The Exorcist

Xiaowang Town, originally called Xiaowang Township, is located in the northwest suburbs of City A.

It was once just a poor rural village famous for its fine liquor and skilled masons. But for the locals, there was only one big landowner named Yan, and then there was a Qinggang leader and a young master who studied abroad. The rest were just poor farmers and struggling small workshop owners. That’s all.

After liberation, especially in recent years, with the development of City A, Xiaowang Township has gradually prospered and become a famous special scenic spot due to its beautiful natural scenery, and now it has become a wealthy town. In the eyes of the three newcomers, except for the slightly different accents and artificial scenery, the rest of the facilities are almost the same as those in City A.

"Are you sure you will find the Earthbound Spirit here?" Wan Li asked.

They just checked into a hotel. Although it was a villa-type building built in the mountains, it was not that luxurious, but it had three-star standards and even provided suites, which solved their housing problem.

Because it is the off-season for travel, most of the rooms in the hotel are empty, and what they come to handle may be very dangerous, so it is best not to be too far apart to facilitate mutual care. But we have to consider that it is not convenient for Xiaoxia to live with two men. It's much better now that we have a suite. Xiaoxia sleeps in the room and the two men sleep in the outer room.

"Not sure, but this is the only clue." Ruan Zhan said while packing his simple luggage.

"That's right." Wan Li was not as disciplined as Ruan Zhan, but instead lay down comfortably on the sofa to take a rest. "All external factors point to this. If our target is the person who builds the house, and even the designer of the house The people who were responsible for these construction projects in the Qinggang at that time were all from here, so we can roughly determine the target. Although there is no clear evidence to prove who the craftsmen of the construction were, but the craftsmen with the best skills were originally produced here. Look at it this way Come on, if you are a fellow villager in your hometown, chances are that your wealth will not flow to outsiders."

"You're right. Many places have their own traditional industries. This was formed because of the mutual help between relatives, friends and fellow villagers. This project was a big business at the time, although most of the money could not reach the hands of the poor craftsmen. But it’s no problem to support the family for a while.”

"Maybe I can get a wife!" Wan Li smiled, "Actually, I heard that it's best not to build a house when the weather is cold, but maybe Mr. Li from Zhejiang Province was eager to pay bribes, and he didn't even wait for the spring flowers to bloom. The construction will start at about the same time as now."

"It's a bit cold now." Ruan Zhan glanced at Xiaoxia.

Although spring has already begun, the weather still smells like winter, and it is even more chilly in the mountains. In addition, since there are only the three of them, a family of three, and a few service staff staying behind, the self-heating of the hotel is not very efficient at all. It was hot, so as soon as Xiaoxia packed up her things, she wrapped herself up like a little fur ball and nestled on the sofa next to the heater, listening to the two men talking.

"But - what happened to the Earthbound Spirit?" She asked a question.

"The Earthbound Spirit is a Japanese term for Onmyodo. It means that the dead person has deep feelings or thoughts about a specific place, and his soul will stay there to fulfill the wishes of the deceased, that is, we Chinese folk call it haunted. Generally speaking, the strength of this kind of soul depends on the emotions in the heart. Regardless of love or hate, the stronger the emotion, the greater the power of the soul." Ruan Zhan explained, "I suspect that ghost is The Earthbound Spirit, although I don’t know why he lurked for so many years before appearing, and I don’t know why there is no trace of him on Ronghua Road, but I think he is related to that place, so I have to find the person who built the house back then.”

Xiaoxia nodded and huddled deeper into the sofa. Not only was she cold, but she also felt a little uneasy.

Ruan Zhan watched from the side, knowing that she was afraid of the cold, and felt sorry for her being cold, but he had no other choice.

It wasn't that he had to stay at the Villa Hotel. There were actually hotels in the town, but that place was a very lively place with many young people and too much yang energy, so ghosts wouldn't hide there. But this mountain is different. It is vast and vast and can hide everything good or ugly. He said that they came as travelers. Although it was a bit strange to come at this time of year, it was easier to hide and less conspicuous than wandering around without excuses.

He didn't know who else was watching in secret, so he had to be careful!

"Why does it feel like a treasure hunt to me?" Wan Li led Xiaoxia to talk, "It seems more exciting when I think about it this way."

"Of course you are. I have never seen anyone as optimistic as you." Xiaoxia immediately replied to Wanli, "Even if the sky falls, you will still be smiling."

"He was scared out of his wits. Do you think he is brave?!"

As soon as Ruan Zhan spoke, Wan Li immediately retaliated, and for a moment the two began to attack each other again.

Xiaoxia really didn't understand their way of communicating emotions, so she smiled and turned to look out the window.

It was still afternoon when they came, and the sun was shining brightly. At that time, when I saw this mountain villa and hotel built on the mountain, I thought it was very beautiful. Even though it was winter, the green tiles and red walls were hidden among the majestic dark colors of the mountain, which was still extraordinary.

But the night in the mountains seemed to come very quickly. After a while, it became dark, and it became cloudy. There was a strong wind, as if it was going to snow. At this time, it seemed that there were few people in the vast mountains, and it was too quiet. Except for the whistling wind in the mountains, unknown animals were howling, which was particularly weird in the darkness.

During dinner, the three of them went to chat with the service staff who stayed behind. In fact, they wanted to inquire about some gossip. At first Xiaoxia refused to go because she was afraid of the cold, but later she was forced to go by two men. Not to mention that it would not be warmer if she stayed alone in the room, but it was not appropriate to leave her alone in such an empty state.

"Don't underestimate these gossips. Many of the most important clues are obtained from gossips. Moreover, the man who is heating the heater is a well-known know-it-all from all over the country. Of course, it is more valuable for gossips." Wan Li commented on the fact that they took a large sum of money. Stacking up food and running to the boiler room.

The heated boiler room is warmer than anywhere else! This was Xiaoxia's first realization, and then she met the amiable and talkative old man, and she felt that it was right to go out with these two men.

The old man's surname is Yan. He is almost seventy years old, but he is as tough as fifty.

"It's really strange for you to come to the mountains at this time." The old man drank a few sips of their filial wine, and the conversation became lively.

"We are three friends who grew up together, but we never get together." He is very good at lying, and his words sound like the truth, "It's not easy to get together, so I just wanted to go out and have fun. And this damn girl insists on seeing the snowy scenery in the mountains."

"Ah, it's a coincidence that you came here. It's going to snow heavily today. Did you see that the sky is red?" The old man pointed out the window.

Xiao Xia looked out and saw that the sky was getting more cloudy, and there was a faint red color in the darkness. She shrank when she remembered the feeling of being darker than black when she encountered a ghost that day.

"Friend." The old man laughed and joked, "I thought she was the daughter-in-law of one of you!"

"I think so, but she seems to like that bad guy who looks like a mute." Wan Li said half-truthfully.

Ruan Zhan lowered his eyes as if he didn't hear anything. Xiaoxia was so angry that she almost bit him, but she felt embarrassed about having her secrets exposed, so she didn't move and only blushed.

"Haha, come here, girl, you're very cold." Seeing Xiaoxia's embarrassment, the old man changed the subject, "It's not that I don't burn well, it's because the leader only gave me so much coal, so I had no choice but to do this. Come here, Girl, don’t get cold.”

Seeing Xiao Xia sitting in a warmer and safer corner, Ruan Zhan's nervousness finally relaxed under his calm appearance. "I heard that a very famous liquor used to be produced here." He moved the topic in the direction he wanted to ask.

"Yes. But we can't get out now." The old man said regretfully. He took another sip of the wine they brought and shook his head. "The wine is good because the mountain spring is good. Twenty years ago, for some reason, the mountain spring stopped flowing. If we can no longer produce good wine, this business will gradually become impossible.”

"Isn't it said that every family has the house-building skills passed down from their ancestors?" Wan Li continued to ask, "Nowadays, houses are being built everywhere. Are the young people here probably contracting to build buildings?"

"You said this is true. Every household in our village has a house builder. This villa was built by our village itself. There is a contracting team, but because this place has become a famous place, so the village People all depend on this for a living, so who is going to put in all the effort? What? You want to build a house?"

"No." Wan Li waved his hand quickly, "We came from City A and saw many Western buildings. I heard that they were built by a designer from here."

"Oh, this!" The old man laughed proudly, "You are right to ask me about this, that is my ancestor. Although we are relatives who came out of the fifth service, we are somewhat related to each other! We are hundreds of years old. The next year there was such a great talent who studied abroad, and I heard from my dad that it was a sensation at the time."

"Then he didn't help the folks in the countryside less after returning to China, right?" Ruan Zhan quickly interrupted.

"Well, he is the eldest son of a big landowner. How can he care about poor relatives like us and other poor families?"

"But I heard that when he built those bungalows, he used master craftsmen from his hometown." Wan Li pressed the topic further.

"Well, you know a lot about this."

"This annoying man works in the library." Wan Li attacked Ruan Zhan again. This made Xiaoxia almost laugh. She finally understood how childish men can be.

"That's no wonder, he knows so many things." The old man looked at Ruan Zhan with admiration, "Because back then, the Yan family had a leader of the Qing Gang, who was responsible for the masonry craftsmen. I heard that the man who built those houses was a big man. Rich man, this will make the Qinggang and the leader a lot of money, and it will also make them famous in their hometown, so it is indeed a job for the people in the village to do. Although it is a small amount of money, because the work is big, many people are allowed to do it. After making a little profit, the family’s life is no longer so tight.”

"Can I still get a wife?" Wanli Buyi joked.

Unexpectedly, the old man gave an affirmative answer.

"Yes, there were more than a dozen families whose strong laborers stayed outside for a year. They did bring some money when they came back. Their descendants lived in the village at the foot of the mountain. They were so envious of other families back then! "

"Which family is it?" Ruan Zhan asked, "I particularly like that house and want to study how it was built. There must be some descendants who still retain the craftsmanship, right?"

"Is it craftsmanship? Those old people still have it. You have a vision. But - you'd better not go now." The old man pondered for a moment.

"What?" The three people immediately became alert. Is there anything abnormal?

"When my grandson brought me clothes the day before, he said that the village has not been so peaceful recently!"

"It's not peaceful?" The three people asked almost in unison.

But before the old man could answer, a clear knocking sound suddenly came from the window.