I moved the torch down again, and under these strange murals, there are still some illegible writing. I squinted my eyes and got as close as I could.
"The mountain of Qingqiu... there is a beast, its shape is like a fox with nine tails, its voice is like a baby, it can eat people, and those who eat it don't have poison." I recognized the first sentence, which is the most familiar to me, from " In Shan Hai Jing, the original sentence describing the nine-tailed fox.
But continuing to look back, I found that the following sentence was something I hadn't seen before.
"The fox has four legs and nine tails, and Shiping came out as Ruiye. In the thirty-thirtieth year of Yu, he married the Tushan family, and she was also a nine-tailed fox. Another hundred years, when Yu returned to the dust, the white fox disappeared. I searched for it, but failed. .”
I struggled to read the words above. Although the writing is all jerky and difficult to understand classical Chinese, but with my foundation of Chinese major, I probably know what I'm talking about.
This paragraph probably introduces the origin of the nine-tailed fox, saying that the nine-tailed fox used to be a symbol of auspiciousness in an era of peace in the world. Dayu's wife, Tu Shanshi, was the legendary nine-tailed white fox, but after Dayu's death, the white fox disappeared and people could not find her.
There is a long section of text in the middle that is hard to read due to wear and tear, so I can only read on.
"... There is a country in Qingqiu, with red walls and green tiles, carved beams and painted buildings. The nine-tailed fox raided it, and the people were in dire straits, and the people were panicked. The fox cannibalized people, and ninety million people entered their stomachs. When they were full, they behaved mischievously, trampled on the territory, and the country suffered from it. Trapped, but never resolved."
This paragraph is mainly talking about, in a country called Qingqiu, originally the country was prosperous and the world was peaceful. Unexpectedly, the nine-tailed fox attacked here later, not only cannibalizing people, but also acting recklessly, causing panic among the common people, and there is no solution.
Seeing this, I couldn't help frowning. The entire paragraph I just read is almost all about describing how ferocious the nine-tailed fox is. It doesn't mention why it used to be an auspicious omen, nor does it explain why the nine-tailed fox suddenly became so vicious. It's just that the whole text is describing the crimes of Nine Tails, how this monster harms the world, and how people fear it.
I stared at the words on the wall intently, and I completely forgot to pay attention to the surrounding environment. Just in the middle of my reading, the torch in my hand suddenly shook violently.
Is it the wind? I didn't care, because my inner curiosity and seeking knowledge drove me to continue reading.
There is a part behind this paragraph, the handwriting is bigger than the first two paragraphs, it should be some important content. I leaned in and read on by the light of the torch.
"There is a saint in Qingqiu, she is the king's daughter, she is Qingyu. The princess is 20 years old, she is proficient in astronomy and geography, and can see Yin and Yang ghosts. Yu bathes and changes clothes, offering sacrifices at noon... "
But in the middle of my reading, the flame of the torch flickered again, this time even more than before.
It's the wind.
No... not right.
There are four walls here, and there is not even a vent. Where does the wind come from
For a moment my hair went numb and my heart beat faster. I did not turn my head, but bravely raised the torch a little higher. In this way, with the reflection of the nine-tailed stone statue, if there is something behind me, I can see its shadow.
I slowly raised my head and looked at the reflection of the stone statue. Sure enough, on the stone statue, there was a black shadow erratic in the firelight. Judging from the position, it was probably standing behind me.
Probably standing very close to me, otherwise it would never have such a clear shadow.
My whole body stiffened, and I stood there motionless.
what is it? When did it come behind me? The flame started to shake when I was halfway through the reading. Could it be that it just stood quietly behind me like this? But I can't even feel a trace of breath!
At this moment, there was a slight coolness near the back of my neck, like the cold air wafting out of the refrigerator door just after opening it. But it's different from that again, it's more like... a person's breath.
There was something, there was definitely something, standing right behind me, so close that I could even breathe on my neck!
what to do? My palms were filled with sweat, and even the torch was soaked.
But it's not an option to sit and wait like this all the time, and there is nothing to think about in the blank brain at this time.
Turn around quickly, then give that thing a torch with your backhand. Whether to live or die depends on the destiny.
Just when I closed my eyes and was about to go all out, a voice suddenly stopped me.
"Don't look back!"
This voice startled me, and I didn't dare to act rashly. The only sound left in the air was the sound of my rapid breathing.
But soon, the voice sounded again, in a commanding tone I was familiar with.
"Extinguish the torches and hold your breath."
"What?" I couldn't help asking back, thinking I had heard wrong.
"I said put out the torch!" The voice behind him was even more determined, leaving no room for rejection.
"but… "
"You have to trust me." The voice said with a pause, "Extinguish the torch and hold your breath. Don't look back, and take three steps to your left in a straight line, can you do it?"
I swallowed, and nodded nervously.
"Don't nod, say yes or no?"
"Okay." I secretly clenched my fist and emphasized again, "No problem."
"Well, then put out your torches now."
I took a deep breath. I believed the familiar voice, so I threw the torch onto the watery ground. The blue fire light was extinguished immediately, and the surroundings became pitch black, and nothing could be seen.
"Hold your breath and walk slowly."
I nodded subconsciously, although I knew that the people behind me couldn't see me. As the voice said, I took three steps to the left. Everything is normal, the coolness from my neck just now has disappeared, and there is nothing strange suddenly rushing towards me.
"Have you taken three steps?"
"It's over." I said quickly. But as soon as I spoke, my breath escaped from my mouth, and I clearly felt something commotion in the darkness, so I quickly covered my mouth again.
"Very well, now you turn around the back. Go forward five paces."
This time, without any hesitation, I did exactly what he said.
"Turn right again and take three steps."
I did what he said again, only it became harder and harder to hold my breath in the process. I desperately covered my mouth and nose. By the time I reached the last step, I could hardly hold my breath.
At this moment, a hand in the darkness grabbed my arm, and then pulled me into my arms.
It's him. I'm sure.
Familiar voice, familiar temperature, familiar embrace.
Wen Jiubai whispered above my head, "Okay, it's okay, you can breathe now."
I gasped heavily in his arms, the nerves that had been tense before were completely relaxed, and I couldn't exert any strength in my whole body.
By the way, torches...
The fire suddenly lit up in the darkness, Wen Jiubai leaned his back against the wall, and handed me the torch.
My first instinct was to go back and see what it was that just scared the hell out of me. But when I turned around, I was stunned. There was an empty space behind me, not only did I not see any monsters attacking me, even the sacrificial altar and the statue of the nine-tailed fox that I had studied for a long time just now were gone.
Nothing, like everything just now was just a dream.
"How come—" I stammered, "It was clearly a room just now, with an altar inside, and a huge statue of a nine-tailed fox, with calligraphy and paintings carved on the walls..."
"Have you read it?" Wen Jiubai suddenly interrupted me and asked.
"What?"
"Have you read the calligraphy and paintings on the wall?"
I froze for a moment, not knowing how to answer this question, so I simply chose to remain silent.
Wen Jiubai glanced at me, seemed to understand something, did not ask any further, turned his head at the same time, and said calmly,
"None of that is true."
"What?" I didn't respond.
"What you see is not real. This is the junction of Yin and Yang. The altars and statues are not real here. Those things were destroyed hundreds of years ago. What you just said What I see are just fragments of memory.”
"Memento?" I asked. "Whose memory?"
"Mine." Wen Jiubai said, leaning on the wall with his hands, and slowly stood up. His movements were slow, as if he had difficulty doing them.
It was only then that I noticed that there were mottled brown marks on Wen Jiubai's clothes, which looked like... blood.
"What's wrong with you?" I immediately became nervous, "Are you... injured?"
"Probably." Wen Jiubai smiled wryly, I only now realized that his face was very pale and something was very wrong. It's hard to imagine him guiding me in such a state with such a firm voice.
I was startled, and quickly reached out to support Wen Jiubai's back, and then I felt a sticky feeling in the palm of my hand. It's blood, blood slowly flowing down from Wen Jiubai's back.
My mind exploded and I couldn't think. It was not easy for me to come to such a ghostly place, and I managed to find Wen Jiubai again after escaping from death, but he was wounded into such a half-dead look.
"Who... who did this?"
Anger welled up in his heart. I have known Wen Jiubai for so long, but I have never seen him so weak. He is almost invincible, he always has his own backup plan, can always look at the overall situation, and then come up with the most perfect way to save more people.
Wen Jiubai... is it really a nine-tailed white fox? The extremely evil nine-tailed fox described in those calligraphy and paintings