Chapter 8: Shi Yin Stockade

  Fu Chuan actually also wanted to understand some things about this Shi Yin Village, the name of this village was also very strange. When Fu Chuan heard Mang Wa say such words, he instinctively felt that this village would be filled with evil spirits, whether it was the people or the village itself. He wondered if there were really those harmful things inside, and when he got there, he would be able to see for himself. Fu Chuan said: "Have they not left the forest in all these years?" Mang Wa nodded, then said: "According to some elderly warriors from our tribe, in the past, those people even wanted to snatch people from other villages as food, perhaps it was unbearable, so the people from several other villages joined forces to resist those wild men. Those wild men were also afraid, so there were no more incidents of night raids on village names."

  "Do they still eat people now?"

  The old man smiled and shook his head, saying: "How could that be? Before liberation, I heard there were still some, but after liberation, the Liberation Army came, went up the mountain to find their clan leader, and later gave them grain, sheep, cattle, and so on. After that, I didn't hear about those things anymore."

  This is similar to his previous experience in the Congo, where there was the largest cannibal tribe. To this day, they still attack villages at night, dragging villagers alive into the forest and devouring them.

  These Kusos, before coming here, Xing Chengtian had told him that the Kusos should have entered Yunnan from Burma 600 years ago. At that time, Burma was still called the ancient Dian Kingdom. The Kusos were probably the remnants of the ancient Dian Kingdom who were defeated in a great war with Siam and scattered. It is not known why they fled to what is now Chinese territory at that time, but it is estimated that due to some reason they could not return, so they stayed within Chinese territory.

  Xing Chengtian told Fu Chuan that the Kusuo people were different from other ancient Dian armies. They were not afraid to die in battle and were even more cruel. They worshipped evil demons, believing that these demons could give them power. They were also bloodthirsty. Historical records show that they had a habit of eating human flesh hundreds of years ago, believing that it would allow them to obtain the strength of their opponents.

  Fu Chuan didn't know how much farther they had to go, so he asked the big boy in front of him who was swinging a sickle and cutting vines: "Big boy, how much longer do we have to walk?" The big boy smiled stupidly: "Not far, just after crossing that mountain ridge up ahead." The big boy pointed to the deep and seemingly bottomless mountain ridge in front of them. However, on top of the mountain ridge was a rickety suspension bridge that had already rotted away. The big boy told Fu Chuan that this suspension bridge was the only road connecting Shiyin Stockade to the outside world, and it was built by the Liberation Army for those people decades ago.

  When the big fern leaf in front of him was cut off, Fu Chuan finally saw this legendary Shiyin Village. The walls around Shiyin Village were all built with irregular stones, and the sharp edges on the surface of the stones still emitted a cold light. Moreover, the color of the stones was black, which should be the obsidian in the mountains that had been cut off and piled up.

  Outside the castle, there was only one large gate. On the gate hung some animal bones of unknown name. Fu Chuan stopped everyone and told them to be careful because he didn't know what would happen next. As soon as they stepped into this place, Fu Chuan felt a very strong yin energy coming straight at him without any decoration. This yin energy was more evil than the ones emitted by those evil objects in the past. The yin energy of Shi Yin Castle was even more evil and powerful, just like it had been accumulating for a long time.

  Fu Chuan didn't expect that ghost who came looking for him initially to come out and greet him. Fu Chuan asked Mao Wa: "Is there a place to stay in the village?"

  Mengwa thought for a moment and said with some concern: "Fu brother, you really want to stay here?"

  "Of course," said Fuchuan.

  The little girl saw that Chuan was so insistent, so she said: "There are inns inside the city wall, they were left behind by those Liberation Army soldiers decades ago, probably no one lives there." But the little girl didn't want to go in.

  Fu Chuan looked at Meng Wa and said, "Not bringing the way?" Fu Chuan wanted Meng Wa to follow him in, also because Meng Wa was familiar with this place. The most excited one was Xing Cheng Tian, the stone wall of the castle was enough to excite him for a while, so many black tourmalines, on which there were some texts that ordinary people couldn't understand, Xing Cheng Tian was like discovering a new continent.

  The little girl was right, there was indeed another inn in the castle, with an iron sign creaking in the wind hanging on the wall, but there was no light inside. The little girl led them into the inn, and when they entered, Fu Chuan only discovered that not far ahead, there was another iron gate. It was a rusty iron gate, and the scene inside made people feel eerie at first glance. It seemed like another world in there. Inside the iron gate, there was only an old woman wearing black clothes sitting on a chair made of branches. The branches on the chair were like a female ghost's sharp claws stretching out in all directions. The old woman kept staring at them, and Fu Chuan was sure she was human, but why was this big castle inhabited by only her?

  Fu Chuan walked into the inn with curiosity, and on the low counter, there was only one old man standing with his back to them. The old man's gaze was fixed on Fu Chuan and his group. The young servant said to the old man, "Two rooms."

  The old man didn't say a word, he just took down the bunch of keys hanging on the wall behind him and lit the kerosene lamp to lead them upstairs. The hotel was built with old wood, so after decades it was still very solid. Fu Chuan and Xing Chengtian occupied one room, while San Yang and Meng Wa occupied another. Meng Wa told Fu Chuan that he would leave at dawn the next day and advised Fu Chuan and others to do the same, otherwise they might not be able to leave even if they stayed for a whole day, fearing that they would never be able to leave again.

  Fu Xiang knew that Meng Wa was afraid in her heart, so he agreed to let Meng Wa leave tomorrow. He had no opinion on this matter, but as for whether the three of them would go or not, he did not give Meng Wa an answer.

  Now that he had been paid, Guan wanted to find the ghost who had come to him in the first place. He had to ask clearly what he should do next. Since he had accepted the money, he should complete this transaction, which was a matter of professional ethics.

  So Fu Chuan decided to open an altar and perform a ritual that night, first finding out what the ghost was saying.

  Fu Chuan felt a strong sense of confinement as soon as he entered the fortress. There is a saying that humans have their own path, and ghosts have theirs. Whether it's a person who has died or a ghost, they all have a place to go after death.

  Fuhe observed the situation around Shiyinzhai and felt that after being robbed by the Kusos, this Shiyinzhai must have been rebuilt, otherwise how could a stockade be built like a coffin.

  However, there were many officials and wealthy people in the past who built structures like coffins in their own gardens. Some did it for other reasons, while others believed that "coffin" had a homophone meaning of wealth entering the coffin. Fu Chuan remembered that a long time ago, he heard from an old master that a rich man in Xiangjiang was willing to pay a high price to invite him to Xiangjiang to see the feng shui for this rich man.

  It's said to be about feng shui, but actually it's something else. I asked the elder what he was doing, and he didn't directly tell me, only letting me have a chance to go to Xiangjiang, to take a look at that Wen Yu Zhong Xin temple, then I'll understand.

  Later, this elder suddenly died of a heart attack not long after. He seemed to know what would happen to him, as he was still chatting and laughing with Fu Chuan a few days ago, looking like he had already seen through the world's vanity. He also strangely told Fu Chuan that people who practice Taoism must not do things that go against their conscience, or they will suffer heavenly punishment sooner or later. I don't know why he said such words, but when Fu Chuan had a chance to visit Xiangda and see that cultural center, I probably already knew what would happen.

  The entertainment center named after the rich man's original wife, viewed from above, is shaped like a coffin. The glass at the top has some special patterns, and the glass follows the building's features to form a golden sword that locks in the soul. The five-story entertainment center has an elevator that can only go up, not down. It is said that the rich businessman's original wife was a disabled person who could only sit in a wheelchair all year round, and all the handrails in the building were made of high-quality Liu Zhou coffin wood. As for why the elevator can only go up and not down, it's obvious that for a disabled person, it's inconvenient to come down from the stairs. Moreover, there are rumors that the rich businessman's wife died under unclear circumstances, and some say she was pushed down the stairs by her husband and died. At the time of her death, she was wearing a red cheongsam, which would allow her to become a vengeful spirit and come back for revenge. The resentment of such a person is extremely heavy. Since the rich businessman has wealth that can rival a country, his methods must be ingenious. Therefore, he spent a lot of money to find an expert from Beijing to trap the resentful soul. Trapping the resentful soul may not be because the rich businessman is afraid of vengeful spirits, but rather because he still cherishes the decades-long relationship with his wife. So, he locked her soul in this entertainment center, preventing her from going down to the underworld to file a complaint. The wealthy businessmen on the Chaoshan side are extremely superstitious.