paranoianovel Chapter 266 Live Mutilation
Chapter 266 Live Mutilation
Chapter 266 Survivors (4400)
The man didn't turn around; he simply raised one hand and gently pressed it onto the black jar.
The yellow cloth covering the mouth of the jar suddenly sagged down an inch, as if something inside had been pressed down.
Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened.
This person's technique was extremely steady, unlike the reckless confessions of those from evil sects. He seemed more like someone who genuinely understood the law, only that his practice had gone astray, and his heart had also strayed.
"Who are you?"
Lu Yuan asked in a deep voice.
The man chuckled softly: "The one who guards the altar."
"You can call me Iron Abacus."
Iron abacus.
As soon as those three words were uttered, Lu Yuan's brows furrowed.
On the old roads outside the Great Wall, "Iron Abacus" is definitely not a name, but often a title.
He understands money and supplies, knows how to act appropriately, and knows when to advance and retreat; he always keeps track of a lot of things.
But once this kind of person sits down in front of the evil altar, it's no longer about settling accounts, it's about fortune telling.
Lu Yuan didn't respond to that question, but instead asked, "Whose altar are you guarding?"
Iron Abacus slowly turned the prayer beads in his hand, his voice flat: "An altar is an altar."
"Supply is supply."
"You're asking too many detailed questions, that's not good."
Lu Yuan sneered: "Afraid I'll find out?"
Iron Abacus said, "I'm afraid you wouldn't understand."
"Those who understand will bow upon entering; those who don't will die upon entering."
"The fact that you made it this far shows you have some skill."
"So I'll leave you a way out."
After he finished speaking, he finally turned his face slightly to the side.
The face wasn't fully turned to face, only half of the chin and one eye were visible.
That eye was extremely cloudy, with yellowish whites and a pupil as thin as a needle.
A deep wrinkle runs along the corner of her eye, like a furrow left by years of frowning.
He looked at Lu Yuan and slowly said, "Leave the copper coins in your hand."
"If you are willing to retreat, I will let you descend the mountain safely."
Lu Yuan didn't even look at them, only staring at the abacus: "You've got a good eye for things."
"Unfortunately, I'm the kind of person who dislikes leaving things behind."
Iron Abacus chuckled softly: "Then you'll have to risk your life for this path."
As soon as he finished speaking, a very faint clinking sound suddenly came from the black jar.
It felt like something was gently scratching inside the jar.
The hand holding the abacus paused slightly, then moved the prayer beads even slower, as if to suppress the restlessness inside the altar.
Lu Yuan immediately understood.
The things in this jar are restless.
It is not an inanimate object.
It's being kept as a pet.
And it's almost reached the point where it recognizes people.
He stopped arguing with Tie Suanpan, flipped his wrist, pulled out a short talisman from his sleeve, flicked it with his fingertip, and the talisman landed steadily on the ground in front of him.
"Lin Zhaoxuan, three steps to the left."
"Zhou Heng, step back to the doorway."
"Song Qinghe, keep watch over the lamp."
"Wang Cheng'an, Xu Erxiao, stand against the wall and don't move."
The group immediately did as instructed.
Seeing this, the smile on Tie Suanpan's face gradually faded.
"Are you going to set up an altar?"
Lu Yuan snorted coldly and said, "It's not about setting up an altar."
"It's about dismantling your altar."
Having said that, he stomped his foot, and the short talisman immediately ignited, sending up a wisp of green smoke.
As a wisp of smoke rose, Lu Yuan pointed his right hand at his brow and uttered a low murmur: "I borrow heavenly fire, not the yin lamp."
"I borrow the righteous name, not the false offering."
"Every altar has its master, and every name has its origin."
"I've come to ask you, who's behind the door?"
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! As you command!"
As soon as the word "照" was uttered, a wisp of blue smoke suddenly billowed out and rushed straight towards the black altar.
The three small bowls in front of the jar trembled at the same time, and the rice grains, salt, and black soil all turned upside down as if they had been lifted up by some invisible wind.
Iron Abacus's expression finally changed.
"You dare to shine a light on the base of the altar?"
Lu Yuan's eyes were icy cold: "I'm not just going to take pictures, I'm also going to see what you're using to support them."
When the blue smoke reached the yellow cloth at the mouth of the jar, the cloth suddenly bulged up at one corner as if it had come to life.
Immediately afterwards, a very high-pitched scream came from below.
It wasn't a human calling.
Like a child, and like a bird.
All the round mirrors in the empty room trembled at the same time, and the figures in the mirrors began to retreat as if they were startled.
Iron Abacus suddenly stood up, flicked his sleeve, and the prayer beads hit the rim of the altar with a snap.
"receive!"
At this shout, the red ropes around the black altar immediately taut, and the copper bells on the wooden frame rang in unison, their sounds sharp and chaotic, as if they were about to cut one's ears off.
Instead of retreating, Lu Yuan advanced, raised his hand and threw out a copper coin, which landed squarely on the black soil in the three bowls in front of the altar.
"Ding!"
A wisp of smoke rose from the blasted black soil.
At the same time, a corner of the yellow cloth covering the mouth of the jar was suddenly lifted, revealing a pale, finger-like object underneath.
It also resembles a bone joint.
But she only showed herself for a moment before Iron Abacus pressed her back down.
Lu Yuan's gaze immediately darkened.
"The deity enshrined in the altar is not a god."
"It is a thing."
"It's still alive."
Iron Abacus's face turned ashen as he stared intently at him: "Now that you've seen it, don't even think about leaving unscathed."
Lu Yuan didn't answer, but instead gestured behind his back and shouted, "Keep the lights steady, don't let them go out!"
Song Qinghe immediately raised the oil lamp, and Zhou Heng hurriedly blocked the vent.
Lin Zhaoxuan had already taken two steps forward, his talisman for suppressing evil ready to be used.
Just then, the mirror behind the black altar, which had been still, suddenly lit up on its own.
The room reflected in the mirror is not empty.
Instead, it's a deeper and longer mountain path.
At the end of the mountain path, there is a half-collapsed old temple with a crooked gate.
All the altars, cellars, doors, mirrors, and ropes in the mountains were fed from the same source; the threads would only go towards the evil gods, not elsewhere.
He withdrew his gaze, stared at the black jar, and said in a steady voice, "What's reflected in the mirror doesn't count as the root."
"The root is right under this jar."
Tie Suanpan's face, which had been slightly turned to the side, turned back a little, as if staring at Lu Yuan, or perhaps at the jar behind him.
"You seem to understand things quite well."
Iron Abacus said in a hoarse voice, "But understanding it is useless."
"What's offered here isn't something you can dismantle."
To this, Lu Yuan sneered and asked, "What are you offering?"
Tie Suanpan was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, a laugh devoid of any warmth: "You've entered, and you still want to ask the name of the god?"
"The moment the name of God is uttered, the path is known."
Lu Yuan's eyes remained unchanged: "Since you know the way, you should explain it more clearly."
As he spoke, he casually pulled three short talismans from his bag, pinched them between his fingers, and with a gentle shake, the talismans fell in a triangular shape in front of the black altar.
Lin Zhaoxuan understood his meaning and immediately took a step to the left, holding the talisman in his palm, ready to provide support at any time.
Zhou Heng and Song Qinghe held their breath, while Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao remained pressed against the wall, keeping a close eye on the situation out of the corner of their eyes, not daring to cause any trouble.
Seeing Lu Yuan adopting a domineering stance, Tie Suanpan's expression slowly darkened.
"Are you really going to overturn this jar?"
Lu Yuandao raised his head slightly: "It's a cutoff of supplies."
Tie Suanpan's voice lowered even further: "Can you really give up this?"
"This mountain, this road, this cellar, this mirror—we've long been accustomed to them."
"If you stop it today, someone else will continue it tomorrow."
Lu Yuan said coldly, "Then cut off all the connections that can be maintained."
After saying that, Lu Yuan made a hand seal with his left hand and slammed the copper coin to the ground with his right hand.
The moment the copper coin touched the ground, the floor of the entire empty room seemed to twitch.
The copper bells nailed to the wooden frame rang out in unison, the red rope suddenly taut, and the reflections in the round mirror swayed for a moment.
Iron Abacus's expression finally changed, and he barked, "Rise!"
Before he finished speaking, a thin layer of smoke rose simultaneously from the rice, salt, and soil in the three small bowls around the black jar.
The smoke was whitish, but with a hint of bluish-black, like the cold air rising from a grave.
As soon as the wisps of smoke billowed out, a damp, sweet, and fishy smell immediately filled the empty room.
Instead of retreating, Lu Yuan advanced, muttering to himself, "The altar has its bones, and the energy has its gates."
"If the bones are not straight, the vital energy cannot be retained."
"I use bronze as my bones and talismans as my gates."
"I'll lend you a gust of cold wind to send you back to your grave."
As soon as the words "return to the grave" were uttered, three short talismans were lit simultaneously.
The fire was small, but it was bluish-white, like paper burning, or like bones glowing.
As soon as the blue flame flared up, it was right at the edge of the black jar. The white hemp rope around the jar immediately emitted a very fine hissing sound, as if it had been burned and shrank back.
Seeing this, Tie Suanpan suddenly reached out and pressed down on the mouth of the jar, while his other hand quickly pulled out a handful of black glutinous rice from his sleeve and threw it at Lu Yuan's face.
Lu Yuan had anticipated this, and dodged to the side. Nuomi flew past his ear and hit the round mirror, scattering a string of tiny sparks.
"You've been offering this for so long, even your techniques have gone stale."
Lu Yuan said coldly.
Iron Abacus's facial muscles twitched, but he didn't say anything. Suddenly, he stomped his foot on the ground.
With this stomp, the two wooden frames in the corner of the empty room moved forward simultaneously, as if they had been locked in place by a mechanism.
As soon as the wooden frame moved, all the paper banners hanging on it unfurled with a whoosh, revealing that the backs of all the banners were painted with the same design.
It is neither a talisman nor a deity statue.
It is an extremely large eye.
Its eyes are long and narrow at the corners, with dark pupils, as if it's staring at someone, or as if the entire empty room is made up of its eyelids.
Lu Yuan's expression turned even colder after he saw the design clearly.
"Eye offering".
He said in a low voice, "The mirror, the banner, the bell, and the rope are all for the eyes."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaoxuan immediately threw out the talisman in his hand, and the talisman stuck to the nearest round mirror with a snap.
The figure in the mirror trembled and let out a low sob.
Song Qinghe turned pale with fright, but she still steadied the oil lamp in her hand, not daring to let the fire go out.
At that moment, the faint sound that had been suppressed in the black jar suddenly reappeared.
thump.
thump.
It's as if someone is inside the jar, slowly tapping through a thick layer of wood and soil.
Iron Abacus's pupils contracted, and he hissed, "Don't let it wake up!"
Lu Yuan's eyes were sharp as knives as he immediately looked at the yellow cloth at the mouth of the black jar.
The yellow cloth bulged even more, and there were even tiny damp patches seeping out from the edges of the cloth, more like sweat than water.
The jar is not filled with inanimate objects.
They are alive.
Moreover, the survivor was almost pushing himself out.
Without further hesitation, Lu Yuan swiftly pulled out the last mud-suppressing talisman with his right hand, simultaneously gripping the copper coin with his left. He took half a step forward and shouted, "The jar has a mouth; let's seal your mouth first."
"If you have a heart, I'll break yours first."
"You borrow a human body, I borrow a heavenly nail."
"You must first pass through my life before you can be born!"
With a flick of the mud-suppressing talisman, it was directly affixed to the yellow cloth at the mouth of the jar.
"Snapped!"
As soon as the talisman fell, a shrill, almost tearing scream came from under the yellow cloth.
The sound didn't seem to come from the jar, but rather from something much deeper, from the very bottom of the mountain, the earth's veins, and the vagina, all of which seemed to squeeze up at once, so sharp it made one's ears tingle.
The round mirrors in the entire empty room suddenly went dark.
Tie Suanpan's face changed drastically. He lunged towards the edge of the jar, gripping the rim tightly with both hands, and gritted his teeth, hissing, "It's not time yet!"
Lu Yuan looked at him, his eyes cold and devoid of any warmth: "So you really do know what's inside."
Tie Suanpan looked up, and for the first time, fear showed in the previously cloudy eyes: "So what if I know?"
"You think you can fight me?"
"You're fighting for the last breath in this place."
Lu Yuan ignored the abacus and instead pointed to the four corners of the empty room.
"Lin Zhaoxuan, cut the rope."
"Zhou Heng, seal the mirror."
"Song Qinghe, keep watch over the lamp."
"Wang Cheng'an, Xu Erxiao, go to the back and move those three basins away, so it doesn't catch fire."
Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao immediately responded and quickly went around to the side and back to move the three black pottery basins.
The two of them neither took credit nor caused trouble, only doing the most minor tasks, which suited Lu Yuan's wishes perfectly.
Lin Zhaoxuan had already grabbed a short knife and bent down to cut the nearest red rope.
When the red rope broke, the copper bell on the wooden frame immediately lost some of its power, and the sound of the bell faded away.
Zhou Heng then grabbed the remaining yellow paper from his bag and quickly pasted it onto the surface of the round mirror.
As soon as the reflection in the mirror was suppressed, the chill of being "watched" in the empty room immediately lessened.
Taking advantage of the moment, Lu Yuan stomped heavily on the copper coin on the ground. Using the force of the impact, he suddenly shouted, "When an evil god accepts offerings, he eats the road first!"
"If the road is cut off, the supply will be cut off."
"If the offering is cut off, the altar will overturn."
"Once the jar is overturned, the one hiding underneath will be revealed!"
As the last word "露" (dew) landed, the black jar suddenly trembled violently.
The yellow cloth was pushed up high by a force emanating from within, and the thing underneath finally broke free half an inch.
A pale, thin finger suddenly shot out, its knuckles wrapped with blackened red thread, its nails long and thin like blades, reaching straight for Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he slashed horizontally with the copper coin in his right hand.
"Ding!"
The coin struck the severed finger.
After a sharp crack, the hand abruptly retracted, and a suppressed low moan came from inside the jar, as if something was enraged by pain.
Iron Abacus pressed hard against the jar's rim, his voice trembling: "You've woken it up!"
Lu Yuan stood still, his expression becoming even more composed.
"It's good that you're awake."
"I came here to see it."
After saying that, he looked up at the black altar and slowly uttered, "Your path of offerings has come to an end today."
There was no immediate response from the blacklist.
But the entire underground chamber was beginning to emit an even deeper chill, as if something was slowly turning over from the bottom.
This time, it wasn't just the people guarding the altar and the gatekeepers who were present.
The one who is truly being supported has already heard it.
As soon as Lu Yuan finished speaking, the surging chill in the black jar did not dissipate immediately. Instead, it seemed to be amplified by his words, "It's over."
Under the yellow cloth covering the mouth of the jar, the pale finger that had previously protruded had retracted.
However, the white hemp ropes around the jar began to tighten one by one, and the knots made a slight "creaking" sound.
It looked like something was slowly turning over inside, trying to push against the cloth with its bones.
Iron Abacus's face was ashen, but his hands were still pressed tightly against the rim of the jar. His voice was low and urgent: "If it fully awakens, no one can hold it down on this level."
Lu Yuan stared at the mouth of the jar, his eyes unwavering: "Then don't let it fully awaken."
After he finished speaking, he glanced at the situation on the field.
Lin Zhaoxuan had already cut the two red ropes, and Zhou Heng had covered most of the round mirror. Song Qinghe kept the oil lamp steady; although the flame flickered, it did not go out.
"Cheng'an, waiter."
He said in a deep voice, "You two, one on the left and one on the right, go and hold down the rims of those two ceramic pots."
"Remember, don't touch the water in the basin with your hands, just press the edge."
"Once the basin is loosened, the air will rise back up."
Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao nodded immediately, their actions swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Wang Chengan squatted down on the left first, reached out and pressed his hand on the black pottery basin. As soon as his palm touched the ground, he felt a cold air rush up the back of his hand.
He frowned, but didn't utter a sound. He just muttered, "Steam is rising from the bottom of the basin."
""
Lu Yuandao immediately said, "Suppress it."
Xu Erxiao also squatted down on the right side, and his face turned pale as soon as his hand touched the edge of the basin.
"Brother Lu, should I move the pot a little so it doesn't suck in air through the rim?"
Lu Yuandao said, "It cannot be moved."
"Moving it open will create an opening."
"Just hold it down tightly, don't let it breathe."
This direct statement put Xu Erxiao in a safe position.
He lowered his shoulders and pressed down, forcefully suppressing some of the upward force pushing up from the bottom of his pelvis.
Wang Cheng'an glanced at the yellow cloth in front of the jar and lowered his voice, "Brother Lu, is there a living creature in that jar, not an inanimate object?"
"I just heard what sounded like someone was dying inside."