Exorcism

In early autumn in Duanliu City, there was already a hint of chill in the early morning. Daliang Shen Xiuming suddenly sat up, with a thin layer of sweat on his body and his arms trembling.

"Are you having nightmares again?" his wife asked vaguely, reaching out a hand and patting his back gently, as if he was a child of some age.

"Yes." Shen Xiuming responded vaguely, and his mind gradually calmed down. He could no longer remember the content of the dream, but he knew that after this dream, he would never be able to sleep again.

The wife has returned to sleep, with one hand still resting on his back. She has long been accustomed to her husband's nightmares.

Shen Xiuming quietly got out of bed, crept out of the room with his clothes and shoes, and quickly dressed up in the cold air.

He owns a large house in Duanliu City, which is larger than Shen Hao's old house in Yelin Town. When he was a child, he never imagined that one day he would live in such a place as the owner, but now he does With all this, there is also a beautiful and gentle wife and a smart and lovely son.

He had the habit of having nightmares a few years ago. The most common dream was that the city of Broken Currents fell into a sea of ​​fire, burning everything he had worked hard to possess. In recent days, the nightmares have become more frequent and the content has changed. Every time he woke up, he could not remember the specific content, but vaguely remembered that the nightmare was related to his friends.

The Shen family had many servants, but Shen Xiuming was used to doing everything himself. He didn't wake anyone up. He used the key to open the side door and walked into the quiet street. He didn't go far when he noticed someone was following him.

Although he failed to condense his energy into elixir, had given up practicing for many years, and had obviously gained weight, Shen Xiuming was still sharper and sharper than the average person. He turned into another street at the intersection, waited against the wall for a while, and then suddenly rushed out, The two stalkers hugged each other.

He was discovered less than a street away, and the two little stalkers were punching, kicking, and yelling angrily.

Shen Xiuming had never been a strict father. He happily accepted the beatings from his two children, and the last shadow of the nightmare disappeared. After a while, he put down his son Shen Cunyi and his adopted daughter Zhang Xiang'er, and said with a serious expression, "It's just dawn, what are you two doing up sneakily?"

Shen Cunyi lowered his head in shame. He was a typical silly boy from the Shen family who couldn't tell the true attitude of adults. However, Zhang Xiang'er next to him knew that his adoptive father was joking. He raised his head and shouted: "We two are brats. You are the big ghost, and the little ghost will follow you wherever the big ghost goes."

Shen Cunyi's courage always came after Zhang Xiang'er. He raised his head at this time, with the excitement of a child in his round eyes, "Dad, you want to go to Shen Garden to see the flowers, right? We want to go too," Haven’t been there for a long time.”

"It's only been a month." Shen Xiuming shook his head, "No, your mother will be anxious to death if she finds out that you two are missing so early in the morning."

"I left a note and made it very clear." Zhang Xiang'er said immediately. She is a very smart girl who learns everything quickly and can write well at the age of six or seven.

Shen Xiuming thought for a while, then picked up the two children again, "Okay, just this time."

Zhang Xiang'er and Shen Cunyi cheered, and they were not honest in Shen Xiuming's arms. They poked each other with their fingers through him, and most of them landed on their father's thick neck. They called this "fighting".

The city gate had just opened, and the soldiers were not surprised to see Master Shen Hua coming out of the city first again. They greeted him warmly, and then respectfully saluted Zhang Xiang'er. The princess had already married to the imperial capital, but she was in Duanliu City. Her influence has not diminished at all, and those under her protection can always be looked upon differently by soldiers and civilians.

There were more and more pedestrians outside the city. Shen Xiuming took long strides and regarded this as a kind of exercise. After half an hour, a real layer of sweat broke out on his body. The two children had already escaped from his arms and were running around. in front of.

Not far ahead is Shen Yuan. Shen Xiu Ming has been working hard for the past few years, but now it is the harvest season, but he has to reluctantly give up.

As usual, Shen Xiuming stopped on a small high ground, where he could see the panoramic view of Shen Garden. He could name each of the colorful flowers and plants.

"The alfalfa should be harvested today..." Shen Xiuming murmured, worried that people in the garden would forget this important matter.

"Big daddy." This is Zhang Xiang'er's name for Shen Xiuming, "This place is obviously called Shen Garden, why should it be handed over to Pang Shan?"

"Because everything in the garden belongs to Pangshan, I'm just... someone who works for them." Shen Xiuming said with a smile.

"Then why don't you work for Pang Shan now?" Zhang Xiang'er likes to get to the bottom of things.

"Because -" Shen Xiuming was wondering whether he should tell these things to children, "My best friend quit Pangshan, and I thought he might need my help, so I can no longer work for Pangshan. "

"It must be Mu Xingqiu." The excitement on Zhang Xiang'er's face faded. Everyone said that this Mu Xingqiu was her guardian, but he only appeared once in so many years and left without any special expression. There was a little knot in her heart because of this, "When I become a Pangshan Taoist priest, I must get Shen Yuan and give it to my eldest father."

Shen Xiuming laughed, but did not point out how difficult it was to become a Pangshan Taoist priest, and how many constraints he would be subject to after becoming one. Even if Zhang Xiang'er could really become the first or even the master, it would be hundreds of years later, and he could not afford to wait.

Shen Cunyi pointed to the sky and shouted excitedly: "Look, it's Uncle Shen Hao and Aunt Tao!"

Both children call Xiao Qingtao "Aunt Tao". It has become a habit and cannot be changed no matter what. Zhang Xiang'er also jumped and waved happily. She liked Aunt Tao the most.

Shen Xiuming greeted the two Taoist priests, and then looked at Xiao Qingtao, "I hope Pang Shan didn't make things difficult for you. We can all prove that you and Pei Zihan are not from the same group."

Xiao Qingtao smiled. She has always had a protector around her since she was a child. When she was in her hometown in Furong Mountain, it was her parents and many cousins. In Pangshan, there were Fangfang and Mu Xingqiu. In recent years, it has been Yang Qingyin. But this time she had to face everything alone. Shen Hao and Shen Xiuming were both her friends, but not protectors.

And compared with the unknown whereabouts of Mu Xingqiu and Yang Qingyin, she felt that what she was facing was really not worth mentioning, "Orthodox will not doubt a person for no reason, I am fine."

Shen Xiuming has never been to Laozu Peak, but he knows that the Taoism is not as peaceful and fair as imagined. Fei Yao has always been under suspicion. The high Taoist priests are fine, but the low Taoist priests will not hide their doubts. Xiao Qingtao's life is certain It was even worse, "I really didn't expect that Pei Zihan would be such a person! What's Dao Tong's reaction? Will he have to wait any longer? And when will the Demon Slaying Association be officially established? Is there any news about Xiaoqiu and my mother? "

Shen Xiuming didn't have much chance to meet the Taoist priest, so he asked all the doubts in his heart as soon as he met.

Shen Hao opened his mouth to answer, his expression more serious than ever, so much so that the two children would rather chase the paper bird in the distance than get close to him, "The Taoist will not wait any longer, and will start a war with the demon clan before the end of autumn, Gao Taoist priests will also participate, and I think it will end before the end of the year.”

"Then is it still necessary to establish the Demon Slayer Association?"

"Of course there is. The goal of the Eight Great Paths is just to drive the demon clan out of Xijie Kingdom. The Demon Slayer Association will take over the rest. What will follow will be a long war. The Demon Slayer Association will wipe out the demon clan in the world. , so that the orthodoxy can concentrate on preparing to fight against the demons."

"Demons..." For Shen Xiuming, this is an extremely distant thing, a crisis that his descendants need to be concerned about for unknown generations. "I bought suitable land in Dongjie Kingdom and Shengfu Dynasty. Flowers and plants can be planted quickly, and materials can be provided to the Demon Slayer Association within a year at most.”

Shen Hao smiled and said, "Both the Demon Slayer Club and Xiao Qiu will thank you."

"Is there any news about him?" Shen Xiuming felt a little nervous.

"Not yet."

"I heard that the Eight Great Masters are going to interrogate Xiaoqiu together. Is it true?"

"It's not an interrogation, it's just a question. After all, there was a Xingluo Taoist priest in Yashan who died after a duel with Xiao Qiu. This matter must be brought to light." Noticing that Shen Xiuming's face had changed, Shen Hao added: "You Don’t worry, he rescued many people in the Monster Clan’s territory, especially a Xingluo Taoist priest from Wandi Mountain. He was an eyewitness and his account was more favorable to Xiaoqiu.”

Shen Xiuming hoped so, and breathed a long sigh of relief, thinking that the nightmare every night might end here, "What are you two doing out here?"

"The high-ranking Taoist priests of the Eight Great Traditions are going to gather in Shen Yuan, and the Demon Slayer Association also wants to set up here, so let's come over and have a look."

Shen Xiuming couldn't help but feel a little proud. The Shen Garden he had taken care of could actually receive high-level Taoist priests. He immediately felt that something was not right. "We have already decided to go to war. Why do the Taoists still come here to gather?"

Shen Hao and Xiao Qingtao looked at each other. Shen Xiuming was not a Taoist priest after all, and there were some things that were not suitable to be told to him.

"It's for Xiaoqiu, right?" Shen Xiuming was a little excited. He knew that his nightmare would not be for nothing, and the trouble Xiaoqiu caused was not trivial. "Shen Hao, Xiao Qingtao, don't lie to me. , is there any news about Xiaoqiu? "

"No... direct news." Xiao Qingtao looked slightly embarrassed. She didn't want to hide anything from Shen Xiuming.

Shen Xiuming grabbed Shen Hao's arm and said, "Tell me, whether it's rumors or speculations, tell me everything."

Shen Hao had no choice but to say: "There are some rumors, which were all reported by the captured demon soldiers. They are not credible at all." Shen Hao paused for a while, but still felt that such things should not be disclosed to mortals casually, but Shen Xiuming's hand was clenched tighter and tighter. Shen Hao could not treat him as just an ordinary mortal. "It is said that Xiaoqiu was persuaded by him after a battle with Pei Zihan and voluntarily took a magic potion to fight with Pei Zihan." The same is true of demons transformed by Tao.”