Chapter 3: Gloomy Clouds Gather Over Ten Thousand Miles

  The campsite was shrouded in thick fog, and the firelight inside the campsite scattered through the white mist, making it look like a demon dancing. As I walked here, the sound of running water became very clear, and I also let out a sigh of relief. What I feared most was that the two of us would get lost too. I shouted: "Xia Xue, we're back!"

  I shouted this out, originally not for anything, it's just that when people are tense they want to vent, which is to boost their courage. Otherwise, why do people often say that when walking at night, they should shout loudly or sing a song? In this way, the courage and energy will be boosted, and the spirits and ghosts will not dare to invade.

  But unexpectedly, Xiaoxue didn't respond. Zhao and I exchanged a glance, this isn't right, we both heard the sound of running water, my loud shout had no reason to be unheard by Xiaoxue? Unless... something's happened! Zhao and I quickly ran over there, everything in the campsite was still intact, only Xiaoxue was nowhere to be seen.

  This time the trouble is big, didn't expect to lose another one. I really hadn't thought of this situation before. A good outdoor trip, but encountered such a thing, and for a while, I was also at a loss. Old Zhao took out his mobile phone and said: "I'll call the police, don't worry."

  He had just taken out his mobile phone, looked at it and suddenly froze, then picked up the phone. What was strange was that the outer screen of the phone was intact, but the inner screen had a scar. The entire phone screen only left a section of the screen, and I couldn't even make a call. I took a deep breath, reached into my own pocket and pulled out my phone to take a look, and it was the same.

  Lao Zhao took a deep breath and looked around the campsite: "This is bad, we might have run into something."

  I know what he means, to put it bluntly, we've run into a ghost. Damn it, I've lived for over 20 years and have always believed that material determines consciousness. Now suddenly these things appear out of nowhere. If my master hadn't given me some prior warning, I'd probably be so scared that I'd pee my pants.

  I don't want to be like those foolish kids in the movies, who have everything right in front of them but still refuse to believe it. They're gone and can say they got lost, but this phone screen suddenly... if you call it a coincidence, then it's really just a coincidence. Now that I think about it, the divination I did before leaving the house said "Du Men Zhu Bi", which also means hidden or concealed, not me, but the enemy. The enemy is hiding and won't come out, can't be seen. Earth fire Ming Yi, like the red sun setting into the earth, darkness all around, the road ahead unclear.

  The fire under the ground during the journey, like a hidden enemy, can burst out from below at any time. It's like the hardships and dangers encountered on the road ahead, and the difficulties that arise when doing things. At this time, it's hard to avoid having a homesick heart. The road ahead is bitter, but turning back is safe. The enemy is hiding, I don't know where, but I'm not an enemy either. That is to say, I shouldn't have come out on this trip in the first place. If I hadn't come out, I could have avoided these disasters. However, when disaster strikes, there's no way to continue hiding, and the only option is to solve it.

  I told Old Zhao that if we really crashed into something, it would be a problem for us to even get down the mountain. Not to mention that the road is not visible now, and who knows what other obstacles we might encounter, like a ghost wall or something. What should we do now?

  Lao Zhao shook his head, as if he had finally made up his mind, and said: "We can't stay here either. Let's eat our fill, bring some water, light a fire, and go to the ancient temple on the mountain. The terrain is flat there, and the temple has the power of Buddha to protect us. We'll spend the night there and come down tomorrow morning to look for them."

  After finishing, he took out a string of rosary beads from his own pocket, pinched them in his hand, and silently recited something. I was taken aback - in college, Old Zhao and Old Wang were my sworn brothers, but I had no idea that Old Zhao was also into mysticism. Judging by the way he held the rosary, it seemed like he was a Buddhist, or maybe even some kind of hidden master. In any case, he was definitely more impressive than me, who had only read books for a few days and was just a half-baked scholar.

  We sat around the bonfire, only four of us came, now there are only two left. Old Zhao seemed to have finished reciting the scriptures, put the rosary back in his pocket respectfully, and then went to the river to wash his hands before coming back to eat. We didn't care about the taste anymore, filling our stomachs was the most important thing at this time.

  Under the last wisps of cloud, we finally filled our stomachs, but by this time the fog had grown so thick that we could barely make out each other's faces. Our clothes were also drenched to the point of being unbearable, indicating that the air was almost saturated with water vapor. The air was increasingly chilly and I felt like shivering.

  Lao Zhao furrowed his brow and said, "The resentment here is extremely thick. I don't know when a murder case occurred on this mountain, but the resentment seems to have congealed. We're in danger tonight."

  Just listen to what he said, it's a master of the family. I didn't say much, but secretly made up my mind that after returning, I must study the books left by Master carefully. Before, I just thought it was fun to study ancient culture, now I think learning might even save lives.

  "Old Jiang, now that it's come to this, I won't hide it from you anymore. When I was young, my family lived in a rural village. There was a lay Buddhist there who chanted sutras and ate vegetarian food every day. Out of curiosity, I learned with him, bowing to the Buddha and reciting scriptures daily. One day, I suddenly discovered that I could see things that others couldn't. The old lay Buddhist used my birth date to calculate my fate, although he didn't say anything, but he gave me this rosary, saying I was a person with affinity for Buddhism, telling me not to forget to cultivate myself.

  Later, I went to school and came out into the city, where such things were rarely seen. So I stopped mentioning it, only I didn't expect to encounter it again today. I know you're skeptical, it's not that I wouldn't say anything, but I'm afraid if I said something, you all wouldn't believe me, and would just create more karma, so I'd rather not say anything."

  Old Zhao still had his usual elegant demeanor, only with a hint of withdrawal in his eyes.

  "My first move was to go up and grab his hand: 'Master Zhao, I know your Buddhist teachings are profound, don't worry about whether these are feudal superstitions or not, just solve the problem at hand for now. Even if I didn't believe in anything before, seeing all this should make me a believer. Master Zhao, rest assured, whatever you say I'll do, however you say it, that's what I'll do.'"

  Lao Zhao didn't expect me to suddenly do this, and he was stunned for a moment. He pushed me away with one hand: "Get lost, I can only recite scriptures and worship Buddha, I won't be able to exorcise demons or subdue monsters, it's hard enough to protect myself, all I can do is pray that the Buddhist teachings are vast." As he said this, he shook his head, as if muttering a Buddhist mantra under his breath.

  I can only wait for him, and at this moment Old Zhao seems a bit mysterious. I myself am also helpless, although I still roughly remember the strokes of drawing a few talismans, but there is no yellow paper, no brush and ink, nor chicken blood cinnabar, and I have never drawn a talisman before, so I can't gather energy and concentrate my mind. As for the incantation, I didn't memorize it seriously. Now to say, I am just a useless person, and I'd rather follow Old Zhao. I also clasped my hands together and thought in my heart: "Amitabha Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, you are great in mercy and compassion, saving suffering and rescuing difficulties, please bless us not to have any accidents, bless Wang Liuli and Xia Xue to return safely."

  I was closing my eyes, when suddenly someone grabbed my hand. I opened my eyes to see Old Zhao holding my hand and saying: "The original purpose of putting your palms together is for Buddhist worship, it also symbolizes inner peace in one's heart, so you must leave a gap between the two hands, they cannot be completely closed, if they are closed it means external force, emptiness represents an empty mind."

  I really didn't know there were so many rules, normally I wouldn't bother with him, but at this time seeing his expression was tense, I also knew it wasn't a joking matter, quickly separated a bit, just using my fingers to point, silently reciting in my heart: "Ignorance is no excuse, ignorance is no excuse."

  Old Zhao didn't interrupt me, he just pulled me along and handed me a torch. I took it, silently reciting the Buddha's name as I followed Old Zhao. Our goal was simple: to climb the mountain and enter the temple.

  Why must you enter the temple? There is a reason for this. According to my master's book, everything that happens between humans and ghosts or gods has its own cause and effect. Only when there are causes and effects can one encounter ghosts and gods. Sometimes, because of ancestors or past lives, one may have watched a lively scene and formed a connection, resulting in encountering some unlucky events or unjust events in this life. Temples, Taoist temples, and other such places, even if they are abandoned, generally still have divine power to protect them, not to mention keeping them safe, at least they will not be mistakenly harmed.

  Actually, up to now, the things we've encountered can be explained by science. Because of the low temperature on the mountain, the water vapor is dense, and it just so happens that this kind of weather is encountered, so the humidity is very heavy. In this situation, it's possible that the two of them were afraid or something and walked far away, couldn't come back, and had no choice but to disappear. Because of the cold and humid air, the mobile phone in their pocket got wet, so the screen inside had problems.

  What a scientific explanation, this is what people say when they enter the science, but at this time I feel so ridiculous. Whatever the reason, Confucius said that we should respect and keep a distance from ghosts and gods. If there are no such things as ghosts and gods, then it's good, there's no danger, if there are, then what we do is more secure, the ancient saying goes: "It's better to believe they exist than not."

  Alas, I'm reciting Buddhist scriptures with my mouth, but why is my heart not at peace? It's always filled with random thoughts. Stop daydreaming! I have a semi-immortal master, that's half a god! Who knows, maybe in a little while, a master who can ride the clouds and drive the fog will arrive.

  Just as they were walking, Old Zhao suddenly stopped and said: "Be careful, the resentment here is very thick. There must be some big injustice. If we don't avenge him, it's impossible to help him attain enlightenment."

  I was closing my eyes, but now that he mentioned it, I opened them out of curiosity and looked at the road we came from. The whole area over there is a depression, and from our angle, it's all thick fog. If it were just fog, that would be okay, but from our perspective, something even more terrifying has appeared - the entire area is filled with dark air, black clouds are shrouding everything, and it's all so dismal.

  Dark clouds are pressing down, and it seems that there are faint cries of despair within the dark clouds, which are mournful and tragic. The dark clouds seem to make people feel chilled to the bone with just one glance. I finally understand what the resentment mentioned in the book and by Old Zhao is. The black fog here has already made me, a mortal, see its true nature, so you can imagine how terrifying it must be.

  The more I looked at it, the more uncomfortable I felt. I couldn't help but wipe away a cold sweat. This was really too terrifying. Who exactly had met a tragic end here? What kind of evil spirit was this that wanted to come out and wreak havoc? At first, I still had some doubts about ghosts and spirits, but now I completely believe in them. This is simply something that no human could do.

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