Chapter 161 Nine Hours Rules
"When the moon passes over the treetops, don't wander in the northern desert.
The clinking of dishes and chopsticks, the soul follows the sand dunes.
If you hear a woman crying, don't look back.
The third watch gong sounds, she comes to collect the debt." - (Nine Hours Rule)
As soon as Gu Ji and his companions' plane landed, local fans came to greet them and told them about the well-known local song "Nine Hours Rules".
Before coming to northern Xinjiang, she posted a message on a social media platform, asking if there were any local tour guides who could take them.
After all, the Northern Frontier is too big. Although Gu Ji can find out with some effort, why waste time when the problem can be solved with money?
They are not short of money now.
After saying goodbye to the fans who came to pick them up at the airport, they got into the tour guide's seven-seater car.
Zhong Jiayi didn't come this time. She was seriously injured last time, so she was allowed to rest at home. It just so happened that she had taken on a movie and was studying the script at home.
As the planner of the variety show, Diane hired a photography team this time, brought more professional equipment, and rented a car to follow the tour guide's car.
The tour guide was wearing clothes of a local ethnic minority, with agate and gems hanging around his neck. His hair was slightly curly and reached his shoulders, but his deep and rugged eyebrows balanced out the femininity brought by his long hair. His eyes were a very beautiful and special green, like a cat's eyes.
As soon as she got on the bus, she was fascinated by Ye Qingtong. She praised the tour guide so much that he blushed all the way to his neck.
He introduced himself: "My name is Tariq, I am a Tajik. I like metaphysical culture very much. I went to university in the inland area and met a Taoist friend. It is completely different from the witchcraft culture here. I am a fan of Master Gu."
Tariq glanced at the rearview mirror a little embarrassedly as he spoke.
Gu Ji politely nodded and thanked him, then got straight to the point, "When did that folk custom begin?"
"It's a long time ago. I heard about this folk custom when I was a child. Back then, public security wasn't that good. Even though it wasn't dark here at 9 o'clock, my family would always talk to us about it so that we wouldn't run around outside after school."
"Do you know the specific story behind this folk custom?"
"It's said that it was in the last century, but I don't know the exact year. There was a local official who came from Jiangnan and married a beautiful local woman. She loved riding horses and playing around, and she often didn't come home until after nine o'clock. Actually, nine o'clock doesn't seem late to us locals, but the official is from Jiangnan, and you are also from the south. At nine o'clock, it would be completely dark where you are, right?"
Ye Qingtong nodded and continued, "Yes, and the streets are almost deserted at nine o'clock. Only the snack streets or the more prosperous places still have some people. Anyway, there are very few people on the street outside our community at nine o'clock."
"Yes, that official also thought nine o'clock was too late. He had a rough appearance, and he had originally taken the woman by force. After a while, he began to suspect that she had someone else outside. Whenever she didn't come back before nine o'clock, the official would have the family servants beat her with the local copper basin used to make milk tea. They would also strip her naked and tie her to a tree in the snow. The official would go out to have fun all night and then remember to come home to find that the woman had already frozen to death. Her hands and feet were covered with traces of struggle, and there was blood all over the ground. In her arms, she was holding a newborn baby, but it was already dead."
At this point, everyone in the car fell silent.
Dai An couldn't help but spit out a curse, "What idiot official? Is he dead?"
Tariq scratched his head. "I don't know that either. That's all I know."
"So what does this have to do with the missing tourists?" Diane asked.
Liang Wan suddenly asked, "Are all the missing tourists here with their partners or families of three?"
Tariq looked back at Liang Wan in surprise: "How did you know?"
"Folklore also has logic. A woman who was beaten to death by her husband while holding a dead baby must have a lot of resentment in her heart. She would be jealous of happy families or couples."
Tariq nodded. "What you said makes sense. We have this rumor here too. There have been fewer tourists recently, and the locals have invited people to take a look, but they couldn't find anything, and the missing people couldn't be found."
He glanced at the rearview mirror again, "Master Gu, have you figured out anything?"
Gu Ji looked out the window.
The scenery in northern Xinjiang is beautiful, with endless grasslands and a sky that is so blue it seems fake.
The grass in northern Xinjiang is the greenest at this moment. Herds of cattle and sheep are grazing with their heads down. Tourists will stop by the roadside to take pictures, or just lie on the grass to enjoy the scenery.
Gu Ji stretched out his hand, and the red rope on his wrist swayed in the wind.
"Let's talk about it when we get there. In such a large place, we can't be sure of the authenticity of the folk customs. Rumors are scary and can be very misleading."
This folk story is full of details and doesn't seem fake.
But she always felt something was wrong.
Since she was forced to marry, didn’t the official know that the woman liked riding horses in the first place?
Since she was forced to marry, the woman should not be happy. If she is not happy, how can she have the heart to go out and play every day?
Moreover, in the story, the woman died holding a baby. The fully grown child was at least five or six months old, and her pregnancy was already obvious. It was impossible for the officials not to know about this, and it was even more impossible for them to allow their child to freeze to death.
The seemingly real details reveal strange illogicalities everywhere.
Tariq nodded and drove seriously.
After driving for nearly two hours, the grassland gradually became thinner and turned into a Gobi Desert, and a small town that looked a bit old appeared in front of them.
There are many private cars parked outside the town. They are rented by tourists who come here. They have license plates from other places, which shows that they drove here by themselves.
According to Tariq, the town is called Keku, and its architectural style is very ethnic. You can even see coffee shops, milk tea shops, fast food restaurants, and even McDonald's in the town.
But almost every store has a sign outside - closed after 8:30.
"When you're in McDonald's, you have to adapt to local customs. We're open 24 hours a day." Ye Qingtong looked inside. The staff were all locals, and they all looked very striking. She couldn't help but wipe her mouth, "It's great to see beautiful women."
"Stop drooling, it's about to drip." Jun Zhu handed over a tissue.
Ye Qingtong chuckled foolishly.
The next second, her laughter stopped abruptly.
Suddenly, a couple had a conflict in the store, and the man stood up and slapped the woman in the face.
The clerk next to him was so scared that he tried to persuade him in not very standard Mandarin, but was pushed away by the man.
After listening carefully, the man said, "Your family is too much! I've already bought a house, and I brought you to visit Northern Xinjiang. I've given you everything you wanted, and yet your family wants a 200,000 yuan betrothal gift? Why don't you just go and rob it?! Gu Yan, do you really love me?! Or are you just using me as an ATM?!"
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