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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
“No, perhaps there are some large animals in the forbidden area behind Futu Ridge and the undulating wasteland, but I have never heard of anyone finding anything significant in Futu Ridge. Even if there were tigers or lions in these mountains, they wouldn’t be enough to feed the villagers,” I said.
Mr. Chang's eyes revealed deep confusion as he gazed at the indistinct mountain peaks in the distance. After a long pause, he said, “This place is both a land of fortune and a site of malevolence. I suspect there used to be a temple here; we need to check the local county records.”
As we descended the mountain on the cable car, a chill of dread washed over us. Inside a cave on the cliff was a bottomless black hole, and we had no idea how deep it truly was.
People often fear the unknown more than death itself, and the cold emanating from that abyss felt as if it were a chill from the Underworld.
Due to our discovery of two locations within Dragon's Embrace Mountain, our plan to enter the forbidden area was put on hold. We drove first to the County Cultural Office to find the person in charge. Upon seeing Chen Jixian’s provincial credentials, the office head led us to the archives.
The head pointed to a locked cabinet. “All the records from our county’s towns are here. If you’re looking for other towns, it should be easy enough, but no one dares to manage Futu Ridge. They aren’t allowed to submit their county records each year. Moreover, what they do submit is either about hauntings or giant worms as thick as water jars found in the mountains. The leaders aren’t pleased with that; during the Great Revolution, many of those records were burned clean. Later, some elders wrote down what they remembered; I don’t know if it’s included here. The key is right here; you can look for it yourselves.”
After thanking him, he left. The archive room rarely saw visitors; only during annual inventories would someone sort through documents that had been borrowed or chewed up by mice. County records had become relics of the past; modern cities were too busy with economic development, and only a few regions established dedicated county record offices. Generally, only those without prospects for promotion ended up in such positions, earning low salaries—essentially a dispensable job.
There were over two thousand file bags in the cabinet, covering various towns, but there was only one file bag concerning Futu Ridge.
More critically, inside that file bag were just two old yellowed sheets of paper.
The first sheet contained a list of village heads from Futu Ridge over four hundred years, with the last recorded name for Bright Moon Village being Li Wuye, who was Li Fugui’s father. It seemed that after the Ten-Year Catastrophe, Futu Ridge's county records had not been updated.
Typically, to ensure future generations remember their ancestors' names, villages would write genealogies that are passed down through generations; however, Futu Ridge had no such genealogy.
The second sheet documented an event that occurred four hundred years ago and simply explained the origin of Futu Ridge's name.
"In the first year after the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, three monks entered the mountains and built three Futu Stupas located to the east, west, and north. This is how Futu Ridge got its name."
The meaning of the words is quite simple: in the year when the Ming Dynasty fell and the Qing Dynasty was established, three monks entered Taboo Ridge and each built a Futu Stupa on the eastern, western, and northern sides. From then on, Taboo Ridge was renamed Futu Ridge.
Aside from this, there is no other content.
Not only was Mr. Chang confused, but we were all a bit bewildered.
The Qing Dynasty was established in 1616, exactly four hundred years ago. At that time, Futu Ridge was still called Taboo Ridge, and there were no records of it. After the three monks built the three Futu Stupas at Futu Ridge, the name inexplicably changed to Futu Ridge.
Why is that?
Why build three Futu Stupas in a desolate place and change its name?
The county records didn't even mention it.
"Could it be to suppress something?" Mr. Chang murmured as he looked at the long white hair in his hand.
After finishing our meal in the county town, we returned to Futu Ridge. The incident before entering the forbidden area made Chen Jixian and Mr. Chang hesitate; they wanted the truth, not to walk into death.
If it was known that entering the Forbidden Area of Futu Ridge was certain death, who would dare to go in?
"The county records state that a Futu Stupa was built on each side—east, west, and north of Futu Ridge. I suspect that the positions of the pagodas to the east and west were once established on Dragon's Embrace Mountain's terrain. The remaining pagoda must be located within the northern forbidden area. Since someone could enter the forbidden area to build a pagoda, it implies that entry into the forbidden area is not impossible," Mr. Chang said.
After that, Mr. Chang used a Feng Shui compass to observe various locations in Futu Ridge, gradually sketching the underground Feng Shui trends he detected into a Feng Shui map.
This routine continued for over ten days. Aside from the Feng Shui map of the northern forbidden area, Mr. Chang had roughly completed the maps for the east, west, and south sides.
He showed us the three-sided Feng Shui maps of Futu Ridge, but no one could understand them, including me, who had learned quite a bit about mountain observation from the Feng Shui Secret Record.
Mr. Chang remarked, "This looks like a formation, but isn't it a bit too grand for an area spanning several dozen miles? The Feng Shui layout of the Forbidden City isn't even this extensive."
After Mr. Chang's reminder, I looked at the Futu Ridge Feng Shui map again and indeed noticed some resemblance to the shape of a Bagua. However, Futu Ridge was simply too vast, and with a gap in the northern part of the Feng Shui map, it was inevitable that Mr. Chang would miss some details while trying to depict the entire mountain range. With such a large map condensed onto a single sheet of paper, the chaotic intersecting lines resembled a formation diagram to some extent.
Formation techniques are part of Taoist School practices and sound rather mystical. Generally, they are only useful for warding off evil spirits around a residence by burying some jade or copper Pixiu nearby. Who would have the time to set up a formation spanning several dozen miles?
Mr. Chang couldn't make sense of it either, but with Provincial Leader's son Guo Huaiyi and Gentleman Jiang Chengdu from the Investigation Team missing in the forbidden area for over ten days now, did they still have any hope of being alive?
That night, as I placed my Zhou Compass on the bedside table, I suddenly recalled some words Huang the Lame had shared with me before his death.
Huang the Lame knew that the Zhou Compass was a Taoist artifact; however, he was unaware that it was referred to as a Daoist Sacred Artifact by Guo the Blind. This Zhou Compass was obtained when Ancestor Huang led several extraordinary individuals from outside into the Forbidden Area of Futu Ridge years ago. Over generations, this compass had been used for exorcism purposes; it could locate anything with spiritual energy nearby and was quite accurate for surveying Feng Shui.
I also casually flipped through the county records of Dagu Village where Huang the Lame lived and discovered that the rise of the Old Huang Family began four hundred years ago.
Four hundred years ago, three monks entered the Forbidden Area of Futu Ridge; four hundred years ago, Ancestor Huang led several extraordinary individuals into that same forbidden area. Afterward, the Huang Family acquired the Zhou Compass. The overlap in this information made me believe that Ancestor Huang must have brought those three monks into the forbidden area four hundred years ago.
This Zhou Compass either originated from within the forbidden area or belonged to those three monks. The county records did not mention what happened to those extraordinary individuals afterward or whether Ancestor Huang died after entering the forbidden area, but somehow, the Zhou Compass remained preserved.
Regarding the Futu Ridge incident involving the Snake Goddess, the County Leader was rescued by Huang the Lame. Before his death, Huang the Lame told me that on the last page of the Feng Shui Secret Record, there were some clues and secrets he discovered about the forbidden area.
I opened the last page of the Feng Shui Secret Record. The contents were not particularly mysterious; it described how to sprinkle rooster comb blood on the ground, surround it with a layer of Realgar, and then light incense inserted into the blood. Shortly after the incense smoke drifted into the forbidden area, County Leader emerged.
When Jiang Cheng first went missing, I hadn’t thought about this method. Although Guo the Blind is not currently targeting us, our relationship has become extremely strained, and he would never help us. I just recalled that this method of rescue is not typical for a Feng Shui Master, and I am unsure about the details of how it works.
Moreover, it has been over a decade since then.
In the Feng Shui Secret Record, across from the Pine Forest embankment lies the boundary of the forbidden area. Once someone steps inside, they immediately feel an eerie sensation, as if something is watching them from behind. Huang the Lame had once doubted this and secretly entered the forbidden area behind his father, Huang Bansian. However, after just a few steps, he felt as if he was being targeted by something.
He hurried to leave, but even when stepping out of the Pine Forest, that feeling of being watched lingered until he returned home and drank some Realgar wine meant for celebrations. Only then did that chilling sensation fade away.
I shared this information with Chen Jixian and Mr. Chang, and we decided to return to the edge of the forbidden area in the Pine Forest. As soon as I stepped into the forest, a sense of panic began to rise within me. However, as soon as I touched Realgar, that feeling vanished instantly. The same effect occurred when applying Realgar wine on my body.
This discovery prompted both Chen Jixian and Mr. Chang to decide to enter the forbidden area early the next morning.
This time, I also resolved to enter the forbidden area.
I wanted to uncover what secrets lay hidden within.
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