When they came out, they subconsciously looked at the wall in front of them. The red thread wrapped around their middle fingers and the wall had fallen off. The gorgeous relief on the wall disappeared and turned into a gray area. President Chen Qingdai told them: "Congratulations on your successful salvation of the dead souls and sealing the resentment. This operation was very successful. The source of the resentment will not wake up and harm people for at least ten years."
Chen Yang raised his head and tugged at Du Shuo's sleeve, and the latter squatted down and asked in a low voice. He said, "I'm tired, you support me." Du Shuo helped him up, seemingly supporting him but actually holding him up, letting Chen Yang lean completely on him.
After President Chen Qingdai finished speaking, he looked at Chen Yang and smiled with satisfaction and gentleness: "Remember the 'roadblocks' I asked you to go through before? The death calculator and the dragon search, plus this haunted house incident, what can you get from it?"
Chen Yang pondered for a moment, raised his head and looked directly at President Chen Qingdai, his eyes were clear and firm. He said, "Enlightenment."
President Chen Qingdai was shocked, and then he cheered happily. "You are more talented than I thought, and you are really suitable for the job of Heavenly Master." He stroked his beautiful beard and laughed, and then said: "Ma Shanfeng should have told you about the election of the vice president of the Taoist Association. We old guys have seen what you have done, and we all know that you are a good kid. You can pass the previous tests, and then you should concentrate on preparing for the promotion. Once you pass, our Taoist Association can issue you a certificate and officially appoint you as the vice president of the Taoist Association."
In the Taoist promotion, the Five Thunder Heavenly Masters are initially granted the Dugong Talisman, then the Mengwei Talisman, the Five Thunder Talisman, and the Three Caves Five Thunder Talisman. Chen Qingdai meant that Chen Yang should skip the Five Thunder Talisman and be directly promoted to the Three Caves Five Thunder Talisman, becoming a second-grade Heavenly Master.
Chen Yang looked at the purple-gold tassel on the sign hanging around President Chen Qingdai's waist, and remembered that the second-grade Heavenly Master had a golden tassel. He smiled and said, "I will work hard."
"Okay." Chen Qingdai smiled and walked towards the other young Taoist priests, comforting and encouraging them one by one. When he walked to Mao Xiaoying's side, he looked doubtful: "You... You brought the dead soul out of the grave?" The others all looked over when they heard this, and their expressions gradually became serious.
Mao Xiaoying scratched her head: "Yes."
Chen Qingdai asked seriously: "Living soul?"
Mao Xiaoying: “Yes.”
Where did the living soul come from in the Yinzhai? Ever since Mao Zhen fell in the Yinzhai, the Taoist Association has attached great importance to this matter and strived to protect all the young Heavenly Masters. In the past twenty years, no Heavenly Master has been trapped in the Yinzhai and unable to get out, so who else could the living soul brought out of the Yinzhai by Mao Xiaoying be except Mao Zhen
Ma Shanfeng, Yi Wuzhang and the other four people who had entered the Yin house with Mao Zhen and survived were shocked: "Are you serious? That narcissistic bastard Mao Zhen is still alive? He is not dead, he has not been assimilated, and he still has reason? His soul has not been infected by the evil spirit and resentment?"
"Yi Fusheng, are you hoping that I will die soon?" Mao Zhen walked out from behind Mao Xiaoying. He was just a wisp of soul, almost transparent in the sunlight. When Yi Wuzhang saw him, she suddenly covered her mouth and hugged her knees and squatted down. Her appearance made Mao Zhen at a loss. After hesitating for a while, he put his hand on Yi Wuzhang's head and patted her gently to comfort her.
Yi Wuzhang's eldest brother and Ma Shanfeng and his wife stood by with smiles on their faces and red eyes. After hearing the news, Wei Xuan ran in with the baby in his arms, rubbed against Chen Yang's legs and looked at the scene curiously: "Is Yi Wuzhang crying?"
The baby climbed onto Wei Xuan's head and sat cross-legged. He said softly, "Huh? I think I saw that narcissistic bastard Mao Zhen?"
Zhang Qiu said, "That's right, it's him."
Wawa: "Really? No wonder the witch chief is sad." Kou Xuanling and the others immediately showed gossipy expressions, and signaled Wawa to tell Wawa about the long-standing secrets of Witch Chief Yi and Mao Zhen. Wawa said: "Witch Chief and Mao Zhen were good friends back then, but Mao Zhen didn't come out and has been a vegetable ever since. The witch chief has been very sad and guilty, thinking that he has dragged Mao Zhen down."
Kou Xuanling was a little disappointed: "Just good friends?"
"Yes." Wawa nodded. Seeing the disappointed expressions on the faces of the people around him, Wawa immediately understood: "What are you thinking? The witch chief was underage at the time and couldn't fall in love. What's more, the witch chief's brother is by his side. Who dares to get close to the witch chief?"
Chen Yang coughed a few times, waved his hand and said, "Don't be so nosy, go back and have a rest." Then he turned around and leaned on Du Shuo's arms and said, "Old Du, you can quietly carry me. I want to go back and take a nap, and then talk after I'm full."
Du Shuo lowered his eyes and stared at his profile, hugged him tighter, and then said softly, "Okay."
Seeing that everyone had left, Kou Xuanling yawned, leaned on Lu Xiuzhi's back, and said vaguely, "I'm sleepy too."
Lu Xiuzhi: "I'll carry you."
Zhang Qiudao sneaked out of the altar, otherwise he would be pestered by his family members to ask about his well-being. When he was alone, he met Da Pang, who was surrounded by people on both sides. Da Pang got a cowboy hat from somewhere and put it on his forehead to cover his bald head, looking quite handsome. Da Pang greeted him: "My friend, you don't need to keep the window open for me at night."
Zhang Qiudao never opened the door for Da Pang, because Da Pang usually lived outside, and he let him live with Da Pang recently because they were traveling together. But Da Pang usually climbed through the window and never went through the front door, so he only needed to leave the window open for him. Da Pang deliberately took a detour and hugged the beautiful cat just to show off in front of Zhang Qiudao.
Zhang Qiudao had a blank expression on his face and used the Seven Star Sword to pick off the cowboy hat on Big Fat's forehead when he walked past him, then left with a sneer. Poor Big Fat didn't know his bald secret was exposed even after being slapped twice by the beautiful cat.
Everyone went out for dinner in the evening. Chen Yang heard Zhang Qiudao mention that not long after the Taoist Exchange Association ended, the lively Longhu Mountain Taoist Cultural Festival would be held at the Tianshi Mansion at the foot of the mountain, with many performances and the most popular Kongming Lantern segment.
Chen Yang: "Kongming Lantern?"
Zhang Qiu said: "You can make your own Kongming lanterns, or you can buy them at the foot of the mountain. Then the residents of the whole town, tourists who come here to admire the lanterns, and residents of other towns will come to release Kongming lanterns and pray for a safe and smooth year ahead. In addition, Taoist priests will also come to the Taoist Cultural Festival at the foot of the mountain for free to pray for blessings and ward off disasters."
Praying for blessings and warding off disasters is a very ancient and unique magic in Taoist culture. It has been recorded since the Zhou Dynasty. By praying to the gods, one can quell all disasters in the coming year, prolong one's life, and live a peaceful and smooth life. In ancient times, the imperial court held a grand ceremony with a very complicated and solemn process, because it was related to the country's fortune, and usually prayed for peace and prosperity in the country.
Although many Tianshi families still pass down the tradition of praying for blessings and warding off disasters, only the great Tianshi families have a complete set of prayers and warding off disasters and insist on holding them once a year. The Tianshi Mansion in Longhu Mountain holds a grand ceremony every year during the Cultural Festival to pray for blessings and ward off disasters.
So everyone was looking forward to this grand ceremony with great interest. Chen Yang even went down the mountain to buy materials for making Kongming lanterns. He moved back to Tianshi Mansion and called on everyone in the branch office to come and make their own Kongming lanterns. Miaomiao, Hu Yingnan and others also found it very interesting and went to buy materials to make Kongming lanterns.
Chen Yang folded the white paper and drew the fold line. As he drew, he said to Du Shuo who was standing beside him, "Pass me the scissors." Du Shuo handed the scissors to him, and the latter took it and cut along the fold line. As he cut, he asked, "Don't you want to make one?"
Du Shuo shook his head: "No."
"How about I make one for you?"
"good."
Chen Yang was suspicious: "Are you waiting for me to do it for you?"
Du Shuo smiled and said, "Yes. I like anything you make for me, including the pig head embroidered on my clothes."
Chen Yang folded up the three pieces of paper he had cut, and when he heard this, he laughed and scolded him for saying such things at his age. "Wei Xuan is still here, you should be more careful with your words." He turned around and went to look for the glue, "Old Kou, pass me the glue."
Kou Xuanling was happily brushing a Kongming lantern with Lu Xiuzhi. Hearing this, she said, "I'm using it. Go find Zhang Qiudao."
Chen Yang looked at Zhang Qiudao and found that he was a little distracted, and was looking at his phone while making paste. So he asked: "Qiudao, are you making Kongming lanterns or mobile phones?"
Zhang Qiudao suddenly came to his senses and realized that he almost smeared the glue on his phone. He smiled embarrassedly and said, "I was distracted." Da Pang jumped onto the table and tried to scratch his chin with his hind legs. Although he tried his best, he could only scratch the air. But he pretended to scratch his chin, and even showed a comfortable expression and snored, shaking his beard and said, "Mao Xiaoli said that the blessing and disaster prevention will come that night, Zhang Qiudao is waiting for news."
"Oh my!" Suddenly, there were shouts and whistles. Zhang Qiudao threatened Da Pang: "Bald, your hair won't grow anymore." Hair was Da Pang's Achilles' heel, so he jumped up and fought Zhang Qiudao to the death.
The others clapped and cheered and hid aside to watch the show. Mao Xiaoying watched the scene with a smile. Mao Zhen raised his eyebrows: "Your sister is about to be kidnapped by a wild boy outside, aren't you afraid?"
Mao Xiaoying: "My brother-in-law is not a wild boy, he has parents. He is also handsome and a young talent. I am very satisfied with him." Mao Zhen rolled his eyes, saying that he was stupid and did not take this opportunity to observe him properly. However, Mao Xiaoying just smiled gently and said, "As long as Xiaoli likes him, it's good."
Mao Zhen curled his lips and snorted. Then he heard Mao Xiaoying ask him: "It must have been hard to endure these twenty years." Mao Zhen shrugged nonchalantly: "It's okay, I got through it."
“It’s really hard work.”
Mao Zhen laughed. Mao Xiaoying's words were just like the indifferent sigh of a bystander, like sympathy with a sense of superiority, which was more unbearable than bad words. He couldn't stand it and was about to mock back, but he met Mao Xiaoying's serious, sad and gentle eyes, like a clear spring in the mountains in summer, ding-dong-dong and pleasant to the ear. Mao Zhen swallowed the mocking words back in his throat, floated to the stone pillar next to him, looked at the scene of people playing in the distance and said, "Not bad."
All the suffering, temptation, hatred and complaints are actually not as good as loneliness. Loneliness is like water drops on a cliff, which can penetrate the hard stone drop by drop. When time is so long that there is almost no hope, loneliness surges from all directions and becomes a cliff waterfall that can easily shatter a firm belief.
Fortunately, we all got through it.
Mao Zhen frowned with disgust and nausea: "So from now on I don't want to chant the "Tai Shang Dong Xuan Ling Bao Miao Jing" anymore." He has been chanting for more than 20 years, and every day he is busy with the salvation of dead souls and resentment that try to consume him. He almost wants to vomit when he hears it.
Hearing this, Mao Xiaoying smiled gently.
When Chen Yang was coloring and drawing on the Kongming lantern, he suddenly tilted his head and asked Du Shuo: "What do you want to draw on it? Or write something? I heard that the higher the Kongming lantern flies, the more the immortals in the sky can see the wish written on the Kongming lantern. Maybe it will come true."
Du Shuo said without hesitation: "Fake."
Chen Yang's face fell instantly. Du Shuo, sensing the danger, quickly picked up a pen and said, "I want to draw, and drawing represents what I want to write." Chen Yang nodded with satisfaction and said to his Kongming lantern, "Then I will draw too. I won't look at you, and you won't look at me, just look at the difference between our drawings."
"good."
Then they turned their backs and each took up a brush to paint. Du Shuo finished first and secretly turned around to watch Chen Yang paint. When he saw the outline of the brush, he smiled with understanding. After Chen Yang finished painting, he admired it for a few seconds. When he turned around, he saw Du Shuo staring at him: "Is it finished?"
“It’s finished.”
"Take it out and let me see it."
Du Shuo took out the Kongming lantern and showed it to him. After comparing, they both drew the same green ring-shaped object. Each had a gap, and when put together, they formed a pair. Chen Yang smiled and said, "We really have a tacit understanding." What they drew was the seal of the Emperor of Fengdu, the ring that was cut in half and used as a wedding ring.
When Du Shuo gave him the other half of the ring, it was the second day after they expressed their love to each other and officially became husband and wife.
Kou Xuanling leaned forward and looked at the two unidentified objects painted on their Kongming lanterns in confusion: "What is this? A caterpillar? A caterpillar with its head and tail connected and a deformed appearance
Chen Yang smiled and told him to get out. Kou Xuanling laughed at him: "You're not allowed to say it when your painting is ugly."
"That's because you don't know the reason."
"What's the reason?"
"The reason why my husband and I love each other."
When the Taoist Cultural Festival came, Chen Yang and his party came to the foot of the mountain. They lit up their own Kongming lanterns in the crowd and watched them slowly rise into the sky. The whole city was filled with Kongming lanterns, and the orange light warmed the sky above, carrying the hope and expectation of countless people for the New Year. When everyone looked up at the sky, they suddenly heard clear and loud voices, like the music of heaven. Then the spiritual sound shocked the sky and filled the ears, washing away the sorrow in the hearts of countless people, and filling them with warmth and joy.
The Taoist prayers for blessings and warding off disasters had already begun. People followed the crowd and slowly poured into the Tianshi Mansion. The open space at the foot of the mountain gradually became empty. Under Du Shuo's protection, Chen Yang was not pushed forward by the crowd, but leaned in Du Shuo's arms at ease, and could kiss his chin when he raised his head.
Chen Yang kissed the corner of Du Shuo's lips and whispered, "After we go back this time, let's go to Du Shuo Mountain. I want to see where you live."
Du Shuo: "Okay."
The author has something to say: Tomorrow’s extra chapter - Yin Kiss.