I nodded, and suddenly thought of the painting of the nine-tailed fox.
Do you want to ask Shi Yitong about this painting...? I put my hands in my pockets and stroked the old drawing paper.
"What's wrong?" When he came back to his senses, Shi Yitong was looking at me inexplicably.
"Uh, no, nothing." I was startled, and said subconsciously.
"Really?" Shi Yitong didn't care too much, and said carelessly, "Then why are you still staying in this dusty place? Let's go!"
I nodded and left the room with Shi Yitong.
Early the next morning, Shi Yitong ran all the way to my dormitory building, knocked on the door of our dormitory, and shouted my name loudly.
"Gu Yu! Gu Yu! Get up quickly, the sun is going to dry your ass!"
I woke up in a daze, only to find that everyone in a dormitory was woken up by Shi Yitong. The boss sat on the bed with his hair like a chicken coop yawning, staring at me resentfully.
"I said Gu Yu, it's fine if you just make some strange friends, why are you rushing to the door?"
The second child was also teasing at the side, "I think the person outside the door has taken a fancy to our Gu Xiaoyu. Go, third child, ask if you have brought a betrothal gift. You can't marry the fourth child without a betrothal gift!"
"Okay, okay, what are you talking about?" I quickly jumped out of bed, got dressed, and ran to open the door while hopping on one foot, "Here, come, don't be blind Shout!"
I went to open the door for Shi Yitong with my disheveled hair, but I was dragged out by Shi Yitong before I could button up my clothes.
"Let's go, are you a pig? Why do you get up so late? I've called you several times."
"No, why are you working so hard?" I yawned, "Didn't you say you wouldn't help at the beginning? Why are you more energetic than me now?"
"That's a cat demon, who wouldn't want to take a look?" Shi Yitong was eager to try.
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, and the meaning of the expression was obvious: Aren't you unwilling to deal with monsters and the like? Why are you so positive this time
Shi Yitong seemed to know that he couldn't hide it from me, he laughed twice, and dragged me out of the bedroom.
"Walk, walk, I'll talk to you as we walk."
I fumbled through my hair with my hands and put my coat back on. The weather outside today is good, the sun is very good, there are not many clouds in the sky, and the warm sun shines on the body, which makes people feel very comfortable.
"It's actually like this..." Shi Yitong scratched his head and explained to me, "After you left yesterday, I looked through Grandpa's belongings. I found a diary."
"Diary."
"That's right, and I've never seen that book when Grandpa was alive." Shi Yitong nodded solemnly, "When I opened it today, it was densely packed with a lot of things in it. Most of them are from Grandpa. When I was young, I experienced adventures outside, and without exception, they were all related to monsters."
Now I got excited, "Is it related to monsters?"
Shi Yitong nodded, with excitement in his eyes, "I never thought that grandpa would encounter so many magical monsters. Most of them are evil spirits. It's about how grandpa caught the monster, and then The one who casts spells to eliminate demons."
"So, your grandfather used to be a demon exorcist?" I asked in surprise.
"Hmm... Maybe it's not the same as a demon master." Shi Yitong scratched his head in embarrassment, "Grandpa is not a demon master or a Taoist priest who specializes in eliminating demons. If you want to say, a blessing spirit master may be similar."
"Fu... Healer?" As I got deeper into the world here, I came across more and more unfamiliar words like this that I didn't understand at all.
Shi Yitong nodded, "Well, this word is a local name in Yancheng. It's normal if you haven't heard of it. It's probably a profession that tells fortunes and prays for people. Most of the so-called Fuling masters here are He is a charlatan, and he just wrote a few talismans and said that he can bless the whole family with health and safety. My grandfather is different. He is a man of real cultivation. , he has a booklet called Hyakki Escroll. All the monsters in it are drawn by Grandpa himself.”
"I drew it myself?" I thought of the brochure I found yesterday and the nine-tailed fox that I secretly took away, and I admired the deceased old man in my heart, "Your grandpa is really amazing."
"Of course." Shi Yitong became proud, "Oh, I digressed. Where did I just say... By the way, I said, most of the records in that diary are how grandpa got rid of demons or Cast a spell to keep the family safe. But there is a page that records something different."
"Why is it different?" I asked.
"Although it's also related to monsters, it wasn't Grandpa who wrote how he got rid of that monster." Shi Yitong said mysteriously, "And guess what, that monster happens to be—"
"Could it be Jinhua cat?" I asked in surprise.
"Compared to me telling you, it's better for you to read it yourself." Shi Yitong took out a booklet like a magic trick, flipped through a page, and handed it to me.
I was still a little afraid to answer, so I asked, "Is it okay to show me?"
"What does it matter. If the old man is alive, he will definitely hope that we can use his things to do good deeds." Shi Yitong grinned.
I nodded, and then I took it. Grandpa Shi Yitong's handwriting is beautiful, but it's in traditional characters, which makes it a little difficult to recognize.
———————
April 15, 1961
I met her in the bamboo forest. Thinking about it now, I may have never seen such an extremely beautiful woman in my whole life.
I ran into the bamboo forest in a hurry to escape from the pursuit of a monster. The monster was very strong, and my spells were too shallow. I tried three times but failed to destroy it. It must have been irritated by me, it broke through the barrier in its rage, and attacked me crazily.
Although I ran into the bamboo forest to hide for a while, the monster roared and chased after me following my scent. Just when I thought I had no chance of winning and was about to be buried in the bloody mouth of that monster, a small wild cat suddenly appeared at my feet.
I don't see where it came from or why it's there. But the cat seemed to be thinking, and suddenly turned to look at me, meowed, and ran two steps forward.
Are you telling me to follow it? At that time, I was in a state of desperation, and without thinking, I ran with the cat in big strides.