booktalesy Chapter 269 is finished... It's really out...
Chapter 269 is finished... It's really out...
Chapter 269 is finished... It's really out... (4000)
As those four words fell, the hairs on Lu Yuan's body seemed to stand on end almost simultaneously.
You are famous too.
It didn't come from the jar, nor from the mouth of that thin-faced man, but rather seemed to come from a wisp of cold air behind his ear, seeping into his skin.
In an instant, Lu Yuan didn't think of "evil" first, but rather of something even more deadly.
It wasn't trying to scare him.
It truly knows who he is.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Lu Yuan immediately held his breath, pinched the bloodstain on his palm with his left hand, and forcefully pushed his mind back.
The most skillful thing about evil things isn't collision, but hooking.
It tells you first, "I know you."
And let me tell you, "You've been on my list for a long time."
In the end, you'll start to doubt yourself, and you won't even be able to stand up straight.
But Lu Yuan didn't give it that chance.
He reached back and touched his brow; the yellow talisman was slightly warm beneath it, the lingering embers of Qingming.
Lu Yuan coldly replied, "You might recognize me, but you'll have to live to see it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cracked hand on the jar's mouth suddenly pushed up, and the entire yellow cloth was arched into an extremely unnatural high bulge as if by something underneath.
The high bump first resembled a person's back, then a head, and finally slowly bulged upwards to reveal a clearly defined forehead bone.
Song Qinghe gasped, nearly throwing the lamp away in fright.
"Don't move!"
Lu Yuan shouted, but his eyes were fixed on the black wooden plaque.
Zhou Heng had dug half of the base of the black wooden plaque, and the binding rope underneath had broken.
But beneath the broken rope lies an even finer layer of black silk, densely entwined, like a spider web winding into the soil, connected to who knows how many other places.
Lu Yuan finally understood why Tie Suanpan had repeatedly tried to stop him.
This is not a pot base at all.
This is the main vein of the entire tributary region.
Once everything is cut off, all those things that rely on names to find their way or to gain status will rush out from every corner.
But as time goes on, the evil god in the altar will gradually extend its eyes, face, and hands.
It's a dead end no matter which way you look at it.
Lu Yuan felt even colder inside.
Especially in situations like these, you must not let the other party lead you by the nose.
A seemingly intractable situation may appear to be blocked on both sides, but its true weakness often lies in the very place it least wants people to touch.
He glanced at Song Qinghe first.
Her face was pale, her right hand steadying the oil lamp, and a small red mark on the back of her left hand from the fire, but she bit her lip and didn't utter a sound.
The firelight reflected in her eyes, which held fear, but not confusion.
Lu Yuan nodded slightly, looked at Song Qinghe, and said in a low and steady voice: "Qinghe, make sure the lamp is not tilted, raise it an inch above the mouth of the jar, and don't let it get into the shadows."
Song Qinghe immediately did as instructed, raising both wrists and moving the lamp upwards by half an inch.
As soon as the firelight shone, the face under the yellow cloth on the altar twitched, as if it were afraid of the light, or as if the light revealed its true form.
Lu Yuan then turned to look at Wang Cheng'an and Xu Erxiao.
The two of them were no longer simply trying to hold their ground.
Wang Chengan stood on the left, which blocked a slanting shadow line from the side of the altar.
Xu Erxiao pressed down on the right, the salt line under his feet was laid out neatly, and although his face was pale, he did not make a mistake.
Lu Yuan saw this and secretly made a mental note of it.
These two guys are really getting more and more impressive.
I used to worry that they would mess things up at crucial moments, but now that we're actually in the office, they're not afraid and they're not flustered. They've already managed to hold their own.
"Cheng'an."
Lu Yuan said in a deep voice, "Go and pick up the brightest piece of the broken mirror over there, wrap it in yellow paper, and don't let it shine on people again."
Wang Cheng'an immediately replied, "I know, Brother Lu."
Then Lu Yuan looked at Xu Erxiao beside him and said, "Erxiao, you guard the salt line. If black energy crawls out, just replenish it. Don't ask me."
Xu Erxiao readily agreed, "Understood, Brother Lu."
Lu Yuan then turned his gaze to Tie Suanpan.
The man was now deathly pale, his shoulders were being pressed down by Lin Zhaoxuan, and he looked as if his bones had been removed.
But he dared not fall, because every time the face in the jar moved, he felt as if a thread was being pulled on his body.
"Iron Abacus".
Lu Yuan spoke up: "Can you still tell the truth now?"
Iron Abacus's lips trembled as he nodded with difficulty: "Ask away."
Lu Yuan immediately pointed to the black wooden plaque and asked, "Whose names are on this black wooden plaque?"
Iron Abacus closed his eyes, seemingly unwilling to answer, but finally let out a bitter laugh: "There are living people, and there are dead people."
There were travelers heading into the mountains, porters running errands, and outsiders coming to ask for directions.
"And also—the person I invited to perform rituals in my early years."
Lu Yuan's gaze darkened: "You even wrote down the names of living people?"
Iron Abacus looked as if he had been stabbed with a knife, his face turning even paler: "It wasn't me who remembered it, it was what it wanted."
"At first, they only wanted names of the dead, saying they would use the dead to suppress evil spirits."
"Later, when that wasn't enough, they started asking for living names."
"It's good to have a living name; it can help heal its eyes faster."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan frowned and said, "Did it ask for it itself?"
Iron Abacus nodded, his voice hoarse and bitter: "Once, when there weren't enough offerings in the jar, it called its name by itself at night."
"Whoever you call will fall asleep, and once they fall asleep, they will either disappear the next day or have a hysterical fit, and they won't even recognize the road when they see it again."
"Later on, the people guarding the altar dared not leave the names blank, so they had to fill in the gaps by adding more people."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan's eyes turned as cold as ice.
"So this place is not a place for worshipping gods at all."
"It's about people."
Tie Suanpan dared not reply, and simply lowered his head even further.
Lu Yuan didn't press him any further, and his gaze returned to the mouth of the jar.
Under the yellow cloth, his thin face was even more swollen, his forehead and nose almost fully formed, as if a piece of skin was being stretched out from the inside.
But the strangest thing wasn't the face, but the hand.
The cracked hand didn't retract; instead, it slowly stretched outwards.
Fingertips traced the rim of the altar, as if testing the threshold first, then the wind outside.
Lu Yuan suddenly felt something was wrong.
It wasn't trying to force its way in.
It is looking for a "way".
"Cheng'an!"
Lu Yuan shouted, "Bring that broken mirror over here, three steps away from me. It's the black plaque behind the altar!"
Wang Chengan was taken aback, but immediately did as he was told, quickly lifting the broken mirror wrapped in yellow paper behind the altar.
The mirror tilted, perfectly framing half of the black wooden plaque.
Almost instantly, Lu Yuan saw that what was reflected in the mirror was not a card or dirt, but an extremely thin white line.
The white lines extend downwards from the base of the sign, like veins running through the soil, densely connecting in all directions.
Deeper beneath the soil, there lies another layer of shadow.
Like a half-open eye.
"Found it."
Lu Yuan said in a low voice.
Zhou Heng, who was standing nearby, was taken aback: "Found what?"
Lu Yuandao: "It truly borrows the root of the road."
"The black wooden plaque is just a register; the real door is in the eye below."
Tie Suanpan looked up abruptly, his face filled with horror: "You can't touch that eye!"
"That's an eye in the earth!"
"Once the earth's eye is touched, the entire mountain will awaken!"
Lu Yuan gave him a cold look: "Then let it wake up."
"It's better than having people read through this forum bit by bit."
"What do you think we're here for?"
"Just strolling around?!"
Iron Abacus was speechless with shock, his face turned pale. He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't dare to stop him.
Lu Yuan already knew what was going on.
In this game, the real key is not the altar, nor the cards, but the borrowed name from the Earth Eye.
In the end, what you're really worshipping isn't the face on the altar, but the eye beneath it that "sees the way."
The black altar is merely a layer of skin covering its eyes; the black wooden plaque is used to record who it should see; and the name-binding rope is used to tether its lineage and prevent it from wandering aimlessly.
Now that the rope has broken, you have to open your eyes on your own.
He quickly pulled out three talismans from his pocket, sticking one to his palm, handing one to Wang Cheng'an, and giving one to Xu Erxiao.
Listen.
Lu Yuan spoke very quickly: "When I go to reveal the cards later, no matter what you hear or see, don't turn around."
"Cheng'an, you guard the right side. No matter who calls your name, don't answer."
"Second Brother, once the salt line on the left side breaks, you should patch it with cinnabar. Don't stop."
"Qinghe, shine the lamp on the ground, don't lift it to the mouth of the jar."
"Lin Zhaoxuan, the moment I make that gesture, hold down the abacus and don't let him die here."
"Zhou Heng, you come with me and dig up the card base."
Zhou Heng swallowed hard and nodded, "Understood."
Wang Cheng'an stuffed the talisman into his pocket, his palms sweaty, but he still nodded steadily: "Brother Lu, just give the orders."
Xu Erxiao gritted his teeth and whispered, "I won't turn back."
Lu Yuan glanced at them, and surprisingly, he was able to calm himself down, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.
But the next moment, the commotion inside the jar suddenly intensified.
The face seemed to be suddenly pushed from the inside, and the entire yellow cloth flipped outwards with a "whoosh," revealing a black crack at the mouth of the jar.
There was no mud or wood in the dark cracks.
It has only one eye.
An eye that was larger, more solid, and closer than the one seen in the mirror before.
The whites of the eyes were grayish-yellow, and the pupils were so black they were almost black. There was even a very fine dark red line around the edge of the pupil, like blood vessels or a curse mark.
The moment those eyes opened, all the broken mirrors in the empty room vibrated simultaneously with a "buzz".
Song Qinghe's hand trembled, and the lamplight instantly shifted by half an inch.
Lu Yuan's heart sank.
Oh no, it's using this unfortunate incident to its advantage.
Sure enough, that eye turned slightly and looked first at Song Qinghe.
Song Qinghe felt as if something had hit her hard on the back of her head, her vision went black, and she swayed.
"Qinghe!"
Zhou Heng exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Yuan rushed forward, slamming the Soul-Suppressing Talisman onto the lamp handle, and hissed, "Look down! Don't look at it!"
Song Qinghe bit her tongue, forcibly suppressing the dizziness, and quickly looked away from the mouth of the jar.
But in that very brief instant, the eye in the altar had already memorized her clearly.
"It recognized the second living eye."
Iron Abacus muttered, his face filled with despair: "It's going to pick someone—it's going to pick someone—"
Lu Yuan said coldly, "Whether it gets to choose or not depends on whether I allow it to choose."
After Lu Yuan finished speaking in a cold voice, he suddenly stepped in front of the black wooden plaque.
This step landed squarely on the soil that Zhou Heng had loosened in front of the sign.
"Zhou Heng, make your move!"
He shouted.
Zhou Heng had been waiting for this sound. He immediately shoved the wooden stick in his hand into the ground and pried it open along the white line that Lu Yuan had pointed out earlier.
With a "click," an even thinner bone nail was revealed at the base of the black wooden plaque.
The bone nail was entirely black, with its pointed end pointing downwards. It was made from ground animal bone and was nailed to the base of the plaque, firmly embedded in the earth's veins.
"This is an eye-soothing nail."
Lin Zhaoxuan recognized it at a glance, his voice deep: "It's a hidden hole."
Lu Yuan was straightforward, saying directly, "Pull it out."
After Lu Yuan finished speaking, he gripped the short knife in his right hand with a reverse grip, first pressing the back of the blade against the side of the bone nail, and then prying it open sharply.
The bone screw remained firmly in place.
The eye in the jar seemed to sense something, it suddenly contracted, and then opened wide again.
The mirrors in the entire underground chamber simultaneously exploded, releasing a layer of white mist, from which countless faces emerged.
Men, women, young and old, all with blank expressions, turned towards Lu Yuan.
Xu Erxiao felt a chill run down his spine and almost let go, but fortunately Wang Cheng'an grabbed his arm and whispered, "Stay calm, don't be afraid."
"I'm not afraid."
Xu Erxiao said this, but his hand still trembled slightly: "It's disgusting."
Wang Chengan gritted his teeth and whispered, "I have to endure it, even if it makes me feel nauseous."
Hearing their conversation, Lu Yuan didn't turn around, but silently nodded in his heart.
At that moment, the name on the black wooden plaque suddenly lit up again.
Not just one or two, but a whole series.
It was as if someone had used sparks to burn down from above, and rows and rows of words shone a ghastly white in the ashes.
With each name that appears, the eye at the mouth of the altar opens a little wider, and the bloodshot dark lines in the white of the eye grow a little more.
"We can't let it continue taking attendance."
Lu Yuan said in a low voice.
His mind raced, and he immediately yanked the copper needle and thread in his hand, then wrapped it around the bone nail at the base of the black wooden plaque.
"Cheng'an!"
"Give me the cinnabar!"
"Second Little One, fill in the salt line completely, don't leave any gaps!"
"Lin Zhaoxuan, press down on the back of Tie Suanpan's neck, don't let him breathe!"
"Qinghe, the lamp shines on the base of the plaque, not on the eye of the altar!"
Several people responded and moved.
Wang Cheng'an directly opened the cinnabar packet in his arms and scattered it at Lu Yuan's feet.
The cinnabar fell to the ground, its red color dazzling, like a layer of fine fire.
Xu Erxiao quickly finished patching the salt lines, gritting his teeth as he said, "Brother Lu, it's done!"
Lin Zhaoxuan pressed down on the back of Tie Suanpan's neck with one palm, slamming him to the ground.
The abacus was already on the verge of collapse, and this pressure reduced its struggle even further, leaving it only able to let out short, panting breaths.
Song Qinghe lowered the oil lamp as much as possible, and the light shone on the base of the black wooden plaque, revealing the entire appearance of the animal bone eye-suppressing nail.
Taking advantage of the situation, Lu Yuan gave a low shout, and with a sudden twist of his short knife, the cinnabar and the blade fell simultaneously, forcefully prying into the side seam of the bone nail.
"open!"
He shouted and suddenly exerted force in his hand.
The bone screw finally loosened a little.
And it was at this very moment that the eye in the forum suddenly narrowed.
Immediately afterwards, the entire jar seemed to be violently struck from below, and the yellow cloth suddenly burst open, creating a hole.
A cloud of black gas shot out from the crack and rose straight into the air.
Half of its body was vaguely visible within the black mist.
It is neither human nor beast.
The thing was too thin and too long, with its shoulder blades raised high, like it was covered by a thin layer of human skin, yet it was constantly throbbing beneath the skin.
The most terrifying thing is its head.
The head had almost no visible features, just a thin face pressed against the forehead, with eyes that were slowly moving.
It's finally going to come out of the jar.
Iron Abacus let out a scream that sounded like a mix of crying and laughing: "It's over—it really came out—!"
But at that moment, Lu Yuan suddenly smiled.
It wasn't a relaxed laugh, but a slight curve that was chilling to the extreme.
"You came out at just the right time."
He reached out and grabbed the last piece of the black thread from the copper coin, yanked it outwards sharply, and shouted, "If you want to open your eyes, I'll block your path first!"
"If you want to acknowledge names, I'll first remove you from the roster!"
"You need to borrow my body."
I'll let you have a moment to spare!