It's June, the sun is shining, and the temperature in the summer is obviously not low, but in this dead silence, it inexplicably makes people feel a chill up their spines. Heading north from the deserted temple, the trees on both sides gradually became scarce, and the way forward was uphill, as if slowly climbing up a certain hillside. Looking down from the valley, it was a barren place, full of the remains of birds and beasts, and withered grass and trees.

Further on, there is a mound.

This mass grave, Gu San also inquired before he came, saying that it was a war a few years ago, and the soldiers and horses on both sides were almost fought, and no one had the strength to clean up the mess anymore, so he left the sacrificed soldiers here, found a few Taoist priests or monks to do a few rituals, sprinkled with loess, and the matter was over.

Later, if there is a child who dies before the age of age, who has a strange disease that is not suitable for burial in the ancestral grave, or who has no power, no power and not many relatives and friends in this vicinity, they will all be buried in this mass grave.

The tombstones here are scattered and scattered, some of them can't even see clearly, and some of the small mounds are tied with bamboo poles and yellow paper sprinkled on them.

Gu San stopped in front of this deserted grave and crouched down to look at the traces on the road. There were some footsteps, which seemed to have been left over the past few days, heading deeper into the grave.

Some speculations gradually took shape in Gu San's mind, about the patients who had disappeared, about the "bodhisattvas" and the groups with clear superiors and subordinates. It is likely that these people formed a small group of their own after leaving the Deserted Temple. In the face of these diseases, especially in such a backward era, people do not even have any cure, and it is not impossible to turn their hopes to religion, gods and Buddhas.

In this case, as long as there is one person who convinces all the sick with certain high-sounding words that he has divine powers, that he can make them recover, and whatever he asks them to do, the desperate sick will follow him away.

Judging from the state of the little girl, no matter what this person said or did, everything this person said should be a lie.

In addition, there is the most important point - why are they hiding?

With these questions, Gu San followed the footprints and slowly came to an unknown monument. Compared to the other tombs, the tomb looks much grander and larger, the tomb is made of bluestone bricks, and the tombstone is more than one meter high and three meters wide. The words on the stele have been smoothed out by the wind and rain for a long time because of the years, and they can't be seen clearly, there are a few broken bowls in front of the stele, which are dirty, but it can be seen that not long ago there were people who came here to worship the people in the tomb.

The footsteps disappeared here. Gu San squatted down in front of the stele, there was a candlestick in front of the tombstone, there was no candle, and the iron needle on the candlestick had long been rusted. She tentatively stretched out her hand and turned the candlesticks on either side of her side, and suddenly heard a muffled sound coming from inside the tombstone.

Gu San hurriedly gathered all his strength in his hands and turned the candlestick completely with all his strength. The tombstone in front of her gradually sank with her movements, and after a while, the tombstone disappeared completely, and an entrance appeared in front of her, and the yin wind with a fishy smell kept surging towards Gu San.

That's why the footsteps disappear.

Gu San looked under the tombstone, where there was a staircase, bottomless, and he didn't know where it led. Gu San can choose to turn around and leave immediately, but maybe he will miss the truth, or he can wait for the people who are about to enter below to reappear and catch a few for interrogation.

Or...... Gu San looked at the door and thought for a moment, then suddenly stood up, turned his head and walked back. I don't put down the tombstone, just let it open.

About in the afternoon, she resisted a sack of chickens and led a dog back to the mass grave, just at that time, she really went back to Qingping County. When he arrived at the door of the mansion where Zhu Kuan lived, he sat down directly in front of the steps and said to the bandits who had changed into military uniforms, "Tell Zhu Kuan to come out." ”

Those little bandits knew Gu San to some extent, and knew that this woman was a killing god, so they didn't dare to slack off, so they hurriedly turned around and called Mr. Zhu out. Gu San saw Zhu Kuan, and first asked Murong Yuhua if he had heard of it, he shook his head, and asked his brother very worriedly, is it okay now.

Gu San didn't take his words seriously, he was originally a profit-seeking guy, and there was no need to pretend to be a good person here at this time. She put down her words very simply, "Give you a stick of incense time, I want chickens, rope and gunpowder, it's better if there are bombs, and get me a dog, the more fierce the better." ”

Zhu Kuan heard what she said, guessing that she was looking for the whereabouts of the group of people, and hurriedly asked her if she wanted to bring two soldiers, so Gu San refused and sat back in front of the steps. Zhu Kuan fetched what she wanted in less than a stick of incense, he still didn't give up, and wanted to send someone to follow her, Gu San said, "It's not impossible to follow, I see that the group of sick people are dying one by one, whoever goes is also a death, which one of you are not afraid, come with me." ”

How many people who follow Zhu Kuan are not greedy for life and afraid of death? If this were the case, the previous disputes and wars would have been dead a long time ago. Zhu Kuan saw that her cruel words had already been said here, and finally brought her some bullets and money, "Miss Gu San, don't call me back this group of sick people." If they do, they will be considered to be owed to them. You can give them the money. As long as you don't go back to the county, everything is easy to discuss. ”

Gu San accepted them all. She was about to leave, but she remembered what she saw in the market yesterday, and still coldly reminded Zhu Kuan, "Don't think about that group of missing patients, let's take care of the situation in your county." You have done things so desperately, and there is still anyone in the county who is sick and dares to speak blatantly. When the time comes, if you don't say it one by one, it will inevitably end up being a big mistake. ”

“…… The situation is urgent, where can I manage so much? ”

"It's your business whether you can do it or not. Let's go. "Gu San seems to be fighting the autumn wind here with bandits, and after taking all the things, he left the city again. It was really useful to say cruel words to Zhu Kuan, and when she left, there was no one behind her.

Back in front of the deserted tomb, the door of the tomb was still open, and I don't know if the people inside didn't pay attention, or they didn't care if anyone was inside.

Gu San threw the sack of chicken into the tomb in one go. Chickens are the noisiest poultry, and when you listen to the sound all the way below, you can really hear the sound as the "coo" fades away.

From this, it can be determined that it is safe to pass all the way down here. After releasing the chickens, Gu San closed the door of the tomb and returned to the small well on the edge of the deserted temple. Gu San tied a rope around the dog and lowered it into the well.

The dog barked wildly as soon as it hit the ground, and after a while, Gu San saw that the rope at his feet was decreasing, and he knew that the dog had found its way and ran forward.

Gu San lay on the ground, listening carefully to the barking of the dog, which stretched from the ground all the way to the north, more clearly than the previous footsteps, and it was certain that he was going to the desolate grave. The rope at her feet gradually ran out, and the dog disappeared into the dry well, but this did not affect Gu San's next plan.

She took out the gunpowder that Zhu Kuan had begged for and buried the entire outer edge of the dry well. He counted the remaining bullets and gunpowder on his body, and continued to think about the next plan in his mind.

It was getting dark, and it had been two days since Murong Yuhua left home. Gu San still didn't know where his investigation was going - but, predictably, if they were on the same page, it might not be long before they were able to meet.

Murong Yuhua really didn't expect that Gu San would eventually come to him with these weapons.

Right now, he was sitting on a stone chair, still holding a medicine pestle in his hand. The surrounding candles were very dim, and the murmuring of water was endless in this underground palace.

Murong Yuhua never thought that there was such a hiding place under the mass grave, this karst cave had been formed for at least thousands of years, it was cold and damp, and he could barely find a few dry and wide places. As Gu San guessed, he did use deserted temples and mass graves as the investigation route all the way to find it, but he did not investigate as seriously as Gu San.

He pretended to be a sick man, coughing and falling in front of the Buddha statue in the deserted temple. Murong Yuhua only vaguely guessed that all the patients must not have died, and it is very likely that they consciously organized themselves and left here. And if there is a recurrence, they are likely to treat them as their own compatriots.

This is Murong Yuhua's plan, to find that group of patients as a patient, even if he clearly knows the intensity of the contagion of this kind of disease, he decided to take the risk and carefully find out the secret.

Facts have proved that Murong Yuhua's guess was correct. He waited for a long time in the ruined temple, and even gradually fell asleep, and when he woke up again, there were a few more candles in front of him, and three people in black robes stood in front of him with candles. The three of them all covered their faces, and they couldn't tell the difference between men and women, but the little girl beside them, Murong Yuhua, could see it clearly.

The girl was eleven or twelve years old, and looked thin and sickly. Thin as a hemp pole, the clothes he wore were still patched. She clasped her hands together towards Murong Yuhua, said "Amitabha" in a dignified manner, turned her head and said to the few people in black robes, "Bodhisattva, I found this benefactor." He was sick, very sick. ”

The person she called the Bodhisattva nodded, stretched out his hand and gently stroked the little girl's head, and praised, "You have done a good job, you have brought back to life a man who would have walked through the door of death, and you have made him find a true home." ”

Murong Yuhua looked at them blankly, coughing, and while holding himself up, he asked, "Who are you?" ”

"We are people just like you. It is the one who has been abandoned by the wicked people. The little girl came up to him and said, "But rest assured, you will not be abandoned forever." The bodhisattva will show us a clear path, and the bodhisattva will tell us how to live. As long as you are sincere, the Bodhisattva will save your life. ”

At that moment, Murong Yuhua finally understood why these patients had left.

They found the "Bodhisattva", a place of life. Even if it sounds ridiculous, it is far better than the county commanders and commanders in the county who eat people and do not spit out bones in the county.