monster study

Chapter 107 July Half

The closer you are to the sub, the lower the temperature.The cold air seems to emanate from the ground under the feet, making people have nowhere to hide.So even on the hottest summer night, Lu Zhifei still wore Shang Si's black cloak coat, which didn't look too big at all.

He and Shang Si walked slowly along the street outside the study, regardless of which direction they were going.One was wearing a cloak and holding a jug, and the other was humming a little tune with his hands behind his back. The bright moonlight and the surrounding Yin Qi resisted each other and gradually merged. When Lu Zhifei looked up, the cinnabar between his eyebrows was as red as blood.

Lu Zhifei felt that at this moment, he and Shang Si were like emissaries in some fantasy movies, wandering the streets in the middle of the night, carrying out secret missions.

At midnight, that is, the time period from eleven o'clock to one o'clock in the evening, the gate of ghosts will open.

It was 55:[-], and Lu Zhifei felt a little nervous.Although he knew that as long as Shang Si was there, he would be fine, but "July and a half, the gate of hell opens", this has always been a curious and frightening legend circulated among the people.

On the fourteenth day of the seventh lunar month, hundreds of ghosts from the underworld will walk across the bridge of Naihe in groups and return to the world.

In the past, every year during the ghost month, Uncle Wu would choose a day to celebrate July and a half.Cook a table of dishes and put them on the Eight Immortals table.Then light the candles, set up the wine cup and chopsticks, and finally ask Lu Zhifei to offer incense and worship.

Uncle Wu poured good wine. Twelve small wine cups on each side were placed along the seam of the table. He held the wine jug from left to right in one go, so that the wine in each wine cup seemed to be the same amount. Yes, it won't spill yet.

For Lu Zhifei when he was a child, passing July and a half was not a scary thing.Because the food on the table was for the deceased elders, Uncle Wu would always become very nagging on that day, talking to Lu Zhifei's father and grandparents while laying out the bowls and chopsticks.

What kind of dish is this, your favorite food before, eat more.

You also like to drink this wine, drink more.

When Lu Zhifei was a child, he always thought that as long as his grandparents and father smelled the fragrance of vegetables at home, they would be able to find their way home.

But today is different. In the last 5 minutes before Zishi, Lu Zhifei felt that Yin Qi from the ground seemed to drill upward from the bottom of his feet. He could see and not see, and the feeling was really different.

Just at this time, Xingjun appeared.He was dressed a little grandly today, wearing a dark red dress, and Lu Zhifei couldn't tell what style it was, so let's call it a magic robe.

On the contrary, Xing Jun's hair is still not very long, it is half-length and not short, but he has taken care of it very well, as if he secretly baked it with oil.

"All arranged?" Shang Si asked.

"Yeah." Xing Jun nodded, no excitement or worry could be seen on his cool face, "You just woke up this year, and last month I organized a public exam for the gang in Tali who refused to reincarnate. With two ghosts coming up as ghost messengers, it should be a lot easier this year."

"Public exam?" Lu Zhifei was curious.

Xing Jun glanced at him and said, "It's like the civil service exam for you humans, but we don't have five social insurances and one housing fund, and only provide regular benefits."

The civil service exam in the ghost world?Lu Zhifei found it very novel, and Shang Si also found it very novel.This era is different, the Heavenly Court collapsed, and the gods collectively burped, and the Underworld also closed down, leaving only Xingjun.Enrollment expansion is certain, but the new era must have a new era of thinking methods, he couldn't help asking: "Then what do you test for?"

"I don't like passing the test." Xingjun replied.

"You thought you were in a beauty pageant?" Shang Si rolled his eyes.

Xingjun declined to comment, "You guys know the ones who were selected, they were the two in the tower who were fighting all the time last time. I think they are black and white, just filling the vacancy of black and white impermanence."

When Lu Zhifei thought about it, it was quite appropriate.

As he said that, 5 minutes had passed, Xingjun raised his head and glanced at tonight's astrolabe, and the last trace of worry gradually disappeared from his eyebrows, "The door is open."

The moment the ghost gate opened, Lu Zhifei didn't feel anything special.

The moonlight did not change, nor did the wind. The fallen leaves lay on the ground, quietly.But it didn't take long for a change to come.

Groups of light blue flames rise from the surrounding houses, the size of ordinary lanterns, not very bright, and can't feel any temperature. Looking at it from a distance, it looks creepy, like a will-o'-the-wisp.

Lu Zhifei looked around, and saw that in just a dozen seconds, small fire balls rose above the roofs of each house.On the roof of an apartment building not far away, there was a crowded pile, which looked like a beautiful shimmering cloud from a distance.

"That's a guiding light." Shang Si's voice rang in Lu Zhifei's ears, "As long as someone in the family pays homage to their dead relatives, when the ghost gate opens, there will be such a light above their house. If their relatives really When you come back, you can rely on the guidance of this lamp to find your way home. The function is similar to the lighthouse invented by you humans."

"So that's how it is." Lu Zhifei's heart warmed slightly. In this case, the food and drinks he and Uncle Wu had set up before were definitely not in vain.Although they couldn't see it, maybe Dad and grandparents really came back.

Seeing the warmth in his eyes, Xing Jun immediately poured a basin of cold water on his head, "But even if most people have lit the guide lights, some ghosts will still be idiots and get lost. For example, this one."

As he said, Xing Jun stretched out his hand to grab the dark place where the street lamps were not found, and he immediately pulled out a ghost, "Oh, oh, my lord, please be gentle!"

This ghost is dressed in a suit and leather shoes and looks like a successful social person, but at the moment, being held by Xingjun's ears, he doesn't look like an elite at all.

"Lost?" Lu Zhifei looked at his frustrated face and asked.

"Yes, yes." The elite man nodded quickly, "I want to run faster and go home earlier, the large army just passed the Naihe Bridge. But who knows that after being a ghost, I don't want to go east or west. Remember where home is."

Xingjun snorted coldly, "Is there always someone like you who pretends to be smart and runs so fast to reincarnate every year?"

"Who are you?" The elite man was a little upset.

Xingjun said with a cold face, "Your uncle."

Seeing that Xingjun was about to start a fight with the other party, Shang Si stretched out his hand to recruit a few shadow monsters, and asked them to take the elite man to find the way home, so that Xingjun would not be stimulated again.

"These days of the year, Mr. Xing has a very bad temper, as if his uncle came here. His temper is like a firecracker, and he will explode at one o'clock." Shang Si said to Lu Zhifei.

"I'm still here." Xing Jun looked at Shang Si, like looking at an idiot.

Shang Si was surprised, "Did you hear that?"

"I'm not deaf, okay?" Mr. Xing felt that Shang Si was really poisonous, and he said bad things about people in front of his face.

However, Lu Zhifei felt that both of them were poisonous. Looking over the two of them, he saw the shadowy ghost in front of him, and said, "The big army is coming, should you do business first and then talk?"

Xing Jun and Shang Si glared at each other and stopped talking.Shang Si leaned closer to Lu Zhifei, as if he would be infected by Xing Jun's poisonous gas if he got close to him.Xing Jun doesn't want to be so close to him anymore, if you take a step back, I will take a step back.

Lu Zhifei couldn't laugh or cry, but soon he didn't have the time to observe the childish behavior of Shang Si and Xing Jun, because the team of ghosts had already arrived.

If it wasn't for the impermanence of black and white at the forefront, he would have thought this was some kind of athlete's entrance ceremony.

Oh no, this black and white impermanence is a bit different from what Lu Zhifei imagined.

I saw two people, one black and one white wearing long hats, Bai Wuchang was carrying a yellow paper umbrella behind his back, and Hei Wuchang was holding shackles and chains in his hands.It's nothing, it's in line with the set dress, but when Lu Zhifei saw clearly the words written on their hats, it was a success.

"You're here too? Are you being caught?" Lu Zhifei suppressed a smile.

"Actually, there is another version, which is making money at first sight and peace in the world." Shang Si glanced at Xing Jun and said, "But I still think this is good, right Xing Jun?"

It is rare for Xingjun not to refute, the evil taste of the two old immortals is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

At this time, Black and White Wuchang also saw the three of Lu Zhifei standing on the side of the road, their faces were full of expressions of "why did I meet them, where am I and what am I doing".Then Bai Wuchang held up the umbrella as quickly as lightning, and both of them turned their heads to look in the opposite direction from Lu Zhifei, their bodies moved diagonally, and quickly passed in front of Lu Zhifei.

Lu Zhifei probably understands the embarrassment of being caught by acquaintances in strange clothes, but...he really wants to remind them that the hat is too high, and that umbrella can't cover anything at all.

Also, walking like this will cause cervical spondylosis.

However, Black and White Wuchang's eagerness to escape disrupted the pace of the entire team, and the mighty ghost army fell behind to varying degrees.

To be honest, I saw so many ghosts, men and women, old and young, ghosts sticking out their tongues, dripping water all over their bodies, blooming on their heads, and with broken arms and legs walking, or floating in front of them. In the past, the picture was extremely weird and shocking.

The overwhelming Yin Qi drifted out as they moved, and the black velvet-like mist seeped out. After a while, the surroundings became ghostly, and even the moon above seemed to turn pale.

The small voices gradually converged into a sea of ​​ghostly whispers, and those slow steps and stiff faces looked terrifying.From time to time, a few eyes would fall on Lu Zhifei on the side of the road, like a chill walking over him.

Lu Zhifei involuntarily tightened the cloak on his body. Wherever he looked, a ghost suddenly stared excitedly at a light on the roof of the apartment building ahead, and shouted in surprise: "That's my home! I'm home!"

As he said that, he took a deep breath in the direction of the apartment building, as if he could smell the fragrance of vegetables floating in the air from afar.

The momentary surprise dilutes the coldness that Lu Zhifei felt.

He suddenly felt that this was like a huge family visiting team, and there was nothing terrible about it.

"Let's go, let's go around." Shang Si held Lu Zhifei's hand, and Xing Jun was going to inspect other cities.

While walking, Shang Si explained to Lu Zhifei, "Impermanence will take them around the city for a week, and those who find a home will naturally go home. In the past, the Xingjuns were scattered, and they all rushed to the street, and the result was that all The city is lost, and it is a mess."

Lu Zhifei listened quietly, and saw ghosts breaking away from the large army from time to time and walking into their respective homes.The guide lights hanging on the roof trembled slightly, and there seemed to be endless joy in the small movements.

Just as they were talking, the two turned a corner and walked to a commercial street.

Under the LED light sign on the side of the road, an elderly ghost leaning on a cane looked up at the plaque at the door of the store with a dazed expression.He probably got separated from the main force, or maybe he was attracted by the bustling street scene he hadn't seen for a long time, and then stood here, thinking about where to go.

"Mister." Shang Si called him.

The old man turned his head and looked at him in bewilderment.The man in front of him was tall and handsome, wearing large moiré sleeves, straddling the distance between ancient and modern times, he was full of elegance and style.But he doesn't know him.

It doesn't matter if you don't know each other, Shang Si took out a small blue and white wine cup from his wide sleeve, and handed it over with a smile, "Have a drink?"

Lu Zhifei immediately came to his senses after being dazed at the beginning, and poured a glass of mellow and fragrant white wine into the wine cup.Now he finally knew why Shang Si asked him to go out with a flagon.

The old man was stunned for a moment, maybe Shang Si and Lu Zhifei gave a good first impression, or maybe the wine was really fragrant, so he thanked him, took the wine and drank it down.

The moment the wine entered his throat, the pungent feeling made him feel as if he was still alive.He couldn't help thinking: This feeling is so good, I really miss it.So he pursed his lips, not letting the smell of alcohol escape, so as to prolong the pleasant feeling.And when he swallowed all the wine, and his internal organs seemed to have been ironed, he suddenly found that his head was much clearer.

By the way, he should go home.

Where is home?Oh, home is over there.

He couldn't wait to walk in that direction, and he didn't remember the person just now until he walked a certain distance, but when he looked back, the two of them had already walked away.

In the bustling street scene, under the gorgeous neon lights, the people who are still alive rub shoulders, coming from different places and going to different places.There are all kinds of sorrows and joys hidden in the ordinary busyness.

But what if sadness is joy?Even if the dead still want to go home to visit their relatives, those who are still alive should live well.

But Lu Zhifei and Shang Si, who have gone away, are still on the journey of "meeting a ghost on the road, drinking a glass of wine".

Shang Si has endless small wine cups in his sleeves, and Lu Zhifei has endless pours of fine wine in his jug.The two stopped and went on the street in the early morning, and Shang Si sometimes chatted with the ghosts who were drinking, so Lu Zhifei could hear different stories from them.

There is the sadness of coming to Beijing to work but never being able to return home.

There is also the joy of dying in bed and having a smooth life.

A glass of wine, another story.The smell of wine evokes the memories of the ghosts, and the maple leaves on the side of the road are also fascinated. The huge city embraces the people who have passed away and returned, and does not want to fall asleep.

The author has something to say: Regarding the number of wine cups, I actually can’t remember exactly. The one facing the gate seems to be 13, the left and right sides are 12, and the incense candles are placed on the last side.However, the customs may be different in each place, just do your best~

By the way, the posture of pouring wine is really handsome. I tried it and spilled it.