Hengcun is very large and also lives near the water. From a distance, it can be seen that the large white walls and green tiles are reflected in the lake together with the thick ink stone slabs and light ink green hills.

But don’t underestimate the villages here——

In this place, whether merchants, rich people or dignitaries, most of their families live in the countryside rather than in the city. Therefore, almost every village is populated by people with the same surname. Without mixing in other surnames, a village is like a huge village.

In a small city, it is rare for a family like Lin Jue to live in Shucun despite having a foreign surname.

Hengcun's surname is Wang, which is quite prominent. There are still members of the clan serving as officials in the court. People these days pay great attention to respecting ancestors and filial piety. More than 20 ancestral halls have been built.

There is one main temple, two main branch temples, and there are branch temples below, and some people even have family temples in their homes.

The strange thing that happened this time was a main temple.

After Lin Jue made some inquiries, he arrived at a large courtyard and met Mr. Wang.

This is a spacious hall, with a patio above the head for lighting, a water tank below, and a tortoise. There are a few couplets on the pillars on the wall. The main seat has a vase in the east and a west mirror. The old man is dressed in luxurious clothes and sits on the imperial chair.

Lin Jue looked at Lin Jue below:

"Which family are you a descendant of? You can't afford to pay for being frightened."

"This junior is from Shucun, and his surname is Lin."

"Oh, the one named Lin."

"yes."

"You are quite brave..."

"Always bold."

Lin Jue tried his best to stay calm.

No matter how brave I was, now that I'm here, in a strange place that I don't know much about, and listening to the village elder's strange stories in the pavilion, I can't help but feel a little uneasy.

The anxiety comes from the unknown.

"At your age, studying and earning a Ph.D. is the most important thing. Don't frighten your body just for some money or a moment of bravery." Old Master Wang warned.

"Junior wants to see it."

"Really want to go?"

"I really want to."

"You are quite courageous. It just so happens that you have company today." This fellow countryman spoke in a calm and unhurried tone. He did not seem to be too worried about the problems in his ancestral hall, and it seemed that in his opinion, this was just a matter of fact.

Something strange but not very rare and scary, "Have you had your supper yet?"

"Back to the old man, not yet."

"You are here to help our Wang family. Don't dare to neglect. But what do you want? Tell me now."

"It's best to have a sword."

"Give him a hatchet."

"Thank you, old sir."

"What else do you want?"

"..."

Lin Jue thought for a while and then said: "It's cold at night, so I need another quilt."

"What else do you want?"

"No more."

"Good boy!"

After speaking, the old man of the Wang family waved his hand and ordered both Lin Jue and a servant next to him: "Prepare a bedding for him, have a meal here, and then take him to the ancestral hall."

A scholarly family means being particular about things.

Bamboo stewed with mountain bamboo shoots for dinner.

I haven't had such a good meal in a long time.

During the meal, Lin Jue also saw the other companion mentioned by Mr. Wang. He was a big man with an unshaven beard who smelled of alcohol and was a bit depressed. It seemed that he was also here for the ten thousand reward. This was a good thing for Lin Jue.

I felt a little more stable in my heart.

Most of people's uneasiness comes from isolation.

It's much better to have someone to keep you company.

After the meal, someone took them to the ancestral hall.

Passing through the village, there are smoke and lights.

"Just go forward and go to the end."

It was already getting late at this time, and the servants were obviously hesitant in their steps, as if they didn't dare to get any closer. They just pointed to the front and said to them, holding an oil lamp in the other hand.

Lin Jue looked in the direction he pointed.

Ahead is a straight and narrow alley.

Next to the alley are the firewalls of houses. They are built very high. The walls were originally white. Over time, the rain washed away the black bottom underneath, revealing a mottled ink color. At dusk, whether the sky is dark or not, the walls are high.

In addition, the alley is narrow and not long, but it gives people a very deep feeling.

"..."

Lin Jue took a deep breath.

But after carefully thinking about what I had heard, and thinking about the illness of my uncle at home, I felt that there was really nothing to be afraid of, so I said decisively:

"The butler will send it here."

"Huh? Oh okay..."

The servant handed him the oil lamp in his hand.

"Thank you..."

Lin Jue took the oil lamp and started walking again.

Holding the bedding in the hand holding the oil lamp, and holding the hatchet in the other hand, he walked into the alley and kept going.

He just didn't look back.

Soon we arrived in front of the ancestral hall.

Lin Jue looked up.

The door of the ancestral hall is open, and in the dusk light, it can be seen that it is very empty inside. You can directly see the innermost portrait wall, which seems to be empty.

Lin Jue didn't let himself think too much and stepped in.

Stepping through the high threshold, there is indeed a bit of coolness, but the feeling is similar to that of an ordinary house. It is not as gloomy as imagined. Behind me are the footsteps and voice of another man:

"It's nothing..."

It was obvious that he was comforting himself.

Lin Jue didn't respond. He still walked in and looked up at the ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall in Hengcun is similar to the ancestral hall in Shucun. They both have a three-entry structure: the first entrance is the ritual gate, with a small space for storing things, which is equivalent to two rooms inside, one large and one small, one low and one high.

The first room is a hall with tables and chairs, generally called the Xiangtang, where clan members can discuss affairs, praise outstanding people, and punish bad people. The wall behind blocks the second room, and the first thing Lin Jue saw was the hanging on the wall.

This is a portrait of the ancestor of the Wang family.

He is a middle-aged man with quite a bit of grace.

Then he looked at the couplets hanging on the pillars on both sides:

Be filial to your brother and respect human ethics;

The clan is committed to peace and harmony.

Go around from the side to the back and go up the stairs to the second room, which is slightly smaller than the first room. It contains the tablets of the ancestors of the Wang family and is called the dormitory.

The ancestral hall also has a patio that can let in light and the moon, and it is beautifully decorated with carved beams and painted pillars.

It's just that the tiles above the head are a bit messy.

In addition, there are couplets and family mottos and rules everywhere in the hall.

Lin Jue watched and thought silently.

Surprisingly, there is no sense of spookiness. Instead, I feel that it is the respect that future generations have for their ancestors and the continuation of the clan culture. It actually has a sense of solemnity.

The man's voice came from behind again:

"You are so brave, you just walked in without any hesitation!

"What? You also lost a bet?

"Still trying to show off?

"Hey! I thought I was the only one tonight, but I feel much more comfortable now that there is one more person!"

As the man spoke, he put down his bedding and straw mat and sat down in the ancestral hall.

Lin Jue also sat down.

Light the oil lamp and chat with him.

They were all from nearby villages, telling each other where they lived and whether they knew each other. The sky gradually became dark, and the already dark ancestral hall became even darker.

Only the big lights flickered.

"Son, tell me, if we run out now, find another place to stay for the night, and run back before dawn tomorrow, how will they know if we slept there all night?"

The man's expression became more and more lively with his tone, as if he really thought this was feasible. Whenever Lin Jue nodded, he would really go out to check if anyone was there and sneak away with Lin Jue.

Lin Jue's first thought after hearing this was——

This companion doesn't seem to be very reliable.

"have no idea."

Lin Jueru answered with a calm expression.

He didn't dare to gamble, and he didn't want to gamble.

Now that he has made up his mind to come and has already sat here, he will not leave easily.

"well……"

After the man was rejected by him, he began to comfort himself again:

"How can there be so many ghosts and monsters in this world? I used to... well, anyway, those people who said they encountered ghosts when walking at night were either drunk and dazzled, or they had nothing to do to brag to others.

"Most of them are like that.

"It's probably some wild cats and dogs from the mountains that are making noise here, and the people in this village are frightening themselves. Or there's someone in this village having an affair here, and making some noise to scare people. Otherwise, that's what Old Man Wang did.

The ancestors were dissatisfied with the matter, so it would not embarrass us anyway.

"You're right?"

It didn't take long for the ancestral hall to become quiet.

It's not that the two of them slept, no one slept, no one dared to sleep, but there was nothing to say, so they all wrapped themselves in quilts, leaned against the wall, and opened their eyes in the darkness.

The oil lamp still flickered dimly.

There is a moon tonight.

The moonlight was bright, shining through the patio and shining on the ground like white frost.

The night is getting deeper and deeper, and people are getting sleepier and sleepier.

Unconsciously, my eyelids started to fight.

"call……"

There was a chilly breeze.

The man next to him suddenly opened his eyes.

"What?"

Lin Jue couldn't help but feel slightly startled. He looked forward, but saw nothing.

Just when he thought that this idle man was bored and scaring himself for fun, or making a fuss at the slightest sign of trouble, he actually saw a flash of light and shadow outside, and almost at the same time, the wind blew in again.

The oil lamp was suppressed and immediately dimmed. After a few moments of flame extinguishing, he struggled to stand up again.

"What is it?" The man turned to look at Lin Jue and said, staring at a pair of bright eyes, "Did you see it too?"

"Saw it."

"What is it?"

"Maybe... it's the village dog."

Lin Jue was also a little unsure, but compared to the older and stronger man next to him, he was much calmer.

“The village dog?

"It's possible and possible."

The idle man said this several times, as if to convince himself.

However, at this moment, there was another movement outside.

This voice is a speaking voice:

"Is there anyone who is not afraid of death again?"

The voice was so high-pitched that it was not only difficult to distinguish between male and female, but it didn't even sound like a human voice.

"!"

Xianhan was immediately startled.

"What?"

He still said this, but his voice was trembling, and he seemed to have completely forgotten the analysis he had made earlier.

Lin Jue was also a student of the old master Shucun, and was also influenced by the old master's thought that "there are magic arts but no ghosts and gods in the world". He was not sure whether there were real demons or ghosts in the Wang family ancestral hall or people making trouble. When he heard this strange sound, he suddenly

It also gradually started to take a turn.

Without him, it would be really weird.

When he was hesitating, his head suddenly shook.

"Crash..."

"Ding-ding-dong..."

It was all the sound of shaking tiles.

Immediately tiles started falling down.

"Pa..."

A piece of tile fell to the ground and was immediately smashed to pieces.

There was another shout, a gust of wind blew in, and the only oil lamp in the dormitory went out in response to the wind.

The dormitory suddenly became dark, and only the top of the head could be heard continuing to tremble, as if being swept by a strong wind. Intermittently, tiles fell down, hitting the ground with a crackling sound, and sometimes debris from the tiles splashed onto Lin Jue's body, bringing with it a sound.

Feel a slight touch or even a tingling sensation.

Lin Jue couldn't help but open his eyes wide.

What's going on?

Are there really monsters in this world?

Are all the strange stories told by the village elders true?

No wonder so many self-proclaimed bold drunkards and desperate idlers came here for money, but they couldn't survive a single night.

If there really are monsters, how many people are not afraid of them?

At this time, a voice came from outside the dormitory again:

"If you don't want to die, leave quickly!"

Still not as sharp as a human being, accompanied by the clanking and crackling sound of tiles.

"ah……"

It was important to save his life. The idle man next to him didn't even think about it. He rolled over and got up. Before he could stand up straight, he rolled and crawled out.

Lin Jue did not stop him or move.

First, the Wang family ancestral hall has not been peaceful for some time. There are not many or many people who come here to spend the night. Even the Wang family has organized young people in the family to come here. But except for those who were frightened and sick after returning home, Lin Jue also

I haven't heard of anyone being killed as a result.

Second, the idle man ran out at this time, and by the moonlight from the patio, he could see whether the people outside were humans or ghosts.

Maybe there was a gang committing the crime?

I heard the idle man's hurried footsteps getting further and further away. He left the dormitory and seemed to have stumbled on the threshold or steps. When he got outside, he only heard an even more frightened cry:

"ah!!"

The sound also quickly became farther and farther away.

At this time, the village was peaceful.

It seems that many villagers were woken up, or heard that someone entered the ancestral hall again tonight, so they simply stayed awake, but at this time they did not dare to make a sound.

Lin Jue was the only one left in the dormitory.

…

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(Bow and bare chest)
Chapter completed!