Chapter 2
It was summer, the moon was bright, and Maomao and I walked and talked, quickly ascending the mountain. From the moment we reached the top, I felt a sense of discomfort all over my body, an indescribable discomfort. But I'd walked this road countless times before, and looking at the surrounding scenery, the weeds were lush green in the moonlight, just like any other day.
We walked up the mountainside, and Maomao's home was the first house at the foot of the mountain. However, because it was night and the road was mountainous, we couldn't walk fast. I walked Maomao home and returned the same way from his home, and the feeling of discomfort became even stronger.
I was now alone on the mountain path. The moonlight was pale, illuminating every blade of grass and tree, but the background was pitch black. I looked around, the mountains forming a rolling black expanse, pressing towards me from all sides. I couldn't help but quicken my pace, hurriedly heading towards the mountainside.
At this moment, I felt that someone was following me from behind. I didn't dare look back because the only sound on the mountain road was my own footsteps. I walked faster and faster, and finally started to jog, but I felt that not only did I not get rid of her, but she was actually getting closer and closer.
A cold sweat broke out on my back, and every second felt like torture. Finally, I couldn't bear it anymore, so I turned around and found nothing. It was a hot summer day, but now I was cold all over and had goose bumps all over my body.
I didn't dare stop and turned around to keep running. The moment I turned back, I felt that thing following me again. I didn't care about anything else and ran all the way to the mountainside, only stopping when the village appeared in front of me, gasping for breath. Seeing that many houses in the village had lights on, my pounding heart gradually calmed down.
I started down the hill, keeping my eyes on the village lights, as if they could protect me.
But as I walked, I felt something was wrong. Normally, it would only take two or three minutes to walk from the mountainside to the village, but this time it definitely took me more than that. Although the village was right in front of me and it seemed like I was about to reach it, I couldn't get in.
Even in the countryside in the summer, insects chirp at night. I was in the mountains, so the weeds along the roadside should have been filled with insects. But besides the distinct sound of my footsteps, I couldn't hear anything else. My heart, which had been at ease, was now in suspense again. I took off running towards the village. I was sure I was running straight ahead, but I couldn't reach it.
I felt that thing catching up with me again. I didn't dare to look back and ran faster, but it was slowly approaching me, and its long nails were about to touch my body! My scalp was numb, and I turned around again, but still saw nothing.
I had no choice but to keep running, and after running for about ten minutes, I finally reached the village. After entering the village, I ran straight to my home, but as I ran, I realized something was wrong, because this village was not ours at all.
Coming down from the mountain, there is only one road leading to our village, and there is no way to go to other villages. Moreover, I have been to all the nearby villages, and the village I am entering now is very unfamiliar.
I looked more closely and saw that every house in the village was an ancient wooden house with tightly closed doors. Two large white lanterns were hung at the door. The candles inside emitted a faint light, and the flames flickered from time to time.
White lanterns have been used since ancient times for funerals, and even though I was young, I knew this. But here, every household hung white lanterns, and I didn't understand why.
At this moment, a gust of wind blew up from the street, carrying white paper money for the dead, and blew towards me. The wind made it impossible to open my eyes, so I had to shield my head with my arms.
When the wind blew past, I opened my eyes and thought I was dazzled. The house in front of me was hanging big red lanterns, and the white paper money had turned into red paper.
Just as I was wondering, a team appeared from the other side of the road. There were two rows of ceremonial guards in front, wearing black clothes and small round hats, followed by two children, a boy and a girl, riding on horses. In the middle, many people were carrying a sedan chair, and behind the sedan chair, some people were blowing trumpets and some were beating small drums.
When they came closer, I could see clearly that those people had pale faces and round blood-red marks on their cheeks and lips. They were clearly all paper people!
I wanted to run, but I couldn't move my body. I could only watch those paper people walking towards me stiffly.
Their eyes were empty, but they were staring straight at me.
At this time, the sound of gongs and drums stopped, and the curtain of the sedan chair in front slowly opened. A man came out from inside. He was wearing a red jacket. He suddenly raised his head and looked at me with a strange smile.
He got down from the sedan chair, floating lightly, and then walked towards me rhythmically. No, it should be said that he floated towards me, because his feet were not on the ground at all.
My heart was pounding, and my blood was circulating faster. At that moment, the feather stone around my neck suddenly lit up, and the entire team of paper figures before me was set on fire, burning from head to toe, with shrill cries in the background.
The man floating towards me was also emitting black energy and struggling painfully in the air.
The flames started from the entire team, to the man, and then to the entire village.
I closed my eyes in terror, and when I opened them again, the scene had completely changed. Instead of a burning village, I saw a circle of graves. The graves looked eerie and strange in the moonlight. Terrified, I took the nearest path and ran.
As I was running, I heard someone shouting in the distance: "Little sister, little sister!"
Hearing that familiar voice, I felt like I had found support. It was Grandpa's voice. I followed the sound and saw a light in the distance.
I shouted towards the light, "Grandpa, I'm here!"
After I finished shouting, my grandfather must have heard my voice, and the light began to approach me. I ran towards my grandfather as fast as I could, not even feeling the scratches on my body from the thorns.
After running for about three or four minutes, I finally saw my grandfather appear in front of me with a flashlight. I ran towards him and hugged him. I don’t know why, I didn’t cry even though I was so scared just now, but the moment I hugged my grandfather, tears came down.
Grandpa kept stroking my head, saying, "Don't be afraid anymore." Then my eyes went dark and I passed out.
When I woke up, I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I was lying at home, and the sunlight outside the window shone on me, which was very comfortable.
I called out, "Grandpa."
My grandfather heard me calling him and came in from the yard. He had a bowl of water in his hand and asked me to drink it.
I was indeed very thirsty, and I drank a bowl of water in one gulp.
Later I heard from my grandfather that he carried me back home after I fainted, but I developed a high fever as soon as I got home, which lasted for three days before I recovered.
My grandfather asked me why I went to the Xigou Tomb Circle, and I told him all those things. My grandfather stroked his beard and said, it was a good thing that I had the feather-hair stone with me, otherwise I would not have been able to come back.
Only then did I realize that the feather-hair stone I was wearing around my neck was a family heirloom. My grandfather told me that our surname, Gui, originated from the Xia Dynasty, when the family was responsible for praying, offering sacrifices, and exorcising demons. This feather-hair stone was a sacred object used in these rituals.
People in our clan also have markings on their bodies, that is, there must be a black mole on the left ear, left arm or back of the neck. Mine is on my left ear.
After this incident, my grandfather handed me the family heirloom, the Yin Fu Lu. However, after a thousand years, the Yin Fu Lu was already incomplete. Furthermore, my grandfather only had a limited understanding of it, so I had to figure it all out on my own.
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