Day and night tour

Chapter 148 Paper Official Uniform

The maid's whip lashed Duan Qinglan's back again and again, tearing her clothes and leaving bloody marks on her delicate back skin.

Fortunately, her wounds healed quickly. The blood from the whip marks dried up after a minute or two and quickly formed a layer of bright blood scabs.

"Ma'am, the homework is done."

The whipping lasted for nearly half an hour. The maid stopped the whip and reminded Duan Qinglan.

"Put me down." Duan Qinglan whispered.

The pulley pulling the iron chain was turning, and Duan Qinglan was getting closer to the ground inch by inch.

The moment her feet stepped on the floor tiles, Siming held her in his arms and carefully removed the iron hook on her collarbone.

"There's no need to be so careful. Every time of pain is to awaken the fire." Duan Qinglan leaned her head on Siming's shoulder and said tiredly.

"Madam is right."

Siming did not refute. He helped take off Duan Qinglan's torn clothes, and together with the maid, wiped the sweat and blood stains on the lady's body with a wet towel, and then changed into a new jacket and skirt.

The jacket is purple with a high collar and a black, flared skirt. In order to make the outfit look more serious, Duan Qinglan always likes to ask the tailor to embroider black plum blossoms on the jacket.

After putting on her new jacket and skirt, her maid helped her to tie her messy hair up and put on a bell-shaped hat. Duan Qinglan bid farewell to her previous embarrassed prisoner look and became a dignified lady of the Si Mansion again.

"Lao Ming, go take a look at the tattoo that calms Yu'er's madness."

Seeing that Siming had bent down to carry her on his back, Duan Qinglan trembled as she moved away. Similarly, she also rejected the hand that the maid extended to support her.

If you can't even bear a little pain or disaster, how can you have the will to awaken the fire?
As they were talking, Duan Qinglan had already opened the door, and Siming and the maid followed her.

The room was suddenly empty, except for two furry yellow heads sticking out from the air vent.

……

The yellow fox is small and agile. It can come and go freely in brick holes, grass piles, and rotten tile holes where people cannot get in or pay attention.

Only at the monthly "divine meeting", Duan Qinglan and her friends would discuss highly confidential matters in a completely enclosed stone chamber to prevent the yellow-skinned man from peeping.

But she couldn't keep herself in the cocoon all the time. Living in Si's mansion, it was impossible for her not to be secretly watched by those small, nimble, short-haired beasts.

At this time, Duan Qinglan had already walked into her daughter's boudoir. The heavy incense mixed with the faint smell of blood made her feel sorry for her daughter.

She and Siming have only had this one daughter in all these years, and it is impossible for her to get pregnant again now.

Years of suffering from punishments such as "hooking", "whipping", and "caning" did not break her body and spirit, but destroyed her fertility.

"My poor Yu'er." Duan Qinglan gently stroked Si Yu'er's face and gently opened her eyelids.

Si Yuer was probably dreaming, her eyes were moving very fast, but she didn't look crazy at all.

Duan Qinglan was worried, so after releasing her hands, she used the nail of her left thumb to scrape the tip of her middle finger hard, lifting up the flesh on the tip of her finger.

The fingers are connected to the heart and the pain is unbearable for ordinary people, but for Mrs. Duan, it was like being bitten by a mosquito. Apart from the slight frown on her eyebrows, there was almost no other subtle movement to express the pain.

She closed her eyes and silently chanted a spell: "The tongue god is Zhenglun, the disease is cured, the mind is Danyuan, and it makes me reach the truth..."

After reciting it repeatedly, Madam Duan opened her eyes with a clear vision. She bit her tongue fiercely and sprayed the blood in her mouth onto the flesh of her middle finger. She shouted coldly,
"Light the lamp to encourage good luck!"

"bass!"

A pale white flame ignited on Duan Qinglan's middle finger.

In Mrs. Duan's eyes, this flame is not fire, but a lamp!
A sick lamp.

This lamp can see through illness and suffering.

Duan Qinglan placed the middle finger of her left hand in front of her eyes, and looked through the "sick lamp" at Si Yuer's face.

Yu'er had a lively face, and in the light she shone a silver glow, which was the glow of health and disease.

"It's much better...but..."

Through the light, Duan Qinglan saw not only a large area of ​​white light, but also many small black dots.

These black spots tend to expand, growing from a grain of sand to a small sesame seed.

Then, Duan Qinglan looked at the "Buddha head" tattoo through the light. On the tattoo, she saw a small part of golden Buddha light and a large part of enchanting blood light. After sighing, she changed the subject: "My daughter's illness is not completely cured, it is just temporarily suppressed. Although the tattoo has a miraculous effect, its aura is still weak..."

When Siming heard this, disappointment filled his face again.

He was not completely sure that he could completely cure his daughter's madness.

The claim that tattoos can suppress madness is just speculation by some great people who have studied the Blood Well, but the Tattoo Clan has not appeared in the world for a hundred years, so no one knows what the outcome will be.

When he went to find Zhou Xuan, his deepest thought was that it was a blessing from God that his daughter could delay going completely crazy for several months.

But people are not always so easily satisfied. Seeing that the tattoo was so effective, he became lucky and hoped that the tattoo would make his daughter a normal person and no longer suffer from madness.

Now that Duan Qinglan's "sick lamp" had shone on his dream, how could he not be disappointed...

But disappointment is different from despair. New hope surged in Siming's heart: "That young tattoo artist just said to give it a try. Maybe he has a tattoo with better effect... maybe..."

"After we finish our homework tomorrow, I will go with you to see the tattoo artist." Duan Qinglan looked at Si Yuer's face gently and said, "I also think that the tattoo artist may have a way. This tattoo is completely different from the one recorded in our ancient books of Shenhui."

"What's the difference?" Siming asked.

“The tattoo of Shenhui is a true evil ghost, but the tattoo of this tattoo artist has red eyes, like a Buddha with a demon, but the small amount of Buddha energy contained in it is very pure!”

Duan Qinglan stared at the tattoo, gradually becoming lost in thought.

……

It was a dark and windy night, and even the Tianbao Temple, which was usually bustling with people, seemed gloomy.

This temple is the most famous temple in Mingjiang Prefecture, with many pilgrims and a strong incense. A few years ago, Mr. Baiyun donated money to rebuild it, bought 600 acres of land, re-hung the gilded "Tianbao Temple" sign, and also reshaped the Buddha statue.

A small lake was dug in the fertile fields next to the temple. The lake covers an area of ​​150 acres and is shaped like a gold ingot, so it is called Yuanbao Lake.

Zhou Xuan, carrying a bag and holding a scroll in his hand, and Lv Mingkun, who also had a bag on his back, appeared at the edge of Yuanbao Lake.

Zhou Xuan came here to catch souls, but he was not catching the ghosts of monks, but the ghosts of officials.

"Lao Yun, are you sure you're not taking the wrong path? Are we going to catch the official spirits near a temple? This doesn't seem to be the right place."

Zhou Xuan lowered his head and asked the scroll in his hand.

He didn't want to bring Yun Ziliang out with him. Anyway, as long as Yun Ziliang taught him the method and location of catching ghosts, he could catch them himself.
But Yun Ziliang was not happy about it. He taught people how to fish but he couldn't see them fishing with his own eyes, so the fun was lost for some reason.

After much persuasion, Zhou Xuan decided to bring the scroll here to capture souls.

"Why not? Let me tell you, when you are an official, there are always some people whose crimes are exposed. They care about their reputation and cannot bear the pain of imprisonment, so they often choose to commit suicide.

Throwing oneself into a lake is the most common way of committing suicide. They cannot just throw themselves into a lake randomly. They have to find a place with good feng shui. The most famous place with good feng shui in Mingjiang Prefecture is Yuanbao Lake.

Open the painting first and let me out."

Zhou Xuan unfolded the scroll, and Yun Ziliang walked out of the painting. He stood by the lake and looked around. He pointed to a row of willow trees not far away and said, "Where there are willows and locust trees, there are always ghosts and sneaks. Let's go there to start the altar."

After saying this, the three of them walked to the willow tree together.

Zhou Xuan and Lu Mingkun spread a layer of oil paper on the ground as an altar table, and then began to place the offerings for the opening of the altar.

A pair of incense sticks, two strings of paper money, a bottle of scented oil, a paper umbrella, and a set of paper official uniforms bought from a paper-making shop, with Taoist talismans painted on them by Lao Yun.

The incense and candles were lit, and the paper umbrella was inserted into the soil. Zhou Xuan sprinkled the scented oil on the paper umbrella, and then folded the paper official uniform neatly and placed it in the center of the oil paper.

The altar is ready.

Zhou Xuan rolled up a large human skin "ghost hand" tattoo and stuffed it on the branch of the willow tree.

"It's arranged as you said."

"Then let's start the ritual. Remember the method of catching ghosts that I told you about?" Yun Ziliang asked.

"remember."

Zhou Xuan tore the string of the paper money, brought it close to the incense and candles, and roasted the paper money until it turned a little yellow. Yun Ziliang said that this is called "smell". Let the paper money be soaked in the smell of incense and candles, and then scatter it out. The wandering ghosts and spirits around will smell the odor and come to grab it.

To catch ghosts, you must first gather them.
Zhou Xuan roasted the two strings of paper money until they were golden, grabbed a handful with one hand, and threw them into the lake: "The master of the family has opened the treasury, come out to collect the money."

The paper money was thrown out, and a cold wind blew up from the lake, lifting up the paper money and floating it far away, like golden snow, sprinkling it into the lake.

As soon as the money entered the lake, the water started to boil, bubbling and churning.

When the bubbles subsided, human hands stretched out from the lake and grabbed the paper money into the water.

Zhou Xuan took another large pile of paper money and scattered it into the lake.

This time, the "hand" in the lake was even more excited. It stretched out its hand and grabbed the paper money in the air without even waiting for it to fall onto the lake.

As the money was thrown again and again, more and more "hands" gathered, especially in the area four or five meters in front of Zhou Xuan. As the money was thrown, countless "hands" entangled with each other, one cluster after another.

Zhou Xuan felt that the time was almost right and winked at Lu Mingkun.

Lu Mingkun had already found a long bamboo pole and hid behind a tree. He held a paper official uniform on the pole and dangled it under the paper umbrella beside the altar cloth, like a dancing little man.

The paper umbrellas were sprinkled with fragrant oil, the smell could attract the attention of water ghosts. Coupled with the attraction of paper money, there were a few water ghosts in the lake that were brave enough to walk ashore.

When they saw that there was an official uniform under the umbrella, they all came forward, and Yun Ziliang shouted, "Where did you come from, little devil, to dare to steal the master's official uniform?"

Those water ghosts were timid, and after being scolded, they fled back into the lake in despair.

They worked like this for most of the night. Four or five waves of water ghosts came ashore, but they were frightened by Yun Ziliang and fled with their tails between their legs. It was not until the sky turned pale that the water ghosts came ashore.

Finally, a "big-headed baby" walked ashore.

It has an adult's head, but its arms and legs are extremely short, and it walks unsteadily.

"Who did you come from, you sneaky guy? How dare you steal my official uniform? Want to get a job? If you move forward, I will beat you to death!" Yun Ziliang threatened again.

But this time, the big-headed baby did not run away. Instead, he walked towards the paper official uniform even more arrogantly...

(End of this chapter)