0p0 Chapter 482
Chapter 482
"Xia Li, do you have any plans for this summer vacation?"
"My family is poor, so unlike you guys who can travel everywhere, I have to go back to my hometown to help grandpa plant rice and farm. Okay, I'm leaving the high-speed rail station. I'll talk to you later. I'm hanging up first..."
It was a midsummer night, just after eleven o'clock.
Xia Li walked out of the high-speed rail station dragging a heavy suitcase.
She wore a loose white T-shirt with a lazy style, paired with a pair of denim shorts and a high ponytail, looking lively, refreshing, sunny and smart.
It rained heavily last night, and the air in Ningcheng was still damp and cold. There were few pedestrians on the road, and there were very few vehicles. It was very deserted.
In a small third-tier city like this, things basically become quiet by 10 o'clock in the evening.
As she was passing the overpass, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and stopped her. Someone said to her out of nowhere, "Little girl, let me ask you something. Do you think the moon is red now?"
This was a sloppy old man with messy hair that had not been washed for who knows how long. He was wearing a tattered Taoist robe and his mouth showed a mouthful of yellow teeth. He did not give a very good impression at first sight.
Xia Li saw a tattered cloth banner standing next to it, with the word "fortune-telling" written crookedly on it.
The old charlatan rubbed his grimy feet and asked again, "Little girl, do you think the moon is red now?"
Xia Li looked up and saw that the sky was gray. Not only was there no moon, but not even a single star could be seen.
The old charlatan's sinister voice drifted from the side, saying, "Haha, it's right that you can't see it. The moon is only red in the eyes of the dead."
His voice was hoarse, like a blunt knife grinding ice, so gloomy that it made people feel uncomfortable listening to it.
Xia Li was speechless and asked, "Are you cursing me to die soon?"
She never believed in these supernatural things, but she felt a little uncomfortable when a stranger suddenly stopped her and asked her inexplicably if she could see things that only the dead could see.
"A blood moon hangs in the sky, red light illuminates the vast sky, the Nine Netherworld gods and Buddhas grin, white banners and golden lotuses ferry me over..."
The old charlatan suddenly became crazy, dancing and chanting strange lyrics.
Xia Li frowned, thinking that this person was most likely a crazy patient who had escaped from a mental hospital. She immediately dragged her suitcase and tried to escape, but just after she took a few steps, a rough old hand grabbed her wrist tightly.
The old charlatan's hands and feet were as skinny as sticks, but he was incredibly strong. His hand gripped Xia Li tightly like a pair of pliers, as if he wanted to break all her bones.
On that wrinkled and dirty old face, complex and diverse emotional changes such as tension, melancholy, fear, great sorrow, great joy, seriousness, etc. can appear on one person's face at the same time, which is extremely creepy.
The old charlatan's hands were shaking as he tremblingly handed a bracelet to someone in front of him.
A string of cinnabar red thread is tied with five ancient copper coins that are round on the outside and square on the inside.
The old charlatan trembled as if he were both crying and laughing, saying, "These Five Emperors' Coins... are for you! Don't throw them away... They can protect you from disasters!"
After saying that, regardless of whether Xia Li was willing or not, he quickly tied the Five Emperors' Coins to Xia Li's slender white wrist that was bruised by the scratching. Then he picked up the tattered white cloth banner, cried and laughed, and ran away dancing.
Xia Li stood there in a daze for a long time, frightened by the scene just now. When she came to her senses and wanted to untie the Five Emperors' Coins in her hand, she found that she couldn't untie them no matter what she did.
On the empty and quiet streets, the bright red and green flashing neon lights gave people a sense of the old-fashioned style of the 1980s and 1990s. The sound of the wheels rolling at the bottom of the suitcase could be heard from far away. Xia Li walked quickly and used her mobile phone to search for information related to the Five Emperors' Coins on the Internet.
There are two types of Five Emperors' Coins. One is the copper coins issued during the reigns of the five Qing emperors Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing.
The other type is the copper coins issued during the reigns of five emperors: Qin Shihuang, Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Taizu of Song, and Emperor Chengzu of Ming.
Xia Li compared it carefully with the picture. The string of Five Emperors' Coins in her hand belonged to the former type. She didn't know whether it was a real ancient currency or a modern imitation, but at least she didn't see any negative comments about it.
It is said online that the Five Emperors' Coins can condense the imperial aura of the prosperous era, and have the functions of gathering wealth, exorcising evil spirits, and suppressing evil spirits.
Xia Li shook her head and stopped thinking about it. She followed the route she remembered to the intersection of the urban village.
There is a basketball court on the left side of the intersection ahead. The lights are dim. At this time, a high platform has been built there, with white cloth strips hanging high and yellow paper flying all over the sky. It is obvious that someone in the village has died and a funeral is being held.
The sound of chanting made the listeners feel uncomfortable.
Xia Li walked away from it, but she didn't notice that a group of people in mourning clothes kneeling on the ground below the platform stopped what they were doing, turned their heads stiffly, and stared at her expressionlessly.
On the high platform, a Taoist priest in a khaki robe was chanting scriptures. His gaze followed her little by little, almost turning his entire head to his back. His eye sockets were dark, as if there were no pupils.
Xia Li could feel countless pairs of eyes staring at her coldly, but she didn't dare to look up. The murmur of chanting gradually faded away from her ears. The cement road under her feet was replaced by a bumpy dirt road, and the doors and windows of the houses on both sides were tightly closed.
The street lights, which had been in disrepair for a long time, flickered on and off, and a few bulbs with poor contact were flashing rapidly, which was very dazzling. Various small advertisements were posted on the lampposts.
Xia Li turned left and right and came to a two-story villa with a courtyard. The large double iron gate was already rusted. A wild cat suddenly jumped out from the top of the wall, scaring her.
"Grandpa, are you asleep?"
Xia Li shouted into the yard, but heard no response for a long time. Finally, she found a copper key under a flower pot, opened the copper lock on the iron door, pushed the door open a crack, and slipped in.
There is a small courtyard just after entering the gate. The ground is covered with weeds half a person's height. It is obvious that no one has taken care of it for a long time. There is a lot of garbage piled in the corner of the wall, flies are buzzing around, and the air is mixed with an unpleasant smell of decay.
Xia Li has lived in the city since she was a child. Only during long holidays would her parents take her back to the old house to stay with the elderly for a few days.
Later, Xia Li's parents went abroad to do business, and she rarely came back because of her heavy academic workload. This time, she suddenly remembered that she had not been back to talk to the elderly for a long time, so she took advantage of the summer vacation to come back and visit.
The courtyard was pitch black, but a faint light came through the crack of the door in the inner living room.
"Grandpa, I'm back——"
Xia Li screamed and walked straight to the door of the building. She saw a piece of steel bar inserted across the handle above, and a bad premonition suddenly came to her mind.
The moment she pulled out the steel bars and pushed open the door, an extremely pungent smell of decay hit her in the face.
The scene before her made her scalp tingle and her eyes widen in horror.