They failed to find Death Shadow Pavilion on the first day. This is normal. After all, Qinglize is very big and there are no artificial trails. Didn’t Xie Zhe say that? Soil and water vegetation are always variable in the environment. But he seems to be more confident, because he has a map that others can't understand, saying that Mutsuki-kun drew it for him. This map also needs to be used with some tools, which are all gadgets of the Onmyoji. Xie Zhe only needs to know how to mess with them, and everyone else can just follow. Even though we were in a completely unfamiliar place, seeing how calm he was, others couldn't get anxious.
When the sky gradually darkened, he said that he would not be able to arrive until the next day, so a few people found some wood and leaves of large plants nearby and built a simple shed. Hanshang is very skilled at doing this and may have done it many times. Techniques such as using vines to reinforce wooden frames and using gum to fill overlapping gaps between uneven leaves were something Ye Linghua had never seen before. She felt that she couldn't help much, and the others didn't let her do anything, so she helped hold Ruan and circle around the two people.
The sky was completely dark, but they could not see the stars clearly. Because they have gone deep into Qingli Ze, there are many towering ancient trees, and their crowns cut the sky into pieces. Qinglize is located very far south, and is warm and humid all year round. Even in winter, the vegetation is still so dense. The trees growing here never seem to know what falling leaves means. Maybe this has something to do with the magic power of the Green Deer God.
After finishing their work, the three people sat in a circle around the fire. A plump pheasant was roasting on the fire. It was so fat that it was dripping with oil. Han Chang caught it when he was looking for firewood. Dry wood is hard to find here, so he walks farther. When he came back with the chicken in his arms and the wood, he happily asked them what they thought he had found - even though it was in his hand, his happy look reminded Xie Zhe of the time he sneaked into the village in the middle of the night and successfully stole the hen from a farmer's house. The old fox, looking triumphantly in front of the hungry eyes of his companions. Although he didn't mean any harm, he knew that the metaphor was unpleasant, so he didn't say it out loud. On top of that, he was hungry too.
Maybe he felt bored sitting here, and Han Chang suddenly spoke:
"The big horns of the Green Deer God also stand here. I heard that they are the tallest and largest trees in the forest, and they are also the only two giant trees without a crown. Many monsters and animals have made their homes there. I heard that staying there can improve your spiritual power. Recover faster.”
"I've heard of it too," Xie Zhe continued, "but I've never seen it. The entrance to Death Shadow Pavilion is in the center of two giant trees, which is the eye socket of the deer demon's skull."
Ye Lingyu's expression was a little strange: "Uh... it sounds a bit..."
"A bit scary?" Han Chang said with a smile, "Then if you make a couplet, hang a bunch of sorghum ears on one side, hang a bunch of garlic on the other, and paste a horizontal stripe on the top, doesn't it sound much better?"
"That's too weird!"
What Han Chang said was so graphic that when she thought of this funny and weird scene, she felt like she couldn't laugh or cry, but the corners of her mouth finally raised. But before she felt happy for a while, she suddenly sighed deeply and unconsciously hugged Ruan tightly in her arms. Is she cold? Miss Ruan Xiang couldn't guess.
"What's wrong? Suddenly he got angry again."
"It's nothing, it's just... the thought of not being able to celebrate the New Year at home this year feels a bit... unimaginable. It's not that I'm sad, it's just the first time in more than 20 years that I won't be celebrating the New Year with my family."
"Human New Year is quite lively, and I like it too. But you must have a lot of Ye family members, right? Isn't it exhausting to visit relatives and go door to door? You have to spend a lot of new year's money, right?"
"Oh, it's not like that. We don't have to meet everyone named Ye... Well, although relatives I have never heard of in daily life also showed up one by one, it's not like that - —So lively. Basically, my cousin and I lived together. While the old people were still strong, we went to her house this year, or they came to our house. After all, there is only a lake between the two cities, so we can go around It won’t take long.”
"Oh...then what do you do during the Chinese New Year? I've been to many places, and people's customs are different."
"Well, I guess it's nothing different here, right? It's nothing more than having banquets, getting red envelopes, setting off firecrackers, eating New Year's Eve dinner, staying up late, visiting temple fairs, etc. What about you? Do monsters celebrate the New Year?"
Han Chang frowned thoughtfully, as if he thought this question was worthy of careful consideration before answering. The roasted chicken in front of me made a sizzling sound, but it was not yet cooked inside and could not be eaten.
"Some monsters can do it, especially the group of monsters that are relatively close to human villages. Some can't. After all, it's just a human ritual. What's more, most monsters have a very long lifespan. They live year by year, and the monsters are tired. Yes, some monsters only have their birthdays counted once every three to five years. There are also some monsters who have their own festivals similar to the 'New Year', which they celebrate according to the monster's way. But I like to celebrate the New Year, and I always change into various forms. With their faces, we were eating and drinking on flowing water mats in one village after another. I was with that group of disciples when I was learning immortal arts. Going forward, my sister, I, Wen Jiu, and a few fox friends were together Just like humans do during the Chinese New Year. Just find an excuse to get together, eat and drink and brag."
Ye Lingquan laughed and found it very interesting. Hanshang asked her what she likes to do most during the Chinese New Year, but she was a little hesitant.
“I don’t seem to have anything I particularly like, but there’s nothing I don’t like either. I just think everyone gets together and it’s very lively. I’ve never been bored since I was a child. When I get bored, I go have fun with my cousin and other children. Everyone will teach me some popular new games, new songs, and new skills. My sister is very good at playing with pig bones. Her hands are so fast that she can’t see them and none of them will fall to the ground. I am clumsy and can’t learn it, but look They are also very interesting to play. I really... like the feeling of celebrating the New Year. Everyone, whether they know each other or not, is sitting together, everyone is wearing red cotton-padded jackets, everyone is very happy, and the food on the table is all the most delicious. There are also warm fire pits, beautiful red lanterns, exquisite red window grilles, red notes hanging on the orange trees, and the constant crackling of cannons outside... No one feels cold."
Ye Linghua's face had a rosy glow. I don't know if it was because of the firelight, or because she was really happy when she said it. The two words "Chinese New Year" have the power to make people happy. As long as you hear someone talking about it, a warm stream of water will pass through your chest, swirling in your heart, and then gurgling out, making your whole body feel happy. The blood warmed up.
"But Yin'er doesn't like red."
She changed the topic and ended with a strange sentence. After listening for a long time, Xie Zhe asked naturally:
"Why?"
"She said that she always dreams about a big red bird flying in the sky, and she is on a mountain road and can only keep climbing up. The ending of the dream is always her standing on the top of the mountain and seeing the red bird. The big bird fell down the cliff in the sunset, and its body was still on fire. It would make a sad cry, which made her always sad when she woke up. And she often dreamed about the same dream. After a long time, she felt annoyed and disliked it. The dazzling red color in the dream. So she was not particularly happy during the Chinese New Year... Although she would laugh when she was with me, I knew that she was actually not that happy, at least not as happy as me."
"Have you ever asked someone to interpret your dreams?"
"Of course, there are people in her own family who do this, but she can't explain why."
"I see...it's quite special to have this kind of dream all the time."
Han Chang took down the big roasted chicken and poked it with a peeled wooden thorn. When he felt that the heat was not enough, he put it back on the shelf. While he was fussing, he complained about Xie Zhe:
"Okay, okay, stop asking about other people's family affairs. Aren't you happy that you don't see me? Let's talk about you. How is your Chinese New Year? What's fun? How many relatives do you have to visit?"
Ling Huan was about to speak but stopped, remembering that Han Zhang didn't know about Xie Zhe, but couldn't interrupt. She looked at Xie Zhe worriedly. In the firelight, his expression was no different from usual - that is, he had no expression.
"...I lived with my mother, just the two of us."
Han Sheng vaguely heard something, and he could also keenly detect it from Ling Huan's expression. He whispered an apology.
"There's nothing to apologize for. It's always been like this, and I don't like the excitement. My father passed away early, and there was no one in my mother's house, so we spent time together. But she always kept the house neatly cleaned and decorated with lights. , spending money extravagantly that she would not normally part with. She became very generous during the Chinese New Year, although she was also very economical. She cut paper very beautifully, and could cut anything. Years ago, she would use the money she usually saved to buy a large stack of We would cut window grilles out of red paper and give them door-to-door to those who had received kindness. Usually the other party would return the favor and sometimes even invited us to have dinner together. For a while we lived near a temple, and the temple fair held there was quite noisy, but I didn’t I hate it. The young monks I usually play with will dress up as lion dancers and dance on plum blossom poles to ask for incense money. After that, they will definitely give me a throwing cannon, which is the cheapest on the market but can last the longest... …”
The eyes of the three of them were shining. Although this year is a little different, mentioning it all can cheer people up after all.
They agreed to take turns keeping vigil, but Xie Zhe and Han Shang made a tacit agreement not to wake up Miss Ye, and she spent a restful night. Although she woke up to find it was dawn, she still felt very sorry and kept apologizing to them. After tidying up for a while, they put out the bonfire and continued on their way to find Death Shadow Pavilion.
It didn't take long this time. In just one morning, Xie Zhe led them to the entrance of Death Shadow Pavilion.
This is a huge hole.
Even though Ling Huan knew what it was, he was still surprised because it was so big that it didn't seem like it could be pasted with couplets. The cave entrance can accommodate almost ten people entering side by side at the same time. When the Qinglu's skeleton first fell to the ground, were its eye sockets so big? She had nowhere to ask, and she didn't even have much time to sigh.
The scenery inside is also very unique. It was very cold inside the cave, much worse than the hot flashes outside. There are no lights here, but there is a lot of natural light, such as glowing flowers and fungi, as well as blue and green fireflies flying around. There are also many unknown light spots like dandelion fluff flying lightly in the air. In some places, you can still see the blue spiritual stone. Most of the time, the passage is like a cave, with many stalactites and stalagmites, and the sound of dripping water. But occasionally she could see trees, no crowns, just part of the roots inside, piercing the dome. At other times, the road would turn into an unknown white thing, with equally pale arc-shaped pillars on both sides, almost...like ivory or bone.
With her friends around, she wasn't very scared, but she was still careful every step she took. Xie Zhe led Lu at the front, she was in the middle, Han Sheng led Ruan at the back, and they protected her very well.
Here, it seems like time has been slowed down by the air conditioning. It felt like a long time passed to her, longer than when she had to find her way outside in the morning, and even longer than the time she spent walking until dark yesterday. She knew that this might just be an illusion, but she couldn't help but think about it.
Finally, they reached the end of a passage.
The three of them faced the stone wall, each with their own thoughts. Behind me, a tiny spider dangled from a dry stalactite.
"Who are you looking for?"
Suddenly a girl's voice appeared. They turned around at the same time and were shocked to find that there was an extra girl at some point. when? From where? This is a very long one-way street. After all, she...
"Are you...?" Xie Zhe asked.
"If you are here to see the Master of the Dead Shadow Pavilion, you are right here."
She smiled sweetly, as if she could pinch honey out of her face.
