Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 190

“Mr. Feng, the lama said that if we find that palace, we can see the will of the gods. The gods built the palace to show the world where the light is. They don’t want the world to find it because they don’t want to receive the worship and gratitude of the people. So, my opinion is that the palace really exists, but we shouldn’t disturb the normal lives of the immortals.”

I stared at Li Zun'er's face, imagining how far he would fall if I, like a fool, slapped that face hard.

These words should have been said to Suren long ago, instead of being brought up now that Suren has disappeared, which is a belated attempt to salvage the situation and is of no use.

"Miss Suren must have disturbed the immortals, which is why they captured her. I hope her death can redeem everyone's sins, and then we can retreat back to Xianyang and live peaceful lives. What do you think?" He could say such outrageous things. I really don't know if he's lost his mind. He's considered everything, but he hasn't thought about how to rescue Suren.

For the ignorant people in remote and impoverished areas, the simplest and most effective method is to pave the way with money.

I turned and called into the house, "Li Kang—"

Li Kang ran out in response, beaming, and repeatedly replied, "I'm here, I'm here, Mr. Feng, what can I do for you?"

He was originally the security captain at the Scalpel Museum in Xianyang. After the looting incident, he was dismissed by the management. If it weren't for the written certificate from Suren stating that the security guard was not responsible, he would probably still be in detention. From that incident onward, he became completely devoted to Suren, his most loyal follower, and accompanied the expedition team all the way here.

"Call the Jiang brothers over, I have money to give them." I took out my wallet, pulled out ten brand-new 100-yuan banknotes and placed them on the stone table. The portrait of the great man on the banknotes was so lifelike that Li Kang's eyes immediately lit up, and he ran off to the neighboring yard.

"Mr. Feng, my suggestion is that we retreat immediately to avoid incurring the wrath of the gods and bringing punishment upon the mortal realm, thus harming innocent people..."

Li Zun pushed up his glasses, his shifty gaze glancing at me from above the frame.

"I heard that Old Man Li has been promoting classical Chinese reading among children, and he almost got expelled from school for it? They said you're old-fashioned and will corrupt the children?" I interrupted him, changing the subject, because at this moment, any suggestion to back down made me want to hit someone.

When Su Lun was around, she was their cash cow, showering them with hundreds of yuan every day. But the moment she was gone, and there was no money to be had, everyone immediately tried to run away—I'm going to start today and change their minds. No amount of money can buy Su Lun's life; I must find her.

The north room was silent. Schiller was now a vegetable, only able to breathe, lying motionless on the bed, showing no trace of his former domineering self.

Li Zun'er immediately blushed, took off his glasses, and vigorously wiped his face: "No, no, how can one correct others and oneself without respecting ancient laws? It's the school that's too shallow... too shallow..." This was his biggest weakness. Whenever this point was mentioned, he would forget everything else and rush to defend himself.

I lightly flicked my nails, stared at him seriously, and said, word by word, "Old Man Li, from now on, if you say 'retreat' again, you can leave the expedition team. Suren and I can never earn enough money, but those who leave won't get a single penny. Do you understand?"

Li Zun'er's face turned even redder: "The ancients would not bow down for five pecks of rice. I don't want money, I'm just thinking of everyone..." His voice grew softer and softer, and he finally shut up under my intense gaze.

Appearing in the courtyard together were not only Jiang Guang and Jiang Ming, but also the four hunters carrying hunting rifles and bows and arrows.

The mountain breeze rustled the banknotes under the wallet, producing a pleasant, crisp sound that immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"Li Kang, starting today, everyone's salary will be increased fivefold. Anyone who can contribute a good strategy for finding Miss Suren, as long as it is an effective method, will be rewarded with 1,000 RMB—whoever is the first to find her will be rewarded with 100,000 RMB."

Li Kang beamed, "Thank you, Mr. Feng. We will definitely work hard, we will definitely work hard!" Although he was only thirty years old, he was thin and frail, and his back was hunched over. It was hard to imagine how he became the head of the museum's security guards.

One hundred thousand RMB is enough to build a beautiful big house in the countryside where they live, and to live comfortably for several years. Of course they want this money.

A hunter suddenly raised both hands: "Mr. Feng, I have a way, I have a way!" He may have seen children in school raise their hands to speak in class, but he couldn't tell which hand to raise, so he had to raise both hands at the same time, as if he had surrendered after a defeat.

The four hunters were brothers from the same clan, all surnamed Ba. One of them was named Ba Kun, and the other three were named Ba Shi, Ba Nan, and Ba Jing. They looked and dressed almost identically, all dark-skinned and thin, wearing cheap down jackets and jeans that caravan traders had brought into the mountains, and black handmade cloth shoes on their feet.

“When it comes to knowing the mountain trails, no one can compare to the gangsters of Xiangling Village. Why don’t we give them more money and gifts to help them?” Bakun licked his lips and stared at the money on the table, impatient.

The other three agreed wholeheartedly: "Yes, yes, the people from Xiangling Village are spread across the three mountains and seven valleys ahead. For them to find someone is as easy as an eagle catching a rabbit. Bakun is right, we should take this money!"

I moved my wallet aside and nodded my chin at Bakun.

He leaped forward, grabbed the banknotes, and shouted with delight. According to their hunting income, a thousand yuan would require two weeks of running all over the mountains and killing more than fifty wild rabbits, not even counting the wear and tear on their shoes and clothes.

“I have a way, I have a way…” The other three people eagerly raised their hands.

"Cough cough, get out of the way, get out of the way—" Jiang Guang swung his arm, and all four of them stumbled and fell. He strode over and sat on the stone bench opposite me. This kind of scene was the least for Li Zun'er; he had already left the stone table and stepped into the shadows inside the threshold of the east room.

“Mr. Feng, the people of Xiangling Village are ruthless bandits who will devour you without a second thought. Relying on them will only lead to losing both your money and your life. Here’s what we’ll do: you come up with more money, and I’ll invite over thirty of my fellow disciples from Xianyang City. I’ve already spoken to Miss Su Lun about this, and she’s agreed, but she said she’ll invite them over once the operation has yielded some results. One price: 500,000. I guarantee I’ll find Miss Su Lun. We people from Xianyang keep our word. If you give me the nod, I’ll call for her tomorrow.”

Although Jiang Guang and Jiang Ming were both rural farmers, they were half-martial arts practitioners who had practiced external martial arts for several years; otherwise, they would not have been chased by their enemies and fled into the deep mountains, where they accidentally entered the Epang Palace.

Jiang Ming nodded repeatedly in agreement, wholeheartedly admiring his brother's wise decision. He was a man without a strong will; whatever Jiang Guang said, he would simply nod and agree. Both of their hands were equally rough and broad, and the martial arts they practiced were some kind of miscellaneous palm technique somewhere between Iron Sand Palm and Black Sand Palm, which was still quite intimidating for chopping trees and bricks.

Volume Four: The Divine Trapped in the Epang Palace

Part 1: The Mysterious Borderlands - The Disappearance of Sulun

— Chapter 2 — The Dragon Witch —

Li Kang, who had been watching everyone's eagerness without expression, suddenly spoke up: "Everyone, quiet down. Why don't we follow the mountain people's instructions and go to see the Longge witch? See if the witch can give us some hints. She is the guardian deity of this mountain. As long as Miss Suren is still in the mountains, she will definitely be under her protection."

His voice wasn't loud, but Jiang Guang suddenly waved his hand, creating a gust of wind: "Little Li, what do you know, you brat? We martial artists never kneel before witches or shamans, right, Mr. Feng?"

Compared to the tall, thin, and rugged Jiang brothers, Li Kang appeared weak and helpless, like a sapling lacking nutrition.

This is the second time he has mentioned the name "Longge Witch." Last night, he said that Suren had personally visited the witch but was turned away and refused an audience.

"Yes, Brother is right. Among martial artists, whoever has the highest skill level calls the shots. Drawing talismans and catching ghosts are all tricks. They're on completely different paths from us and can't possibly work together. Mr. Feng, give the order: find the person within three months. I need to see him alive or dead!" Jiang Ming's words were firm and resolute. But what I wanted was the person, and the three-month deadline had already driven me mad and made me kill.

Li Kang straightened up, still wanting to argue his point: "The mountain people all say that the Longge witch is in that ravine to the left. It's not much trouble to go there, and it's easier than asking bandits."

"Haha, you dare call us heroes of Xianyang bandits?" Jiang Guang grabbed Li Kang with his backhand, bent his arm, and lifted him into the air. Those who practice external martial arts have extraordinary arm strength; lifting a hundred or two pounds is no difficult task for them. Li Kang's body was so supple, like a cooked noodle, draped over Jiang Guang's arm.

His right elbow, right rib, and legs have obvious weaknesses. I could easily subdue him by throwing out my wallet, but I don't want to act immediately. I want to see how long this rabble can keep up this commotion.

"Put me down. I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about the people of Xiangling Village." Li Kang knew that struggling was useless, so he simply stayed still.

"It's easy to put you down, but you have to shout 'Longge witch is a whore' three times and promise never to mention her name in front of the heroes of Xianyang again, understand?" Jiang Guang laughed loudly, lifting and lowering his right arm like a stone weight.

He was so reckless. One shouldn't curse a mountain when one sees a spirit. It was too audacious of him to speak so disrespectfully to the local, devoutly worshipped Longo witches. If one encounters a highly skilled sorcerer with extraordinary spiritual power, they will immediately sense someone calling their name and arrive within minutes.

Respect the gods as if they were present. Someone like him, who so readily throws mud at shamans, will likely not have a good end.

Li Kang remained silent, while the Ba brothers kept their distance, showing no intention of intervening.

Jiang Ming chimed in, "Shout! Shout! Shout!"

Li Zun'er gripped the door frame and shouted, "A gentleman uses words, not fists. Brother Jiang, I apologize to you on behalf of my son. Put him down quickly."

The ancients said that scholars are useless in a hundred ways. No matter how tactfully he put it, he was powerless to do anything when his own son was being held up in mid-air.

A sudden gust of extremely cold wind blew over, causing the Spring Festival couplets haphazardly pasted on the courtyard gate to sway and make a strange "rustling" sound.

"Put him down, put him down quickly!" I barely had time to warn him before Jiang Guang cried out "Ouch!" clutching his lower abdomen with his left hand and involuntarily kneeling forward, his knees slamming heavily onto the bluestone ground.

Li Kang landed and rolled away, scrambling to his feet in a panic, his eyes wide with terror as he looked around.

I could feel a murderous aura slowly spreading, passing through the gate and closing in on Jiang Guang.

With a clatter, Bakun slung his single-barreled shotgun over his shoulder, cocked it, but didn't know who to aim at. Jiang Ming dodged faster than anyone else, turning on his heels and leaping towards the east room, nearly knocking Li Zun'er over. The two of them hurriedly slammed the door shut with a bang, followed by the clanging of the latches locking.

The sky remained overcast, and it was around four o'clock in the afternoon, soon to be dusk. With a thought, the tactical knife concealed in my left wrist flicked into my palm. Although Jiang Guang had been rude, he didn't deserve to die. If his life was in danger, I couldn't just stand by and watch him perish.

There were no other people in the courtyard, but Jiang Guang's neck seemed to be suddenly tightened, his tongue abruptly sticking out, his eyes rolling upwards, and a gurgling sound coming from his throat.

"Friend, have mercy! He didn't mean it. Don't stoop to the level of a brute—" I slowly raised my right arm, feeling the murderous aura completely enveloping Jiang Guang, as if it were about to devour him whole. The knife in my hand had reached its limit, and my strength had been gathered to its limit. I was about to unleash it in the next second when the murderous aura suddenly retreated, vaulted over the stone wall, and disappeared without a trace.

I leaped to the stone wall and looked southwest. In the distance, from the mountain valley, faint blue smoke rose from the chimneys, mingling with the mist.

Li Kang was the first to run to my side. He was too short, so he immediately climbed over the wall and pointed to the source of the smoke: "Mr. Feng, it must have been the witch Longge who came. She hates people talking behind their backs. It must have been her."

Jiang Guang collapsed, clutching his neck with both hands, coughing violently, tears and snot streaming down his face, looking utterly pathetic.

I hesitated for a few seconds, then decided to chase after them into the ravine. I estimated the distance between the two places to be about two kilometers. If I sped up, I could return safely before dark.

In such a wild and untamed place, the most knowledgeable people are only the so-called "wizards." Moreover, in recent years, many international criminals who have nowhere to hide in the cities often choose to live in seclusion in a desolate place to avoid the omnipresent online pursuit. Given their experience and methods, it is quite normal for the ignorant indigenous people to regard them as gods or wizards.

As Li Kang jumped off the wall, he shouted, "Mr. Feng, do you want me to go with you?"

I waved my hand behind my back, declining his offer. Someone like him couldn't possibly be of any help to me. I seriously doubted where Suren and Schiller had found such a rabble; they'd be in serious trouble even with their own survival, let alone exploring.

Halfway there, I started planning to invite a few martial arts masters from Xi'an with high salaries, or perhaps Chongqing and Chengdu, which are also places where hidden talents reside. In short, I couldn't put the heavy responsibility on these ordinary people of all kinds.

There was no path underfoot, but luckily it was winter, the leaves had all fallen, and the line of sight was straight, so I wouldn't get lost.

From the Concubine's Palace to the mountain valley, the vertical drop is nearly thirty meters, so when I crossed a clear stream and looked back again, the Concubine's Palace was already far above. The stream was not frozen, and it was steaming with wisps of water vapor, flowing past the side of the row of stone houses in front of me, heading north until it disappeared into the endless rocks and wilderness.

The smoke was rising from the stone roof. I quickly stepped onto the open space in front of the hut and politely bowed towards the dark house: "Is anyone home? I'm a stranger who has come to pay my respects to the witch Longge. May I come in?"

No one answered. Only a black cloth curtain hung at the entrance of the stone house. On the left stone wall were two white characters, written messily, which should be two overlapping "heart" characters.

I stood with my hands hanging down, waiting quietly.

"Who is it?" A deep, hoarse voice came from behind the curtain.

"I am Feng, from the expedition team over at the Consort's Palace. We have some questions we would like to ask the Witch Longge." I cupped my hands towards the curtain and bowed deeply.

"What is it?" A gust of wind blew by, lifting the curtain, and I could vaguely see a low stone platform in the center of the room.

"My friend Suren went up the mountain three days ago and suddenly disappeared. Please, Master, advise me on how to find her?" I took a few steps forward, nearing the entrance.

"Alright, wait a minute..." The curtain suddenly billowed up and draped over the wooden stick above the doorway, releasing a faint fragrance. I slowly gathered my inner strength, focused my mind, and cautiously stepped inside, afraid of falling into their trap. In this remote and impoverished place, all sorts of people exist, and anything can happen.

In front of the stone platform lay a square, grayish-brown sand table, about a meter in size, with wooden sticks of varying lengths stuck in its four corners. Three gray incense sticks burned in a black incense burner beside the sand table, emitting a scent similar to Tibetan incense. The room was dark, with no lights on.

"Your friend is trapped in Fifteen Ridges."

A thin, dark shadow suddenly descended onto the dark rooftop, shrouded from head to toe in a huge black cloak, the large hood hanging down over her forehead completely obscuring her face. She picked up a thin, dry twig and pointed to a densely wooded mound in the sand table.

I have seen a detailed military map of this area, but there is no place called "Fifteen Ridges" there. In fact, there is no place named "ridge" within a radius of 100 kilometers. Looking closely at the terrain of the sand table, the elevation distribution is not the same as the area around Feizidian.

"Master, where is Fifteen Ridge? Isn't it located in these mountains and forests?"

“You’re very clever, you guessed right.” She gently tapped the mound with a twig.

If the sand table depicts a terrain that is not local, it's like trying to explore Africa using a map of the Americas—completely misguided and utterly incomprehensible.

"What is Shiwuling?" She raised her left hand, palm up, and a black spider suddenly slid down from the air, holding a thin thread, and fell into her palm. It was long and thin, baring its fangs and claws at me.

"This problem will require you to pay a small price, hehehehe..." She laughed strangely. The spider had tiny white spots on its back, somewhat resembling the "ghost face spider" of Nepal, a venomous creature unique to the snow-capped mountains, known as the "deadly killer" of Nepalese people, along with the "red-banded silver ring snake".

"What price?" I held my breath, lest the aroma also conceal something strange.

"You love that girl very much? I can feel your heart, constantly thinking about her, and willing to pay any price, even your life, to save her." She chuckled strangely, letting the spider crawl onto the back of her dry, dark hand.

I didn't continue, watching as the spider opened its mouth and bit a shriveled blood vessel on the back of her hand. This scene is frequently seen among the Gu practitioners in the Miao region of China. Skilled Gu practitioners know that only by sacrificing their own blood to feed the poisonous insects can they achieve a connection of minds and make the insects completely obedient to them.

"To find her, we need these children's help, so you must dedicate yourself to feeding them and becoming their friend. In many places where human effort is inaccessible, we must rely on these little creatures, because they are everywhere. Do you dare?"

The spider was sucking her blood, and its body slowly swelled up. The white spots on its back grew larger and larger, gradually unfolding into countless white human faces, complete with features, lifelike.

This is the Ghost Spider, a venomous insect that kills instantly upon contact with blood. If Longe feeds it with her own blood, she herself becomes a terrifying "poisonous person" in the convection of blood, and only in this way can she avoid being poisoned to death.

"You don't dare?" she chuckled coldly.

The sky grew darker, and the outlines of distant mountains and nearby trees began to blur.

"I dare, but you have to tell me, what exactly is Fifteen Ridge?" I retorted with a cold laugh. I've seen plenty of people who play tricks, and a tiny ghost-faced spider isn't enough to make me fear and back down.

“That was somewhere in the embrace of…” She added a very vague word in the middle, neither in Chinese nor in the Sichuan-Tibetan dialect, but probably some kind of special noun.

"What? In the embrace of what?" I have a pretty good grasp of most common languages around the world, but what she was talking about was not among them.

"You can think of... as a 'god,' and Fifteen Ridges is a point within the embrace of that god. Since it's the god's domain, it naturally won't appear on a map. Humans cannot reach that place—"

I immediately retorted, "If people can't get there, how did my friend get there?"