socalfunplaces Chapter 6 The sound of chanting, and...?
Chapter 6 The sound of chanting, and...?
Professor He's voice carried an almost obsessive certainty: "For many years, I've always thought I was the one to break this deadlock, but now I understand more and more that human strength has its limits, and I alone cannot fight against the 'human calamity'..."
Yin Qixu listened quietly, her expression unchanged: "Professor, I must remind you from an objective point of view that all the recorded survivors who returned to Fulong Mountain, or their descendants, have all disappeared in Fulong Mountain for various reasons."
Professor He said in a deep voice, "Their disappearance is due to complex reasons. I have a vague feeling that there may be some strange things I haven't figured out yet..."
"That's right, so this is the last chance the authorities are giving you." Yin Qixu met his gaze, his tone calm to the point of being cruel. "If you can't solve the problem through research on the 'folklore side,' then we can only activate the S City evacuation plan and relocate all residents of S City and the surrounding areas before the Geological Survey issues its final warning."
Professor He suddenly gripped his cane tightly with his knuckles.
"Dispersing an entire city to deal with a completely unknown crisis is too difficult and involves too many variables... I will definitely solve the problem this time. I have the determination and confidence."
"Professor," Yin Qixu said calmly, "determination and confidence only represent will, and will... is not enough to constitute the key element in solving a problem."
Professor He was somewhat annoyed: "I have always respected the official decisions, and I ask you to respect my judgment as well... I have never thought of sacrificing the children. If I could, I have said that I would go alone."
"professor……"
"There's no need to emphasize 'last time' repeatedly, Qixu," Professor He interrupted her. "Keep a close eye on Li Jiu, but don't interfere with any of his actions."
"I know the situation at Fulong Mountain better than any of you, and I know my own situation better than any of you."
He took half a step forward, a movement that caused Yin Qixu's shoulders and back to tense up almost imperceptibly.
"If I fail this time, the investigation plan for Fulong Mountain will be completely taken over by the authorities, but I know better than anyone... you will only take over, and you will not continue the investigation at all, so—"
"...Make sure you know your place, Qixu. At least until this summer camp ends, you're not an official." His gaze fell on the inconspicuous teaching assistant badge on her chest. "You're merely..."
"...My teaching assistant."
After speaking, Professor He slowly turned around, leaning on his cane.
The tip of the wooden cane tapped on the floor tiles, producing a regular and heavy sound, as Professor He gradually disappeared into the dim shadows at the end of the corridor.
Yin Qixu stood still, without moving.
Her eyes, behind her glasses, stared in the direction where Professor He had disappeared. After a long while, she blinked very lightly.
Her lips parted slightly, but she didn't speak, only letting out a delicate breath: "..."
……
The Mushroom House buffet restaurant features soothing music and soft lighting, where guests stroll among themselves carrying their trays and chatting quietly.
Adhering to the principle that it would be a loss not to eat until you vomit, Tang Mubai ate and drank to his heart's content with a huge pile of food.
Li Jiu ate his spaghetti bolognese, glancing at Tang Mubai every now and then, while pondering the rules for tourists at Fulong Mountain Scenic Area and the rules for Mushroom House.
Before coming to Fulong Mountain, Li Jiu always believed that many things are like "not seeing the true face of Mount Lu because you are in the mountain yourself." If you only see those rules online and don't combine them with reality, it will definitely be difficult to understand what they are all about.
After browsing numerous online guides about Fulong Mountain, and with Professor He launching a summer camp for studying the local customs of Fulong Mountain, Li Jiu, with a touch of youthful restraint yet a thirst for adventure, submitted his application.
After all, Professor He himself has official qualifications, and the summer camp he organizes is definitely much more reliable than those organized by random groups.
Li Jiu always felt that he was chosen by Professor He simply because of good luck.
It wasn't until he discovered that Tang Mubai had also passed the application that he realized there probably weren't many applicants. Professor He probably had all the applicants and also pulled in some "enthusiasts" from social recruitment to barely make up the number.
Folklore exploration summer camp?
wrong.
Professor He has joined a group purchase for Fulong Mountain.
Correct.
Looking at Tang Mubai, Li Jiu felt a bit like he was in a dream.
Tang Mubai is actually a very down-to-earth, even overly frugal, rich second-generation. He often drinks 1L of iced black tea for 4.5 yuan.
In his words, it's all about "saving when you should, spending when you should, and going to prostitutes when you should." While other guys like Guigui are willing to work for three months to buy a bag for someone else's pet dog, he turns down pets that are offered to him and prefers to treat everyone to barbecue.
Although he keeps saying he wants to find a partner, he has already moved beyond low-level interests and only wants to find a partner whose soul is highly compatible with his.
This person's qualifications do not meet Professor He's requirements for summer camp applicants at all, but as soon as he raised the banner of "interest in the folk culture of Fulong Mountain", Tang Mubai's application was approved. It is highly suspicious that he was just filling in the numbers.
Besides Tang Mubai, the other couples on the summer camp list who were using the guise of study tours for publicly funded travel could also provide evidence for Li Jiu's conjecture.
Overall, this summer camp seemed more like a makeshift setup put together by Professor He, and Professor He himself seemed to have come with some ulterior motive.
The many mysteries surrounding the summer camp, coupled with the mixed and confusing online reviews of Fulong Mountain, only made Li Jiu more interested in it.
But once he entered Fulong Mountain, he realized that his idea of "not recognizing the true face of Mount Lu" was biased.
Once he got to the mountains, he felt a little disoriented.
It seems there really are some mysterious and unpredictable things in Fulong Mountain.
After all, he still selectively believes in some supernatural and bizarre things.
Li Jiu ate his food absentmindedly for a while, his thoughts wandering. In his daze, he didn't notice that the music around him gradually changed from soothing to lengthy, and then from lengthy to intricate...
At first, the music was just a faint hum in the background, like the collective chanting of monks deep in a temple, carrying a kind of solemnity that made people feel dizzy.
But gradually, the sound became rough and distorted, like sandpaper rubbing against the throat, or like the whistling of the wind passing through the cracks of an ancient cave...
Gradually, gradually, a heavy bass, similar to Mongolian throat singing, squeezed from the depths of the chest, begins to dominate the melody. Amidst these low, murky hums and throat vibrations, a few sharp, short syllables suddenly burst forth, like the sound of a snake with metallic scales slithering swiftly through the darkness…
Li Jiu suddenly felt somewhat dazed. For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten his identity, where he was, and what he was doing...
He sat there like a piece of wood, his eyes vacant, his pupils slightly dilated.
The sound was like a tide, washing over his will again and again, erasing it little by little...
The plate in front of her, Tang Mubai's figure across from her, the warm yellow light of the restaurant... everything seemed to be distorted and blurred through a thick layer of sloshing grease...
The light dimmed.
It wasn't that the lights went out; rather, a deeper darkness slowly crept in from the edge of my vision, and everything around me began to distort and ripple, like a reflection in water.
He lowered his head.
The chopsticks in my hand... are wriggling.
The chopsticks' metallic sheen revealed scale-like patterns, and his fingers felt a smooth, slippery sensation. The chopsticks, like two slender silver snakes, were lazily coiling around his fingers.
On the plate, the spaghetti bolognese simmered gently.
Beneath the bright red sauce, countless tiny, pale things wriggled.
It's not noodles.
These are newly hatched... snake seedlings.
Wait... a snake?!