Lu Tiao looked carefully and saw that it was a doll.
The joints are hidden under the kimono, and the face is as white as porcelain. The blush and lipstick can easily remind Lu Jian of a paper doll, but this doll has a weird feeling that is different from traditional paper dolls.
If we say that the paper figures with eyes are given the characteristics of living things to dead objects, which leads to the uncanny valley effect.
Then this doll has a similar appearance to humans, but its size is too large, causing it to feel like a foreign body.
Lu Jian saw that the huge puppet was still waving in his direction, and the dull smile on the puppet's face made people feel numb.
"Is this this year's welcome mascot? It really has the style of Utashima. Do you know, brother Lu Kana, this is a specialty of Utashima. It is called Joruri Doll. It is a masterpiece written by Master Bunraku."
Masamune Tachibana seemed to be very fond of the doll that looked like it came from the underworld. He even raised his hand to pick up the frame, as if he was thinking about how to draw it.
"I heard that some accidents seemed to have happened in Utashima recently. There was a strange fog filling the air?"
Lu Tiao took advantage of the opportunity and asked casually while looking away from the scary face of the puppet.
"Are you talking about the fog of uncertainty? It doesn't matter. Although Songdao was invaded by the fog of uncertainty before, there is no problem at all now, at least that's what the organizer said. And you see, the island is so peaceful.
"
Tachibana Masamune didn't take it seriously and was still admiring the huge doll hanging high in the clouds and mist.
"Uncertain fog is very common at sea. Sometimes it floats near inhabited islands and causes pollution. This is the case this time. However, the shrine of Utashima has dispatched witches to purify it, so it is not a big problem."
Yinping didn't take it seriously either.
Lu Tan nodded.
But he noticed that when Tachibana Masamune and Ginpei were saying these words, the woman beside them, Hongye, showed a slightly disdainful expression.
"If there is still pollution in Utajima, then how dare he let all the artists from Wajima come here? Can he bear the responsibility for accidents of people like me? So just think about it and you can understand that this should be
Safe.”
Seeing that Lu Kan didn't believe it, Tachibana Masamune reassured him.
Lu Tan was no longer confused.
Because he feels that Utashima is still 100% polluted.
Otherwise, there would not have been incidents of artists disappearing.
The sailboat sailed into the port. This was indeed a large port, just as the unlucky boatman said.
It's just that there are almost no ships in Utashima's port. It's sparse and extremely lonely.
"Why does it look like there's no one there?"
Lu Tiao glanced at it. The huge puppet was only tied by a rope and connected to a building in the port. It looked very light. Under the puppet, stood several people dressed similarly to the people around him.
People are discussing something.
"It may be the influence of the previous uncertain fog. That kind of fog can make people confused and insane at sea. Even if it is purified, it will still make people fearful. Didn't you dare to approach the ship that Master Lu Tan sent you?
"
Yinping explained and walked off the boat.
Waiting under the boat were several men dressed in pure white hunting clothes. They wore expressionless masks and were uniform, like dolls.
"These are Utajima's chief ministers, responsible for the disposal of filth and assisting the witches in purification. It is probably because there was filth just now, so they came to inspect it."
Tachibana Masamune said casually.
Lu Tuan watched suspiciously as the followers held a stick with a white note tied to the end and brushed it beside Yinping, who was the first to disembark, as if to disperse something.
He looked back and saw that none of the crew members on the sailboat they were on had disembarked, and no normal supplies were being carried out at the dock. They only stared at the four guests who had carried them. Their eyes were difficult to describe, but Lu Tiao knew they were similar.
.
It was like watching the hanging pigs being sent to the slaughterhouse one by one.
It was Lu Tiao's turn.
The social official in front of him said nothing, and only used the stick wrapped with white paper to brush around him. In the sound of the paper clattering, Lu Tiao seemed to hear some kind of soft murmur, from the group of people on Song Island.
Falling from the mountains.
"Look, there's nothing wrong with it, cough."
Yinping smiled and fanned himself with a fan in his hand. He cleared his throat and seemed to be coughing.
"The poetry festival starts tomorrow morning. We can go to the arranged residence first and have a party together in the evening."
Tachibana Masamune said, there were some rickshaws parked at the pier, and strong rickshaw drivers were gathering in twos and threes. When they saw Tachibana Masamune and the others, they came up to them.
Passing by the artists who were still studying the giant dolls, Lu Jian and others meandered along the road and soon saw a huge building located on the east side of the island.
It was a loft-like building with a large area that made other houses look like dwarfs compared to it.
"That is the main venue of the Poetry Festival, An'in Hospital. The first performance will be held here tomorrow."
Yinping's fan pointed there.
"First game?"
Lu Tan felt that he had already shown that he didn't understand enough before, so now he simply stopped pretending and just looked like I don't know how to wait for your explanation.
"Yes, the Poetry Festival itself is a combination of several exhibitions, such as art exhibitions, poetry exhibitions, puppet exhibitions, etc. Everyone communicates with each other and explains art. Tomorrow is the first art exhibition. In the next three days, such exhibitions will continue
There are many, besides, there are also poetry gatherings, music gatherings, etc., such as the Haichao Poetry Party on the second day, which I hosted."
Yinping explained quite complacently.
Four rickshaws staggered towards Anxinyuan.
Lu Tan carefully observed the passers-by.
These passers-by should be local residents. They are also wearing similar kimonos, pants and boots, but their age distribution is wider, ranging from children to elderly people.
However, Lu Tian felt that the movements of these people were a bit stiff and lacked agility. Although there were conversations, exchanges, and interactions between them, they all seemed to give people an indescribable weird feeling, like actors without acting skills.
It's like forcing a role.
At this time, Lu Tiao caught a glimpse of a child running on the street with a ball. He accidentally fell and fell forward. Perhaps because he was too fast and lost his balance too early, the child's
His head hit the ground, and immediately, his neck bent backwards due to the inertia of his body. With a crisp "click" sound, the child's head unexpectedly bent to a 180-degree angle.
His thin body twisted and fell irregularly like a puppet that had lost its strings, and rolled twice.
"!"
What surprised Lu Tan was not the accident.
Instead, just a few seconds later, the child, whose bones between his head and body had been broken, sat up, slowly raised his head, stood up, patted the mud and dust on his body, and chased away again.
The ball went away as if it had just been a slight fall.
"...Did you see it?"
Lu Tan asked tentatively.
"What did you see?"
Tachibana Masamune seemed to be sighing at the beauty of this sea street, and did not notice the strange and horrifying scene.
Yinping also shook his head.
"No, it's nothing."
Lu Tiao couldn't help but look back at the child, only to find that the child holding the ball was staring directly at him, as if he had also noticed Lu Tian.
Suddenly, a figure rushed out from the dark alley on the street and blocked the carriage.
"I see her, I see her, she's real, she's real!!!"
While shouting, the man was hit by the driver who couldn't dodge. He flew forward and rolled on the ground several times. Lu Tiao clearly saw that his neck should be broken and his legs were bent.
In an unnatural direction.
However, after a while, the man stood up, safe and sound.
"She is real, you know, she is real, the evil witch is real!"