The fog in the valley began to dissipate slowly, and we gathered around Director Qi, although we couldn't figure out the real reason why he told such a history, but the anxiety in our hearts was effectively alleviated.

Ren Shi'an did not think that this rubbing was a ghost talisman, in the annotation of the county chronicles, he verified that this was a Taoist Longgang sect of Taoism, he quoted the historical materials of the Ming Dynasty, saying that the Taoist priest burned the faceless ghost with karmic fire was real, the Taoist priest had gone down the mine three times, and it took almost a year to burn the evil ghost and seal the mine. It's just that the records of the Ming Dynasty don't mention that the Taoist priest himself was trapped in a well. ”

"And that stele should be erected by the government after the mine was sealed, and the runes on it were used to suppress evil spirits. Just now, Team Cao, you mentioned the speculation that the test shaft is likely to open up the old mine shaft in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and I just remembered this incident. ”

Before Director Qi revealed the ghost talismans on the rice paper, I had already recognized the meaning of these symbols. It is estimated that Ren Shi'an did not know much about the Taoist runes, and the inscription had been damaged for hundreds of years, so when he drew it from the rubbing, there were many mistakes. But at a cursory glance, I already understand that Ren Shi'an's interpretation is not correct.

I was looking at the yellowed rice paper, and when I fell into deep thought, Team Cao had already opened his mouth with a puzzled face: "Old Qi, what does this rune have to do with the mine tunnel of the test shaft?

"Captain Cao, I don't know what it has to do with it, but before and after the accident in the test shaft, Mine Chief Dai came to the Museum of Culture and History to borrow this county chronicle, and found someone to make a special copy of this stele. I think this inscription must have something to do with the mines. Curator Qi didn't speak loudly, but this time everyone's eyes couldn't leave those mysterious and ethereal runes.

"Team Cao, the runes on this are not used to suppress ghosts, but are actually the blueprints of the Five Directions Fire Gathering Array. I said lightly.

"Lao Chang, what is this five-party fire gathering array for?" In an instant, everyone's eyes shifted from the paper to my face, and Team Cao couldn't wait to ask.

"The Longgang faction is a very famous branch of the Taoist family for slaying demons and eliminating demons. They believe that because the demons and monsters are different, there are five methods: breaking, suppressing, collecting, crossing, and trapping, breaking is to break the appearance of ghosts and bewitching the world, so that the ghosts can retreat from the difficulty; the town is to limit the range of activities of ghosts and ghosts with Taoism; to collect is to use magic weapons to imprison evil ghosts; and to cross is to transcend the way of re-entering reincarnation. These are all commonly used methods of the Yin and Yang family, only this trick is rarely used, maybe there are too few people who can master it, or the cost of casting spells is too high. ”

"This trapped word method is actually a different formation, you can understand that it is Zhuge Kongming's eight arrays, but the eight arrays are trapped by the living, and the Longgang big array is trapped by evil ghosts. Moreover, it is only when the first four methods fail that the formation will be arranged. Of course, there is also an extreme situation, that is, there are many ghosts that cannot be collected, and they cannot be suppressed. It can be seen that the things under the mine back then were beyond the imagination of the Onmyoji. ”

"The symbols on this array diagram are not words, but the floor plans of many stone walls built inside, as well as the positions of the lanterns, cinnabar talismans, yin-yang mirrors and wormwood bags on the stone walls. "I refolded the drawings and put them back in the prefectural register.

That is to say, if Mine Chief Dai copied this piece of paper, it is equivalent to finding the map of the array, so he must have opened up the mine road of the Ming Dynasty and knew the existence of this array. Team Cao slapped his thigh and stood up.

"But the problem is that this formation didn't work back then. Team Cao, do you think that if the five-party fire gathering array can trap that thing, why do you have to seal off all the mines? The key is that this formation is engraved on the stone tablet and placed at the mouth of the mine, which is too abnormal. I shook my head, and I couldn't help but start worrying about the three of them.

"Maybe the people in the government back then thought that this array had the effect of driving away ghosts, just like the door god at the gate of the New Year, and the picture was auspicious standing there?" Team Cao's eyebrows were already twisted together, but he still tried to speak as easily as possible.

"How come? The formation map is the Longgang faction to settle down and set up a life, has always been passed down by word of mouth, not enough to be with outsiders, was engraved on the stone tablet in a grand manner, there is only one explanation, that is, the folklore is right, the Longgang Taoist must have been trapped in it, after the locals sealed the mine mouth, for psychological sustenance, perhaps in order to commemorate the dead Taoist, the formation map was engraved on the tablet. ”

"This only shows that the array that took so much effort did not work, and that there were no evil spirits in the mine. But judging from the diagram, there are eight layers inside and outside the five-way fire gathering array, and there are many forks and broken roads, and the area may exceed our imagination, so there must be a huge space in the pit of the Ming Dynasty. ”

Team Cao didn't care about analyzing with me anymore, snatched the walkie-talkie in Xiao Du's hand, and called anxiously.

But no matter how we called, there was no sound from the walkie-talkie.

"We have to go in, they don't know the situation, and if they dig through the roadway, it will be too dangerous. Xiao Duan, Da Xu, let's go down, Lao Chang, you take the rest of the comrades to stay behind to respond, if we don't come back within an hour, don't come in again, block the entrance to the cave, and wait for the large troops in the ministry to arrive, and reformulate the survey plan. Team Cao took a flashlight and shone it again on the tunnel.

"Team Cao, I have to go down with you, if you accidentally bump into that five-party fire gathering array, can you get out? Besides, most of the high-tech equipment you brought can't be brought in, and I'm afraid you'll have to use my old guy inside. ”

Team Cao didn't think about it, waved his hand, and said: "Lao Chang, didn't you just say it, it's not a ghost down here, that array won't have any effect on us, don't worry, we found Xiao Lei and them, just stop at the shaft, and you come in again." Xiao Lei and the others dug through the blocked roadway, and they would not rush down the shaft. ”

When Team Cao talked to me, his eyes were obviously a little wandering, and the reason he said was even more far-fetched, especially when talking about the shaft, the corners of his mouth obviously twitched upwards twice, which was a natural expression of fear in the subconscious, and this was not something I was familiar with.

I stretched out my hand and dragged Team Cao aside, "Team Cao, we haven't seen any storms over the years, don't talk to me about those useless things, why don't you let me go down the well?"

"Lao Chang, it's my job to investigate the case, and taking risks is a responsibility, you are just a consultant in the department, there is no need to take risks, in case something happens, I can't explain it to Jiang Ju. ”

"Why haven't you said this before, and this time alone, why?"

"Alas, Lao Chang, why are you so screwed, to be honest, it's because of those weird dreams. ”

"That strange dream where you are in a pitch-black space, you can't see anything, you can only hear a little footsteps?" I didn't expect that dream to have such a deep impact on Team Cao.

"Yes, hit me to get this case, that dream comes up every day, and I feel the footsteps getting closer and closer to me, the man's face has come close to me, but I still can't see him, I can only feel the sound of his breathing getting heavier and heavier. Forget it, don't talk about it, Chang, at least I still think I have hope when you're outside, don't go in with me. Will you just listen to me?"

For a person who is too obsessed, talking too much will make him more suspicious, which has become the basis for him to continue to insist. I stopped arguing with Team Cao and watched him take Xiao Duan and Da Xu into the tunnel.

I slowly smoked a cigarette outside the cave, and after I couldn't hear the movement inside, I stood up and said to Xiao Du who was guarding the tent, "I guess at this time, Xiao Lei and the others should have cleared the soil and rocks blocking the roadway, and the Cao team should also find them, but a few of them didn't bring chemical protective suits, nor did they take the map, without further ado, let's go in three more people and transport the equipment over." ”

Xiao Du hesitated for a moment, but still met my gaze and said, "Uncle Chang, Team Cao asked us to answer outside the cave, is it better to wait for him to send someone out to inform before acting?"

"Xiao Du, we don't know how long this tunnel is, but the delay is too long, not to mention tracking down the people of Dai Mine Chief, and getting the existing equipment into it, it will take several trips, and it is better to move early than late. ”

Xiao Du was mainly responsible for the technical equipment in the team, and he was not arranged to go down the mine, just now I saw me and Team Cao muttering on the side for a long time, thinking that we had already discussed the plan, and did not think much about it, and nodded at me.

Sun Ping, who was on the side, stood up and said to me, "Lao Chang, I'll take Xiao Tian down with you, this time, we will transport the chemical protective suits in first." The rest of the equipment will depend on the situation inside, right?"

I nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and began to tuck the suit into a large canvas bag. Xiao Du took out a camera-sized instrument from the tent and handed it to me. "Uncle Chang, this is a portable thermal imaging sensor, it is most convenient to find someone in the cave, and the battery can last for three hours. ”

I wore the machine crossbody, but luckily it wasn't too heavy. Curator Qi also walked over and stuffed the piece of rice paper full of ghost talismans into my backpack.

"Lao Chang, after you go in, keep a distance of ten to twenty meters between people, and always keep the last person to be able to turn around and retreat as soon as possible, this is the experience of underground rescue, you take care. "Curator Qi's words are a little bleak.

(Three out of ten are born and die; three out of ten are dead; three out of ten are born and moved to death.) Why? With the thickness of his life. Gai Wen is good at taking the living, and he will not meet a tiger on land, and he will not be a soldier when he joins the army. There is nothing to throw at its horns, the tiger has nothing to do with its claws, and the soldiers have nothing to tolerate its blades. Why, husband, with no place to die? --Tao Te Ching)