Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Weird New Year

The lanterns were getting closer, and through the starlight, Bai Xiaozhou saw transparent shadows of various shapes. The red lanterns were held by them, and those shadows became clearer and clearer, from black and white at first to black and white. The color is changed, it is as real as watching the oriental version of World of Warcraft. Is this the so-called Night Walk of the Hundred Ghosts? She became so playful that she couldn't help but took out her phone from her pocket, turned off the sound, and snapped a photo.It's so rare to walk in the night of a hundred ghosts in the city.

Non-people lined up in a long line, crowded into a certain wall, and disappeared.Bai Xiaozhou's rationality was once again overcome by curiosity. She followed the wall and looked up and down for a long time, but she couldn't see anything unusual, so she couldn't help but reach out and touch it. Just when her fingertips touched the wall, a layer of ripples swayed and spread, and she felt as if she had fallen into the vortex, rolled up by a force, and rushed towards the center of the vortex. When she came back to her senses, she was already standing in a forest, surrounded by tall and towering trees, and a crescent moon was exposed among the branches.

What is this place?She looked around in panic, wishing she could slap herself twice, all because of her low hand, now she is fine, and the New Year's Eve was taken to this strange place.Is this far from City C?She didn't bring much money with her, is it enough for the fare? The red lanterns could still be seen in the depths of the woods, and she suddenly thought, since these non-human beings came to celebrate the New Year, wouldn't they have to go back? If they followed them, wouldn't they be able to go back to school? She quickly followed, it was like an undeveloped virgin forest, there was no road, weeds and thorns everywhere, she fell several times, her pants were worn out, her mouth was dry, those red lanterns were still far away Floating, as if close at hand, but can't catch up no matter what.

"Girl, you are tired, let's have some tea." Bai Xiaozhou was startled, turned his head, and saw a tea house standing under a towering ancient tree, with an oil lamp lit, several tables were placed inside, an old woman with white hair was making tea, the fire was booming, and the soup in the pot Boiling, the tea is lingering. After running all the way, Bai Xiaozhou was indeed thirsty, but how could there be a tea house in this deep mountain and old forest?Besides, I didn't see it just now, as if it appeared out of thin air. "Girl, come and drink. The new tea picked this year is brewed with the snow from the peak last year. It tastes the sweetest." The old woman boasted, "Come, come, drink a bowl of new tea, it will be a good way to travel."

Bai Xiaozhou felt more hunger and thirst in her mouth. The fragrance of tea entangled her body and her soul, like a claw scratching her throat. She couldn't care about anything else, and ran to the teahouse, handing over the only money left on her body. : "Give me a bowl of tea." The old woman took the money and threw it into the basket without looking at it: "Girl, my tea is the best, come and taste it." Bai Xiaozhou took the tea bowl, and was about to drink it, when his hand lightened suddenly, and the hot tea spilled over her body.She was furious: "Who?"

No one answered her, and the surrounding silence was frightening. "Girl, don't be afraid, I still have a lot of tea here." The old lady handed over another bowl of tea, Bai Xiaozhou reached out to take it, but the library card fell out, the old lady was inexplicably surprised and couldn't believe it looking at her. "Grandma, give me some tea." The old woman held the tea, bent down towards her, and drifted backwards, turning into a wisp of green smoke.She suddenly realized that there was no tea house in front of her, only a quiet and indifferent night. The place where the tea was spilled had turned into scorched earth, she felt chills all over, picked up the library card, and was afraid for a while, fortunately there was this thing, otherwise she would die.

Regardless, she turned around and continued chasing the red lantern, until she reached the top of the mountain, she was so tired that she lost her soul. There is a huge tree on the top of the mountain, which is taller than any tree Bai Xiaozhou has ever seen, with a crown of several feet. The monsters sit around the campfire, singing and dancing, and eating all kinds of food, carnival to their heart's content.Bai Xiaozhou didn't dare to go there, just waited among the bushes, tired of waiting, and took a nap with his knees hugged.I don't know how long it took, but there seemed to be many people talking in my ears.Her face was itchy, she thought it was a mosquito, she slapped it, and heard a scream.

Open your eyes, surrounded by strange faces. "Ah!" She quickly covered her mouth.The faces moved closer: "Is it human?" "It can't be humans, how can humans come here?" "That's true. But she really smells human." "But it also has an inhuman taste." "Is she human or not?" "Why don't you give it a try." Before Bai Xiaozhou came back to his senses, he was pulled up by two nonhumans and ran towards the bonfire: "Inhumans will not be hurt by the 'Nianhuo', so throw her into the fire." Bai Xiaozhou was shocked, and opened his mouth to bite one of the hands, the monster screamed: "She, she can bite me!"

"You dare to be rude to me?" Bai Xiaozhou broke free from their grasp, pointed at their noses and said, "Do you know who I am?" The monsters surrounded her, and she was hairy all over. She remembered a story recorded in the grandfather's notebook. In a certain year, he saw a kind of spirit in a certain mountain in Huguang. The locals called it "Mountain "Ghost" is probably the mountain ghost mentioned in Qu Yuan's "Nine Songs".Gathering her mind, she raised her voice and shouted, "I'm a mountain ghost from Hubei!" "Mountain ghost?" All the demons whispered, "Is she the legendary mountain ghost?"

"It's not like that." "How do you know if it looks like it?" Bai Xiaozhou raised the volume an octave, "Have you ever seen a mountain ghost?" The monsters looked at each other. "Have you seen it?" "never seen it." "And you?" "never seen it." "But I heard that the mountain ghost is very beautiful." Bai Xiaozhou rolled his eyes: "Aren't I pretty?" All the demons looked at her and said nothing. "Let me tell you, my appearance, in human...human aesthetics, is overwhelming." Bai Xiaozhou straightened his clothes, "If someone looks like a mountain, he will be taken by Xue Lixi. This is what humans give. Poetry I wrote."

"Mountain ghosts... as long as they are monsters, they are not afraid of the 'Nian Huo'. If you are really a mountain ghost, jump into the fire and show us." , just to make this year’s New Year’s goods.” The muscles on Bai Xiaozhou's face twitched twice, does the monster know about New Year's goods? "Quick jump, quick jump." The demons urged, Bai Xiaozhou swallowed his saliva, and glanced at "Nian Huo", what to do, what to do, is she really unable to dance? "The Nian Beast is coming!" Someone shouted, and all the monsters started to commotion, kneeling down to worship, Bai Xiaozhou heaved a sigh of relief, and fell to the ground.With the sound of thunderous footsteps, the ground began to tremble, making people's ears buzz. Zodiac?Isn't it the legendary beast from ancient times?In ancient times, there was a monster named "Nian", which was shaped like a lion and had one horn.Harm to humans and animals occurs regularly, and people have no way to subdue them.Once, "Nian" broke into a certain village, and happened to meet a person wearing red clothes and burning bamboo poles to warm himself up. There was a sound of "cracking" explosions and red light shining, and "Nian" ran away in a panic.So people know the nature of "Nian". Every time the "Nian" comes out, every household closes their doors and stays at home, pastes red couplets and burns firecrackers to drive away the "Nian". "Nian" will never come again.People rejoiced that the "New Year's Pass" was over, beat gongs and drums, called each other "Congratulations", and since then there has been "New Year's Eve". This kind of Nian beast has always only heard its name but never seen its owner. She couldn't help it. She raised her head and saw a huge and strange face. The eyes were as big as two huge lanterns, and the teeth in the bloody mouth were like jagged teeth. She screamed, her legs became weak, and she couldn't stand up for a long time. This, this is the Nian Beast? The monster roared at her, and the violent wind rushed towards her face, almost making her fly, her hair fluttering. No, no way, I really just came out of the tiger's mouth and into the wolf's den again. Today, instead of being the same as the monsters, I will be buried and kissed by the "Nian". "It's you?" With a familiar voice and a familiar tone, Bai Xiaozhou froze for a moment, then looked up, it turned out that there was a man, a man, a young man riding on Nian Beast's back. "Liu Mingxuan?" Bai Xiaozhou pointed at him and shouted in surprise, "Why are you here?" "I should ask this question, what are you doing here? Who brought you here?" Liu Mingxuan frowned slightly, with reproach in his words.Bai Xiaozhou stared at him dumbfounded, and didn't come back to his senses for a long time.He was wearing an ancient brocade robe, with long hair tied on top of his head, and a green emerald dragon hairpin. The moonlight poured down from behind him, like a fairy. etc!Liu Mingxuan's hair is not so long, is it a wig? Or, this person is not Liu Mingxuan at all? "Your Majesty." A monster next to him said, "This girl said she is a mountain ghost." The corner of Liu Mingxuan's mouth slightly hooked: "She's not a mountain ghost, she's a human being." Bai Xiaozhou's eyes widened, what did he mean?Want to kill her? All the monsters were clamoring, Liu Mingxuan raised his hand, and the top of the mountain immediately fell silent: "Although she is a human being, she is my honored guest. I invited her to this year's 'annual meeting'." "So it's your Majesty's guest." All the monsters were relieved and saluted one after another, Bai Xiaozhou heaved a sigh of relief, no matter what, as long as it is not regarded as a "New Year's gift". This goblin gathering does not seem to have so many rules in the human world, and there is no distinction between seats. Liu Mingxuan is sitting somewhere on the Nian beast, and the monsters are singing and dancing, just like a Brazilian carnival.Bai Xiaozhou tugged at his sleeve and asked in a low voice, "What is this place?" "Kunshan." "Kunlun Mountain?" Bai Xiaozhou looked around, "It's not like that." "Kunshan is Kunshan, and Kunlun Mountain is Kunlun Mountain." Liu Mingxuan's eyes were like streamers, he took off the pipa on his back, and played a melodious, warm and clear tune. I feel that this song is familiar, as if I heard it somewhere a long time ago.It is a kind of memory deposited in the depths of the soul, far and near, can be seen, but cannot be touched. Snowflakes swayed down from the sky, and the fairies were shouting something. They began to dance a dance they had never seen before around the "Nian Huo". The warm atmosphere was like a dream, and she suddenly felt very safe and warm , Leaning on Nian Beast, he closed his eyes. After playing a song, Liu Mingxuan looked down at the girl who was sleeping peacefully and sweetly, and gently stroked her long hair, which was entangled with his fingers, like some kind of endless entanglement. "From now on, don't drink the white woman's tea anymore." Bai Xiaozhou woke up from the dream, and found that he was still sitting in that empty and quiet classroom. It was already dawn, and the new year came quietly in the warm sunshine in the morning. Was everything that happened last night a dream? She pushed open the window, the corridor was very quiet, there was no sign of an inhuman team passing by, the wall was condensed with frost and dew, and it felt damp and cold to the touch. Sure enough, it was just a dream, she was too lonely, that's why she had this kind of lively and carnival dream. Didn't a little philosopher once said that loneliness is a carnival of one person; carnival is the loneliness of a group of people. I don't know when I will see you again, that mountain, that bonfire, and that person. Her cheeks were hot, and she covered them with her cold hands to cool down.It's the first day of the new year, and you will get sick if you stay in the classroom all the time, so let's go out for a stroll.As soon as he walked out of the teaching building, he saw a dead body lying beside the flower bed, covered with a thin layer of snow.Moreover, that corpse still looked familiar. "Mr. Long!" She was so frightened that Huarong turned pale, and hurried over to help her up, "Mr. Long, why are you sleeping here? Are you okay? Teacher Long, don't die!" The dignified Long Chuxia of the 051 Research Institute actually froze to death on the night of Chinese New Year's Eve. How shameful it is to spread the word. "What are you arguing about? I have a terrible headache." Long Chuxia turned over and planned to continue to sleep, breathing out alcohol, but Bai Xiaozhou waved his hand to disperse the smell of alcohol: "Teacher, what are you drinking on New Year's Eve? You're still drunk Haven't you been with your family?" "Where do I have any family?" Long Chuxia yawned, and Bai Xiaozhou remembered that Qin Zheming seemed to have said that Teacher Long was an orphan. It turned out that she was also a lonely person! "Hey, teacher, you can't sleep here no matter what! Where is your home? I'll take you back!" Long Chuxia didn't answer, apparently already dead asleep. Bai Xiaozhou was speechless and asked the sky, she had to take care of this alcoholic on the first day of the new year, what crime did she do? She used all her strength to help her up, and walked towards the research institute step by step. "Mr. Long, it's time for you to lose weight." The shadow of the tree swayed, and there was a man standing alone behind the tree, playing with a dagger in his hand, the blade of the sword was like ice reflecting half of his cheek, and the faint smile on his lips.