The Ascension of Ghosts

The window is covered with plain silver, as bright as a dozen crystal lanterns hung on it.

Overnight, the falling snow turned white, and even the evergreen pine branches were covered with crystal clear frost.

Lu Sheng sat up, not knowing where he was in a daze.

The fabric on the bed is as delicate as water, warm and soft. The warm Chu-colored weaving has auspicious and reunion patterns, the bed curtains are thick and warm, and there is a faint smell of agarwood outside.

The mahogany bed is wide and firm, with slices of round sapphire exposed under the tangle of branches at the head of the bed, among the luxury, there is a special elegance.

He barely sat up, and a few maids walked in outside the door, the leader was Ruoxia, the blue skirt and taupe-colored jacket made this dignified woman even more beautiful, she hooked up the curtains on both sides, and said with a smile : "Mr. Lu woke up, it snowed heavily last night, Mr. Lu should wear more clothes, and be careful to catch cold."

Lu Sheng asked blankly, "I'm at... Xie Rong's house?"

Ruoxia said: "Exactly, when my master brought Mr. Lu back last night, Mr. Lu was covered in blood, which scared us to death."

Lu Sheng smiled wryly, "...I'm bothering the girl."

Ruoxia only said that she didn't dare to do it, and she and several other maids busily waited for him to freshen up, and brought clean clothes. Lu Sheng saw that they were the clothes he was used to in his daily life. Only then did he know that Xie Rong ordered someone to go to him last night. At home, on the pretext that he drank with Xie Rong and rested as drunk as mud, so he took a change of clothes.

Lu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, if his brother and sister-in-law knew that he was seriously injured yesterday, there would be another chaos at home.

He took the clothes from the handmaidens, hid behind the screen and put them on, and took the opportunity to lift his middle coat to check.Last night, his shoulder was pierced by a sharp knife, but now there is only a faint red mark left, and after another three to five days, even the slightest trace will not be left.

Lu Sheng couldn't help sighing in a low voice. Before meeting Xie Rong, he was still very confident, and he just laughed off the strange power and chaos. However, the encounter in just two days turned the world upside down, and he was a little at a loss.

Hui Ye stabbed his elder brother to death, pulled out half of the blade, and tried to stab his own chest with his backhand. This time Lu Sheng finally caught up, and firmly grasped Hui Ye's wrist. He is young after all, and he is confused when encountering such things , I don't know how to deal with it for a while.

Hui Ye grasped half of the sharp blade very deeply, his hands were dripping with blood, the wound was as deep as the phalanx, and half a point deeper, even a finger could be cut off, Lu Sheng did not dare to forcefully grab the sword, stammering: "Zen Master Hui Ye... Master... ...what the hell."

Hui Ye said with a smile: "It's just killing people to pay for their lives, meritorious service. When you go to the court, you just need to bluntly say that these beheadings were committed by the poor monk and his brother together. The criminals... committed suicide in fear of crime."

Lu Sheng roared angrily: "The grievance has the head, the debt has the owner, Yao Ye kills, what has it to do with you! Xie Rong, how long are you going to stand by and watch!"

Xie Rong frowned slightly, although she thought to herself, what does it really have to do with me?But when he saw the young man's eyes were red and tears rolled down, he couldn't help feeling depressed, he could only say: "...Forget it, just do a good deed that day. Capture him at Yangxi and Neiguan, and then kick Broken Sword over."

Yangxi point is on the side of the wrist, and Neiguan point is two fingers away from the wrist, if it is restrained, it will be impossible to exert any strength.Lu Sheng suddenly realized, and felt ashamed to himself, it was really a mess, and he even forgot his own good tricks.

He immediately shot like lightning, and firmly pressed the acupoints on both of Huiye's wrists. Although Huiye studied under the Jingye School when he was young, but after 24 years of chanting Buddhist scriptures, he had already forgotten all the methods of killing and fighting the enemy, so he was easily caught , his hands were suddenly sore and weak, and he couldn't hold the broken sword anymore, and it fell to the ground with a plop.

Lu Sheng kicked the broken blade towards Xie Rongli, Hui Ye let out a mournful cry, and let Lu Sheng grab his wrist, kneeling on the ground like a mountain falling like a tree, hissing: "Brother, do more killing!" All the sins are caused by me, if I don't make atonement for him, how can I survive in this world?"

Lu Sheng was at a loss for words, and after thinking hard, he could only say: "Yao Ye kept following the great vows of the Buddha... It must be blamed for the heresy of the Jingye Sect to deceive people's hearts. Zen Master Hui Ye was lucky to escape from the devil's den, but Yao Ye was unfortunately trapped in it. The culprit , or Jingye sect, it is not the fault of Chan Master Huiye."

Xie Rong suddenly sneered, "Why is it not Hui Ye's fault? This monk is unclean, he cared about his relatives first, killed suspects without permission, and interfered with the Habayashi Guard's investigation later. How can there be such a cheap thing?"

Lu Sheng frowned, but Hui Ye was stunned for a moment, and instead smiled slowly from the misery.The intense and mournful emotions melted like ice and snow, and Hui Ye, as if waking up from a big dream, let out a long sigh, "Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Xie, it's like enlightenment, poor monk... feel ashamed."

Xie Rong said again: "Pharmacist Liuliguang Tathagata once had two brothers named Jingzang and Jingyan who worshiped the Buddha. They followed their great vows and did only one thing throughout their lives."

On Hui Ye's face, the sad look gradually receded, as if the dark clouds had receded, and the eyes illuminated by the fire light also shimmered, and he murmured: "Brothers Jingzang and Jingyan, hold the good medicine of the snow mountain to offer to all Tibetans, and save the suffering of the world. , with this merit, one can become Medicine Bodhisattva, Medicine King Bodhisattva, attain Bodhi, and become a Buddha in the future, named Pure Store Tathagata, Pure Eye Tathagata..."

This time, Lu Sheng also understood. He let go of his hands, rubbed his eyes that were red and dry from the burning smoke around him, and burst into tears. Undoubtedly, it was to protect students. Although Lu met Zen Master Huiye for the first time, he has heard for a long time that Master Huiye is proficient in medicine and often treats poor people. If Zen Master commits suicide, the people will... suffer..."

Lu Sheng was thinking about it, but found that his eyelids were becoming heavier and heavier. He had lost a lot of blood before, and he had gone through a lot of struggles. He has been holding on until now, and finally he couldn't bear it anymore.

He was shaking, although he secretly hated himself for being unconscious at the wrong time, he still fell down and became unconscious.

Now that I wake up, it's been a night.

With concern in his heart, he moved faster and faster, and only after he put it on properly did he realize that the saber was not there.Lu Sheng walked around the screen, and without waiting for him to speak, Ruoxia smiled and said, "My master invites Mr. Lu to have breakfast together."

Lu Sheng nodded and said, "It's hard to turn down the kindness, I happen to have something to ask Mr. Xie."

Xie Rong sat on the couch in the east side hall of the main house, without saying a word, resting her forehead with one hand, the maids and servants walked and walked more and more silently, for fear of disturbing the master.

Only Lu Sheng broke the silence, hurriedly stepped in, and said loudly, "Xie Rong! That hanging pot is a murder weapon, let me take it back and close the case."

Ruodie, who was on the sidelines, trotted over and raised her hand to block Lu Sheng's mouth: "Young Master Lu, keep your voice down, my master stayed up all night last night, so don't listen to the noise."

Lu Sheng was silent for a moment, seeing the noble young man straighten up slowly, his long hair was tied loosely behind his back, although there was no abnormality in his face, his expression was slightly tired, his teeth were white and his clothes were like clouds, soft from reddish brown The soft wooden side of the couch hangs down.Although the season was inappropriate, Lu Sheng still saw a bit of the beauty's lazy and charming temperament after waking up from her spring sleep.On the one hand, he secretly felt ashamed, if this eccentric young master knew about it, he might not be spared.

He held back his breath, sat down on the bottom with light hands and feet, and then lowered his voice and said softly: "Xie Rong, that hanging pot is a murder weapon. Let me take it back to the Qingming Office to close the case. You just have to rest. After the case is closed, I will try to give it to you." How about you fetch it?"

When I first met you, you said Mr. Xie one by one, how could you become Xie Rong overnight.

Xie Rong raised her eyes and squinted, but saw that the young Gongcao didn't notice anything strange, only worried about looking at herself, with such a cautious demeanor, as if looking at a patient, he was really... a living treasure.

He took a small white jade cup offered by a purple-clothed maid, took a sip of the warm plum wine, and then said: "The hanging pot hides an evil spirit, and it has been placed in Xingshan Temple to make offerings to resolve resentment. If you want Take it, go find Huiye by yourself."

Lu Sheng was taken aback, sighed unconsciously, and asked again in a wavering voice: "...The Yaoye keeps saying that he wants to save people by killing, is it true that he was bewitched by some evil spirit?"

Xie Rong lowered her eyes and said, "Yes, and no."

Lu Sheng couldn't help becoming more and more confused, but Xie Rong didn't explain any more, and the two had their breakfast quietly.

When the tableware was removed and fragrant tea was put on, a handsome young servant entered the room holding a tray. Xie Rongfang said: "There is nothing more dangerous in the world than the human heart. If you maintain integrity and be kind, evil spirits will not invade you. If you have evil thoughts in your heart, you will naturally find all kinds of excuses to do evil. Therefore, if the hanging pot possessed by evil spirits falls into the hands of Yao Ye, it will become the Supreme Buddha Principle of Medicine Buddha; if it falls into the hands of a Taoist priest, it may become a killing sword The Tao, naturally generates a heresy that uses killing to prove the Tao. If it falls into your hands, it will probably become an excuse to punish the evil and show off... In the end, it is nothing more than an excuse."

Lu Sheng unknowingly nodded and said: "So... there is no evil sword, the murderer just wants to kill." He suddenly woke up, and smiled again: "Xie Rong, don't be joking, I will punish the evil, naturally It is to apprehend the criminal and bring him to justice, and he will definitely not easily hurt people's lives. A gentleman is not served by things, how can I be controlled by external things."

Xie Rong smiled when she heard the words, raised her hand slightly, and ordered the boy to lift off the silk covering the tray in his hand, revealing a black and gilt fish-skin sheath sword, "Your sword is seriously damaged, I will replace it for you." Forged again."

Lu Sheng was so flattered that he quickly got up and took the sword.The hanging pot was heavy and sharp, he blocked several swords yesterday, the blade was curled and notched, now when he pulled it out, it was as clean as new, the silver light shone like spring water, exuding a cold air.

He blurted out praise: "A good sword!" He waved his hand casually, and said happily: "The weight is just right... Xie Rong, you have been up all night, is it just to forge a sword? How dare you take it... I am ashamed to accept it." After all, he really gave a solemn salute to Xie Rong.

Xie Rong seemed to be smiling but not smiling. She sat down and accepted his salute, and said: "The sword is a sacrificial vessel. It is enshrined in God's will on the top, and it inherits the discipline from the bottom. You can do it yourself."

Lu Sheng only felt that his exhortations had a deep meaning, he couldn't figure it out, so he simply didn't think about it, hung his sword on his waist, said goodbye to Xie Rong, and hurried away.

Just after leaving Xie's mansion, he ran into Ji Chong by the Luoma Bridge. The young man looked at Lu Sheng carefully, before he said with a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, brother Lu is fine, otherwise your brother and sister-in-law will eat me alive."

Lu Sheng laughed, and slapped him on the back of the neck, "It's just a small injury, remember to keep it a secret from my brother and sister-in-law... It was an emergency yesterday, thanks to Xie Rong who informed you. Then Yaoye...how is it?"

Ji Chong giggled, while rubbing the back of his neck, he reported the aftermath one by one.

Last night, the 1th Battalion of Yulin transported Yaoye's body back to the camp, and also borrowed the murder weapon from Xingshan Temple. Although half of the blade was destroyed, Bian Qing deserved to be the No. It did not match the wounds of those corpses.Then he sighed: "The Buddha shadow on Shilipo has disappeared without a trace. Could it be that it is really a monster..."

Lu Sheng closed his eyes and said solemnly, "It's not evil spirits that are causing trouble, but people's hearts."

What he said was so inscrutable that Ji Chong became more and more at a loss when he heard it.

While the two were talking, they walked out of Zhujie Lane, but Ji Chong suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Brother Lu, look."

Lu Sheng looked in the direction indicated by his gaze, and saw a luxuriously decorated silver carriage passing through the alleyway, and stopped at the entrance of Xie Rong's mansion.

On the ram's horn glazed palace lantern hanging outside the carriage, there was the word Peng written on it, and Lu Sheng frowned.