Qizhou

Once upon a time there was a mountain named Zhuxi Mountain, and a small village under the mountain named Zhuxi Village.

The ancients once said: The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to go to the blue sky.Coincidentally, Zhuxi Mountain is in the land of Shu.Looking around, the verdant bamboo forest is covered with green hills, and the wind blows into the village from the pass of the mountain, and there will be bursts of bamboo noise, coupled with the sound of the stream flowing in the mountain, this Zhuxi mountain is really a treasure suitable for seclusion.

In the path below the mountain, a white shadow swayed.

This road is newly built, but it is barely passable, and it is not smooth.The man looked up, and a straw shed came into view beside the path facing the mountain.Backed by the golden light of the setting sun, the faded tea streamer was shaken by the wind.Perhaps the shed was built by hospitable locals to rest for passing tourists.The man in white had indeed walked the mountain road for a day, and this teahouse appeared just right.

Enter the store and take a seat.

The shed is very small, with only room for two or three tables, and the owner is the only one busy.

At dusk, warm light reflected on the tea in front of him, reflecting the Milky Way on his face one step earlier.It has to be said that this is Zhang Junxiu's face—sword-browed and star-eyed, with well-defined outlines, and the black hair like a waterfall is tied up high and uncluttered.And this white dress, which was not even stained with dust, didn't look like what it should look like after driving the mountain road all day.

The small tea house is located in the mountains, and the enthusiastic store owner has not seen such a unique guest for a long time. After ordering food for him, he moved a stool and sat opposite the man.

He smiled and said, "Does the store owner have something to say?"

Seeing that his tea bowl was empty, the shopkeeper hastily continued on for him: "Where is it? I just saw you, young master. It's been a long time since we've seen you like this...so..."

"so?"

The shopkeeper scratched his head and smiled apologetically: "Hey... I'm a rough person, I don't know how to praise others, please take care of me, young master, but I just ask a few words, where are you from and where are you going? This way If you go further down, you should reach Zhuxi Mountain, that's all."

He said: "Come from Chang'an, just going to Zhuxi Mountain."

Hearing the word Zhuxishan, the shopkeeper's eyes widened. He picked up the thick porcelain bowl on the table, poured one for himself, drank it all in one gulp, smacked his lips, and said, "That... how dare you drink it?" Ask your son's name?"

"My name is He Qizhou, congratulations on the new year." He smiled again, "Why are the shopkeepers so nervous?"

The shopkeeper rubbed his hands together, and looked up at the sky outside the eaves: "To tell you the truth, Mr. He... Although our Zhuxi Mountain is a treasure land of outstanding people, but... But if you go to the mountain, you'd better take advantage of it." It's not too late, let's go!"

Upon hearing this, He Qizhou became curious: "How?"

The shopkeeper said with a strange look: "Young Master He, this mountain...is not peaceful. Everyone in Zhuxi Village knows that ghosts and ghosts live at night, and they will not go out until they die."

Now it's his turn to pour tea for the shopkeeper: "Can the shopkeeper explain it in detail?"

As soon as the shopkeeper heard this, the chatterbox couldn't close.

Hundreds of years ago, a group of ancestors came here, leaning against Zhuxi Mountain, found a flat and open land under the mountain, and built Zhuxi Village.

There are many bamboo forests on Zhuxi Mountain, which is uniquely endowed by nature. Apart from farming, the villagers of Zhuxi Village go up the mountain to pick mountain treasures and catch wild animals. Everyone would come to the village with the lanterns, buying bamboo wares by car, and then reselling them in the city.

But whether it is the villagers of Zhuxi Village or the vendors who come to buy, everyone has a taboo-like rule in their hearts——

Villagers do not go out at night, and visitors do not enter the village at night.

At night, the doors of every household in Zhuxi Village are closed, and the more timid ones will turn on all the lights in the house and stay up all night like this.

He Qizhou was surprised and said, "So every night?"

The shopkeeper was talking engrossedly, but when he asked, it was hard to be sure, so he just laughed along with him: "Hey, it's a rumor... If it's like this every night, then maybe half of the bed at home will have to be set aside for candles."

"But what is there in this mountain that can scare the villagers so much?"

Hearing this, the shopkeeper's face was mysterious, he drank the tea in his hand and put down the porcelain bowl, like a stunned tree when starting a storytelling.

Zhuxi Village was originally peaceful.

Surrounded by mountains and rivers and surrounded by bamboo forests, the villagers live and work in peace and contentment. From dawn to dusk, the sound of bamboo cutting is always heard in the village.The village head is a warm-hearted person. Under his leadership, all the people in the village enjoy a happy and comfortable life.

But just a few nights ago, something strange happened in this village.

There was no moon that night, and the wind from the mountains was particularly harsh. As long as the weather was about to change, the villagers packed up their things early, locked up their livestock, and closed their doors and houses.

Sure enough, within a short while, a heavy rain poured down, making the bamboo roof crackle.A villager was worried that the heavy rain would break down the fence in the yard, so he looked through the window twice.

But it was these two eyes that saw something extraordinary.

There was a flash of thunder in the night sky, reflecting the mountain village in the middle of the night as if it were day. In the short moment of thunder, he saw a dark red shadow standing in the middle of the dirt road that ran through the village.

The raindrops formed strings of beads and smashed hard to the ground.

The shadow was in the rain, in the continuous rain.The blood-colored crimson of his whole body can penetrate straight into his eyes through the continuous rain curtain.

The villagers were startled, and quickly turned sideways, clinging to the wall, avoiding the view restricted by the window frame.The rain was still severe, and this spring thunder was nothing more than ordinary.

But at this moment, the closed door of the villager suddenly trembled, as if someone pushed in gently with his hand, but failed because of the obstruction of the door latch.

Who is coming in?

The sound of knocking on the door sounded at the right time, and the heart of the villager also hung to the top. He held back his voice and held his breath, not daring to make any movement.

Something outside knocked on the damp wooden door.

knock knock knock.

"anyone there?"

The voice of the person who came could not tell the gender, let alone the age, it was not so much who was speaking, as it was someone who got into his mind and whispered deep in his ear.

He was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe out.

There was a knock on the door for a while, and then stopped without warning.The villager's heart was hanging to the top, he didn't dare to move, and he didn't dare to make a sound, so he remained in a stalemate for a long time, until he forgot his horrible situation and began to feel sleepy.

knock knock knock.

"Is anyone home? Let me in..."

Knocking on the door, asking questions, round after round, one after another, in the hearts of the villagers who were clinging to the wall, this fear was gradually replaced by an inexplicable irritability.

What the hell is this?What is its intention?Knock on the door and inquire all night, is it just to sing a one-man show here?

The more irritable the villagers were, the softer the knock on the door became. The thing on the other side of the door was like a diligent and tireless pedant.

This kind of questioning continued for most of the night, and the villagers finally couldn't bear it any longer, and shouted angrily: "Fart, let go! Knock on the door in the middle of the night! Are you sick?"

When he responded, the second of the three soft knocks on the door came to an abrupt end at his words.

The villager spat irritably, trying to spit out all the fear and boredom of the night.

But at this moment, the third belated knock on the door suddenly exploded in his ears.

It was not a soft knock on the door.

It was a sharp and delayed caress.It's like...something scratched the board.

The dim light from the candlesticks on the table was the only light in the room.Through the dim candlelight, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, a rough scratch was slowly forming on the wet wooden door next to the wall.

It was scraped off with a fingernail.

on the inside of the wooden door.

"And then?" He Qizhou picked up the teacup and drank the half-cold tea in one gulp.

The shopkeeper who had already set his posture was a little embarrassed when he realized that his vivid narration did not scare the person in front of him. He hurriedly cleared his throat twice, and said in a low voice, "The next day, this person disappeared."

He Qizhou asked: "Missing?"

The shopkeeper nodded again and again: "Yes, it's gone. Even the things people brought with them are gone, the whole house has been completely emptied, and this is not the only thing that is even more mysterious!"

"Oh?" He Qizhou became interested.

"For such a big person, he would be gone if he said nothing, but the people in the village didn't seem to feel it at all. When everyone passed by the house, they didn't even look at it, neither scared nor curious, son, what do you say?" Say, isn't that strange?"

He Qizhou smiled: "Maybe people in Zhuxi Village don't like to meddle in their own business."

Seeing his reaction, the shopkeeper waved his hands again and again: "That's not the case at all! They don't even know that this person is gone!"

There is no reason why such a big living person is gone?He Qizhou frowned, not understanding what the shopkeeper meant.

"This villager who was taken away by the monster in red in the rainy night was forgotten by the people of Zhuxi Village! It's as if he never appeared, and there is no such person in this village at all. Do you understand?"

"Oh...that's how it is." He Qizhou nodded in response, but there was no expression of fear on his face. He raised his eyes to see that the sky was almost dark, so he took out some scattered copper coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the shopkeeper's hand , I bought another white paper lantern.

The storekeeper wanted to say something, but when he saw the money was in front of him, he quickly put on a smiling face, lit the lantern for him, and said enthusiastically, "Master, is he going back? It's not easy to go up, but you have to pay attention to the road when you go down the mountain."

He Qizhou said: "Thank you for the reminder from the store, I will be careful. By the way, you said just now that you should go southeast to Zhuxi Village, right?"

The shopkeeper replied: "Yes..."

Before he finished speaking, the shopkeeper felt that something was wrong, he hurriedly stopped the person who had already walked out of the tea stand with a lantern, and stammered: "Young master... you, you are going to Zhuxi Village? This black light is blind, you..."

He Qizhou patted him on the shoulder and smiled calmly: "Yes."

"That place...hey, why bother! You..."

He Qizhou stopped in his tracks and asked, "Is the store owner afraid that I will encounter ghosts when I go in?"

The shopkeeper hurriedly said: "Of course, that place... since the news got out, no one dared to go in at night for a long time. Those merchants who bought bamboo wares used to come in the morning and leave in the afternoon at the latest. , no one has ever dared to enter the mountain at night, although we met by chance, but...but I have to persuade you, the young master is not a child anymore, so think twice!"

Seeing that the shopkeeper was in such a hurry, the smile on He Qizhou's face became wider. He let out a breath, and said helplessly, "Shopkeeper, please answer me a few questions."

The shopkeeper was taken aback: "Ah? Tell me."

He Qizhou said: "You said that there was a man in red in Yuye Village who took his soul and took his life. Have you seen it with your own eyes, or have people from Zhuxi Village seen it?"

"This... I haven't seen it before, how dare I..."

He Qizhou said again: "Since no one has seen it, where did the rumor come from?"

"Rumors... are just rumors. It just spread like this. Who knows where it came from... But in the end, I would rather believe it!"

When He Qizhou heard this, he nodded and said, "Okay, then the third question, since you said that the villager disappeared mysteriously and was taken away by a monster in red, and the whole village seemed to be obsessed with forgetting that this person ever existed, so how can you tell me what kind of person you are?" Who spread the whole rumor? The villagers themselves? He is missing. People from Zhuxi Village? Don’t they all forget him completely? How can they remember his dangerous experience? ?”

The shopkeeper was stunned by his call, and didn't know how to explain it for a while.

Before he could react, He Qizhou held a lamp in one hand and a sword in the other, and said frankly: "To be honest, I came here for Zhuxi Village. If I dare to come, I dare to go in. If there are any ghosts and ghosts, I will drink with them." A cup of tea, a chat, and only then will we know what it is plotting and how to eradicate it."

"Thank you for the tea from the store. It's dark and the road is slippery. You have to be careful when you go down the mountain."

The mountain col swallowed the last light of the setting sun, and the night shrouded Zhuxi Mountain. On the winding mountain path, a star of light flickered, slowly moving towards the village submerged in darkness.