Chapter 6 Chapter Five: The Blue-faced Fox in the Coffin

At this moment, Western Hubei is in the rainy season. It may be because of a light rain not long ago. The humid air is mixed with a strong earthy smell. On a crooked-necked tree not far away, the piercing cry of the night owl pierced the air, resounding "croaking" through the silent night sky, which seemed to indicate something bad.I raised my head and looked forward. It was a sparse pine forest. Under the cover of the dark moonlight, a corner of the eaves was exposed from the cover of the branches.A gust of wind blew past, and there was the faint sound of crisp bells. Hearing the cry of the night owl, Xiaomei who was beside me couldn't help shaking. After experiencing all kinds of weirdness before, this little girl probably remembered the "white-faced aunt" with a pale woman's face.

"This should be Yizhuang." I didn't pay attention to the movement of Meizi beside me, my eyes were fixed, and I walked over slowly. Deep in the small pine forest is a clearing.On the open space, a huge, somewhat gloomy and old blue brick building is located on it, not too far away from us. After another 100 meters, everyone arrived in front of Yizhuang. Under the cover of darkness, the moonlight seemed to become even dimmer. A somewhat quaint manor is completely displayed in front of our eyes. Perhaps because no one has maintained it for a long time, the feet of the green bricks are covered with moss, the surrounding weeds are overgrown, and the hidden gate faintly reveals light.

The construction of Yizhuang is very simple, basically following the style of ordinary courtyard houses, and you can see it clearly from the outside. I saw the plaque hanging crookedly on the main entrance, covered with dusty cobwebs, and the handwriting was so blurred that I couldn't see it clearly.In addition to the plaque, a pair of couplets written in gold lacquer on the two mottled vermilion lacquer wooden pillars on both sides of the main entrance can still be discerned faintly, "How can ghosts and ghosts not return to their homeland? Qin and pipa, how can dreams be broken Yinshan."

There is no signature, but between the lines reveals a kind of loneliness and resentment of dying in a foreign land. The third fat man said: "This is saving coffins? There's nothing surprising about it. It's in vain that I have worked so hard to come here. What a loss, what a loss." Stone. Zan coffin is another name of Yizhuang, which simply means "temporary residence for the dead".Western Hubei is located in a remote place. Since ancient times, there have been commerce and trade exchanges, and there are many businessmen and tourists who have entered the mountains and died in foreign lands.Due to the different burial formats of Yi and Han Fengshui, these people naturally do not want to bury their bones in a foreign land and end up as lonely ghosts.However, the mountain road is rugged, and it is very difficult to move the corpse out, so it gradually formed the current Yizhuang, which is called "Saan coffin".Every six months or so, there will be people who transport corpses, such as corpse hunters, to make a living, and gradually form an inherent culture in the mountainous area of ​​Western Hubei.

However, such a simple building in front of him made the three fat people who were full of hope see it, and they were really disappointed.According to this kid's original thinking, he thought that Yizhuang should be like a Buddhist meeting hosted by a temple monk hosted by a dead family when he was a child, with a high platform, with spells written on yellow paper everywhere, and a Taoist priest holding a mahogany sword to pose Danced around, the contrast with the scene in front of me was too great. I don't have time to talk to this kid, I don't know why, the closer I get to this ordinary courtyard-like building, my heart suddenly lifts up.It seems that under the simple and quiet appearance of this Yizhuang, there are still some shocking things hidden.

"Crack" a harsh friction sound. Shuanzi opened the gate of Yizhuang first. It was not the first time he came here, and everything seemed to go with the flow, so we leaned into the gate of Yizhuang together with him. As soon as I entered the door, there was an unpleasant smell of damp and decay.The aisles on the left and right sides were covered with a thick layer of dust, and the wooden handrail behind the door had already begun to decay by moths. I frowned and squinted my eyes: "It hasn't been repaired for at least ten years, right?" "Cough cough." Maybe he was choked by the dust entering the room, the fat man coughed twice and said:

"It's right that there is no one to repair it. It's so dark here, if you are a little bit timid, you really wouldn't dare to come here." Xiaomei was always behind me: "You two should keep your voice down, this is Yizhuang, don't disturb the lame old man." After she finished speaking, she closed her mouth and walked towards the door with one foot deep and one foot shallow. I said to Shuanzi in front of me: "Usually at this time, is the old man who guards Yizhuang still in this yard? There doesn't seem to be anyone in here. Is it okay for us to rush in so rashly?" ?”

Shuan Zi waved his hand, indicating that there is no problem, let us move on. The third fat man, Chen Jianguo, just continued to walk in front, muttering while walking, although he couldn't hear clearly, he also knew that this kid must have nothing good to say. I didn't pay much attention to the reactions of other people. As soon as I entered the lobby, my eyes were attracted by the furnishings inside. Everything was so quiet, the air strangely dull.A few kerosene lamps were burning silently, crackling loudly, making this dead old house a little more alive.The dim light shone on the ground and on the tables, chairs and benches, forming circles of faint ripples.

With the slight firelight from the kerosene lamp, the situation in the whole lobby can be seen clearly. The grand master's chair, the long pear wood table, the high coffee table, the incense hall, and the shrine all look so simple and clear. Although the surface of the tables and chairs is irresistibly covered with traces of time, the smooth as new surface still tells people that someone is always taking care of it! A gust of cold wind blew outside the house, blowing through the half-open door of the main hall, making a "creaking" sound, which seemed to be some kind of sigh and groan, heralding an ominous message.

I stood in the spacious lobby and looked at everything around me.The dim kerosene lamp seemed to flicker through the dull air.This time, I finally saw the structure of the whole house more clearly. On the altar table on the front wall of the room, the sacrificial incense in the incense burner exudes light smoke. Against the background of the dim kerosene lamp, my eyes carefully scanned everything in front of me. Suddenly, for no reason, my eyelids twitched, and on the shrine, I suddenly found a very special thing, and quickly said to Chen Jianguo who was sitting next to him on the grand teacher's chair: "Third fat man, look at the things placed in the middle of the shrine." Does that thing look familiar?"

Chen Jianguo muttered and stood up from the grand teacher's chair, and walked to the shrine in three steps at a time. He glanced carefully, and then his eyes widened. "Why, it's this thing." He shouted. It was a porcelain figure with a very strange shape, squatting like an old man, wearing a large wrapping robe.Although it looks a bit old, it is far from being an antique, and the workmanship is also mediocre. It should be an old object fired in a clay kiln. I don't know why it is enshrined here. The most conspicuous part of the whole porcelain figure is the face, which is really scary.It can still be seen vaguely that it is a human face, but it has reached a point of deformity.He was black and blue, without beard, eyebrows, or hair. His entire face was in the shape of an extremely sharp awl, and his eyes were narrow, occupying half of his face, almost narrowed into a line.No matter how you look at it, it looks like a fox that is grinning grinningly, and its face looks full of monsters, which is a bit creepy. It turned out to be a blue-faced fox. The three fat man Chen Jianguo immediately knew the reason why I asked him to come and see, he turned his head and yelled at me: "Fuck, this is the kind of thing that is offered in the four boards' house, Hu Daxian 'Third Master Hu'." In western Hubei, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other regions, there are places where Chinese culture gathers together. The water and soil are deep and deep, and there are countless good things buried in the ground.Some places are so-called state burial areas, where large tombs are piled on top of each other under the soil, and the cultural layers can be separated by several layers.Since the Han Dynasty, many people have been tempted by the huge wealth buried in the land, and have made a living by digging graves, and they have formed a set of rules in the industry.Since the Republic of China, a large number of antiques have been lost to the people, and this kind of thing has been repeatedly prohibited. Among them, the so-called "four boards" refers to the coffin in the folk, which is square and made of four wooden boards.And in some places in western Hubei, it refers specifically to activities such as carrying corpses and turning the cellar (yin), which can be regarded as an early school in the livelihood of Tufuzi. Such a blue-faced fox was basically enshrined in the homes of every craftsman engaged in the "four boards" business in the early years.The folk worship of foxes existed as early as the pre-Qin period, and it also originated from the idea of ​​animism. It is known as "a thousand years of black, ten thousand years of white".A round hole will be dug at the connection between the bottom and the wall of all the shrines dedicated to the green-faced fox, and a small path will be dug on the side of the wall for the purpose of making it easier for Hu Daxian to enter and exit when enjoying the food offerings. Every time before turning over the cellar, the craftsmen of the "four boards" business will burn a stick of incense, offer tribute, and kowtow to Mr. Hu a few times, and then ask for a lottery and divination. The most important thing is to sign on it, which means that the trip is smooth and there is no danger.And if it is a lottery, it is absolutely impossible to go out at night. This is an ominous trip and a harbinger of catastrophe.It is said that it has been tried and tested repeatedly, especially among the folks in Shanxi, Shanxi, Hunan, Hubei and other places.Up to now, no one does the business of "carrying corpses and digging cellars", but occasionally you can see statues of Hu Sanye on the market. Fatty Three and I lived near Liulichang when we were young, so we are used to seeing these statues. so it's instantly recognizable. Seeing Hu Daxian enshrined on the shrine, he immediately felt a sudden rush in his heart: "The gatekeeper of this Yizhuang, that old cripple Wang was probably not a craftsman who specialized in these grave-digging activities in the early years, at least he should have a relationship with this kind of person." Making a living has something to do with it, otherwise how could we enshrine such evil things in Yizhuang." At this time, Xiaomei and Shuanzi also looked over when they heard the cry of the third fat man. I gave Chen Jianguo a wink and asked him to pretend that nothing happened. This kid really understood what I meant, but he was also shocked enough by the blue-faced fox, he hurriedly backed away from the shrine, came to my side, and said in surprise: "This Yizhuang is really weird, it actually enshrines this Plant something." I looked at the environment around the lobby. Some of the walls had been peeled off. On the wall behind the altar, I could barely make out the four characters "Returning to the Soul without Art", so I smiled and said, "The location of this Yizhuang is secluded. There are many strange things happening on the mountain, and the owner of Yizhuang enshrined this Immortal Hu probably for the sake of Feng Shui and suppressing evil spirits, so it's not a big deal." The third fat man curled his lips, knowing that I wasn't telling the truth: "Hey, anyway, I don't think this place is quite right. I don't know if the Feng Shui is enshrined by Hu Daxian or not, um... just this fox face. It’s true that it can scare people to death.” I said, "Don't talk nonsense in a place like Yizhuang, it's more particular than old cemeteries and the like, and be careful that the elders and aunts in the coffin in Yizhuang will crawl out and pick off your fat. " Before the fat man could reply, Xiaomei said timidly, "Brother Erba, don't speak so scaryly. Why do I suddenly feel that this place is eerie." I nodded and said: "It's okay, I have experienced so many things before, maybe it is your psychological effect. But, where is the old man who guards Yizhuang?" Chen Jianguo chimed in and said, "Hey, Fatty, I said why I always feel that something is wrong. Now that Second Eighth Lord reminded me, yes, why have I been here for so long without a single person? Besides, the kerosene lamp in this room It's still on, so where can the old man with one leg go? Even if he is in a hurry, he should go outside to solve his personal problems, and he should come back now." Shuanzi said: "Maybe it's inside. This Yizhuang is very big, and there are often things to clean up inside. The old man may have gone inside, let's go in and look for it." After listening to Shuanzi's analysis, Chen Jianguo, the third fat man, and I looked at each other. Now that we can't find Mr. Wang's cripple, we can only go into the inner hall to have a look. It's just that I always feel that there is something wrong in my heart. It seems that somewhere in this Yizhuang, there are two eyes staring at us. But the only thing that makes people feel strange is that all the windows in the whole house have been sealed with bricks. Except for the main entrance and the entrance to the corridor leading to the rear, there is no door in the whole Yizhuang. The windows turned out to be all decorations. A few people couldn't help being very surprised, thinking that this Yizhuang is too strange.From the outside, there is nothing special about it, so why are there so many weird places inside. We walked to the entrance of the corridor in the lobby, and found that it was a straight passage, surrounded by darkness, and we didn't know where it led. Everyone stopped involuntarily, discussed for a while, and I took the lead, groping into it with a lantern. "His grandma, why is this place so weird. Fatty, I bet, if someone suddenly popped out at this time, we would really be scared to death." Chen Jianguo's voice sounded. Ignoring the fat man, I stretched out my hand to support the cold brick wall and continued to move forward. In the depths of this cold and quiet corridor of Yizhuang, the four of us are like explorers full of curiosity about the unknown, gradually approaching the unpredictable truth! Perhaps it was because of the lack of sunshine all year round, the corridor looked a little cold and damp, and the dull air permeated the surroundings, making the silence suffocating.Apart from the third fat man Chen Jianguo, I could even hear Xiaomei breathing heavily next to me. But the more you are in this environment, the more unreasonably dull the atmosphere will be.Soon, the three fat men stopped talking, and the entire corridor fell into a deathly silence. Everyone moved forward quietly, only the kerosene lantern in their hands occasionally made a slight "crackling" sound. What's even more weird is that the rooms on both sides of the corridor have been bricked to death without exception. A corridor facing the wall is very long, and the end is also sealed by a brick wall. At the end, the only choice is Turn left along the wall into the alley.But why is there such a strange arrangement?Could it be that there are some ulterior things in the rooms on both sides of the corridor?Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why these rooms are blocked with bricks. Although the third fat man and I are usually considered bold and reckless, but at this moment, facing such a weird scene, we can't help but feel a little nervous.Xiaomei followed me all the time, her face turned pale from fright.As for Shuanzi, although he has been to Qinglong Mountain once or twice, he followed the village chief's ass each time and never went deep into the Yizhuang. beat the drums. We stood near the wall in the deep corridor of Yizhuang, and it was even more strange that several rooms we passed were sealed by brick walls.We could faintly see the end ahead, so we decided to go deeper and look for it. At this time, everyone was faintly vigilant, and I passed a side door sealed with bricks, and I suddenly stopped in my tracks and turned my head at the same time. Because just now, I seemed to hear a very slight sinister laugh from something in the dark shadow behind me. But when I turned around, the voice suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if it had never appeared before. I couldn't help frowning, the three people next to me were taken aback by my sudden movement, and the three fat guys said: "Hey, I said Er Ba Ye, what's the matter with you? I was shocked by surprise. Fatty jumped." Xiaomei and Shuanzi on the side also looked at me suspiciously, wondering why I suddenly went crazy. After a long while, Shuanzi asked me tentatively, "What's wrong, Er Ba Ge? Do you feel uncomfortable?" I shook my head, sighed, and said, "It's nothing. Maybe I heard wrong." Only then did everyone relax their tense nerves, and the third fat man, Chen Jianguo, pretended to cough dryly twice; "Hey, Er Ba Ye, you are also a ruthless character who grew up in our army compound after all, why did you get so angry when you got here?" I'm timid. Don't worry, everything is not bad for you, isn't there still me, Fatty? If something happens, Fatty, I will bear it." I rolled his eyes at him, and ignored the brat's braggadocio, but the mysterious slight sinister laughter just now made me feel more and more uneasy. This place is really evil. Coming here, we basically have a little understanding of the layout of the entire Yizhuang.The four sides are square and airtight, a corridor leads to the last alley, and the roof is completely sealed, like a huge cement coffin, no light can penetrate in. At the end of the corridor, there is a huge brick wall. We walked along the corner and walked into a large alley. As soon as he entered the alley, there was a damp and moldy smell that had accumulated for a long time straight into his nostrils, and the surroundings looked extremely damp and cold. "Ah. What's that?" Before we could see the surrounding situation clearly, Xiaomei suddenly screamed, her voice was extremely frightened, her face was pale, her eyes were wide open, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying. Everyone was shocked, I had already raised the kerosene lamp in my hand and leaned forward. With just one glance and a series of exclamations, everyone felt their scalps were about to explode. At the very front of the alley, near the wall, countless pale human faces loomed in the darkness, standing there upright.Against the background of the dim yellow halo of the kerosene lamp, it seems that there is a layer of evil spirit that cannot be erased.