Witchcraft

  The story went on like this, Duan Yuwen let out a sigh, seemingly feeling very tired and exhausted, while I was completely absorbed in the story and couldn't help myself.

  The plot in the story is too strange and bizarre, but the details are so true to life, just like it really happened around me, making me believe that all this really happened.

  Enough to subvert a person's worldview. Thirty years ago, my father was in Yunnan after experiencing these things, and resolutely shifted his research direction to the study of mysticism.

  What was said earlier about the father and several good friends making an appointment to go to Yunnan Jinning Shizhai Mountain as scholars, on-the-spot investigation of the site of the ancient Dian Kingdom in Yunnan is just a cover, used to deceive outsiders.

  Just a few hours ago, I was still puzzled by my father's sudden change, but now that the adventure thirty years ago is replayed in front of me, I realize that all this makes sense. Not to mention that before Wang Chengbao's death, he entrusted my father to continue this research, even if he didn't say it, with my father's personality, he would not give up.

  I glanced at Liang Zan, who had been silent from the beginning. He was sitting aside, with his legs crossed and his head tilted, playing with an ancient bronze coin, wearing a signature calm smile, as if all these twists and turns were nothing to him.

  I asked Duan Yuwen about what happened later, and he replied: "What happened later is difficult to explain in words. Of course, the death of Wang Chengbao and the Qin brothers is beyond doubt. At that time, your father fainted, and I saw six Miao people coming down from the stone steps. The specific appearance of these six Miao people I can no longer remember, although they were holding torches in their hands, but these few people are extremely similar in height and physique, at first glance, it's impossible to tell who is who, and their faces were also covered with tattoos, I took a rough look, which was very similar to the totem symbols we saw on the bronze coffin and the wooden door.

  As I heard this, my heart tightened and subconsciously thought of the tattooed man that Gao Peng told me about. The entire skull looked like a locust at first glance. So, is there any connection between the tattooed man who sneaked into my home and those six tattooed Miao people in the underground palace?

  I didn't interrupt Duanyu, he continued: "I don't know how these six Miao people knew that we were in the underground palace, but they really saved my life and your father's. One of them was very fast, taking a few big strides to rush to the monster that was devouring Wang Chengbao. The man was skilled and fearless when facing the monster, his speed was so fast that I couldn't see his movements in the darkness, only seeing him strike the final blow with a palm from bottom to top on the monster's chin, using force to push it, and the monster's head fell off with a 'crack'.

  However, that person had easily solved the monster, but it was too late. Wang Chengbao's entire head was already in a mess, and he lay on the ground, twitching only twice before falling still.

  At that moment, those tattooed Miao people walked up to me. I was just about to thank them, but suddenly realized their expressions were not quite right - it was a very numb and ruthless expression, looking cold as ice, like robots. Before I could even open my mouth, they slapped the back of my neck, and I fainted. As I fell unconscious, I caught a whiff of a strange fragrance that couldn't be described in words.

  "What about my father?" I asked.

  Duan Yuwen took a sip of tea and replied, "When I opened my eyes again, it was already the next morning. I was lying alone in a small wooden hut, and your father wasn't brought in until noon. When I saw your father, I was really startled - his face was deathly pale, as if he had contracted a serious illness, and his entire right arm was tightly bandaged with coarse gauze."

  "Was it Ashuna who saved him?"

  Duan Yuwen nodded and said, "That's right, it was Ah Shu Na. Actually, I only found out later that the six tattooed Miao people were also sent by Ah Shu Na. At the time, I thought it was strange that the underground palace was so deep and had such a long tunnel. Even if we made a lot of noise inside, it shouldn't be possible for people outside to hear us, but she not only knew we were inside, but also knew we were in danger."

  "I heard she's a witch," I said. Although this answer seemed somewhat absurd, and if it were in another setting, I would have burst out laughing at my own words, but at that moment, I spoke with unusual seriousness, and for an instant, I firmly believed that Ah-Na had supernatural powers.

  Duan Yuwen listened to my words, suddenly raised his head and looked at me, seemingly with a hint of regret or helplessness in his expression. He continued: "I was summoned to Ashuna's room on the second night, when she was already over 70 years old. What surprised me somewhat was that almost all the Miao people in the ancient stockade lived an isolated life from the world, so they wouldn't speak Mandarin Chinese. But Ashuna spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese, and her first sentence shocked me."

  I suddenly remembered the mysterious village where the Qin brothers met, and the even more mysterious village chief, and asked: "She wouldn't be asking you 'where are you from, traveler' would she?"

  Duan Yu sighed and said, "She asked me this question, I told her where we came from, she continued to ask if the traveler was a Han person. I replied that it was, at this time, she suddenly took out a piece of jade pendant-like thing from her bosom and asked how I got this jade token."

  I raised my eyes and took a look, isn't this the jade token that Wang Chengbao left for your father when he was dying? At that time, your father was kicked away by Wang Chengbao, so Wang Chengbao threw the jade token to me, but his intention was very clear, hoping that your father would continue his research with that jade token.

  "I think it was when I fainted that someone searched my body and handed this jade pendant to Ashuna. I didn't dare hide anything, so I told the truth, but unexpectedly Ashuna wanted to take the pendant for herself. I wanted to argue, but a group of Miao people outside the door chased me back into that small wooden hut."

  "Didn't he go ask my dad?" I asked.

  "I also asked," replied Duan Yuwen, "but at first your father was in a deep coma and only barely woke up after three days. After waking up, he was sometimes clear-headed and sometimes confused, and it wasn't until after a week of recuperation that your father finally recovered from his serious illness. As soon as your father woke up, he was called to Ashina's place, and I don't know what the two of them discussed. Afterwards, I also asked your father, but his answer seemed like an evasion, so I didn't ask again."

  The story is not over yet, and there are too many questions that have not been reasonably explained. For example, why did Duan Yuwen stay in Yunnan while my father returned to his hometown in Northeast China? When was my brother Fan Peilin involved in this matter? What progress has been made in the research of my father and Duan Yuwen over the past 30 years? Of course, there are many more inconsistencies that need to be resolved. Some situations are even unclear to Duan Yuwen himself, and he only gave me a detailed introduction to what he knew about the matter.

  Later, my father wanted to ask Ah-jiao about the underground palace, but didn't get a clear explanation. After getting the jade token, Ah-jiao found that she couldn't get any useful information from my father and Duan Yuwen, so after your father's injury healed, she sent a Miao person to send us out of the mountain, and that Miao person was Da-zhao's father.

  However, everything that happened in the underground palace was so strange and terrifying. How could my father and Duan Yuwen not know about it? The two of them secretly made up their minds to continue investigating this Miao village ancient stockade, even if it was for the sake of the deceased Qin brothers and Wang Chengbao.

  After some discussion, Duan Yuwen made a decision that shocked my father - he decided to stay in Yunnan and continue to get in touch with Ashuna of the Miao ethnic group. For him, everything that happened on the border of Yunnan was unforgettable, and facing those bizarre experiences, he made up his mind to investigate until the truth came out.

  However, I speculate that there is another reason for this, which is that during the entire inspection activity thirty years ago, Duan Yuwen was too young and appeared to be too weak and incompetent. As he had a strong sense of self-respect, it's highly likely that he chose to stay in Yunnan to continue his investigation in order to make up for his previous weakness.

  And my father was already married at that time, and my brother had just been born, so no matter what, my father had to return to his hometown in Northeast China. As a result, Duan Yiwu naturally became the contact person for my father in Yunnan.

  Back in my Northeastern hometown, my father immediately began to study everything related to witchcraft and sorcery. He gradually discovered that the origins of witch culture predated all religions, and this was true around the world. Take Taoism in China for example, whether it's the Maoshan or Quanzhen sects, their roots all stem from witch culture. And witches were undoubtedly the earliest wise men and leaders of human society.

  Then, my father began to try to publish his views in some academic journals. Of course, my father was not foolish enough to write down the entire Yunnan experience, which might not have been believed by anyone at all. However, his views were still criticized by many scholars, because my father obviously overemphasized the role of shamanic culture, and in his view, shamans were almost the driving force behind the development of the entire historical civilization.

  However, here, Duan Yuwen revealed to me something I didn't know before, that is, why my father suddenly chose silence and resolutely refused to publish articles in any academic journal. It turned out that my father had received many threatening letters, which did not mention the reason, but only told my father to stop researching immediately, otherwise there would be a bloody incident.

  Because the person who wrote the letter had a very detailed understanding of my father, and this person seemed to be familiar with my father's experience in Yunnan, so my father decided to choose silence. Of course, this silence was only superficial, and in fact, he never slowed down his research pace.

  What he was most concerned about and also most puzzled by was - where did Wang Chengbao's jade pendant come from? Why would a Ashuna Dawa who lived an isolated life be so interested in this piece of jade?