My girlfriend is a Miao demon.

In "How to Win Friends and Influence People," Carnegie wrote about a kind of group psychology:

When the majority of people believe in someone or something, the minority of skeptics will doubt themselves. Just like when a cult member in a pyramid scheme posts screenshots of their earnings, most people cheer, while those who question it start to doubt their own eyes.

Ancient civilizations generally did not believe in science. People in the Qing Dynasty were afraid to use Daguerreotype cameras and to build railways. They worried that taking pictures of people would steal their souls and that building railways would disturb the peace of the mountain spirits. Modern civilization, on the other hand, generally only believes in science. Many ancient Chinese medicine prescriptions have been passed down and used for thousands of years and have long been proven to be non-toxic and effective, but they are still discarded by modern medicine. They regard the efficacy of thousands of years as nothing and insist on redoing it through animal experiments and then labeling it as a combination of Chinese and Western medicine before it can be recognized by arrogant modern medicine.

Some people are superstitious about witchcraft, some about their ancestors, some about religion, and some about science. Every generation has its own superstitions. No superstition is unmarked by its time, and no superstition is unaffected by the collective psychology at play.

Xiang Nanfeng took the small bamboo strip, known as the "Miepan Gu," to a corner of his desk, placing three layers of tissues underneath it. He ran to the bathroom and frantically washed his hands, even taking out a bottle of disinfectant hand sanitizer that he rarely used from the bathroom cabinet, filling it to three ounces, and washing his hands four times.

The bamboo strips on the table had long since disappeared from sight, but the brown corpse oil on them and the two characters "Lu Yao" written in it remained etched in his mind, just like the corpse oil that had seeped into the bamboo fibers. Xiang Nanfeng was certainly nervous, and certainly afraid, but after the brief tension and fear, he felt mostly ashamed of his own absurdity:

Two days ago, he was regarded as a madman by everyone. They preferred to believe in imperfect science rather than confront their own doubts. Now, two days later, he has become one of those "people". Even now that he realizes that it is the psychology of the masses manifesting in the name of reason, he still instinctively asks Mao Xi Gu Master to provide him with some scientific evidence.

How absurd and ridiculous is this human nature!

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:39

"You can have any dream, however wonderful or complicated, as long as you get enough sleep. But there's one thing, south wind, don't you find that strange?"

"When a person wakes up from a dream, they can remember that the dream was big and long, and they can also remember the general plot and some individual details of the dream, but how can they remember the whole dream completely?"

"Why do you remember this dream so vividly, even more vividly than ordinary memories in real life? Have you ever thought about that?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:41

"Furthermore, you clearly saw Lin Shu alive yesterday, and you clearly believed that Gui Luyao was just a dream, so why did you still go to Loujia Village today?"

"You said you were having such a deep dream that your body went out of control and you just passed away for no reason?"

"I'm telling you, it's not that you're out of control. Quite the opposite, it's because your body is being controlled."

Nomads Go on a Party (South Wind's QQ name) 2011.12.31 22:42

"You mean... that... the Bamboo Scepter Gu? I'm being controlled by it?"

At that moment, Xiang Nanfeng believed it completely.

Reality is reality, and dreams are dreams. As Mao Xigu Master said, both worlds truly exist, each with its own independent evidence to fully prove its own reality. All errors in perception are essentially the same: using the real evidence of one world to prove the falsehood of another.

Xiang Nanfeng splashed a handful of cold water on his face. In the instant his pores contracted, those words about witchcraft and siege, and even the magistrate himself covered in corpse oil, no longer looked so terrifying.

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:44

"Indeed, reluctant to part and unable to forget, this is the essence of the Baepan Gu."

"The Bamboo-Slice Gu is one of the eleven types of witchcraft created by Jiang Yang, the ancestral deity of the Hua Miao people. 'Bamboo' refers to the thin skin of bamboo. 'Slice' means to split in the middle. The Bamboo-Slice Gu is made by splitting bamboo in the middle and using the bamboo slices as a cage. However, the essence of the Bamboo-Slice Gu is not in the bamboo itself, but in the corpse oil written on the bamboo. The master of this Gu must be a corpse breeder."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:46

"The Gu master first needs to raise a corpse, whether human or animal."

"The Gu Master collects the corpse oil extracted after the corpse decomposes, and then writes a certain person, event, or word on a bamboo strip over and over again to make people remember it. The number of times it is written is usually thirty-six Heavenly Generals, seventy-two Earthly Fiends, forty-nine seven times seven, eighty-one times nine, etc., and there is no fixed number of times."

"In short, the more times it is written and the longer the period of time it is written, the greater the power of the Gu poison."

"But more importantly, the stronger the resentment and the deeper the infatuation of the corpse, the greater the power of the Gu."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 22:47

"You mean that for every 'Miepan Gu' that is created, someone has to die unjustly? Is that true for the one I've been afflicted with?"

Xiang Nanfeng felt a chill run down his spine.

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:47

"No, no, it's not necessarily humans. Animals can also generate endless resentment, such as casting a Gu poison on their lovers. Many Miao girls who use Gu poison will choose the chaste bird."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 22:47

"The Chaste Bird?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:50

"Yes, the ospreys cry 'guan guan' on the river islet. Wild geese and mandarin ducks, these birds are loyal to only one mate for life."

"Killing the chaste bird and raising the corpse can also unleash endless resentment and unwavering faith. The Gu master raises the corpse, nurturing the resentment of the corpse into Gu, and then injects the Gu into others. The Gu will control the mind of the person who has been Gued, making them unforgettable and deeply engraved in their hearts the people, events, or words written on the Gu.

"That's why you still can't forget Gui Luyao even after you've left the dream world."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 22:50

"So, even if I wake up from this dream, as long as the Mie Pan Gu remains unbroken, I'll never be able to forget Lu Yao, and I'll never be able to start a new life? That dream will never be over?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:51

"Yes, like all witchcraft, even if the person affected by the Bamboo Slice Gu discovers that they have been cursed, like now, like you, even if you find this Bamboo Slice Gu, it's useless."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 22:51

"Can't I burn it?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:52

"It's no use. Burning it will only turn it into a deadly curse, and then it will be impossible to undo."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 22:52

"If I don't burn it, who can solve the problem?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 22:57

"Of course it's the Gu Master. Apart from the Gu Master who cast the Gu on you, no one knows which type of Gu you were afflicted with. Moreover, the corpse was raised by the Gu Master, and only the Gu Master can control it."

"I heard that if the Gu Master wants to remove the Gu, he has to set the corpse he has been raising on fire. When the corpse is burning and crackling, the flesh and blood are burned away, and the bones are melted, bone oil will be extracted from the bones. The Gu Master will use the extracted bone oil to coat the corpse oil on the bamboo strip."

"After the corpse oil is completely decomposed by the bone oil, the Gu master still needs to dispose of the bamboo strips that have lost their corpse oil, depending on the different types of corpses he has raised. This process is very complicated. I know of three methods: ascending to heaven, descending to earth, and sinking in water, which are also known as heavenly sacrifice, earth sacrifice, and water sacrifice."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:01

Specifically, it means:

"The so-called heavenly sacrifice is to burn the bamboo strips after the marrow has been used to wipe away the corpse oil, so that the bamboo strips turn into a wisp of smoke and disappear into the air forever; the so-called earth sacrifice is to bury the bamboo strips deep in the soil, so that the bamboo strips will eventually decompose in the soil and disappear underground; the so-called water sacrifice is to throw the bamboo strips into the river or lake, so that they sink in the water and eventually rot in the water and disappear into the water."

"The Five Elements' mutual generation and restraint means finding a way to control the corpse based on its Five Elements attributes before death. Only by doing this can the Bamboo Slice Gu be completely undoed. If any link in the process goes wrong, or the order of the Five Elements is reversed, then the Gu will become a permanently dead Gu, and even the Gu owner will never be able to undo it."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:02

"Who put the curse on me? Gui Luyao? Do you think if I go back to the hospital and check the security footage, there's any chance of finding the person who brought me the pillow?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:02

What do you think?

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:02

"I don't think it might work... So, could the person who cast the curse be Luyao?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:10

"I don't know that, but there's one thing that I find quite puzzling. Have you ever heard of our Miao people's history? The Miao people are also called Miao ethnic minorities, but originally there were three groups of Miao people:"

"Black Miao, White Miao, and Flower Miao. So the Miao people are actually three Miao, also called Sanmao in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. These three Miao groups are different."

"The Black Miao people worship Panhu, and their chieftain is the god Panhu. The White Miao chieftains are all young women, and the White Miao are called saintesses. However, the White Miao live deep in the mountains, have very few members, and act in secrecy, rarely seen. It is said that the White Miao are skilled in mysterious magic, but even within the Three Miao tribes, the White Miao and their magic are just legends. The Flower Miao's ancestor was Jiang Yang, who is the Miao people's creator god and the creator of witchcraft. Therefore, among the Three Miao tribes, only the Flower Miao actually know witchcraft."

"However, around 5,000 years ago, the Sanmiao were in a great war, and their ancestor Jiang Yang was defeated by Panhu and then disappeared. There are also legends that the holy maiden of the Baimiao was captured by Panhu, but her whereabouts are unknown. However, since then, the Sanmiao have almost become a branch of the Heimiao, because the Baimiao were already few in number and then became a legend. The Huamiao suffered a great purge by the Heimiao after their defeat, and the tribe was displaced and faced countless deaths."

"This is also why witchcraft became a secret culture; many people have heard of it, but few have actually seen it. The reason I'm telling you about this history is because there's something here that I find quite puzzling and incomprehensible. Do you remember Grandpa He Xiao?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:11

"Of course. Luyao said he was Miao, and they are all Miao. And when I told you, you immediately said he was Miao too."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:12

"The surname He Xiao is extraordinary! The He Xiao clan is the royal servant clan of the White Miao Holy Maiden."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:12

"I understand. He Xiaoshi is a Bai Miao, but the one who put me under the spell of the Bamboo Spell was a Hua Miao."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:16

Yes, that's what I mean.

"It seems that only two people came to your dream world, but two different forces appeared?"

"Of course, the premise is that Grandpa He Xiao is really from the He Xiao clan. Could he be the He Xiao clan, the personal servant of the White Miao Holy Maiden? But after the Three Miao War, everything about the White Miao is just a legend. Will there really still be a He Xiao clan? Or, in your dream world, Gui Luyao and Grandpa He Xiao are from five thousand years ago, before the Three Miao War?"

"Xiang Nanfeng, do you remember any other distinctive features of this Grandpa Hexiao?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:16

"This... let me think about it."

Xiang Nanfeng fell into deep thought. Like a gold prospector panning for gold in a riverbed, he meticulously reviewed the several times he and Luyao had eaten at Grandpa Hexiao's small shop. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Grandpa Hexiao was indeed quite eccentric.

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:18

"That old man He Xiao is indeed a strange person. I've eaten at his shop a few times, definitely no less than five times, maybe six or seven. But actually, I've only seen him three or four times at most?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:18

"So little?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:19

"Yes. At the time, I just thought this person might have a strange temper and be difficult to get along with, but now I think, he wasn't just strange-tempered, he was just a very eccentric person. Every time we went to the restaurant, he was always cooking in the back kitchen, he never left the back kitchen."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:20

"Yes, he's never come out!"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:20

"What about the dishes? Were they prepared in advance?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:21

"No. There's a food service area between the kitchen and the dining area. Once the dishes are cooked, they're placed at the food service area, and when a bell is rung, Luyao goes to collect them. At first, Luyao collected them herself, but later, as we got more familiar with it, I started collecting them too."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:21

"What about others? Do they also serve themselves?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:26

"There was no one else. His snack shop only had two tables, and we never encountered any other customers while we were there. It was a very strange place."

"Even though it was just us eating there, and I never saw any takeout orders come to his shop to pick up, this old man He Xiao never left the kitchen. And I could hear him constantly cooking in the kitchen, always cooking."

"At first, Luyao told me she was 'joining' this place. I noticed she was buying things for Grandpa Hexiao every few days. She doesn't have any other relatives, and Grandpa Hexiao is all alone. I thought that since they were getting along so well, and given that I'm Luyao's boyfriend, I couldn't just treat Grandpa Hexiao like a customer and a cook. So I intentionally tried to get closer to him. But how did this grandpa say that..."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:26

"Not enthusiastic?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:27

"It's not just unenthusiastic, I think it's downright impolite. He's never greeted me, or even spoken to me."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:27

"Didn't say a word? Not even a single one?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:28

"Yes. When I greeted him, he would just nod or at most say 'hmm.' To the point that I once thought this old man He Xiao was mute."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:28

"So, he only talks to Luyao?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:31

"Yes, that's right. But now that I think about it, I don't remember ever hearing him talk to Luyao."

"Sometimes when Luyao goes to the kitchen, I can occasionally hear Luyao's voice for a moment. He must have answered, but his voice was soft and the noise of cooking was loud, so I actually never heard his voice."

"At first, I greeted him quite warmly, but he didn't really pay attention to me. I felt awkward and even asked Luyao, 'Does this Uncle Hexiao have a problem with me?'"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:31

"What did she say?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:32

"She said that Grandpa Hexiao was just quiet and had a withdrawn personality, but he was a very good person, and you would know it after spending time with him. She also said that Grandpa Hexiao liked me very much and that he specially added two dishes for me when I came. And it's true that he always adds dishes for me every time I go."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:33

"Speaking of food... there's something else, I don't know if it counts as odd."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:33

"you say."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:39

"This old man He Xiao has a dish called stewed dog meat, which Lu Yao said is his signature dish."

"The dish itself isn't particularly strange; it's dog meat, so it's just that fewer people eat it. But after the meal, Luyao goes into the kitchen to wash the dishes, and I help her take the tableware in. I've been into the kitchen a few times myself."

"The kitchen isn't big, it's a nearly square room, maybe seven or eight square meters. Let me tell you about its structure:"

"To the right of the entrance, against the wall, is a row of sinks and stoves, with a narrow passageway in the middle. To the left, an area of ​​about three or four square meters is filled with large vats, the kind that are about forty or fifty centimeters in diameter and a meter high, used for pickling vegetables."

"These huge vats were stacked one on top of the other, three layers high, reaching almost to the ceiling from the floor. The kitchen wasn't very well lit, and the vats were all black, making it feel really oppressive. I was afraid they'd collapse and injure someone. I asked Luyao what was in there, and she said it was dog meat."

"I had some questions at the time. One was that there weren't many people in the shop and business didn't seem good, so why did I need to prepare so many ingredients? Another question was that if I was making cured pork, shouldn't I hang it up after marinating it? Should I just leave it in the vat to marinate?"

"I'm absolutely certain I've never seen any meat hanging in his kitchen."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:40

"Dog meat? Are you sure it's dog meat? Have you eaten any dog ​​meat?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:40

"Of course, of course it's definitely dog ​​meat. I've eaten it once, or rather, I ate a piece of meat. When I heard it was dog meat, I was very averse to it because I actually had dogs kept in an orphanage when I was a child. But Luyao loved to eat it, and she even said that these dogs weren't good dogs, but vicious dogs."

"Once, when I wasn't looking, she picked up a piece of food and put it to my mouth, forcing me to eat it. To be honest, I don't remember what it tasted like. I just swallowed it. She made me laugh so hard."

After sending the message, there was no reply from Mao Xigu Master for a long time.

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:45

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:46

"I can't really explain it, but it feels strange and I'm worried. Do you know that the Black Miao, one of the Sanmiao, had a ancestor named Panhu who was a god who was half-human and half-dog?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:48

"I know, I've heard of that."

"There are still more than two hundred Panhu temples in Maoxi today, and the Panhu sacrificial activities are a national intangible cultural heritage item in the area. You mean, dog meat is related to Panhu? And to the Black Miao? In other words, in my dream, clues about the White Miao holy maiden's servants, the Flower Miao's witchcraft, and the Black Miao all appeared?"

"But if Panhu is a god, how could the Miao people eat dog meat?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:49

"I don't know. I don't know."

After Mao Xigu sent this message again, the font size of his message on the screen suddenly increased and turned into a glaring red.

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:50

"But Xiang Nanfeng, I've thought of a problem regarding the Bamboo Spell. As far as I know, the Miao people rarely use Bamboo Spells alone when inflicting them on people."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:50

"What do you mean?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:51

"In other words, it's like a contract. The bamboo slips and the divination sticks are like the first part, stipulating the rights and responsibilities of both parties. There's often a second part, like..."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:51

"Like what?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:51

"It's like a punitive clause for breach of contract."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:53

"You mean I might be under two kinds of curses? The first curse is to make me remember Gui Luyao and never forget her for the rest of my life. The second curse is that if I forget her or betray her, I might end up like the child who stole oranges in your hometown, the Maoxi Miao village? That sounds a lot like those witchcraft stories I've heard, the poisonous vows between lovers?"

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:57

"I don't know, it's really just common sense. It's true, as you said, that this kind of witchcraft used to be the most common form in our Maoxi. But to be honest, I don't think the witchcraft you were afflicted with was a poisonous vow between lovers."

"If you and Gui Luyao had always lived in your dream world, and she had never had an accident or gone missing, and you had fallen in love with a Miao girl who could use witchcraft, and she had secretly afflicted you with a Baa Pan Gu, that would make sense. But now she has disappeared, and you are still in the real world, which means that she must have gone to great lengths to come to this world to find you. Your meeting was definitely not accidental, and I think the so-called love at first sight that you felt must have been carefully designed by her."

"If that's really the case, why would she put a curse on you just for a vow between lovers? Besides, all of this is just hypothetical. We don't know if there's a second type of curse. It's hard to say whether the curse you're currently suffering from was given to you by Gui Luyao."

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:58

"But at least one thing is certain, right? If they can come over, we can go over too, right? And I... I've been poisoned by the Bagua Gu, so I have to go over."

Mao Xigu Master 2011.12.31 23:58

"Yes, Xiang Nanfeng, you have to go. Your lover is a 'Miao Demon,' haha! I think you're actually in a better mood now than before, aren't you?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2011.12.31 23:59

"Yes, I haven't been this happy since Luyao disappeared. But it's not because I'm under the influence of the Bagua Gu, but because I truly love her."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.01 00:00

"Fine, say whatever you want. But now, you should at least tell me how Gui Luyao disappeared, right?"

Outside the window, dazzling fireworks lit up the night sky over Wangshan, and the New Year's bells rang for 2012.