The Ascension of Ghosts

Lu Sheng suffered through the night, and woke up the next morning when the dawn was slightly dew.Several servants, old and young, came forward to help him wash and wash. Lu Sheng couldn't bear it, so he said no, so he went to fetch water and wash himself.

After washing up, a skinny little servant who was only in his early ten years came to treat him to a meal. The breakfast was also very delicately prepared. The pearl porridge with minced chicken was delicious and soft, and a plate of deep-fried food was golden and translucent, like Sprinkle with gold leaf.

Lu Sheng tasted it one by one. There was fried bell with meat stuffing wrapped in tofu skin. The pork stuffing was mixed with fresh shrimp, diced winter bamboo shoots, and diced okra. It was fragrant but not greasy, crisp and delicious.There are also oblate fried sugar cakes, which are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. After one bite, the slightly hot transparent sugar juice flows out mixed with crispy walnut kernels and peanut kernels, which is sweet and refreshing.There are also fresh aquatic products such as small whitebait and big prawns that were caught early in the morning, wrapped in a thin egg batter, deep-fried until crispy and fragrant, and piled up on the plate.Served with a plate of radish puree with balsamic vinegar, the greasyness is gone, leaving only the lingering fragrance in the mouth.

Food and use are naturally not as fine as those in Xie Rong's house, but they have also used a lot of thought.Later, someone brought a small tea bowl, which contained steamed custard. The black porcelain tea bowl contained a piece of yellow and clear, as clear as a mirror, with a rich milky fragrance, smooth and delicate, and just the right amount of sweetness.Lu Sheng tasted it, pondered for a moment, and asked curiously, "What kind of milk is used for this sweet custard? The flavor is different, with the aroma of pine nuts."

The food was delivered by an old servant who looked to be in his early sixties, tremblingly cupped his hands and said, "Lord Lu has such a powerful tongue, one tastes it and you will know something else. This custard is made of deer's milk." Seeing that Lu Sheng raised his eyebrows He seemed to be interested, and then lowered his head and said: "This deer is also an unusual wild thing. It was raised in the back mountain after the owner stole from the Kunlun Mountain... ahem, took in the fairy deer. These deer Since I was young, I ate pine nuts, chestnuts and other nuts of various colors. Meat and milk are both delicious. If Mr. Lu has nothing to do, why not go to the back mountain for a tour. In addition to these fairy deer, the back mountain also raises various rare birds Alien beast."

Lu Sheng just nodded his head as if he had never heard the word "steal" from the old servant. After breakfast, he went to the back mountain.

He was just upset and had nothing to do, sitting in the room was not a pleasure, so he simply went out to relax.Sure enough, I saw rare birds and beasts in the back mountain, colorful pheasants and peacocks strolling leisurely, and sika deer sitting peacefully by the stream.

He did not dare to go far with his heavy treasures in his arms, and enjoyed a little while. After the restlessness in his heart subsided, he was about to go back to his room, when he suddenly heard a soft cry of a woman from behind the rocks on the mountain road.

Lu Sheng held the hilt of the sword vigilantly, and heard the weeping woman complain: "You are so helpless, you dare not ask Mr. Xie, you should ask the owner of the village, and find some help to find it before you give up. "

Another old man's voice sounded, and he sighed deeply: "Oh, in the chaos of the Western Regions, many monsters have lost their lives, not to mention our Tu family, even the Hu family, Lang family, Xiong family, Shi family, and Xiang family. The family is doomed, the whole village is panic-stricken, and the world is about to be chaotic, who cares about a rabbit spirit? Asking for it will only add to the chaos."

The woman wept again, "I just ask Da Lang to be alert and dig a few more holes in the ground, and God will protect him from this disaster."

The man comforted him and said: "It's only today, and the news can reach the capital. At that time, the army of the world is overwhelming, and even the demon gods and bodhisattvas of him will be driven out. At that time, I will accompany you to the west again, and slowly investigate Dalang's whereabouts."

Finally, Lu Sheng couldn't hold back any longer. He took a few steps forward and turned around the rock, and asked, "The Western Regions are out..."

Before he could finish his question, he saw two black rabbits panicked at the foot of the rock, they shot out like arrows, one fled eastward and the other southward.It's just that Xiangnan's dog panicked and ran straight in front of Lu Sheng. Lu Sheng had quick eyes and quick hands, and took a step forward to grab it in his hand.

The rabbit was fat and fat, and it was quite heavy. It struggled with all its strength, and squeaked and screamed: "Master, save me! Master, save me! This man is going to roast me and eat me!"

It was so powerful that Lu Sheng had to hold the rabbit ears with both hands, lift it up in the air, and said, "Don't be impatient, I won't eat you, but I just have something to ask."

The other black rabbit went back and forth, shouting in a panic as it ran: "Thanks... no no, Master Lu! Master Lu is merciful, my old wife... my old wife has practiced for more than two hundred years, her skin is thick, her flesh is old, her muscles are withered... , it's unpalatable!"

Lu Sheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and he didn't want to pester them, he just said: "What happened in the Western Regions, what kind of demon god Bodhisattva, what kind of trouble? Tell me carefully, and you will let your wife go after you finish."

The black rabbit sat upright in trepidation, with its ears pricked up straight, and replied: "Master Lu speaks seriously. If Master Lu has something to ask, the little one will naturally know everything and say everything."

Although the rabbit spoke with all his heart, he actually knew very little, and many details were vague. Even so, Lu Sheng still got a general idea and frowned deeply.

It turned out that the night before, in the southwestern border of the Great Jin Dynasty, from Yanggaoyi to Pinglang County, more than [-] miles of border, four cities were attacked one after another overnight, the cities were destroyed, and even the monsters could not escape. , Injured and wounded, ten rooms and nine empty spaces, people dying, and few survivors.

The family name of this black rabbit is Tu, and the male rabbit who speaks eloquently is named Tu Bai. The eldest son Tu Zibai went out to collect medicine and practiced, so he temporarily lived in Pinglang County.He has a close friend, and the two families are family friends, but he is a swallow spirit named Yan Sheng, and the two little demons have experienced together and took care of each other.

When Pinglang County suddenly changed, Tu Zibai was collecting herbs in the mountains outside the city, and he made an agreement with Yan Sheng to spend the night in the mountains.Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, there was a sudden change. Countless vines in the shape of pythons climbed up the city wall, devoured the guarding soldiers, and then attacked the people.

Regardless of mortal monsters, if they are entangled by that vine, they will have no way out, and they will all become the fertilizer of that vine monster.And root down to the ground, grow upward and fly into the sky, like a net of heaven and earth, even if you have the ability to fly into the sky and escape from the ground, you can't escape.

Relying on her small size, the swallow spirit risked her life to go out of the city to find friends, only to find that the inside and outside of the city, dozens of miles away, were already occupied by vines, and after absorbing enough flesh and blood nutrients, they bloomed and bore fruit, and sowed seeds everywhere. , spreading rapidly.

There is also a line of monks and soldiers patrolling around. If they catch any fish that slip through the net, they will kill them all and throw them into the rattan bushes.

Yan Sheng was afraid of being discovered, so he didn't dare to take a closer look. The mountain where Tu Zibai went to gather medicine was covered with demon vines from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain.Even though Yan Sheng wanted to search further, he was accidentally discovered by the increasingly dense vines, and then came to capture him.

He tried his best to escape from birth, but he was seriously injured, and then flew back to Dawangzhuang overnight regardless of his life and death. He only had time to briefly talk to his parents about what he saw and heard, and then passed out. Resign yourself to fate.

These experiences fell into Lu Sheng's ears, and there were only two very useful pieces of news left. One was about the bloodthirsty demon vine, and the other was that when the monks and soldiers recited scriptures, they mentioned a foreign name called Zhaodu. Ro.If you want to ask more, I'm afraid you will see Yan Sheng himself.

After Tu Bai finished speaking in one breath, Lu Sheng let go of the rabbit in his hand, and asked with a frown, "Then Yan Sheng really can't be saved?"

Tu Bai sighed and said: "He was swallowed half of his body by the demon vine. If it was an ordinary swallow, he would have died of exhaustion long ago. Now he is only hanging on his breath...Yaoshi, that unmedicated..."

The other black rabbit was relieved, and kicked and rushed towards Tu Bai, kicking and biting, and said angrily: "That child is obviously saved! You have a heart of stone, and you just watched it for a elixir. Can you send Ah Sheng to his death?"

Tu Bai was kicked and bitten by his old wife, so he had to dodge and evade, with his ears drooping behind his back, and he argued in a low voice: "Then... that is a 400-year-old family heirloom of my Tu family... how can it be easily ruined? That nest of swallows There are so many monster mouths, just one... oh, it hurts..."

Tu Bai was kicked in the left eye, he didn't care to speak for a moment, he screamed, and he was about to jump into the grass, took the opportunity to escape, Lu Sheng lowered his face, and called out: "Yan Xiu!"

A tiger-striped kitten that was slightly bigger than a palm came out from the grass, and blocked Tu Bai's escape path, meowing and screaming. With a dexterous posture, he easily jumped onto the back of the black rabbit, and unexpectedly pressed the black rabbit to the ground with a muffled grunt.

The tiger-striped kitten was sitting on the back of the rabbit's neck, licking its paws in an elegant manner, and snorted: "A mere drug-making rabbit demon dares to oppose me, young master."

Tu Bai was so painful that tears flowed, he didn't dare to move, he just kept moaning and moaning, getting more and more sad from it, his wife Tu Jiao slowly jumped over, looked at it tearfully, and said sadly: "The head of the family, the sage once said: I am old and I am old, I am young and I am young and I am young. Dalang’s whereabouts are unknown, and A Sheng’s life and death are unknown. Comparing your heart, Brother Yan’s family is no easier than us, but it’s just a panacea. Why do you...be patient?"

Tu Bai hummed and chirped again: "Hmph, Big Brother Yan, Big Brother Yan, you only have Big Brother Yan in your heart. Where do you put me, Mr. Xiang?"

Tu Jiao saw that he didn't know what he was talking about, she couldn't help being anxious, she kicked her legs and turned around, wagging her little round tail, stood up in front of Lu Sheng, raised her head and shouted: "Master Lu, I know this old thing Where did you hide the elixir, and asked Mr. Lu to help me to get the elixir."

Lu Sheng really didn't want to meddle in the housework of this nest of rabbit spirits, he just wanted to save people... saving the demon's life, but he couldn't delay it, so he could only say: "Heirloom medicine, don't be careless, paint it blank, this matter still needs you to come Make a decision."

Tu Jiao then sternly said: "Old man! Master Lu has saved you some face, don't know what is good or bad! If you continue to push back, I, I will make peace with you!"

Tu Bai's ears stood up again, and he struggled on all fours, kicking grass, leaves and stones flying on the ground, but he was overwhelmed by the tiger-striped cat a few laps younger than him, so he nodded repeatedly: "Madam, don't be angry!" Madam, don't be angry, I will take the elixir and send it to the swallow's nest."

Yan Xiu got the signal, and then jumped off the black rabbit, painted white as if he had received an amnesty, and ran away in a hurry, but Tu Jiao stayed behind and said: "Master Lu, please go to Yan's house with my concubine as a witness, If that is old... If the concubine's father-in-law reneges on his promise, then the concubine will reconcile with him."

Lu Sheng had no choice but to smile wryly and said, "I have something to ask A Sheng, so I must make this trip."

One person and one cat led the way down the mountain to the swallow's nest in the village, led by the black rabbit.