The next morning, Yan Yan and Song Jin got up at seven o'clock. In order to save time, the two decided to split up. Song Jin went from west to east to inquire about news, and Chi Yan went from east to west to search for clues.
I didn't call home for a day yesterday, so Chi Yan was still a little worried about her grandfather. As she walked, she paid attention to the surrounding scenery, and while holding her mobile phone, she wanted to find a place with a good signal to call her grandfather.
This road is relatively secluded, there are no people, and there are many forked paths that can only be passed by one person, white walls and green eaves, and bluestone roads. Although there are differences in architectural styles, it really has the feeling of Huigan village.
However, there was no signal all the way, so Chi Yan put the phone in his jacket pocket in frustration, looked up and saw a very sturdy blue-gray building on the right side of the road ahead, with three words engraved directly above the door: "Nuo Temple" .
Chi Yan remembered the Nuo noodle that she went to last night. There is a tradition of dancing Nuo in Hejia Village, and it is normal to have a Nuo temple. There were two black solid wood doors outside the temple. Chi Yan thought about it and pushed the door in.
The temple is not big, there are no windows on three sides, only the light coming in from the doorway, so it looks particularly dark. In the center of the temple is a statue of a Nuo deity. It is not clear what material it is made of. It is covered with a splendid robe like a red costume, and wears a black and gold Nuo face on its face. This deity does not look like it. In general, the statues in temples are tall and burly, on the contrary, they appear thin and small, with red robes and black masks, looking at the people who come in with a half-smile, not like gods, but like evil spirits.
Chi Yan jumped in shock, and it took a few seconds for him to react, and he hurriedly stood there and bowed to the statue on the confession. He looked up and saw a blue tent hanging above the statue, embroidered with four golden characters "Prince of Nuo God". It was only then that Chi Yan realized that the Nuo deity was a statue of a boy, made according to the boy's body, so it looked so small.
He took a step back, and at the same time looked to the left, he couldn't help but be startled again. I saw dozens of faces all looking at him, the corners of the mouth hooked, and they smiled at him happily. Those faces were of different sizes and colors, ranging from blue, blue, red and yellow to ghostly faces, and pale or nearly normal-skinned faces. Some had pupils, while others had only the whites of their eyes. If you look closely, you can see the expressions on those faces. There are also subtle differences, but without exception, they all smile with the corners of their mouths curved.
Chi Yan was frightened by the little girl Yingying in the hostel last night, but she was able to react quickly at this time. These are also Nuo noodles, and the Nuo noodles are hung on the whole wall. But even knowing that these were fake masks, it was still creepy to see so many faces in the dark temple. Chi Yan could feel the goose bumps on his arms popping out one by one.
He glanced at the wall to the right, which was empty, adorned only with colorful drapery, which were all new in color, apparently only recently replaced.
During Chinese New Year, I dance Nuo, so it should be changed at that time.
Chi Yan didn't stop for a long time, and once again bowed to the Nuo statue and bowed to the left and right, then turned around and came out in a hurry. Before stepping out of the temple gate, he always felt like a light on his back, like the dozens of people on the right side of his back. Both eyes were fixed on him.
After walking out of the Nuo Temple, Chi Yan unwillingly took out his mobile phone, just when he found a signal, he was overjoyed, and quickly dialed home, this time grandfather should have returned from the morning exercise.
The old man was slow, and the phone rang five times before being picked up. Chi Yan asked her grandfather if everything was fine, and told the old man that she probably went back late, so she didn't have to wait for him, she just went to bed on time at night. He had just said a few words, and the phone hung up automatically when there was no signal again.
Chi Yan reluctantly put away the phone, turned around and planned to move forward, and saw a person standing behind him almost close to him.
It was an old lady, less than Chi Yan's chest high, full of white hair, wearing an old-fashioned black embroidered satin dress, leaning on a black cane, raising her head and squinting at him.
The so-called old man and the old man, because of his grandfather and grandmother, Chi Yan will be extra careful when he meets other old people outside. He immediately bent down and said, "Grandma, didn't I run into you?" He didn't care about the old lady standing The thing that almost startled him behind him.
The old lady squinted, smiled, and shook her head: "Is the boy calling home?"
The old man spoke with a strong Gannan accent, Chi Yan thought for a while before realizing what the old lady was asking, so he smiled and replied, "Yes, call my grandfather, he is the only one at home, I don't really care. rest assured."
After hearing this, the old lady nodded and waved down, signaling Chi Yan to lower her head and approach her.
Chi Yan was puzzled, but did so anyway. As he got closer, he could feel a rotten aura unique to the old man coming from his body.
The old lady's voice was very low. Very lightly, he whispered in his ear: "Young people listen to mother-in-law, hurry up and leave early, don't let grandpa wait for you. Mother-in-law is old and dead, mother-in-law will not harm anyone."
Her accent is strong, and her voice is soft and vague. Chi Yan couldn't hear what she said, or whether she heard it correctly. He only felt a chill behind him, and when he raised his head again, the old lady had walked away on crutches and quickly disappeared at the corner of the street.
Chi Yan shook his head, comforting himself that he must have misheard. If they were so close and said words for so long, if the old man was not a human being, he would definitely be able to tell the difference. What the old man said might be to let him listen to his persuasion, spend more time with the old man in the family, and don't regret it after waiting for the other person to die.
He turned around and found nothing, the phone still had no signal, and he understood why the boss was still playing that old-fashioned game console. I couldn't get in touch with Song Jin, and seeing that it was almost eleven o'clock, I decided to go back to the guest house to wait for him.
When he went back and passed by the entrance of the village, he saw that Song Jin and the owner of the canteen yesterday were smoking together. When Chi Yan walked over, Song Jin gently shook his head at him, meaning he didn't ask anything.
Chi Yan also said a few words, and then asked, "Boss, I think there is a Nuo temple over there. It's very interesting. How do you dance the Nuo dance here?"
The commissary owner opened the door to do business, obviously very good at talking, and he talked endlessly after hearing this: "I know that there is no such custom in R City, and you are interested in this when you come to our village. The main purpose of dancing Nuo is to exorcise ghosts. To fight against the epidemic, from the beginning of the first month, people dance every day from early morning to night. People who dance Nuo wear Nuo masks to symbolize ghosts and gods. Before and after the ceremony, they must go to the temple to worship the prince of Nuo gods. Finally, there is a Nuo search ceremony. Go door-to-door 'searching the Nuo' with the lights on to drive out evil spirits and plagues."
Song Jin thought of the experience that he and Tao Juanjuan had encountered evil, and he couldn't help but wonder: "This can really drive out ghosts?"
Hearing the words, the shop owner was silent, took a deep puff on the cigarette in his hand, slowly exhaled it, pressed the butt of the cigarette to the soil under his feet, raised his head and looked around, finally looked at Song Jin, and said in a low voice, "Really? "During the New Year's Eve this year, the evil spirits were really found."
Song Jin was startled when he heard the words, and saw the boss's appearance was also a little timid, but felt a chill running up his back. He also cautiously asked in a low voice, "What about the evil spirits found? Can they be chased away? Where are they going?"
"There are Nuo noodles. If the evil spirits are made into the Nuo noodles, the evil spirits will not be able to come out when they are sealed."
Song Jin widened his eyes and looked at Chi Yan involuntarily: "Is there such a way?"
Chi Yan shook his head, indicating that he didn't know.
The commissary owner thought that Song Jin was asking himself, and smiled honestly: "Actually, I'm not from Hejia Village. I used to live in Shifang Village, and after marrying my daughter-in-law, I settled in Hejia Village with her, and then I lived in Hejia Village. Gradually understand it. After watching the ceremony a few times, I don’t understand it very well.”
Song Jin knew that he couldn't ask any more questions, and after buying another pack of cigarettes, he said goodbye to the boss, and walked back to the hostel with Chi Yan for dinner.
The people in the village did not pay much attention. In the restaurant of the guest house, Chi Yan and Song Jin ate at one table, and the owner's family ate at another table. It was the first time that Chi Yan and Song Jin saw the owner's wife, a middle-aged woman who looked a little pale and thin.
The little girl Yingying simply ate some food and played alone. After the woman finished eating, she pulled her reluctant daughter to leave. The little girl pouted, and finally followed her mother and turned around before leaving. Come on, Xiang Chi Yan waved with a smile.
The owner was cleaning the table by himself, and Song Jin took the opportunity to talk to the other party: "My child, her mother doesn't seem to be in a good mood?"
"Yeah." The shop owner raised his head to look at them and smiled bitterly, "I checked with Dr. Wang in Murakami, and said that there is nothing wrong with the body, but a heart disease."
He wiped the table and said, "I don't know what's going on. My wife has been in a trance since the Chinese New Year, saying that she always thinks that besides Yingying, we should have a pair of children. How can you be a mother? If I can't remember my own children, I was thinking that if I'm not busy these days, I'll ask the neighbors to help watch the shop and Yingying, and I'll take her mother to the town hospital to take a good look."
"If it doesn't work, go directly to the city to have a look. The mental illness is not good." Song Jin continued.
"I thought too, but it's too far, and the road is not easy to walk. It's been so many years, and the road in and out of the village is still not repaired." The owner complained in a low voice, and did not speak.
"I don't think there are many people staying in the store these days, so we left in the afternoon." Song Jin took the opportunity to ask, "Boss, did many people stay in the store the other day? Are there any other people besides us?"
There is only one guest house in the village. If Zhu Hui's family or the two police officers have been to Hejia Village, they must also live here.
The owner of the shop was silent for a moment, then looked at the two of them, wondering what he was thinking, or just recalling the customers who had been in the shop these days. After a long while, he took away the dinner plate in front of the table of the two and shook his head: "No, no one has lived here. No one has been here since the New Year."
The news was the same as what Song Jin had heard elsewhere in the morning. Song Jin was a little disappointed and called Chi Yan twice.
Chi Yan has been distracted, and his thoughts are out of place. It was not until Song Jin patted his shoulder that he reacted. He turned to look at his friend, and said solemnly: "Da Song, we have to leave quickly, this village can't stay."
Song Jin didn't know why, so he wondered: "What's wrong? Did you find something or just thought of something?"
Chi Yan looked at him, his throat moved, and he lowered his voice and said word by word: "There are ghosts in this village. The point is, I can't tell which one is a ghost here."