Human bone cart
At the entrance of Nanhu Village, more than a dozen figures were walking slowly. Late summer was the dry season, and the village's economy was not well developed, so the roads under their feet were still the most primitive dirt roads.
Every step you take will stir up small pieces of dust, and the surface of your shoes will easily become gray.
There are weeds growing on both sides of the road, but because people have been walking on it for a long time, there are obvious traces of trampling on the edges, and the weeds are growing outwards.
Ding Can stepped over the old plaque at the door. No one had taken special care of it, and there were only a few characters left on it, with only the right half of the word "Hu" (lake) remaining. Through the sunlight, you could still see spider webs flying in the corner.
"Speaking of which, the person who came to pick us up had already paid a deposit in advance. He has no sense of contract."
Some girls in the team were complaining in low voices. The hot and humid weather also affected their mood, and their faces did not look very good under their sun hats.
The girl's name was Zhai Ting. Her boyfriend, Cheng Jialu, was standing beside her. He enthusiastically fanned her over, "I just called and they're on their way. Don't worry, let's go inside first. It's the only way, and you can't go wrong."
"I just wanted to go to the beach, but you insisted on joining this ancient building tour. The environment is so bad, you must be trying to scam me."
At first, I thought that after all, they were just a young couple out for fun, and Zhai Ting didn't have so many negative emotions. But when she saw the road conditions, she really couldn't muster any interest.
"Okay, okay, you'll understand once you get into the village. It's really mysterious and full of stories."
Ding Can walked quickly and heard the conversation behind him getting quieter and quieter. This rest day dungeon was different from the previous ones. Although it was a group dungeon, not all students came to the same place. It seemed more like they were randomly assigned.
At least this couple must be NPCs in the dungeon.
Shi Yan and Xia Jialian didn't know where they were teleported to, but Gao Wenwen was with him. As for Yu Fu, he also appeared beside him with a mountaineering bag on his back.
As for the trainees in the training camp, it is easy to tell them apart just by looking at their expressions. Those who show distrust towards the scene in front of them are basically quite different.
This place seems to be remote. After listening to Zhai Ting talk about the hardships she had along the way, I learned that she first took the high-speed rail to the provincial capital, then took a green train to this city, and then took a bus to the county town.
They then took a minibus that stopped at a bus stop a few miles away, and walked the rest of the way.
It’s no wonder that the girl is in a bad mood. It can indeed be said to be a long journey.
Gao Wenwen tried to find joy in the midst of hardship. The weeds by the roadside were growing very well, so he pulled out a few long strips and held them in his hand. It didn't take long before a woven grasshopper appeared in front of Ding Can.
"It gave me a fright."
"Look at these leaves. They're medium width and a little thick. They don't break easily when weaving. They only grow in places with fertile soil. I didn't expect this village, which looks so arid, to have such perfect leaves."
He grew up in the mountains and has a daily and accurate understanding of plants. When he was a child, he didn't have many entertainment activities, but he was with animals and plants every day, so he has a lot to say.
"Okay, okay, you're the best." Ding Can took the grasshopper. Even the legs on it looked lifelike. It fit perfectly in the side pocket of his backpack, clinging there green and lush.
Yu Fu, who had been silent, spoke up at this moment: "We can see the house ahead."
In addition to weeds, there are also very lush trees growing here. The houses were previously hidden in the bushes, and only now can we really see the appearance of the buildings.
Low-saturation colors appear at the end of the field of vision, and the first thing you see is the gray wall.
This place is probably located in the north, and there are many one-story bungalows. The gray wallpaper is covered with pure white tiles, which looks inexplicably eerie.
There was no smoke from cooking fires and no villagers were seen going out, giving people the illusion that the village had long been deserted.
"Why use white tiles? It's unlucky." Gao Wenwen looked into the distance and saw that the house looked like it was made of paper.
Others disagreed. One took a few quick steps forward with his DSLR camera and quickly found the perfect angle for the photo: "Nanhu's residential buildings are even more mysterious than they appear online. Framed against the blue sky, the blend of colors is simply magical."
The man was dressed like a typical travel photographer, wearing a khaki work vest and a cowboy hat. He was a little overweight, and when the straps on both sides of the hat were tied, the traces of his double chin were exposed.
The rising heat almost formed a shape above the ground. A man in straw sandals appeared from the corner and ran towards them at a very fast speed.
His skin was tanned and he looked very simple. The calluses between his fingers were obviously caused by doing farm work frequently.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. A bunch of piglets just ran out from a neighbor's house, and I went to catch them. I'm the head of Nanhu Village. You can just call me Old Wang."
As Wang Lidong was speaking, he stretched out his hand halfway to shake hands, but then he thought it was not appropriate. He smiled foolishly twice, withdrew his hand and rubbed it on the corner of his clothes.
"Come with me. I cleaned up the courtyard for you two days ago."
Cheng Jialu has always been interested in historical buildings, and he started planning this trip several months ago. He signed up while taking advantage of the long free time during the summer vacation.
However, the information learned from the Internet is never as real as asking real people.
"Village Chief, is it true that Nanhu Village has a history of nearly a thousand years? But why is there so little record of this in historical books?"
Normally, a culture that can last for such a long time must occupy an important position in history, and should not be so obscure and almost unknown.
Wang Lidong shook his head. "More than that! According to the village records, it can be traced back to the Warring States Period. I'm not exaggerating. Just look at the items people use in their homes. They might be antiques from ages ago."
Cheng Jialu lowered his voice and said, "Then... is the human bone cart real? I heard that you don't allow cameras, so people who have been here can only see it with their own eyes and can't record it. I really want to see it."
Gao Wenwen had very good ears and heard every word.
"What is a bone cart?"
Cheng Jialu turned to look at the village chief: "Please explain it to us. Everyone is very interested."
Wang Lidong said nonchalantly, "It's no big deal to tell you about it. There is indeed a human bone cart in the village. There's a small house that's been there for a long time, but one of the wheels got lost at some point. The villagers just think it's a useless piece of junk, but you outsiders are the only ones who find it strange."
During the Warring States Period, there was a small country called Nanhu State on the border. At that time, the country was in turmoil and wars broke out frequently.
There are bound to be winners and losers in a war. Apart from manpower, the Nanhu Kingdom at that time respected witches and worshipped some supernatural things the most.
According to the wizard's instructions to the gods, if a chariot is made of human bones, it will be invincible in battle and can lead all the way to the enemy's capital.
The king then ordered that the leg bones of the prisoners of war be used as chariot wheels to trample the enemy underfoot.
Not only can it intimidate the opposing army, but it can also gain divine power.
The amazing thing is that since it started making human bone carts, the Nanhu Kingdom has been invincible in the subsequent wars, and its territory has stretched outward for thousands of miles, almost on par with those famous big countries.
I just don’t know if it was because of the massacre that the heavens punished the Nanhu Kingdom. One summer night, the capital suffered the largest earthquake in history, and the entire city was buried underground.
Almost all members of the Nanhu royal family died in the earthquake. The powerful country collapsed overnight and disappeared in the long river of history over time.
As for the present-day Nanhu Village, it is said to be a site of the capital at that time.
Even the villagers' ancestors were surviving members of the royal family.
Gao Wenwen listened with great interest: "So how is the human bone cart made? Can we go and see it now?"
He really couldn't imagine how such a complex shape of human bones could be made into a car.
"Don't you want to go back to the courtyard to rest first?" The village chief wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had been jogging all the way here anxiously because he was afraid that someone would be waiting for him, and the sweat had not yet dried.
"Let's go and take a look on the way. It won't take much time." Cheng Jialu agreed, then grimaced in pain.
Zhai Ting pinched his waist twice. If he didn't go to the air-conditioned room to rest, she would be looking at bones. Human bones at that. She didn't want to go.
However, Lao Wang did not see what happened in the corner. Seeing that the people who came to visit this time were so enthusiastic, and it was not a detour, it would not take too long to go over and take a look.
As we walked into the village and got closer to the houses, we noticed that the bricks piled on the courtyard walls were not ordinary blue bricks with a rough surface. They were actually artificially made adobe bricks, but the surface was painted with a layer of dark gray paint.
Thinking about it this way, the white color of the tiles should also be dyed separately, otherwise it would be difficult to ensure such a pure color.
Not every house here has a yard. Some have gauze doors through which you can see the decoration in the living room.
Lao Wang fanned himself with his straw hat and walked to a black lacquered wooden door. There was a lock bolt hanging on the door, which was actually only decorative and could be opened with a casual pull.
"We don't usually have many people coming here, and there are always kids making trouble. Pretending to lock the door can save us a lot of trouble."
He pushed the door open and made half a space for himself. "It's in here."
Although the object is rare, it is made of human bones after all, so not many people dare to walk in directly. They all hesitate on the steps at the door for a few seconds, and the position with a good view is given up.
Ding Can looked inside, but compared to the glaring light outside, the hut had no windows and looked much darker. He could only see the outline of a parked wooden cart in the corner.
Cheng Jialu stepped into the cabin earlier than anyone else and adapted to the light inside.
"There's no electricity here. I'll light the candles for you."
There was a lonely candlestick nailed to the wall. Lao Wang took out a match from his pocket and lit the half-burnt candle on it. The candlestick was covered with a lot of dripping wax, and the light it emitted was also dim.
But it was enough to see the scene clearly.
It is called a human bone cart, but in fact only the wheels are made of human bones. The cart boards are made of smooth cut wood pieces. After years of erosion by wind and rain, most of them have decayed and the gaps are very large.
The railing hanging on the horse in front is made of iron, with a noticeable layer of rust on the surface.
The car body was tilted towards □□. Just as Lao Wang said, one of the wheels was missing and was supported by a large stone.
The other wheel is the highlight.
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