ten hidden tribes

Chapter 2 Soul Carving Master

一
About last year, a jade carving shop became popular on the Internet.The owner of the store has opened a picture uploading area on his website, allowing visitors to upload photos of jades at will, and use the pictures to verify the authenticity for free.

In traditional Chinese medicine, you need to look, smell, and ask for the pulse, and in the identification of jade objects, it is almost impossible to judge the authenticity with just a few pictures, but the owner of this shop seems to be [-]% sure that once the assertion is true, there is absolutely no falsehood.Someone took the owner's reply to a professional jade appraisal institute for appraisal, and the result was not the slightest difference.Gradually, a post appeared in the website forum, saying that the owner of the shop was actually a famous jade carver in the industry. From the habit of looking at things to the northern and southern schools to which the carvers belonged, there were thousands of words in eloquence, detailed and convincing.

After turning a page, someone commented on the post: "Baidu knows that this old gentleman died ten years ago!"

The landlord lost all face and said, "Maybe the old gentleman is a high-ranking disciple?"

The person who left the message gave the Baidu Encyclopedia website: "Gaotu is also dead." Amidst the commotion, no one noticed a mocking reply in the middle. The ID is newly registered, and the avatar is the gray avatar that comes with the system. There was only one speech in total: "Is a jade carving master worth such a big fight? I heard from my friends that there are masters here. I thought I found a soul carving master."

It was ten o'clock in the morning when the sun fell into the cabin.The store is very small, hidden in a small alley, with diet pills on the left and a waste recycling station on the right.It was the weekend, a high school student came out of the back room with a deep-fried dough stick in his mouth, grabbed his messy hair, turned on his computer, and began to browse a jade carving online store.

The light in the room was dim, only a few rays of oblique light leaked in from the skylight next to the high school student.There is an old desktop computer on the lame desk. On the left is a stack of old books about jade carving, a few carving knives and scattered stones, and on the right is a Huanggang English book.

He closed the debate post, entered the administrator password, and directly entered the picture sharing area, angrily: "Uncle, you must pay my website maintenance fee when you come back!"

Next to the mouse pad is a piece of toilet paper pasted with transparent glue, and a few lines of words are written on the paper with a ballpoint pen:
Yuzhaifang ID: Teacher Qi is the best carver in the world
Password: 1234567
Xiao Xuanxuan, uncle will come back whenever he goes, remember to help me return the appraisal post.

People are floating in the rivers and lakes, how can they not be knifed, and it is inevitable to buy fakes by mistake.Some people develop their eyesight after buying a few times, and some people quit washing their hands, but they don't hit the south wall and don't look back. It's really rare to see a collector of strange flowers who persevere in showing fakes every day.For example, this ID named "Zhou Mo 123" who often posts fake IDs is sincere and full of anticipation every time he posts an order.Next to the picture uploaded this time, there is still a text: "I want to ask the teacher to palm the eyes. This material is white and yellow, moist and smooth, and the size of a normal pebble. Is it a high-quality sugar white jade seed material?"

The high school student took a deep breath and typed calmly: "There are more than 3000 kinds of common stones in nature, and these are called pebbles."

This ID also uploaded several pictures, one of which is said to be the Jade Mountain Sculpture of Dayu's Water Control in the Qing Dynasty, but the jade sculpture is now in the Palace Museum.

There are always some rich people in the world who spend a lot of money to buy ancient jade, but they never buy the real one.The boy always felt that this person's head was caught by the door.Halfway through typing, he glanced at a picture behind, and he suddenly stopped.

two

"Did he notice?"

"I noticed it. The reply stopped halfway through and disappeared for more than three hours. It must be still judging." Zhou Mo nodded.It seems that he is no more than 30 years old, wearing a black suit and a thin striped tie. He is leaning back on the sofa in the living room of his villa at the moment, and his eyes fall on the garden not far away through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.The laptop screen on the coffee table next to him was dimly lit, and it stayed on a small website called "Yuzhaifang".

"Boss, how can you be sure that he is not out? And he might just skip this picture and not comment." The girl who asked the question had a pair of big amber eyes, and a white fox was wrapped around a Chinese red and gold cheongsam. shawl.The soft long curly hair fell down, making her look like a little red fox wrapping herself warmly.

"No, although the boss has a bad attitude towards the nearly [-] fake photos I uploaded in the past few months, he replied to them all one by one. There is no need to stop at this one."

"Dayu's Water Control Jade Mountain Eagle." She jumped up and stared down at the computer screen, "The pictures uploaded recently are a bit heavy, are you addicted to flirting with that kid?"

"Not molesting for a day is like missing something." Zhou Mo nodded, "There are not many real jade carving masters, let alone soul carving masters. We will soon know whether he has the potential to carve souls, Yan Hong."

The girl known as Yan Hong suddenly covered her mouth: "Judging... Do you want to show him this precious artifact?! People who do not belong to the top ten families are pariahs, and the head of the patriarch will not agree to the hands of pariahs to touch such a treasure." Sacred item! No matter how talented you are...master!"

"It's time to meet the Patriarch." Zhou Mo stood up suddenly, took the hat from the girl, and walked out the door.The moment the man got up, a reply appeared under the picture, only two words.

Mr. Qi is the best carver in the world: authentic.

On this rare weekend, the sky had already darkened, and the boy never took his eyes off the computer screen for a moment.Except for the previous reply, his fingers never touched the keyboard.His feet had already been put down from the table, and he changed into a formal and stable sitting posture, with his back straight, as if he was not facing the screen, but the teacher who was lecturing.

The screen was frozen on his own website, with only three pictures.

This is an ancient jade carving of playing chess, and it depicts two chess players playing chess.The jade is black and white, Hetian jade seed material, three inches long, half white and half black.One chess player has a white crown and a white robe, and the other has a black crown and a black robe. The fronts are divided into two sides of the chessboard.And the variegated part that connects the players is just ingeniously carved into a black and white chessboard.As big as the demeanor and behavior, as small as the checkerboard pattern, even the folds and textures of the clothes are carved in detail.

Suddenly, it looks lifelike, but upon closer inspection, there is an indescribable weirdness—the two chess players have no face!
Compared with the exquisite details, the faces of the two chess players, one black and one white, have no facial features, which looks bleak and strange.It seems that the craftsman has worked hard at the beginning, but at the last step, he gave up for some reason.Looking at the blank face of the jade carving, the boy gradually closed his palms and clenched them into fists.It wasn't until the knock on the door that he woke up like a dream.He took a long time to open the door and poked his head out: "The waste collector is on the right, and the seller of diet pills is on the left. Which one are you going to?"

In the evening, it began to rain lightly, pattering.The visitor was less than thirty years old, wearing ordinary clothes, wearing glasses, and holding an umbrella, standing on the wet steps: "I heard that Yuzhaifang's physical store is here?"

three

Zhou Mo was surprised when he saw the person who opened the door.He didn't expect that it was a student who identified Qixing Chess Fairy against Yi Yudiao.It seems that he is still in high school at the age, with messy hair, flip flops, and as thin as bean sprouts.His eyes moved to the student's hand, and suddenly stopped - the fingers were slender and strong, with prominent knuckles, the hand of a jade carver.

He couldn't help asking: "Are you 'Teacher Qi is the best carver in the world'?"

"That's my uncle, he went on a trip." The young man seemed to dislike this ID very much, "My name is Qi Xuan."

"I'm Zhou Mo, forum ID 'Zhou Mo123'."

As soon as Qi Xuan heard the name, he regretted it: "I deliberately wrote down the shop's house number on the next street, how did you find it?!"

Looking at the young man who reluctantly brought him into the store, Zhou Mo felt that if it wasn't for the rain, he wouldn't be able to enter this door at all.There are only two rooms inside the door. The tools and materials for jade carving and an old computer are placed on the desk in the outer room. The door in the inner room is locked, and it should be where he sleeps.He estimated that the stones on the table were worthless.Occasionally there is jade, which is not the best stuff.Zhou Mo looked around: "I heard that you also do some carving work externally. The customer expresses the things, and then expresses them back after they are carved? I have a good product here, but it is almost halfway through the carving. I would like to invite you The shop is finished."

"Tell you that my uncle went on a trip."

"You are the one who identified the authentic Qixing Qixian vs. Yi jade carving, right? Then I am looking for you." Zhou Mo looked at the guarded young man, took out a sandalwood box from his handbag, and put it on the table. Unable to explain it, he pushed it over, "I sent you the real game of chess immortals on the computer in the morning."

As soon as the words were finished, Qi Xuan stood up suddenly, grabbed the wooden box, and rushed towards his prey like a wild animal suddenly awakened.

With a "snap", the young man's thin arm was held down!

The one holding his hand was a young girl in a red cheongsam, with fluffy and beautiful long curly hair and a pair of big amber eyes.Those seemingly slender hands pressed the boy's arms against the table in an ingenious way, making him unable to move.Zhou Mo was the only one who opened the door just now, and Qi Xuan had no idea when she appeared.Zhou Mo stood up, looked at Qi Xuan whose hands were firmly pressed on the table, and said condescendingly: "Tell me first, kid. Why do you think this is the real thing?"

To his surprise, the boy didn't answer.He raised his head and met Zhou Mo's eyes: "Then you have to tell me first, where did you get this carving?" It's hard to imagine that the eyes of this sallow-faced and thin boy would emit such a hot light.Firm and steady, as if a starry sky was reflected in his pupils.

Qi Xuan finally spoke with difficulty: "The real white chess player has a scratch on his face, I recognize it."

"How do you know?" Zhou Mo's heart beat a little, he put his hands on his knees and leaned forward.

"That was me."

four

When the girl let go, Qi Xuan quickly grabbed the sandalwood box.The lid is opened, and the bright yellow satin lining reveals a rich sandalwood aroma.What was placed in the box was not jade, but a bronzing invitation card.He subconsciously picked up the invitation and found that there were only two lines of text on it.

Congratulations to Mr. Qi for being qualified to challenge the Soul Carving Master.

The entry information and your personal information have been stored in the ID card, and we are waiting for you.

Organizing Committee of the [-]th Soul Carving Master Selection Competition
In the gold-stamped invitation card, there was something like a bus card, with a gorse flower printed on the upper left corner of the card, like the crest of a certain family.

"What is the Soul Carving Master Competition?"

"Let you really touch the game of chess immortal jade carving."

Qi Xuan still wanted to ask, but the man opposite had already stood up, bowed slightly like a gentleman, and left gracefully.The girl in the red cheongsam helped him hold up a bone umbrella, and together they disappeared into the rain curtain outside the door.The girl is slender, and her red figure is jumping lightly in the rain, like a little fox that has finally come out to let the wind out.

Everything happened so suddenly, the reflex arc of Qi Xuan's brain finally started to work slowly - the girl who pressed his hand just now seemed a little familiar.He gasped—isn't this the student council president "Iceberg Beauty" Xia Yanhong!
Unlike Qi Xuan, who was ranked among the bottom three in terms of grades, Xia Yanhong was recognized as the "Flower of the High Mountain" by the whole school.My father runs a company, and the family has two private cars, one is an Audi and the other is a Lincoln, and there are full-time drivers to pick them up and go to and from school.She herself is the president of the student union, with excellent character and learning, tall and tall, she always looks down on people or glances sideways from the corner of her eyes, and she is in the class next to Qi Xuan.The question is, how could Miss Xia, who was so proud to be so arrogant, suddenly appear in his uncle's messy shop, and condescend to hold an umbrella for a strange man?He had already imagined that when he met Xia Yanhong in the school corridor on Monday, a word floated out of the corner of "Flower of Gaoling"'s eyes: waste wood's kennel.

Qi Xuan didn't guard the store voluntarily, it was true that there was no one at home.The Qi family has been making jade carvings. It is said that the ancestors once opened a large jade shop, but it almost died down later.When I was a child, I lived in a bungalow in the unit, and there were still some jade carving equipment left over at home. After being laid off, my father set up a chaff cutter capable of cutting jade in the backyard, repaired the tools, and resumed his old business.At that time, the price of jade was not as high as it is now, and the old craftsmanship that was lost is still there, and Qi Xuan has seen many good ones.

He still remembered his father sitting by the window, and on the left side of the pine table were carving tools such as punching needles, date pit needles, and nail mounds, each of which was divided into large, medium and small sizes, neatly and neatly lined up.Next to the tools are ink and brushes, and rice paper is placed underneath.When he was working, my father always liked to wear a gray Chinese tunic suit, buttoned up to the top, with his back straight like a straight pine tree.

Before carving jade, the jade carver needs to use a brush to outline the rough shape on the jade. Therefore, the jade carving masters of that era had beautiful calligraphy and painting skills, and the brushes had to be used with great proficiency.When Qi Xuan was very young, every day before dawn, his father picked him up from the bed like a chicken, and threw him on the dining table in the main room to copy Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection".

There are dozens of jade carving techniques such as intaglio, relief, and ring, but my father said that a good jade carver only needs to learn one.Calligraphy and painting are correct, and the carved jade is self-explanatory; the heart is calm and empty, and the carved jade is elegant.A gentleman is like jade, cut like a hammer, and cut like a grinder. A true jade carver learns not to carve jade in his life, but how to carve his own soul.

When I was in the second grade of elementary school, my uncle brought back this Hetian Jade Chess Immortal Jade Carving.

五

At that time, my father was tricked by friends when he bought jade materials, and he was in debt, and the family was short of money.The creditor came to the door with a machete, and used paint to paint the entire corridor with the words "Repay the money" in blood red.My mother would press a kitchen knife under her pillow every night when she slept.She began to drink heavily every day, and when she drank, she went to her father's workshop to throw bowls and scolded him for doing such a noble job that could not support the family.

At that time, his cynical uncle was still studying in Shanghai, and he went back to his sister's house during the winter vacation, bringing two of them with him.In the past, some industries that mastered ancient skills had the habit of intermarriage within the industry in order to preserve and grow, so my uncle also learned jade carving.The two people he brought back were a jade carving master in long robes, who seemed to be a master of the Shanghai School, and the other one didn't know his name, but his surname was Xia.The other party reported Grandpa Qi Xuan's name when he was alive in an extremely awe-inspiring tone, and at the same time mentioned another word - "family of carving soul masters".

The master brought a faceless carving of a Hetian jade chess fairy. It is said that as long as his father carves the faces of the black chess fairy and the white chess fairy on this carving, the family's debts can be repaid.The father just stood at the door of the main room and threw out a sentence: "People in the Qi family don't prolong the life of others!"

The mother smashed the wine bottle at the gate of her house, scolded her man for being incompetent to support the family, and refused to give him the opportunity for nothing.Finally, the father finally came out of the main room, and helped the mother who was almost unconscious from crying back from the crowd of onlookers.He was not angry, but just touched the top of his son's head who was following behind him.

Qi Xuan still remembers the eyes of his always strict father when he looked at him, like a prisoner who accepts death calmly, yearning for a young plant that has not yet grown up.

Dad took the job.He began to stay in the study day and night, stroking the jade carving with his palm, just like stroking a newborn baby.And when he was working, his uncle knelt on the steps outside the study from dark to dawn.

Qi Xuan asked his father, why not ask his uncle to help him polish and carve?His father put the jade carving on the palm of his hand, letting him feel the warm and cold texture of the jade. His voice was full of melancholy pride: "This jade is harder than all other jades. Not everyone can carve it. In this world, Only Dad can carve it."

It took a whole season for the Hetian jade carvings to be polished and carved.The whole summer passed, and on a bright autumn morning, Qi Xuan saw its complete form.The faces of the two chess fairies who played chess are engraved on it.

One is the face of the father, and the other is the face of a strange man.

The father's face appeared on Bai Qixian's face, which was indescribably weird.Xiao Qixuan couldn't hold it steady in fear, the carving fell to the workbench and bounced to the ground, leaving a shallow mark.He still can't forget his father's shocked eyes after seeing the dent.This kind of look is very complicated, both sad and proud.He said to the uncle who came after him: "From today onwards, if you see my son touching the jade again, I will break his hand!"

"Qi Xuan...is it really possible that he is the son of the jade carving master Qi Yiping?"

"I'm not sure. The previous generation of soul carving masters also had the surname Qi, but they lived in Suzhou. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Tomorrow is the selection competition, so we'll know then." Zhou Mo looked at the garden covered with fallen leaves outside the glass window, lost in thought, "Go up The second carving of the soul was also in an autumn."

"He's in the class next to mine, and the head teacher's comments on his end-of-semester notice are being passed on throughout the year—stable grades and strong hands-on ability." Xia Yanhong pursed her lips, her dark pupils drooping down, "How could it be him?"

"Is there a problem with the comment?"

"He was always No.1 in the class in high school, and he was often beaten by the gangsters from the school next door."

六

The Seventh Soul Carving Master Selection Competition is exclusively sponsored by a family surnamed Xia.Those who received invitations for the competition included newcomers in the jade carving world, as well as veterans and big names who were rarely seen in ordinary times.Some people are good at figures and Buddha statues, some are good at flowers and birds, and all of them have unique skills.

"Even the second grandson of Lupin Grandmaster and Nan Yu's strange Hu Weiyi are here. The result this time is worth looking forward to." Xia Yanhong was still wearing the red cheongsam, standing behind the big screen, biting Lay's potato chips, squinting His eyes were fixed on the monitoring equipment, like a vigilant little fox.The arena was set up in the banquet hall of a private club, with a total of 5 seats.There are only [-] minutes left before the start of the competition, but there is still a vacant seat on the field.

Qi Xuan didn't come? "How dare you put on airs! Why don't you call and ask..." She hesitated and took out a princess mobile phone with a pink diamond on it to look up the phone number, and suddenly remembered something, and the corners of her mouth twitched.

Suddenly, a notification sound popped out from the big screen in the venue: beep—the contestant "Teacher Qi is the best carver in the world" entered the venue.All contestants are here, and the competition will officially start in 5 minutes.

Xia Yanhong breathed a sigh of relief for some reason.

Several jade carvers who were chatting happily turned their heads towards the door.A man in a suit tossed a red date up and down boredly, and asked, "Mr. Qi is the best carver in the world - the one who opened a website to identify the authenticity of jade wares? It is said that he is the disciple of the old master Qi, the master of jade carving?"

"The rumors have been refuted. Aren't you a 'Nanyu strange', you don't even know about this? The master family is an internal inheritance, and I heard that it was not able to continue due to circumstances..." The person who answered was slightly sarcastic.

"Never show his face, but his assertions are absolutely infallible, so curious! I want to know who he is." The man in the suit was not angry, looked at the entrance of the hall against the light, and suddenly changed his color, "Impossible! How could he be a student?" !"

There was something like a credit card machine at the entrance of the hall. Just as Qi Xuan put the "bus card" in the invitation letter on it, the big screen beeped to broadcast the information.Kari mistakenly entered his uncle's website ID as his personal information.As soon as this ID came out, everyone in the audience stared in this direction.Qi Xuan scratched his messy hair, thinking that his uncle, who had never been serious before, was quite famous.

He didn't mean to be late.I didn't wake up the morning before, and when I was walking, I walked straight through two gangs of gangsters fighting in groups, and happened to meet the teacher of the teaching office.Qi Xuan was standing in the student union office before he could react, when he saw Xia Yanhong, the president of "Bingshan", leading the student union cadres over, with long curly hair, a tall figure, thick eyelashes, and a voice as soft as ice in December: "Oh , Let's clean the men's toilets of the school collectively that weekend."

Xia Yanhong glanced at the group of unlucky ghosts who were caught during the punishment, and vaguely felt that Qi Xuan, who was going to compete on Sunday, seemed to be among them.President Xia was too busy, so he turned around and forgot about it.So Qi Xuan actually got up at six o'clock and rushed here after cleaning the men's toilets in the entire teaching building.

"It was almost too bad." Xia Yanhong took out the last piece of potato chips and bit it down.She immediately jumped up in shock!
Someone laughed behind her: "This late boy looks familiar."

"Patriarch, why are you here!" Xia Yanhong turned pale with shock.The man just waved his hand to signal her to keep quiet.He was wearing half a silver mask, and the exposed half of his face was as sharp as if it had been carved out by a knife.A man is like an old birch tree in Siberia, resolute, calm, exuding a low-pressure chill.He is silent and low-key, but as long as you stand beside him, you can understand that he can kill an African wild wolf with his bare hands, and his movements are clean and neat, in less than 1 minute.

Xia Yanhong was the only one in the dark monitoring room just now, the man seemed to be a shadow from the corner.He easily walked to the monitoring screen, bent down, and saw Qi Xuan sitting down by the workbench: "It looks so familiar, I must have seen it somewhere." The man adjusted the monitoring angle, pointed the camera at the boy's face, and wrinkled brow.When the boy's face was enlarged, he suddenly punched the monitoring platform like a frightened leopard.

"Who asked him to participate? Let Zhou Mo get out of my way! He can't be allowed to participate in the competition!"

Seven

It was the hand of a mature man who had experienced wind and frost, every muscle was perfect and strong, in the most precise and elegant state.However, this blow far surpassed the force that a human hand could issue—the metal-clad monitoring platform sank, and snowflakes flashed on several screens at the same time.

The man called the head of the house didn't look at the boy on the screen again, but clasped the silver mask covering the left face with both hands, as if the mask was a terrifying thing that had to be torn off from his face.The hand that smashed the metal monitoring platform couldn't remove a mask!The mask seemed to take root, and the more it was sucked, the tighter it became, and something like tentacles grew between the man's brows.In the room, he could only hear his panting like a beast: "Whoever asked him to compete, come to me!"

Xia Yanhong turned pale with fright, and tremblingly took out her mobile phone: "Master, the Patriarch has fallen ill again..." When Zhou Mo arrived, Patriarch Xia had returned to normal and was drinking a cup of Ceylon black tea.He leaned back in the high-backed chair and lifted the saucer gracefully.Xia Yanhong opened a bottle of calming perfume behind him, and the room was filled with an ambiguous smell.Zhou Mo knelt down on one knee: "It was my subordinate who asked Qi Xuan to compete, please investigate and deal with the Patriarch."

"I, Xia Ziyou, have made a rule that I never punish people when I am sick." The man bowed his head and took a sip of tea. "If I said something just now, you didn't hear it." A gust of cold wind blew outside the open window, and Xia Ziyou Yu's body was blown away by the wind like ink, and disappeared into nothingness.

The manager and servants of the Xia family didn't know when the Patriarch came and how he left.

"The interval between onsets is getting shorter and shorter." Xia Yanhong put away the crystal clear crystal perfume bottle in her hand, and asked cautiously, "Even if I use the requiem incense provided by the Li family who specializes in fragrances, it will only work for a while. Besides, our relationship with the Li family has always been bad, and we have worked hard to get this bottle of requiem incense, and we don't know what to do after we use it up..."

"So we must find the Soul Carving Master as soon as possible." Zhou Mo said as he went downstairs.

More than half of the game time, some players have left their seats one after another.The man in the suit was complaining to his assistant: "It doesn't feel right today. What's wrong with the jade material provided by the organizer? The diamond drill can't make any marks."

"Impossible, right? Now it's all electrified equipment, and the diamond is connected to the electric grinder, what can't be carved?" The young man was very surprised, "It's too mysterious."

"Jade carving is so mysterious. If it is too light, it is too light, and if it is too heavy, the jade material will be ruined. The jade in my hand is a beauty. I can't bear to destroy it. I ate a jujube and quit today."

Xia Yanhong also entered the arena, looking around, most of the jade carvers had already left the seat, and a few people were still polishing the jade persistently on their seats, most of the jade materials in their hands were broken.She didn't want to look for Qi Xuan, but unconsciously searched for the boy's seat, and found that Qi Xuan had left long ago, and there was only a piece of scrap on the table.

"I knew I shouldn't expect him..." she said angrily.

The rules of the game are actually very simple.The jade material is provided by the organizer, each piece is three inches in size and rectangular, a total of one hundred and eight pieces.The jade carver needs to carve the finished piece in his hand and submit it to the jury for review and scoring.However, not to mention the appearance, it is unbelievable that none of the [-] jade carvers succeeded in carving the finished product!
These [-] pieces of jade are taken from the same piece of Ming Dynasty ancient jade.It was the center of this piece of ancient jade that was carved into a chess fairy jade, and the rest was broken into one hundred and eight pieces.If any piece of jade can be carved successfully, it means that the jade carver can carve a face for the chess fairy jade.These [-] pieces of jade are treasures, if the Patriarch of the Xia family hadn't been forced to a certain point, he would never have used them.

Xia Yanhong asked Zhou Mo: "What's the matter with carving the soul? I remember seeing the chess immortal jade carving last time. The two chess immortals on it still have face?" Zhou Mo was standing in front of the workbench used by Qi Xuan , and carefully looked at the piece of waste left on it.He suddenly raised his head: "How many kinds of Panyu techniques are there?"

Eight

"Panyu" is a folk method of enjoying jade.Wearing jade next to your body and playing with it casually can make the dull jade look like new, get rid of the earthy smell, and restore the aura of the past.It's like watching a butterfly break out of its cocoon in the hands of a jade raiser.According to the "Ancient Jade Discrimination" in the Qing Dynasty, there are three ways to pan jade, Wen Pan, Wu Pan and Italian Pan.

Wenpan is to store jade close to the body, play with it all the time, and slowly raise it with popularity.Wupan is the method of jade merchants. Wrap the jade in white cloth and ask a special person to rub it day and night. It is the fast method.The highest layer is the Italian plate.

"I checked on the Internet, and the Italian plate is for collectors to hold the jade in their hands, feel the gentle virtue of jade, absorb the essence from it, cultivate their own temperament, and polish the jade with their own character." Xia Yanhong also did some homework in private , the only thing I can think of at the moment is Baidu Encyclopedia, "This requires the spirit of facing the wall. Rather than saying that it is a jade plate, it is better to say that it is a jade plate person. The highest state is the unity of human and jade. Hey, it sounds like..."

"Yes, very much like a Soul Condor Master." Zhou Mo nodded.

For soul carving masters, it is not human carving jade, but jade carving people. They are more familiar with this wall-facing spirit than jade pan masters.What a good soul carver pours into jade is not the carver, but the soul and lifespan.Jade articles are living creatures to soul carving masters, they feel every piece of jade article they handle, just like feeling a newborn baby.Rather than saying that soul carving masters use knives to carve jade, it is better to say that they use their own souls to polish new forms of jade.This is why the Jade Carver family can be called the top ten families together with Onmyoji and Perfumer.

Jade can store Qi, so there is a life extension method for people who are about to die.Using the artifact made of Hetian ancient jade as a medium, the life stored in the jade is transferred to the jade owner.Only a soul carving master who is one with human and jade can pour his own life into the jade quality of the artifact.Sacred artifacts usually have two faces, one needs to be carved by the soul carving master's jade master's face, and the other is carved with his own face.

"Only soul carving masters are qualified to polish artifacts." Zhou Mo looked at the girl who was listening intently, and asked, "Why do you think we mobilize so many people to find a soul carving master for the Patriarch? Why is there only one carving soul master in every era?" Soul master?"

"why?"

"Because when the two faces of the artifact are successfully carved and the jade is returned to the owner of the jade, the lifespan of the soul carving master will be transferred to the owner of the jade—he will die." Zhou Mo played with the remnant jade left by Qi Xuan, Staring at the pale girl, he said slowly, "What they carve is not jade, but their own soul and life. That's why these people are not jade carvers, but are revered as soul carvers."

"The Seven Star Chess Immortal Jade Carving is this kind of artifact, so if the face on the jade carving has faded, does that mean..."

"That's right, it means that the lifespan lent to the Patriarch by the previous Soul Carving Master is about to be used up. If we don't find a new replacement, the Patriarch will die." Zhou Mo nodded, holding up the remnant jade and revealing it to the outside of the hall. The incoming natural light narrowed his eyes, "But I think we've found it. Look carefully, it's not scrap."

Clamped between the tips of the thumb and index finger is an olive-shaped piece of jade, one end is slightly pointed and the other end is rounded. On the olive belly there are frizzy pieces of jade that have not been cut cleanly. At first glance, it looks like a failed carving.Zhou Mo pointed to a jujube pit on the ground: "Someone ate a jujube here, and he carved that pit. Even the uneaten flesh on the belly of the pit was carved out. It really looks like it."

nine

Qi Xuan and Ban Hua passed by and returned to their seats, Ban Hua flicked the dust on his sleeves in distaste: "Oh, if you are touched by someone like Qi Xuan, you will have bad luck for being a good guy for a year." The boy next to him laughed, and his face became an "O" when he smiled.

In front of the school flower, the class flower is like a small wild flower in front of the Luoyang peony, and it is suddenly overshadowed.

When Xia Yanhong put her schoolbag on the empty table next to Qi Xuan, the eyes of the boy next to her were straightened. The beauty of "Flower of Gaoling" Xia Yanhong is silent, time seems to form a barrier around her, isolating her from everyone and enjoying it alone.A short pink down jacket and a hat with a fluffy border, even in winter, can't hide her soft, fluffy curly hair and S-shaped figure.If you look closely, her pupils are amber in color, overflowing with brilliance in the gentle oblique light.

The chairman grabbed Qi Xuan's shoulders, turned to the boy who was laughing vigorously just now, and said in a soft voice like a bird, "Xuan, are they your friends? I hate them, let me introduce you." After half a minute of reaction time, the climbed The people who lived there shivered greatly.

Half an hour later, the gossip spread throughout the school, and the president of the "Flower of Gaoling" student union transferred for a class named Qi Xuan!Not only transfer, but also sit next to him!The president of the student union, whose grades had never fallen below the top three in his grade, did not hesitate to sit in the last row in order to sit next to Qi Xuan!Not to mention the gentle words like a bird: "Xuan, are they your friends? Hate..."

The boys in Xia Yanhong's support group, president of the student union, lay on the outside of the classroom window of Class [-], Grade [-], and cried bitterly: "If we had known that the relationship that transcends IQ and species advantages and disadvantages can be realized, we would have attacked Mr. Chairman!"

Qi Xuan said to Xia Yanhong, thank you.

When school is over, Qi Xuan habitually goes home alone.When he walked to the alley with old red brick walls, he found that there was an extra person behind him, and when he turned around, he saw Xia Yanhong following behind with a linen canvas bag diagonally across.She was wearing black leather shoes, stepping on the brick grid above the ground, walking in a straight line with concentration.

"You are very precious to us. The owner asked me to protect your safety." Xia Yanhong raised her head and snorted, "Now that I work for you, of course I don't want to see my temporary employer lose face."

"Until when?"

"Until you agree to carve the face of the chess fairy statue for the Xia family, and hand over the finished product to the owner. The specific conditions will be discussed with you by our family manager."

Qi Xuan stretched out his hand and scratched his hair, embarrassed: "I haven't carved jade for many years, I should find someone else for this kind of expensive work. Ever since I broke this statue when I was young, my dad never let me touch jade again." .He told my uncle, if you touch it again, your hand will be broken... In fact, the only ones I can carve are jujube stones."

Xia Yanhong asked curiously, "What about your father?"

Qi Xuan sighed: "After he sculpted the face of the Hetian Jade Chess Immortal Jade Carving, he bought a bus ticket and went to Beijing to deliver it to the Jade Master himself, but he never came back. Dad went out in autumn, and Mom waited for him In winter, when the water in the West Lake was frozen, he didn’t come back. Instead, a huge sum of money was put into the card, which was money for carving jade. My mother scolded my father all my life for doing jade carving, a job that can’t support the family. It’s the only time I discovered this business When the money came, my father was already gone."

He kicked the stones under his feet: "I don't know what a soul carving master is, and I don't know who your patriarch is. I participated in the soul carving master competition because I wanted to know the ins and outs of the ancient jade carved by my father. At least I know that my father , why did he disappear, is he still alive, and where is he now."

The sun just went down, Xia Yanhong followed Qi Xuan all the way home.It was the first floor of a dilapidated residential building in the 80s. The walls had been painted cream yellow by time, and there was a brick flower bed at the door.Qi Xuan put away his schoolbag and went home, spread a piece of rice paper on the crippled desk, and began to silently write "Preface to Lanting Collection" as usual.Halfway through writing, he went out and asked tentatively, "Xia Yanhong, are you still outside?"

At the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, the night wind is very cold, and the door is empty.A fairly green banana tree is planted in the flower bed outside the window.Qi Xuan walked around behind the tree and saw a pink shadow curled up, sitting by the flower bed with his knees hugged.He felt that no matter what the reason was, the girl should not be left outside alone at night, so he walked over and put his hands on her shoulders: "Go and sit inside, it's cold outside."

The chairman is as stubborn as a small animal, and the hairs all over his body are blown up: "I received the order from the Patriarch to protect you secretly. If you found out, it would be dereliction of duty. How can I go to your house and be protected by you!" Qi Xuan didn't speak, turned around and went back to the room, and came back after a while, hugging a cotton padded jacket.

"I bought the basic model when Metersbonwe was on sale last year." He put the cotton padded jacket on Xia Yanhong's knees, afraid of being rejected, he immediately raised his hand to declare, "I bought it and haven't worn it yet, so it's not dirty."

Qi Xuan sat down next to the girl, hugged his knees, and scratched his head: "I came out voluntarily to look at the stars, not to protect you, so it's not a violation."

The two sat quietly for a long time. There was no moon at night, and there were no lights in the dilapidated neighborhood. There were silent stars in the distance.It seems that in such a vast universe, there are only two children, sitting side by side, enduring a hundred years of loneliness.After a long time, Xia Yanhong finally asked gently: "After you entered the door for so long, there was only one person. Where is your mother?"

"I went to find my dad." Qi Xuan grinned at the ground, feeling that he would cry if he didn't smile, "She writes me a letter every year, telling me that she is fine."

Ten

"You are so pitiful." Xia Yanhong said softly, "It reminds me of the little bear that was lost in the old house when I was a child. I like that little bear very, very much, but I had to move, so the little bear was left in the old house in my hometown in the country. The nanny agreed I kept the room I lived in as it was, and I can go back and see it when I grow up and be able to move independently. It has been many years now, and the bear is still waiting for me by the window of my bedroom in the old house, but I once Didn't even go to see it. Qi Xuan, you are like that little bear, always waiting for someone you can't wait for."

"What are you laughing at?" She stared back.

"You are also very pitiful." Qi Xuan turned his head and looked at the girl who was hugging the thick padded jacket tightly in the cold night, "I always thought you were a rich lady with excellent character and learning. You have a car to and from school, and you live on a few floors at home. A high-rise villa. But in order to protect a person whose grades are at the bottom of the grade, you squatted outside the door of this kind of broken community in the cold, so cold that your hands were shaking."

"I want you to take care of it." Xia Yanhong sucked her cold red nose, stared at her own toes, and said for a long time, "The Xia family is a very powerful onmyoji family, and the branch family must obey the main family. I belong to the branch family." Miss, I was elected to work for the family. The head of the family is a masked man named Xia Ziyou, who asked you to carve jade carvings. He is the most powerful onmyoji in the family, but he will not live long. Only the chess fairy jade carvings you carved Can save his life. Many people want him dead, so they want you dead. Since the Patriarch sent me to protect you, I can't leave you alone until the order is withdrawn. You are so weak, you will die— -Do not laugh!"

"I didn't laugh, it's just that it's embarrassing to be protected by a girl." Qi Xuan scratched his hair, trying to look like a man, "Although I can't understand everything you said, but... thank you for protecting me. As Repayment, do you have anything you want to achieve... such as beating bad boys in the next class or putting stickers on the history teacher's back, I will help you achieve it."

Xia Yanhong laughed, and her laughter was as clear and melodious as the wind chimes in the night wind: "I want to leave my home and go back to the old house in the country. The outer walls of the old house are covered with dark green creepers. As soon as it blows, there will be waves. I want to hold my favorite bear, sit by the window and write novels...write a lot of fairy tales for children."

Her eyes were shining brightly: "Qi Xuan, do you have a dream?" Qi Xuan thought for a long time, then slowly said: "It probably takes a lot of time for a person like me to know what he wants."

"Then let's make an agreement. Before you figure out what you want to do and I go back to my hometown to write stories, we must survive."

It was late at night, Xia Yanhong's amber eyes blinked, and she joked with seriousness, she asked: "You are so interesting, I suddenly want to save you seriously, which hand is your preferred hand for carving jade?"

"The right hand. How to save it?" Qi Xuan asked.

"Cut it off."

The girl who was sitting next to him just now suddenly turned over and jumped up, raised her left hand slightly, and suddenly there was a silver light.Qi Xuan thought it was a joke, but suddenly found that Xia Yanhong was holding two short knives, one piercing his throat and the other against his right wrist.She was riding on him with her knees on his chest, her long black hair was blown high by the night wind, her amber eyes narrowed dangerously.For a moment, Qi Xuan thought of the Goddess of War.

At such a close distance, Qi Xuan seemed to be able to hear the sound of violent beating in his chest, as well as Xia Yanhong's irregular breathing.They mix together to form a wonderful nocturne.

A crow suddenly croaked hoarsely on a dead tree not far away.As if waking up from a dream, Xia Yanhong turned over and got off Qi Xuan, apologizing awkwardly: "I'm sorry, I almost disobeyed the will of the Patriarch." She turned and ran into the darkness, took two steps and then turned back, staring into Qi Xuan's eyes , and said sadly, "I'm really sorry."

There is a slight chill on the wrist.Qi Xuan got up from the ground and picked up Xia Yanhong's dagger that had fallen on the ground.Lowering her head, she saw blood dripping from a thin wound on her right wrist——when Xia Yanhong raised the knife just now, she was serious.

eleven
Opening the sandalwood box, the chess fairy jade carving is impressively in sight.The weather outside was cooler, and when Yushi arrived in a warm place, a mist formed.White jade is warm and moist, black jade is cold, and the blank faces of the two black and white chess players look at each other across the board, exactly like the photos on the computer.

The meeting took place in a coffee shop in the bustling business district. Zhou Mo's voice was mixed with the noisy voices, deep and calm.

"I didn't lie to you this time, it's the real thing." Zhou Mo pushed the box towards the boy in front of him, and said with a smile, "Congratulations on your victory in the Soul Carving Master trials, and the prize money will be credited to your account soon. Yanhong told me you The story of the family. There are not many people who can get in touch with this jade carving. When I first heard that you had knocked it, I suspected that you were a descendant of the Qi family—I didn’t expect that you were the son of the previous generation of soul carving masters. You are indeed a member of the Qi family , it’s no wonder that you never go wrong when appraising jade articles.”

"It is very difficult to find one person who has the potential to carve a soul, but this ability is especially easy to gather within the family through blood, so your family is called the 'family of soul carving masters'. We all thought that jade carving was passed down to your uncle I disappeared when I was on it, but I didn't expect you to be there. If you want to know what happened to your father... I can tell you, but I have to wait until you finish this jade carving."

Seeing the young man standing up straight and concentrating on it, Zhou Mo carefully took out a photo from his wallet.The photo is only one inch in size, and the image is clear. It shows a middle-aged man with a sharp face.Half of his face was hidden in the silver mask, and the other half of his face was exposed with a haughty and mocking expression.It seems that this world is a game to him, and the man is a super player who opened a cheat to abuse the boss, and dismisses the founder of the game.

"This chess fairy jade carving is a little different. The black chess player's face, please carve it like this man." Zhou Mo paused for a moment to give the other side a chance to understand, "White chess player, please carve your own face on it." .”

The young man stared at the photo without opening his mouth.

He finally spoke: "I know this man. It was this man's face that my father carved on the face of the black chess player. It was you who lied to my father, and now you are trying to lie to me."

When Qi Xuan left the coffee shop angrily, Zhou Mo didn't chase after him, but just stood up from his seat and looked in the direction he left.Xia Yanhong came out from the shadows and asked angrily: "Boss, you are lying. When Qi Xuan finishes carving the jade carving of the chess fairy, he will die. How can I listen to you tell the ins and outs of his father's story?!"

Zhou Mo just glanced at her indifferently: "Can you resist Patriarch's order?" Xia Yanhong suddenly lowered her head like a deflated balloon.

"I hope what you said to Qixuan last night was just a joke." Zhou Mo's eyes were like a knife gouging out flesh, "The Patriarch's order cannot be disobeyed, so don't try to save him. Even if you cripple his right hand, we can Let him carve jade with his left hand. If you abolish his left hand, as long as his soul is still there, the Patriarch can let him hold the diamond carving in his mouth. I think you know that the consequence of meddling in the Xia family is death .”

He shot suddenly and grabbed Xia Yanhong's neck: "I suddenly thought of a good way to force children to carve jade."

twelve
On weekends, Qi Xuan logged into Yuzhaifang as usual, and uploaded pictures to identify the authenticity of jade.His eyelids twitched: New post ID: Zhou Mo 123.

Since Zhou Mo visited and sent out the invitation letter, this ID seems to have fulfilled its historical mission, and has never appeared on the forum again, nor posted photos of fake products.He clicked on the post and found that there was a permission setting, which was "visible only to administrators."

Qi Xuan:

Since we met on this website, we have become friends, and I admire every soul carving master in the Qi family.Tomorrow I will express the Hetian Jade Chess Immortal Jade Carving over here.Create it, if you believe me.for details, see attached.

Good luck.

周默
The attachment is a folder after decompression.The file name is: Would your heart ache if she died?Inside the folder are photos of a girl imprisoned in a dungeon from various angles.The girl's hands were handcuffed by thick iron chains and hung on a stone wall.There is a close shot showing the girl's haggard face - Xia Yanhong.

There is also a document in the folder. After opening it, there are only two sentences in it: She is trying to stop you from carving your soul and is being punished by the family.Let's wish her the best of luck for a month.

Qi Xuan spent ten days playing with jade.During these ten days, he held the jade carving in his hand when he walked, and put the jade carving next to his pillow when he slept, trying to feel its warmth and luster like his father did back then.What he imagined holding in his hand was not a stone, but a newborn baby.

"She tried to stop you from carving your soul, and she is receiving family punishment."

Qi Xuan looked down at the thin wound on his wrist, and thought of the short knife that Xia Yanhong raised in the air.With a full moon behind her, she looked like a war goddess.

She said, "I'm sorry." After taking two steps, she turned around again and said, "I'm sorry."

Between the two words of sorry, the long eyelashes drooped down, covering the amber eyes, like closing two lonely windows.Sorry, I know this is a trap.But I can't pull you out of it.

Before he was ten years old, Qi Xuan was trained by his father as a jade carver.After he was ten years old, his father got on the train going north and never returned, and told his uncle who was also a jade carving: "If you see this child carving jade again, I will break his hand."

Time is like a hammer for cutting jade in the backyard of an old house, cutting him into an ordinary middle school student.His grades are in a mess, he has no pursuit and no goals, and he moves forward in a muddle along with the torrent of life.It's like a high-quality seed jade mixed into ordinary cobblestones and piled up on the side of the road, waiting to be poured with cement to pave the road.

Qi Xuan closed his eyes, trying to recall his father's weather-carved palms, his gray-blue Chinese tunic suit, and his straight back as he polished the jade.Like a jade, trying to distinguish itself from the pebbles.

He finally reached out to a pair of jade carving tools that had been dusty for a long time beside him.

Qi Xuan sat by the window for fifteen days, and someone looked at him behind the huge leaves of the plantain tree outside the window for fifteen days.

He watched the young man take out the remaining jade materials to practice his hands.The young man only has an electric grinder, and the jade carving tools he uses are all popular ten years ago. They are taken out one by one and placed on the table, which is simple and stable.Now laser and computer numerical control technology have set off a revolution in the jade carving industry, but the young man uses the most primitive method, and every step seems to be stepping on the dusty time.

He spent three days sitting in front of the window looking at this jade carving of Hetian jade chess and immortals, as if what was placed in front of him was not jade material, but a newborn baby.

When the boy picked up the knife, he sweated slightly.

The diamond grinding head touches the white jade surface, and the jade gently unfolds the first line under the cooling water spray.Every time the knife was cut, it seemed that what was cut was not jade, but the soul of the previous soul carving master; every time the knife was cut, the young man's face turned paler.It was as if he himself was entering the ancient jade with every polishing.

It took a total of twelve days to polish the jade, and the head of the Xia family watched it behind the silver mask for twelve days.

thirteen
When Zhou Mo found Xia Ziyou, it was snowing heavily outside, and Xia Ziyou was drinking coffee in the warm living room like spring.He stood by the window and put on his silver mask in front of the mirror.Zhou Mo couldn't remember when Xia Ziyou started wearing this mask, and he was also curious about what the left face of the Patriarch looked like covered by the mask.In the end, he lowered his head politely, set his eyes on the floor one foot in front of his leather shoes, and leaned over: "The chess fairy jade carving is finished, Qi Xuan wants to release Xia Yanhong first, and then give the jade carving to us."

"Qi Xuan, is that the boy I thought he looked familiar last time?" Xia Ziyou held the mask on his face steady and turned away.

He thought for a while: "According to what he said, let Xia Yanhong go first."

Qi Xuan saw Xia Yanhong.She was wearing the thin Chinese red cheongsam when they met for the first time, standing far away at the gate of Xia's mansion, with her arms around her shoulders, like a shivering bird in a snowy day.Zhou Mo pushed, and she walked towards Qi Xuan.

She lost her shoes, and she walked crookedly with bare feet.Qi Xuan suddenly wished that he had a solid and broad chest, so that when Xia Yanhong fell, he could be under it.At the same time, he realized that this kind of thinking was dirty.

In the end, he just looked at Xia Yanhong, scratched her hair, and grinned: "Yo, president."

Xia Yanhong's eyes widened in disbelief: "You're really here!"

"I have seen the man in the photo. My father carved this Hetian Jade Chess Immortal jade carving for him and disappeared. I knew there must be something wrong with it. I knew it was a trap for me to carve this jade carving, but I didn't know how to jump out of it." What are the consequences of going down. Although I jumped in. Thank you for trying to save me before."

Qi Xuan lowered his head in despair, then raised his head again: "Father used to say that a gentleman is like jade, and a real jade carver learns not to carve jade, but how to carve his own soul. I let you die in the dungeon for saving me." And I... When a person has nothing, he has nothing to fear. Since my mother went north to find my father, no one has been with me, and no one will sit in the yard all night , This feeling is very strange." He suddenly hugged his arms, as if it was very cold, "And she was a girl I didn't even dare to look up to before. I have never been afraid of anything, except for the previous moments, I am a little worried about you I’m afraid that you won’t be able to get over it if you meet a person in the basement… such as rats or something. If I can give you anything to compensate for the help and touch you gave me, I will not hesitate. Even if it is… I and all the time I won’t be able to see you in the future... because we have agreed that we will live together until you can go back to your hometown and I figure out what to do in the future!”

He was a little at a loss, and hurriedly took out a silver short knife from his pocket: "This is what you dropped last time, take it. If it is a trap, we can defend ourselves."

Xia Yanhong was stunned, took the knife, held the boy's arm, and turned sideways.The wind blows snowflakes, blowing up her soft and fluffy curly hair, like a brightly colored watercolor painting: "Does everything matter? Including life?"

There was a chill on the left side of his face, as if he had been pecked by a small animal.Qi Xuan touched his face in a daze, and it took him a long time to realize that he had been kissed.

Then there was a sharp pain in the chest!It was as if a sharp weapon had pierced the heart, and spread to the limbs along the nerves.He lowered his head and saw the silver-bladed dagger pierced straight into his chest.

Xia Yanhong put her chin on his shoulder, her voice was so soft that she seemed to be crying: "Why did you come back? In this jade carving of the chess fairy, your lifespan is stored. If you hand it over to the owner, it means that the contract is completed. , you will die, and Xia Ziyou, who was about to die, will take over the rest of your time. Xia Ziyou sent me to protect you because someone in the family is waiting for him to die, and these people want you to die, so they sent killers..."

Qi Xuan felt something warm fall on his neck, and was frozen into icy balls by the strong wind: "The assassin who was sent was me. You will die anyway, I can't let you live to give the jade carving to the Patriarch, I'm sorry..."

The last thing Qi Xuan saw was the leaden gray sky in winter.It was empty, and there was no trace of flying birds, only snowflakes falling without beginning and end.He heard Xia Yanhong sobbing beside him: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Qi Xuan let go of his clenched fist, and the three-inch Hetian jade carving rolled down into the snow.Someone walked over silently on the snow, bent down to pick up the carving, and put it in the pocket of his suit.

Before his consciousness became blurred, Qi Xuan looked up the black leather boots beside him, and finally saw the man's face clearly.He wanted to shout and moved his lips, but no sound came out.

fourteen
"Is this carved by Qi Xuan?" Xia Ziyou played with the jade carving in his hand with a gloomy expression.Under the low pressure, Zhou Mo didn't dare to approach, so he could only comfort the Patriarch from a distance: "Barely, it's still a statue, and it doesn't affect the contract."

The jade carvings of Hetian Jade Chess Immortals are still vivid, and the decorations on the clothes and crowns of the two chess immortals are as exquisite as before.I just took a closer look and found that there are two faces carved on it, one is barely alike, and the other looks like it was born with its face on the ground.The one barely resembling was Qi Xuan, and the one with the face on the ground was Xia Ziyou.

"I'm in a hurry at the end of the sculpture, I'm impetuous." Xia Ziyou looked at his jade sculpture with a dark face, and reluctantly nodded, as if a parent was commenting on a child's homework, "I remember that he only learned to polish still lifes when he was a child, and carving people is For the first time, it is reasonable to feel anxious."

"Homeowner?"

Xia Ziyou touched the mask on his left face, then lay back and leaned more comfortably on the fox fur recliner.He looked at his butler: "Ask."

"Ask freely, and you won't be punished?"

"Give you a chance."

Zhou Mo swallowed, hoping that this question would not offend the moody man in front of him: "When you decided to find the Soul Carving Master, it meant that Qi Xuan would die. This was already planned, why did you suddenly save him?"

Half an hour later, the maid who delivered coffee to Xia Ziyou saw the manager standing in the corridor squatting.

A black crow flapped its wings and flew in from the window and landed on the white window lattice.The crow turned into a pool of ink in the wind, and the ink was twisted and twisted, forming a handsome image of a young man.The man sat casually on the windowsill, folded his long legs, and curled his eyes beautifully when he smiled.

"I can tell the housekeeper who is squatting outside, why did you put Qi Xuan on the horse." He said to the man lying on the fox fur chair, "I happened to hear a story, I don't know if you would like to hear it, Brother."

The Qi family has always been respected as a family of soul carving masters, and almost every head of the family has the ability to carve souls.This is a sad ability, so they can only do soul carving once in a lifetime, and they will die after they succeed.Once you find out that you are a soul carving master, it means that you may give your life for someone or something at any time.

The Qi family declined completely, and the last head of the family was Qi Yiping, Qi Xuan's father, who was reduced to selling his life for the sake of his impoverished family.After he succeeded in carving the soul, he took the Chess Immortal Jade Carving on the train going north, and handed it over to another powerful family in the dark world.However, he did not directly deliver his life.As the last soul carving master of the Qi family, he did the most tragic move in his life.

What Qi Yiping poured into the jade was not only his own lifespan.He carved his own soul into the jade carving as a medium.So when he died, his soul, together with his lifespan, was passed on to the owner of the jade carving through the jade carving.

The reason why Xia Ziyou used a mask to cover half of his face was because the other half was not his own face at all.That was Qi Yiping's face.Qi Yiping originally wanted to occupy the body of the head of the Onmyoji family in this way, and then revive the Qi family.The silver mask on Xia Ziyou's face is a magic weapon to suppress this foreign soul.

"Obtaining life from others is always risky." The young man pointed at him, "Many people know that you suffer from illnesses intermittently, but they don't know why you have illnesses. You have been trying to suppress Qi Yiping in your body for so many years, he You can still break free from your consciousness intermittently. Sometimes you can’t even tell whether you are Qi Yiping or Xia Ziyou. For example, when you saw Qi Xuan for the first time, for example, this time, you dragged Such a fragile body used yin and yang techniques to stop his bleeding. Also, it was originally planned to take away all his lifespan, but in the end it only took ten years."

Xia Ziyou opened his eyes, looked at the phantom of his younger brother in the pale light of the snowy sky, and said in a deep voice, "Xia Zihan, if you have the ability to come to our house in real body next time and try nonsense? Dead people are the quietest."

He originally planned to take all the lives of the next soul carving master, but this person named Qi Yiping lived in his subconscious mind, and he gradually knew that there was a little boy sitting quietly on the dining table with a crippled leg, polishing it with coarse sandpaper. Jade.The boy tried to be brave. In order to polish faster, he didn't wear gloves in winter, and his little hands were red from the cold.He looked at the blue sky outside the window and whispered: "I want to become a great jade carver like my father, and earn money to support my mother."

It was only when the boy knocked out traces on the jade carving of the chess fairy, which is an artifact, that he suddenly realized that Qi Yiping was not the last soul carving master of the Qi family, and that this child had the potential to carve souls.If it was the former Qi family, it would be a joy to congratulate the Soul Carving Master.Having fallen so far, inheriting this bloodline is most likely to be coveted by others like his father.He understood why Qi Yiping said aggressively: "If you see my son touching the jade again, I will break his hand!"

——That is the kindness of the strict father.

The death order given by the head of the Qi family was carried out by the boy's uncle.As the sole heir of the Qi family, this college student who was studying in Shanghai at the beginning returned to the jade carving circle and opened a jade carving website in a high-profile way, but he has been missing all year round.What he has been trying to do is to use his high profile to hide the only young soul carving master in the family.

Xia Ziyou sometimes wondered what the boy would look like when he grew up, until he saw the participating teenagers on the surveillance screen of the Soul Carving Master selection competition.

fifteen
"Patriarch, did you miss the decision to punish Xia Yanhong?" Zhou Mo, the manager, rushed into the living room where Xia Ziyou was resting, "It is not listed in the document handed over to me." Xia Ziyou was standing by the white window , Look at the sparsely budded buds outside.He turned his head: "Xia Yanhong is a gift from me to Qi Xuan. It is used to make up for the ten years of life he gave me."

Life is a line that constantly converges and separates. Two lines that are getting closer will meet at some point in the future.Just like planting lingxiaohua now, one day in the future, you may be able to climb the rock and go straight to the sky.Winter is coming to an end, and spring is not far away.

He remembered the last words of his younger brother Xia Zihan who had been expelled from the house.While speaking, Xia Zihan's phantom suddenly approached, approaching his ear, and then the ink dripped into the water and disappeared.

"What you are afraid of is not Qi Yiping's occupation of your body, but the fusion of your souls. You are Qi Yiping, and Qi Yiping is you—that soul carving master may have reached this point in the beginning."

"No," Xia Ziyou reached out and pressed the cold edge of the metal mask, and sighed at the nothingness in front of him, "I assure you, this is the last time I allow that soul to surface."

When Qi Xuan returned to school, Xia Yanhong had already transferred schools, and it was said that she had returned to her old house in the countryside.She asked the younger sister of the student union to pass an envelope to Qi Xuan, and when she opened it, there was only a three-petaled creeper leaf inside.Seems to have been stuck in the notebook and was recently removed.

There is a line of small characters on the leaf. If you look closely, it is an address that can be communicated with and three words: Sorry.

Life was still the same as usual, Qi Xuan still went to school on weekdays, helped his uncle look after the store on weekends, and his mother still didn't come back.The classmates who came into contact with him gradually felt that this unremarkable boy in the past actually had a kind of demeanor when talking and laughing, a gentleman like jade, gentle and generous.

Half a year later, Qi Xuan wrote a letter to this address.The letter ends as follows:
After graduation, I want to enter the university majoring in jade carving.When you wanted to kill me that day, I seemed to see my father standing beside me, looking down at me.I only saw half of his profile, but it was my father's face.This may be an illusion. There are still many things I don't know about my father.I think the only way to get closer to him is to enter his field and become an excellent jade carver.I want to make another appointment with you. Before you finish writing the story and I become the sole jade carver, we must work hard to live.

(End of this chapter)