Chapter 33
After spending a day at Ma's house, I felt a bit bored and decided to go to Tianchi. It was so close to Tianchi that it would be a shame not to go, so Ma, Ma Ping and I went together.
Tianchi is equivalent to the holy place of the Ma family. Sister Ma did not say it explicitly, but I know that Tianchi must be hiding some secrets.
There's a legend about Tianchi: in ancient times, Changbai Mountain was ravaged by a fire demon, spewing flames for forty-nine days each year. The young girl Dujuan slew the fire demon with an ice knife gifted by the Jade Emperor. His body fell from the sky, creating a massive crater, which is now Tianchi. Another legend claims that it was the bathing spot of the fairy Fokulun. After eating a red fruit brought by a divine magpie, she gave birth to Bukuri Yongshun, the ancestor of the Manchu people. Therefore, Tianchi is a sacred site not only for the Ma family but also for the entire Manchu people.
When we arrived at Tianchi Lake, I was struck by the divine scenery. Surrounded by mountains, the water was crystal clear, like a mirror set between snow-capped peaks. I breathed in the air, fresh yet a touch chilly, penetrating my lungs and invigorating me.
As the three of us were admiring Tianchi, a cloud of steam suddenly rose from the surface of the water. The scene before our eyes was truly like a fairyland. No wonder Tianchi is also called Yaochi. Sister Ma and the other two were also attracted by this wonderful sight and marveled at it again and again.
The water vapor rose all the way to the middle of the mountain, finally turned into mist, and began to climb rapidly up the snow-capped peak.
"Something seems wrong." Ma Ping said.
"Indeed, although there have been misty views in previous years, none have been as magnificent as this."
Ma Ping took the lead and walked towards Tianchi Lake. The two of us followed him and walked all the way to the shore of Tianchi Lake. Now our vision was shrouded by the fog of Tianchi Lake, and we could not see anything clearly.
Ma Ping squatted down and put his hand into the pool water. Within three or four breaths, he withdrew his hand and said in disbelief, "The water temperature has changed!"
After hearing what he said, Sister Ma also put her hand into the pool. After a while, her expression changed. She said, "What's going on? Should we go back and report to the clan leader?"
Seeing the two of them acting like this, I knew something unusual must have happened.
Before I could open my mouth, I heard the sound of drums. It wasn't war drums, but rattles. There were only three of us around Tianchi now, no one else, and the drumming was coming from the center of the lake.
"Did you hear that?" I asked.
They both looked at me and said, "What did you hear?"
"drum."
After I said this, they both looked horrified.
The drumming was getting closer. I looked toward the Tianchi Lake and saw a figure wearing a feather crown, animal skins, bones, and tusks, treading on the water. He was beating a small drum, and his face was covered in a terrifying mask. It turned out that the drumming I had just heard wasn't a rattle, but a shaman drum.
A mysterious and distant incantation sounded in the sky, and the shaman began to dance on the water. I was completely drawn in by him, lost in his dancing.
"Ah!" I screamed in fright.
The shaman dancing on the water was swallowed by a whale-like creature. In the blink of an eye, the shaman was ejected from the fish's blowhole, mixed with a stream of water. The fish let out a piercing sound that made me cover my ears.
The shaman and the big fish were playing in the Tianchi Lake. The shaman, also a small child, let out a joyful cry like a silver bell. The man and the fish swam towards the center of the lake and finally disappeared into the mist.
When Sister Ma saw me covering my ears in discomfort, she hurried over and asked me what happened.
I told them what I saw, and Sister Ma exclaimed in amazement, "It's the Holy Spirit!"
The Holy Spirit is the patron saint of shamanism. Sister Ma said the legend of the Holy Spirit has been passed down for thousands of years, but few people have ever seen one. Anyone who has seen one is definitely not an ordinary person. Even Ma Ping and she have never seen one.
Ma Ping looked at me strangely and asked, "Why can you see the Holy Spirit as soon as you arrive?"
I don't know how to answer him either.
When we returned to the top of the mountain, the water vapor and fog had all dissipated, a rainbow spanned the Tianchi Lake, and I could even hear the cheerful laughter.
I rubbed my ears. The sound just now was so harsh.
Ma Ping seemed to be worried and took Sister Ma and me back to their village. Ma Ping didn't say anything along the way, and I didn't know what to say either. I just looked at the scenery outside the window quietly.
After arriving at Sister Ma's village, Ma Ping dropped us off in front of Sister Ma's house and drove back.
I asked Sister Ma, "What happened to him?"
Sister Ma said, "Don't worry about him, it's okay."
After she said that, I felt even more unsure and didn't know what was going on.
After staying at Sister Ma's house absent-mindedly for a long time, I suddenly wanted to go back to Shi City.
Before going to bed that night, I told Sister Ma about this idea and she agreed. She was only coming back to take a look, so we decided to leave early the next morning.
Unfortunately, that morning, as we were packing our bags, Ma Ping arrived at Sister Ma's house. Seeing us about to leave, he said, "Someone's come to our house today, saying their place is haunted. Do you two want to go?"
"You go ahead, we'll be leaving soon," said Sister Ma.
Ma Ping stood there, neither staying nor leaving.
"Why don't you go and take a look?" I said, seeing that he was embarrassed.
Sister Ma didn't respond to me. Instead, she said to Ma Ping angrily, "She's not from the Ma family. I don't know what you're worried about."
Ma Ping was a little at a loss what to do after hearing what Sister Ma said.
"Well, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I had a bad attitude." Ma Ping came up to me and said.
I quickly said it was okay, and although he was in a bad mood yesterday, I didn't mean to blame him at all.
When Sister Ma saw Ma Ping apologize to me, her expression became better and she said, "Let's go and see what happened!"
When Ma Ping heard this, his face lit up with joy, and he took me and Sister Ma to the haunted place he mentioned.
I used to be somewhat interested in ghosts and monsters, but now I don’t care about little ghosts at all.
Ma Ping drove for a whole morning and arrived at a place called Heishankan.
As soon as we entered Heishankan, the surrounding scenery changed completely. The lush green trees were reduced to dry branches in Heishankan. A flock of crows croaked in the trees at the entrance of the village, but when they saw our car approaching, they all fluttered away.
"It would be strange if this place wasn't haunted," I sighed.
The village entrance is square, with another square bald mountain behind it. The mountain is black, so it's called Heishankan. However, from a general perspective, Heishankan looks more like a coffin.
This is very unfavorable for living people. Not only will they be prone to being weak and sickly and having bad luck, but there will also be cases of newborns dying prematurely and the elderly dying early.
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