After leaving the village and walking more than half a mile to the west, we came to the cliff that the sister of the 'Ergouzi' said. This cliff is dozens of zhang high, standing under the root of the cliff and looking up, there is a strong sense of oppression. The middle part of the cliff is steep and smooth, smooth and smooth like a mirror, as if it was split from top to bottom with a giant axe and then polished with sandpaper, which makes you marvel at the magic of nature's creation. The southern part of the cliff is not so steep, and there is a man-made stone path to it. The so-called not steep is only relative to the middle part. Walking up the stone path, looking back and down, there is a strong feeling of dizziness, and the back of the neck 'swishs' and a cool air.

Due to the rain, the stone path was slippery and slippery washed by the rain, and the three of us, including the little fox, one after the other, walked very carefully. When I finally reached the top of the cliff, I let out a long breath.

"Look there," Uncle Yang said.

Looking at Uncle Yang's fingers, I saw that facing us, on a hill in the distance, among the trees, there was a rare temple.

"Let's go." Master said.

On the back side of this cliff is a long slope. Descending the slope, following an artificially trodden path, through thorns and bushes, we came to the hill. Step on the uneven stone steps and go up to the temple gate on the hill.

It is the same mountain temple, and the one in front of me, although it is not as dilapidated as the one in the stone village, only has a temple house and no walls. Although the temple house is large, there is only one room. In the middle of the room there is a clay statue of the mountain god, standing on the altar, as tall as two adults, with horizontal eyebrows and vertical eyes, grinning teeth, looking very hideous, holding a handful of weapons I don't know what kind of weapon it is. On either side of the statue of the mountain god, there are two obscene and comical ghosts, some holding lamps in their hands, and some holding scrolls or papers.

There is a dirty old futon in the middle of the temple house, and the three of us worship a few times each with the help of the futon, and the master takes out three incense sticks and lights them, and inserts them into the old incense burner under the altar.

It was still raining outside, and the cold wind came in from time to time through the door, blowing the fur on the little fox's body and shaking. The hazy sky makes the temple house very dim, and when you look out, outside the temple gate, the old branches and leaves of the mountain are swaying, making people intuitively feel that the so-called bleak wind and rain are nothing more than that.

Smelling the incense, the rain, and the musty smell in the house, I couldn't help but think of the 'second dog'. At the beginning, Xiang Feng said that the 'monster' that Ergouzi became after being burned to death was a kind of thing called 'Mountain Charm'. Whenever a disaster strikes in the mountains, a 'mountain charm' is born...

"Xiao Zhang, what are they doing in this temple, are they just here to worship God?"

Uncle Yang's words made me stop thinking cranky and look at Master. The master shook his head, his brows furrowed slightly, his eyes were like cold electricity, he scanned everything in the temple house, and then turned outside.

After a while, the master said slowly, "Do you think this temple is a bit weird?" ”

"Weird?" Uncle Yang and I looked at each other.

"What's weird, Master?" I asked.

"I think," said Master, "that this temple was probably built here to hold something else... Come. ”

The master beckoned, and the three of them walked out of the temple house, stood under the tree, and looked around the mountain.

"Look there," Master pointed to the distance directly opposite us.

I looked over and saw that in the distance, one east and one west, two terraced fields, the crops were stacked on top of each other, and they were green and lush, which were cultivated by the people of that village. In the middle of the two terraces, it looks like a small mountain pass, overgrown with trees... The temple gate of this temple is facing the location of the mountain pass...

I looked back at the statue of the mountain god enshrined in the temple, and then looked at the mountain pass, "Master means that the reason why this temple was built here is to town that mountain pass?" ”

"Or rather, to prevent something unclean from running down the mountain pass." Master said.

"The temple... Wanjin Mountain... Rooster Mountain... I know! I pointed to the mountain pass, "Master, if there really is a Rooster Mountain, I think it should be in the direction of the north after this mountain pass!" ”

Master nodded.

"Then let's go!" Uncle Yang said.

"Nope." The master waved his hand, looked at the sky and said, "Don't worry, walking on the mountain road in the rain, people are easy to get sick, let's go back to the village, borrow some rain gear from the villagers, and by the way, ask for more details, about the origin of such a temple, and what are the places to the north of the mountain pass..."

Back in the village, we went to the old lady's house, where the old lady's son had not gone because of the rain and the fact that he had drunk too much wine the previous night. He couldn't tell when the temple was built, but he knew that the village had been rebuilt many times. The reason why it was built there was that the man said that it was to protect the crops, and the villagers often went to the temple to worship, asking the mountain god to bless the wind and rain and the abundant crops. As for the north of the mountain pass, the man told us that it was the deep mountains and old forests that he had spoken of earlier. There are very few outsiders in their village, and as for the people in the village, they can go deep into the forest for a mile or two at most, picking some wild mushrooms, fungus, and so on. Further, because the forest was very treacherous, except for many pits, it was said that there were wild beasts, so no one had ever been there...

After cooking and having lunch at the old lady's house, the old lady's son helped us borrow three sets of old raincoats, filled us with drinking water, put on the raincoats, and we set off.

From a distance, the mountain pass is very narrow, but when I come to the front and look closer, it is more than ten zhang wide, and the trees look like they have been newly planted in recent years, and the thickest ones are less than the mouth of the bowl. After zigzag from tree to tree, I walked for most of the mile and finally came out of the mountain pass. Climb a low cliff and look at the dense forest, as if endless... The Taihang Mountains are lush with vegetation, and there are many primeval forests like this, which is why the Taihang Mountains are so rich in coal resources. Most of the forests are undeveloped, and all the forests together act like a natural barrier between the north and the south...

Looking at the dense forest in front of me, if it were me, I would definitely have retreated from the valley, this is like some rooster mountain, even if there is, but where to find it? …

The rain was still falling unhurriedly, as if it were endless. Under the misty sky, compared to this magnificent and vast natural landscape, human beings seem so small.

Master was exploring the way with a compass in front, Uncle Yang and I were following behind, and Xiaohu was at the end, heading all the way to the depths of the forest. After a year's recuperation, coupled with the good food he eats every day, although his physical strength is much better than at that time, he is still tired and out of breath before he has walked two miles, and Master and I only share some of the weight on his body. The further you go, the thicker the layer of fallen leaves, one foot down, up to the knee. We didn't dare to be careless, and one person broke a branch and probed as he went, so as not to fall into the pit, so that the speed of the march can be imagined. The rain was beating down on the trees, and there was a sound of rustling everywhere. Looking up, a shattered sky can be faintly seen.

It wasn't until it was getting dark, and I didn't walk more than ten miles, and Uncle Yang was already panting like an old cow, half-supporting me to walk forward.

"Little... Xiao Zhang, take a break, I'll go... It's not moving..."Finally, Uncle Yang said.

Master paused. Actually, I couldn't walk anymore, and I was hungry and gurgling. The rain was not felt in the forest, and judging by the sound, the rain had stopped.

Master looked at his watch, and I also looked at the time on my phone, it was already almost six o'clock in the afternoon.

"Leng'er, take out the things from the start." Master said.

I unloaded the package from my back, took out the cloth bag, and handed it to Master.

After using the compass to set the direction, the master spread out the cloth bag and 'crackled' a game.

"What do you measure, Master?" I asked.

"Let's see where there is a good place to cook, let's eat something, rest our feet..."

In Qimen, there are three odd elements of B and C, and the five elements of C belong to fire, which is yang fire. In the case of Zhanyang House, C represents the stove fire. In this bureau in front of the master, there are a total of two Cs, one in the heavenly plate and one in the ground. Tianpan Bingqi Luokan Palace is in the north, the empty land (time and space), and the five elements of Kan belong to water, restraining fire, so it is not advisable. Then look at the site C, the east of the earthquake palace, not in the air, the earthquake is wood, the wood is a fire, and the pattern in the earthquake palace is not fierce...

The master measured the distance, pinched his fingers and calculated, and said, hold on, go more than a mile to the east, there is a suitable place for making a fire and cooking...

One foot deep and one foot shallow to the east, until it was dark, we came to a cliff. This cliff once ran north-south and was less than ten meters high. We picked up some dried leaves, broke some branches, and shone them with flashlights, picked some wild mushrooms and wild fungus, and climbed to the top of the cliff, only to see that it was quite wide, and found a flat place, and put up an iron pot borrowed from the old lady's house, and boiled the food. It's nothing more than instant noodles with some beef jerky, but because there are fresh mushrooms and fungus, and they are all hungry, they smell extraordinarily fragrant.

After eating and drinking, Uncle Yang patted his belly and let out a long breath. Lighting a cigarette, I looked around. The dense forest in the night looked like a black forest, there was no sound at all, it was quite eerie, and it was quiet and frightening. Further east of this cliff is a large mountain, but it is not in the shape of a rooster.

"Can't go any further." Master said, "We are not familiar with this place, and it is too unsafe to walk at night, so let's rest on this cliff for the night." ”

"Okay." Uncle Yang smiled with a wrinkled face, "Then I can drink some more..."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

After sitting on the fire for a while, my eyelids began to fight, so I took out my sleeping bag, drilled into it, and soon fell asleep.

I don't know how long it took, but I suddenly heard a 'whimpering' sound, and I woke up in shock, and Master and Uncle Yang also woke up at the same time. I hurriedly looked over, it was too dark, I could only vaguely see the outline of a mountain, and I couldn't see anything else...

What's going on... Glancing at the master, I said to the little fox, "Little fox, stop screaming!" ”

The little fox didn't seem to hear it, the empty mountains were lonely, the trees were deep, and the little fox's cry came far away, and with an echo, it made people get goosebumps when they heard it.

I stood up and took two steps towards the little fox, and said, "Little fox, stop screaming!" ”

The little fox stopped roaring, turned his head to look at me, and suddenly pounced on me, grabbed my trouser legs, and pulled me back desperately.

I was taken aback, and hurriedly raised my eyes, and at that moment, I saw something bright and faint in the distance to the east...