There was still a sound in the morning, but by noon it had turned into a bed of rotten flesh.
When everyone discovered the situation, her waxy yellow eyeball had already protruded from its socket, hung by the remaining optic nerve, and was attached to the side of her nose bone, coldly facing everyone who entered the room.
Xiao Shu was lying next to the bed, still breathing. He must have fainted from shock.
Li Changan and Yi Baohua worked together to carry her to the next door to take care of her, leaving the three men behind, looking pale and helpless.
It wasn't until Li Chang'an left and returned that they woke up from a nightmare, shivering in cold sweat and gathered around them. Before they could say anything, Li Chang'an waved his hand to them to be silent, and he took a firewood stick and opened the clothes covering the body.
Thin quilt.
That's when I discovered it.
The corpse's rotten parts were not only the left side of the face, but also the entire left side of the body from the face, arms to waist ribs, legs, and exposed bones and muscles.
Next to the corpse, there is a mark of a human figure lying on its side on the bamboo mat. Unlike ordinary sweat stains, which are brown and dark red, this mark is based on pink and white, mixed with some dark yellow.
look carefully.
turn out to be.
The white is eroded skin, and the yellow is melted fat.
Ugh~
Professor Shao couldn't stay any longer. They covered their mouths and rushed out of the room one after another.
Li Changan ignored them and leaned closer to inspect them more carefully.
I also found that there were many short mold threads growing on the "imprint", like dense threads, sewing this layer of rotten skin on the bamboo mat.
He opened the bamboo mat directly.
Under the bamboo mat was a layer of straw, which was unexpectedly clean. Unlike the bed Li Changan slept on, the straw was moldy and hairy, and contained some dead insects.
Li Changan put down the mat, turned around and pulled a stool, sat down facing the bed, stared at Ma Chunhua's body, and frowned deeply.
quite a while.
Get up and offer Chonglong Jade.
Still the same.
The smell of earth in the wind, the musty smell of the house, and the rotten smell of corpses.
Apart from that, there is nothing else.
There are no monsters, no ghosts, and no gods or Buddhas.
The present life in this apocalyptic world is normal, but it is particularly abnormal in the face of Ma Chunhua's bizarre death!
Li Changan's thoughts were spinning.
Could it be some kind of evil that Chonglongyu can't identify? Or is it a super virus caused by the Lao Shizihui Taoist sect?
Thinking about it for a long time.
Still confused.
He looked around the room.
The only thing that could be done was to recite "The Supreme Sutra of Rescue from Suffering" for the deceased and close the door for her when leaving the room.
…
Cold rain garden.
Three men were hiding under the cloister smoking.
Lost in the smoke.
Li Changan's arrival failed to elicit any reaction from them until the Taoist priest spoke:
"It's not a problem for the body to be placed on the bed. Let's help her find a coffin later."
"Coffin?" Professor Shao said in a daze, "Oh, okay, okay."
But he didn't move, he just lowered his head and took a long puff of cigarette.
"Mr. Li?"
"What's up."
"You said, how should I explain to their parents? What a good kid, in their twenties, who has been handed over to my team for a great time. You don't know, they are planning to get married in October next year, and they also invited me to be their guest.
Witness the marriage...cough cough cough!"
As he was talking, Professor Shao suddenly coughed violently.
Zeng Guangwen hurriedly helped him, but he waved his hand to refuse, turned his head, and looked at the Taoist priest with red eyes.
"Mr. Li, Chunhua..." He paused, "How did she die?"
"have no idea."
The answer was disappointing, and the Taoist said next:
"Don't go down into the cave again until rescue arrives."
But all three of them were surprised.
Zeng Guangwen spoke quickly: "Are you saying that Ma Chunhua's death has something to do with the underground?!"
"uncertain."
Taoist priests tell the truth.
"But most suspicious."
All three people breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Professor Shao put out the cigarette, thought for a while and said: "Mr. Li, you are overthinking. I think this matter has nothing to do with the cave. The best evidence is that we have all been down there, but we are all fine!"
"right!"
Wang Zhongmin responded eagerly.
"It's also possible that she had some strange disease..." The words stopped for a moment, then he reacted and slapped himself, "Oh, what a bad mouth I have!"
Looking at Zeng Guangwen again, his attitude is wavering, but he is not mostly in favor.
Li Changan saw it in his eyes, and his thoughts turned out to be true.
The underground village is too important to them! One has been chasing it for half his life, and the other is counting on it to get promoted and make a fortune.
In this case, even if the evidence is in front of you, you may not be able to see it, let alone it is just a guess.
Li Changan silently organized his words.
At this moment.
"you're awake!"
Exclaims of joy came from the room.
Xiao Shu woke up.
…
The room where Xiao Shu was placed was right next door to Ma Chunhua's body.
The same dim light, the same pungent musty smell.
After waking up, Xiao Shu curled up on the bed, folded his legs with his hands, and buried half of his face in his knees.
No matter how soft-spoken Yi Baohua was beside the bed, she remained silent and motionless.
Her dull expression and empty eyes made everyone who saw her feel a little nervous in their hearts.
so similar.
Zeng Guangwen was more impatient.
“Crispy pork.”
He carefully called Xiao Shu by his nickname among his friends.
The girl's eyes moved.
Zeng Guangwen was overjoyed and quickly tried again, reaching out his hand tentatively.
Yi Baohua next to him blurted out:
"etc!"
But his reminder was still too late.
Zeng Guangwen's fingertips have not yet touched Xiao Shu's shoulder.
The girl suddenly looked like a wild cat with exploded hair. Suddenly, she screamed and scratched with both hands!
Zeng Guangwen was caught off guard and was hit hard by a claw on the face. His glasses flew out and half of the lenses were broken.
He staggered back two or three steps, anxious and angry.
"You're crazy!"
But when he saw Xiao Shu's frightened look, he was stunned for a few seconds, and then couldn't help but show joy.
Very good!
Everyone thinks so.
She is not like Ma Chunhua.
Of course, such a Xiao Shu can't figure out why.
Li Changan and the others had no choice but to leave the room and discuss preparing a coffin for Ma Chunhua, leaving the hard-working Yi Baohua to take care of the girl.
Xiao Shu himself gradually calmed down and curled up on the bed again.
Action room.
A piece of yellow talisman slipped out of the pocket and fell to the ground.
Yi Baohua stepped on it a few times without paying attention, and then kicked it into the dust at the foot of the bed.
Like a piece of waste paper.
…………
Next two days.
Li Changan's unsubstantiated speculation failed to convince the others, and Professor Shao still led the rest of the people into the cave.
However.
The atmosphere was already very different from before Ma Chunhua's accident.
Xiao Shu was still sluggish and crazy at times. In order to take care of her, Yi Baohua stayed with her day and night without taking off her clothes.
Although Zeng Guangwen continued his archaeological work, he was no longer as focused and serious as before. He was distracted from time to time and was always preoccupied.
As for Wang Zhongmin, when others asked when rescue would come, he was not as confident as before, and the answer was changed to "maybe" or "possibly". This morning he drove to see the landslide section, and his face looked blank when he came back.
No, there is no rescue, but the scope of the landslide has expanded.
Even Li Changan endured the pungent musty smell and stayed in the cave by himself, silently preparing spells.
The only thing that hasn't changed is Professor Shao.
He is still so devoted, no, it should be said that he is more devoted.
Dragging his rickety and thin body, he went down to the cave at six in the morning and refused to go back until eleven or twelve at night. He was like a candle that had consumed most of its life, desperately burning its last light and heat, trying to burn through the entangled underground.
Fog over the village.
And now.
"It's done!"
Professor Shao cheered loudly.
Despite the harsh conditions and lack of manpower, he still risked his own life and completed the restoration work of the third mural.
It is still a follow-up to the previous mural, and it still fits "Azhi's story".
The content of the painting is: the hero returned to the village and used the "divine blood" in his hands to "resuscitate" the fallen villagers one after another.
On the mural, villagers gathered around the hero and cheered. Each character outlined with black lines had a white dot in his body, indicating that he had been saved by the divine blood.
The dense crowd of villagers brought with them dense white dots. Under the dim light of the cave, those white dots seemed to seep out of the murals, like insects flapping their wings, gathering in groups, and fluttering into people's eyes.
Li Changan looked disgusted, but the others looked puzzled.
According to Professor Shao's theory, the widespread mythical story "Divine Blood" must have its realistic prototype. He insists on restoring the murals in the hope that the murals can reveal the mystery of "Divine Blood".
But the third mural still does not jump out of the category of "Azhi" myth, but is exactly the same as the legend.
Could it be that the hero discovered some natural special medicine in the ore? What’s more, the soul-returning sand is the soul-returning sand?
It's really confusing.
The third mural not only failed to answer the question, but instead brought deeper doubts.
Professor Shao is not discouraged.
"Any myths and legends that have been handed down are carved bit by bit by our ancestors over thousands of years, based on real things and supplemented by magnificent imagination. When we trace the origins, we must be careful and patient. This third mural
At least it further proves that the legend of 'Returning Soul Sand' comes from here! And the key to finding the answer is likely to be in the remaining murals!"
His face was flushed, and he looked excited to get back to work.
"etc!"
Li Changan suddenly stopped him.
Turn your head slightly.
He seemed to be staring at something.
…………
Ancestral hall.
Second floor of the wing.
In Xiao Shu's room.
Yi Baohua looked tired and haggard.
In the past two days, he has been guarding Xiao Shu, day and night. When Xiao Shu was dull, he took care of him; when Xiao Shu went crazy, he went to comfort him.
Everyone said he worked hard.
But he himself knew that he had some unknown thoughts hidden deep in his heart.
At this moment, no one else could get close to Xiao Shu, and only he could come into contact occasionally. He had never felt that the two of them could be so close, and he was even a little happy.
He likes Xiao Shu.
I like it very humbly.
He is so humble that everyone knows that he likes her, and he occasionally confides his feelings to others.
But only in front of Xiao Shu, he couldn't utter a single word.
But now.
He stared at the girl on the bed.
She still maintained a curled up posture, but maybe she was extremely tired, and her eyes had been gently closed.
"Xiao Xiao, there is something I have always wanted to say to you."
He knew the girl couldn't hear him.
"I like you. I have always liked you. I fell in love with you the first time I saw you at the beginning of college."
"But I know that I don't like girls, and you are so good, so I have never dared to confess to you."
At this point, he felt his face getting hot and turned his head, not daring to look at the girl again.
"Do you still remember the love letter my roommate gave you? It was actually written by me. Unexpectedly, you were moved by that love letter and dated him. I didn't know whether to cry or laugh at the time."
"Later on, you broke up with him and never got a new boyfriend. I never dared to confess to you. I just guarded your circle of friends every Valentine's Day for fear of seeing something I didn't dare to see."
"I'm stupid and worthless, right? But with so many things happening this time, I won't be a coward anymore!"
"Don't worry, no matter what, I will definitely make you feel better!"
He vowed to turn around and met a pair of shining eyes.
Yibaohua was suddenly pleasantly surprised:
"You're awake!"
But then I realized:
"Did you hear that?"
Girl: "Yeah."
There was no dullness or madness, but Yi Baohua was instantly confused.
She heard it! She knew it! What would she think of me!
At this time, time was extremely long. Yi Baohua felt like a prisoner waiting for judgment. He wished that the result would come sooner or that it would never come.
Unexpectedly, a chuckle came out of his torture.
Yi Baohua raised his head in surprise, and Xiao Shu also raised his face to look at him.
"Actually, I've always known."
Yi Baohua's heart became even more confused.
"But I have always pretended not to know, and instead took advantage of your love for me." Xiao Shu sighed slightly, "Am I a bad woman?"
"No, no..." He waved his hands repeatedly, but couldn't explain why.
"But I must be a stupid woman, even though you are so good."
He became increasingly speechless.
Seeing his helpless look, Xiao Shu laughed softly again, smoothed his hair, and got up from the bed.
She didn't get out of bed for two days and staggered when she got out of bed.
Yi Baohua subconsciously stretched out his hand to support her.
Then, a familiar breath came into his arms, and he felt as if his blood was boiling.
"Thank you."
"I volunteer...no, I should."
"I have worked hard for you these past two days, I should give you a thank you gift."
"No, no need. We are friends, right?"
"Close your eyes."
Yi Baohua's heartbeat suddenly slowed down by two beats, and then started beating with an even more intense rhythm.
"you……"
He lowered his head, blinked and surrendered under the girl's eyes.
He didn't ask any questions and closed his eyes obediently.
then.
He heard the girl leave his arms and take a few steps in the room.
"Wait for me, don't peek."
Then.
The girl left the room.
What is she looking for? What does she want to do? Yi Baohua's thoughts are flying wildly, and all the guesses actually merge into a wave and rush in the same direction, but the long-term inferiority complex builds a dam and blocks the wave back.
In this repeated suffering, the girl's footsteps finally came back and stopped in front of him again.
So close.
He even felt the other person's breath gently spreading on his face.
What was she looking for? What did she want to do? Could it be... He finally couldn't bear it anymore and quietly opened his eyes.
He saw it.
Xiao Shu stood in front of him, his favorite smile on his face, his right hand raised high, holding a kitchen knife.
She also noticed his dishonesty and gave him an accusing look.