Premier tome de la série Le Magicien Oolong Qui suis-je

Chapitre 43

"Hehe, it seems this young lady isn't feeling well. Why don't you come to my room to rest for a while, if you don't mind!" Tang Sang warmly invited. I glanced back at A Bao, whose face was still pale, and readily agreed.

When we entered Tang Sang's home, we discovered that it was not just poor, but extremely poor. There wasn't even a television set. The entire house could truly be described as bare. The most valuable item was probably an old-fashioned radio placed in a conspicuous spot in the room. Because the house was built of mud, the entire room had no windows, and only a dusty light bulb illuminated the room with its dim yellow light.

Perhaps noticing our surprise, Tang Sang sighed and explained, "Our village is too backward, which has caused many young people to go elsewhere to make a living, leaving only us old people and children. It's really embarrassing for you."

“How could that be! We’re not those snobs!” Abao, who had suddenly fallen silent, said softly but firmly.

"Hehe, what a kind little girl!" Tang Sang smiled and brought her a bowl of water. The bowl was old and chipped, but the water was very clear. A Bao took it without saying a word and drank it down.

"By the way, Uncle Tang, is there anywhere here where we can stay for the night?" Li Yang asked worriedly, looking at the cramped room.

"Oh, this..." Tang Sang scratched her head in embarrassment and said, "We don't have any hotels here! Finding a place to stay is really a problem for you!"

Upon hearing this, we immediately exchanged worried glances. Before coming here, we had never imagined that the place would be so poor and backward, with not a single hotel or guesthouse in sight. Were we supposed to sleep outdoors?!

"It's not a problem at all!" Just as we were racking our brains, a gruff voice called out, and an old man appeared before us. However, compared to Tang Sang's amiable demeanor, this old man was dark-skinned and thin, with a slightly hooked nose, and his small eyes shone with a sharp gaze that was not commensurate with his age.

"Why don't we just go there?" The hook-nosed old man gestured with his chin, and Tang Sang's face immediately darkened. He said somewhat flusteredly, "Tang Jing, don't give me any bad advice!"

"What? That temple does have a lot of empty rooms! They can stay there!" Tang Jing said matter-of-factly.

"You don't know, this temple..." Tang Sang suddenly stopped talking, glanced at us awkwardly, as if she was being cautious about something.

"Alright, don't assume there's something wrong with someone just because they're a little ugly, okay?" Tang Jing complained, then turned to us and said, "Young man, are you interested in staying at that temple up in the mountain?"

"Great! Great!" Li Yang and I agreed almost in unison. We originally came here to investigate this temple, and we were wondering what excuse we could use. Now, being able to stay here will greatly help our investigation!

“But…” Tang Sang said with concern.

"What are you afraid of?" Tang Jing glanced at Tang Sang, who was still trying to dissuade us from the idea, and said, "Are you afraid of it?"

"I...I didn't!" Tang Sang's face immediately turned red, and in the end she sighed and didn't say anything more in protest.

So, after saying goodbye to Tang Sang, we followed Tang Jing up the mountain path.

The mountain path leading to the temple was extremely difficult to traverse, barely half a meter wide, just wide enough for one person to pass at a time. The weather on the mountain was even colder than down below; the chilly air penetrated every pore of my body, making me shiver incessantly. The narrow path was paved with large stones, and the cold air had caused fine dew to condense on their surfaces, making us extremely careful not to slip.

Tang Jing walked in front, followed by A Bao, Li Yang, and me. The mountain was very high and steep; towards the end, it felt like we were climbing almost against the mountainside. The higher we went, the more unique the scenery became. Amidst layers of swirling clouds and mist, a pavilion floated in the white clouds, like a place where immortals lived in Kunlun, with the natural fragrance of trees filling the air.

Unfortunately, the sky was a somber gray, pressing down on us. Instead of the excitement of travel, I had a strange feeling, as if I were stepping into another world, a world we couldn't possibly predict. Heavy breathing was accompanied by the sound of footsteps, and I had a feeling someone was behind me; they walked when I walked, and stopped when I stopped.

I shook my head, trying to pull this strange thought out of my mind. Suddenly, a clump of grass in front of me rustled and made a soft, whispering sound.

"Who is it?" I asked nervously. A gray rabbit immediately darted out of the grass and disappeared back into the green.

"Ah, a little bunny!" Girls are always happy to see fluffy little animals. At this moment, Abao had obviously recovered from her motion sickness and said cheerfully.

"Yes, although we are poor here, the environment is still quite good!" Tang Jing said proudly.

I gave an awkward laugh and continued on my way. I glanced back and felt like a pair of eyes were watching me intently. Looking at Li Yang and the others ahead, they seemed perfectly natural. I shrugged; I guess I was just being overly sensitive.

As darkness fell, the temple, seemingly so close, remained elusive, as if we had been walking in circles. I was starting to pant heavily, a consequence of not exercising regularly! The old man, however, showed no signs of fatigue, leading the way with brisk steps.

Looking at the now-dark landscape, I began to feel uneasy. It had been my first time climbing the mountain, and during the day, so the scenery was always fresh and new. But after walking for so long, almost everything was green shrubs and tall trees, and my eyes were starting to tire. It felt as if all the trees were the same, and I was simply walking before a moving backdrop. The deep, dark woods reminded me of the forest by the lake in my heart—also filled with towering trees, exuding an eerie and sinister aura. Perhaps it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but wisps of white smoke rose from all the trees, forming strange faces within the curling smoke, sending chills down my spine. The occasional birdsong or the rustling of animals moving through the bushes added to the eerie silence. A strange thought suddenly occurred to me: perhaps this rustling sound wasn't just from animals!

"Hey, we've arrived!" Tang Jing announced happily, officially ending our almost trekking mountain climbing journey.

Looking up, the temple was truly magnificent, making us feel both oppressed and insignificant; its massive black shadow enveloped us all in darkness. Above the gate hung a plaque, but due to years of disrepair and the darkness, we could only vaguely make out the large characters "Longyi Temple," the "moon" radical of the character "胧" already faded and peeling off. And surprisingly, the temple's main gate wasn't the traditional red, but black!

Tang Jing stepped forward and knocked hard on the door. The heavy sound immediately echoed throughout the entire cliff, and the echo lingered for a long time before turning into a soft sigh.

After waiting for a while, no one answered the door. Tang Jing smiled awkwardly at us and said, "There's only an old man guarding this place, so it's inevitable that things will be a little slow."

Is there only one person in such a large temple? I frowned. Living alone in such a remote mountain area and such a spacious temple, isn't he lonely?

Just as I was thinking this, the door suddenly creaked open to both sides. In my daze, I didn't see a single person. Combined with the ancient temple, the moonlit night, and the deep mountains, I immediately thought of something unsettling. But upon closer inspection, I realized it was a person completely wrapped in a long black robe. Because of the moonlight, we couldn't make out their face.

The figure stepped forward and out the door. The cold moonlight immediately illuminated his face clearly, and at the same time, I heard the three of us gasp in unison.

This man was far more than just "a little ugly" as Tang Jing had described; in fact, calling him ugly would be an understatement. His face was covered in scars, with red, newly formed flesh protruding from black scars. His nose was gone, leaving only two red openings. The scars around his eyes made them look exceptionally terrifying, with yellow pus oozing from the corners. His left eye was completely obscured by a polyp. His entire face could definitely star in any horror movie, no makeup needed. Further down, even his neck was covered in red burn scars. And on his head, he wore a hat.

Burns!? I immediately shuddered. Upon closer inspection, the scars were indeed from burns. Looking more closely at his hands, I noticed he was wearing gloves. Had his hands been burned too? How much of his skin was still intact? Judging from his condition, the burned area must have been very large; it was truly a miracle he survived! Because of the scars, I couldn't immediately tell his age.

"Hey Lao Gentou, hello there!" Tang Jing wasn't scared like we were at all; instead, he greeted the man warmly.

"Ah, it's alright!" Old Gentou's voice was like a broken gong, so low and frightening.

“These are students who came to sketch. As you know, our village can’t accommodate outsiders at all. So, I brought them here hoping they could stay at the temple,” Tang Jing explained.

"Oh, I see!" Old Man Gen glanced at us with his right eye, then said, "Come in!"

"I'm so glad you're willing to take them in!" Tang Jing laughed heartily and said, "Then I won't go in. The road down the mountain is difficult! I want to get down the mountain and go home before it gets completely dark. My wife is waiting for me!" After saying that, he smiled at us, turned around and walked back, leaving us still shocked by the old man's appearance.

"Come in!" Old Gentou didn't try to stop Tang Jing. He called out to us and then turned to walk into the house. We exchanged encouraging glances. We were already up the mountain; there was no point in going back. Besides, there really wasn't anywhere in the village to stay. So, we picked up our luggage and quickly followed Old Gentou. The temple was pitch black, like a black hole swallowing all light.

As soon as we stepped into the temple, Old Gentou slammed the temple doors shut behind us. We had entered another world, a mesmerizing and mysterious one.

The trees in the courtyard were towering, probably over a hundred years old! Countless dark shadows flickered under the dappled moonlight, making the feeling of someone following me even stronger. I walked at the back, carefully observing; to my left were several low-rise houses—the main hall must be ahead!

In front of the main hall were long flights of steps. When I finally stood at the foot of the hall, I suddenly realized that the plaque above the main hall wasn't the usual Mahavira Hall of a temple, but rather the Hall of the Underworld! This was so strange. Why was the temple laid out like this? And what god was enshrined in the Hall of the Underworld? Unfortunately, the door to the main hall was closed, so we couldn't see the statues of the gods inside.

Passing through the main hall, what appeared before us was the magnificent pavilion we had seen at the entrance. The plaque above the door bore four characters: Goddess of the Underworld!

After crossing the high threshold, a statue about two people tall stood before us. When I saw her face clearly, I almost froze on the spot, and the emptiness in my body was replaced by fear.

Beneath her long, black hair lay an unusually pale face. Then, from her left eye—no, it should be said—a deep, red, gaping hole from which flowed crimson tears, appearing eerily eerie in the flickering candlelight. Her hand stretched forward, her fingertips also stained with red blood.

Perhaps because of the flickering candlelight, the statue's face seemed to slowly contort, the blood and tears on its surface appearing to flow gently, its wooden right eye gleaming coldly. The blood on its fingertips seemed about to drip. The entire statue swelled several times its original size, staring intently at me from a high, distant place…

My left eye feels uncomfortable...

Rapid breathing...

I feel a pressure in my chest...

Amidst the chilling shiver, I heard a soft sigh emanating from within the statue…

Volume Two, The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Sixteen: Cleansing—An Zhengxi

Volume Two, The Devil's Left Eye, Chapter Sixteen: Cleansing—An Zhengxi

"Oh my god! What is this?" Ah Bao's exclamation came, and I subconsciously touched my chest.

“This is a statue of the goddess Senluo!” Old Gentou said, picking up a paper lantern from the side.

"But why her left eye?" Li Yang asked curiously.

“Because she is atoning for her sins!” Old Gentou said slowly. “Our village was originally the territory of the Moonshadow Clan, and this Senluo Goddess is the goddess worshipped by their clan.”

"Moonshadow Clan? What's that?" Li Yang's curious nature resurfaced. I looked at Li Yang, but out of the corner of my eye, I caught a fleeting look of sadness in A Bao's eyes.

"That was a branch of the Yi people, but unfortunately they were wiped out decades ago." Old Gentou, carrying a lantern, led us to the back of the main hall, where a staircase wound its way up.

"Extermination of the entire clan?" I raised an eyebrow; it felt like something out of a martial arts movie.

"Yes! The entire clan, regardless of age, all died! It wasn't until much later that Han Chinese people started settling in this place again." Old Gentou took the lead and stepped onto the wooden steps, which immediately made a creaking sound.

"Do you know how our clan was wiped out?" Abao asked, walking ahead of me.

"It seems to be because of some treasure!" Old Gentou said casually.

"Treasure?" The three of us exclaimed in unison. This was too interesting. An ancient ethnic minority, a mysterious treasure, a bloody extermination—it all seemed like something out of a novel.

During the conversation, Old Gentou led us up to the fourth floor and pointed to a row of room doors, saying, "We're here. You can stay here!"

"Oh, thank you." We politely bowed slightly to him. You really can't judge a book by its cover. Although he looked terrifying, he was very kind!

"You can all take your own rooms. There are five rooms in total. The one by the stairs is the toilet." After saying that, Old Man Gen handed me a paper lantern, saying, "There's no electricity here. Each room has candles and oil lamps. Here, take this one!"

"Oh, okay!" I immediately took the paper lantern. Although I kept telling myself that I shouldn't have any prejudice against him, I still felt a little uncomfortable when the yellow candlelight flickered and shone on his scarred face.

Old Gentou turned and went down the stairs. In the almost dark night, he moved very fast, as if he had night vision.

I turned to look at Abao and Li Yang and asked, "Where are you staying?"

"How about this, you take the first room and I'll take the third, and Abao can take the middle one," Li Yang said.

"Okay!" I picked up my luggage and headed to the room, saying, "Then everyone should get some rest. You must be tired after a whole day of traveling."

"Great! This place may be poor, but it's still quite charming!" Abao skipped and hopped to the door and pushed it open.

After saying goodnight to each other, we went to our respective rooms. I pushed open the somewhat worn door, and a room of about ten square meters came into view. The room contained only a bed, a table, a chair, and a wardrobe. The table was placed under the window, and the bed was next to it. Perhaps because my room was the one on the far right, there was another window next to the bed, but it was closed.

There were no electric lights in the room, only the silvery moonlight streaming in through the window, filling the entire space. After putting down my luggage, I lit the candles on the table, and immediately, the dim, yellow candlelight flickered.

I took the abstract art book out of my bag and flipped through it a few times while lying on the bed. The blue base color appeared a strange, ghastly green under the yellow candlelight. Because I'd only ever cared about the website address on the book, I hadn't really paid much attention to the book itself. But today, flipping through it again, I suddenly noticed something very interesting. Generally, books have printed content on both sides, but this book only had content on one side, while the back was completely blank. Isn't that a waste of paper? How strange!

I tossed aside the sketchbook, glanced at the other window beside the bed, and got up to open it. In the cold moonlight, I saw a strange sight: black coffins suspended in mid-air on a barren cliff face! Yes, definitely coffins! I immediately rubbed my eyes, then looked more closely. It turned out that someone had drilled many holes in the cliff and driven wooden stakes into them, placing the coffins on these protruding stakes. Could this be the hanging coffins Baiyun had mentioned? A unique burial practice of the Yi people? If so, and the Yueying tribe is a branch of the Yi, then these must be the coffins of the Yueying people!

But when I looked down, the cliff was incredibly high and steep, and there was no path to climb it. How did the Moonshadow Clan manage to hoist the coffin up there? It's truly amazing!

I marveled at the ingenuity of the ancient Chinese, then took out my toiletries from my bag and opened the door to go to the toilet. As soon as I closed the door, the corridor plunged into a dark abyss. The wooden floorboards were quite old, creaking underfoot. The only sound was my own breathing. I hurried to the toilet and realized I hadn't even brought a candle. Fortunately, the moonlight streaming in from the window was still fairly bright. Looking around, the toilet was only about five square meters—very small, containing a sink and a yellowed showerhead. I turned on the showerhead; thankfully, there was still hot water.

The sound of rushing water filled the small space as I took a shower as quickly as possible. As the water flowed over my skin, I suddenly heard footsteps in the hallway.

"Who is it?" I called out, but no one answered. Had I misheard? I turned off the shower and listened carefully again; all was silent outside.

After a quick shower, I went back to my room, closed the door, and turned around. A white object on the table immediately caught my attention. Taking a step forward, I saw a white ghost mask lying there silently.

What happened? Who put it there? I grabbed the mask; it was icy cold to the touch, and a sinister smile was right in front of me. I looked around; there was nowhere to hide in this room, and I was sure I locked the door before I went out! After a moment's thought, I grabbed the mask and a candle and rushed out of the room.

"Li Yang, A Bao, are you there?" I called out as I approached A Bao's door.

"What's wrong?" Abao asked curiously as he opened the door.

"Come here for a second!" I pulled Abao and we had just reached Li Yang's door when Li Yang opened the door and came out.

"What is this?" Li Yang asked, looking at the mask in my hand.

“What do you mean?” I handed over the mask, which was clearly the same as the mask the man I saw last time was wearing.

"Where did you find it?" Abao snatched the mask from Li Yang's hand and looked it over from left to right.

"It was on my desk, but it wasn't there before I went to take a shower!" I said.

"Who put it there?" Li Yang asked.

“How should I know!” I said.

"Wow, this mask is so interesting!" Abao held the mask up to his face and exclaimed excitedly, "I thought I couldn't see anything, but it turns out it has eye holes!"

"Oh?" Li Yang and I exchanged glances. At first glance, the mask didn't seem to have any eye holes.

"Look! The eye socket is actually made up of many tiny pinholes, so you can't see it at first glance!" Abao pointed to the eye area.