Strange Stories

Chapter 275 Writing a Letter
In the quiet room of the courtyard, there is a long table and two cushions.

Two Taoists sat opposite each other on the long table, one on the left and one on the right. In front of them were letter papers and pens, and in the middle was an inkstone.

Under the table are the fox and the cat.

Sometimes the two of them were writing at the same time, sometimes the little sister bent down and stood behind Lin Jue, watching him write with a serious look on her face, and sometimes she returned to her seat and continued writing.

"Don't keep looking at me, just write your own letter." Lin Jue said without even raising his head, "For the first letter, there are only two things that must be written. One is where we live so that Senior Brother can write back, and the other is about Third Senior Brother so that Senior Brother can know. The rest is up to you."

“I don’t know how to write casually…”

“Just write whatever you think of and whatever you want to say.”

"I don't know how to use words..."

“Just write in vernacular.”

"Oh……"

The little junior sister scratched her head, lowered her head and remained motionless, but raised her eyelids and glanced at her senior brother out of the corner of her eye.

The words written by my senior brother are beautiful. They are still a little moist when they are first completed, arranged neatly, without a single stain. He has already finished two pieces.

One can even smell the scent of ink.

In fact, she never wrote a letter.

At this time, referring to my senior brother, I had only written half of the article.

The first letter was written to my senior brother.

The words in the letter were simple and straightforward. I only learned a sentence from my senior brother at the beginning: "Seeing your words is like seeing you in person, reading your letter makes you look happy." The rest was all plain language:

"During the fall and winter exchange this year, my senior brother and I had already arrived in Beijing and found the Red Leaf Temple left by our predecessors on Fengshan Mountain. It was winter when I wrote the letter, and it was snowing in Beijing and Fengshan Mountain. It must have been snowing on Fuqiu Peak as well, right? By the time my senior brother saw the letter, the azaleas and peach blossoms on the mountain must have bloomed.

"My junior brother has also settled down in the capital. We live very close to each other. He has his own things to do in the capital. I am practicing in the mountains and sometimes go to the capital to find him. He has two alchemy furnaces. One of them can be enlarged and is placed in Hongye Temple. Sometimes he will come to my Taoist temple to make alchemy.

“I wonder if the senior brother has accepted any new apprentices.

"If you want to write me a reply, please ask someone to take it to Fengshan in the capital. It's 60 miles from the capital, from Sancha Temple to Niu Village. After passing Niu Village, follow the path up the mountain to the Red Leaf Temple. It's hard to find.

"The one in front is copied from Junior Brother."

The junior sister picked up the pen and stared at the paper. After she started writing, she felt that it didn't seem that difficult.

After a moment of contemplation, he picked up his pen and wrote:
“Although the capital is prosperous, there are also many demons and ghosts. I heard that the situation under Fengshan is not peaceful either. Junior Brother has taught me a few powerful spells. When I learn them well, I will go down the mountain to help the people under Fengshan get rid of some demons and ghosts. When I become famous, it will be convenient for Junior Brother to send letters to me.

“That’s right—

“We got lost from our third brother.

“It has been more than a year since I wrote this letter, and I don’t know where he went.

"The reason is that one night, we walked to the wilderness and had no place to stay. We met a female ghost who took us in. She said she was the adopted daughter of Xiyue Mansion Lord, and her name was Princess Hua. After she treated us to a meal, she wanted to marry the youngest senior brother. The youngest senior brother didn't want to, so she pushed it to the third senior brother. When we woke up the next day, the third senior brother was gone.

"I heard that he is still being chased by ghosts..."

He wrote it down in one go, without any pause or smudges.

Even the senior brother in front was a little surprised.

"Is it smooth?"

Lin Jue raised his eyes and looked at her letter.

The junior sister was stunned and immediately reached out to block it with her sleeve.

"You won't let me see it?"

Lin Jue curled the corners of his mouth, smiled and shook his head.

Then each wrote his own.

"My senior brother, the third senior brother, and I had already sent all the other senior brothers away last autumn. We should have arrived in the capital last autumn and replied to the letters from the senior brothers. The reason we were delayed until now is that when we arrived in Runze County, we encountered a monster called Green Narcissus..."

The Green Narcissus Old Man, the Crocodile King, and their thoughts together, chased him for thousands of miles in the wind, sand, rain and snow.

The junior sister originally thought that she had never written a letter and would not be able to write anything, so she was troubled for a long time on Fengshan Mountain. However, she did not expect that once she started writing, she could hardly stop.

Before I knew it, I had wasted several pages.

I had already stopped writing, but after looking at the ink on the paper and hesitating for a long time, I couldn't help but add one more sentence:
"I still miss the life on Fuqiu Peak."

At the same time, my senior brother also finished writing.

When the little junior sister saw him pick up the papers one by one, blow on them and dry the ink immediately, she also followed his example to pick up the papers, blow on them to dry them, and then folded the letters carefully.

It took me an hour to finish these papers.

Even though sitting here does not seem to require any effort, it is actually not an easy job. After finishing one article, I feel like my mind is half empty. Then I write a similar letter for my second brother, and I feel like my mind is completely empty. Even though I know that the next letter will have similar content, I can't do it for a while.

It will take at least one more day.

Three days had passed since I wrote these letters.

The last letter was to Senior Brother Seven, in which she wrote about the current splendor of the capital city.

The New Year is just a few days away. Even though the lives of ordinary people are getting harder and harder, with news of wars and uprisings coming from the south and the north, the capital is the best city in the world after all. The capital has obviously become much more lively in the past few days. There are many magicians, acrobats, and dragon and lion dances on the streets, and the lights on the ten-mile long Spring Breeze Street are also bright all night. All of this was recorded in the letter from the junior sister.

A pile of letter paper, folded into an envelope.

Lin Jue thought of another good way to save money——

Put the letter to the eldest senior brother into the envelope to the sixth senior brother who is closest to Yishan, and let the sixth senior brother pass the letter to the eldest senior brother after receiving it.

So he took the letter and found Master Fan.

"Fellow Daoist Fan, I have finished writing the letter to my junior sister." Lin Jue said to Master Fan.

"Has it been written? It just so happens that I have found the monster." Fan Tianshi said with a smile, "It's almost the New Year and many people want him to deliver letters."

What this means is that it is not easy to find him at this time and ask him to deliver the letter to you.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Fan." Lin Jue also heard it, and then said, "It's just that we have a lot of letters to deliver, and although they are all on the same road, some Taoist temples are very difficult to find. If we sacrifice three animals to the monster that Fellow Daoist Fan knows, it will be quite troublesome. I wonder if we can use elixirs instead?"

Lin Jue took out a bottle of elixir.

"Elixir?"

Master Fan was secretly shocked.

In fact, he did not eat any of the pills that Lin Jue gave him that day, but gave them all as "rewards" to the monsters and ghosts in the capital.

Firstly, although he had no Taoist skills, he had heard that many elixirs were made of gold and stone. In addition, medicine and poison had the same origin, so elixir refiners often had to practice specific spells before they could take the medicine at will. Ordinary Taoist people or goblins and ghosts could not eat too much, otherwise it would be a waste at best, and the medicinal properties would be wrong, and there might be a risk of poisoning at worst.

Master Fan was not sure whether Fellow Daoist Lin knew that he had no Taoist skills at all, and whether the elixir he gave to him was edible for ordinary people.

Secondly, they want to further consolidate their own image.

So to be on the safe side, he didn't eat it.

The result was not surprising at all. He gave the elixir to the fairies and ghosts in the city. Without exception, they were all amazed and regarded it as a treasure.

How could anyone not be willing to exchange the elixir for three animals?

Even if the monster was unwilling, he was willing to pay for the three animals in exchange for the elixir. No matter what it was used for, it would be worth it.

Master Fan Tianshi didn't say much and agreed immediately.

That night, a monster came to visit.

"I pay my respects to the Heavenly Master."

This is a little demon, thin and small, with a red body. No one knows what its true form is. When it came to Master Fan's house, it was very careful and didn't even dare to breathe.

Although the middle-aged Taoist in front of him looked no different from an ordinary mortal, all the monsters in the capital knew that it was a manifestation of Master Fan's return to nature.

"We have known each other for a long time, so there is no need to be polite. Moreover, today I have a request for you." Fan Tianshi said, handing out a pile of envelopes, "This time, a Taoist friend asked me to ask you to help carry a letter. There are a lot of letters to carry, and they need to go to Huizhou. Some of them are hard to find..."

"The Heavenly Master has done me a favor and asked me to deliver a letter. Even if it's at the end of the world, I will deliver it there!"

"Don't worry..."

Master Fan smiled and waved his hand: "The reward is also generous."

"How dare I ask for a reward when the Heavenly Master asks me to deliver a letter?"

"Take a look at what this is first."

Master Fan smiled and took out a bottle of elixir from his sleeve. He pulled out the cork, and immediately a fragrance emanated and filled the room.

The little demon's eyes widened immediately.

really--

Master Fan has long returned to his original nature.

Otherwise, how could an ordinary person casually take out a bottle of pills from his sleeve, and it was such a rare elixir? And judging from his appearance, it was clear that he didn't care about it.

"This is the reward that fellow Taoist asked me to give you. If you are willing, you can take this pill and deliver the letter well!"

"Yes, yes, yes! I am willing!"

The little demon was immediately excited and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

As expected, he is worthy of being called Master Fan. Even the Taoists who come and go are truly practitioners with such profound attainments.

As it walked back with a pile of envelopes and the bottle of elixir in its hands, it suddenly remembered that a few days ago there was a monster in the city who had questioned Master Fan's ability. If it were told about this and shown the elixir, it wondered if it would still dare to speak ill of the Master behind his back.

At this moment, another voice came from behind:
"You should deliver the letter carefully and write down the address. If there is anyone who wants a reply, you can bring it back on the way. If you deliver it carefully, there should be more of this kind of elixir in the future."

"Yes Yes Yes……"

The little demon was startled and turned back to thank him again.

By this time, the atmosphere of the New Year was already strong in the capital. Lin Jue and his junior sister sent letters to their senior brothers, which was considered a big deal and they only had to wait for a reply.

Finally, I can have a good look around this capital city.

(End of this chapter)