Giant Pitcher Plant

  Before him stood an old man with hair like straw, who knew how long it had been since he last had a haircut, standing there with his usual kind smile.

  I want to wipe away the tears in my eyes, but the more I wipe, the more they seem to flow.

  "Xiao Jiu, don't ask anything, I'll take you to see someone."

  Grandfather looked at me and said in a soft voice, then turned around and left.

  I hastily caught up with that figure, and I was very afraid that if I lost sight of Grandpa, I would never see him again.

  To me, from childhood to adulthood, grandfather has always been my greatest spiritual support. No matter what difficulties I encounter, wherever and whenever, he makes me feel extremely at ease.

  I followed behind Grandpa, as if I had a thousand words to say to him, but after thinking for a moment, I didn't know where to start.

  "Don't ask the child."

  Grandfather sighed and continued walking forward.

  I don't know how long I walked, but I just felt a kind of indescribable feeling all over my body, as if following Grandpa, any difficulty in the world could be solved, and I didn't have to worry anymore.

  We walked through the large square place and after passing by, squeezed into a narrow alley.

  There was a vast expanse of empty space, crystal steps illuminated the entire area, and in the middle of that place stood a tree with a single flower blooming on it, its color vibrant and resplendent. The whole tree seemed to possess an eerie mysterious magic power that made people unable to look away.

  The buildings here seem to be made of jade, with no flaws or imperfections, beautiful and enticing. Never seen before are the large flowers, which are emitting a faint fragrance, standing tall with roots similar to potatoes, while the flower crown has not yet fully bloomed, the large purple-red flower crown is bashful, as if waiting to bloom, especially in this stone chamber, it stands over one and a half meters high.

  My heart suddenly started racing violently, I followed Grandpa towards that big flower, and in my mind, it seemed as if I had a premonition that something big was going to happen.

  That big flower is so beautiful it intoxicates people's hearts.

  Even at this time, some are not very timely, but I am still attracted by this beautiful big flower and can't move my eyes away.

  "Grandpa...... this......"

  I had just looked away for a moment, and when I turned back, Grandpa was gone.

  Realizing this, he called out a few times: "Grandpa..."

  "What kind of place is this? Where am I now? Am I dreaming?"

  Thinking of this, my spirits lifted a bit. Maybe everything in front of me was just an illusion. Could it be that I was still asleep? So, I stretched out my hand and pinched myself hard on the face. It hurt badly, it was real. I slumped down to the ground, what should I do with myself? I had clearly fallen asleep, how did I end up in such a strange place?

  Although I clearly saw Grandpa and he was the one who brought me here, but in the blink of an eye, Grandpa disappeared, how can this be explained?

  I got up, looked at that big flower, and smelled a rotten smell, just like the fresh blood splattered on my face by the monkey yesterday. The smell emitted by such a beautiful flower shouldn't be so disgusting. I remembered that disgusting smell and vomited until I was dizzy. So, I covered my nose tightly and retreated one step immediately.

  At this time, I saw a piece of cyan gauze exposed behind that big flower. Is there someone behind?

  I was startled as soon as I entered, this eerie place, could there be someone?

  "Is anyone there?"

  I asked loudly, "Isn't he in a coma?" Thinking of that extremely nauseating smell from just now, my heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could it be a dead person? I plucked up the courage to walk over, went around the flower, and saw the person lying inside clearly. He had a big mouth, and I was shocked. I helped him up: "Wake up, are you okay?"

  Lying in my arms was a woman, her dress didn't seem like modern people, but rather like the Qing Dynasty's attire. Her long black hair was tied back with a white silk ribbon, and although her eyes were tightly closed, her complexion was rosy. The curved eyelashes above her tightly closed eyes were very charming, and her small nose matched her rosy lips. At that moment, I really wanted to know what it would be like when this woman opened her eyes. Would she be a breathtaking beauty, stunning the world?

  "Beauty, beauty..." I stretched out my hand and shook this woman's shoulder continuously, but she didn't react at all. Her left hand fell down weakly, and when I felt that falling hand, there was no vitality in it. I was stunned for a moment, hesitated to stretch out one hand and put it under the woman's nose - my hand immediately shrunk back like touching high-voltage electricity, and at the same time, I panicked, putting the woman in my arms on the ground, and myself jumped two meters away.

  The woman is dead, but when I held her just now, her skin was still elastic. Looking at her face, it's like a normal person, with a white and rosy complexion, and there's even a fragrance on her body. How could she be dead? In this stone room filled with jade, one living person, one dead person... earlier I thought this was paradise, but now it feels eerie and inexplicable. Being alone here makes me miss Hei Shu, Xiao Shou, and the others even more.

  From entering the mountain to the mausoleum, I have never been alone before. Now I am alone in this place where the dead live, and it's scary just thinking about it. If I say I'm not afraid, that would be a lie. I'm not like those male protagonists in American movies who can remain calm and composed in such situations - that's just nonsense.

  Thinking and thinking, I always feel a little fuzzy in my heart, especially in such a strange situation, except that my brain can think, everything else feels no movement energy.

  I thought about it carefully and felt that this matter was getting more and more bizarre.

  I clearly followed my grandfather all the way here, but as soon as we arrived, I blinked and he was gone. Moreover, I wanted to return along the original route, but the problem is that there is no exit, this vast stone chamber has no exit.

  What situation did I come in under? Was it really like I thought, following Grandpa in?

  Grandpa, all along the way, could it be that everything was just my own illusion?

  Just thinking about this possibility makes me shudder, what a terrifying phenomenon. Fortunately, there's nothing scary around here now. Thinking of those ghostly monkeys, if they came in a few, I'd definitely be scared out of my wits. Is it because of that tree the little skinny monkey mentioned earlier? Could it be like cancer with aftereffects or something?

  "Damn it..." He cursed and psyched himself up, the atmosphere here was eerie.

  I glanced slightly, stunned, was what I just saw real? I rubbed my eyes hard, it was still the same, and suddenly jumped a few meters away, watching there with extreme vigilance.

  Yes, I didn't see it wrong, that big flower actually moved, twisting very strangely, originally unopened, at this moment, it suddenly bloomed, the stamens of the flower crown were facing in my direction.

  Damn it, how can this be so strange? It's as if I'm the sun and this flower is like a sunflower, facing me with that look, that feeling, as if being stared at.

  Stop it, that's a plant, not a person, why are you always thinking of all sorts of nonsense to scare yourself.

  To prove that I was just thinking nonsense, I took a few steps forward, staring intently at the flower, and then something strange happened.

  I clearly saw that big flower twisting and turning with me, as if it were conscious.

  I stopped in my tracks, and the flower didn't move either. I took a few steps forward, and the flower followed me. That flower always faced me like a sunflower, steadfastly staring at me.

  My goodness, I was so scared that I sat on the ground, and everything thundered me into a dull reaction.

  I'm going crazy, this is the only thought in my mind, I couldn't think of any other reason.

  I closed my eyes and recited the Great Compassion Mantra, trying to calm myself down and stop the terrifying thoughts in my head.

  I've heard many folk tales about gods, snakes and ghosts since I was a child. I remember one time when I was eight years old, I followed my grandfather to the mountain to chop firewood. At that time, I was more playful, saw a small rabbit, chased it desperately, but didn't catch it. Later, I couldn't find my way back, and eventually, I forgot how I got back home, only knowing that I fell seriously ill. Afterwards, people said that I was possessed by a ghost and followed it into the mountain cave, almost unable to return.

  I shouldn't be so superstitious, an educated person should rely on what they see and hear, the most important thing is evidence, without evidence, no one will believe.

  But everything in front of me is too strange, it's easy to make people imagine and associate with the stories I heard when I was a child.

  After reciting the Great Compassion Mantra for about ten rounds, my mood and thoughts had stabilized. I slowly opened my eyes, and what I saw made me scream:

  "Ah..."

  Before my eyes, a huge flower suddenly appeared, its petals unfolding like it was smiling, extremely eerie.

  It actually ran in front of me, yes, it was running. I saw it clearly, its movement posture was so slow, as if dragging a sick leg and moving forward at the speed of a turtle.

  I was originally sitting more than ten meters away from the flower, but in less than half an hour, it suddenly appeared right in front of me.

  This flower has become a spirit.

  I'm going crazy, this world is too insane, my previous worldview has been completely destroyed.

  I rolled and crawled backwards, pinching my thigh involuntarily, a sharp pain came, like being pricked by needles.

  Too real.

  I stared at the flower with my eyes fixed on it, afraid that it would make any unusual moves. In an instant, a scene flashed through my mind - man-eating flowers. I was startled by this thought of mine.

  The Corpse Flower is a very mysterious plant, generally growing in the Amazon rainforest and swamp areas of South America, with a diameter of up to 1.5 meters, petals thick about 1.4 cm, each flower has five petals, leaves are 30-40 cm long.

  I always thought that the man-eating flower was just a plant in TV dramas and legends, but I never expected to encounter it myself. Should I laugh or cry? It's said that the man-eating flower has some animal-like habits, at least it needs to swallow more than ten living creatures to bloom one flower. Ten flowers need to be nurtured by countless living creatures to produce a small green fruit. After eating numerous passing insects, birds, beasts, and even innocent passersby, it also swallows the other nine small fruits that are produced simultaneously. Only after a hundred years will the man-eating flower's single green fruit turn from green to brown red and finally ripen into a blood-red color. At that time, it becomes a rare treasure in the world and can be made into a spiritual medicine that enhances one's abilities. Unfortunately, this is just a legend, and no one has ever seen the blood-red man-eating flower fruit.

  I recalled the horror of the man-eating flower and immediately distanced myself from it, staring at it.

  The height of this flower matches the man-eating flower, and there are several small stamens in the flower bud, which feels a bit like fruit. Could it be that this flower has already eaten some animals or humans?

  It's okay, that woman on the ground, although she is dead, let alone this man-eating flower is picky about food and only eats the living, not the dead.

  I let out a wail: "Hei Shu, Xiao Shou Hou, where are you guys?"

  "You little scamp finally deigned to speak up." A somewhat familiar voice came over, the tone a bit weak and mixed with some displeasure. The whole person almost jumped up, this seemed to be Baosheng's voice. I excitedly looked around wildly: "Baosheng, is that you? Where are you?"

  Looking around, I didn't see anyone, and I muttered: "Did I hear it wrong?"