In the early morning after the mountain sacrifice, light rain fell on Feilai Mountain.
High and low mountains are embedded in the vast sky.
Rain is born in the valley, and the clouds hang in the fog. The rain and fog are vaguely connected, and the misty white fades into the melancholy green.
The colors of mountains, rain, smoke and sky are all mixed together.
It's a pity that He Niliu is not a scholar and poet. He doesn't appreciate the mountain scenery along the way and only feels uneasy in his heart.
Not long after the mountain sacrifice, Li Changan led He Wumei and several older children from the hospital into Feilai Mountain, saying that they were going to do the "rite of walking to the mountain", leaving Medical Officer Lu to take care of him at the Salesian Hospital. The rest of the kids.
The children were a little excited at first, after all, who doesn’t yearn for adventure? However, as we gradually went deeper into the empty mountain, where there were no human beings and surrounded by deep forests, we were left with only fear and uneasiness.
This is Feilai Mountain, the birthplace of almost all the horror stories in the world. It is another lair of evil spirits after Cave City.
So all the misty clouds and mist seen along the way turned into gloomy atmosphere, all the strange flowers and strange trees turned into ghostly shadows, and all the sounds of wind, water, insects, and birds also turned into ghostly cries.
Especially when you get to this mountain view.
Collapsed walls, numerous broken statues of gods, dilapidated shrines, dilapidated and old wing rooms and ancient wells in the backyard... everything is a natural stage for all kinds of strange stories.
He Nihao was very uneasy. For the first time in his life, he wished that his age could be set back so that he could stay down the mountain to look after the house instead of going up the mountain to listen to his beloved "Puff-Puff" playing the drums.
"Uncle Ghost." He walked closer to Li Changan, "What are you doing hiking?"
Li Changan was looking at the moss balls clustered one after another on the roof tiles.
A lot of effort was put into building this Taoist temple. Most of the walls of the backyard wing are made of bricks and stones. Although the wooden beams, doors and windows have decayed and collapsed, the frame is still there. If you are willing to put in the effort to repair it, even if it is not as good as those of wealthy people, A villa in the mountains is much better than the thatched shacks of poor families on the edge of the city.
Answer casually:
"Recognize your face?!"
He Niluo first thought of the statues with mutilated limbs in the front yard, and felt a rush of cold air rushing to his forehead.
"Are they here?"
"Why are you here? They're all in the mountains."
He Niluo's expression relaxed and he was about to spit out his breath.
"There's no way we can fit into a yard that's so big."
This breath got stuck in my chest, and it took a while to calm down.
"If you can't squeeze into such a big yard, how many ghosts must there be in the mountain!"
"It can range from thousands to tens of thousands, no one can tell."
Li Changan finally noticed the child's anxiety.
He touched He Niliu's head.
Before the sacrifice to the mountain, these monkey cubs were caught and carefully cleaned by He Wumei. Now they are moving and they feel good.
"Are you afraid?"
He pointed to the amulet hanging on the child's chest. It was made of two-inch square peach wood and had simple runes painted with cinnabar.
"Be rest assured, with this mountain talisman, the people in the mountain will not harm you, but will help you."
"What?!"
Half-year-old is the time to save face.
"It's not like I've never seen ghosts before? How can I be afraid!"
He Niluo angrily threw away his big hands on his head and raised his feet to leave, but he didn't dare to go further, so he had to stand aside and step on the broken tiles on the ground.
Li Changan did not expose the child's little self-esteem.
He stood up with a smile and greeted everyone.
The mountain road is difficult and long, it’s time to hurry up and set off.
…………
The journey is not far.
But Li Changan, who was walking at the front, was holding a stove in his hand. The smoke slowly floated out from the stove and poured into the thin rain and fog in the mountains, making the fog inexplicably thicker.
It was as if the mist all over the mountain was summoned by him.
It also seemed that what he was holding in his hand was not an incense burner, but a mist dragon.
When people are in fog, things around them are inevitably hazy.
Various legends have given it a strange color.
He Niluo had to cheer up and be vigilant about every mountain rock and every forest tree, suspecting that there were ghosts lurking behind the rocks and that there were demons lurking in the woods.
Occasionally.
The team stopped and Li Changan began to recite a mantra, while He Wumei took out the star lantern that had been sacrificed to the mountain last night and placed it on the roadside as an altar. Then she took out cold rice balls and offered them to the "friend" the Taoist said.
At this time, He Niluo would prick up his ears and widen his eyes, paying attention to every slightest movement.
pity.
The mountain is empty and quiet, not to mention ghosts and monsters, and there are very few birds and beasts.
Just like that, walking and stopping.
Arrived at a valley.
The stream flows from the cliff into a low waterfall, rushes out of a small pool filled with white foam, and flows along the rocky ravine.
The team stopped, and the Taoist priest called from the front.
"Loach, come here."
"Why?"
"This valley has been given to you, and it's up to you to worship it."
"Why?!!"
He Niluo reluctantly looked around with the star lantern and dishes.
The stream was gurgling, and the vegetation on both sides was so dense that it was untenable to stand.
Where should I worship this?
He turned around and silently asked the adults for help.
Li Changan lowered his eyes and chanted the mantra with no time to pay attention to him. He Wumei returned an encouraging look.
well! He scratched his head and chose a large stone by the stream that could not be submerged even if the water rose. After thinking about it again, he found a few more stone slabs and built a small shrine that could provide shelter from wind and rain.
Put the star lantern and the sacrifice - a rice ball wrapped with candied dates - inside.
When I lowered my head and prepared the fire dumplings.
Something seemed to flash out of the corner of his eye.
He looked up in a hurry.
But his eyes only caught a swaying bush of wormwood.
wind? Or some kind of beast?
He hesitated and looked away, only to see a few dark finger prints on the rice balls in the shrine.
At this moment, the drizzle and mist seemed to turn into small insects that were invisible to the naked eye, crawling all over my face, causing my whole body to be gripped by a strange numbing feeling.
He Niliu wanted to scream.
When he reached his head, he held his breath tightly, and by some strange coincidence, he stepped on his feet and looked in the direction of the swaying wormwood.
"ah!"
he cried.
"Wu Niang! Uncle Ghost! Look!"
He pointed to a clump of vines with small white flowers in the bushes far away from the stream.
"Morinda!"
Morinda officinalis is a precious medicinal material and one of the "Four Southern Medicines". There is a saying among the people that "there is ginseng in the north and Morinda officinalis in the south".
This medicine grows in Feilai Mountain.
simply put.
Got rich.
The children dispersed happily and found several Morinda citrifolia plants nearby.
He Wumei opened her hiking notebook and wrote in abbreviated notes: In Shanyin Valley, on the east side of the Shanyin Valley, where it meets the forest and shrubs a hundred steps away from the shore, there is Morinda officinalis.
He Niliu built the shrine on the stone more carefully, took out another rice ball from his arms - this was his breakfast, he didn't want to finish it - and added it to the sacrifice.
I sincerely pray in a low voice: "Bless me from my friends in the mountains. If I can find good medicinal herbs when I go back to the mountains, I am willing to offer more candied date rice balls every time."
There was no response in the silence of the mountain, only the drizzle and mist drifting.
Set off again.
The joy brought by the small money outweighed the anxiety brought by the legend.
He Niluo frequently looked along the way.
But he is no longer wary of the fairies and ghosts peeping in the dark, but...
Here, the bushes at the edge of the forest are entangled with dodder.
At the other end, rock cypress grew between the moss-covered rocks.
In the low-lying area to the north, hidden among the flowers, there were large clumps of snakes.
In the valley on the west side, the mist-covered treetops are dotted with scurrying mountain beetles.
…
After brushing away the "horror" fog that obscured his eyes, the real Feilai Mountain appeared in front of He Niluo's eyes.
There is wonder and wealth everywhere.
He Niluo was so dazzled that he fell to the back of the team unconsciously.
The team is carefully crossing a dangerous mountain road.
There is a cliff on one side, a steep hillside on the other, and at the foot is a stone path carved by ancients, which will be used by one person. It is covered with moss and is slippery underfoot.
"Keep an eye on it for me."
Li Changan shouted from the front, and He Nihao thought he was asking him to look after the brothers and sisters in front of him, so he responded casually.
But how can a loach ever be honest? I got distracted unconsciously.
Suddenly, I saw a lot of curculigo growing on the slope at my feet.
This is a good thing, not only can it be used as medicine, but it can also be used to make wine.
He tried hard to look around and forgot about his feet.
I accidentally stepped on the moss.
So he fell into the mist and rain.
Huh?
At this moment, he forgot to exclaim.
Am I going to die? But I haven't grown up yet, I haven't had time to make money, I haven't had time to buy delicious food for my younger brothers and sisters, and I haven't had time to support my five mothers until they die.
Is this going to kill you?
My thoughts are busy.
Sudden.
The misty rain and mist turned into tight cotton.
He was lifted into the air.
Wait for him to come to his senses.
Already standing on the mountain road.
There was a vine in my hand, and the roots were still stained with unwashed soil. I whispered in my ears:
"I don't want rice balls, I want steamed buns stuffed with fat meat, not sweet, but salty."
Fool.
In a daze, He Nihao thought subconsciously.
Candied dates are much more expensive than fatty meat.
Then I looked down at the vine in my hand. It was similar to Morinda officinalis, with red fruits.
He said "Alas".
What a fool.
He grinned unconsciously.
This is Sheep's Horn Vine, not Morinda officinalis.
Although the two look alike, Morinda officinalis is still blooming at this time of year.
"loach."
The Taoist priest's call came from the mist far ahead.
"Hey!" He Niluo responded loudly.
"Don't be distracted."
"good!"
He put the "Morinda officinalis" close to his body, stopped looking around, and followed the team with a smile.
…………
midnight.
Inside Qiantang City.
"The God of ten coins, the god of ten coins."
Calls rang out in the watery night fog.
A young man burned incense and paper at a fork in the street.
After prostrating, he respectfully presented ten copper coins and a stack of dried fish...
no way.
Since the Taoist priests returned from Cave City, the business of Shiqian God has increased. In the past, almost only the residents of Fuguifang called for it, but now men and women all over the city are calling for it.
All kinds of weird requests came one after another, and Li Changan was too busy to respond to them all.
If you seek help from other ghosts, there will be a curfew in the city and the ghosts will be captured by the gods if they go out on the streets.
I had no choice but to seek advice from the shaggy thieves who are everywhere and pervasive.
So after a deal with Tan Qiu'er, all the cats in the city became the envoys of the Shiqian God, helping him listen to the prayers of believers.
then.
No gods came riding in the fog, only a fat orange cat jumped off the wall.
Two mouthfuls dazzled a whole plate of dried fish.
Licking her paws, as if to say: "Okay, you can make a wish."
"He Shuisheng, a believer, is seventeen years old and lost his parents when he was young..."
Young people, or He Shuisheng, talk a lot of nonsense, but they just don't fit in with the whole.
The orange cat was impatient and meowed and cursed.
He Shuisheng hesitated a few times, then finally gritted his teeth and expressed his wish.
"I want to become a ghost!"
"Meow?"
