Embers Ad Infinitum

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and the winter sky was no longer so bright, but it was not close to evening. The light falls on the ground and the lake breeze blows slowly, making people feel like they are back in the morning.

The roads on the island were indeed as the fishman captive said. The damage was not too serious, but some places were cracked due to the sun and rain, and there was a lot of dirt and dust in some sections.

For Jiang Baimian, who was riding a bicycle, the cold wind blowing in his face was refreshing. On the left was a large amount of farmland that spread to the foot of the mountain. On the right, through two rows of trees with withered leaves, smoke waves could be seen. The vast lake.

This kind of scenery and this kind of feeling made her mind open and her spirit felt comfortable.

If she hadn't been carrying a grenade gun and an assault rifle, she would have almost forgotten the purpose of her trip.

"It's a pity that it's winter now, and there isn't much green in the farmland and woods, otherwise it would definitely feel better." Jiang Baimian sighed while pedaling.

Shang Jianyao tried his best to keep his bicycle from going too far, thought for a while and said:

"Autumn can be more beautiful."

"Why?" Jiang Baimian did not expect that Shang Jianyao actually chose a season.

Shang Jianyao answered calmly:

"There must be a lot of fruit on the tree."

"..." Jiang Baimian decided not to continue this topic and instead said, "It seems that the fish people have evacuated the island. I don't know whether it was the order of the divine envoy or because something terrible happened after more than three days. matter……"

This is one of the notes given by "Pangu Biology":

You cannot stay on the island for more than three days.

Shang Jianyao, who was wearing a monkey mask, thought for a moment and said:

"The prisoners were not asked this question at the time."

"I didn't know that at the time." Jiang Baimian subconsciously expressed relief.

When Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong went to inquire about the fishman captive, she was still sick and had not yet reported the matter to the company, nor had she received the instructions for exploring the forbidden temple.

The morning after "Pangu Creature" called back, Hongshiji exchanged prisoners with the fishmen and mountain monsters.

Shang Jianyao, who tried hard to control himself and prevent his bicycle from going too fast, glanced sideways at Jiang Baimian:

"I think it should be the order of the divine messenger."

"Oh?" Although Jiang Baimian also judged this, he was still very interested in Shang Jianyao's inference process.

She felt that it was necessary to learn alternative ideas and not be complacent.

After all, many awakened people have certain mental problems, and it is difficult to guess their behavioral patterns using normal logic.

Shang Jianyao said truthfully:

"He has made friends with Warning Song. When he mentions the island in the middle of the lake and the Forbidden Temple, he will always say that terrible things will happen if he stays on the island for too long, unless he doesn't know the specific situation."

"Yes." Jiang Baimian was a little disappointed, because this was normal reasoning.

Jingle Bell!

At this time, Shang Jianyao moved the bell on the faucet with great interest, as if he wanted to use it to play a piece of music.

Unfortunately, bells can't do this.

"..." Jiang Baimian took back his disappointment.

The two of them rode past abandoned houses by the lake. After more than ten minutes, they finally saw a market town.

Its style is very similar to that of Wild Grass City, with white walls and black tiles, cornices and brackets, full of the charm of the old world.

Of course, there are differences between this place and Weed Grass City:

First, there are no city walls; second, the houses are generally not high, mostly two or three stories.

The market town is paved with bluestone slabs, and withered and yellow weeds are pulled up by the cold wind from time to time and raised into the sky.

For some reason, Jiang Baimian felt as if the light was dimmed as soon as he entered this market town.

The scene she saw was ancient, quiet, and a little eerie.

There is no doubt that there is no sign of human activity in the entire market town. If it were not winter, this place would probably become a paradise for green plants and wild animals.

——Even now, Jiang Baimian can still see dried animal excrement in the corners and ditches.

"There's no smell." Shang Jianyao sniffed and made a judgment.

Jiang Baimian was too lazy to pay attention to him. He turned his wrist and looked at his watch:

"It's 4:16 now. We have to leave this town before 4:42, regardless of whether we find anything valuable."

"You made a miscalculation." Shang Jianyao pointed out.

That's less than half an hour.

Jiang Baimian scoffed while identifying the road and looking for the temple according to the confessions of the fish-man prisoners:

“It’s called leaving a margin.

"Who knows if there is any difference between this place and those found by the company before. We cannot completely follow the precautions given by the company. We have to raise the standards."

"You are very suitable to join the Vigilance Sect." Shang Jianyao praised.

Jiang Baimian glanced sideways and muttered:

“I think you’re scolding me.

"Can the vigilance of a sect and the vigilance of normal people be the same thing?"

After confirming the general direction, she rode her bicycle along the roadside ditch to the center of the market town.

According to the description of the fishman prisoner, the temple is in the alley east of the market town square.

The inside of the market town is the same as the outside. Except for the whistling wind and the sound of bicycles, it is quiet, so quiet that it makes people's scalp numb.

"I didn't feel it in the wild, but here, it's really strange that there is no sound." Jiang Baimian glanced around and attributed part of the reason to the narrow road, cramped environment, and depressing atmosphere.

Shang Jianyao immediately sighed:

"It's a pity that Long Yuehong didn't come."

"What will happen if you come?" Jiang Baimian said casually.

Shang Jianyao said "Hey":

"Then I can tell him ghost stories."

"You are really his good friend." Jiang Baimian said sincerely.

While they were talking, their eyes widened, and a small square appeared.

To the east of the square, there is a half-meter-high platform with nothing on it.

Beyond this cement platform, you can see a narrow alley. The entrance of the alley has a stale smell, as if the wind has not blown in for a long time.

Jiang Baimian quickly turned off the bicycle and leaned it next to him.

Their destination has arrived.

As Shang Jianyao got out of the car, he talked about his worries:

"Do you want to lock it? It wouldn't be good if you find the car is missing when you come out."

"If your car is lost, I'll give you a lift!" Jiang Baimian didn't say where someone could steal a bicycle in such a ghost place, and responded directly following Shang Jianyao's train of thought.

Ten seconds later, the two put down their bicycles, picked up their assault rifles, and entered the alley in front of them step by step.

The further inside they went, the stale the air became, and it felt like it was about to solidify, but this did not affect Shang Jianyao and Jiang Baimian's breathing.

In this alley, all the doors and windows of the houses are closed. Unlike other areas of the town, many doors are open, as if they have been searched.

Moreover, the doors here are all painted black.

As he walked, Jiang Baimian heard the footsteps of himself and Shang Jianyao.

They echoed continuously in the alley, stacked on top of each other.

"It's really strange here." Jiang Baimian sighed as the temple appeared in front of them.

The temple is located at a higher point at the bottom of the alley, and there is no essential difference from the surrounding architectural styles.

Its black door is tightly closed, with black tiles connected above, and a white paper lantern hanging on each side.

Perhaps because it was covered by the eaves, the lantern was not affected by the rain, as if it had been hung up just last night.

The door of the temple is higher than that of other buildings. There is a plaque under the eaves, with white characters on a black background.

Jiang Baimian just took a casual look and saw clearly the content on the plaque:

"The Palace of Yama"

"It's quite similar to that." She commented cogently.

This did not affect her progress. Soon, she and Shang Jianyao arrived at the entrance of the temple.

As she got closer, she had a strange feeling, which was the fear that went straight to the bottom of her heart.

Jiang Baimian did not hesitate, stretched out his left hand and pressed it on the door with a slight force.

——She and Shang Jianyao had already put on latex gloves before riding the bicycle.

At this time, she was being cautious and even used her left hand.

With a creaking sound, the black door of the temple slowly opened back, revealing the scene inside.

The first thing that caught Jiang Baimian and Shang Jianyao's eyes was a patio with a water tank in each corner.

At the end of the patio is a palace, with a white curtain hanging at the door.

After crossing the threshold and entering the temple, Jiang Baimian's fear instantly dissipated, but his heart seemed to be piled with several heavy stones, feeling extremely depressed.

Even the sound of the wind seemed to have disappeared here, and it was so quiet that it didn't seem like it was in the real world.

Suddenly, Shang Jianyao asked:

"Can I get the speakers?"

"Ah?" Jiang Baimian, who was completely focused, did not react for a moment.

"Play a song." Shang Jianyao hurriedly explained.

Playing songs through speakers in this eerie, mysterious, quiet, depressing and weird temple? Play those weird songs? Although Jiang Baimian believed that this could effectively destroy the current atmosphere, he always felt that it was too strange.

It's crazy that a place that could be "haunted" at any time echoes "You're my little, little apple."

She thought about it and said:

"It's not needed yet, but it can be prepared."

"Okay." Shang Jianyao became excited.

The two men holding assault rifles then walked toward the entrance of the main hall at angles to each other.

After lifting the white curtain and tying it up, they saw the altar table, incense burner, ashes, futon and white candles.

However, there is no statue of the god on the altar table, and the actual situation cannot be seen from the rear blocked by the altar table.

At this time, Shang Jianyao suddenly said:

"With human consciousness, no more than ten meters."

He used a rather vague description, and seemed to be unsure of the specific scope.

"You didn't feel it until you came in?" Jiang Baimian asked in surprise.

She remembered that Shang Jianyao's ability had a maximum range of twenty meters.

Shang Jianyao nodded heavily.

Jiang Baimian immediately concentrated his energy, and after a long while he hesitated and said:

"Indeed, there is an electrical signal, very weak... extremely low biological activity?"

As she spoke, she held the gun and walked around behind the altar table with Shang Jianyao.

Then they saw a coffin, a black coffin.

The coffin was open and a person was lying inside.