Tomb Raiders Codex

Chapter 35
In order to prevent making noise, I took off my shoes and went into battle barefoot. I didn't dare to turn on the light, but only held the flashlight in my hand, and walked up the wooden stairs leading to the second floor step by step.

The higher I went, the clearer the bell sounded, until I got to the second floor, it was pitch black in front of me, only the glimmer of light on the first floor, so I barely had to become blind.

The sound seemed to be coming from the right side. I walked over there cautiously. Suddenly, the wooden floor under my feet seemed to be too heavy for my body, and there was a harsh creaking sound unwillingly.

The voice was very clear in the dark night, and my heart skipped a beat, thinking: This thief, is it true that he really wants to blame all the bad things on me?As soon as this thought came to my mind, there was a creaking sound of the door opening in front of me, and then, a thin old man came out holding a white candle. Staring at me in the dim light, he asked eeriely, "Who told you to come up?"

I didn't know it well, but since this old man is a human being, I wasn't afraid anymore. Holding the flashlight in one hand, I thought to myself: If there is anything weird about this old man, just hit it with a shuttle, and then don't blame me for not caring for the old man.

The ringing of the bell still stopped at this time, and only then did I realize that the old man was holding a candle in his left hand, and his right hand was drooping, holding a copper-yellow bell, just like the magic weapon that Taoist priests who practice rituals often hold in their hands.I thought to myself: This old man is ringing the bell upstairs in the middle of the night. Could it be that he is engaged in some superstitious activities?This is justifiable, the western Hunan area has always believed in the theory of ghosts and gods, and there are countless taboos and customs. If this is the case, then don't worry.

Thinking of this, I don't intend to tear myself apart, after all, I'm still living in someone else's room, so I said, "Old man, I'm sorry to disturb you, I heard a noise upstairs in the middle of the night, and thought it was a rat. Thanks You take care of me, I have no other skills, catching mice is my forte, so I am going to go upstairs to kill you."

The old man stared at me with cloudy eyes, and his voice was still hoarse and ugly, as if he was breathing, and said: "There are few people in this place, most of them have moved out, it is inevitable that there will be some rats, foxes and bobcats, I am used to it, don't Urgent, you go back."

I gave the old man a step. He probably saw that I was young and strong, and he didn't intend to tear my face, so he let me go back to the first floor.Now that I have found out the truth, I don't intend to stay longer. The light on the second floor is dim, and there is a musty smell, which makes people's nose very uncomfortable. Immediately, I turned around and went downstairs. The old man also put away the candle and left. Into the dark room, seems to have fallen asleep.

When I came downstairs, Gu Wenmin was still waiting for me. When she saw me going downstairs, she immediately lowered her voice and asked, "What's going on?"

I told my guess, and said: "I guess they are doing some tricks to trick gods and ghosts. Xiangxi believes in this, so it's okay." Gu Wenmin was relieved when he heard that, it was late at night, and everyone was exhausted during the day. At this moment, I felt relieved, and soon fell asleep again.

In the dimness, I felt a little heat on my wrist. This heat was not strong, but it formed a strong contrast with the cold humidity of the night, which made me wake up again.

Looking at the time, it has been two hours since I got up the last time. I couldn't help but look at my hot wrist, and an uneasy thought suddenly arose in my heart: the position of the wrist is impressively made for me by my grandfather. String mahogany hand beads.

At the bottom of the Huiyong River, I used this mahogany bead to deal with the cat, and I hit it with one blow, and one of the wooden beads was already cracked.According to legend, peach wood is the cane in Kuafu's hand. It has always been hailed as a holy product for exorcising evil spirits, but at this time, another piece of it cracked.

Could it be that there are really ghosts haunting this place?

Did the mahogany hand bead just now save me again?
Or is it because the beaded belt has been used for too long, and it has been exposed to moisture in the past two days, so it cracked itself?

A few thoughts flashed by, and most of my drowsiness disappeared, but Gu Wenmin and the others fell into a deep sleep. I touched my pockets, wanting to touch a pack of cigarettes habitually, but remembered that I had been washed away in the rain a long time ago.

The mahogany beads suddenly cracked, giving me a very ominous premonition. I didn't believe in this before, but after a series of events in Huiyonghe, I realized that there are still many forces in this world that cannot be explained by human technology.

At this moment, it is still windy and windy outside, and the cold wind is whistling, which is different from the wind in the city. The mountain wind here passes through the side of the cliff and through the forest tops, forming a unique rhythm, like howling ghosts and wolves, timid People who listen to it are afraid that they will feel dizzy.

I subconsciously listened to the movement on the second floor, and found that it was very quiet. It seemed that the weird old man had already fallen asleep.According to what the old man said, this place should be a relatively remote ancient village, but with the development of the times, most of the people have moved out and moved to a place closer to the population. The old man is probably what we call empty nesters.

It's a little pitiful to think about it.

Just as I was thinking, suddenly, I heard some strange noises.

The sound did not come from upstairs, but from outside the wooden gate.

Listening to the sound, it vaguely resembles the sound of human footsteps. The sound made by the shoes when they step on the rain is very special. I am sure that I cannot hear it wrong.At this moment, the wind and rain outside are miserable, who will walk in the rainy night?
The old man never went downstairs. Could it be that the person walking outside was one of the household owners among the other lanterns?
What are you doing out in the middle of the night?
The footsteps have not stopped, and it seems that they are gradually passing through the door of our room.As a person who does things, I always like to get to the bottom of things, and I hate having stalks in my heart the most.Encountering such a strange situation, I always feel uncomfortable if I don’t understand it. I immediately jumped off the wooden table, walked to the wooden door, and looked out through the crack of the door.

The weak candlelight in the room couldn't get out through the crack of the door at all, so I could only see darkness in my eyes, and I couldn't help scolding myself for being a fool, thinking: I have forgotten this bit of common sense, I can see it Know what the hell.

I was about to give up peeping, and was about to open the door openly, when suddenly, a hazy halo appeared in the darkness, gradually entering my line of sight.Looking carefully, under the pouring rain, there is a thin figure who can't see his face and clothes clearly. He is holding a big red lantern in his hand. In the rainy night, he is walking slowly towards the outside of the village. There are other human figures, although men, women, old and young cannot be seen clearly, but according to the outline calculation, the number is quite large.

I couldn't help being startled, and took a cold breath. At this moment, a cold hand slammed on my shoulder, and I turned around in horror, but it was Gu Wenmin who woke up, and she turned towards me. He made a gesture of silence, and behind him stood a puzzled tofu and a nervous hairy rooster.

After Gu Wenmin made the gesture, she also looked out through the crack of the door. After about ten seconds, she withdrew her gaze, with fear in her eyes, and said, "They are not human!"

not human?
I didn't realize it, are they all ghosts?Is my luck so low?
Tofu was terrified by these words, and said nervously: "Grandma, what do you mean, you should explain clearly."

Gu Wenmin's dark eyes, in the dim eyesight, showed tension and a bit of composure, she exhaled slowly, and said in a low voice: "I can't see what they look like, but I have good eyesight, so I found , none of their heels touched the ground."

Mao Rooster gasped, his face turned ashen, as if he had thought of something, his teeth chattered for a while.

On the contrary, Tofu didn't seem to be afraid, and asked Gu Wenmin with a confused look on his face, "What does it mean that your heels don't touch the ground?"

I explained: "Folk legend, when a ghost gets on a person, that person's heel can't touch the ground." Gu Wenmin nodded and said worriedly, "Could it be that the people outside have been caught by a ghost?"

Recalling the scene just now, I couldn't help but shook my head and said, "I don't think so. This place is inaccessible. There are so many people who are abnormal. I don't think they are ghosts at all. They are probably not human at all."

As soon as the words fell, Tofu was already too frightened to die, and walked away from me with a sad face, saying: "I was wrong, I should stay away from you, the unlucky pervert, God, help me."

My mind was running at high speed, and countless thoughts came up, and I heard the words and said: "Don't call God, I remember you said insulting words to God last night, you said that you dared to kill God's mother, God Will it save you?"

Tofu wanted to cry, but said, "I'd rather go out in the rain than stay in this place, what do you say?"

Gu Wenmin lowered his voice and said: "Xiao Dou is right. Going out in the rain is better than staying here. When all the things outside are gone, let's leave here." As soon as the words fell, Mao Rooster stammered: " Like, what if it, they don't go?"

Tofu boldly said: "Aren't you leaving? If you don't leave, is it possible to stay here and give birth?"

Mao Rooster swallowed his saliva, shook his head and said, "No...you look." He pointed to the gate, and we turned our heads in unison, and saw the carved paper window on the wooden door. I don't know when, A bunch of dense figures were reflected...

(End of this chapter)