Folk custom: At the beginning of the wedding, the bride takes off her painted skin

Chapter 235 Shi Ji’s severed hand

Tanxiao and Shiji came together as two people, but now a third pair of hands reached out.

The fingers of these hands are very short but very thick... They are mainly made of stone, and the two of them were making a fire and grilling meat in front of the stone statue at the moment.

So it was already clear whose hand it belonged to.

Shi Ji subconsciously reached for the spear beside him, but before he could hold it, his hand was held down by Tan Xiao.

He said "hmm", a little confused.

Is Taoist Tan not allowed to do it himself?
But this living gargoyle is right in front of us, why don't we take action?
Just when he was confused, he heard Tanxiao reply softly: "It is indeed a bit cold today."

The gargoyle that was standing already squatted down, shaking off some stone chips, "It's so cold, and you guys are still traveling all night. Where are you going?"

Tanxiao replied: "Brothers are going to the other side of the mountain to see if they can take some goods and ask for food."

"Do you need to bring so many treasures with you?" Gargoyle asked.

The iron tools used by local masters to dig graves, such as chisels, hammers, and iron picks, are collectively called Xiaobao.

Tanxiao replied: "This is not Xiaobao, I am a stonemason, so it is normal for someone to carry some food with them."

"Oh? Are you a mason?"

The gargoyle seemed to have gained some energy. He stood up again, pointed to his feet and said, "I am trapped on this rock. Since you are a stonemason, can you free me? I would be very grateful."

Shiji saw such a ghost for the first time. He looked down and saw that the gargoyle's feet were indeed buried in the ground.

But the stone he mentioned was missing, and it was probably buried under the soil.

"Then let me help you take a look first."

Talking and laughing, he looked at the stone table and said, "Second brother, dig out the bottom first and take a look."

"okay."

Based on the experience last time, Shi Ji brought a small shovel.

The gargoyle just stood there, watching them dig out his feet.

After digging it open, Tanxiao also saw clearly the situation under the gargoyle.

Not a stone, but a huge stone pillar. This gargoyle was carved and placed on the top of the stone statue.

After understanding this, he looked up again. He wanted to see what was going on in the air.

But when I looked up, it was dark and I couldn't see anything clearly.

He cursed in his heart, but he also made a guess.

This line of land was probably formed after the tomb was built.

"Hello, can you please let me out?"

Gargoyles appear to be very polite.

After Tanxiao reacted, he looked at his feet and said, "I need to understand the previous situation before I dare to take action."

"There are some lines on your feet, they seem to be a bit particular."

After hearing this, the gargoyle thought about it and told the truth.

"Actually, I was put here specifically to watch you native masters. Now the people inside already know that you are coming."

"So I advise you to leave."

When Shi Ji heard this, his eyes suddenly widened. So, have we been deceived by ghosts? !
It's normal for me to be tricked by ghosts.

Can Taoist Tan still be deceived by ghosts?
How can this be.

Shi Ji turned his head in shock, only to find that Tanxiao was already laughing and said: "If you didn't tell them, I might not be able to figure out which mouth to enter through."

"But now... Pindao can only say thank you."

After talking and joking, the hammer hit the chisel. In an instant, the chisel was nailed to the gargoyle's neck.

Shi Ji didn't see how hard he used it.

But the moment the chisel hit the gargoyle's neck, a crack appeared on the stone.

The gargoyle's head slipped.

His hands, which were still moving and warming themselves by the fire, instantly stiffened and turned completely into stone.

But this time, the gargoyle did not turn into Shouyuan Tongbao after death.

"This ancient country is really interesting."

When Tan Xiao said this, he raised his head and glanced at the sky again. He had vaguely guessed the origin of this ancient country.

This ancient country is not a false dream.

But just like him, he comes from the world of the ninth-level middle school.

"Taoist Priest, what's going on with this gargoyle? Isn't it a ghost?"

"No, this is a magic puppet."

"Spell puppet?"

Shi Ji thought for a while, and after confirming that he didn't understand, he stopped asking.

"Eat, finish quickly and we'll be on our way."

While chatting and laughing, he stuffed the dry food into his mouth after a few mouthfuls, then picked up the water bottle next to him and drank several mouthfuls of water before swallowing it forcefully.

The same is true for stone tables.

After a few quick bites, the two of them each pulled a pine wood from the fire to use as a torch, packed their bags, and set off again.

Talking and laughing, the two of them did not run up the mountain this time, but started climbing directly.

Prepare to enter the tomb through the hole in the stone wall.

The stone wall may have been formed by the collapse of the underground cave, so it is not steep. In many places, it is almost like a gentle slope.

It took about half an hour for Tanxiao to climb up to the entrance of the cave. Shi Ji grabbed Shi Yan with both hands, jumped suddenly, and climbed up too.

The cave is deep and dark, and there are still wisps of dark wind blowing here, even the flames on the torches are beating.

Shi Ji shuddered subconsciously, "Taoist Priest, the wind seems a bit weird."

Tanxiao, who had always looked relaxed, now stretched out his hands to calculate, and his face became a little ugly.

"Wait, wait until daybreak before we go in."

"it is good."

The wind at the entrance of the cave was too strong, so the two of them withdrew again and rested for the night on a gentle slope slightly downward from the entrance of the cave.

The next day.

The sky dawned slowly, and the sky was covered by dark clouds. The sky was always groggy and not really bright.

After getting up and talking and laughing, the two of them climbed up to the entrance of the cave again.

Just as he came up, he stopped Shi Ji who was about to move forward.

He looked at the ground and said in a deep voice: "When we were sleeping last night, something came out and looked at us at the entrance of the cave."

"You didn't even notice it, Taoist Priest?"

Shi Ji lowered his head and saw a pair of tiny footprints on the ground.

The footprints were not big, about the size of a human hand with four fingers, and were obviously not human.

"We took turns keeping watch and found nothing... This thing should be able to isolate it from detection, and the sound of footsteps is almost non-existent."

While chatting and laughing, he moved his nose slightly, sniffed, turned his head and looked inside, and said, "There should be water in there. Come on, let's go in and take a look."

Near the entrance of the cave, light was still shining in, so the two of them did not light a torch.

But as they went deeper and deeper, after walking about thirty or forty meters, it became completely dark, and the two of them were forced to light torches.

Before walking too far, the corridor turned into a river within the sight of Tan Xiao.

The corridor that originally went straight forward was cut off by a horizontal corridor, and this horizontal corridor was completely submerged in water.

The water was dirty, like stagnant water, black and smelled of rancidity.

The two of them were standing on the shore, and they could still see a pool of water stains under their feet, which was obviously left by the thing that came out from here last night.

"I guess I have to go into the water. Those things come up from the water."

Shi Ji held the torch in his left hand and thrust the spear into the water with his right hand. As a result, most of it was still on the water. He pulled it out and tried it at several nearby locations.

Finally, he took the spear back and painted on himself, "The water is not deep, it probably only reaches our waists."

"Either we go directly there, or we go back and get a boat and come back."

"No need, just go over there."

He was also very decisive in talking and laughing. He carried the bag behind him higher. Many things in it could not be soaked in water. He also held a torch in one hand and a short sword in the other.

He led the way, so he entered the water first, it was cold.

After the clothes were soaked, he couldn't help but shudder, "Go to the right, that thing is coming from this way."

Shi Ji also held a torch and followed closely behind him.

There was no trace of the water bottom under their feet, so both of them walked very slowly, carefully testing the situation with the soles of their feet.

After confirming that it would be fine if he stepped on it, he boldly moved forward.

After walking for about ten meters, the corridor turned, and Tanxiao finally saw a hole in front where he could go ashore.

But at this moment, he suddenly raised the dagger in his hand.

Shi Ji, who was walking behind him, also stopped immediately.

"There's something coming under the water!" Tanxiao was extremely keen and immediately sensed the movement under his feet.

In addition to the ripples in the water caused by him and Shi Ji, there was also a wave under his feet.

It shows that something else is also stirring the waters.

He held the torch in his left hand and flicked it across the water. Soon, he saw a black shadow flashing past the bottom of the water.

It was at his feet almost instantly, directly wrapped around his thigh, and tightened suddenly.

He was strangled.

It's a snake, a big snake!
Although he was attacked, he did not panic. He flicked his left hand and threw the torch to the opposite shore, and stabbed down with a dagger in his right hand.

Not only him, Shi Ji also reacted very quickly. The moment the big snake emerged from the water, he thrust out his spear.

The tip of the spear pierced the big snake's neck, and Tanxiao's dagger also dug out a large piece of flesh and blood from the big snake. The giant snake felt the pain, let go of Tanxia, ​​struggled and knocked down the stone table again.

It swung its body and disappeared at the other end of the water, only making the place turbid and leaving a large stain of scarlet blood behind.

The two of them gasped and climbed up from the water. "Let's go ashore first. Get ashore quickly."

Tan Xiao swallowed.

He is not afraid of any weird evil spirits or monsters.

But this kind of thing that can only be resisted forcefully can really kill him!

Fortunately, after the big snake passed by, nothing else came under the water for the time being. The two of them quickly passed through the more than ten meters of water channel and finally came to the stone channel again.

The stagnant water was stirred up and became turbid, and it also exuded a strong stench.

Filled in this narrow corridor, it makes people feel sick.

"Let's go, get out of here first."

Tanxiao had a vague feeling that the waterway should not be that simple, and immediately regardless of the water stains and coldness on their bodies, they each held torches and went deep into the stone path.

Fortunately, not long from here, they saw a pile of dead wood on the side, with some charcoal and signs of fire next to it.

"Left behind by the seniors?" Shi Ji asked in surprise.

"Most likely."

Because not far from this life, there is a skeleton of white bones.

"Sir, please dry our clothes before we leave. We're not in a hurry."

At this time, if someone catches the cold in this tomb, it will be life-threatening.

It's not just that. He was lying in the waterway, talking and laughing, and the bag he was carrying was wet.

There are a lot of things inside, and they all need to be dried now.

Shi Ji also knew this, so he responded and started to light the fire.

Talking and laughing, he held a torch and leaned close to the white skeleton to look at the senior.

He just watched for a while, and Shi Ji had already set up a fire, held his torch to light it, and he came over.

"This man's leg bones were broken, and the spine in his lower back was black. He was obviously poisoned."

"That snake just now..."

Shi Ji understood in an instant that the big snake used this trick when it attacked Tan Xiao. If Taoist Tan hadn't reacted quickly, he would have sensed it in advance.

Maybe he will be lying here now...

"Ah."

Tanxiao nodded slightly, "There should be a tombkeeper in this tomb."

"Gravekeeper?"

"Aren't the tomb keepers supposed to live outside? The tomb keepers here live inside the tomb?!" Shi Ji looked a little surprised.

Tanxiao turned around and put the torch into the fire. At the same time, he took off his coat and set it up to bake. "Only those who live inside the tomb are considered tomb keepers. How can there be tomb keepers living outside."

"The big snake just now was raised by the tombkeeper."

After saying that, he took out the items in the bag and inspected them to see which ones could be used again after drying.

But what the two of them didn't know was that it was in the waterway they had just waded through.

At this moment, the water surface is more than a foot higher than before.

And at the bottom of the water, a huge black shadow was slowly swimming forward.

Its body is almost as big as the stone path. When it passes through some slightly narrower places, its scales will rub against the stone wall, making a "hissing" sound.

It wasn't until they reached the place where the two laughing and talking people entered the water that the black shadow slowly poked its head out.

A ferocious snake head the size of a millstone, with bright red scales, and a fleshy ball faintly appearing on the head, like a horn.

The eyes the size of copper coins rolled, and it swallowed the scarlet snake message. After a while, it retreated, lowered its head, and disappeared into the waterway.

"Tao Chang, do you feel that the smell seems to be much stronger?"

Shi Ji frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable smelling it.

Tanxiao had already sprinkled realgar all over the place, so he was not very panicked. "Maybe there is a strong wind blowing over. It's normal. It will be fine in a while."

He looked at the several pieces of talisman paper he had originally drawn. Now that they were soaked in water, the ink and ink on them were all blurred and scattered. They were obviously useless.

The two men repaired here for an hour, dried all the clothes, and then made do with something to eat before continuing to walk deeper.

The original pine wood was almost burned, and the two of them cut a fir stick at the end and nailed it in.

Making it a veritable torch.

After walking forward in a winding way for more than ten or twenty meters, large cracks began to appear on the ground, and the original corridor also collapsed.

After the two of them got through a narrow stone gap, the corridor completely disappeared, leaving only stones mixed with stone gaps that were barely enough for people to pass through.

"It seems like a big hole has happened here before."

"Well, the stone statue in the beginning and the water channel just now were all formed because of the cave."

After talking and explaining, I climbed up a boulder again and found that there was no road ahead.

"The front is completely blocked."

Shi Ji even reached out and pushed the boulder, but it didn't move at all.

Tan Xiao held up the torch and looked at the ground, and sure enough, he found a dark shaft in a sunken hole in the front right.

No way?

How could there be no way?

There is an aura left by the magic puppet's message here, so there is definitely a way.

"Take off the rope and let's get down from here."

"it is good."

As Shi Ji spoke, he took off the hemp rope that was straddling him, while Tan Xiao lifted a stone down and listened to the echo from the stone falling to the ground.

"It's not deep, about thirty or forty meters, and the rope is enough."

Shi Ji tied one end of the rope to a boulder and pulled it, making sure it was secure before looking at Tan Xiao.

"Does the Taoist priest come first or me?"

"Let me go down and take a look first."

After talking and joking, he made a circle of the rope and wrapped it around his waist. He held it with one hand and a torch with the other hand and prepared to go down.

"If something happens later, remember to pull me up."

"Taoist priest, don't worry."

Tanxiao then pulled the rope and started to go down. He waved the torch. The stone walls he saw along the way were covered with moss. In some places, unknown white flowers were blooming. When the fire shined over them, the flowers were still closed, as if As if afraid of being burned.

There were no horizontal stones in the shaft, and everything went straight down. He reached the bottom of the shaft smoothly, and waving a torch, he quickly found a new passage ahead.

The tomb passage appeared again.

"It's okay, come down."

After chatting and laughing, they waved their torches and prepared to walk forward into the tomb passage.

But after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped.

Because... Shi Ji didn't reply.

Normally, Shi Ji, who is not possessed by the undead ghost, is still easy to talk to, let alone the two of them who have already spoken.

Therefore, if Tanxiao calls him, he will definitely reply.

But now, he was silent.

Tanxiao hesitated for a moment and returned to his original position. He looked at the rope hanging on the ground and then looked up again.

The fire at the mouth of the shaft was still shining, indicating that the torch was still there.

But it's just that the torch exists, and whether the stone table is there or not...that's all.

"You can come down now."

The conversation and laughter became louder, but there was still no response.

He had no choice but to grab the rope with one hand and pull it gently, but there was no response. He pulled hard again, and this time there was a response.

The whole rope fell off.

As it landed at his feet, there was something else.

He swept away the torch, and what was tied to the other end of the rope and dropped was a hand, an adult man's right hand, Shi Ji's right hand.

Tanxiao recognized it because the arm still had the marks left by the charcoal scratches on the stone table when it was first heated by the fire.

The arm was cut off along with the shoulder, and it was a smooth stroke.

There are no unnecessary wounds.

Only one cut.

The hand was still bleeding, indicating that the hand had just been chopped off.

Tanxiao looked up again. The torch above had been extinguished, leaving only darkness. In a daze, he seemed to see a ghostly face, smiling.

But after a blink of an eye it was gone.

This is an illusion.

He took a deep breath, his eyes became calmer, and he muttered something interesting, but he was thinking in his heart.

If Brother Daoxuan were here, things might be easier to handle.

……

"This is Youzidang."

At the top of a cliff, Mr. Qi pointed to his feet and said.

After hearing this, Li Daoxuan stuck his head out to take a look and said, "The cave should be halfway up the mountain."

"Put down the rope and let's go down."

(End of this chapter)