A Strange Commission
I probably won't need it." My mood sank to the bottom.As time draws nearer, no matter how I try to avoid this anxiety and gloom, no matter how my brother tries to comfort me, I can't find peace of min...I took a few out to look at, and discovered that on the surface of these pale pink sheets were drawn talismans.
And the content of each is different. Most of these symbols are commonly used by the Shen family, while a few are very rare. I don't know what their purpose is for now.
Dad was taken aback by the sight of these talismans. He slowly crossed his legs and sat on the floor, carefully gathering the talisman papers one by one.
I remember my dad used to take out these pink talismans, they seemed to work pretty well. I didn't expect he had so many stashed away.
"...Dad, you're a big man, how come you like these pink colors so much" I asked in a low voice while helping him tidy up, carefully observing his expression.
My dad is a handsome guy. Looking at my brother's genes, you can tell that my father was also a dashing young man when he was younger. Even now that he's middle-aged, he's still a handsome uncle.
And he didn't have any of the middle-aged woes like weight gain or baldness. Instead, he seemed like a retired warrior who had stepped back from the world, concealing his sharp edges and blending into the vast sea of people. His heart was as gray as ashes, and he lived a mundane existence.
"How many men like such a girly color" Dad chuckled sarcastically.
"I thought you only had a few pink papers before. I didn't expect there to be so many... You can use this for years, what are you preparing so much for Aren't you afraid the paper will get damaged..." I asked tentatively while tidying up.
His father clutched a few pieces of paper in his hand, his eyes hollow.
"What's wrong" I felt a little nervous and quickly reached out to put my hand on my father's shoulder.
"Xiao Qiao, you've all grown up." He suddenly smiled, relaxing the tension in his body.
“Back then, even when your mom was still around, I was pretty much living my life on my own terms. It wasn't until she was gone that I realized everything I did revolved around her.” Dad chuckled wryly: “When I was young, I always thought I was the main character of my own life. Now that I’m older, looking back, I realize how silly that was…”
"Human beings are strange creatures. Why would there be such a thing as love When one doesn't love, they live quite well. Once love enters the picture, all sorts of worries and anxieties torment them, yet they still find it sweet. Strange, strange indeed."
He smiled and shook his head, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes.
His eyes still held only confusion and emptiness, a heart turned to ash, that's probably the kind of pain.
If Mom were to leave, without my brother or me, Dad probably wouldn't be able to hold on.
My older brother was several years old at the time. He was a clever little guy, good at reading people's expressions. As for me, I was still very young. My dad, being a man, didn't know how to raise a little girl, so he left me with my grandparents at our hometown.
"Will you blame me" Dad suddenly asked, "For you, I haven't fulfilled my duty as a father."
To suddenly bring up this topic, I feel a little awkward and quickly shake my head, saying, "No, it's all in the past... And now that I think about it, when I was little, there was a gentle woman with a long braid who would come to lull me to sleep. It turns out it was grandma. Thinking about it this way, it feels like a very precious memory."
Father was slightly startled, his brow furrowed as he said, “It is... Grandfather's doing. We knew little about it until your cousin Chen Susin had a soul leaving her body incident. That’s when I started to suspect there was something wrong with the house, making the female members of our family rather frail and sickly.”
"But Grandpa's life experiences are different from ours. He raised a whole family, and we descendants all lived under his shade. So we can't say anything... When your mother passed away, I even went to make a fuss, I wanted that memorial tower too."
Dad spoke these old stories with a grave expression.
"That was when the Ghost King saw me, a ghostly being infused with malice and magic. They were always good at tempting people's hearts. I had just lost someone dear to me then, feeling that nothing else mattered..."
He shook his head and placed a hand on my shoulder: “Xiao Qiao, cultivators most abhor stepping onto the wrong path. If because of momentary despair, you make a contract with a demon, then you'll enter a deviant, heretical path, making it even harder to achieve enlightenment.”
" ...I wouldn't." I quickly replied, "With Jiang Qiyun guiding me, how could I possibly go wrong"
"Well...these talismans are actually your mom's. She left them for me to use, I didn't expect this many...Would you like to take some to use" Dad asked.
Well, pink... I'm a little... out of my comfort zone.
Such an unconventional color, won't it be ineffective The color of the talisman paper can't be used indiscriminately.
"Not effective How is that possible I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle it." Dad glared at me: "These were all made by your mother with her own hands. She's the best in the Shen family, many people would pay a fortune for one of her talismans! Don't be ungrateful."
"Okay, okay, I want it, thank you, Dad." I was secretly delighted and reached out to get some.
This was hand-painted by Mom. I'm too sentimental to use it, so I'll keep it as a memento and good luck charm for now.
Dad was a little reluctant to part with them. He picked out a few for me, saying that each one used would be one less. I should save them.
I helped him tidy up his room and asked him what he was looking for. He hesitated for a long time and said he forgot.
"Forgotten already" I couldn't help but laugh and cry. After tossing and turning for an hour or two, he forgot what he was looking for
"...I've been dreaming of you these past two days, Mom. I always feel like there's some kind of sign. I wonder if she has some thoughts or wishes, so I want to look for some of her personal belongings from before she passed away." Dad said a little embarrassedly.
"Well, next time, invite me along to join you in your search. You can be responsible for flipping through things, and I'll follow behind you and organize what we find, okay" I smiled.
Dad patted my head: "Good girl, Qiao. You're much more thoughtful than that stinky boy Yunfan."
I returned to the room with the talisman. Jiang Qiyun was sitting on my bay window, leaning against a large cushion and meditating with his eyes closed.
I was so eager to show him these pink paper charms that I suddenly tripped over Younan's mosquito net, nearly taking a nasty fall.
Jiang Qiyun reached out and grabbed my arm, minimizing my movements.
He frowned at me and said, "The room is so small, why are you bouncing around"
"No... I wasn't bouncing around, I just wanted to show you this..." I hurriedly handed her the talisman.
Jiang Qiyun pulled me into his embrace and took the pink talisman from my hand.
"This was given to me by my dad. He said it was painted by hand by my mom. Dad kept it in the safe. I've seen it before, and I thought it was just Dad's weird taste... Take a look at these symbols, are the colors okay" I asked curiously.
The color of paper used for charms also matters. Pink is definitely unique and uncommon, but the most important thing about talismanic paper is its effectiveness.
Jiang Qiyun slightly frowned, flipping through the talismans, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips. He said in a low voice, "These are all talismans from the Shen family, nothing to worry about."
"Pink is okay too"
"Well, it can be used." He smiled down and said: "Mu Xiaoqiao, the things your mother left behind, would you still doubt their effectiveness The compass, the jade pendant, and the purple cloud Ruyi in your hands, which one isn't useful"
Well... you're right.
When Jiang Qiyun said that, I suddenly realized that everything in my hands seemed to be things my mother had used.e basic facts, so she only uses dried flowers here for decoration. Since they're not real flowers, I'm not being rude by picking them up and shaking them."This stink flower smells so bad." I wrinkled...