Seventy-two Changes of the Evil Spirits

"...We found the missing Ma Chunhua and Xiang Andai in the underground hall. After investigation, I found that there were a large number of magical instruments in the hall, all of very good quality, especially a set of yellow paper, brushes, Cinnabar, it can still be used up to now. It is very useful to draw symbols. This group of grandsons is really rich (crossed out). Some of the instruments have been used passively. It should be Ma Chunhua who has entered some kind of ritual, but the scene is arranged. There are a lot of mistakes and no traces of magic power. It is inferred that Ma Chunhua had come into contact with some sporadic knowledge in archaeology, and then spliced ​​it for granted. Just in case, I checked carefully. Although Ma Chunhua is mentally disordered, her soul and body are intact. Signs of being invaded by evil law; Xiang Andai's body is already stiff, there are corpses on the skin, the abdomen is slightly raised, and the internal organs have begun to rot, but there is no sign of corpse transformation, demonization, or possession."

Li Changan grabbed the pen, his eyes were empty for a while, and then he squeezed it out with difficulty.

"There are traces of human life in the underground villages, but the houses are very tidy, and there are no animal bones in the chicken coops and pig pens. It is not like a sudden disappearance in an accident, but more like a planned and orderly evacuation. As for the moldy phenomenon in the village, I I did not find the existence of the ghosts and snakes, but the smell is very, very strong, very very pungent, and I don’t know how the archaeological team can stand it. Anyway, I can’t stay for a second (this paragraph is also crossed out). Above, maybe once here. There are really some monsters and gods, but for now, there is nothing to worry about."

After drawing the end, Li Changan let out a sigh of relief.

He is a decent person and has no habit of writing a diary. The book is a work record, which is a part of the task. It is required to record everything in every detail. There was a small video recording machine that fell into a landslide.

Zhong Huansu specially reminded that this matter is very important, it is the experience of countless seniors who took their lives.

Li Chang'an is a sincere man, and he has to do other people's affairs if he takes other people's money.

And now.

He has to do another big business.

The Taoist priest packed his notes, paced out leisurely, bypassing the rain-pouring courtyard, and turned into an inconspicuous hut in the corner of the ancestral hall.

open the door.

Wang Zhongmin has been waiting here for a long time.

Outside the house, it was raining heavily; inside, the house was dizzy and cramped.

Wang Zhongmin silently raised the iron knife, and Li Changan lit a flame silently.

"What do you eat at noon?"

"Potato shreds."

It's a drop, it's a fireman. Is clothing, food, shelter, and transportation a major event in the world?

After discovering the cave, the archaeological generation plunged into the underground village in the past two days, and left them Li Chang'an and Wang Zhongmin like crazy, leaving behind Li Changan and Wang Zhongmin. Logistics work.

In the past, it was food for two people and seven people, but today is different.

As soon as the stove was opened, the door opened again, and a girl came in and said hello softly.

"Brother Li, Uncle Wang."

Wang Zhongmin turned his head for joy.

"Oh, it's Xiao Xiao, why did you come so early today? Could it be that Professor Shao and the others were so hungry that they asked you to urge you? Don't worry, it's coming soon."

"As soon as they work, they are like being immortal. Where can they be hungry?" Xiao Shu smiled and shook his head. "Aren't we repairing the murals. Today we have staged results. I will invite the two leaders to accept them."

With that, she rolled up her sleeves and was about to come over to help the kitchen, but before she was next to the stove, Wang Zhongmin waved her spatula away.

"Smoky, what is your little girl doing? Besides, you have to take care of the pony at work during the day and night. You are almost out of shape when you are tired. Let's rest first."

"How can it be so exaggerated."

Xiao Shu didn't refute, and smiled and turned to clean the dishes. When it was over, Ai Ai walked to Li Changan's side.

"Brother Li, things..."

"it is done."

The Taoist nodded.

Hand her a yellow talisman and collect the shocking talisman.

Taoist priests are surreptitious, but the study of talisman is open and honest. Most of the members of the archaeological team are atheists, and they only act as Li Changan’s academic direction. However, Xiao Shu is a girl who is more emotional and interested in the theory of ghosts and gods, so he begged Li Changan to draw a charm for Ma Chunhua.

In fact, it's useless. Ma Chunhua is suffering from heart disease. Fulu and medicine are difficult to treat.

But Li Changan still took the time to draw a shocking rune.

Although it cannot treat the patient, at least it can comfort relatives and friends.

Seeing Xiao Shu said "Thank you", he put the Fulu away carefully.

Li Changan hesitated for a moment.

"Is Ma Chunhua better now?"

Xiao Shu's raised eyebrows suddenly fell deaf.

"still the same."

Ma Chunhua was found in the underground hall that day. At that time, she had been holding Xiang An Dai's body and refused to let go. Helpless, everyone had to separate them forcibly, put the body back in the coffin, and nailed the lid to the coffin.

At this time, Ma Chunhua calmed down, but she seemed to lose her soul, lying on the bed all day without saying a word. Only Xiao Shu, a best friend, occasionally responded to the call, but she just turned her face and took her hollow eyes to face. Looking at people, that sluggish appearance, like an old man in the rain that day.

Speaking of her, the atmosphere suddenly became much dull.

Fortunately, Wang Zhongmin has already prepared the food.

The three moved separately.

Xiao Shu went to take care of Ma Chunhua.

Li Changan and Wang Zhongmin went to deliver meals to Professor Shao and the others, by the way, "check and accept the results."

…………

The underground is still the same.

The river is still turbulent, the village is still decayed and dead, and the buildings are creeping in the darkness, like high and low grave mounds.

Li Changan quickly walked through this "mass grave" to the square where the archaeological team was located.

Some candles and coal lanterns were lit on the square to barely hold up some light in the boundless world of darkness.

These things, like oily rice and vegetables, were borrowed from fellow villagers.

certainly.

It's okay to say "take", because the host has neither agreed nor refused.

Wang Zhongmin, who was doing this, didn't feel guilty at all. According to him, he only pulled these materials into the mountains one by one, and then moved into each house with his own hands.

Now, it was assumed that he had sent it to the wrong place.

Don't talk about it.

Professor Shao looked at the two Li Chang'an from a distance, and greeted them loudly to see a spliced ​​mural of their achievements in the past few days.

Look at the follow-up of the one that is intact.

The background is in the heart of the mountain, deep in the cave reached by a tunnel extending from the foot of the mountain. There are only two characters, one of which should be a hero who walked out of the village, outlined with black lines. The hero in the painting is crawling on the ground with his hands up.

The other character is above the hero, with two or three times the size and inhumanity. Instead of using black lines, it is painted with white.

Between the two characters, a secret white dot was clicked, and they were all merged into the hands of the hero.

Li Changan stared at him for a long time, couldn't help being fascinated, he seemed to see such a scene in a trance:

In a dark cave.

Huge inhuman things entangled in the depths of the shadows, and it exudes pale blood, like conscious flying insects, dripping out of the skin drop by drop, gathered in the hands of creeping mortals.

"When you see this painting, do you think of anything?"

Professor Shao is in high spirits, like a child showing off his new toy.

If Wang Zhongmin has something, Li Changan next to him has already answered calmly:

"Azhi's story."

"right!"

The professor clapped his hands.

"Azhi! Divine blood! Returning soul sand!"

His rickety and thin body almost jumped for joy.

"These murals are likely to prove that the soul-returning sand is not fictional. Although it is not known what it is, it has its original shape and has existed in history."

Is the soul-returning sand real?

Li Changan looked at Zeng Guangwen, his glasses wore his old face, and his writing was embarrassing.

Professor Shao continued to talk.

"In the entire research on religion, history, and culture in Liangshan, most of the original materials have no words or examples. Most of them come from oral songs and stories. There are too many speculations and inferences. But now, this relic, this mural, Not only has it filled this gap, it may even bring all related research over and over again!"

He spoke impassionedly, and Li Changan expressed his understanding, but the smell was too strong to empathize.

then.

"Why... Eat first?"

...

Arrange meals on the spot.

A pot of potatoes, a pot of pumpkin, a pot of dry rice and a pot of rice soup.

Professor Shao divided his chopsticks, and he was cheerful:

"As expected of Chef Wang, today's food is still plentiful!"

"What's the richness?!" Wang Zhongmin shook his head to add food to everyone, "I don't even have a piece of meat."

"It's pretty good already." Professor Shao smiled, "If you don't believe me, ask them, what do we usually eat?"

Yi Baohua's words were concise and concise, with a sorrowful expression on his face.

"Fire buns."

Zeng Guangwen added: "Add mustard."

"No?"

It is difficult for Wang Zhongmin to understand. They are all cultural people. How can they eat worse than the laborers?

"Work in the field, keep everything simple."

Professor Shao didn't explain much. After changing the conversation, he asked a question that everyone cares about when the rescue will come?

The village is deep in the mountains and old forests, and there are no people around. If you want to ask for help, you have to go out on foot in heavy rain. It is too dangerous. Everyone has to stay in the solitary village and wait for the discovery above.

So passive, it is inevitable to feel anxious.

"Don't worry, I guess only two or three days."

However, Wang Zhongmin was full of confidence and took a lot of money.

"A few years ago, I was stuck in a mountain by a landslide. My wife found out that I hadn't gone home, so she went to find the leader. As a result, the road was blocked at noon, and the excavator arrived in the afternoon!"

"Although I am going to work in the mountains this time, I am going to stay in the village, but I have said that I will report back every few days. I think the county should almost suspect that we are having problems."

"So Professor Shao, you don't have to panic, and don't worry."

"I'm not in a hurry, I'm just..." Professor Shao retorted a few words, and suddenly laughed, then nodded and admitted, "I am indeed in a hurry."

He stood up and pointed at this rotten underground world in the dark with his chopsticks.

"For such a major archaeological discovery, with the current manpower and tools, the efficiency is too low. I can't wait to immediately pull a large team, pull a batch of good equipment, and set up a research institute and laboratory. Yes, there is that mountain road, really Time to fix it again!"

"Repair! Of course it needs to be repaired!" Wang Zhongmin immediately echoed, looking even more excited than Professor Shao. "If you don't build roads, how can tourists come in? Huaxia, no! It is the only underground village in the world, this is a golden rooster mother, said No, the county's economy must rely on it to revitalize!"

The atmosphere was warm for a while.

Several people talked about each other's imagination after the reopening of the mountain road.

Yi Baohua vaguely said that he wanted to invite Xiao Shu to watch the upcoming movie.

Zeng Guangwen talked to his hometown and said that he would definitely go back to visit his parents this time.

In the end, several people turned their eyes to Li Changan, who had been listening without speaking.

The Taoist sighed quietly.

"I don't want anything else, I just want to eat a bite."

After a short silence, cheerful laughter resounded through the ground.

Wang Zhongmin patted his thigh.

"I'll slaughter the fat pig when I turn around, and go out and ask everyone to eat the pig soup."

"keep your word."

Li Changan scooped a bowl of rice soup as wine.

Everyone has a learning one, and a few broken bowls touched in the air.

"cheers!"

"I hope the rescue will come soon, and I wish we all come true!"

It's over.

Professor Shao did not eat. He held the rice soup and stared at the mural next to him for a long time. His eyes were very complicated, relieved, delighted, and unwilling.

Student concern: "Teacher?"

"fine."

He shook his head.

"I'm just thinking, I found here, I have explained it in my life. The only regret... is that I can see it with my own eyes, and it should be everyone in the team who discovered it with my own hands."

He looked at his students.

"Baohua, Guangwen, An Dai, Chunhua and..."

Speaking of this, Professor Shao paused, "Huh".

"Xiao Shu? Why haven't you come here yet?"

…………

When Xiao Shu walked out of the kitchen, Li Changan had already left.

The heavy rain still persists, and the accumulated water converges into a shallow pond in the yard.

Ma Chunhua's room is on the other side of the "pond".

She wants to go there, there are two ways.

Or directly across the yard in the rain.

Or go around along the corridor.

But a section of the corridor had collapsed, and she had to pass through Xiangtang to pass.

In Xiangtang, there is a coffin horizontally, and a familiar friend lies in the coffin. The lid of the coffin is sealed with iron nails.

She hesitated for a while and stepped into the rain.

...

Come to the house.

The door was closed tightly, and Xiao Shuyun took a few breaths, trying to make himself look gentler.

"Duo duo."

She struck for the first time.

The rain behind him became stronger, and the white rain curtain was covered with thick gauze, wrapping the yard in circles.

"Duo duo."

She struck a second sound.

There was no response in the room, only the sound of wind and rain in my ears, noisy and silent.

"Duo duo."

She struck a third sound.

A cold wind blew through. She suddenly remembered that everyone had already left. In this small isolated world, there was only herself... and the corpse in Xiangtang's coffin.

She shivered.

right.

There are also spring flowers.

She quickly opened the door and jumped into the wing.

...

Maybe it was because the window was not opened.

In the room, apart from the dimness, the musty smell in the air became more and more rot and thick.

Xiao Shu put his lunch on the table with the breakfast that he brought today. He glanced at it, but didn't move a bit.

The tenderness on Xiao Shu's face collapsed, leaving a deep fatigue.

She sighed softly and persuaded: "Chunhua, I know An Dai...go away, you feel bad, and so are we. But you have to eat something, you think about uncles and aunts, they are just your daughter , You can't let yourself break down."

But Ma Chunhua is still the same.

Like a dead man.

There is no reaction at all.

Turning her back to her, she curled up on the bed and covered her body with a quilt.

"Ma Chunhua!"

this moment.

Maybe it's because of caring, maybe it's because of exhaustion and frustration.

Xiao Shu came to the bed, clasped Ma Chunhua's shoulders, wanted to break her body, and questioned.

However.

When Xiao Shu's hand grabbed Ma Chunhua's shoulder.

It feels weird to the touch, not like skin or flesh, like cream covered with egg skin, or mashed potatoes with some scallops on the skin.

Five fingers sank gently, and then touched a hard and smooth object.

what is this?

I just started wondering in my heart, but soon, the weird touch felt like a live leeches, burrowing into the body along the fingertips, and the cold-feeling brain was blank.

But her body still followed the previous instructions.

She broke Ma Chunhua over.

There was a faint continuous and slight tearing sound in the quilt, the sound was like tearing a Velcro.

She saw her face.

On the left face, the complexion is even, the eyes are lightly closed, the corners of the mouth are smiling, and the expression is calm, as if sinking into a good old dream.

And the right half of the face... No, it's not a face, it's a mass of rotten flesh!

Already festered, purulent, moldy, clusters of hyphae grow between the yellowish brown flesh and the white bones, yellow, white, green, purple...the color is rich and lively, and it is draped lively on the rotten flesh. .

The eyelids have disappeared.

As Ma Chunhua "turned" too far.

Corrosive water leaked from the eye sockets and slipped down the corners of the eyes. The eyeballs also turned around. The spreading eyes met Xiao Shu's horrified gaze.

Xiao Shu finally understood.

It turned out that Ma Chunhua's skin was crispy, and her bones were hard.