The old lady's tone was quite creepy, especially when she mentioned the thunder. It made me shiver involuntarily and reminded me of the scene when I heard about the sky lantern that illuminates the heart in Shijiazi Temple. Could it be that there is an evil curse on this golden box
The old lady didn't think too much about it at the time. She thought she would be criticized for finding the gold, so she advised Xiaofang to put the thing back where she found it. As long as no one saw it, it would be fine.
Unexpectedly, Xiaofang shook her head, her face very pale, and said to her: "No, Xiu'er, there is an evil curse in this box. Whoever finds it will die!"
Xiu'er was immediately shocked when she heard this and asked what was going on. Xiaofang told her that in the past few months since she came to Shuiliu Village, she had always felt that there was something in the Beidi Temple, because whenever she approached the place, she always felt as if there was a voice in her heart calling her. Today, it was raining, so she pretended to be brave and carried a lantern and ran to the ruins of the Beidi Temple.
Other places had been destroyed long ago, and there was certainly nothing valuable. Only the base of the statue was still intact, but there was an old yellow talisman on it. Xiaofang, an intellectual who was not superstitious, took off the talisman. At this moment, a thunderclap suddenly struck in the sky, almost scaring her to death. Later, she saw a bowl-sized hole strangely appeared under the base of the statue. She reached in and felt around for a while, and then she touched the golden box.
Suddenly someone shouted from behind her: "You can't take off that talisman, stick it on quickly!"
This was really scary. She didn't know when someone was following her, but when she turned around, she saw a dark shadow disappearing into the darkness. She didn't recognize who this person was, but she thought he must be a villager. If she went back now, she might be discovered and arrested and criticized.
She ran southward along the fields in the rain, running with one foot deep and one foot shallow to Xiping Village. She felt that someone was following her all the way, and kept looking back, but she couldn't see anyone. When she arrived outside Xiu'er's house, she leaned against the door and looked back for a while, but she didn't see anyone following her, so she felt relieved.
She had always wanted to see what was in the box, but she didn't dare to stop along the way. Now she couldn't wait to open it. Although there was no light, she saw a puff of black smoke coming out of it. Suddenly, there was a glittering light in the box, and she saw the five words "Whoever opens the box will die" written on the lid!
This made her think of the evil curse in the ancient tomb. Her parents were archaeologists, and she had heard all kinds of strange and evil things about the ancient tomb since she was a child. Many tomb robbers died in the tomb because they opened things with evil curses by mistake. Although the golden box was not something in the tomb, there was a talisman on the base of the statue, which was as unusual as a funerary object. How could she not be afraid
Xiu'er asked her to return the things, but the box had already been opened. She didn't know whether the evil curse really existed, and it would be useless if she put it back. Besides, she didn't have the courage to go back.
The two of them sat there until dawn. After the rain stopped, they still couldn't think of any solution. Xiaofang was afraid that staying at Xiu'er's house would cause trouble for her, so she went back to Shuiliu Village. After many days, Xiaofang didn't come to see her again, so she lost her temper and went to Shuiliu Village. As a result, Xiaofang was locked up in the brigade headquarters the next day. She asked the guard to see Xiaofang, but she didn't get her wish. She brought food here for several nights, but there was no chance to deliver it in.