Chapter 29: Gray Fairy Goes South
When Wu's mother came back from her phone call, there seemed to be a noise from somewhere. Tan Xiao and Duan Yang looked around vigilantly. Duan Yang took out a compass from his bag and started to calculate.
But Wu Tianyu didn't go home, and Duan Yang didn't detect any evil spirit.
"Tianshi, what is this? Ever since... Tianyu became abnormal," Wu's mother also said in panic, "there are always strange noises at home. Do you think it is the real Tianyu calling me?"
She was still thinking about what Tan Xiao said about Wu Tianyu being trapped.
Maomao wanted to say that it could be the sound of steel bars, or snakes, insects, rats or ants. But for now, she still agreed with Wu's mother. After all, the charlatan had helped her. "Yeah, maybe it was. We have to rescue him quickly. What do you two need us to do now?"
Duan Yang took out a piece of peach wood with a road-breaking talisman with the words "Sha Zhu Xia" written on it. "When he comes back, you can find an excuse to go out. When you go out, put this talisman under the doorstep to prevent the evil spirit from escaping."
It was not enough to have an ambush by Ah Jin below, and another road-breaking talisman was needed. Duan Yang still valued Wu Tianyu very much. He took out cinnabar and drew two talismans on the palms of Wu's mother and Maomao respectively, "The talisman on the left hand prevents your actions from being predicted, and the talisman on the right hand is just in case. If he wants to attack you, this can protect you."
"Great." Maomao thought to himself, this is totally worth it, it looks great.
Duan Yang brought more than that. He brought four ancient mirrors with spells engraved on the mirror bodies, "A mirror made of iron can ward off evil spirits, and ghosts and spirits will scare you to death."
A formation of four mirrors is called a Four-Region Mirror, which can reflect the east, south, west and north. In other words, if there are evil things in this range, they will be revealed in the mirror.
Duan Yang placed four mirrors in the four corners and concealed them with books and flower pots so that they could not be noticed at first glance.
Finally, they took out a hemp rope made of three green hemp ropes and three white hemp ropes. This was used to tie up souls, and was called "绹魂" in Southern Chu.
Seeing so many props, Wu's mother felt at ease.
This is the preparation of Master Duan Yang. What about Tan Xiao? Mother Wu couldn't help but look at Tan Xiao, the young wizard whom she trusted very much.
Tan Xiao also opened his bag and said politely, "Can I borrow your kitchen?"
Mother Wu didn't react. At first she thought he was going to ask for the bathroom. She was stunned for a moment and asked, "Kitchen?"
Tan Xiao took out the buns: "I'll steam the buns."
Mother Wu: “???”
Duan Yang wanted to smooth things over, but Tan Xiao said calmly, "Gods love food, ghosts also seek food, nothing can resist the temptation of food. And hasn't classmate Wu Tianyu lost a lot of weight recently? This is the best remedy."
Mother Wu was completely impressed. She had already been convinced by Tan Xiao. At this moment, no matter what Tan Xiao said, as long as it sounded a little logical, she would be convinced. She immediately led the way enthusiastically, "The kitchen is here."
Tan Xiao pushed the door open and saw a picture of the Kitchen God pasted on the wall.
Wu's mother was a superstitious person, and there was already a shrine at home, so it was not surprising to see the Kitchen God statue. Judging from the Dragon Boat Festival, the statue Wu's mother had invited was not effective at all, but the Kitchen God statue was a bit interesting.
There are many versions of the Kitchen God image. The Kitchen God image posted by Wu's mother is inscribed with "East Kitchen Siming", which is one of the honorific titles of the Kitchen God. The overall workmanship is exquisite and rich, with an upper and lower layer, with the Kitchen God in the middle, and the God of Wealth, the Amplifier and the Eight Immortals above and below, a total of more than 30 characters, which is an absolute masterpiece "Big Kitchen God".
"What a great painting of 'Big Kitchen God'! It's a masterpiece. It turns out that this East Kitchen God can't protect your kitchen?" Duan Yang said with emotion. He said this because Wu Tianyu was said to be extremely thin, and the Kitchen God, as the name suggests, is responsible for protecting the kitchen at home.
When Wu's mother heard that he approved of the banquet she had invited, she was delighted at first, but then she said sadly, "Maybe it's because he eats most of the time at school..."
Tan Xiao packed up by himself, and he brought steamed buns. Steamed buns seem easy to make, but they actually take a lot of effort. He had already prepared the stuffing and wrapped the buns at home, and all he had to do was steam them.
There were about 20 buns, each of which was neatly sized and had uniform folds. He skillfully steamed the buns while adding some red edible seasoning.
The steamer was emitting steam and making noises.
There seemed to be some subtle strange noises mixed in with this sound.
Tan Xiao looked at the steamer in surprise . Was the fire coming from the steamer? Was it broken?
"Is it steamed?" Duan Yang poked his head out, interrupting Tan Xiao's thoughts, "Wu Tianyu will be back soon."
"I'm almost there too." Tan Xiao responded.
I guess so. Duan Yang has already smelled the fragrance and is shouting in his heart, "What's wrong with you, the spiritual master of the Tan family? You have been thinking about cooking all these years, right?"
Tan Xiao brought out the buns. Each one was neither sticky nor deflated, and had a full shape with perfect curves and distinct folds. They were even prettier than the semi-finished products sold in supermarkets, not to mention that the fragrance was so overbearing that it rushed straight into people's noses.
Everyone swallowed together.
Although this was prepared for Wu Tianyu, it didn't stop everyone from having bad intentions towards it...
"Should I serve it to him directly later? Where should we eat? Should we eat in the living room where there is more space and it will be convenient for you to perform the spell?" Mother Wu said while looking at the steamed buns. She was a little nervous and at a loss. She lost her composure even for such a simple matter and was afraid that it would affect the way she was doing the spell.
"Wait a minute." Tan Xiao took out a brush, dipped it in the red pigment he had just mixed, and put a little bit of it on each bun.
Maomao was confused by this step, "What does this mean?"
Duan Yang explained: " It means good luck. In the past, people put a red dot on their head to show good luck and happiness. If you find an evil spirit stealing food at home, you can also put a dot on it, and it will not be able to steal."
This is what they do to guard against hungry ghosts. Although this Chu witch has switched to cultural tourism, he still knows the old rules. Even Wu's mother remembers that in the past, they would put red dots on steamed buns and dumplings during the Chinese New Year.
However, they did not have edible pigments at that time, so they dipped red paper in water, then used chopsticks to dip the red paper and dotted the almost cooked buns.
Maomao still thought that after they finished their ritual, they would take his cousin to the hospital. He also cooperated with them and said the words he had repeated countless times today: "You two masters are amazing!"
"It's almost time." Mother Wu looked at her cell phone and said anxiously.
"Come on, let's hide in the study. Auntie, just do what we say." Duan Yang took Tan Xiao to hide in the study. There was an invisible sliding door connecting the study and the living room, and he left a very small gap.
…
"Mom, I'm back."
The door lock was turned, and Wu Tianyu said as he walked in and changed his shoes.
Duan Yang was concentrating on peeking at the Four-rule Mirror, but because this was indoors, the Four-rule Mirror couldn't capture everything due to the house layout. Duan Yang's angle was also limited, so he hadn't seen Wu Tianyu appear in the mirror yet.
Tan Xiao's alarm bells were ringing. He had no feelings when he saw Wu Tianyu at school, but now his hair stood on end. Something was obviously wrong! As Mu Fei said, the evil spirit had been hiding before, and maybe he hadn't even gone to school.
"Tianyu is back. I bought some buns, you can have some. I'll see your sister off, she's about to go back." Mother Wu said as calmly as possible, even trying to show her dissatisfaction with Wu Tianyu. She had wanted to drag Wu Tianyu to burn incense many times before.
Maomao, who knew nothing about it, greeted Wu Tianyu naturally: "Let's go."
"Sister, let me see you off." Wu Tianyu said politely.
Mother Wu was so nervous that she didn't know how to persuade Maomao, so she went to see him.
Maomao said carelessly, "Eat the buns! They're getting cold." She looked at the buns with regret. They smelled so good and she wanted to eat them so much. There were so many, but Tan Xiao and Duan Yang wouldn't let her eat even one.
"Okay." Wu Tianyu walked to the table and sat down. Mother Wu put the buns in front of him and hurried out with Maomao. As Duan Yang said, she put the wooden talisman at the door, but she didn't dare to go far and hid in the stairwell.
Duan Yang in the study was extremely surprised. He found that Wu Tianyu seemed to be walking around the room casually, but until he sat down, his figure was not reflected by the Four-rule Mirror!
Maybe there were some deviations when he was posing, after all, it was manual, but Wu Tianyu cleverly used various angles and avoided obstacles, which was by no means accidental!
"We've been discovered." Duan Yang mouthed to Tan Xiao. It was obvious that his hiding talisman might have been seen through by Wu Tianyu. Sweat trickled down his face. The more naturally and calmly Wu Tianyu was outside and did not make any moves, the more nervous Duan Yang became.
Outside the house, Wu Tianyu sniffed and smelled the aroma of the buns, and said "hmm" in satisfaction. People who know how to eat can tell that this is a delicacy by smelling the smell and looking at the appearance. When he saw the steam rising, he could already imagine the soft texture.
"It smells so good. It smells so good." The buns were still hot, but Wu Tianyu couldn't help it. He tore off a disposable glove, put it on, and reached out to grab the bun. He moved very gently and opened his mouth to take a big bite without being afraid of the heat.
But after taking a bite, Wu Tianyu was stunned for a moment, looked at the bun, said "Hmm?", and continued to stuff it into his mouth.
No, no taste, still no taste!
Wu Tianyu's gentle movements gradually changed, becoming faster and faster, as if he was getting hungrier and hungrier, and he no longer cared about his manners.
Tan Xiao and Duan Yang peeked through the crack in the door. Compared to what they saw in the cafeteria, his eating style had become extremely bold... No, it shouldn't be called bold, it could be called distorted,
Wu Tianyu's facial features were almost squeezed together, his eyes were narrowed, and he was biting the hot bun with bared teeth. His mouth was grimacing due to the heat, but even so he refused to let go, like some kind of animal.
This bun is really delicious. When you take a bite, you can feel the skin and the filling. The aroma of flour, meat and sauce blend together. The bun skin is soft and flexible, and you can make out the meat filling inside. It must have been stir-fried with sauce, mainly lean meat with a little fat, which gives it just the right taste, fresh and rich, but not greasy.
It smells good, but the closer he gets to it, the less he can eat it. Wu Tianyu's expression became more and more anxious. He choked on the bun he stuffed into his mouth. He choked a few times but refused to stop. As he ate, his expression became more agitated.
He stared at the bun with his eyes fixed and stuffed it into his mouth. His brows showed great satisfaction with the delicious food, but a whimpering sound of annoyance came from his throat.
Wu Tianyu was furious. He moved his body and the chair made a harsh friction sound on the ground. At this moment, the delicate balance was broken and his figure appeared in the Four-rule Mirror!
Duan Yang clearly saw that in the Four-rule Mirror, there was a silver-white mouse as big as a cat sitting on Wu Tianyu's neck!
The mouse was wearing wrinkled green clothes and an eggshell hat. A closer look revealed that the clothes were wrinkled because they were made of paper. At this moment, because he couldn't eat the buns, his facial features were distorted, and his expression was almost the same as Wu Tianyu's.
Tan Xiao thought to himself, it's a rat spirit! Duan Yang nodded secretly, so that's it, the rat is the first of the twelve zodiac signs, it has a long life, is naturally good at fortune-telling and can change people's fortunes, loves cleanliness, and likes to steal food. Looking at its fur, it has at least hundreds of years of cultivation.
The huge rat jumped off Wu Tianyu's neck and sat back to back with him, muttering to itself, obviously ready to take possession of the situation.
Wu Tianyu wanted to turn back: "Elder, you don't want to eat? I can't eat anymore."
“Don’t look back!” The big rat called out to him in the voice of an old man with a vicissitude. “Did you forget what I said? You can’t face me. I’m in the Nascent Soul form now. I’m afraid I’ll scare you to death.”
"Then when can I build the foundation?" Wu Tianyu said dejectedly, "Now I can only predict some small things, fighting and reading, there is nothing big to do." Conquering Nanchu No. 1 Middle School is obviously not enough for him.
The big rat ignored him and continued to mutter.
Tan Xiao and Duan Yang: "..."
Tan Xiao said that there was something wrong with Wu Tianyu's words, and that he had been deceived. So he brought the old man with him or came back to this world to help him with revenge?
But there was no time to think too much. Duan Yang stood up nervously holding the hemp rope. As expected, the next moment the big rat jumped onto Wu Tianyu's neck, stood up and yelled in the direction of the study: "Come out!"
He had already noticed Duan Yang's presence, but just wanted to act cool and eat the fragrant buns first, then slowly catch Duan Yang. He didn't expect that the stinky boy would be protected by the buns, and he couldn't stand the fragrance, and instead revealed his flaws first, and became angry and embarrassed.
Well, if you’ve been discovered, just get out. Tan Xiao slowly opened the door and walked out.
Wu Tianyu cursed, "What are you still dawdling about? Come out now!"
Tan Xiao: “……?”
He looked at Duan Yang, who was a step slower behind him, in confusion. How come the big rat didn’t see him?
Duan Yang was also stunned for a moment, and then both of them realized that only Duan Yang’s hiding talisman was ineffective!
Duan Yang thought, why is my success rate only 50%? What was wrong with me before I drew the talisman?
——In fact, it should be said that only the talisman drawn by Duan Yang was ineffective. Before Tan Xiao came, he had recited the hiding spell himself.
Duan Yang walked out slowly.
He sneered without any surprise and pounced over there. At the same time, Duan Yang threw the hemp rope to Tan Xiao, who took the rope and strangled "Wu Tianyu"'s neck from behind.
While "Wu Tianyu" was surprised, Duan Yang also picked up the other end to tie his hands. This was used to bind the soul, but the big rat was also a yin object and also had some punishment effect.
As Tan Xiao did this, the hiding spell was broken.
"...You little bastard, how dare you plot against me!" A voice came out of "Wu Tianyu's" mouth. It was not his own voice, nor was it the old man's voice made by the mouse just now, but it was a bit sharp.
He was very strong. Duan Yang gritted his teeth, and his facial muscles were trembling. Hearing his northeastern accent, he was surprised and said, "Are you a northern immortal? Gray immortal? Hu Huang can't cross Shanhaiguan, how did you sneak into Nanchu!"
It is said that there are Buddhas in the south and immortals in the north, and no animal can cross Shanhaiguan. Shanhaiguan is the boundary between the north and the south, and no animal that has become a spirit can cross the town of Shanhaiguan. Among these animals, the most representative are the fox spirit and the weasel.
Tan Xiao only had a slight understanding of the field of his northern counterparts, and remained at a relatively shallow level. He restrained Wu Tianyu and said, "What is Gray Fairy?"
"It's the ash of Hu, Huang, Bai, Liu and Hui. Over there, the mouse spirit is called the Gray Fairy." Duan Yang replied.
Tan Xiao was curious and asked, "Aren't the four most famous immortals in the north the Hu, Huang, Bai and Liu sects?"
——Xian is of course not a real immortal, but just a respectful title among the people, just like in Chu, they also worship various kinds of Yin gods, as long as they can help. In the north, many people worship animal immortals.
According to Tan Xiao, in addition to the vixen and the weasel, the hedgehog (white) and the snake (willow) are collectively known as the four major gates. They are very spiritual animals that are more likely to succeed.
Duan Yang thought to himself that I have to supervise the class while teaching two people: "This, there is also a saying about the five great immortals, which are Hu Huang Bai Liu Hui."
Tan Xiao: "So the Hui family was tied to the throne?"
“Wu Tianyu” immediately roared and struggled frantically: “No!! It’s just a different statement!! You are ignorant!!!”
It was heartbreaking enough that the Hui family was ranked last, and I don’t know whether Tan Xiao’s question was intentional or not, but it greatly irritated this person, and his whiskers were about to pop out.
"Xiao Tan--" Duan Yang yelled at him, meaning to ask him to restrain himself, this dead rat was going to fight to the death.
Sure enough, "Wu Tianyu" lowered his head and bit at an extremely tricky angle, and actually bit the hemp rope used to tie the soul into pieces.
Duan Yang saw the other party's ferocious eyes. This northern gray fairy was always much more brutal than the southern rat spirit. He raised the peach wood sword and said, "Tan Xiao, move back." Tan Xiao was an underage spiritual master, and he was here to teach the new ones, so of course he had to protect Tan Xiao.
Sure enough, "Wu Tianyu" pounced towards this side.
Ha, coming towards this Heavenly Master. Duan Yang raised one hand, tightly grasped the peach wood sword, and solemnly -
Facing the swinging peach wood sword, "Wu Tianyu" twisted his waist at an extremely tricky angle to dodge, and then slapped Duan Yang. His thin body burst out with unexpected energy, pushing Duan Yang directly out and hitting him on the TV cabinet.
“Wu Tianyu” cursed, “Get out of the way and don’t get in the way.”
Then, he stretched out his hands, and his nails suddenly grew sharp, and he grabbed towards Tan Xiao - the only person who could threaten him in his mind.
Duan Yang: “…”
How could this happen?
However, Tan Xiao had already made some hand gestures, and it seemed that he was on guard.
But Wu Tianyu's move was to brush past Tan Xiao, grabbing the vase next to him, and the vase shattered and bounced on Tan Xiao's hand, causing him to stop in pain. The rat had completely predicted it, and he was heading for the vase.
Wu Tianyu licked his lips, as if to guess that the buns were actually made by Tan Xiao. "You are a southern wizard with good craftsmanship, but you are a bit nosy. You dare to stop me."
"I advise you to surrender as soon as possible. It is an old custom that the Hu and Huang cannot cross Shanhaiguan. You sneaked here. Don't you want to go back?" Duan Yang said as he got up.
Tan Xiao also advised: "We have enough ghosts and gods here, there is no need to worship the rat spirit... uh, the gray fairy, so don't force it." From the way Wu Tianyu called the rat, it can be known that he didn't even dare to reveal his true identity, and lied to Wu Tianyu that he was a cultivator in distress who was able to possess the rat.
Moreover, they remembered the photo of Wu Tianyu on the snowy mountain, and they seriously suspected that Wu Tianyu was deceived by the rat spirit when he went to the north to play, and he was able to pass Shanhaiguan by hiding in a human body. Just like the legend that monsters seek help from humans, especially scholars, to pass the pass, if someone helps to cover it, they can successfully sneak through Shanhaiguan.
"Hmph, is there anything wrong with coming here to eat some Emperor's Juice? I just don't plan to go back." The rat demon didn't shy away from it. Nanchu was the place with the densest Emperor's Juice on Gengshen Day, so there was nothing wrong with coming here.
"I failed in my hometown when I advised others to invest in A-shares, and I was going to fail anyway."
He didn't even say how badly he was beaten and how he had to recover from his injuries for a while, so some of the words he lied to Wu Tianyu were true and helped him heal!
Tan Xiao, Duan Yang: "..."
This is pure supernatural power. He is good at small things but not big things. Even if he practices for hundreds more years, how can he understand the mysteries of A-shares?
"There's no need for you to shout and fight like this. Let's sit down and talk. If we can come to an agreement, I can become Wu Tianyu's family fairy and bless his family." "Wu Tianyu" said with his eyes rolling. Talking is actually the specialty of the gray fairy, or a hobby. When they are making things difficult for others, they also like to chat and come up with some brain teasers.
"Impossible, Wu Tianyu has no good feelings towards these crooked ways, otherwise why would you lie to him about Yuanying and cultivators?" Duan Yang didn't believe it at all. Besides, Wu Tianyu was still a minor. According to the regulations of the 404 Office, he couldn't agree. Wu Tianyu didn't have a family heritage like Tan Xiao.
That means the talks broke down.
Wu Tianyu glanced at Tan Xiao. This southern wizard was not holding back, but how could his hundreds of years of cultivation be given away for nothing? He raised his hand and licked the edge of his nails. His pupils expanded and filled his entire eyeballs. He suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Tan Xiao's neck.
Fortunately, Tan Xiao scored high in the physical test and reacted quickly to avoid the attack, but "Wu Tianyu" just made a feint to the east and rushed to the door on all fours. His strength is divination, and he can predict everything. This alone is enough for him to do something fancy!
When he reached the door, he opened his mouth almost constantly and bit the peach wood talisman.
Rat opens the year. There is a saying that goes "The sky opens at Zi, and without consumption, its energy will not open." From this image, it can be seen that rat has the ability to open the sky, not to mention that it bites open the road-breaking talisman and the soul-binding god of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Maomao and Wu's mother were outside. They heard the clanging noises from inside and were curious, so they looked out from the stairwell. At this time, they saw a man crawling out of the door on all fours and biting open the wooden board.
"Ah!" Wu's mother screamed. The man looked up, revealing eyes full of black pupils and wrinkled facial features like an animal. She almost fainted when she saw it. Knowing that her son had a problem was one thing, and seeing it with her own eyes was another. Just this scene, who wouldn't feel numb on the scalp.
If the so-called abnormal state before was a possible mental illness, then what was happening now could not be caused by any disease! His nails had become like that!
"Get out of the way." "Wu Tianyu" said vaguely and was about to tear Maomao apart. Maomao had completely forgotten that he still had a talisman on his hand and was staring blankly at the sharp nails coming towards him.
Tan Xiao rushed over in time , and his hand made a small golden knife gesture, which touched with the nails of "Wu Tianyu", and it actually made a sound of golden sword!
The two men looked at each other warily. Tan Xiao was thinking about how to deal with his divination, and Huixian was also constantly planning how to successfully escape from the pincer attack and counterattack.
Duan Yang had felt that he was inferior to Tan Xiao in the eyes of this Gray Immortal. Seeing him fighting hard, he was completely convinced. At this moment, he gasped and said in surprise: "I never thought that Xiao Tan had such a high level of cultivation!"
Mother Wu leaned against the wall dizzy, listening to Duan Yang and looking at him in confusion. She never expected that the Heavenly Master didn't know about his companions' practice?
Maomao also held her head and screamed. From the first moment she saw "Wu Tianyu", she felt as if her worldview had been shattered, and she couldn't control her emotions at all: "Is Tianyu really possessed?! Tan Xiao, why are you serious? Are you a real wizard?!"
No, that's not right. She knew that Tan Xiao was a wizard, but she never expected that he was not that kind of wizard!
Although Wu's mother was horrified when she saw this scene, she couldn't help but ask, "Ah? You don't know? Then what did you want to do?!"
Maomao: “………………”
…It’s so messy and my head hurts.
