought about it again. Combined with the fact that the young man had asked him if the old ancestor had told him in his dreams that he wanted to be single...
It's not that he thinks too much. When you put the facts together, the chances of the old ancestor falling in love with the young man are still very high, he's just a little avant-garde.
Jiang Shengxing was afraid that the young man would be embarrassed, so he said tactfully: "You have a close relationship with the old ancestor. If you call me uncle, what will the old ancestor do?" Could it be that he also calls me uncle? !
When Jiang Shengxing thought about that, his scalp went numb. It was too scary.
Chen Ling was full, so he put down his chopsticks and drank some water, then said, "Then you can call me by my name. I'll still call you Mr. Jiang."
"Okay, that's it." Jiang Shengxing smiled with satisfaction and pointed at the drawing. "Are you satisfied?"
The blueprints must have been reviewed by someone. The winding direction and layout of the mountain road, the orientation and exterior structure of the house, all of them were faultless. The most outstanding part was the macaw breeding room.
It was a large cylindrical building with a hemispherical roof made of solid steel and tempered glass. It looked like a giant birdcage and also like a beautiful small botanical garden.
Chen Ling looked at Zhao Xunchang.
Zhao Xunchang looked at his little apprentice and threw a melon seed up.
The purple-blue parrot raised one leg to grab it, lowered its head and used its beak to nibble at it, actively acting as Zhao Xunchang's spokesperson: "Master, the blueprint, Master, the blueprint."
Jiang Shengxing looked at the parrot in shock, "Has it become a spirit?"
"No, it's just smarter than the ordinary ones." Chen Ling finished reading the drawings, folded them up and handed them back. "I have no problem with the drawings, let's do it this way."
Jiang Shengxing took it with both hands and handed it to his assistant, "Since Chen..." He hesitated for a moment, but still did not dare to call him Chen Ling directly. After all, this person might be the future ancestor of their Jiang family.
"Since you think there is no need to modify it, I will hand over the drawings directly to the construction party."
Chen Ling: "Okay."
The person in charge of the construction party was waiting outside the courtyard. When he saw Jiang Shengxing coming out with his assistant, he hurriedly walked over and made a listening gesture.
The result was unexpected, and no further changes were required.
He breathed a sigh of relief. After all, it was always difficult for Party A and Party B to agree on their ideas. Now it couldn't be better. He promised, "Don't worry, Mr. Jiang. We will definitely complete the project well."
"Yeah." Jiang Shengxing got rid of the shadow of his ancestors, and his momentum rose all of a sudden. "The Yuheshan project is very important to Hengjiang Group. There must be no mistakes, especially in terms of project quality. If I find out that someone dares to replace the materials, don't blame me for turning my back on them."
This was not the first time that the construction party had cooperated with Hengjiang, but it was the first time that Jiang Shengxing personally took charge of the project, so they dared not neglect it.
The person in charge broke out in a cold sweat and repeatedly assured that such a thing would never happen.
Chen Ling got up late, so this meal was his dinner. He sat in the yard and chatted with Zhao Xunchang and Wu Weiwei for a while, and then it was getting late. Others wanted to go to bed, but he couldn't fall asleep, so he just sat up and drew talismans.
The five-zhu coin hanging on the door frame swung back and forth, hitting the wooden door frame and making a crisp sound.
Chen Ling looked back at it, remembering the five-zhu coin boasting that it could identify the age of antiques, he walked over to take it down and held it in his hand: "How about going to the antique market with me tomorrow morning to choose a small incense burner for our ancestor?"
After the five-zhu coin was brought back, it had been lying on the door frame, blowing in the cold wind. When it heard that it would be put to use soon, it happily rolled around in the young man's palm.
"No problem, what kind would you like to choose?"
Chen Ling thought of Jiang Yu's expressionless face and felt that something fancy didn't go well with him. "Choose a simple style."
Wu Zhu Qian agreed: "What about the year?"
"It's all right." Chen Ling had no requirements for this, as long as it looked good and matched the ancestor's temperament.
After agreeing on one coin per person, Chen Ling sat back at the table and continued drawing talismans. After drawing a few talismans in succession, he put down the brush in annoyance and closed the lid of the liquid cinnabar.
Tonight is really strange. I can't calm down. I have a weird feeling in my heart, like something is missing.
He looked out the window in confusion. Stars were twinkling on the dark curtain. Suddenly he realized that his ancestor was missing.
There are four people in our family, and suddenly one of us is missing. Of course I would feel a little uncomfortable.
He flicked the five-zhu coin with his fingers and asked, "Do you know where our ancestors went?"
Wuzhuqian: "I don't know, but before he left, I felt a gloomy aura."
Chen Ling: "Yin Qi?"
This means that the person who came was not a human, but a ghost.
Could it be a colleague who is also a Yin God
Chen Ling frowned and opened the calendar on his mobile phone. It suddenly dawned on him that Mid-July was almost here.
On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, the passages to the underworld are wide open and hundreds of ghosts wander around at night, so that the ghosts that have not yet been reincarnated can go to the world of the living and take away the newly burned offerings by their relatives.
This is similar to celebrating festivals in the human world. A large number of ghost messengers are needed to maintain order, and at the same time, the ghosts must be kept under close watch to prevent those with bad intentions from escaping.
Chen Ling stared at the almost full crescent moon in the sky. He had never seen what working in Jiang Yu was like.
The moonlight grew brighter and before we knew it, it was already the second half of the night.
Sleepiness finally found Chen Ling. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and returned to the bed in his slippers. Even though his eyelids were so sleepy, he still remembered to put the toes of his shoes facing the door.
In the summer, people seldom close the windows when sleeping. He closed his eyes and pulled up the thin blanket to cover his stomach. His heavy breathing gradually became smooth, and his fluttering eyelashes became quiet.
In the dim light, the shoes that were neatly placed beside the bed suddenly became messy.
The mattress on both sides of Chen Ling's shoulders was slightly concave, as if someone was supporting himself with his arms on the bed, covering him from above.