In the evening in the mountains, the sky is dim.
Dark and yellow.
There is a pond in front of the owner's house with fish in it. Today he went to catch fish, get sausages and bacon, and borrow some vegetables from his neighbor's house. The women were busy in the stove.
People entertain guests in the main room.
Including the old gentleman invited from the next village, relatives and neighbors who spontaneously came to help, and the young gentleman who brought the baby's soul back with him.
Mainly two gentlemen.
"My baby has suffered this disaster, and I don't know if it will have any impact on the future."
The host looked at Song You and the old gentleman.
Everyone else listened attentively.
Interestingly, some neighbor children also came, leaning silently against the door and quietly staring inside. This kind of mysterious and mysterious things seemed to be inherently attractive to them.
The old gentleman looked at Song You and didn't dare to speak first.
Song You also looked at the old gentleman.
No one spoke in the room, and there was a moment of silence.
"I'm going to tell you the truth." Song You spoke first, with a very low profile, "I have been practicing in the mountains for a long time, and I only went down to the mountains for a trip last year. Not to mention that I am not very young. I don't see many such things. I am also lucky to meet you today. It’s just a coincidence. The old gentleman is the one with experience. The master just asks the old gentleman.”
The host then looked at the old gentleman.
The old gentleman thought about it for a moment before speaking:
"This kind of thing is definitely not good for the baby's health. He needs to be well taken care of for a while and remember not to be frightened again. As for what will happen in the future, I can't say, it depends on how well he is taken care of."
What he said was obviously the truth and not nonsense, but in front of this young gentleman who obviously had the truth, he couldn't help but feel guilty for no reason, and after he finished speaking, he still looked at him secretly.
In the dimness, I could only see him nodding slightly, thoughtfully, as if he only knew it today.
"The most important thing," the old gentleman continued, "is that you have to figure out how the little kid lost his soul, so that we can avoid this kind of thing in the future."
"How do we know..."
"Think carefully about whether he was frightened. Either there was a crowing of cocks or a barking of dogs, or there was a sudden shouting, or he had entered some temple, or he accidentally encountered a ghost at night."
"How do you know..."
The host was also at a loss: "I only know that he came back from outside the day before yesterday and lay on the bed all of a sudden. He couldn't wake up."
Only then did the people around him start talking in a few words.
The sound suddenly became chaotic.
Some people say that the tree at the entrance of the village has been growing for hundreds of years. I don’t know how many people worship it as a guarantor. I am afraid it is spiritual. I saw his child urinating against the tree before, so he may have offended it.
Some people say that children are naughty and often run into the mountains, fearing that they may accidentally encounter something that becomes a spirit.
Someone said that an old man died at the entrance of the village and was buried on the opposite slope. The day before yesterday happened to be the seventh day of the lunar month. Maybe a child was running around in the morning and evening and accidentally saw it.
Some people say that children play crazy and like to hide in dark places and jump out from behind to scare each other.
Song You turned his head and looked outside the door——
A few fields and a weir pond were separated, and in the dim skylight, a new tomb could be vaguely seen on the opposite mountain. The soul-calling flag was still inserted, and according to local customs, a bell was attached.
….
There was a tinkling sound in the wind when I passed by before.
The bell conveys the thoughts and comfort of the living to the deceased, so the ghosts who have not dispersed are attracted to it. At this dusk, a faint shadow can be seen, sitting on the hillside in trance, maybe just listening to the wind and the sound of bells, maybe reminiscing about this life, and not wanting to leave for a while.
"What are you looking at, little sir?"
The host's voice of inquiry came from beside him.
"nothing."
Song You looked away and replied with a smile: "It's getting darker day by day now."
"Why not!"
The host just thought that he was hungry, and was trying to remind himself in disguise that it was already dark and why the meal was not served yet, so he quickly got up again and said, "I'll go to the stove to urge him, and the meal will be served soon."
Song You pursed his lips and glanced outside the door again.
Although the child did almost lose his soul because of this incident, it was actually just a chance encounter. Such coincidences are rare in the world, so no one can blame him.
That was just an ordinary dead person, staying here for the time being and disappearing naturally in two days.
There's no other benefit to saying it.
After a while, dinner was served.
The host cooked a pot of tofu fish, fried bacon, cut sausages, and cooked white rice. Of course, it was not as good as in the city, but it was still a good meal prepared by the farmers in the village with great effort, and it was better than Songyou's journey along the way. The cold steamed buns I eat are countless times better.
A big bowl of rice.
The rice is fragrant.
To his surprise, this pot of tofu fish didn't look very good, as if it was cooked casually, but it contained a mystery——
It's actually sour.
If you take a closer look, you will find that the sourness does not come from vinegar or kimchi, but from preserved fruits such as prunes. It tastes very special, with a strong sourness, and it is easy to coax the rice into your stomach.
Song You was calm in his heart. He just picked vegetables and ate rice at will. If it was not enough, he would add more. You are not polite at all.
For the hospitable host, this is really a happy thing. Even the woman who is cooking feels happy when she is watching.
"This fish is really delicious!"
"Local method, local method, everyone here does it." The woman smiled. "It's sour. Just soup can make you eat a bowl of rice. It's a method for poor people."
"Good workmanship."
"I don't dare..."
The owner's house doesn't have many houses, so he only has one room left.
Song You wants to sleep in a room with the old gentleman.
Fortunately, we can make a floor bunk.
This is unavoidable when you go out.
Don't be too squeamish and pretentious.
But this kind of thing is strange to say——
Although I accepted it at first and had no objection to it, I still felt it was somewhat unsightly. After all, it was not as good as a single room. But as soon as I entered the house and lay down, I quickly felt that there was nothing different. Even if the old gentleman snores loudly at night, it is just a trivial matter, not even a trivial matter. Thinking back on it carefully, it was completely different from how I felt before entering the house.
There are not many such things——
You have to be in front of it before you can see it clearly and know how you really feel about it.
But how can one understand such a thing? How can it be learned from elsewhere? But you have to experience it yourself before you can gain some insights and gradually become enlightened.
….
There is something wonderful about thinking about it carefully.
…
Early next morning.
Song You woke up late, just in time for breakfast.
Even though it was breakfast, the host tried his best to prepare it sumptuously. He also cooked fish and cut bacon, which was delicious.
The people in the mountains don't care whether it's oily or not. It's all good food that they rarely eat. There's no such thing as greasy. They just take out everything they can, hoping to give the guests a good meal.
Song You thanked him and started eating.
The old gentleman from last night is still there.
The old gentleman took the initiative to talk to him: "Young gentleman, are you going to find immortals on Yunding Mountain in Pingzhou?"
"Have you heard of it, sir?"
"I heard it said." Although the old man was at the dinner table, he would stop his chopsticks to empty his mouth when he spoke. "I heard someone said there are gods up there. Every year, many people go to the mountain to look for them. Some of them are kings in the court. All the officials will also go."
"Did you find any?"
"You have to be destined to do it."
"I also went to see it because of its reputation." Song You paused, "I heard that the scenery in Yunding Mountain is also pretty good."
"Very high!"
"Can you climb up in one day?"
"I haven't climbed before."
The old man answered honestly, and then added: "I don't know if Yunding Mountain is easy to climb, but I heard that it is not easy to get to Pingzhou from here."
"How to say?"
"From here, you must go through Xiangle County, right?" The old gentleman stared at Song You with beady eyes.
"Um."
Song You actually didn't know what county was ahead.
The host couldn't say anything, so he just listened and gained some insights.
Just listen to the old gentleman say:
"The road from Xiangle County to Pingzhou is very difficult to walk. In ancient times, people didn't want to take this road when fighting. Moreover, there are mountains for hundreds of miles. They are all mountains and there are few people." The old gentleman paused and then He lowered his voice and said to Song Youyou mysteriously, "I know you are a true Taoist and much better than me, but that section of the road, I heard people say, there are a lot of fairies and ghosts! You Look, usually no one walks on a road for a long time, and within half a year it will be overgrown with weeds, but the road over there is never long, who do you think is walking on it?"
"Thank you sir..."
The old gentleman undoubtedly means well.
There are indeed some people these days who practice the true way, but it is one thing to practice the way, but it does not necessarily mean they will run wild in this world. No matter how high their Taoism is, it only means that they have the capital to walk at night, but it does not mean that they are willing to walk at night. A difficult road, even if it is just muddy and dirty, is annoying.
Song You didn't want to walk often, but he was still willing to give it a try once in a while.
At this time, I heard the old gentleman say again:
"I haven't asked you yet, Mr. Young, where do you practice?"
"You are rude, junior." Song You put down his chopsticks and cupped his hands, "In Yin Yang Mountain, Lingquan County."
"I'm afraid it's the Immortal Cave."
"It's out of the question, I don't dare to take it seriously."
"Sir, have you ever seen a child lose his soul?"
"I've heard that too."
"Is it also relying on soul-calling over there?"
"..."
Song You stopped and thought for a moment——
In fact, Yizhou is also called soul, but the name is different and the details are different. It is essentially the same principle.
….
It's just that the old man asked specifically, after telling him the way to Pingzhou, he obviously didn't want to know if there was a folk method of summoning souls there.
In fact, these kind of folk gentlemen do not practice spiritual magic and do not know magic. They rely on the experience and knowledge passed down from generation to generation to solve such things. This is the skill that they rely on to survive. But don't give it up. This kind of skill is naturally not as powerful as orthodox magic, but it is easy to learn, easy to acquire, simple and easy to use. I don’t know how many things it has helped people solve, so it can be said to have immeasurable merit.
A cat that can catch mice is a good cat.
So Song You thought about it seriously.
"I don't know much about it, but apart from summoning souls, I have indeed heard of some folk gentlemen in my hometown using other methods."
"Can you please tell me?"
"I wonder if there is a small temple here? It doesn't count for the idle gods in the mountains. It needs to be sealed by the imperial court."
“They don’t have it in their village, and we don’t have it in our village either.”
"Is there one in the county?"
"There is a Taoist temple in the county, and many gods are worshipped."
"That won't work."
"What do you mean?"
"Great gods are hard to find and cannot be found. Wild gods are unreliable and risky and cannot be found. Small gods are mostly empty statues and useless. It is best to find local gods who are famous only in one county and have been awarded awards by the court." Song Song You said to the old gentleman, "We have a gentleman in Lingquan County who does this. He builds a small temple for this god in the village. It doesn't need to be too big, just three feet high. Every New Year and festival, the villagers are asked to go and worship. But the husband himself goes to burn incense every now and then, and every time he speaks a few words to make himself familiar, so that next time he can ask for something, it will be much more convenient than ordinary villagers."
"This method..."
"This method takes some effort, but it also has benefits. After it is well maintained, every time
Whether it's a lost soul, a ghost, or an evil monster coming to your home, you don't need to do anything else. You just need to burn incense in the temple and wait for the person to show up, and everything will be cured. "
Song You paused for a moment: "And if it doesn't work..."
"What should I do if it doesn't work?"
"It's not easy for villagers to farm, how can incense nourish the leisure god?" Song You said with a smile, "I should explain this kind of thing to the Lord Shen. I think the Lord Shen will understand."
"Still not working?"
"Smash it for him."
A casual sentence that speaks loudly.
The host who was listening was suddenly shocked.
The old gentleman also took a breath, his eyes widened, and then he tugged on his beard, but fell into thought again.
Thank you to the leader of "Syr, the Supreme Being", and bow and show your chest!
golden jasmine
