Su Si had just sent Yindeng home last night, and was the person that Sister Mian asked about most. She held his shoulders and shook him dizzy, but she didn't forget to change her position: "Yindeng is missing again?"
"I asked her during the day, and she just said that she dreamed about A-Lu last night, and A-Lu cried very sadly."
She choked up more and more, "I thought the child was sad because of the scene, but she disappeared again not long after she fell asleep today... Her father and I locked the door... You really didn't see her?"
Su Si shook his head.
Sister Mian looked haggard, her hair was messed up. She stood there for a while, gritted her teeth and said, "Her father has asked people to look for her everywhere. I, I'm going to ask a woman to look for her. What if she runs out of the village with the lantern and takes the wrong road..."
Her voice became more and more trembling, and she was frightened by her own imagination.
Yan Qing put on her coat and said, "Don't think too much. We will help you find her. She can't run too far because her steps are short."
With the chaos outside, there was no chance of pretending to sleepwalk tonight. Yin Ci slowly got out of bed and let out a sigh of resignation.
Shi Jingzhi had already put on his sect uniform and carried the Medicine to Cure Diseases flag: "Aci, let's go look for him too."
The villagers searched noisily for a long time. The good news was that there were no fresh footprints or other signs outside the village. The bad news was that there was no sign of a lantern inside the village.
The prostitute was finally invited. She was still dressed in flowing clothes, with her hair neatly combed. According to the villagers' description, the prostitute's face showed some sadness: "She may have entered a forbidden area."
"Isn't there Ah Huo guarding the forbidden area?" Sister Mian knelt on the ground, her voice a little shrill. "How could she, a child, possibly get around the dog demon? There are also people in white guarding the forbidden area, so there must be some movement..."
The woman looked slightly unhappy: "This matter is strange, we need to investigate it carefully."
"I want to go in." Sister Mian's eyes were red. "You woman, let me go in and find her."
"Amian, you know the rules. Without an immortal, villagers are not allowed to enter the forbidden area. If you run into the spirits of the forbidden area, you will die. Although the lantern is small, it has broken the rules, and I can't help you."
Sister Mian gave a sad smile: "I am now ascending to heaven, you must hold a funeral for me immediately. Yindeng is still young, she just disappeared not long ago, she must still be alive. Help me find her, please help me find her..."
After that, she rushed towards the tree trunk next to her, intending to commit suicide in public.
Yin Ci was quick to act and grabbed her, suddenly an idea came to his mind.
"My lady, I talked to Bai Wei a few days ago. He once wanted to enter the forbidden area to accumulate immortal fate."
The girl finally turned her gaze towards him: "What?"
"Bai Wei has no fate with immortality, just like me. But he can follow you into the forbidden area, and he didn't bring anyone who has already 'ascended to immortality' with him... May I ask you, lady, how long has he been able to function normally since entering the forbidden area?"
Shi Jingzhi understood Yin Ci's hidden meaning and immediately exploded: "Ah Ci, let's go back and discuss it!"
"Master, time waits for no one." Yin Ci said righteously. "I said to a woman, 'No one can ascend to heaven, villagers are not allowed to enter the forbidden area', what about outsiders? The immortal has never protected me, so he should not have the right to punish me, right?"
Shi Jingzhi was so angry at his apprentice that he almost fainted—what the hell did you say? According to common sense, people should give their family members some face. If a stranger jumped around in their own territory, they would be kicked as far away as possible.
Who would have thought that the girl pondered for a while and actually agreed with that nonsense: "The immortal affinity is weak, and the power is like an ant. It is indeed not going to alarm the immortals immediately. If you move quickly enough, maybe you can give it a try."
Yin Ci was very happy. For the first time, he liked the girl.
Shi Jingzhi was not a rare saint in the world, and he did not think that Yindeng's life was worth more than his own apprentice. He screamed with all his strength, his tone full of intimidation: "Master, you will not allow me to do that!"
On the other side, Sister Mian had collapsed on the ground. On the one hand, she hoped that Yin Ci would bring her daughter out, and on the other hand, she felt the same panic as Shi Jingzhi. Countless emotions choked her throat, and she couldn't utter a word. The father who led the lantern finally arrived after searching the surroundings. He hugged his wife and daughter helplessly, mumbling, as if praying.
The little sister who was holding the lantern was hanging on her father's chest. She seemed to sense something and cried loudly and struggled desperately, her crying almost shrilly.
The atmosphere was tense for a moment.
Shi Jingzhi's hands and feet went numb. His reason told him that if he stopped Yin Ci now, it would only make it more difficult for the Kushan Sect to move in the village. However, Bai Wei's strange phenomenon was happening, and the woman's attitude was subtle, so Yin Ci was in great danger.
And deep in his heart, that unknown emotion exploded again, like an inescapable curse.
Just like the past ten years, it drilled into the depths of his brain and whispered to him softly - it is said that all living things are suffering, and envy comes from being out of reach, and jealousy comes from losing what you have. Even ordinary people have gains and losses, but you have everything going against your wishes, and you cannot get everything you want.
Don't you hate it
You see, the Yindeng family is panicking and pitiful, staring at Yin Ci eagerly. They must have taken it for granted that their daughter could live until tomorrow, which is why they can't accept the reality. How arrogant.
For this "rightness", they even wanted Yin Ci to risk his life.
Yin Ci was clearly his apprentice, his property, the "earthly bond" he had devoted his heart and soul to cultivate. How dare they
This emotion was like the hunger of not eating for seven days, which ignited a cold fire in his chest. He had to tear something apart and rob something to calm it down.
Shi Jingzhi once thought it was a demon in his heart, but it appeared too early. When he was just beginning to understand things, it was already with him. A child doesn't even know much about human desires, so how could he possibly have such a complex vortex of desires
Fortunately, no matter what this impulse is, Shi Jingzhi is very familiar with it. He knows how to control this beast and prevent it from getting out of the cage and hurting people.
For example, crush this strong desire and turn it into anger.
Perhaps because Shi Jingzhi had been silent for too long, the eyes of many villagers were all focused on him. Shi Jingzhi's chest began to rise and fall violently, and anger ignited his eyes. He was wearing the not-so-gorgeous headmaster's uniform, and slowly released a silent aura, which was even more oppressive than that of the woman.
Yin Ci immediately put away his happy mood.
Shi Jingzhi usually looked like someone who could scare someone to death if he wasn't careful, so even though he knew his origins were a mystery, Yin Ci didn't take him too seriously, just treating him like a clingy fox. As for Gui Mu's loss of control, he just thought his master had some personality problems and was born crazy.
This is more fun to play, and Yin Ci has no complaints.
…until now.
It seemed that this was the first time he saw Shi Jingzhi calmly release his pressure.
Yin Ci slightly arched his back, and became a little wary. It's not that he hasn't seen a truly strong man before, and Shi Jingzhi is not even one of them. It's just that the momentum that people give off when they are serious can prove a lot of things that come from their nature.
The same intensity of oppression, Jianchen Temple is mostly heavy, Taiheng Sect is mostly pure, and the Demon Sect is not cold and piercing, but twisted and sticky. He had fought with Yan Budu several times in the past, and even Yan Budu's oppression was not immune.
But the respect given to him varies from time to time.
Yin Ci had never experienced such a sense of oppression. It was almost empty, empty to the point of being somewhat pure—without malice, somewhat immature, and undoubtedly with the momentum of tearing everything apart and crushing everything into mud.
The four words "Heaven and Earth are unkind" popped into Yin Ci's mind without warning.
Facing this cheap master he had picked up by chance, he for the first time felt a feeling similar to "fear".
Shi Jingzhi's face was uncertain. He stood there for a while, then turned and walked towards the girl.
Ordinary villagers could only distinguish the strength of the aura, but the woman had obviously noticed something unusual about this person. She didn't even bother to put on a sympathetic expression, and her eyes showed a bit of caution.
Shi Jingzhi stood in front of her and said, "You can enter the forbidden area alone."
"… good."
"If the Immortal Fate is weak, it is like an ant. If the Immortal Fate is strong enough, can we be equal?"
The woman's face became a little ugly: "How can a mortal compare with a true immortal? The true immortal will indeed treat you as a subordinate of mine and will not act rashly."
Shi Jingzhi got the answer he wanted: "Then I will go in with my apprentice, and you tell the dog demon to get out of the way. I will go and talk to my people first and will be back soon."
He grabbed Yin Ci by the back of his collar and dragged him to Yan Qing and Su Si. The two behind him had just recovered and looked at Shi Jingzhi as if he was looking at a bear walking upside down.
"Things have gotten so bad, Ah Ci and I will go down, the girl will definitely be watching from outside." Shi Jingzhi said concisely, "You guys take this opportunity to find the girl's residence and look for clues."
Yan Qing was stunned: "But we..."
Shi Jingzhi was too lazy to explain and continued, "This is an opportunity that we can't miss. Find out as much as you can. What's the point? Even if you can only see the door frame, you must remember the pattern on it."
Then he pulled Yin Ci again and said through gritted teeth: "Wait until this is over, and then I'll show you how I'll deal with you."
The fox was so angry that he even learned to say harsh words.
Aren't you afraid of death? It's obviously better to stay outside. Yin Ci really couldn't figure out the priorities in Shi Jingzhi's mind. This man's logic seemed to be taught by a dog.
Fate played tricks on him, he originally wanted to grab a simple shield, but who knew that the shield would turn into a wooden yoke around his neck, Yin Ci felt a little uncomfortable.
Shi Mujia showed no mercy, his eyes were solemn: "I'll ask you again, do you really want to go?"
"Yes." Yin Ci has lived for more than three hundred years and is so bored that moss will grow on him. There is no way he would miss the mystery of death right under his nose.
"Okay, let's go."
"Master, you don't have to go."
"You still remember that I am your master? Sister Mian was able to commit suicide for the sake of lighting the lamp, so am I not as good as a weak woman?"
Yin Ci hissed and didn't say anything back. This person's words were full of the wrong generation tendency of "once a teacher, always a father". He decided to change the subject and play dumb: "It's not like we haven't been in there before. This time there's no girl to interfere, maybe we can even find Bai Wei along the way."
Shi Jingzhi answered him with his nose: "Hmph."
Yin Ci shut up obediently.
The black dog moved aside, and inside the tree gate was pitch black, like a toothless giant.
Yin Ci couldn't help but speak again: "Master, you have to think it over. You still have a way back..."
Shi Jingzhi: “Huh.”
I'm angry. I'm really angry.
… Never mind, let’s just take it one step at a time and adapt to the circumstances.
At the same time, Yidu.
Prince Xu Jingming returned to the capital, and did not immediately present the Buddhist beads. Shi Jingzhi saw through him - the Buddhist beads were missing too much, and he was really embarrassed to take them to the emperor to seek credit.
So he temporarily handed the map to the imperial teacher for safekeeping.
Although the emperor disliked the lineage of the imperial masters, the two successive generations of imperial masters had never made any mistakes. The previous generation of imperial masters were veterans of three dynasties, and this generation was a disciple favored by the previous generation, with a lot of saintly legacy.
Imperial Master Jiang Youyue had an elegant and refined appearance, looking about thirty years old, but actually over sixty. He put away his Buddhist beads, his face calm.
Xu Jingming lowered his head and said, "That evildoer has accepted a disciple, who is also tracking down Yan Budu's treasure. We are the first to seize the treasure, not only for His Majesty, but also to eliminate the worry for You Yun."
Jiang Youyue said gently: "He knows that accepting a disciple may not be a bad thing."
"It may not be a bad thing. It is a disaster that will destroy the country. It is not easy for him to calm down. He only has one year left to live, and he is still thinking about establishing a sect. He probably has evil intentions."
Jiang Youyue smiled and said, "This boy is paranoid and lustful by nature. More worries are like more shackles. Everything has two sides, so don't make rash judgments."
"Now... No, my brother has been deceived by him. Have you been deceived by him too?"
Jiang Youyue didn't answer. He continued reading with a smile on his face.
Xu Jingming was so angry that he felt that he was worried about Shi Yun. These two people thought they were in power and could sleep soundly, and they had no idea how terrifying Shi Jingzhi was.
As the saying goes, a child's character can be seen at the age of three. If they were willing to use this saying to compare his monster brother, they would never take it so lightly as they do now.
But come to think of it, Xu Jingming complained, they must not have observed the monster carefully.
As the youngest son of the previous emperor, Xu Jingming was born into a state of inaction. His elder brothers were busy with their own things, but he was weak and sickly, and he was justified in being a devil. Xu Jingming spent all his time memorizing books and stealing and doing nothing.
He was extremely curious about Shi Jingzhi.
To him, Shi Jingzhi was just a colorful poisonous spider. Xu Jingming was scared to death, but he couldn't help but go to see it for fun.
Shi Jingzhi was raised in the deep palace by his father, the emperor, and was bound by countless rules and regulations. Xu Jingming was too young to remember anything, and only remembered two of them:
All the people around Shi Jingzhi, regardless of their positions, must be replaced every month and must not be repeated. His diet cannot be too bad, but it must not be too good either. Regardless of whether Shi Jingzhi likes it or not, the taste must be changed every day.
Xu Jingming knew all this, but he still went to Shi Jingzhi's place for his favorite maid to take a month's shift. When the maid came back, she looked very serious, and when asked what happened, she refused to answer.
The palace had limited manpower, and the people around Shi Jingzhi had to be replaced frequently, so there was not enough room for many people in the residence. Xu Jingming showed his courage and sneaked in to investigate.
He even asked a maid to cover him, for fear that he would be discovered by Shi Jingzhi.
How old were you when you were a kid? Seven or eight
He sat at the stone table and ate his meal in a proper manner. The food was light and simple, and Shi Jingzhi only tasted a little of each dish. His appetite was not large, and there was no sign of anything unusual.
It wasn't until the maid took the dishes away that he became dissatisfied.
The glutinous rice cakes were new flower cakes from the imperial kitchen. They were not expensive, fragrant, crispy and delicious, and even Xu Jingming ate a few more plates. Shi Jingzhi stared at the unfamiliar plate of glutinous rice cakes and suddenly waved away the maid.
At first, Shi Jingzhi didn't touch them.
He just stared at them, as if they were the most tempting thing in the world. Xu Jingming went around for an hour and came back, but Shi Jingzhi didn't move at all, still staring at them. There was only crazy desire in his eyes, like a starving man on the verge of death watching a banquet.
He clearly just had a meal, he shouldn't be in such a state. Is he crazy
Or is it that the heart is a delicacy in the world, but my taste buds are dull and I can't taste it
While Xu Jingming was daydreaming, Shi Jingzhi finally made a move - he grabbed the heart and stuffed it into his mouth like a starving ghost. He ate so hard that he almost bit off half of his finger, and his hands were covered in blood.
In an instant, only one heart was left on the full heart plate.
Shi Jingzhi suddenly stopped what he was doing, his face froze for a moment, and he took out a short bamboo pole.
That was the tool used in the palace to punish servants. There were magic words engraved on the bamboo pole. It would not leave any injuries on the person but would cause extremely severe pain.
Xu Jingming watched him raise the bamboo pole and whip it towards his arm without hesitation. The next moment, Shi Jingzhi fell off the chair in pain and curled up on the ground.
Xu Jingming would have to wait for half an hour for his maid to blow the trumpet if he bumped into something, so he had never seen such a scene before. He was so frightened that his hair stood on end and he ran away.
It's not that there's nothing to eat, nor that you're hungry, so why are you so fierce! My brother is right, and he who respects others is born with a problem.
A few days later, to make sure that what he saw was not an illusion, Xu Jingming came to take a peek again. It had just rained, and Shi Jingzhi was nowhere to be found. Only the heart was still there, and no one had taken it away. It was hot, and it had been soaked by the rain, turning into moldy residue.
A few months later, a banquet was held in the palace. Shi Jingzhi sat obediently in a corner, eating and drinking in a graceful and polite manner. No matter what kind of cakes were served, he only tasted a few and didn't even look at them, which was more restrained than other princes.
The crazy desire I saw that day seemed to be just an illusion.
What a liar.
Shi Jingzhi deceived everyone in this way for more than ten years, and finally the emperor's brother relented and released the evildoer who "behaved like an ordinary person".
The more Xu Jingming recalled, the angrier he became. He stood up with a heavy heart, bowed to Jiang Youyue, and prepared to leave.
Unexpectedly, just as he turned his back, Jiang Youyue spoke again in a calm tone.
"Your Highness, there is no need to feel resentful. I know what is going on... That man accepting a disciple is not a bad thing for you and me. But for the young man who becomes a 'disciple', this is tantamount to courting disaster."
Jiang Youyue closed the book, closed his eyes and sighed.
"With boundless desires and the world of mortals gathered in one person, how can ordinary people control it? In the end, you can't get close to it, and you can't escape it either."
"I don't know whether it was the 'master' who was possessed by the devil first, or the 'disciple' who was drowned in madness."