The Witch of Xiangxi

Chapter 1 Miao Village
For this world, human understanding is superficial.

We can never really see the world clearly, just as we can see a person's face, but not his bones.

Even if the coverage of today's scientific knowledge exposes the true colors of those so-called ghosts, there are still some bizarre and inexplicable things that cannot be explained clearly even with science.Like the eyes in the dark place at the end of the candle, it can see you, but you can't see them.

And some things that happen by chance, you think it is like the coincidence in all the stories, but you don't know, that coincidence may match your destiny!
Xia Xiangxi began to understand these in March last year.The moment she curiously opened an old pagoda tree box, everything was as irreversible as a flood that broke the gate.But it all started a year ago.

March in Yangchun is a suitable day for spring, but the time Xia Xiangxi went out with his grandfather was not for spring.

Xia Xiangxi accompanied his grandfather to the remote and beautiful Miao Village in Xiangxi, Hunan, the Miao Village that his grandfather was thinking of.Ever since the doctor told Xia Xiangxi that Grandpa's time is running out, Grandpa seems to have his own perception. He, who never likes to talk, keeps chanting the word "Miao Village" in his mouth!

Ever since Xia Xiangxi became sensible, her grandfather was the only relative in her life.Probably because their family is too poor, so she has no parents, not even a grandma.

It is also true that grandpa has become the most cherished person in Xia Xiangxi's life.For her grandfather, she resigned from her lucrative job as a construction engineer and accompanied him to wherever he wanted to go.

In Xia Xiangxi's eyes, Grandpa has always been a taciturn, serious and well-dressed person.But it is such an ordinary old man who can no longer be ordinary, but he is definitely a legendary figure in all directions.Or because he was engaged in a mysterious profession, even if those thieves strayed into Xia's house by mistake and stole something, the next day the thieves would plead guilty and keep silent in front of grandpa.What surprised Xia Xiangxi all the time was that his grandfather never spoke harshly to anyone except that he didn't like to laugh, but even so, the people in the village were still very afraid of him.Xia Xiangxi has always been curious about why this is?
What also made Xia Xiangxi curious was an old locust wood box in their family. In Xia Xiangxi's memory, the locust wood box had been locked tightly for more than [-] years.

This time when I went to the Miao Village, my grandpa also took the pagoda tree box with red silk covering it.

The place they were going to was an extremely remote and backward Miao Village.Because of the language barrier, Xia Xiangxi hired a local Miao tour guide.There were also two pairs of bearers, one pair carried grandpa, and the other pair carried grandpa's precious pagoda tree box.The tour guide is a sweet-looking Miao girl named Amei.

On the way, Amei said, "That stockade, few of us Miao people dare to go there, let alone the Han people!"

Hearing what Ah Mei said, Xia Xiangxi couldn't help but glanced at his grandfather next to him, with a small question mark in his heart.However, not to mention anything else, just looking at his grandfather's spirit at the moment, Xia Xiangxi felt that it didn't matter where he was going, it was worth the trip.It's been a long time since she saw her grandpa in such high spirits.

The Miao village is in the deep mountains, and the Tuojiang River makes it isolated from the world.Xia Xiangxi had never been to such a place.But for some reason, when she saw the river, a handsome Hmong man standing on a raft and smiling at her suddenly flashed in her mind.Xia Xiangxi was in a daze at that moment. Everyone else was walking on the boat across the river, but her feet were going up the river.It was Amei, the tour guide, who grabbed Xia Xiangxi's hand, otherwise she would really have fallen into the river.

Although he was taken aback, Xia Xiangxi only thought that he was hallucinating because he was too tired, so he didn't care too much.

After crossing the Tuojiang River, you will arrive at the boundary of the Miao Village.

Amei said that before the liberation, the Miao people were not under the control of the government. The Miao people had their own Miao king, and each Miao village also had its gates.Between Miao villages and Miao villages, because of the different clan branches, there are also grievances and grievances between the clans.People from the Great Miao Village do not enter the Small Miao Village!So Amei pointed to an ancient locust tree full of wormholes and said, "The neighborhood of that locust tree is the former Zhaimen. We can only send you here."

Xia Xiangxi hurriedly paid Amei and the two couples of bearers.After Amei and the others left, Xia Xiangxi helped his grandfather approach the old locust tree.Grandpa's health was still very bad. Even though Xia Xiangxi kept supporting him, his body was still shaking, as if he would fall to the ground at any time if he didn't pay attention.

However, grandpa's complexion is not bad at this time, it seems that we will meet again after a long time, and even the old locust tree makes grandpa feel excited.When grandpa calmed down a bit, he pointed to the old locust tree and asked Xia Xiangxi, "Ni'er, I'm going to test you, so why don't you tell me why there is an old locust tree planted in front of this village?"

Xia Xiangxi looked at the old locust tree with crooked neck, and remembered what she used to hear from her grandfather that the locust tree is a ghost in the wood, "There is a locust tree in front of the house, and a hundred ghosts walk at night." Of course, these are some superstitions Legend has it that pagoda trees of various varieties are now used as greening trees, and have been planted all over the streets of cities and towns.However, according to the folk customs in the past, pagoda trees were planted in front of the stockade. According to the theory of the five elements, the pagoda trees here are yin, and the yin energy here must be more prosperous than the yang energy. So Xia Xiangxi smiled and said to his grandfather: "This stockade should be a yin The stockade where the sun is rising and the sun is declining!"

Seeing his grandfather smiling approvingly, Xia Xiangxi knew he had guessed right.

After entering the Miao Village and seeing the people in the village, Xia Xiangxi couldn't help but look back at the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, and really felt that the theory of Feng Shui was not unreasonable.

The men in the village were all rustic and lacking in masculinity. When they saw outsiders coming in, they cowered like children and ran back home in panic.

"Book of Changes in the North, Witch Gu in the South." This is what Grandpa told Xia Xiangxi.Xiangxi's "Miao Gu" and Thailand's "Head Drop Art" are also known as the two major magic arts in Southeast Asia.

Most of the people who raise Gu are women, and the uses of Gu are different, and the methods of making Gu are also different, but speaking of it, there are three main types, namely love Gu, fear Gu, and hate Gu.

Among the Miao people in Xiangxi, it is common for husbands to be afraid of their wives and daughters-in-law to be afraid of their mother-in-law.It is said that this is all due to the fear of Gu.

Before Xia Xiangxi and his grandfather approached the Miao village, some people rushed out of the village.Looking at the appearance of those people, Xia Xiangxi knew that, as Amei said, outsiders rarely come here.As soon as a foreigner appears, it is like a foreign invader. Look at the hands of the Miao aunts and elder sisters, either holding a pole or a hatchet. They are all used to kill the enemy!
Feeling that something bad was going to happen, Xia Xiangxi began to break out in a cold sweat, and whispered to his grandfather, "It's bad, they don't welcome us. We don't know Miao language, how can we explain this?"

Grandpa tapped Xia Xiangxi's head with the cigarette stick, trying to make her calm down.When a leading old woman came to them, Grandpa actually said something that Xia Xiangxi didn't understand, and answered one-on-one with the Miao old woman, which surprised Xia Xiangxi a lot.But soon she digested the matter in front of her.Grandpa has been to Xiangxi, so he must also know some Miao language.

After the grandfather finished talking with the old woman, he turned his head and said to Xia Xiangxi: "It's a coincidence that we came here. A few days ago, someone caused trouble in the village. When we came, they mistakenly thought that we belonged to that person." , That's why the situation started. Don't be afraid, they won't hurt you no matter what." After speaking, he patted Xia Xiangxi on the shoulder.

Only then did Xia Xiangxi heave a sigh of relief, and slowly spread out his wet palms.

At this time, two fat middle-aged women lifted up the old pagoda tree box of grandpa, and then grandpa followed those people into the village. The woman blocked it.

After waiting for a long time, Xia Xiangxi's neck stretched, and grandpa came back without any haste.Said to Xia Xiangxi, "You can enter the stockade."

This Miao village is built on the mountain, the foot of the mountain is the gate of the village, relying on the gentle terrain of the hillside, the stone houses seem to be connected by curves, but in fact they are all independent houses.

Grandpa squinted his eyes, seemingly smiling, but he couldn't keep his eyes open because he was stimulated by the sunlight reflected by the tiles on the roof.Grandpa raised his foot, tapped the cigarette pot on the sole of his shoe, turned his head and asked Xia Xiangxi, "Did Nier see anything strange about these houses?"

Xia Xiangxi knew that Grandpa must have some ulterior motives in asking such a question. She observed it carefully, but couldn't come up with anything useful, so she shook her head at Grandpa.

Grandpa saw that Xia Xiangxi couldn't answer, so he tapped Xia Xiangxi's head lightly with the cigarette stick, and said with a little reproach: "I told you to study those old books carefully, you are always careless."

Those old books that grandpa mentioned are the books called "Qi Men Dun Jia" that are treasured at home and are regarded as the originator of Feng Shui.

After being reminded by his grandfather, Xia Xiangxi remembered the things in that book, and immediately said to his grandfather: "The house here is built according to the Eight Diagrams of the Nine Palaces!"

Grandpa's originally squinted eyes became even more curved, and he slightly nodded at Xia Xiangxi, and Xia Xiangxi heaved a sigh of relief.

Having said that, I have to mention the mysterious occupation of my grandfather.Grandpa, including grandpa's father, that is, Xia Xiangxi's grandpa, has a famous skill in watching yin and yang houses.Grandpa's reputation was heard when he was young, but when he was nearly [-] years old, he caught up with the famous cultural catastrophe in China. Grandpa and his family were all regarded as ghosts and snakes and put into the cowshed.After the catastrophe, grandpa was afraid and stayed silent for several years. Even though life was difficult, grandpa went to do harder work, and never thought about returning to his old job.

Later, because a family in a nearby village had several strange incidents one after another, they finally begged Grandpa.Grandpa was unwilling to take care of it at first, because he still had the sequelae of the catastrophe in his heart.But that man was kicked to death by a strange and crazy mule as soon as he left grandpa's house.The kind-hearted grandfather felt that his indifference killed that person, so he helped the family to settle the disasters that happened repeatedly.With the first time, it is the beginning, and it is inevitable that there will be a second and third time.The people nearby knew that grandpa was out of the mountain, so they kept coming to beg, and grandpa couldn't stand the sympathy, and gradually took care of his old business.

(End of this chapter)