Chapter 12 Chapter 11 The only way to save lives is to look for the snake slough that the snake god has shed

After this incident has passed for a long time, it still appears in my mind from time to time. In the following years, I have explained to some insightful friends more than once what I saw at the beginning, and got different versions. inference.The most common theory is that I was hallucinating due to extreme tension, and most people are skeptical about my bizarre experience, but some people's opinions have attracted my attention. One of them has a particularly unique statement. He was an old friend of my father when he was in the cowshed during the Cultural Revolution. I have met him a few times.He once wrote me a letter, in which he said that the origin of the iron coffin, also known as "chrysalis", was unearthed in several estuaries on the edge of the Yangtze River. pay attention to. In 1974, a tributary of the Han River in Shaanxi Province dried up. Someone also found such an iron coffin on the river bed, but it was much larger than the one I saw, and it was erected in the mud. It was rusty.Later, for some reason, the river surged up suddenly, and the iron coffin was submerged again overnight, and no one could find it again after that.

Until now, there is no historical data that can explain the purpose of these iron coffins. However, from some collected local unofficial histories and folk geography biographies, it is only mentioned that this iron coffin seems to be related to Hunan, Hubei, and Chongqing. It is related to some mysterious "corpse raising" activities of ethnic minorities in Guizhou, Guizhou and Guangxi. How does "raising corpses" raise zombies?According to traditional folk burial theory, it is believed that "corpse raising land" is the most terrifying, dangerous and taboo cemetery in funeral feng shui.What is emphasized is the "acupoint air" of the dragon vein, in short, the earth air of the burial cave, and the covered corpses are all covered with bird feathers and dragon scales.After the body is mistakenly buried in a "corpse raising place", not only will human muscles and internal organs not rot, but hair, teeth, nails, etc. will continue to grow.

I think this statement is very bizarre, but it is still difficult to explain why the "chrysalis" on the banks of the Yangtze River are sealed in iron coffins.There is no record of this kind of weird thing in other parts of China. The "iron coffin" is so tightly sealed that it seems to prevent something from getting out.Moreover, I did see another "person" who looked like Old Wang's cripple crawled out of the iron coffin in the catacomb of Zan'coffin. It is really inexplicable to encounter such a thing. Later that person sent me another letter, which told a story he saw when he was young when he was restoring a fragment of a diary in the early Ming Dynasty.It is said that in the twelfth year of Hongwu, there was a flood at the confluence of the Yangtze River and Chishui River in Hejiang County, Sichuan Province. After the flood, a three-foot-long iron coffin was washed to the bank.

After the local people opened the iron coffin, they found a big white snake lying inside, holding a golden casket in its mouth. They thought it was auspicious, so they sent it to the imperial city overnight.That night, Ming Taizu urgently summoned Prime Minister Hu Weiyong, Han Gong Li Shanchang and others into the palace. No one knows what happened during that time. The following year, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang punished Hu Weiyong, then Prime Minister of the nine clans, for the crime of "conspiring against others".Ten years later, Zhu Yuanzhang executed a large number of founding heroes including Li Shanchang, Duke of Korea, and Lu Zhongheng, Liehou, for the crime of conspiring with Hu Weiyong.Later, Hu Weiyong was used to communicate with the Japanese and the Yuan Dynasty, and investigated his party members. A total of more than 30,000 people were killed before and after. This is the famous "Hu Party Prison" in history.

I was terrified by this story. I wondered if one of the four famous cases in the early Ming Dynasty, "Hu Party's Prison", was related to the "iron coffin" that was washed out of the Chishui River.Looking at the situation, those who participated in the excavation and transport of the iron coffin and those who saw the gold box were all sent to the guillotine.What is in the "White Snake Golden Box" that can make an emperor like Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang not hesitate to turmoil in the court, which lasted for ten years and killed 30,000 people to keep this secret?Will there be the ultimate mystery of the iron coffin of the Yangtze River hidden in it?

This story has completely aroused my curiosity. I once wrote a letter to my father's friend. Who knew that person was just a light sentence. I am afraid that only those who have seen the golden box know the secret. I am also speechless, knowing that there is no hope in this life.It has been six to seven hundred years since the Ming Dynasty. Those who participated in the Golden Casket Incident may have been exterminated by Zhu Yuanzhang long ago, and there will be no records in the official history. Wanting to understand the secrets is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack . There are also some messages that I found by accident when sorting out the general information, but the content is really weird.Although the burial time, place, size and scale of the iron coffins in the Yangtze River are not the same, they all have one thing in common.That is, most of the areas are located in the gathering places of ethnic minorities such as Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Guizhou, and Guangxi, and spread along the Yangtze River to the hinterland of the Central Plains.

As early as 2500 BC, the first to use copper and iron smelting technology in the world was the branch of Chiyou who occupied Hebei at that time and greatly developed the mysterious culture of witchcraft and sacrifice. Then began the age of war.The Chiyou tribe fought against the Huangdi tribe of the Central Plains farming and animal husbandry. Chiyou was defeated and killed, and part of the tribe was merged into the Yanhuang tribe.The other part spread to Changsha, and then to Guangxi, Yunnan, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, becoming the ancestors of the Miao, Yao, and Qiang peoples.

In the early 1970s, there were droughts and floods in some places in the Yangtze River Basin. A river engineer dug a huge hollow pipe at the mouth of the river, with a diameter of five or six meters, and it became thicker and deeper as it went down. There is no echo when you throw a stone into it, and the depth is bottomless, and you don't know where it leads.The river workers all thought it was a passage leading to the Underworld and the Netherland, and none of them dared to continue digging. When the experts arrived the next day after hearing the news, the river channel surged like a tide overnight for some reason, as if it had suddenly flowed from the river. Like a lot of water coming out of the ground.

Later, someone did metal detection and found that there was a huge metal "column"-like object underground in the riverbed of the Yangtze River, the exact length of which was difficult to detect.Just according to the theory, it is impossible to achieve such a large-scale project with the smelting technology at that time, which can be called a miracle. Although this incident was later suppressed by relevant parties due to the need for social stability, there are still sporadic records in some files. Of course, these are just stories.At this time, Mr. Wang Lame had already led us to the lobby from the back, and he asked me and Fatty Three to sit down on the stools in the lobby. Xiaomei and Shuanzi, who had been unconscious all this time, were also placed aside.

Elder Wang lamely looked indifferent, walked to the shrine where the blue-faced fox was enshrined with great respect, lit the sacrificial incense and raised it above his head, bowed his head slightly and bowed.After three consecutive obeisances, he put the sacrificial incense in the incense burner on the altar, raised his head suddenly, and said inexplicably: "Everyone, please use it slowly. I have overreached earlier, please forgive me. Please forgive me." It's convenient, I hope everything will settle down." With the dim light of the kerosene lamp, the situation in the whole room can be clearly seen.

The slight fire light from the sacrificial incense on the altar, and wisps of light smoke enveloped the face of the blue-faced fox statue, which looked a little sinister and psychedelic, very strange. The series of behaviors of the lame Wang in the room fell into the eyes of me and the third fat man, especially the third fat man, whose eyes were almost stunned and his mouth was opened wide.I couldn't help frowning, a little doubtful, this old cripple is really weird, and I have always kept a respectful distance from these ghosts and gods. acknowledge its existence. The old cripple obviously also guessed our expressions, just smiled, and then resumed his silence.Turning around and entering the inner hall, I put down a roll of bamboo mat hanging at the door, just blocking our sight.The old man took out a blue and white teacup from the house, turned around and scooped up a bowl of cold water from the water tank, and poured some powdery things into it.At the same time, I took out a piece of yellow talisman paper from my sleeve, lit it on the sacrificial incense, lightly flicked it into the tea bowl in mid-air, and asked me to mix the yellow talisman water in the tea bowl for the unconscious Xiaomei to drink. After hearing what he said, everyone was stunned. I doubted the effect of this bowl of talisman water, but a dead horse is a living horse doctor. I thought that this paper ash would be harmless even if it was eaten!Moreover, he had seen the old cripple's many tricks just now, so he quickly gave Xiaomei a drink.After a long while, Xiaomei, who had been unconscious all this time, spat out a mouthful of black blood. Sure enough, the black blood was also mixed with a "scale" that was about as thick as a strand of hair, covered with thin scales like a small golden snake.When the scales were just spit out, they were still wriggling on the paralyzed blood on the ground, and they were crushed into a meat paste by the thumb of the three fat men who had prepared a long time ago. Looking at Xiaomei again, the blackness between her brows has indeed subsided a lot quickly, and some blood color has gradually returned to her face. Fatty Three and I both breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Xiaomei is not in danger for the time being.Afterwards, under the guidance of Mr. Wang Lame, the third fat man gave Shuanzi some of the remaining talisman water to relieve his symptoms temporarily. The third fat man wiped his sweat, and asked, "Master Lame, I love you for having this miraculous medical skills. It seems that Shuanzi and Xiaomei's life is finally saved." Old Lame Wang ignored him, just kept gloomy.After a quarter of an hour, he shook his head again and again and said, "This 'golden chrysalis' is too sinister and vicious. Although Shuan Zi and the 'Li Li' in Xiaomei's body were forced out, they have already been poisoned by snake venom. Looking at the situation, Although you can still hang your life by force-feeding some rice soup medicine, it is only a temporary solution, not a permanent cure. It will be good if it can be delayed for more than ten days. Unless you can find the 'Dragon Clothes' of the 'Old Mountain Gulong' to continue your life, maybe It is also possible to bring these two little lives back from the gate of hell." I know that the Laoshan ancient dragon mentioned by Wang Laozi actually refers to the old python that has lived for a hundred years. "Fu Xi Kao" said, "A dragon is a big snake, and a snake is a small dragon."It is difficult to guess how long a snake can live in nature, but even a giant python can survive for forty or fifty years in the wild. And the old python that can live for a hundred years must have eaten something amazing in the mountains and rivers and became a spirit.The snake slough it sheds is also called "Dragon Clothes". All poisons can be cured. It is hard to find in the world and is a priceless treasure. The biggest snake I have ever seen in my life is the Yin dragon I saw in the vermilion coffin in the coffin, but it is at most a 20-year-old python, and a rare thing like the old mountain ancient dragon It's not even close.Like that kind of snake god, if there is no special opportunity, there may be no trace of clues if you want to find it.I sighed in my heart, could it be that the lives of Shuanzi and Xiaomei can only be watched as they die? The third fat man and I also knew that we should bear great responsibility for Xiaomei and Shuanzi's life and death, and our anxiety was beyond words, so we begged Wang Laozi to think about what else to do. Our two brothers will definitely go through fire and water. no excuses. The old cripple also looked puzzled. After thinking for a while, he suddenly seemed to think of something, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he said to us in a low voice: "It is said that the snake god who has achieved success in cultivation can divide vegetation and fix it. Snake path. Wherever it crawls, the wormwood shrubs on the ground will automatically dump to both sides, parting a snake path. This kind of evil is very evil, and it takes a huge price to find it, and it is hard to find in the world... But I remember that there is a dragon cave three hundred miles away from here. It was a forbidden place for the Wu clan of the Cuban tribe who immigrated to the Yangtze River Basin during the Western Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains. As for the cannibalism, the local tyrants stationed on the Gunlong Dam were eaten by a lot of people, and even the rotten guns couldn't break the scales. This world is full of evil spirits, and the more troubles are getting more and more fierce. A few days ago, the rolling There was also a strange incident of "walking Jiao" in Longba, which made the city full of wind and rain. If you can enter the Dragon Cave under the Gunlong Dam to explore, you may have a chance to find the snake god enshrined by the ancient Wu clan. The dragon clothes faded away..." Seeing the way his eyes are shining, I always feel that something is wrong. This old guy usually guards Yizhuang on Qinglong Mountain. When did he know the things down the mountain so clearly?We worked as educated youths at the ancient ferry of the Yangtze River, so we also knew something about "there is a big dragon hidden in a certain cave under the Gunlong Dam". Maybe there we can find the "dragon clothes" that kept Shuanzi and Xiaomei alive. But now that so much time has passed, I don't know if there is still that thing in the Dragon Cave.But right now, saving people is the most important thing, so I had no choice but to look for this clue, so I hurriedly asked him: "Why, lame man, are you always planning to go out to explore the Dragon Cave under the Gunlong Dam?" He glanced at me and nodded: "That's right, I watched Shuanzi and Xiaomei grow up since they were young, and now that something like this happened and their lives were in danger, it would really be unreasonable for the old man to stand by! For the sake of these two juniors, it is possible to break into the dragon's lake and the tiger's den." "Then why are you so sure? Maybe there's nothing in it." "It depends on what God wants." He pointed to the blue-faced fox face on the altar table, and said, "This is a token left by the ancestors of our profession. The ancestors of the ancient ferry once entered In that forbidden place, a series of strange things happened during the period. He saw a group of "people" with strange origins wearing sacrificial masks in the Dragon Cave. According to the information he left behind, the name of Gunlongba is not without reason. Based on the evidence, perhaps there really are dragons living in the Yangtze River.” My heart suddenly moved, and I blurted out: "Could it be that huge ebony lair?" Old Lame Wang's eyes widened suddenly, as if he was surprised at how I knew these things. Suddenly, he seemed to think of something, and gave me a deep look.His lips parted slightly, wanting to say something.At this moment, the three fat men interjected and smiled at the lame old man Wang: "I don't understand what you are talking about, the big dragon and the lair. You have to bring me and Er Ba. If you can get two dragon skins out, the days to come will be worth a lot of money. This time, you have to bring us in to see what you say." Dare to love this The third fat man is now thinking about the dragon clothes that Mr. Wang said just now. "No. It's not as simple as you imagine to enter the Dragon Cave. If you don't do it well, you may die on the spot at any time. Moreover, the place Gunlongba is ominous, and strange things will happen every ten years. In the Dragon Cave under the dam There are even more institutions, and the ancient Wu clan is good at exorcising ghosts and warding off evil spirits. Mysterious ancient techniques are hard to guard against. You are all urban educated youths, if something goes wrong, how can I explain it to your village party secretary." "Gunlongba is inauspicious? Who are you lying to?" I was even more surprised when I heard him say this, and felt that there must be many secrets in it. "Since you know the giant ebony nest, you have obviously seen the engravings on the stone gate at the patio. Let me explain something to you. Some of the ancestors of the ancient ferry were craftsmen in the four board business. , came here from the old Changsha area, and rushed to the dragon cave under the Gunlong Dam, and planned to be buried in this treasured land with pearls in the mouth of the dragon after his death. It was nothing at first, but he came from the Gunlong Dam After coming back, he fell into a coma, with only one breath left. And one day after he came back from the Dragon Cave, a big earthquake suddenly happened at Gunlong Dam, three hundred miles away, and the flood burst and flowed thousands of miles away. Someone saw the Yangtze River There seemed to be a huge black monster raging in the muddy water, which alarmed many people at the time." Old Lame Wang said slowly. At this moment, even the third fat man was stunned for a moment, and I felt a little chill on my back. The words that the cripple Wang said did not seem to scare us, but were closely related to local legends. "The ancestor of Gudukou held his last breath for more than half a year. At that time, he was already insane. It is said that he saw some strange things in the Dragon Cave that he should not have seen. A pair of moves The son was also abolished. Only some inscriptions on the Shimen with messy descriptions remained, and they disappeared suddenly in one night." said the crippled old man. "What? Isn't he still half breathed? How could he run out!?" The third fat man was surprised. "No one knows what happened. On the rainy night when he disappeared, it was said that there was a strong wind outside, and an unknown black figure howled outside the ancient ferry all night. It looked like some kind of animal. Someone caught a glimpse of him. He was still wearing the clothes of that time, but the skin all over his body was cracked into pieces, and his face had turned reddish-brown, as if covered with rust... " I felt a little cold when I heard it, and felt that the whole matter was not that simple, because what the lame old man said was enough to connect with the Yin Ke of the Shimen I saw on the coffin courtyard. "No one dared to approach the place where he lived. In the next ten years, many unexplainable strange things happened at the ancient ferry. Even the disciples of the family were frightened to death, and a group of people moved away. Now Most of the people moved here later. This place has gradually improved, and these evil things rarely happen again." "Most people who fight against each other are inauspicious in their later years. After all, they are digging graves. It is a big taboo for bad people in Fengshui. I don't know if they will provoke something that shouldn't be provoked. It's just that the Gunlongbazi is so terrible. What did the Wu Clan people put there. And it is still a question of what left behind that huge ebony nest." I was in a cold sweat when I heard that. When I was a child, I also heard similar rumors in Liulichang. It said that as long as you get involved in the tomb robbery business, you will see a lot of unclean things, and the bad guys will have karma in Feng Shui, and most of them will die badly in their later years! Now when I heard Mr. Wang lame say this, I also felt the weirdness in it. If I really encountered these things under the Gunlong Dam, I still don't know how to resolve them. "That's right, the things under the Gunlong Dam are those old people with advanced means who dare not touch them lightly. A bad thing is a thing that kills people, and it will harm their children and grandchildren. Do you really want to go in now?" Mr. Wang asked the lame man with a sigh. "Ghosts believe it. I said Uncle Lame, although I sometimes don't like to use my brain, Three Fatty, but I'm not scared too much. I think our family's fathers also defended the country back then, carrying guns and fighting wars. Although the fortune was bad and he entered the cowshed, he was deeply taught by the proletarian revolutionary ideology. For the old feudal poisoning of these ghosts and snakes, he should be knocked down and step on 10,000 stinky feet. No matter what you say today, The fat man and I have decided a long time ago that we must go into the cave together to have a look. This can be regarded as our contribution to the great proletarian revolution!" The third fat man shouted. Hearing that the fat man was getting further and further away, I quickly gave him a blank look and told the boy to shut up.Ever since I was a kid, I know his character very well. This fat man is too bold. After hearing what Mr. Wang said just now, he was clearly thinking about the "dragon" of Laoshan Gulong who hadn't seen his shadow yet. clothes".Otherwise, how can there be such a positive. I didn't bother to poke him, so I said to the crippled old Wang: "I still have reservations about whether these strange things exist or not. But the old village party secretary told me and the third fat man to be more tolerant of Xiaomei and Shuanzi before entering the mountain. Some, now that something happened to them, the reason has something to do with us. Even if we don't care about this matter, I'm afraid our conscience will be disturbed. So no matter how difficult or dangerous it is, the third fat man and I are obliged to Do everything you can to keep Shuanzi and Xiaomei alive." Seeing that we had made up our minds, Mr. Wang lame couldn't persuade us any more. He sighed helplessly and said, "It can be considered that you have intentions. Then let's do it first, but I'm just a bad old man and you two. An inexperienced stunned young man, this strength still seems a little insufficient. Anyway, you send Shuanzi and Xiaomei back to the village first, let them take good care of them, and they can barely survive for a while. I will contact another helper tomorrow. I will go to Gunlongba to fight for the next day. As for the result, I can only do my best and let everyone live in peace.” After speaking, he ordered me to prepare more tools, most of which were machetes and shovels for emergency and protection Hair, thick hemp rope, fire pockets, and some gold sore medicine and other things.I nodded and agreed, and discussed each other to go to work. Fatty Three and I went down the mountain overnight with Shuanzi and Xiaomei who had been unconscious on our backs. When we arrived at the village, we couldn’t avoid a lot of tossing and explaining. While Xiaomei and Mrs. Shuanzi were crying, the remaining old people in the village prepared all kinds of things for us. emergency stuff.