Liu Ruyan and Biluo walked out of the yard together and were taken to the west where the servants lived. As they passed a forest along the road, they could vaguely see a well in the bushes.
Biluo didn't seem to notice it, and walked straight through the bushes into the distance.
Liu Ruyan couldn't help but ask: "There is a well next to it, why do you want to go far away instead of being close?"
Biluo stopped, turned his eyes and looked there: "The Taoist priest doesn't know something, this well has been abandoned for many years, and all the water used in the house has to be fetched in the kitchen."
"Don't we have to walk several more roads?" Liu Ruyan was surprised.
"That's true." Biluo said as he walked with the wooden bucket in hand.
"Is it because the well water has dried up and there is no water to drink?"
Biluo just shook his head.
"Oh?" Liu Ruyan became interested, "Is it because someone jumped over the well?"
Biluo shuddered. She raised her eyes and looked around. She saw the sky was filled with mist and a few swifts flew across the branches.
"I heard that a maidservant hanged herself by the well in the past. I also heard that several strange things happened in the house one after another. For example, when fetching water from the well, women's hair would be caught, which made people panic."
Hang yourself?
Liu Ruyan's heart trembled, and her gaze fell on the manhole cover in the grass: "When did it happen?"
"I can't remember exactly, it was about ten years ago, when I was still young," Biluo recalled.
"Do you remember where she hanged herself?"
"It seems to be that tree." She pointed to a wooden stake. "It was the rainy season at that time. After the servant girl died, spring thunder sounded all night. The next morning, everyone found that the tree had fallen."
"There is such a thing." Liu Ruyan frowned, "But why is Madam so afraid of cats?"
"I don't know about this slave, I just think it's not surprising that I'm afraid of small animals or something." She said frankly.
The two filled a bucket of water from the kitchen and returned to Lin's courtyard again. Shen Yanchu had prepared the altar. He took the water and poured it into the copper basin, and lit the written talisman with fire.
Liu Ruyan knew that he had been reading a lot in the past month, but he didn't expect that when he actually put it into practice, he could do it in an orderly manner without any flaws.
The altar was placed in Lin's courtyard, facing the door.
It was dusk at this time, the sky was half light and half dark, the yin and yang were intertwined, and a few cigarette smoke was rising and filling the air. Suddenly, a human face appeared in the smoke screen.
The face was pretty, with her hair tied into a girl's bun. Half of her head poked out from under the peach tree outside the courtyard, waving at her: "Little Taoist Friend."
Qi Heng and Lin Lan stood next to Liu Ruyan, as if they had not seen the person. Liu Ruyan squinted her eyes and looked at the smoke filled place again, but the maid standing under the peach tree disappeared.
Liu Ruyan remained calm and sneaked out of the yard when no one was paying attention.
She walked towards the peach tree she saw just now and walked all the way around to the back.
Sure enough, there was a maid squatting on the ground. When she heard the sound, the maid raised her head slightly and called out: "Little Taoist Friend."
"Lingxiang, why are you here?"
Lingxiang stood up and patted the grass clippings on her body: "This is not the place to talk. Fellow Taoist, please come with me."
Seeing Lingxiang turn around and leave, she hurriedly followed him.
Shortly after the two left, Dong Qingxian followed them by accident.
Liu Ruyan had a very good ear, but she realized that she was being followed.
The man followed her not far away. When she walked, the other man also walked. When she stopped, the man followed and stopped.
Liu Ruyan immediately looked back.
Dong Qingxian looked at her from a distance, his eyes were warm, he really stopped and looked as beautiful as a picture.
Of course, this was just what the little maid Lingxiang saw.
It was Liu Ruyan, and she actually saw a hint of disobedience in the man's eyes, just like the look in the eyes of an elder towards a younger generation. But the two were clearly about the same age, and he really looked at her as a child.
Dong Qingxian strode forward, raised his hand, and stroked the top of her hair. Well, it felt as soft as he imagined.
"Yan'er, where are you going?"
Liu Ruyan, who was suddenly touched on the head, twitched the corner of her mouth, but she could only pretend to be a Taoist boy, with a hint of maturity in her naivety: "I have something to do with this girl."
I don't know if it's because she looks really interesting, or because Dong Qingxian has been in the mountains for too long and her life is boring.
He pursed his lips and chuckled, holding up her hand: "Okay, I'll follow Yan'er."
Suddenly, Liu Ruyan's face turned ugly: "Pindao is very busy."
Dong Qingxian replied: "I'll work with Yan'er."
This girl was so private that I didn't hear her say that she had something to do.
Being so disturbed by him, Liu Ruyan arrived at the West Courtyard at dusk.
The other maids and women had already gone to the small kitchen to get their meals, and the whole yard seemed empty.
She had been to the west courtyard not long ago. The abandoned well was nearby, separated by a bush, which looked deserted.
Lingxiang took her to the courtyard and then said: "My servant asked me about what my fellow Taoist asked me to inquire about. However, I heard from my mother-in-law that back then she would not let anyone mention this matter, otherwise she would be expelled from the Qi Mansion."
"How did you ask?" Liu Ruyan couldn't help but look at her with admiration. She was indeed the maid brought by the young lady from her parents' home, and she was very clever.
"My slave gave the protective talisman to my mother-in-law." After she finished speaking, her watery eyes stared straight at Liu Ruyan.
Liu Ruyan understood it on the spot and took out a few more talismans: "The house has not been very peaceful recently. You and the young lady should wear them closely to ensure that you are safe and sound."
Lingxiang thanked her quickly.
She put the talisman away close to her body and continued: "Recently, some servants saw the shadow of a cat appearing in the forest. It was so strange that no one said it openly, but privately they knew that it was a cat spirit. Speaking of cat spirits,
I also have to mention the old lady Lin, I heard that she was the one who ordered the Qi Mansion not to keep cats, and all wild cats should be expelled."
"Why is this?" Dong Qingxian listened for a long time, then stepped forward and asked.
Lingxiang glanced at the man and didn't dare to answer.
"He won't publicize this matter, but it doesn't matter if you say it." Liu Ruyan said seriously.
Dong Qingxian's eyebrows moved and he stared at her.
"Ding, the loyalty value is 5, totaling 40." The system sounded a prompt.
Lingxiang firmly believed in this Taoist boy's words.
She hesitated for a moment and finally said:
"This matter must have started ten years ago. A girl named A Ruo came to Qi Mansion to work as a maid, and she was placed in this villa. Later, A Ruo took advantage of the money and stole one of the wife's dowries.
"
"At that time, the government treated servants who committed crimes, giving them ten sticks and then driving them out of Qi Mansion."
"But there happened to be a maid in the kitchen who wanted to use this incident to flatter her master, so she poured hot oil on A Ruo. But instead of asking about the whereabouts of the stolen goods, she forced A Ruo to hang herself."
Liu Ruyan was stunned, remembering that Biluo had also mentioned this matter.
"Aruo hanged himself by the well?" she asked.
"That's right, it's the abandoned well outside." Lingxiang responded, "Several strange things happened one after another. Some people said that the water in the well was not clean and should not be used."
Lingxiang whispered softly, her face still a little frightened: "The second year after Aruo's death, my wife took the young master and young lady back to Bieyuan to escape the summer heat. At that time, there was an extra snow-white cat in the courtyard for no reason. It was about the size of a palm and looked like
It's so cute. In addition, Master Wenxuan is playful, so he took the cat back to his residence."
"My lady was not afraid of cats at that time?" Liu Ruyan suddenly asked.
Lingxiang thought for a while: "Maybe I'm not afraid."
At this point, her voice softened: "After the cat was taken away, others rarely saw it again. It should have been kept in the young master's courtyard."
"But when it comes to this cat, it's not that its coat is white and flawless, but it has a black mark on its body. Two months later, the weather gradually turned cooler. The cat grew up day by day, and the mark on its body also changed. Look,
When you go up, you look like a graceful and graceful girl."
Lingxiang whispered, her eyes falling on the trees outside the courtyard.
Liu Ruyan followed her line of sight and looked over, as if she could see a snow-white cat with eyes filled with glazes, strolling down from the treetops gracefully.
And there is a black spot on its back, which is the phantom of a woman.