Thousands of horses, with their thick necks and long manes, stood in the drizzle, as if to neigh in mournful chorus.
However, they could not make a sound, because these herds of horses, which occupied dozens of acres of farmland, were nothing more than paper horses made of gold leaf, and they shone with golden light from beginning to end, like war horses with armor in the dark night.
Suddenly, the fire flashed, and the paper horse standing at the front was lit by the torch, and in the spring breeze that had not yet warmed up, the flames quickly spread, like a cruising fire dragon swimming in the herd of horses.
Soon, all the paper horses were on fire, and the flames were soaring into the sky, kicking off patches of black smoke, and the drizzle could not stop the tongues of fire that were several feet high, but added a mystery and mourning to the scene.
I don't know how long it burned, but the fire gradually went out, and the ashes piled up on the ground drifted up with the wind, dyeing the dark sky even darker, like a piece of black ink that could not be dissolved.
"Grandpa, it seems, there seems to be footsteps, squirming."
A child stares at the dark night in the distance, "Let's go, let's go, the paper horses have been burned, don't disturb their purity."
Jiang Xixi walked into the study and saluted Cheng Mu, who was looking down to read, "My lord, it will be Qingming in a few days, and Madame's birthday has also arrived, do you want to go back to Bianliang to pay respects?"
” Cheng Muyou raised his head, "You go and prepare, and when I finish handling the matter, I will take Xun'er back." ” Jiang Xixi just wanted to say yes, but suddenly thought of the fact that the two of them went back to Bianliang to visit relatives during annual leave, so he blurted out and asked, "That, I heard Xun'er say that he didn't go to the master's house last time he went back to Bianliang."
As soon as these words came out, the study suddenly became quiet, and just when Jiang Xixi thought that he had asked extremely inappropriately, and wanted to find an excuse to sneak out, Cheng Muyou slowly stood up and walked to her side, his voice was low and quiet, "It's a pity, can you tell no one about this matter, including my father." ” The three words "why" were almost blurted out, but Jiang Xixi suppressed them in her throat, she nodded, smiled unnaturally, and desperately shifted the topic elsewhere, "My lord, I remember when I was a child, every Qingming, every household had to tie paper horses and burn them to relatives underground.
But now, it seems that it has been a long time since I have seen anyone burning paper horses in Qingming. ” Cheng Muyou looked out the window with his back hand, "There was indeed this custom in the past, burning paper horses during the Qingming Festival, and sending my thoughts to the relatives underground through the horses, but then something happened that brought this custom passed down from generation to generation abruptly." ” Jiang Xixi became interested, completely leaving the matter behind, she frowned, "What is the matter?"
It would have such an impact. ” "Dead, and not one, it's a big family, there is a wealthy merchant surnamed Han every year to tie thousands of paper horses to commemorate the ancestors, but nine years ago in the Qingming, after returning home after the memorial, the whole family died, including the family and maidservants, a total of two hundred and seventy-eight lives, disappeared overnight.
It is said that the neighbors saw a group of paper horses entering through the wall from the outside of the Han house that night, and the golden light emitted by it illuminated the entire house. ” "How did those people die?"
"The government did not find the body, but the courtyard was stained with blood, and the front hall, back yard, and garden were not stained with blood, and the whole courtyard looked as if it had been painted with red paint."
Cheng Muyou's gaze gradually became deeper, "Coincidentally, the place where this case happened is Xin'an, a few days ago I happened to pass by the Han house in the western suburbs, and found that the garden had not been demolished, but it had been completely deserted, with ruins and broken walls, overgrown weeds, and a desolate courtyard. ” "So since then, no one dares to tie paper horses anymore?"
"This incident was very fierce at the time, you were still young at that time, and you may not be impressed, but it is rumored that the paper horse can not only bring the sorrow of the living, but also bring some things from the underworld to the yang world, because it can shuttle between the two worlds of yin and yang, everyone thinks that the Han family was killed by something it brought from the yin, so since then, this custom has gradually disappeared, and now in the past few years, few people have mentioned it, and in a few years, this custom is estimated to be forgotten by people."
Jiang Xixi lowered his head and pondered for a while, "My lord, do you also believe that paper horses can kill?"
” Cheng Muyou raised his eyebrows slightly, "Whether I believe it or not, this matter can't be examined, it has been so long, all the evidence has passed away with the wind, and the Han family's case can only be an unsolved case, since it is unsolved, the rumors about it in the market will never end, this is also the saddest place I feel the most, as the Xin'an County Commander, I can only let the rumors breed, but I can't give an explanation to the deceased." ” A dark cloud drifted by, obscuring the half-bright and half-dark moon above Qifeng Tower.
In the courtyard, several black shadows were carrying something towards the three carriages, the cool breeze blew, and the things on the carriage were blown loudly, a little servant shrunk his neck, turned his head and asked the tall companion next to him, "Who still makes this thing now, and my aunt is not taboo, every year we go to the wilderness to burn it, and look strange and infiltrating." ” The tall guy glared at him, "What's there to be afraid of, isn't it a paper horse?"
Can you still survive if you are paper-tied?
As he spoke, he glanced at the dozen or so paper horses in the car, only to see them standing in a row, staring at their eyes that were round by black ink, looking at themselves faintly, and couldn't help but shudder, "Okay, don't talk about these things that are not there, let's go quickly, the mountain road is difficult to walk, and if you miss the hour for a while, you will definitely be scolded to death by your aunt." ” While speaking, Hua Gu lifted the curtain and walked out of the house, followed by Mama Hua, who was serving her closely, she was wearing a lotus-colored skirt and a dark green coat, which was much cleaner than usual, and her face was still serious and arrogant, but her lips were dyed with a touch of sadness, and her face was much darker than usual.
She glanced at the paper horses in the cart, walked to the front carriage, lifted the curtain and got inside.
The carriage went out of the city under the cover of the night, and walked for about an hour before coming to the foot of Lingyun Mountain, when crawling along the mountain road, the rain began to fall, every season, the spring rain will always come on time, so the little guy on the car hurriedly took out the rain cloth that had been prepared, and covered it tightly on the paper horse, and the group walked a few miles on the mountain road before coming to a flat woodland.
Hua Gu walked down from the car with an umbrella, and with the help of Mama Hua, she went to a tomb made of white marble, and screamed mournfully: "Son, my mother has come to see you." ”