Dharma Ring: Selling dung beetles at the border

Senior, look, what a petite Lani! Tuifu picked up the little doll and showed it to Wuming as if he had seen something rare.

Where did the doll come from? Wuming wondered.

I don't know either. Tuifu said, I just saw him lying in the coffin. It was so cold.

Wuming looked at the doll that was about the same size as himself:

Maybe... this is Lani's own doll. I heard that many girls like to hold a doll, a doll, a lion stuffed doll...

Will anyone be holding their own doll? Tuifu held up the small doll, looking back and forth, lifting up his skirt to look at the details.

Are you narcissistic? Wuming said.

Tuifu suddenly realized and sighed: I didn't expect that Lani is still such a narcissistic person.

The husband tells a joke about an old friend at a funeral, with a touch of sadness and a desolate smile.

Tuifu held up the little puppet and sighed.

He remembered what he had to do before. He held the petite Lani in one hand and the soul-calling bell in the other. He still held the hem of his skirt with his free fingers, spread his hairy legs, and leaped forward.

Shifu's posture is very strange. Although he is running, he is almost stationary. Wu Ming sat on Tui Fu's shoulders and could barely feel the shaking.

Excellent mount! Wuming praised Tuifu.

Tuifu was listening intently. He held the soul-calling bell vertically and lifted it gently.

While running, pay attention to the subtle movements and changes of the bell.

Like a goddess observing the oracle in the fine smoke.

As if he had sensed something, he ran to a certain location and found an inconspicuous obelisk.

The obelisk is somewhat like a miniature, tiny tower.

What is this? Wuming asked.

This is a tombstone. Tuifu said, A tombstone like a steeple. Lani said that such a structure can gather souls. Lost souls can find their way here - so souls will also be enriched and wander here. Perhaps the lost souls can be found.”

Tuifu said: To put it simply, it's a call for spirits.

You still have this special power. Wuming couldn't help but applaud Tuifu's versatility.

What the hell, Lani taught me that. Tuifu scratched his head in embarrassment.

So you want to summon Lani's soul through this method? Wuming guessed.

Tuifu nodded.

Wuming asked: But if the soul is lingering here, how can you be sure that the soul summoned must be Lani's soul?

So we need a catalyst, a medium for summoning, just like a magician's staff or the holy mark of a priest. Tuifu said, For summoning spirits, we usually use ashes.

Ashes?

Ashes.

Tuifu and Wuming looked at each other, and then stood up together.

Tuifu got up, and Wuming stood up from Tuifu's shoulders.

Charge! Wuming grabbed Tuifu's hair and gave the order.

Tuefu took Wuming and rushed back to where he started.

After a while, a small bonfire was set up.

Lani's dismembered body was clamped into her husband's armpit.

Lani's scalp was fluffy and flammable. The head was placed there first, and a small flame was lit from nowhere to burn the blue hair.

The long blue hair immediately burned, emitting a faint blue firelight.

Oh, as expected of a puppet, such high-quality firewood. The nameless little puppet was almost burned by the flames. He jumped back and said, Let me tell you, this blue flame is very hot. Yes, that means the firewood is quite high quality.”

Lani is a demigod. Tufu was very proud, and then threw the other dismantled body parts of Lani into the bonfire.

Since it has been dismantled, there is no need for two people to chop wood, and it is easy to start a raging fire.

Wuming sat back on Tuifu's shoulder, and petite Lani was placed on Tuifu's other shoulder. Together, the three of them quietly looked at the bonfire, watching the heat and brilliance emanating from Lani's body as it burned.

In our hometown, bonfires are made of corpses. Wuming said, The ashes under the bonfire are the remains of the soul.

I heard that it would burn a cold spiritual fire, said Tuifu.

Fire is fire. Wuming said, Fire with different temperatures is also fire!

Tuifu hugged his knees and squatted beside the bonfire, staring at the blazing fire, and said to the petite Lani on the other side of his shoulder:

Little Lani, burn it quickly so we can take your ashes and summon your soul.

Petite Lani didn't respond, only a cold touch remained on her husband's shoulder.

After a while, the bonfire burned out and the ground was covered with ashes.

Tuifu collected the ashes and ran to the obelisk, throwing them away and ringing the bell.

Lani, come out! Tuifu shouted passionately.

The ringtone is melodious and disperses slowly. Until there was complete silence, no one responded to his cry.

Is this... the soul summoning failed? Wuming asked.

Maybe what you said is wrong. Tuofu said, I'll change the summoning spell.

Forgotten tombs, open doors, flickering candles, guide the return of the dead, the thread of fate, entwining the soul, come to this world, the spirits of the dead are coming!

The dead come to life!

Heroes are immortal!

Lani, please come back quickly, how can I live without you!

…

Tuifu said all the lines he could think of, scattered the ashes over and over again, and shook the bell almost to pieces, but there was still no response.

Lani's soul seemed to have left this world freely. No matter how others called, they could not call her back to look back and smile.

It's such an unrestrained life. If you want to die, just die. Wuming had already begun to comfort her husband from another angle, and began to outline the deceased's beautiful character that was unknown to future generations and could only be attached to it through beautiful imagination.

Like a solemn funeral.

In order to show his solemnity, Tuifu enshrined the petite Lani in front of the obelisk and cried beautifully.

Wuming finished reading a eulogy in a solemn and solemn tone.

To our mentor, our most respected partner, the eternal blue moon - Lani. Wuming sprinkled the last handful of ashes and closed his eyes with Tuifu for a minute of silence.

The two prepared a simple funeral for Lani, but after the funeral, they still had to face reality.

What should we do, senior? Tuifu asked Wuming.

Since he is dead, we have to go back and tell Latarn first. Wuming said, He must be prepared.

Tuifu wiped away tears: She is a demigod. She must be buried well and all the nobles must come over.

Definitely, definitely. Wuming put his hand on Tuifu's shoulder and patted his neck.

Tuifu is still a little unwilling:

Why can't it be summoned? There is no reason.

Is it because the catalyst is not that good? Wuming said, Maybe Lani doesn't care about the body, but cares more about this little doll?

Wu Ming pointed at the cold and petite Lani on her husband's shoulder.

Isn't it possible? Tuefu didn't believe it. Is there anyone who doesn't care about his own body, but cares about creations that imitate him?

Of course there is. Wuming said with certainty, Some people underestimate themselves and value others too much. They are unable to feel love. They can only feel happiness when they love others.

Then I'll burn this? Tuifu grabbed the petite Lani from his shoulder and shook it in front of Wuming.

Tuihu brought petite Lani close to him again and apologized to her:

I'm sorry, little Lani, I don't want to either, but you must be willing to sacrifice yourself to save your master, right?

If this doll is not Lani's body, it would be useless if burned to ashes, right? Wuming said, Maybe if it remains intact, it can be used to summon Lani.

That makes sense. Tuifu agreed.

After that, there was another round of soul-calling. Tuafu grabbed the petite Lani and cried so hard that the whole cave echoed with Tuafu's sincere mourning and calling.

It still doesn't work. Tuifu asked Wuming in a hoarse voice.

It seems she has no chance of surviving. Wuming sighed.

Tufu grabbed the petite Lani and thought about whether he should burn this puppet to ashes and do it again.

Before he could figure out the reason, a rush of footsteps quickly approached, accompanied by ferocious whimpering and a sharp sound of breaking through the air.

Tuefu had also been wandering around the border area for a long time. When he heard this sound, he immediately rolled away from where he was holding little Lani.

A giant sword struck Tuo's original position, and ominous red flames spread out, burning the surrounding weeds.

Shifu rolled around and stood up, standing still when he saw the enemy suddenly attacking.

Both Tuifu and Wuming were a little surprised.

Blaize? the two said in unison.

It looked like a wolf-headed man who looked very much like Blaze. He was also holding a giant sword, had the same burly and hairy body, and had the same wolf head.

It's just that his eyes are blood red and he doesn't seem to be rational.

What's going on? Tuifu yelled, Blazer, it's me! It's me Tuifu!

Tuifu realized something and said sadly: Did you go crazy because of Lani's death?

Wuming said: Is it controlled by two fingers?

Before the two of them could think about it, the wolf-headed man had already raised his giant sword and rushed forward. His figure was wild and ferocious, and he pounced on Tuifu like a lone wolf hunting. The sword in his hand slammed down with his whole body. , with the momentum to smash everything.

Tuefu had no choice but to resist again in embarrassment, and just as he rolled from the ground to get up, the giant sword that hit the ground slashed upwards with completely unreasonable force and speed, passing Tuefu's neck.

Instead of the sharp blade slicing across the neck and the blood slowly spreading, it was like being bombarded by a colossus and exploding directly, and the tendons and muscle fibers on the neck were roughly torn apart.

Tuifu's head was blown away along with a large amount of blood, and the blood on his neck was like a fountain. His headless body stood straight on the spot, gushing for a while, and then fell to the ground helplessly in a pool of blood.

The cave fell silent.

The wolf with blood-red eyes looked up to the sky and howled again, pounced on Tuefu's body, and did not stop until all his limbs and internal organs were torn apart.

The wolf pulled the broken body to the coffin, threw it into the coffin casually, then slowly backed away and disappeared into the distance.

That's it. Wuming, who was watching the whole process silently, finally understood how Lani's body became like that.

The little puppet lost its power and fell into the weeds beside the road like a puddle of neglected garbage.

The nameless body regained consciousness, walked out of the coffin, walked down the elevator to the Yatan, and went through the portal to the central commodity distribution center on the west bank of the lake area where Iggy was located.

As mentioned before, Wuming was quite relieved about Tuifu.

It doesn't matter if he dies, just wait for his husband to be resurrected.

During this time, Wuming also happened to be doing business with his real body - he had to investigate the real whereabouts of the silk from the Kaliya royal family and the reason why the demand for the large quantity of silk had mysteriously disappeared.

Let’s start with Lani’s military advisor, Iggy.

As a military advisor, Iggy obviously has sufficient knowledge of various affairs of the royal family.

Wuming came to the commodity distribution center, and as expected, Iggy was still in the center, sitting in front of the forging table, waving his big mallet and reading his book.

Iggy, you're fine. Wuming greeted Iggy.

Oh, nameless boss, what do you want from me? As a mountain demon, Iggy's tone was quite gentle, like a gentle old sage.

I, a businessman, are looking for you, of course, for business matters. Wuming greeted Yiji, It's about my worm silk business.

Any questions? Iggy asked.

Wuming considered his tone: My silk cooperation with the Kaliya royal family has always been very pleasant, but recently... our business dealings seem to have been hindered. The Kaliya royal family's purchase orders have been reduced a lot.

Well... although I help Princess Lani manage the affairs of Kallia, I don't have to manage everything. Iggy said, I am not directly responsible for this silk business, so I am not very clear about it.

Then who is directly responsible? Wuming asked.

What a coincidence, that person committed some crimes before and was dismissed from his post. Iggy said, You should also understand that they are always prone to making mistakes when managing procurement...

Maybe your silk business was affected because the person in charge disappeared for a while, Iggy said.

Wuming listened to Iggy's explanation and thought about it.

He said: In this case, you give me the information of the person in charge, and I will ask him.

Unfortunately, the nameless boss. Iggy said, The person in charge went to pick precious materials from the cliff, but he lost his footing and fell to his death.

Wasn't he punished and dismissed from office? Wuming asked.

We have reason to believe that he is looking for the teardrops of stars hidden under the cliff. As you know, there are always various legends and opportunities under the cliff. Iggy sighed, Obviously, the road to atonement is not that simple and can be accomplished overnight. , he paid the price with his life, and we learned a fable-like lesson from it.”

Just come to me to atone for your sins. Wuming sighed sadly with Iggy, exchanged a few words, and left.

After leaving, Wuming didn't look very good.

Iggy was obviously bluffing him, but why? Why lie to yourself?

Wuming thought again of Lani's broken body in the underground river, the crazy werewolf like Blaze.

A businessman encountered a problem in his business. How could such a simple problem become so confusing? Wuming shook his head.

What a mysterious magical country... Wuming sighed, and personally went to the Three Sisters Tower behind the Kaliya Walled City to visit the Rena Magic Tower in person.

Please stay. A voice stopped Wuming.

Wuming looked in the direction of the sound, even more confused: Se Lian?

These two days are unstable and I may ask for leave.