The Ascension of Ghosts

Cong Cong, the sound of the zither, is like weeping and complaining, and then gradually becomes lighter and sicker, like chaotic jade smashing ice, spears picking arrows, making people feel peaceful and peaceful, and it is inevitable to give birth to a little fear.

The monk beside the table unwrapped the long and narrow package, revealing a pitch-black paulownia qin. He was laying the qin across his knees, with his wrists hanging in the air, and his fingers like hooks, gently plucking clear and clear sounds on the strings.

Pedestrians can't help but stop and listen, and there is even a carriage with horn horn glazed lamps parked under a willow tree not far away. The blue bamboo curtains cover the people inside the carriage tightly. Hakama pleats, wearing fish skin waist knife, standing tall and straight like pine wood, obviously from a family.Therefore, pedestrians all stayed away from it.

After the song was played, the monk raised his head and saw Lu Sheng staring at him intently, so he showed a serene smile and said, "The name of the song is Requiem. Since I heard about the tragedy, I can only comfort the soul with a little trick."

Lu Sheng then left his seat, bowed to the monk, and said with a smile: "It's interesting that you, a monk, don't recite the "Mantra of Rebirth" for the dead, but play the piano to soothe the soul, and let Lu Mou enjoy his ears. , dare to ask the master’s name?”

The monk clasped his palms together and replied: "The little monk named Yaoye is a wandering monk in Zhulin Temple in Xuzhou. His aptitude is blunt and he has not yet learned the mantra of rebirth. Not only is he ashamed of the Buddha, but he also made you laugh at him."

Yaoye's voice was soft and gentle, and his tone of voice was neither too fast nor too slow, which was awe-inspiring, but he didn't want to talk more with others, so he put the paulownia piano back in his bag, put on his veiled hat, and said goodbye to Lu Sheng and the peddler.

Lu Sheng watched his figure turn into the corner of the street before he looked back, and said to the peddler, "Old man, may I ask where is the Temple of the Medicine King Bodhisattva?"

The peddler returned a quick salute, and explained the location of the ruined temple to him.Lu Sheng thanked him again, and just turned around, but saw the guard who had parked under the willow tree not far away hurriedly came over, cupped his hands with him and said, "Master Gongcao, please stay, my master, please move on."

Seeing Lu Sheng pondering, he added, "My master's surname is Xie."

Wang Xieyuhuan, both have common surnames, that nobleman wanted to meet Lu Sheng, but refused to reveal his name and identity, so arrogant and annoying.As a commoner, Lu Sheng couldn't offend easily, so he had to follow the guards to the carriage.

The guard gave an announcement, and two white female palms protruded from the cracks in the green bamboo curtain hanging down by the carriage, and the bamboo curtain was raised high, revealing a maid wearing an apricot-yellow silk shirt.The maid was only twelve or thirteen years old, with a beautiful face, and she was kneeling in the carriage, but behind her was a curtain of duck egg green fine Gebu embroidered with plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, and only two figures behind her were faintly exposed.

The maid in the apricot yellow shirt bowed to Lu Shengfu, and said softly: "Maiden Ruodee, I have met Lu Gongcao. My master only asked for advice because of something, so I took the liberty to bother you. I hope that Lord Gongcao will forgive you."

The maid named Ruuodie has a bright smile, her voice is like an oriole, and the figure behind the curtain is faint, but it has a special elegance, and there is a faint fragrance of incense. I think this nobleman is probably a daughter of a thousand gold, so it is naturally inconvenient to inform him. It's not convenient for him to show up, but he dares to stop a strange man in broad daylight, which is considered audacious.

Lu Sheng hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "I don't dare to do it, I don't know if you have anything to ask me?"

The figure behind the curtain moved slightly, and within a short while a gentle female voice sounded from behind the curtain: "My master asks your lord, what is the length of the piano held by the monk?"

Lu Sheng frowned slightly. At first, he only complained that this daughter was really idle and boring, but then suddenly his heart moved, and he concentrated on recalling.

Since he was studying under Mr. Shuiyue, he has dabbled in all the six arts of a gentleman, and people at that time made qin, all of which had fixed patterns. Usually, the length of a qin is three feet, six inches and five cents, which is equal to the number of the sun.Yaoye is tall and tall, far superior to the common people in the Central Plains. In contrast, it makes people overlook the unreasonableness of the paulownia xylophone.

Lu Sheng murmured, "That paulownia... is more than four feet long."

Ruodie widened her eyes in surprise when she heard the words, but said nothing, she just turned her head and looked behind the curtain. The fabric behind the curtain was shaking, and a gentle female voice sounded again, asking, "Dare to ask Mr. Gongcao, what is the shape of the piano?" Are there broken patterns? Have you ever seen the Jiaowei? Have you ever seen the patterns on the bottom of the piano?"

Lu Sheng recalled that the monk's hand holding the chopsticks was as steady as Mount Tai, and he could put the four-foot-long piano on his knees, making music in a humble place, with a clear mind and skillful fingering, which was absolutely incomparable.

He replied casually: "Master's style, there is no tie waist, there are mountains but no scorched tail, shoulders are drooping and wide... There is no broken pattern. As for the rest, please forgive Lu for his poor eyesight, it is difficult to distinguish."

After a while, the gentle female voice transmitted to the master: "Master Gongcao's gaze is like a torch, and the maid thanked you on behalf of the master. My master has a word to say, that monk has evil spirits hidden in his piano, he is not a good person, be careful, my lord." This person."

It was a strange talk again, Lu Shengju laughed it off, and thanked him as he did to the peddler.

Ruodie smiled charmingly, and blessed Lu Sheng again, and said crisply: "Master Gongcao, there will be a time later." Then he lowered the green bamboo curtain.The coachman and the guards also saluted dignifiedly, and drove away.

Lu Sheng delayed all this time before heading towards Baishui Lane. At that moment, two young guards of the feather forest hurriedly ran into the lane, both dressed in black hakama pleats. At the same time, Lu Sheng cupped his fists and said, "Lu Gongcao."

Holding the black sword hilt inlaid with fish skin in his hand, Lu Sheng said in a deep voice, "Well done, Ji Chong, go back to Beiying quickly to find Master Liu, and ask him to investigate two old cases. One is that four months ago, Wu The beheading case in Bangcun, the second is the beheading case in Tonghuafang half a month ago."

"Of order." The white sergeant frowned, suddenly with a mysterious look on his face, he leaned forward and whispered: "Brother Lu, I also heard about the case of beheading in Tonghuafang. It's just a matter of setting off firecrackers and burning incense to celebrate..."

Lu Sheng smiled softly: "Ji Shou, go quickly."

Ji Chong was only 17 years old. He was lively by nature and lost his mind for a while. When Lu Sheng called his watch, Fang felt lost, and he couldn't help but look slightly embarrassed. He clasped his fists and said, "This subordinate, this subordinate takes orders."

Seeing his nimble figure hurrying through Baishui Lane and getting on his horse, Lu Sheng just nodded, and then smiled with the dark and tall sergeant: "Bailixiao, come with me to worship Medicine King Bodhisattva."

The sergeant's name was Baili Xiao, he was as burly as an iron tower, but in fact he was just a young man, taciturn, so he looked more stable than his actual age, at this time he clasped his fists and simply replied: "This subordinate takes orders."

The two of them went to Shilipo in the west of the city.

Because he was going to the temple, Bailixiao advised him euphemistically, "Even if you are a normal guest, empty-handed is not appropriate", Lu Sheng laughed, and bought some incense candles at the incense and candle shop along the way, and went out of the city to Shilipo .

In the deep winter, the sky in the south of the Yangtze River was gloomy, but the sun was three poles high, and it was as dark as the beginning of twilight. When the two arrived at the foot of the mountain, it was already raining continuously.

The path up the mountain gradually became muddy, so the two got off their horses and led the horses for a walk.However, Li Xu saw a green-draped carriage with ram horn glazed lamps parked on the grass beside the road, the grass was withered and yellow.Lu Sheng felt familiar, when he saw the groom and a guard next to him silently bow their hands in salute.

When the cyan bamboo curtain was lifted, the maid Ruodie's happy and angry face was revealed again, and she said with a charming smile, "Master Gongcao, it's really a coincidence, could it be that your lord also went to worship the Apparition Bodhisattva?"

This maid was young with a melodious voice. She looked at Lu Sheng with a smile, her eyes were clear and innocent, and Lu Sheng had a good impression of her, so he clasped his fists and said, "Ms. Lu just wants to go up the mountain, and I don't want to meet a nobleman again."

Ruo Die hurriedly replied, "Don't dare to do it, my master has gone up the mountain, why not..." She rolled her eyes and saw that Lu Sheng and the two were leading the horse, which was quite inconvenient, and said: "The mountain road is rugged, if you don't mind, please take the horse Store it here, so as not to be burdensome. My master is surnamed Xie, and lives in Zhujie Lane in the north of the city, near Luoma Bridge."

Zhujie Lane is full of land and gold, and the residences are all dignitaries. Thinking about it, although the Xie family is a branch, it still has some weight. No wonder even a boudoir is acting so arrogantly.

Lu Sheng didn't want to have more contact with the nobles, but he didn't want to care about such a trivial matter, so he nodded and ordered Baili Xiao to lead the two horses into the hands of the groom, and said: "So, I will disturb the nobleman."

The two walked up the mountain on foot. Fortunately, he chose Baili Xiao to go with him. If it was Ji Chong, they would have already become noisy.

Bailixiao was only eighteen after all, seeing Lu Sheng calmly heading up the mountain, he still asked in a low voice, "Brother Lu, some nobles are also going to the temple, if they bump into each other..."

Since the past dynasties, the family has been strict, the gentry is noble, and the dignitaries are almost on par with the clan.The first emperor and today are enlightened and tried their best to use the children of the poor family to enter the official position. However, the custom of the nobles and the poor family walking in different ways and sitting in different seats is a long-standing habit.

Lu Sheng said leisurely, "Is there a nobleman going up the mountain? I've never heard of it. The carriage was just out for an outing to avoid the rain, and it just bumped into us by chance."

Baili Xiao was taken aback for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

Lu Sheng's footsteps were steady, his smile was as warm as the spring sun, and he said earnestly: "We are investigating the case, so we don't need to accompany some boudoir daughter to mess around. If we meet, we just don't know."

Baili Xiao became more and more dazed, and murmured: "A-is she a young lady?"

However, Lu Sheng stopped suddenly, and his face darkened suddenly. Baili Xiao followed behind and was about to ask a question, but he smelled a bit of blood coming from the cold wind.

The two didn't speak any more, they only held the weapons at their waists, and suddenly accelerated their pace and rushed towards the top of the mountain.In the misty drizzle, the two figures seemed to be terrified, making a muddy sound.

After dozens of breaths of time, a ruined temple appeared in front of my eyes, half of the roof collapsed, and the temple gate was nowhere to be found. It looked like a dying old beast with a black, toothless and bald mouth, trying to choose someone and devour it. .

The bloody smell became stronger and stronger, and in the ruined temple with its doors wide open, there seemed to be a faint figure shaking.

The two rushed into the temple like lightning, and Lu Sheng shouted loudly: "Habayashi guards investigate the case, no one should act rashly!"

There were two clanging sounds, metal and iron clanging, but in an instant a man dressed as a guard jumped out from behind the wall, and threw away their weapons with a horizontal spear.

Lu Sheng used the sword, and Baili used the knife, one first and one behind, with full momentum, but it was only for shock, not to hurt others, so he only used three parts of strength.Even so, Lu Sheng was still so shaken by the shot that his weapon was almost out of his hands, and his arms were numb. He immediately felt vigilant, drew his sword and made gestures, covering each other with Bailixiao, stepping on the ground with clutter The grass mud block stabbed at the man's chest again.

The sword light flashed coldly, like a thunderbolt that cut through the dark clouds in a rainy day, but the guard kept guarding with his gun, and raised his voice: "Master Gongcao! Don't do anything, this is a misunderstanding!"

Lu Sheng was stunned for a moment, and only then did he recognize the guard's clothes and appearance, but he had seen him in front of Baishui Lane before. Lu Sheng secretly said "Oops", winked at Bailixiao, put the long sword back into its sheath, and asked just now: " What happened?"

The guard looked handsome, about twenty years old, wearing indigo hakama pleats, with a black lacquered waistband hanging from his waist, and saluted Lu Sheng calmly: "My master is right behind... There are two Corpse."

Lu Sheng's face darkened when he heard the words, and he walked towards the depths of the ruined temple regardless of the defense of men and women.The front of the dilapidated temple has collapsed, and the ground is covered with rubble. Even the clay Buddha statue has been exposed to the wind and sun, and the paint has peeled off. Even the head, hands and the lotus platform under the seat are mostly gone.As soon as it rained, the light brown mud color gradually turned to dark brown, almost like a shadow slowly covering the Buddha statue.

Baili Xiao remembers that there is a woman behind the Buddha statue, neither blocking nor following him is appropriate, he is at a loss where he is, and wonders why the guard did not stop him with a word, and remembers that he threw away the incense candle on the way, so he clasped his hands together and asked the Bodhisattva Accuse him of a crime, and immediately search for clues in various places in the temple.

The dilapidated temple was very cramped, and the back of the Buddha statue was only half the size of an ordinary house. The gray stone slabs paving the floor were uneven, with many cracks and weeds were overgrown.There were two corpses lying on the ground, a man and a woman, both underage, wearing coarse cloth, ordinary farm clothes.

The heads of the boys and girls were crooked, each revealing horrible wounds as deep as half of their necks. The clothes were dripping with blood, and the ground and the incense table were splashed with blood.

Lu Sheng didn't have time to take a closer look, but in the corner of his vision, he saw a black and silver embroidered hem disappearing from the first half of the dilapidated door at the back of the temple. He immediately shouted: "Who is it!" Pulling out his long sword, he rushed out of the door .

The dilapidated temple is located on a flat area on the hillside of Shilipo. Outside the back door of the temple there are waist-high weeds. A looming path winds and leads to the dense locust tree forest. The figure moves as fast as lightning and has disappeared into the forest.Lu Sheng was taken aback, this kind of light-handed kung fu is also a first-class master in the Habayashi Guard.

He didn't dare to hold on, so he called Baili Xiao loudly, but he didn't stop, he chased after the figure and rushed into the locust tree forest.