Part 2 Chapter 6: Retrograde
I was about to pinch it again when something hit my shoulder again. This time it was even more powerful than the last time, and it hurt so much that my arm slipped off Qin Yiheng's shoulder.
In a panic, I hurriedly tried to touch it again. When I raised my hand, I felt like my fingertips were rubbing against something. I couldn't describe it specifically, but it was definitely not a hard object. Now I was completely confused. Where was Qin Yiheng taking me to? Thinking of this, I tentatively reached out and patted it, but I didn't touch anything.
I just reached out to touch him subconsciously, and then I suddenly remembered that Qin Yiheng had told me not to take my hand away, so I put my hand on him again. As soon as I put my hand on his shoulder, I felt a chill all over my body, because at that moment, I clearly felt a pair of hands on my shoulder. A chill spread from my neck to my whole body. At this time and in this place, this person must not be alive.
I haven't been this scared for a long time. I instinctively wanted to scream, but I still remembered Qin Yiheng's instructions. I had to pinch him hard with my hands to remind him that I was in trouble. But no matter how hard I squeezed, he didn't react. I couldn't bear it anymore. I was worried that he was also in trouble. Who knows, there might be a pair of hands pinching his neck at this time!
Thinking of this, I shouted "Qin Yiheng" loudly. I didn't care about so much at this time. I opened my eyes directly to see where I was. When I opened my eyes, I was stunned. Even after I had been to so many strange houses, the shock was still so strong, because in my field of vision, there were dozens of shadows, some of which looked like people, and some looked like animals. They were all walking towards us. Even if they were very close, they could only be seen as a blur. I squinted my eyes and looked to the side of my body, and then I understood why Qin Yiheng had been moving left and right before. At this time, we were going in the opposite direction, and he was hiding from the shadows!
My heart was completely cold now, and I thought: "This time I'm done for. Qin Yiheng must be helpless with so much filth." Once people lose hope, they are not afraid anymore. I followed Qin Yiheng forward, numb to anything in sight, except for the hand on my shoulder. It seemed that he was also walking out at the same pace.
I had already given up struggling. If I continued walking like this, I would probably end up in Hades . Suddenly, Qin Yiheng cried out "Ouch!", and just as he finished the cry, all the shadows around him disappeared, and even the hand on my shoulder disappeared.
After Qin Yiheng finished shouting, he sat down on the ground, turned around and started to curse: "Damn it, I told you, why didn't you listen? If it wasn't dawn, I would have been fucking killed by you this time!"
Even though he was scolding me, I didn't get angry at all. I was actually happy in my heart. The feeling of having saved my life almost made me cry.
I looked up. The sun wasn't visible yet, but the sky was already showing some paleness.
I had been on edge just now, but now that I relaxed I felt weak. I collapsed on the ground and asked Qin Yiheng why he didn't answer me just now.
Qin Yiheng didn't answer, but "Pooh" a few times on the ground, looking very painful. Did he have sheep dung balls in his mouth again? Before I could ask, he continued to curse: "Fuck you, I'm risking my life to hold the 'salt wax' in my mouth, and I have to protect the candle wick with both hands, can't you let me save some energy?" After that, he "Pooh" a few more times, probably because there were still a lot of candle crumbs in his mouth.
I quickly took a bottle of water from my bag for him. He waved at me, lit a cigarette, and then continued, "I've already told , so there's no need to review it again, right? These people acted so strangely that even I was fooled. It wasn't until I realized that what they threw was a funeral bowl that I finally understood."
"This funeral basin is also called the Yin-Yang basin. It is used to burn paper money when setting up the mourning tent to keep vigil. Before the funeral, the eldest son or grandson should smash it into pieces. In folk customs, this represents the pot of the deceased. The more broken it is, the easier it is for the deceased to carry it, and continue to use the pot to cook in the underworld. However, there is a saying in the art of sorcery that this is an object used by the deceased to collect the Yin money burned and sent by his family. To put it bluntly, it is similar to a mailbox at home. If it cannot be broken, not only will the deceased in the underworld have no incense in the future, but his family in the world of the living will also suffer from unexpected disasters and bloody disasters. Therefore, this kind of funeral basin is made of pottery or earthenware, because these two materials are fragile, and the fear is that if it is not broken by mistake, it will bring disaster to the body."
"But this group of people did the opposite. After completing a series of funeral procedures, they buried the coffin and then smashed the basin, which was equivalent to turning the entire funeral ceremony upside down. In this way, the wandering ghosts who were supposed to follow the funeral procession to receive money were deceived and waited for this group of people to give out money! And there must be some kind of object or corpse hidden in the coffin. Burying it in such a feng shui spot is equivalent to attracting wild ghosts from several kilometers around here, and this place has been set up as a trap. When all the projects are completed, this commercial building will definitely go bankrupt, but the other buildings will prosper. Such a big trap cannot be thought of by people without some Taoist skills."
"The developer must have a very deep background, and every step was in their plan. Didn't we see them fiddling with something before they left? Now it seems that they must have done something to their shoes. Since I didn't see it with my own eyes, I can't say for sure, but they must have used some evil-repelling means on the insoles or shoelaces, so that they wouldn't be afraid of being hit by evil spirits when they walked. We could have used this method, and actually just put our shoes on backwards, but I was worried that it would be inconvenient to move around, so I had to use this 'salt wax' to clear the way, and fortunately we got out."
Qin Yiheng said so much, and I could tell he was very tired. I just noticed that his palms were already blistered, probably because he was too close to the flame when protecting the candle wick and got burned. I felt guilty and looked back. I closed my eyes and didn't feel how far I had walked, but the commercial building was already far away.
It was already daybreak, and my heart had completely calmed down. I lit a cigarette, and then I suddenly remembered that there was a hand on my shoulder just now. I quickly reported it to Qin Yiheng. Qin Yiheng shook his head and said that it was nothing serious. Many people know that people have three fires in their bodies, and there are two on their shoulders. It is probably that one of those things is particularly fond of life and took the opportunity to take advantage of me. Fortunately, it was daybreak in time, and I would be fine if I went back to bask in the sun.
The two of us worked all night and were so tired that our backs and waists ached. We rested for a while before we stood up and headed back. Qin Yiheng cleared his throat and spitted all the way. I offered him water but he still refused. When I asked him why, he told me that the "salt wax" he had in his mouth was not an ordinary candle.
The so-called "salt wax" is not a candle soaked in salt water or salt grains, but a candle that is made with cow semen. After the candle is made, its appearance is no different from ordinary white wax. The only way to distinguish it is to touch it lightly with the tip of the tongue. People who know the business can feel that the candle has a light salty taste, so it is called "salt wax". This "salt wax" has the effect of exorcising evil spirits and avoiding ghosts. In ancient times, many metaphysical scholars would carry one with them when they went on a long journey, just in case they stayed overnight in a wild temple or charity cemetery in the mountains, and it was also a universal thing for self-defense and lighting. Candles were also considered a luxury in ancient times. Ordinary people could not afford to light them at home, let alone this kind of "salt wax". Many sorcerers carried "salt wax" with them all their lives, but they were reluctant to use it until they died. This candle of his was left by someone earlier, and he didn't expect it to come in handy today.
Now I understand why he keeps spitting. Even if the taste of this "salt wax" is nothing unusual, it is still hard to get over the psychological barrier as it is really too strong.
Seeing Qin Yiheng's current behavior, I inexplicably wanted to laugh, but I didn't dare to show it too obviously, so I could only grit my teeth and hold it back, which made me feel choked. Fortunately, he was walking in front of me at this time and couldn't see my expression. I imagined the smell of the candle in my head and couldn't help but spit twice.
We did not return by the same route, but instead walked out of the entire building, made a big circle from the outside, and returned to the entrance of Phase 1.
The third phase was indeed deserted. We walked a long way before we got a taxi. By the time we got back to the starting point and got in our own car, it was almost ten o'clock in the morning. I was so sleepy. Qin Yiheng originally wanted to eat something to fill my stomach, but I refused and asked him to take me back to the hotel. Unexpectedly, I couldn't fall asleep when I got into bed. All I could think about was what I had just experienced. I thought to myself: "The time and coordinates in the ancestral hall before seemed to be talking about what happened last night, but who wrote it down? We followed them all the way, but we didn't see anyone else. Could it be that the group of people carrying the coffin wrote it? But why did they write it down?"
