Chapter 40: Li Gua
Tan Xiao was disgusted by the possibility Mu Fei mentioned. After agreeing, he walked out of the small park and continued to walk towards home. However, in the short time he was on the phone, Kong Xuan had merged into the crowd and disappeared. Tan Xiao felt a little regretful, but thought there would be another chance in the future. He still didn't know where his neighbor lived.
After returning home, Tan Xiao went to the kitchen first and opened the rice cooker to make sure there was no rat droppings inside.
Seeing this, Tan Chunying couldn't help but shook her head: "Son, there is no leftovers. Steam more if you want to eat."
"I don't want to eat." Tan Xiao ran to the second floor.
He wanted to go into the room and call the Peacock God, but when he entered, he saw Peacock sitting on the bay window, looking at him coldly, and immediately choked, "God, how did you know I was looking for you?"
Kong Xuan: “…”
Kong Xuan was too lazy to speak and just gave him a sidelong glance.
Humph, you left him in the park just to come back and tell him about this, right? It only took half an hour to know that they were the same person. I gave you a chance but you didn't want it. You regret it so much, you regret it so much, you regret it so much...
"Sister Mu Fei told me that Zhong Da Huzi escaped from prison. She reminded me that Zhong Da Huzi has a vengeful heart and might even try to poison your food." Tan Xiao said as he rummaged through the drawer.
Kong Xuan forgot to be angry for a moment: "He dares!"
The peacock is here, how dare the dead mouse be so presumptuous? Tan Xiao's words are simply alarmist!
What made him even more disgusted was, "What's wrong with the 404 Office? They let a dead rat escape? I said they should have brushed its head as well."
"...Don't be so irritable." Tan Xiao has been studying for so many years, and almost every drawer in his room is full of things, each with its own purpose. He took out three old copper coins from a drawer that he rarely used, "Great God, it is now relying on its excellent divination skills to escape, but I think it can't be smarter than me, right?"
Tan Xiao looked at Kong Xuan and smiled.
Even if he didn't practice much, with the power of Peacock God, how could this hexagram not work?
After all, the peacock is the one who kicks the divination cup with his feet.
The most famous way of divination of Chu witches is actually thatch divination, which also uses grass. So the words "I asked for Qiong thatch with bamboo and bamboo, and ordered Lingfeng to divine for me" in "Li Sao" are describing the divination of Chu witches. But Tan Xiao didn't have time to go out and pull grass, and using copper coins to tell fortunes was the same. He didn't practice this thing much, and stuffed it in the deepest part of the drawer.
Still want to tell the divination? Kong Xuan glared at him, still thinking about the fact that he had failed to let the water go.
At this time, Tan Xiao had already thrown the coins out, and then wrote them down one by one to form a hexagram. When he was about to interpret it, Kong Xuan, who originally wanted to teach him a lesson, couldn't help it, and stepped forward to move the hexagram. He saw the upper and lower lines jumping like flames.
"Li Gua?" The corresponding hexagram text quickly appeared in Tan Xiao's mind, "Li represents fire, sun... armor, and weapons." Generally speaking, the Li Gua is a good omen and a symbol of light. However, these images seem to have nothing to do with Zhong Da Hu Zi. What he wanted to know was where Zhong Da Hu Zi was.
Such a simple hexagram can be interpreted in many ways.
"Well, there is one more thing. Li is in the south... Could it be that Zhong Da Huzi is in the south of the city? But this range is too wide." Tan Xiao looked at Kong Xuan.
Kong Xuan: "Interpreting the hexagrams is the practice of wizards. The principles of the Eight Trigrams are derived from the River Chart and the Luoshu, which contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth. Every wizard has his own way of interpreting them."
Tan Xiao: "Master, if you don't know, just tell me."
Kong Xuan: “…”
Kong Xuan said angrily: "It's just that I never rely on reason when doing things!"
Tan Xiao: “…………”
What kind of outrageous words did the Great God utter...!
But there is some truth to it. Zhong Da Huzi was so good at calculating in the past, but he still knelt down in front of Kong Xuan.
Tan Xiao simply took a photo of the hexagram and sent it to Mu Fei, thinking that there must be a lot of top students in the 404 office to interpret it. After sending it, Tan Xiao stopped worrying about it. Before Zhong Da Huzi was arrested, he just needed to pay more attention to whether there was shit in his food.
Tan Xiao took out the family heirloom robes for the school anniversary party. There are many sets of clothes for spiritual masters to use for sacrifices, big ceremonies, small ceremonies, archery ceremonies, and dancing ceremonies. The set he took out was also an old item, with large feather patterns and strong colors. To dance the "Feather Dance", one naturally has to imitate the shape of a divine bird.
While sorting out the matching decorations, Tan Xiao noticed that Peacock God was looking at him and asked politely, "Our school is having its anniversary celebration. Will you come to see it?"
Kong Xuan said indifferently: "Why are you asking me to go?"
"It is indeed an entertaining work. I think the great god has not been to our school yet. He can come for a visit." Tan Xiao felt that he had a close relationship with the Peacock God and of course wanted to share his life, although he always felt a little strange in his heart when he said this.
Kong Xuan: “…”
Kong Xuan almost fainted from anger and disappeared without a word.
Tan Xiao stared at the air, not understanding clearly, was he agreeing or not? In the past, he might have thought that he still couldn't accept that the work that entertained the gods had become a work that entertained people, but now, there seemed to be a subtle difference, maybe it was his illusion?
…
"The moon rises from the Yin, and the sun rises from the moon." Zhong Da Huzi had no props left, so he had to make a divination with his bare hands and use the Liu Ren method to predict which direction he should run next.
What a pity! He sneaked to the South with great ambition to start a new career, but his life ended before he had a chance to make a good start.
He pinched his claws, and his beard was trembling. He calculated that the east was the direction from which he had escaped from Office 404, which was dangerous. The south was where Nanchu No. 1 Middle School was located, which was extremely dangerous. The north was the direction back to his hometown, but there must be checkpoints, which was also dangerous. He could only try the west, although the west was also dangerous.
However, no matter how you look at it, Zhong Da Huzi has the potential to turn danger into safety, so it's worth a brave try, which is better than staying in a cage.
Due to the mental stress and hunger from being detained for several days, his original form has become much thinner, but he is still flexible.
After escaping to a place that looked like a construction site, Zhong Da Huzi was very careful, because according to his survival experience, such construction sites usually have cats and dogs to prevent rats and thieves, which would be very disadvantageous to him!
But this construction site seemed to be a little different. When people saw its fleeting figure, they actually thought it was a white cat. They called "Meow|Mimi" at it, and some even went to bring it food.
"Professor Mo, there seems to be a cat in there."
"Really? This is the first time I see a wild cat here. It's quite remote so it should be a wild cat."
"Feed them some food and drive them away quickly. It's quite dangerous here."
Dangerous? You don't know how dangerous I was!
Zhong Da Hu Zi hid in the gap and saw the half piece of bread stuffed in front of him with great contempt. Immortals love cleanliness the most. If it were usual, he would not only not eat the leftover food on the ground, but also punish the immortal severely.
But now, the rat is trapped in a plain and is bullied!
Zhong Da Huzi stretched out his claws, grabbed the bread and ate it, and couldn't help but pull the crust to make it cleaner. But as he ate, he felt a little cold on his back, as if he was being watched by something.
Zhong Da Hu Zi was extremely sensitive. As soon as he saw something a little strange, he immediately put down his bread and started observing. He looked out from the gap, but there was only an orange-yellow color outside.
Strange, outside it is clearly...
wrong.
Zhong Da Hu Zi was shivering all over, and he didn't even have time to tell fortunes. His beard was shaking as he felt the air current... He suddenly leaped back, and the orange-yellow object really followed him. As the piled up debris was pushed aside, a huge snake body was revealed.
Viper!
No wonder the divination showed bad luck.
Zhong Da Huzi's eyes went dark. He said that there were no cats or dogs on the construction site, so it turned out that they raised snakes! But what's wrong with you in the South? High school students raise peacocks, and construction sites raise vipers!
It’s too difficult to survive... Zhong Da Huzi’s paws were numb and he ran forward desperately, constantly using objects to tell fortunes and quickly judge good and bad luck. He rushed left and right, with the suffocating cold gaze and bloody mouth of the male viper behind him.
Zhong Da Huzi had accidentally predicted his own death, that he would be buried in a human's belly. No one could guess whose belly it was until he was about to die. He once thought that he was buried in the belly of the Peacock God. Now it seems that it was a male viper? !
Because the male viper switches between yin and yang, Zhong Da Huzi also fled between the yang road and the yin road based on his experience. After practicing for a long time, he has transformed his energy into a spirit, so it is not difficult for him to use the yin road. However, there are many ghosts in the yin road, and many of them are spies from the 404 Office. Now he can't care about so many things in order to escape!
I don't know how long he ran without paying attention, but Zhong Da Huzi finally realized exhaustedly that the male viper was no longer catching up with him. Was it because it thought it was not worth chasing, or was it because the security guard could not run too far?
This place looked somewhat familiar to him, as it was not far from Nanchu No. 1 Middle School.
Zhong Da Huzi suddenly looked at the ground, where there were a few chopsticks scattered. He looked at the image and found it was the fourth line of the Li Gua: Burning like, dying like, and abandoned like!
What a bad omen. Zhong Da's beard was trembling again, and he turned his head to look in a trance.
In front of him was a ball of blazing fire.
…
On the school anniversary day, Tan Xiao moved all the stuff for the performance to the school early in the morning. Tan Chunying drove him there and asked if he wanted help getting it inside. After thinking about it, Tan Xiao refused . The rumors about him and some tattooed tycoon haven't been around for long. The appearance of Tan Chunying might just revive the rumors. So he decided to ask the security guard for help.
The anniversary celebration of No. 1 Middle School is mainly held in the evening, which is organized by the school's Youth League Committee. During the day, there are mainly activities for former alumni, and there are also some students' calligraphy and painting exhibitions on campus.
So Tan Xiao left the classroom early in the afternoon to prepare for the performance.
Not long after Tan Xiao left, Ji Huiming's figure flashed outside the corridor, causing a panic. He was not here to conduct a surprise inspection of discipline. He leaned in and waved to Lin Yang: "We are short of manpower. Find a few boys to help move the props for the party."
"Okay!" Lin Yang responded, "It's not that it's not enough. It will take two people to carry Xiaozi's big drum alone."
Lin Yang looked around, pointed at two boys, then looked at Kong Xuan and hesitated.
Before he could say anything, Kong Xuan said impatiently, "Okay, go ahead."
Lin Yang: “…” What did I say?
He was too embarrassed to stop Kong Xuan from helping, so they all headed for the playground. At this time, the sports equipment room served as a dressing room and prop room.
In the noisy scene, Kong Xuan could hear that almost all the students around him were discussing Tan Xiao. They were looking forward to Tan Xiao's live performance in the evening.
"Wow, I used to go to the same junior high school with Tan Xiao. He also performed at the art festival and drove us crazy."
"It seems like there's dancing today. The official account said it's "Feather Dance."
"Which one will appear? I want to see it, I want to see it, I want to see it."
The Feather Dance is also a sacrificial dance, and as the name suggests, it is closely related to feathers, birds, and phoenixes. In other words, it is closely related to peacocks.
Kong Xuan couldn't help but feel proud.
After all, these people were able to see it thanks to him.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Suddenly, there were bursts of suppressed cheers, drowning out the originally noisy backstage.
Kong Xuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a door opened, revealing Tan Xiao's figure. He was in semi-darkness, wearing a robe with ochre and black feather patterns, with snake patterns drawn on his cheeks by a makeup artist, a magic bell tied around his waist, and a peacock mask on his head in the open style. Unlike most Nuo rituals, his face was exposed.
Although Peacock is Tan Xiao's main deity and should be wearing a dark appearance, the reason for wearing it is obviously to facilitate performance rather than to abide by tradition.
Kong Xuan had never seen Tan Xiao dressed up as a wizard before. Compared with ordinary wizard rituals, Tan Xiao's costume was more gorgeous and magnificent. The sudden appearance of Tan Xiao in the crude waiting area made him speechless for a moment.
"Brother Xiao! So charming!"
Unlike some people who remained silent, Lin Yang waved his hands and shouted, wishing that everyone knew that this was his deskmate.
"Stop yelling." Tan Xiao just noticed them and waved his hand. When his eyes fell on Kong Xuan, he hesitated for half a second and recognized him. "Kong Xuan?"
——Tan Xiao was able to identify Kong Xuan relatively quickly.
"Yeah." Kong Xuan walked to Tan Xiao with the others. His eyes were a little vague, and they fell on the mask and feathers on Tan Xiao's head from time to time.
Lin Yang touched the feather pattern on Tan Xiao's clothes and felt that his classmate was not only dressed with a strong aura, like an ancient witch, but also behaved calmly and completely controlled this gorgeous robe. "Look, this person was a high priest a few hundred or a thousand years ago."
"What kind of high priest is this? He's called the Imperial Master."
Tan Xiao: "...that's enough, hahaha."
"And this dress looks so exquisite and a bit vintage?" A classmate couldn't help but say that it looked different from ordinary performance costumes and looked like some kind of antique clothing.
"Of course, this is a family heirloom." Tan Xiao doesn't wear it every time he performs, but because the director of the evening party has specifically discussed it with him.
"Family heirloom? That means it was passed down to you by your aunt. No wonder it's so exquisite, haha."
The clothing of the Chu witches naturally followed the style of the Chu area, with long robes with wide sleeves and bright colors.
Lin Yang, Tan Xiao's old deskmate, gave everyone a familiar explanation: "The robes are universal, and it's not strange to wear skirts. In ancient times, women were wizards. Xiaoxiao said that male wizards in some places would dress themselves up to look like witches. Some male wizards even wear eight-piece skirts."
"I see. I've learned a lot."
"Hehe, and one more thing is that since ancient times, when we in Chu select witches and shamans, we pay special attention to handsome men and beautiful women." Lin Yang's hand made a flower shape beside Tan Xiao's face, "It has to be this good-looking to be liked by the gods."
"Hahahahahaha, love it!" The classmates burst into laughter. Tan Xiao's performance costume was indeed good-looking.
Only Kong Xuan did not join in the fun. Under the yellow light, no one could see that he secretly glanced at Tan Xiao a few times and his cheeks turned slightly red.
These people are really...!
Tan Xiao also laughed. Lin Yang's words reminded him of Peacock God. But Peacock God would not be so superficial as to look at the appearance. He still had to look at the craftsmanship.
"Tan Xiao? Why don't you move your drum to the back of the stage first? It will be more convenient when the time comes." Director Wang Xiaoan came over and said. Tan Xiao's hanging drum is quite large, and he had a lot to clean up in the previous scene. In order to avoid being too busy when the time comes, it is necessary to do some work in advance.
"Okay." Tan Xiao patted the drum head, "Help me move it." He was covered with props, magic bells and magic seals, so he was definitely not suitable for doing "heavy work".
Kong Xuan and Lin Yang, two classmates, took the lead and set up the hanging drum at the stage entrance. At this time, some classmates had already brought their stools to the playground in advance. There was a commotion when they saw Tan Xiao from afar. It can be seen from the reactions that this is probably the program that everyone is most looking forward to tonight.
Wang Xiaoan checked the lights on the stage for the last time and turned around to say, "Tan Xiao, come over and take a look at this?"
There were no steps leading to the stage in front of where Tan Xiao was standing. The best way to get on the stage was to go around half a circle, but he was too lazy to go around and wanted to go straight up, so he lifted up his clothes and stepped over.
As the stage was too high, he still tripped. Fortunately, Lin Yang and Kong Xuan were right next to him, and they worked together to hold Tan Xiao.
Lin Yang pretended to be a flatterer and said, "Master, be careful!"
"..."Tan Xiao felt embarrassed. It would be embarrassing if he fell down.
He reached out to the side, trying to use the force to get back on the stage, but the moment he touched the ground, Tan Xiao was stunned, and belatedly looked to the right. His hand was holding Kong Xuan's wrist.
Strangely enough, Tan Xiao could clearly remember that this was probably the first time he touched Kong Xuan's skin.
Before that, even if Kong Xuan had been lying on his legs for an hour, it was only through their school uniform that they seemed close. But at this moment, he knew that it was actually completely different.
Kong Xuan turned his hand over and placed it against Tan Xiao's palm. He held his hand upwards and sent Tan Xiao to the stage with a faint warmth. Even though the temperature was not the same, Tan Xiao felt it was so... familiar!
He seemed to have been enveloped by such a touch before, and he performed the magic of the Chu witch, and was also supported by such a touch to escape from danger.
He stared at Kong Xuan in a daze. If this was really the first time they held hands, then why did it feel so natural and familiar to him?
