When the green light suddenly turned on, everyone around me perked up.
Wang Qing was the first to react, saying to me, "In Fengmen Village, once the green light is turned on, it's usually sealed off within ten minutes. We're probably running out of time!"
We were in a commercial area, and there were no houses with white couplets pasted on them. When I saw the green lanterns light up, I was startled and shouted to the monkey in the tunnel, "Monkey, the situation here is a bit complicated. Come up first, we need to hide!"
"receive!"
Hearing my voice, the monkey quickly climbed out of the hole and brushed the dirt off its body.
When I saw the monkey come up, I waved to the others and said, "Give me a hand and put this stone slab back in its place."
At this point, we not only had to put the stone slab back in place, but there was also a lot of stolen soil around it that needed to be cleared. Even with everyone working together, it still took four or five minutes.
Time ticked by, and although I was filled with anxiety, I could only patiently prepare.
Digging tunnels in Fengmen Village is strictly prohibited. If we don't finish the job properly, it could lead to our deaths.
Just as we were cleaning up the stolen soil, the surrounding light suddenly turned bright red.
Wang Qing was shocked. He glanced at the pocket watch in his hand and asked in surprise, "What's going on in Fengmen Village today? It usually takes ten minutes to change the lights, but today they only gave us five minutes?"
Manjing then looked at us and said, "When I went to clear the soil just now, I saw a house with white couplets pasted on it, but it was a long way from here. It would take at least five minutes to run there, and it was located on the side of the main road, so it would be easy to spot."
"Why don't we go into those shops and hide for a while?"
The monkey looked around and fixed its gaze on the row of buildings near the pharmacy: "There's nowhere else to go around here except for these shops."
"No, according to the rules of Fengmen Village, when the red light is on, only the room with the white couplet and your own residence are safe. We have wasted too much time."
Looking at the space that had turned red, I asked the monkey quickly, "How long will it take you to dig this tunnel at the fastest?"
“When I dug the trench before, I only reached the rammed earth layer. I don’t know yet because I don’t know how thick the rammed earth layer is.”
The monkey had already guessed my intention: "Even if we can dig a tunnel, no one knows how long it will take for the lights above to turn white. And if we go down to hide, there's nowhere to put the stolen soil; it will just be scattered in the tunnel. If we're discovered, we'll be doomed."
"Staying up there is certain death, going down there at least offers a glimmer of hope."
After a brief moment of thought, I quickly made a decision: "Dig the tunnel as fast as possible, quick!"
As soon as he finished speaking, we all started to help, and the monkey re-entered the tunnel.
Inside the cave, illuminated by red lights, I listened to the sound of shovels scraping against the soil in the tunnel, and my palms were already sweating.
About three minutes later, I suddenly heard the sound of gongs and drums, which startled me.
I heard this mournful music the last time the red lights were on in Fengmen Village.
Judging from the sounds, the funeral procession was clearly heading our way.
Just as I was anxiously trying to figure out how to solve the problem, the monkey's voice came from inside the tunnel: "Young Master Duan, the tunnel is open!"
My face lit up with joy, and I waved my hands to everyone, saying, "Everyone, get down, hurry up!"
Wang Qing and Wang Hong were the first to enter the tomb, at which point the sound of funeral music became even clearer.
Before entering the tunnel, I glanced into the distance and was startled.
A group of people had already appeared in the direction of the cave entrance.
These people were all over three meters tall and wore long robes.
Because of the distance, I couldn't see their faces clearly. I could only barely recognize the two people at the front wearing pointed hats, who were playing the roles of the Black and White Impermanence.
The people behind them, dressed like ghost messengers, accompanied them as they walked, with countless pieces of paper money being thrown into the sky.
In the middle of the crowd, several burly men carried a pale white sedan chair, the bells at the four corners of which swayed gently as they moved.
This bizarre scene startled me.
Seeing that the group was heading our way, I quickly jumped into the tunnel.
The last one to come down, Manjing, used his legs to support his body and moved the stone slab back by himself.
When we were moving the stone slabs earlier, Wang Qing, Wang Hong, Monkey, and I all seemed to be struggling. If it weren't for Manjing, that incredibly strong beast, being there, we probably would have really been exposed.
After the stone slab closed, blocking out the outside noise, I began to examine the space beneath the tomb's tunnel.
Under the flashlight's beam, we found ourselves in a circular passageway about one meter in diameter, with various wires laid out beneath our feet.
Seeing this, Wang Qing couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: "We've come to the wrong place. This isn't the passage for the people from Fengmen Village to get in and out at all; it's just an electrical conduit."
"This may not be a bad thing. We came down too quickly and the stolen soil was scattered all over the ground. If we were really in the passage, we would be spotted at a glance."
The monkey paused for a moment, then continued, "Look at both sides of this passage. There are handrails, which means that its purpose is to facilitate the maintenance of the circuits by the people of Fengmen Village. Since it is a maintenance passage, there must be an exit. It might even be connected to the pedestrian passage. If that's the case, we've actually gotten a good deal and reduced the risk of being exposed."
I roughly judged the direction and pointed to one side, saying, "The pharmacy is on the left. Everyone, follow the maintenance passage and see what's going on."
Wang Qing nodded and walked ahead of me, while whispering, "After I came down, I heard gongs and drums outside. What was that scene up there?"
"It looks a lot like a ghost marriage. A group of people are on stilts, dressed as ghost messengers, escorting the bride. I don't know what the people of Fengmen Village are up to."
I wasn't entirely clear about what I was seeing either, and muttered to myself, "According to the rules of Fengmen Village, once the red light is on, no one is allowed to be outside. Since they've already set such strict rules, why are they making such a fuss? Who are they trying to impress?"
Wang Hong suddenly asked, "Is it possible that they are really having a ghost marriage? Fengmen Village is an all-powerful black market. It's not impossible that some big spender might come to Fengmen Village wanting to arrange a ghost marriage for their descendants or relatives, is it?"
"Perhaps, but if they want to have a ghost marriage, they should get married at the location of the couple's grave."
I was skeptical: "Could it be that this place only handles sending out brides, and is actually sending off ghosts?"
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