My enemies became my companions

Chapter 492: Asking Ghosts (Two in One)

Soon after entering the town, we saw a courtyard with big red lanterns hanging high above the door and decorated with lights and colorful lights, creating a festive atmosphere. That was the Li Mansion.

According to Li Chengxing, his father Li Xian was a top three Jinshi in the early years of the Huanglong period. He was granted an official position and received a salary, but there was no real vacancy. Ordinary wealthy gentry were honored as "Mr. So-and-so", but these were all false titles, but this was a "substitute Mr. So-and-so" with real value.

Li Chengxing claimed that he was not as talented as his father and had looked down on Zhenshen in the past, so he was only allowed to become a juren. He once served as an eighth-rank teacher. Although he returned to his hometown to observe mourning after only two years, he also took the opportunity to make a group of good friends, some of whom were of the same age or younger than him.

With one Jinshi and one Juren, the Li Mansion was undoubtedly the richest man in the town. Pavilions, towers, carved beams and painted buildings could be seen from afar. After entering the inner courtyard, one could see an extremely exquisite garden, winding corridors, small pavilions and windows. Several maids came up to greet them and asked about their well-being. Li Chengxing casually responded with a few words and then asked:

"How are the guests?"

"I haven't drunk any wine yet. I'm waiting for the master to come back."

"What kind of talk is this? Hurry up and serve the wine first."

Li Chengxing hurriedly asked the maids to prepare wine, then turned to Chen Yi and the others and said:

"Today is the Lantern Festival. I have a poetry party at home and invited some friends to come. Are you two Taoist priests interested in drinking?"

Chen Yi didn't mind. After being in the martial arts world for so long, he was always able to make do with whatever he wanted. Moreover, after killing the upper and middle corpses, he had given up many unnecessary desires.

He smiled and replied, "Let's make it clear in advance. I don't have much literary talent."

"Master, you are too humble. Please follow me."

Li Chengxing led the two to the backyard, which was surrounded by white walls, with three or two plum trees planted on the edge. The cold brown winter bamboos shaded an octagonal pavilion, and from a distance they could see several figures waving towards them.

The scholars immediately stopped reciting poems and writing couplets, and one of them laughed loudly and said, "The master has arrived. It is worth our long wait."

"Haha, let's wait for Brother Zhiyuan to finish his work and come back, and then open the wine."

"I had no mood for poetry, but seeing this figure walking towards me from the plum blossoms was really interesting."

As a few words fell, the courtyard immediately became lively. Li Chengxing went up to greet everyone, while Chen Yi looked around. Although it was not his first time to attend a poetry gathering, he felt out of place because he did not have much talent for writing poetry. Compared with him, Yin Tingxue found it quite interesting, with a little light in her almond-shaped eyes.

The maids walking back and forth were busy making fire, boiling wine, and adding paper and ink.

Li Chengxing had already picked up the writing brush while talking and laughing, then turned around surrounded by people in brocade robes and said, "These two are Taoist priests I met on the road, and they are said to be from the capital..."

In a few words, Li Chengxing introduced the two men to the scholars. The scholars in Dayu have always been fond of mystical cultivation, and when they heard that they were Taoist priests from the capital, the scholars were both enthusiastic and curious.

Li Chengxing immediately introduced these scholars to the two of them.

"This is Zhang Lang, whose given name is Jun and whose courtesy name is Ziying. This is Geng Lang, whose given name is Yunhan and whose courtesy name is Zhengya. This is Brother Duan, a local talent, whose given name is Siyuan and whose courtesy name is Wenqu. This is Brother Du..."

After greeting everyone one by one, Chen Yi casually exchanged pleasantries, then bowed and said, "My junior sister and I greet you all."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that the Taoist priest calls himself 'poor Taoist'. His teachings are not poor at all. When we were at the cemetery, after listening to the Taoist priest chanting the sutra, we didn't feel the slightest bit of gloom."

"Is there really such a thing?"

"Why would I lie to you? The Taoist priest is really capable."

All the scholars were interested. There were many swindlers among the Taoists, and those with real abilities were rare. At this moment, they were all half-believing and half-doubting.

Among them, Zhang Jun, a scholar with a dignified face and wearing a green robe, was immediately inspired to write a poem. He took a bowl of wine from the maid, walked forward and handed it to her, saying:

"It is rare to see two Taoist priests so young yet so capable. I will give you the shadow of a phoenix tree as a gift."

Chen Yi said a few polite "I don't deserve it" and took the wine. Then he saw Zhang Jun turn around to take a pen, dip the tip of the pen in ink, and with his other hand held in front of his stomach, calculating the rhythm, and then he picked up the pen to write a short poem.

"The Taoist of Qing, the girl of Tiantai. The lake water moves the wind and clouds scatter the sky, the leisurely Taoism is speechless."

When the poem was finished and presented in front of them, Chen Yi and other scholars said "good" repeatedly, and then they followed suit and said: "Good words, good words."

"Master, please don't be so anxious to say yes."

The scholar named Duan Siyuan said this, then turned around and asked with a smile:

"Zhang Ziying, 'The lake water moves the wind and clouds scatter the sky', there is wind and clouds, but where does the lake water come from?"

Zhang Jun smiled and replied, "Why not ask Brother Qu about 'The fading candlelight cuts the autumn lamp'?"

Everyone burst into laughter and were inspired to write poetry. The aroma of fine wine filled the pavilion. Li Chengxing distributed wine to everyone and asked everyone to sit down. Several people gathered together to play drinking games. Standing in front of the table, some recited lyrics or poems. Some talked about their experiences along the way, describing them vividly.

When he came to a moving part, he would attach a poem he had composed, usually in fragments, and ask a few people to respond together.

As they clinked glasses and toasted each other, everyone's poetic inspiration became higher and higher. At the beginning, they discussed poetry because of events, then changed to talking about poetry using events as an excuse, and finally to making up events to connect with poetry. The scholars shook their heads and showed their wildness as they raised their glasses and discussed poetry, and they all enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

"Among the green mountains, flowing water and falling flowers, there is a road through the clouds, which layer is it?"

Zhang Jun was in high spirits. After thinking for a moment, he recited aloud:

"Who will pick it up?"

Several scholars responded with a few sentences, such as "There is no wealth and honor in the world, but you have to be on this peak", "If you are not a tourist, you can visit the truth, and you can meet each other even if you have never met"... But they were all difficult to satisfy people, and the strong poetic inspiration was temporarily blocked.

Duan Siyuan lowered his brows in thought, then turned to look at Chen Yi and said, "May I ask where the Taoist meditates..."

He paused for a long time at the word "Chu". Several ears popped out and mouths followed suit to lengthen the word "Chu". Duan Siyuan raised his glass towards Chen Yi and signaled with his eyes. A group of scholars also looked over at him.

This is to ask Chen Yi to write poems and drink together...

Chen Yi's scalp tingled. Ordinary Taoists have no other chores except practicing Taoism. They are proficient in playing the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting. They can recite poems easily. The ancient ones include Lu Dongbin and Bai Yuchan, and the recent one is the Goddess of Taihua Yin Weiying. But Chen Yi is used to being barbaric, so how could he understand poetry?

Everyone was stretching the word "chu" to a point, but Chen Yi was still speechless. Li Chengxing realized something and said, "This sentence is too difficult to answer. Good sentences are naturally formed. The Taoist priest just follows nature..."

Everyone knew the truth, but this alone dampened their interest, and everyone in the pavilion looked at each other in confusion.

Chen Yi took a breath. There was nothing he could do. He could only admit it.
"I am used to traveling around, I am uneducated and have no knowledge of poetry..."

As he spoke, he stabbed with his palm and glanced sideways to see Yin Tingxue winking at him.

The lively atmosphere in the pavilion was interrupted, and a sense of loneliness spread. The scholars could only laugh a few times, even if it slightly alleviated the loneliness, but loneliness was still loneliness after all. But at this moment, the Taoist suddenly turned the situation around:
"But wait for me to use a little trick, and then you will understand this secret."

While everyone was confused and uncertain, they saw the Taoist priest making hand gestures and chanting spells, with a thin layer of light between his brows.

Chen Yi glanced at Yin Tingxue from the corner of his eye and chanted casually, "May I ask where the Taoist is meditating? The stone bridge is flowing through the ravine and the cold pines are flowing."

The eyes of the scholars around him lit up and they said "good" repeatedly.

The Taoist just smiled while sitting upright.
Everyone was amazed.

This is really a talent. Then, several lines of poetry were recited in succession. Before they could respond, everyone looked at the Taoist priest. The latter responded calmly and gracefully, and his response was appropriate and well-matched. It was clear that he had literary talent. How could he be completely ignorant of literature?
In the crowd, one person suddenly thought of something and said loudly, "Master! Master! I want to ask you something unusual."

"Naturally."

The scholar thought for a moment and said with a sigh, "When I went to Hebei to study, I saw cannibals. There was a child boiling in the pot..."

"Sparse eyebrows, sparse teeth, black tendons, and red eyes?" Chen Yi had encountered this several times in his two lives, one of which was when he traveled to the underworld with Yin Weiying.

"I didn't see anyone. If I saw someone, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to come back. I tell you, the weird thing is not this, but the weird thing..." The scholar was still frightened and said in a trembling voice, "I opened the pot and wanted to collect the body and bury it. As soon as I put it on the ground, I heard a bang. The child jumped up alive and ran away!"

Chen Yi laughed when he heard this and said slowly:
"This is a ginseng spirit. What you encountered is not a cannibal, but a woodcutter who was picking ginseng."

The scholars had originally felt sympathy for the scholar after hearing his words, and they were surprised to hear his answer. The scholar felt relieved as he had put his mind at ease. After thanking him solemnly, he sat back down.

At this time, Zhang Jun, who had just presented the poem, stepped forward and asked, "Master, I have been having dreams these past few days. I dreamed of a woman hanging from a beam with a rope around her neck. It was fine at first, but it has been getting tighter and tighter, and I can't even breathe. What's going on?"

After a moment's silence, Chen Yi asked, "Brother Zhang, do you have a female confidant?"

Zhang Jun was stunned for a moment and said, "When I was young, I was going to take the imperial examination and met a rich girl on the road..."

"But beautiful?"

"Yes."

"But unmarried?"

"Yes…"

"You just happened to be attracted by Brother Zhang's talent?"

"…Yes…The Taoist priest is right."

After Zhang Jun responded several times, the scholars all cast curious glances at him, and he couldn't help but blush.

The Taoist smiled and said, "There are not so many beautiful, unmarried, and talented rich women in the world. They are just female ghosts."

"Then this stranglehold..."

"She wants Brother Zhang to be a pair of desperate lovers together."

Zhang Jun's face turned pale, and he pursed his lips for a long time before saying:
"What should we do?"

Chen Yi raised one foot and said with a smile:
"If she appears in your dream again, you kick her away. She will see that you are a heartless man and will naturally leave and never see you again."

"Then...thank you for clearing up my doubts..."

Zhang Jun looked dazed for a moment, and after hesitating for a long time, he let out a long sigh. The other scholars sighed again and again, saying that after half a lifetime of reciting poems and writing couplets, who likes to admire themselves alone? Who doesn't want to have a confidante? But she happened to be a female ghost. Humans and ghosts are on different paths, so they can only separate the couple.

After that, several people asked some strange questions, and Chen Yi answered them one by one. Although he could not write poetry, he had been in the martial arts world for so long, lived two lives, and slayed demons and monsters many times, so he was very adept at dealing with them. Not only could he hit the nail on the head on all matters, big or small, but he could also explain the whole process clearly. He also tried his best to explain the cause and effect, because he knew that Yin Tingxue was listening nearby.

Yin Tingxue also listened very carefully.

She found that many of the strange things were just hearsay. People just thought too much and thought there was something fishy going on, but in fact there was nothing. Some of the strange things were just trivial matters and there was no need to worry too much about them.

Compared with all these, Chen Yi's thoughtfulness in taking care of her made Yin Tingxue feel warm in her heart. Master Zhou was right, he would always be nice to people quietly without letting others know.

But by chance, she could hear it.

The girl knew, but she would not point it out, because she knew that Chen Yi's face was very adaptable. He would be thick-skinned when facing Master Zhou and Yin Weiying, but always thin-skinned when facing her...

Shortly after.

Having solved the puzzles of almost everyone in the pavilion, Chen Yi, who felt a little thirsty, took a sip of wine. Not long after he swallowed it, another person came forward.

It was the local talent mentioned by Li Chengxing - Duan Siyuan.

Chen Yi had a good impression of him, so he asked casually, "Brother Duan, what's the matter?"

Duan Siyuan pondered for a long time, as if hesitating. After a long while, he spoke: "Master, I don't know why I keep hearing strange voices coming from the corner of my house recently. I told my wife about it, but she couldn't hear anything. At first I suspected that I was hallucinating, but the voices became closer and clearer... One time they even came under the bed..."

"What did it say?"

"It... asked me if I wanted to keep my wealth, if I wanted to win the first prize... I didn't dare to speak, let alone answer it."

"No more?"

“…No more.”

Chen Yi thought for a moment and replied, "It's probably a yellow fox that wants to get a title. Don't worry about it. Don't say anything. Once it knows that it can't get a title from you, it will leave on its own."

Duan Siyuan looked bitter, and hesitated to speak. After a while, he whispered, "To be honest, I am only a scholar. What it said is too tempting... I am afraid I can't help but answer it..."

"No problem." Chen Yi took out a piece of yellow paper from his arms, picked up a pen, and asked Li Chengxing to help get some cinnabar. "I will draw a talisman for you. After you burn it, put the ash under the bed, and you will never hear it speak again."

A talisman was completed in one stroke. The ordinary strokes on the yellow paper had a hidden charm. Duan Siyuan took it in his hand, bowed respectfully, and then poured wine for Chen Yi.
"Thank you, Taoist..."

………….
After the poetry gathering and a night's rest, Chen Yi asked Li Chengxing to take him to pay homage to the so-called sedition god early the next morning.

Early in the morning on the day after the Lantern Festival, there were loud gongs and drums outside the temple and a bustling crowd. The townspeople surrounded the temple in several circles inside and outside, and squeezed in with incense sticks to burn incense. It was very lively. Some people even quarreled over an empty seat and almost came to blows.

Chen Yi watched this scene. The City God Temple was so neglected, but this deity was so popular. It must be effective, maybe even too effective.

Li Chengxing, relying on his status as a clerk, led Chen Yi and Yin Tingxue into the temple through the back door. As they walked, Li Chengxing said:

"It's right in front. I'll get some incense sticks."

"it is good."

The rich smell of incense permeated the corridor, and Chen Yi turned into the lobby.

Li Chengxing got a dozen incense sticks and handed them over while saying:

"If you two Taoist priests want to burn incense, please do so. But I'm afraid you will be greatly disappointed. It hasn't been very effective recently."

The temple was very spacious, but the furnishings were very simple. The incense in the five large tripods was piled up like a small mountain, leaving no place for a single stump to stand. When Chen Yi raised his head, he saw the five clay statues crowded together. His pupils shrank slightly, and he saw that he was reluctant to take the incense. After a moment of silence, he actually uttered:

“It shouldn’t work.”

(End of this chapter)