Strangely enough, as soon as we left that forest, the biting cold we felt immediately disappeared and was replaced by the heat outside.
"Damn it, this is too weird!"
The monkey looked at the sun in the sky, then at the jungle in front of it: "In broad daylight, how could there be ghosts?"
I pulled out a bottle of mineral water from the side pocket of my travel bag and gestured to the others: "The water shows no signs of freezing or cooling. If the temperature inside were really low, water vapor in the air should condense into a layer of water droplets on the surface of the bottle. This means that the temperature inside the forest is normal, and only we are feeling the cold."
"A place for raising corpses."
Qu Ruilin ignored me and said to the others, "Ancient books record that there are extremely yin places in the world. These places are the gates to the underworld, forbidden areas for the living! In modern terms, they are some kind of magnetic field that can mislead people's senses through visual and psychological effects!"
Xu Hu pointed at Galawa: "This doesn't make sense. If there's really something wrong with the magnetic field here, why is it that only we can feel it, while he's fine?"
Just now in the woods, Galawa was leading the way. Because he doesn't understand Chinese, he didn't know what we were saying either.
It wasn't until we left the woods and were talking that we realized that of the ten people in the group, only Galawa hadn't felt the cold.
At this point, Galawa also said a few words, and the translator explained, "Galava said that many evil things have happened here, and he suggested that we stop here and not go any further!"
"Impossible. We haven't even seen a trace of the Demon Monk's Tomb yet. I will never give up easily! A corpse-raising ground is no match for the Wei family."
Wei Shengnan turned her gaze to the crowd: "Among all of you, who is a virgin?"
Although we were all grown men, we still felt a little embarrassed when we were suddenly asked this question, and we all blushed.
More importantly, after three or four seconds, no one in the crowd made a sound.
Wei Shengnan looked around: "Not a single one?"
Seeing that no one else spoke, I gently raised my hand: "I...I am!"
Upon hearing my words, the monkey looked shocked: "No way, Young Master Wei? You spent so much time with Gao Ya back in school, and you're still a virgin?"
The elegance he mentioned was the girl I fought for back then.
I wasn't exactly a model student back in my school days either. The two of us did all sorts of ambiguous things, but we were too young to cross any lines.
After graduating from high school and entering society, I encountered more pragmatic people. I was penniless, running Wangyunzhai, and had to work part-time every day, so even fewer people would look up to me.
Seeing that I raised my hand, Wei Shengnan said nothing, but said to the Wei family disciples, "Assemble the Soul-Guiding Banner, and we'll go back into the forest!"
Soon, the soul-guiding banner was assembled.
This kind of soul-guiding banner is the white banner that is carried by the eldest son and grandson of the deceased during funerals in many regions.
However, the white banner of the Wei family was different from the one I had seen before. First of all, it was larger in size, like an umbrella, with many white strips of cloth hanging down, and many patterns drawn with cinnabar on it. There was also a circle of small bells shaped like bells and tripods inside.
While the others were assembling the soul-guiding banner, Wei Shengnan took out an inkwell that looked like a fishing rod handle and pulled out a black thread dipped in ink: "Everyone, every two meters, wrap this thread around your left wrist, get ready to enter the forest! Duan Shenxing, come here and hold the banner with me!"
Under Wei Shengnan's command, except for Galawa, all the rest of us tied our wrists together with ink thread. I also put my hands in front of my chest and walked towards the woods with a soul-summoning banner.
The soul-summoning banner, also called the guide banner, is a flag used to guide the deceased.
Legend has it that the guiding banner can conceal the aura of the living, allowing them to pass through forbidden places.
"A golden boy leads the way! A jade maiden escorts them back to the mountain! The place where the souls of the dead return! The living must avoid the gates of ghosts!"
Wei Shengnan stood at the front of the woods and loudly recited the incantation: "Enter!"
As soon as she finished speaking, I followed her into the woods.
Whether by coincidence or not, the moment we stepped into the woods, a series of small whirlwinds suddenly swept around us, causing the branches to rustle and the bells on the soul-guiding banner to ring incessantly.
According to legend, these small whirlwinds are traces left by ghosts when they walk.
After we entered the forest carrying the soul-guiding banner, the cold feeling we had before was really gone.
After analyzing it, I think it's probably a psychological factor.
In 18th-century Europe, a form of punishment called "simulated execution" was popular. This involved blindfolding the prisoner and simulating an external environment to pretend that they were about to be beheaded, shot, or hanged. This frightened many psychologically vulnerable prisoners to death.
According to Qu Ruilin, a corpse-raising site should be a place with a special magnetic field that can induce hallucinations through visual and psychological factors.
The same principle applies to the soul-summoning banner; it uses ritualistic practices to keep us highly focused and provide psychological comfort, thus reducing the influence of the environment.
As for why Galawa was unaffected, I speculate that as the next shaman in the tribe, he may have learned other methods to enhance his spiritual power.
The tree canopy blocked out the sun, and in the dim forest, only the sound of bells echoed continuously.
As I listened to the sound of the bells, I suddenly realized something.
The strangeness of this forest probably lies not only in the previous low temperatures.
Logically speaking, this mountain is surrounded by Gobi Desert, and animals cannot live in such a place. They must run to places with mountains and water.
But since we entered the forest, we haven't heard a single insect chirp or bird call.
"Hiss!"
Suddenly, I heard someone gasp for air, and I thought someone else was affected by the low temperature.
But when I turned around, I found that the people behind me were also looking forward.
That sound didn't come from any of our group.
"Hiss!"
"Hiss!"
The sound of gasps of cold air surrounded us like a tidal wave, and it grew louder and louder.
"There's a snake!"
The monkey looked at the bushes to the side and let out a low growl.
I followed the monkey's gaze and got goosebumps.
In the woods around us, countless snakes rolled by, their colorful bodies intertwined, surging like water.
"Splash!"
Song Laosan reacted the fastest, pulling a submachine gun from his bag and cocking it immediately.
"Everyone, don't move! Don't break the rope!" Wei Shengnan shouted to the Wei family members. "Snake repellent spray!"
We made thorough preparations before setting off, taking into account the possibility of snakes, insects, and rodents, so we brought quite a lot of things.
Just then, Galawa suddenly shouted something and blocked our way. The translator quickly explained, "He told us not to harm these snakes, saying that killing snakes here would anger the Naga!"
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