second to none

Chapter 23

"I..." Tan Yin opened her mouth, only said one word, and couldn't continue.

Her mind seemed to be violently stirred by a hand, and it was in chaos.She closed her eyes and supported her forehead, trying to calm herself down. She remembered that it was like going to the Imperial Tomb to see the concentric mirror, and then... what happened afterwards?Why can't she remember?

"You fainted suddenly, and I brought you back." Yuan Zhong touched her forehead, the tentacles were cold and wet, and she broke out in so much cold sweat.

Fainted?How could she faint?Tan Yin put her palm in front of her eyes and looked at it. Although this hand was slender, it was slightly rough. It was a mortal hand. Her consciousness and this mortal body overlapped perfectly, and it was impossible for her to faint .

"You slept all day, do you want some water?" Yuan Zhong asked in a low voice.

Tan Yin rubbed her forehead, she was still dizzy and confused, there seemed to be a force in her body that did not allow her to think about the whole story, she nodded wearily, watching Yuan Zhong pour a cup of tea from the teapot, He awkwardly brought it to his mouth.

She opened her mouth to take a big gulp, and then — spit it out in one gulp.

So hot!

She was so hot that tears came out, and she covered her mouth for a long time and couldn't speak.

"Ahem..." Yuan Zhong was a little embarrassed, pinching the teacup back and forth, "It seems a little hot..."

He had never served anyone to drink tea before, so he didn't expect to burn him the first time he did such a thing.He took another cup, poured the tea into it, and changed the water back and forth between the two cups. Seeing that she was still covering her mouth, he opened her hand, looked down at her reddened lips, and said lightly, "It's okay." Right? Open your mouth and let me see."

Tan Yin shook his head vigorously, he frowned and said, "Open."

She still shook her head.

He pinched her jaw impatiently, just stuck between her teeth, Tan Yin couldn't help opening her mouth stupidly, her tongue was obviously hot red, and her lips seemed to be swollen.

"Look at you, it's okay to occupy a useless mortal body, and drink saliva to make it swollen." Yuan Zhong took advantage of the situation and scolded her severely. He leaned over and blew gently on her red and swollen lips. With one breath, the redness on her lips slowly disappeared.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked.

Tan Yin shook her head, her jaw was pinched and she couldn't speak.

Yuan Zhong suddenly felt that their current posture was very ambiguous, he was so close to her, her white nose tip and soft red lips were right in front of his eyes, even though he knew it was not her real body, his heart was still pounding, This eagerness to move made him suddenly emboldened, and he couldn't help but get closer.

In fact, he didn't tell her something. She didn't faint in the burial pit of the imperial mausoleum at noon, but suddenly lost her breath and turned into a real corpse.She wouldn't know what it was like when he hugged the cold corpse that had lost its breath.

It's not that he doesn't want to ask about the mysterious things about her, but she won't tell her no matter how many times he asks, she will only look at him with embarrassed and persistent eyes.He was frustrated, unwilling, and even angry, but he could only hide it in his heart and not think about it.

The appearance of Ji Tanyin was a devastating change for him. She followed him desperately, clinging to him, and made him change from the initial fear and escape to anticipation and joy. She is simply a god who descended from the sky, a goddess that belongs to him alone. .

Then, his god suddenly left him, leaving him to sit in front of the bed for a day and a night, guarding this cold corpse, what was it like, he didn't want to tell her at all, as if he could stick to his last A little reserved.

Even though his heart had been soaked in sugar water, he still showed his fangs and showed some ferocity; even though his sharp claws had already been retracted, he would occasionally show them for her to see.This ridiculous little self-esteem made him aware of his humbleness and helplessness in front of her.

But there was nothing he could do, nothing he could do.

He could kneel at her feet, kiss her shoes like dust, beg for a ray of her gaze, and surrender to his goddess with all his heart.But he won't let her know this, she is a god, the eyes in his dreams, and he won't tell her.

Facing her concealed background, he only had this bit of pride left.

As if aware of his slightly aggressive gaze, Tan Yin finally realized that he was too close, she shrank back without a trace, his hand was immediately released, and she sat up straight and looked at her.

Tan Yin looked around unnaturally, and asked a little stammeringly, "This, here?"

Yuan Zhong got up, and handed her the cold tea: "The cave I opened up, I haven't come back for a long time, it's a little messy."

Tan Yin looked around while drinking water, but saw the dust on the floor, the dust on the tables and chairs was thicker than a few inches, and what was even more frightening was the curtain, which actually had spider webs on it!Probably because she was sleeping on the bed, he just changed the mattress and quilt, but she clearly saw a spider slowly crawling over the bed, smiling at her.This... this is "slightly messy"!It's just, it's as if no one has lived in it for hundreds of years!

Tan Yin jumped out of bed like lightning, and a large cloud of dust was kicked up due to the excessive movement.

Yuan Zhong looked very calm in the dust: "This... I haven't been back for decades, I will clean it right away."

Tan Yin stared blankly at him clasping his hands together, and meditated for a while, only to see a dirty broom flying out of the downstairs, sweeping the room, making the room full of dust in an instant. People's heads and faces are covered in ashes.

The two gray men stared blankly at each other for a long time, Tan Yin suddenly laughed, sighing while laughing.

"Let me come, let's go, let's go out."

The two of them walked out the gate with their heads and faces covered in ashes, and Tan Yin suddenly felt a bright light in front of him. Behind him was the small building where Yuan Zhong lived. Most of the gardens in the garden are planted with the same snow-white flowers, which are crystal clear.

Outside the courtyard is a small lake. The willows beside the lake are dancing with the wind. The green hills are towering in the distance, and the sky is like a wash. There is a thin layer of clouds, which is the time when the sun is about to rise.On the other side of the lake, there are several medicine fields and a small grove. There is a white stone tablet in front of the forest. Tan Yin has extraordinary eyesight. She can see the words "Xiexianglin" written on the tablet at a glance. When she approaches the lake, The breeze was blowing, and the scents of green grass, wildflowers, medicinal herbs, water vapor and other scents came to her face, mixed with a melodious aroma that she was not unfamiliar with. It must be the spice wood used by the Youhu clan to make incense in the incense picking forest.

This fairy cave is not big, it can even be called small and exquisite. All the scenery is in the valley, which is particularly beautiful.

Yuan Zhong was a little nervous, coughed twice, and asked naturally: "What do you think...? Can you still live?"

Tan Yin couldn't help but smiled slightly: "Very beautiful."

His face was full of joy, but he tried his best to cover it up, and gently tugged on her sleeve: "Come with me."

He led her to the small lake by the willows. A green wooden boat was tied to the willows by the lake. Just as the two of them got on the boat and untied the rope, they saw a huge old turtle walking slowly in the lake. Like Bai Yu, her eyes are full of aura, and she must be about to become refined.

The old turtle nodded three times to Yuan Zhong as a salute, then sneaked under the boat, put the exquisite wooden boat on his back, and swam slowly towards the center of the lake, steady and fast.

Sitting on the bow of the boat, Tan Yin looked out into the distance. Perhaps the few medicinal fields in the distance had not been lived here for a long time, and no one had taken care of the medicinal fields. Even though the aura of the Immortal Cave was strong, the medicinal herbs were wilting.She looked at the location of the lake, then at the location of the medicine field, and involuntarily began to plan in her mind how to make a tool to bring the lake water into the medicine field for irrigation.

In the middle of the lake, there is a very exquisite island in the lake covered with reeds. When Tan Yin saw the reeds, he immediately asked, "Can I go over there?"

The old turtle supporting the boat immediately turned around and leaned against the small island after a while. Tan Yin jumped onto the small island lightly and looked around. The island was only the size of a gazebo, covered with reeds, and only had an open space in the center , put a half-worn futon and a small wine table, presumably Yuan Zhong once poured himself a drink here, watching the starry sky at night, it is very carefree.

"Can you pick some reeds?" She asked very politely, after all, he is the master of this cave.

Yuan Zhong didn't seem to like her politeness, he shrugged his shoulders without saying a word, raised his hand and threw a handful of reeds on the ground.

"Don't want these tender ones, let me do it." She took out a small sickle from the Qiankun bag, and specially selected those thick, long and even dry reeds to cut. She cut a lot in a short while, then sat on the futon and slowly Weaving and quickly making four slightly rough reed brooms.

Immediately afterwards, she picked out a few pieces of very ordinary wood from the Qiankun bag, and riveted bronze tubes and bronze rods, which fell to the ground with a clatter.Seeing her appearance, as if she was going to make something again, Yuan Zhong simply sat beside her, watching her cut the wood deftly and hollow out the inside with a lot of interest.

The process of her making things is really boring for people who don't understand these things. It is nothing more than cutting, chiseling, hollowing out, and connecting with rivets. It is neither interesting nor elegant. Interested, I wanted to come and watch her make things, but after watching for a while, I yawned and ran away.

Tan Yin used soft poplar wood to chisel the internal organs, while secretly looking back at Yuan Zhong, he kept staring at her movements without blinking his eyes, as if he didn't find it boring.No one has ever been willing to make something with her, this is the first time.

There was a warm feeling in Tan Yin's heart, and she couldn't help but ask, "Is it fun?"

Yuan Zhong nodded, then shook his head again: "Interesting, but I don't understand, why do you have to carve the internal organs?"

"Because in order to make the organ people move, they have to make their bodies the same as ordinary people. If something leaks, they can't move."

When it comes to things made by craftsmen, she can't stop talking, "But after all, it's just a mechanism, not a real person, so what you want it to do, you have to distinguish it by the subtle differences in the internal organs. Those wooden people made last time can only sing and dance, and you can’t do it if you let them work. Those mechanical people who can only carry water and fertilize, you can’t do it if you let them dance and sing. Of course, you can also make one with An organ that is no different from a real person can speak and sing, can also do cleaning, and can cook, but this kind of organ will take at least half a month, and the materials are very precious and scarce."

Yuan Zhong listened intently: "Then can you do it?"

Tan Yin said with a smile: "It can be done, what kind of appearance do you want?"

Yuan Zhong stared at her snow-white face: "You are like this."

Tan Yin was slightly taken aback, the smile on his face faded, and after a while, he whispered: "Okay, I will do it, but I can't make it like me."

"Then who are you going to look like?"

"……I will not tell you."

"Sell off."

"correct."

No one spoke anymore, and Tan Yin quickly made a wooden man the size of a normal person. Due to rush work, the appearance looked very rough and simple.She opened its back, gently inserted a bronze rod into it, and twisted it a few times. The wooden man moved his hands and feet a few times, and immediately picked up a broom and rushed towards the boat, standing on the bow. Do not move.

She made four wooden figurines in a row, each standing majestically at the bow of the boat with a broom, which looked a little funny.

"Go back." Tan Yin put the scattered materials back into the Qiankun bag, and boarded the boat with Yuan Zhong. The old turtle swam back to the shore with the boat, and the four wooden men rushed towards the small building with their brooms in their hands like lightning. Busy inside and outside, they are more flexible than those hired maids in Fangwaishan, and the wooden man doesn't know what rest is, so he won't get tired at all.After sweeping, I wiped the walls and tables and chairs with a rag, and then swept it again. In the end, it took dozens of buckets of water to clean the inside and outside of the house from dust.

Tan Yin looked at Yuan Zhongkuai's dropped jaw with bright eyes, and asked with a sense of accomplishment: "How is it, isn't it very fast?"

He held a bronze rod and looked back and forth. It was just an ordinary rod with dense grooves of different shapes dug out of it.He opened the back of a wooden man and saw a hole in it. He inserted the bronze rod along the groove on the hole and screwed it a few times. The wooden man who had stopped moving began to dance again. But this time it was neither sweeping the floor nor fetching water. It danced with its arms and legs, jumped and jumped, and began to run wildly around the lake without stopping.

"Uh..." Yuan Zhong pinched the bronze rod in embarrassment, how could the wooden figure be obedient when she twisted it a few times, and the wooden figure started jumping around when he twisted it?

"Because it's rush work, they can only complete fixed steps." Tan Yin kindly explained to him, "You twisted it five times just now, and it will take five hours to stop."

Yuan Zhong held the bronze stick and was reluctant to throw it away. After playing back and forth for a long time, he said, "Can you give these four wooden figures to me?"

It takes a lot of effort to maintain the tidyness of the cave, so such a huge cave as Fangwai Mountain Katori Mountain will hire mortals to clean and repair it.This is his own cave, he doesn't want to be disturbed by mortals, and he is too lazy to do it himself. With this kind of mechanism person who can clean, he no longer has to worry about not coming back for decades and becoming a pig's nest.

"Okay." Tan Yin agreed generously.

Yuan Zhong's eyes lit up, he suddenly turned around and hugged her in a bear hug, he weighed her twice on purpose, then raised it high, looked at her stunned expression and grinned: "Thank you, my little craftsman."

(End of this chapter)