manynovel Chapter 281 Underground Bones
Chapter 281 Underground Bones
Chapter 281: Thousand-year-old bones underground
Wutun, about 30 to 40 miles northeast of Chong'an County, is the source of the Chongyang River and the secluded location of Ruiyan Zen Temple. It takes less than half a day for the locals to reach this place, but even though the "Koubing Old Buddha" here is extremely spiritual, the number of believers who come to the temple to burn incense and add oil is still decreasing.
The root of all this is the mound called "Ghost Mound" standing in front of Xiao Shitou, Tian Qingwen and Zhao Erguan.
This ghost spider, which is more than ten feet above the ground, is next to a half-abandoned field, covering an area of more than ten feet square. There are dozens of huge trees on the top, each of which is more than feet in diameter. Vines are entwined around each other, and the shadows are so tall that they block out the sun. Even if the three of them are just standing nearby, they can feel that the airflow blown by the ghost spider is gloomy and solemn, which is very different from the sunny day outside, and it makes people feel slightly cold when it blows across their skin.
Not far from them, someone had dug a shallow niche with a wooden sign inside that read "Chong'an City God's Shrine". There were also scattered traces of annual sacrifices. It was obvious that someone hoped to subdue the monsters with the power of the City God, but was ultimately defeated by the futile efforts of day after day, and in the end, only the boundary separating humans and ghosts remained.
Tian Qingwen stood in front of Gui Zhui and was startled by the wind. She vaguely felt that something was wrong here, but this matter was initiated by her, and backing down at the last minute was not an option.
She glanced at the side cunningly, and thought that the two of them were not very smart, so she might as well use a little trick to trick them in first, and then follow them, which would be safe.
"The giant tree is gloomy and full of ghostly aura. This must be the place where the drought demon hides. You see, today is midday and the Yang energy is strong. Even if there are ghosts, they dare not act rashly. It is the best time to go in."
Xiao Shitou and Zhao Erguan nodded in agreement at the same time: "Miss Tian is right."
"Young Master Hong must be trapped now. Why don't we go in and rescue him immediately? Anyway, the Guihui area is not very large. If the three of us join forces, we can quickly leave the Guihui and return to the county town in less than half a day!"
Little Stone and Zhao Erguan agreed without thinking: "Miss Tian is right."
Hearing the agreement, Tian Qingwen continued to speak passionately, and walked towards the ghost cave. However, after walking twice, he found that his footsteps were isolated and there was no sound of anyone following him. He turned around and saw Xiao Shitou and Zhao Erguan still standing there in a daze, and he was immediately furious.
"Hey, why don't you two go away?"
Little Stone and Zhao Erguan maintained the same posture, looking up at the eerie and serene giant tree. Zhao Erguan said hesitantly, "Miss Tian, what you said makes sense, but my parents and sister won't let me get close to this place."
Tian Qingwen gave him a look of disappointment, thinking that this idiot was just not smart enough, and quickly looked at Xiao Shitou.
Little Stone seemed to be carefully comparing the height difference between himself and these giant trees. After feeling the atmosphere become tense, he scratched his head and pointed at Zhao Erguan and replied, "Because his parents and sister won't let him get close."
Tian Qingwen frowned and said, "His family won't allow it, what does this have to do with you?"
Little Stone regained his ignorant look and looked at the giant tree: "Yes, then what does it have to do with you if I don't go?"
"Hmph, coward!"
Tian Qingwen seemed to be furious and even suppressed the fear in her heart. She walked towards the depths of Guichu in a rage. However, the wild vines and creepers along the way were quite a hindrance. She stumbled and struggled for a long time before she barely passed the location of the City God's shrine and cautiously approached the deep and winding giant tree.
Little Stone stood there in thought, and suddenly asked Zhao Erguan beside him: "Did your family tell you anything about Gui Zhui?"
Zhao Erguan raised his pale face and shook his head. His slightly loose clothes fluttered in the wind. After a long while, he said with certainty, "There's a ghost in there!"
Little Stone turned his head and looked at him: "Are there really ghosts in this world?"
Zhao Erguan answered ambiguously: "Everyone says there is, so it must be there."
Little Stone stretched out his hand and continued to ask uncertainly, "What if everyone is lying?"
Zhao Erguan thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "If they are all lying to me... the things in there should be more terrifying than ghosts."
Little Stone suddenly understood and nodded: "So Miss Tian is in danger."
Zhao Erguan also nodded: "Yes, there is danger."
At this moment, Tian Qingwen's cry for help could be heard from afar. She screamed at the top of her lungs as if she was frightened by something, but in less than a moment even her cry for help became unclear, as if a coffin lid was being closed and nails were being nailed into her, and she would be buried in the dark and unpredictable underworld at any time.
"It's really dangerous. Should we go and rescue them?"
"My family won't allow it."
"Well, it's up to you."
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In the dense forest surrounded by giant ghost trees, the land was covered with dead trees and broken leaves. Every time I took a step, there was a force dragging me down. I had to use a lot of effort to break free. But in the process of struggling, the other foot was pulled in again, making it increasingly difficult to break free.
Tian Qingwen walked along like this, one step deep and one step shallow, while continuously calling for help outside the forest.
She could still vaguely see the figures of Xiao Shitou and Zhao Erguan standing on the ridge of the field. She was ready to lure the two men in with her loud shouting, so that the three of them would no longer be afraid.
She had not forgotten her fear because of anger just now, but now the closer she got to the ghost, the more scared she became. She was trembling more and more inside, and she always felt that there was something lingering in the depths of the dense forest and among the vines, looking at her suspiciously.
But no matter how Tian Qingwen shouted, even though he used up all the sincere emotions in his life, the two people on the ridge of the field still did not move at all, and from a distance they seemed to be frozen in place.
It was as if the people standing there were not living creatures, but had been secretly replaced by two scarecrows; or as if the step he had just taken had already crossed the River of Forgetfulness and entered the underworld, and he could no longer hear or communicate with the people in the world of the living.
As Tian Qingwen shouted, she suddenly felt that the surroundings were terrifyingly quiet. The louder her voice was, the more desolate the surroundings seemed to be. The rustling of the wind in the dense forest seemed to indicate that some sneaky footsteps were following the sound. So her voice for help became more hoarse and mournful, and in a blink of an eye, it became so sincere and heartfelt that she almost cried.
She leaned against a huge tree and found it difficult to breathe. After barely standing still, she quickly looked in the direction of the field outside, hoping to regain some courage by relying on the shadows of living people. But when she looked around, she found the vague figures of Xiao Shitou and Zhao Erguan, who were raising their arms and waving slowly towards her. Their movements were stiff and rigid, like two terrifying puppets...
This time Tian Qingwen was really at a loss. She leaned weakly against the huge tree behind her, but her left foot sank into a tree hole. Her right foot was suddenly tripped by the twisted plank-like roots, and her body fell uncontrollably to the ground. Fortunately, her hands desperately grabbed vines, branches and anything else she could reach, and she leaned on something quite sturdy, avoiding falling headfirst and getting injured.
She was still in shock and stood up with the help of the object, but suddenly she pushed away the layers of vines wrapped around it. A few large characters engraved in relief appeared closest to her hand: "The First Year of Song Jianyan". Then there was a square stone tablet that was covered with mosses and was unrecognizable. The other incomplete carvings also became clearer in the dim light, making her read them out loud involuntarily.
"...the general...sacrifice for the lonely...grave?"
Just these four short words made her whole body tremble like a sieve. The meaning of these words turned into a wave of fear that overwhelmed her and almost scared Tian Qingwen to death in broad daylight.
Just now, she did not regard Gui Zhui as a big enemy, and because of her absent-mindedness, she ignored some details. But when she was frightened by Gui Zhui's claws, she suddenly noticed many broken monuments and stones covered with moss. The years of dynasties seemed to be engraved on them in unclear handwriting, and they were also filled with ominous words such as "General Sacrifice for the Dead Souls", "Gathering of Lonely Graves", "Dry Place", and "Tomb of Bones".
The cold wind blew again, and Tian Qingwen's legs were really weak. She was now very sure that the mound she was standing on was a grave that was slightly higher than the ground, and the tree pit she had just stepped into was probably a cave made by foxes, rats, snakes and insects on the grave. Hidden in those deep holes were white bones and rotten corpses accumulated over thousands of years, staring at Tian Qingwen with shining eyes...
The trance brought by panic had almost defeated Tian Qingwen. Waves of dizziness made it a luxury to determine the direction. She could only stumble in a certain direction in panic, trudging among lonely graves and breathing the bleak and moldy air. Suddenly, the huge tree opened and closed in front of her. This time, she could no longer find anything to grab, and fell into a deep pit even more uncontrollably!
At the critical moment, the rocks and branches under her feet rolled down into the deep pit, but she was the only one who was hanging in the air against all odds, not knowing what was happening.
“What a big pit.”
"Yeah...it's such a big pit..."
Xiao Shitou's voice suddenly sounded behind him, followed by Zhao Erguan's breathless voice. Tian Qingwen's head was still buzzing at this time, and he vaguely heard Zhao Erguan's breathless reproach.
"Miss Tian, we both waved at you and asked you to wait for us, but you kept running faster and faster - if it weren't for Xiao Shitou's strong legs, we wouldn't be able to catch you this time!"
Xiao Shitou used her arms to pull Tian Qingwen, whose legs were hanging in the air, back onto the slope. As a result, when she turned her head, she could see Zhao Erguan's iconic white face, looking at her seriously.
"That's so weird, did you run into a ghost and get possessed?"
Tian Qingwen nodded quickly with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Yes! There is a ghost! It possessed me just now!"
Xiao Shitou and Zhao Erguan looked at each other and said in unison, "Oh, luckily it's a ghost. That's all right."
Tian Qingwen was totally confused and could not keep up with the two men's thinking rhythm. He had to let his three souls and seven spirits return to their original positions first, then he stayed close to a towering tree to prevent himself from falling and tried to stay away from the ownerless graves before he looked into the deep pit.
I saw a deep pit right under my feet. Greedily extending vines were hanging upside down at the top that had not yet collapsed, quietly absorbing the last ray of sunlight entering the cave. Faint cold light and cold air were coming out of it.
The subtle waves and ripples in the cave were intertwined, as if it was a deep spring that had not yet dried up, but Tian Qingwen got goose bumps all over her body, because she had discovered that the cave ceiling, which had not yet collapsed, was covered with clear and orderly stacked patterns. This was not something that could be created by the divine work of nature at all. It was clearly a collapsed tomb ceiling with a brick vault structure!
This circular brick tomb with a dome is bottomless and its base is filled with water. The brick walls are decorated with white lime and painted with talisman patterns, as if trying hard to suppress something. However, funerary objects such as rough bowls, lamps, and stone pillows can be vaguely seen through the water, but the coffin is nowhere to be seen.
"…Is it a robbed ancient tomb?"
Tian Qingwen was puzzled.
Compared to the unpredictable hidden terror, things like this that were exposed before her eyes were not that scary. With two people by her side, she even had the leisure to analyze the clues.
In the dim light of the tomb, her eyes suddenly discovered a strange shape, as if a black dragon was being nurtured under the water, creating all kinds of incredible afterimages, and at any time, the dragon-shaped monster head, which could only be pieced together from existing shapes in nightmares, would suddenly emerge from the dirty water.
Tian Qingwen's breathing suddenly became stiff, and her pupils instantly dilated, because in the dim light, she actually saw a monster floating underwater that looked like a human and a beast. Its body was wrinkled and mottled like an ancient pine tree, and its hair was fluffy like feathers. Its bleak appearance did not look like a human at all. It was staring at the three people on the water with its strange yellow vertical pupils...
(End of this chapter)