Chapter 42
The banquet was very hasty and no one picked up their chopsticks. After the rain stopped, a few people carried the coffin and walked up the mountain, and the rest of the villagers followed behind.
The funeral procession was very long, and Xie Que and his group, as outsiders, were at the end of the procession.
The ancestral hall was some distance from the grave mountain, and the rain made the path difficult to walk on. It took almost half an hour to reach the bottom of the mountain. The path up the mountain was only for those responsible for burying the coffins, but Xie watched as the people around him turned back one by one, so he had to take a detour to follow them up the mountain.
The villagers who had appeared out of nowhere disappeared again after entering the village, without even leaving any footprints.
The road Xie chose was probably the one the villagers used to chop firewood on the mountain. There were no graves around, but he still felt a little nervous when he saw the green all over the mountain.
I don't know where Jing Xiebai is now, and I hope nothing happens to me. Xie Que used his hands to push aside the weeds that blocked his way while praying in his heart that he would not die here before he could reunite with Jing Xiebai.
The rain started to fall again, but Xie looked up at the gray sky, feeling a little uneasy. Just as he lowered his head, his eyes suddenly lit up, and a loud thunderclap struck him from the sky.
Xie was blinded by the lightning, but he didn't react for a while. He blinked and vaguely saw a figure flash past in front of him. When he opened his eyes, he found that there was nothing in front of him.
"What's going on?" Xie Que rubbed his eyes. He always felt that he was not seeing things just now, but there was indeed nothing in front of him.
The place where the lightning struck was not far from him, but Xie did not dwell on this issue anymore and continued to move forward.
He walked for nearly two hours and looked everywhere in the mountain but couldn't find the coffin.
"It's strange, why is it gone?" Xie leaned against a tree, panting and wiping the rain off his face.
The dirt on the black jacket had been washed away by the rain, and his hair was wet and stuck to his face, but Xie combed it back all at once.
He was standing in a position where he could see the village not far away. The surroundings were no different from when they first entered the mountain, except for the missing coffin.
Xie, however, looked forward with his head raised, his eyes unfocused. His face, usually filled with smiles, was now expressionless, looking cold and heartless.
He was recalling his experiences of the day.
They had already noticed something was amiss before they even entered the village. The feng shui layout of graves in front of the houses and water behind them doomed the village to a bad end.
Then came the matter of the water ghost. Xie believed Jing Xiebai, and he would definitely not make any mistakes in summoning ghosts. However, not only did the ghost fail to appear, but the traces of their footsteps also disappeared.
Then came the ghost show just now.
Xie recalled the details and felt that the banquet was not real. Both the ghosts chasing him and the sound of the gongs were a bit strange, giving people the feeling a bit like a VR game.
It wasn't Xie's fault for overthinking things. Back in high school, he'd read about a real-life incident online. Someone had spotted a palace maid walking around the Forbidden City after it rained, and even filmed it.
The explanation given at the time was that some substance within the red walls of the Forbidden City could record the situation at the time and reproduce it under special weather conditions, a bit like a camera.
Although this explanation was later found to be untenable, the current situation seems to be the same as it was back then.
Xie Que glanced around the village, thinking about what he would do if he were to come and explore the spirits.
The first thing to consider is definitely housing.
On the way here, they asked the owner of the guesthouse, and he said that he had never received Lei Mingzhe and his group, so they must have planned to stay in the village.
Come to think of it, this village is also the hometown of one of them. As long as there are still people in the village, it makes sense for them to live here. After all, going in and out of the mountains consumes a lot of physical energy.
There is also the matter of finding ghosts.
So far, they can only confirm that there is a water ghost in the village. Although they have not seen it with their own eyes, Xie believes in Jing Xiebai's judgment. Since he is so sure that there is only one water ghost, he cannot be wrong.
How could ordinary people summon ghosts? The most they could do is look up the methods of summoning ghosts on the Internet and play a four-corner game at best.
Thinking of this, Xie felt much more relieved. He turned off his cell phone and put it in his pocket. Then he turned around and walked down the mountain when the rain got lighter.
Most of the houses in the village had wooden doors, and a few of them were open. Xie leaned in to take a look, and the strong musty smell made him frown.
"What's that smell..." Xie fanned himself with his hands and walked in despite suppressing his nausea.
In the center of the house stood a small altar with a Buddha statue on it. To the left was the woodshed and kitchen, and to the right was the living room with a staircase leading to the second floor.
The room was dark, with no lights on. Xie had to turn on the flashlight to get a clear view of the room.
It was too dark just now and he didn't notice the portrait of an old man hanging on the wall, but Xie met the old man's eyes and felt a little nervous for no reason.
This kind of portrait is usually a portrait of a deceased person. Wouldn't the family be scared when seeing this portrait? Xie walked forward while silently complaining in his heart.
The incense burner on the altar was empty, and the electric candles were covered in dust. Xie casually touched a handful, somewhat surprised: "How long has it been since anyone lived here? It's already this dirty."
He spent some time looking around the house, but found nothing except a stack of damp, softened yellow paper in a corner.
Xie looked at several other houses but found nothing.
"This is really strange." The sun was setting, and he had to hurry. There was a small house near the river that he hadn't entered yet, but Xie could sense a hint of yin energy emanating from it from a distance.
The house was small, with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom on the first floor, and bedrooms on the second. However, Xie found several dusty bags in the living room, containing the IDs of Lei Mingzhe and his group.
It seems that this is the place. Xie took out the talisman paper, held it tightly in his hand, and walked in carefully.
There was a strong smell of blood in the kitchen, the trash can was full of chicken feathers, and there was even emptied rice in the rice cooker. Porcelain bowls of all sizes had fallen to the ground, leaving almost no room for feet.
Xie looked at the mess on the ground and reacted almost instantly.
They are eating food.
Well-known methods of summoning ghosts include the Pen Fairy, the Four Corners game, and even some people try to summon Bloody Mary. Some of these methods are true, while others are false. Eating grain, while less well-known, does indeed attract ghosts.
The "eating grain" ritual involves a group of ten or fewer people, half male and half female, taking a bowl of white rice and pouring chicken blood into it. Everyone sits in a circle and chants a mantra. Once the chicken blood overflows from the bowl, a piece of white paper is placed on the table. Everyone turns their backs to the bowl and questions can begin.
Eating food will attract nearby ghosts. After asking the question and hearing the sound of the bowl breaking, turn around and look at the answer on the paper. Then immediately burn the paper at the crossroads to send the ghost away.
Xie walked back to the living room, quickly rummaged through his luggage bag, and sure enough, he found a torn notebook in it.
It seemed that he had guessed correctly, but Xie threw the notes on the table, and many doubts emerged in his mind.
What questions did they ask? Why did they leave without their backpacks? Why was there such a mess in the kitchen? It was obvious they had left in a hurry...
No way?!
Xie suddenly had an idea and a bad premonition in his heart.
Asking questions about food is very particular. Don't ask about the cause of trouble or the cause of death. If they ask questions they shouldn't ask, they won't be able to send this water ghost away. Chen Shan would never allow such a thing to happen, so he hurriedly stopped it.
Thinking of this, Xie got goosebumps.
"Damn, these people are really not afraid of death." Not wanting to stay long, he took some dry food from his bag and went out.
It was already dark at around four or five in the afternoon. No ghost was found in the village, so Xie had no choice but to walk up the mountain with a flashlight.
The road was too difficult to walk on, and Xie almost fell every five steps up the mountain. The nameless coffin appeared again. He looked left and right, and when he was sure that no one was around, he wanted to throw the talisman paper inside.
I just don't believe it. You can't find a ghost after all this time? Xie encouraged himself in his heart. Just as he was about to throw the talisman paper away, a pair of hands covered his mouth from behind and dragged him into the woods.
Xie suddenly widened his eyes, opened his mouth wide and bit down, and at the same time hit back with his elbow. The person behind him had anticipated his action and caught the blow steadily.
"It's me." Jing Xiebai whispered in Xie Que's ear, "Don't make a sound!"
? !
Is it Jing Xiebai? !
Xie fell silent and allowed the other party to drag him into the darkness.
After walking for nearly a minute, Jing Xiebai finally put Xie Que down.
The moment the restraints disappeared, Xie Que spoke: "Where have you been? Why did you show up now?"
"Shh!" Jing Xiebai stretched out a finger and put it in front of Xie Que, frowning. "Don't ask me yet. Let me tell you."
Jing Xiebai explained his movements in a few words.
"That illusion was a trap set by Chen Shan for us to step into. I kept you here specifically to confuse Chen Shan."
Jing Xiebai discovered Lei Mingzhe and his companions' mistake when Xie Que entered the illusion. They had summoned the ghost, causing the entire village to be buried with them. Chen Shan was probably injured, so he had to come to exorcise the ghost a few days later. He just didn't expect them to arrive first.
"His move was to make us focus on the thunder-struck coffin and exorcise the ghost without realizing it. He just didn't expect me to see through his scheme, and you quickly came out of the illusion."
After finally winning the battle with Chen Shan, Jing Xiebai felt much better and there was no trace of depression on his face.
"So where are we now?"
"Wait, wait for Chen Shan to come and exorcise the ghost. If he doesn't come, we will exorcise the ghost ourselves." Jing Xiebai pointed to the location of the nameless coffin to Xie Que, signaling him to stare at it carefully.
Neither of them spoke for a while, and it was so quiet that only the sound of raindrops could be heard.
After waiting for less than five minutes, Xie lost his patience. He took two steps forward and said, "I'll go guard the front. If something happens from such a long distance, I can't run over."
Jing Xiebai disagreed: "Just wait at the back. We might be discovered if we get too close."
Xie didn't stop and continued to move forward.
Jing Xiebai was a little anxious and shouted in a low voice: "Thank you!"
Xie Quecai turned his head when he was a few steps away from her. The pale moonlight shone on Jing Xiebai's face, making him look ghostly.
"Why are you looking at me? Come back quickly." Jing Xiebai stared at Xie Que, holding a few talismans in his hand. He seemed really worried that Xie Que would be exposed.
"Have you sent a message to Shi Ming? When will he arrive?"
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