Urban Night Returner

"What did you say?" Ding Hui didn't expect that Luo Jing would spend the night in the east courtyard last night. This disturbance was really a waste of money.

Fang Yun was still terrified: "My father's face is so dark that it is scary. He said that if the kitchen sends such dishes to the East courtyard again, I will let the servants get out of the house."

Ding Hui's face was gloomy, and his hands on his knees were tightly clenched into fists.If Luo Jing reprimanded her because of Biyan, she had already prepared an explanation, but she never expected that Luo Jing would be furious because of Shen Mobai in the East Courtyard.Shen Mobai broke into her new house on her wedding night, but Luo Jing not only didn't blame him, but even went out with him in the middle of the night, and didn't come back until dawn.Although Luo Jing said that he was his adopted brother, but with a woman's intuition, she knew that the truth was not so simple.But on the second day, Luo Jing brought Bi Yan to offer tea to her, so that she could temporarily focus on this concubine.Now that Luo Jing actually stayed overnight in the east courtyard, and got angry at the cook because of Shen Mobai, she became more and more convinced: this Shen Mobai might be the formidable enemy.

"What kind of food did you send over to make Grandpa so angry?"

Fang Yun gritted her teeth and said: "This is Aunt Bi's harming the servant girl! The day the servant girl took over the kitchen, she only said that she would deliver three vegetarian meals to the East Yard every day, but she didn't say that it must be fresh. It has been raining for the past few days. Fresh vegetables are hard to buy. The servant girl went late yesterday and didn't buy anything, so I used it for my wife and master first, and sent the leftover cabbage warmed up the day before yesterday. Who would have thought that the master would see it. Today the servant girl After asking the cook, I found out that the one in the East Yard not only needs fresh vegetables, but also cooks them carefully. How much it costs is even more generous than Madam and Master! Aunt Bi didn't tell the servant a word about such a thing, she clearly wanted to see the servant's joke!"

Ding Hui's slender eyebrows were tightly frowned: "Leave Bi Yan alone. You said that Shen Mobai has lived in the mansion for a long time?"

Fang Yun bowed his head and said: "Yes. The cook said that Mr. Shen was in the mansion when he came, but eating vegetarian food was a later thing. It's just that he was hired after the master entered Jing'an's house. What happened before? , he doesn't know either."

Ding Hui frowned and pondered.Suddenly Fang Yu hurried in from the door, Ding Hui raised his eyebrows and reprimanded: "What's the rush?"

Fang Yu hurriedly stopped, bowed her head and said: "Madam, Aunt Bi is moving things, and the Lord asked her to move to the east courtyard."

Ding Hui stood up with a cry, then sat down slowly, and said indifferently: "Move as long as you move, and meditate when you move out."

Fang Yun said anxiously: "But the meaning of the master, isn't it the madam?"

Ding Hui had recovered his calm look, stood up and said, "Since Aunt Bi has moved back to the East Courtyard, she should take good care of her baby. I will take care of the affairs of the house. Fang Yun, you have to be careful in the kitchen. The food in the hospital must be exquisite, and one has to wait on the baby and the other on vegetarian diet. Fang Yu, you often go to watch, Aunt Bi is inconvenient, so if you have to do any chores, you should also take care of them."

Fang Yu murmured: "But, if Aunt Bi gave birth to a boy—that would be the eldest son!"

Ding Hui said indifferently: "The eldest son born by a concubine is nothing. Now as long as I win the heart of the master, I can give birth to a son and a half daughter, and the one born by Aunt Bi is nothing. It's okay, you two, go help Bi Aunt moved house."

Bi Yan moved the house happily.Biquan carried her makeup box to the east yard, saw her happy appearance, and finally couldn't help saying: "What are you happy about?"

Bi Yan smiled and said: "Why are you unhappy? After all, Master still loves me."

Biquan sighed: "Master, does he love you, or the child in your belly?"

Bi Yan was stunned for a moment, and said: "Isn't it all the same? The child is in my belly, who is it that hurts?"

Biquan shook his head helplessly: "What's the point of having such a fight with your wife? I asked you to move back to live in the east courtyard, but have you been in your room these days? If you didn't have this child, you would be happy now." get up?"

Bi Yan was stunned for a moment, then slowly lowered her head.Biquan looked at his younger sister and sighed, "You, when will you be smarter? Do you think that with this child, you will have everything? Don't you see Master? Master is also the eldest son of the Luo family, but what have you gained from the family? After all, you are a concubine. If the master doesn’t care, so what if you give birth to a son? The master is most annoyed by these trivial and petty things, and you want to make a fuss. Do you think the master is not angry with you? I’m afraid The Lord is just for the sake of your following him all these years, or, just for the sake of the child—"

Bi Yan never thought about it, and couldn't help but panic: "Brother, then, what should we do?"

Biquan shook his head: "It seems that the new wife is not tolerant. In fact, my mother is the concubine. Just because of this, I will treat you differently. But you have to be smart, don't just do something to annoy you. As long as you can catch the master, even if the new wife can't tolerate you, you don't have to be afraid of anything."

Biyan had never thought about this before, she put her hand on her stomach and nodded in a daze, and after a while she murmured: "Brother, if we stay in Hangzhou and don't come to the capital, that would be great..."

Biquan shook his head: "Even if you don't come to the capital, I will get married after all. And—" He suddenly closed his mouth, Biyan raised his head, and saw Shen Mobai walking from the opposite side, his face darkened again.On the other hand, Biquan calmly nodded and said, "Mr. Shen, this is—"

Shen Mobai looked at Bi Yan's slightly protruding belly, and subconsciously moved aside: "I, I'm going out for a walk."

Biquan was a little surprised: "Mr. Shen going out alone?" Shen Mobai has never gone out alone since he arrived in the capital, even Luo Jing rarely went out with his company.

Shen Mobai lowered his head slightly: "Yes, that is, just walk around."

Although Biquan was a little strange, he didn't bother to bother him, and said casually: "Sir, don't go too far, you should be anxious if you don't see him when you come back."

Shen Mobai responded vaguely, bypassing the siblings and leaving.Bi Yan stared at his back, and said bitterly: "There's him! He's a weird pretender, I don't know what he's going to do again!"

Biquan patted his younger sister: "Forget it, I'm sorry he can't do anything. You, it's more important to have a safe pregnancy."

Shen Mobai left Luo Mansion through the back door.After walking two streets straight, he saw that there was no one following him, so he breathed a sigh of relief and slowed down, took out a note from his sleeve to look at it, and asked softly to the oncoming pedestrian: "Excuse me, uncle, How to get to Chenghuang Temple?"

Town God's Temple is a lively place. In early summer, jugglers perform tricks, carry burdens and sell all kinds of food and snacks, and the sky is getting dark and still lingering. They pick up lanterns one after another, illuminating the huge area in front of the temple brightly.Shen Mobai was dazzled as he walked all the way.He was wearing high-quality silk and satin that was rewarded by the emperor, and he looked like he was rich. He didn't know how many people came up to sell it, which made him dizzy.After finally breaking free from the crowd, suddenly a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into the darkness beyond the light. Someone said in a deep voice, "Follow me, sir!"

Behind the Town God's Temple is a small forest, the man kept pulling Shen Mobai into the forest before letting go, and made a long bow face to face: "Thank you, sir, for coming."

Shen Mobai glanced at him in the dim light, and couldn't help being surprised: "General Zuo, what, how did you become like this?"

This man was exactly Zuo Mu, but what he was wearing was no longer the military uniform he used to wear, but some tattered coarse cloth clothes, and there were a few scratches on his face, and he also limped when he walked, and he only walked for a few days. Bulu, already looking a little strenuous, then coughed.

Shen Mobai patted him on the back lightly, and said worriedly: "General Zuo?"

Zuo Mu suppressed his cough, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and said with a wry smile, "Sir, call me Zuo Mu. I'm already a deserter, not a general anymore."

Shen Mobai pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.Zuo Mu looked him up and down a few times, and said, "Sir, are you doing well these days? Why do I look a little tired?"

Shen Mobai cheered up and said: "No, I'm fine. Zuo Jiang—that—where has Mr. Zuo been these days? Is the injury from last time healed? That Suqin girl..."

Zuo Mu smiled, then suddenly put away his smile, knelt down to Shen Mobai, and said solemnly: "Yesterday, I sent a letter from Zhiyuan to ask you to come out, just for this matter."

Shen Mobai was frightened by him and took a step back, muttering: "General Zuo——what is Mr. Zuo doing? Get up quickly, and talk about it when you have something to do."

Zuo Mu wanted to stand up, but he swayed and sat down instead.Shen Mobai hurried over to help him, but Zuo Mu pushed him away, put one hand on his ribs, and said with a wry smile: "It's nothing, just a broken bone. I rushed back and didn't heal well."

Shen Mobai was startled, and quickly withdrew his hands, for fear of touching his wound.Zuo Mu pressed his ribs to pant for a while, looked up at him and said, "Mr. Shen, I went to the South China Sea."

Shen Mobai asked doubtfully, "South China Sea?"

Zuo Mu nodded, and carefully took out a bamboo tube from his pocket. The mouth of the tube was covered with gauze, and it was carefully tied up with string. There were buzzing and flapping sounds inside, obviously it contained some living thing.Shen Mobai looked at Zuo Mu suspiciously, and reached out to take the bamboo tube over.The gauze is as thin as a cicada's wing, and upon closer inspection, one can see that there is still a light blue light shining through the bamboo tube.Shen Mobai moved his eyes up to have a look, and suddenly remembered something: "Green clam!"

Zuo Mu smiled and said, "I know Mr. will definitely recognize this thing."

Shen Mobai murmured: "Qingfu was born in the South China Sea, if you take its son, the mother will fly here, if you take its mother, the son will fly here... What is Mr. Zuo taking this thing for?"

Zuo Mu stared at the bamboo tube, and said slowly, "Suqin is pregnant."

Shen Mobai was a little confused at first, but then he understood: "Yes, it's Mr. Zuo, you—"

Zuo Mu nodded.Shen Mobai hesitated and said: "Then, isn't that a good thing?"

Zuo Mu smiled wryly and said: "Good thing? Wang Shangshu is over forty years old, and he has never had a hard time. He has been seeking medical advice for more than ten years, and they all say that he is infertile. Now that Suqin is pregnant suddenly, I'm afraid--he was not beaten to death. , is to be sunk in the pond!"

Shen Mobai let out an ah, and was speechless for a long time.Zuo Mu lowered his eyes to look at the bamboo tube, and said slowly: "Shangshu's mansion is heavily guarded, it is very difficult for me to go in and out alone, it is delusional to bring her out. What's more, last time I sneaked into the mansion and they found it, although they didn't get it. evidence, but they must be suspicious of Suqin and will keep her under stricter supervision."

Shen Mobai suddenly understood: "Mr. Zuo wants to use green clams to bring people out?"

Zuo Mu nodded.Shen Mobai hesitated and said: "The blood of the green clam smeared on the copper coin can make the copper coin fly back by itself. But this is a human..."

Zuo Mu's eyes shone shrewdly: "Yes! There is indeed such a method in my Zuo family's family tradition, but no one has ever tried it. Because the blood of the green clam can be used to guide the emptiness, but if you want to apply it all over the body I don’t know how many thousands of them are enough. But the green beetles are extremely rare, where can we get so many? But if we use the magic circle to help them, even if there is not enough blood, they can still bring people out.”

Shen Mobai pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly: "That's right. If you paint amulets with the blood of green beetles, it will be more effective than applying them on people."

Zuo Mu showed his face and said: "Mr. Shen is indeed a genius. I draw inferences from one instance to another. It's just that I have been stubborn since I was a child. I only know superficially about the skills passed down in my family, but I haven't studied them deeply. Now I spend less time and regret it. It's too late to regret. These days I tried After a few times, I just couldn’t succeed, so I had to alarm Mr.

Shen Mobai suddenly said: "It turns out that Wang Shangshu's house is said to be haunted these days, it is Mr. Zuo—"

Zuo Mu smiled contemptuously: "Those Taoist priests are just swindlers, what can they see? It's just that I don't have enough knowledge and skills to fully drive the talisman array, so I asked you to come out today because I want to ask you to help me and save Suqin's life." , I am extremely grateful, and I should kill myself to repay it."

Shen Mobai was taken aback, took a step back and said, "Me? How could I do it?"

Zuo Mu stared at him closely: "If sir fails, who else can use the method of borrowing spirits to borrow the soul-returning tree from Feixiang Feifeixiang Chutian to save the entire army and people in Wucheng?"

Shen Mobai was startled, and murmured: "You, how do you know?"

Zuo Mu sighed: "Although Zuo Mu is ignorant and incompetent, he still recognizes the soul-returning incense. Mr. can borrow the spirit of the soul-returning tree from the heaven. Compared with Zuo Mu, it is naturally a world of difference. Now the body of Suqin She is pregnant, and in one or two months, she can no longer hide it. Zuo Mu really has no choice but to ask her husband to help her and save the lives of her mother and son. Zuo Mu is willing to be like a cow and a horse to repay the kindness of the husband." He Having said that, he turned over and fell to his knees, and kowtowed firmly with a bang.

Holding the small bamboo tube in his hand, Shen Mobai returned to Luo Mansion with a heavy heart.Before Luo Jing came back, the Biyan brothers and sisters had already rested separately, and no one noticed him.The food in the house will also be completely cold, Shen Mobai has no intention of eating, but just puts the bamboo tube on the table and stares blankly.Without candlelight, the shimmering light on the green clam became brighter and brighter, like a green gem, flapping its wings in the tube.Zuo Mu fought with one rib, and only caught three pairs of green clams. After two failures, now only this female clam was left. If he failed again, he would just go again It was too late for the South China Sea.

The wind blew the window open, and the silvery moonlight came in, making the ground look like a pool of still water.It will be fifteen in two days, which is a good time.Many spells in the world, except Buddhist spells, are close to Yin. Therefore, when performed on a full moon night, using the essence of Taiyin, it can achieve twice the result with half the effort.But because of the full moon night, the yin energy is too strong, and those ghosts are extraordinarily active.Ever since Wu Cheng practiced the method, Shen Mobai discovered how important the Bodhi Pearl is to him - without the Bodhi Pearl, even the magic circle can't stop ghosts from spying on him.Those are ghosts who have wandered around the world for a long time, and refused to leave because of various obsessions during their lifetime.However, after death, the soul dissipates, even if it does not dissipate for a while, it will gradually fade away in the wind and sun, and in the end, what remains is only a strand of obsession, and even the original intention of not wanting to leave has been forgotten.Shen Mobai is not afraid of ghosts, what he is afraid of is these obsessions.Buddhist precepts are often too extreme in the end, and even what was originally good may turn into evil in the end.Ghosts can't hurt him, but these obsessions will be like maggots attached to his bones, affecting his emotions little by little, as if he was soaked in ice water inch by inch, and gradually his heart becomes cold and hard.What Shen Mobai is afraid of is that he will also develop obsessions, and eventually turn evil because of hatred.

In the past, he never thought that he would have a day of fear.Although his master taught him to refrain from attachment since he was a child, he seems to be born with no attachments, he moves freely, everything is passing, and there is nothing worth pursuing for him.Even though he recited the Dharma every day, he never thought of attaining consummation.But now he is a little scared, because he has discovered that he is not without attachments.A grain of grass in flat sand will sprout when it sees rain.In the past, his heart was like still water, because he didn't see what he wanted, but Luo Jing was the stone that broke the water, if he threw it in, it would cause countless ripples.Shen Mobai felt that he was walking on thin ice now, and he didn't know if he took a wrong step, he would step on the ice and fall.

However, he could not refuse Zuo Mu.Since childhood, he has been reading Buddhist scriptures since he was able to read.The Buddhist scriptures taught him to be compassionate, and also taught him to be as calm as water, but they never taught him how to refuse.

Standing up slowly, Shen Mobai walked to the bed, and unfolded the bundle beside his pillow.The things in this room are all added by Luo Jing, only the things in this bag are his own.The cinnabar inkstone, Longhao brush, and yellow bamboo paper were all placed on the table, Shen Mobai dripped water to grind the vermilion, and drew talismans under the moonlight...