Chapter 19 Chapter Eighteen

Facing the mysterious power hidden in the dark forest, Bai Jian'e showed no fear. After a lot of tossing, he felt that he had to sleep, but he still deliberately kept Wu Qun and Zhao Liwen on duty at night. "Zhao Liwen will guard for two hours first, and then replace Wu Qun. Light more bonfires and watch with wide eyes! If there is any situation, call the police loudly. I want to see, who can do anything to me Bai Jianxi! Luo Officer, go back to sleep too!" After saying this, Bai Jian'e lay back on the bedding, closed his eyes, and looked calm. Who can know whether deep down in his heart is as peaceful as it appears on the surface?

Luo Fei and the three returned to the tent.After getting into the sleeping bag, although no one spoke again, what happened just now made it impossible for everyone to fall asleep in a short time. Luo Fei opened his eyes, his mood at the moment was extremely complicated.Vigilance, confusion, astonishment, and even a hint of excitement. A rare opponent has appeared, "his" claws have been opened, and the evil breath is gradually permeating... "Who is he? What does "he" want to do? Luo Fei couldn't give an answer, and he regretted it now. It was a very serious mistake not to investigate the Dragon King Temple when he was in Mi Hong Village.There should be some clues left there, even if there is only one footprint, one hair, it will be very important.At least, it can help him determine what that "opponent" is.

But having said that, Bai Jian'e would never allow other people to enter the Dragon King Temple at that time.Yes, they all underestimated the "bloody" Rain God in the Dragon King Temple.Before this night, Luo Fei had always had this tendency: the scene in the Dragon King Temple was just a power struggle within Mi Hongzhai against Bai Jian'e, and there was no need for him to get too involved in this irrelevant vortex . But the situation has intensified.What's more serious is that these seem to be just a prologue, and the big drama has just begun. Is it true that as Yue Dongbei said, everything is closely related to the "demon" rumors in the "uncanny valley"?

If so, then did this mysterious "rival" follow him from Longzhou?This is simply too scary!This means that although I haven't even seen the shadow of the "opponent", and there is no evidence to prove that the "opponent" actually exists, the "opponent" can see almost every pore of himself clearly! The more he thought about this road, the more Luo Fei felt astonished. However, he likes this feeling - a stimulating feeling full of challenges. Yes, he is a natural hunter, and the fearfulness and stealth of the "rival" will only further awaken the instinct that runs in his blood.

A good hunter must know how to crouch and wait when the prey has left no trace to follow. This is Luo Fei's current situation.He has enough courage, enough wisdom, but also enough patience. Now that the "opponent" has followed into the jungle, the purpose of "his" will never be just to show a secret message of "skinning and weeding", and "he" will definitely take action.That would be a hunter's best chance to strike. In this way, the problem is simplified.Luo Fei's task now is to determine the target of the "opponent"'s next move, so as to prepare for prevention and counterattack.

According to Yue Dongbei's analysis, it seems that Bai Jian'e is very likely to be the next victim, but how reliable is that fat man's analysis?His whole theory is so absurd. Moreover, is the so-called "skinning and weeding" just a cover for the opponent? Outside the tent, the bonfire was flickering, and Zhao Liwen could be vaguely seen. He was standing upright, and any noise in the dark would alert him to take a look with his flashlight. Although Bai Jian'e and Wu Qun were already lying down, Luo Fei found that as long as Zhao Liwen reacted, they would follow Xisuo's movement.

No one fell asleep, and everyone was on guard. On the contrary, Luo Fei was relieved that his eyes were not lacking now.So he decided to put aside his thoughts and get a good night's sleep.He needs to raise his energy to face the coming adventure full of unknowns. When Luo Fei opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.He looked at Zhou Liwei and Yue Dongbei beside him, they were still soundly asleep. Knowing that they might fall asleep very late, Luo Fei decided not to wake them up for the time being, and crept out of the sleeping bag by himself, and went outside the tent.

The air is filled with a moist and fresh breath, which is unique to the jungle. Luo Fei took a few deep breaths, and felt that his body and mind became clear for a while, and his brain suddenly got out of the sleep state and became Abnormal sobriety. Bai Jian'e seemed to have just got up and was packing his bedding.Wu Qun held a machete and remained on alert; Zhao Liwen was busy extinguishing the bonfire that was basically burnt out. "Officer Luo got up pretty early." Bai Jian greeted Luo Fei lightly when he saw Luo Fei come out. "It's not too early or too early. I slept soundly in there. It's just hard work for you." Luo Fei said a few words politely, then walked up to Wu Qun and patted him on the shoulder, "Okay, it's dawn, you should too Relax and relax."

Wu Qun saw that Luo Fei didn't speak, the corners of his eyes twitched nervously, but he clenched the knife in his hand even tighter. Bai Jian'e turned his head to look in the direction, and waved his hand at Wu Qun: "What are you doing with a knife at Police Officer Luo? Why don't you put it away? Everyone's water bottles are not full, go fetch some water." "Yes!" Wu Qun agreed, retracted the machete to his waist, then picked up the water bottles of the crowd, burrowed into a forest next to him, and walked towards the puddle. "Hehe." Luo Fei looked at his back and smiled mockingly, "It's still the village master's words that work."

Zhou Liwei and Yue Dongbei woke up one after another when they heard the voices outside.After a while, they got out of the tent, just like Luo Fei just now, greedily breathing in the fresh air in the jungle. "Oh, I haven't experienced this feeling for many years." Yue Dongbei stretched his waist and praised comfortably.Then he looked at Bai Jian'e and said, "Master Bai, you may have offended me a little at night, please don't mind." "The foreign enemy is unknown. We don't have to worry about these small things inside us." Bai Jian'e's attitude seemed lukewarm.

With a big belly, Yuebei paced up and down the campsite, the dummy was still placed beside the campfire.When he passed by, he kicked lightly and scolded with a smile: "It's you, a bastard, that caused us to not sleep well all night." "Compared with the two on duty at night, we are much happier." After Zhou Liwei finished speaking, he looked up for a while, and asked strangely, "Why is Wu Qun missing?" "I'm fetching water." Luo Fei pointed in the direction of the puddle, and suddenly realized that it was only a few steps away, and Wu Qun had been there for quite a while, so he couldn't help but said, "Hey? Why didn't he Come back? There won't be any surprises, right?" "It's broad daylight, what can there be—" Bai Jian'e didn't finish his sentence, and the remaining word "accident" was forced back into his stomach. Because Wu Qun just came back at this time.His appearance immediately attracted everyone's attention.Seeing the situation in front of them, everyone's hearts sank "suddenly". Wu Qun emerged from the bushes, staggering, as if he was drunk.His facial features are distorted, appearing in extreme pain, his eyes are wide open, and the eyeballs are almost bursting out of the eye sockets; what is even more shocking is that his hands are stretching out to his mouth, doing an unimaginable strange move! He twisted his ten fingers into a cone shape, firmly grasped his tongue with his fingertips, and pulled it out with all his strength! "What's the matter?" Bai Jian'e asked loudly, and at the same time quickly walked up to him. Zhao Liwen followed closely behind him. The two of them, one on the left and the other on the right, supported the crumbling Wu Qun. Luo Fei and the other three immediately stepped forward to check. Wu Qun stared blankly at Bai Jian'e, his expression was full of despair and fear. He seemed to want to say something, but his tongue was pulled out of his mouth for a long time, so that he could only utter "uh uh huh" intermittently. The voice was dry and piercing, without any human vitality. It seemed that all the strength of his whole body was concentrated on those ten fingers at the moment, his soft tongue had been pulled out by more than two inches, and the fingernails were deeply embedded in the tongue coating, faintly bloodshot. Although unable to communicate, everyone could feel that Wu Qun had a strong desire to pull the soft strip out of his mouth, as if it was not his own tongue, but a drill The poisonous snake that entered his body! "Stop him quickly! He will die if he continues like this!" Zhou Liwei shouted anxiously. Before he finished his sentence, Luo Fei rushed forward and reached out to break Wu Qun's fingers. Bai Jian'e and Zhao Liwen also freed up a hand to help.But Wu Qun's ten fingers were like cast iron, they were firmly clasped on his tongue, and it was difficult to move it! Wu Qun's tongue seemed to have been stretched to the limit, his face was flushed from the suffocation, and his breathing became extremely rapid. "Come and help!" Luo Fei knew that the situation was not good, and shouted.Zhou Liwei and Yue Dongbei also joined the group, prying Wu Qun's almost stiff fingers one by one. Finally, Wu Qun seemed to have exhausted all his strength, his fingers loosened and were separated from his tongue by everyone. But no one could feel a little bit of joy, because at the same time, Wu Qun's breathing had stopped, his eyes were stiff, and there was no brilliance of life in his eyes. His body was also paralyzed, only the tongue was still sticking out of the mouth, forming a strange and terrifying composition on the face of the deceased. Bai Jian'e saw the tragic death of another of his confidants, and was shocked and angry.He suddenly pulled out from the crowd, took out the machete on his waist, and went straight to the water hole. The location of the puddle is actually only more than ten meters away from the camp, but due to the cover of the jungle, the sight on both sides cannot reach each other.In the blink of an eye, Bai Jian'e had arrived at the puddle. Surrounded by trees, it was quiet, and there seemed to be nothing unusual. He was slightly taken aback, then held the knife in his hand, looked around angrily, and shouted hoarsely: "What the hell are you? Get out!" But he heard the rustling of the bushes, a figure came out, Bai Jian'e was startled, when he looked closely, that person was Luo Fei. Luo Fei wasn't as excited as Bai Jian'e, his face sank like water, but his eyes were bright, looking around carefully. Most of the kettles brought by Wu Qun were neatly stacked on the edge of the reservoir, only one was tilted elsewhere, and there were obvious traces of water spilling from the mouth of the kettle.Luo Fei took two steps forward and picked up the kettle.It felt a little heavy in the hand, and there was still a small half of the water in the pot that hadn't drained. "Is this Wu Qun's kettle?" Luo Fei asked Bai Jian'e, and the latter nodded as an answer. Luo Fei squatted down again, only to see that the ground was full of weeds and fallen leaves, it was impossible to distinguish the footprints here. "Let's go back to the camp and have a look, there won't be too many clues here." After pondering for a while, Luo Fei said to Bai Jian'e. Bai Jian'e had calmed down a lot at this time, with a livid face, he put away the machete, and walked back together with Luo Fei. In the camp, Zhou Liwei was inspecting Wu Qun's body, while Zhao Liwen stood aside with a machete in his hand, showing resentment every time he saw his companion's miserable condition.Yue Dongbei held his hands behind his back alone, facing the sky, wondering what he was thinking. "What's going on over there?" Seeing Luo Fei and the two came back, Zhou Liwei immediately raised his head and asked. Luo Fei didn't answer right away, but squatted down to check the front of the deceased. It was obvious that there were large water stains there. Luo Fei held Wu Qun's kettle in his left hand, tapped the wet skirt with his right index finger a few times, then tilted his head slightly, and began to narrate the scene unfolding in his train of thought step by step: "He To get some water—first he got himself a pitcher—and he began to drink on the spot, when something happened..." "What accident?" Bai Jian'e asked from the side. Luo Fei shook his head, looked at the face of the deceased in bewilderment, and asked himself: "Why? Why do you want to pull out your own tongue?" He thought about it for a while, but he didn't seem to have any idea, and then asked Zhou Liwei: "By the way, have you found anything? Also, what is the specific cause of death?" "There is no wound on his whole body, and there is no sign of a blow to his vital parts. At first I thought that the action of pulling out his tongue caused a blockage in his mouth, and he died of suffocation, but..." Zhou Liwei pointed to the exposed tongue of the deceased, "here There seems to be something else strange." "What's the matter?" Luo Fei immediately narrowed his eyes and looked at the part Zhou Liwei was pointing at. Bai Jian'e also squatted down and watched closely. "Look, there is some abnormal swelling here!" Under Zhou Liwei's reminder, Luo Fei really noticed that the back of the deceased's tongue was swollen, and the color was abnormal, slightly black. "What caused this? Disease, or poisoning?" He asked immediately. "It's not clear yet. These are only peripheral symptoms. According to my judgment, the central part of the problem should be the heel of the tongue of the deceased. To see the situation there, some special measures must be taken on the corpse." Zhou Liwei said at the same time , while looking at Bai Jian'e next to him for advice. Luo Fei knew clearly what a "special method" was.Wu Qun was brought by Bai Jian'e. If he wanted to do something about the corpse, he had better get Bai Jian'e's approval first. Bai Jian'e naturally understood what Zhou Liwei meant.Unambiguously, he touched his waist and found the machete in his hand. Then he leaned forward and used the blade to lightly stroke the dead man's jaw near the heel of his tongue. The machete was very sharp, a big gash appeared in the throat of the deceased immediately, a large amount of blood seeped out along the blade, the blood was actually pitch black, as straight as ink! Zhou Liwei's judgment was correct, the situation really happened in this part.Luo Fei's heart trembled, he held his breath and continued to pay attention. When Bai Jian'e saw the situation in front of him, his eyebrows twitched a few times, then he gritted his teeth, and with more force on his wrist, he sliced ​​open the skin and muscles at the bottom of the dead man's jaw.Immediately afterwards, he poked two fingers in, and after some groping, he pulled the entire tongue out from the incision. For a moment, black blood filled the air, and the dead man's long tongue drooped under his jaw, and his condition was horrifying.But everyone at the scene couldn't care less, their eyes were all focused on the part where the tongue heel of the deceased was connected to the esophagus, the tongue heel that should have been pink and tender was now pitch-black, raised high, and swollen like a steamed bun.In the center of the steamed bun, there is a colorful spider lying on its stomach! The spider's torso was about the size of a little finger, its body was a symmetrical hexagon with sharp edges and corners, and its eight legs were delicate and slender.Although it had been dead for a long time, its articulate parts were still tightly biting the dead man's tongue. A complex expression appeared on Bai Jian'e's face: surprise, helplessness, sadness, and a hint of bewilderment. He gently twisted the spider off, and at the same time said with a wry smile, "Poison Fairy." "Poison Fairy?" Luo Fei followed the spider with his eyes, "Is that its name?" Bai Jianxi nodded: "This kind of spider is extremely poisonous. Even a bite on the leg, if not handled properly, can kill a person, let alone a vital part like the throat." Luo Fei frowned: "Does it live in water?" "No." Bai Jian'e seemed a little confused, he thought for a while, and added: "Could it be that he crawled into the kettle first?" This conjecture sounds logical. Although sulfur was sprinkled around the bedding of Bai Jian'e and the other three, the water jug ​​was placed outside the sulfur circle.This highly poisonous spider crawled into Wu Qun's kettle at night. Wu Qun first filled his own kettle with water, and then he couldn't wait to drink it. He also swallowed the spider whole.The dying spider will naturally bite the heel of his tongue and release the venom all over his body.Wu Qun was in unbearable pain and terrified, he instinctively pulled his tongue with his hand, trying to clear the poison from his throat.When he realized that it was impossible to save himself, he tried his best to return to the camp, but he died of poison in the end. If this is the case, then this Wu Qun died too unjustly.Luo Fei shook his head, noncommittal.Zhou Liwei and Zhao Liwen were also silent, with doubts on their faces. "Hey, how could such a coincidence happen?" Yue Dongbei, who had been silent for a long time, finally opened his mouth at this time, and he bluntly expressed his thoughts, "This is by no means an accident. This thing was destined to happen. It was like that a few days ago.” "Two days ago?" Bai Jian'e looked at Yue Dongbei inexplicably, "Two days ago we were still in Ni Hong Village." Yue Dongbei didn't answer, looked up at the sky, and suddenly sighed dejectedly: "Oh, I'm also to blame for being negligent. I can see the subtlety of 'peeling the grass'. But the warning that was so obvious before was right in front of my eyes. I slipped through the ground without even noticing..." Luo Fei and the others looked at each other, really not understanding what he was talking about. "Punishment of tongue pulling! Have you all forgotten?" Yue Dongbei opened his eyes wide, looked at everyone and said, "That piece of rice paper, Li Dingguo's notes, 'he' has already made it clear, Maoshi, to the 'leaker' Inflict the 'tongue-pulling punishment'!" Yes, tongue-pulling punishment!Mopan Mountain!After Yue Dongbei said this, everyone was a little bit taken aback. If you understand it in this way, Wu Qun's death does have a strong symbolic meaning. In the blink of an eye, Luo Fei had replayed the situation two days ago in his mind. There was a detail that he didn't think much about at the time, but now it has aroused his great attention. "You seem to have mentioned that the rice paper wasn't in the parchment?" His eyes swept over Bai Jian'e and Zhao Liwen in turn. Zhao Liwen was stunned for a moment, as if he was not sure how to answer, so he looked at Bai Jian'e. Bai Jian's face was gloomy. After a while, he nodded and said in a low voice: "Yes. Until now, I don't know where that piece of paper came from... This matter is really getting worse and worse. Interesting..." Everyone understands the subtext in Bai Jian's evil words: the mysterious appearance of rice paper is undoubtedly the best explanation of Yue Dongbei's "warning theory".Everyone was silent for a while, thinking about the possible mystery in this matter. "If that piece of paper is really Li Dingguo's handwritten notes, it would be really interesting." After a while, Zhou Liwei spoke first, "This is not an ordinary object, most people would not have it." This is exactly what Luo Fei was thinking. He raised his head and signaled the other party to continue talking with his eyes. But I heard Zhou Liwei say again: "Since Lord Baizhai has confirmed that it is not their original thing. I think that only those who have studied history deeply, and it can be said that only those who have explored Li Dingguo deeply, will have such rare cultural relics." Although these remarks did not name names, they were extremely targeted.Yue Dongbei is not a dull person, he blushed immediately: "You suspect that thing is mine?" "At least you have shown us that you have a lot of historical objects and materials related to Li Dingguo. Who else has a deeper research on Li Dingguo's personal history than you? The series of strange things that happened these days are all because of you. Would you like to see it?" Zhou Liwei's words became aggressive. "Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Did I design these things? I will arrange a warning and then explain it?" Yue Dongbei looked a little annoyed, "Yes, I hope to see such strange things happen, because These things are confirming my theory step by step and enriching my academic materials. But if these things are directed by myself, then what is the meaning of these things to me? Falsifying academically can only become a shame for my life Is this what you scientists do when confronted with different opinions?" Zhou Liwei narrowed his eyes and stared coldly at the fat man on the opposite side. He really wanted to see some other hidden things from the other person's superficial excitement, but he was disappointed.Yue Dongbei was gasping for breath, stunned and stunned, this is the standard demeanor of a proud person when his dignity is insulted.If this demeanor is fake, then Yue Dongbei is undoubtedly a rare and good actor. Bai Jian'e and Luo Fei were also closely observing Yue Dongbei's reaction.Analyzing from a normal way of thinking, Yue Dongbei was indeed very suspicious.Although he does not have the qualifications to directly commit crimes, he has explained all the strange things in detail, which has to lead to the following inferences: The "mysterious power" behind the scenes is implementing a terrible plan step by step under the guidance of Yue Dongbei! But Yue Dongbei really doesn't seem like a character who hides so deeply.Luo Fei has always been very confident in his ability to recognize people. Could it be that this straight fat man can really make him look away? Luo Fei thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly.There is one thing that makes no sense to doubt Yue Dongbei: If these incidents were all planned and carried out by Yue Dongbei, then why did he explain the hidden meanings so clearly step by step.To present your own theory, it is never too late to pretend to analyze it after the plan is completed.Now that the plan has just begun, talking too much will only arouse suspicion from everyone, which will be extremely detrimental to his future actions. In this stalemate and pondering atmosphere, Bai Jian'e suddenly asked Yue Dongbei a question. "Mr. Yue, according to your theory, why is the punishment of 'pulling out the tongue' imposed on Wu Qun?" Yue Dongbei didn't seem to have any definite preparations for this question. He hesitated for a moment before answering vaguely: "The punishment of pulling out the tongue was set up by Li Dingguo for leakers...Since Wu Qun suffered such a punishment, And there was a warning in advance, so I think he must have something to do with a leak." "Specifically?" Bai Jianxi stared at Yue Dongbei with piercing eyes, "What kind of secret leak?" Zhou Liwei also seemed to have developed a strong interest in this question, and waited for Yue Dongbei's answer with all his attention. "This..." Yue Dongbei scratched his forehead, looking a little embarrassed, "I'm not sure about this, maybe Wu Qun's ancestors leaked secrets when they were in Li Dingguo's army, and they were not punished at that time. Now Wu Qun was blamed for the resurrection of the 'devil'? This is just my guess, and there is no historical evidence to back it up. More research is needed, more research is needed..." Bai Jian gave a "hey" smile.It can be seen that he is obviously not satisfied with such an answer. Zhou Liwei also frowned imperceptibly.He has always sneered at Yue Dongbei's theory, why is he so concerned about this issue? "The situation is unclear now, so we should not be suspicious of each other." Luo Fei had observed and thought for a long time, and finally said, "The villagers in Mi Hong Village are all descendants of Li Dingguo's subordinates. If anyone secretly keeps Li Dingguo's handcuff , it’s not a particularly strange thing.” Yue Dongbei nodded, and at the same time cast a dissatisfied glance at Zhou Liwei: "Although Police Officer Luo doesn't agree with my point of view, what he said is much more objective than yours. This is the academic attitude of actively exploring the truth." Zhou Liwei sneered and stopped answering his words. "Okay, don't talk about these useless things, let's discuss the next step." Bai Jian'e glanced at the dead spider in his hand, and then flicked it aside in disgust. A cold glint of jealousy flashed in Zhao Liwen's eyes, and with a wave of his right hand, the machete slashed out extremely quickly. As soon as the spider's body fell to the ground, it was chopped into fine powder by this precise knife.