Chapter 59 Shanyin Village
◎A ghost marries a wife in the wilderness◎
The suona's sound seemed to come from deep within the thick fog, ringing in everyone's ears and sounding particularly eerie in the dark night. Something was clearly amiss.
Fortunately, most of the people entering this time were experienced psychics, and after their initial shock, they quickly calmed down. A shout came from the front, asking everyone to temporarily stop and wait for a headcount before moving together.
Gu Nian reported his location and then shone his flashlight around. They had come in at night, and it was already dark. Even with the lighting, visibility was still very low, and even the people around him couldn't be seen. The fog was unusually thick.
A faint chatter could be heard up ahead. The psychic leading the group was counting the number of people to prevent them from getting separated in the dense fog. Gu Nian was walking in the middle of the group, so it would take some time for them to get to her.
While waiting, Gu Nian also paid attention to her surroundings, especially the suona music that was still playing. She didn't know why, but it sounded familiar.
Gu Nian quickly remembered where this familiar feeling came from. She had lived in the countryside for a while as a child, and there, the suona was played at every occasion, whether happy or sad. What she heard now was almost identical to what she'd heard at a wedding banquet. It was just that back then, with so many people and so much noise, it had sounded festive. But now, hearing it in the wilderness, it felt a bit eerie.
It’s the middle of the night, is there someone getting married?
Obviously this is not possible.
Gu Nian's first thought was Song Tian's predictions. She'd recently heard something related to marriage, and that was the "Red and White Devils" that Song Tian had predicted that day at the Special Affairs Bureau entrance. However, Song Tian should be in S City right now, so this incident shouldn't have anything to do with him.
However, despite this, Gu Nian still concentrated and listened for a while, and finally confirmed that there was only one suona sound, and it was the kind played at wedding banquets, and there was no second one.
The thick fog made it impossible to discern the source of the sound. Gu Nian could only determine a rough direction based on his feeling, but if the fog did not dissipate, it would be difficult to guarantee whether the real source could be found.
Just as he was thinking, Gu Nian suddenly looked up and looked forward.
Something is wrong.
She was in the middle of the group, and the others weren't far away. Even with the fog obscuring them, after so long, they should have been counted. Just now, she could still hear faint voices coming from the front, but now they were gone. To be more precise, they were getting fainter and fainter.
This means that the person in front is getting farther and farther away from her.
Gu Nian frowned. They had all been to the contaminated area before, so they wouldn't leave the team without warning. There was a high probability that something was wrong. She was about to call for help when Lu Yan's voice suddenly came from the front. He seemed to be thinking the same thing as her and was asking what was going on up ahead.
Soon, bad news arrived. The fog seemed to impair human senses. Even if one could hear sounds, it was difficult to discern the correct direction, and one could even be misled and make the wrong choice. The people ahead were simply drifting further and further away. If they hadn't been spotted in time, by the time they could no longer hear anything, they would have completely lost contact with the people behind them.
But even if we discover this, things will still be difficult to deal with.
The fog obscured their vision, and their voices were indistinguishable. Apart from those who were particularly close, who could still try their luck, others had no way of guaranteeing they wouldn't choose the wrong direction and end up walking further and further away. Worst of all, they were likely to be trapped here, unable to find a way out.
Gu Nian glanced to the right and front. She remembered that Lu Yan seemed to be there, and he was the person closest to her. However, according to the current situation, she might not find anyone if she went in that direction.
Until a solution is found, it's best to stay where you are.
But waiting all the time is definitely not a solution. Some people with special abilities have already discovered that the pollution concentration in the fog is very high, and their mental pollution level is gradually getting worse.
Things became a dilemma.
It was difficult to leave, and it was difficult not to leave. Everyone began to discuss what to do next. Because of the mental pollution, there was inevitably a hint of anxiety in their voices. Although they were traveling with two senior therapists this time, it would be useless if they couldn't see them.
Gu Nian didn't say anything. Actually, there was a solution to this situation, but...
Just as he was thinking, Lu Yan's voice came from the front, "Therapist Gu, are you there?"
Gu Nian paused his thoughts and replied, "I'm here."
As she spoke, a thin white line came windingly in front of her, and Lu Yan's voice followed: "Can you see a white line?"
Gu Nian stared at the white line and nodded: "I can see it."
This is Lu Yan's outward mental power.
The white silk thread's luster was somewhat dimmed, and Gu Nian guessed it was probably affected by the pollutants in the fog. She had actually noticed before that there were quite a few pollutants in the thick fog, and the black thread had swallowed up some of them the moment it entered. However, although the fog contained a lot of pollutants, it was only a relative abundance. Soon, the black thread was too lazy to make any effort and returned to Gu Nian's fingers.
At this moment, seeing the white line in front of it, the black line began to move again. Before Gu Nian could stop it, it swam around the white line several times. When the two were about to touch, Gu Nian pulled it back tightly, and finally tied a knot between her fingers with great dissatisfaction.
Gu Nian: “…”
Lu Yan, who was in front, didn't know what was happening here and continued, "It's good that you can see it. I used my mental power to test it a few times, and the situation here is similar to what we expected."
After a few coughs, Lu Yan said, "I'll come find you."
Gu Nian: "Okay."
It was clearly a very short distance that could be walked in a few steps, but Gu Nian heard the sound getting closer and farther away. After a long while, a sound of footsteps approached. Just when the two were about to collide, a figure appeared in his sight. It was Lu Yan who came with the external mental power.
Before Gu Nian could speak, Lu Yan said, "There are only two of us therapists here. Sending out mental energy consumes a lot of energy. To prevent any accidents, I will do this alone."
Gu Nian: "...Okay."
Upon learning that the two had found a solution, the other psychics breathed a sigh of relief. After repeated attempts, Lu Yan finally found six more people, but they were getting further and further away from the few who had gone missing. At such a long distance, even with mental power to explore the way, it was difficult to find them.
Finally, after discussion, everyone decided not to waste time here any longer. They split into two groups and each tried to find a way out. The one who found a way out would then try to rescue the trapped people.
Soon, the sound of the other team disappeared completely.
Gu Nian and Lu Yan, together with the six psychics from the local Special Affairs Bureau, made up a fairly large team. To prevent them from getting lost again, they tied everyone together with a rope.
A person with special abilities couldn't help but ask, "What should we do next?"
It was a foggy day and I couldn't see anything clearly. It seemed like it didn't matter where I went.
The other psychics were also at a loss. Even if they encountered a contaminated core, they would have some way to deal with it, but now they were trapped in the pitch-black fog. No matter what abilities they had, they couldn't use them. It felt like they were punching cotton.
Gu Nian glanced in Lu Yan's direction. Perhaps due to an old injury or excessive mental exhaustion, his coughing became more severe. She said, "Since there's no good solution for now, I'm afraid we can only try walking around for a while."
After thinking for a while, he asked again: "By the way, is there anyone who usually has better luck?"
If we're just going to give it a try, we'll definitely have to find someone with good luck to lead the way. After Gu Nian finished speaking, he seemed to hear a low laugh, a bit like it came from Lu Yan's direction. But when he listened more carefully, there was no sound anymore. Meanwhile, everyone on the other side was already talking at once.
"No, I'm not a chief."
"Me too, I've never won a lottery."
"Sometimes I even buy instant noodles without seasoning. It's just bad luck."
"I'm not unlucky, but I'm still a long way from being lucky."
"I can't do it either. I fell when I went out. I was afraid of dragging everyone into the ditch."
"Emperor Europe is my lifelong enemy!"
Amidst the crowd's responses, a soft voice whispered, "I often draw prizes in the livestream room, and I always win, but they're all worthless items. Does this count?"
Someone immediately responded, "Of course it counts. Why doesn't it count?"
However, after he finished speaking, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Is there one more person among them?
The soft voice continued, "That's good. I've always had good luck since I was a child. Fortunately, I met you this time, otherwise I would have starved to death. Last time, I met someone who only ate half of his fill. Now I don't even have the strength to walk."
The rope moved, as if someone was pressing down on it and shaking it.
A soft voice said, "Why are you all silent?"
The last mutant who fell behind couldn't help but shiver, and slowly lowered his head to move closer to his hand holding the rope, and then saw a gray hand with long, bright red nails falling in front of his hand, and it was still approaching him.
He cried out, "Ghost!"
And another voice was even more panicked than his, "Where, where?!"
The rope began to shake violently, as if it was being pulled in different directions by two people.
Gu Nian, who had just touched the front, twitched his mouth, and quickly grabbed the hand with red nails. Soon, the psychics who cooperated with him successfully controlled the extra people.
When everything settled down, the rope finally returned to calm.
The last psychic to fall behind was scolded by everyone and said aggrievedly, "How should I know what you guys are doing without saying anything? I'm just afraid of this kind of thing. She speaks so strangely, and her hands are gray and white, with long red nails."
Before anyone else could speak, a soft, gentle voice whispered, "You've been trapped here for a week, and you're not going to be much cleaner. What's wrong with red nails? Don't they look good?"
Everyone: “…” Is this the point?
Gu Nian was concerned about another point. She asked, "You said you've been trapped here for a week?" The pollution outbreak here has only been going on for less than three days.
The voice was soft and weak, "That's about right. Don't ask me yet, I'm really starving. Give me something to eat. Once I'm full, everything will be fine."
Gu Nian took out a piece of bread and a bottle of water from his backpack and handed them to the other person. Then, a sound of someone eating voraciously came from the thick fog. It seemed that the man was really starving.
Gu Nian seemed to be lost in thought. It seemed that the other party had been trapped for quite some time.
After finishing the meal, the soft voice finally gained some strength and took the initiative to say, "You should be from the Special Affairs Bureau here. I met one before. He was quite nice. He didn't have much of his own stuff, so he gave me some. But he was a bit unlucky. When we were working together, he accidentally fell into a trap. I searched for a long time but couldn't find him, so I had to leave."
The psychics who heard this were immediately worried, as it was obvious that this was their colleague who had come in before.
No wonder the core of the pollution hasn't been resolved for so long. It seems people are trapped in this fog as soon as they enter. After so much time, I wonder what the state of their mental pollution is.
But they are in danger now, and even though they are worried, they can't do anything. The only thing they can do is to find a way out as soon as possible and then find a way to rescue people.
As if aware that everyone was still wary of him, the man took the initiative to say, "My name is Jiang Yuyuan, and I'm here to look for someone. Well, there was an accident on the way, and I got lost in the mountains. Unexpectedly, there was a pollution outbreak here a few days ago, so I haven't been able to get out since."
Wei Chuan, who had been frightened just now, couldn't help but interrupt and said, "Didn't you say you were lucky? How did you get trapped and encounter a pollution outbreak?"
Jiang Yuyuan said indifferently, "Misfortunes often come with blessings, and blessings often come with misfortunes. No one can be sure what will happen in the future. Perhaps being trapped here is a good thing." Then she smiled and said, "Besides, I met you guys. How can this be called bad luck?"
Wei Chuan snorted and whispered, "He's talking nonsense."
Jiang Yuyuan ignored him. Perhaps she guessed from his actions and questions that Gu Nian was a relatively important member of the team, so she said to her, "Aren't you looking for someone with good luck to lead the way? I'll help you. I don't have any other requirements, just give me something to eat before you leave."
Gu Nian thought for a moment and said, "It's not impossible to discuss it, but you have to answer a few questions for me first."
Jiang Yuyuan said readily, "No problem."
Gu Nian asked, "Is the person you're looking for He Wenyu?"
Jiang Yuyuan was a little surprised, but nodded and said, "Yes, it was his family who contacted me. They thought something happened to him in Shanyin Village, so they asked me to take him back."
Take him back? That's an interesting idea.
This He Wenyu was Gu Bai's missing senior, who had spent some time in Shanyin Village but disappeared shortly thereafter. Not long ago, a video about Shanyin Village was sent to one of He Wenyu's classmates, and the police subsequently arrived to investigate.
He Wenyu, this person seems to be the key point where everything happens.
Gu Nian took note and continued to ask Jiang Yuyuan, "You've been trapped here for seven days. Have you encountered any special situations during these seven days? For example, the suona sound tonight, does it happen every day?"
Jiang Yuyuan thought for a moment and said, "This is the first time I've heard the sound of a suona. It started just before I met you guys. I hadn't heard it before. Oh, and the people here are very strange. I actually met someone and thought I was going to be saved, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye. I was lost anyway. Don't you think this person is a bit too unsympathetic?"
Gu Nian asked some more about Jiang Yuyuan's experiences in the past few days, and then said: "I can share the food with you, but I need to ask other people's opinions on whether to take you with me."
After all, this person was only met along the way, so there was a certain risk involved. Although she felt that the risk was worth taking, others might not think so.
Gu Nian made her point clear, and soon Lu Yan echoed the same sentiment. The two therapists agreed, and after a moment's thought, the others also agreed.
Jiang Yuyuan was placed at the front, but there was still a psychic watching beside her. She shrugged, indicating she had no objection at all.
The group began to circle in the mountains and forests.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, they still didn't find a way out. However, they did find the psychic who had once helped Jiang Yuyuan. After Lu Yan used his mental power to explore the way, he successfully rescued the person from the pit and purified him in time.
After a while, Gu Nian, who had been paying attention to the suona, suddenly asked, "Did you hear any other sounds? Are we closer to the suona?"
She felt that the sound was getting louder and louder, and she could faintly hear the sound of knocking and banging, as if someone was really having a wedding.
The other psychics listened attentively for a while, and some of them with sharp ears said they also heard it.
Wei Chuan had already moved from the back row to the middle because he was afraid. Upon hearing this, he whispered, "Have you heard of the story of a ghost marrying a wife in the wilderness? Why don't we just leave quickly?"
Then he got hit on the head by the person next to him, “Can you say something nice?”
Wei Chuan rubbed his head and asked Gu Nian and Lu Yan in front of him, "Therapist Gu, Therapist Lu, what do you think?"
Gu Nian said, "I don't think meeting them is necessarily a bad thing. It's better than wandering around aimlessly. Besides," she looked forward, "if we're destined to meet, there's no way to avoid it."
The sound cannot help them locate the target. It is useless for them to look for it, and they cannot hide from it.
Lu Yan said, "I agree with Therapist Gu." Then he stopped talking.
Everyone thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. They couldn't be trapped here forever. Even if mental pollution was not a problem with a therapist, they still had to eat and drink, and food was not unlimited.
After reaching a consensus, everyone set off again.
Jiang Yuyuan comforted him, "I'm really lucky, everyone just follow me."
However, since they already knew that the sound of the suona was approaching, everyone remained alert. If they really encountered it, they would not necessarily be at a disadvantage since so many of them were prepared.
The suona sound became higher and higher in pitch.
Gu Nian recalled what her grandmother said when she took her to a wedding banquet in the countryside. She said that marriage is a union of two families, and one must choose an auspicious day and time, and then beat gongs and drums to welcome the bride into the house.
She looked up at the dark sky.
Is now a good time?
Finally, a glint of red appeared before Gu Nian's eyes. It was a crimson sedan chair, seemingly appearing out of thin air, swaying slowly in the air. Even the thick fog couldn't obscure the vibrant red. With a flicker, the curtains of the sedan were blown open by the wind.
Gu Nian was facing a face with an exaggerated smile.
The face was painted with red blush, the corners of the mouth were grinning widely, and it was staring straight at Gu Nian.
Gu Nian frowned.
Sitting in the sedan chair was a paper man.
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