Between seas

Yecheng, midnight.

The waning moon reflected the silent street, and the ground was covered with frost.The shops on both sides were tightly closed, and the wind blew the red lanterns under the eaves to sway left and right. The lights flickered on and off, like butterflies flapping their wings.

The old watchman knocked on the old gong in his hand and walked over slowly.As he walked, he yelled loudly: "The sky is dry and the things are dry, be careful of the candles!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps behind him.

The watchman turned his head and saw a pretty girl running towards him.The girl looked flustered, her bun was loose, and the hem of her plain clothes was even stained with a lot of dirt.

She held a decayed wooden box tightly in her hands.The box was covered with dirt and was dirty, as if it had just been dug out of the ground.

The watchman recognized the girl as the lady of the Jiang Family Medical Center, and asked curiously: "Miss Jiang, it's late at night, where are you going in such a hurry?"

Miss Jiang didn't seem to notice the watchman, and ran past him.

The watchman shook his head and sighed, "What is Miss Jiang doing out in the middle of the night?" He rubbed the dirt on the gong with his sleeve, knocked it down, and walked into the night, shouting slogans.

On the other side, Miss Jiang ran to the door of her house.Panting heavily, she looked around in a panic, and after confirming that no one was there, she raised her hand to knock on the door.

She knocked on the door quickly and loudly.

It was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy who opened the door for her.The boy was obviously not awake yet. He stood by the door, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and muttered, "Sister, it's so late, where are you going?"

Miss Jiang hurriedly pushed her younger brother into the yard, turned around and locked the door firmly, and said softly, "Go back to your own room! Don't come out if you hear anything. Don't worry about my going out tonight." Tell anyone!"

The boy was still sleepy, so he didn't think much about it, he responded and went back to the house.

Miss Jiang went to her own room.There was no light in her room, only a few rays of cool moonlight passing through the doors and windows.

She sat in front of the bronze mirror, and gently placed the wooden box in her arms on the mirror table.

On the wooden box, there are two crossed pieces of yellow paper, on which complex incantations are written in cinnabar.

Miss Jiang touched the lid of the wooden box with slightly trembling hands.She seemed to be afraid of something, trying to calm her expression.But the panic in her eyes and the tense body all revealed her nervousness.

Miss Jiang took a deep breath, and suddenly tore off the two yellow talismans attached to the wooden box, and opened the lid.

Inside the box was a long emerald knife that had been broken into two pieces.

She wiped off the fine sweat on her forehead, and slowly held the handle of the knife with her right hand, and the blade with her left hand, gently closing them together.

The emerald blade gradually turned into a magnificent carmine color.

At this time, the crescent moon was covered by clouds in the sky, and the room was pitch black.The only light came from the short knife in Miss Jiang's hand.

It emitted a red light, flirtatiously like a karmic fire red lotus.

Miss Jiang was taken aback, and subconsciously threw the knife out.

The long knife fell to the ground with a "bang", and broke into two pieces again.

Miss Jiang woke up like a dream, and bent down to pick up the short knife, but when her fingertips touched the cold blade, she felt as if someone blew gently in her ear.

"What do you wish for..."

It was a man's voice, his voice was as clear as pearls falling on a jade plate.

Miss Jiang was trembling, she didn't dare to move, she said timidly, "Who?"

"You let me out... Don't you have a wish to fulfill?"

Ms. Jiang moved her hand away from the short knife like an electric shock, and suddenly clenched her fingers tightly, and said eagerly: "I have, I have a wish to come true!"

"what is it then?"

Miss Jiang pondered for a moment, then said: "My father is very good at medicine and has opened a medical clinic in Ye City. Although he is not famous, he has no problem supporting his family."

"However, a few years ago, when my father was going up the mountain to collect medicine, he fell down from the mountain and died. I and my younger brother are the only ones left in the family. My younger brother is too young to take care of the medical clinic. And I am not good at medicine. The medical center is already struggling to make ends meet and cannot sustain itself at all.”

"So... so I want to be the best doctor in town."

The voice said lightly: "Is it that simple?"

Miss Jiang hurriedly stood up from her seat, holding the dagger, looking around, and asked earnestly, "Can you do it for me?"

The voice chuckled: "Of course. I will help you realize your wish." After he finished speaking, a gust of wind blew open the locked doors and windows of the room, causing the furniture in the room to tremble wildly.

Miss Jiang couldn't even open her eyes, she covered her face with her hands.

When the wind stopped, the rouge-colored knife in Miss Jiang's hand had disappeared.

The furnishings in the room were as usual, but the bronze mirror was cracked with a deep mark.

Miss Jiang, who was full of thoughts, didn't realize that her figure reflected in the bronze mirror was vaguely like a ghost.

In the early morning of the next day, people found the body of the old watchman outside the moat of Yecheng.The old watchman's face was serene, without any pain on his face.

Wu made an inspection and concluded that the old watchman died of natural causes and fell into the river after his death.

Even so, the old watchman's death is still full of doubts.Like why did he go to the moat in the middle of the night, and why did he have a shallow mark on his neck?

The color of the light marks is as red as rouge.

Soon after, a plague broke out in Yecheng.Ms. Jiang, who had been unknown before, was able to prescribe the right medicine and curb the spread of the disease.

Since then, the reputation of Jiangjia Medical Center has risen.

***

In February, Yanjing.

In the early spring, the glazed tiles are covered with thin snowflakes, and the roofs on both sides of the street are silver and white.

In the downtown, there is a deep alley.

Deep in the alley, there is a quiet courtyard.

A mahogany sign was hung beside the gate, the sign was only the size of a palm.But there are many old cracks on it, and it is an old object at a glance.

It is engraved with the words "Yunhuazhai".

Yunhua is another name for tea, and Yunhuazhai is just a teahouse.

The surrounding residents don't know when Yunhuazhai was built. They only know that the owner's surname is Shen, his name is Boru, and he is a strange young man.

Why do you say it's strange?Others open teahouses to earn money to support their families.As for Yun Hua Zhai, it opened at midnight and closed at sunrise.It is specially chosen to open when there is no one under curfew. How can there be such a business in the world?

People around said: "Boss Shen is either out of his mind or selling tea to ghosts."

They were right, Yunhuazhai did not do human business.It is a very special tea house.

After the primordial conferment of the gods, the emperor Taiyi made a rule that fairies and demons should not interfere in mortal affairs.In the floating life, there are still non-human beings who hide in the world as human beings.Therefore, the heavens will appoint the immortals and gods to solve these ghosts and ghosts.

However, since Shen Boru took office, his performance has been at the bottom every year.Colleagues laughed and called him "the god of chicken ribs", implying that he is a idle god who does not do business all day long.

Shen Boru didn't care about these things, and opened the teahouse Yunhuazhai by himself.If they encounter demon spirits wandering around, they will be let in to have a drink of tea and rest their feet.

After coming and going, this Boss Shen has gained a good reputation in the circle of demon spirits. Many little demons and fairies who are in trouble will quietly come to ask for help.

When it was snowing in the evening, Yunhuazhai welcomed the first guest of the day.

The guest was a primrose.She landed lightly in front of the courtyard, turning into a five or six-year-old girl in white.She jumped onto the steps in three steps and two steps, and slammed on the door: "I'm from Yecheng, and I have something urgent to ask Shenjun."

The sign that said "Yunhuazhai" turned its light, and the gate of the courtyard opened suddenly.

Bao Chunyan walked into the courtyard.

There is a piece of green bamboo planted in the courtyard, and there is a wooden house deep in the bamboo forest.A pair of couplets is hung beside the door: "Sweeping the Hanying at night and cooking the green dust, and the wind from the pines into the cauldron is more refreshing."

The door of the room was wide open, and through the hazy snow, one could see that a pot of tea was being boiled on the black table in the room.Wisps of tea smoke rose from the pot, light as a dream, and dissipated into the air.

A young man is sitting on the left side of the table with his legs propped up.He was wearing a moon-white winter shirt, with a smile on his brows and eyes, as warm as a freehand landscape painting.

Opposite the young man, there was still an old orange cat lying down.The old cat has a chubby body and is very plump. It can't even find its neck. It looks like an orange fur ball from a distance.It tilted its head to look at the swallow, flicked its tail, and yawned lazily.

Bao Chunyan was just about to enter the house, but suddenly felt that her feet were sinking slightly, and looked down, but it was just a small stool.It holds a cup of apricot-colored tea on top of it, and raises its head slightly, as if it wants the guests to have a drink.

Bao Chunyan bent down to pick up the tea, touched the little stool man's head, and said softly, "Thank you."

The little stool spirit raised its front legs, gently rubbed against the palm of the guest, turned around happily, and ran away happily.

Snow is still falling.

The young man drank the tea in the cup, put the purple pottery cup on the table, and looked at the guest: "I am Shen Boru, there is no outsider here, what happened in Yecheng?"

Baochunyan stood outside the door, Ren Dian Baixue covered her head, and said anxiously: "Shenjun, I am the little fairy who monitors the movements of the ghosts in Yecheng. Now there are plague ghosts in Yecheng, and many people in the city are infected with the plague."

"Plague ghost?" The orange cat licked its paws, and said: "Plague ghosts are formed by resentment. They like to hide in rivers and wells and make trouble. The speed of spreading epidemic diseases is extremely fast, and there is no warning before the incident."

"According to common sense, such things as plague ghosts will only appear in places with deep grievances or disasters. The people of Yecheng live and work in peace and contentment, and there have been no major disasters in recent years, which does not meet the conditions for the appearance of plague ghosts."

Bao Chunyan nodded again and again: "That's why things get weird. Plague ghosts don't appear in Yecheng for no reason."

Shen Boru shook his head and pondered for a moment: "Fat, there are two other situations where plague ghosts will appear. The first is that there is something in Yecheng that attracts the plague ghosts. And the second... is that someone is driving the plague ghosts."

The orange cat called "A Fatty" showed an impatient look on his face, and muttered: "It's okay to drive the plague ghost."

"The prosperity of the world is all for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit. If someone is really doing this, then the person who drives the plague ghost must want to profit from it." Shen Boru paused, then looked at Bao Chunyan: "May I ask if there are any strange people in Ye City?"

Bao Chunyan lowered her head to think, and after a while, she seemed to think of something, and suddenly said: "There is a Miss Jiang who runs a medical clinic, who can cure the patients infected by the plague in the city. But Miss Jiang has always been a person with poor medical skills."

She made up her mind and lowered her head again: "I can't solve these things by myself. I am here to ask the gods for help." Then, she carefully took out a feather and said anxiously: "I heard that human beings Said, you need to bring a gift when you come to ask for help. I don’t have any good things, but this is more beautiful than Lingyu, and I will give it to Shenjun as my reward for this time.”

Shen Boru smiled, and he took the little girl's feathers: "I accept your reward. Let's go now, Ah Fei will stay and watch the house."

Ah Fei raised his face and asked, "Can your half-dead body hold up?"

Shen Boru belongs to the innate gods, which is different from those immortals who cultivated and ascended the day after tomorrow.When dying, a new lifespan will be obtained through reincarnation, and the cycle repeats.

When reincarnation is approaching, a circle of black curse marks will appear on the god's right arm.When the curse mark grows into a circle, it is the time to reincarnate at the end of life.

Gods are born from the vitality of chaos, but they do not exist eternally.Every reincarnation will consume part of the vitality, and when the vitality is exhausted, it will also perish and annihilate, returning to chaos.

The curse mark on Shen Boru's body has grown half a circle in less than a hundred years, and it has shown signs of fascination.Holding the hot tea in both hands, he lowered his eyes and smiled softly: "It's nothing to live and die for so many years. I can't make it through this time anyway. It's good to go out for a while while I still have breath."

The author has something to say:

Kneel and beg the gods who came in to comment on QAQ Meng Jiu wants to know how to serve the gods comfortably

Someday I will have cats.