Zhang Heng got up very early, preparing to buy some things, and then went to Plague Mountain, a very gloomy place, to give birth to the injured paper ghost.
It's January now, and if this goes as expected, we won't go down the mountain until at least the beginning of spring.
In addition, Monk Wu Xin was here, so he had to buy a lot of things, such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, bedding, stove, chicken, duck, fish, and daily necessities.
"Meat is easy to handle. It's freezing in the three northern provinces. If you hang the meat outside the window, it won't spoil until next spring."
"Vegetables are difficult to deal with. There are only four kinds of radish, cabbage, potatoes, and sauerkraut. It's basically impossible to eat fresh ones."
While shopping for groceries, Monk Wuxin also followed, mumbling behind him.
Zhang Heng looked at him speechlessly.
After the third aunt found Yue Qiluo's whereabouts, it was time for Monk Wuxin to leave. As soon as he left, Zhang Heng could return to reality at any time, so there was no need to worry about food.
"After buying the things, let's go quickly. Plague Mountain has been inaccessible in recent years, and I don't know how many villages there are left. Is there a place to shelter from the wind and rain? If not, we have to build a thatched house."
Compared with grains and grains, Zhang Heng was more concerned about the situation on Plague Mountain.
At first, Plague Mountain was not called Plague Mountain, but Sanlang Mountain.
It is said that a man named Sanlang lived there. Later, more and more people gathered on the mountain, and gradually a village was formed.
A hundred years ago, for some unknown reason, a plague broke out in Sanlang Village, and all the people in the village soon died.
Because it is unlucky for a whole village to die.
This area has become an inaccessible and forbidden land. Even the hunters who go up to the mountain to hunt and the herb collectors who collect medicine cannot avoid the Plague Mountain.
"Thatched cottages are not easy. I travel all over the world as a monk. If I haven't learned anything else, I can build a house."
"As long as there are trees and an axe, you can build a thatched house in three days. The key is that it can also protect you from wind and rain."
Monk Wuxin said with confidence.
When Zhang Heng heard this, he realized that this monk was an all-rounder. Fortunately, he was born in the Republic of China and not in modern times.
Otherwise, you can follow Mr. Bei, and you won’t be interested in watching Wilderness Survival without him.
Jingle Bell...
After purchasing their things, Zhang Heng and the two set off.
They sat in a carriage and headed east, finally arriving at Plague Mountain in the afternoon.
At a glance.
The snow was white and about a foot thick, and there were no signs of human activity around, only the footprints left by animals.
Look again, there is a village built on the mountain in front, starting from the foot of the mountain and building all the way to the top of the mountain.
Over the past century, the mountain village has long lost its former appearance.
House after house, some roofs were swept away, leaving only broken eaves and broken walls.
Some simply collapsed and became ruins.
Of course, there are also well-preserved houses, mostly stone houses.
Only these stone houses can withstand hundreds of years of changes and be preserved like historical monuments.
"Niubi, look..."
Push open the door of a house.
As soon as I saw it, there were five coffins, four large and one small, in the shed in the courtyard.
"Infinite Heavenly Lord."
Zhang Heng first inspected the head, and then said to the monk: "It should be done by people from the government. A hundred years ago, after the plague ended, they took away the valuable objects and then made coffins for these villagers."
As for why there was only a coffin and no burial.
Zhang Heng must have thought it was troublesome. After all, there were at least a few hundred people in the village, and burying them was a big job. In addition, these people died of the plague. No one wanted to be infected more. Once they were put in the coffin, it would be someone else's.
It’s considered a reunion if you let it go to anyone’s house.”
"I'll go look elsewhere."
Monk Wuxin went to the second house.
Not long after, the monk came back with a heavy face and said: "Sure enough, every household has coffins, ranging from one or two to seven or eight. Some coffins have been scattered and the bones are not recovered. The person who was responsible for the funeral was really guilty."
Zhang Heng didn't say much.
After all, a hundred years have passed since this incident. Zhang Heng does not know much about whether the people who handled the funeral affairs at that time acted improperly, and it is difficult for Zhang Heng to make any unreasonable comments.
In case these people died of the plague, the doctor ordered not to bury them to avoid contaminating the water source. This kind of thing has happened.
"I saw an ancestral hall on the top of the mountain. Although the doors and windows have been damaged, people can live there after repairing it."
"You and I are monks. We eat everywhere and don't have the same taboos as ordinary people. I think the scenery on the top of the mountain is just right. It should be very comfortable to live here."
Zhang Heng talked about staying overnight.
"Infinite Buddha, you can decide where to live. A poor monk can settle down as long as he has three feet of space."
Having said that, Monk Wuxin looked at the coffin in the courtyard again: "I can't bear to see these people's corpses exposed in the wilderness, so let me bury them in the grave."
With his hands clasped together, Monk Wuxin took his pickaxe and prepared to do something stupid.
Why is it a stupid thing.
Because it was only January and the weather was freezing. The predecessor of Plague Mountain was Sanlang Village, a village with at least a few hundred people. It was not easy to dig hundreds of coffin pits in this cold winter month.
"Monk, it's freezing cold right now, and the ground is frozen solid. You asked me to dig hundreds of holes with you. I can't do it to bury these people, but if you can't do it anymore, please let me know.
I'll pay some money and go to the town to call dozens of helpers, and I'm willing to do this."
Zhang Heng had no intention of helping.
He is not the Wuxin monk, and Wuxin monk is not him either.
Monk Wuxin’s solution was to dig the hole himself, while Zhang Heng’s solution was to hire someone.
The process is different, but the result is the same. This is because the thinking is different, which leads to different coping methods.
"No, monk, I have plenty of strength. It's cold, so I just want to do some work to warm myself up."
Monk Wuxin refused without thinking.
Zhang Heng ignored him and walked around to look around, quickly circling the village.
"Did you see anything wrong?"
Monk Wu Xin has already begun gathering the coffins.
He did it very cleverly. He was afraid that he would forget which house was which, so he marked the coffin to prevent it from being assigned to the wrong house, and promised the Zhang family's daughter-in-law to the Li family.
"There is nothing wrong. There are gossips hanging on the top of the mountain. When the officials went up the mountain to collect the bones, they should have invited a mage to perform rituals."
"These villagers in Sanlang Village were reincarnated a hundred years ago. They look terrifying. Every household has a coffin. In fact, there is nothing dirty. They are very clean."
Zhang Heng clasped his hands behind his back, watching Monk Wu Xin working, and said: "I guess the plague a hundred years ago was probably the bubonic plague. There are teeth marks on some bones, and it looks like they were bitten by small rodents.
."
"It's just that I haven't figured out why this mountain has such a strong yin energy."
"It stands to reason that when choosing a site for building a village, you shouldn't not invite people to come and see it. With the yin energy of this mountain, living here will make you have nightmares every day. It is not suitable for building a village at all."
Monk Wuxin heard this and said: "The Feng Shui pattern may have changed later. When Sanlang Village was built, it was suitable for living. The Feng Shui changed after the earth dragon turned over. This kind of thing is very common."
"That makes sense."
Zhang Heng didn't think much about it.
After all, no matter what happened a hundred years ago, it happened a hundred years ago.
He came here not to investigate the case, but to use the extremely dark place in this mountain to breed paper ghosts. What did the right and wrong of the past have to do with him.