Drumbeat.

In the silence of the night, the drums suddenly sounded.

At first, there were just a few monotonous and dull drumming sounds, bang. Boom. Boom.

Slowly, a drum was added, and it was not messy. Then, a drum was added.

Some scattered but powerful drums beat more and more, and gradually became orderly knock, knock knock, as if to shake the human soul out of the body. Gradually, more and more high-pitched, more and more urgent, the drums in the sky were neat and majestic, deafening and resounding through the sky.

Chi Jing woke up and forcibly suppressed the restlessness in his heart. She opened her mouth to shout, but found that she couldn't make a sound.

There was an invisible force pulling with her, she subconsciously resisted, the two sides were equal in strength, and the other party couldn't help her for a while. But then the sound of the drum beat like a beat on her heart, again and again, unhurriedly nailing her to the spot, from slow to urgent, and finally to her heartbreak...

She clenched her hands tightly, and could only wait for the pain to pass, and she didn't know that her nails stabbed her palms.

If she looked into the bronze mirror at this moment, she would be horrified to find that her eyes were red as blood, her face was pale and bloodless, and the green tendons were bursting from her neck up to her eyes, and her eyes were like a demon crawling up from hell...

…

By the time she woke up, it was the next day.

"Last night in the middle of the night... Jade bottle: Do you hear the drums? ”

"Of course I did." The jade bottle replied while arranging the dishes and chopsticks, and after the arrangement was completed, he called Lan Yimo to have breakfast together.

Lan Yimo was able to get out of bed slowly, but he had to rely on crutches to support him, and he was still not completely healed.

"Hear that?" Chi Jing was surprised: "Yimo, did you hear it too?" ”

"Well, the drums are going to shake the sky, of course I heard it." He had no problem with his ears.

"Then you—" Chi Jing was even more stunned.

Seeing her stunned, the jade bottle really didn't know the origin of the drum sound. Just as she wanted to answer, a voice like a spring breeze opened her mouth.

"It was the Exorcism drum last night." Dongfang Le came uninvited, didn't wait for anyone to greet him, sat down directly at the dining table, and handed over the dishes and chopsticks to the jade bottle in surprise.

In the past, I always ran to Young Master Wan Sheng's side to eat, but now I run to Miss Chi Jing's side to eat... Yongle Hou has long been happy to rub rice around.

"Exorcism drums?" Was it Halloween yesterday? No, it's only June. What the hell is that?

"Plague ghosts." The jade bottle snorted. "The ghost who died twelve years ago from the plague caused by that drought." Her parents died of the plague, and she sold herself into thousands of homes so that she could bury the second elder.

Chi Jing looked at her, and then at Dongfang Le, but still didn't figure it out. Lan Yimo was also at a loss, twelve years ago, he was not yet born.

"The exorcism ritual was set three years ago. According to the Holy Maiden, the people who died in the plague have now turned into ghosts, wandering in the fortified city and unwilling to leave, so a ghost exorcism ceremony is held at the end of the day every year to drive them back to the underworld in batches. Dongfang Le said the ins and outs.

"They're not terrible ghosts..."The wrist of the jade bottle paused and muttered quietly. Her father and mother won't be a ghost.

Chi Jing's face was slightly pale and silent. Exorcism drums. It turned out to be a ghost...

…

It's night.

The cool breeze is gentle, and the sky is full of stars on a summer night. It was pitch black all around, and the quiet courtyard was full of tranquility. The gray shadow cowered in the shadows of the hallway, leaning against the pillar and closing his eyes to recuperate.

Last time, he reported to his master that he had seen Miss Chi Jing kill someone, and he had punched a big hole in the opponent's chest with just his fists. The master was not only not surprised, but also had a hint of pride in his expression.

It's just that when he said that the little marquis suddenly fell from the sky and stunned Miss Chi Jing with a knife and carried her to the bed-

Gray Shadow remembered the valuable pen that had been broken by his master, and even if he was illiterate like him, he couldn't help but sigh with regret.

While he was pondering, a breeze suddenly moved, and he opened his eyes vigilantly, and met a pair of clear and clear beautiful eyes.

…

Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, he prefers to go to the tiger mountains. Chi Jing smiled bitterly and changed into night clothes and came to the City God Temple, and after hiding in the stone statue of the City God, he cautiously looked down.

I saw that several large drums had already been placed inside and outside the City God Temple, and the drummers also arrived one after another, all standing quietly in place, waiting for the appearance of the holy woman.

Soon, Gu Yupan appeared.

Chi Jing narrowed his eyes and looked at the saintess of the Gu family, who only had half of the fate. The last time I only looked through the screen hazy, now I can get a glimpse of the whole picture.

I saw that her skin was better than snow, her eyebrows were picturesque, and she was wearing a white light gauze robe, and she was also wearing a white skirt with a collar under the robe, which was plain and elegant. Although he was only twelve years old, his every move was already dignified, holy and inviolable.

It's just that the fire shines uncertainly, and her face looks a little dark and inexplicable.

“… The ghost of the green plague in the East... The ghost of the southern red plague... Evil spirits outside..."

“… The Five Poisonous Gases... Restlessness..."

“… Nine Ugly Ghosts... Zhiru name... I need to be caught urgently, and I can't stop for long! ”

The incantation is finished. When the hour came, the drums beat on time. Ji Jing bit her lower lip tightly, because she was closer to the drum beat than last night, she was tortured almost several times more tonight than last night.

The drums drowned out her broken moans. After gritting his teeth, his lower lip was already bloodstained. She lay on the spot for a long time with her limbs weak, took out a pill and took it, regained some strength, and climbed up with the stone statue.

By this time, the drummers had dispersed one after another.

Only Gu Yupan and a few entourages of the Gu family remained. Gu Yupan muttered something in his mouth again, made a few big salutes to heaven and earth, and finally got up and left.

…

"Meow~" A cat's whimper stopped Gu Yupan's footsteps, she looked at the sound, a tawny kitten looked at her lazily, her round body looked delicate and cute, and a pair of eyes like the best amber shone with a charming light.

"Wait for me here." Gu Yupan's face showed childlike joy and excitement, and walked towards the kitten.

The kitten didn't seem to pay attention to her at the moment, arched her body and stretched, and jumped to the alley next to her.

Gu Yupan followed into the mysterious alley without hesitation. Seeing this, the Gu family's entourage chuckled, the fourth miss is just a child after all, and she loves animals on weekdays, so she will go with her.

Sure enough, she soon came out and said with a little embarrassment: "It ran away." ”

The attendants laughed and continued to escort their saint home.

Shortly after the group left, a slender figure followed. As he passed through the alley, the figure paused, as if thinking in place for a moment.

Giving up following the saints, she chose to turn into the alley. In the dark night, her eyes were blazing, her eyes were like torches, and she took out a fire fold from her sleeve.

It's a dead end, and at first glance there is nothing in it. She squinted her eyes and walked to the corner, where there was a black cloth covered with a bulge that blended in with the darkness and could not be seen without looking closely.

She lifted the black cloth.

Staring at the cat corpse under the black cloth, a light flashed in his eyes. Touching the wounds on the limbs of the cat's corpse, she snorted coldly.

Sure enough, it was you who hurt Lan Yimo, Gu Yupan! Chi Jing turned away angrily, took a few steps, and suddenly turned back in a hurry as if he thought of something.

She leaned down again, slowly breaking the cat's eyelids open—