Chen Yang: "There are two vacancies in our branch, right?"
"Three." Ma Shanfeng corrected.
Chen Yang counted and found that there were three extra places. He said, "It seems that I am the only one who needs a place. Old Kou has participated in previous years and doesn't need it. Qiu Dao doesn't need it either, and Xiao Li doesn't need it when she returns to Maoshan. As for Lu Xiuzhi, he probably doesn't need a place either. I think I can give it up too."
Ma Shanfeng: "Not so good. We should give some face. If everyone uses the back door, it will irritate others."
Chen Yang glanced at the two people from the General Administration, and nudged Du Shuo, who was still drinking, with his elbow: "You don't fight for the people in your bureau?" As he spoke, he looked back and found that Du Shuo had drunk almost half a bottle of white wine. He was so scared that he quickly snatched the bottle: "You drink so much at the beginning?"
Du Shuo took two sips and said, "It's only half a bottle. They also drank." He pointed at Ma Shanfeng and Lu Xiuzhi, who had half a glass of white wine in front of them. Ma Shanfeng moved his mouth towards Aunt Ma, meaning that his wife didn't dare to drink too much in his presence. Lu Xiuzhi didn't make any small moves, but only used his actions to show that he preferred iced bayberry wine to white wine.
Chen Yang confiscated the remaining half bottle of liquor: "I will supervise you to drink, and you are not allowed to drink excessively."
Du Shuo was silent for a moment: "Okay, I'll listen to you." He could only slowly drink the remaining half cup of white wine in his hand. Chen Yang pointed at the two people from the General Administration and asked him to answer the previous question. In response, Du Shuo's answer seemed quite indifferent: "Even a small 'roadblock' requires taking shortcuts, which shows that you are weak. If you don't have the strength and don't focus on the right path, it will be a shame to go there."
Chen Yang clapped his hands: "Stern." He turned around and said to Ma Shanfeng: "Everyone is going to the Tianshi Mansion this time. Wei Xuan and Ji Jiang are going too. Uncle Ma and Aunt Ma, are you two going?"
Ma Shanfeng, who was about to refuse, agreed immediately when he heard that Wei Xuan was going to go with him. After agreeing, he thought of Wei Xuan's studies and asked, "Do I need to take a leave?"
"Rather than saying that Wei Xuan is going to school, it's better to say that she is starting a gang." Chen Yang glanced at Wei Xuan who was fighting with Big Fatty for food and was particularly happy about it. "Don't think I don't know that the teacher has come to her house. All the students in her grade, especially the troublemakers, call Wei Xuan the boss. The new gangsters in the neighborhood all have to pay their respects to her, and it has become a custom."
Ma Shanfeng smiled awkwardly: "It's just children playing around."
Chen Yang no longer had any hope for Ma Shanfeng's blind love: "Take a week's leave and treat it as a trip."
Ma Shanfeng went to discuss it with Aunt Ma, who had nothing to do, and if she didn't go, she wouldn't be able to see Wei Xuan for at least a week, so she agreed. As for Ji Jiang, it didn't matter. She had been out there before, so she was very familiar with the world of the living, and she also had an ID card.
When Wei Xuan heard this, he asked the other hairy zombies if they could follow him, but Kou Xuanling said, "They have too much white hair on their bodies, so it's not easy to hide their identities."
Chen Yang: "Why don't we buy some hair removal products? Mao Xiaoli removed their hair once before and it lasted for a whole night. We can just buy more hair removal products."
Kou Xuanling: "No ID card."
Chen Yang slapped his head and said, "Yes, it's troublesome not to have an ID card. It will take time to apply for one now. I can't make it in time."
A few hairy zombies said that it didn't matter if they didn't go, and they could just stay at the police station to look after the house. They themselves didn't like to go to crowded places, especially the crowded places like trains and high-speed railways, which made them even more afraid.
Chen Yang said to the zombies, "Then I'll trouble you to look after the branch."
Mao Jiang waved his hand to indicate that it was no trouble. Then Chen Yang took Ma Shanfeng's phone and looked at the message sent by the Taoist Association and fell into deep thought. Kou Xuanling leaned over and looked at the message with a thoughtful look on his face.
Du Shuo glanced at the two of them, and while Chen Yang wasn't paying attention, he drank all the liquor in the glass in one breath, then took out an unopened bottle of liquor from behind the box at his feet, unscrewed it very quickly, poured half a cup, screwed the cap on, and hid the liquor back. The whole process took no more than a minute, and Du Shuo was calm and orderly throughout, which showed that he worked hard.
Chen Yang looked at Du Shuo with a feeling, looked at the calmness of Lao Du, and then looked at the wine glass in his hand with a sharp gaze. He turned to Wei Xuan and said, "Wei Xuan, lend me your ruler."
Wei Xuan: “Oh, okay.” Her small schoolbag happened to be placed not far away. She ran over, took out a ruler and handed it to Chen Yang.
Chen Yang took the ruler and leaned over to measure the wine glass in Du Shuo's hand. Du Shuo raised the wine glass and dodged: "Chen Xiaoyang, is it that serious?"
"How could it be so? Do you know how dangerous it is to drink half a bottle of liquor in half an hour? You took the opportunity to drink a few bottles at similar gatherings before. The reason you didn't get alcohol poisoning is because you are in better health than ordinary people. Do you understand self-cultivation?" Chen Yang stretched out his hand: "Give it to me and measure it. Why do I feel that it is more than what I saw just now?"
"Illusion." Du Shuo's eyebrows jumped: "I am not yet at the age to cultivate my character."
Chen Yang: “Heh.”
The emperor immediately wanted to take Chen Xiaoyang, who had learned to sneer, back to his room to let him know whether he had reached the age to cultivate his character, but Chen Yang's attitude was too firm, so he could only helplessly hand over the cup in his hand and let him measure.
Seeing this, Kou Xuanling also looked at Lu Xiuzhi, who held up the iced bayberry wine and smiled gently. Kou Xuanling: "Be good."
Ma Shanfeng quickly expressed his loyalty: "I always drink tea to relieve the greasiness, and seldom touch fruit wine." Aunt Ma didn't even turn her head and sneered: "You dare to drink in front of me and try it." Ma Shanfeng closed his mouth and stopped trying to be attentive. Yes, he didn't dare.
After measuring, Chen Yang placed the ruler on the table without saying how many milliliters it was. He picked up Ma Shanfeng's phone again and said, "Uncle Ma, send this message to the group later and ask everyone to download a death counter app."
Ma Shanfeng was puzzled: "Why?"
Kou Xuanling said first: "From the imperial capital to the Tianshi Mansion, there are many scenic spots along the way, and you can have fun while going there. But it would be boring to just look at the scenery along the way. Why not download a death counter app to play with it. See who will die and who can survive."
Chen Yang's eyes lit up slightly: "Place a bet, the stakes can be anything. Whoever wins will get the stakes. Starting tomorrow, enter your birth date and I will ask someone to calculate it and give you a birth date. If you want to play, you can sign up now. If you don't want to play, that's fine too."
Before Ma Shanfeng could react, Wei Xuan had already jumped out and shouted, "I want to play!" Aunt Ma doted on Wei Xuan and said, "Then I'll sign up too."
Lu Xiuzhi and Du Shuo didn't care, so they were considered to be participating. As for Zhang Qiudao, he could just ask him on WeChat in the evening. So at this moment, except for Mao Xiaoli who returned to Maoshan and Ji Jiang who was taking care of Wei Xuan, everyone else who was going to Tianshi Mansion participated in playing this game.
They were discussing with great interest what time and how they would die, while the two members of the General Administration silently closed their open mouths. They tried every possible means to evade the "roadblock", but the people from the branch took the initiative to come to their doorstep and be played with. They could not understand it.
Regardless of other people's opinions, when Chen Yang received Zhang Qiudao's affirmative answer, everyone decided to start playing the "roadblock" game. That night, Chen Yang sent the birth date and time of his application to the Taoist Association, and they received a reply in the early morning.
Chen Yang distributed eight birth dates to the group. Everyone had their own fake birth date. After getting the birth date, they entered the downloaded death calculator, followed by their name and some simple questions, and finally got the answer. Everyone had to announce the answer in the group.
After Chen Yang inputted his birth date, he got the answer that he would die in a fire within seven days. He threw himself on Du Shuo's back and asked, "Old Du, what are you? Let me see." Du Shuo held the result in front of him, and Chen Yang read it out, "No solution? Why no solution?"
Du Shuo pulled Chen Yang into his arms, threw his phone on the table and said, "The death calculator calculates the name and birth date. There is no solution for any birth date that matches my name."
"I forgot that you have a different identity, and there is also Lu Xiuzhi." Chen Yang patted his head and suddenly realized: "I should have kicked Lu Xiuzhi out earlier, so that only you can win for sure." Not long after, he said happily: "It doesn't matter, winning by half is still a win."
Chen Yang asked other people in the group for their answers, and then people posted their answers one after another. Lu Xiuzhi had no answer just like Du Shuo, but he didn't expect that Wei Xuan also had no answer. Ji Jiang explained: "The death calculator uses name, date of birth and answers to questions. Wei Xuan's date of birth is normal, but his name and answers cannot be calculated."
Chen Yang: "What's the problem?" The questions on the death calculator are random, so he doesn't know what problems Wei Xuan will encounter.
Ji Jiang: "For example, when asked about her parents' names, birthplace and date of birth, Wei Xuan answered truthfully."
The first thing to look at when analyzing a person's fate is the life span, which can be seen from the life star. There are four life stars: food, seal, day master, and wealth, which can be seen as life stars. Food is the god of food, and day master is the life source, which can also be extended to the star of fortune. Wealth is the god of wealth, which is the source of life. If wealth is lost, there will be danger of death. Among them, seal is seal, which is parents. The one who gave birth to me is also seal. In the six lines, seal is regarded as parents, and the parents line is the life star, from which life can be inferred.
Wei Xuan used a fake birth date and told the real birth dates of his parents, and naturally came to the conclusion that there was no solution.
Chen Yang: "Okay, I successfully eliminated another one. I should have thought of it, forget it. Let's see... Lao Kou died in a disaster within three days. Disaster? What disaster?"
Disaster means catastrophe, unless one dies of old age, it is a disaster. Car accidents, man-made disasters, floods and other unexpected disasters can all be called sudden disasters, and disasters can be light or heavy. However, Kou Xuanling clearly died in a disaster, so it must be a heavy disaster. But we don't know what disaster he died of, perhaps any disaster could have led to his death.
"Uncle Ma died of illness within seven days, Aunt Ma encountered a disaster within four days... She actually got a glimmer of hope, it seems that the chances of success are relatively good." Aunt Ma encountered a disaster but did not make a clear judgment of life or death, which shows that disasters can be big or small, and there is a glimmer of hope. "Qiu Dao died of disaster within five days, which is similar to Lao Kou."
After knowing the time and cause of death of everyone, Chen Yang packed up and went downstairs, waiting in the living room for two hours. During this time, other people came downstairs one after another, with luggage at their feet. Not long after, Ma Shanfeng appeared with two suitcases and Aunt Ma: "Come over and get your substitute doll."
The Taoist Association issues a substitute doll to each Taoist priest who applies to attend the Taoist exchange ceremony to ward off disasters. The substitute doll contains the birth date and horoscope of each Taoist priest. If the substitute doll dies, it means the priest loses.
Ma Shanfeng said, "Witch Chief Yi sponsored us with friendship and asked us to promote it. He also sent a card to the branch. He said that for Director Chen's sake, our branch can get a 30% discount on substitute dolls and voodoo dolls in the future."
Chen Yang thought thoughtfully: "Is Witch Chief Yi's friendly sponsorship equivalent to a large amount of free publicity?"
"Of course. In every Taoist exchange ceremony, whenever there is a 'roadblock' involving life, Chief Witch Yi will be needed to help. The Witch Clan will develop new dolls and new functions every time, so business is good. Do you know which are the richest sects in the Heavenly Master World?"
Chen Yang shook his head: "I don't know."
"Except for the first-rate sects among the Tianshi sects, such as Zhang Tianshi, Baiyun Temple, and the General Administration, the rest are the Wu Clan. Other sects need fame or orders, but the Wu Clan only needs to sell dolls to rank at the top of the Tianshi income rankings. The Wu Clan's dolls are particularly popular, especially the Wu Gu dolls. A Wu Gu doll can sell for tens of millions, or at least more than a million."
Kou Xuanling hissed. He was a descendant of the Northern Heavenly Master Sect after all, and the Kou family was considered a famous Heavenly Master sect, and was also well-known on the Heavenly Master income rankings. But he didn't expect that a Wu Gu doll from the Wu Clan could be sold for so much. He asked, "Is it inlaid with diamonds?"
Ma Shanfeng: "It takes two to three years to make each Wu Gu doll of the Wu Clan. They can cry, laugh, help, and even bring fortune. Selling them for tens of millions is considered cheap."
Wei Xuan nodded in agreement: "Yes, that's right. Some dolls that are just a little realistic are sold for thirty or forty million. The voodoo doll is considered very cheap."
Kou Xuanling was curious: "Weren't the ancients very opposed to witchcraft dolls?"
Wei Xuan: "That's because they are afraid. The original intention of making voodoo dolls is to help the owner bring wealth and good luck, accompany them and even protect their lives when necessary. As time goes by, they are afraid of the voodoo dolls' lifelikeness. It is undeniable that dolls that resemble human figures will be parasitic by evil spirits. But voodoo dolls have life from the moment they are made, and they will not be parasitic by evil spirits."
Chen Yang opened the suitcase and found six boxes in it. He raised his eyebrows in surprise: "Shouldn't it be eight?"
Ma Shanfeng said: "Witch Master Yi said only six are needed."
Chen Yang looked up at Du Shuo and Lu Xiuzhi, and knew what Master Yi had figured out, so he stopped asking. He handed the box with the name on it to the others, and they opened the box and took out the substitute doll inside.
There is not much difference between a substitute doll and an ordinary rag doll. It cannot speak and has no soul. Its biggest function is to replace life. The production cycle of a substitute doll is not long and can be mass-produced, while the production of a voodoo doll takes two to three years and takes a long time.
Wei Xuan opened the box and exclaimed when he saw the beautiful and gorgeous doll inside: "So beautiful! Yangyang, look, the doll is so beautiful!"
Chen Yang looked over and found that the doll in Wei Xuan's box was not an ordinary substitute doll, but a voodoo doll. This voodoo doll was about 40 centimeters long, lifelike, with delicate and beautiful facial features, and looked 50% similar to Wei Xuan.
Ma Shanfeng said: "Witch Master Yi brought me a photo of Wei Xuan before, saying that he wanted to give her a small gift. I didn't expect it to be a voodoo doll."
Chen Yang touched Wei Xuan's hair and said, "Then drip your fingertip blood onto her heart to bring her back to life." Then he said to Ma Shanfeng, "Thank Witch Master Yi later."
Wei Xuan nodded heavily. Just as he was about to bite his index finger, he suddenly remembered that he was a flying zombie: "Will it turn the doll into a zombie?"
"No. No matter how poisonous the zombie blood is, it is impossible to infect inanimate objects into zombies." Although there is a soul living in the voodoo doll, it is still an inanimate object in essence.
Wei Xuan happily bit his index finger which was stained with blood from his heart and smeared a drop of zombie blood on the heart of the voodoo doll. A few minutes later, the voodoo doll woke up and snuggled up to Wei Xuan intimately. The two children soon became good friends.
Chen Yang smiled and opened his box. As soon as he opened it, a shadow jumped out and pounced on his neck: "Yang Yang! Here I come!"
After taking a closer look, he found that it was actually the witch doll of Witch Chief Yi. Chen Yang laughed: "Doll, why is it you?"
The doll said proudly: "I sneaked in. Yangyang, your voodoo doll can only be me, not any other doll!"
"Does Witch Master Yi know?"
"I don't know." The doll swung back and forth while holding onto Chen Yang's clothes. Then, it saw Wei Xuan standing beside it with an angry look in his eyes. It instantly sensed the danger. It lay on Chen Yang's shoulder and asked, "Yang Yang, who is she?"
Wei Xuan was also unhappy: "Chen Xiaoyang, what is it?"
Wawa was unhappy: "You are the thing! Are you a flying zombie? Why are zombies here?"
Wei Xuan ran forward and tried to grab the doll that had been snatched from Chen Yang: "You are a voodoo doll! You little devil! Get away from Chen Xiaoyang! Chen Xiaoyang is mine!"
"Lululu, Yangyang is mine, not yours!"
Wei Xuan and the doll suddenly quarreled, and Chen Yang felt a headache. Fortunately, the chubby big fat man arrived in time to attract attention. The big fat man, who was no different from walking in or rolling in, saw the annoying flying zombies and the witch doll and started to criticize them indiscriminately: "I said that the branch office was in a dark cloud, it turns out that the flying zombies and the little ghosts were fighting."
Wei Xuan and the doll stopped talking immediately and looked at Da Pang. The next second, the doll pounced over, grabbing the hair on Da Pang's forehead, Wei Xuan grabbing Da Pang's tail, and Wei Xuan's voodoo doll shouted in a soft voice, "Come on!"
Dapang, dead.
When everyone got on the bus, Dapang lay on the seat, his forehead was cold and he was in a very low mood. Chen Yang comforted him dryly: "Children are ignorant, don't be sad. Besides, your hairstyle is very beautiful, really, very domineering."
Big Fat looked up at his reflection in the car window. His fat, round forehead was completely bald. A bald spot had been plucked out by a doll, and he almost couldn't pick up girls afterwards. He finally grew some thin hair, but it was plucked out again, and he instantly looked ten years older.
Big Fatty rested his chin on his two fat paws, and continued to be in a low mood. The culprit, Wei Xuan and Wawa, stood on Chen Yang's left and right, refusing to give in to each other and attacking Big Fatty, the cat ghost, from time to time. These evil creatures were born with an irresistible aversion to their own kind, and wanted to fight for territory when they met.
Chen Yang looked towards Kou Xuanling and said, "Old Kou, think of a solution."
Kou Xuanling: "I found some hair growth products online. Do you want to see them?" Big Fat looked at the interface of his mobile phone with a dull look, clicked on a few hair growth products at random, then touched his bald forehead and sighed in a very human way.
Chen Yang and Kou Xuanling couldn't help shaking their arms. Finally, Chen Yang said, "Why don't you buy a wig and wear it first?" Only then did the fat man calm down.
The group arrived at the high-speed rail station and sent Da Pang to the pet check-in, while the others looked for carriages and seats. Wei Xuan and Wawa wanted to occupy Chen Yang's seat, but when they sat down, they saw Du Shuo standing next to them with an indifferent look. After hesitating for a while, they retreated silently.
Chen Yang took out his schedule and said, "The next stop is J Province. We will stay in Shimen Town for three days. It takes about an hour and a half for the high-speed train to get from the West Station to the North Station. Let me lean on your shoulder. I need to get some sleep first."
Du Shuo took out an eye mask and put it on Chen Yang, then put his arm around his shoulders and let him sleep against him. Chen Yang hugged Du Shuo's waist and closed his eyes to rest. He was woken up almost when he arrived at the station. When he got off the bus, Wei Xuan, who was holding two voodoo dolls, ran over and threw the dolls away carefully.
The doll can only pretend to be an ordinary doll when there are many people around. Fortunately, it is made ugly and scary, and ordinary people will not want to pick it up. Ma Shanfeng picked it up, and the doll climbed Ma Shanfeng's arm and silently remembered this humiliation and looked for an opportunity to take revenge.
Kou Xuanling went to pick up the fat cat Da Pang and found that it had regained its vitality during the journey. The puzzled people suddenly understood after seeing the other beautiful cats in the pet consignment expressed their reluctance to part with Da Pang, and looked at Da Pang with admiration and amazement - Da Pang was fat and bald, but there were still beautiful cats who liked him, he was a natural winner.
Chen Yang called a van for tourists, which was just big enough to hold everyone's luggage. J Province is a tourist city, and Shimen Town is a nationally famous tourist destination, so hotels and transportation are very convenient. They booked a hotel nearby, and after getting off the bus, everyone went to pull the luggage. Da Pang jumped on the suitcase and refused to move. Wei Xuan and Jing, who were lying still, were still chattering. Ma Shanfeng and his wife looked at them with a kind smile.
Zhang Qiudao was immersed in playing games, and seemed to be in contact with Mao Xiaoli. His mood improved and he was no longer as depressed as before. Kou Xuanling pulled Lu Xiuzhi to whisper, and Chen Yang climbed on Du Shuo's arm and whispered. The driver behind him shouted: "There is still a piece of luggage missing."
Kou Xuanling turned around and said, "I'll get it." Then she handed the luggage in her hand to Lu Xiuzhi and ran over to carry the luggage back. There were still people coming and going at the entrance of the hotel, and she passed by people. She walked forward a few steps to the open space, and there was no one within three meters around her.
Before Chen Yang and the others noticed anything strange, Kou Xuanling smiled at Lu Xiuzhi, who smiled back, and his pupils suddenly shrank as if he saw something. Before Kou Xuanling could react, she asked Lu Xiuzhi to pull hard, and she crashed into his arms. There was a loud bang behind her and people screamed in fear, but she was tightly protected.
Kou Xuanling's heart skipped a beat, and he looked back, only to see a large piece of glass shattered where he was standing. The large glass was one meter long and wide, and it was now shattered into pieces. It was not difficult to imagine that if he had not been able to dodge it, he would have been beheaded.
Although he had just escaped death, Kou Xuanling was not afraid at all, probably because he felt that Lu Xiuzhi was there, so he was not afraid. But he did not feel scared, but Lu Xiuzhi felt scared.
Lu Xiuzhi's expression was extremely indifferent, his cold eyes staring directly at somewhere above his head where a large glass window was falling from the sky.
Chen Yang's face looked a little unhappy: "It was very dangerous just now. Could it be that the disaster was calculated by the death calculator? This is a bit too much."
Zhang Qiudao said seriously: "My father and his friends are not ignorant of the seriousness of the matter. Obviously, something went wrong. But the problem may not be with the death calculator."
Ma Shanfeng: "Perhaps it is indeed Kou Xuanling's fault."
The author has something to say: This kind of unexpected accident that came out of nowhere is really terrifying.
I remember that afternoon on the 30th, I went to do some work. Because I was dizzy taking the subway, I couldn't stand it after seven stops, so I got off the subway to scan for a shared bike. I rode halfway past a bus stop. It was an invisible slope, and it was very slippery. The people in front of me rode past it quickly. When it was my turn to ride past a certain point, I suddenly heard the sound of a lot of things collapsing behind me (it was a sidewalk, and there was a wider green path on the right). It was really behind me. I was startled, and then I heard the screams of two girls waiting for the bus five or six meters away (they saw what happened behind me and screamed), and I was even more scared. I didn't dare to look back, and I quickly pedaled my bike and ran.
I still don't know what fell down, but it must have been something heavy, and I felt that if I was a step slower, it would have hit my head. I was so scared that my heart skipped a beat.