Chapter 82: The Tablet

Bai Yuehu, carrying Ju Ru, and Lu Qingjiu left the aviary without seeing Shao Hao and Yin Xun, who should have been waiting nearby.

"Where are the two of them?" Lu Qingjiu asked suspiciously.

Bai Yuehu shakes his head, indicating that he doesn't know either.

Lu Qingjiu then took out his mobile phone and called Yin Xun. The call took about 20 seconds to be answered, but Shao Hao's voice was on the other end.

"Where's Yin Xun?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "Why do you have his phone?"

Shao Hao said, "Oh, it was eating next to me and couldn't get off, so I picked it up for him."

Lu Qingjiu thought it was a bit strange, but didn't think much of it: "We've finished the food, where are you eating?"

Shao Hao said, "I'm outside, ask Bai Yuehu to lead you out, lunch is ready." Lu Qingjiu stared at the phone screen and frowned, and Bai Yuehu asked him what was wrong.

Lu Qingjiu said, "No, I just thought I heard Yin Xun crying."

Bai Yuehu raises an eyebrow, unconvinced by this.

Lu Qingjiu said, "The White Emperor Shao Hao is a god, so he must not eat people."

Bai Yuehu said, "No."

Lu Qingjiu said, "Oh, I'm so relieved. Bai Yuehu didn't tell Lu Qingjiu what he had in mind. It was true that Shao Hao, the White Emperor, didn't eat people, but the problem was that Yin Xun wasn't human either. Besides, he didn't mind at all if Shao Hao really ate Yin Xun.

Lu Qingjiu and Bai Yuehu were still on their way there, while Yin Xun's tears were drying up. "

Yin Xun said, "No, I didn't eat it all."

Shao Hao: "The survival of the fittest is really the survival of the fittest." This is a kind of self-defence for Yin Xun.

Yin Xun whispered, "Is Lu Qingjiu coming over?"

Shao Hao said, "So what if I come here? Do you really think I'm afraid of Bai Yuehu?"

Yin Xun is dumbfounded.

Shao Hao said, suddenly

He came over and gazed carefully at Yin Xun's cheek. Before Yin Xun had time to react, he saw him open his mouth and bite his cheek.

"Ahhhh" Shao Hao's bite was not a light one, Yin Xun didn't really think Shao Hao was going to bite a piece of her flesh off, but a pitiful cry escaped her lips, only for Shao Hao to reach out and gag her.

"Don't scream." Shao Hao said, "If you scream again, I'll really bite down."

Yin Xun weeping.

Shao Hao didn't break Yin Xun's skin, after all he didn't want any more diarrhoea, and looked on with satisfaction as a very visible tooth mark appeared on Yin Xun's cheek and smacked his lips, "Tastes good."

Yin Xun thought to himself, "Do you think I'm a fucking recyclable jelly, and it tastes good? Of course, he didn't dare to say it out loud, and was very unimpressed to bow his head in front of the forces of evil.

Shao Hao looked at Yin Xun's pitiful look as he was bullied and smiled good-naturedly, reaching out to pinch on that tooth mark and said, "Come on, let's take you to a big meal at noon."

Shao Hao doesn't mind, and his smile grows wider.

When Lu Qingjiu arrived, he saw his little mountain god with a wilted face, like a deflated balloon. He noticed the red marks on Yin Xun's face and wondered, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Shao Hao said, "Yin Xun just messed with a big bird and got a bite."

Yin Xun's vague response.

Lu Qingjiu was about to ask, but Shao Hao got up and said that the food was ready and it would be cold before they got there. So the group walked over to the dining room and saw the sumptuous lunch Shao Hao had prepared.

Lunch was seafood and Japanese food. Lu Qingjiu rarely cooks seafood in this inland area, and he is not very good at Japanese food, so this was probably the first time Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun had tried this kind of cuisine.

The sashimi on the table was very fresh and the oyster prawns were still alive when they were served, their front limbs even wriggling. The salmon was also excellent, with a fatty, delicate texture and a hint of sweetness that tasted like the finest ingredients. There was also an assortment of cheese sizzling lobster and crab poi, which was, in its approach and flavour, superb. Lu Qingjiu used to choose Japanese food for his colleagues' dinners when he was working, and he had eaten quite a lot of it, but today he was a bit surprised to try the Japanese food at Shao Hao's house, not to mention Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun, which he had never had before.

Yin Xun particularly liked the cheese-baked lobster, and after eating it, he licked all the shells and noticed Shao Hao sitting next to him, staring at him with a smile.

Shao Hao says: "More?"

Yin Xun said, "Can I have another one?"

Shao Hao said, "Of course." He turned his head and gave a look to the butler, who then turned and went down to serve more food to Yin Xun.

Bai Yuehu, in a grim tone, "I don't get this treatment."

Shao Hao said, "You've eaten so much in my house, you're still missing a shrimp."

Bai Yuehu said coldly, "Or I'll feed you two bites of Ju Ru "

Shao Hao smiled: "No, no, no."

Lu Qingjiu had already eaten almost all of his food, so he watched Bai Yuehu and Yin Xun continue to munch away. Yin Xun was the first to lose out, slumping over the table and rubbing his bulging belly reluctantly.

Shao Hao said, "Do you want to come to my house for a couple of days? There's lots of food like this every day."

Yin Xun shakes his head.

Shao Hao tried to persuade him some more, but when he saw that Yin Xun was determined, he had to give up, but Lu Qingjiu felt that he seemed to be planning something, and he was a bit confused as to why Shao Hao was suddenly interested in Yin Xun, could it be that he had discovered the body made of Yin Xun's flesh lingzhi?

Having eaten and drunk enough, Lu Qingjiu went back with Ju Ru in his hand. Before going back, we went to the seafood market in the city and bought a lot of fresh seafood for the evening.

Although I've cooked seafood before, it's all rather ordinary shrimps and the like, but this time Lu Qingjiu bought some of everything, such as oysters, scallops, abalone, and bread crab.

Lu Qingjiu has already planned the menu for the evening and is planning to make oysters and scallops with garlic in the oven and abalone in its original taste.

. He also bought a curry for the crabs and wanted to make a curry bread crab and a couple of steamed eggs with sea urchins.

Yin Xun looked at the large bags Lu Qingjiu was carrying and said happily that it was really like New Year at our house.

Lu Qingjiu reached out and stroked the fur on his head, saying gently, "Our family is rich, so we can eat whatever we want, no need to save, you are now a child of a rich family."

Yin Xun shed tears of emotion.

Bai Yuehu looked at them from the side, like two idiots.

When they arrived home, Lu Qingjiu put the seafood he had bought in the sink to spit out the sand, then started to prepare the ingredients, while Yin Xun helped and Bai Yuehu prepared the table and dishes in the courtyard.

Lu Qingjiu also likes seafood, but it's a small place and the prices and quality of seafood are not as good as in the big cities, but it's enough for the family.

The fresh oysters and scallops had no fishy taste after being garlic-grilled, the abalone was chewy and chewy, and the bread crab and curry were a perfect match, with the crab meat and curry mixed together with the white rice. The meal was a perfect remedy for Lu Qingjiu's craving for seafood that had been whetted by lunch, and the three of them ate to their heart's content, with Xiao Hua Xiao Hei and the little fox cubs also getting a taste of the seafood.

After dinner, Bai Yuehu washed the dishes, and Lu Qingjiu suggested that he and Yin Xun should go out for a walk, unlike Bai Yuehu, who had a stomach for the universe.

After the beginning of summer, it gets dark later. It's close to half past seven and there's still a glimpse of sunshine in the sky.

In the evening, Shuifu Village is a quiet and relaxed place, where the villagers start to walk along the road after eating, and it is not uncommon to see children chasing and playing on the paths. Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun walked slowly and leisurely from one end of the village to the other.

At the mill at the head of the village, some old men are chatting with their dry cigarettes.

Lu Qingjiu's land is famous in the village for its good quality. While other people's seeds have not yet sprouted, his has already grown leaves. Because of this, many older women and men came to Lu Qingjiu to ask for advice on how to cultivate the land, but Lu Qingjiu could only laugh and say that he was not in charge of the land at home, it was all Bai Yuehu's fault. Because of Bai Yuehu's unfriendly appearance, not many people dared to bother him, so although Lu Qingjiu's land was very special, no one suspected anything.

When we reached the end of the village, Yin Xun asked Lu Qingjiu if he wanted to go to the mountains, saying that a wild loquat tree was ripe and he could pick some to make loquat paste.

Lu Qingjiu said, "But we don't have a bamboo basket with us, do we?"

Yin Xun said, "It's all right, I've brought a plastic bag." He took a bag out of his pocket.

Lu Qingjiu said, "That's fine." When Yin Xun did not reveal his identity as the mountain god, they had to use poles to beat the fruit from the trees, but now that they know that Yin Xun is the mountain god, every time they pick the fruit, Yin Xun climbs up and jerks them down one by one, so that the fruit will not be broken and they can pick the riper fruit. There is little flesh. But the flavour is very sweet and fruity. Last year the family used Uncle Li's loquats to make some loquat paste, which is a little more complicated than cherry paste because the loquats have to be pitted.

It was still early and there was no fruit in the house, so Lu Qingjiu agreed.

The two of them walked slowly up the hill, talking about what had happened in Shao Hao's bird garden during the day. The Ju Ru had been brought home, but since the evening meal was seafood, it was still tied up in the kitchen, and Bai Yuehu was going to kill it and skin it for lunch tomorrow. Lu Qingjiu wondered how the meat would taste in Bai Yuehu's mouth, and wondered what would be the best way to cook it, whether it should be braised or stir-fried.

As the two men were talking, Yin Xun's feet suddenly stopped and he looked a little puzzled, as if he had sensed something strange.

" Yin Xun, what's wrong" Lu Qingjiu asked, thinking it was Yin Xun who had seen something.

Yin Xun's expression freezes for a few seconds, then his face changes and he says, "No," before turning and running, Lu Qingjiu, who is standing behind him, freezes for two seconds before following him.

"Yin Xun", Lu Qingjiu, following the frantic Yin Xun, was so bewildered that he could only ask aloud, "What is going on?"

Yin Xun ran ahead, fast, her voice faintly audible: "Something's happened at home."

Lu Qingjiu was anxious, thinking that Bai Yuehu had fought with the other dragons again, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Soon Lu Qingjiu realised that the home he was referring to was not the Lu Family, but his own home, the old house with its countless tablets, where something had happened.

Lu Qingjiu could barely keep up, but by the time he arrived, he was panting and his lungs hurt.

Yin Xun, however, did not stay outside and rushed straight into the house.

As soon as he entered, he felt that something was not right in the Yin Xun house, the air was filled with a black mist that enveloped the whole house. The most disturbing thing was that a large part of the original consecrated tablet had fallen to the floor, and the incense and candles lit in front of the tablet were wavering, the room was windless, but the fire was dying, as if it would be extinguished in the next moment.

Yin Xun rushed to the scented candle and shielded the tiny flame with his hand, which was brought back to life by Yin Xun's proximity, illuminating the darkness of the room.

Lu Qingjiu 道：" Yin Xun "

Yin Xun whispered, "Someone has been here."

Lu Qingjiu frowned as he noticed the window that had been opened; it seemed that there had been someone in the house until they came in and the man had run away from the window.

"What did he want to do," said Lu Qingjiu, "blow out the joss sticks?"

Yin Xun said, "Incense and candles cannot be blown out by ordinary people," and looked down at the faint-looking flame in his hand with a look of concern.

Lu Qingjiu saw that Yin Xun was still protecting the candles, so he bent down and helped him pick up the tablets that had fallen to the floor and arrange them one by one. As he did so, he asked Yin Xun if the tablets were in any particular order.

Lu Qingjiu picked up the tablets and placed them one by one. Seeing Yin Xun's unhappy face, he set them up faster for fear of complications, but when he bent down and saw the name on one tablet, his whole expression froze.

"Sake," Yin Xun asked when he saw Lu Qingjiu looking uncomfortable, "what's wrong?"

Lu Qingjiu picked up the tablet and he said, "This tablet, you put it up."

Yin Xun nods blankly.

The tablet was black, with the word Fang Leap outlined in gold script, just two simple Chinese characters, but it sent chills through Lu Qingjiu's body as he swallowed and said in a hoarse tone, "Did you know that my mother once changed her name?"

"What" Yin Xun saw the clues in Lu Qingjiu's expression and guessed why Lu Qingjiu had this look on his face, he was a bit incredulous, "Is it possible that Auntie's previous name was"

"Yes, her name used to be Fang Leun." Lu Qingjiu said, "But then when she left my grandma to go out to study alone, she changed it to Fang Yu ." The hand holding the tablet kept shaking as if it were a piece of ice, "Why, why is my mother's name Yin Xun here?"

Yin Xun also panicked as he said, "I, I don't know, I didn't make all these tablets, they appeared on their own."

"Where is it produced?" Lu Qingjiu asks.

Yin Xun said, "It's in the shrine on the hill behind us." Fearing that Lu Qingjiu would not believe him, he explained in a panic, "It's the shrine where my tablet is enshrined, and sometimes I would have strange sensations that there were other people's tablets inside the shrine, and then I would go to the shrine, take the tablet out, and offer it inside the house without me knowing that it was your mother's tablet."

Lu Qingjiu said, "I want to go and see."

Yin Xun said, "Yes, but not now, the candle is going out and I have to protect it."

Lu Qingjiu looked at the fire in Yin Xun's hand, carefully guarded, and said, "What will happen when the joss sticks go out?"

"I don't know." Yin Xun said, "The person who turned me into a mountain god did not say, but my intuition tells me that if the joss sticks go out, something terrible will happen, and the joss sticks must not go out"

Lu Qingjiu thought of the restlessness of the tablets in front of him when the incense and candles were about to be extinguished after the last incident at Yin Xun, and had an absurd suspicion in his mind, but it was only a suspicion, and after all, it was impossible to take the risk to verify it.

Lu Qingjiu clutched the tablet, his mind in turmoil, he really did not understand why there was a tablet of his mother here, he said, "When did you find this tablet"

Yin Xun whispered, "It's been a long time since I found out, probably since you left Shuifu Village."

Lu Qingjiu said: "Was my mother still there?"

"It's there." Yin Xun said, "There must have been at least a few years between the time this tablet appeared and the time your mother left." At the time, Yin Xun thought it was a bit strange, but there was no Fang Leun around, so he thought it was just a coincidence, but Lu Qingjiu's mother had actually changed her name.

Lu Qingjiu knew that Yin Xun could not leave, but he could not wait any longer, so he said, "Can you describe the location of the shrine again?

Yin Xun said, "Do you want to go by yourself sake you don't want to go, there is nothing special about that shrine." He whispered, with a hint of pleading in his tone, "Or maybe we can wait until tomorrow, just for one more night."

Lu Qingjiu said, "It's okay, you don't have to worry about me."

Yin Xun Dao: "Sake"

Lu Qingjiu sighed and said, "Tell me where it is, I'll ask Bai Yuehu to go with me."

He described the location of the shrine to Lu Qingjiu, who said that it was so remote and overgrown that even he had to search for it for a while every time he went there. Lu Qingjiu listened carefully to Yin Xun's description and then left. Yin Xun looked at his back, but there was a strong feeling of unease in his heart, he always felt that there was something strange about this. The person who tried to extinguish the candles had not yet been found, and yet Lu Qingjiu's mother was involved.

Lu Qingjiu and his parents were very close, and although he did not grow up with them, they felt indebted to their son for this, so they did almost everything they could. Lu Qingjiu did not grow out of this pampering, but worked very hard and got into the university of his choice. He thought that university would be the starting point of his life, but it turned out to be the most unforgettable turn of events in his life.

One summer, Lu Qingjiu's parents returned to Shuifu Village to visit their grandmother, only to be caught in a mudslide halfway through the day.

Lu Qingjiu had never expected to see his mother's tablet in Yin Xun's house. According to Yin Xun, the tablet had already appeared when his mother was still alive.

Lu Qingjiu could not wait to find out what the shrine with the tablets meant.

Instead of going home to Bai Yuehu, as he had told Yin Xun to do, he turned alone and went up the mountain.

It was already dark by now, but it was a good thing that a waning moon was hanging in mid-air. The moon was bright enough that even without a torch, you could barely see the mountain path beneath you.

Lu Qingjiu follows the mountain path towards the location Yin Xun said.

In Yin Xun's account, the shrine is actually located not far from Shuifu Village, but has never been discovered by any other villagers.

Lu Qingjiu followed Yin Xun's advice and soon found the forked pathway and the numerous dense but withered weeds beside it. Yin Xun had said that all the weeds near the shrine were yellow and would not sprout new shoots in spring, summer, autumn or winter, so since Lu Qingjiu had seen the weeds, he thought the shrine must be not far away.

Lu Qingjiu began to look in the grass.

But as Yin Xun had said, the shrine was almost completely covered with weeds, and with the darkness, it was almost impossible to find it.

The shadows looked like people standing with their backs to him, and their bodies were of a greyish hue, so that neither their bodies nor their faces could be seen clearly. It was only after Lu Qingjiu looked closely that he felt that they were more like humanoid objects made of light mist than human beings, only that this mist was gradually becoming thicker and their bodies were becoming more and more clearly defined. This was not the most frightening thing, but the fact that they were slowly approaching Lu Qingjiu, like a pride of lions hunting lambs, silent and unmoving.

Goose bumps rise on Lu Qingjiu's arms as these things take up almost all the space leading up to the trail, closing in on Lu Qingjiu in a semi-circle, Lu Qingjiu can only retreat, but only after he has taken a few steps back does he realise that they seem to be driving him in one direction, and that direction is where the weeds are deepest.

The reason why Lu Qingjiu is not called Bai Yuehu is because he suspects that Bai Yuehu has something to do with the whole incident and is hiding something important from himself.

Lu Qingjiu: Don't eat me

Bai Yuehu: It's obvious that you eat me.

Lu Qingjiu.

The above driving mini-theatre was inspired by reader Ink Dyeing Paper Hahahahahaha