Deserted Village Apartments

Chapter 21 No.18
In the two hours before dawn, I walked around several streets near Anxi Road.I came to the old house I lived in when I was a child—no, it can only be regarded as a ruin now, and I stepped on this rubble and ruins, trying to find something among the broken bricks, whether it was a childhood toy or forgotten Old photos?Or just memory.

At six o'clock in the morning, the sun slanted on my body, and I returned to No. 13 Anxi Road, walked through the devastated ruins, and walked into the deserted village apartment in the morning light.

I thought Xiaoqian must still be asleep, so she tiptoed upstairs and gently opened the door.However, the room was empty, the blankets had been folded and placed on the bed.I froze for a few seconds, then ran out of the room quickly, calling Xiaoqian loudly at the stairs, but there was no response from her, it seemed that she had left the deserted village apartment.

Leaning on the window, I took a deep breath, and felt that her breath still seemed to be lingering in this room.So, a burst of drowsiness flooded my eyelids again, and I lay down on the folding bed, face down and closed my eyes, greedily breathing the smell of the bed.

Xiaoqian's remaining breath poured into my body, immediately making me feel dizzy, as if a hand covered my eyes, and I gradually sank into the darkness.

I didn't wake up until noon, and had breakfast in the room after washing.Then, I sat down to sort out some things I had brought, besides some books and clothes, there was a big box.

I opened the box carefully, and there were many old newspaper balls stuffed inside. I slowly reached into the paper balls and grabbed out a disc-shaped jade.The soft sunlight coming in through the window made the jade reflect a strange white light.I took out a second piece of jade, which looked like an axe; the third piece of jade looked like a large pen holder; the fourth piece of jade looked like a little turtle; the fifth piece was a jade dagger.

These mysterious jade articles came from a deserted village, and Su Tianping stole them from the underground palace under the Jinshi Building, and he gave these jade articles to me the day before he disappeared.

Don't know if these things are real, or how old they are, and I don't even know what they do.But they come from the mysterious underground palace, and they probably have a special relationship with the secrets of the deserted village.So, I have to figure out these jade objects.

So, I thought of a friend, his name is Sun Zichu.

I put all the jades back into the box, and walked out of the deserted village apartment with the box.

An hour later, I came to Huo Qiang's university again.In the past few weeks, I have been to this campus several times, and I am almost familiar with it.I soon came to the teaching building of the History Department and found Sun Zichu's office.

Sun Tzuchu is a teacher in the history department of this university. He is only three years older than me, but he has a short black beard on his chin.A young male teacher can always attract the attention of female students. When I walked into his office, several young girls were talking around him.However, when he suddenly found me standing at the door, he immediately recovered his serious expression, stood up and sent all these girls away.

There was no one else in the room, and his expression became exaggerated again: "Hi, I haven't seen you for several months. I saw the fourth issue of "Sprouting" magazine. You have quite a few 'fans'. What are you busy with?"

I can't laugh at all. I still remember the first day of this story. Huo Qiang and his four college students came to me. I asked them how they knew my address. Huo Qiang said a name——this name is Grandson Chu.

"The 'fans' you're talking about are Huo Qiang, right? There are also Han Xiaofeng, Su Tianping and Chun Yu."

"Well——" Sun Zichu's expression suddenly became awkward, "You didn't come to me for this matter, did you?"

"It's not just about this."

He nodded helplessly: "Okay, I admit, I told them your address. I didn't want to say it at first, but they really stalked me, and I was forced to do nothing."

"Can't stand the test of a beautiful girl?"

Sun Tzuchu laughed out loud, "Don't talk nonsense, no matter what, I'm still a university teacher. Besides, it's a good thing for a young girl to visit you."

After speaking, he laughed again.This time I really couldn't bear it anymore: "Are you really ignorant or are you just pretending to be stupid? Among the four college students, two are dead, one is crazy, and one is missing."

Now he couldn't laugh anymore, and said blankly, "You're not kidding, are you?"

"of course not."

Then, I skipped the details of the four college students in the deserted village, and just talked about the situation where Huo Qiang and Han Xiaofeng died one after another after they returned to Shanghai.After I finished speaking, beads of sweat appeared on Sun Tzuchu's forehead, and he said tremblingly, "I only heard that two students died in my dormitory a few days ago, but I didn't expect it to be Huo Force them. They are not my students, they just listened to my lectures, so I don’t know at all.”

"Forget it." I shook my head and took a long breath, "Actually, I came to you today not because of this matter, but to ask you to help me read something."

After speaking, I opened the big box, took out the five pieces of jade from the newspaper bundle, and carefully placed them in front of Sun Tzuchu.

Seeing these jade wares from the barren village, Sun Zichu was obviously taken aback, and he quickly grabbed one of them to have a closer look.After more than ten seconds, his face suddenly changed, and the hand holding the jade was trembling constantly.He hurriedly picked up a magnifying glass again, and carefully took a look at the patterns on the jade, and his eyes became more and more weird.

Suddenly, Sun Tzuchu put down the jade and said quietly, "Where did these things come from?"

But I didn't want to tell him the truth, I was afraid that more people would know the secrets of the deserted village, so I could only answer indifferently: "You don't need to ask more, anyway, they all come from the ground."

Sun Tzuchu looked at the other pieces of jade, nodded and said, "Do you know how old these jade pieces are?"

I never dared to guess casually, so I could only shake my head.

He said a number coldly——

"5000."

What?My heart seemed to be bumped again, and I murmured: "5000 years?"

I quickly shook my head and said, "Impossible, you must have read it wrong, how could it be so ancient? The history of China is not even 5000 years old."

However, Sun Tzuchu's expression became extremely calm: "Have you ever heard of the Liangzhu civilization?"

"Liangzhu civilization? I have read some reports about the ancient and mysterious Liangzhu civilization in the south of the Yangtze River, isn't it?"

"Yes, the so-called Liangzhu civilization or Liangzhu culture is named after it was first discovered in Liangzhu Town, Yuhang, Zhejiang Province in 1936. It is the most important prehistoric civilization in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China, and it is also one of the main sources of early civilization in East Asia. According to According to archaeological carbon 14 determination, its age is about 5300 to 4000 years ago. Most of the Liangzhu culture sites discovered in modern times are scattered in the south of the Yangtze River, and the Qingpu Fuquanshan site in the suburbs of Shanghai also belongs to the Liangzhu culture.”

"What does that have to do with these jade objects?"

"The biggest feature of the Liangzhu civilization is jade. Although the Liangzhu civilization has a history of 5000 years, they created a highly developed jade civilization, which occupies an important position in the history of early human civilization."

I suddenly asked in a daze: "Jade civilization?"

"Yes, the important feature of Chinese civilization is the jade civilization, which has a history of 7000 years and is far ahead of other nations with jade civilization, such as ancient Americans and Oceanian Maori. Jade is extremely important to the ancient Chinese. They even believed that jade articles had mysterious supernatural power. Whether it was the sages in the pre-Qin period or the emperors in the Han and Tang Dynasties, they all had a soft spot for jade articles."

"And what about them?" I asked, pointing to the five jade objects.

Sun Tzuchu picked up the disc-shaped jade and said, "This thing is called a jade bi. Do you think it is in the shape of a round pancake? There is a small hole in the middle. Academically, the width of the side is roughly twice the diameter of the hole." Liangzhu culture jade bi is generally relatively large, most of which were unearthed with tombs, and some people even think that Liangzhu jade bi is a kind of primitive currency, do you think its shape looks like an enlarged copper coin?"

I nodded, the inner hole of this jade bi is square, which corresponds to the round sky of "Brother Kong Fang".

Sun Tzuchu pointed to the ax-like thing again and said, "This thing is called a jade axe."

"I see. Axes and axes are the same type of weapon."

"However, the jade ax of the Liangzhu culture is a non-practical ritual vessel, which generally represents the force and power of the owner." Then, Sun Tzuchu picked up the jade vessel that looked like a large pen holder and said, "This thing is the most famous , called Yu Cong."

"Jade cong? I think I saw it in the Shanghai Museum."

"Yes, the jade cong is the largest among the Liangzhu jade wares, and it is also the most exquisitely made. The shape of the cong is mostly square on the outside and round on the inside. All are intricately carved and ornamented, and their themes are mostly animal faces and deities."

I immediately stared at the jade cong in my hand, and there were indeed many exquisite patterns, like some kind of monster with its bloody mouth wide open. I touched the jade cong and asked, "What is it for?"

"Jade cong originated from the religious witchcraft of the Liangzhu civilization, and it is a symbol of divine power in the sky. All the tombs where jade cong are unearthed, the owner of the tomb is a big man with divine power, who may be both a king and a great wizard. It can be said that the jade cong decides The ups and downs of the ancient Liangzhu kingdom are like the Temple of the Sun in ancient Egypt.”

"Is it really that mysterious?"

When it came to Sun Tzuchu’s main focus on professional history, he became more and more enthusiastic as he talked: “These are all facts recognized by the academic circles, and they are by no means my family’s opinion. As for the remaining two small things, they were all worn by Liangzhu people at that time. jade ornaments."

I looked at the jade turtle and the jade dagger, and I could only nod my head and say, "Are you sure that these five Liangzhu jade artifacts are real?"

"Now, I can only say that the shape and structure of these five jade wares belong to the same type as the Liangzhu jade wares that have been unearthed. They all have distinct characteristics of Liangzhu jade wares in terms of materials and carving." But he paused for a moment, Said in a deep voice, "However, Liangzhu jade wares are all unearthed ancient jades, and identification is very complicated. The main thing is to look at the patina, the second to see the color, and the third to see the shape and production characteristics of the vessel. Finally, it is necessary to date. I Mainly studying history, not expert in jade identification.”

"After talking for a long time, aren't you sure yourself?"

Sun Zichu frowned for a while and said, "If you trust me as a friend, you can put these jade articles with me, and I will invite the best ancient jade appraisal experts to identify the authenticity and age of these jade articles for you. "

His suggestion made me hesitate. After all, these things were hard-won, and Su Tianping bought them with his own life.I grabbed the jade dagger, bowed my head and pondered for a long time, finally I nodded and said, "Okay, I'll leave them with you for now, but you must not lose them."

"Don't worry, I did this myself, how could it be broken?"

As he said that, Sun Tzuchu began to pack the jade wares carefully. I patted him on the shoulder and said, "As soon as the news comes out, return these things to me immediately."

"Of course, these jade articles are all your treasures."

I suddenly smiled bitterly and said, "Okay, I'm leaving, you can do your thing."

Leaving Sun Zichu's office, I ran all the way out of this campus, maybe I never want to come here again.

Why should the jade be handed over to Sun Zichu?Because, if these mysterious jade objects from the deserted village are really Liangzhu ancient jade 5000 years ago, then the deserted village must have some relationship with the Liangzhu civilization.Perhaps, the ancient and mysterious Liangzhu civilization is also a key to unlock the secrets of the deserted village?While this is just my guess, I'm willing to give it a shot.

When I returned to the deserted village apartment, the night had already enveloped Shanghai. I entered the old house through the back door in the dark, and returned to the room on the second floor.

At this time, my stomach was already very hungry, so I quickly solved dinner with fried rice in the microwave.

After dinner, I was still standing at the window, and the smell of creepers came to my nostrils, but I was always thinking about those jade wares—they all came from the underground of the deserted village, and they may have a history of 5000 years. ...

Suddenly, it occurred to me that I had missed one more thing - the jade ring!

It was the jade ring that was stolen by Chunyu in the underground secret room in the deserted village.I hastily opened the simple cabinet and finally found the jade ring.

I carefully held up the jade ring. Under the dim light of the old house, the turquoise jade body showed a translucent luster, like a green eyeball.

But on one side of the jade ring, there was a scarlet smear deeply embedded in it, which was particularly dazzling in the crystal green jade body.I put the jade ring in front of my nostrils and sniffed vigorously, a faint fishy smell floated into my nostrils, which suddenly made people feel sick.

My heartbeat quickened again immediately, and I slowly lifted the jade ring over my head, aiming it in the direction of the light.The soft light passed through the translucent jade body, and there seemed to be some strange patterns in the ring, which looked like snakes swimming in the light.Only in the red smudged part, the light cannot penetrate it, hiding the secret inside.

Finally, I put down the jade ring and thought to myself: Is it also a jade ring from the Liangzhu civilization?If it is, then whose finger was this jade ring worn in prehistoric times 5000 years ago?
Perhaps subconsciously, I stretched out my left ring finger.I looked at my finger pointing at the jade ring, and suddenly felt a strange impulse in my heart.Suddenly, I felt nothing in my mind, and my right hand seemed to lose self-control, and I involuntarily grabbed the jade ring——

No, I have lost self-control, I just watched the jade ring slowly slipping into the ring finger of my left hand.

However, I didn't expect this jade ring to be so tight. When it was inserted into my first knuckle, a cold feeling spread through my whole body through my fingers, and my knuckles and nails ached.But the jade ring came down to the second knuckle very quickly, and I felt a strange pressure on my phalanges.Finally, when the jade ring came to the third knuckle, which is the lowest part of the ring finger, the pressure and pain suddenly disappeared——

I have put on the jade ring.

At this moment, I seemed to hear a faint voice calling my name softly.I immediately turned around in a panic and shouted loudly: "Who are you?"

And yet, I was alone in the room, echoing my emptiness in the vast deserted village apartment.

Looking at the jade ring on my finger, my face suddenly changed. Could it be that the voice just now came from the jade ring?

No, it's impossible, it's just my fantasy.Although I shook my head again and again, the ring finger of my left hand felt cold, and even the hairs on my hand stood on end.I quickly raised my left hand to my eyes, the jade ring was tightly wrapped around my ring finger, like a green phalanx.The scarlet smear on the ring is particularly eye-catching now, facing directly above the back of my hand, as if a ruby ​​was inlaid on the ring.

I stretched my fingers into the distance to look at it again, and the more I looked at it, the more uncomfortable I felt, as if I was wearing a strange mark.I don't know if it's because of psychological effects, or because the ancient jade ring is too cold, I feel that I'm constantly sweating.

No, I can't wear this jade ring, it has a strange evil spirit on it, which makes me feel uncomfortable all over.

I hastily stretched out my right hand, trying to take the jade ring off my finger.However, the jade ring was firmly on my finger, and no matter how hard I pulled it out, it never moved.

What's more terrible is that when I tried to pull out the jade ring, I felt that my left ring finger was being oppressed by a dark force, and the jade ring on it was getting tighter and tighter, gradually embedded in the flesh. .I immediately felt a numbness in my fingers. This ancient jade ring seemed to have turned into a living creature. It stretched out its suction cup to cling to my skin tightly, as if it wanted to swallow my ring finger.

It took more than half an hour, and with all my strength, I still couldn't pull out the jade ring.The scarlet smear on its body was facing me proudly, entwined tightly around my fingers, and seemed to have taken root in my flesh.

Finally, panting, I let go of my sweaty hand, looking at the jade ring that I wore on my left ring finger, but now I couldn't take it off, I was already shuddering.

My left hand was shaking constantly, but the pain gradually disappeared.However, when I stretched out my hand again to pull out the jade ring, it suddenly became tight again, firmly stuck on my knuckles, as if it could expand and contract automatically.

Suddenly, I thought of the method my mother taught me in the past: when the ring or bracelet cannot be taken off, you can put some oil on it, and then you can take it off.

So, I found a few bottles of oil I brought over and poured the oil on my fingers, and soon the oil soaked my fingers and the jade ring.I touched it on my fingers, and it was really slippery.I thought the jade ring had been fully lubricated by the oil, so I covered a rag with my right hand, firmly grasped the jade ring, and then pulled it out forcefully.

However, the jade ring seemed to be stimulated by the oil, and it was more tightly embedded on my finger. The more I tried my best to pull it out, the more painful my finger felt, as if I was pulling out my own bones .Finally, after more than ten minutes of tossing and pouring out half the bottle of oil, the jade ring was still firmly on my finger, and the scarlet stain on it seemed to mock me.

Now how to do?I was almost desperate, pacing back and forth in the room with my left hand shaking.I feel deeply regretful why I involuntarily put on the jade ring just now, as if possessed by a demon.This is no longer just a momentary impulse, but some strange force of thought drives me.But who would have thought that once this mysterious jade ring is worn, it will never be able to be pulled off, and it will "grow" on the finger like a root.

When I was exhausted, I sat down on the bed weakly, and I didn't feel any pain anymore, but it seemed like a piece of fat had grown on my finger.Now, I don't dare to pull it out anymore, I just hope that when I wake up tomorrow morning, the jade ring will automatically fall off my finger.

After sitting on the bed for a while, I was already drowsy. Looking at the oil on my hands and the sweat on my body, I thought I should wash it off.So, I could only walk out of the room wearing the jade ring and came to the bathroom.

I stared blankly at myself in the mirror. The jade ring on my finger was very conspicuous. I felt that wearing the jade ring seemed to come from another ancient time and space.

Stretching my hands into the sink, I turned on the faucet, and the water continuously washed over my fingers and the surface of the jade ring. The jade produced some kind of refraction of light in the water, and I felt a little more comfortable.Finally, all the greasyness was washed away. After the baptism of oil and water, the jade ring appeared more vivid, the turquoise body became more crystal clear, and the scarlet smudge became deeper. Like an ugly birthmark.

Then, I boiled water with an electric kettle in the bathroom, and took a brief shower with the shower head.After the hot water was boiled, I soaked my hair in the sink and washed it with hot water. The jade ring seemed to be not afraid of hot water, and the discomfort on my fingers almost disappeared.I finally washed off all the sweat of the day. I stood in front of the mirror and wiped my hair. Hot water vapor permeated the bathroom, covering the mirror with a layer of water mist.

I looked in the hazy mirror, and only my vague shadow was reflected in it.Suddenly, I found that the shadow in the mirror was motionless, while I kept moving to wipe my body.

Is that me in the mirror?

In an instant, the hairs on the back of my vest stood on end.I took a few steps back and swayed left and right a few times, but the figure in the mirror still stood upright.

My neck receded involuntarily, and I stared at the mirror tremblingly. The layer of mist covering the mirror made it impossible for me to see the face in the mirror clearly.

Suddenly, I turned on the tap and poured a lot of cold water on the mirror.The water flowed down like a waterfall, washing away the mist on the mirror surface, gradually revealing several gaps...

- In the mirror is the figure of a woman.

I was immediately speechless in horror.That's right, it was the figure of a young woman. The mirror clearly showed a head of long black hair, as well as slender shoulders and waist...

However, I couldn't see her face clearly, there was a cloud of water mist on the mirror that was not washed away, just covering her eyes.

When the fear reached its peak, I forgot about it—I quickly held my breath, and poured a lot of water on the mirror, more water flowed away the mist, and finally I could see the mirror clearly.

However, that woman suddenly disappeared, and my face was still in the mirror.

I looked around in panic to make sure no one else was in the bathroom.Then I touched my face, and my reflection in the mirror repeated exactly what I did.

What happened just now?I looked at the mirror of this deserted village apartment and couldn't understand it. Could it be another hallucination?I shook my head, and could only mock myself: "No wonder the mirror in the dark is always an essential element in all horror films."

Suddenly, I remembered those people who lived in the apartment in the deserted village decades ago, including the men and women of the Ouyang family. They must have left their own figures and faces in front of this mirror, and left happiness and happiness. sad--

At this time, I raised my left hand, and the jade ring was reflecting a faint light.

I hurriedly left the bathroom and went back to my room.Wearing this jade ring from a deserted village on my finger, I feel like I am wearing a pair of shackles, and I feel like I dare not do anything.

Afterwards, I turned off the light, lay on the bed shrouded in darkness, and gently stroked the jade ring on the ring finger of my left hand. It seemed to be breathing with me, and gradually sank into a sleep of fear...

(End of this chapter)