Chen Yu pursed his lips that were cracked due to dehydration, and the pain was so hot that the pain came, the pain kept the nerves focused, and the brain was running at a high load, reviewing the experience of entering the secret realm so far.

The sound of the bell from the bell tower of the ancient temple in the center of the lake awakens you from your deep dreams.

And the wind chimes attracted the white ghost.

It is speculated that silence represents calm, and that each time a new sound appears, a new scene is triggered. However, there seems to be no pattern to the medium and timbre of sound, or I have not yet discovered the internal connection. The so-called secret realm is a collection of some special and unknowable rules.

Will that be the case? It seems too reasonable and smooth, and it always feels like something is missing, and there is a feeling of being lost and having nowhere to stay.

So what happens this time, when a new sound emerges? Could it be a spooky creature like a white ghost?

Chen Yu was cold, holding the dagger tightly in his left hand, vigilant of the wind and grass around him.

However, there was no unusual movement for a long time, and it seemed to be just a false alarm.

Chen Yu was on guard for a while, but he was still fine, so he temporarily suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and continued to walk along the rotten plank road towards the ferry.

The night breeze with a slight dampness and fishy smell gently brushed on the face.

The simple pier was surrounded by a dark lake, cold and lonely, and not a single ferry was moored.

was about to reach the edge of the dock, Chen Yu suddenly tripped under his feet, stumbled his body, and almost lost his balance and fell into the lake.

I finally stood firm, and when I looked back, I saw that my right leg, which had just lost consciousness, had kicked on a stone tablet.

The stele is short, only about 40 centimeters high, and its whole body is dark, almost blending in with the surrounding night. It's almost impossible to spot if you don't look closely.

But the strange thing is that with a stone of this size, how can it be ignored when walking on its own. Chen Yu carefully recalled his memory from a few seconds ago, and made sure that this stone tablet did not appear in his sight just now.

Unless, it suddenly appears as it passes by itself.

Thinking of this, a chill ran in Chen Yu's heart.

The strangeness caused by the sound was still triggered. But what special abilities does this stone come with?

He was vigilant and watched from afar, only to see that the front of the stele was engraved with four gilded characters of "Yu Zhao Qintian", and on the back was a blood-colored stone inscription - "October Shuo, Qin Sui's head, send winter clothes." ”

The blood light flowed in the dents of the inscription, glowing with a strange luster, as if it were alive.

Chen Yu looked at it carefully again and made sure that there were no other patterns or words on the stele.

The structure of the text on the stele resembles an ancient poem from the old world. But it is a pity that time has passed, and the civilization of the old world has experienced the baptism of the cataclysmic era, and has long become like a beehive, full of holes and dilapidated.

With the exception of a few paleographers who specialize in this area, almost no one in the Old Land can discern the meaning of these ancient characters.

……

In the dark corner, two shaggy shadows whispered.

Xiao Tuanzi said: Die, it is impossible for him to survive the pursuit of [Year Head]!

Da Tuanzi said: I can't count how many years, and he is the only one who has come out of the illusion of the Dementor Bell. If you miss this time, you don't know how long you will have to wait.

Xiao Tuanzi said: That's why you deliberately wrote the hint on the stone tablet? In order for him to understand, he deliberately separated a trace of [synaesthesia], which is really deliberate!

Da Tuanzi said: Don't look at me like that...... This is not a violation of the original rule. After all, I just threw away some garbage and happened to be picked up by outsiders.

Xiao Tuanzi sneered: Cover your ears and steal the bell!

Da Tuanzi sighed: Would you rather watch an innocent life die in this cage? And...... Won't you get tired of such a long and boring wait? Don't you wish it would be over sooner?

Xiao Tuanzi said: That's his life, it's also my life, I can't complain about others...... And you, no matter how many times you try, the end is the same, and the iron law laid down by the prophet will not change. You don't stand any chance!

The big ball spread his hands and said: Don't worry, let the bullets fly for a while...... The Prophet said that you must always believe in the light and make an effort for the dawn to come!

……

Chen Yu was about to get up, when he suddenly thought of something, and his face turned pale.

Wrong! It shouldn't be this way!

This kind of lost text, why can I understand it? I had no training in paleography.

Don't...... Something to do with your lost past?

He closed his eyes and stared, his mind racing together scattered clues.

A silver lightning bolt streaked through the dark world, and it was as if I had received a mysterious gift in my mind, and suddenly something more.

A few lines of handwriting floated in the air, gilded, blood-colored, and clearly displayed.

The meaning of the obscure words clearly emerges in consciousness.

The Imperial Summoning of Qintian refers to a state institution in the Old World, which was dispatched by the emperor to Qintian.

October New Year, a long-lost expression of the calendar, refers to the first day of October.

Qin is the name of the place, and the beginning of the year should be some kind of festival.

Sending winter clothes should be a special ceremony or custom corresponding to this special holiday.

Therefore, this stele should be specially made by the royal institution Qin Tianjian to commemorate the festival of "the first year of the year".

But in the rules of the secret realm, what is the meaning of this stone tablet, it belongs to a stable set of rules of the secret realm, and has a self-consistent logical closed loop. In other words, to exist is to be reasonable. It must have a special role.

What is it?

A strong wind suddenly rose on the surface of the lake, blowing Chen Yu's clothes into a hunting sound.

He rubbed his slightly swollen temples, and his body stiffened as he swept across the lake inadvertently.

I saw a palm-sized ...... floating on the misty lake in the distance Paper boats.

In another direction, the long-disappeared white ghost reappeared, blocking Chen Yu's way. The wide white robe was empty, and a large wind was blowing.

The paper boat kept approaching, gradually getting bigger, seemingly slowly, but in the blink of an eye, it had already arrived at the dock, and its volume had swelled enough to carry an adult, and docked beside Chen Yu.

This is...... Invite me to sit up? Unmanned, paper boats, no matter how you look at it, it's weird. Moreover, it will sink!

And the ghost behind him has already floated to the edge of the plank road, only more than ten meters away from Chen Yu, according to its speed, Chen Yu will definitely not be able to dodge its next attack.

If you take it again, even if you don't die, most of them will become incapacitated vegetative people, unable to drink and eat, unable to avoid danger, and it won't be long before they become a white skeleton in this secret place that has existed for an unknown amount of time.

The white ghost's long sleeves fluttered, and his speed was a few points faster, his body had been adjusted to an angle of about 10 degrees from the ground, and after a short pause to accumulate strength, he swooped down towards Chen Yu from a high place.

A strong sense of crisis filled Chen Yu's nerves again, his heartbeat suddenly became faster, and he obeyed his instinct before he had time to think about it, used his hands and feet together, and jumped on the paper boat in embarrassment.

The shadow of death was not far away, and the white ghost was faster than him, a pair of sharp claws poking out of his sleeve robe, as if to tear the enemy in front of him apart.

Chen Yu's heart beat faster, and his left foot slammed on the railing, and the hull of the boat almost capsized under the huge shock, and the reaction force pushed the boat towards the center of the lake far from the shore.

But this was not enough, in order to delay the pursuing ghost, Chen Yu threw the dagger like its chest with force.

With a slight cracking sound, the blade stabbed through the ghost's chest, then shot through its body without hindrance, and shot backwards.

Sure enough, physical attacks don't work against ghosts. This attack once again validates this.

But when the ghost flew to the lake, it suddenly stopped, and hovered restlessly in place.

Is it scared of this paper boat, or is it something in the lake?

Recalling the fallen leaves that sank in the lake, Chen Yu realized that the rules of this lake should be related to buoyancy.

Perhaps anything that appears on or over the surface of the lake, regardless of its density, will be swept into the depths of the lake's bottom, except for what the paper boat can carry.

What a spooky place.

Chen Yu was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, but his back was already wet with cold sweat.

The white ghost hovered for a while, as if he had lost patience, and suddenly drifted away along the shore of the lake, only to glance back at himself hiding in the boat from time to time.

A chill spread from his heels, and soon completely enveloped Chen Yu's whole body.

Chen Yu suddenly understood what the white ghost wanted to do, it was waiting for the paper boat to dock, it knew where the paper boat would go, so it planned to go around the lake to the end of the road, waiting for the rabbit.

……

The paper boat brought up heavy ripples and slowly drifted towards the center of the lake. The hull draft is extremely deep, and the lowest part of the ship's side is less than 10 centimeters above the water.

The silent lake was empty, without a single sound.

Chen Yu didn't dare to move, for fear that the center of the paper boat would shift and then capsize, and once he lost this only shelter, he would become another wisp of grievances at the bottom of the lake.

As the shore drifted farther away, an undercurrent appeared beneath the water's surface, pushing the paper boat towards the deserted temple on the opposite bank.

There was a ballast stone at the stern of the ship, and Chen Yu squinted his eyes and found that its material and size were similar to the one on the dock. It's just that the text above is a little different

"Burning the grave in cold clothes?"

What exactly does "winter clothes" refer to?

In the distance, a faint blue light suddenly lit up in the deserted temple, and the weeping willows on the lakeside were set off like a long-haired banshee. The surface of the lake is also miserable green.

Fire!

Burn!

A bright light flashed in Chen Yu's heart.

Winter clothes, don't you mean the white ghost?

The whistle suddenly sounded in my ears, sympathetic and resentful, like the whispering of a female ghost.

A new voice has emerged. The corners of Chen Yu's mouth twitched, and he scolded secretly.

In this situation, the body is stuck in the paper boat, and he does not dare to move at all. When that white ghost-like monster appeared again, he didn't need anyone to do anything, he just lit the paper boat, and he became a poor frog boiled in warm water, and he could only lie down and die.

He secretly prayed in his heart that there would be no more moths.

Xu is his character is too good, until the paper boat is firmly leaning against the shore, there is nothing weird.

Chen Yu poked his left hand out of the boat and touched something like a rope, he pulled it hard, but he didn't move.

This helps a lot. He grabbed the rope and slammed it so hard that his body rolled over in the air for half a week and landed on the shore.

It's just that the posture is a little indecent, but it's not a big deal.

Chen Yu patted the dust on his buttocks and straightened up crookedly.

As if delusional, he felt the body he was holding in his hand move. But Chen Yuzheng stared at the dilapidated gate of the ancient temple not far away, and didn't pay attention to it.

Gradually, he felt his body sink more and more, something slippery and greasy crawled on his skin, a little itchy, and a trace of grass wafted in the air.

Chen Yu sensed that something was wrong, and suddenly saw the wicker wrapped around the surface of his body, tying himself into a zongzi.

He struggled harder, but he struggled harder and tighter.

The neck was wrapped around a thick willow branch, tightening more and more, gradually, breathing became more and more difficult, Chen Yu's face turned purple, and his consciousness began to become blurred.

Chen Yu knew that the more dangerous he was, the more he needed to calm down and make a correct judgment.

He took a deep breath with great difficulty, then closed his eyes.

It's certainly not about being tied up. After all, my sister July is still young, and she can't do without herself, so she must not be allowed to live alone on the streets and be lonely like she did three years ago.

Memories of the past came back to me until there was a black fog.

A black fire lit up in the night.

The flames are in the shape of long strips, like ...... A long knife.

Chen Yu opened his eyes, and a long knife burning with billowing black flames was reflected in his pupils.

The willow branches wrapped around his body let out a terrible scream as if they had been doused with strong oil, trembling and scrambling to shrink back.

But it was too late, and the black flames spread like maggots on tarsal bones, along the willow leaves and willow tops, and soon the trunk of the tree was also ignited. A few willow trees in the vicinity burned with black flames, struggling and writhing so violently that the sound of the willow flute was no longer seen, and the lakeside became a sea of fire, filled with a pungent stench.

A few polluted willow trees were soon burned to a few clumps of ashes, and the branches of the other willow trees on the shore of the lake trembled and shivered, and their branches bent desperately into the distance, for fear of being harmed by the pond fish.

Chen Yu was not interested in caring about the life or death of a few polluted willow demons, and his eyes were fixed on the lake.

In the reflection of the water, there is a very handsome face, with a high nose, piercing pupils, sharp long eyebrows and frowning, as if troubled.

That's right, what worries Chen Yu is that the flame that helped him get out just now also brought side effects, and the paper boat that carried him across the lake was also ignited.

There was no way back now, he shook his head and smiled bitterly.

The buoyant lake and the black flames are clearly facing each other, but the paper boat has burned out.

At the moment when the ballast stone at the stern of the boat was about to sink to the bottom of the lake, Chen Yu could see the text on the back of the stone - "Fanwen Lantern Colorful Travel".

And what does this mean.

The moment the paper boat burned out completely, a wisp of green smoke curled up and circled several times before slowly dissipating.

In the smoke, the figure of the white ghost was short-lived. This time, Chen Yu saw it clearly.

The ghost's eyes were deep and hollow, and he wore two copper rings on the tip of his long and narrow tongue, and the word "year" was written on the pitch-black ink on the tongue, and his long hair was so messy that it danced in the wind, and there was nothing in the pale and dry skin.

It turned out that the ghost, who had brought him heavy shadows and death-like fear, was actually a human skin lantern dressed in white paper.

The white ghost bowed to Chen Yu, as if thanking him for freeing his soul from these nightmarish years.

Before disappearing, a soft smile appeared on its terrifying face. The hollow mouth opened and closed a few times weakly, and spit out a few strange syllables.

Chen Yu silently looked at the grotesque behavior before the ghost dissipated, feeling both frightened and sad in his heart.

The white ghost ghost is about to die, and his words are also good, and in the last words he left, he confided the secrets of this secret place.

It turns out that the so-called "burning the tomb in cold clothes" is the key to solving the crisis of "locking the soul at the beginning of the year".

The bones of the head of the year were buried in that paper boat, but the soul was imprisoned in a human skin coat, sent by man, and could not be freed.

The paper boat was inadvertently set on fire, and the word "burning the grave" was mistakenly answered. And the season of winter clothes has already arrived when the first stone tablet appeared.

Chen Yu slowly turned around with the long knife, and the flames on the handle of the knife seemed to burn out everything, and he was so spiritual that he took the initiative to avoid his fingers.

The perception of the unconscious half of the body is gradually restored, and at this rate, it may only take a few hours to fully recover.

There was a hint of pleasure in the burning black flames, as if there was some unfinished business, and as if it was ...... Asking for credit from parents! Figuring out what it meant, Chen Yu said perfunctorily:

"Yes, yes, you're the best......"

"Next time, be better, keep up the good work, don't be proud!"

"It would be nice if we consumed less essentia...... Just like a car, low fuel consumption per 100 kilometers is one of the important manifestations of outstanding performance. Our family has no mines, and we can't afford to be tossed several times by the landlord's loser's son. ”

Sensing that the black flame's mood was a little wilted, Chen Yu knew that he was serious, after all, his character was a little sensitive, so he hurriedly comforted:

"You've done a really good job. But it is precisely because I believe that you have higher potential that we will be more demanding of you......"

When he said this, Chen Yu suddenly felt a sense of guilt in his heart, and unconsciously, he also lived the way he hated it at the beginning. But there is no way, the big dye vat in the workplace, Shunchang will die.

Hula......

A large flame suddenly burst up, almost burning Chen Yu's fingers.

"Calm down, calm down, your emotions are too unstable, as the third child in the family, how can I rest assured that I can entrust you with heavy responsibilities?"

……

The first ...... of the year Fallen?

Da Tuanzi jumped up excitedly, kicked a few pieces of broken tiles, and endured the pain in his flesh, reassuring himself that his hard days were coming to an end.

Xiao Tuanzi was stunned and said: I really did it, that's ...... The head of the year shall not be destroyed.

Da Tuanzi laughed wildly: There are also ghost willows, these grandsons are usually overbearing, and they have finally been punished.

……

After some earnest teaching, the lively black flames finally quieted down.

Chen Yu also breathed a sigh of relief, sure enough, this kind of thing with children is more troublesome than fighting with monsters.

He stood on tiptoe and looked out into the courtyard through a gap in the ruined courtyard wall.

The architecture of the temple is laid out in a simple zigzag pattern.

Overgrown with weeds and cobwebs, the ancient temple in the middle was seven stories high, and the door was half rotten, like a mutilated mask.

On the left is a pavilion with a giant bronze bell more than three meters high.

The wing on the right had collapsed, and only a pile of broken stones and rubbles was piled up in place, except for a very irregular bulge in the middle, like a mound with a coffin.

There is an incense burner outside the main entrance of the ancient temple, and a crystal skeleton is placed on the incense altar behind it, exuding a faint blue light. Looking at it from afar, it was abrupt and weird, like a sparkling ghost fire floating in the air.

"Squeak, squeak......"

The broken wooden door moved without wind, and the aging hinge struggled to open and close back and forth, hitting the threshold from time to time.

This desolate ancient temple is not very serious no matter how you look at it.

Whether to go in or not, Chen Yu suddenly hesitated.

He looked around again, and the jungle around him was hidden in darkness, dark and dreary, and seemed to be endless.

It's all here, and it's a pity not to go in and take a look.

He hesitated for a moment, but pushed open the door with not many brass nails left. Outside the door, two vicissitudes of stone lions have gone through wind and rain several times, sitting quietly aside, without sorrow or joy.

"Boom—"

The heavy gate was gently pushed by Chen Yu, and it fell straight back, and the sawdust flew all over the place, setting off a circle of dirt waves.

Chen Yu walked along the bluestone road towards the ancient temple tower in front of him. Although the multi-storey pavilion has gone through wind and rain and is dilapidated, it can still be vaguely seen that the treasure of the year is solemn.

The beams and columns were eroded by the wind and only a layer of gilding with mottled fragments, as well as intricate pattern paintings, and intricate stone carvings on the fences...... All of them tell the story of its scenery a few years ago.

When he walked in front of the incense burner, the glow suddenly flourished. The monastery was covered in green.

The dim gilded statue of the god in the pagoda, half of the body is illuminated, appearing and disappearing, with lowered eyebrows and eyes, and a strange smile hanging.

The wind is bleak.