Chapter 11 Chapter 9 Strange Sound

"Have you ever heard such a poem?" During breakfast, I asked Zhao Yunhan abruptly: "Lian Lian, you and I have an agreement for a hundred years. If anyone dies at the age of ninety-seven, he will wait three years on the bridge. Zhao Yunhan shook her head: "It's a nice word. Although I haven't heard it before, it should be telling a poignant love story." "Well, there is indeed a little story in it. People know it. But folks once said that it came from the hands of Guo Ai, an official daughter of the Song Dynasty." I gently picked up the soup with a spoon, and then poured it back into the plate: "Have you heard of the "Jue Ming Ci" written by Guo Ai? "I know." Infected by my emotions, she lowered her voice and said, "There are countless short cuts, and there is nothing to compare with. Life is like a dream, and the dead feel it. I return to my parents first, and I am ashamed of my filial piety." .My heart is desolate and I can’t help it. If it’s true, I can mourn it.” “That’s it.” I said empty-eyed: “Most of the official women in the Ming Dynasty came from clean and small families in the capital. It means that he and his family will never see each other again, and the court in the early Ming Dynasty followed the tragic system of human sacrifice in the Yuan Dynasty. When the official daughter Guo Ai was ordered to be buried for Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, she only entered the palace for 20 days.

""Jue Ming Ci" was written when he was dying, and he said goodbye to his parents with blood and tears. Since then, his soul has disappeared and the yin and yang are separated. "The emperors of the past dynasties, for their own selfishness, kept a large number of beauties, closed their harems, and built high walls and deep courtyards that did not see the light of day. I don't know how many women's youth, happiness, and lives were buried in vain. "If there is an afterlife, they should hope to marry into an ordinary family, with their parents in the hall and children around their knees. Even if they are talented, they are willing to gradually fade away in the duties of wife and mother. The love of fireworks in the world continues overnight, day by day, and the years grow old. But this life is over. It is said that a few days before Guo Ai was going to be buried with her, she entrusted the maid to send a letter to her. The fiancé who has vowed to each other. There are only a few words in the letter, which is the poem "Lian Lian". After reading it, her former fiancé didn't know whether he felt pain or happiness. In short, he cried a lot for a day and a night. Then The day after Guo Ai's death, he hanged himself at home and died for her." Zhao Yunhan was a little worried: "Aye, what happened to you today, listless, even worse than a few days ago!" I lightly Gently pushed her outstretched hand away, took out the eight-tone stone fragments bought yesterday from her pocket, and said, "Although it's a bit inexplicable, I do remember some things between the age of five and five and a half. There are three fragments of this eight-tone stone. And I should have two pieces now!" "Two pieces?" She asked in surprise: "Where is the other one?" , Dad hid it. If as expected, if you put the three pieces together, you will see the words "Connection" engraved on it. And, the owner of the eight-tone stone, I seem to remember Wake up!" There was indescribable sadness in my voice.

"Master? Who is it?" "A girl who is one month younger than me, a very beautiful girl. She was my fiancee when I was five years old and promised to marry when I grow up." Zhao Yun wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh: "How many fiancees do you have?" "I don't know." I smiled wryly: "But she is different. When she gave me the eight-tone stone, she may have known her own destiny, so she came to me Farewell!" "Aye, why don't I understand what you are talking about?" She frowned. "Yunhan, don't you study folklore? Then you should know that the worship of gods has always been accompanied by sacrifices and sacrifices in human history. The local people call the golden baby in Yangma River the Great God. They worship every year and pray for Let the weather be good, and there should be no catastrophe of flooding the river."

I licked my lips, "But once disaster strikes and all sacrifices have no effect, human beings usually take the last step. Do you know what this step is?" Zhao Yunhan looked at me without blinking: "Use living people as sacrifices." "That's right, then do you know, when was the last time the Yangma River flooded?" "Thirteen years ago..." She lowered her head in thought, as if she had thought of something, she suddenly raised her head and said, "You mean, thirteen years ago, this village used to sacrifice living people? Impossible ! This bad habit basically disappeared at the end of the Song Dynasty!"

"Extinction! Hmph, human beings are very strange animals. They will be happy and panic. Once this kind of creature is afraid, and the number of people who are afraid is the majority, what crazy things can't be done? This kind of backcountry is It's very closed, not to mention it was thirteen years ago." "Evidence! Everything is your guess, where is the evidence?" Zhao Yunhan seemed a little excited. I said loudly: "I have seen the victim. She is my childhood playmate and the object of my vows. Isn't this evidence?" with. Looking at my lost expression, Zhao Yun stretched out her hand to hold my hand tightly, and then let go after a long time: "A Ye, although I don't know what happened, I will always stand by your side, forever !" "Is this a promise?" I looked up.

"You think it is." I smiled reluctantly: "Well, now that we have reached this level, shouldn't we both be open and honest, and tell the other side what we have concealed intentionally or intentionally?" "Sorry , These are two different things!" She smiled brightly, "Speaking of which, Yangma Village will start to drive out outsiders. When do you think it will be our turn?" "I thought for a while, "The key point now is to collect as much information as possible." Zhao Yunhan imitated me and scratched her nose, "What kind of information is collected? Originally, I came here to investigate the phenomenon of fake jobs, but now I feel that the direction of investigation is completely different. It’s changed. Even if I have a clear purpose now, I’ve almost forgotten about it!” “Why bother so much. Collect a little bit of everything, maybe it will become key information in the future.” I leaned lazily on the back of the chair "Although I haven't seen any of them, don't you often say that there are many scientific talents who come here with various purposes hidden here? Why don't you go and investigate them, maybe you will gain something. "Your suggestion is also good." Zhao Yunhan thought for a while, "Then we two can act freely today. I will go to their place to wreak havoc, and you can wander around to see if you can find anything." I nodded, After confirming the meeting time in the afternoon, they parted ways and started wandering with their own destinations.

Walking aimlessly on the country road, I came to the Yangma River again.The sporadic soul-calling towers along the coast stand quietly deep in the river, although it is daytime, it makes people feel a chill.Each soul-calling tower represents a young life, which is more intuitive than tombstones. Yangma Village is built at the corner of the Yangma River. Generally, when a huge river turns, it will leave fertile soil. Therefore, no matter how flooded it is for thousands of years, the people here are unwilling to move away. Houses were destroyed and rebuilt, and people were drowned and reborn, and they survived generation after generation, forming a unique custom.

Although a huge dam was built upstream, the floods have been rare in the past hundred years, but thirteen years ago, the Yangma River suddenly flooded.A large number of houses and crops along the coast were washed away. As for the flood, the cause has not been investigated so far. There are different opinions in the scientific community. Some people mentioned that it was caused by the massive death of vegetation in the upper reaches of the Yangma River. But the problem is, if the soil erosion is really caused by the lack of vegetation, then the affected area will be larger, but that flood only appeared in the 300-kilometer basin of the Yangma River, and the water flowed into the Yangtze River like a mud cow into the sea , silently.

It stands to reason that such a large flood flowing into the Yangtze River would bring even greater disasters to the coast. What's even more bizarre is that the dam at the uppermost reaches of the Yangma River couldn't detect the sudden increase in water volume at all. trace. All the stories, like the most incomprehensible mysterious stories, are still attracting the attention and research of many well-known scientific institutions in the world. Stepping on the dry pebbles on the river bank, I breathed out a breath of cool air. It was the end of February, and the weather was still so cold, it didn't feel like a temperate climate at all.

I followed the dream last night, hoping to find the place where Li Xiaoyou smashed the Eight-tone Stone thirteen years ago, but because my memory at that time was too weak, and there was a flood at that time, I really couldn't recall it. Sitting bored on a large pebble on the bank, I picked up a stone and threw it into the river. The stone fell into the gently flowing water, causing a high splash. I watched it interestingly, while trying to recall more memories from the past, while unconsciously throwing stones into the river, I don't know how long it has passed. Occasionally looking up at the sky, only to find that the original bright sunshine has disappeared.The sun hid in the thick clouds, and the sky suddenly became as dark as evening. The surrounding atmosphere was very oppressive, and the cold wind blew on my face, which made me shiver.

so cold!Even if you wrap your coat tightly, you will feel cold.The weather in this ghost place is really inexplicable. Standing up and preparing to go home, just when I was about to turn around, I suddenly heard a faint sound coming from the empty space. Who is it calling?Listening to the voice, it should be a girl, very sweet, so sweet that it is irresistible. I turned around and glanced around. There was no one within my sight for a thousand meters. Rubbing my ears vigorously, I took a deep breath in doubt, but the sound did not disappear, but became clearer. "Xiaoye, come here." "Xiao Ye, come here quickly..." I turned around several times following the source, and finally confirmed that the sound actually came from Yangma River. This is not a clear voice, like my mother's call, or like my best friend who needs rescue after drowning, more like, calling my name! My brain was in a trance in the sound, and I walked towards the river step by step in a daze. The shoes stepped into the river, and in the confused eyes, it seemed that a small shadow could be seen at the bottom of the water.It was so glittering that it almost burned the retinas. I foolishly continued to walk forward, completely forgetting the fact that I couldn't swim.The river was flooded up to the thigh, and the bottom of the river ahead was a very large, steep, and deep slope. It only took one more step, and the situation would be beyond redemption. At this moment, a slender white hand grabbed me tightly. At that moment, I woke up immediately, and looked forward subconsciously, where there was no golden thing at the bottom of the water in front of me, only the river, the endless river. Looking back, my life-saving thought turned out to be the small and delicate girl who pulled me out of the crowd a few days ago. She looked at me nervously and waited until I completely left the Yangma River before growing up. He let out a long breath, and his frightened expression eased a little. My fright was not much less than hers. Thinking of the danger just now, my heart is still beating wildly. My brain is in a mess, I don't know why I am nervously walking towards the middle of the river, and I am not sure if I have heard faint voices and seen the golden shadow at the bottom of the Yangma River just now... Perhaps, everything is auditory hallucinations, hallucinations!There are some emotional problems recently, and it may be normal for this to happen. But if it's not my own problem, then, is there really something that science can't explain in Yangma River? I shook my head vigorously, trying to shake off the entangled doubts, and then looked at my savior.Seeing me looking at her, she quietly showed a sweet smile, and her messy black hair was blown away by the wind, she was so in love that she wanted someone to pinch her. "that……" I just wanted to thank you, but the girl had already grabbed my hand and pulled me far away from the river bank.Only then did she look at me intently again, her big beautiful eyes didn't blink, and my shadow could even be reflected in the clear fur. Perhaps it was because her eyes were too pure, but I, who had been stared at so aggressively since I was a child, felt a little shy for the first time. The cheeky skin was slightly red, I avoided her gaze and asked, "What's your name?" She didn't answer, just stared at me blankly, smiling brightly. I scratched my head in embarrassment: "Then, where do you live?" Still silent!Depressed, why is the situation exactly the same as the last time we met.I sighed, picked up some dry wood nearby and lit a fire, took off the shoes and roasted them. The girl looked curiously, stretched out her fingers and carefully poked my shoes, then giggled happily. I sighed again, and it seemed that I couldn't communicate, so I didn't ask any more questions, but just stared at the flames in front of me. What happened in the recent period is really miserable enough, it seems that since I came to this ghost place, I haven't passed it smoothly once.In the dark, it seemed that something was secretly teasing him, even wanting his own life. But from a scientific explanation, or from logical thinking, everything seems to be suspicious by myself.In that lost memory, there should still be some key points, but I haven't recalled it for a while. Was the dream last night a good beginning, or the beginning of a deeply hidden tragedy? Involuntarily, I thought about the girl named Li Xiaoyou in my dream again. Looking at it now, she must have loved me very much!And what were your thoughts at the time? Time has changed, and it is completely impossible to guess, but when I think of her, there is still a deep sadness in my heart. She said that since she was a child, she was raised by the villagers and sent to serve the Great God.Perhaps in the thousands of years of history of Yangma Village, there has always been such a custom. Every generation will raise a so-called saint. He lived for a lifetime, but unfortunately, there was a flood, so he had to be thrown into the Yangma River by the villagers as a sacrifice. Such examples were not uncommon in ancient China and even around the world, but they have gradually disappeared in recent hundreds of years. Unexpectedly, ignorant and evil customs had happened before my eyes thirteen years ago. Did you see it with your own eyes?Is this incident the key to his selective amnesia?But how to explain the strange phenomenon encountered recently? It seems that the cause of all the events happened after the flood thirteen years ago, and so did the phenomenon of fake life. It is really puzzling! The girl next to me saw me thinking about things and thinking about it, so she was very sensible and didn't bother me.She sat next to me, resting her head on my shoulder with a satisfied look on her face. The river wind blew, and her hair on the temples brushed my face, itching. I don't hate that feeling, and it even has a little familiarity. There is a special sweet smell on the girl, like the smell hidden in the clothes. with some delicious fruit. This smell touched a certain string in my heart, I was shocked all over, suddenly looked at her, and asked loudly: "You, your name is Li Xiaoyou, right?" The girl didn't respond, she just raised her head, looked at herself suspiciously, and then leaned comfortably on my shoulder. I smiled wryly, and shook my head in disappointment, that's right, how could it be such a coincidence, if Li Xiaoyou really went to serve the golden baby, how could she still be alive? And this girl, I'm afraid she just mistook herself for a familiar person. I closed my eyes and thought about the recent things indiscriminately. When I felt that the shoes were almost dry, when I opened my eyes again, the girl had disappeared as if she had appeared suddenly. Feeling a little disappointed in my heart, I originally wanted to take her back to show Zhao Yunhan. After all, such a beautiful, delicate and lovely girl can't be seen everywhere.What's more, after contacting her twice, I still can't guess her real age. Hey, Yangmahe, even a random person can be full of mystery, it's really annoying! I walked back to the hotel slowly, had dinner and took a shower, and after I finished sorting out the chores, Zhao Yunhan came back leisurely. As soon as she entered the door, she shouted excitedly: "Aye, I have a big harvest!" I let her into the room and said calmly: "Great, what have you found, tell me and let me comment first." "It's a fake CD." She happily hummed an incomprehensible song, "I sorted out those guys with great difficulty, and searched for a few typical CDs. Get excited!" "Let's see." I said calmly. Zhao Yunhan stared at me very hard: "Aye, are you in a bad mood? What did you find this morning?" "I didn't find anything, I just almost lost my life." I didn't want to talk about this matter, so I quickly changed the subject: "Where's the CD?" "Here!" She cleverly didn't ask, just took out a few CDs from her handbag and handed them to me. After inserting the disc into the NB, we both stared at the screen silently, browsing through all the notes at a high speed. A total of 27 cases of fake jobs were recorded on these CDs, covering the entire thirteen years.There is no time gap in it, and it can be seen that the producer is very intentional. It's just that all the cases of fake jobs are almost the same, similar to what I saw in the Corpse Pavilion a few days ago.It's just not as intense as Zhao Wei's corpse. In a word, these things have good academic value, but for us, they have little reference value. After reading it, Zhao Yunhan was a little disappointed, "Hmph, I thought I found a treasure, but it turned out to be some commonplace things." I fell heavily on the bed, lay comfortably, took the time to sort out the recent events, and asked, "Yunhan, where did you say the two corpses in the corpse pavilion went? They haven't been found yet." !" "Didn't we argue before? I still stick to my point!" She fell asleep next to me and replied softly. "You really think it's a corpse change?" "Isn't it? Or do you have a new idea?" I thought about it for a while, "Could it be someone else stole it? Recently, I always feel that there is something hidden behind all the events. Although I don't know what it is, I can feel it, and this feeling is getting stronger and stronger. Clearly, maybe everything is caused by the golden baby!" Zhao Yunhan turned her head to look at me, and laughed: "Didn't you guess that the so-called golden baby god is an ancient creature left over from before the Ice Age? Don't animals still engage in conspiracies?" "Aren't people also animals?" "Humans have brains, they can think, they can use complex tools. Can other animals do that?" I looked into her eyes, "In the biosphere, some animals could use simple tools as early as tens of millions of years ago. And there is a kind of ant in Africa, which even learned to grow crops in the age of dinosaurs, and can cultivate edible plants by itself." Fungi are hundreds of millions of years earlier than humans, and creatures with a long history, such as golden dolls, may be intelligent creatures." "It's too sci-fi, I really can't accept such avant-garde thinking." Zhao Yunhan shook her head vigorously, "But in another way of thinking, the golden baby is actually a water ghost. It is the resentment gradually gathered by drowned human beings. These resentments have accumulated for thousands of years, and they are getting bigger and bigger. Possesses terrifying powers and a mind of its own. I find this explanation a little easier to understand." I am speechless, I really don't know what to say. The atmosphere became a little awkward, Zhao Yunhan made a haha, and changed the subject tactfully: "By the way, Ah Ye, I also found a photo today, which was taken when two children were having a ghost wedding. It's very interesting , the groom and the bride are only about five years old, and one of them is very similar to you!" "Marriage in the dark?" I read these two words carefully several times, and suddenly became interested, "Where's the photo?" "I just brought it back by chance, here you are." She took out a yellowed black and white photo. I took it and looked at it with interest. After I saw the scene above clearly, my brain suddenly ached. The overall composition of this photo is very depressing. The two children are having their wedding ceremony. The moment left in the photo is the scene of worshiping the ancestors. The place of worship is very familiar. It is actually the corpse pavilion. A fat woman in clothes pressed his head hard, trying to push him to his knees. Although the photo has been damaged so much that I can't see it in many places, but I know who the groom is, it's me, it's me when I was five years old... The memory in the depths of my brain was about to move, and finally overwhelmed me like a decision. I covered my head in pain. I saw Zhao Yunhan screaming, and she hugged me desperately, yelling something constantly. But I can't hear it anymore.My vision blurred, like a TV that had suddenly turned off and lost all signal.