Xiao Jing and Shen Mingde recovered from their fright, only to find that they had been splashed with some water. It should be water, or a clear liquid like "water". Neither of them smelled a preservative like formalin, or anything else. Similarly, it should not be liquids such as sulfuric acid, because ordinary containers such as clay pots and clay pots are not resistant to strong acids. They didn't have any bad feelings other than being psychologically disgusted by being splashed with liquid soaked in living corpses.

After comparing the names marked with yellow paint on the bottom of the tank with the names on the back of the candidate's photo, the two of them had roughly confirmed the identities of the three people who were immersed in the tank. Two of them should be the two male elders of the Wang family and the Zhao family. And in the other tank, it should be the second son of the Zhao family. As for why these three men were soaked in the water tank, they do not know. But they all believe that the living corpses have no intention of harming them. Perhaps, these three people have already lost consciousness after being soaked in the water tank for a long time. The behavior of the living corpse just now may have been just a conditioned reflex of light and sound.

Shen Mingde put the wooden lid of the water tank back into its original state. Then he took a few steps back, bowed respectfully, folded his hands, and said, "May you rest in peace." ”

Xiao Jing also learned from him, and did this very ceremonial look. Although in her heart she feels that these so-called "candidates" are all deserved. At this time, what made Xiao Jing feel most curious was what was the "immortality" obtained by Gao Bowen's so-called "seeking blessings"? Is it just being soaked in a water tank, living like a corpse? There is also the question of why there are only three people in the tank. From the stories they've heard so far, as well as the drawings of Gao Shan Xing, she believes that at least five people have achieved "immortality".

I don't know if it's because of the relief from the fright, the feeling of relaxation, or the greed for the light brought by the candle flame. Neither of them was in a hurry to leave. With the help of this candlelight, they looked at the photos, the list of candidates, and the drawings of Gao Shan Xing. Shen Mingde came up with a plausible theory. He believes that the true story of Yushugou Village should be completely different from what Gao Bowen tells it. It is possible that there were indeed five people who attained "immortality" at that time. But these five people are not all the Wang family and the Zhao family, and two of them should be Chen Yongyi and Chu Yao.

Shen Mingde guessed: "First of all, let's assume that Gao Shan Apricot was used as a 'sacrifice' five times, so that five people gained 'immortality'. As for why not use other children as 'sacrifices'? Because Yushugou Village has a rule of 'twelve children correspond to twelve candidates'. As you can see from the comparison of the names on the children's pictures and the names on the back of the candidates' group photos, they are not the names of the children themselves, but the names of the twelve candidates. Because they share the same name, they associate the 'sacrifice' with the candidate, so the candidate may know more about his or her 'sacrifice'. Once the 'sacrifice' is used by others, unfortunately, it is 'accepted' by the great god of Shanmira, and I am afraid that it will soon be exposed. However, Gao Shan Xing is the thirteenth 'sacrifice', and she may be Gao Zhongchen's choice for himself to obtain 'immortality'. At the same time, Gao Shan Xing returned to the drama school after many sacrifices, so she became the 'safest sacrifice'. People may come to believe that the sacrifice ceremony will be successful as long as the 'sacrifice' of the alpine apricot is used. Therefore, they all first used alpine apricots as sacrifices, and kept other 'sacrifices' in the drama school as a backup. This may be what Chu Yao said: 'Some utensils are only used once, while some can be used repeatedly.' I don't know what it means to be a blessing or a curse.

Gao Bowen's 'immortality' is really estimated to be the literal meaning of the word 'immortal'. When I saw Gao Bowen, Chen Yongyi, Chu Yao, and the old men sitting on the rostrum, although it was incredible, I really believed it. I don't know why these three people got soaked in the water tank. It is estimated that it is related to the fire in the drama school. However, it may also be a side effect of the so-called 'longevity'. I still remember Lao Yu, who has been in good health for more than ten years since he left that lake. But suddenly one day he began to fail, and then he died. So what I think is, is it that these three people have also undergone changes in old age. Then someone put them in a tank and soaked them in the water from that lake. How would this delay their immediate death?

After seeing the picture of Takayama Apricot, I had an idea. The twelve candidates were supposed to be sacrificed in the order of 'eldest and youngest'. That is to say, in the first year, the first person to sacrifice was the old man of the Zhao family, in the second year, the second was the old man of the Wang family, in the third year, the third was the eldest son of the Zhao family, in the fourth year, the fourth was the son of the royal family, and in the fifth year, the fifth was the second son of the Zhao family. However, in Gao Shan Xing's painting, I saw two old men and a man in the prime of life, with obvious features. And it is very similar to the physiognomy on the photo with the candidates. For example, the second son of the Zhao family is separated from his head, and the old man of the Zhao family is wearing a bamboo straw hat. But the bald, stocky man and the woman in the long skirt did not appear in the candidate's photo. Judging from the size and dress of these two people, I guess they are Chen Yongyi and Chu Yao.

So I think the event is like this. In the first two years, they successfully held a ceremony for Old Man Zhao and Old Man Wang. In the third and fourth years, when it was the turn of the Zhang family and the Wang family, Gao Zhongchen deceived them. He asked Gao Shan Xing to sacrifice for Chen Yongyi and Chu Yao. The eldest son of the Zhao and Wang families may have just taken a bath in that lake. In the fifth year, the second son of the Zhao family successfully held a ceremony again.

What the? Why didn't anyone find out about this scam, you ask? I guess they never discuss what happened when they sacrificed by that lake. First of all, none of them knew what the ceremony was like at the lake. Second, they may not be allowed to talk about their experiences when they sacrifice by the lake when they return to the village. In this way there is no contrast, so that each person can only consider his sacrifice to be successful through 'faith'. Perhaps the success of the ceremony of the two old men of King Zhao is obvious to all. Because those two are old men, the effect of the sacrifice may be very obvious. As for the eldest sons of the Zhao and Wang families, they themselves were in the prime of life, even if they became healthier and younger after the sacrifice, no one could actually see it.

This is how Chen Yongyi and Chu Yao 'stole' the candidates' places. As a result, Chen Yongyi came up with the idea of doing 'business'. Right! This is Chen Yongyi's 'business'. He may have later united with Gao Zhongchen, murdered the candidate, and fabricated the fire at the drama school. As a result, the eldest son, eldest grandson, and daughter-in-law of the two families of Zhao and Wang were burned to death in this drama school. And these three people who have already attained 'immortality' are trapped in these three water tanks. As for why they weren't killed, I don't understand. ”

Shen Mingde used a tirade to pass the time spent squeezing through the narrow passage. After a series of fears, frightes, discoveries, and reflections, the two of them finally returned to the surface. Looking out of the kitchen window, the sky was already clear. The moonlight scattered in the backyard, illuminating rows and rows of wooden shelves with clay pots and pots.

Xiao Jing and Shen Mingde didn't stay long. Simply pat the dust off your body and walk like the door of the main hall in no time. Shen Mingde pushed the door of Zhu Qi, but the door did not move. He pushed the other half of the door twice, but there was still no sign of it opening. They switched to a nearby door, but they couldn't push it open. Oops, could it be that Gao Bowen has come to the drama school and put the two of them here? Although he already had an answer in his heart, Shen Mingde did not give up. They came to a large gate on the far right. He faced the wall and slammed his left shoulder against the door.

At this moment, Xiao Jing pulled Shen Mingde's shirt twice, as if she wanted to attract his attention. Shen Mingde turned his face to face the wall, and suddenly saw that right at the opposite corner of them, a silhouette about two meters tall was slowly crawling out of the shadow in the corner.

The thing resembled a humanoid creature, with its elongated limbs supporting its elongated upper body. The movement of crawling on all fours is very similar to that of a baboon, but it has no body hair. When it got closer, Shen Mingde could clearly see the dark brown skin on its body, bulging ribs, shriveled and shrunken abdomen, all of which reminded him of a living corpse soaked in a water tank. Unlike the living corpse in the tank, it is much taller, and it also wears a terrifying mask on its head from the celebration performance. The crimson mask has a pair of "eight" shaped eye holes, giving people a feeling of "embarrassment". However, the big mouth that grinned to the root of his ears and bared his fangs warned Shen Mingde that this living corpse would not be as "docile" as in the water tank. I don't know if it's the hair on the mask, or the hair of the living corpse itself. A lush, unkempt silver hair wrapped around the head of a living corpse. That kind of shape reminds Shen Mingde of the great scientist Albert Einstein.

The living corpse, like a giant hound, slowly swam towards them, approaching. Shen Mingde and Xiao Jing were involuntarily forced against the wall behind them. The living corpse seemed to sense that the time had come, and hunched over as if it were about to kill the two men. At the moment when the living corpse was about to pounce, Shen Mingde finally mustered up his courage, and he pulled Xiao Jing up and ran up the stairs on the left-hand side. The living corpse saw that the culling failed, but it was not discouraged, and turned its body vigorously at the waist, throwing the left arm like a leather whip towards Shen Mingde. Fortunately, Shen Mingde had already quickly run up the fifth step of the stairs. Due to the difference in height, the left claw of the living corpse slammed into the handrail of the three steps of the staircase. The column supporting the handrail snapped in response. Xiao Jing only felt that her right hand, which was grasping the handrail, shook violently, and she stumbled and almost rolled down the stairs. She lay down on the not-so-wide staircase with her hands and feet, stabilized her mind, and continued to climb upstairs.

When the living corpse saw that the blow had missed again, he rushed up the stairs in a rage. At this time, Shen Mingde finally remembered the "weapon" in his hand. Perhaps it was because of his mentality that he would be emboldened by anything he held in his hand in a dangerous environment, and he did not discard the heating pipe he found in the secret room. Just as the living corpse was about to approach him, Shen Mingde recalled the swing action when playing golf. He quickly swung out the heating pipe and teased at the living corpse. As if with divine help, the shot struck the jaw of the living corpse firmly. The monster fell backwards and rolled like a ball down the knife staircase.

Shen Mingde excitedly shouted: "birdie!"

I saw the living corpse like a beetle that had been turned over, with its chest and abdomen facing up, waving its limbs wildly. Shen Mingde couldn't muster up the courage to walk down the stairs, give it another time, and end its life. He turned around in a hurry and ran upstairs.

Shen Mingde took Xiao Jing to the window, he had the intention of jumping out of the window and escaping. There is a saying that "God closes a window for you, and will open a window for you", but the window opened for Shen Mingde and them was equipped with an anti-theft guardrail. They didn't notice when they looked at the second floor just now, in fact, all the windows on the second floor were equipped with anti-theft guardrails. While they were thinking anxiously, the sound of struggle downstairs was gone, replaced by the sound of a step-by-step, slow upstairs ride.

Xiao Jing covered her mouth with her hands, held back her tears, and asked in a low voice, "What should I do?" ”

Shen Mingde was also at a loss, and replied casually: "Hide." ”

As soon as these words came out, Shen Mingde closed his eyes in despair. The entire second floor has been emptied, where can they hide?

The sound of "squeak, squeak" came from far and near. To Xiao Jing, it sounded like the footsteps of death, more like a sounding death knell. Xiao Jing hid behind, in the shadows. She pinched to the right and looked out the window. The cold moonlight didn't make her feel calm, but made her feel like a mockery of herself. She breathed slowly, deeply, not to ease the tension, but to make herself flattened and leaning closer against the wall. She wished she could be as flat as a flounder and clinging to the wall. Perhaps, she could have slipped away from the monster.

Shen Mingde held the heating pipe with both hands. The "weapon" in his hand did not prevent cold sweat from flowing down his forehead, down the curve of his cheeks, and finally on his chin. The sound of the monster stomping on the wooden floor came closer, and it seemed to enter the next room. Shen Mingde had expected many ways to die, but today's encounter was something he never expected. He likes fantasy and a lot of curious things, but today's experience has made him know his true self. It is estimated that he is the type of person who is often said to be "Ye Gong is a good dragon". The living corpse walked around the next room, seemingly inspecting every corner of the empty room. Shen Mingde felt that there was no need to hide, and he couldn't hide at all. If that monster comes in, just fight him...... No! Wait a minute. Shen Mingde suddenly pulled his thoughts back to reality. "Why did the monster go upstairs and go back to the first room? Why does it seem to be looking at every corner of the room? Why didn't it rush straight into the room I was in? The answer is already in Shen Mingde's heart. The living corpse used to be the same, a human being like him and Xiao Jing. The mutation didn't make this monster's five senses much sharper, but it was just more "resistant to beating" than ordinary people. The living corpse is not a hound, so it can't smell the two of them. It still relies on visual search for prey. Thinking of this, Shen Mingde showed an evil smile.

After a few loud noises of "clang, clang", Xiao Jing closed her eyes in fright. She didn't plan to imagine what happened to Shen Mingde, who was hiding next door, and she didn't dare to think about what would happen when it was her turn next. The creaking footsteps were near, moving extremely fast, as if they were running. The monster was standing in front of him now, only a door away from him. Suddenly, the door to death was pulled open. Xiao Jing's facial features were already tangled like buns. A large, warm hand tapped her cheek twice. At the same time, she also heard the urging voice of "hurry up, hurry up". Xiao Jing opened her eyes, and from the blurred vision of tears, she saw Shen Mingde. He picked up Xiao Jing and sent it to the stairs. Next to the stairs, the wooden door of the second room was closed, and suddenly there was the sound of glass breaking.

Xiao Jing asked, "What happened?" ”

Shen Mingde: "I locked it up." ”

Xiao Jing: "How?" ”

Shen Mingde: "The flashlight shakes its eyes." After staying in the dark for a long time, he was suddenly blinded by direct light. ”

Before Xiao Jing could ask the next question, the two who were going down the stairs heard a "click" behind them, followed by the sound of the wooden door breaking.

Shen Mingde took Xiao Jing and ran down the stairs quickly, and said loudly, "Go to the backyard." Circling around the wooden frame and it. By the way, let's see if we can get out over the wall! ”

The courtyard wall in the backyard, with a height of more than three meters, made the two of them daunting. Maybe pulling a wooden shelf under the wall should be more enough to escape over the wall. However, they no longer have that opportunity. The living corpse followed and also entered the backyard. The two of them could only huddle behind a wooden frame and hide.

The living corpse still seems to retain some of the intelligence of the human being it once had. It passed through the passage between the two rows of wooden shelves, scanning left and right in rows for traces of the two men.

Xiao Jing peeked from the edge of the wooden frame to watch the moving corpses in action. Suddenly, at this moment, Shen Mingde's mobile phone rang. This scene is simply a bridge in the movie. The protagonist's phone is always a grenade that has been safed, although it may ring. Shen Mingde reacted quickly, he immediately hung up the phone, and then jumped up and rushed out of the wooden frame where the two of them were hiding. Xiao Jing had been observing the living corpse, and she didn't react to Shen Mingde's behavior. When Xiao Jing realized what had been released, the monster's back appeared two meters away from him.

At this time, the three of them have formed a "three points and one line" situation. The living corpse turned its back to Xiao Jing, who was only two meters away from him, and faced Shen Mingde, who was more than six meters away from it. The living corpse bent over and was about to rush in the direction of Shen Mingde, when he suddenly heard a crisp sound of a pottery shard shattering from behind him.

Xiao Jing's eyes widened, and she saw the red mask slowly turn towards her. Immediately afterwards, the body of the living corpse also turned to Xiao Jing. At this time, with the faint light provided by the moon, Xiao Jing could already clearly count the ribs on the chest of the living corpse.

Seeing this, Shen Mingde crept behind the living corpse. He raised the heating pipe in his hand and slammed it into the back of the corpse's head with all his might. However, the monster seemed to sense a gust of evil wind behind him, and immediately turned around, and parried Shen Mingde's attack with both arms. Shen Mingde was about to pull out, but was grabbed by the monster and grabbed the heating pipe. In an instant, the monster's other hand struck out a palm at the same time, hitting Shen Mingde's chest. Shen Mingde saw that the situation was not right, the monster's attack was too close and fierce, and he was afraid that he would not be able to dodge. He let go of the heating pipe with both hands and immediately made a defensive gesture, his arms in the chest and abdomen. The power of this palm was so great that Shen Mingde was knocked out several meters away, and he felt that he almost jumped in the air, and his back finally hit a wooden frame before stopping. The crockpots and wooden frames shattered to the ground.

The monster walked a few steps to Shen Mingde, who was still struggling in pain on the ground. Seeing this, Shen Mingde's heart was already half cold. He tried to get up and run away, but his legs seemed to be weak, and his abdomen ached like a knife. He kicked the ground with his feet, supported his upper body on his elbows, and took a few steps back with his back facing the sky. But the monster had come to him, claws raised. Shen Mingde closed his eyes as if appointed, and reflexively covered his face with one arm. He felt that as long as he heard a strong wind in his ears, maybe everything in this life would be over.

Suddenly, there was a piece of music behind the monster. Shen Mingde closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the last moment to come. It was as if nothing had happened, but a soothing musical sound was heard. He quietly opened a slit in one eye. Peeking in, I saw that the monster did not look at him, but turned his head and looked behind him. Shen Mingde looked over from the monster's crotch. Xiao Jing was holding a mobile phone playing music and standing a few meters behind the monster. Slowly twisting his waist, then swinging his arms as if he were dancing.

The monster became less irritable, it turned to the rear like an old dog, and crawled slowly towards Xiao Jing. With the rhythm of the music, it seems that he also sways his body from side to side a few times. Shen Mingde stood up slowly, still holding a thick wooden strip of a wooden frame in his hand. Xiao Jing said to him: "Don't do that. Find a video of the dance and put it out. I can't hold on for long."

The monster seemed to understand that the two were talking, but it didn't understand the meaning of the conversation. It glanced back at Shen Mingde sharply. was so frightened that Shen Mingde was in a cold sweat again. Then the monster crawled towards Xiao Jing again.

Although Xiao Jing was still dancing to the music, she was already terrified to the extreme. The beautiful face has a tangled expression, the eyebrows are tightly locked, and the lips are pursed in contrast to the soothing soundtrack that comes from the phone. She didn't dare look directly at the monster, so she turned her head to the right. A few teardrops slipped down from his left eye, mixed with black ash and left a tear stain on Xiao Jing's white cheeks. The monster crawled to Xiao Jing's side, hovering in circles in front of and behind her, showing an intoxicated appearance. That kind of image is really like a vicious dog begging for food, and like a lewd "pervert". The living corpse was almost attached to Xiao Jing's back, stretching out its face with a terrifying mask over Xiao Jing's bare shoulders. Xiao Jing pinned her head to the other side. The monster seemed to be intoxicated by the fragrance of her short hair. Two deformed, slender fingered hands swam around Xiao Jing's left and right arms like sea snakes.

Shen Mingde found a video, he adjusted the volume to the maximum, turned the screen in the direction of the monster, and raised the phone. The monster was startled at first, and turned from its gaze on Xiao Jing's hair to Shen Mingde's mobile phone. The monster tilted its head, crossed Xiao Jing's shoulders and stretched its neck to look at Shen Mingde's phone. The claws hovered stiffly above Xiao Jing's shoulders. After the mask, the black hole stared at the little girl who was jumping on the screen of her mobile phone ten meters away.

Xiao Jing suddenly shouted at Shen Mingde: "That's not right! Shen Mingde was puzzled, could it be that this song and dance was not right, could it be that this monster still had requirements for dance, did it prefer gentle and soothing rather than this kind of relaxed and happy dance? Shen Mingde was about to take back his phone and change to a dance. Xiao Jing shouted again: "Lose your phone!" ”

Shen Mingde didn't understand what he meant, but he still did it. He slowly crouched down, then pressed the back of his phone against the ground and slid it forcefully to the far side of his right. The monster seemed to be attracted by the mobile phone, and immediately let go of Xiao Jing and rushed towards the location of Shen Mingde's mobile phone.

Xiao Jing pointed to the door of the kitchen and shouted, "Run!" Collapsed wings! ”