EFB Chapter 150 Goddess of Beauty: Great Evil Spirit, Want to Play Mahjong When We're 3 Short of 1?
Chapter 150 Goddess of Beauty: Great Evil Spirit, Want to Play Mahjong When We're 3 Short of 1?
Chapter 150 Goddess of Beauty: Great Evil Spirit, wanna play mahjong? (First update, 4400 words)
With a creak, the heavy wooden coffin lid was pushed open by Lu Yuan's shoulder.
After finishing this task, Lu Yuan leaned against the coffin, panting heavily for a while, his head covered in sweat.
I've just been able to walk, and I really have no energy left.
Lu Yuan wondered if he should put some lubricant on the coffin lid and make it a flip-top or a sliding lid.
This way you can stay young and healthy without worry.
Lu Yuan looked into the coffin, while Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao'er curiously examined Gu Qingwan.
The two were a little reserved, but still waved and greeted each other boldly.
At first, Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao'er were indeed quite afraid of Gu Qingwan.
Although Lu Yuan had said many good things about Gu Qingwan on the way back, Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao'er were still nervous.
After all, no matter how well Lu Yuan put it, Gu Qingwan was still a great evil spirit.
Anyone who hears the word "evil spirit" will react.
But humans are visual creatures after all, and after seeing Gu Qingwan in person, Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao'er were inexplicably less nervous.
After all, judging from its appearance, it's not much different from a human, or rather, it's completely human.
In Aunt Qin's words, she was also born so handsome.
No, he's just too handsome.
It was a kind of pristine, serene beauty, untouched by the dust of the world.
Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao'er originally thought it was something fierce or extremely eerie and terrifying.
Lu Yuan ignored the three women over there and instead peered into the coffin.
Before leaving, Qingwan still had that troublesome curse sealed on her lips.
Let's look at it again now.
Her fair lips were clean and dry; the obscure curse mark had vanished without a trace.
Hey?!
Lu Yuan suddenly looked up at Gu Qingwan, who was sandwiched between Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin, and quickly said, "Qingwan!"
"The curse on your lips is gone?"
Gu Qingwan turned her head, her cool gaze meeting Lu Yuan's, then slightly raised her chin, gesturing towards the windowsill.
Lu Yuan looked in that direction.
On the small sandalwood desk, a Duan inkstone rests on a sheet of yellowed Xuan paper.
Approach and pull it out.
Above is the old man's flamboyant handwriting: The evil curse has been lifted; the method for restoring the tongue can be found in Chapter Seven of the ancient book.
There was a tattered thread-bound book under the note.
Lu Yuan casually flipped through two pages and then tossed them aside.
The old man is meticulous, but Lu Yuan shouldn't bother reading these ancient books.
It is also recorded in the "Dao" given by Lu Yuan's system.
Lu Yuan had already seen and learned the method of tongue extension long ago.
Lu Yuan stood beside the coffin, closed his eyes and concentrated, the pages of the book "Tao" slowly turning in his mind.
Lu Yuan could practically recite the section on tongue-twisting recorded in the Daoist text by heart.
"To continue the tongue is not to continue the tongue, but to continue the words."
"If anything loses its tongue, it loses its speech; if it loses its speech, it loses its name; if it loses its name, it loses its existence."
"Therefore, the method of prolonging the tongue is actually the method of prolonging life."
This is the opening passage about tongue regeneration in the Tao Te Ching, followed by more detailed steps.
"Take three coins' worth of dew from the coffin. This dew is the water that condenses after the coffin gets damp. It absorbs the remaining breath of the deceased's soul and is extremely yin and pure."
"Take two inches of the core of a peach tree that faces the sun. Peach wood that faces the sun receives the essence of yang energy, which can suppress evil spirits and even revive the dead."
"Take nine drops of blood from the fingertip of the person performing the tongue-repairing ritual. Blood is the essence of a person, and nine is the extreme of the yang number. This is to revive the yang of the living and nourish the yin of the deceased."
Once these three items are prepared, bind them with a red rope, immerse them in rootless water, and place them under the moon for seven nights, waiting for them to merge on their own.
When they merge, a tongue-shaped object can be faintly seen emerging in the water, bluish-black in color, and no more than three inches long.
When continuing the speech, one must recite the "Continuation of Speech Mantra" three times.
Once it opens the heavens and earth, twice it opens the yin and yang, and three times it settles the root of the tongue.
After the incantation is finished, a tongue-twisting object is placed into the mouth of the deceased, and the lower jaw is supported by the hand to make the teeth close.
Soon, one can see the tongue gradually growing from the root to the tip, from emptiness to fullness.
For seven days, he must not speak or be disturbed. He may speak only after his tongue has fully grown back.
The method itself is not complicated; the difficulty lies in the materials.
Chen Lu, three qian.
Two inches of sun-facing peach wood core.
Nine drops of blood from the fingertips of the person who practices the method of tongue continuation.
All three are easy to prepare.
The truly deadly ingredient is the main material used to reshape the root of the tongue.
A thousand-year-old willow root.
This thing doesn't sound like it has a very appealing name.
It doesn't seem as extravagant as when Lu Yuan installed eyes for Gu Qingwan, when he directly removed the top-tier magical artifact.
But in reality, despite being only four characters long, this thing is actually very precious!
Willow means to stay.
Willow trees have the deepest root system, capable of penetrating into the underworld and absorbing the yin energy of the earth's veins.
The roots of a thousand-year-old willow are considered to be connected to the yin realm, having been buried in the soil for over a thousand years; they are no longer ordinary tree roots.
It is half withered and half thriving, half absorbing the earth's energy and half absorbing the souls of the dead.
Willows that are a hundred or so years old are everywhere, but to find the roots of a willow that has lived for a thousand years is like finding a needle in a haystack.
It must grow in a desolate place where the sun never shines.
The most important thing is that there must be something underground.
What does "thing" mean?
Places with heavy yin energy, preferably old cemeteries, ancient battlefields, or places where the earth's veins converge.
Only in this way will the willow root desperately grow downwards to absorb things that mortals cannot perceive.
Lu Yuan had already prepared these thousand-year-old willow roots.
This item comes from an old forest in the foothills of Taiyin Mountain, a place the locals call "Ghost Cry Ridge".
The name sounds terrifying, and it really is terrifying.
There was no human habitation for a hundred or eighty miles; of the ten people who went in, eight never came out.
It wasn't that I got lost; I went crazy shortly after I came out, yelling, "Something is pulling on my ankle."
That place was originally an ancient battlefield, where two groups of people fought fiercely in the ravine, resulting in the deaths of thousands.
In the end, no one even came to collect the body; it just rotted in the mountains.
Later, a flash flood occurred, carrying mud and sand, burying all these remains underground.
Later, I don't know when, a willow seed drifted over, landed there, and sprouted.
The willow tree grew on top of those thousands of skeletons.
The roots burrowed downwards, through the soil and through the gravel, finally settling into the pile of bones that had accumulated for hundreds of years.
Those bones had long since rotted into powder, but the resentment, the deathly aura, and the obsession with not being able to reincarnate were all absorbed by Liu Gen.
By the time the people found it, the willow tree had already withered and died.
It didn't die of old age, it "died from overeating".
The tree absorbed too much yin energy, causing the trunk to rot from the inside out, until only a layer of bark remained to hold it up, and it would fall over with a gust of wind.
The tree may have fallen, but its roots remain underneath.
The old leader who went from outside the pass to Taiyin Mountain to find spiritual flesh gathered more than a dozen people, who took their tools and dug in the mountain for seven whole days.
When they dug down to a depth of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), they finally saw the stump.
It's called a "root," but it doesn't really resemble a root anymore.
It is jet black and shiny, as if it were carved from black jade.
It's as thick as an arm, with countless twists and turns, each bend looking as if someone had deliberately shaped it.
The strangest thing is that when you hold this in your hand, you can feel it trembling slightly.
It wasn't an illusion; it was really moving, as if something inside was alive.
This priceless treasure was originally kept in a secret room of Baiyun Temple.
But ever since the last incident, when Baiyun Temple's reputation was ruined and became infamous, the people in Baiyun Temple are not stupid.
The trees fell and the lake scattered; the Taoist priests in the temple ran away with their treasures.
Several groups of people split up inside Baiyun Temple, fighting over the temple's treasures. Some items were claimed as mine by one person and as his by another.
If it doesn't make sense and can't be divided evenly, then it just flows out.
Aunt Qiao'er took all of these things.
Of course, Aunt Qiao'er had no idea what this was; she only knew it was a Taoist treasure and spent a fortune on it without batting an eye.
It was just because Lu Yuan was a Taoist priest that he might be able to use this kind of thing someday.
This gigolo is truly a comfortable life.
This saved Lu Yuan a lot of trouble.
The current situation is that both the materials and methods for prolonging the tongue are available.
But the only problem is Lu Yuan, the one who continued speaking—
Not very good!
Lu Yuan now has to pant heavily even to walk from the foot of the mountain to Zhenlong Temple, so he really can't perform any magic now.
However, there's no rush. The prerequisite for the tongue-renewing method still needs to wait seven days.
Lu Yuan spent seven days recovering. After seven days, once the prerequisites for the tongue-renewing technique were completed, Lu Yuan had almost fully recovered.
Seven days later, Qingwan can officially continue her tongue!
Lu Yuan stood beside the coffin, suppressing his distracting thoughts.
With a slight thought, the thousand-year-old willow root appeared out of thin air in his palm.
The moment the jet-black roots appeared, a chill descended upon the side hall, and a thin layer of frost quickly condensed on the blue brick floor.
Aunt Qin and Aunt Qiao'er subconsciously adjusted their clothes, but their eyes were fixed on Lu Yuan, full of curiosity and awe.
Lu Yuan ignored the reactions of the three women over there, held the willow root in his hands, and respectfully bowed three times to the coffin.
With one bow, the roots trembled slightly.
The second bow caused the fine facial features on the surface of the willow root to faintly glow.
After the third bow, a very faint sound came from the coffin, as if something was responding.
Lu Yuan straightened up, walked to the offering table, and lit three incense sticks.
As wisps of smoke rose, he didn't stick the incense sticks into the incense burner, but held them in his hand, letting the smoke slowly swirl around the willow root.
From left to right, three circles.
From right to left, three circles.
Amidst the swirling smoke, Lu Yuan's deep voice echoed in the empty side hall.
"Proclaim to all directions, and open the gates of heaven and earth."
"Now, Lu Yuan, a disciple of Zhenlong Temple, is performing the ritual of tongue extension, in accordance with the method of tongue extension."
"Take a section of the root of a thousand-year-old willow from Taiyin Mountain. This root grew on an ancient battlefield, drawing on the resentment of the dead. It was buried three zhang underground, half withered and half thriving, half dead and half alive."
"Now, this root is placed in the coffin of the beautiful young lady and will be kept warm for seven days."
"Within seven days, the willow roots are nourished by the yin energy, and the yin energy circulates through the willow roots."
"After seven days, the root is the tongue, and the tongue is the root."
As Lu Yuan read this, he made a hand seal with his left hand, his thumb hooking the base of his ring finger, while the other three fingers pointed straight at the coffin.
"Gods of the four directions, hear what I have to say."
"Now there is a deceased person, who has lost their tongue and is speechless. Let us borrow the root of the willow to continue their tongue's connection."
"Nourish it with Yin energy, protect it with Yang energy. Do not disturb it for seven days. After seven days, the work will be completed."
As the last word fell, Lu Yuan held three incense sticks in his right hand and drew a talisman in the air above the willow root.
The wisps of smoke condensed in mid-air without dissipating, and with the strokes of a brush, they swiftly outlined a complex and twisted incantation.
The inscription hovered for three breaths before falling straight into the willow root.
The willow roots trembled violently.
Lu Yuan remained expressionless, but quickened his pace of speech.
"Proclaim this to all directions, and awaken the netherworld."
"Beneath the Nine Netherworlds, beside the Yellow Springs, is the place where the souls of the dead return, a place where yin energy gathers."
"Now, with this root, I place it in this coffin, borrowing your yin energy to nourish this tongue root."
"The root needs shade to take shape, and the tongue needs the root to continue speaking."
"Yin and Yang complement each other, and life and death are interconnected."
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"
As soon as the incantation ended, the temperature of the black willow root rose sharply.
An intense burning pain came from the palm, which was a manifestation of the yin energy reaching its peak and turning into yang.
Lu Yuan held the willow root tightly, enduring the scorching heat. The color of the willow root in his vision became increasingly deep, so black it reflected light.
"Proclaim to all directions, establish a firm foundation."
"Place the willow root into the coffin, and let the yin energy return to its place. Nourish it for seven days, without asking or urging it."
"The root is the root of the tongue, and the tongue is the marrow of the root. Once the skill is perfected, one's words will be as powerful as thunder."
The incantation is complete.
Lu Yuan held the scalding hot willow root in both hands and placed it steadily into the coffin.
The willow root landed beside Gu Qingwan's body, following her wrist all the way to her shoulder.
The moment of contact.
Thick, dark red mist suddenly billowed up from the bottom of the coffin.
The mist surged upwards, instantly engulfing Gu Qingwan's body completely.
In just a moment, all the mist rushed back and was completely absorbed into that cold, delicate body.
When the fog dissipated, the thousand-year-old willow root had vanished without a trace.
On Gu Qingwan's fair left arm, a dark vein has appeared, winding from her wrist to her shoulder.
The veins slowly undulate beneath the skin, gradually establishing a bond of flesh and blood with this body.
Lu Yuan extended his index finger and touched the dark vein.
A peculiar rhythm came from my fingertips.
That was a sign of revival; the dead creature was slowly adapting to its new host.
Lu Yuan put away the spell and shook his aching wrist.
"It's done."
He turned around and met two pairs of adoring eyes.
Zhao Qiao'er blinked her charming peach blossom eyes and spoke softly.
"That's it?!"
Lu Yuan smiled and shook his head.
"This is only the first step."
"Let Liu Gen rest by Qing Wan's side for seven days, until it is fully adapted to the yin energy of this body. Only after seven days can the tongue be officially reattached."
He then looked at Zhao Qiao'er, his tone filled with admiration.
"Thanks to Aunt Qiao'er for decisively acquiring this treasure, otherwise finding such top-quality thousand-year-old willow wood would have been quite a challenge."
When praised by her own man, Zhao Qiao'er's beautiful face flushed red, and she waved her hand coquettishly.
"It was just a lucky coincidence."
Her eyes flickered, and she immediately pressed for an answer.
"Isn't Qingwan going to have her leg repaired next?"
"Make a list of what items you need to prepare, and I'll have the Chamber of Commerce cast a wide net. As long as it's available on the market, buy it immediately."
This time it was really good luck that the trees at Baiyun Temple fell and the lake scattered.
It just so happened that it happened in Fengtian City, which is why Aunt Qiao'er was able to take action in time.
However, it will be quite difficult to find materials for leg repair in the future.
Such top-tier items are generally not something that chambers of commerce would normally be able to acquire.
These items have transcended the realm of money; they are now exchanged for goods.
However, having multiple options is always good, and making a list isn't troublesome.
Lu Yuan nodded in agreement.
"I'll go to the study now and make a list of the key materials needed for the leg extension."
He paused, then pointed outside the hall.
"Didn't I buy Qingwan a lot of clothes and jewelry yesterday?"
"Aunt Qiao'er, Aunt Qin, please bring this over for Qingwan to change into. I'll go write up the form first."
The two beautiful aunts nodded in agreement.
Lu Yuan stepped out of the side hall threshold.
I ran right into a tall and beautiful figure.
The goddess blinked her beautiful eyes, which were as bright as stars, and ignored Lu Yuan, looking over his shoulder at Aunt Qiao'er and Aunt Qin behind her.
The crisp, melodious sound carried an undisguised excitement.
Come on, come on~
"Let's play mahjong!"
Lu Yuan stood there, speechless.
Ever since the goddess of beauty came into contact with mahjong, a national treasure, at the Zhao residence, this deity seems to have found the ultimate meaning of her divine existence.
The addiction was unusually strong.
Zhao Qiao'er and Song Meiqin weren't actually that obsessed with playing mahjong.
The reason I pulled the goddess to the table earlier was purely to keep her occupied and prevent her from bothering Lu Yuan all day.
The situation is different now.
Zhao Qiao'er raised her pretty eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest.
"The braised chicken isn't here, we're one player short, we can't play."
The goddess blinked, looked at Zhao Qiao'er, and then at Song Meiqin.
Finally, she turned her hopeful gaze to Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan decisively stepped aside and strode towards the Sanqing Hall.
"Don't look at me, I'm busy."
The goddess of beauty was not angry after being rejected.
She turned her head, her gaze passing through the open palace door, and stared straight at Gu Qingwan, who was floating in mid-air inside the room.
The goddess of beauty walked briskly into the side hall and looked up.
He loudly questioned the great evil spirit, whose appearance was unparalleled, whose demeanor was stern and indifferent, and who had almost strangled him to death last time.
"We're one short!"
"Want to play mahjong?"
midair.
The black and red mist surrounding Gu Qingwan paused for a moment.
His head tilted slightly on that icy face that seemed otherworldly.
A big question mark appeared above my head.
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