Chapter 19: The Mysterious Case of Wang Mang Ridge

  That stone-type Tianlu beast, since the south three opened, he had a faint sense of foreboding. This kind of strange beast in Taoism is quite prestigious and has a mysterious color. Not only can it drive out evil spirits, but also has the effect of driving away disasters and diseases. However, this thing was dug up by Liu Zong, and he has been worried that the place might have changed.

  So after thinking for a long time, Nan San decided to go with Liu Suo Chang specially, and this time, there was one more person by his side, who was Xi Zi. When it came to him, Nan San had a bitter smile on his face, unable to understand why this kid was as stubborn as a donkey. Before that, Nan San had returned to Lingjiao Village and handed over some things to Er Shu, saying that he would be away for a while, and then hastily packed up his stuff. But before they left the house, Xi Zi came walking towards them.

  Xi Zi saw her benefactor in her heart and gained momentum. She hurriedly smiled and welcomed: "Third brother, where are you going?"

  Nan San couldn't help but sigh, he also knew that Xi Zhi had been running to this place every day for some time. He smiled wryly and said, "Something's up, I'll be out for a while!"

  But then Xi Zi's eyes lit up, and she suddenly slapped her forehead, saying with a sly smile: "Third Brother, look at me, idle and useless in this small village. Why don't you take me along? Don't worry, I won't be a burden, who knows, maybe I can even help out with some hard labor!"

  On the left was San Ge, on the right was also San Ge. Hearing that San was completely helpless, this wasn't a good thing either. Just as he tactfully declined, Xi Zi suddenly interrupted and said: "San Ge, it's settled then! I'll go back and pack my things now."

  Then, he saw Xi Zi turn around and leave, without letting Nan San say a word. He stared blankly at the young man, shook his head, and silently accepted his departure.

  After the two and Director Liu converged, they planned their route. Nan San and his group took a three-day train ride from southern Zhejiang to Shanxi Province. According to what Director Liu said, this wooden box was obtained from the Wangmang Ridge area. The so-called Wangmang Ridge is actually a scenic mountainous area with the most famous 800-li Taixing landscape, the highest peak of Nan Taixing, and its cloud sea, sunrise, strange peaks, pine waves, hanging wall highway, Red Rock Grand Canyon, and three-dimensional waterfall are the most famous.

  However, more importantly, there are the four great legends, namely the place where "The Foolish Old Man Removed the Mountains" took place, the place where Laozi, the founder of Taoism, passed through and wrote "Tao Te Ching", the ancient battlefield where Huangdi Wang Mang of Xin Dynasty and Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty fought wits and bravery, and the place where Yu Boya created the ancient ten great masterpieces "High Mountain and Flowing Water".

  Although this mountain has carried many stories, Nan San and the others didn't have the leisure to appreciate the scenery. To be on the safe side, he had made sufficient preparations this time and planned to go to Director Liu's place first to dig up the wooden box.

  "Liu Suo Chang, this mountain range is like a dragon flying in the sky, with excellent Feng Shui. Are you sure it was dug up inside Wang Mang Ridge?" Nan San asked with some doubt.

  "Not bad, at first we found several cultural relics in a village where people still lived." said Director Liu.

  Now that the destination was determined, Nan San and others did not delay, under Liu Suo's leadership, they walked towards the abandoned village. The terrain of Wang Mang Ridge is complex, with many still unopened trails, so it's inevitable to have jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards. For this reason, Nan San specially bought a large knife for Xi Zi, after all, he was just a Taoist priest, good at driving out evil spirits and catching ghosts, but when dealing with ferocious beasts, he had no way to cope.

  As they ventured deeper into the Wang Mang Ridge, the surroundings were filled with lush trees, and towering ancient trees blocked out the sun. The wilderness was devoid of any human presence. Originally, San Nan and the others could still walk on the mountain path, but towards the end, there wasn't even a road. Along the way, Xi Zi used his large knife to cut out a path, but there were too many poisonous insects in the mountains, and after walking for a while, their bodies broke out in red rashes.

  Nan San was puzzled as to how Liu Suo could find this place, it's so remote that probably no one comes here normally. Xi Zi, who had a stubborn temper, walked for such a long time and hastily said: "Liu Suo, didn't you take the wrong path? Let's go back, and tomorrow, let San Ge use his compass to help you find your way!"

  As soon as he heard this, Nan San's head got big, and this compass was used to determine the direction of ghosts and wind and water, how could it be used to explore the road. Shaking his head, he continued to venture deeper, fortunately not walking for long, Liu Suo suddenly raised his head and pointed at a village hidden in the middle of the mountain: "You see, that's it!"

  Nan San looked up and gazed carefully at the village, only to see that it was situated on a mountain slope, appearing round from afar. For some reason, Nan San furrowed his brow, feeling a subtle unease in his heart. He couldn't quite put his finger on what didn't feel right.

  "Let's go, it's not too late, I think we'll stay in that village tonight!" Nan San said calmly, but Liu Suo Chang and Xi Zhi exclaimed in unison: "What? You want to stay there?"

  The two of them looked surprised, and San also knew they were afraid. In this deep mountain, where there was no village in front and no store behind, what if something happened? But as soon as he spoke, Xi Zi and Liu Suo Chang reluctantly agreed to come along.

  The village was a distance away from them, with a small stream in between. Nan San and the others had to use a lot of effort to arrive at the front of the village. Upon careful observation, they found that it was desolate everywhere, with houses overgrown with weeds that hadn't been cleaned for a long time. Looking around, there were about 100 or so households. Director Liu was shocked: "Where are the people? The last time I came here, this village wasn't as abandoned as it is now!"

  Nan San had a premonition in his heart, he used the compass to calculate the vital energy, but found that this village was already desolate and uninhabited. He said faintly: "I'm afraid it's more ominous than auspicious!"

  Liu Shouzhang was frightened, although he didn't believe that this peaceful village would suddenly have no one in sight, the only explanation was that something strange was going on. Thinking of this, his hairs stood up from the back of his neck.

  "Nan San, could something have happened?" Nan San nodded to Liu Suo Chang and stopped for a while at the village entrance before leading the two of them inside. Before long, they saw a stone monument standing in the center of the village with three large characters written in regular script: "Yin Yang Village". The stone monument had been weathered by years of wind and rain, its edges already worn smooth.

  As for Nan San, seeing these words about yin and yang is a conditioned reflex association. Why did this village take the name of Yin Yang Village? He asked Liu Suozhang if he had heard of this village before, but Liu Suozhang shook his head to indicate that he hadn't.

  Nan San couldn't help but think deeply, what does the name "Yin Yang Village" really mean, and whether it has anything to do with the Taoist concept of yin and yang. He couldn't figure it out. All he could do was continue deeper into the village, perhaps due to his own sensitivity, he always felt that there were a pair of eyes staring at the three of them from within the village. Liu Suo's courage was already small, and now he was even more silent as a cicada in winter.

  "Third brother, there's nothing good to see in this village, why don't we go back?" Xi Zi swallowed a mouthful of saliva and stared straight at the empty houses inside the village.

  Nan San shook his head and said: "No, I want to see what's strange about this village of Yin and Yang. Why is it unknown to anyone in the world? If you're afraid, you can leave now beyond Wang Mang Ridge."

  Xi Zi suddenly lost his temper, he didn't know whether to leave or stay, and in any case, he couldn't leave alone. Besides, he had come uninvited on this errand, so he had no choice but to follow San San with a humble attitude.

  The three of them gradually went deeper into the village, and it wasn't until then that Nan San discovered that in the center of the village there was an ancient altar. On the wooden altar were placed incense burners as large as water buckets, as well as a cleaver. However, what Nan San stared at was the bloodstain on the altar, the solidified bloodstains on the cleaver indicating that this place had seemingly undergone a sacrificial ritual not long ago.

  Nan San couldn't understand why there were still places that held sacrificial rituals in this day and age. What exactly was being sacrificed, heaven, gods and ghosts, or some sort of clan ritual, no one knew. Xi Zi curiously climbed up onto the altar, dipped her hand in the blood stain and put it to her nose for a sniff: "The blood has only been congealed for less than twelve hours, I'm afraid someone did something beforehand."

  "This kid's nose is quite sharp, he can actually guess the time. Nan San was stunned and looked at Xi Zai, but couldn't see any clues. However, for now, he still had to take a closer look, so he asked: 'Liu Shouzhang, where did you dig up this wooden box?'"

  Liu looked around and then pointed to a place deep in the village, saying: "I remember it was just by that grove of trees!"

  Nan San nodded and led the two of them deeper into the forest, perhaps due to his keen senses, he detected a faint aura of evil energy in this place. He hastily warned the two to be careful, then took out a peach wood sword. Since his previous ink-wood sword was destroyed by the green corpse ghost, Nan San had been unable to find a suitable replacement for some time and could only use the peach wood sword as a substitute.

  It's strange to say, but at this moment it was still daytime, however as they went deeper, it felt like night had fallen. The surroundings were eerily quiet, Nan San hastily called for the two to stop, then with a profound gaze looked at the old and dilapidated low house in front of them. After calculating with his fingers, his face suddenly changed, he turned to Liu Suo and the others and said: "This place is a Five Elements ominous position, quickly exit."

  After finishing speaking, he hastily retreated in the direction he came from. Director Liu asked Nan San what was going on with a puzzled expression. His face looked unpleasant as he said: "This Yin Yang Village lives up to its name, it's arranged according to the five elements and eight trigrams, the whole village is built based on directions, every house and every wood has its own function, just now we almost fell into a vicious position."

  Liu was so scared that his whole body was trembling, and Xi Zi immediately complained, "Third brother, didn't I say we shouldn't come in? Let's get out of here!"

  Nan San's face turned solemn, and he shook his head, saying: "It's no use, look behind you, the road into the village is gone!"

  As soon as they heard this, Director Liu and Xi Zi hastily turned their heads, only to see a row of dilapidated houses behind them, with no way out. The two of them anxiously asked what to do, but Nan San didn't respond. He pinched his fingers to calculate, then took out a compass to determine their position. After fussing about for a while, he finally spoke up: "Let's quickly find a place to stay for now, and whatever you do, don't come out tonight. By tomorrow morning, I'll naturally have a way out."

  So what's going on with this village, Nan San also mentioned later that the village was built based on the Bagua yin and yang as its foundation, changing every second. Although Nan San is most proficient in talismanic skills, he still has some knowledge of formation techniques. He doesn't dare to guarantee that he can immediately break through this yin-yang formation technique, but he can try to find a way out.

  Although Liu and Xi were afraid, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and choose a room. San looked up at the sky, where dark clouds were gathering, indicating that a big storm was approaching. He then took out a talisman and stuck it on the altar before entering the house.