Chapter 183 The Kind Ghost
"Wha...what?"
Runyu asked stupidly.
At this moment, her heart was in turmoil and she felt helpless.
She thought that it was her salvation and the only light in her life. He gave her the jade rouge willingly, and she accepted it gracefully.
But I never thought it would be like this.
Whether it is the water god or the river fairy, to Runyu, they are all legendary existences.
But from what this Taoist priest said, even for a being who has become a god or immortal, it would take a lot of effort to produce a piece of jade.
And he sent her away for twelve years...
"Ugh……"
Jiang Lin sighed and said, "When people die, they become ghosts. However, some objects, over time, will develop spirituality and will also die. After death, they will also become ghost-like beings."
Runyu didn't say anything, just listened to the Taoist priest's story.
"I have some guesses. The one who provided you with the jade fat must be such a person."
"But no matter what, after twelve years, I'm afraid his spiritual essence has already been consumed."
Hearing this, Runyu's expression was no longer dull, but he slowly knelt down.
"Master, please have mercy and save him!"
"Everything I have is for you to take!"
However, Runyu saw the Taoist priest in green shook his head slightly.
Seeing this, Runyu's expression couldn't help but become depressed, but he heard the Taoist priest in green speak.
"Take me to see him."
Jiang Lin stood up and said, "Perhaps, there is still room for maneuver."
After saying that, Jiang Lin walked out of the room.
Looking at the sparkling lake water below the flower boat, a dark light flashed in Jiang Lin's eyes.
Under the Fengdu Dharma Eye, Jiang Lin saw some things in this Slender West Lake.
Beneath the lake, there is a small world of gods, which is naturally where the Dragon Palace is.
But in this Dragon Palace, Jiang Lin did not see any trace of dragon aura, but instead saw a faint ghost aura.
This is also the reason why Jiang Lin suddenly became "nosy".
The Dragon Palace in the big lake here is occupied by a spiritual creature that has developed intelligence but has died again. It is a ghost-like creature, or it can be called a "spiritual ghost."
But the Dragon King disappeared.
You can tell with your toes that there is definitely a secret here.
Most people think that this ghost-like existence is occupying the magpie's nest. After all, he is just a lake dragon king, and the lake is not that big, so he really doesn't have much magical power.
But under Jiang Lin's Fengdu Dharma Eye, the ghost spirit did not have any evil karma on its body, but instead had an aura of merit. Obviously, this ghost spirit not only did not cause chaos in the Suzhou West Lake, but also replaced some of the duties of the Dragon King, whether it was rescuing drowning people or protecting boatmen.
He has no clerical duties, but performs God's responsibilities.
The reason why Jiang Lin boarded this flower boat was because he sensed the aura of the ghost spirit on this flower boat.
Very rich. Very rich.
It was abnormally rich.
For Jiang Lin, this is a thread to contact the ghost spirit.
A spirit ghost is also a ghost. It is hard to say what the other party’s reaction would be if Jiang Lin directly contacted it. After all, Jiang Lin’s identity is there.
Moreover, although the main job of the Black Law Mage is to exorcise evil spirits and slay ghosts, it does not mean that all ghosts must be killed indiscriminately.
For example, the ghost under the Slender West Lake did not do anything bad. Instead, it did "voluntary labor". Jiang Lin must have been crazy to kill him.
Jiang Lin was not concerned about the ghost itself, but the abnormality of the West Lake.
As the river god of an area, the Dragon King is responsible for controlling the clouds and rain, and ensuring good weather. For ordinary people, this is one of the most important duties.
Such an existence that was extremely important to the people of this area mysteriously disappeared, and instead a ghost took on part of the responsibilities...
This is what Jiang Lin cares about.
Just as I was thinking about it, there was a noise coming from the room behind me and Miss Runyu came out.
Jiang Lin’s thoughts just now may sound long, but in fact they were only a short period of time in which his mind raced.
Runyu bowed to Jiang Lin's back, then turned and left.
After a moment, she hurried over again, wearing a black hooded cloak that covered her entire body.
Runyu said, "Master, please follow me."
Under Runyu's guidance, Jiang Lin and she followed an unmanned deck and came to a small boat.
"Master, please forgive me. After all, I am engaged in the business of love and entertainment, so there are many obstacles in my travels."
Runyu sat at the bow, curled up, and said apologetically: "This boat is not a clean place. I am sorry for wronging you, Taoist Priest."
"It doesn't matter."
Jiang Lin glanced at the cabin and did not choose to go in. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the deck.
"Don't you find it strange, Taoist priest?"
Runyu asked suddenly.
Jiang Lin smiled and said, "I am indeed very puzzled. Why does the young lady trust me so much?"
Runyu looked at the lake sparkling in the moonlight and said softly, "Although I am a prostitute, I have been entertaining guests for many years and my eyes are quite sharp."
As she spoke, she half turned around, looked at Jiang Lin, pursed her lips, and said, "The Taoist priest is not a bad person."
"I can see that."
Jiang Lin said: "The girl is very accurate."
Runyu smiled slightly and said, "Master, do you want to hear our story?"
Jiang Lin nodded silently.
But Runyu did not speak immediately, but remained silent.
Jiang Lin didn't urge anyone and just waited quietly.
"That was fourteen years ago. I was ten years old."
The most famous courtesan in Yangzhou, on a small boat in the Slender West Lake, slowly revealed the secret that had been hidden in her heart for more than ten years.
"At that time, Yangzhou had been experiencing drought for years, but Yangzhou has plenty of water. Although we didn't lose everything, the yield was severely reduced."
"Some sorcerers said that it's because the Dragon King lacked sacrifices that it didn't rain. We need to send sacrifices."
Hearing this, Jiang Lin interrupted and said, “That sorcerer must be a charlatan.”
The Lake Dragon King is also a Dragon King and a righteous deity. With temples and incense burning in his honor, why is there a need for other sacrifices?
“But the people at that time didn’t know.”
Runyu shook his head helplessly and said, "I don't know how many times we have offered the three animals as sacrifices, but the drought still hasn't eased at all."
"I have forgotten who proposed to use a living person as a sacrifice."
"It's best if she's a young girl who has never left the boudoir."
Having said that, the smile on Runyu's face became a little more sad.
"As the Taoist priest said before, perhaps my original destiny is to die at the age of twenty-six, and I can only live to the age of twelve."
"A girl, who has been weak since childhood and can't do anything, is a burden to the family. And that time, if anyone offered this sacrifice, they could get 30 shi of grain."
Runyu smiled and said, "So my father sold me."
The smile of the courtesan who astounded half of Yangzhou was worth a thousand gold coins, but at this moment, that smile was filled with misery.
Jiang Lin didn't say anything, but waited quietly for what to come.
"But being a sacrifice is not without its benefits."
"The abbot's sorcerer saw that I was too thin, so he fed me with meat, noodles, rice and sesame oil for half a month. That was also the fullest I ate before I was ten years old."
"Half a month later, I was placed on a bamboo raft and floated into the Slender West Lake."
"That raft is also very particular. If it is tied loosely, it will fall apart if it happens to float to the center of the lake."
"And I naturally became a sacrifice."
"At that time, I was actually ready to die."
"Not only did I get thirty shi of grain for my family, but I also had enough food for half a month. What's not worth it?"
Runyu's voice was very soft, but it was trembling slightly. Obviously, it was not a good memory.
But immediately, Runyu's voice became more cheerful.
"When we reached the center of the lake, the bamboo raft broke apart and I fell into the water." "At that time, I didn't intend to struggle, and soon I fainted. I thought I would never wake up again. But..."
"I woke up again and saw him."
Runyu's smile was filled with an emotion called happiness, and his voice became more cheerful and lively.
"That was the most magnificent and largest palace I have ever seen in my life, but he was the only one in the entire palace."
"He said that this was the Dragon Palace of Slender West Lake, but he was not the Dragon King. The Dragon King had disappeared, and he did not need any sacrifices."
"He saved me so that I could go back and explain to the people."
Runyu reached his hand into the lake and gently teased it.
"But I can't go back. If the sacrifice goes back alive, there will be only one outcome."
"If Lord Dragon is not satisfied, he must be replaced. The one who comes back will die."
"After he understood all this, he panicked and rushed to apologize to me, saying that he didn't mean to hurt anyone, not even one person."
“But there’s really nothing that can be done about the drought.”
Runyu looked up at Jiang Lin and said with a smile: "Compared to me at that time, he is more like a simple child."
"I stayed in the Dragon Palace for a whole year."
"In that year, I didn't eat any food. He fed me jade fat every day. I didn't know what it was at the time. I only knew that after eating it, my stomach felt warm. Not only was I no longer hungry, but I also felt energetic."
"A year later, he told me that the water-avoiding technique outside the Dragon Palace could no longer be maintained. Once it completely failed, I would be drowned at the bottom of the lake."
"And he doesn't have that much mana to maintain it."
"I thought he didn't want me anymore, so I had a big fight with him."
"Later, the Dragon Palace's water-avoidance technique really disappeared, and I was submerged again and passed out."
"When I woke up again, I was already on the flower boat. My mother was so kind to me."
"It was then that I realized that I had become a beauty."
"Since then, I have lived on the flower boat, both to accompany him and because I dare not go ashore."
"until now."
As they were talking, the boat had already reached the center of the lake.
Runyu chuckled and said, "We agreed on a code, no matter if he comes to find me or I go to find him."
"Knock knock..."
Runyu knocked on the wooden board at the bow with his fingers.
The movement was very rhythmic, as if it was a little tune?
“This is the song he played for me.”
"Pipa music."
Runyu said with a smile.
'Crash...'
The lake surface moved without wind, and accompanied by the sound of waves crashing, a figure appeared on the water.
Jiang Lin looked up.
The figure was a young man wearing a green robe with black patterns, and his eyes were clear and youthful.
"Aren't you busy today? Why do you come to see me at this time?"
The young man spoke as soon as he appeared, and it seemed that there was only Runyu in his clear eyes.
His voice was a little vague, and if you listened carefully, it sounded like he was speaking in water.
"I... brought someone to see you..."
Runyu looked at the young man and wanted to smile, but when he thought of what Jiang Lin said, tears flowed unconsciously from his eyes.
"Oh?"
The young man was stunned for a moment, then he noticed Jiang Lin sitting cross-legged.
"Is this your friend?"
Facing Jiang Lin's dark Fengdu Dharma Eyes, the young man just scratched his head and smiled friendly.
Seeing this, Jiang Lin smiled somewhat self-deprecatingly.
I thought that if I went directly to see this ghost, the other party would have some kind of stress reaction.
But now it seems that I really thought too much.
This ghost spirit has almost no common sense about the cultivation world. It is even possible that the only person who has ever communicated with him is Runyu.
"Children" in the ivory tower.
Jiang Lin thought of such an adjective: a ghost that is born with kindness and is harmless to anything and anyone?
"I am Jiang Xuanying, a poor Taoist. Nice to meet this Taoist friend."
Jiang Lin stood up and saluted with a smile.
"Oh!"
The ghost suddenly clapped his hands and said, "You are a Taoist priest! The girl told me about it."
The corners of Jiang Lin's mouth twitched.
Being too naive doesn't seem to be a good thing.
"Girl's friends are my friends. I hope I won't scare you."
The ghost spirit turned around apologetically, looked at his translucent body, and said nervously.
"will not."
Jiang Lin shook his head.
The smile on Linggui's face became even brighter, but he immediately said in a distressed tone: "The girl said that if you meet a friend, you should invite the friend to your home as a guest."
"But I have no home, and I dare not let you in where I live now."
Jiang Lin asked, "Fellow Daoist, you don't have a home but you have a place to live?"
"Yes."
The ghost nodded, pointed to the lake under his feet, and said with a smile: "I live in Dragon Palace, but Dragon Palace is not my home. It is the home of Grandpa Dragon King. It's just that Grandpa Dragon King has gone to who knows where and has not been back for a long time."
Hearing this, Jiang Lin asked casually, "How long is it?"
"Um……"
The ghost spirit lowered his head hesitantly and counted his fingers, then said: "Since I came back to life, there has been no Grandpa Dragon King."
survived?
Jiang Lin couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
As I said just now, the birth of ghosts is very "metaphysical".
Only when certain objects are full of spirituality to a certain degree, develop intelligence, and then "die", can they become ghosts.
But why did the ghost in front of him say that he was alive?
Wait, that's it.
Jiang Lin found that he had made a misunderstanding.
My understanding of ghosts comes from the common sense of the cultivation world, but the ghosts in front of me have no common sense at all...
For this ghost spirit, being able to move freely and touch other things naturally means that He is "alive".
Thinking of this, Jiang Lin blinked in distress.
He has no common sense at all, so it's very difficult to communicate with him.
If you want to know the reason why the Dragon King here suddenly disappeared, you will have to put in some effort.
It’s hard to say, we have to summon the City God and other gods to ask.
Originally, Jiang Lin wanted to start with the ghost spirit who was closest to the scene and who might have even experienced the incident when the Dragon King disappeared, and sort out the matter.
But now that he really came into contact with this ghost spirit, Jiang Lin found that he seemed to have put his strength in the wrong place.
Thinking of this, Jiang Lin was not in a hurry to "trick" him, but stepped back a little and signaled Runyu who was standing beside him.
Runyu understood what Jiang Lin meant. He took two steps forward, staring straight at the ghost spirit.
The ghost scratched his hand and asked, "Girl, why are you looking at me like that?"
Runyu took a deep breath and spoke slowly.
"Are you going to die?"
"because I?"
(End of this chapter)
