Shalala... The evening breeze blew through the grass, blowing the skulls strung together. These skulls were very strange, all black and only the size of a fist. When the wind blew, they made a ding-dong sound.
An old woman, wearing Gaoshan ethnic clothes, leaning on a cane, pushed aside the half-person-high thatch, holding an ancient kerosene lamp, and slowly walked into the depths of the woods.
It was already two o'clock in the morning. Deep in , a single light made her look as strange as a mandrill. But what was even stranger was... there was no sound in the woods beside her.
There were no insects, no snakes, no rats or wolves. It was as if she was the executor of the night, and all evil retreated wherever she went.
She had loose hair, deep eye sockets, four-color oil paint on her face, and a belly as big as a drum. She walked hunched over to a dilapidated ancient building and then knocked on the door.
The door opened silently, and a gust of cold wind blew out like a substance. It was unknown in which dynasty this building was built, and only broken tiles and ruins were left. However, after entering, I found that oil lamps were lit on all sides. There was even a painted mahogany table in the center, on which pickled meat and rice were placed. Five Ming-style armchairs were placed around it.
At this moment, four chairs were occupied. They were four elderly women, at least eighty years old, so old that their faces could not be distinguished at all. Seeing the old woman at the door come in, the woman in the middle said indifferently: "Zhu Ou, you are late."
"Sorry, my great-granddaughter made a lot of noise." Zhu Ou sat down in his seat and said faintly, "What happened? We've been getting together quite frequently in recent years."
"Cough, cough, cough..." The voice was interrupted by a violent cough. An old woman opened her toothless mouth and looked deeply at Zhu Ou: "It's not frequent, right?"
"You are too greedy for the secular world and don't want to get involved with us anymore, right?"
Zhu Ou looked at the other person with his old eyes and said hoarsely: "Yamei, you'd better think twice before you speak. Now is not the past, this is a society ruled by law. Once the government finds out, what will happen to us old men? Don't you know?"
"Okay." The old woman sitting on the left tapped the table gently: "I invited everyone here before the Dwarf Spirit Festival, not to let the other party quarrel. I want to ask everyone, what should we do?"
Her voice didn't sound old at all, but rather like a loud bell: "Census... haha... sounds good. An exploration company came last night, so we're going to do a census today? How long can we keep it a secret? They obviously know there's something here, but they're not sure!"
"Then forget it." Zhu Ou lit a homemade leaf cigarette and took a deep puff. "The Huo family protected us back then, and we have guarded their tomb for two thousand years. Isn't that fair?"
Swish... Two pairs of eyes looked over coldly, and the two old ladies smiled deeply, saying word by word: "Do you know what you are talking about?"
"What did I say?" Zhu Ou slammed the table and said loudly, "Two thousand years... a full two thousand years!"
"What has the world become?! We are still trapped in this valley and can't get out! Grass ghost woman... Gu master, does that sound good? Do you think it's still the same as it was a thousand years ago? Killing people with knives and guns? Now if someone shoots you with a bullet, no matter how powerful a Gu master you are, you will still die!"
Her voice was getting louder and louder. She stood up, put her hands on the table, and looked at everyone like an eagle. "We have been trapped here for two thousand years. Even if you don't think about ourselves, don't you think about your children and grandchildren?! Yamei, Taiya, Buda, An'en, how long are you going to pretend to sleep!"
There was a moment of dead silence.
A few seconds later, the gold bracelet on Taiya's wrist moved without wind. Dingdang wanted to keep moving. Half a second later, she suddenly opened her mouth, and a white snake shot out of her mouth and bit towards Zhuou's neck like lightning!
Zhu Ou snorted coldly, and the accessories on her body also made noises. The next second, countless golden mosquitoes flew out from her mouth, nose, and ears, covering the white snake like black mist.
At this moment, two old ladies raised their hands at the same time. On the left, a seven-colored centipede flew in the air, with four pairs of wings suddenly spread out on its back. On the other side, a blood-red spider pounced on Zhuou's neck, and then burrowed in like digging in the soil!
Zhu Ou opened her eyes wide in disbelief. She had never thought that her sister of decades would attack her.
Right in front of her, the golden mosquito mist suddenly dissipated, and the white snake bit her throat. In an instant, her eyes rolled up, and black blood slowly flowed from her seven orifices. With her last bit of strength, she looked at the other four people with her eyes like a devil, and said in a trembling voice: "You..."
The next second, countless centipedes and spiders crawled out of her seven orifices, and in the blink of an eye, only a layer of human skin was left!
Zira——! It was not until this moment that the last old woman stood up in shock and looked at the others in disbelief: "Yami! Taiya! An En!! Are you crazy!!"
"Shut up!" Taiya turned around, her old eyes were filled with bloodshot, her clothes were blown by a hair dryer, countless spiders crawled out of her sleeves: "Buda, say something."
"Keep guarding, just like Zhuou!"
Cold sweat immediately flowed down Buda's forehead, and her throat, which was full of grooves, moved violently. She said hoarsely: "We don't have to have that thing... We... We haven't lived long enough?"
Swish! Countless poisonous insects surrounded him from all directions. Buda immediately stopped talking, buried his hands in his white hair, and screamed hoarsely: "I promise! I promise!"
"I promise to keep guarding it!"
As the last word fell, a white snake gently coiled around her neck. The three grass witches' hideous faces were right in front of Buda, looking directly into her eyes: "Very good."
"We all swore an oath. You know, if you break it, you will be the one to die."
"The dwarf spirit sacrifice will proceed as usual." Yamei picked up the oil lamp on the table and walked out of the house: "It will start tomorrow. This time... we will use Zhuou's great-granddaughter for the sacrifice. This is the retribution she deserves for betraying us!"
"Remember, as usual, ask the township government to join... Those outsiders who covet the treasure will not miss this opportunity... They will definitely come!"
………………………………
Dong...Dong...
Outside the township government, halfway up the mountain, Jiang Xian closed his eyes and listened to the wind blowing through the mountains. Beside him stood a local guide.
Dongdong... Dongdong! The sound was very rhythmic. Jiang Xian listened carefully and calculated silently in his mind. After two full hours, he finally opened his eyes.
"Is this the mountain god playing the drum?" The morning breeze blew his hair and the rising sun shone on his face. He turned his head and asked casually.
The guide yawned loudly. It was less than seven in the morning and the sky was just beginning to turn pale. If the other party had not offered too much, he swore that he would not accompany the other party up the mountain.
"That's right." The guide pulled himself together and continued talking. "I don't know why, but every winter, during the last month of the year, we can hear the sound of drums. Boom, boom, boom. But what's even stranger is that the sound disappears once the dwarf spirit sacrifice is over. The whole village knows about this, and a TV station even came here to film it before."
"Dwarf Spirit Festival?"
"Yes, this is a very interesting sacrifice in Zhangcun Town. The real Gaoshan sacrifice is carried out between December and January every year. If you count it, it has lasted for thirty or forty years. This year is about the same time."
The guide yawned and said, "Legend has it that the Gaoshan people once encountered a kind of 'little black people', only one foot tall. The Gaoshan people called them Daai people. The Daai people rode on the back of a huge white snake. The Gaoshan people came up with a plan and dug a bridge on the way back for the white snake. When the white snake returned, the bridge could not bear the weight and finally broke. All the Daai people on the snake's back drowned. In order to save the souls of these dead, a dwarf spirit festival is held every year."
White snake... Jiang Xian narrowed his eyes and looked at the surrounding mountains without answering. After a long while, he said faintly: "So what do you think this is?"
"Ah... me?" The guide was stunned for a moment, then shrugged and said, "Who knows... maybe it's a natural cause. Scientists who came here before haven't found anything either."
Jiang Xian patted his butt and stood up, walked to the guide and looked him straight in the eyes: "Didn't you smell it?"
"ah?"
Jiang Xian smiled and patted the other person's shoulder: "There is a strong fishy smell mixed in your winter wind."
The guide looked at Jiang Xian as if he had seen a ghost. Before he could say anything, Jiang Xian continued, "The dong dong sound only occurs in late winter and early spring, when everything is about to revive. The giant beasts that wake up from hibernation will bring with them a stale smell from the winter... It's this fishy smell."
The guide swallowed hard. He didn't know why, but even though he felt the other party was joking, his hair stood on end.
Jiang Xian put his arm around his shoulders and turned him around. "Then, the giant beast woke up and found that there was no food. It angrily knocked the surrounding mountain walls with its tail to remind people to sacrifice to it. Do you think... is this the mountain god beating the drum?"
"Yes, that's right. The mountain god might be a white snake several hundred meters long."
The guide trembled all over. Jiang Xian looked deeply into his eyes, then suddenly patted him on the shoulder and laughed: "I was just kidding you, how could it be possible?"
"It's... it's a joke." The guide wiped his sweat and said carefully: "Then... brother, can I go over there to smoke a cigarette? You watch for a while?"
Jiang Xian smiled and waved, and the other party left. Just as the guide turned away, his expression became completely solemn.
He picked up the mineral water bottle next to him, and the water in the bottle actually created ripples!
It's shaking... He squinted his eyes and looked at the surrounding mountains. These mountains were actually shaking!
This was a very slight vibration, which no one could feel, but it was indeed happening. And... he had just heard some different sounds in the wind.
That was the sound of something rubbing against the rock wall, but it was mixed in with the wind and could not be heard clearly.
"Dwarf Spirit Sacrifice..." He rubbed his hands and put down the mineral water bottle. At this moment, a man in camouflage clothes suddenly rushed up from the corner.
"Mr. Jiang!" The team member gasped and said, "Mr. Song, please go back to the guesthouse immediately. Something big has happened!"
"Zhuou, one of the five clan leaders of Yazi'ao Alpine Village, has gone missing! For prayers, the Dwarf Spirit Ceremony will be held in three hours!"