Chapter 004: The Dead Gate

I glanced at the date and time on my phone, December 3, 2004, the 22nd day of the 10th lunar month, at 7:15 PM, with the solar term being Light Snow.

In winter, night falls quickly; by just after 5 o'clock, darkness has descended. If it were not for the snow covering the mountains, one would be unable to see their hand in front of them, as the biting cold wind howls fiercely.

The boss said that the house has been abandoned for many years. He often played there with his friends when he was a child. Those houses have been exposed to the wind and rain for years, and some are on the verge of collapse. A few years ago, a child was struck by a falling brick and became mentally impaired, after which no one went there again

The master took out two small shovels from the large bag he carried with him, handed one to me, and the two of us jumped into the snow pit and began to dig

Afterwards, I went to that place and, sure enough, it was a path trampled by the quarry workers. At the end of the path was a deep ditch, filled with stones, where falling would mean certain death. That "thing" that trapped me that night deliberately led me to discover that path, intending for me to walk along it and fall into the ditch to my demise. Fortunately, I am skilled in the art of Qimen Dunjia and calculated that the path led to the door of death.

The master brought it to his nose and sniffed it, his brow slightly furrowing, remaining silent, and I did not dare to ask

The tripod remains in place, the pulley hangs above, and the iron chain dangles down, swaying slightly... I furrow my brow, recalling the events of the day before yesterday, and I truly cannot believe that all of this was caused by the deceased

That is not a problem; as long as I can identify any entity geographically that can represent the Nine Stars or the Eight Deities, through the residence of that star or deity, I will be able to determine the direction

I looked around and suddenly noticed a winding path about twenty to thirty meters away from me. With a sense of taking a gamble, I slowly walked towards that path. Finally, I arrived safely on that road.

In Qimen Fengshui, a winding road like this represents the "Teng She" in the Eight Gods. The divination I just performed indicates that "Teng She" is at the Death Gate, falling into the Kan Palace, which is to the north of my current position. If I follow this road, I will surely meet my demise

It is not complicated to say; as long as one identifies the "exit" from the current predicament, one can find a way out

Where is his wife's family home

Just as I was about to get up after settling the bill, the restaurant door suddenly swung open, and a cold wind rushed in. A young attendant hurried to close the door, and suddenly, there was a loud crash as a statue of Guanyin from a divine urn against the wall fell to the ground

"Xiao Dong," the boss called to his assistant, "we won't be doing business tonight. Bring over those washed vegetables; we will close the door later and have hot pot."

If I am not mistaken, this should be connected to the river to the south, as the weather is too cold and the water has frozen into ice, the master said

To illustrate, I am currently akin to being trapped in the center of a large 3x3 grid, surrounded on all sides by eight squares, each representing a different door: the Rest Door, the Life Door, the Injury Door, the Trap Door, the Scene Door, the Death Door, the Shock Door, and the Open Door. There is only one exit, which is the Life Door. Only by identifying its location can I escape. If I wander aimlessly and mistakenly enter the Death Door or the Injury Door, I will seal my own fate. The exit is singular, namely the Life Door, and only by determining its position can I find my way out. If I recklessly stumble about and inadvertently enter the Death Door or the Injury Door, I will doom myself.

"Leng'er, let us clear the snow from that pit." After a moment, the master said

The time is not yet five o'clock, and it is still early for dinner. I light a cigarette and chat casually with the owner of the restaurant while smoking. As we talk, we finally bring up that old house.

My master once taught me that if one is lost in the wilderness and is targeted by a ghostly entity, one should bite their finger until it bleeds and then apply the blood to the space between the eyebrows. The illusions created by the ghostly entity will immediately vanish.

Ah? I was taken aback, "It's nothing, I just passed by there and asked casually."

As I left the town, that feeling intensified. I glanced around with my peripheral vision, but saw nothing.

"What do you want that house for?" the boss asked

The master brought a branch and carefully scraped the snow off the bell, only then did I see its full appearance. It was already rusted beyond recognition, yet it remained intact and quite complete.

The sky is filled with layers of leaden clouds, and the cold wind rages, causing the trees by the roadside to sway unsteadily. I feel a chill penetrating my bones, so I tightly wrap myself in my cotton-padded coat and stagger towards the nearby town.

Fortunately, we arrived in time; their fate is about to reach its end. Boss Wang's wife and son will not survive the night. We must bring them to this residence before midnight. The master said, "I don't have time to explain right now, Leng'er. You stay here and wait for me. If I don't return by afternoon and you go out to buy food, take this bag with you. It contains magical tools that will be needed tonight. Don't leave it in this courtyard in case something goes wrong..."

Alright

As I walked like this, I suddenly realized that I was standing in a desolate wilderness, looking around in confusion, unable to see a single building.

After Master left, he indeed had not returned by the afternoon. Around three o'clock, I could no longer bear the hunger and decided to go buy something to eat. As I came out of the warehouse, I suddenly remembered Master's instructions and turned back to retrieve that large bag.

In a state of panic, I felt that something had happened. With a loud crash, the bag fell to the ground, having already burst open. Various magical tools and equipment used for different esoteric practices rolled out all over the floor

I crouched down and, together with my master, reached my hand into the bell, once again touching that sticky, glue-like substance. Despite the cold weather, it had not solidified.

In this cramped and oppressive environment, even the sound of breathing seems exceedingly heavy, and I feel as though my voice resembles a muffled thunder.

The master glanced at the watch and asked, "Leng Er, which hospital in the city is Boss Wang's son in?"

I have a feeling of enlightenment, yet I do not understand how it is connected to the river. In the center of the ice layer, there is a large hole, precisely where the bell used to be, now blocked by snow. Some may ask, since there is so much snow in the pit, isn't the snow in the courtyard very thick? The courtyard is dilapidated, exposed to the wind on all sides; the snow that falls to the ground is blown by the wind and will flow to the lower areas.

Forget it, I will find it myself. With that, the master began to ascend.

The snow had become extremely hard due to the severe cold. Although the master's shovel was sharp, it was still somewhat laborious to dig. With each scoop, we threw the snow aside. As we dug deeper, we occasionally looked up, only to see the overcast sky above, seemingly pressing down upon us. Finally, we reached the ice layer, and the shovel could no longer penetrate.

Upon hearing about the hot pot, the young man readily agreed.

This place is rarely visited, and outside there is only a small path leading to the distant main road. All traces in the yard have been covered by yesterday's snow, including the pit where the bell was buried, which is also half buried under the snow

After the master had been gone for quite a while, I finally awoke from my daze. I imitated the master and reached out to touch the stone pillar in the ice cave. I could vaguely discern that the pillar was inscribed with what seemed to be characters related to the sun's energy, but the script was quite peculiar. I could only recognize the character "Geng"; the others were beyond my comprehension. I thought to myself that my abilities were still far inferior compared to those of the master.

The boss turned around, saw me still standing there in a daze, and said: "The weather this year is strange, it has snowed so early. In just a few days, we have had two snowfalls. That Guanyin statue falling earlier is inauspicious; we will not be open for business tonight. Sigh, business is tough..."

I walked down the street, pretending to be nonchalant, humming a little tune while quietly reaching into my bag. I felt a talisman for warding off evil and secretly held it in my hand.

The cold wind caused a sudden drop in temperature inside the restaurant, and the light bulb above swayed for a long time before finally coming to a stop

This ... ... I do not know ... ...

Upon arriving in the town, I wandered around and found a small restaurant, where I ordered a plate of fried noodles and a bowl of hot soup. After a bout of ravenous eating, like a whirlwind sweeping away the remnants, my cold hunger was completely alleviated

Indeed, as soon as I stepped out of the restaurant, I sensed that something was amiss. I have experienced many things that are difficult for ordinary people to imagine, and dealing with unclean entities is not something new to me. At that moment, a feeling told me that I was being targeted by some kind of "thing".

I tried it, but it had no effect at all, which made me feel anxious, and cold sweat trickled down my nose. The thing that had been "following" me all along never appeared; the invisible "thing" was even more terrifying.

The sky grew increasingly overcast, and cold winds swept in one after another, continuously invading the courtyard. I could no longer endure it and had no choice but to seek refuge in the warehouse where I had stayed the previous night. In the corner of the warehouse lay a considerable amount of scattered timber, and I lit a fire, taking quite some time to warm my frozen feet.

I hid the token in my sleeve, and with a "Oh!" I pretended to trip and twist my ankle. As I bent down to rub my foot, my gaze slipped through the gap between my legs to look behind me, but all I saw was the snow on the road

I also found the gust of wind just now to be strange; the Guanyin statue is an object meant to protect the house, and its falling is indeed inauspicious. I wondered, could it be that we inadvertently offended something while we were speaking just now

A sudden inspiration struck me; I recalled that the secret art of Qimen taught to me by my master contains a method for finding one's way when lost. However, I have never used it before, so I am unsure of its effectiveness

I laughed and said, "Do I look like someone so wealthy? Alright, it's getting late, I'm leaving..."

What happened, Master? I asked anxiously

Oh, I thought you wanted to buy it. It is said that the house has been purchased by a brick kiln owner

I scratched my head and thought for a moment, then informed my master

As my master and I dug out the snow from the ice hole, a dark stone pillar emerged, square and four-sided, seemingly fixed in place. When I pushed it with my hand, it did not budge at all. There were faint carvings around the stone pillar. My master ran his hand around it and suddenly exclaimed, "This is bad!"

Subsequently, the master was calculating something with his fingers while occasionally looking up at the sky. Although I was extremely curious, I did not dare to ask, nor did I even dare to breathe.

If I were to use Qimen to establish a situation, and I followed the Yin Dun Eight Trigrams. I set up a situation on the ground, and I saw the Sheng Men falling in the direction of the Nine Palaces, which is directly to my south. However, the world before me is shrouded in confusion, and I cannot discern where the true south lies

Master, why is there ice underground

The path that is frequently trampled is remarkably solid, and the magnetic field is stronger than in other areas. I measured it with a compass, and then I plunged a shovel into the ground a few times. A wave of ecstasy surged within me; this is a genuinely existing path, not an illusion

The boss was startled and hurried over to pick up the Guanyin statue. After checking, he found that it was not damaged. He carefully wiped it with a cloth, repeatedly reciting Amitabha Buddha's name.

After a moment, the master suddenly stood up with a "whoosh," startling me

As I got up and walked forward, everything began to feel amiss. I suddenly found the road ahead unfamiliar. Continuing forward, the scenery on both sides of the path changed; first, a dilapidated brick wall inexplicably appeared on my right, and then a sturdy old tree emerged on my left.