The strange story of Huai'an Inn

Standing in front of the trivia column, Chong Liu reached out and tore off the couplet left by the unknown person.In just one day, Mr. Xuanwu had already sent someone to reply to the letter, and they were scheduled to meet in the Guanyin Temple, which was abandoned by a fire in a Baimao Mountain on the way from Tianliang City to Jingji Road, five days later.

If it was in the past, seeing the two heads of Baixiaomen would have made Chong Liu so nervous that he would not think about eating or drinking.But now his mind is calm, he should eat and drink, squatting at the door eating roast chicken and chatting with the skinny beggar, so calm that even he himself finds it inconceivable.

Is it because he knows that he is not a human being at all, so he feels that he is probably more scary in comparison?

The inn had a three-day holiday, and after opening on the fourth day, there were very few guests.During the Chinese New Year, it is time to go back home and reunite with relatives. Few people will come out to stay in the hotel at this time, and at most there will be a few guests during the meal.

Chong Liu took a feather duster and dusted here and there every day. Although he was free, his energy was not as good as he expected.

He has already moved out of the hut he shared with Zhu Yi and moved into the shopkeeper's courtyard.Sleeping with your sweetheart every night, you will inevitably have to toss about it, and you should be so tired that you should sleep to death and wake up until dawn...

But Chong Liu often has nightmares.

The drumbeat, the strange, unsettling drumbeat, hung around him like a curse.In the sound of the drums, he saw many scenes that he didn't even want to see.

Strange totems drawn with red clay on the ground, and expressionless and gloomy faces reflected by the beating firelight.In front of him, there is a bottomless cliff, below which the miasma is condensed and covered with unknowable evil.

The wizard wearing a black robe and a crow feather mask danced a strange dance, which was somewhat similar to the dance Zhu Helan once danced, but instead of a red rope tied to his wrist, he held a drum in his right hand hammer.The end of the drumstick was extremely heavy, a solid piece of iron wrapped in red cloth.

In the center of the totem, the drum that Chongliu had seen before was placed horizontally on the ground, and several teenage children in white robes, trembling and full of fear, surrounded the drum.

Chong Liu could even hear the thoughts of one of the 15-year-old boys.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, this is your glory... You will be one with God, and you will bring happiness to your people and your family..."

The boy kept repeating the same words to himself, as if desperately trying to convince himself and overcome the fear in his heart.

When the dance of the great witch came to an abrupt end, all the boys and girls, at the same time, slowly but obediently bent down and put their heads on the drum.

Chong Liu vaguely guessed what would happen next, and in extreme panic, he wanted to close his eyes and break free from the nightmare.But his eyelids seemed to be cut off, and there was no way to escape.He could only watch as the big witch raised the drumstick and slammed it down on the drum.

Boom!

The sound of skulls breaking, but no wailing was heard.

Everyone was eerily quiet, with a strange frenzy shining in their eyes.

The black smoke of fear engulfed the other sacrifices still lying on the drums.They were crying, murmuring words, and even held hands with their companions.

But no one fled.

They willingly threw themselves into the abyss of death.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

The bright red was overflowing, and pieces of broken bones were soaked, bouncing on the drum surface.

When the drum was struck ten times, the crowd burst into cheers.The great witch raised his blood-stained drumstick and raised his hands to the leaders of all the tribes.

"The God of Chaos has accepted our sacrifice!"

The strong warriors stepped forward, picked up the remaining shells of ten young lives that were still alive a moment ago from the ground and drums, and threw them into the endless abyss.Chong Liu's whole body was shaking, it was fear, it was anger, it was sadness, it was powerlessness.He could only watch the white, headless bodies disappear into the miasma.

"When chaos comes, when the old order collapses, we will be blessed by the gods!" The big witch said loudly to everyone, "We will be invincible!"

Every time Chong Liu was awakened by the crazy, animal-like cheers of the crowd, he couldn't recover for a long time.Only when he saw Zhu Helan's peaceful sleeping face, he seemed to be pulled back to the world, and he couldn't help but burrow into Zhu Helan's arms, looking for comfort in the familiar temperature.

That is the sacrificial ceremony of Tianguren, once every ten years.The boys and girls who are selected as sacrifices will live a life of luxury and food for five years, be enshrined as half gods, and then "unify with the gods" in this ceremony.Their families will be respected by every tribe member, and they will no longer have to worry about livelihood.Therefore, many families with many children and grandchildren will compete to let their children be sacrificed.Those children also thought that what they did was an extremely sacred and glorious thing...

They yearn for destruction, for chaos, because destruction and chaos are the only things that have saved them.

Anger burned in Chong Liu's heart.Because he knows that everything he sees is real.It may even have existed in his memory.

That came from his memory before he was born.

The innocent must be stopped...at all costs...

Before nightfall on the fifth day, Chongliu boiled a bucket of hot water for himself in advance to wash his body, then put on a newly made lake blue robe, and neatly bundled his hair into a knot above the temples and a hairpin in front of the mirror. , hair style loose under the temples, covered with a royal blue kapok fur.As soon as Zhu Helan opened the curtain and entered the room, his eyes lit up instantly when he saw him.

"We Liu'er dressed up a little bit, I'm afraid we will fascinate many Huaichun boys and girls." He walked around Chong Liu with great interest, and suddenly clicked his lips in dissatisfaction, "See you all The chief seat of Xiaomen, why is he dressed better than going out with me?"

"...Seeing that they are Bai Xiaosheng, and they go out with you as a waiter, of course it's different..." Chong Liu didn't expect that Zhu Helan, who opened his heart, was still a bit petty, which didn't match his age...

"Who said you can't look good in the waiting room?" Zhu Helan said, handing the Green Tara mask to Chong Liu.Chong Liu shook his head and said, "Today, I won't wear a mask."

Zhu Helan was stunned, "Didn't Bai Xiaosheng always wear them?"

"Mr. Xuanwu has known my identity for a long time." Chong Liu smiled brightly, "Actually, Bai Xiaosheng's family rules did not say that you must wear a mask. Since I have no intention of continuing to hide myself, this mask is unnecessary. gone."

"If you go today, will there be any danger?"

"Helan..." Chong Liu smiled while taking his own wooden box, "Are you worried about them or me?"

Zhu Helan looked at Chongliu, who was radiant in front of him, as if his smile would shine, and nodded with great satisfaction, "That's right."

After all, Liu'er is no longer the small running hall of the past.

............................................................

Coming out of the shortcut, the Guanyin Temple is already standing in the lonely night.This place was originally a temple full of incense, where the energy of the earth and the spiritual veins converge here, and there are an endless stream of pilgrims throughout the year.However, a fire a few years ago burned away the former bustling scene, and now there are only abandoned buildings and halls standing quietly in the forest valley, as well as forgotten and damaged statues of gods and Buddhas, which are gradually buried by vines and weeds.

But today, there are many mysterious figures wearing masks but exquisitely dressed in this lonely and lonely temple.They lit bright lights in the main hall, and deployed manpower on the long and rugged steps outside the temple gate.

When Chong Liu saw the fire in the temple from afar, he knew that there were many people coming today.

"Liu'er, I'll wait for you here." Zhu Helan said, "Be careful yourself."

Chong Liu nodded, took a deep breath, and quickly walked up the stairs.Seeing that Chong Liu was not wearing a mask, the Bai Xiaosheng who were guarding outside the temple whispered in astonishment, but no one came to stop him.

In front of the statue in the middle of the Guanyin Hall, there are three silent figures, two men and one woman.Mr. Xuanwu has seen it before, and he is still as tall and solemn as last time.Mr. Suzaku wears a gorgeous colorful phoenix skirt, a red cloak of Hanmei Aoxue, and a high bun covered with gold and emerald jewellery.And the tall, thin man in the blue and white robe wearing the green dragon mask in the center is Mr. Qinglong, the head of Baixiaomen.

In addition to their three sect masters, there are many people who are dressed in common clothes and masks, but they look like Lianjiazi, who are probably guards, scattered in the hall.

"It's really courageous not to wear a mask." Mr. Suzaku said, his voice soft and charming.

Chongliu looked at the luggage of the three heads upright, "The late student Guan Chongliu, Mr. Gou Chen's sixth disciple, has met the three sect masters."

Mr. Xuanwu asked straight to the point, "You said you have news about Mr. Gou Chen?"

Chong Liu bowed his head and lowered his eyebrows and said, "Wan Sheng did have recent news about his family teacher, and he even knows a little bit about the truth about his family teacher's disappearance and the place where he lived in seclusion."

In Baixiaomen, all knowledge and information are bargaining chips, things that need to be exchanged like money to get.So Mr. Qinglong opened his mouth and asked in a deep and dignified tone, "You want to exchange what you know for secrets?"

Chong Liu bowed again, "Sir, what you said is right."

"Hehe. It's just a pity that we already know where Mr. Gou Chen is hiding, and what's down there." Mr. Qinglong looked at him coldly, "But what you most want to know is not Yuantang and Xinglao Crystal Where are the fragments?" Chong Liu looked at the three of them calmly, and replied neither humble nor overbearing, "You want to know what happened on Qiongji Island back then, and how the door of the non-returning mountain was closed. And... Qiongji The whereabouts of the book."

There was a moment of silence among the three heads.After a while, Mr. Xuanwu said, "What do you want to know?"

"I need all the information about Tiangu's current great witch. His name, age, ability, history, parents...and...he has a drum, and what is the history of that drum."

Mr. Qinglong suddenly interrupted him, "As a disciple of Baixiaomen, we have the right to order you to hand over all the information you have collected. What you want to ask is not something you can ask."

Chong Liu straightened up and looked at the three leaders calmly.

"But as the head of the Gouchen sect, I have the right to request to exchange information with other sect masters."

"Master Gouchen?" Mr. Xuanwu's tone changed slightly.Although he couldn't see his expression, Chongliu could feel the sudden fluctuation of his emotions.

Mr. Suzaku also said, "Your tone is not young at such a young age, your master is still alive, but just living in seclusion. How did you become the head of the sect?"

Chong Liu lowered his eyes, trying to get rid of the pain leaking out of his eyes, but still said in a clear voice, "Mr. Gou Chen, the teacher, passed away [-] days ago. He passed on his cinnabar order to me, and I naturally The one who inherits his mantle."