Chapter 11 Chapter Nine: The Weird Laughter in the Old Woods

The snow has melted and the ground has become very muddy. Master Zhang Yao couldn't walk as smoothly as young people, he staggered a few times as soon as he went out, Zhang Ziheng supported him and said, "Master Yao, why don't you go. I'll just take someone with him." Master Zhang Yao said, "I'm not at ease if you only follow Master Tuo." Zhang Ziheng also followed Zhang Yaoye. When passing the Dakong Bazi in front of the ancestral hall, all the old and young in the village gathered together.Seeing Zhang Yaoye and Zhang Ziheng walking over, they all stood up and looked at them helplessly.

A few curious little boys wanted to follow this group of people to the old forest to see strange things, but Master Zhang Yao stopped them. The Zhang Family Ancestral Hall is the best geomantic treasure in Woniu Village.People of a certain age in Woniu Village have heard rumors about the construction of this ancestral hall.After time, these rumors are also half true and false, false and true, and a bit confusing.It is said that Zhang Weibo, who has become a senior Kuomintang officer, came back and lived in the ancestral hall twice, and repaired it twice after staying there. The first time Zhang Weibo returned to Woniu Village was related to Chiang Kai-shek’s resignation in 1927. Zhang Weibo lost power when Chiang Kai-shek stepped down, so he returned to Woniu Village with his concubine and a group of family members.A company of Kuomintang soldiers followed.

At that time, Zhang Weibo only had a few adobe houses in Woniu Village. Because he had gone out to become a warlord, those few adobe houses had been temporarily used by his honest brother.Zhang Weibo brought back so many children at once, and the few adobe houses couldn't fit in.Zhang Weibo set up tents in Woniu Village. For so many years when Zhang Weibo went out to be a warlord, he seldom communicated with his family. He only knew that he was a big name outside, and no one in the village knew exactly how big a big deal he was.Coming back this time, it can be regarded as a homecoming.

The first thing Zhang Weibo did when he returned to Woniu Village was to choose a site to build the ancestral hall.He successively found three well-known local yin and yang Fengshui masters to pick land for him.The three Fengshui masters have all adopted the current Fengshui treasure land. At the beginning, this land was a large mound with eerie green cypresses growing on it, and the Wo Niu Mountain was next to the mound. This mound is not a mound raised for no reason, but an ancient tomb of an emperor. Of course, this was just a legend at the time.Later, someone went to look up the county annals, and confirmed that the legend was not groundless, and it was indeed recorded in the county annals.

Since it is an emperor's tomb, ordinary people generally dare not move their minds about its pulse, because they are afraid that the pulse will be too strong, and ordinary people will not be able to bear their lives.Therefore, even though the people in Woniu Village knew that this was a treasured land with good wind and water, no one had ever touched this land.Buildings and buildings are all located next to this mound.According to the thoughts of the people in the village, it is enough to have a taste of the veins of this treasured land of geomantic omen. But Zhang Weibo is different from ordinary people in Woniu Village. Mr. Feng Shui has chosen this land, and he will build an ancestral hall on this land.The construction of the ancestral hall was a matter of honoring the ancestors of Guangzong, and it also received the acquiescence and support of the family members surnamed Zhang in Woniu Village at that time.

When Zhang Weibo fled to Taiwan with Chiang Kai-shek, he took his brother and sister-in-law with him.The ancestral hall was once empty. There used to be a family surnamed Zhang who picked up a small bargain and moved the whole family into the ancestral hall. However, the whole family didn't end well.Later, there were rumors of ghosts in the ancestral hall. The villagers are very awed by the gods and ghosts, thinking that Zhang Weibo, a warlord, has stirred up the emperor's anger and angered the underground ghosts and gods, so the underground ghosts began to take revenge on the people of Woniu Village, so the people of Woniu Village simply changed the ancestral hall into a ancestral hall. It became an earth temple, in which several clay-bodied Bodhisattvas were enshrined. Anyone in the village had to go to the ancestral hall to worship and commune with the underground gods and ghosts.

After the founding of New China, the "Four Cleanups" movement began to eliminate bandits and hegemony, destroy the four olds, and eliminate feudal superstitions. After one wave after another, the ancestral hall was converted into a warehouse for the production team. The old forest in the back mountain that Zhang Yaoye and Zhang Ziheng mentioned is a creepy place. The forest covers an area of ​​two to three thousand mu between the ancestral hall and Wo Niu Mountain. It is airtight, and the chirping of various strange birds resounds from time to time in the woods, which makes people panic when they hear it.

In the past, there were people who had the guts to go in and steal bamboo to make a basket or something, but after Zhang Zikun had an accident in the woods, few people dared to go into the woods again. Zhang Zikun was frightened crazy when he saw something unclean in the forest.He screamed and ran out of the forest as if possessed by an evil spirit, his clothes and pants were ripped apart by something.When I got home, I fell into hysteria, talking nonsense, and never woke up again. Since then, that old forest has become a forbidden area in Woniu Village... Perhaps it was because Master Tuo was leading the team at the front, and Zhang Ziheng and the seven or eight foolish boys following behind Master Tuo had some confidence in their hearts.Zhang Ziheng and these dumb-headed young boys are already ready to fight the big boa constrictor to the death. Each of them is carrying belongings in their hands, including machetes and guillotines. Brother Xi even took out the bird guns hidden at home...

A group of people followed Master Tuo and walked crookedly on the narrow and slippery field road. The surrounding snow has almost melted, and the black and yellow color of the land is mottled, making the winter scene even more depressed.And small snowflakes began to float in the sky again, it is estimated that there will be another heavy snow at night. When he was approaching Laolinzi, Master Zhang Yao was also surprised and amazed by the scene in front of him. The surrounding snow has melted thinly, but the snow in this old forest has no trace of melting. The thick white snow covers the old forest, as if covering the old forest with a tight bed. cotton.

Zhang Ziheng also felt strange, and said, "Why hasn't the snow in this old forest melted at all? It's hell!" Brother Xi, who was carrying a blunderbuss, followed closely behind Zhang Ziheng's buttocks, and said, "Fourth Dad, don't mention ghosts or anything, I'm afraid." Zhang Ziheng said angrily: "I'm afraid you will go back!" Master Tuo, who was walking in front, seemed to be able to smell the smell of a giant python, his nose kept sniffing in the chilly air, and walked straight towards the old forest. Zhang Yaoye's legs and feet were very clumsy, and he followed behind, staggering and panting.

Zhang Ziheng asked a stunned boy behind Brother Xi: "Gui Cai, where did you see the mark of snake blood?" Guicai said, "It's on the east side. The snow has melted now, so I can't see it." While speaking, Master Tuo really walked eastward. Zhang Ziheng said: "This man is amazing, his nose is sharper than a dog's nose!" Brother Xi whispered, "I suspect that he is not human at all." After hearing Brother Xi's words, Zhang Ziheng couldn't help but look at Master Tuo's short back. When approaching Lao Linzi, everyone's mood shrank involuntarily.Master Tuo also slowed down his pace, looking very cautious. The old forest wrapped in white snow is extremely quiet, and even the sound of snowflakes hitting the forest can be heard very clearly... Just when everyone held their breath and was about to follow Master Tuo to grope into the old forest, suddenly, there was a burst of weird laughter from the forest. The laughter was sharp and piercing, coming from the silent woods, as if there were ghosts laughing at them from a hidden corner of the woods. Hearing such a weird laughter at this juncture immediately shocked everyone.Brother Xi, who was following Zhang Ziheng, was already teething. When he heard the creepy laughter, there was a muffled buzzing in his head. It felt like the whole world was spinning, and he exclaimed: "There is something wrong!" Ghost!" Turning around and running. The other stupid boys ran after Brother Xi like a conditioned reflex. Zhang Ziheng also planned to run away, but the laughter only stopped after a giggle.He finally stabilized his mind, but his eyes were open like copper bells. Master Tuo walked forward as if nothing had happened.Master Tuo is deaf, he cannot hear laughter. Brother Xi and those dumb boys ran for at least fifty meters before stopping. They stood there panting heavily, with weird expressions on their frightened faces. Zhang Yaoye, who was left behind, didn't understand what happened, so he yelled at Brother Chaoxi and the others: "What happened?" Brother Xi said loudly while bending over and panting: "There is a ghost in the woods! Laughing!" Master Zhang Yao said angrily: "It's broad daylight, where did the hell come from? A few useless things! I was scared to death before I went in." He quickened his pace. Brother Xi yelled at Master Zhang Yao: "Master Yao, there really is a ghost, don't go in." Zhang Yaoye ignored Brother Xi, and still walked towards Linzi... Master Tuo walked to the edge of the woods, stopped, and looked more cautious, he seemed to sense something hiding in the woods. Zhang Ziheng's heart immediately hung in his throat, and he planned to run away. On the bushes not covered by snow in a ridge beside the forest, there were indeed traces of a few blood samples. Master Tuo bent down, picked a thorn with dark red blood, and licked it with the tip of his tongue... What Zhang Ziheng cared about now was not the blood dripping on the thorns, but the weird laughter in the forest.He hid behind Master Tuo, with his eyes wide open, he tried his best to look into the forest.But it was so dark in the woods that I couldn't see anything. Zhang Yaoye walked up and said, "Ziheng, did you find anything?" Zhang Ziheng ignored Mr. Zhang Yao, his ears seemed to stretch out his claws, and he went deep into the woods. The woods were extremely silent, only the rustling of snowflakes hitting the woods. Seeing that Master Tuo and Zhang Ziheng hadn't withdrawn from the edge of the forest, Brother Xi and the few foolish boys plucked up their courage and walked over, each holding the belongings tightly in their hands, looking nervous and excited. Zhang Yaoye finally walked behind Zhang Ziheng out of breath, and said, "Did Master Tuo find something?" "There seems to be someone hiding in the woods!" "Nonsense! Who is hiding there in broad daylight? Scary?" "Really, just now I was hiding inside and laughing, making ghostly noises, which scared Brother Xi and the others away." Master Zhang Yao believed Zhang Ziheng's words and said, "Oh! Someone is really hiding inside. Who is still playing tricks here at this moment? Isn't this courting death?" As soon as the words fell, weird laughter came from a hidden corner in the woods. The laughter startled Zhang Yaoye and Zhang Ziheng. Zhang Ziheng was about to run away, but Zhang Yaoye grabbed him and shouted into the woods: "Which bastard is in there? Come out for me!" With Zhang Yaoye's shout, he finally stabilized his position.Zhang Ziheng's face turned pale, and he stared at Lin Zi without blinking. Brother Xi and those foolish boys also became more courageous, gathered around Mr. Zhang Yao, and shouted into the forest with a trembling voice: "Who's a jerk? Come out! Come out!" Brother Xi also shouted: "Come out, if you don't come out again, I'll give you a fucking shotgun." As he spoke, he pointed the bird gun at the forest. Although Master Tuo was deaf, he also sensed the movement in the forest. When he turned his head, the eyes in his big and small eyes were hard and cold. Zhang Ziheng couldn't help but trembled all over, and said in his heart: "Why is Gou Ri's eyes so evil? No wonder even pythons are afraid of him." Master Tuo stood where he was, slowly bent down, and picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground... There was no sound in the woods. This silence is the most tormenting.A group of people stood just outside the forest, not daring to go in, nor did they want to retreat, they all stared at the forest intently. Suddenly, there was a slight sound in the woods, the sound of dead branches being trampled. Everyone's hearts trembled again with this soft sound. Master Tuo had the intention of throwing the stone in his hand. Zhang Yaoye went up and pulled Master Tuo's hand that was holding the stone, and signaled Master Tuo not to throw it, but to look at it before talking. Master Tuo understood Zhang Yaoye's gesture, and he tiptoed to hide behind a thick thorn bush, peeping into the forest. But Zhang Ziheng and Brother Xi froze there, each trembling... There was another soft noise in the woods, this furtive sound seemed to pull the air into twitches. Zhang Ziheng whispered: "Is it really a snake demon? Can you laugh like a human?" What Zhang Ziheng said at this time was undoubtedly adding coagulant to the tense air. Brother Xi's face became distorted because of the tension, and he was about to cry. Master Tuo, who was hiding behind the thorn bushes, raised the stone in his hand again. There was another sound of dead branches being trampled, and then another... The people outside the forest were so nervous that they were going crazy. Finally, a dirty and strange face flashed out of the woods. Seeing this face, Zhang Ziheng's nose was twisted in anger, and he rushed towards it like crazy. According to that face, there were several big mouths. "I hate your ancestors! It turned out that you were the bastard who made troubles inside! I was scared out of my soul by your bastard!" Zhang Ziheng said while slapping the man on the mouth. It turned out that the lunatic Zhang Zikun was hiding in the woods laughing. After the terror was lifted, Brother Xi and the other boys let out a long sigh, and sat down on the ground with limp hands and feet. While dodging Zhang Ziheng's attack, Zhang Zikun yelled loudly: "The captain killed someone, the captain killed someone!" Master Zhang Yao was also so angry that he blew his beard and stared, and said loudly, "Shoot me! Beat that bastard to death! At this time, you are still pretending to be a ghost and hiding in the woods to scare people!" Zhang Ziheng beat more and more vigorously, he simply hugged Zhang Zikun and fell to the ground with all his might.Zhang Zikun burst into tears with a whoosh. Master Zhang Yao was afraid that Zhang Ziheng would lose his mind and really beat Zhang Zikun up, so he went up to stop him. Zhang Ziheng stopped his hand, the remaining anger was still there, his face was livid, and he was out of breath... Mr. Zhang seemed to think of something at this time, and said: "This dog, when you mention Lao Linzi, it's as if you heard a ghost wanting to eat him. Why is he hiding here alone today to scare people?" Zhang Yaoye's words reminded Zhang Ziheng, and he was also puzzled...