Chapter 107: Worship God

Ji Taixuan turned on the flashlight and walked onto the path leading into the village.

Two rows of tall cypress trees are neatly planted on both sides of the path. Large green rice fields surround the winding road in the middle. The refreshing night breeze blows across the fields, bringing bursts of rice fragrance. The sound of gurgling water can be heard from the canal, and there is peace and tranquility under the night sky.

Ji Taiyu walked forward for a while and took out the letter his mother left for him from his arms:

[1. Once you walk onto that path, you can only move forward and never look back]

[2. When you walk on the path, you should be able to hear two footsteps at the same time, one is yours and the other is its. Don't be afraid, it will protect you.]

[3. If you hear only one footstep on the road, stand still and don't move until the footsteps come back behind you before you can continue to move forward]

[4. On the way into the village, you will come across a land temple. Remember to burn three incense sticks to the land. The incense can be found in the red plastic bag under the bricks next to the small temple. Remember it is a red plastic bag. If you see any other color plastic bag, give up burning incense and leave immediately.]

【5,……】

"Does it mean that hearing two footsteps means I can enter the village safely..." Ji Taiyu put the letter back into his arms and walked forward a few steps. The sneakers on his feet stepped on the gravel road, making a crisp creaking sound.

At the same time, another sound of footsteps came from behind you without any warning, with the same frequency, the same rhythm, as if an invisible person was following you quietly. You took a step and it also took a step, but its sound was much smaller.

Ji Taixuan took a deep breath, adjusted his breathing, and walked forward.

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

The two sounds overlapped without distinction, and slowly moved forward along with the light of the flashlight.

'That thing' is following.

Ji Taiyu walked forward step by step with his feet firmly on the ground. The dark night sky above his head gradually became brighter. The moon rose quietly and cast its bright white moonlight on the green fields.

The cold moon, the silent fields, the clattering footsteps following closely behind, and the strange scenes all around are very much like the ghost stories circulating in the streets, which make people feel tense and have goose bumps.

Ji Taiyu walked forward with his head held high. The gravel on the path beneath his feet, bathed in the moonlight, looked particularly pale.

Not far away, a low building like a small house was looming. It seemed to be the land temple mentioned in the letter, where the land god of Yanglao Village was enshrined.

"Burn incense. Yes, we have to burn incense to the land god..." Ji Taiyu's spirits were slightly lifted. He held the flashlight tightly and quickened his pace forward.

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

After walking a few steps, he had to stop with a pale face, because this time he heard only one footstep behind him.

Where did 'it' go?
"My mother said in the letter that I don't have to be afraid of it and that it will protect me... So now it's gone, is it because I'm in danger? What danger?" Ji Taiyu stopped and stood still, his heart pounding like it was about to jump out of his chest.

He didn't dare to go forward, let alone look back to check the situation behind him. The green rice fields on both sides of the road rustled in the night wind, and the strange atmosphere made Ji Taiyu feel uneasy.

One minute passed, then two minutes passed. The silent time passed silently. There was still no movement in the darkness behind him. The footsteps that followed him disappeared out of thin air, as if they had never existed, as if the sound he heard before was an illusion. The long wait had no progress bar. The emotions of fear and doubt gnawed at the boy's heart like maggots born from rotten meat. A question began to appear involuntarily, making Ji Taiyu feel uneasy.

——Will 'it' really come back?

If it never shows up, do I have to stand here and wait until dawn?
For a moment, Ji Taiyu couldn't hold back his fear and wanted to take a step forward to run, but the little rationality he had left forced him to calm down, and he stood there and continued to wait in agony.

The waiting time is unknown, even if it is only five minutes, it is longer than the expected half an hour, so long that every second feels as unbearable as a year.

After an unknown amount of time, footsteps sounded again from behind.

click, click, click—

"It's back?" Ji Taiyu's shoulders trembled and he suddenly woke up. The sound of footsteps coming from behind him gradually got closer and stopped about one step behind him.

Ji Taiyu didn't dare to look back and continued walking forward.

click, click, click—

It was still the same frequency, still the same rhythm, but the footsteps that reappeared seemed different from before. The sound now was crisper and neater. If I had to give a specific description, it would be like the difference between soft-soled sneakers and hard-soled leather shoes. Apart from that, there was nothing unusual.

Ji Taixuan walked forward nervously. The clear and loud footsteps followed closely behind him, which made him feel more confident.

Ahead on the road, the small land temple is not far away.

Suddenly, a cool evening breeze blew towards me, making a whistling sound. Along with the sound of the wind, there came a weeping, plaintive human voice:
[Dirty fire, turbid water, mirror covered with dust]

[The sky is light, the earth is cheap, and man is precious]

[Daily interest…]

The syllables of each Chinese character were stretched and pieced together in a strange way, stitched into a melodious piece of silk floating in the wind, as if someone was crying in the night, or someone was dancing and singing in the front.

Ji Taiyu felt a chill on his back and walked forward cautiously. He saw a thin-clothed and skinny man kneeling on the ground, bowing deeply towards the direction of the land temple. His forehead hit the ground heavily, leaving a trace of bright red blood.

After bowing, the man stood up and uttered another meaningless phrase:
[The deer calls, the bright clouds linger...]

Ji Taiyu did not dare to approach rashly, but just watched from a distance. He saw that the man took a step back after reciting a passage, then bowed down again and kowtowed deeply towards the land temple, leaving a bright red bloodstain. After kowtowing, he stood up again and blurted out another strange sacrificial passage, forming a cycle.

Every time this person kowtows in the direction of the land temple, he will stand up and say a sacrificial speech, while taking a step back. After finishing the sacrificial speech, he will kowtow again, and repeat this cycle.

He bowed with every step he took, and retreated with every bow he made. The long and strange sacrificial words echoed back and forth between the fields and the roads, becoming farther and farther away and fainter and fainter.

When Ji Taiyu suddenly woke up from his trance, the man on the road had disappeared without him knowing.

Only a small land temple was left standing by the road, with bloodstains extending from the temple entrance into the rice fields.

(End of this chapter)

previouscatalognext