Republic of China

Chapter 318 Night Festival
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Outside an earthen wall, Lao Liu kept throwing pebbles into it, but there was no sound other than the sound of pebbles falling to the ground.

To be on the safe side, the house they chose was definitely not an empty house that no one was living in. During the day, the family and the neighbor next door were repairing the leaky roof, so there must be someone inside.

After hesitating and not being able to solve the problem, Zhao Sanyuan and Lao Liu immediately climbed up the earth wall to take a general look at the situation in the yard after seeing that throwing stones was of no use.

On the earthen wall, the two men cautiously glanced around with their heads half-opened, holding the guys in their hands, ready to attack at any time if the situation arises.

As expected, the visibility was very low. Under the dark clouds, Hunan was covered. I could vaguely see the water tank, bamboo basket and other objects in the yard, as well as the outline of the doors and windows of the house.

There was no sound, no light, just deathly silence.

But what the two brothers cared about most was not the half-open door, but the ground in the courtyard.

White!
A vast expanse of white!
From Leng Buding's perspective, it was no different from the snow, it was flat and white.

It is obvious who to guard against.

"Cough-cough-"

"Do you still remember what I said at Yan's house this afternoon?"

"Come to the stage and remove bad luck."

And following this thought, I was very frightened when I thought about it, whether it represented the old Kang scholar and his doubts and conjectures were not unfounded. The villagers of Nanyue seemed to be like puppets on strings, with hands and eyes in the sky controlling everything.

Zhao Sanyuan nodded. Of course he remembered that Lao Liu said that he thought the most terrifying thing about Nanyue Village was that the villagers were as close as one family. Every household can be said to be a representative of distant relatives who are not as good as close neighbors, even if their own house is on fire. If there is a fire, you have to help your neighbor flush the toilet first.

After thinking about it, both of them felt that living things could lie, but dead things could not. A well covered with an iron plate and an iron lock could not lie, and a wall covered with bamboo thorns and wood thorns barely covered by barbed wire could not lie.

It's like they're all dead.

Or the entire Nanyue Village?
That's all, no matter whether you enter the situation actively or passively, it is very difficult to get out now. Even if you leave overnight, you can't get around the chaotic Feng Shui.

bang-

No reaction at all.

For a moment, both brothers felt numb.

If you look carefully, you can see the traces of several stones that Lao Liu threw in before rolling down on the 'white ground'.

With this arrangement, the two families cannot be said to be in love with each other, at least they are bitter and bitter.

When Lao Liu looked along the earth wall, he suddenly became alert and almost fell down.

Theoretically speaking, this situation is not impossible to happen. Isn't it better to let the villagers have good relations? But based on human nature, the possibility is extremely low. Friends who are truly born and raised in the countryside will know how outrageous it is for the whole village to love each other.

"Oh shit, just use it. If you still can't hit anyone, I'll just climb over the wall and get in."

The yard is actually not big, but the light is too dim and the visibility is very low. It is difficult to see things five meters away. However, the eyes of the two gradually adapted to the darkness, and their sight became farther and farther away, and their vision became clearer and clearer.

It's a bit extreme, and it can't be said to be moral, but there is really no better way. If you throw it in and there's no response, then you have to bite the bullet and climb over the wall to take a look.

Following Lao Liu's gaze, Zhao Sanyuan saw a well inside the earthen wall in the distance. The wellhead was covered with a large iron plate, and a large iron lock was placed under the iron plate, glowing faintly.

As for the earthen wall that separates the two houses, it is obvious that most of it belongs to the house next door based on the degree of weathering. Several fruit trees can be seen on the other side of the wall. The earthen wall is inlaid with dense bamboo thorns and wood thorns.

This well is inside the courtyard, not outside it, and is right under the wall with the neighbor next door.

The dark sky, the pure white ground, the silent courtyard, and the unknown behind the door. Anyone who encounters this scene will be confused. Unreasonable phenomena occur one after another.

"Damn it! It's exactly what I thought!"

But during the day, the two families helping each other didn't look like a pretense project. Besides, there were a few foreigners here, so there was no need to act like this.

But it is the height of summer, and even if there is bad weather, there will never be snow in the hilly areas of the Central Plains during the dog days, so it is definitely not snow.

Choking from the flying white dust, Zhao Sanyuan coughed repeatedly and shed tears.

Locking shows an attitude. Even if there is a wall, the well water will not be used by the next door. If you want to use it secretly, there is no door.

Zhao Sanyuan pulled Lao Liu's sleeves and motioned for him to aim and throw stones at the half-open door farther away. At the same time, he did not give up watching the people behind him, fearing that something would suddenly come face to face with him.

Adhering to the principle of acting cautiously, the two of them observed everything in the yard with their naked eyes. As long as they could see it, they would not miss any details. If they could find clues, they would not need to take risks and climb over the wall to enter the yard.

"Don't use the small one, pick up the half of the green brick next to it."

Seeing this situation, Zhao Sanyuan immediately picked up three sets of bodyguards and then received the Golden Light Divine Spell. Anyway, it was all kinds of stacked armor to prevent accidents. After he was almost done, he climbed over the earth wall and fell into the yard.

There are very few places in the Central Plains that are short of water, not to mention the recent continuous heavy rains. It seems unnecessary to lock the wells, but water resources are not a problem when you use them. When they are lacking, it will kill you.

We do not rule out the possibility of an accident happening to this family, but Zhao Sanyuan firmly believes that the prerequisite for helping others is to protect yourself first, otherwise no one can help and you will have to help yourself, so he first throws a stone to ask for directions, and it is only half a brick.

It's just that Lao Liu looked at it from the sociological perspective of human nature. He didn't have definite evidence to prove that there was really a problem, but now he has ironclad evidence.

Lao Liu's throw was quite accurate. Not only did he smash into the house, but he also smashed half of the dilapidated wooden door. The loud noise could be heard far away, and echoes could be heard from far away. As long as the people inside such a loud noise didn't die, there should be some reaction. Already?

"What do you mean? What did you see?"

Who is this big deal targeting?
Are you one of your own?

"what?"

In this case, let's follow the trend that Lao Kang criticized and see how many secrets are hidden behind it.

It is self-evident who he is guarding against.

But if you didn't jump in, you would never know what this layer of things on the ground is.

noodle!
White noodles all over the place!

Who has nothing to do and spreads white flour in the yard in the middle of the night?

After thinking about it, Zhao Sanyuan could only think of one situation.

The first seven come back to life.

There is a folk custom that during the first seven days, March Seventh, May Seventh, and July Seventh, relatives and friends will sprinkle powdery things on the ground, such as lime, incense ash, flour, etc., using ubiquitous materials. Dry soil or sand will also work, and the deceased will leave footprints on it when they return to the soul. Not only can it be determined whether the soul of the deceased comes back to take a look, but also the shape of the footprints can be used to identify the body in which the deceased soul will be reborn in the next life.

The specific era in which this method originated is unknown. Anyway, it has a wide range of influence and a long time ago. There are endless debates about whether it is true or false. Some people say it is pure nonsense, and some people say it is true and they have seen it with their own eyes.

Actually, it’s neither right nor wrong. Even if you really see the footprints with your own eyes, they are not real footprints, but an illusion of bonding and emotional resonance, which is a deep spiritual feedback from the soul of the deceased to relatives and friends.

Will it appear that there are actually some kind of footprints?
Have.

But it's most likely not a good thing.

Because everyone knows that this method is really unreliable. If you want to adjust the souls of the dead, there is a more reliable way. And this kind of behavior of always opening the door of my house may attract something. If you take a look at it, It's just fun, but if you really want to hang on, the consequences will be serious.

However, the reason why folk customs can endure for a long time is because the ones that have declined have been eliminated, and the ones that can be retained now have their own reasons. After all, not many people will work hard to study this way. This method is just a way to express their thoughts. Thoughts about old friends and relatives.

There are no footprints on the powder, and everyone tacitly agrees that they should eat, drink, and do whatever they want. However, if there are really any weird marks, I suggest you not to be like a little idiot and point to the footprints excitedly and say that it is really powerful. Hurry up. Find someone who understands it, because what comes may be more exciting than you.

But in any case, wasting food is definitely not recommended.

If we consider the current situation, it will highlight how incongruous it is.

What is flour?

Main rations, real hard currency.

Where is Nanyue Village?
The central and northwest part of Henan Province is in a disaster year.

What family covers the entire yard with white flour?

The old Zhang family did not have such a problem with food. When he went to the brothel, the young marshal himself said that the family had to eat whole grains and corn noodles twenty days a month.

How dare ordinary farmers in Nanyue Village play such a big game? Isn’t it a great day?

Old Liu on the wall took a breath of cold air. Although he didn't know that the ground was flour, the dust that stirred up after Sanyuan fell to the ground was enough to explain the strange phenomenon.

dust!

After days of continuous heavy rain, the powder on the ground should dissolve in water and turn into mud. How could it be possible to stir up dust? What's more, it's still raining lightly!
"Three yuan. Three yuan, come back soon."

Old Liu lowered his voice on the wall to remind him, but Zhao Sanyuan turned a deaf ear and walked step by step toward the ajar door. The most conspicuous light in all directions was the cigarette butt in his hand.

Of course, at this juncture, Zhao Sanyuan would definitely not be aggressive, so he tiptoed over and lifted the edge of the door to look inside.

After taking seven or eight steps, a fire talisman was launched, dragging sparks into the door to dispel the darkness.

Both Zhao Sanyuan outside the door and Lao Liu on the wall stared tightly.

The half-burned fire charm fell on a wooden table, lighting up almost the entire front hall.

someone!

There is someone in the room!

They knelt on the ground wearing sackcloth and mourning!

But there was neither a brazier nor a tablet in front of him, so he had no idea who he was worshiping!
Even if a fire talisman hit the table, they didn't react at all. Their kneeling movements were motionless, as if they were turned to stone!

As expected, the two brothers fell into brainstorming again. They really couldn't figure out what the routine was. You must know that during the day, this family was still greeting each other cheerfully. It didn't look like someone had died in the family at all, and there was no mourning. Even if It is true that people died during this period, but the flour must be sprinkled in the first seven or three seven days, how could it be sprinkled on the first day?
Zhao Sanyuan hardly hesitated at all, and slowly stepped back, no longer moving forward.

After digging out of this yard, in order to confirm his suspicion, he dug into the next yard and also made a fire talisman.

no difference!

The same dead silence!

The same flour floor!

The same wearing sackcloth and mourning!

I visited seven or eight houses in a row like this, and every house was like this!

All men, women and children, old and young, were kneeling motionless in the front hall of their homes. It was very different from the bustle during the day, as if they were dead.

The strange phenomenon was so frightening that even the hasty-tempered Zhao Sanyuan restrained himself and did not approach any of the villagers. He had a strong feeling that if he got close enough to check without authorization, he would definitely be in trouble.

Unfortunately, the stock of fire talismans was limited, and it was all used up by the time we arrived at the ninth house. Zhao Sanyuan would definitely not do anything like this to smear and investigate things tonight. He was too scared to panic. It would be great if Lao Xian'er was here.

"Let's go Sanyuan. I estimate that every household has this kind of virtue. Let's go back first. If it takes too long to come out, it will be bad if the scholars find out. They don't know the depth."

Old Liu urged again and again. If he had known that he would be beaten to death, he would not agree to cross the Huayuankou and eat crappy spicy soup. He should go down the river and eat pancakes and fruits.

This time Zhao Sanyuan didn't insist anymore. Anyway, the fire talisman was used up. If he continued to investigate, he wouldn't gain much, so it was better to go back.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he saw from the corner of his eye a mark on the ground without warning.

Before Zhao Sanyuan could think about it, the mark doubled and extended forward until it extended into the mourning hall.

At this time, the fire talismans in the hall had not been completely extinguished, and Zhao Sanyuan and Lao Liu saw an extremely bizarre scene under the firelight.

Several villagers who were kneeling on the ground with their backs to the door suddenly leaned back, put their hands and feet on the ground, and turned their stomachs to the sky. They looked at Zhao Sanyuan outside the door and smiled happily.

"My day!"

After scolding angrily, Zhao Sanyuan turned around and ran away. Before he could figure out what was going on, he might hurt innocent people if he acted recklessly, so running away was the best option now.

However, the situation suddenly changed and everything was flying.

The already chaotic Feng Shui became even more unpredictable. Heavy rains fell suddenly amid strong winds. The surrounding environment became increasingly blurry and it was difficult to identify the direction. The wind made Old Liu on the earthen wall cry for his father and mother.

Zhao Sanyuan tried his best to run towards Lao Liu, but the villagers behind him moved faster in strange and twisted ways, chasing him with laughter.

"Look - vomit - can't see the road clearly - let's not run blindly -"

Lao Liu tried his best to pull Zhao Sanyuan up the earth wall, but he didn't know what to do. It was like he was in a sandstorm. If he really ran in the wrong direction, the consequences would be disastrous.

No nonsense, Zhao Sanyuan dragged the confused old Liu to jump out of the wall.

After landing on the ground, he knelt on one knee, with his left palm on the bottom and his right fist on the top, and shouted in a deep voice.

Miracle appears!

In the violent wind and rain, an intermittent 'line' stretched into the distance. Old Liu suddenly understood what was going on. While surprised, he did not forget to lament his brother's foresight and foresight, and he had been prepared in advance to prevent unexpected events.

The cigarette he was smoking one after another just now was not because he was addicted to cigarettes, but because he was saving materials. This 'line' was exactly the ashes that my brother had just flicked!

(End of this chapter)