The master had been to this village before, so he was familiar with the way into the village. However, before entering the village, he first took off the black cloth covering the eyes and ears of the brothers Ma Le and Ma Xiao, and then took out something from his bag. They soaked the cloth with water and used it to wash away the cinnabar symbols on their faces and bodies.
After about half a minute, the two brothers opened their eyes, looking a little groggy. The master said: "Don't say anything, drink water first and take a rest."
The two brothers did as they were told, and after about five minutes, Ma Le said: "Master Jiang, it's amazing. I feel like I'm sleeping, and when I wake up, I'm here. It's just like a dream when I wake up. Nothing seems real, I feel dizzy."
"This is a last resort. Sealing the five senses is very harmful to the body, but it is better than being scared and collapse." The master explained responsibly.
Ma Xiao said quickly: "Yes, Master Jiang, it's better to seal it up. I would rather do this than see it anymore than it should be."
"Shouldn't we see it?" The master glanced at the village in front of him, and then said, "I'm afraid I can't avoid it."
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Sometimes I really admire my master's memory. Although he came to the village decades ago, he remembered the road so clearly and led us into the village very familiarly.
Unlike other villages, this village is not shrouded in white fog as we imagined, and all the scenery is extremely clear, but it is very unreal.
Why do you say it's not true? First of all, it is a summer with clear skies and scorching sun, but the sky in this village is gloomy. It is not a gloomy day that is about to rain, but a depressing gloomy sky with no sun in sight, as if someone is standing on top of the village. It's like adding a lid.
Secondly, walking on the edge of this village, I looked at everything as if it was covered with a layer of yellow gauze. I looked at it for a long time and tried to describe this feeling, but I couldn’t. It wasn't until two brothers, Ma Le and Ma Xiao, set up survey equipment, as if they were taking similar photos, that I had a flash of inspiration and found the adjective. Yes, looking at this village is like looking at a broken old photo.
Needless to say, these two points make the whole village seem extremely unreal.
The two brothers Ma Le and Ma Xiao were busy surveying the village, measuring something and writing and drawing at the same time. After all, they were professionals. They had to draw topographic maps, and the drawings were not simple topographic maps, but were in line with military standards. topographic map.
This is a custom among agents.
Seeing them busy, Gao Ning said to my master: "Master Jiang, are we going to enter the village today?" Gao Ning's expression showed that he was reluctant to go in.
My master looked at his watch and said, "What's your name, Mr. Jiang? You can call me Master Jiang. You have to enter the village, but you can't go too deep. We can't afford to waste time. We set off at 8 o'clock in the morning. Now we are all here." It’s almost 12 o’clock. And we are absolutely not allowed to enter the village between 12 o’clock and 12:30 noon, and we must leave before 2 o’clock.”
Gao Ning couldn't help but change his face when he heard my master said that he wanted to enter. He hesitated for a long time before saying: "I'll just call you Mr. Jiang. Your ability is worth calling me Mr. Jiang. Mr. Jiang, what I want to say is, I It's not that I'm timid, I've seen quite a few things since I started studying Taoism. It's just... this village feels really... dangerous and... depressing to me, and my feelings tell me... .We are of no use in this village, we will..."
The master patted Gao Ning on the shoulder and said: "I know, we won't go deep, we just need a map."
I didn't care about this. I took a sip of water and asked Master: "Master, why do you say we must leave before 2 o'clock?" Between 12 o'clock and 12 o'clock, I knew that it was too cloudy for us to go in. Then why do you have to leave before two o'clock? I don't understand.
Master said: "Do you think there is still a way to survive if we stay in the mountains after 6 o'clock? After 6 o'clock, the Yang Qi gradually weakens, and the activities of those bugs begin to become more frequent. Even your insect repellent powder cannot stop them. . Moreover, we set off at 8 o'clock and it took more than 3 hours to get here. When we go back, God knows if there will be other changes, so it is better to leave enough time."
The master said it very cryptically, maybe because he was worried about something. I understand what he meant. The old village chief let us in. Who knows if he will cause trouble on the way back? In other words, will he leave us here in this village
This thought made me uneasy, but the master said: "Do you know why I am confident that a group of five people will come here to survey the terrain? Because the time is not up, there are not enough people, and nothing will happen to us in the village."
What time has not come? Not enough people? I am very confused! The master spoke inexplicably.
But the master had no intention of explaining. He sat there alone and smoked a cigarette. I also took out a cigarette from my bag and lit it. I leaned against a big stone and started smoking. I originally wanted to relax comfortably. Yes, but the stone on my back felt cold and uncomfortable.
After a while, probably around 12 o'clock, brothers Ma Le and Ma Xiao finished their work, put away the drawings, ran over, and sat down next to the master.
"How long will it take to draw this map?" Master asked.
"If the two of us are allowed to continue measuring, it will take another three days, and we must go deep into the village to draw a map that meets the requirements." Ma Le replied after taking a sip of water.
"Three days? Going deep into the village?" The master pondered for a while alone, then groped for a while in the yellow cloth bag, took out a handful of incense wrapped in yellow talisman paper, and said: "It seems that this 'immortal finger' We can't save the road."
I know that this thing is a kind of incense made of special materials. The smoke that floats out is condensed and does not scatter easily. Even if the wind blows, it is not so easy to blow away. With the guide wrapped in the incense, it is really It fits the name of 'immortal guiding the way'.
Drawing a guide talisman is not easy, not even my master can do it. According to my master, this guide talisman has almost been lost. Now there are only two or three people who can draw it. As for where did my master get this immortal? Guidance, indeed I don’t know.
However, looking at my master’s appearance, he felt quite distressed.
Actually, if I’m lost, can you open my eyes? Master can also open his eyes, but considering the consequences after opening his eyes, I might as well use this 'immortal guide'.
The group chatted for a while, ate something simple, and then prepared to enter the village. Of course, where they entered the village was in accordance with the requirements of the two brothers Ma Le and Ma Xiao.
Do you want to go into the village that looks like the one in the photo? I suddenly felt flustered for no reason, but since I had no choice, I still followed.
Soon, we arrived at the first building in the village, which seemed to be a residential house on the edge of the village. The house had an air of decay and was indescribably weird.
This is different from other villages. In other villages, it is not uncommon for houses to remain uninhabited for a long time, fall into disrepair, and sometimes collapse.
But the house in front of me looked like the owner had just left. It didn't look shabby or dilapidated, but there was a sense of decay in it. It felt like something had been left in the refrigerator for a long time. It's shriveled and black, and it feels like it's rotten inside.
Has this house been locked up in the photo for so long? I suddenly had this idea, it was very weird!
I have a keen sense of spirituality and could probably sense something was wrong. Of course Master could sense it too. He patted the house and said something that I couldn't figure out: "Another unsolved mystery."
Ha, this house has actually risen to the level of an unsolved mystery in Master's eyes
The remaining people didn't dare to say anything. They didn't feel anything was wrong with the house, it was just that the village instinctively made them feel uncomfortable.
And I accidentally discovered a problem, that is, the plants under my feet seemed to use this village as a dividing line, and they looked very different. Their leaves were still green, but they seemed to be green seasoning with white added. , the green turned out to be very pale, and more obviously, there was a circle of pale white on the edge of the leaves.
This kind of thing is no longer worth mentioning in this village. Even if I see something strange in this village, I don't find it strange.
A few of us walked past the house and headed into the village. Unexpectedly, at this time, we heard a "squeak", which was the sound of the door opening.
Was it blown by the wind? But when I turned around, I saw a horrific scene that I will never forget in my life.