After the sun went down, it got dark fast. The ancestral hall stands quietly in the center of the village, surrounded by twilight, like a layer of opaque veil. The wind swept over the treetops, and the dead branches made a whimpering sound. The gate of the ancestral hall was hidden behind the shaking tree shadows, like some kind of animal, with its mouth wide open, waiting for the prey to throw itself into the net.
When Li Chaoge pushed open the door of the ancestral hall, there was a soft creaking sound from the door shaft, which was especially noticeable in the silent night. Just standing outside the door, a gust of cold air blows towards my face. The ancestral hall has been built for a long time, and the sun has not been seen for many years. The floor tiles have cracked? Thin lines, and the moisture has climbed up the people? The body is even colder than outside.
All the decorations in the ancestral hall are hidden in the darkness. At the end, there are many tablets on the top, staring at the coming people with black holes. It is extremely gloomy. Standing outside the threshold, Li Chaoge signaled to Gu Mingke, "This is it."
Gu Mingke stood beside Li Chaoge, he took the lead to step into the ancestral hall, following his movements, the candles on both sides lit up one after another, and the gloomy atmosphere subsided instantly like a tide. It is obviously still the same cold, but it is completely different from the sticky feeling just now.
Li Chaoge followed Gu Mingke, and looked at it as he walked: "I came to see it during the day yesterday, but I didn't notice the formation in the ancestral hall. Where did they hide the Soul Gathering Formation?"
Gu Mingke slowly stopped in front of the tablet, silently watching the many spiritual tablets. Li Chaoge noticed his line of sight, looked along, and found that his eyes stayed in front of a simple-looking, ordinary-looking spiritual tablet.
"Emperor Qiu Qin's God Lord?" Li Chaoge murmured. This tablet has neither complicated carvings nor exaggerated decorations, and it is not obvious at all when placed on the altar table. At first, Li Chaoge thought it was the spiritual tablet of an ancestral wife in Guibei Village, so he didn't care about it, but now, Li Chaoge saw that something was wrong.
"Diqiu..." Li Chaoge couldn't help murmuring, "Where is this?"
Moreover, if it is really an ancestor, why not write which generation of ancestors, but simply write the four characters "Emperor Qiuqin"
Gu Mingke quietly stared at this memorial tablet, as if he had met an old friend. Li Chaoge glanced at him and asked, "You know him?"
"I don't know." Gu Mingke raised his finger, and the spiritual tablet with "Emperor Qiu Qin" slowly rose into the air. There was a faint red light on the tablet, and strands of red silk threads protruded from other spiritual tablets, winding around the tablet as if with a sense of autonomy, spinning back and forth, almost illuminating half of the ancestral hall. Mysterious and weird. Finally, the red silk thread penetrated into the characters, and the four characters "Diqiu Qinshi" turned blood red, as if fresh blood had coagulated in it, and would flow out in the next second.
Li Chaoge silently watched this change, and asked softly: "This? Is..."
"This? It's the eye of the array." Gu Mingke's fingers changed, and he lightly changed his gesture, and the tablet broke from the middle and turned into powder all of a sudden. The four blood-red characters were still floating in the air, twisting slightly as if they were alive, trying to break free. But they still couldn't beat Gu Mingke, Gu Mingke's fingertips lit up? A little light, flicked lightly, the light spot passed through the blood characters, as if breaking some kind of barrier, the four blood characters suddenly lost their shape and turned into one Wisps of smoke dissipated.
There seemed to be a faint sweet smell in the air. Li Chaoge sniffed it and couldn't help frowning. This? Is the smell of blood, those four words were written in blood
whose blood
As the scarlet letter dissipated, there was a faint cracking sound from all around, and a red gleam flashed across the ground quickly, like a thin wire breaking. collapse. Li Chaoge looked around and asked, "This? Is the Soul Gathering Formation?"
"Yes." Gu Mingke put away his hands, waving his sleeves without any wind, and said, "That tablet is not the spiritual tablet of the ancestors of Guibei Village, but someone secretly put it in. The other party secretly changed the tablet of the ancestral hall, They also set up a spirit-gathering array in the ancestral hall, stealing the incense from Guibei Village without anyone noticing it. Those villagers didn't cry or make noise after they died, and they revolved around the ancestral hall at night. This? It should be some kind of sacrificial ceremony , the soul threads of the villagers are enshrined to this spirit card, and the spirit-gathering array in turn strengthens the corpses of these believers. If the soul is incomplete, people will become stupid and stupid, but their limbs are strengthened and become It is invulnerable to fire and water. This is simply the most useful puppet, if it takes a little longer, maybe it can create an army of the living dead."
Li Chaoge thought of the scene when he entered the village, and suddenly felt a chill down his spine: "You mean, those invulnerable iron corpses are not accidental, but finished products? If it takes longer, other limp corpses will also Will it become an iron corpse?"
Gu Mingke nodded yes. Li Chaoge was secretly startled, if they came one month later, they would have to face the iron corpses of a village. Fortunately, after she came to Fenzhou, she made a decisive decision and went to the village to slaughter the corpse that night. Otherwise, every day of delay increases the danger.
Li Chaoge frowned tightly. This is no longer an ordinary monster case. Someone? Created an army of dead people behind the scenes, and the intention of the person behind the scenes? Thinking carefully, it is very terrifying. Who is running these things and what are they trying to do
Li Chaoge was looking for other clues in the ancestral hall. She flipped through the tablets one by one, and said in a low voice, "Who is the Diqiu Qin family who secretly replaced them? The family's ancestral tablet is too wicked."
Gu Mingke was fiddling with the incense burner, and when he heard Li Chaoge's words, he didn't move at all, pretending that he didn't hear it. But Li Chaoge thought of a group of people? Hiding in the shadows to play tricks, not only killed a whole village, but also turned the corpses into an army of dead people. The more Li Chaoge thought about it, the more angry he became, and kept cursing: "Steal someone's incense, use someone else's incense burner, but don't even exchange the fruit on the altar. I have never seen such a wicked person in my life. People?. Disorderly ministers and thieves, people? People? Get it and punish them. If you let me know that they have evil intentions, I will not spare them."
Gu Mingke stood in front of the incense burner, glanced at it from the corner of his eye, and sure enough, he saw that the fruit in the offering tray was rotten.
No wonder Li Chaoge was filled with righteous indignation.
As the princess of the current ruling dynasty, Li Chaoge hated these traitors who raised private soldiers. After cursing for a while, she gradually realized something was wrong. Li Chaoge whispered: "The corpse poison and the soul-gathering array must be used together. The person who spread the portraits? The person who set up the array in the ancestral hall? It must be the same. If they really want to deceive people? Why don't they change to Bodhisattva and Taishang Laojun A god statue with a wider audience, but a strangely shaped Martial God? Could it be that the Martial God in the portrait has something to do with Emperor Qiu Qin?"
Thinking of the strange figure in the portrait, Li Chaoge couldn't help feeling disgusted and said: "It looks so ugly, no wonder everyone refused to stick it on the wall after getting it, but threw it into the stove and burned it. Is this ? Is that their intention?"
Gu Mingke pursed his lower lip hard, but still couldn't help laughing out. Li Chaoge looked at him strangely: "What are you laughing at?"
Gu Mingke coughed lightly, stopped laughing, and said to Li Chaoge solemnly: "Let's talk about things, don't speculate about other people's looks."
Li Chaoge was even more surprised: "I didn't mention you."
Gu Mingke put the incense burner away, right? Li Chaoge said: "The soul-gathering array has been solved, and if we stay in the ancestral hall, we won't find any clues. Let's go and find the next one."
After Li Chaoge scolded, he felt more relieved, nodded and walked out. Before leaving, she noticed that Gu Mingke flicked his sleeves, and the fruits on the table changed rapidly, as if time was flowing backwards on them, and the rotten and collapsed fruits quickly colored and swelled, turning into a fresh and delicious appearance again. Li Chaoge was secretly apprehensive. Gu Mingke could revive corrupted fruits with a single gesture. How strong is he
But having said that, Li Chaoge looked at the bright fruits, then at Gu Mingke who was arranging his sleeves, and asked, "Do you take these? Are these fruits useful?"
Gu Mingke retracted his sleeves and walked out. Hearing this, he glanced at Li Chaoge, as if he didn't understand why she did this. He asked, "No."
Li Chaoge looked at him more and more strangely: "There is no one in this village? It is impossible for me to eat fruits that have been spoiled once. Even if I restore them, they will continue to rot after two days. Why are you wasting your efforts? "
Gu Mingke didn't know why he wanted to do so much? In one fell swoop. Gu Mingke thought for a while and said, "You've been talking about it for so long, now that the offerings have changed, you should calm down, right?"
It turned out to be such a thing. Li Chaoge snorted softly, and murmured softly: "The people surnamed Qin have done such immoral things, what can you do for them?"
Gu Mingke didn't move, he pushed open the door of the ancestral hall, and said to Li Chaoge, "Okay, let's go."
Li Chaoge and Gu Mingke left the ancestral hall and walked on the silent path. A cold moon climbed up the treetops, hanging alone, a crow stood beside the moon, suddenly fluttered its wings and flew up, disturbing the few dead leaves left on the branches.
The dead leaves fell leisurely on the ground and were stepped on by Li Chaoge. It was obviously a very desolate scene, but the elongated backs of the two were cast obliquely on the path, and they felt a sense of warm companionship. Li Chaoge asked: "It will be the New Year soon, is it alright if you leave the capital without talking to your family?"
"It doesn't matter." Gu Mingke replied, "There is no one in the Gu family? My mother stays at her mother's house for the New Year. Everything is just right. It doesn't matter if I am there or not. On the contrary? It's you, your parents are all there, and your brothers and sisters are complete, but you run away. Arriving in Fenzhou, braved the severe cold to investigate the case. What you did was inappropriate."
Li Chaoge said casually, "Prince Zhao Wang is in the capital, and Li Changle will come back during the Chinese New Year. A saint? Tianhou has children to accompany him, so why would he care about me? It was always their family in the past years? I stayed in Miyagi last year for the Chinese New Year. Many people You are not at ease. Instead of being inconvenient to others or yourself, it is better to go out and do your own thing."
Gu Mingke wanted to say something, but when the words came to his lips, Wei Yu sighed: "I won't."
"You don't need to comfort me, I understand." Li Chaoge is very clear about her position, even if it were her, she would prefer her relatives whom she has been with for more than ten years rather than a strange daughter who came back suddenly. Human beings are like this? There is nothing to say.
Li Chaoge felt that talking about this at night was very unpleasant, so he asked, "Where are we going now?"
"Look for the source." Gu Mingke is not good at dealing with topics related to feelings. Since Li Chaoge turned back to the case, he also said, "Don't you want to know who is behind the scenes? Who is it? I am also curious, let's go."
Li Chaoge asked: "But there is only one formation and one surname in the ancestral hall, and there is no specific information about the caster. The dead energy is sealed in the image, and will it escape after being destroyed by fire? The time and place are all random. The path of finding the source of qi will not work either. The Soul Gathering Formation and the dead qi? Both paths are broken, how can we find the person behind the scenes?"
Gu Mingke replied: "If you can't find death, then go to the person who sent the portrait?"
"But everyone in Guibei Village is dead, no one? Can? Ask, where can I find the person who issued the paper?"
"You don't have to ask someone?" Gu Mingke stretched out his hand and said, "Give me that portrait."
Li Chaoge took out the statue of the Martial God from his sleeve, and Gu Mingke took it. He glanced at it while casting the spell. In all fairness, it was really not good-looking.
Gu Mingke was slightly distracted, but it didn't affect him at all when he cast spells. Gu Mingke used the "tracking trick" to quickly identify the smell on this piece of paper, Li Chaoge, the girl, the peasant woman... Gu Mingke flipped his fingers, and in an instant, a burst of blue light lit up from the portrait, turning into thin blue lines, trembling Extending toward the depths of the night? Go.
Li Chaoge looked at the scene in front of him and asked: "This? Is..."
"Looking for the Trace." Gu Mingke explained, "The paper is stained with the breath of many people, and one of them must belong to the person who made the painting. I picked out the most suspicious ones, and after the end of the spirit line The place where the owner of the scent is located. The closer you are to the opponent, the stronger the light of the tracing line, and vice versa."
Li Chaoge looked at the tiny dark blue line that seemed to be broken at any moment, and asked, "Where did you come from? So many strange spells?"
"It's just a trick, it's nothing." Gu Mingke picked a thread and said, "Go to him first. If you like it, I'll teach you on the way."
Li Chaoge nodded in response. After she finished speaking, she was a little embarrassed and said, "You have helped me heal my wounds many times, and even taught me the magic formula, but I have nothing to repay you."
"No need." Gu Mingke gently shook his head. Thinking of his mission, he smiled and said, "If you don't cause trouble, you will help me a lot."
Both Gu Mingke and Li Chaoge are careless people? After having a clue, they went straight to the night to find someone without any delay? However, this time was different from when they came. When they came to Fenzhou, they had no other intentions. They just let go of their speed and hurried on the road, but now they had to find a way.
The two of them stopped and walked, and in the blink of an eye one day passed, but the tracing line was suddenly broken. Li Chaoge was surprised and asked, "What's going on?"
Gu Mingke raised his eyes, looked at the condescending, majestic and silent mountain ahead, and said, "Maybe there is interference."
"Interference?" Li Chaoge also raised his head, staring at the endless mountains, frowning slightly, "Is there a monk in the mountains?"
"It's not clear yet." Gu Mingke looked at the sky and said, "The sun is going to set. You drove all night last night. You must rest today. Let's find a place to stay first."
Li Chaoge had no objection, even if she could survive, the horse couldn't. Li Chaoge saw cooking smoke in the depths of the mountains from afar, and they walked in the direction of the cooking smoke, and finally arrived at the only nearby village before it got dark.
Mountain villages are different from cities. At night, the roads are quiet, with no one on the road, and the slightest movement will cause dogs to bark. Li Chaoge and Gu Mingke led the horses, found the nearest house, knocked on the door lightly, and said, "Sorry for the trouble. We got lost accidentally. It's late at night and we can't make our way. We want to stay in your house." May I borrow it, can it be convenient for me?"
After Li Chaoge knocked on the door, he waited patiently for a while, when the sound of the door opening came from inside. The wooden door was quietly opened a crack, revealing an old woman with gray hair. The old woman looked at Li Chaoge warily: "Do you want to stay overnight?"
When Li Chaoge saw that he was an old man, his tone became more polite: "Yes. I wonder if grandma is convenient?"
The old woman sized Li Chaoge up and down, her eyes showing suspicion: "You look so good-looking, you must be a mountain elf or a fox ghost, right?"
For a moment Li Chaoge didn't know whether to thank the old woman for praising her for her good looks, or whether he should helplessly be mistaken for a ghost. Gu Mingke stood behind and smiled softly. Li Chaoge was embarrassed, and pulled Gu Mingke to the crack of the door, and said with a smile: "Grandma misunderstood, we are pedestrians. If you don't believe me, look, he looks like this. Like a vixen?"
When the old woman saw Gu Mingke, the suspicion on her face became even worse: "Our village is remote, and there are not many foreigners who come here in a year? Why come to the door tonight? Two, and they both look like goblins?"
"Really not." Li Chaoge was helpless, and she didn't know what to think, so she blurted out, "Mountain spirits and ghosts are mostly attractive by their appearance, even if they really want to appear, they should turn into Forming two lonely women, how could one man and one woman come to the door at the same time?"
The old woman thinks so too, it's wrong to turn a monster into a couple, no matter whether it's seducing a man or a woman. If it's a pedestrian in a hurry?, then it makes sense.
Chinese New Year is coming soon, husband and wife? They are in a hurry to go home, and sometimes they go the wrong way. The old woman felt relieved, opened the door, and let Li Chaoge and Gu Mingke come in: "It's human? It's fine. It's cold in the mountains, come in quickly."
The old woman walked tremblingly to the thatched shed to find a place for them to tie their horses. Li Chaoge led the horse and stood at the door. Looking around quickly, he found that there was a main house on the front of the yard, wing rooms on the east and west sides, and a grass shed behind the main house, which should be a place for raising poultry and livestock. Only the main house was lit, and the east and west sides were dark and silent. It seemed that only the old woman lived in this yard.
Gu Mingke followed behind, and said leisurely: "The reason why you prove that you are human is really unique."
Li Chaoge blushed, although her reason was weird, but it was just useful. Didn't the old lady let down her guard as soon as she heard it
The old woman tied the horses of the two of them to the grass shed at the back, and gave Li Chaoge and the other two to clean up the wing. Holding up the lamp, the old woman said, "I'm kidding you, my wife left early, my two sons moved to the town, and the old woman is the only one left at home. The east wing has not been lived in for a long time, and there is dust on the bed. , I'll clean it up for you."
"No need." Li Chaoge stopped him quickly and said, "It's already a great kindness for grandma to take us in. How dare I bother grandma to do it again. We can clean up the dust by ourselves, thank you grandma."
Grandma seems to rarely see outsiders. She talked a lot and made sure that there was nothing missing in the house before she tremblingly went out. After the people left, Li Chaoge closed the door and let out a long sigh of relief: "The people in this mountain village are too simple. The old lady is alone? Are you really not afraid that we are villains who rob houses?"
With a light flick of Gu Mingke's index finger, the dust in the wing room was swept away. He clasped his sleeves, walked slowly to the wall, and said, "There should be very few people in this village. When the old woman pushed the door? When she saw you, her first reaction was a ghost, not a bandit, which is very telling. question."
Li Chaoge followed Gu Mingke's line of sight and found a portrait on the wall. The person on it was glaring, with three eyes and eight arms, exactly the same as the statue of the Valkyrie she saw in Guibei Village.
The pair at the old woman's house is bigger and more detailed.
Li Chaoge walked up to Gu Mingke, stared at the picture, and said in an indiscriminate tone: "Do I look like a bandit?"
Gu Mingke was stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but look back at her: "I thought? I thought you would ask about this portrait."
"It's already posted here. What's the rush?" Li Chaoge was thinking about it. She turned around and walked to the table. Just about to take off the armguards on her body, she suddenly thought of something, "Isn't it right? Ah, the two of us? Why are we in the same room? in the room?"
Gu Mingke secretly raised his eyebrows, she finally thought of it. When she first entered the house, she and the old woman agreed so readily that Gu Mingke thought that she had other arrangements. So? Gu Mingke has been holding back and not saying anything. Unexpectedly, she didn't have other plans, but just forgot.
Gu Mingke and Li Chaoge took each side, and neither of them spoke first. At this moment, the door was pushed open, and the old lady walked in with a plate of hot rice, and said warmly, "You guys have been on the road all day, you probably haven't eaten yet. What about me? There happen to be hot dishes, simple tea and light meals, so don’t dislike them.”
The arrival of the old lady broke the deadlock. Li Chaoge smiled awkwardly and said, "Grandma, don't bother. The two of us have already used it, so there is no need to prepare."
"What can you eat on the road? It's nothing more than cold and hard dry food. It's not as good as hot food and rice." The old woman was very enthusiastic. Before Li Chaoge objected, she put the food on the table and said, "You husband and wife are on your way. You have worked hard, eat some hot dishes to warm up your body, and take a rest quickly."
Li Chaoge's eyebrows twitched uncontrollably: "Husband and wife?"
"Yes? Ah." The old lady said it as it should be. She raised her head and looked at Li Chaoge curiously. "Aren't you husband and wife?"
Gu Mingke finally moved. He walked over from the portrait, pressed Li Chaoge's shoulder, and replied, "Yes."
Li Chaoge's shoulder was held down by Gu Mingke, and she quickly glanced at Gu Mingke, and was about to say something, when he sat by the table and said, "Mrs. Lao Lao? Prepare food for us. This portrait looks unfamiliar. , I don’t know where it comes from?”
"Ask the statue of the Martial God." The old lady smiled innocently. She looked at the statue of the Martial God, and a crystal light burst out of her already cloudy and old eyes. "That is the god who protects us, can you? Bless our village There will be no disasters and difficulties, travel and travel safely, and will not be invaded by foreign enemies."
Li Chaoge didn't know what was going on with Gu Mingke, she was interrupted twice when she spoke, so it seemed strange to go back and explain at this time. Li Chaoge sighed helplessly, and took advantage of the opportunity to inquire: "Grandma, who is this Martial God? Does he really have such supernatural powers?"
"Of course." Speaking of Martial God, the old woman said proudly, "The Martial God is the hope bestowed on us by God. He is destined to end the troubled times and rule the world. A son of heaven is about to be born. Sure enough, when the prince was born, there was lightning and thunder, and a vision came from the sky. Gong? Ten disciples were unable to argue with him. He learned divination at the age of twelve, and never made a mistake in predicting major national events. Later, he relied on divination to predict the opportunity of battle and led the army to win every battle without any disadvantage. Where is the prince? In this land, there was no magical power that could not be realized, and the soldiers and civilians called him the God of War. Later, every household painted a portrait of the God of War and posted it on the door? It can ward off evil spirits and protect the house, and resist foreign enemies."
Li Chaoge knew it was a legend, but he still thought it was too exaggerated: "Is he studying literature or martial arts? Since he studied at the age of three, learned about government affairs at the age of ten, and learned divination at the age of twelve, how could he have time to lead troops to fight? "
Martial arts have to lay the foundation from a young age, if the foundation is not stable, it will not succeed at all in the future. Can a child really juggle so many things
When the old lady heard that Li Chaoge questioned the God of War, her face turned ugly instantly: "Of course it is possible. The God of War is the reincarnation of the emperor. He was born to be a king. Is there anything he can't do?"
Li Chaoge stopped talking, rationally gave up arguing with the old woman? She asked, "And what happened to Valkyrie?"
The old woman was sitting upright, clasped her hands together devoutly, and said solemnly: "The Martial God ended the troubled times, passed away, and then returned to heaven to be a god. He has always protected us. If the old people of the Qin family encounter hardships, as long as we pray sincerely, The god of war will appear and save the subjects from fire and water."
Li Chaoge raised his slender eyebrows lightly: "Mr. Qin?"
"Yes." The old lady closed her eyelids slightly and said respectfully, "The Martial God's common surname is Qin."