Beyond the Divine States

"Elder martial brother... Although a bag of money was stolen today, it was also the elder martial brother's mistake to trust others. It should be a lesson, but now... What are you doing with all these lessons! This porcelain jar is also gone. The little ones on the top are pretty cute, but the porcelain man... This green dress and blush, the owner of the shop has not sold it for ten years, so you can pick it up for your brother?

Ning Xiaoling pointed to the things piled on the table with a look of grief and indignation. She wanted to cry without tears. Looking at her elder martial brother, she was a little annoyed, a little confused, and a little... Sympathetic.

Just now Ning Changchang suddenly said that he wanted to go out and buy some rare antiques, and he applied to her for a lot of money. Ning Xiaoling thought that elder martial brother always had a vicious eye and should be a stable business. He didn't want to ask more, so he promised.

Who knows

Ning Xiaoling checked the pile of objects on the table one by one. When she found the green shirt and red cheek dancer, she finally couldn't help saying, "is this also an antique? There is such an ugly antique, how can it still lack a hole... This thing is still so big, it's not eye-catching to put it at home? "

Ning Xiaoling couldn't bear it. He ran to Ning Changchang angrily, lifted his hair, touched his forehead, and worried: "elder martial brother, how come you are not so smart recently?"

Ning Changjiu patted her head and said confidently, "these are old things. Keep them well. They will be valuable in the future."

Ning Xiaoling sighed and said, "yes, in another thousand years, they will be old objects. I just don't know if I will have life to wait for them."

"Elder martial brother..." Ning Xiaoling looked at him and said pitifully, "don't you want to encourage me to practice well and strive to live a thousand years?"

Ning Changchang said: "originally, I wanted to prepare some gifts for my sister to take back, but I couldn't pick out the right one, so I bought some casually."

Ning Xiaoling said with a wry smile: "elder martial brother is really casual."

Ning Changchang said, "what do you think is suitable for you?"

Ning Xiaoling stared at the ugly maid and whispered with no confidence: "elder martial brother, whatever you do, you have deep meaning... Right?"

Without waiting for a long answer, there was a knock on the door.

Ning long went to open the door, and saw the old woman in the day. In the twilight, her wrinkled face added a bit of decadence. Her dry white hair was like a broken weed in winter.

"What else can I do for you, old lady?" Ning Changchang asked.

Outside the door, the old man was leaning on crutches. Now it was dark. She was carrying a lantern. The reddish light was faintly reflected on her wrinkled orange hands. The light was flickering. The old man's mouth was pinned down. The night wind was cold.

The old woman looked at him for a while, as if she was forgetful. After a while, she thought of him: "you are the old man's Apprentice..."

Ning Changjiu said, "it's me."

The old woman bent her other hand and looked at a pair of fiery couplets between her arms. Her old voice rang out slowly: "send a couplet to the old man, send a door god... Everyone in the family is in this line. This year, she specially left a few couplets, but forgot to send them during the day."

Ning long refused: "we and master may not live here in the future. It doesn't make much sense to stick it or not."

The old woman gave a pause on her crutch and said, "no, there is no door god to protect you. It's easy to be enchanted in the room. With the door god, you can come back no matter how long you go."

Ning long felt that this was reasonable and accepted the couplets and door god from the old lady.

The red lantern in the old woman's hand swayed in the night wind. She leaned forward, elbowed and handed it. Let Ning take those things for a long time.

Ning Changjiu said, "thank you, mother-in-law. I'll explain it when I see my master later."

The old woman nodded and said, "when my heart comes, I feel at ease..."

Then she turned back slowly.

Ning Changjiu suddenly asked: "I don't know how old my mother-in-law's grandson is?"

The old woman replied, "my grandson is nearly ten years old. Now he is learning crafts at home. I hope I can see the old man again in the future and ask him to thank him personally."

Ning long nodded: "yes."

After the old woman left, Ning Xiaoling came up behind him and said, "that old thing has long been dead. You can take things from other people's mother-in-law. It's too much to give her such an impossible promise."

Ning Changjiu handed her the couplet and the portrait of the door god and said, "if you can hide something, you can hide it. If you can hide it for a lifetime, it will be over."

Ning Xiaoling took the couplets and portraits, and hummed coldly, "crooked reason!"

Ning Xiaoling unfolded the portrait, frowned and looked at it. She was awe inspiring and said, "is it to ward off evil spirits or to attract ghosts? How can it be so frightening..."

Ning Changchang said: "fight poison with poison, is it difficult to draw a kind-hearted grandfather? If the younger martial sister is a heavenly official, does she have to appoint the God of wealth to drive away ghosts? "

Ning Xiaoling felt that there was some truth. She looked at the picture with thick eyebrows and big eyes, exaggerated look, wearing bone like armor, stepping on a broken skull, holding a peach wood sword, and staring at the sky with eyes the size of a copper bell. She seemed to like the eye, so she said: "I'll send you out."

She picked up the couplet again and looked at it. It said "the moon and the sky are forever" and "the city is immortal".

"Put that pair first..." Ning Xiaoling quietly calculated the order, but he didn't ask for help.

In the past, hanging new couplets and pasting door gods were all things that people with more affluent families would do. When Ning Xiaoling was a child, his family changed year after year until the sudden change

Thinking about the sad things, she took them to the door, put them up, and sighed, "ah, elder martial brother, you see, the things that the old lady gave you are more practical than those you bought at a high price!"

Ning Changjiu fiddled with the "antiques" he bought on the table, and said with a smile, "my younger martial sister taught me a good lesson."

Ningxiaoling listen to his perfunctory, hands akimbo, airway: "elder martial brother is really more and more useless!"

When Ning Xiaoling finished her work, Ning went out for a long time and inspected her achievements. Ning Xiaoling was very satisfied with the couplets she had put up meticulously. The faster she was, the more happy she was. It was very young.

And rather long just smile, and then the line of sight into the night, I do not know where to look.

……

……

In the imperial city of Zhao, in the study, Zhao xianger sits alone in his clothes, with ink on his shoulders. A pair of lacquered eyes look at the slips and drawings on the long table, as if he is meditating.

The lamp was on fire, and the light fell on her through the veil.

Two maids in waiting for the young empress in black robe to speak.

Zhao xianger had read the books one by one. She thought about it in her mind. The Dragon Robe was as black as thick. The real dragon embroidered with gold thread was lying quietly. The girl's back was straight all the time. The robe fell down like a cliff from the back of her neck.

Seeing that the master was so serious, the two maids naturally stood upright, looked solemn, and even breathed less.

After a long time, Zhao xianger closed the book in his hand, closed his eyes and said, "take it back to the library."

The two ladies in waiting were ordered to clean up her desk.

Looking at these materials, Zhao xianger recalled what happened in the palace two months ago, and deliberated whether there were any details he had missed.

"If the imperial city was really haunted at that time, what was the source? How did it disappear in the end? "

"Most of these Taoists are famous exorcists in the imperial city. The rest are also Kangcheng, Yangzhou and other places near the imperial city. Why is there another one near the river city? If the river city is farther away, it will be Shahe. It almost touches the border with the kingdom of Yao. It is necessary to write a book in such a far place, Ask an old Taoist who is not so brilliant in Taoism? "

"And that man is Ning Zhuoshui..."

"What's more, why did Ning Qinshui come all the way? What did he promise? In those days, it was the witch master who asked the Taoist priest to take charge. Now the witch master's pulse has been broken. No one should know about it... "

"Ning Zhuoshui... Ning Changjiu, Ning Xiaoling, a remote town... Is there really such a coincidence in this world?"

Zhao xianger suddenly opened his eyes and said, "wait a minute."

The two maids who had collected the books and prepared to store them in the library stopped and respectfully addressed her.

Zhao xianger said, "find out the information about Linhe City and send it to me."

"Linhe City?" One of the maids was slightly surprised and said, "Your Highness, I was born in Linhe City."

Zhao Xiang'er frowned again, wondering if there was such a coincidence in the world?

"Tell me about Linhe City." Zhao xianger said.

The maid touched her chin with her blue finger. Her eyes lost focus for a short time. She thought for a while and said, "I don't know what your highness wants to know. Linhe City is just an ordinary small city. There's nothing special about it."

Zhao xianger asked, "is there any legend of strange people or strange things, or odd buildings?"

The palace maid thought for a moment and said, "the most famous river in Linhe City is the river that passes through the city. It is said that the upper reaches of the river is Shahe River. In the war between Zhao and Yao, there were many corpses outside the Shahe River. Many of them were rushed into the city and buried under the river. It is said that many water ghosts were born. It took a lot of effort to build a boat again. But that's what I heard from my elders. It was more than ten years ago. "

"Shahe..." Zhao xianger nodded gently, his thoughts moved, and asked, "what's the name of the river in your city?"

"Back to your highness, there seems to be no fixed name for the river in your hometown. Some are called Shashui, and others are called Chunwan because the river doesn't freeze in winter. On the contrary, the wooden bridge across the river is very famous. It's called dinghun bridge. It's said that the name was taken more than ten years ago to suppress the immortal spirits in the river." The palace maid recalled slowly.

Zhao Xiang'er listened calmly, and some uneasiness appeared in his heart. He continued to ask, "are there any strange people?"

Did the maid of honor say: "Your Highness, I left Linhe City when I was seven years old. How can I remember so much? Well... But if you really want to be famous, it's our Lord. "

"Lord of Linhe City?" Zhao xianger said, "it is said that he is an old man with noble morality and compassion for the people." The palace maid nodded and said, "the Lord of the city has a high prestige. It is said that he came to our city when he was young. When he first took office, he attacked many corrupt officials and those who were not benevolent to the rich. Although he was called the bloody hell in private, he won the hearts of the people." Zhao xianger nodded. After a while, another palace lady sent the documents about Linhe City to Zhao xianger's case. Zhao xianger took the document, took out the map book and began to read it“ What's wrong with Linhe City? Or mountain ghosts attacking the city on a large scale? " Zhao xianger asked as he read. The palace maid apologized and said, "Your Highness, I really can't remember clearly, but I have the impression that Lincheng river is still peaceful, and mountain ghosts are rarely heard of."“ So... "Zhao Xiang'er nodded gently and said in a low voice:" there are so many mountains around Linhe City, how can there be no mountain ghosts? " The palace maid didn't hear it clearly. She whispered: "what did your highness ask..." Zhao xianger closed the map and said: "let Tang Yu come here."... "“ Your highness is up so late? Still thinking about two months ago? In my opinion, it's just haunted. When the old fox comes out, these little ghosts will dare to see the big ones. They will leave one after another without us driving them away... "When Tang Yu saw Zhao Xiang as a child, he looked at her porcelain white complexion and the weariness on her beautiful little face and said a few words of relief. Zhao xianger shook his head and said, "I don't think things are so simple." Tang Yu frowned and asked, "what's new, your highness?" Zhao xianger said: "I'm not sure... But I have to go to Linhe City. Now I want you to come here, so that you can make arrangements for the new year's Eve. Don't let the Imperial City get into trouble." Tang Yu was so surprised that he said: "the state banquet is just around the corner. Many things are waiting to be announced on New Year's Eve. How can your highness not be here?" Zhao xianger sighed: "I'm just afraid of more trouble." Tang Yu was puzzled and said: "no matter how big the matter is, it can be better than the state banquet on New Year's Eve. When the Lantern Festival comes, everyone is still waiting for his highness to cut the gift in person. His highness Tiangao is far away from Linhe City. Even if something happens, it won't hurt the whole. It's not too late to remedy it afterwards." Zhao xianger still shook his head. Tang Yu also refused to give up, advised: "if it is really dangerous, what should your highness do? Your highness is the future of the state of Zhao. You should never make any trouble. Just send someone to Linhe City. The newly promoted general is good. He can be trained. " Zhao xianger said, "only I can go." Hearing this, Tang Yu's heart leaped, and his words trembled a little: "what's the matter with Linhe City? Besides, now the major cities have redeployed troops, and there are many powerful monks in the army." Zhao Xiang'er was so angry that he said: "if someone wants to destroy the city?"... "（ Thank you for your praise to the young autho