"They're going to the cemetery? What are you doing there? Noriko asked in a low voice.

Shen Zezhi frowned: "According to the general process, the subsequent rituals should be completed at the man's house." After that, a date will be set for the burial of both parties to the marriage. ”

Ji Ziyue said: "What's going on now?" ”

Shen Zezhi: "I don't know, let's go and have a look." Two men followed the men all the way to the cemetery. The rest of the rituals are done here. After the ceremony, these people burned all the utensils of the underworld marriage in the cemetery, and Shen Zezhi thought that the ceremony was over, but what happened next was completely unexpected by Shen Zezhi.

I saw that they took out the coffin of Yingzi's brother-in-law, and at the same time, the girl's coffin was too much. The coffins were covered with two red cloths and walked through the woods inside.

Noriko asked in a low voice, "There's also a cemetery there?" Isn't this the only one? ”

Shen Zezhi shook his head: "There is no cemetery, there is only one lake there?" ”

"Lake?" Kiko was more puzzled.

"Do you remember what the old stubborn man said? It should actually be considered a lake, we went up the mountain yesterday, and I saw from the mountain, a big lake. "Shen Ze's way.

Ji Ziyue didn't understand even more: "What are you doing by the lake?" Are they going to be buried by water? ”

Shen Zezhi shook his head, and the two of them followed the people to the lake. After the group walked to the lake, there were already some people waiting here, and they were dressed strangely. These people were all wearing black cloaks, and their faces were so tightly covered that they couldn't see their faces at all. They stood quietly by the lake, and when the person carrying the coffin came, the person standing first stretched out his hand and made a gesture. The men carrying the coffin put it down and retreated to the back. Then, the cloak man recited a strange incantation-like language. The door began to slowly line up, circling the coffin. Everyone pressed their hands on the coffin and muttered a few words when they walked to the head of the coffin, and the atmosphere around them was very serious, and no one made a sound.

Ji Ziyue leaned into Shen Zezhi's ear and said, "This is a bit like a farewell ceremony at a Western funeral." ”

Shen Zezhi didn't speak, but his eyebrows furrowed. Moreover, if you look closely, you will find that the focus of Shen Zezhi's gaze is not on the coffin, but on the lake not far from these people.

Suddenly, an old voice said a few words loudly in a language that Shen Zezhi couldn't understand, and then several people came over and opened the coffin. At this time, two small boats appeared on the lake, and the men opened the coffin and carried the body out and put it in the boat. Then they pushed the boat and slowly left the shore. After that all the people knelt on the surface of the lake, as if waiting for something?

Ji Ziyue said: "It turned out to be a water burial, although the ceremony is a bit complicated." ”

Shen Zezhi's expression did not relax, his eyes stared at the boat drifting farther and farther away on the lake. Suddenly, a huge whirlpool swung in the middle of the lake, and the water in the middle of the whirlpool dropped rapidly, and the small boat that floated near the whirlpool was quickly swept to the bottom. Then, a loud but not harsh sound came from underwater.

Noriko was dumbfounded, and he said, "What kind of sound is this?" Dragons, dragons? ”

Shen Zezhi's face was ugly and said, "That girl is still alive." ”

Kiko was taken aback: "What? Still alive? ”

Shen Zezhi: "Maybe she is dying, but before going into the water, I saw her body move, and besides, she was tied with a rope." ”

Ji Ziyue's face turned pale: "They used living people to marry in the dark, and they also put people in the water." There's something in the water, isn't it? Are they sacrificing people with living people? ”

Shen Zezhi nodded: "It looks very similar." But what lies under the water must not be dragons. All dragons belong to the gods, and they will not eat people. Still alive. ”

Kiko Yue said: "What is that?" ”

Shen Zezhi shook his head: "I don't know either." ”

At this time, the people kneeling on the ground made a very strange movement, and then they all got up and turned to go home. Shen Zezhi and Ji Ziyue did not leave. After everyone had left, they came to the lake. Shen Zezhi tested the temperature of the water, stood up and looked at the calm water in the distance.

Ji Ziyue stood by the lake and looked at it carefully for a while, but the lake under the moonlight looked quiet and peaceful, and he couldn't see that a living person was sacrificed here just now.

Ji Ziyue said: "No wonder the people here are so xenophobic. I've done this more than once. ”

Shen Zezhi was a little puzzled and said: "Generally speaking, sacrifices are not made by sick and dying people or livestock. The sacrifice is an offering to the heavens and various gods, and it is also a reward. ”

Ji Ziyue said: "Aren't they sacrificing?" Then why throw the girl who is still alive into the lake? And there's clearly something in the lake. ”

Shen Zezhi said: "It looks like a sacrifice, if it's not a sacrifice, why would they do it?" ”

Ji Ziyue said: "We have to go, and the old stubborn man will find out that we are not in the room and should drive us away." ”

Shen Zezhi nodded, and the two of them trotted home. When he returned to the old stubborn man's house, he hadn't come back, and Shen Zezhi and Ji Ziyue climbed over the wall and went in. As soon as he lay down on the kang, he heard the lock outside ring, and the old stubborn man came back. Shen Zezhi and Ji Ziyue looked at each other and smiled.

The next day, the old stubborn still made breakfast for Shen Zezhi and them as usual, and during the meal, the old stubborn asked casually: "Where are you going to paint today?" ”

Shen Zezhi: "I heard that there is a lake behind the village, and the scenery there should be good." ”

The old stubborn man sighed, and after a while he said, "Don't stay there for long." ”

"Is there something wrong there?" Kiko asked curiously.

The old stubborn man said vaguely: "It's nothing." Then he stopped talking.

Shen Zezhi and Noriko went to the lake with their sketchpads and cameras. The view of the lake during the day is completely different from that at night, during the day it looks calm, the water is blue and looks clear.

Ji Ziyue stood by the lake and said, "The scenery here is really good. ”

Shen Zezhi said: "It's strange here. ”

"What's strange?" He said that remembering what happened here that night, he said, "It's quite strange. ”

Shen Zezhi: "I didn't mean that. Didn't you notice that there is such a big lake here, but no one in the village comes here to fish or swim? Both adults and children seem to be very jealous of this place. ”

Ji Ziyue nodded and said, "Yes, the old stubborn man called this lake a holy pool, it should be related to their beliefs." ”

Shen Zezhi nodded, he picked up a stone and threw it into the lake in the distance. "Poof", Shen Zezhi and Ji Ziyue both looked at the water. But the water has been calm.

Kiko Yue said: "Could it be that thing will only come out at night?" ”

Shen Zezhi was thoughtful. He said: "Is it possible that the fugitive from earlier broke into the village by mistake, and then he jumped into the lake to escape and disappeared." The three policemen who came after that tried to go into the water to find the fugitive. But was stopped by the villagers. ”

Ji Ziyue said: "If that's the case, then they shouldn't be missing." Unless they insist on going into the water despite the advice of the villagers. But that doesn't make sense. If there is something under the water, and the police go into the water and are eaten by the water, the villagers will already report it outside. ”

"Unless the death of the police has something to do with them." Shen Ze's way.

The two of them spent a day wandering around the lake, and only came home when it was dark. When they reached the entrance of the village, they heard a commotion in the village. As soon as Shen Zezhi and Ji Ziyue entered the village, they were surrounded by a group of people.

Shen Zezhi said vigilantly: "What do you want to do?" ”

The leader was the young man who was about to drive them away from the cemetery yesterday: "It must be you, the village chief, who are them." ”

Ji Ziyue looked puzzled: "What."

It's up to us to make things clear. ”

The young man said, "What garlic to put in?" I ask you, where have you been during the day today? ”

Shen Zezhi: "We have been by the lake. ”

Unexpectedly, the man became even more angry when he heard it: "Shengtan, what are you doing in Shengtan?" ”

At this time, the village chief stood up and said, "You have been by the lake today? ”

Shen Zezhi said: "Yes, what happened?" ”

The village chief glanced at him: "The old stubborn man is dead." ”

"What?" Kiko's heart sank. Shen Zezhi was very calm, he asked, "Can I go and have a look?" ”

The village chief looked at him for a moment and said, "Okay." ”

Shen Zezhi followed them and nagged the place where the old stubborn man had an accident, which was in the old stubborn man's own field not far from the village. When they saw the old stubborn head, everyone couldn't help but look away. The old stubborn man died so miserably, his body was completely torn apart, and a field was full of the old stubborn man's flesh and blood.

Shen Zezhi stood on the edge of the field and looked at it for a while and said, "Is it a beast in the mountains?" ”

The village chief shook his head: "No, wild beasts generally don't go down the mountain to harm people." What's more, the old stubborn man also brought a shovel. ”

Shen Zezhi frowned, and the village chief said: "Something happened to the old stubborn man's family, and it is not suitable for you to live in their family business now." Go back. ”

Shen Zeyi said worriedly: "But now that this kind of thing happens, we have to call the police." ”

The village chief said: "This is not your business, we will deal with it ourselves." ”

I can't go on here, if Shen Zezhi insists on staying, he will definitely be suspected. Shen Zezhi had no choice but to agree to leave, at this time it was already completely dark, Shen Zezhi said that he would leave tomorrow, and everyone would go back together.

The more Shen Zezhi and Noriko walked at the back, the more Kiko asked in a low voice, "Team leader, what should we do?" ”

Shen Zezhi frowned, the people in the village were obviously hiding secrets, and if he revealed his identity, things could only be worse. But what now? Suddenly, he seemed to see a touch of red in his peripheral vision. He was stunned for a moment, looked at the people in front of him, and found that none of the people in front of him seemed to see them.

Shen Zezhi's eyes turned and he whispered to Ji Ziyue: "Go back first, I'll take a look." ”

Ji Ziyue was stunned, but it was not convenient to ask in detail now. Shen Zezhi slowed down and left everyone from a small path. He had just seen that shadow, and it seemed to be going this way.