Tried to trick me into raising a cat again

Zhang Ren was dubious about what Chu Zhou said. He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell. It was just his instinct for danger that kept him firmly by Chu Zhou's side.

There are a few women washing clothes by the small river in front of the village. The women gather together to talk and laugh while beating the clothes with wooden sticks. Near the bank, there are a few elderly people sitting on stones basking in the sun.

The old people were also very happy to see Chu Zhou. When they saw Chu Zhou from a distance, they waved to him. They walked over. The elderly man squinted his eyes and looked at Chu Zhou for a while, then patted Chu Zhou's arm with satisfaction, " Good boy, he is still as handsome as when he was a child."

The old man next to him also echoed: "Your mother is blessed, and the gods will definitely bless your family in the future."

Hearing such plausible words again, Zhang Ren felt very uncomfortable. He stepped forward and stopped Chu Zhou behind him, "What does the old man mean by this?"

The few old people were startled by his face at first, and then they saw that he was from outside the village, and their expressions immediately became unkind, "This is a matter in our village, young people from other places should not care about it."

Zhang Ren wanted to say something but was pulled by Chu Zhou's sleeves, so he could only endure it.

"Old man, we are Chu Zhou's friends, and we came back to visit relatives with him," Qu Yanning came out with a smile to smooth things over. He was good-looking and polite.The expressions of the old people eased, "We know, the village chief said."

Qu Yanning said as if chatting, "We have been here for almost two days, why haven't we seen someone as big as Zhou Zhou in the village? We can't find anyone to chat with."

The old man laughed when he heard the words, his wrinkled face was full of longing, "They all went to serve the gods."

"Serve the gods?"

The old man smiled complacently, and his cloudy eyes scanned him, "The gods of you outsiders will not bless you, otherwise the gods will like you with your looks."

"..." Qu Yanning laughed dryly twice, "Yes, is it?"

I chatted with the old man for a few more words, and whenever he mentioned the gods, the other party's expression was always full of reverence, but he refused to tell them outsiders no matter how much they said.

When they found that they couldn't ask any more information, they planned to leave.

When I was about to go back, I found that several villagers came out carrying two coffins. The coffins were left open without a lid.

The four middle-aged men who carried the coffin put the coffin heavily on the ground and shouted at the top of their voices: "Old Liu's family, your sixth is gone."

"What? It was still upstairs last night!" A woman who was washing clothes by the river ran up and shouted with her eyes wide open.

The man who carried the coffin said impatiently: "It's gone, go back and see for yourself."

The woman didn't believe it, so she ran home with the tub in her hand.

The leading man said to the village chief who came over, "I can't find the sixth child, let's ask the witch to do it for these two first?"

The old village chief walked to the other side with his hands behind his back, "I'm going to invite the witch."

The villagers spontaneously formed a circle and looked at the two coffins in the middle from a distance. The atmosphere was a bit solemn, and no one made a sound.

It wasn't until the old village head led a woman in the middle dressed in black that the villagers respectfully said, "Witch."

The sorceress nodded, with a serious expression on her face, she circled the coffin twice and asked, "Is there another one?"

The man who carried the coffin said that Lao Liu had disappeared, and the family of Lao Liu had already gone to look for him.

The sorceress looked down, then waved her hand, "Then let's start first." Judging by their usual expressions, it seems that this is not the first time such a thing has happened.

The man carrying the coffin responded respectfully and retreated behind the old village head.

The sorceress walked slowly around the two coffins, muttering words, and Qu Yan watched intently, but suddenly found that there was a thick black gas rising from the sorceress and the coffins. there is none left.

The sorceress walked slowly around the coffin while reading. After turning around a few times, she stopped at the head of the coffin and took out two masks.

The mask is made of wood, painted black, the eyes and lips are red, and there are many strange patterns engraved on it. The sorceress snorted and fastened the mask on two dead villagers.

"Lao Gai!" The sorceress yelled in a hoarse voice.

The man carrying the coffin quickly stepped forward to close the coffin lid, then took out thick and long nails, nailed the four corners of the coffin tightly, and then tied it tightly with rough hemp rope.

The old village chief tapped on the coffin, "Is it all nailed?"

The man nodded again and again, "Don't worry, we'll handle the matter."

The old village chief waved his hand and asked them to carry the coffin to the back and bury it.

The men carried the coffin past Qu Yanning and the others, and Qu Yanning seemed to smell a faint stench again.

A group of people walked to the back of the village, and the surrounding villagers gave a mouthful of bad luck, and dispersed to do their work, as if the coffin contained a fellow villager who had just died.

A strange feeling lingered in his heart, Qu Yanning couldn't help but glanced at Xie Qi, Xie Qi patted his head, "Let's go back and talk about it."

On the way home, there was no one at home, and Zhuang Meng seemed to have gone out. The four of them sat down at the table of the Eight Immortals. Zhang Ren couldn't hold back at first, and asked directly: "Chu Zhou, don't you think your village is a little weird?"

Chu Zhou lowered his eyes and his eyelashes trembled, "Isn't this the case in remote and backward mountain villages?"

"..." Zhang Ren choked for a moment, and his momentum suddenly weakened. He softened his expression and said softly, "We are friends. If you encounter difficulties, why not tell us and we can find a solution together."

Qu Yanning agreed and said yes.

Chu Zhou's face was a little pale, he bit his lips, and said softly, "What difficulties can I have, my mother is here, my home is here, I will be fine."

What else did Zhang Ren want to ask, but seeing his expression, he couldn't bear to push him anymore, so he changed the topic to a lighter one and said, "How long are we going to stay here? Isn't my aunt sick? When I return to Shenshi, I can take her there." Check it out at the hospital, the medical conditions here are too backward.”

Chu Zhou moved his lips and looked at him, "There is something I haven't had time to tell you..."

Chu Zhou pinched his fingers and said softly, "I'm going to stay in the village to accompany my mother. You guys can play here for a while, and go back when you get tired of playing."

Zhang Ren was out of breath, "You want us to leave you here alone?"

Qu Yanning also said no, "We came together. Naturally we have to go together.

"

Chu Zhou smiled and shook his head, "My family is here, I just stay here for a while, why do you react so strongly?"

Zhang Ren was at a loss for words. After all, what Chu Zhou said seemed to be correct on the surface, but the village was full of weirdness. Zhang Ren believed that his intuition would not deceive him. The village was absolutely unusual.

"Are you all there?" Zhuang Meng opened the door and came in, seeing them all in the room, he laughed.

She carried a vegetable basket, which contained a Chinese cabbage and a few eggs, "I went to the field behind to pick some vegetables, and changed a few eggs, so I can eat stewed eggs at night."

Chu Zhou went up to take the vegetable basket for her and put it in the kitchen for her to sit and rest.

The atmosphere at the table was not very good. Zhuang Meng licked her hair and asked softly, "What's the matter? Are you having a conflict?"

Zhang Ren shook his head, smiled and said no, "It's just that Zhou Zhou wanted to drive us back, but we haven't had enough fun, how can we be willing to leave."

"This kid..." Zhuang Meng laughed, "I told him to go, just come back and see me and stay for two days. If you play here for two days, you should go together at that time."

Zhang Ren said yes, and asked: "Aren't you going with Zhou Zhou? The medical conditions in Shenshi are better, and you can go for a physical examination."

"I..." Zhuang Meng shook his head lightly, "I've been in the village for most of my life, and I can't leave."

Zhang Ren thought that she was used to the life in the village and was reluctant to leave, so she couldn't say anything more.

During dinner, the old village head led a group of villagers to the gate of Chu Zhou's house with boxes tied with red ribbons.

Qu Yanning moved to the door curiously.

The villagers brought in a box tied with a red ribbon and opened it. It was filled with cloth, tableware and china, and another basket without a lid was filled with pork and vegetables.

The old village chief said: "Zhuang Meng, Chu Zhou is back now. We discussed it and decided to hold a celebration the day after tomorrow. This is a gift from the villagers to your family. I have prepared everything. Remember to bring it the day after tomorrow. Chu Zhou is here."

Zhuang Meng answered with a smile: "Zhou Zhou just came back, are you in such a hurry to hold a celebration?"

The old village head let out a hi, and said that you also know the situation in the village, and the sooner the celebration, the better.

"Okay," Zhuang Meng agreed, "I will take Zhou Zhou there the day after tomorrow."

The old village chief was satisfied now, and his face was wrinkled all over his smile.

After the people left, Qu Yanning asked strangely, "Auntie, what kind of celebration is this village going to hold?"

"It's a custom in the village to worship the gods and hold celebrations every year," Zhuang Meng said with a smile, "You are outsiders, so watch at home and don't go out."

Qu Yanning let out an ignorant sigh.

When Zhuang Meng went to the kitchen to clean up the dishes, Qu Yanning whispered. "Why do I feel that this is some kind of celebration? It's so evil, and Zhou Zhou must be there."

Xie Qi said lightly: "Your feeling is not wrong."

Qu Yanning was surprised, "Isn't Zhou Zhou going to be in danger?" The people in the village are so eager to hold this celebration, and Zhou Zhou must be there, it looks like a TV show, where Chu Zhou is going to be a sacrifice to the gods .

Xie Qi got up and walked out, "He will not be in danger for the time being, let's go to the back first to see."

Chu Zhou and Zhuang Meng were cleaning up in the kitchen, Zhang Ren told them to go for a walk, and then followed them out.

There is a road in the alley that can lead directly to the back. They twisted and detoured for a while before finding the exit. The narrow alley faced a dark forest.

Cursing voices came from the woods, the voices sounded like those men who carried the coffin just now, they didn't go out, they stood in the shadow of the alley.

Zhang Ren frowned and said, "It's been a while since they came here, why are you still digging a hole? How deep do you want to dig?"

For a normal coffin-dropping pit, more than one meter at most is enough, and based on the time they dug, the pit must be at least three or four meters long.

"What are they digging so deep for?" Qu Yanning asked in a low voice.

Xie Qi pursed his lips, his expression was a bit cold, "Wear a mask, crucify the coffin, and bury it deeply. This is not burying the dead, but suppressing evil spirits."

"Evil ghost?" Qu Yanning was puzzled, "But isn't that their relative?"

Xie Qi said, "Did you see any of them sad?"

Qu Yanning was taken aback for a moment before realizing that no one showed any sadness from the beginning to the end of this strange funeral, and all the villagers were indifferent and resistant.

"Let's go back first," those men were still cursing and digging a hole, Xie Qi twisted the prayer beads in his hands, "There are still a few questions to be clarified."

Back home, Chu Zhou was sitting with Zhuang Meng at the door peeling beans. When he saw them, he smiled, "You're back so soon?"

Xie Qi said that he just walked around casually, and turned his gaze to Zhuang Meng next to him, "Are there any temples around the village?"

Zhuang Meng was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head and continued to peel the beans, "Why do you ask this carefully? People in the village only believe in gods, so why are there other temples?"

"What about before?" Xie Qi continued to ask.

Zhuang Meng sighed, and said yes, "A hundred years ago, there were three temples in total. But later... they gradually fell into disuse."

It goes without saying why it was abandoned.

Xie Qi asked about the location of the abandoned temple, and went into the room first. Qu Yanning and Zhang Ren didn't follow, and squatted beside them to help them peel the beans together.

Zhuang Meng sighed worriedly, and said to Qu Yanning, "Is he listening to you? You persuade him not to walk around the village these two days. When the celebration is over, I will see you off and have Zhou Zhou together." Go out, this place, you should get tired of playing these days, it’s not good to stay for a long time.”

"Mom," Chu Zhou called out shortly, and Zhuang Meng touched his head, "You are so old, why are you still acting like a child who hasn't grown up, and you don't want to go out after you get home."

Chu Zhou was depressed and didn't speak.

Qu Yanning always felt a little weird when he heard it. He stood up after peeling the beans, feeling a little dizzy for a moment. He lowered his head and rubbed his temples, but suddenly saw Zhuang Meng's body surrounded by thick black air, The black air was thicker and heavier than what he had seen on the sorceress and the coffin before.

"Aunt Zhuang, you—" Qu Yanning paused suddenly, blinking her eyes in doubt.

Zhuang Meng smiled and looked at him, "What's wrong?"

Qu Yanning shook his head suspiciously, and said it was nothing, "I was a little dazzled after standing for a long time, I thought you had a bug on your head."

Zhuang Meng shook his head, smiled and urged them to go in and rest.

Qu Yanning rubbed her eyes and went upstairs, not knowing whether what she saw just now was real or just dazzled.

"Have you finished peeling the beans?" Xie Qi put down the book.

"Well," Qu Yanning held back for a while but couldn't hold back, and told Xie Qi about the black air he saw.

"Come on," Xie Qi beckoned to him.

Qu Yanning walked up to him, hanging his hands like a student being inspected by a teacher.Xie Qi reached out and touched his abdomen, then touched his eyelids, and said with a light smile, "You have already mastered the first step of observing qi."

Qu Yanning was at a loss.

Xie Qi put his hand on his head and patted lightly, "What you see is true."

"But what is that?" Qu Yanning asked puzzled.

Xie Qi sat on the chair with a calm expression, "Yin Qi."

Qu Yanning still didn't understand, and looked at him ignorantly.

Xie Qi pulled him to sit down, with a rare serious expression, "If I'm not mistaken, this village originally existed to suppress evil spirits."

"But now..." He moved the beads slowly, "The feng shui of the village has been broken, and the villagers believe in ghosts and gods. This place has long since changed from a place of blessings of feng shui to a place of gathering yin."

"What will happen if it becomes a place of gathering yin?"

Xie Qi said: "The place where the Yin gathers raises the dead."

Qu Yanning vaguely guessed something, "Then the villagers here..."

Xie Qi turned to look at him, the emotion in his eyes was very light, "This is the part you didn't see before."

The living live in the Yin Gathering Land and believe in evil spirits, so over the years, fewer and fewer newborns have been born in the village, and those who are still alive are also dying quietly.

"Is it those sores?"

"That's just the appearance of Yin Qi entering the body." Xie Qi said, "The evil spirits have come out, and this is just the beginning. The temple to suppress evil has been destroyed, and no one can save them."

Qu Yanning shivered, and the hairs on his arms stood up, "Then what are we doing here? Let's take Aunt Zhuang and leave quickly." As for the villagers, they wouldn't listen to them, so they could only wait out Then let the police handle it.

Xie Qi shook his head, "The day after tomorrow is the celebration, we can't leave until the celebration is over."

Qu Yanning opened his mouth awkwardly, "Then what should I do?"

"Wait," Xie Qi laughed. Seeing that he was frightened like a quail, he couldn't help rubbing his head. "Don't worry, nothing will happen. Didn't Aunt Zhuang say that you can leave after the celebration is over?"

Qu Yanning hadn't recovered from the shock, he took off his coat, got into a ball under the quilt, and said in a muffled voice that feudal superstition really killed people.

Xie Qi laughed, and lay down beside him, the warm body temperature passed through the attached limbs, Qu Yanning's cold limbs warmed up.

The next day, the village was covered with red silk and satin everywhere. A high platform was set up in the open space in front of the village, and the platform was covered with silk of various colors. Every villager had a happy smile on his face.

Qu Yanning was woken up from the bed by Xie Qi early in the morning, saying that he was going to visit the temple outside the village.

The two walked around the high platform and walked to the other side of the river.

According to Zhuang Meng, there are three temples outside the village, two at the end of the village, on the mountains on both sides, and one in the forest opposite the village, which can be seen from the single-plank bridge.

The small river in front of the village is not wide, and the river is very gentle. A branch of a big tree is crossed in the narrow place, which is a simple wooden bridge.

Xie Qi walked in front with steady steps, while Qu Yanning who was behind tremblingly grabbed his sleeve and walked staggeringly.

After crossing the bridge, there is a small hill not far to the right. Walk up the hill and walk a few steps forward, and you will see a dilapidated pavilion.

In the pavilion, there is a stone statue of Arhat that has been pushed down. The stone statue is dilapidated and covered with dust and cobwebs.

It should be the abandoned temple that Zhuang Meng said.

Qu Yanning looked around, but found nothing, "What are we doing here?"

Xie Qi said, "There is one at the head of the village, and two at the end of the village, forming a character shape to enclose the village... It's a trap to lock the dragon."

"At least the ghosts that are suppressed here are more than a hundred years old."

Qu Yanning said, "Has the ghost come out now?"

"Yeah." Xie Qi nodded, "Go back."

Qu Yanning panicked, he followed Xie Qi step by step, and asked worriedly: "The suppressed ghost is so powerful, will Zhou Zhou really be fine tomorrow?"

Xie Qi led him by the wrist and walked across the bridge, seeing his anxious look, he smiled and said, "Are you afraid?"

Qu Yanning nodded, embarrassed to say that she was a little scared.

"Don't worry," Xie Qi stretched out his hand to rub his head, "With Zhuang Meng here, Chu Zhou will be fine, we'll just watch it tomorrow."

"Aunt Zhuang?" Qu Yanning's eyes widened in surprise, and suddenly remembered the incomparably thick Yin Qi on her body, obviously not something ordinary people would have. He clenched his fingers, "Does Zhou Zhou know?"

On the other side, Xie Qi gently opened his wrist, pointed his warm fingers between his brows, and looked at him with gentle eyes, "The second thing you have to learn is to ask less and see more."