Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 117 The scapegoat

Qiangke is a typical karst landform with many caves underground in the mountains.

Some caves are deep and long, extending for several kilometers underground.

There are even rivers, mountains, and some strange and magical animals in the underground caves.

When Ran Qing was little, he'd hear the village adults gossiping about someone from a certain village who went looking for cattle in the mountains and accidentally stumbled into an underground cave. After wandering there for a day and a night, he encountered a giant, blood-sucking snake and glowing butterflies floating in an underground river...

Those bizarre and magical stories left a deep impression on Ran Qing when he was a child.

He was filled with awe and a little expectation towards the mysterious cave in the mountain.

I am in awe of the dangers inside, but also curious about the mysterious scenes underground.

Ran Qing and the other two walked into the dark cave, leaving the cave with three coffins behind.

At the last second before entering the cave, Ran Qing glanced behind him through the bronze mirror.

The strange pair of embroidered shoes had already gone underground and were standing at the end of the stairs, as if blocking the door.

It was like he was following me relentlessly all the way in...

Ran Qing asked in a low voice: "Mo Li, how much do you know about the tomb robbers in this Taoist temple?"

The young girl walking in front, holding a flashlight, carefully observed the road while whispering, "I was still a child when I first came here. But the old woman said that the three Taoist priests in this Taoist temple were all tomb robbers who used to dig up graves and rob tombs."

"They had caused some kind of disaster outside, so they hid in the deep mountains of Zangke, disguised as Taoist priests to seek refuge."

"When the old woman came here, the Taoist temple had just been built. She came to ask the three Taoists for help, saying she wanted to do something important, but the three Taoists refused."

"The old woman never came here again after that, and neither did I."

The flashlight illuminates the way forward.

This dark cave was even more spacious than expected, enough for two people to walk side by side. The ground was covered with broken stones, and the sides and the top were made of grayish pale limestone.

The winding cave rises and falls in the darkness, and no one knows where it leads to.

The story Mo Li told didn't contain much useful information.

At least the cause of death of the three tomb robbers cannot be speculated.

Ran Qing pondered and silently pointed the bronze mirror behind him.

Mo Li also cooperated by turning the flashlight upside down.

The darkness behind me was illuminated by the light, and there was nothing between the broken stones.

But in the reflection of the bronze mirror, a pair of embroidered shoes stood silently in the middle of the cave, motionless.

Ran Qing and Mo Li looked at each other, one of them put away the bronze mirror and the other shone the flashlight in front of him. They were not surprised by this.

"That pair of embroidered shoes seems to be worn by the Taoist priest in the third coffin," Mo Li whispered.

Three coffins, three paintings.

Two Taoist priests and an evil ghost with a green face and fangs.

The evil ghost was wearing a pair of long waders, the first Taoist priest was wearing a pair of cloth shoes, and the third Taoist priest was wearing a pair of embroidered shoes.

At this time, Ran Qing, who was walking in front, turned a corner and suddenly stopped.

The dry and dark cave ended here.

There is a hollow stone cave in front, which is larger than the cave under the main hall of the Taoist temple.

But there is no coffin here, instead there is an altar in the center.

Dark red candles that had burned out were placed on the altar, like wedding candles lit at a wedding.

The wax from the burning red candles solidified and accumulated in clumps on the altar, making the entire altar look like a strangely wrinkled human face.

This is the end of the cave. Ran Qing swept the flashlight through the cave and saw a box in the corner.

Mo Li and Xiao Mianhua squeezed in and looked at the stone chamber in surprise.

"Is this the end?" Mo Li breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both relieved and bewildered. She was afraid this cave led deep underground, and if it connected to the ghost cave behind Ghost Cave Village down the mountain, that would be troublesome.

But now when I reached the end, I only saw an altar and an old box.

She was confused: "Why does this box... look so spooky?"

Ran Qing stared at the metal box in the corner, and goose bumps appeared on the exposed skin of his arms.

The perception of the Yin-walking person, after entering this stone chamber, finally felt an extremely strong and eerie chill.

Ran Qing had also seen this iron box in the Wujiang ghost world...

But what puzzled Ran Qing was that the source of the eerie chill in the stone chamber was not the iron box, but the altar in the center of the stone chamber.

The altar, piled with red wax, exuded a cold and ominous malice.

Ran Qing walked forward silently and looked at the things on the altar.

Between the bases of many burnt-out red candles, a thick stack of talisman paper was pressed down by a black inkstone, and next to it was an old book with rough paper.

Because of their age, these talisman papers have become fragile and brittle.

Ran Qing was careful enough when he moved the inkstone, but he still broke the two talismans on the top.

He didn't know much about talismans, but he could still barely understand the words on it.

Obey the imperial decree - eliminate disasters and difficulties, and everything will be safe.

This is actually a talisman for praying?
Ran Qing was a little confused and opened an old book beside him.

Opening the first page of the book, there is a line of eye-catching large brush-written characters.

[The three people who enter this place ten years later will die in place of my three fellow disciples.]

The moment he saw this line of words, Ran Qing was stunned.

He suddenly looked towards the big metal box.

Is this...looking for a scapegoat?
Mo Li came over and saw the words. The girl's eyes widened. "Is it talking about the three of us? But how did it know we would come in ten years?"

Ran Qing's hand gently touched the paper. The ink had already dried and been imprinted into the page. At least it was not written recently.

Ran Qing was silent for a few seconds, then laughed in anger: "Folklore says that finding a scapegoat is for the purpose of reincarnation."

But there are no ghost messengers or kings of hell in the ghost world of Wujiang, let alone reincarnation.

These three tomb robbers are pretending to be ghosts and looking for a scapegoat...what's the point?

Could it be that after being dead for ten years, they could still walk out using the bodies of Ran Qing and the other two living people?

This kind of words can deceive other people. After all, the underworld is extremely mysterious to most people, even those who are in the mysterious and unorthodox sects.

But people who walk into the underworld often walk into the underworld, and Ran Qing can be very sure that there is no such thing as reincarnation in the world.

Could it be that the ghost led them in here just to scare them?

Ran Qing turned to the second page and found it was blank.

Then the third page was blank, and the fourth page was blank... Ran Qing flipped through more than forty pages in one breath before stopping.

Finally, a new line of words appeared in the middle of this old book.

The handwriting of this line of words is rough, twisted and much uglier.

The person who wrote it seemed that he was not used to writing with a brush.

Its content is also different from the first page.

[Three people who enter this place in two years will die in place of my three siblings.]

The expression on Ran Qing's face froze instantly.

(End of this chapter)