"There were so many people watching the excitement that day that I didn't even notice, and a lot of people gathered around me all of a sudden. It was all going well, but the master built an altar with a bronze cauldron, and even killed pigs and sheep to offer sacrifices and burn them. The incense was so thick that the smoke made many people unable to open their eyes. He kept dancing, walking around, and chanting sutras. Many people looked at it with interest and laughed. The murderer was kneeling beside the altar, chanting sutras. Something like that. Suddenly, everyone saw the hanged man appearing on the tree in front of him. The hanged man had stab wounds all over his body. There was no blood, but it was said to be black, and there was thick water or something coming out of it. It looked very scary. We Huixiang people were so courageous that we yelled twice and then continued watching. The expert stabbed the hanged man with something. The hanged man seemed to come to life and began to struggle, but within two strokes, he did not move. Yes, completely dead."
The security guard sighed, "This matter should have been over. But who would have thought that when the wise man saw it with his Yin and Yang eyes, he saw that there were many hanged ghosts hanging on the trees around, and there were other little ghosts hiding. He hated evil as much as he wanted to, so he immediately copied it. The guy was going to collect all these ghosts. At that time, a dark wind blew in the park. People watching the excitement felt something was wrong and were about to run away. I don’t know how many ghosts the expert had collected, but the other ghosts suddenly started shouting together. , many people fainted and fell to the ground twitching. They were lucky and escaped. Others who were awake were unlucky. They saw a black shadow descending from the sky and got into the Inside the body of the murderer. The murderer lowered his head to recite sutras and did not dare to raise his head. When the ghost took over his body, he jumped up, went crazy, grabbed the master, and broke his neck. Others The ghost was laughing and making trouble, watching the murderer kill everyone he saw. Many people did not hide away. When he caught him, he just broke their necks. Some people resisted, but the murderer seemed not to feel pain. There were many injuries on his body. , nothing has changed.”
Lu Qiaolan's mood was waning.
I also felt that this story was too exaggerated.
The security guard was unconscious and continued: "Dozens of people died that time, and it was finally classified as a fight and nothing happened. But everyone here knows that many people hold funerals in their homes, and they all burst into tears when talking about it. "
"So you are afraid of outsiders coming?" I interrupted the security guard's sigh.
The biggest impression this story gave me was to explore the origin of Huixiang people’s attitude towards outsiders.
I remember reading somewhere before that folklore and folk customs reflect social conditions, and stories contain people's thoughts and ideas.
People in Huixiang are afraid of outsiders. It may be that outsiders come here, which has led to some casualties.
This is not surprising and makes sense.
There are many fugitives escaping here in Huixiang, and it is self-evident how much hidden dangers and crises they have brought to local security. It would be strange for people here to welcome outsiders.
Even if they are not here to beg for food, some locals will hate outsiders coming to their hometowns to take away their job opportunities, destroy their hometown environment, and bring them all kinds of inconveniences.
People always see the bad side first and tend to forget the benefits they get.
This is understandable.
But if the ideas of Huixiang people lead to frequent supernatural incidents here, and they all target outsiders, it will cause me a lot of trouble. Chen Xiaoqiu and the others will also be in more danger.
The security guard didn't understand my question for a moment, and his thoughts were not on the same page as mine.
After thinking for a while, the security guard replied hesitantly: "Absolutely. When outsiders come, there are always some troubles. You outsiders are either here to cause trouble, or else you are not used to the customs here and will spend your whole life. I’ve never seen a ghost before, but when we arrived, we were so scared that we looked like crazy people.”
When the security guard said this, he also showed a bit of resentment and helplessness.
We talked as we walked.
The security guard told the story for so long without feeling thirsty.
I asked him again about ghosts breaking into walls and killing animals without killing them. He had no new stories to tell in this regard. It seems that this is common sense among Huixiang people, and there is nothing to say.
I guess this may be the result of a combination of their desire to protect themselves and their dislike of outsiders. If the ghosts they encounter only attack outsiders, of course they don't have to worry about their own safety and can enjoy the benefits brought about by it calmly.
Even if the annoying outsiders died or disappeared, it had nothing to do with them. They did not need to be punished by law or tortured by their conscience. After all, ghosts are beyond the control of humans. If ghosts kill humans, we cannot blame humans.
In another situation, I might be amazed at the strange customs here in Huixiang. But now that Chen Yihan and Chen Xiaoqiu's life and death are uncertain, I really can't be happy about the situation in Huixiang.
The security guard took us to the chess and card room he mentioned.
Chess and card rooms everywhere are probably the same, smoky and extremely lively.
The security guard was familiar with the place. He pulled us over and asked for a name. After the person reported their table number, he took us around the chess and card room in a familiar manner.
Soon, the security guard waved hello.
On the mahjong table in front, a young man with a shaved head and a cigarette in his mouth raised his hand, then lowered his head again, focusing on the card table.
The security guard had no choice but to walk over and pat him, then pointed at me and Lu Qiaolan.
The young man was hesitant and reluctant to leave the card table.
The chess and card room was very noisy, and from time to time there was the rumble of the mahjong machine shuffling cards, and I didn't hear what the security guard said clearly. It was impossible to squeeze two big men into this narrow place.
But I saw that the young man's expression changed, and he looked at me cautiously.
I guess the security guard told me about the female ghost I caught just now.
The young man yelled loudly, greeted the other three people, and collected the change he put on the table.
Soon someone squeezed over, and after some negotiation with the young man, he sat in the seat where the young man had been. He looked at the cards and said something dissatisfied to the young man. The young man stuffed him with some money, and he beamed.
Security guards and young people crowded out.
We didn't stay in the chess and card room for long. After we filed out of the chess and card room, the security guard introduced us.
The security guard called the young man "Xiangzi". Xiangzi always glanced at me and Lu Qiaolan secretly. When I asked to meet his relative who ran a canteen, Xiangzi agreed.
I asked Xiangzi to tell the ghost story again, but Xiangzi didn't refuse and told the story obediently. The content was almost the same as what the security guard said.
Young people are mostly curious and public. Xiangzi looks to be less than twenty years old. He is tall and muscular, but he is surprisingly honest.
I think this is really weird.
"What do you always see us doing?" I asked directly, "Have you heard any ghost stories about outsiders?"