Chapter 9 Yu Xi

Yun Jisang and Zhuo Anjie returned to Ouxingju. After lunch, Zhuo Anjie took Ming Huan to the barn to fetch a few puppets with stick heads. Clumsy, playing the puppet in a naive manner, but very happy. Yun Jisang also let go of her thoughts and made tea by herself. While brewing fine drinks, she smiled and watched them play.He was sipping tea leisurely when he suddenly felt movement at the door, so he couldn't help but look up. In the light white mountain mist, an old man with black robes dragging on the ground and white hair was staggering into the yard.The old man lowered his head, the white hair on his head covered his face in a mess, as if a ghost from the tomb was awakened, and returned to the mortal world to wander alone...

Isn't this the elder Ouyang Gaolun of the Puppet Sect?What is he doing here? Seeing an outsider coming, Zhuo Anjie stopped and looked at him vigilantly.Ming Huan timidly hid behind her, obviously very afraid of this crazy old man.Ouyang Talun looked around blankly, walked tremblingly, and murmured the mantra: "Where is the thread... Where is my thread..." Yun Jisang frowned, and greeted him: "Elder Ouyang, why did you come here?" Ouyang Gaolun looked at him in confusion, and after a while, he smiled: "Ah Zhong, didn't you go down the mountain? Why did you come here to play again? By the way, did you see my thread? My thread gone..."

Ah Chung?Do you mean Cao Zhong?Yun Jisang shook his head: "I'm not Cao Clan Master, you've got the wrong person." "Not Ah Zhong? Then who are you?" The old man narrowed his eyes, looked closer for a while, and suddenly grinned, "It turned out to be Wuxin! Wuxin, Ah Zhong often comes here to look for you. He has been looking for you for a long time. , have you seen him..." Unintentionally?Unintentional again?Who is this Wuxin?A disciple of the Puppet Sect?What is his relationship with this Ouyang Talun? "Wuxin, you are a good boy, so don't quarrel with Ah Zhong, ah...it's not easy for him, he is alone, no one cares about him, just like you..." The old man lowered his head, Whispering to persuade that Wuxin, Yun Jisang and Zhuo Anjie looked at each other, not knowing what to do, but also a little funny, "Wuxin, where did you hide my thread? My thread is gone." ..."

Yun Jisang was puzzled, but said in a harmonious voice: "Your line is not here, you should go back." "Not here? Then where is it?" Ouyang Gaolun turned around slowly with a confused expression on his face, "I want to find my thread, where is my thread? Where is my thread..." He muttered to himself, bent his body, Slowly out of the yard. Suddenly, Zhuo Anjie's heart trembled slightly, her eyes flashed sharply, and she looked towards the door.There, a small black figure stood quietly.It appeared so abruptly, like a poisonous flower growing from the shadows, silently blooming in the faint mist.Zhuo Anjie's hand instinctively pressed the hilt of the sword.

"Wait..." Yun Jisang pressed her hand. "It's that idiot?" Zhuo Anjie finally saw the other party clearly at this time, it turned out to be the boy serving Ouyang Gaolun, "This puppet sect is so strange, leaving the seniors of this sect walking around so foolishly, Don't arrange more people to take care of him, so you are not afraid that he will fall down the mountain and die?" Looking at the backs of the old man and Xiaoquan, she said disapprovingly. "Maybe Cao Zhong is counting on him to do something?" Yun Jisang said indifferently, "Didn't you realize that Ouyang Gaolun is the only elder in this huge puppet gate?"

Zhuo Anjie said with a half-smile: "I really can't see it, but the younger brother's mind is getting deeper and deeper, even I can't see you through, maybe one day you will be arrested by the court and become a scholar in the cabinet. Then don't deny me as a senior sister..." "Senior Sister, are you praising me or mocking me?" Yun Jisang asked with a wry smile. "Sarcasm, of course." Zhuo Anjie gave him a blank look. Yun Jisang couldn't laugh or cry.The senior sister is good at everything, but she likes to make fun of herself. This has been the case since she was a child, but I have never offended her?

However, when I was in a desperate situation on the battlefield, what I thought in my heart was still the slightly mocking words in the letter from my senior sister: "Today, when I passed Wuling Xia Village, I bought a few buckets of wine at Cui Pojing. Its color is yellowish and fragrant, Drinking several buckets, lying drunk on the hillside, and suddenly saw a farmer leading a cow passing by. Thinking of my junior brother who once chanted Niu Yun: "Several times helped the Li family's national debt, and repaid the thousands of blades in this market." I hated it so much, so I bought it A cow, cook it..." This is the senior sister.Even if he missed himself again, he did not forget to say a few words of irony.But it was precisely this kind of words that gave me the courage and strength to survive...

Unknowingly, Zitong's glow gradually dimmed, and the night came to rule the land with supreme coercion. In the spacious hall of Qiansi Hall, candles were burning high.Illuminated by candlelight, the empty lobby is haunted by ghosts, as deep as the Underworld.The faces of the high-hanging puppets fluctuate with the flickering of the candlelight, as if they have woken up from their daytime sleep, staring maliciously at the guests below. There is a running water seat in the hall.Sitting in the middle is of course the sect master Cao Zhong, and Wang Biyan in an aloes satin jacket is next to him.This charming woman spoke sweetly and her eyebrows were shining brightly, which somewhat brought some vitality to this silent hall.Sitting on Cao Zhong's left is his uncle Ouyang Gaolun. This crazy old man can no longer eat by himself, so he can only rely on the boy Xiaoquan to feed him mouthful.

Of course, he'll stop every now and then to say one of his wacky catchphrases.Yun Jisang sat on the guest seat, and on the opposite seat were Father Peter and his disciple Li Zhongxiu.The old priest was obviously very interested in Daming's food, and he would ask Li Zhongxiu for a long time every time he served a dish.And Luo Yankong sat at the bottom of Yunjisang, this puppet sect's chief disciple obviously just took a bath, and changed into a brand-new bright red off-the-shoulder cloud satin robe, looking very energetic.He was in high spirits, talked non-stop, and greeted everyone thoughtfully, except for Linghu Tiangong who was present at the meeting.

Lin Zhongyun Jisang didn't see Linghu Tiangong's face clearly yesterday, but today, he saw that the second disciple of the puppet sect was extremely thin, and the large brocade robe was empty on his body, like a crane with a banner on it.It is said that he had just recovered from a serious illness and was afraid of wind and light. Even on such occasions, he wore a hood to cover most of his face.Even when he was eating, he kept his head down, slowly and gracefully.From the beginning to the end, all he showed was a pair of white, slender, soft as if boneless hands.Contrary to Linghu Tiangong, Hong Kuoji who was seated with him was not only fat, but also devoured food with recklessness, nine out of ten of the food on the table went into his stomach, the exaggerated way of eating was eye-catching.Although he is the son of the head of the sect, Cao Bian can only sit at the bottom of the puppet sect with Gu Yinglan because he started late.He put on some powder today, and under the light, his pale face showed a strange blush.Gu Yinglan, on the other hand, was wearing a jade flower headband and a fine pleated skirt filled with watery agarwood fragrance, which was extraordinarily lovable.

"Young Xia Yun, you and Nv Xia Zhuo are distinguished guests of our sect, and they should be entertained, but there is no way to receive guests in this rural place, so I have to let my ineffective disciples take out their puppets and show them to them." This looks like a smile from Bo Fang's family. If there is something inconspicuous, I would like to ask Yun Shaoxia to give me advice." "Master Cao is polite." Yun Jisang nodded slightly, "The puppet made by the noble family is unrivaled in the world. Yun is a mere junior in the rivers and lakes. Where does the word "advise" come from? I think the wooden cow and horse made by Brother Luo are the most popular in the world. It is unique enough to be called the word 'ingenious workmanship'." "It would be great if it was really made by him..." Someone suddenly said coldly.Yun Jisang looked at the prestige, but it was Linghu Tiangong. Luo Jiankong's expression changed: "Second Junior Brother, what do you mean?" "What do I mean, you know best." Linghu Tiangong said plainly. Luo Jiankong said angrily: "This wooden ox was made by someone Luo from head to toe, why didn't he make it by himself?" "Really?" Linghu Tiangong played with the wine glass in his hand, and suddenly smiled strangely, "If you say that, you are not afraid that Junior Brother Wuxin will climb out of the grave to find you tonight?" There was a sudden dead silence in the arena. Luo Jiankong's face was ashen, staring at Linghu Tiangong, but he couldn't say a word.Cao Zhong's expression was blank, and the wine glass in his hand seemed to be frozen in the air.Even Wang Biyan, who talked and laughed without restraint, was pale and her lips trembled.Linghu Tiangong's words seemed to touch a taboo, and the atmosphere instantly became weird. Unintentionally?Unintentional again?Yun Jisang's heart sank, and the incantations in the "Record of Transforming Figurines" reappeared in his mind.Who is this Wuxin?That's right, in the puppet sect, Luo Jiankong is the first disciple, Linghu Tiangong is the second disciple, Zhang Chun and Hong Kuangji are the fourth and fifth disciples, Cao Bian and Gu Yinglan are the last to enter.Could it be that this Wuxin is the third disciple who has never shown his face before?But, why no one mentioned him?Is there any secret in it? "Ashes to ashes, ashes to ashes, let the dead rest in peace, and let the living be liberated." Father Peter slowly crossed himself on his chest and murmured.These few words were spoken in a correct manner, obviously he often said them. "Liberation? How to get rid of it?" A cold voice sounded at the entrance of the hall, and a woman in a black skirt walked in slowly. It was Mei Zhaoxue.With her arrival, there seemed to be strange fluctuations in the aura in the hall, and even the quiet candles trembled for a while.Linghu Tiangong, who had been hanging his head, quickly raised his head and glanced at her. As Mei Zhaoxue walked forward, the silk skirt dragged across the smooth marble like a black cloud, as if her long hair had fallen into the ground.She came to Peter in this way, her pale face was beautiful and calm: "Father, do you think that the dead can really find peace, and the living can really be liberated?" "Yes, as long as you return to the arms of God, no matter how many sins you have, the merciful Lord will forgive him." Seemingly unable to resist her black flame-like beauty, the old priest lowered his head. "It's really like this...it's fine..." Mei Zhaoxue raised her head, staring at the candlelight with regret.The candlelight seemed to sense her gaze, and it swayed violently.She scanned the crowd, took a deep look at Yun Jisang, and then sat down beside Cao Zhong. "Why did my sister come so late? Did she go to see someone? It's so dark and the mountains are so high, so don't get lost and fall into the mountain stream. What a beauty, if she is smashed to pieces, why don't you leave me?" Husband, is your heart hurt to death?" Wang Biyan's expression was earnest and caring, but her tone was poisonous.Mei Zhaoxue sat silently, her face was like snow, her skin was like jade, just like a statue of Avalokitesvara carved from black jade. "Is everyone here? Let's start." Cao Zhong asked. Cao Bian said loudly: "Father, Zhang Laosi hasn't arrived yet." Cao Zhong frowned: "Oh? What about others?" Cao Bian snorted: "He stole my golden arhat, and he ran away long ago." Luo Yankong hurriedly got up to defend himself: "Master, there must be other reasons why the Fourth Junior Brother didn't arrive, maybe... maybe it was picking herbs on the mountain..." "Picking medicine? It's so dark outside, what kind of medicine does he pick?" Hong Kuoji chuckled, "Senior Brother, even if you want to excuse Fourth Junior Brother, you have to find a decent excuse, right? The old man is old, so confused?" "Fourth Junior Brother has always been cautious, how could he steal something from Junior Brother Cao?" "Didn't steal it? Then why did he hide? He won't be eaten by ghosts, right? Besides, he didn't steal other people's things once or twice. Didn't he just steal it back then..." "Okay! Don't talk about it, what is it like!" Cao Zhong scolded angrily.Only then did the two realize that there were outsiders present, and they immediately fell silent.Cao Zhong's face sank like water: "I'll talk about Ah Huang's matter tomorrow. Let's start to perform now, Lan'er, you are new, so come first." Gu Yinglan got up with a blushing face, and came to the arena with a wooden box in her arms. The Puppet Gate started with puppets, so this puppet show is naturally the best.Yun Jisang already knew that Cao Zhong wanted to show off the strength of the puppet sect to himself, so he waited intently. "Mouse!" Ming Huan exclaimed suddenly, jumping into Yun Jisang's arms, she hated this gray little thing the most. Sure enough, a little mouse was spinning around in the field. Yun Jisang could see clearly that it was a chubby tin mouse, not only did it look lifelike, its beard was trembling constantly, its small round eyes shone brightly in the candlelight, it was very cute. Unexpectedly, Gu Yinglan would make such a cute little thing, he looked up at her.I saw that shy girl was hanging her head, her pink face was slightly red.Yun Jisang smiled slightly and continued to read.He knew that this was by no means as simple as an ordinary mouse. Sure enough, a tabby cat jumped out of the wooden box again. The cat's body was covered with fur. At first glance, it looked the same as an ordinary domestic cat, but it was much stiffer than a real cat when walking.The cat turned its head after landing and chased after the mouse.Strangely, the iron mouse seemed to sense the cat's approach, and turned away immediately.The cat caught the air, turned its head again, and turned its body around, chasing the mouse again.The mouse turned around and avoided it again.After doing this several times, the mouse finally walked slowly. After being chased by the cat, it pounced on it and swallowed the iron mouse into its stomach. Ming Huan's small mouth opened wide, and he felt it was extremely inconceivable.Yun Jisang also smiled, knowing that Gu Yinglan must have installed magnets on the cat and the mouse, using their repelling and attracting forces to perform this cat-and-mouse play.The cat and mouse puppets made by Gu Yinglan are ingenious and unique. No wonder Wang Biyan would say that she is elegant and ingenious. Compared with Gu Yinglan, the puppet shown by Cao Bian is much more ordinary.Those were two iron arhats on the wooden platform. After the clockwork was wound up, the two puppets fought each other with punches and kicks.Looking at the moves, it is an ordinary set of Five Elements Fist. Although this iron arhat can be called exquisite, it is by no means uncommon.As the son of the head of the puppet sect of Cao Bian, but only produced such things, it can be called shabby.Sure enough, after he finished his performance, Cao Zhong gave him a cold look: "The things that are useless, don't go down!" "It's all the bastard Zhang Chun's fault. If he hadn't stolen my golden arhat, how could I have lost such a big face!" Cao Bian gritted his teeth, his handsome face was distorted with resentment, and his hands were shaking uncontrollably stop. Strange, when I saw him for the first time, his hands were shaking, was it because of anger, or something else?Yun Jisang thought in a daze. "Mule, is there anything special about this golden arhat?" Zhuo Anjie asked in a low voice. Luo Hankong said: "Junior Brother Cao took two full years to build the Golden Arhat. Not only can he perform several kinds of martial arts, but he can also launch more than ten kinds of extremely powerful hidden weapons. It can be said that he painstakingly made it. The single one The gold on the puppet is no less than a thousand taels of silver." Zhuo Anjie nodded. "Zuoji, what have you prepared today?" Cao Zhong asked his fifth disciple. Hong Kuoji got up, and said carelessly: "Disciple Yulu, I only prepared some ordinary gadgets, hoping to win the smiles of several distinguished guests." The puppet is very sure. After he dragged his fat body to work for a while, a purple curtain was hung in the arena, and gold was pinned on the purple curtain to make dragons and phoenix flowers and trees, and a four-foot-high boxwood box was set up in front of the curtain.After winding up the clockwork, Hong Kuoji backed away with a big grin. The box creaked for a while, and then there was no movement.Just when everyone was curious, the top cover suddenly opened, and a multicolored lotus rose slowly.When the lotus rose to the end, the lotus petals bloomed layer by layer. After seven layers in a row, a golden Buddha was revealed.Then, there was a pleasant Sanskrit sound in the box.The Buddha sitting on the lotus stamen slowly got up, pointing to the sky with one hand and pointing to the ground with the other.At the same time, the purple curtain rises in separate volumes, fragrant flowers are flying, and colorful lotuses are falling.Nine golden faucets decorated with five treasures protruded slowly, and began to spray five-colored water on the lotus.The water was obviously spiced, and the hall was suddenly fragrant and fragrant, which attracted everyone's amazement.After the lotus was filled with water, the golden Buddha turned slowly on the lotus stamens in circles.Although it walked slowly, it walked very steadily. After walking seven to forty-nine steps in a row, it stopped and sat down.The colorful lotus slowly closed and retracted into the box.The lid of the box is closed, the Sanskrit sound fades away, the purple curtain hangs down, leaving only a faint scent of sandalwood... This time, not only Ming Huan clapped and cheered endlessly, but even Yun Jisang secretly marveled.Since he entered the puppet gate, it was the first time he saw a puppet that could walk on two legs.Except for the guiding puppet and the watering puppet with wheels under it, Luo Hankong's wooden ox and Gu Yinglan's iron cat can move around.But these two kinds of puppets are all four-legged, and it is more than twice as difficult to walk on two legs.Unexpectedly, Hong Kuo, who is the fifth disciple, has such a high attainment in puppets.Judging by his age, he is probably older than Luo Jiankong, so he must be an art investor, right? "Unexpectedly, Hong Kuoji, a fat man who seems to be careless, has such abilities. He really can't be judged by his appearance." Zhuo Anjie praised sincerely. right?" Yun Jisang smiled slightly: "Exquisiteness is exquisiteness, but it may not be possible to be unique in the world. He is just a Tang Linjin post." "Oh? What's the origin of this puppet?" Zhuo Anjie asked casually. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Yun Jisang said in a low voice: "Yes, according to the "Buddha Talking about the Birth Sutra", the Buddha once told Ananda how to make puppets. , Combine all the joints. First treat the wood, gather the order, connect the wood with ropes, and make sutras, connect them with ropes, and form an image, which is no different from people.' Later, Buddhist disciples used this secret method to make Buddha puppets, exquisite It is unique and crowned for a time. In the Northern Song Dynasty, on the day of bathing the Buddha, the Daxiangguo Temple would practice this method in front of the believers. This matter has long been recorded in Jin Yingzhi's "Drunkard Tanlu". This brother Hong Even though it is dexterous, it is just Tang Linjin's post." "It's just that you know a lot." Zhuo Anjie applauded with a half-smile and applauded Hong Kuoji. "You're showing your ugliness! You're showing your ugliness!" Hong Kuoji grinned and clasped his hands incessantly, showing a bit of a street style demeanor. "It's just a picture of a cat and a tiger, and you actually have a face of complacency?" The voice was cold and piercing. Hong Kuoji raised his eyebrows and turned to Linghu Tiangong: "Second brother, what do you mean?" "What do I mean, can't you hear it?" Linghu Tiangong gently fiddled with the wine glass with his slender and slender fingers. "you……" Cao Zhong frowned: "Okay, stop arguing. Linghu, it's your turn. You are the most outstanding among the brothers, don't lose face for my puppet sect." Linghu Tiangong still lowered his head: "That's natural." For some reason, even though he couldn't see his face, Yun Jisang clearly felt that he was smiling, a low, silent smile. As Linghu Tiangong pulled the hinge on the pillar, the floor in the middle of the lobby slowly moved away, revealing a pool about ten feet wide.Unlike ordinary pool water, the water in this pool is actually gurgling and flowing, like a river.Faint smoke rose from the small holes on the sides of the pool, and then became thicker and thicker, like the fog on the river. "Linghu, I didn't expect you to be able to act as a water puppet. It's beyond my teacher's expectation." Cao Zhong was quite surprised. "I also ask Master to give me some pointers." Linghu Tiangong bowed his head and said. Water puppet?Could it be Ma Jun's "Shui Zhuan Bai Xi"?Yun Jisang was refreshed.During the period of the Three Kingdoms, Emperor Wei Ming ordered Ma Jun to perform the Water Turning Hundred Opera.It is said that it can "make the wooden man jump balls and throw swords, stand upside down, and come in and out freely; the administrative offices of hundreds of officials, the spring grinding of cockfights, become more ingenious".After reading the records, he has always been yearning for the ingenuity of the ancients. If Linghu Tiangong can reproduce this unique skill in the world, it will be a great achievement. The water in the pool is rushing, and driven by the current, a wooden boat with an exciting wheel slowly sails out.The hull of the boat is divided into three floors. On the lower floor sit seven half-foot-tall performers, who respectively hold zithers, pipas, konghou, hugu, cymbals, clappers, and nongpans. Lu, luxurious and majestic.In this alone, it outperforms Hong Kuoji's Sanskrit sounds by many.On the second floor of the wooden boat, four singers dance lightly, dancing with hands and feet, every beat and beat, all in line with the rhythm.On the top floor, there is an exquisite and gorgeous cloud pattern inlaid gold water hall.At this moment, the door of the bronze hall is closed, obviously there is another mechanism inside. Since the appearance of the wooden boat, old Peter began to yell, calling God repeatedly.Even Li Zhongxiu, who has always been shy and gentle, stood up and looked at the wooden boat with piercing eyes. The moment he looked at the wooden boat, Yun Jisang felt dizzy, and his back was as cold as soaked in ice and snow.It felt like seeing a dark ship full of ghosts and dead souls, and there was an infinite ghostly atmosphere between the golden brilliance and the noise. Bells and drums rang together, and the music had reached its climax.A puppet in the shape of a clown, holding an incense stick and dancing, slowly came to the gate of the hall, lit the incense burner, and kowtowed in front of the hall. "What is this for? Please God?" Zhuo Anjie asked with a smile.Yun Jisang didn't answer, but felt her heart beating faster and faster, and her ominous premonition became stronger and stronger. The clown puppet kowtowed three times, and the door of the bronze hall slowly opened in the light smoke.All eyes were focused on the gate of the palace. In an instant, a cold killing intent stung Yun Jisang's eyes, and he shouted: "Be careful!" This shout saved Cao Zhong's life. Hearing the shout, he turned his head in surprise and looked at Yun Jisang.Almost at the same time, the silver light flickered, and a few strands of silver thread suddenly shot out three silver needles from the opened palace door, one in the middle of the chest, one in the middle of the shoulder, and one passed dangerously across his temple, shooting pierced his earlobe A low thud came again, Cao Zhong reacted very quickly, and suddenly set off a drinking case. "Boom! Boom! Boo!" Several silver needles penetrated deeply into the case. The moment the silver needle entered his body, Cao Zhong only felt that the wound was numb. He knew it was poisonous, so he made a decisive decision and drew out his short knife. An ear! This scene fell into Yun Jisang's eyes, and he instinctively remembered four words - the true nature of a hero!However, the attack is not over!