El misterio del periódico K

Capítulo 32

Gu Ming's eyes lit up, and he said, "I see."

Mr. Xia nodded. “The white gas that surrounds Er Gou Manor is pure and strong liqi, the golden gas on the mountaintop is human yang energy, and the purple gas on the mountainside is liqi that has been suppressed and neutralized by yang energy.”

Everyone gasped in surprise. Xiao Bai shouted, "You mean they buried people alive to cover up the strong grotesque aura in Er Gou Manor with the remaining yang energy of those people?"

Mr. Xia nodded. I paused for a moment, then slowly said, "Isn't this the same as those living dead in West Lake?"

"Yes, but those people were buried in the lake, which covered the yin energy of their own souls, while the people buried alive on this mountain had their souls sucked away first, leaving only yang energy to cover up the wailing."

"But where did the wailing come from in Er Gou Manor?" I asked.

“Don’t forget that those skeletons are from over a thousand years ago,” Xia’s father said. “And 1,100 years ago, Fu Yi helped the Soul Eater escape the Ghost Messenger. According to the records, after Qingming Festival that year, thousands of people disappeared without a trace in various places. The government searched for decades without any news. Er Gou Manor is very likely the place where she hid the Soul Eater at that time, and those people who disappeared are those skeletons on the mountain.”

"But some of those skeletons are a thousand years old, some are hundreds of years old. How do you explain that?"

“A thousand years ago, Fu Yi was injured by two eminent monks and disappeared without a trace. The Soul Eater was also seriously injured. If it did not absorb souls, it would probably not be able to survive. But since that night at West Lake, everyone must know that in order to avoid being tracked by various sects, they only captured a small number of people each year. I speculate that the Soul Eater also absorbed a small number of souls each year to recuperate. Therefore, most of the skeletons on these mountains are over a thousand years old, and the number of people in other years is not very large.” Xia’s father said, “Of course, these are just my speculations.”

Everyone fell silent. I was thinking, if these speculations could only explain the origin of the skeletons, then why Aunt Gao was murdered after discovering the skeletons remained a mystery.

“Aunt Gao’s death may indicate something,” Gu Ming said, as if he could read my mind.

"What's the problem?"

"The one who truly understands the principles of Yi is someone else."

"ah?"

"The white-clad female ghost's purpose in quickly killing Aunt Gao was obviously to prevent her from revealing that she had seen the white bones. After the battle at West Lake, Fu Yi and the Soul Eater had already been killed by Xia Canyue and me. If Fu Yi and the Soul Eater had really been eliminated by us, this matter would have become irrelevant. But why did the female ghost try so hard to keep this secret?"

"..."

"When Aunt Gao was trapped, countless ghosts and monsters were sucking her soul. It's not hard to see that someone was deliberately raising ghosts. Besides the soul-summoning formation of Er Gou Manor itself, the white bones on this mountain are probably also a means of collecting souls. It's hard not to think of the purpose of summoning so many souls as a gathering of evil spirits."

"Gu Ming!" The two figures, one in blue and one in red, that I encountered yesterday suddenly appeared in my mind. "The information Gao Tian brought says that Fu Yi was pregnant when she was kicked out of Huanxiu Manor, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Is the Blood Spirit a fetus that dies in its mother's womb?"

"You mean..." Gu Ming asked in surprise, "that person we met yesterday was Fu Yi?"

"I don't know, I just think it's quite a coincidence that Fu Yi got pregnant back then and that this Blood Spirit appeared."

After he said that, everyone fell silent again.

Did that person say anything yesterday?

"No...no, there was. When the aura emanating from Ziyu repelled them, she said, 'How could he have encountered him? How could he have such a strong aura?'" Thinking of this, I also felt strange.

"Who met whom?" Xia's father also frowned.

“Xiao Mo, do you remember when you went to Bailu Mountain you entered another space? Didn’t you say you met a strange boy with red hair? He said that the purple jade was a gift from him…” Gu Ming chimed in from the side.

"Yes, it's strange, but yesterday when I focused my mind on the small stone, the image of that red-haired boy appeared in my mind."

"May I see that purple jade?" Xia's father said.

"Of course, it's something I always take care of." I quickly took it off my neck and handed it to him.

After looking at it, Xia's father was stunned for a moment, then handed it to Gu Ming and Xia Canyue. They both paused for a moment after looking at it. Gu Ming said, "The color is much darker... and the magic power on it is also much stronger."

"Looks like we'll have to go lie down on White Deer Mountain." Mr. Xia breathed a sigh of relief.

"When are you going?" I asked.

"It's not you, it's us."

"Me too?"

"Of course, entering such a space usually requires a specific method and key. Your ability to get in is probably not just a coincidence. Finding that boy will likely depend on you."

"But my graduation project..."

"Don't worry, don't forget how I got those doctorates? My uncle's specialty is creating decoys..."

I called Xiao Bi and the others at noon to tell them what happened. Xiao Bi strongly requested that Xia's father also act as her double for the experiment, and Deng Fei and Jia Yanji were equally eager. Gu Ming rolled his eyes and told me that being a double is very tiring, and besides, doubles sometimes run into problems, requiring Xiao Bi and the others to help look after them. Moreover, Xiao Bi and the others wouldn't be able to help at all if they went along…

When I couldn't find Xia's father at dinnertime, I went to the backyard to call him for dinner, but instead I saw another version of myself standing in the room wiping the table, singing as I did so, "Where does a happy life come from? It comes from hard work..."

I was stunned for a few seconds. Gu Ming was laughing so hard he almost fell to the ground. I felt really silly waving the rag around...

I went up Bailu Mountain again on May 4, 2005.

I packed my bags last night and headed straight to the airport this morning. Besides Little White Fox, the rest of the White Deer Mountain group were also traveling with us. We'd been away from home for a long time, and it was time to go back. Xia Canyue stayed at "Moonlight" to manage the bar.

After we got off the plane, Cang Xiaohua drove to pick us up. The last time I saw her, she was poisoned by a demon and her whole body was swollen. Now the poison has disappeared, and she is a graceful young lady.

As we ascended the mountain, Cang Yu instantly conjured a spell, turning the rugged mountain path into flat ground, just like when we last visited Bailu Mountain. We stopped only when we reached the vicinity of the entrance to that strange space. Xia's father asked me if I remembered which direction we entered from. I shook my head and looked at Xiao Bai, "Where did you ambush me last time?"

Xiao Bai shook his head, "I forgot. At that time, I only remembered that I didn't like you, so I don't remember where I cast the spell."

So everyone searched the vicinity carefully, but after a long while, they still hadn't found a single clue. I stood to the side watching everyone sweating profusely, and muttered under my breath, "You little brat, why don't you ambush me again? Maybe you can get in again..."

As soon as she finished speaking, she felt a kick to her butt and fell to the ground. When she looked up, she was surprised to find that the scenery was completely different. Looking closely, she saw banyan trees everywhere and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers. She had arrived at the place where she had met the red-haired boy.

Overjoyed, he ignored the swift and vicious kick from that damned fox, Xiaobai, and hurriedly stood up to find the boy. He remembered that the boy lived in a cave, and there was this banyan tree outside the cave, so it seemed that this place was not far from the cave.

Looking up at both sides, I saw that the banyan tree on the right was slender, so I took a step and walked to the right. But I walked until it got dark, and my legs felt like they were filled with lead and I couldn't move them anymore. I sat on a big rock under the tree and realized with a sad smile that I was lost again.

It was pitch black all around, without the lights of a city. Even the moonlight and starlight were blocked by the tall, lush banyan trees. An unknown large bird flew overhead and let out a low, startling cry. There were rustling sounds at my feet, which were either insects in the grass or small animals like ground squirrels.

The wind is getting colder. I haven't had a drop of water since breakfast on the plane this morning, and now I'm both thirsty and hungry. I'm finally experiencing the hardships of being an African refugee. I swear the first thing I'll do after I get out of here is donate money to an international charity, assuming I can at least get enough to eat. Right now, all I can pray for is that no wild animals like wolves or bears appear. I guess I'll just have to endure the hunger.

But good things don't come true, bad things do. What I wish for comes true. My whole body stiffened as I watched two bright green eyes getting closer and closer in the distance. Sweat gradually seeped from my forehead. This color and this light clearly belonged to some wild beast. I wanted to run away immediately, but I was afraid of disturbing the animal. I cursed Little White a hundred times in my heart. If anything happened to me, I would haunt that dead fox even as a ghost.

The two green, translucent eyes stopped about ten meters away from me. I wanted to raise a leaf and shout, "You can't see me! You can't see me!" But the animal was clearly staring at me. I touched a stone at my feet and decided to play it by ear. The two eyes looked at me for a while, then suddenly moved closer. I moved back a little, and the eyes paused, then curved into a smile.

I tossed my hair. How could an animal be laughing? It's an illusion!

I slowly stood up and leaned against the tree. My mom said that people can unleash unlimited potential in an emergency. If it pounces on me in a moment, my inner universe might just explode and send me climbing to the top of the tree.

"You're not thinking of climbing a tree, are you?" a voice suddenly appeared.

Someone's there! My tense nerves immediately relaxed as I searched for the direction of the sound.

"Here it is." Another voice replied.

A ghost! I tensed up again, because the voice was coming from those green eyes.

The pair of emerald green stones moved closer to me, and I gripped the stone tighter and tighter, wondering if the stone could kill the monster.

"Sigh!" A sigh was followed by a low laugh. What was this monster laughing at?

Snap!

Before I could react, a beam of moonlight shone straight down. There were no animals or monsters in front of me, only a handsome red-haired boy smiling at me. He was the person we were looking for.

"Oh my god! I've finally found you."

I excitedly rushed over, and the boy reached out and gently patted my back, one pat after another, like a calming medicine being poured into my heart. His gentle, smiling voice whispered in my ear, "It's okay, it's okay, why are you so scared?"

"I saw a pair of green eyes and thought it was a wolf."

"Wolves? Heh." The boy patted my head like an elder. He looked younger than me, but the gesture felt so harmonious. A fresh, sweet scent of banyan flowers wafted into my nose. "There are no wolves here. Those are my eyes."

"ah?"

"I was born this way; my pupils are emerald green at night."

I knew this boy was no ordinary person, but looking at his warm smile, so kind and lovely, just like when we first met, the trust and goodwill I felt instantly dispelled my fear.

The red-haired boy didn't say much. He raised his right hand and pointed straight ahead. A pale yellow light, like moonlight, illuminated a path. At the end of the path, there seemed to be a flickering fire. When he got closer, he realized it was a campfire in a cave. But why didn't he notice such a bright light source when he was in such a dark forest?

The boy seemed to sense my question and smiled, saying, "I just used a teleportation spell, otherwise it would have taken us five hours to get back."

That's when I realized I'd obviously gone the wrong way when I first entered. Just then, the boy brought out a table of food from somewhere. I was so hungry I was dizzy, so I pounced on it and started eating. When my mouth was full of soup, I noticed the boy sitting next to me staring blankly at me. When he saw me looking at him, he immediately snapped out of it and covered his mouth to chuckle. I was so embarrassed and felt like I was going to faint.

"Did you come here to see me?" he asked.

"Yes." I suddenly remembered the purpose of my trip. "Um... what's your name? We've met twice and we still don't know your name."

"My name?" The boy smiled slightly, his eyes flashing. "They all call me Si Yan."

"You know the Gu family, right? You said this piece of purple jade was a gift you gave to the Gu family ancestors." She took the small stone off her neck and handed it to him.

"Yes." He smiled and took it, his gaze pausing when it fell on the purple jade. "You met her, didn't you?"

"Is she Fu Yi?" he asked nervously.

"Yes." Si Yan nodded, but I broke out in a cold sweat. The person I saw in the laboratory that day was indeed the legendary Fu Yi. So the person who possessed Xiao Bi was someone else, and Gu Mingxia, Canyue and the others had tried so hard to kill the wrong person. All their efforts that day were in vain.

"You know her, right? And that Blood Spirit beside her, you know about her too, don't you?"

Si Yan lowered his eyes slightly, gazing at the red fire in the cave. After a long while, he finally sighed softly, a heavy feeling settling over his calm and serene expression. His brows furrowed as he said with difficulty, "A thousand years ago, I did indeed witness it with my own eyes..."

...

For an entire night, Si Yan recounted everything that had happened back then in a gentle, calm voice. Sitting by the campfire, the events of a thousand years ago seemed to unfold before my eyes, scene by scene. There was fear, but even more so, an unspeakable unease and heartache. Even after dawn, I was still immersed in the story, unable to calm down. Si Yan gently patted my head, a helpless smile on his face, and got up to walk out of the cave. I murmured to myself, "Si Yan, Si Yan… even the Fire Fox King who controls the flames doesn't know whether what happened back then was right or wrong, how can I possibly assess and make a decision…"

On May 5, 2005, Bailu Mountain was shrouded in mist.

In the morning, under the banyan tree outside the cave, I watched Si Yan pick up a fallen banyan flower and smile faintly. I said, "I'm leaving."

He said, "I'll take you."

Before leaving the pink flowering trees, he put the little stone around my neck. His fiery red hair was ruffled by the wind, and his gentle eyes were half-curled. "I'll say it again: as long as you have the will, everything can be reborn. Don't push yourself too hard. Also, I won't be here anymore, so don't come looking for me."

Where are you going?

He smiled and stopped talking, only waving his emerald green sleeves. The scenery before his eyes changed rapidly, and before he could react, he was in a warm and familiar embrace. Gu Ming patted his back gently and sighed, "You're finally back."

"Have you been waiting for me here all this time?"

"Yes, I'm afraid you won't be able to find your way when you come out."

"Xiao Bai bullied me. I got lost inside and was starving. If Si Yan hadn't found me, I would have definitely been fed to the wolves."

Gu Ming chuckled, "That wolf will choke to death."