This night seemed so rushed to everyone in Ouyang's ancient house, especially Dong Muya, who spent the whole night worrying about the most likely location of the talisman she had solved. There was a moment when she expected it to be cloudy the next day, because according to the poem, it was impossible to find the direction to the entrance to the underworld without the guidance of sunlight.
She took a bottle of beer, smoked cigarettes one after another, and sat on the sofa in the living room of Ouyang's ancient house, unable to close her eyes. Until the first ray of morning light shines in from the window, the halo slowly spreads and illuminates the entire room, and all the furnishings reflect fantastic light spots, which complement each other and are dazzling. At first, she was so shaken that she squinted her eyes, and there seemed to be some kind of illusion in the countless light spots in front of her. It was water spraying in all directions, emitting strange lights in the sun. Ouyang Xiaoleng, Xia Qiu, Qianqi and the others One after another emerged from the water... Suddenly, her eyes opened wide, and this scene made a flash of light flash in her mind. Her previous fear was suddenly reduced by half, and a certain premonition arose in her subconscious: Yes, this should be the case! They will definitely come back safely! She thought this might be a woman's sixth sense.
She cheered up, went out and bought breakfast for Ouyang Xiaoleng and the others, and then woke them up from their sleep, as if waking up her own children. In fact, if she hadn't been so stubborn and kept waiting for that person, she should have waited for that person earlier. Just get married, and it’s time to have children of your own. She asked for a half-day leave from school early in the morning, and it happened that she didn't have a class that morning. After explaining to Ouyang Xiaoleng and the others the meaning of the poem she had deciphered from the existing materials, she accompanied them to the lakeside. Set off.
Although Dong Muya had already asked for leave from school on behalf of Xia Qiu and Ouyang Xiaoleng, Xia Qiu still sent a text message to Liu Lingmei. Even if the message sent to her was still a lie, she didn't want to disappear from her friends without saying hello. . After experiencing life and death tests again and again, the weight of family and friendship in her heart has increased a lot.
The sunshine at noon in autumn is strong and dazzling, and occasionally a ray of wind passes through my ears. The sound of the wind passing through the trees in the forest is like a distant song.
Dong Muya led the three teenagers to the lake. It was just after ten o'clock. She began to pick the general direction along the lakeshore with the sun dial. The scale in the middle circle of the circular sun dial was the direction. One circle is the angle capital, and at the top there is a transparent stone similar to a heat-conducting crystal. When it absorbs sunlight, it will drive the pointer on the compass to rotate. After basically deciding on an area as their starting point, they sat on the ground very close to each other by the lake.
Looking at the scenery beside Silver Moon Lake, Xia Qiu suddenly realized that she had not been here for a long time. Taking a deep breath of the smell of the lake made her feel particularly at ease. Every pebble here, every bird passing by the lake, Every rippling shadow is so familiar and intimate to her.
"Oh, it's my first time to come to the world I've been looking forward to for a long time. I haven't seen anything yet and I have to leave temporarily." Qianqi said to himself.
"When we come back, I will definitely take you around!" Xia Qiu comforted.
"Well, there are still opportunities. What kind of places do young people here usually go?" Qian Qi has already begun to make plans to prepare for visiting the human world.
"Cinema, park, KTV..." Xia Qiu answered without thinking.
"Cinema? KTV? What are these places for?" Qian Qi became even more interested.
Xia Qiu tried her best to explain to him. Although he seemed to understand her words, he was still full of expectations. The two of them asked and answered questions, talking and laughing, which made the atmosphere much more relaxed.
Ouyang Xiaoleng watched silently, feeling a little envious of Qian Qilai in his heart. His frankness was exactly what he lacked. He also wanted to have such a pleasant conversation with Xia Qiu one day, but he obviously couldn't do it now. .
Time passed by unconsciously. Dong Muya looked at the watch and saw that it was only a few minutes away from eleven o'clock. She took a deep breath and said to the three teenagers: "It's almost time!"
Several people stood up at the same time. When the minute hand reached the exact point, Dong Muya led them to successfully use the daylight dial to find the exact direction. That's what the poem suggests: borrow three inches of sunlight to go to the center of the green water.
She understood that it was time to say goodbye. Although she still had many things to say to them, she couldn't say a word. She just stretched out her hand and patted each of their shoulders hard, and then prayed silently in her heart. Watch them walking towards the lake.
"It's really wise to let me come with you this time. You must know that we dragons are born with the ability to control water. Xia Qiu, you don't have to be afraid. As soon as we get underwater, I will use my demonic power to create a huge bubble to contain us all." Inside, so you will definitely not choke on the water." Qian Qi said confidently.
For dragons, there is no difference between being underwater and on land. Although Ouyang Xiaoleng cannot move in the water without restrictions like him, it shouldn't be a problem to hold his breath for more than ten minutes with his demon power. But Xia Qiu, who had just signed a contract, thought Achieving this will take considerable time.
Xia Qiu nodded gratefully to Qian Qi. When she walked ten steps, the water started to cover her head. She could only glance at Dong Muya one last time, looking at her toes. Dong Muya finally understood what it means to forget the past life in ten steps. This glance was like saying her final farewell to the world she once lived in, because one more step would lead to her sinking into the lake.
Ouyang Xiaoleng followed closely behind. Qianqi submerged into the lake and at the same time activated his demonic power to form a huge bubble that surrounded them. The three of them continued walking towards the center of the lake.
Gradually, Dong Muya, who was standing by the lake, couldn't even see the water ripples caused by the three of them. She knew that they had successfully entered a deeper place at the bottom of the lake. Although her heart was filled with uneasiness, she knew that she was There was nothing she could do but wait quietly in this world. She put the daylight dial in her pocket and prepared to turn around and leave...
When they walked twenty steps forward, the three teenagers had completely entered the bottom of the lake. The world outside the bubble was quiet and peaceful. Among the water plants, the small fish were swimming freely and leisurely. They did not dodge when they saw their arrival, but It was the bubbles swimming around them, as if guiding them. With their elves-like companions, their fears and worries disappeared.
When I reached thirty steps, the surrounding light began to gradually dim, and the sound of water in my ears echoed more and more clearly like a scripture.
Ouyang Xiaoleng warned Xia Qiu and Qian Qi in a low voice: "If I guess correctly, this is a salvation spell! The salvation spell is used to save the dead. It seems that we are getting closer to the kingdom of hell."
Although she didn't understand the meaning of the scripture, Xia Qiu felt that the words in the scripture resonated in her heart and body, knocking out the memories and emotions accumulated in her body word by word. After listening to it, she felt like There is no nostalgia for anything in the world anymore. It feels both transcendent and happy, but also a little lonely and scary. She couldn't help but worry that if she continued like this, her soul might be lost somewhere. In order to concentrate her energy and resist the interference from the outside world, she sang a song softly.
"The orchid is beautiful, and its fragrance is spread. If you don't pick it but wear it, there will be no harm to the orchid.
Today's spin is just the way it is. I travel all over the world, spending days and years.
The snow and frost are trading, and the buckwheat is luxuriant. If you are not hurt, I will not look down upon you.
The luxuriance of buckwheat is the abundance of buckwheat. A gentleman's injury is a gentleman's defense. "
Although her voice was very small, Ouyang Xiaoleng still recognized that it was a song from the Book of Songs. He remembered that she was always singing when he watched her silently in Yongchuan Forest, and he couldn't help laughing from the bottom of his heart.
When they reached forty steps, a passage began to appear in front of them, which blocked the lake water. They walked straight in, and the bubbles surrounding them also shattered, and the clothes on their bodies unknowingly changed. Done. Many scenes flowed on both sides of the passage like a movie. They may be the scenes of the afterlife mentioned in the poem that Dong Muya answered for them. But in those so-called afterlife scenes, they are still the same as they are now. This Let Xia Qiu have some doubts more or less.
"Why haven't we changed at all in our next life?" she asked Ouyang Xiaoleng.
"I once heard that if you can return to the human world from the land of underworld, it is equivalent to being reborn. Since we can see our future, it proves that we will definitely return to the human world." Ouyang Xiaoleng answered her calmly.
"Well, I've heard of that too." Qianqi agreed. He saw himself in a picture, as if he had just won, with a proud smile on his face.
At fifty steps, they came to a crossroads. There was a huge archway standing on the road directly in front. The sign above said "Huangquan". There was a stone standing on one side under the archway. When they got closer, they looked at the stone. There is a sentence engraved on it: "Don't look back, there will be no way back."
"It seems we are on the right track." Xia Qiu happily pointed at the archway and said.
"I guess no one except us would be so happy to find this place!" Qian Qi also smiled.
"You must never look back when passing this archway, otherwise your soul will be lost forever!" Ouyang Xiaoleng reminded.
"It doesn't look as spooky as expected, but if we move forward, we will say goodbye to the world on the other side for the time being." Qian Qi added half-jokingly.
"Are you scared?" Ouyang Xiaoleng asked slightly provocatively.
"I'm not afraid! But don't be so scared that you faint later." Qian Qi shouted unconvinced.
"Stop arguing, I'll go first!"
While the two were still arguing, Xia Qiu was the first to step towards the end of the archway. The two teenagers who unknowingly started to compete again had to admire the bravery of this human girl.
The moment I passed the archway, the things I had experienced were clearly replayed in my mind at an incalculable speed. Xia Qiu felt familiar voices coming from behind. Her grandparents, Liu Lingmei, her father... everyone was calling her to go back. For a second, she felt that she was about to fall, and she couldn't help but want to look back. At this moment, Ouyang Xiaoleng pushed her gently from behind, letting her return to herself again, and in an instant, all the doubts in her heart were wiped away.
Qianqi heard his father's call. His father's voice was so weak, as if he was seriously ill, which made him feel worried. Just as he stopped and began to hesitate, he heard Xia Qiu's call from the other side.
"Qianqi!"
He shook his head and woke up suddenly.
When passing by the archway connecting the underworld, only Ouyang Xiaoleng did not have any hallucinations. He thought that maybe it was because he had completely lost the memory of his parents' voices and appearance, and the person he cared about most at the moment was by his side, as long as Xia Qiu was there. Here, he had nothing to worry about and nothing to be timid about.