69novels Chapter 2 Heading to the Mushroom House
Chapter 2 Heading to the Mushroom House
……
The sun is setting in the west.
The shadow of the mountain was stretched long by the twilight, like a sharp blade pointing directly at the white dragon sculpture at the entrance of the Fulong Mountain Scenic Area.
The tour bus stopped in front of the White Dragon sculpture, and everyone quickly got off the bus with their bags and rummaged through the luggage compartment to find their suitcases.
"Dr. Su, let me get it for you!"
"Me too! Me too!"
Several tall male students rushed to surround Su Xiaoyi, the accompanying doctor, and vie to take the suitcase from her hands.
The secluded mountains, the strange folk customs, and the summer camp all combined to make this trip incredibly exciting for them.
"Then thank you, classmates." Su Xiaoyi smiled gently, did not refuse, and stepped off the car briskly.
Upon seeing this, Professor He Shougui, who was the first to get off the bus, shook his head and chuckled as he leaned on his cane, "These rascals, all they know is how to fawn over you, they don't even offer to help this old man carry anything."
Although He Shougui is over sixty years old, he is still upright and strong. The ebony cane in his hand is more like an accessory of an English gentleman than a support object.
He Shougui is a professor in the Department of Classical Literature at S City University, and also a visiting professor in the Department of Folklore. He is also the initiator and leader of this summer camp.
"Professor He, Assistant Yin..." Su Xiaoyi stepped forward to greet them.
Yin Qixu stood beside He Shougui, nodded to Su Xiaoyi, but did not say anything.
Looking at the shadow that stretched to her feet, Yin Qixu seemed to have thought of something. She lifted her sleeve to check the time, then glanced at the twilight on the mountainside, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.
it's getting dark.
It turned black faster than usual.
She raised her slender fingers and pushed up her glasses, her brown eyes sweeping over the students who were gradually gathering, her clear, cool voice revealing a hint of competence:
"Classmates, hurry up! We must get to the Mushroom House before dark!"
The Mushroom Houses in the Starry Sky Camping Area are the only officially certified accommodations within the Fulong Mountain Scenic Area.
Li Jiu and Tang Mubai hurriedly dragged out the suitcase and walked quickly towards the direction where Yin Qixu was gathered.
Seeing that everyone was present, Yin Qixu stopped talking and walked alongside Professor He Shougui at the front, leading the team across the scenic area entrance.
Li Jiu naturally followed, but just as he passed the white dragon sculpture at the entrance of the scenic area, a sudden wisp of mist brushed against his cheek.
At the same time, he seemed to breathe in a mixture of smoke and incense smoke. He seemed to see twisted patterns appearing on the white dragon sculpture, and the dragon-shaped statue somehow took on the shadows of snakes. A faint, indistinct chanting sound also drifted into his ears.
"【बुद्धवचनप्रज्ञरपर्वतप िशरचमरयरंविभरति... ंकर्मदोषंनभवति… मयरदमन "
Before Li Jiu could recover, the mist dissipated, the white dragon sculpture remained solemn, and the chanting disappeared without a trace.
Li Jiu paused, turned around, and saw that the tour bus had already started and was slowly driving away along the road it had come from.
"What are you spacing out for, bro? You're not already homesick as soon as you get off the bus, are you?" Tang Mubai came over and bumped his shoulder.
"I think I heard chanting," Li Jiu whispered.
"I heard it too." Tang Mubai pointed nonchalantly to a decorative stone lamp next to the sculpture. "Fulong Mountain is a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. It's not strange to have a few small speakers playing Buddhist scriptures by the roadside, is it? Don't scare yourself."
"But the rules clearly state..."
"Hey, are you kidding me? The rules apply after we start climbing, we've only just reached the entrance, it's not time to use the rules yet!"
Tang Mubai winked and patted Li Jiu on the shoulder, "Be bolder, bro. Those guys from the sports department have already gone ahead to help her carry her luggage and build up her favorability. If we don't put in some effort, we'll still be single when we get down the mountain."
Li Jiu was speechless: "I'm here to earn credits."
"Who isn't?" Tang Mubai's eyes widened. "Do you think I'm here for a bachelor party? Come on, let's go to the campsite first! Hey, if you really don't believe me, why don't you ask the professor?"
Li Jiu was still a little worried, so he dragged his suitcase and walked a few steps faster, catching up with the old professor He Shougui ahead.
"Professor, I think I just heard some chanting..."
Upon hearing this, Professor He frowned slightly, looking at the mountains in the twilight with a hint of disbelief: "You heard it before even entering the mountains?"
A fleeting, enigmatic look crossed the old professor's eyes. After a moment's thought, he finally shook his head: "It's alright. We haven't even entered the mountains yet. There's no need to take what we hear to heart."
The answer he received was similar to what Tang Mubai had given him. Out of caution and some reluctance, Li Jiu couldn't help but ask, "But Professor, didn't the tourist rules say...?"
"Relax," Professor He patted his shoulder with a gentle smile. "There are indeed some scripture-playing devices scattered throughout the scenic area, so you don't need to be overly nervous."
"The kind of 'chanting' mentioned in the rules—once you actually hear it, your subconscious will tell you to 'avoid' it. That kind of sound is completely different from what you're hearing now."
He paused, lowering his voice slightly, "Besides, it's not time to strictly adhere to the rules yet. We're here to conduct a folklore survey, so let's not scare ourselves unnecessarily... Alright, let's go settle into the camp first."
"...Okay." Li Jiu could only nod.
Tang Mubai caught up from behind and lightly elbowed him in the ribs: "How about it? Did Professor He say the same thing?"
Li Jiu rolled her eyes at him: "Fine, fine, you're so clever, that's pretty much what I said, okay..."
Tang Mubai grinned smugly.
As they chatted and laughed, Li Jiu seemed to sense someone watching him. He looked up instinctively and saw that teaching assistant Yin Qixu had turned his head away and was looking elsewhere.
Was she looking at me just now? A hint of doubt rose in Li Jiu's heart.
……
The sun quickly set, and dusk seemed to set Fulong Mountain ablaze, with twilight floating on the mountain like writhing red clouds.
Deep atop Fulong Mountain, Jiding Temple seems to sit amidst a red lotus, exuding Zen spirit and rising incense smoke.
Beneath the crimson lotus, the outline of the mushroom house in the Starry Sky Camp appeared not far in front of Li Jiu and the others, and from a distance it really did look like a super big mushroom.
Just as Li Jiu approached the Mushroom House, he suddenly heard some noises behind him, rustling and whispering, as if something was crawling out of the pile of dry grass and slowly getting closer to him.
Li Jiu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, so taking advantage of the fact that he was surrounded by teammates, he mustered up his courage and looked back.
In the dim light, the scenic road looked like a wide bowl of noodles, and the surrounding vegetation was not lush, so there was nothing that could possibly emerge.
He turned back, only to find that Yin Qixu had once again looked away from him.
What's going on? The doubts in Li Jiu's mind grew stronger and stronger.
……
As darkness deepened, the buildings of the Starry Sky Camp seemed to glow in the darkness, guiding them forward.
Yin Qixu quickly led everyone to the entrance of the Mushroom House.
"Everyone, please line up and swipe your park access passes to enter the Mushroom House. Once inside, I will give you a detailed introduction to the arrangements for this summer camp."
After saying this, Yin Qi stepped back a bit and stood at the entrance of the Mushroom House in the Starry Sky Camp, watching the team members swipe their cards one by one to enter the Mushroom House.
Just as it was almost Li Jiu and Tang Mubai's turn, a petite figure suddenly stepped out from the side, rubbing her hands somewhat awkwardly, and said softly, "Um, excuse me, classmate... I accidentally lost my park pass, and it's already dark. Could you lend me your card to swipe it for me? I'll just stay at the campsite for the night and go to the visitor center to get a replacement first thing tomorrow morning..."
The girl stood with her legs together, head slightly bowed, looking timid and pitiful.
Tang Mubai's eyes suddenly lit up: "Of course, that's no problem!"
As he spoke, he was about to pull the scenic area pass out from behind the tourist rules.
Li Jiu felt something was amiss but couldn't quite put his finger on what the problem was until Tang Mubai completely exposed the pass.
The chill that had previously sent a shiver down his spine surged back into his mind.
He suddenly noticed that the girl who had been shy just moments before was now staring intently at the pass in Tang Mubai's hand.
Her eyes were burning with an almost morbid intensity, surging with a long-suppressed madness.
It's like a person who is starving finally seeing a plate of meat placed in front of them.
A plate of bloody raw meat.