Mo Ran looked in the direction of the sound and saw the answer suddenly appear. The answer was stumbling over the stone steps of the government office.
It was a child of three or four years old. He was holding a small bamboo windmill in his hand and was jumping towards Young Master Chu.
He was wearing a plain little shirt with a jade collar, a Fu Lu name lock, and a red silk amulet hanging on his chest. He looked like a little junior brother who had shrunk a size.
"…" Mo Ran finally knew the reason why those cavalrymen were whispering to each other.
He couldn't help but murmur, "Junior brother, you and Master are both from Lin 'an, and Master's surname is Chu. Do you think the Chu family more than two hundred years ago was your ancestral family? Are you two distant relatives … I think it's very possible."
Chu Wanning didn't say anything and stared at the two people.
He didn't know his background and couldn't remember clearly what happened when he was young.
Could it be that this Young Master Chu was really one of his ancestors?
While he was thinking, it was Mo Ran's turn in the queue.
Young Master Chu raised his eyes and was about to give Mo Ran a talisman. However, when he saw that it was a stranger, he couldn't help but be startled. Then, he smiled gently, "Stranger, is this your first time here?"
His voice was mellow and elegant, which was different from Chu Wanning's cold and stern voice.
"Ah … ah, yes, yes."
Suddenly, there was a person who looked so much like Master and spoke to him so kindly. Mo Ran really couldn't describe how he felt and was at a loss for a moment.
Young Master Prefect smiled slightly, "I'm Chu Xun, may I ask your name?"
"My, my surname is Mo, my name is Mo Ran."
"Where did Young Master Mo come from?"
"Far, far away, in the middle of Shu, Shu." Even if Young Master Chu Xun was gentle, Mo Ran still felt that he would be seen through by this person at a glance.
Chu Xun was slightly startled and then smiled modestly, "It's really far away."
He paused and looked down a few inches. When he saw Chu Wanning standing next to him, a trace of surprise appeared on his elegant face.
"This is …"
"My name is Xia Si Ni," said Chu Wanning.
Mo Ran brought him to his side and rubbed his head. He laughed dryly and said, "This is my little brother."
He doesn't look like me. He looks like you.
Perhaps it was because of the impending battle, and the urgency of the situation, Chu Xun had no time to think too much.
Or perhaps it was because he was just a character in an illusion, so it was difficult for him to react too strongly to things that did not belong to this illusion.
In short, he furrowed his brows and looked at Chu Wanning for a while. Then, he handed the two talismans to them with both hands.
"You're a guest from afar. Besides, the people don't have any means to make a living.
Please accept these two talismans. If you don't have any other arrangements, why don't you stay in the city for two more days? "
"I have heard," Mo Ran said, "Is Gongzi going to take the citizens and move to Putuo?
What is this talisman for? "
"This talisman paper is a Soul Annihilation Talisman." Chu Xun explained, "When worn, it can conceal the aura of a living person."
Mo Ran immediately understood, "Ah, I know.
If the aura of a living person is sealed, the ghosts will not be able to detect whether the other party is dead or alive.
In this way, even if we walk in front of the ghosts, they will be confused and won't know what to do. "
Chu Xun smiled, "Exactly."
Seeing that he was busy, Mo Ran did not ask more, so he thanked Chu Xun and took his little brother to the side.
The two sat by the wall. Mo Ran turned his face and saw that his little brother was holding the talisman paper in a daze. He asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"I am thinking that this is indeed a good idea." Chu Wanning thought quietly, "But I don't know why they didn't succeed in the end."
"It's not written in the book?"
Chu Wanning said, "The disaster two hundred years ago was recorded in the most detail in Lin 'an Collection of Annotations.
But there are only a few lines. "
"What does the book say?" Mo Ran asked.
"Lin 'an was besieged, and the scene in the city was unknown.
When the rebel army broke out of the siege, they saw corpses lying on the road, and nine out of ten houses were empty.
The governor's office had a hundred people and seven hundred and forty families, all dead. "
"…" Mo Ran said, "The cause of death was not written?"
"There is no record.
At that time, Lin 'an City was besieged, and very few people survived.
Later, a few lucky survivors were rescued by the feathermen, but the feathermen are usually not involved in the affairs of the world, and their thoughts are different from that of mortals.
In their eyes, the truth is not important. Even if they know, they will not tell the world for no reason. "
Chu Wanning paused and continued, "However, since they are going to leave in two days.
We will see what happened at that time very soon.
Why don't we walk around, maybe we can find some clues. "
The two put away the Soul Annihilation Talisman and were about to leave.
Suddenly, they heard a series of footsteps, and then Chu Wanning's sleeve was pulled.
"Little brother."
Chu Wanning turned around, and it turned out to be the little boy who looked like him. The little boy was very young, and said in a childish voice, "Little brother, father said that you have no place to stay here, if you don't mind, you can stay in our house tonight."
"This …"
Chu Wanning and Mo Ran looked at each other.
Mo Ran asked, "Is it convenient?
Your father is already so busy. "
"It's okay."
The little boy showed a warm smile, "There are already many people who have no place to stay at home, and we all live together.
With father here, there is no need to be afraid at night, there are no ghosts. "
His words were not coherent, but they were simple and warm, which made people feel sorry for him.
Mo Ran said, "Okay, then we will disturb you tonight, thank you, little brother."
"Hehe, you don't have to thank me, you don't have to thank me."
Seeing him skip and run away, Mo Ran pulled Chu Wanning's hand and said, "Hey, I'm serious."
"I know what you want to say, so shut up."
"Hahaha.
How do you know? "
Mo Ran smiled and rubbed his hair, "When we return to the mountain, I will ask Shizun. One of you looks like the older one, and the other looks like the younger one.
I won't believe that you are not related to Prefect Chu. "
Chu Wanning said, "… So what if we are related by blood."
"Ah?"
Chu Wanning looked at the father and son under the tree, and then said calmly, "Anyway, it was two hundred years ago.
They are all dead. "
After saying this, he turned and left.
Mo Ran stayed in place for a while, and then ran after him, muttering, "Hey, you are such a child, how can you be so vicious at such a young age?
So what if they are dead, they are still ancestors.
If it were me, I would definitely go back and build a shrine for them, make a nine foot tall golden statue, and wear incense and jewelry, so that the incense will not stop every year.
I am still counting on the ancestors to protect me … Hey, hey, don't walk so fast. "
The two of them walked around the city and found that every family was collecting rice straw and making scarecrows.
After asking, they found out that this was what Young Master Chu Xun ordered the citizens to do.
Regardless of age, every citizen in the city needed a scarecrow. The scarecrow was wrapped in paper and dripped with the person's blood.
It was made into a so-called "fake puppet".
This principle was like the river god wanting to eat human heads, so someone made steamed buns, wrapped them with meat stuffing, and threw them into the river to worship the river god.
Some ghosts and deities were not smart because of their roots.
Just a little trick could fool them. For example, the ghost emcee that Chu Wanning and the others had come into contact with before had a brain of mud and was extremely easy to fool.
It seemed that Chu Xun had made at least two preparations for the citizens. The first was the Soul Destruction Talisman, so that they would not be discovered by the ghosts during the escape.
The second was the scarecrow puppets, because once the ghosts and deities found out that the citizens in the city had suddenly disappeared, they would be extremely agitated. Leaving behind the puppets as cover could temporarily stabilize them and buy time for the migration.
But the more it was like this, the more doubts Mo Ran and Chu Wanning had.
Why did Young Master Chu Xun's arrangements go to waste when he had already made such detailed arrangements?
With such doubts in mind, they returned to the governor's office.
At this time, the sky was already dark.
Many people who lived far away were unwilling to go home, so they brought their families and blankets to the Shang Qing barrier to spend the night.
The governor's office did not close the doors at night, only the white-clothed guards that they saw during the day were left to patrol the surroundings.
When Mo Ran and the rest arrived, there were no empty rooms in the manor. Everywhere was crowded with people. At least three or four families were huddled in a wing, there was no place to stand.
In the end, the two of them could only choose a corridor to rest.
There was definitely no bedding, so Mo Ran asked the guards for some straw, laid it on the ground, and carried Chu Wanning up.
"I'll have to trouble you to sleep here tonight."
Chu Wanning said, "It's pretty good."
"Is it?" Mo Ran laughed, "I think so too."
He lay down beside Chu Wanning, stretched, and then put his arms behind his head, looking at the clear ceiling of the corridor.
"Shidi, look at those birds, their ability to create dreams is not bad. Although this dream is based on the memories of the lucky survivors, it can be so detailed that even the wood grains on the ceiling are so clear, it's also rare."
Chu Wanning said, "Feathermen are half-immortals after all, although their mana has not reached the peak, they still have some abilities that mortals cannot achieve."
"That's true," Mo Ran blinked, turned around, supported his head with his hand and looked at Chu Wanning, "I can't sleep."
"…" Chu Wanning glanced at him, "Then I'll tell you a story to cheer you up."
He was just joking, who knew that Mo Ran's skin was so thick, he laughed, "Alright, alright.
Shidi, tell me the story of the Seven Fairies and Dong Yong. "
Chu Wanning did not expect him to take it seriously, he was stunned, then turned his face away resentfully, "You're dreaming.
You're already so old, don't you think it's embarrassing? "
Mo Ran laughed, "Then you see, actually, people will always think about what they can't get, this has nothing to do with age.
When I was young, no one told me stories to cheer me up, so I kept thinking, thinking, how good it would be if there was someone who could cheer me up.
After that, no one appeared, and I grew up, so I stopped thinking about it.
But I still think about it in my heart. "
Chu Wanning, "…"
"No one told you stories when you were young, right?"
"Yes."
"Haha, so you actually don't know how to tell the story of Dong Yong and the Seven Fairies, right?"
Chu Wanning, "… What's there to say about this kind of decadent story?"
"You don't know how to tell it, don't say anything decadent.
When you grow up like this, you'll definitely be like my Shizun, a very boring person, no one will want to talk to you. "
Chu Wanning said angrily, "Fine, don't talk to me, I'm going to sleep."
After saying that, he lay down and closed his eyes.
Mo Ran rolled around in laughter until he reached Chu Wanning's side. He looked at his little junior brother's closed eyes, his long, black eyelashes were very cute, so he reached out and pinched his face.
"You're really asleep?"
"I'm asleep."
"Haha." Mo Ran laughed, "Then go to sleep, I'll tell you a story."
"You can tell stories?"
"Yes, just like how you can talk in your sleep."
Chu Wanning shut up.
Mo Ran lay down beside him, the two of them using the straw as pillows, their heads very close together.
Mo Ran laughed for a while, but when he saw that his junior brother was ignoring him, he gradually stopped laughing so exaggeratedly, but his eyes were still curved, looking at the corridor ceiling, the rough smell of rice at the tip of his nose from time to time, and his voice was calm and peaceful.
"The story I'm going to tell you is made up by myself.
In the past, no one told me a story to cheer me up, so I was very envious, but I had no choice. Every day when I lay in bed, I would tell myself a story to listen to.
The one I'm going to tell you is my favorite, I gave it a name, 'Cows Eat Grass'. "