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墨書 Inktalez
Time passed quickly, and three years had gone by. Safflower and her daughter could not enter the ancestral grave, and instead were buried in a desolate area with no one to honor them, becoming wild spirits.
During these three years, Safflower had hoped countless times that Li Nan would come to see her. However, all she received in return were the hurried footsteps of passersby. Occasionally, familiar faces would stop by the grave and sigh softly, saying, "Isn't this the grave of Li Family's Daughter-in-law and granddaughter? I heard they were buried here. Sigh, during her life, this Daughter-in-law was respectful and filial to those two, but now that she's gone, there's not even a tombstone. How can people's hearts be so cold?"
The sighs of others fell upon Safflower's ears. Those people did not know that when they passed by the grave, Safflower was holding her daughter, standing beside the grave and listening.
Her daughter grew year by year, gradually able to understand the discussions of others. Even when faced with bullying from other spirits, she could retort fiercely. Her daughter clung to Safflower, wanting to see her heartless father. Safflower also missed Li Nan and wanted to know how he had been during these years since her departure. So she took her daughter back. However, when they arrived at the entrance, they found it barred because they were wandering spirits and were stopped by the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper felt pity for her and knew her background. He wanted to secretly let her in through the back door but did not expect that Li Nan and his son had hung a Copper Mirror for warding off evil spirits at the back door as well. With no other choice, Safflower could only wait outside Li Family's door with her daughter every day, looking from afar at her once indifferent husband and mother-in-law.
"But last night, when Si Niang went to her brother's house, your daughter entered Li Family. What happened there?"
"Get up; we must thank that carriage!" Safflower tightened her grip: "That night, Lulu and I were still wandering outside when we saw a carriage rushing towards us from a distance. This carriage was different from ordinary ones; it was surrounded by a ghostly blue light that felt very welcoming.
Lulu was mischievous by nature and chased after the carriage when she saw that light. After a while, she returned to tell me that the driver was not an ordinary person but a monster. Although I am also a spirit like Lulu, I am somewhat different; she often perceives things I cannot sense or sees things I cannot see. Before I could react, Lulu took my hand and pulled me onto that carriage. That’s when I saw Si Niang sitting inside.
Lulu initially wanted to tease Si Niang but was discovered by the driver. So she smiled sweetly at him and said we were just passing by and wanted to hitch a ride. The monster turned out to be kind-hearted and did not make things difficult for us. When the carriage stopped, Lulu and I realized we had arrived at my husband’s—oh no, Li Nan's—doorstep.
Later I learned that Si Niang had gone next door. Perhaps it was because of the driver or maybe due to that carriage itself. Lulu noticed that the gatekeeper at Li Nan's house silently turned around and faced inward. Just like that, Lulu entered Li Nan's home and even spoke with him."
"The gatekeeper can turn around?" Xing Ruyi asked curiously, regretting not going with Li Mao last night to see something unusual.
"Of course they can turn around!"
Just as Xing Ruyi was filled with questions, the fox spoke up.
"That carriage was made from spiritual wood from Qingqiu and often accompanied you and me into Yin Si, picking up quite a bit of Eerie Aura along the way. This combination of spiritual energy and Eerie Aura makes it hard for people to understand what's happening. Moreover, last night it was Li Mao driving the carriage, which made those two gatekeepers even more confused.
The officials in the divine realm are somewhat similar to those in your human world; they pretend to be confused when necessary—especially when they can't figure out where someone comes from—and try not to provoke anyone if possible. But when such a carriage suddenly stops outside a mortal's house, if the people inside become aware of it, they will certainly ask questions. How do you expect those two gatekeepers to respond?
They don't know? Then wouldn't that make them incompetent! If they know but are questioned closely later on, how will they explain their lies? It's better for them to turn away; if asked above later on, they'll just say they didn't see anything or don't know."
"Is that really okay?" Xing Ruyi asked uncertainly.
"Of course!" the fox nodded.
Well, who could argue with your experience as an Emperor? Let's just assume what you say is true, Xing Ruyi thought to herself, shrugging her shoulders. Suddenly, she looked up and asked the fox innocently, "In mortal homes, there are usually door gods posted, but there are only two of them. Wouldn't they be exhausted running around like that? Moreover, our Rouge shop also has door gods. With my carriage coming in and out every day, how could they not know the details?"
"Though the gods are posted on the door, it doesn't necessarily mean there are gods at the door. Just like you mentioned earlier about the Fox Demon—if those door gods were to guard every household, wouldn't they be worn out?"
"So you mean to say that the two we have posted at our shop are merely paintings, and these door gods have never actually graced us with their presence?" Xing Ruyi's face darkened. "Why is that? My large Rouge shop can't possibly be inferior to Li Nan's shabby courtyard. Why would they rather guard that pair of mother and child than watch over me?"
"It's not that they don't want to go; it's that they simply don't dare. They probably don't even know that there's a Ruyi Rouge shop in this capital city," the fox blinked, making it clear that he had tampered with those two door god paintings.
"Forget it; whether they go or not doesn't matter much. Even if you and Yin Yuan are at home, there are hardly a few brave enough to provoke Li Mao and Deer Lady in this Luoyang city. I'm just puzzled as to why they choose to guard Li Nan's house. Could it be that there's treasure hidden beneath that residence?"
"You always think about money," the fox ruffled Xing Ruyi's hair affectionately. "The reason those door gods are guarding Li Nan's house could be quite complex. First, it's related to Si Niang's brother's family matters. Second, the resentment surrounding Honghua and her daughter’s deaths has drawn the door gods' attention to these two neighboring residences."
"I think I understand your point now. It's like Li An and Honghua's mother-daughter pair died with grievances almost one after another, creating an unusual magnetic field in that area. The reason door gods exist is because they have certain responsibilities while remaining in the mortal realm; thus, they came to check on this place. Unexpectedly, they encountered Honghua and her daughter, whose resentment was so deep that to prevent them from harming innocents, the door gods had no choice but to guard that spot day and night."
"And there's a third reason: these door gods might also be quite bored, and Li Nan's mother and son’s actions are indeed somewhat excessive. However, due to various reasons, the timing for these two individuals to receive their retribution hasn't arrived yet, so the two door gods remain in place to observe the ensuing drama."
"Do even deities enjoy watching drama?"
"Deities are also beings; just as humans become ghosts while retaining their interests from life, some deities also enjoy watching events unfold. Moreover, those who ascend to become door gods are inherently righteous; it's just that due to their divine status, they find it inappropriate to seek justice for Honghua and her daughter."
"I remember reading about the story of door gods in 'Shan Hai Jing.' It mentions a mountain called Dushuo in the vast sea where there is a large peach tree whose branches stretch for three thousand miles. To the northeast of the peach tree is a ghost gate frequented by myriad spirits. At this gate stand two divine beings named Shentu and Yulei who guard it specifically against malevolent spirits. Once they detect any harm-causing ghosts, they bind them with ropes made of reeds and throw them down the mountain to feed tigers. Therefore, Huangdi honored them with rituals each year and painted images of Shentu, Yulei, and tigers on doors while hanging reed ropes so that if any evil spirits appeared, these two deities would capture them and feed them to tigers.
During Taizong's reign, due to the incident at Xuanwu Gate, Emperor Taizong found it hard to sleep at night and often heard strange noises outside his bedroom—sounds of bricks being thrown and ghostly calls—causing unrest in the palace every night. There was a time when Emperor Taizong even had nightmares about his brothers bringing monsters to kill him; he was terrified and ordered his two generals Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong to stand guard at his door with weapons so he could sleep peacefully.
However, due to nightly duties and both generals being older men, they eventually fell ill. In desperation, Emperor Taizong commanded their likenesses to be painted on paper and posted on doors as a means of scaring away evil spirits. This practice spread among the people who already revered these two generals; combined with Emperor’s actions, they exaggerated their images slightly before painting them for their doors. Thus, Shentu and Yulei became comfortable at home drinking tea and chatting.
Most ancient deities have already transcended; even those still around often do not concern themselves with mundane affairs. So if these door gods change places, it’s just a matter of course," said the fox while pointing at Honghua still lingering outside the barrier.
At this moment, Yin Yuan and Li Lu had also returned. Li Lu looked excited, while Yin Yuan was unusually aloof, exuding a certain charm reminiscent of a fox pretending to be dignified.
"Mom, just now Brother Yin Yuan took Lulu to scare that Old Witch. You wouldn't believe how scared she was; she fell right to the ground and started shouting about wanting to invite a Taoist priest to catch ghosts."
"Invite a Taoist priest?" Hong Hua frowned. "Didn't I tell you not to provoke her easily?"
"Lulu isn't afraid! With Brother Yin Yuan around, that Old Witch is going to ask for his mother. Hmph! How could Brother Yin Yuan's mother help them?"
Xing Ruyi stood within the barrier, touched her nose, and then quietly asked the fox, "Are we going to help them?"
"Probably... maybe... not really!"
The fox smiled with lowered eyes, watching as Xing Ruyi curled her lips in a smirk, hands on her hips. "Of course I will help; after all, I am a kind-hearted, principled part-time Taoist. It's just that my Daoist practice is too shallow, so this task might end up being counterproductive!"
"It seems they are going to have bad luck!" The fox helped Xing Ruyi adjust her cloak over her shoulders and continued, "What about your future husband? How do you plan to help him? After all, during this time before your marriage, your future husband might get bored just watching over you and could inadvertently pick up some bad vibes from you."
"Go away! That's called righteous energy! As for you, sly fox, you're clearly benefiting from being close to the good!"
"Alright! I benefit from being close to the good! You pick up bad vibes from being close to me, so we are the most suitable pair in the world!" The fox communicated this through spiritual awareness. Xing Ruyi's face turned slightly red as she lowered her head and tugged at the fox's clothing corner, hoping he would pay more attention to their surroundings.
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