They failed to find Death Shadow Pavilion on the first day. This is normal. After all, Qinglize is very big and there are no man-made trails. Didn’t Xie Zhe say that there are always a lot of water, soil and vegetation in the environment?
Changed. But he seems to be more confident because he has a picture that others can’t understand.
The map was said to be drawn by Mutsuki-kun for him. This map also needs to be used with some tools, all of which are gadgets of the Onmyoji. Xie Zhe only needs to know how to do it, and the others can just follow. Although it is a completely unfamiliar place, it looks like
He was so calm that no one else could get anxious.
When the sky gradually darkened, he said that he would not be able to arrive until the next day, so a few people found some wood and leaves of large plants nearby and built a simple shed. Hanshang was very skilled at doing this and may have built it many times.
. Like adding vines
Techniques such as solid wood frames and using glue to fill overlapping gaps between uneven leaves were something Ye Linghua had never seen before. She felt that she could not help much, and others would not let her do anything, so she helped.
Holding Ruan in his arms, he circled around the two people.
The sky was completely dark, but they could not see the stars clearly. Because they had gone deep into Qinglize, there were many towering ancient trees, and their crowns cut the sky into pieces. Qinglize is a place very far south, with warm temperatures all year round.
It's hot and humid, and the vegetation is still so dense even in winter. The trees growing here seem to never know what falling leaves means. Maybe this has something to do with the magic power of the Green Deer God.
After finishing their work, the three people sat in a circle around the fire. A fat pheasant was roasting on the fire. It was so fat that it was dripping with oil. Han Sheng grabbed it when he was looking for firewood. Dry wood is hard to find here.
, so he walked far away. When he came back with the wood and the chicken, he happily asked them what they guessed he had found——
Even though it was in his hand, Xie Zhe's happy look reminded Xie Zhe of the old fox who sneaked into the village in the middle of the night and successfully stole the hens from the farmer's house, triumphantly triumphant in front of the hungry eyes of his companions. Although there was no malice, but
He knew that this metaphor was not pleasant to hear, so he endured it without saying it. The most important thing was that he was also hungry.
Maybe he felt bored sitting here, and Han Chang suddenly spoke:
"The big horns of the Green Deer God also stand here. I heard that they are the tallest and largest trees in the forest, and they are also the only two giant trees without a crown. Many monsters and animals have made their homes there. I heard that staying there can improve your spiritual power.
Recover faster.”
"I've heard of it too," Xie Zhe continued, "but I've never seen it. The entrance to Death Shadow Pavilion is in the middle of two giant trees, which is the eye socket of the deer demon's skull."
Ye Lingyu's expression was a little strange: "Uh... it sounds a bit..."
"A bit scary?" Han Chang said with a smile, "Then if you make a couplet, hang a bunch of sorghum ears on one side, hang a bunch of garlic on the other, and paste a horizontal stripe on the top, wouldn't it sound much better?"
"That's too weird!"
What Han Zhang said was so graphic. When she thought of this funny and weird scene, she felt like she couldn't laugh or cry, but the corners of her mouth finally raised. But before she felt happy for a while, she suddenly let out a deep sigh,
She unconsciously hugged Ruan tightly in her arms. Was she cold? Miss Ruan Xiang couldn't guess.
"What's wrong? Suddenly, I lost my temper again."
"It's nothing, it's just... the thought of not being able to celebrate the New Year at home this year feels a bit... unimaginable. It's not that I'm sad, it's just the first time in more than 20 years that I won't be celebrating the New Year with my family."
"Human New Year is quite lively, and I like it too. But you must have a lot of Ye family members, right? Isn't it exhausting to visit relatives and go door to door? You have to spend a lot of New Year's money, right?"
"Oh, it's not like that. We don't have to meet everyone with the surname Ye... Well, although relatives I have never heard of in daily life also showed up one by one, it's not like that -
—So lively. Basically, my cousin and I lived together. While the old people were still strong, we went to her house this year, or they came to our house. After all, there is only a lake between the two cities, so we can go around
It won’t take long.”
"Oh...then what do you do during the Chinese New Year? I've been to many places, and people's customs are different."
"Well, I guess there's nothing different here, right? It's just having banquets, getting red envelopes, setting off firecrackers, eating New Year's Eve dinner, staying up late, visiting temple fairs, etc. What about you? Can monsters celebrate the New Year?"
Han Zhang was thoughtful and frowned slightly, as if he thought this question was worthy of careful consideration before answering. The roast chicken in front of him made a sizzling sound, but it was not yet cooked inside and could not be eaten.
"Some monsters can do it, especially those that are close to human villages, and there are groups of monsters. Some can't. After all, it's just a human ritual. What's more, most monsters have very long lifespans. They live year by year, and the monsters are tired.
Yes, some monsters’ birthdays are only counted once every three to five years. There are also some monsters that have their own race-like festivals. According to the monsters’
It’s a strange way to spend the New Year. But I like to celebrate the New Year. I always turn into various faces and eat and drink on the flowing water mats in one village after another. I used to go through the group of masters when I learned the magic.
Going forward, my sister, I, Wen Jiu, and a few fox friends are celebrating the Chinese New Year like humans. We just find an excuse to get together, eat and drink and brag."
Ye Lingquan laughed and found it very interesting. Han Sheng asked her what her favorite thing to do during the New Year was again, but she was a little hesitant.
“I don’t seem to have anything I particularly like, but I also don’t like anything. I just think it’s lively when everyone gets together, and I’ve never been bored since I was a child. When I get bored, I go have fun with my cousin and other children.
Everyone will teach me some popular new games, new songs, and new skills. My sister is very good at playing with pig bones. Her hands are so fast that she can’t see them and none of them will fall to the ground. I am clumsy and always play with pig bones.
I can't learn it, but it's fun to watch them play. I really... like the feeling of celebrating the New Year. Everyone, whether they know each other or not, is sitting together, everyone is wearing red cotton-padded jackets, everyone is very happy, and there are things on the table.
There are also all the most delicious things. There are also warm braziers, beautiful red lanterns, exquisite red window grilles, red notes hanging on the orange trees, and the constant crackling of cannons outside... No one feels cold.
"
Ye Linghua's face became rosy. I don't know whether it was because of the firelight or because she was really happy when she said it. The two words "New Year" have the power to make people happy. As long as they hear anyone talking about it, they will feel a sense of happiness.
A stream of warm water passed over his chest, swirling in his heart, and then gurgling out, warming the blood all over his body.
"But Yin'er doesn't like red."
She changed the topic and ended with a strange sentence. After listening for a long time, Xie Che asked naturally:
"Why?"
"She said that she always dreams about a big red bird flying in the sky, and she is on a mountain road and can only keep climbing up. The ending of the dream is always when she stands on the top of the mountain and sees the red bird.
The big bird fell down the cliff in the sunset, with fire still burning on its body. It would make a sad cry to wake her up.
It’s always sad to come here. And she often dreams about the same dream. After a long time, it becomes annoying and she doesn’t like the dazzling red color in the dream. So she is not particularly happy during the Chinese New Year...even though she is with me.
She would laugh sometimes, but I knew she was actually not that happy, at least not as happy as me."
"Have you ever asked someone to interpret your dreams?"
"Of course, there are people in her own family who do this, but she can't explain why."
"That's right...it's quite special to have this kind of dream all the time."
Han Zhang took down the big roasted chicken and poked it with a peeled wooden thorn. When he felt that the heat was not enough, he put it back on the shelf. While he was tossing it, he complained to Xie Zhe:
"Okay, okay, stop asking about other people's family affairs. Aren't you happy that you didn't see me? Tell me about you. How was your Chinese New Year? What fun things did you have? How many relatives did you have to visit?"
Ling Huan hesitated to speak, remembering that Han Shan didn't know about Xie Zhe, but couldn't interrupt. She looked at Xie Zhe worriedly. In the firelight, his expression was no different from usual - that is, he had no expression.
"...I lived with my mother, just the two of us."
Han Sheng vaguely heard something, and he could keenly detect it from Ling Huan's expression. He whispered an apology.
"There's nothing to apologize for. It's always been like this, and I don't like the excitement. My father passed away early, and there was no one in my mother's house, so we spent time together. But she always kept the house neatly cleaned and decorated with lights.
, spending money extravagantly that she would not normally part with. She became very generous after the Chinese New Year, although she was also very budget-conscious. She cut paper very beautifully, and could cut anything. Years ago, she would use the money she saved to buy a large stack of paper.
red paper scissors
Window grilles, and then go door to door to give to people who have received kindness. Usually the other party will always return the favor, and sometimes even invite us to eat together. For a while, we lived near a temple, and the temple fair held there was quite noisy, but I didn't hate it. Usually
The few young monks I play with will dress up as lions and dance on plum blossom poles to ask for money for incense. After that, they will definitely give me a throwing cannon, which is the cheapest on the market but can last the longest..."
The eyes of the three people are shining. Although this year is a little different, mentioning all this can finally cheer people up.
They agreed to take turns to keep vigil, but Xie Zhe and Han Shang made a tacit agreement not to wake up Miss Ye, and she spent a restful night. Although she woke up to find it was dawn, she was still very sorry and kept apologizing to them. She tidied up a little.
Finally, they extinguished the bonfire and continued on their way to find Death Shadow Pavilion.
It didn't take long this time. In just one morning, Xie Zhe led them to the entrance of Death Shadow Pavilion.
This is a huge hole.
Even though Ling Huan knew what it was, he was still surprised because it was so big that it didn't look like it could be pasted with couplets. The entrance of the cave could almost accommodate ten people entering side by side at the same time. When Qing Lu's bones just landed on the ground,
Are its eye sockets so big? She had no place to ask, and she didn't even have much time to sigh.
The scenery inside is also very unique. It is very cold in the cave, much worse than the hot flashes outside. There are no lights here, but there is a lot of natural light, such as glowing flowers, plants and fungi, as well as blue and green things flying around.
Fireflies. There are also many unknown light spots like dandelion fluff flying lightly in the air. In some places, you can also see the blue spiritual stone.
Most of the time, the passage was like a cave, with many stalactites and stalagmites, and the sound of dripping water. But occasionally she could see trees, without crowns, just part of the roots inside, piercing the dome. There were also some
Sometimes, the road will turn into an unknown white thing, with the same pale arc-shaped pillars on both sides, just like... ivory or bone.
With her friends around, she wasn't very scared, but she was still careful every step she took. Xie Zhe led the way at the front, she was in the middle, and Han Sheng led Ruan at the back. They protected her very well.
Here, it was as if time had been slowed down by the air-conditioning. She felt that a long time had passed, longer than when she was looking for a way outside in the morning, and even longer than the time she spent until dark yesterday. She knew that this might be just an illusion.
But I still can’t help but think about it.
Finally, they reached the end of a passage.
The three of them faced the stone wall, each with their own thoughts. Behind them, there was a small spider hanging from the dry stalactite.
"Who are you looking for?"
Suddenly a girl's voice appeared, and they turned around at the same time. They were shocked to find that there was an extra girl at some point. When? From where? This is a very long one-way street. After all, she...
"Are you...?" Xie Zhe asked.
"If you are here to see the Master of the Shadow Pavilion, you are here."
She smiled sweetly, and her face looked like it could pinch honey.
