When Lao Zheng mentioned the events of that year, he remembered them vividly, with melancholy and tears in his eyes.
No wonder Lao Zheng knew so much about the corpse-carrying people in western Hunan. It turned out that his younger brother was a corpse-carrying man who was forced to take up the road.
When Lao Zheng's brother left with the corpse carrier, he was only six years old. Five years later, he went home to visit his mother once. Then, when Lao Zheng's mother died, Lao Zheng's brother was sixteen years old.
After that, Lao Zheng was never seen again.
I heard someone said that Lao Zheng's brother poured water on the way to deliver the body and died somewhere in western Hunan.
"Pour water" means that if there is an accident on the way to deliver water, and the water in the bowl overturns halfway, the person delivering the body will have only one fate, death.
When Lao Zheng mentioned the past, he suddenly fell silent for a long time.
He is a native of this place and has never left Xiangxi in his life. He is thin and has dark skin. Naturally, he has endless feelings for Xiangxi in his heart.
Lao Zheng was leading the way. They were now on the outskirts of the jungle, and the road was made by herb collectors.
Old Zheng and several others said, "Shizi Ridge is at the west end of Western Hunan. We have to spend a day repairing it at the posthouse on the way. There is still a long road ahead. We never travel overnight when traveling in Western Hunan."
Zhang Xiuxian asked why, "Isn't it said that the body-carrying people are basically extinct? Are we still afraid of encountering the body-carrying people who deliver the corpses?"
Lao Zheng shook his head strongly. He is a relatively superstitious person. When he goes out to do things, he worships mountains and waters. "The roads in the mountains are not very smooth. You must not walk at night. I know what you are going to Shiziling for."
, all the people who dig graves are very bold, but in western Hunan, no one dares to walk at night."
Seeing that Lu Guangcheng and Zhang Xiuxian didn't believe it, Lao Zheng added: "Not far ahead, there is a post house. It used to be a middle-aged woman who was guarding the post house. She lived alone in the forest. Due to her birth defects, she did not communicate with outsiders. But in the
In the first half of the year, she went out to collect herbs, wasted time, and walked half of the mountain road at night. She was found dead half a month later, dead next to an isolated grave, with her intestines dug out. Some people guessed that she had encountered
Some say it's a wild beast in a graveyard asking for life. In short, you can't walk at night, so you have to go on your own."
Lu Guangcheng bargained: "I said, what do you mean we have to go by ourselves? You are the guide, how can we go? If you don't want to go, let's go. I happen to be tired. Where is the inn you mentioned? Let's go there quickly.
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Feng Yu and Zhang Xiuxian didn't say much, and continued on their way behind Lao Zheng.
The road was shrouded in mist and clouds. Although the road was not difficult to walk, without a guide, I would have been unable to identify the way.
It wasn't until dark that we found the post house that Lao Zheng mentioned.
It was a dilapidated old temple, not large in scale, surrounded by courtyards at the front and back, with three entrances and three exits. It was quite elegant. Looking closer, it seemed that half of the beams on the main hall had collapsed, and there were long tiles on the tiles.
Overgrown with weeds, the rotten temple door has loose screws and can be blown off by a strong wind.
When Feng Yu saw this, he thought to himself, can this fucking place be called a post house? Then wouldn't the Crescent Hotel become a fairyland?
Lao Zheng lit a lamp and led several people into the old temple.
After pushing open the creaking temple door, several people were shocked. There were seven or eight dark coffins parked in the dilapidated old temple. These coffins were different from the coffins used for burials. These were called coffins.
Coffin, this old temple is actually a hotel for the dead, or it is called a yizhuang.
Countless corpses have been packed in the dark coffin. There is a wooden tablet in front of the coffin, which states the identity of the deceased and where he lived.
The smell in the house was gloomy and heavy. Although the body had been treated by a widow, the person who carried it only came once every six months. Old Zheng said that the middle-aged woman who was guarding the temple had also been dead for half a year. Without a guard in the temple, something would inevitably happen, so
Everyone needs to be very careful.
Lao Zheng walked in front holding a fire lamp, and just as he entered the door, a gust of wind blew through the Yi Zhuang, causing the fire lamp to sway from side to side, drifting about to go out, and then there was a harsh sound, like fingernails scratching the coffin. Listen to
The person's hair stands on end.
Lu Guangcheng immediately took a few steps back. He was very cautious, and his hand had already touched the gun. Lu Guangcheng had traveled all over the country in the past two years, and the sight in front of him could not be said to scare him.
Feng Yu has rich experience. This movement is a sign that the dead body in the coffin is about to be lifted up. But how could the corpse be lifted up for no reason? What a damn coincidence, right?
Feng Yu and the four of them are not afraid of any one of them. The so-called skilled people are bold and have seen too many things, so these things are nothing to be afraid of.
Lao Zheng used his hand to shield the swaying lamp from the wind. His thin face had a very strange expression. He raised his voice and shouted inside, "Qi Gu, I am Lao Zheng. You can see clearly. I sent it to you."
Old Zheng, who lives in food and clothing, passed through the mountain road at night and wanted to stay overnight for convenience. Qi Gu, please don't blame me."
Old Zheng shouted several times in succession. Feng Yu watched carefully. After Old Zheng shouted several times, the cold wind in the yizhuang was obviously much lighter, and the sound of fingernails scratching the coffin was also much weaker. It seemed that this
The seventh aunt listened to Lao Zheng’s words.
Feng Yu was still depressed, could this seventh aunt really understand what Lao Zheng said? People have been dead for half a year, can ghosts still listen to people?
Or, in other words, is there something else going on between Lao Zheng and Qi Gu?
Just as he was thinking about it, the flames in the fire started to burn. After a while of Lao Zheng's chanting, Qi Gu let her go.
After successfully entering Yizhuang, we saw that the sun and moon were dim outside, the wind was surging, and a heavy rain was inevitable.
The houses in the village are dilapidated and there is only one room for people to live in. It should be the house where Qi Gu lived before. It is also the only place in the village where people can live. You can't live with those coffins and corpses in the middle of the night.
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Lao Zheng
Leading the way, he first put his gifts into the house. No one had been to this place for half a year. There was a thick layer of soil in the house. There was only a big bed with a small table on the bed.
Feng Yu glanced around and discovered a strange thing. There was no fire candle in the room. The fire candle in Lao Zheng's hand was brought by himself. In other words, this Qi Gu, who lived alone in Yizhuang, was living alone.
There is no need for lighting at all. What does this mean? Qi Gu cannot see anything.
In Xiangxi Yizhuang, there are many things to pay attention to. Lao Zheng put down his things, took a stick of incense from the ceremony, and called them to the Yizhuang.
"There is nothing good to entertain a lonely ghost. A handful of incense. Hear no evil and see no evil." Lao Zheng muttered and spread some incense to several people.
Zhang Xiuxian and Lu Guangcheng pretended to do as the locals do.
After seeing Old Zheng offering incense, Feng Yu went inside and checked the situation in the coffin. This operation was very familiar, and Old Zheng had been there many times before.
Feng Yu followed Lao Zhengtou and saw several black coffins with yellow straw paper talismans drawn on them. This was a corpse-killing talisman specially used in Xiangxi.
When Lao Zheng saw Feng Yu following him, he said to Feng Yu, "Please help me count how many corpses there are in Yizhuang now?"
Feng Yu had no taboos. Six of the eight coffins contained corpses, and one of them seemed to be the seventh aunt.
"Old Zheng...Uncle Zheng, there are six corpses."
Lao Zheng replied: "Just call me Lao Zheng, head. Six bodies? The person carrying the corpses should be here soon."
Compared to Lao Zheng, Lao Zheng seems to be easier to talk to.
Old Zhengtou sighed, "Since ancient times, the road to western Hunan has been dangerous, and there is no return for ten or six times. When people die, they will fall back to their roots, and the lonely ghosts who died in a foreign land will come out to harm people. This repeats, and the cycle of nature continues."
"It is not their wish to die in a foreign country. Everyone wants to end their lives in peace, but things are unpredictable. Who knows that unexpected events may happen, and misfortune and fortune may come at the same time."
Zhang Xiuxian and Lu Guangcheng's uncle and nephew were talking sarcastically on the side, "People die for money and birds die for food. It's been like this since ancient times."
While he was talking, he heard thunder and lightning outside. Several lightning bolts pierced the night sky one after another, illuminating the inside of Yi Zhuang. The thunder shook the beams of the house, and the rain poured down.
Lao Zheng looked out from the top of the dilapidated Yizhuang and said with a gloomy face: "It's not peaceful in Yizhuang tonight. Everyone, please be more careful and don't sleep to death."
After speaking, Lao Zhengtou wrote down the number and characteristics of the corpses in the coffin, and then went back.
Feng Yu looked at the corpse in the coffin. His face was pale and lifeless. The corpse was stiff but not rotten. It couldn't have been preserved like this unless it had been treated with secret techniques.
Then he looked at Qi Gu's body. Qi Gu's face was frighteningly white, with a layer of black energy hidden in the white. She had a small nose, small eyes, sharp teeth and thin lips. She looked very ugly. Feng Yu suddenly felt horrified and hurriedly
