Painter

Chapter 194: The Man in the Mirror

Tu Zhaoying carried the flag and the box, went out of Guangzhaifang in the east, and passed Daxiangguo Temple in the north. Along the way, he neither yelled nor rang the bell, but also attracted several women to inquire.The handsome mirror grinder, however, did not accept the business that was sent up, and stepped into Jinchengfang on snow.

Jinchengfang is full of high-rise houses and deep courtyards, and most of the people who live here are dignitaries.This side has just passed the gate of Zuo Pu She's house, and in front of it is the Guozi Jijiu House.She passed the Guoziji Restaurant and turned to the west. The cloth flag was swaying in the wind. After a while, she approached a mansion. Tu Zhaoying finally rang the bell, cleared her throat, and shouted: "Jian Ruo Zhi The water shines like lightning; the cyclamen come to grind it, and the concubine shines on it!"

The white walls of the mansion are covered with cicada-patterned tiles. There used to be a household servant and a Habayashi general. Now, the mansion has been bought by a wealthy businessman, whose surname is Deng.Following the yelling of the mirror maker, the back door opened, and the Tsing Yi door came out to take a look. When he saw the mirror maker, he smiled and said, "I knew that Mr. Tu is here. Mr. Tu is here later. I will go and tell my wife." .”

Tu Zhaoying said thank you, and waited outside the door.

Not long after, Menzi went back and forth, and brought Tu Zhaoying into the house.The hostess waited in the ear room. She was more than forty years old, her charm was still there, and she was dressed in brocade. She looked quite young, but there was a faint sadness in the eyebrows.The reason for this mournful look is well known in the public - this young lady of the Deng family, who was born in Jiji not two years ago, has a good-looking appearance and is a well-known beauty in the public. Half a year ago, she was born He got sick and died like that.

However, when the hostess saw Tu Zhaoying, the sadness between her brows disappeared a bit, and she welcomed him into her seat with a smile.After exchanging some pleasantries, he glanced outside the door and winked at the maidservant.

The maid understood and drove out the two servants next to her.

The servant walked obediently, and before leaving, he took another look at the mirror grinder, thinking that this guy is really handsome, Alang has been doing business all year round, the madam couldn't bear the loneliness after all.

After the servant retreated, Deng did not look at Tu Zhaoying with affection, but was very respectful, even a little cautious, and said, "After this past, please ask Tu Lang if she is doing well in there. Is there anything you want?"

"Don't worry, ma'am, I will definitely bring the message to you." Tu Zhaoying nodded, "I'll go there now."

"well."

Deng got up and took Tu Zhaoying out of the ear room.The two of them walked through the Chaoshou verandah in the west of the courtyard, and arrived outside the boudoir of the young lady of the Deng family. Deng stopped in her tracks, and only Tu Zhaoying went in.

The boudoir has not been lived in for a long time, and the mattresses, tables and chairs are neat and spotless. In front of the dowry, a rosewood frame supports a bronze mirror.

Since the death of the young lady of the Deng family, the bronze mirror has been covered in dust.A few days ago, Mrs. Deng went to Daxiangguo Temple to offer incense. When she saw Tu Zhaoying passing by, she was inexplicably thinking about her dead daughter, so she invited this miserly man to her home.

Tu Zhaoying possessed Qingqiu's mirror-grinding technique, and after polishing the bronze mirror to be spotless, a strange thing happened.

At this time, she closed the door, looked at the bronze mirror, hesitated for a while, and walked over.The mirror reflected the silent snow falling outside the window, and then, Tu Zhaoying's face was seen, his eyebrows were like crescent moons, and his eyes were like spots of paint. Even though he didn't make an expression, there was a vague smile on the corner of his mouth.

At this moment, in the mirror, the face of another bright and beautiful girl appeared beside him, and said happily, "Tu Lang, you are here."

Tu Zhaoying nodded and called "Yuan Ying".

The girl in the mirror is surnamed Deng, named Yuan Ying, she is the young lady of the Deng family.This spring has already died of illness, but it appeared in the mirror, this fact is bizarre.

A few days ago, Tu Zhaoying polished the bronze mirror. When she saw Deng Yuanying, she reminded Deng a few words to let her take good care of the bronze mirror.

At first, the lady thought she was a mirror grinder pretending to be a ghost to cheat money, but after hearing Tu Zhaoying tell a few secret things about Deng Yuanying that are not known to outsiders, she knew that Deng Yuanying was a practitioner of playing with the world of mortals, so her attitude changed abruptly On the other hand, the original two hundred cash for grinding the mirror was not considered cheap, but Mrs. Deng directly gave 15 taels of silver, which was about twenty pennies.This Qian Yi wanted to keep Tu Zhaoying, and through the mouth of the mirror grinder, he could say a few more words to the dead daughter.The second also has the meaning of sealing.According to the Dayong law, if a ghost appears in the home, it must be reported to the government and the city god immediately.But if that ghost is his own daughter, who would be willing?
Knowing this, Tu Zhaoying took the money, and came three times. Every time he came, he chatted with Deng Yuanying, and then passed on a few words to Deng, and he got some money.

If Tu Zhaoying is just a mirror grinder, he can earn a few months of ordinary people's expenses by using his words. This is a good deal that is hard to find even with a lantern.But Tu Shanxi didn't want to continue anymore, she called Yuan Ying and fell silent.

When the girl in the mirror saw Tu Zhaoying, she only cared about her joy, and said, "Why don't you come and work harder, I have no one to talk to here, and I'm suffocated to death."

Tu Shanxi said: "Of course I have other things to do, there are other people in Yujing who have mirrors to polish."

"I want Auntie to give you more money, so you don't have to rely on this to make a living..." Deng Yuanying stopped talking in the middle of her sentence, as a man has integrity, these words are a bit humiliating.

Tu Shanxi shook her head, "It's not just about making a living."

Deng Yuanying was relieved to see that the gentleman was not annoyed, and changed her words: "I'm greedy. If Tu Lang can come to talk to me occasionally, I'm satisfied." She smiled again, "I see it's snowing outside the window. Now, what's the season now?"

"The heavy snow has passed."

"Then winter is not too long. Once winter is over, it will be the first moon lantern."

"The Lantern Festival of the first month..." Tu Shanxi glanced out of the window with some anticipation in his eyes. The Lantern Festival in Yujing City should be much more prosperous than the Ichthyosaur Festival in Xuandu.

In the mirror, Deng Yuanying looked at Tu Zhaoying's expression, "Hasn't Tu Lang seen the Lantern Festival in Yujing?"

Tu Shanxi nodded, and Deng Yuanying smiled and said, "Then next time you take me to the Lantern Festival, I am very familiar with all kinds of lanterns."

Tu Shanxi looked at Deng Yuanying in the mirror, feeling quite conflicted.

After meeting Deng Yuanying for the first time a few days ago, Tu Shansi planned to tell Li Chan.But she thought again, if Alang knew, Deng Yuanying would not be able to choose whether the monster in the mirror would stay or not.

The demon in the mirror can only see the square inch of the world reflected by the bronze mirror every day, and there is no one to speak, and it reminds the fox girl of her lonely days living alone in the cave.Therefore, Tu Shanxi saw Li Chan several times and wanted to speak, but he hesitated to speak.

After such a delay, Tu Shansi and Deng Yuanying met three times.The girl in the mirror was alone for a long time, and the only person who could speak was a handsome man, and soon fell in love with Tu Zhaoying.

The fox girl is the most persuasive. Although Tu Shanxi has never seduced ordinary people, he knows that the love and hatred between young men and women are like rain in the summer heat. They don't need too many reasons. Once they come, they will be very violent.Right now, listening to Deng Yuanying's words and seeing Deng Yuanying's expression, he knew the girl's intentions.If Deng Yuanying is not informed that she is not a man, Deng Yuanying will only get deeper and deeper, and if this bubble is broken, it will really hurt people.

"Is Mr. Lang busy at that time?" Seeing that Tu Zhaoying was silent, Deng Yuanying asked.

"I'm afraid I won't be in Yujing by then."

"Where is Tu Lang going?"

"I received a letter from home a few days ago, saying that my mother is seriously ill. I have to go back."

"I hope Auntie's health will be better." Deng Yuanying expressed her concern, "When will you be able to return to Yujing?"

Tu Shanxi pondered for a moment, if he just left and never came back, it would be considered a way of not hurting others.

"Yujing University, it's not easy to live here... I may not come back after this trip." When Tu Shanxi said this, suddenly the tip of his nose shrugged slightly, and he smelled a very faint smell of alcohol.

The fox girl is quite fond of wine, and immediately recognized that this wine is much better than the Lihuabai that Alang bought.The owner of Deng's house was not there, and the hostess did not entertain guests, so the smell of alcohol seemed a bit abrupt.

"Tu Lang..." The girl in the mirror looked disappointed.

"There will be fate in the future, and I will see you again."

The mirror grinder by the mirror smiled slightly, got up and said goodbye.

……

In the backyard of Deng’s residence, a young Taoist priest sits on the ground with his back against the rockery piled up with Yaokun stone, one arm resting on his knee, and the other hand holds a red leather gourd.With a flick of his thumb, the gourd stopper holding the thread burst open. He took a sip of the wine, closed his eyes and savored the heat passing through his abdomen, but his ears were always turned to the boudoir of the young lady of the Deng family.

A servant passed by the side of the rockery, and he only moved his buttocks slightly to avoid the servant's peripheral vision.After drinking a few sips of wine, he poked his head out and watched the mirror grinder leave from the gap in the rockery.Then he put down the gourd, took out the "Garde of Merit and Demerit" that he carried with him, stroked the beard on his chin, and thought, a monster who has never killed anyone can only count 120 meritorious deeds.

He patted his buttocks to get up, walked around the rockery, and no one saw him. A Taoist priest of unknown origin walked into the boudoir where the mirror was kept.

He came to the mirror frame, but his shadow was not reflected in the mirror.But he didn't seem surprised, he just crossed his hands and bowed, "Young lady, you are being polite."

Deng Yuanying's face appeared in the mirror, still a little disappointed, but now it turned into surprise, "You are... Hey, you! Why don't you have a shadow? You don't have a shadow, I can't see you."

The young Taoist said: "Everyone has their shortcomings, but the things that are missing in the trail are more conspicuous."

The girl in the mirror wondered, "I've seen people missing arms and legs, but I haven't seen anyone missing shadows."

The young Taoist smiled: "Isn't the little lady also missing a body?"

The girl in the mirror said: "I have no body, you have no shadow, it's all poor."

The young Taoist intended to punish demons, but when he heard this, he was slightly taken aback, feeling sympathetic to each other.

The girl in the mirror sighed. "Have you never seen anyone when you look in the mirror?"

The young Taoist looked at the girl in the mirror, this was the first time he saw a figure in the mirror.He had seen a fox charm who was more beautiful than the girl in the mirror, and he was indifferent, but at this moment, looking at the smoky brows and autumn eyes in the mirror, his heartstrings moved inexplicably.

Hastily recited the "Mantra of Subduing the Ape" silently, and stabilized his Dao heart, stopped talking to the girl in the mirror, and took off the sword around his waist.

"Xiaodao is different from you. My shadow can still be redeemed, but you have become a demon, Taiyi Duer Tianzun! The little lady is a miserable person, and she will not live in peace after death. Let Xiaodao come to see you off."

The girl in the mirror was taken aback, "Give me a ride... What does the Taoist priest mean?"

The young Taoist raised his sword and spat out two words: "Slay the demon."

The girl in the mirror opened her eyes wide and her face turned pale.The shadow of the Taoist priest was not reflected in the mirror, only the three-foot green peak was reflected, with a cold light.She grew up in Yujing and heard many legends. Every time she heard about slaying demons and eliminating demons, she praised them well, but now, she has become a demon to be punished. She murmured: "I am not, I am Not a demon..."

The Taoist held his sword and sighed: "Your mother even knew that you were a demon, so she even hid it from the servants at home, and dared not let others know. Don't be obsessed with your obsession anymore, little lady."

As he said that, he pointed his sword at the mirror image, and with just one poke, the bronze mirror was not blessed with supernatural powers, so it would be pierced back and forth.But holding the three-foot green blade in his hand, looking at the dazed and sad look of the girl in the mirror, he couldn't stab it no matter what.The words just now came back to my mind, and I silently recited the mantra of descending the ape several times, but my mind was still distracted, and I asked knowingly, "Have you ever killed someone?"

"No! How could I harm someone?" the girl in the mirror said with all her might.

"To protect the demons, count 120 faults", the Taoist priest gritted his teeth in pain as the words in "Great Mistakes" emerged in his heart.

"Forget it, let it go..."

And just as the sword tip retracted a few inches from the mirror, the young Taoist's eyebrows twitched!
A figure broke through the window, and Xue Liang's saber slashed towards his left shoulder with a blizzard of snow!
The young Taoist raised his sword sideways, hit the blade, and there was a loud bang, the sound made the Taoist's crane cloak vibrate, and the fox girl with the knife also had her long hair flying!

The Taoist Taoist stepped back half a step, the fox girl landed on the ground, holding a knife in both hands, turned around and swept away, the snowflakes that had not yet fallen were swept up by the knife energy and flew up again.The Taoist took another step back, taking advantage of the momentum of the saber, nodded with a crane, and stabbed the saber again.The horizontal knife in Fox Girl's hand shook violently, but regardless of her unstable body, she stepped forward to chop the knife again.

Mu Qiang has a cunning fox nature, and her spells are also good at changing and bewitching. This fox girl wields a sword, but she seems to be fighting with her life!The Taoist frowned, and blocked with a horizontal sword, but unexpectedly, the sneak attacking fox girl just took a false step.

The tip of the knife swept lightly, and turned around to grab the bronze mirror on the shelf!Rolled on the spot, slapped, smashed a big hole in the west wall, passed through the flying sawdust, and escaped.

The figure of the young Taoist flashed, followed like a shadow, and passed through the hole in the west wall.Looking up, the fox girl has jumped onto the west wall holding the bronze mirror.Instead, he stopped, flicked his sleeves, let go of the long sword, like a flying dragon, with a swipe, he flew into the wind and snow.

Seeing that the flying sword was close to the fox girl's back, the Taoist saw the girl's face emerging from the bronze mirror in the distance. His breath was stagnant, and with a flip of the sword finger, a hook, the sword retracted suddenly.

Snapped!The fox girl smashed the wall tiles, crossed the courtyard wall, and disappeared.

Outside the hole in the west wall of the boudoir, the Taoist raised his hand, grabbed the hilt of the flying sword, inserted it back into the sheath, and sighed heavily.

Looking back at the dilapidated house again, he flipped his hand over and took out the "Garde of Merits and Demerits" and muttered, "This is a powerless effort, so don't make a demerit, don't make a demerit..."

Suddenly, hearing an approaching exclamation, the Taoist priest caught a glimpse of the figure of a servant in Tsing Yi on the rockery not far away and under the eaves of the corridor, and hurriedly retreated to the north of the house, leaving Deng's house.

(End of this chapter)