In the early morning after offering sacrifices to the mountain, a 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 Niluo is not a scholar and poet, and he doesn't appreciate the mountain scenery along the way, and he only feels uneasy in his heart.
After offering sacrifices to the mountain, they didn’t rest long before Li Changan led He Wumei and several older children from the hospital into Feilai Mountain. They said they were going to do the “rite of walking to the mountain” and left Medical Officer Lu to take care of them at the Salesian Hospital.
The rest of the children.
The children were a little excited at first, after all, who doesn't yearn for adventure? But gradually as they went deeper into the empty mountain, where no one was inhabited, and surrounded by deep forests, there was only fear and uncertainty.
This is Feilai Mountain, the birthplace of almost all the horror stories in the world, and another lair of evil spirits after Cave City.
So all the misty clouds and mist that I saw along the way turned into a 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 and chirps.
Especially when you get to this beautiful view in the mountains.
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 at the foot of the mountain to take care of his family 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 people on the edge of the city.
Answer casually:
"Recognize your face?!"
He Nihao 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 are all in the mountains."
He Niluo's expression relaxed and he was about to spit out his breath.
"How can we fit in such a small yard?"
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 children are 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 and raised his feet to leave, but he didn't dare to go far, 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, so 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, Li Changan began to recite a mantra, and He Wumei took out the star lantern that was used to sacrifice 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.
Every time 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.
We arrived at a valley.
The stream flowed from the cliff into a low waterfall, rushed out of a small pool filled with white foam, and flowed 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 too dense to stand on.
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.
Alas! He scratched his head and chose a big 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.
Too busy to look up.
But his eyes only caught a clump of swaying wormwood.
Wind? Or some kind of beast?
He hesitated and looked back, only to see a few dark finger prints on the rice balls in the shrine.
At this moment, the drizzle and mist seemed to have turned 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 Niyu wanted to scream.
When he reached his head, he held his breath tightly, and by some strange mistake, he stood on his feet and looked in the direction of the swaying wormwood.
"ah!"
he shouted.
"Wu Niang! Uncle Ghost! Look!"
He pointed to a vine 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 folk saying 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: Shanyin Valley, a hundred steps offshore from the east side where it meets the forest and shrubs, is Morinda officinalis.
He Nihao 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: "My friends in the mountains bless me. If I come back, I can find good medicinal herbs in the mountains. I am willing to offer more candied date rice balls every time."
There was no response in the silence of the mountains, only the drizzle of rain 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 grows between the moss-covered rocks.
In the low-lying area to the north, hidden among the flowers, there are large clumps of snakes.
In the valley on the west side, foggy treetops emerge, 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 distracted that he unconsciously fell to the back of the team.
The team is carefully crossing a dangerous mountain road.
On one side is a cliff, on the other side is a steep hillside, and at the foot is a stone path carved by ancients, which will be used for one person to pass. 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? He gets 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 scream.
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 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.
It lifted him up in the air.
Wait for him to come to his senses.
He was already standing on the mountain path.
There was a vine in my hand, the root of which was still stained with unwashed soil, and I whispered in my ear:
"I don't want rice balls, I want steamed buns filled 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 and had red fruits.
He said "Alas".
What a fool.
He grinned unconsciously.
This is Sheep's Horn Vine, not Morinda officinalis.
Although the two look similar, Morinda officinalis is still blooming at this time of year.
"loach."
The Taoist priest's call came from far ahead in the mist.
"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 from the water-filled 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 the 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 had no time to respond to them one by one.
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 ask for 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 Shi Qian God, helping him listen to the prayers of believers.
then.
There was no god riding in the fog, only a fat orange cat jumping off the wall.
Two bites dazzled a whole plate of dried fish.
Licking her paws, as if to say: "Okay, you can make a wish."
"Believer He Shuisheng, seventeen years old, lost his parents when he was young..."
Young people may say that He Shuisheng talks a lot of nonsense, but he just doesn't fit in with the whole.
The orange cat was impatient and meowed and scolded her.
He Shuisheng hesitated a few times, then finally gritted his teeth and expressed his wish.