In early autumn, the big bell in the imperial city rang three times, and the rain fell with a chill.

Towards dusk, the gate on the side of the imperial city opened silently, and two rows of paper umbrellas and reddish lanterns slowly moved past the city gate.

The middle-aged man led by the official uniform and hat, after passing the door, his footsteps stopped slightly, looking at the misty road between the high walls of the deep courtyard, and his expression was solemn.

"Mr. Ning, please inside. ”

The old man who was called Mr. Ning was an old man named Ning Baoshui, the old man was over the age of old, his hair was gray, and he still wore a robe and combed his hair meticulously, although his face was very thin, the blazing look in the depths of his pupils was like an unextinguished dark fire under the ashes.

Behind the old man, followed by a pair of young men and girls who were also wearing Taoist uniforms.

The young man looked like he was about fifteen or sixteen, and the girl was even younger, both of them were thin and delicate, the two of them lowered their heads, their eyes raised slightly from time to time, and secretly looked at the magnificent and far-reaching palace in the imperial city.

In the drizzle, the imperial city seemed exceptionally quiet.

Crossing the long corridor, the majestic hall came in the field of vision, the young man in a simple Taoist uniform only felt depressed in his heart, his expression was faintly uneasy, his steps were a little slower, the little girl beside him glanced at him, the corners of his mouth were hooked, and his expression was contemptuous.

The middle-aged man walked into a palace courtyard with three people, the palace layout is not small, and the maid who held an umbrella and trimmed flowers and trees saw the middle-aged man and bowed slightly.

Bypassing the shadow wall and passing through the corridor, the man led them forward, and the door of the wing room at the end was open, and the middle-aged man explained: "The master of this room is not here for the time being, the old gentleman can take the two apprentices to settle here first, and the mage will come to discuss with the gentleman later on the matter of exorcising the spirits." ”

Ning Baoshui's fingers twitched in his sleeve suddenly, he turned to look at him sideways, and suddenly smiled: "I don't care about my old bones, but my two apprentices are just young, and being infected by the ferocious qi is not a trivial matter, but I can't live in this murderous house." ”

The middle-aged man changed color slightly, and asked with a smile, "Why did the old gentleman say this?"

Ning Baoshui smiled slightly, knowing that the other party brought him here to test himself, he did not take the initiative to cross the threshold, but took out a copper coin from his sleeve and threw it gently, the copper coin happened to fall on the threshold, but it did not stop, but flipped and jumped like a living thing, and finally the old man spread his palm, and the copper coin actually jumped back.

Ning Baoshui clasped his palms together and clenched the copper coin, his expression became a little solemn, and after a while, he slowly spoke.

"The owner of this house died three days ago, and this resentment has endured, and it is believed that the evil man hanged himself, and during this time someone came to do the ritual, but the person who did the ritual...... Also dead. The whole house is more or less sick, if we weren't coming today, this palace should be sealed, right?"

The middle-aged man looked at him deeply, his expression added a lot of admiration and approval, he raised his hand, and the maids beside him retreated with the women who were pruning the trees, and only after it was quiet did the man arch his hand and said:

"The rumors are true, the old gentleman's Taoism is indeed completely different from the previous ones. I brought Mr. here today, I wanted to test it, but now it seems that I can't hide it, and I ask Mr. not to blame. ”

Ning Baoshui smiled and said: "It's okay, I know that there have been several deaths before that you are not good at learning and art, and you are testing my truth and truth, and it is also for my sake." ”

"This courtyard is naturally uninhabitable, please move to another courtyard. The man nodded lightly: "I wonder when the old gentleman will be able to perform the rituals?"

Ning Baoshui glanced at the dim sky, and the momentum was getting smaller.

"Sub-hour. The old man's voice was slightly astringent, and he said, "When the time comes, I hope that the lord will not forget his promise." ”

"Naturally not. The man smiled: "The official name is Song Fang, if there is anything unclear, ask someone to come to me." ”

The conversation became quieter, and a small vermilion finch in the corner of the eaves shook the rain away.

......

......

"The teacher often tells you that we cultivators uphold a righteous spirit, like a candle in the night, and even if he splashes the sky at night, he can't drown out this little candlelight, so as long as you follow the teacher's side, you don't need to panic, even if it doesn't work, it's a big deal to get out and leave. ”

Ning Baoshui sat in a Taishi chair, looked at the young man and girl standing beside him, and said earnestly: "When you do the Dharma later, you two must remember to be pure in your mind, don't give birth to any crooked thoughts, let the evil devil take advantage of the gap, and then the master will not be able to save you." Long, Xiaoling, do you remember?"

The boy's name is Ning Changchang, and the girl's name is Ning Xiaoling.

Ning Chang lowered his head and listened meticulously, and when the old man asked, he nodded respectfully: "Remember." ”

The girl was equally respectful, her head bowed, her eyes moving slightly, and there was a hint of disdain and resentment.

Ning Baoshui nodded and said, "Then you can meditate and meditate, and when you reach the child, you will subdue the demon with the master." ”

"Yes. The two replied in unison.

After the instruct, Ning Baoshui got up and walked out of the door, after going out, he waved the dust in his hand, and the door closed in response, and the old man looked back, his eyes were indifferent, like looking at a dead man.

The boy and the girl didn't really enter the door to cultivate, so naturally they didn't notice Ning Zhushui's cold gaze across the door.

Ning Chang listened to his master's advice, sat cross-legged, and recited words in his mouth.

Ning Xiaoling glanced at him and said coldly, "Idiot, do you really believe that old thing's nonsense?"

Ning ignored her for a long time and continued to meditate.

Ning Xiaoling sat on the Taishi chair, her petite body seemed to be curled up directly in it, she crossed her slender calves, folded her hands on her knees, but did not meditate, but gently tapped her knees, and said angrily: "You idiot may not feel it, that old thing has been looking at us more and more wrongly recently, one moment it seems to be looking at his own private collection of gold and silver jewelry, and the other time it seems to be looking at ......."

She pursed her lips and didn't continue, sighing, "Anyway, maybe I'll be sold by him at some point." ”

Ning Chang opened his eyes dissatisfiedly and retorted: "We were all bought by Master, and Master is not bad to us, why do you say that?"

Ning Xiaoling sneered: "What has he taught us over the years?"

Ning Chang said stubbornly: "Master has his own deep meaning. ”

Ning Xiaoling sneered, she sighed: "You buy chicks and ducklings, raise them, will teach them martial arts and teach them the truth of being a human being? ”

Ning Changjiu was very uncomfortable with her analogy, frowned, and wanted to refute, but his words were clumsy and he didn't know how to speak.

He just didn't understand why he, a junior sister who seemed to be very delicate and cute, often said such mean words.

"Alas......" Ning Xiaoling sighed leisurely, she didn't pretend to meditate anymore, she sat on the chair, her calves shook gently, her head rested on the back of the chair, looking at the roof in a daze.

She didn't understand why her senior brother looked so clumsy.

"Actually......" Ning hesitated for a long time and said uncertainly: "Recently, when I get close to the Imperial City, I always think of some strange things. ”

"Strange thing?" Ning Xiaoling was a little interested.

Ning Changjiu nodded: "I often see a Taoist temple, it is very familiar, it is like I have lived there since I was a child. ”

Ning Xiaoling Fei explained: "What kind of Taoist temple." ”

Ning Changjiu shook his head: "It's very ordinary, the door of that Taoist temple is always closed, but there seem to be seven ...... inside No, eight people!"

Ning Xiaoling smiled and said, "Senior Brother Nerd, before the Fa has started, you have fallen into the evil spirit?"

"I don't know. Ning Changjiu shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly, thinking that he was really getting more and more confused.

He silently thought about the master's teachings, recited a few words of pure heart, and his heart slowly settled down, and he no longer thought about those illusory things.

The girl took some cold and dry pasta, put it in her mouth and chewed it slowly, she looked at the night that was gradually falling outside the window, with the secret and confidence in her heart, but she felt more and more uneasy.

Time passed slowly, and Ning Xiaoling smashed the back of the chair with her fist, feeling more and more irritable.

When Ning Baoshui came back, it was already close to the time of the child, "It's almost ready, come with me." ”

Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling went out, and when they closed the door, Ning Changjiu whispered: "Senior sister, don't be afraid, I will protect you." ”

You're the one to be afraid of...... Ning Xiaoling snorted coldly, pretending not to see the beads of sweat on his forehead, and scolded a fool in his heart, but he still nodded lightly.

Ning Baoshui took out two yellow talismans from his sleeve and handed them to them respectively, with a serious expression: "This is a talisman talisman, stick it on your body, if something happens later, it can save your lives." ”

Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling took the paper talisman and thanked the master together.

Night fog gradually enveloped the imperial city.