Exorcism

Zuo Liuying ate, slept, and did nothing like a normal person. He did not do any spiritual practice for a moment. Sometimes when he sat on the steps in front of the door, he looked like he was thinking, but Zeng could tell with a glance. It was just a daze.

His body has recovered and there seems to be no big problem with his inner alchemy. He just lost interest in practice. One day, the neighbor's puppy got lost and rushed into Zeng Fu's home through the ajar door. He looked at Zuo Liuying for a moment, barked crisply and turned around to run away. At that moment, Zuo Liuying Showing obvious interest, he blinked his eyes, as if he wanted to call the puppy, but in the end he didn't speak.

Zeng Fu saw this and walked over and asked, "How long do you plan to stay here?"

Zuo Liuying looked up at the orphan she had brought up, and felt incredible at the fine wrinkles on her face, "I don't know how long it will take. I don't have any plans now."

"Okay." It was enough for Zeng Fu to hear this answer. She did not go to the neighbor's house to ask for a puppy. It was too ordinary and had a short lifespan, and was not worthy of Zuo Liuying, who had rarely changed. Early the next morning, she went to a I went to the palace and came back in the evening, holding a newly born silver-horned unicorn in my arms.

"Qilin has a longer lifespan and can play with you for a while, but I remind you that if you want to leave, you can, but you must tell me in advance so that I can send Qilin back. It has parents, so there is no need to live here with me and raise it. It’s you, not me.”

Zuo Liuying, who was sitting on the steps, nodded and stretched out his arms. The newly full-moon little Qilin struggled to jump from Zeng Fu's arms to the ground, stumbled to Zuo Liuying, stuck out his tongue and licked his fingers.

Zeng Fu prepared a deck chair and a stool in the courtyard, but Zuo Liuying only wanted to sit on the steps in front of the west wing.

"Also, if you want to name Qilin, don't call it 'Flea' or something like that. You have read so many books, so you must think of an elegant and unique name."

Zuo Liuying never named the spirit beast, Zeng Fu just did it just in case.

In this way, Zuo Liuying began to raise unicorns. He was experienced in this area and never needed Zeng Fu's help. He occasionally cast spells to keep them clean. Apart from that, he never used other spells.

Two months later, the little Qilin grew extremely strong and very naughty. It messed up the place Zeng Fu had just cleaned up. In addition to dust, Zeng Fu's "enemy" had another unicorn. The battle went on every day. Finally, Zeng Fu gave it a name - broom, because she had to chase this too lively unicorn with a broom at least once a day. .

Qilin quickly ran under Zuo Liuying's legs every time and stared at Zeng Fu from between his knees with ruby-like eyes.

"No wonder Mu Xingqiu wanted to name Qilin 'Flea'. None of these guys are carefree and they don't deserve an elegant name at all. Broom, come out here. What's with the water stains under the table?"

Zuo Liuying was as silent and motionless as ever, quietly protecting the little Qilin with his knees. If Zeng Fu was too angry, he would cast a spell to remove any traces that shouldn't be there.

Zeng Fu was not as angry as she seemed. In fact, she was very happy. Sometimes she would even hum a cheerful tune unconsciously. She didn't even know where she heard it. Occasionally she would grab the broom, hold it in her hand and scold him severely, but she was never willing to give it a real beating.

Qilin started to grow horns when he was three months old. The top of his head hurt and itched. He often couldn't help but rub it on the corners of the wall. This would not only cause scratches, but also affect the shape of the horns when they grew up. Zeng Fu had to get tangled in the broom head. Wrap it in thick cloth and watch its movements all the time.

Therefore, the silver-horned unicorn named Broom received meticulous care like a little patient. However, it was not as humane as the Pangshan spirit beast. It found every opportunity to run away from Zeng Fu or Zuo Liuying, using its head wrapped in thick cloth. He hit walls and trees and screamed loudly.

Busy and orderly, Zeng Fu liked this kind of life very much, but whenever she was free, she would quietly look at Zuo Liuying, knowing that he would not always be so quiet, nor would he always sit on the steps in front of the west wing. For the former leader of the Forbidden Secret Department of Pangshan, no plan is also a plan.

He is waiting.

As autumn turned to winter, on a snowy afternoon, the horns of the broom had just grown two or three inches, and were still wrapped in thick strips of cloth, looking like a little girl with buns - she was indeed a female beast. Not long after Fu just discovered it, he regretted naming him Broom, but it was already called Shunzui, and Qilin didn't recognize the other name - the top of its head didn't feel so itchy, and it ran around in the snow. When it heard a knock on the door, it immediately pounced on it. Go to the entrance of the courtyard and make a fighting stance.

Zeng Fu sighed inwardly, knowing that the visitor was definitely not here to see her, and what she didn't want to happen happened anyway. She hurriedly ran to open the door. As soon as the broom heard the sound of the courtyard door being pushed open, she turned and ran towards Zuo Liuying. It was so big that it couldn't be hidden under her legs, so she could only stand there leaning against him. She became more courageous. Staring at the door with gleaming red eyes.

The visitor is Xin Youtao.

He was polite to Zeng Fu and quickly stated his purpose of coming. He was here to visit Zuo Liuying.

Zeng Fu responded politely, brought Xin Youtao to Zuo Liuying, wiped off the snow on the stool, and then went into the house to do her own business. No matter how she felt in her heart, she would not interfere with anything about Zuo Liuying. She decided that he was her father and hero. She knew that there were many people in the world who, like Qilin, wanted to hide by Zuo Liuying's side to find support.

Xin Youtao was sitting on a stool, much taller than Zuo Liuying who was sitting on the steps. This made him uncomfortable. He coughed and said, "Winter is not suitable for straw hats."

"Yeah." Zuo Liuying didn't wear a straw hat, and there were several inches of snow on his head. He didn't seem to notice at all.

"The war will begin next autumn. The Holy Talisman Army will divide its troops into sixteen groups, seven of which will defeat the Kingdom of She Shen, and nine will attack the land of demons. The Kingdom of She wants to surrender at all costs, but Emperor Ci will not accept it. He says that it is just a moment of benevolence. This is the only chance to bring about eternal disaster and completely eliminate the demon clan, so we must not be merciful. "

Zuo Liuying still just hummed, not even looking at Xin Youtao, staring at the snow at his feet, and gently rubbing his right hand on Qilin's back.

"Dao Tong——" Xin Youtao looked up and saw that the Dao Tong Tower could not be seen from here, but he could feel the soft and omnipresent magic. Like the entire residents of the Imperial Capital, he had become accustomed to the existence of the Patriarch's magic. , unlike ordinary people, the uneasiness in his heart has not disappeared although it has been strong and weak. "The Taoists will not participate in the war next autumn. The Taoist priests said nothing, but the facts are obvious."

Xin Youtao hesitated for a while and whispered: "I received a letter from Yang Qingyin and Xiaohao."

Zuo Liuying finally turned around, looked at Xin Youtao, and said, "There are no secrets in the Imperial Capital."

Of course Xin Youtao understood that under the cover of the ancestor's spell, no one could keep a secret. Even if it was just an idea, it could not escape Kun Chao's prying eyes. The strange thing was that Kun Chao never made any reaction, as if he didn't care about it at all. Suspicions and intrigues.

"They invited you to Wangshan. It is said that the feeling there... is different from that of the Imperial Capital." Xin Youtao still couldn't honestly say what was in his heart, even though it was no longer a secret.

"So they found Mu Dong'er."

"That's what the letter said. There seems to be some progress over there." Xin Youtao could only say this because he didn't know what the so-called "progress" meant.

"I won't go to Wangshan. I'm not needed there." Zuo Liuying's rejection was straightforward.

Xin Youtao stared closely at Zuo Liuying's face, hoping to see some hint, and finally sighed in disappointment, "Do you even think there is no hope?"

"There may be hope, but if I'm not here, I can't help." Zuo Liuying retracted his right hand, and the little Qilin, who was enjoying the caress, lost support and almost fell down, leaning tightly on his leg. "I I used to be a Taoist priest, and all my thoughts were within the expectations of Taoism.”

The current orthodoxy is Kun Chaos.

"We were all Taoist priests once, Mu Xingqiu, Yang Qingyin...is there no hope for us?"

"Nothing I can think of is hope."

"Then why did you and Mu Xingqiu make...three plans?" Xin Youtao lowered his voice unconsciously again. He knew the three plans from Yang Qingyin's letter, and he was excited about it for a while, until Zuo Liuying splashed Get a basin of cold water.

“Plans are for making, not for guaranteeing success.”

"I came to visit just to know, what else can we do?"

Zuo Liuying didn't speak, but Xin Youtao had already guessed the answer: all he could think of was hope, and he couldn't get a plan from Zuo Liuying that could form ideas and words.

"I understand." Xin Youtao stood up, brushed off the snow from his body, waved to Zeng Fu in the main room, and walked outside. Qilin followed quietly, until the human closed the courtyard door outside, and it Only then returned to normal, running around excitedly.

Zeng Fu heard the conversation between the two, and she understood more from Zuo Liuying's words, so she took out the baggage she had prepared and stuffed a few more pieces of clothing into it.

Her premonition soon became clear evidence. Zuo Liuying would usually go back to his room to sleep like a normal person after nightfall, but this night he had been sitting on the steps. Even the broom had gone to rest, and he did not move.

Early the next morning, Zuo Liuying finally stood up, shook off the thick layer of snow, took the baggage from Zeng Fu, who had gotten up early, and said to her: "Qilin stays with you, and I will take care of you in the next month." Come back once.”

Zeng Fu smiled and said, "How does it feel to save the world?"

"It's no different from cleaning the house every day." Zuo Liuying picked up the baggage and walked out. Qilin Broom was still sleeping soundly, knowing nothing about parting.

Zuo Liuying actually didn't need this baggage. The place he wanted to go wasn't far, and he didn't even need to fly.

At three o'clock in the morning, he walked into the tavern that was regarded as the entrance to the Daotong Tower. Many people on the road recognized him and pointed, but they did not dare to come forward and speak.

Nothing in the tavern had changed, not even the overturned tables and chairs had been moved. The only sign of magic here was that it was too tidy, the kind of cleanliness that Zeng Fu could not achieve no matter how hard he tried.

Pangshan Grandmaster Yang Yannian stood in the middle. He had obviously expected Zuo Liuying's arrival, "The Patriarch agreed to your return to Taoism. He also asked me to tell you that Mu Xingqiu has entered the land of no cover, and is not far from the separation of body and soul. , he won’t last until spring.”