Chapter 38: First clues

"This photo -" Qin Pianpian stretched out her hand and took it. The fragrance between her wrists wrapped around Li Lvyan's nose and kissed him, brushing against his face. Li Lvyan suddenly turned red and wanted to hide the photo, but It has been taken away by Qin Pianpian.

"Well, I seem to have seen the background of this photo somewhere." Qin Pianpian thought hard. When Li Lvyan heard this, all the charming thoughts in his mind disappeared, and he turned to a very shocked "Have you seen it?" ?!”

Qin Pianpian was surprised, "I seem to have seen it somewhere, but I can't remember it. After all, there are no clues. It's still a bit difficult to figure out the background of this photo based on the fragmented fragments."

I turned the photo over and found that it seemed to be very worn. The portraits on it were clearly visible, but the traces on the background were a bit blurry. "Ant, this photo looks like it was decades ago at least." , what’s wrong with you holding this photo and looking at it every day?”

Li Lvyan was a little discouraged. "There are many things I can't tell you, but as long as I can find out where the big house behind this photo is, I can know many things I have always wanted to know."

There are many things involved here, including Wo Gua's father, people he feels very familiar with, the four strange mercenaries, and even three of the dead ones. He has seen their corpses with his own eyes, and he really knows The cause of death of the mercenary who died in Dai Shan'ao's body was a point that needed to be found out. If he didn't know the truth behind it, Li Luyi felt that sooner or later he would be driven crazy by these doubts.

Taking the photo in his hand lightly, he asked with some expectation, "Can you really not remember it?"

Qingpiaopiao shook her head with regret, "If there are any clues, I might be able to remember it, but it's really hard for me to judge the location of the building in the photo just based on an old photo from decades ago that doesn't even have color. It’s a bit difficult.”

makes sense.

Li Lvyan was a little discouraged. He held the table with one hand and leaned on the table with the other, stroking the photo. Qin Pianpian said, "Ant, your observation skills have always been amazing. Can you see any clues?"

He held the photo up to the sun and looked at it again. He was still confused and shook his head, indicating that he couldn't see anything.

A faint light flashed in Qin Pianpian's eyes, and she smiled and said to him, "Look at this photo, not only the person, but also the house behind the person. Think about it, where are the buildings with horse head walls and small buildings?" It’s decorated with green tiles.”

Li Lvyan hesitated, "Anhui seems to be like this, but it's not necessarily Anhui."

In fact, the main architectural features of this kind are Anhui's white walls and black tiles. However, in other places such as the Suzhou Museum, famous Chinese and foreign architects such as I.M. Pei will also adopt many features of Huizhou architecture to achieve the design. The artist wanted to pursue the effect of integrating mountains and rivers. In some places, other things with Anhui's landmark architecture are also used, such as the bracket roof, flying tiles, etc. It seems too arbitrary to blindly guess that it is Anhui from this angle.

etc--

Li Lvyan's eyes lit up, "No, you can also ignore the background and just look at the person!"

Qin Pianpian was surprised, "Only looking at people?"

"Judging from the time, there were only old-fashioned Western cameras at that time, standing ones, about half a person's height, and about four feet long. The man in front was five feet five, and they were sitting about about half a mile from the door of the house. Five feet, based on the mathematical similarity principle, we can conclude that the door is nine feet high and the door is nine feet high. This was a standard that only princes could use in the past!"

Qin Pianpian's eyes revealed a trace of appreciation, "What else?"

"The most important thing is the dragon-shaped copper ring on the door. The copper rings in other houses are all made of beasts. Only one door of the house is like this. Prince Chun during the Qianlong period was frail and sick, so Emperor Qianlong gave him a dragon head. Copper rings are used to ward off evil spirits, and Prince Chun’s residence happens to be in Anhui, more specifically in Jingxian County, Anhui.”

Li Lvyan looked startled, "Jingxian County, Anhui, yes, Jingxian County, Anhui!!" He held the photo ecstatically, "Such specifications must be second to none in Anhui. Decades ago, the country was in the midst of reform and opening up. When it started to develop, this type of building must have been the home of aristocratic people in Jingxian County, otherwise they couldn't afford to live in such a courtyard. The door of the house behind these people was half-open, and there were traces of servants' brooms stacked at the door, which is enough to show that These people took photos here with the approval of the owner of the house, which further proves that the owner of the house is one of the seven people taking the photos!!"

"So are you planning to go to every house in Jing County to ask?"

Li Lvyan waved his hand, "You don't need to ask anyone. Just go to the local area and check for such buildings, and you will immediately know where the destination of this photo is. Maybe the doubts that have been surrounding me will be cleared away when I go there." null!"

Seeing that Li Lvyan was in high spirits and looked like he was about to leave, Qin Pianpian asked without leaving a trace, "Are you going now?"

"Now is the time when the students are on summer vacation, and I have nothing to do. Now that I know where the destination I have been confused about is, of course I have to go now. Teacher Qin, I will thank you properly when I get back. I'm leaving now!"

Li Lvyan hurriedly hugged the information and left, bringing up a large amount of dust. Qin Pianpian fanned the dust and looked at the direction he left with a faint look.

"As expected of Jiang Yunsu's disciple, as expected -"

Li Lvyan bought a ticket from Yangzhou Railway Station and walked for several hours before arriving. However, he arrived at the main train station in Anhui, not Jingxian County. To go to Jingxian County, he had to go to the bus terminal. Just look for a passenger bus that goes specifically to Jingxian County. At this time, the sun was high and extremely scorching. You had to find a taxi to get here, but now was the time when every family was eating and dozing off. Who would wander around on the street without any trouble?

As soon as Li Lvyan entered Anhui, he felt that the mountains here are undulating, with green mountains and green waters. Although there are not many high-rise buildings, the environment is very good, and it has a bit of Yangzhou's humanistic atmosphere and natural charm. But on this basis, the mountains There are simply too many, and it’s difficult for everyone to see.

After devouring two bowls of noodles, he lay down under the ceiling fan to enjoy the coolness. The store owner told him how to get to Jingxian County, which was similar to what Li Luyi had found out, so he had to suppress his restless mood and wait for another hour.

After driving around for more than two hours, I finally got on the bus to Jing County and arrived at the place I wanted to go. I saw the muddy ground full of potholes. After getting off the car, Li Lvyan's smile while holding the photo froze. Looking around: It’s still a county level after all, so why——

A cowherd driving cattle passed in front of him. Li Lvyan shook his head and hurriedly stepped forward with a photo to ask. The young cowherd used a bullwhip to tip his straw hat, with a puzzled look on his face, and replied in a dialect. Knowing that, Li Luyi asked around again and got the same answer.

But when asked about an old man who sells couplets in a shop, the old man's face suddenly changed when he saw the photo, and he hurriedly replied "I don't know" and closed the shop in an instant.

Strange.

Li Luyi walked around the workshop, wondering: He thought he would know what he wanted to know when he arrived in Jingxian County, how could he expect that such a thing would happen?

The young locals didn't look like they were lying, they really didn't know. The older people's expressions changed several times when they saw the photos, and some even closed their shops. Why on earth was this?

Li Lvyan wandered around on the street and walked to a fruit stall out of boredom: According to the prompts in the photo, the destination should be Jingxian County, Anhui Province, but why can't he find it now? If you really have nothing to gain here, you might as well suffer it again. It would be better to go back directly instead of wandering around aimlessly.

"Boss, have a watermelon."

Li Lvyan weakly shouted to the stall owner. The stall owner responded quickly and was about to come out of the back room. At this time, Li Lvyan heard in his ears, "Then give me one too."

Qin Pianpian looked at Li Lvyan with a smile, and Li Lvyan asked in surprise, "What about you?"

"Hehe, you didn't find that place, but I found it. There is no need to invite you to dinner another day. I am free today, and you will take care of dinner!"

The stall owner came out with a towel and looked around. There was no one there. He rubbed his head and said, "That's weird. Where are the people? I just heard that, who is so wicked and wants to take pleasure in me?"

Destination: Chaji, Jingxian County, Anhui Province.

Li Lvyan was very puzzled. Why had he searched all over Jing County but found nothing, while Qin Pianpian knew the answer just by asking casually?

Qin Pianpian explained, "I didn't ask casually, I asked with purpose and direction, because the existence of this place is a taboo."

When the two of them stood in front of an ancient house with peeling walls and a dilapidated house that could collapse at any time, Qin Pianpian said, "According to the deputy director of the Urban and Rural Planning Administration, this is a certain person given to Anhui by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. Jinshi's house later moved around and fell into the hands of a businessman named Jin in 196. Until now, the businessman has disappeared for decades. The place is remote and not in the center of the city, so it does not hinder construction, so it has always been there. I left it alone, but in recent years there has been an extremely absurd rumor, which has forced me to take care of it now."

Your surname is Jin? Merchant? Gold ingot? Wogua? !

I saw a horse-head wall and small green tiles outside this ancient house. The door is nine feet high. The dragon-shaped copper ring on the door is eye-catching. Although the color is peeling off a lot and it is still badly damaged, Li Lvyan held up the photo. After a comparison, I found that the photos of the seven people were indeed taken at this gate. I was very excited: I really found them!

"Bad rumors?"

Li Lvyan looked around suspiciously and saw that this place was considered a barren mountain. It was indeed far enough away from the center of the city, and the terrain was also special. Looking at the overall situation, his pupils suddenly shrank and he shivered. "Four Gods" Repelling each other?!”

Qin Pianpian seemed to have heard such a statement for the first time. After asking a few more questions, Li Lvyan quickly explained.

"In front of the line is a red bird, followed by a black dragon. On the left is a green dragon, and on the right is a white tiger."

The so-called four gods are also called four spirits and four images, namely: Suzaku, Xuanwu, Qinglong and White Tiger. The original orientation of the four gods is exactly opposite to the orientation of the four gods facing north when we look at the map today. Feng shui faces south, so the corresponding orientations are front, south, back, north, left, east, and right.

The Qinglong in Feng Shui refers to the mountain on the left side of the acupoint, also known as Longshan, Zuofu, Left Shoulder, Left Arm, etc. The flowing water on the left side of Yangzhai can also be called Qinglong. The mountain of Qinglong should be clear and stretched, graceful and supple, embracing the bright hall. "The Burial Sutra" notes: Zuoshan (i.e. Qinglong) is gentle, broad and clean, has open palms, and has gentle emotions. If it is strong when knocked back, suddenly redundant and stiff, it is not the so-called graceful and straight tone.

White Tiger is the mountain on the right side of the cave site, also known as Tiger Mountain, Right Bi, Right Shoulder, Right Arm, etc. It also refers to the avenue on the right side of the yang, the White Tiger Mountain, which should be low and prostrate, more supple than the green dragon, echoing the green dragon, embracing the left and right, and arching the acupoint site. The white tiger is like a guard protecting the master. It is important to be tame, not to show its majestic and fierce appearance, nor to be mutilated or damaged.

Zhuque refers to the mountain in front of the cave, and also refers to the terrain in front of the Yangzhai room. If the Suzaku is a mountain, it should be dignified and straight, beautiful and lively, and it should dance toward its acupoints affectionately toward the thumb, which is what the "Burial Sutra" calls the "Suzaku Flying Dance".

Xuanwu refers to the mountain behind the cave, and also refers to the hill behind Yangzhai. On the Xuanwu Mountain, you should bow your head and the mountain gradually lowers toward the acupoint, which is called "Xuanwu Bowing". The "Burial Sutra" notes: "The lowering of the head means that the main peak gradually descends. It is like being buried by someone. The water does not flow at the place where the hole is received. You can sit down and sit comfortably. Then it meets the lowering of the head pattern. You cannot stand, that is. A place of relief." If the Xuanwu holds its head high but does not bow down, it means that the dragon's veins have not been exhausted and are not in a hole. It is a sign of "Xuanwu rejecting the corpse." The "Burial Sutra" notes that "it is like refusing to accept someone's burial and holding it." This is a serious omen. omen.

In Feng Shui, it is recognized that "Xuanwu bows his head, Suzaku dances, Qinglong meanders, and White tiger bows his head" as the ideal model for an auspicious homestead. With basalt sand as the backing, it symbolizes stability as Mount Tai; on the left, there is Qinglong sand, which curves inward and protects; on the right, there is white tiger sand, bowing its head and squatting outward; in the front, Suzaku sand is beautiful and occupies an auspicious position, and it curves towards Yingshui, full of vitality. . This is a very good omen.

Li Lvyan's eyebrows stiffened, and he felt something was wrong. He pointed in four directions: "Look, Xuanwu hides his head, the blue dragon has no legs, the white tiger carries the corpse, and the red bird cries sadly. These are the most taboo omens of the four major Feng Shui. Here, You actually got it all together in one go?!"

Qin Pianpian knew very little about Feng Shui, but when she heard what Li Lvyan said, she knew something was wrong. The two looked at each other. Li Lvyan looked at the dusty door and pushed it gently. The door "squeaked" "With a sound, they backed away slowly. It was almost evening. The two of them looked at each other and decided to make a quick decision and finish the matter when the moon was hanging.

"What did you say just now? This house is haunted?"

Li Green Ant inspected the surroundings. There was a large locust tree planted in the center of this huge courtyard. Even though it was dead now, the trunk was still very strong. Thinking back to the time when this big branch was lush and leafy, it must have been so lush and overwhelming that he immediately frowned. head.

"At first, it was a child who came to explore after school. He was so frightened that he cried and shouted that there was a ghost in the house, but no one believed it. Later, it was a few bold travel friends who accidentally heard the story while traveling in Anhui. The locals said it was not peaceful here, so they came together to see what was going on. Unexpectedly, the others all went back, and the next day one of the youngest girls in the tour group died unexpectedly."

Li Lvyan wondered, "Didn't you count the number of people when you went back?"

"That's the problem. There were four of us when we came, and we counted them when we went back. There were four of us. According to other travel friends, the girl was introverted, didn't talk much, and always lowered her head, so she kept her head down on the way back. She lowered her head and paid no attention to anyone. Unexpectedly, she hanged herself from the beam in the room the next day."

"Other than that, no one actually died in this house, but many of the people who came to this house died soon after returning. This is a very mysterious thing. It has been spread from ten to ten, and it has almost become a reality. I kept silent about it, so if you ask the young people in Jing County, they don’t know, but the elderly will never mention it to foreign tourists if they know it, for fear that they will lose their lives due to curiosity again.”

I see.

Seeing Li Lvyi staring at the big locust tree in the yard, he looked over a little strangely, "What's wrong with this locust tree?"

"The location of this house just now was very unlucky, so if the plants and trees inside really coincide with this, it means that it is not natural, but man-made. Now it has begun to emerge, which surprises me. "

Qin Pianpian looked at the locust tree. Because the luxuriant leaves had fallen off, only the branches were left hanging down, stretching out in all directions, like the tentacles of an octopus, or like a strange mountain beast with fangs and claws, throwing in the remaining sunlight. It was airtight, leaving only a few mottled and irregular shadows splashing on the ground. It covers the sunlight that people can get in front of all the nearby houses.

Even if the leaves have fallen, it is like this. What's more, at that time, the locust tree was in its prime, and the leaves were even more so. Needless to mention cloudy and rainy days, once it is sunny, it is like night, with no light at all. Here, It's like being in an ice cellar, really cut off from all the life outside. In the long run, and with the gathering of the four talented villains, it will be like a nightmare for the people living in this house.

"Generally speaking, the four major ghost-attracting trees are locust trees, mulberry trees, poplar trees, and willow trees. The ancients have a saying: 'If you don't plant mulberry trees in front, don't plant willow trees in the back, you won't plant ghosts in the courtyard.' 'Mang' and 'mourning' have the same pronunciation. Planting mulberries in front of the house is a superstitious saying that means "mourning comes first." "Willow" and "Liu" are homophones. If you plant willows behind the house, your wealth will slip away from the back. There is also a saying that if willows do not bear seeds, if they are behind the house If you plant willows, you will have no offspring. When poplar trees are exposed to the wind, their leaves will rustle, which is commonly known as 'ghost clapping'."

"If you add five big ones, add a banana. The banana attracts evil spirits, and female ghosts like it. The yin tree, whose shade in summer and autumn attracts yin things. Of course, there are also cypress trees. First, because cypress trees mostly grow in temples and tombs; second, Because 'cypress' and 'white' are homophonic, white events are funerals and are unlucky."

"Do not plant locust trees in the house. Sophora japonica is also a wood ghost. The reason why the locust tree is called a locust tree is because it is the ghost in the wood. Because of its heavy yin energy, it is easy to be possessed by ghosts. In Feng Shui, it is forbidden to plant it near the house. . There are often locust trees in ancient Chinese legends, such as the old locust tree in the Seven Fairies. The big locust tree in Anguo in Nanke's dream is an ant hole under the locust tree... These things about the locust tree are not groundless, and among the four trees that attract ghosts, The locust tree ranks first, which shows that without a certain plan, this tree cannot be planted easily."