Chapter 9 Xuanshan (I)
Around the time when July 14th comes, Junfang always feels inexplicably depressed.
Lu Ren once asked him what happened, but Jun Fang just looked outside the door of the Investigation Bureau and said, "July 14th is the anniversary of Old Yang's death." He looked into the distance, his eyes neither sad nor happy, as if he was just stating an insignificant fact, "In the blink of an eye, Old Yang has been gone for more than 50 years."
Fifty years is a lot of changes for human beings, but for Junfang, it is just a blink of an eye.
It’s as if when you wake up, that person will never come back.
Lu Ren originally thought that he would not be so sad this year, because Jun Fang seemed to have developed a new hobby this year: he liked growing mushrooms.
Jun Fang had revealed this to Lu Ren during dinner: "It rained a few days ago, and it seems that mushrooms have grown on my coffin."
Junfang lives in the Household Registration Bureau for Outsiders. The director placed a coffin for him in the backyard. Every time he gets off work, Junfang will open the coffin and lie down in it. The coffin is made of the finest golden nanmu wood and can still be used after more than 50 years. However, due to the extreme climate in recent years, cracks have begun to appear on the coffin. A while ago, Junfang complained that his coffin seemed to leak slightly on rainy days.
"I woke up that day and just opened the coffin lid, I saw a big mushroom growing on it. I was so angry."
Lu Ren ate a few mouthfuls of rice with his chopsticks, then looked at Jun Fang and asked, "Did you pick the mushrooms?"
Jun Fang said, "No, I wanted to pull it out, but didn't Master Yu raise a pet a while ago? I have always wanted to have some spare time. Now that there are ready-made mushrooms, it may be a revelation from God. Why don't I start growing mushrooms from today?"
“Can you grow mushrooms?”
Junfang thought for a moment and said, "I've never grown one, but I think I have a talent for it."
This blind self-confidence made Lu Ren a little worried, so he kindly bought Junfang a "Manual on Fungus Cultivation" on his day off.
From that day on, Junfang would report the growth of mushrooms to Lu Ren every day.
"Xiaobai has grown a little bit bigger today."
Xiaobai is the name given to the mushroom by Junfang. It is said that it is because the mushroom is "snow-white and so cute!".
But Junfang seemed to like using exaggeration in his expression: "Xiaobai has grown this big!" He gestured with his hands, and it was actually bigger than a washbasin.
Lu Ren felt that mushrooms shouldn't be able to grow that big, but since they grew in the Investigation Bureau, it might be some magical species, just like the giant crab.
I don’t know if it will taste good.
July 14th was getting closer and closer, but on this day Junfang did not report Xiaobai's situation as usual. He was always hesitant as if he had something to say.
Finally, when it was almost lunchtime, he found Lu Ren and asked rather shyly, "Can I ask you a favor?"
Lu Ren was confused: "What's the matter?"
"I want to go see Lao Yang, but I don't know the way."
Lu Ren was stunned for a moment, and then he understood that Jun Fang's words about visiting Lao Yang meant going to Lao Yang's grave to pay respects: "Do you know where Lao Yang is buried?"
Junfang nodded: "They said he was buried on Xuan Mountain outside the city."
The Immigrant Population Survey Bureau is not close to the city center, but it is not far from Xuanshan. Lu Ren's parents are buried in Xuanshan. He goes there every year to pay homage, so he is very familiar with the route. So he suggested to Junfang: "Why don't I take you there?"
Jun Fang's eyes flickered with a strange look: "Really? That's great!" But after a moment, he seemed to have thought of something, and the look faded again, "But I can't leave the Investigation Bureau."
Lu Ren was a little puzzled: "Why?"
Jun Fang explained to him, "I heard that it's because I'm an evil creature. Living in the human world for a long time will have a bad effect on the health of people around me. The Investigation Bureau has a barrier so it's okay."
After saying that, Jun Fang sighed silently. The sound was so light and shallow that it was almost inaudible. If the talisman paper on his forehead had not moved silently, Lu Ren would have hardly noticed it.
Lu Ren felt that Jun Fang was a bit pitiful.
I clearly want to be a good person, but because of my background, my loved ones are gone and I don’t even have the right to visit them.
Lu Ren did not say anything to comfort him, but looking at Jun Fang who was silent in front of him, he decided to think of a solution.
In the afternoon, Lu Ren took advantage of the time when Team Leader Yu Shi was slacking off and playing Connect the Dots and secretly asked Yu Shi this question: "Can't Jun Fang leave the Investigation Bureau?"
Master Yu said, "Theoretically, it's impossible. He is different from ordinary zombies. He is a very evil creature. Once he leaves the protection of the bureau, the consequences will be disastrous."
"Then is there any solution?" Lu Ren explained the whole story and looked at Master Yu with some hope.
Upon hearing this, Master Yu put away his phone, raised his head slightly, and glanced at him with raised eyebrows: "You want to help him?"
He raised his head slightly, his eyebrows were long and thin, and there was a teardrop mole beside his eye, which made him look unusual. When he looked at people like this, there was an inexplicable sense of weirdness.
Just like small animals will be alert for a moment when facing danger, Lu Ren also froze for a moment. He swallowed his saliva, then nodded bravely.
The Rain Master smiled, then lowered his head and continued playing Connect the Dots, and said casually, "Then sign a contract with him."
Lu Ren was puzzled: "Contract?"
The Rain Master didn't even raise his head: "Yes, after signing the contract, he will have a master. The rules of the human world will no longer exclude him, and he can go to the human world."
Lu Ren nodded, not quite understanding: "Then how can we sign the contract?"
"Taixu mirror, endless wood, Yaochi water, blue phoenix feathers, and willow bones." Master Yu rattled off a bunch of things like the names of dishes.
Lu Ren was shocked: "It will take a long time to collect so many."
"It's not hard to find. Director Taixujing seems to have collected a piece. I have Yaochi water here. You can ask Fenghuang in the infirmary for Qingluanyu. As for Xiangliugu, I remember Yinglong killed one thousands of years ago. Ask him if he has any left. As for Endless Wood..." Yu Shi raised his head and gave him a half-smile, "Didn't you plant one in your tool shed?"
After hearing this, Lu Ren suddenly realized: "So that's the Endless Wood."
"Yes, this kind of wood can burn for thousands and thousands of years. I haven't seen it for many years. I don't know what kind of luck you have."
Lu Ren touched his head and smiled sheepishly: "It was given to me by the monsters on the third floor."
Master Yu understood: "Oh, them, probably dug out from the garbage a few years ago. I didn't expect that they have such a good relationship with you. The ghosts are famous for their low IQs. At first, there were rumors that they couldn't distinguish human faces." Master Yu opened the drawer and took out a small glass bottle, about the size of a little finger, filled with water. "Here, Yaochi water."
Lu Ren quickly took it over: "Okay, thank you, Team Leader."
He hurried to find the yellow bird and Yinglong. The yellow bird was very easy to talk to, and pulled out a hair for him, saying it was an apology for scaring him last time.
However, Lu Ren and Yinglong were not very familiar with each other, and he felt embarrassed to ask for something, so he could only peek around the door of the combat group but was afraid to go in.
There didn't seem to be any field work to do today, so the combat team was fully staffed. Ying Long was also dozing off at his seat.
He has long dark green hair, a fair complexion, green scales at the corners of his eyes, and two small dragon horns on his forehead.
Yinglong's face was resolute and handsome, but he didn't look sleepy at all. He lay on the table , resting his head on his arms, with his saliva all over the table.
Lu Ren thought it was not a good idea to disturb other people's sleep. When he was about to back off, a noble and cold female voice sounded behind him: "What are you doing here secretly?"
Lu Ren looked back and saw Tushan Qiluo, who was looking at Lu Ren with her hands on her hips and a cold expression.
Lu Ren explained: "I came to see Yinglong. I want to ask him for help with something."
After hearing this, Tushan Qiluo sneered, then walked into the office in high heels and knocked on Yinglong's desk: "Stupid dragon, get up, someone is looking for you."
Yinglong sat up with sleepy eyes, then looked at Lu Ren expressionlessly. His expression looked noble and cold, but there was saliva at the corners of his mouth that he had not had time to wipe clean.
Lu Ren tried hard to ignore the saliva, stared at his shoe surface and said: "Excuse me, do you still have Xiangliu bones here?"
Yinglong frowned when he heard this. Tushan Qiluo, who was originally not interested, also looked over and asked first, "What do you want Xiang Liugu for?"
Lu Ren then explained the whole process.
After hearing this, Yinglong picked up the water cup on the table and handed it to Lu Ren without saying a word: "I saw that his bones were quite white before, so I made a cup for him. If you take it away, remember to compensate me with one."
Lu Ren didn't know how to react for a moment: "..."
In short, the Xiangliu bone was obtained, and only the Taixu mirror was left.
I don’t know whether Si Yuan is willing to lend it to him.
He never dared to go up to the fifth floor. It was said that besides Si Yuan, there were many bad-tempered bosses there. It was best not to go up there easily, otherwise, if he offended someone by accident, he might end up being killed.
So he waited patiently for two days, and finally Si Yuan appeared on his balcony.
