Chapter 2: Leave quickly (thanks to the leader of "Baishui Tofu Pudding") Heng Village is very large and is also located by the water. From a distance, you can see large areas of white walls and green tiles, along with the dark stone slabs and light green mountains reflected in the lake. But don't underestimate the villages here—— In this place, whether they are wealthy merchants or high-ranking officials, most of their mansions and families are in the countryside rather than in the city. Therefore, almost every village is inhabited by people with the same surname, without any other surnames. A village is a huge family, a small city. It is rare to see someone like Lin Jue who is obviously from a different surname but lives in Shu Village. The surname Wang in Heng Village is quite prominent. Some of the clan members are still serving as officials in the court. People these days value respecting their ancestors and valuing filial piety and brotherhood, so they have built more than 20 ancestral halls. There is one main ancestral hall, two main branch ancestral halls, and further branch ancestral halls. Some people even have family ancestral halls at home. The place where the strange incident occurred this time was a main branch ancestral hall. After some investigation, Lin Jue arrived at a large courtyard and met Old Master Wang. This was a spacious hall, with a skylight overhead, a water tank with a turtle in it, and a few couplets on the wall. The main seat was decorated with vases on the east and mirrors on the west. The old man was dressed in luxurious clothes, sitting upright on a throne, his big eyes fixed on Lin Jue below him: "Whose descendant are you? You can't afford to pay for it if you get scared." "I am from Shu Village, my last name is Lin."
"Oh, the one with the surname Lin." "Yes." "You are quite brave..." "Always bold." Lin Jue tried his best to remain calm. No matter how brave I was in the past, now that I am here, a strange place that I don't know much about, and have listened to the strange stories told by the village elders in the pavilion, I can't help but feel a little uneasy. Anxiety comes from the unknown. "At your age, it is important to study hard and strive for success. Don't ruin your body just for the sake of money or to show off your bravery." Old Master Wang warned. "The junior wants to go and see it." "Really want to go?" "I really want to." "You are really brave. It's just right that you have a companion today." The old villager spoke calmly, not seeming to be too worried about the problem in his own ancestral hall. It seemed that in his eyes, this was just a strange but not very rare and scary thing. "Have you had dinner?" "No, sir." "You are here to help our Wang family. I dare not neglect you. But what do you want? Tell me now." "It would be best if I had a sword." "Give him a hatchet." "Thank you, old sir." "what else?" "..."
Lin Jue thought about it in silence, then said, "It's cold at night, I need another quilt." "what else?" "No more." "Good boy!" After saying this, the old man of the Wang family waved his hand and instructed both Lin Jue and a servant beside him: "Prepare bedding for him, have him eat here, and then take him to the ancestral hall." A family of scholars is one that is particular about things. We had bamboo shoots stewed with bacon for dinner. I haven't had such a good meal in a long time. While eating, Lin Jue also saw the other companion that Mr. Wang mentioned. He was a big man with an untidy beard who smelled a bit of alcohol and looked a bit depressed. It seemed that he was also here for the 10,000 yuan reward. This gave Lin Jue a sense of security. Most people's anxiety comes from isolation. It's much better to have someone to keep you company. After dinner, someone took them to the ancestral hall. We passed through the village along the way, with smoke and lights. "Just go straight ahead and it's at the end." It was already getting late at this time, and the servants' steps were obviously much more hesitant, as if they did not dare to get any closer. They just pointed forward and spoke to them, holding an oil lamp in the other hand. Lin Jue looked in the direction he pointed. Ahead is a straight and narrow alley. The alley is lined with high fire walls, originally white, but after a while, the rain washed away the black bottom, giving it a mottled black color. At dusk, when the sky is not too dark, the high walls and narrow alley give it a very deep feeling, even though it is not long. "..." Lin Jue took a deep breath. But after thinking carefully about what he had heard and thinking about his uncle's illness, he felt that there was really not much to be afraid of, so he said decisively: "Just send it here, butler." "Hmm? Oh well..." The servant handed him the oil lamp. "Thank you..." Lin Jue took the oil lamp and started walking again. He held the oil lamp in one hand while holding the bedding, and in the other hand he held the hatchet, and walked into the alley and went forward. I didn't even look back.
Soon they arrived in front of the ancestral hall. Lin Jue looked up. The door of the ancestral hall was open. In the evening light, it could be seen that it was very empty inside. One could directly see the innermost portrait wall, and it seemed as if there was nothing on it. Lin Jue didn't allow himself to think too much and stepped in. After stepping over the high threshold, it was indeed a bit chilly, but the feeling was similar to that of an ordinary house, not as eerie as imagined. Behind me, I could hear the footsteps and voice of another man: "Nothing..." It's obvious that he's comforting himself. Lin Jue did not respond. He continued walking inside, looking up at the ancestral hall. The ancestral hall in Heng Village is similar to that in Shu Village, both of which have three-entry structures: the first entrance is the ceremonial gate, which has a small space for storing things, which is equivalent to having two rooms inside, one large and one small, one low and one high. The first room was a large hall with tables and chairs, usually called a hall of appreciation, where clan members could discuss matters, reward outstanding people, and punish bad people. The wall behind blocked the second room, and the first thing Lin Jue saw was the portrait of the ancestor of this branch of the Wang family hanging on the wall. He is a middle-aged man with quite a demeanor. Then I looked at the couplets hanging on the pillars on both sides: Cultivate filial piety and brotherhood to emphasize human relations; Be loyal to the clan and show harmony. Go around the side to the back and climb a flight of stairs, and you will reach the second room, which is slightly smaller than the first one. It houses the tablets of the ancestors of this branch of the Wang family and is called the bedroom. The ancestral hall also has a skylight that lets in light and the moon, and is beautifully built with carved beams and painted rafters. It's just that the tiles above my head are a bit messy. In addition, there are couplets, family precepts and clan rules everywhere in the hall. Lin Jue watched silently and recited silently. Unexpectedly, it didn't feel eerie. Instead, it felt like the descendants' respect for their ancestors, and the continuation of clan culture. It actually had a sense of solemnity. The man's voice came from behind: "You are such a brave boy, you just walked in without any hesitation! "What? You also lost a bet? "Or are you showing off? "Hey! I thought I was alone tonight, but now that there's one more person, I feel much more comfortable!" As the man spoke, he put down his bedding and straw mat and sat down in the ancestral hall. Lin Jue also sat down. Light the oil lamp and chat with him. They were all people from nearby villages. They talked to each other about where they lived and whether they knew each other. The sky gradually darkened, and the already dim ancestral hall became even darker. Only the tiny light was swaying. "Hey kid, if we run out now, find another place to stay for the night, and run back before dawn tomorrow, how will they know if we slept there for a night?" The man's expression became more and more excited with his tone, as if he really thought that this was feasible. As long as Lin Jue nodded, he would really go out to check if there was anyone there and sneak away with Lin Jue. Lin Jue's first thought after hearing this was -
This companion doesn't seem very reliable. "do not know." Lin Jue answered with a calm expression. He didn't dare to gamble, nor did he want to gamble. Now that he had made up his mind to come and had already sat here, he would not leave easily. "Ugh……" After being rejected by him, the man began to comfort himself: "There aren't so many ghosts in this world. I used to... Well, those who say they encountered ghosts while walking on the road at night are either drunk and dazzled, or they are just bragging when they have nothing better to do. “Mostly. "It's probably some wild cats and dogs from the mountains that are making some noise, and the villagers are scaring themselves. Or maybe someone in the village is having an affair and making some noise to scare people. Otherwise, maybe Old Master Wang did something that made our ancestors unhappy, but he won't make things difficult for us anyway. "Are you right?" It didn't take long for the ancestral hall to become quiet. It’s not that the two of them slept, but no one slept, and no one dared to sleep. But there was nothing else to say, so they wrapped themselves in the quilt, leaned against the wall, and kept their eyes open in the dim light. The oil lamp still flickered. There is a moon tonight. The moonlight is bright, shining through the sky and onto the ground like white frost. As the night deepens, people become more and more sleepy. Before I knew it, my eyelids had started to droop. "call……" There was a chill breeze. The man next to him suddenly opened his eyes wide. "what?" Lin Jue couldn't help but be slightly startled. He looked forward, but saw nothing. Just when he thought that this idle man was just scaring him for fun out of boredom, or was making a fuss over the slightest movement, he actually saw a flash of light outside, and almost at the same time, wind blew in again. The oil lamp was suppressed and immediately dimmed. The flame lasted for a few breaths before it struggled to stand up again. "What is that?" The man turned to look at Lin Jue with a pair of bright eyes, "You saw it too?" "Saw." "What is it?" "Maybe... it's the village dog."
Lin Jue was also a little uncertain, but he was much calmer than the man next to him who looked older and stronger. “The village dog? “It’s possible that it’s also possible.” The idle man repeated this several times, as if trying to convince himself. However, at this moment, there was movement outside again. This voice is the voice of a person speaking: "Are there any more fearless people coming?" The voice was so shrill that it was difficult to tell whether it was a man or a woman, and it didn't even sound like it came from a human throat. "!" The idle man was immediately startled. "what?" He still said this, but his voice was trembling, as if he had completely forgotten his previous analysis. Lin Jue was also a student of Mr. Shucun, and was influenced by the old master's idea that "there are magic tricks in the world but no ghosts and gods". He was not sure whether there were really ghosts in the Wang family ancestral hall or whether it was people causing trouble. When he heard the strange sound, he gradually began to have a biased opinion. It's nothing, it's just too weird. As I was hesitating, my head suddenly shook. "Crash..." "Ding-ding-dong..." All there was was the sound of tiles shaking. Then tiles began to fall. "Snapped……" A piece of tile fell to the ground and immediately broke into pieces. There was another whoosh sound, and a gust of wind blew in, extinguishing the only oil lamp in the bedroom. The bedroom suddenly became dark, and the sound of the air above his head continued to shake, as if it was swept by a strong wind. Occasionally, tiles fell and hit the ground with a popping sound. Sometimes, the broken pieces of tiles splashed onto Lin Jue's body, bringing a slight touch or even a tingling sensation. Lin Jue couldn't help but open his eyes wide. What's going on here? Are there really ghosts in this world? Are those strange stories told by the village elders true? No wonder so many drunkards and strong men who claim to be brave and desperate idlers who come here for money cannot survive a night. If ghosts and monsters really exist, how many people would not be afraid of them? At this time, a voice came from outside the dormitory again: "If you don't want to die, leave quickly!" Still shrill and inhuman, accompanied by the sound of tiles clanking and crackling.
"what……" Saving his life was of the utmost importance, so the idle man next to him turned over and got up without a second thought, and before he could even stand up straight, he rolled and crawled out. Lin Jue did not stop him, nor did he move. First, the Wang family ancestral hall has been in unrest for some time. There have been neither too many nor too few people coming here to spend the night. Even the Wang family has organized young and strong people in the family to come here, but except for those who became sick due to fear after returning home, Lin Jue has not heard of anyone being harmed as a result. Secondly, if the idle man ran out at this time, with the help of the moonlight from the patio, he could just see whether the person outside was a human or a ghost. Maybe it was a gang committing the crime? I could only hear the idle man's hurried footsteps getting farther and farther away. He left the bedroom and seemed to have tripped over the threshold or the steps. When he got outside, he heard an even more terrified cry: "what!!" The sound was rapidly getting farther and farther away. The village was peaceful at this time. I think many villagers were woken up, or heard that someone entered the ancestral hall again tonight and simply did not sleep, and at this time they dared not make any sound. Lin Jue was the only one left in the bedroom. …… Asking for monthly votes and following the reading is really important for a new book during its new book period. (Bow and expose chest) (End of this chapter)
