The Exorcist Chapter 3: Empty City
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Chapter 3 Empty City
"Why? It's obviously easier to walk here!" Xiaoxia asked in surprise.
Mao Fu and Zhao Jiayuan did not reply for a while, but only glanced at each other. Xiaoxia keenly felt that the two people were exchanging information with their eyes, which was very sneaky.
"Yes, why don't you take the Yangguan Avenue instead of the narrow path?" A reporter from the provincial TV station supported him.
Her name is Liu Hong, and she and Xiao Xia are the only two women in this line, so they are physically weaker. Moreover, unlike Xiao Xia, she wears simple jeans, white shirt, sneakers, and a ponytail on her head. Instead, she was wearing a beautiful suit and high heels, so she was out of breath after walking most of the mountain road. The delicate makeup on her face was already stained, and she wished someone could carry her on his back.
"Besides, it might rain soon and I won't be able to walk!" She continued, looking up at the sky.
At this time, the sky became even more gloomy, and there was a faint sound of rolling thunder. Everyone understood that it was very lucky for them that it had not rained all this time. If they had traveled in the rain, they might not have been able to get half as far as they did! But in this current situation, we can no longer count on God to give us face, and we must make a decision as soon as possible.
"You are not locals, so you may not understand that you cannot pass through a new town that has not yet moved in." Zhao Jiayuan explained under Mao Fu's eyes.
"But what is this for? Is it like a gift that has to be opened on the chosen day?" Before Xiao Xia could refute, Liu Hong started to argue. Fatigue made her a little frustrated and she couldn't care less about keeping it up all day. Ladylike manner.
"No." Zhao Jiayuan waved his hands quickly, not daring to offend this mouthpiece of public opinion. "We have a custom here. Before entering a new home, a ceremony must be held and someone will sing a three-day opera before moving in. This time We are relocating the whole town, so the town has already studied the relocation plan and it will be carried out next month. It is not yet that time. If we enter rashly, we will break the feng shui and violate the taboos of the people in the town. Although We are all materialists, but we still have to consider the public sentiment."
"It's just passing by, what does it matter." Liu Hong was reluctant and turned to look at Xiao Xia, seeking an alliance. But Xiaoxia felt that since people had this custom, it was better to respect it. Although she felt that there was always a twinkle in the expressions of Mao Fu and Zhao Jiayuan, they still did not talk to each other.
"Okay, if you don't leave, I will leave by myself. Anyway, this is just feudal superstition and there is no law prohibiting it!" Liu Hong saw that Xiao Xia, who is also a woman, and her colleague, a male photographer, did not help her, which was irrational. He became angry, ignored others, and strode towards the new town without even listening to the calls of the people behind him.
"Tell her to leave on her own. We are feudal and superstitious anyway, and she is a woman of the new era!" an official in charge of political and legal work said impatiently.
Xiao Xia remembered that his name was Wang Wenge, that he was in his forties, chubby, and seemed to have a good temper. Unexpectedly, he was the first one not to blame this beautiful reporter from the provincial TV station.
"People here believe that if no one lives in a place that is always empty, there will be unclean things hidden in it. It has been almost a year since the new town was built, and I have never lived in it before. It is still so big. If Ms. Liu is not afraid , just wish yourself good luck! Mayor Mao, let’s go this way!”
The voice he spoke was very loud, carried by the mountain wind, and smoothly knocked into Liu Hong's eardrums, causing her to stop. Standing there, she could not move forward or retreat, even if she did not dare to herself If you walk alone to a place that may be 'unclean', you will be embarrassed to look back.
When Xiaoxia saw this, she quickly smoothed things over and asked Liu Hong to come back and be with everyone. She understands that it is easy for people to say that they are brave, but there are not many people who are truly not afraid and can deal with it calmly. She has only met two people in her entire life.
After Xiao Xia greeted him two or three times, Liu Hong returned to the main army angrily and continued walking on the mountain road with everyone. As she walked, she said how unlucky she was this time, not only on the mountain climb but also in the rain, and she would never come again. I don’t know if she read it, but anyway, the sky was just gloomy at first, and although the rain was heavy, it didn’t start to rain. But after her nagging, in less than ten minutes, an earth-shaking thunder suddenly sounded in mid-air. The heavy rain poured down relentlessly.
This time, the group was even more embarrassed. The few raincoats they had were given to Xiaoxia, a reporter from the provincial station, and two reporters from this town. The rest, including Mao Fu, lined up in a line and walked forward in the rain. .
The rain was so heavy that people could not even open their eyes. It was like there was a thick rain curtain hanging all around. People who were a little further away could not see clearly, and the mud on the mountain road The weeds were extremely slippery after being beaten by the rain. Fortunately for Xiaoxia, Liu Hong would fall down after taking only three steps. In the end, she started crying!
"Keep on holding on, we will reach the town in a short distance." Zhao Jiayuan's voice came from the front.
Xiao Xia has never walked on such a mountain road, and she is very tired at the moment. She just grits her teeth and follows the people in front of her. Although the raincoat blocks the rain, the sweat on her body has also soaked her clothes, not to mention her face is full of sweat. It's rain, and it doesn't make much difference whether I'm wearing a raincoat or not.
As she walked with her head down, she accidentally bumped into something soft in front of her. It was Wang Wenge's back, and her back was also hit by Liu Hong behind her.
"What's going on?" Liu Hong asked angrily.
However, Xiaoxia couldn't answer because she, like the previous people, was completely stunned by the image in front of her!
In front of me, in the gray rain curtain, a town stood quietly in front of me, appearing strangely clear in the blur - a square city, although there were no walls, but like ancient cities there was a The city gate is just symbolic, built of beautiful blue-gray stone, simple and historical. There are neat rows of small houses with green tiles and red walls in the city, and there is also a tall tower that is higher than all other buildings in the center of the town!
Didn’t you say you won’t pass through this town? Why are you coming back now? !
"This is the south gate!" Wang Wenge muttered, as if he wanted to explain it to Xiao Xia and Liu Hong, but also to himself.
This uninhabited new town is to the west of the old town, so it faces the east gate of the old town. The one Liu Hong insisted on entering just now was the west gate, and have they gone around to the south gate of the city now?
"Is there something wrong?" The photojournalist, who was originally separated from a local reporter, also came over at this moment. "We don't go through the town. If we go from the outside, we will pass by the south of the city."
"This mountain road back to the old town has to turn through a small mountain col. The new town should not be visible from this direction." Wang Wenge answered mechanically.
His reply was not loud, but it was particularly clear in the heavy rain. Thinking back to all the things just now - the car's unexplained death, the discussion about the uncleanness of the empty city, the sudden heavy rain, everyone's heart With a click, I had an ominous premonition.
"It's me! It's my fault. Haha, I'm sorry, everyone." Zhao Jiayuan's voice rang from the front, but he obviously lacked confidence, his voice was trembling, and his laughter was extremely dry, "It's raining too hard, I'll bring you with me We took the wrong road, so we turned to the new town side. If we continue walking, we will definitely go back."
Will you definitely go back? What does this mean? Can't they go back? Or have you fallen into some trap? !
But before Xiaoxia could figure it out, the team started moving forward mechanically again. They walked for an unknown amount of time. When Xiaoxia was about to be exhausted, the people in front stopped again.
Xiaoxia felt quite bad. Sure enough, when she took a look, she found that the empty city they had always wanted to avoid appeared again in front of them. This time, the green-gray city wall had 'East' written on it.
It's the east gate! So if they walked in the opposite direction, they should be back to the old town, but when they turned around, they would find that there was a towering mountain wall in that direction. There was no road at all, and it would not lead to the old town!
"It's my fault, it's me -" Zhao Jiayuan shouted again, but it sounded like a conditioned reflex and not convincing at all.
"Okay, let's keep walking!" The photographer's loud voice was passed from behind Xiaoxia to the front, giving the people who were a little panicked for a moment some sense of stability, although it was not complete.
His behavior couldn't help but make Xiaoxia look at him with admiration. Originally, she looked down on the photojournalist named Zuo De who kept teasing Liu Hong, but she didn't expect how much he showed at the critical moment. A man's courage.
The team moved again, but this time Xiaoxia was cautious. Seeing that the scenery around her hadn't changed much, she began to wonder if they were still staying where they were after walking around, so she decided to take something to mark them. She had nothing else on her body, so she had to pull off the twist silk and tie it to a branch. Unexpectedly, the trees here were so tall that she couldn't reach them. Fortunately, Zuo De helped her.
Probably because he wanted to accompany Liu Hong, who started to cry, he was now following Xiaoxia.
"No matter what happens, don't come out! If anything happens, please contact us secretly!" She whispered to the bracelet.
If there is danger and Abai comes out to rescue her, then other people will know of Abai's existence, which may be detrimental to Abai, so it is better to be cautious!
At this time, the sky was getting darker, and there was no light from the stars and the moon in the heavy rain. The group of people relied on a flashlight that only every other person had for lighting, and almost rolled and crawled forward.
Xiao Xia followed in a daze, only to hear a cry of 'Ah', and six flashlights instantly shined in one direction - New Town appeared in the rain again, but this time it was the North Gate!
When Xiaoxia saw this, she immediately looked around. Zuo De's flashlight clearly followed her gaze, and sure enough, he saw something fluttering on the branches of the two trees growing next to each other. It was the beautiful Colorful twist silk!
Sure enough, they were running around in circles. If they had not lost their way in the rainy night, they would have encountered a long-lost ghost! But what about that city? Why do they stay where they are and see different doors? Is it an illusion or is the city alive and spinning on its own? !
When Xiao Xia was thinking about it, she felt pushed by Liu Hong behind her. It turned out that the team started to leave again. This time, no one called for it, so they started walking automatically. This situation probably made everyone panic. God, subconsciously wanted to run away, so he walked away without thinking.
Xiao Xia was caught in the middle of the team and followed passively. Although she felt that something was wrong in her heart, her brain was frozen and unable to turn away until she saw the marking thread again, and at the same time she also saw Arrive at the west gate of this town!
"Ah——"
Liu Hong wailed, sat down on the ground, hugged Zuo De's legs and started crying for the third time tonight, but this time she cried in fear.
"I'm afraid! I'm afraid!" Her delicate voice sounded shrill and shrill at this time, and her cry brought out the fear and uneasiness in everyone's hearts, although she did not shout out of control. , but the situation suddenly became unstable!
If people's hearts are dispersed, danger will take advantage of the situation, which will virtually increase people's risk of harm. Therefore, unity and calmness are the most important at this moment!
"Don't cry! Everyone, come together!" Zuo De shouted again. He seemed like a gentle person, but his tone was very stern.
When the others were in a state of confusion, they immediately became quieter after hearing his shout.
"Now let's stay where we are. If we continue to run, we won't be able to get out. It will only waste our energy." Zuo De said loudly, "Sit around and let the light shine outside. Don't panic if anything happens. !"
"I agree!" Xiaoxia immediately followed in order to strengthen the reliability of Zuo De's words.
"Okay, I agree." After a moment of silence, Mao Fu, who had been silent, also answered, and then came to Zuo De's side.
As soon as he moved, other people also sat around on the ground one after another. The people wearing raincoats took off their raincoats, asking everyone to raise their hands to avoid the rain, and followed the instructions to extinguish three flashlights to save them. Electricity, and the other three are facing the outside.
Although it is very dark now, it is not even ten o'clock when I look at the watch. Although they had been walking for four hours, there was still a long night ahead of them, and some lighting had to be preserved!
After everything was arranged, Xiaoxia looked at Zuo De, who was still standing there, hoping that he could help her get the twist silk from the tree. It was given to her by Ruan Zhan. Although it was not valuable, she didn't want to lost.
Zuo De understood what she meant and reached for the branch, but as soon as he turned around, Xiaoxia saw a black figure standing behind him!
The black figure couldn't see its face clearly, and its whole body was dark. It stood there in the dark night of wind and rain, floating and unnoticed, and it was unknown how long it stood, making it difficult for people to distinguish. Whether it was an entity or a shadow, Xiaoxia couldn't figure out whether she was the only one who saw the shadow or whether everyone could see it!
And just when she was so shocked that she couldn't even speak, the black shadow floated towards them!
Xiao Xia reached out and pointed behind Zuo De, wanting to warn him, but at this moment she found that she was speechless. It was not her own fault, but something seemed to cover her mouth; she wanted to jump up to save people. , only to find that his body could not move! At this moment she could do nothing but look at Zuo De anxiously!
Zuo De couldn't help but be stunned for a moment when he saw Xiao Xia's expression was different. His hand slowly fell from mid-air, then he realized something and suddenly turned his head!