Nanfeng nodded when he heard this, "You stay here, I'll go to the valley to take a look."
"Dig it out first." The fat man grabbed Nan Feng and pointed at the ginseng on the stone wall.
Nanfeng jumped up, clung to the stone wall, and pulled out the wild ginseng. This wild ginseng was as thick as a wine cup, much thinner than the one given by Magistrate Hu. It was thought to be two or three hundred years old.
The south wind knocked down the stone wall, and he stuffed the mountain ginseng into the fat man, turned around and ran towards the valley. At this time, Zhang Zhong and others were still shouting in the valley.
"Don't move." The fat man was a little afraid of the white dog. He wanted to touch it but didn't dare to touch it. Even if it looked like this right now, if it got angry, it would probably change back to its previous ferocious appearance.
Although the centipede was poisonous, it was not very good at it. After spitting out the poisonous mist several times, the centipede was at its wits' end and was beaten to the point of dying under the siege of dozens of people.
Seeing the arrival of Nanfeng, the old Taoist Tianmu wanted to take credit, and cast three spells in a row to stun the centipede. Then he turned back to look at Nanfeng, "Sir, we have captured this monster, what should we do with it?"
"Tie them up and take them out to show the public." Nanfeng walked deep into the valley. It was almost dark now, and he had to find the villagers who had entered the valley before it got dark.
Everyone brought ropes with them, and after hearing what Nanfeng said, they stepped forward to tie them up, but there were many centipedes and it was very laborious to tie them up.
Zhang Zhong followed with his men, protecting Nanfeng and searching forward. After walking more than a hundred feet, a villager's corpse appeared in front of him. The corpse was intact, with a black and purple face. It was thought that he had been poisoned.
The valley is in the shape of a horseshoe. Not long after going forward, we changed the route to the north. A geothermal hot spring appeared on one side of the valley. The hot spring is not big, but the size of a well mouth, and the spring water is not deep. Through the water vapor, the bottom of the black stone spring can be seen.
After walking for more than ten feet, three more corpses were found. There were no injuries on the bodies. They were also poisoned. When seeing these corpses, everyone also saw a house at the end of the valley. It was a house built with black stones. The completed house is three feet high and about five feet long and wide. It can be said that it is a stone palace.
This stone house is relatively well preserved and built against a stone wall. It has no windows and only one doorway. Because it was getting late, the interior of the stone house could not be seen.
"Sir, look." Zhang Zhong pointed to the top of the stone house.
Nanfeng looked up and saw two human legs faintly visible on the top of the stone roof.
Zhang Zhong tilted his head and looked at the government servant. The latter understood, ran over and climbed up the stone wall. After looking at the situation on the roof, he shouted loudly, "Sir, there are three villagers here, and they all fell to death."
"Come into the house and take a look." Nanfeng stepped forward.
As a subordinate, he naturally could not let the officer explore the way first. Even though he was timid, Zhang Zhong still led a few people to rush into the stone house.
As soon as the fire was blown, a pitiful scream came out of the house. Everyone was caught off guard, and the souls of the dead were so frightened that they fled in embarrassment.
Nanfeng stepped in and looked around. He heard clearly that the previous screams came from the human body and were not monsters.
The scene in the house was very horrifying, with bones all over the place. In addition, there were many pottery fragments and wooden plaques scattered on the ground. Judging from the style of the wooden plaques, they must be the memorial tablets of ancestors.
"They are all human bones." Zhang Zhong spoke from beside him.
Nanfeng nodded and pointed to the northeast corner, "There is someone in the corner."
The stone house is built against a stone wall. There is a recess in the northeast corner, where there is a vague figure shaking.
Zhang Zhong took people over and pulled out one person. The person was so frightened that he lost his mind and screamed repeatedly.
"Sir, there are five corpses there, all of them died of poisoning." Zhang Zhong reported.
Nanfeng was upset by the man's call, so he waved his hand to the government officials to take him out, then bent down to pick up a wooden memorial tablet. Due to the age, the writing on it had been mottled and peeled off.
Picking up another side, the handwriting on this one is clear, and it says "The spiritual place of Mr. Xian Yan Han Gong Lao."
In addition to practicing magic and martial arts, Taoists also learn Feng Shui and handle funeral matters. Therefore, Nanfeng is familiar with the writing method of spiritual tablets. This spiritual tablet is different from ordinary spiritual tablets in that it lacks a name.
After picking up several of them, there were no names, which confirmed his previous guess that the people who lived here fled here.
"Sir, this is not a place to stay for a long time. It's better to leave early." Zhang Zhong was a little confused.
He didn't speak, and Nanfeng had forgotten that there was such a person beside him, "You should do more autopsies with these people to find out the causes of their deaths."
Zhang Zhong complained secretly, holding a fire and squatting down to take a look.
Nanfeng walked around the stone house and observed at random. There was a pit near the door, which should be where the white dog had been lying. Judging from the size of the pit, the white dog usually did not show its original shape, but was in the form of a giant.
The dust in the house was thick, but except for the door area, there were few footprints elsewhere, which showed that although the white dog hid in the stone house, it did not wander around.
"Sir, there are more than twenty corpses in total. They were all injured by sharp objects. Their heads were missing. They must have been chopped off and taken away." Zhang Zhong came up with the results of his inspection.
Before Nan Feng could answer, Tianmu and Wu Zhen came in from the outside. Seeing the bones all over the ground, Tian Mu said something to the Infinite Heavenly Lord, and Wu Zhen chanted "Amitabha Buddha".
It was enough to recite the Buddha's name. After reciting the Buddha's name, Wu Zhen said another sentence, "It's so dark, how can you see clearly?"
Nanfeng glanced at Wu Zhen, turned around and walked out.
"The murder was in vain, why can't you see the ghosts and resentments?" Tianmu shook his head in confusion and followed him out.
"Sir, there is still one person missing." Zhang Zhong followed.
"I must have been eaten by that centipede." Nanfeng said casually.
Night had fallen at this time, but this was not an auspicious place. No one wanted to spend the night here. After finding the corpse of the villager in the stone crevice, Nanfeng ordered to return. The yamen carried the centipede and the villagers carried the body.
The man who survived was frightened to the point of losing his mind. Taoist Tianmu drank some cinnabar water with him to calm his shock, and then acupuncture a few of his soothing acupoints, and the man gradually regained his consciousness.
The matter is not complicated. Everyone went into the mountains together to look for medicinal herbs, but found nothing, so they thought of trying their luck here. They never thought of really finding anything. Under the huge temptation of free gifts, everyone had no intention of being humble and rushed up to ask for it. Dig that ginseng.
As a result, the centipede jumped out and sprayed poisonous mist at everyone. Everyone panicked and ran away, but the centipede blocked the exit. They could only flee into the valley. Several people died of the poison along the way, and the remaining people fled to the end of the valley. .
Unexpectedly, another vicious monster jumped out of the stone house, and everyone fled again. Some people climbed up the stone wall, while others hid in the stone house in panic.
Except for this person, everyone else was also poisoned. Seeing his companions die one after another, this person couldn't bear it and went crazy.
Nanfeng nodded after hearing this. Although this white dog lives with centipedes, it does not eat humans.
"That's good, that's good." The fat man took a long breath. He was also afraid that the white dog would be ferocious and cannibalistic. If that was the case, he would definitely not be able to keep it around.
"Sir, please take a moment to speak." Tianmu Lao Dao whispered to Nan Feng.
Nanfeng stepped aside to let everyone pass, and Tianmu Laodao walked at the end.
Tianmu whispered, "The valley never sees the light of day all year round. It is a rare place where people can return to the underworld. If one dies here, the soul will hardly be able to travel far away. It will become a disaster in the long run. All the corpses in the stone house are headless, and they are all My death was in vain, but there is no mournful soul in this valley."
"Perhaps there was a Taoist who saved them before." Nanfeng said casually.
"Okay, that's all. But those villagers died recently, and all of them were unlucky. Why can't their souls be seen?" Tianmu asked again.
Nanfeng frowned and nodded. Although his cultivation level was higher than Tianmu's, he still lacked experience.
Tianmu added, "Wuzhen was right when he said that there is Yin Qi in the valley. The Yin Qi comes from the white dog. This thing can swallow souls, and its origin is unknown. You must not keep it around."
"Thank you, Taoist Priest, for reminding me. We will be more careful." Nanfeng nodded. The origin of the white dog is indeed unknown, but he does not think that the white dog has any ill intentions towards the fat man. The reason is very simple. If the white dog wants to kill the fat man, he can do it openly. No one can stop it.
"By the way, Taoist Priest, is there any way to find out the age of this white dog?" Nanfeng asked.
Tianmu shook his head, "This thing is not an ordinary domestic dog. I'm afraid it's not accurate to judge the teeth by looking at the hair."
Nan Feng did not ask any more questions. This white dog must have been a follower of a certain Buddhist sage in his previous life. He had supernatural powers. Rather than saying that it could swallow souls, it would be better to say that it could save the dead...