blogombal Chapter 16 Clues
Chapter 16 Clues
Li Jiu said, "Before I came here, I checked a lot of so-called 'guides,' and all of them talked about something mysterious and supernatural, like there was a great treasure hidden somewhere in the mountains... They didn't mention anything about 'Dragon Servants' at all!"
He Rouyi said, "Regarding the records of 'Dragon Attendants,' there are a few yellowed tattered pages in a corner of the Fulong Mountain Folk Museum, and online... if you dig deeper, you can also find some scattered records."
"But these things are definitely not in the guide."
Why?
"Because the people who can write travel guides all come down from Mount Fulong."
boom!
Li Jiu felt as if he had been struck by lightning; a chill instantly swept over his entire body!
Yes!
Isn't this the same principle as parachutes never getting negative reviews?!
Only those who survive can be considered a strategy guide!
Dead people can't talk!
Those who didn't make it down the mountain alive... their experiences, their horrors, are forever buried in this eerie mountain!
broken!
The darkest place is under the lamp!
He was too careless!
He hadn't thought of this at all!
They actually overlooked such a fatal logical flaw!
But... thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem so bad. He hasn't suffered any losses so far, and it's not too late to find out now. Anyway, he's going to escape with Tang Mubai by helicopter tomorrow.
"I'll look into the 'Dragon Servant' thing later," Li Jiu said. "...So your sister was actually a normal person a month ago, right? How did she become a Dragon Servant?"
A heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone: "This year for Qingming Festival... our family is going back to Fulong Mountain to pay respects to our ancestors..."
"It takes us quite a long time to drive from home to Fulong Mountain. My parents originally wanted us to stay at home, but my sister read a lot of information online and became very curious about Fulong Mountain, so she specially came back home."
"My parents couldn't persuade her otherwise, so they took her to Fulong Mountain..."
"You're here to worship your ancestors... at Fulong Mountain? Hasn't Fulong Mountain been uninhabited since the flash flood fifty years ago?" Li Jiugang was still somewhat puzzled, but then the contents of the Fulong Mountain Scenic Area Visitor Rules suddenly flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but be startled. "Wait! Those cemeteries on Fulong Mountain, could they be the places where you worship your ancestors?"
The visitor guidelines for Fulong Mountain Scenic Area state that, "When selecting hiking trails, the scenic area avoided most cemeteries. If you see some isolated graves during your hike, don't be surprised."
Try not to leave the hiking trails and head towards the cemetery, whether you do so intentionally or unintentionally.
He Rouyi said, "Yes, our ancestors were from Fulong Mountain. My grandfather's name was He Shoudu. He was a survivor of the massive flash flood in 1972. Later, he settled in Wusongjiang and has lived there ever since."
"My name is He Rouyi, and my younger sister's name is He Rouzhi. Because of our grandfather, our family name follows the generational naming conventions of Fulong Village..."
"The men and women of Fulong Village use two sets of generational names. The men's names are 'Always uphold right mindfulness and practice all good deeds,' while the women's names are 'Quiet and gentle, free from all frivolous thoughts.'"
"My grandfather's generation name was 'Shou', so his name was 'He Shoudu'. My sister and I both belong to the 'Rou' generation."
"Always maintain right mindfulness, all good deeds... What is the way to maintain it... Li Jiu seemed to be deep in thought."
Hmm, Professor He's name is He Shougui, so he must be from Fulong Mountain too...
Are you listening?
"Yes, I'm here," Li Jiu replied. "...Please continue with the ancestral worship ceremony."
"Mmm," He Rouyi said. "During the Qingming Festival, my sister went with my parents to pay respects to our ancestors. After the ceremony, since it was getting late, they decided to take the cable car down Bailong Lake."
Li Jiu knew that the cable car, which ran directly from Bailong Lake at the top of Fulong Mountain to Bailongtan at the Starry Sky Camp, was the fastest way down the mountain.
This shows that He Rouyi's family worshipped their ancestors at a location relatively close to the mountaintop.
He Rouyi continued, "Normally, they should have avoided Jiding Temple when they went down the mountain, but it was getting late, and in order to catch the cable car before dark, they took a shortcut and went through Jiding Temple..."
"My sister's photo was taken around that time as well."
"Everything was fine until that day when I got home. My sister said she kept hearing strange noises, like chanting or something."
"My dad didn't pay much attention at first, just thinking she was hallucinating. But that night she woke up in a fright, saying she had a nightmare about snakes and other things."
"Later, she could no longer sleep well. My grandfather said that my sister was possessed by an evil spirit and tried to take her to exorcise it, but my parents stopped him, thinking he was too superstitious."
"My parents decided to observe my sister's situation and take her to see a psychologist if it didn't improve. My sister was in the second semester of her first year of high school, which was the time for choosing subjects and classes. My mom thought it was because she was too anxious."
"On the last day of the Qingming Festival, my sister took a taxi back to school."
"But that night, the teacher called my mom and said my sister hadn't come to school."
"My mom called my sister, but she didn't answer. Later, she called the police and found out that she had taken a taxi to Fulong Mountain on the last day of the Qingming Festival."
"Fulong Mountain is very large, and there are very few surveillance cameras. The last time my sister appeared on the surveillance cameras was at the entrance of the Fulong Mountain scenic area. After entering, she went straight into a wild path and left the surveillance area."
"Searching for someone in the mountains is too dangerous, so my parents told the local police and the mountain rescue team about it, but my sister hasn't been found since she went missing..."
Li Jiu sighed softly.
He Rouyi said, "I didn't know about these things at first... I was preparing for exams at school during that Qingming Festival holiday. At first, I just thought it was an ordinary holiday. It wasn't until my sister went missing for half a month that my dad called to tell me about it."
"My grandfather and my mother had a big fight about this. My mother became depressed because of it, and her mental state became somewhat unstable... Sometimes she would sit in my sister's room for a whole day without saying a word or moving."
"My grandfather secretly went into the mountains alone, saying he was going to find my sister, but he never came out after he went into the mountains."
"Later, quite by chance, I found some photos in my sister's and my shared cloud drive, one of which was of the girl I sent you..."
"I remembered her mention of chanting, and then I remembered that they had passed by Jiding Temple, so I searched for information about Fulong Mountain..."
"Because my sister's situation was very special, I researched a wide range of information, from the flash flood of 72 to some folk records, as well as folk legends such as 'the Buddha of Tranquility subduing two evils,' and strange phenomena such as 'dragon attendants' and 'snake tides'..."
"Oh right, and a strategy guide."
"Of all the information I found, travel guides are actually the least useful."
"Those travel guides seem to have been manipulated by someone with ulterior motives; the true secrets of Fulong Mountain can only be found in 'unofficial history'..."
Li Jiu did not interrupt He Rouyi, and while listening, he silently pondered something.
"But... I soon discovered something, that is, the information available online is not core enough," He Rouyi said. "Some information is obviously missing, or rather, hidden... The only thing I can think of is that the authorities would do this for some purpose."
"I found Professor He, who specializes in the folk customs of Fulong Mountain... but Professor He is very tight-lipped about it. I can sense that he knows something, but no matter how much I beg him, he won't say anything."
"I also signed up for his summer camp, but he rejected my application."
Upon hearing this, Li Jiu subconsciously glanced at Tang Mubai.