Chapter 247 Jinjiang (1)
Taoist Priest Ma had thought of many possibilities, but he had never expected that when he arrived at the scene where a big problem should have occurred, he found it was empty and there was nothing.
Like all places that have become dilapidated due to the loss of population, this place is visibly desolate and no one comes to take care of it.
Even the buildings that were interviewed and famous many times in the past are now in shaky condition and may completely collapse in a heavy rain.
Taoist Priest Ma stood in the same place, still maintaining the posture of rushing out of the car by holding the door, but he was stunned.
There was a mixture of anxiety and astonishment on his face, with his brows half twisted and half drooped, showing a somewhat funny distortion.
This...how could this happen?
On his way here, he had clearly confirmed it with the official person in charge and also watched the live broadcast of the program to confirm that it must be here.
But what he saw now was not even a single person.
Even the program crew’s motorcade was not here.
It was as if the production crew had never been here before and he had mixed up the location again.
For a moment, Master Ma’s mind was in a mess.
But Wang Daochang, who was blocked behind him, was completely confused and didn't understand what was wrong with this man. He was so anxious a few minutes ago, why did he suddenly stop?
Taoist Wang reached out and pushed Taoist Ma tentatively: "Daoist friend Ma, are you okay?"
As soon as he said this, he suddenly became alert: "Could it be that you are possessed? Is the evil here so difficult to deal with?"
A famous Taoist priest just stepped under the car and was caught off guard and hit.
How powerful a ghost must be?
Taoist Wang couldn't help but think of the rumors about the southwest region that he had heard from others before.
According to that man, the southwest region has the ability to steal the sky and change the day.
The living are turned into the dead, and the dead remain in the world; truth and falsehood are reversed, and yin and yang are reversed.
The man said that he had seen with his own eyes that an entire village disappeared without a trace overnight, as if they had never appeared. Even the household items and livestock disappeared. It was so clean that it was impossible for a normal person to move.
The man also said that he saw the dead person reappear in front of him, although there was only a window between them. However, he was very sure that he had attended the funeral of the deceased, and even carried the coffin for the deceased and cried with the bereaved family. The rice that led the way was scattered from his hands and fell on the ground without any trace of being stepped on.
However, they didn't expect that what came back was not the soul of the deceased, but the body of the deceased that should have rotted long ago.
Although that person spoke a lot in a mysterious manner, attracting everyone in the hospital to come over and listen, to those who were truly in the circle of exorcists, these were simply absurd and impossible things.
At that time, although Taoist Master Wang was in the hospital due to an injury and therefore heard a little, he just smiled silently and shook his head.
At that time, he even joked with the Taoist priest next to him that these rumors that seemed true and false really needed to be managed more strictly, and that they needed to be properly dispelled and popularized. Otherwise, once such rumors spread among the people, it was not certain what they would end up being.
However, having said that, Master Wang still kept this matter in mind.
After all, witchcraft was prevalent in the southwestern region thousands of years ago.
As mentioned in many movies and TV dramas nowadays, the most taboo practice in the ancient imperial palace is “sticking voodoo dolls”, which is actually called the art of winning.
The art of exorcism flourished in the southwest region.
If this rumor was heard somewhere else, Taoist Wang would just think that person listened to too much nighttime radio and became suspicious and thought everything looked like a ghost.
But if it is the southwest region...
Taoist Priest Wang also replayed the situation described by that person in his mind, but he quickly came up with the answer.
——Unless the Great Dao really collapses to the point where even life and death can no longer be controlled, and Yin and Yang are completely chaotic.
Otherwise, the resurrection of the dead would not be possible.
Even if what the man said was true, the figure he saw in the window might be a puppet passed down for generations in the southwest, or another living person pretending to be a dead person for other purposes.
As for the fact that everything in the village disappeared overnight, that is easier to explain.
Maybe it was because something that the people depended on for survival near the village was gone, so the entire village was relocated and the remaining things in the village were carefully cleaned up.
After all, that person may not really have a good relationship with that village, so why would anyone tell him about this?
In that era when transportation and communication were inconvenient, making a phone call cost a lot of money and was very expensive, so there was no need to waste money on unfamiliar people.
Taoist Wang also started out as a little Taoist boy. Following his master, he saw many strange people playing tricks on others, and for their own purposes, they blamed the incident on ghosts.
For example, in order to lower house prices, they would perform tricks in the community in the middle of the night, causing many residents to move away.
For example, pretending to be a ghost and scaring an old man to death, then pretending nothing happened and telling the investigation team that it was all caused by ghosts...
Therefore, in the eyes of Taoist Wang, the "ghosts" mentioned by many people are mostly malicious people hiding under the guise of ghosts.
But Master Wang did not expect that the rumors he had heard nearly thirty years ago would actually happen before his eyes.
When he looked out of the car door over Master Ma's shoulder, he was as stunned as Master Ma.
The words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat, and my brain was filled with question marks. The only thing I wanted to ask was -
“Where are the people???”
Taoist Priest Wang was stunned: "Didn't we see the production team's car parked outside the Shadow Puppet Museum during the live broadcast?"
Now there is a shadow puppet museum and a dirt road, and the landmark buildings and coordinates all match.
But the most important thing is missing.
Taoist Master Wang, who got off the car a step late, began to experience the same brainstorm as Taoist Master Ma a few seconds ago. His heart was in turmoil and he didn't know how to express his feelings for a moment.
While the people around him were surprised, Taoist Master Ma regained his senses.
His originally confused eyes became firm again, his drooping lips were tightly pursed, and he truly entered into working mode.
Taoist Priest Ma's eyes swept from left to right, not missing even the slightest detail.
He put himself in the role of Yan Shixun. If it was Junior Brother Yan standing here...what would he do?
When Junior Brother Yan just got off the car from the convoy, did he also take a closer look at every corner of the scene and ruthlessly uncover the truth hidden in the details, just like he did every time he worked with him.
Taoist Priest Ma asked himself this in his heart, and then, with the help of the afterglow of the setting sun, he really found something wrong.
——Wheel ruts!
Because the Shadow Puppet Museum is right at the turning point after getting off the highway, the road surface gradually changes from an asphalt road to a dusty dirt road starting from the front.
Although the road surface has been basically compacted to facilitate travel, it is not as difficult to travel as the roads in the village.
But it seems that there are too few cars turning here, and no one has lived here for many years, and the dirt road lacks maintenance and repair, so there is a lot of loose soil on it.
Whenever a car passes by, it will leave traces of tire tracks on the road.
Not to mention heavy vehicles like the program team’s fleet.
In order to ensure the safety of the guests, Zhang Wubing equipped the program team with high-end tourist buses worth several million dollars. While they are impact-proof and bulletproof, they are also extremely heavy due to the addition of steel plates.
The other logistics vehicles are no less capable. Because of the distress situations in previous episodes, the production crew now brings enough food and medicine for every shoot, and each vehicle weighs several tons.
Such a convoy would leave deep ruts on the dirt road it passed through.
And now in the light, Master Ma can see the light and shadow grid covered by dust.
The depth of the ground contact and the tread pattern are definitely from the program team.
Master Ma let go of the car and followed the tire tracks all the way to the Shadow Puppet Museum. He confirmed that the car was indeed coming down from the highway and heading towards the Shadow Puppet Museum, and then he trotted along the tire tracks.
The ruts eventually disappeared outside the archway of the Shadow Puppet Museum.
Just as they knew before arriving, the cars were parked outside and the guests entered the museum.
Although there was nothing there now, Taoist Ma half-knelt down, looked at the wheel tracks and messy footprints left on the ground, stroked his chin and pondered, and the scene that had happened here before was reconstructed in his mind.
The car stopped here, and some equipment was unloaded from the car, leaving a long, slender snake-like trail along the dirt road, as well as the small wheels of heavy equipment and the overlapping footsteps of people...
All traces end at the archway.
The car showed no signs of moving backwards or turning around. The last track left behind was complete and clear, but the car had disappeared from its original location.
It was as if everyone disappeared out of thin air the moment they stepped under the archway, leaving no trace on the land on the other side of the archway.
There were only the stone tablets neatly arranged on both sides, as solemn and silent as tombstones, emitting a chilling and eerie feeling, a gloom that even the sun could not illuminate.
Taoist Priest Ma narrowed his eyes and vaguely made out the words originally engraved on the stone tablet that was severely worn by wind and sand.
It seems that every stone tablet records a name, and every person's surname is Bai.
Although the words on the back were somewhat blurred due to excessive wear and tear, Taoist Ma still connected the context and deciphered the inscription by guessing.
These people with the surname Bai are all shadow puppet craftsmen of Southwestern shadow puppetry.
Because they have profound attainments in shadow puppetry, and when they jointly built the Shadow Puppet Museum, they contributed many of their own works and generously donated a lot of money, so these stone tablets were specially erected when the museum was built as a thank you to them.
What followed were all kinds of beautiful words of praise, which were elegant yet mixed with vernacular. Even in the eyes of Taoist Master Ma, who was familiar with all kinds of Taoist classics and had a good understanding of ancient Chinese, the mistakes in these words made him frown when reading them, and he had to react before he could guess the original meaning.
It seems that the people who erected these stone tablets did not hire professionals to do it, but did it themselves with great confidence.
Although the quality seems to be worrying in reality, if you take a casual glance, those beautiful words actually look festive and colorful.
Taoist Priest Ma frowned and looked up at the archway, wondering why all traces of people disappeared at the archway. However, this did serve as a reminder to him, so he was cautious and did not cross the archway to take a close look at the stone tablets.
He called the official person in charge and asked him about the current situation in the live broadcast. There was no signal on the mountain road where he was, so he could not see whether the people in the live broadcast were safe or not.
"Although it looks like everyone is safe, I don't know how that actually works."
The official person in charge rubbed his temples with a headache, looking at the screen on the tablet in front of him, and felt that his thoughts had become a mess.
At the beginning, only Lu Xingxing and Song Ci sat in the room where the shadow puppet props were stored.
They sat on the chairs under the shadow puppet stage, with their heads against each other, and closed their eyes as if they were taking a nap. There was nothing wrong with it. It was just the usual posture of taking a break after being tired. Instead, it was somewhat heartwarming.
But soon after, Xie Lin, Nantian...even Yan Shixun all sat in the room in the third courtyard.
On the dusty mahogany armchair, Yan Shixun sat quietly with his eyes closed, his head supported by one hand, the other hand hanging down and resting on the furry head beside his knees.
Zhang Wubing sat on the ground with his knees leaning against it, and he closed his eyes and breathed steadily.
The corner of Yan Shixun's coat hung down from the armchair, and Zhang Wubing held the corner of his coat tightly in his hand, as if he had to hold on to his brother Yan even in his dreams before he could sleep peacefully.
The way they leaned on each other added a touch of warmth and tranquility to the dusty room.
On the TV screen next to Yan Shixun, a shadow play was playing tirelessly. The crackling sound of snowflakes could not conceal the exquisiteness of the once popular shadow play, and the singing was sad and mournful, like crying and complaining.
It was as if the time in this room was frozen at a certain moment.
From now on, there will be no more separation of life and death, only peace and stability under the warm sunset.
The audience in front of the split screen couldn't help but be attracted by this scene, and many people said that they were healed.
No one has noticed anything wrong yet.
But the official responsible was keenly aware that beneath the calm water surface, another tsunami had already occurred.
Whether it was the unconnected phone call, the tranquility on the screen, or the on-site situation explained by Master Ma.
Everything points to the same answer.
Everyone in the program crew was in crisis.
Moreover, even Yan Shixun could not avoid it.
The official person in charge knew Yan Shixun's character very well. Given his cautiousness, he would not fall asleep in an unfamiliar place.
Moreover, the official in charge had not seen all the museum visitors sitting down in the museum at the same time and falling asleep.
The museum was completely silent, deathly quiet.
There were only the music being sung, the erhu, and the faded and mottled paintings on the wall.
The eyes of the shadow puppets are looking down at all this happening.
After Master Ma and the official person in charge exchanged information with each other, they both realized the seriousness of the current situation.
The only thing to be thankful for is that the scene presented to the audience is still one of peace and tranquility, with no apparent problems, and there is no need to worry about online public opinion for the time being.
"But we are not sure when all the problems will explode. Public opinion is one thing, and the safety of the production crew is another. Both are equally important."
The official in charge covered his eyes with his hands and felt his eyes throbbing with pain.
He groaned hoarsely twice, then immediately calmed himself down and said to Taoist Master Ma on the other end of the phone in a serious and impartial manner, "We are on the way and will be there soon. If you want to investigate first..."
The official in charge hesitated for a moment before solemnly saying, "Be sure to pay attention to safety."
Taoist Priest Ma nodded, still worried about the archway, so he told the official person in charge: "If we can't see their situation during the live broadcast, it's almost useless. I can't wait any longer. Even if there are dragons and tigers in there, I have no choice but to go through it this time."
"But I suspect that all the people in the production team disappeared because of the thing behind the archway. After Taoist Wang and I enter the back of the archway, we might end up in the same situation as them."
“If we really lose contact, then everything outside will be handed over to the person in charge.”
Taoist Priest Ma said solemnly, "I should have been in charge of this work, so I can only trouble you temporarily, the person in charge."
The official person in charge did not show any dissatisfaction with this. Instead, he shook his head and smiled. Compared to the headache he had just had, he now felt the strength to be entrusted with something.
Since Master Ma has made the decision based on his own judgment, as a colleague working side by side in the same department, all he can do is of course to support him.
After hanging up the phone, Master Ma slowly stood up and looked far away at the Shadow Puppet Museum in the dim wind and sand.
Taoist Wang also saw what Taoist Ma was thinking, so he gave a few instructions to the other Taoist who came with them, and briefly explained to the Taoist the plan he and Taoist Ma wanted to make.
He said frankly that if both of them disappeared together like the people from the program crew, then at least one person should be left behind to tell later generations what happened to them.
"Just watch me and Taoist Ma walk over. Keep a close eye on us and don't miss any sign of something wrong."
Taoist Wang said to the Taoist priest, "But no matter what happens to us, don't follow us. Even if Taoist Ma and I die there, your duty is to clearly and calmly tell those who come after us how and why we died so that they can avoid danger."
"Do you understand?"
The Taoist looked at Taoist Wang with complicated eyes. He blinked, and the circles under his eyes turned red, and even his eyeballs were covered with bloodshot. However, he still tried to force a smile and scolded with a smile: "Go, go, who will save you?"
"Why do you have to make it seem like a life-and-death separation? What's wrong with you? Isn't it enough to urge your apprentice to get married?"
The Taoist priest pushed Taoist priest Wang, but his other hand tightly grasped the steering wheel, and the veins on his arms under the Taoist robe were exposed due to the exertion.
He smiled and said, "Hurry up and come back. I'm waiting for you to tell me about Fellow Daoist Yan's love story. It's much better than storytelling."
Taoist Wang also smiled and kicked the car door lightly, then turned around and ran towards Taoist Ma.
The two men looked at each other, and their faces, which were originally thoughtful or smiling, became gloomy. They took a firm step forward and walked towards the archway.
Never retreated a step.
The Taoist priest stared at the two men's backs intently, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel, almost crushing the poor steering wheel to pieces, before he restrained his urge to chase after them.
Then he saw that the moment the two of them stepped over the archway, ripples appeared in the air.
It is just like when the main character on a stage lifts the curtain before entering or leaving the stage, causing the curtain to shake.
Then, before the Taoist priest could squint his eyes and take a closer look, he suddenly discovered—
The figures of the two Taoist priests disappeared!
In just a blink of an eye, where the two Taoist priests had originally stood, there was suddenly only an empty piece of land left.
But under the archway, the scene was confused for a moment.
Like an old TV with poor contact, the channel changed with the crackling sound of snow.
Scenes that shouldn't appear in the same place overlap, and the false and the real merge for a moment.
The Taoist priest saw that there was a huge curtain hanging under the archway.
The golden-red sunset fell on the curtain, and all the objects hidden behind the curtain became blurry, like a shadow play. You could only see a shadow, but could not distinguish the reality behind it, nor could you see the craftsman manipulating the shadow play.
The Taoist priest was stunned for a moment, then instinctively opened the car door and quickly ran over there.
But the curtain he saw only appeared for a moment, and then disappeared like an illusion.
In front of the Shadow Puppet Museum, everything returned to normal.
You can't tell that two Taoist priests have just disappeared here.
The Taoist priest called out to Taoist Priest Ma and Taoist Priest Wang with a trembling voice, but there was no response.
There was only the cold wind that blew up the dust and rustled the dead trees and weeds.
Taoist Wang's words rang in his ears again. In the end, the Taoist forced himself to restrain himself and finally stopped in front of the archway.
Only the fist hanging at his side was clenched tightly.
After hanging up the phone, the official person in charge immediately called the abbot of Haiyun Temple to inquire about the missing ebony statue.
On the other hand, the accidental deaths of three students during the summer vacation are also being reinvestigated intensively.
The official person in charge did not dare to slack off for a second. He was so busy that he did not even have time to drink water. The phone calls kept coming one after another. Before the phone on this side was hung up, the other side rang again.
On his personal account, the message notification sound never stopped, and hundreds or even thousands of messages filled the entire contact list in red.
Not only does it require advance preparation for public opinion defense, but it also requires official coordination in the communication with the southwest region, the investigation of past events in the Baizhi Lake area, and the tragedy caused by the talisman taken away from the Baizhi Lake area.
At the same time, the delayed work in Master Ma's hands was temporarily transferred to the official person in charge for processing.
But when he was busy with work, he was always distracted by the incoming call number, anxiously waiting for a call.
The phone rang.
The official in charge scanned the incoming call number, quickly put down the phone in his hand, picked up the other phone and couldn't wait to make the call: "Master Ma? Is everything okay over there?"
However, the voice coming from the phone still made the official's heart drop to the bottom.
"Master Ma and Master Wang... disappeared."
The Taoist priest who was left at the scene smiled bitterly: "Just as Taoist Priest Ma suspected before, the archway in front of the Shadow Puppet Museum is indeed a dividing line. After crossing that line, the two figures disappeared."
“Just like the people on the show.”
The official's Adam's apple rolled and his throat felt tight, and for a moment he couldn't utter a word.
It was the Taoist priest who comforted him, "Look at it in a positive way. The two parties lost their tracks in the same way. It is very likely that they will meet in the same place. In this case, they will meet Fellow Daoist Yan."
"No matter what happened, having two more helpers will always make the situation much better, right?"
The official person in charge responded in a low voice, then cheered up and continued to follow up on the matter of the ebony statue.
The Taoist priest was right. He could not slow down his work because of the disappearance of Taoist priest Ma. The ultimate goal was to find out the truth about the Baizhi Lake area so that no one would encounter the same fate as the program crew and the three students who died accidentally.
The official in charge hesitated for a moment, and finally called Taoist Priest Song Yi: "Taoist Priest Song, the abbot said you are not at Haiyun Temple?"
Taoist Song Yi was unable to open his eyes due to the howling sea breeze. His Taoist robe, which was suitable for the temperature in Binhai City but too thin outside, had been thoroughly penetrated by the cold sea breeze, and his hands and feet were frozen stiff.
He stood on the dock, his nose filled with the smell of fish and surrounded by a deserted beach.
But the program crew was missing.
Taoist Priest Song Yi: Where are the people? They can’t go diving at this time of year, can they?
Just when he was doubting, Taoist Song Yi received a call from the official person in charge.
As soon as he opened his mouth, he was filled with sea breeze and could only half open his eyes to look forward.
"The person in charge!"
In the howling sea breeze, Taoist Song Yi shouted at the top of his voice: "What did you say! I can't hear you! The wind is too strong!"
Official person in charge: “…………”
He didn't know if it was because he had been tortured by Master Wang's urging to get married recently, but at that moment, he actually felt that Master Song Yi had a bit of the demeanor of an idol drama.
After a brief moment of confusion, the official person in charge quickly raised his voice and told the other party about the program team and the two Taoist priests.
This time, it was Taoist Song Yi's turn to be speechless.
He was shivering in the sea breeze, and for a moment he felt that he was the only one left in the world. He felt lonely and desolate, as if he had been abandoned by the program crew and his fellow Taoists.
And pathetic.
Taoist Priest Song Yi: "...I understand. I will head to the southwest area right now."
Dare you say it earlier! He almost froze to death on the northern seashore.
The official person in charge coughed and touched his nose embarrassedly. He didn't dare to say that he was too busy just now and forgot to tell Taoist Song Yi about this matter.
The abbot of Haiyun Temple called right after that.
It is a description about the mother and child.
After Taoist Master Ma learned the origin of the ebony statue from the mother and son, he told the abbot and other Taoist masters without any delay.
While he and Taoist Wang rushed to the southwest region, the mother and son were temporarily left in Haiyun Temple to answer questions from the Taoist priests.
At first the mother was unhappy and made a lot of noise, holding her young child tightly and refusing to let go, crying loudly as if she was being persecuted, leaving all the Taoist priests helpless.
They can deal with the most ferocious ghosts and monsters, and are even willing to sacrifice their lives for the path they follow, but facing such pilgrims... many Taoist priests who are not good at dealing with people feel that they are about to suffer a headache.
Taoist Priest: To be honest, I chose to become a Taoist priest because I was too socially anxious. I thought that this way I could avoid dealing with people.
Taoist Priest: Who said it wasn't? Why did Taoist Priest Ma run away? He is the best at handling external relations among all the Taoist priests. Why is he not here?
Taoist Priest: Let me go! Blessed be the Immortal Heavenly Lord, stop crying, I’m about to cry too…
Taoist Priest: Ah, someone is looking at me. Ah, why are they looking at me? My social phobia is about to break out! I'd rather go catch ghosts!
As it is near the end of the year, many people come to burn incense or visit.
The strange behavior of the mother and son, as well as the solemn posture of several Taoist priests surrounding them, made this place particularly eye-catching.
Many tourists and pilgrims looked here, pointed and discussed, and some took photos and posted them on their social media accounts.
Several Taoist priests who did not deal with external relations felt that they were about to suffocate and faint from being stared at.
The one who finally saved them was the abbot of Haiyun Temple who came over in big strides.
He was still wearing his formal Taoist robe, which he had not had time to change out of. The bright red robe was embroidered with exquisite Taoist runes and mountains, rivers and auspicious clouds, making him look particularly imposing.
The corners of his robe rolled under his feet like waves, and wherever he walked, a gust of wind was raised, and the tourists on both sides subconsciously avoided him.
The pilgrims who were originally crying and shouting that the Taoists at Haiyun Temple were all bandits who wanted to harm them, mother and son, were shocked by the aura when they saw the abbot, and subconsciously shut up and stopped shouting.
The abbot first glanced at the Taoist priests who looked "saved" and then looked down at the pilgrim: "What your son took away was definitely a talisman from the southwest region. As a result, the evil spirit that was originally suppressed was released and killed three lives."
"You can continue to cry, and we can go do other things first. When you calm down, we will ask your son."
The dean said calmly, "But think about it carefully. The evil has now spread across Baizhi Lake. It's only a matter of time before your son is found. Why do you think that three of the four people died? Your son is so special that he would be let off?"
He seemed to have a slight twitch in his lips, but upon closer inspection, there was no sign of it: "Heaven and earth are not kind. Do you expect the Tao to love your son as much as you do?"
The pilgrim was frightened by the abbot's words, with tears still lingering on his face and his hair becoming messy from fighting with the Taoist priests.
But at this moment, he dared not utter a word.
She glanced at the warden hesitantly and asked, "It's not that serious, it's just a kid playing around..."
"Ordinary children's playfulness would not result in three deaths, and there may even be more."
The dean thought of the missing program crew and the two Taoist priests, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes, but his tone was still calm as he said: "In the end, their deaths will be attributed to your son by the Tao, and will become the cause of his evil."
"Please think carefully, pilgrim. Every second you waste will come back to your son."
The dean raised his hand and checked the time: "The investigation team is on their way. If your son would like to tell them, that's fine."
In fact, they are people from a special department.
After all, this incident has been confirmed to be related to evil spirits, so it will of course be transferred to a special department for handling.
However, the supervisor did not go into such detail.
On the contrary, it had a good effect.
The pilgrim hesitated for a moment, but slowly loosened his arms around his son.
The young man panicked: "Mom, mom, I didn't do anything wrong, why did you let them take me away? I won't go, I won't! What does a dead person have to do with me? I just took something, not stole it. It's just garbage thrown there anyway. Why do you treat me like this!"
The pilgrim was heartbroken by his son's cries, and his already wavering heart leaned towards his son again. He wanted to step forward and protect his son behind him.
But he met the abbot's gaze.
The pilgrim was shocked by this look, hesitated for a moment, and then retreated silently, watching with a broken heart as his son was invited to another room by the Taoist priest.
The abbot watched this farce coldly. It should have been just a normal inquiry, but this mother and son made it seem as if Haiyun Temple was really going to persecute them.
He also walked over.
But when she walked to the pilgrim, she sighed softly and said, "Children will grow up one day, and it's time to let go. You treat him as a child, but other people are not his mothers. The heaven and earth will not let him off the hook just because he is a 'child'."
The abbot nodded slightly to the pilgrim and stopped there.
The pilgrim was left standing there in a daze, with tears on his face, and no one knew what he was thinking.
The young man, without his mother's protection, was no longer as tough and rude as before when facing the Taoist priests.
He was like a clam whose shell had been pried open, panic-stricken and at a loss, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and pretend to be calm and answer the Taoist priest's questions.
Therefore, so far, the young man is the earliest known person to have come into contact with the ebony statue, and has been with it for quite a long time, so his words are particularly important to the Taoist priests.
Especially the Taoist priest who had first taken over the statue and promised the pilgrims that he would deal with it, was even more restless and looked full of regret.
Although Taoist Master Ma remembered that he had seen the statue before, when the Taoist master went to look for it according to Taoist Master Ma's memory, the statue had already disappeared.
All the Taoist priests searched Haiyun Temple again, threw cups to ask questions to the statues enshrined in the main hall, and cast divinations to inquire about the location of lost items.
But obviously, this was no ordinary lost item.
Heaven and earth remained silent about the whereabouts of the ebony statue, and no matter which Taoist priest tried, the hexagram was blank.
Finally, under the perseverance of the Taoist priests, he could only sigh and tell them through the hexagram: Don't ask, this is not something that mortals can know. Those who spy on ghosts and gods will die.
Even the statues in the Haiyun Temple were silent. No matter how the Taoist priest threw the茭杯 to try to communicate with the gods, there was no answer.
Therefore, the only remaining possibility is the young man who personally took the ebony statue away from its original location.
The young man, who was frightened out of his wits, told everything he knew, and tremblingly recalled what had happened that day and the changes that had taken place in the statue when he was at home.
In the young people’s memories, they checked the weather when they went hiking, and it should have been cloudy near Baizhi Lake during that period of time.
And although it was summer when they climbed the mountain, it was colder near the temple and the deserted village than on the mountain.
However, when they worked together to throw out the dry bones and corpses in the temple and take away the things protected by the corpses - especially when the young man took away the ebony statue, the sky suddenly cleared up.
The sun broke through the thick clouds and shone on the earth.
The ground was covered with golden red sunset, making the whole village look like it was on fire.
Hearing this, the Taoist priest couldn't help but ask: "Then you didn't feel that something was wrong? The temperature was so low, didn't you think of other reasons?"
The young man defended himself aggrievedly, "How could I possibly think so much! Besides, isn't there a lake next to it? It's normal for the temperature to be lower where there is water. Besides, it's just picking up some junk. Who would have thought that something like this would happen? Aren't you being too harsh? Can't you be nicer?"
"If you think I'm wrong, then all rag pickers are wrong."
The young man stiffened his neck and looked at the Taoist priest opposite him unhappily.
The Taoist sighed and covered his eyes: "...You said it yourself, there are corpses."
Although the Taoist priest had not seen the corpse that the young man was talking about, he seriously suspected that it might be a local witch in Baizhi Lake.
Or after the evil spirits wreaked havoc in Baizhi Lake, the master who went to suppress it unfortunately died at the hands of the ghost, so he had to use up his last bit of strength to save the statue, allowing the statue to continue to suppress Baizhi Lake and prevent the evil spirits from escaping.
Unfortunately, the corpse's plan before his death was ruined by four young people who were out for fun.
The Taoist priest wanted to say something, but in the end all he could do was let out a deep sigh.
What a coincidence... maybe this was part of the evil spirit's plan, or maybe Baizhi Lake was destined to suffer this disaster.
The young man shrank his neck.
The Taoist priest's expression frightened him a little, but as a young man he could not bring himself to ask, so he had to bite the bullet and continue to say that the statue of the deity was at home.
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