Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1366 Seeking the Past Through Shadows

Chen Chuan and Zhan Jiyue stood in front of the cliff. The torrential rain poured down from above, but after reaching them, it encountered an invisible barrier and was repelled.

After the rainwater fell, it merged with the water on the ground and flowed down to the cliff a few steps away, forming a waterfall that cascaded down, making a rushing sound along with the heavy rain.

Chen Chuan stood there for a while and then slowly said, "When I came out, I read some public information about this area. Two years ago, Hai Village was hit by a mudslide, and almost all the villagers died. The two survivors also died a few months later from a strange disease."

"Hai Village?"

Zhan Jiyue was taken aback: "Those two just now were..." He stopped mid-sentence, realizing something, and frowned. He looked at Chen Chuan: "Commander, can we go back and take a look?"

Chen Chuan turned around and walked to the driver's side, knocked on the window, and the window immediately rolled down. He asked the driver, "Assistant Lai, do you know the way back?"

“I recognize it, I recognize it. This should be the mountain road leading to Shihe Mountain. It was abandoned more than ten years ago. I used to travel this road when it was still in good condition. Strange, how did it end up here!”

The driver was also shaken and extremely annoyed. He had been driving his whole life and had never made a mistake, but today he had embarrassed himself in front of his superiors.

Chen Chuan said, "Assistant Lai, this has nothing to do with you. You can drive with peace of mind from now on. We'll handle whatever happens."

"Yes, sir!"

Driver Lai was quite professional and had decent mental fortitude. Even when faced with this unreasonable situation, he calmed himself down quickly. Once the two were back in the car, he drove steadily and paid extra attention to the outside.

On the way back, the car encountered no other problems, and the rain outside gradually subsided.

When they returned to the location of the original shop, the rain had stopped, and the ground had quickly dried.

At this moment, the three looked out and saw that the Hai family restaurant, which had stood there more than half an hour ago, was now just a few dilapidated low walls and a large area of ​​bricks, tiles and weeds buried in the soil.

If it weren't for the broken cement road ahead and the surrounding terrain confirming that this was indeed the place, one would almost think they had come to the wrong place.

Driver Lai was stunned by what he saw and sat in the car speechless for a long time.

Chen Chuan and Zhan Jiyue got out of the car and walked to the ruins. Zhan Jiyue examined them and her eyes turned slightly serious: "Judging from these traces, it has been at least two years."

Upon hearing his words, Driver Lai shuddered and murmured, "That's not right..." His voice trembled, "I was here last year... and a few months ago too."

Chen Chuan looked at him: "Assistant Lai, how many times have you been here before? Do you remember when? I need to confirm the time."

The driver quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I have the data!"

As a driver with a formal position in the administrative department, he had a detailed driving log implanted in his body. He immediately retrieved it, sent several dates to Chen Chuan, and then slapped his forehead.

"Yes, I remember now. It was raining every time I came here, but never as heavily as today."

Chen Chuan looked at the data he provided. Assistant Lai did come here frequently. The data showed that he had come a total of five times in two years.

Looking at the itinerary above, I eat here almost every time I pass by, either by myself or by recommending it to others.

It seems he really loves the food at this restaurant.

Zhan Jiyue then went to the side and tried to make contact with the outside. The signal in the field was a bit delayed earlier, but now that the rain had stopped, she was able to successfully contact the outside field.

After a while, he turned back and said, "Member, I specifically inquired about the situation of this middle-aged couple."

The couple had been running their shop here for over a decade. They did indeed die in the mudslide that the resident mentioned two years ago. They had a child who, as they said, was studying at the Zhongjing Agricultural Technical College.

However, I learned something: about six months ago, their child apparently heard that the strange tales of Maoshan could help him find his lost relatives, so he went into the mountains with them and is now missing.

Upon hearing this, driver Lai's face immediately showed horror. He said, "Find it, it can't be..." He looked at the ruins and couldn't help but swallow.

Chen Chuan said, "Really?" He looked at the ruins. "Looking at it this way, that ghost story was quite accurate."

Zhan Jiyue took a breath and asked, "Commander, is this just a ghost story?"

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "It's just a ghost story."

Zhan Jiyue remained silent for a while, then sighed softly, whether out of regret or some other reason, it was unclear.

Chen Chuan said, "Let's go to Maoshan."

Zhan Jiyue agreed and followed Chen Chuan back to the car. The strange tales here seemed to be related to Maoshan, and he wanted to find out what was going on.

The car turned back onto the main road from the side road, and this time the speed increased slightly. In less than twenty minutes, we saw the roadblocks, police officers patrolling back and forth, and guards on duty.

The vehicle stopped here, and after the information was verified, the guard immediately saluted and let it pass.

After that, we encountered several more checkpoints, but we passed through them all and gradually ventured deeper into the Maoshan area. Since the beginning of the new era, Maoshan has become a famous tourist attraction due to its lush vegetation and beautiful scenery, attracting many tourists from Zhongjing and nearby areas to enjoy the mountains and waters.

Since the road was blocked, there has been no one around, except for the occasional sight of wandering animals. The weeds in the fields have multiplied, and the dense foliage extends onto the road. When passing underneath, the sunlight is blocked, creating an eerie feeling.

The three people got out of the vehicle when it could no longer move.

Driver Lai had been here many times, so he acted as a guide, leading the way. However, he walked very carefully and quietly, as the earlier incident had left him with some psychological trauma.

Chen Chuan originally wanted to see the long-haired woman who handed him the camera, but after walking along the mountain path for a long time, he still hadn't seen her even though he was almost at the top of the mountain.

Zhan Jiyue then looked up and could vaguely see a corner of the eaves. He said, "I remember there is a Fish King Temple scenic spot up there."

"Correct!"

Driver Lai said, "There's a legend that during the Tiansheng era of the Qi Dynasty, there was a year when it rained heavily, even more than what we just experienced. The water rushed down from the mountains, and it's said that the Xuan River rose three zhang (approximately 10 meters) high, flooding the area around Chiqiu."

Meanwhile, a large fish fell from the sky and landed on the mountaintop of Maoshan. According to an old saying in Zhongjing, "When a fish crosses the mountain and the dogs bark, the earth dragon will shake and the house will be in turmoil." Sure enough, an earthquake came later.

It is said that over 100,000 people died and countless others were injured in that incident around Zhongjing. Later, guided by a Taoist master, the mountain people of the surrounding area enshrined the remains of the giant fish in a temple on the mountaintop, where incense has burned continuously throughout the ages. Strangely enough, since this offering was made, although earthquakes occasionally occur in other areas, there have been no more tremors near Maoshan.

Chen Chuan looked up at the temple and, according to the records, a fissure that had appeared out of nowhere had appeared here on Maoshan Mountain.

However, this rift was quickly brought under control by the court at the time. The specific records of this rift can no longer be found. All that is known is that it appeared suddenly and disappeared strangely. Over the course of several hundred years, it gradually weakened and completely disappeared in the early part of the last dynasty.

This temple should be the place where the crack first appeared. It was burned down several times, and each time the local people carried out fish bones from the rubble to rebuild it. The existing building should have been built in the last dynasty.

"Let's go up and have a look."

The three of them arrived at the top of the mountain and entered the temple. They saw the fish skeleton that was being worshipped. Judging from the remaining bones, it should be a mutated creature from the land of fusion.

Seeing Chen Chuan looking around, Zhan Jiyue asked, "Counselor, could these anomalies be related to this temple?"

Chen Chuan said, "Let's wait and see."

After looking around the temple, he went outside and glanced eastward. There he could see a small, slightly lower hill very close to them, which was the place they had passed by, Xiaochishan, located behind the Haijia Hotel.

He turned to the west and saw another small mountain of similar height, which the information indicated was called Chengze Mountain.

He noticed an abandoned motor and cable car on the mountainside, and said, "There used to be a sightseeing cable car here?"

Driver Lai said, "Yes, it was built a few years ago. They said it was to create a mountain scenic area, not just this one, but also to connect several other mountains, such as Xiaochi Mountain, Yinman Mountain, and Bei Mountain."

I heard that the cable cars on both sides used to operate, but for some reason, the staff left, and only these things remain.

Chen Chuan nodded, and Chao Ming, who had been obediently perched on his shoulder, immediately took flight, soaring into the clouds and circling in the air for a while.

In just a short while, Chaoming had explored all the surrounding mountain peaks, and everything it saw was also transmitted directly into Chen Chuan's mental perception.

After Chaoming returned, he pondered for a moment and said, "I have a rough idea. Let's go back first."

After coming down from the mountain, on the way back, driver Lai hesitated several times before speaking.

Chen Chuan noticed this and asked, "Assistant Lai, what do you want to ask?"

"Waiter..." Driver Lai said uncertainly, "We just ate something there, could it be, could it be..."

Chen Chuan said, "It's alright. Assistant Lai, you've eaten here more than once before, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to go back. You can rest assured."

Ghost stories cannot fully explain all phenomena at present, but most of them are likely a kind of spiritual and energy aggregation, or, in the words of the government, abnormal matter. This may be a replay of past images, or it may simply be a hallucination.

However, all ghost stories follow certain patterns. If they cause harm to people, there are only a few fixed patterns. If your behavior is outside the scope of what is covered, then nothing will happen.

Zhan Jiyue said, "Don't worry, we ate it too, and I think it tasted good."

Driver Lai nodded quickly in agreement. Although these two people were in different situations than him, he still felt some comfort. What else could he do but think that way? He had already eaten.

After the vehicle returned to the administrative department, Zhan Jiyue said to him before he got out of the car, "Officer, if there is anything else, could you please call me again? I think I might be able to help."

Seeing the serious look in his eyes, Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Okay."

……

……

(End of this chapter)