Chapter 47 Mamu Xueduo

I slowly opened my eyes. The feeling of weakness was so real, and the bitterness and saltiness in my throat indicated that the blood had accumulated in my lungs long ago.

There was the crackling sound of a fire off to the side. The flames were so low that the light was almost nonexistent, but I could still feel some warmth coming from over there.

I found that I was sitting. In front of me was one of those one-person burial corpses, and I was facing its face door.

Have I not come out yet? I wondered.

But then I immediately found that this one-person burial corpse was different from the previous one—its back was completely open, which made it look like a wearable human skin suit.

I turned my head and saw Black Glasses leaning against the wall on one side, seemingly drinking water.

There was a rock pile behind me acting as a support, so I leaned back against it. The rocks hadn’t been chosen very well, but even if they had, my back still hurt like I had been run over by a truck with sulfuric acid on its tires.

I didn’t speak. I was still unsure whether I had really escaped those numerous layers of hallucinations or not, but I didn’t dare underestimate the enemy anymore.

“It’s very powerful, isn’t it?” When Black Glasses said this, I couldn’t see his expression clearly, but I felt that he was smiling. “This is the most powerful evil sorcery I’ve ever encountered.”

How could I tell if I was in reality or still trapped in a hallucination? I was completely exhausted, and my brain wouldn’t work at all.

“Can’t tell if this is real?” He asked me.

I nodded.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you look so pathetic.”

“Can’t you say something useful?” I continued coughing, which caused more blood to flow out. He walked over and handed me a cup of water. I took it, but the water was so hot that I couldn’t hold onto it at all, and I had to put it on the ground with trembling hands.

At this time, I gradually realized that I was in what appeared to be a culvert.⁽¹⁾ It was neither big nor small, but based on how Black Glasses’ head was almost scraping the ceiling when he stood up, and how the surrounding cave walls could clearly be seen, I’d say it was more on the small side.

“This thing, it follows your own character. If you act against your nature, it can’t do anything to you, but one’s character is a very formidable thing. Ordinary people have no way to overcome it.” He moved a stone and sat beside me.

“What about my character?” I asked.

“When you came out, you must have done something against your character.”

Yes, I followed my inner logic and strongly convinced myself that the herdsman was too real. If it weren’t for that strange feeling at the end, I would still think that he was a real person, and that he was still trapped in the hallucination.

“You have a big problem. You’ve taken too much snake venom, and now the boundaries between reality and fantasy are blurred.” As Black Glasses spoke, he looked at the one-person burial corpse in front of me with its face doors open. “Do you want to know what this thing is, and why it’s so powerful?”

I didn’t have any strength, so although I had a bunch of questions, I could only nod my head weakly.

“This thing is called Mamu Xueduo, and its full name is Xiong Mamu Xueduo. It’s the primitive witchcraft of the Bon religion. It’s been passed down through Tibetan culture and is still used by many people in Tibetan areas, but it’s not as powerful as it is here.” Black Glasses continued explaining, “It’s an evil type of sorcery. Mamu is a Bon goddess who lives in a human corpse or a horse corpse. Duo is the word for witchcraft here. In this place, you shouldn’t get close to anything that’s shaped like a pagoda and has patterns painted on the front of it.”⁽²⁾

I wanted to say that I already saw one in my hallucination, but I was too tired to interrupt him.

“How do you want to listen to the next round of information? I can talk to you for three days and three nights, or I can tell you in five minutes.”

“Five.” I could only make one sound.

He looked at me and laughed.

“The painted patterns are either Mamu, or other places where the gods live. If you look carefully, you’ll find that all the painted images are basically clouds or mountains, which represent the places where the gods live. Those pagoda-like things—as long as they are similar to pagodas—are known as “duo”. When the gods are invited down from the mountains, they will live in the duo temporarily. Things will be placed in the duo so that the gods can be happy. For example, if there’s a dead body in the duo, Goddess Mamu will be happy. So, depending on what’s inside of them, you can determine what’s living inside. If you see a corpse with a door on its face, then you know Goddess Mamu is living inside, because she likes to live in human corpses and horse corpses.”

“Can the goddess create hallucinations?”

“Yes, the process of creating hallucinations is very interesting.” Black Glasses handed me something. I picked it up and found that it was a puppy made of clam shells.

<Chapter 46><Table of Contents><Chapter 48>

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TN Notes:

(1) A culvert is a tunnel carrying a stream or open drain under a road or railroad. Kind of weird to use in this context but that’s what NPSS had.

(2) Since Black Glasses explained what Mamu and Duo in “Xiong Mamu Xueduo” (凶玛姆血垛) mean, I figured I’d include what Xiong and Xue mean. Xiong=fierce. Xue=blood. So, Xiong Mamu Xueduo could be translated as Fierce Mamu Blood Sorcery. FYI, duo (垛) can also be a term for a protected built enclosure like a fortress (or temple in this context since people put offerings in them to please the gods).

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