At the end of the corridor of the yamen of the Exorcism Department headquarters, two young girls in gorgeous clothes stood.
One of them is tall, with a slender waist, wearing a light green dress, and an elegant smile on his face - undoubtedly Shangguan Jin.
The other one is petite and exquisite, wearing a lavender pleated skirt, with dark cloud-like hair combed into a bun, wearing a shiny gold walking stick, standing on tiptoes and waving to Gu Xu—— It's Xiaohan.
"Gu Xu, you're here!" Shi Xiaohan said loudly.
“Yes, I’m coming.”
“I thought you wouldn’t come.”
“But I’m still here.”
p>
"This...will this delay your cultivation?"
"Of course not," Gu Xu walked to her side and smiled slightly, "Master Chen said before that cultivation The fourth stage is called "Wangxiangtai", and the key is to find your "ordinary mind". It is definitely not possible to stay in the house and practice. You must go out for a walk, like Kongxuan Sanren used to do. We can play in the market and play pot with the mortals."
"That's good." Shi Xiaohan breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, Gu Xu noticed that this girl's face seemed to have undergone some changes -
The eyebrows had been trimmed and drawn, becoming more delicate, like curved willow leaves.
The face was painted with a touch of rouge, like the morning glow.
"My Lady, you look different today than usual."
"Do you look good?" Shi Xiaohan put his hands on his hips and looked up at him with a look on his face. Waiting expectantly for his answer.
"Good-looking."
"Do you look better now or before?"
"The heroine is naturally beautiful, and makeup is just the icing on the cake."
Hearing his words, two shallow dimples suddenly appeared on Shi Xiaohan's pretty oval face.
"Sister Shangguan made this for me!" She pointed to Shangguan Jin beside her, "She knows a lot of things! She knows swordsmanship, medicine, and dressing up... this world There seems to be nothing she doesn't understand!"
"No, no," Shangguan Jin immediately smiled modestly after hearing her words, "These are just tricks and tricks, not worth it at all! To mention it, it’s nothing compared to Taoist friend Gu who has read through the Three Thousand Taoist Canons and knows everything about spells, talismans, formations, and divination.”
“Thank you, Lord Shangguan,” Gu Xu also smiled and shook his head, “I know that. It’s just superficial.”
At the same time, he silently complained in his heart: This is another master of business bragging.
At this time, Shangguan Jin mentioned it again: "Fellow Daoist Gu, if you go to Luoshui tonight to see the lanterns, do you mind if I go with you? I have lived in Luojing City for more than ten years and I am very familiar with that area. , I also know that there are several good restaurants there, maybe I can take you to try them..."
Before Gu Xu could speak, Shi Xiaohan immediately smiled.He agreed on his behalf: "Of course! I have long wanted to try the delicious food in Luo Jing City."
Gu Xu glanced at her and sighed in his heart: This silly girl... If in the future Someone prepares enough delicious food for her, and she might even sell herself.
Of course, when the words reached this level, he could not refuse, so he could only say politely to Shangguan Jin: "Then I will thank you, fellow Taoist Shangguan."
< p>…………In the evening, the three of them rode a carriage without any decoration, passing through the neatly arranged houses and heading to the downtown area on the edge of Luoshui River.
On the way, Shangguan Jin and Shi Xiaohan sat side by side and chatted about special dishes from all over the country.
When it comes to delicious food, Shi Xiaohan is like a little sparrow, his eyes shine and he chatters non-stop.
Shangguan Jin looked at her with a smile, always able to agree with her words and make additions just right.
As for Gu Xu, he sat alone opposite them, as if he had become a superfluous person.
A quarter of an hour later, they came to an inconspicuous but busy restaurant, ordered a table full of inexpensive but delicious dishes, and quickly cleared them all.
There is no doubt that more than half of the food went into Shi Xiaohan's stomach and condensed into the "Seal of Gluttony".
After checking out, they went to the river.
Here, colorful buildings and lantern corridors stretch for miles, looking colorful and uninterrupted. The shops and houses on the roadside are all decorated with lights.
The colors are far away, and the light is far away in the sky. The stars are falling when the Han Dynasty is suspected, and the moon is hanging by the building.
In addition, there are snack sellers and performers.
Both dignitaries and ordinary people came to the streets to join in the fun during the Lantern Festival, filling the streets and alleys of Luojing City with water.
Shi Xiaohan kept looking around, his almond-shaped eyes wide open, reflecting the colorful lights and bustling crowds.
When she accidentally saw a candy vendor, she immediately squeezed through the crowd and paid for five candies.
One shaped like a golden dragon was handed to Gu Xu.
One shaped like a wild goose was handed to Shangguan Jin.
The remaining three are the kitten, the bunny, and the sparrow, all of which belong to her.
In this regard, Gu Xu secretly commented: Although this girl Shi Xiaohan calls herself a "hero" all day long and shouts about "helping the world and bringing peace to the people", in fact she is still a little girl at heart and likes cute things.
Then, while nibbling on the candy figures, they came to the colorful light gallery.
"There is still half an hour before the arena competition starts," Shangguan Jin said, "We can guess a few lantern riddles here first. If we guess correctly, we can also go and collect the prizes."
p>"What is the prize? Can I eat it?" Shi Xiaohan asked.
"There are candies and toys.Tools..."
"That's good! "
After that, she said with a smile, and at the same time pulled the sleeves of Gu Xu and Shangguan Jin, and walked into the sea of lanterns.
Then she pulled the lanterns There was a piece of colored paper at the bottom, and he squinted and said: "Let's take a look at this lantern riddle..."
"'A small golden jar, filled with golden dumplings, eat the golden dumplings and spit out white beads'...
"Gu Xu, Sister Shangguan, do you know what the answer is? "
Gu Xu thought for a while and guessed: "Orange? "
Shangguan Jin replied: "It should be orange! "
"It all sounds right..." Shi Xiaohan scratched his head, "Well, the difference between oranges and tangerines is..."
"Oranges are sweet , oranges are sour. "Shangguan Jin glanced at Gu Xu casually and replied with a smile.
They didn't spend too much time worrying about this issue.
Then, Shi Xiaohan turned around again, Staring at another piece of colored paper, he softly recited the lantern riddle written on the paper:
"'A dragon lies down in winter, branches and leaves bloom in summer, dragon's whiskers grow upwards, and pearls line up downwards'..."< /p>
This time, she did not ask Gu Xu and Shangguan Jin for the answer, but shouted with joy: "I know the answer to this lantern riddle! It's grapes! "
Then she looked at the third lantern riddle: "'When you are young, you will be green when you are old, and when you are old, you will be red. At the beginning of summer, you will attract naughty children. Please come down to the ground with your hands dancing on bamboo poles. After eating, your hands will be glowing red'...
< p>"I know this too! It must be Mulberry!"This heroine is so smart!
"Also...'It looks like bamboo but not bamboo. It has knots all over the body and is not too thick. It is either purple or green. It cannot be cooked if you only eat it raw'...
"This I also know...the answer is definitely 'sugar cane'! If not, I will stand on my head to eat tomorrow!
"..."
Perhaps because most of the riddles on these lanterns are related to food, Shi Xiaohan can guess the answers easily.
Soon, she tore off the colored papers, wrote down the answers, and then exchanged them for a pocket full of candies.
While Shi Xiaohan was busy guessing lantern riddles, Shangguan Jin came to Gu Xu and chatted with him about things in the Exorcism Department.
"Fellow Daoist Gu, I heard that you will stay in Luojing City as an official in the next few months?"
"That's right."
"What is the specific official position? As the saying goes, those who are capable work hard. You Daoyou Gu has done such an earth-shattering thing in Qingzhou Mansion this time, I believe the chief minister will definitely let you shoulder more important responsibilities!"
"I have not received the new appointment letter yet."
"That should still be in the process," Shangguan Jin thoughtfully said, "Based on what Taoist Fellow Gu has set this time. Due to his merits, there is a high probability that he will be promoted again, so the cabinet needs to spend more time to consider it... In just one year, Gu Daoyou was promoted twice in a row.This promotion is unprecedented in the Daqi Exorcism Department! ”
“Let’s wait for the dust to settle first! ”
“By the way, Fellow Daoist Gu, will you be free in a week?” "
"A week later...there should be nothing else besides cultivation! Fellow Daoist Shangguan, do you need my help with anything? "
Shangguan Jin pondered for two seconds and replied: "Actually, that's the case. As the personal followers of Lord Sishou, Chu Fengge and I were brought up by Lord Sishou. To a certain extent, we can be regarded as the real disciples of Lord Sishou. In the process of teaching us to practice, he has always put forward very strict requirements for us.
"Gu Daoyou should remember that when you were participating in the promotion assessment in Yishui County, you entered a magical artifact called 'Wen Gu Pot' and solved a magical weapon named 'Shi' in it. Dream tapir's ghost?"
"Yes, of course I remember." Gu Xu nodded.
The "Wen Gu Pot" is a precious magic weapon of Luo Si Shou.
It can record the ghost cases in the history of the Exorcism Department in the form of illusions in the pot.
As long as the monks recite specific mantras, they can let their spiritual consciousness enter the pot and re-experience past cases.
According to what Chu Fengge said at the time, the monks at the Exorcism Department headquarters often conducted actual combat training in the illusion of the pot.
During the promotion assessment, Gu Xu also entered this "reminiscing pot" with Ma Qin, the police officer of Yishui County.
Gu Xu’s skills in talisman, astonishing insight and fighting talent displayed in the illusion of the pot once left a great impression on Chu Fengge, Shangguan Jin and Luo Sishou who were fighting outside the pot. Deeply impressed.
"The Chief of Staff requires Chu Fengge and I to enter the 'Review Pot' once a month to review a past case," Shangguan Jin continued, "Of course the difficulty of this case cannot be Too low - at least, we need to deal with an 'evil spirit' level ghost that can threaten our life safety in the 'warming pot'.
"The chief executive believes that this kind of battle between life and death. Combat is an excellent training that can improve our actual combat skills and adaptability as quickly as possible.
"Of course, that guy Chu Fengge still hasn't learned any skills. He still just rushes in and does it without thinking. But he relies on his 'weed' magical power, rough skin and thick flesh , allowing injuries to heal quickly, true energy to recover quickly, and in the end, ghosts can always be beaten to death.
"Fellow Daoist Gu, your cultivation talent is stronger than all of us. The Chief of Staff also has higher expectations for you than we do.
"The Chief of Staff hopes that you can also participate in our actual training in the 'Warming Pot' at the end of this month. I wonder if you are willing?"
Gu Xu did not answer immediately. .
He knew that participating in this kind of practical training between life and death in the "Review Pot" was a very luxurious treatment.
On the one hand, the Exorcist Department’sWhen monks go out to perform ghost-killing missions, they not only need cultivation, but also strong psychological quality and the ability to deal with things calmly.
Many newcomers may have good qualifications, but when it comes to actual combat, they are too nervous to make correct decisions because they see scary-looking ghosts.
But many old people may not have very high cultivation levels, but they can rely on their rich experience and strong psychological quality to achieve great achievements.
Experience is undoubtedly something that can only be obtained through actual combat again and again. If you are not careful, you will lose your life.
But a magic weapon like the "Review Pot" can greatly speed up this process while ensuring safety.
On the other hand, many epiphanies and breakthroughs in the process of practice only occur at moments of life and death.
For example, when Gu Xu was on the verge of despair, he stepped on the "Naihe Bridge" and successfully gained "time".
For example, when Chen Jisheng risked his life to pick snow ginseng on Mount Yi, he suddenly found his "ordinary heart" and was successfully promoted to become a strong man in the "Wangxiangtai" realm.
However, Shangguan Jin and Chu Fengge were able to use the "warming pot" to simulate this process of narrow escape.
For example, Chu Fengge's "weed" magical power was obtained from the "Wen Gu Pot".
But now, Gu Xu's cultivation has stalled.
He stood on the stairs leading to the "Wangxiang Terrace", with clouds and mist in front of him, and ghosts and wolves howling all around, making it difficult for him to continue climbing the steep Homesickness Ridge.
However, Shangguan Jin and Chu Fengge were able to use the "warming pot" to simulate this process of narrow escape.
For example, Chu Fengge's "weed" magical power was obtained from the "Wen Gu Pot".
But now, Gu Xu's cultivation has stalled.
He stood on the stairs leading to the "Wangxiang Terrace", with clouds and mist in front of him, and ghosts and wolves howling all around, making it difficult for him to continue climbing the steep Homesickness Ridge.
However, Shangguan Jin and Chu Fengge were able to use the "warming pot" to simulate this process of narrow escape.
For example, Chu Fengge's "weed" magical power was obtained from the "Wen Gu Pot".
But now, Gu Xu's cultivation has stalled.
He stood on the stairs leading to the "Wangxiang Terrace", with clouds and mist in front of him, and ghosts and wolves howling all around, making it difficult for him to continue climbing the steep Homesickness Ridge.
(Change first and then change)
PS: It’s the end of the month, please double the monthly ticket! If you don’t vote, your monthly vote will become invalid!
PS2: There will be an update tomorrow!
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Notes:
(1) “The colorful flowers are far away from the ground, and the bright lights are far away in the sky. After the Han Dynasty suspected that the stars were falling, I leaned against the building. "Like a hanging moon" - Tang Dynasty Lu Zhaolin's "Fifteen Nights Watching Lanterns"