paranoianovel Chapter 265 Altar Guardian
Chapter 265 Altar Guardian
Chapter 265 Altar Guardian (4600)
After Lu Yuan finished speaking, Lin Zhaoxuan's expression tightened: "Pulse picking? Isn't that used for guiding the flow of vital energy?"
Lu Yuan nodded and said, "Mm."
""
"It can be used to capture prisoners in the mountains, or to seize vital points in a person's body."
"This wasn't just a random nail; it was a test to see if this road was still passable."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and gently tapped the edge of the nearest ceramic pot.
As the knocking sound subsided, a thin ripple slowly rose from the black water.
The next instant, a blurry face appeared on the water's surface.
That face belonged to none other than Xu Erxiao.
Xu Erxiao, standing behind, nearly jumped up when he saw his reflection in the water. He took two steps back, his voice cracking, "I...I didn't touch it!"
Without turning his head, Lu Yuan shouted, "Don't retreat!"
But it was still a fraction of a second too late.
As Xu Erxiao stepped back, his heel landed right on a half-loose red rope. The rope snapped, causing a piece of scrap paper next to him to sway slightly.
Almost at the same instant, the copper needle on the wooden plaque suddenly emitted a very faint buzzing sound, as if something had bitten it along with the name.
The face in the black water suddenly stopped moving.
Then, the face slowly raised itself, the corners of its mouth gradually twitching upwards, and it silently smiled at everyone.
Zhou Heng gasped, nearly dropping what he was holding.
Lin Zhaoxuan's eyes darkened, and he took out a talisman to suppress evil spirits.
Lu Yuan was faster than him. He raised his hand, flipped it over, and with a snap, placed the copper coin between his fingertips on the edge of the ceramic basin.
"Whoosh,"
The face in the black water instantly dissipated, like a shattered mirror, and the ripples in the basin also broke.
Lu Yuan's face was as cold as iron: "It's a test of character."
"There are people watching from behind this narrow passage."
"That last movement wasn't calling out to someone, it was recognizing them."
Song Qinghe's heart tightened upon hearing this: "Whom do you recognize?"
Lu Yuandao: "Let's see who started the chaos first."
"Whoever causes chaos first is more likely to be remembered."
He paused, turned to look at Xu Erxiao, and said in a steady tone, "You almost got yourself killed just now."
"Stay close behind, don't back away."
Xu Erxiao's forehead was covered in sweat, and he nodded repeatedly without showing any anger.
Wang Chengan quickly moved closer to him and said in a low voice, "Stay close, don't step on anything else."
Lu Yuan stopped looking at them and instead stared at the three black pottery basins, saying slowly, "These are not offering basins, but mirror basins."
"It's specifically used to reflect human images, soul images, and pulse images."
"That face just now wasn't Xu Erxiao's real face. It was just that his aura was revealed when he was in a state of confusion."
Lin Zhaoxuan asked, "So what do we do now?"
Lu Yuan took out three small copper coins from his bag and placed them on the rims of the three basins.
He then took out three short talismans and pasted them down in the southeast, west, and south directions, muttering to himself, "A basin cannot reflect people, and a mirror cannot create demons."
"Money silences them, and talismans cut off their bridges."
"It has no connection to heaven above, nor to earth below."
"One pot, one lock, keep it from getting damp again."
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! Close the light!"
As soon as the talisman was placed down, the water in the black pottery basin indeed became still.
The mirror-like reflection dispersed instantly, and the black water returned to its deathly inky color.
The copper needles on the wooden sign stopped buzzing, and the area under the earthen arch immediately fell silent.
But this quietness was almost too much.
Lu Yuan stood still, his eyes slightly narrowed.
He felt something was wrong.
Logically speaking, if someone is guarding the door when you try to pierce the pulse with acupuncture needles, there should at least be some kind of response.
But now, apart from that brief attempt to test the waters, there's been no other movement, as if the other party deliberately wanted them to go inside.
"Leave it empty?"
Lin Zhaoxuan also sensed something was wrong and asked in a low voice.
"It's not an empty door."
Lu Yuandao said, "They're leading us inside."
As he spoke, he bent down and picked up a small clump of black soil from the ground. He rubbed it between his fingers and found that the soil contained some fine red paper scraps and white bone meal.
"A path along this road holds a memory."
"Once a person goes in, their mind is easily led astray."
Zhou Heng felt a chill run down his spine and whispered, "Should we still go in?"
Lu Yuan looked up into the depths of the narrow passage.
It was pitch black there, as if even a lamp couldn't penetrate. But the more it was like that, the more it indicated that something was waiting behind it.
"Enter."
"Now that they've opened the door, we can't just stand there."
"However, from now on, leave a mark every ten steps."
"If we really get separated, we can find each other by markings."
Don't trust footprints, don't trust echoes, only trust what you leave behind.
Lin Zhaoxuan nodded, took out a short charcoal pencil from his sleeve, and casually drew an inconspicuous horizontal line on the wall.
The group continued forward.
A breeze gradually picked up again at the end of the narrow path.
The wind wasn't a mountain wind; it seemed to be rising slowly from deeper soil, carrying with it the dampness of bygone years and an indescribable, fishy chill.
The oil lamp in Lu Yuan's hand was blown out of control, causing the flame to tilt and illuminate a section of half-collapsed stone steps in front of him.
There are only five or six stone steps left, and above that is a low wooden door.
The door was very old, so old it was black, and a thick wooden bar hung across it, with three red lines pressed on the wooden latch.
The red thread had faded, but it still clung tightly to the wood, like three tendons that hadn't been loosened.
There was a small earthenware bowl on the ground in front of the door.
There was half a bowl of black rice in the bowl, with three broken incense sticks stuck in the rice.
Lu Yuan stared at the bowl for a while, then slowly said, "We're here."
Zhou Heng couldn't help but ask, "What kind of door is this?"
Lu Yuan didn't answer immediately, but instead pushed the lamp forward, shining it onto the center of the door panel.
Two words were written crookedly on the door in gray chalk.
Return to the mountain.
Lin Zhaoxuan's eyes darkened: "Return to the mountain gate?"
"
Lu Yuan said in a low voice, "Yes."
"This mountain outside isn't just any mountain that's called 'Hui Shan' (回山, meaning 'returning to the mountain')."
"Behind this door lies the place that truly sustains the mountain path."
After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and pressed it against the wooden door. As soon as his fingertips touched it, he felt an extremely cold and yin energy creeping up his palm from inside the door panel.
It was as if something was pressed against the door, listening to their conversation.
Lu Yuan remained expressionless, simply flipping the copper coin in his other hand and pressing it into the center of the door bolt, then softly chanting, "The mountain gate has a gate, and beneath the gate lies a root."
"I'll borrow copper coins, not door gods."
"If you know the way through the door, you must first recognize me."
If the door does not answer, I will break your soul.
"Hurry, hurry, as the law commands! Open the door!"
As soon as the word "open the door" was uttered, the three red lines on the door loosened slightly.
Then, a very faint creak came from deep inside the door.
It looked like someone inside had moved the door open by half an inch.
Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he immediately lowered his voice: "Take half a step back."
The moment the door opened a crack, a chilling, burning incense smoke burst out, accompanied by a heavy clang of a wooden fish.
thump.
That sound was like a blow to someone's bones.
Immediately afterwards, a pair of eyes slowly lit up through the crack in the door.
It's not a human eye.
It was a pair of extremely thin white lights embedded in the darkness.
He was silently watching them from behind the door.
The moment the pair of white lights appeared in the crack of the door, the wind in the narrow passage seemed to be grabbed and stopped instantly.
Lu Yuan stood at the front, the copper coin in his hand still pressed against the door.
With my fingertips I could clearly feel the coolness seeping out of the door panel little by little, like something alive breathing against the wood.
He didn't move immediately, but just stared at the pair of white lights.
That's not the white of the eye.
It was more like two cold flames flickering from incense ash, suspended unblinkingly through the crack in the door.
"Don't stare at it for too long."
Lu Yuan whispered, "This thing will borrow your spirit."
Lin Zhaoxuan immediately looked away half an inch, and Zhou Heng quickly lowered his head, even his breathing became soft.
Song Qinghe's face turned pale, but she held herself down tightly, not daring to make a sound.
Wang Chengan and Xu Erxiao stood behind, looking like two little wooden stakes, their necks hunched over, completely still.
Two points of white light flickered through the crack in the door, and then a very soft laugh came from inside.
The laughter was neither male nor female, as if it were squeezed out from many mouths at once, making a muffled sound against the door panel.
"They've all arrived."
"It even came with nails."
Lu Yuan frowned.
The voice sounded familiar to him.
It wasn't some wild spirit from the mountains, nor was it the tone of an ordinary evil spirit.
It's something that humans have created.
Moreover, it has been raised quite well.
"Who's inside?"
Lin Zhaoxuan asked in a deep voice.
The thing behind the door didn't answer directly, but instead slowly said, "The person asking for directions has come all the way to the door."
"If you want to go into the mountains, you need to register first."
Lu Yuan sneered, "When did the rules in the mountains change?"
"Do I have to tell you everything when I come in?"
The voice behind the door paused slightly, then smiled more broadly: "The rules have always been there."
"But you outsiders often don't recognize them."
As they were speaking, the two points of white light in the crack of the door suddenly moved upwards, as if something had brought its face closer.
Immediately afterwards, a very thin layer of water vapor seeped out from the door panel, and several blurry words slowly emerged from the water vapor.
Those who pass through will be spared.
Zhou Heng's scalp tingled at the sight, and he almost blurted it out.
Fortunately, Lu Yuan reacted quickly, slapping the door to disperse the moisture.
Stop pretending to be a ghost.
Lu Yuan's voice was as cold as ice: "You want your life, and I want my way."
"Open the door first, then we'll talk about other things."
There was silence behind the door.
Then, the voice slowly said, "You can open the door."
"But we have to get past one hurdle first."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire wooden door suddenly trembled slightly.
The black rice in the earthenware bowl in front of the door trembled on its own without any wind, and the three incense sticks lit up at the same time.
Immediately afterwards, a wisp of white smoke rose from the bowl and drifted straight into the crack in the door.
As soon as the white smoke slipped through the crack in the door, a series of light footsteps came from behind it, as if someone was moving around hurriedly inside.
Immediately afterwards, the originally very thin gap in the door panel suddenly widened by half an inch to both sides.
A musty, cold, and heavily scented aroma wafted over.
There was neither a house nor a passageway behind the door.
Instead, it was a larger underground chamber.
In the center of the empty room stood a circle of black wooden shelves, which were covered with paper banners, copper bells, red ropes, and small round mirrors.
The mirrors all face outwards, directly opposite the entrance.
In each mirror, a person's image is reflected.
Lu Yuan glanced over and his pupils contracted slightly.
Those figures were not the people in front of us.
It's something else.
Some looked like women, some like old people, and some like teenagers; they all had their heads down, as if standing behind a mirror waiting for someone to call their names.
"The Soul-Illuminating Mirror".
Lin Zhaoxuan said in a deep voice, "This thing is used to examine the three souls and seven spirits of the living."
Lu Yuan didn't say anything, but reached into his bag, took out a small handful of incense ash, and casually scattered it forward.
As soon as the incense ash hit the ground, a silhouette slowly emerged in the previously empty space of the round mirror in front of it.
The silhouette was none other than Lu Yuan himself.
However, the "Lu Yuan" in the mirror had his head down, but the corners of his mouth were slowly twitching upwards, as if he were smiling.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Heng was so frightened that he almost took a step back.
Lu Yuan remained expressionless, simply taking out a short talisman from his sleeve, giving it a gentle shake, and the talisman stuck to the mirror with a snap.
"You do your thing, I'll do mine."
"The person in the mirror isn't real."
After the talisman was pasted on, the reflection in the mirror immediately dissipated, as if blown apart by the wind, and its outline disappeared in an instant.
But the next moment, all the round mirrors in the empty room turned slightly together.
Dozens of mirrors were simultaneously pointed at the doorway.
The reflection in the mirror also looked up.
In an instant, it felt as if countless eyes were staring at the entire underground chamber.
Lu Yuan stood at the doorway, staring at the circle of mirrors, and suddenly said, "This is a borrowing mirror formation."
"Using mirrors to borrow popularity, borrowing and borrowing, in the end people are borrowed into worship."
Lin Zhaoxuan's gaze darkened: "That thing behind the door is indeed a live prisoner from the supply bureau."
Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "They may not be alive."
""
"It could also be a substitute."
"The gatekeeper of the main altar."
As soon as he finished speaking, a very faint sound of a wooden fish came from the depths of the empty room.
thump.
thump.
It was unhurried and slow, like someone sitting at the very back, chanting sutras while striking a wooden fish.
However, amidst the chanting, there was a faint panting sound.
Lu Yuan stared at the deeper darkness at the end of the empty room, his face grim.
There are more people behind.
"Not one."
As he spoke, he stepped over the threshold.
The instant his toes touched the ground, a pale hand suddenly reached out from the round mirror closest to the door and grabbed straight for his ankle.
Lu Yuan was prepared. He twisted his foot sharply, and the copper coin pressed down, getting stuck right on the edge of the frame.
A crisp "ding" sounded.
The hand recoiled as if burned by something.
But all the other mirrors in the empty room lit up at the same time.
With a flash of light, the entire underground room seemed to turn white, then instantly went dark again.
Taking advantage of the brief moment of light and shadow, Lu Yuan clearly saw that there was a person sitting behind the row of black wooden shelves at the very back of the empty room.
The man was wearing a long gray-black robe, his back to the door, sitting very steadily, slowly turning a string of old prayer beads in his hand.
In front of him was a black jar about half a person's height.
A piece of yellow cloth was placed on the mouth of the black jar.
In the center of the yellow cloth, it looked as if a word was written in blood.
Lu Yuan glanced at it once, and his heart sank.
That word is none other than...
It is "supply".
This place is not just for guarding the gate, but also for watching the altar.
The word "supply" was reflected on the yellow cloth like a piece of red-hot iron, burning directly into people's eyes.
Lu Yuan didn't rush forward. He stood inside the threshold and looked around the entire empty room.
The black wooden frame, round mirror, paper banner, copper bell, and red rope were arranged in an extremely orderly manner, like a formation cultivated by an old master.
The person at the very back had his back to the door, his long gray-black robe reaching his ankles, and a string of old prayer beads slowly moved between his fingers, the rhythm not fast, but just enough to suppress the sound of the wooden fish.
thump.
thump.
Each sound seemed to echo from a deeper place underground.
Lu Yuan stared at the person's back, not speaking first, but instead gently wiping the door frame with his hand.
A layer of fine ash settled on my fingertip.
The ash contained sesame oil and a very faint earthy smell.
"The door was smeared with fragrant mud."
"This is something we do year-round," Lu Yuan said in a low voice.
Lin Zhaoxuan stood to his side and slightly behind, his gaze also fixed on the black jar, his voice low: "The jar is covered with yellow cloth, as if to prevent the contents inside from escaping."
Lu Yuan nodded and said, "Once the jar is opened, the air can go out, and the path can come in."
"Putting this piece of cloth down is like nailing the threshold shut first."
As he spoke, he didn't stop, but slowly took another half step forward.
The round mirrors in the empty room still faced the door, and the figures in the mirrors all stood quietly, as if waiting to see who would cause trouble first.
Lu Yuan didn't look in the mirror, he only looked at the black jar.
The black jar was larger than the one on the ground before, and its body was shiny black, but the rim of the jar was wrapped with a thin white hemp rope.
Every inch along the hemp rope was a knot, and the knotting method was strange. It was not like the binding method commonly seen in Han areas, but rather like the knots used to seal the mouths of corpses in the old days outside the Great Wall.
Three small bowls were placed on the ground in front of the altar.
The bowls contained rice, salt, and soil, respectively.
The rice was a pale gray, the salt had formed a crust, and the soil was a dark bluish-black, as if it had been dug up from a grave overnight.
"Rice, salt, soil."
Lin Zhaoxuan glanced at it, his expression grave: "Suppress, guard, and control."
Lu Yuan nodded: "Yes."
"But this isn't for people to control; it's for setting boundaries for that thing in the jar."
"Midding Road, salt-shaded, soil-pressed roots."
"If it can still sit still, it means that the thing inside is more than one breath."
""
Zhou Heng felt a chill run down his spine and whispered, "This—is this the main altar?"
Lu Yuan shook his head: "Not yet."
"This is the altar guardian."
"The real main altar is further inside than this."
As soon as he finished speaking, the person at the very back suddenly stopped turning the beads.
The empty room suddenly became eerily quiet.
Then, the man slowly spoke, his voice hoarse, like a layer of old paper being worn: "Since you're here, why stand at the door?"
""