I come from deep in the mountains of Yunnan. Among the high mountains at the junction of Yunnan and Sichuan, there is a taboo passed down from generation to generation in Yi villages: "When the mountain wind tears apart the night and the bronze bells tremble in the wind, it is the time when evil spirits choose people." These bronze bells are said to be ancient sacrificial tools and were once used to communicate with gods. However, I don't know when they were associated with evil spirits and became an ominous omen. The rock walls blackened by campfires, the ancient trees split by lightning, and even each parchment engraved with incantations all contained unspeakable terror. The thousand-year-old locust tree at the entrance of the village where three people hugged each other had faded prayer flags hung on its branches. When the wind blew, the broken flags let out a hoarse whimper, as if countless ghosts were fighting for breath. Every full moon night, the Bimo (priest) in the village will light a torch made of pine trees, hold a bell engraved with charms, and perform an ancient exorcism dance in front of the altar deep in the jungle. The sound of the bell is mixed with the crisp sound of the sheep bone hexagram, and the cracks in the divination contain bloody prophecies.
