Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 248 Mid-July

In the middle of the night, not far from where the four of them were camping, there were so many snakes using the path.

And they never found out...

This is absolutely bizarre and terrifying.

Although Ran Qing was not a snake expert, she could recognize several venomous snakes in the group, as well as the rat snake, which was said to pretend to eat venomous snakes.

So many different kinds of snakes gathered together, lining up like living people...

Ran Qing quickly grabbed Mo Li and pulled her back.

“There’s something evil causing trouble nearby,” Ran Qing immediately judged. “It could be a mountain monster, or it could be some other unorthodox practice.”

But the snakes didn't attack them, and Ran Qing didn't dare to provoke them.

He is a spirit medium who deals with vengeful ghosts, not a snake catcher.

The incense ash used by those who perform rituals to ward off evil spirits is not sulfur; once scattered, these poisonous snakes will not dodge it.

Ran Qing pulled Mo Li back to the fire, watching the snakes walking in a line warily.

After the flashlight beam was moved away, the snakes showed no sign of turning around to attack Ran Qing and her companion.

Soon, several more snakes slithered across the road and disappeared into the roadside bushes.

The bizarre scene of the snakes using the path finally disappeared from sight.

Ran Qing waited for a while, then shone her flashlight on the area again, but the snakes were no longer visible.

All the snakes went far away, and no one knows where they went.

Mo Li looked puzzled: "Where did all these snakes come from? This is the first time I've ever seen snakes lining up to cross the border like this..."

Ran Qing said, "Perhaps..."

He had just begun to speak when a strange trembling sound suddenly came from afar.

Ran Qing was startled and quickly shone the flashlight beam over.

Just ten meters away in the woods, a macaque with withered yellow fur was seen climbing and leaping among the treetops, chasing after the direction the snakes had gone.

After the first macaque left, a second, a third... a whole group of macaques climbed and jumped on the treetops, chirping and making strange noises.

When the flashlight shone on them, the macaques angrily bared their teeth at Ran Qing and her companion.

But they still didn't approach the two living people; instead, they climbed and jumped away.

Mo Li was a little confused: "Aren't monkeys afraid of snakes? Why are they chasing this group of snakes?"

Ran Qing frowned: "Monkeys are terrified of snakes; they'll run away whenever they see one... These monkeys couldn't possibly be chasing snakes."

Many macaques live along the riverbank and in the woods at the foot of Lao Wang Mountain.

Some people in the village used to keep monkeys as pets.

These monkeys are terrified of snakes; even a dead snake can scare them into scattering and fleeing.

But tonight they're chasing after a group of snakes... That's not right.

Ran Qing didn't speak, but instead held up her flashlight and shone it around.

Soon, he saw a pair of glowing eyes standing on a huge rock in the distance, coldly staring in his direction.

When the flashlight shone on it, you could vaguely see the colorful patterns on its fur.

“…Lynx,” Ran Qing recognized the mountain beast.

This lynx was even larger than the one we had seen in Moonlit City.

It is also more ferocious.

The flashlight beam shone far into the distance, and the lynx leaped straight into the darkness, heading in the same direction as the snake and monkey troop.

In the night sky, huge wings streaked across the sky, and one could vaguely make out that they were either eagles or hawks.

This unusual situation left the two people who were awake by the fire looking at each other in bewilderment.

Something seems to have gone wrong at Laowang Mountain tonight.

With so many wild beasts out in force, it didn't seem like someone practicing magic. Looking at the dark forest, Mo Li suddenly asked, "Ran Qing, do you remember what day it is today?"

Mo Li's question suddenly popped up, which seemed a bit abrupt.

But Ran Qing had been quietly scrimping and saving every penny, so she gave an accurate answer.

"August 24, Wednesday... To be precise, it's past midnight, so it's already the 25th."

Ran Qing accurately stated the date.

Mo Li looked at him and asked, "I mean the lunar calendar... what month and day is it?"

Ran Qing shook her head: "This..."

He never paid attention to the lunar calendar, only remembering the Gregorian calendar dates.

After thinking for a moment, Ran Qing calculated the days and then confirmed the time.

"It should be the fifteenth of July."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ran Qing, standing by the fire, froze: "The Ghost Festival..."

The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month.

Legend has it that on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the gates of hell open wide, and ghosts come to the human world to visit their relatives.

On this day, the living in the mortal world will burn paper money and offer sacrifices to their deceased relatives, hoping that the deceased will have money to use in the underworld.

However, Ran Qing's family has never celebrated the Ghost Festival since childhood. The village is inhabited by various ethnic groups, and most villagers do not celebrate the Ghost Festival either.

Therefore, he doesn't care about the Ghost Festival.

The Ghost Festival in Moonlit City is a major festival. In previous years, the streets were filled with people burning paper money. On the night of the Ghost Festival, the ground in Moonlit City was covered with flying ash, and acrid smoke filled the entire city.

Ran Qing looked at Mo Li and asked, "July 15th... is that the reason for the unusual behavior of these wild beasts?"

During the Ghost Festival, the yin energy becomes heavier.

Many evil spirits and demons will cause trouble, and some unusual events that are not usually seen will indeed occur.

Mo Li said, "The 15th of the seventh month is a day of heavy yin energy. For the living, it is just a festival to worship ancestors and remember the deceased."

"But for evil spirits and demons, this is an auspicious day."

“Many evil spirits and mountain demons choose to do big things on the 15th of the seventh lunar month.”

As Mo Li spoke, he looked at Ran Qing and asked, "Do you still remember the inscription on the cat temple?"

Ran Qing nodded: "Mountain demons are causing trouble and mountain monsters are eating people. There is a raccoon dog that is spiritually connected and protects the area. Long Tian'ao built a temple for it in accordance with the people's wishes and ordered the raccoon dog to suppress the mountain demons."

The cat temple in the mountains was not a place for the worship of evil gods, but a mountain god temple built by an official of the imperial court after receiving permission from the court in response to the people's wishes.

Although the mountain god temple has been completely abandoned over time, the stone statue of the raccoon that was worshipped there has also been destroyed.

But it was still a temple dedicated to a righteous god.

Mountain demon...

Ran Qing suddenly understood what Mo Li meant: "You mean, there are still mountain demons causing trouble in Old Wang Mountain?"

Mountain spirits and monsters do exist in this world.

The lynx we've seen before is a type of mountain troll.

It is said that some powerful mountain spirits even possess intelligence similar to that of living people.

Some strange and eerie mountain spirits can speak and act like humans.

Mo Li also mentioned that the yellow, white, and gray foxes in the Northeast, when they are of a certain caliber, can even live in the homes of living people and take in disciples.

However, due to the unique terrain of Zangke, these intelligent, talking mountain spirits and monsters exist, but they are more ferocious and not particularly intelligent.

For example, the Bianpo and the Mountain Demon.

The strange changes in Lao Wang Mountain now might be because the incense at the Cat Temple has been cut off, and the mountain demons and monsters in the mountains have become powerful again.
Mo Li looked at Ran Qing and said, "I've heard before that some mountain demons would take advantage of the auspicious day of the Ghost Festival to hold banquets, weddings, and send off guests."

"We might just run into each other this time..."

(End of this chapter)