my weird life.

Chapter 1498: Kan Festival
Wei was about to speak out to explain, but Bigan's expression had already turned cold.

He stared at Wei and said, "After I left the palace, I immediately started investigating the matter of the nine countries offering their sons. I have seen the scenes of the nobles of Yindu frequently gathering treasures and sending them to your family!
No need to distinguish between these two anymore, Wei.

Although I am old and blind, fortunately my heart to serve the Shang Dynasty has not been completely blind. Although I have not been involved in state affairs for a long time, Xin still regards me as the Grand Tutor of the Shang Dynasty.

You have secretly challenged your brother many times. You should know that Xin is by no means a foolish person. If that is the case, why did he still appoint me as the Grand Tutor of the Shang Dynasty?

Because I still have some ability!
but……"

At this point, Bigan paused and continued, "You are indeed closely connected with the nobles of Yindu. I did not expect that you could borrow such a huge amount of treasure so quickly. I will report your close relationship with the nobles of Yindu to the king as soon as possible and ask him to be careful."

"Yes! Uncle, I am indeed wrong!" Wei suddenly raised his voice. He stared at his uncle's face, trying to find some clues from this face that seemed too familiar to him on weekdays but now seemed extremely strange. "The Zhou Kingdom offered money and goods, and I took them for my own selfish purposes - but that's all!

Compared with the numerous crimes committed by the king, this little mistake is actually insignificant!
He has gathered the legitimate sons of the nine states in Yindu, causing the people of the world to be divided from the Shang people. If this situation continues, the Shang people will not survive, and the foundation of our ancestors will be destroyed in his hands!"

"The nine countries have long been planning to rebel against the Shang Dynasty. If their power is not eliminated and their countries are not annihilated, the Shang Dynasty will perish even faster." Bigan looked at Wei coldly and said, "They are already enemies. Since they are enemies, we must use all means to eliminate them. Why should we care about their hearts?

You don't think as far-sightedly or deeply as your brother.

Don't be greedy for the throne anymore. You are his elder brother and you have fought with him in secret countless times. He is on the throne but rarely blames you. This is his greatest tolerance. Don't overstep your bounds in the future!"

Bigan originally wanted to tell Yu Wei about Emperor Xin's strategy towards the nine countries, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he stopped in time and just scolded Yu Wei repeatedly without saying much about the affairs of the nine countries.

“If Zujia hadn’t changed the ritual system, I would be the King of Shang now!

If I were the king, I would be gentle and tolerant to Xin, and I would be as generous to him as he was to me, and never hold it against him!" Wei's face suddenly turned red, and flames of hatred leaped in his eyes. He kept saying to Bigan, "Xin is definitely not a wise king, and he will be called 'Zhou' after his death!
He actually tried to ban human sacrifice and stop offering sacrifices to heaven!

Being the son of the Emperor of Heaven, being the Emperor of Heaven, yet not respecting Heaven, this is an unforgivable sin!"

"The Shang Dynasty worships the heavens, but has the heaven ever given us any benefits?" Bigan murmured, "I have been guarding the ancestral temple for a long time. In recent years, I can hear the wailing and crying of my brother, father, and ancestors almost every day and night..."

Before he could finish his words, he looked up and saw Wei's face full of surprise.

Wei looked at Bigan, unable to believe that Bigan had actually said those words: "What promise did Xin make to you? What benefit did he give you that made you say such a thing?!

You have always regarded sacrifice as the most important policy of the country. Why are you disrespecting heaven now?
You actually disrespect heaven..."

Wei looked incredulous. He looked around and saw the goat tied to a stone pillar, grazing nearby. He pointed at the goat and said, "There are gods in the world, and all gods belong to the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is the manifestation of the sky!
If you no longer believe in heaven or gods, why do you still keep this Xiezhi? !

Your mind has been bewitched by Xin!

You should let this Xiezhi restore your sanity!"

Wei shouted and pulled the rope around the goat's neck, which was looking at a loss. He pointed at Bigan with his other hand and shouted to the so-called Xiezhi, "Kneel down, kneel down!
Bring back my uncle's mind!

Don’t let him go crazy anymore!”

"Baa-baa-"

The male goat was frightened by Wei's violent action. It kept retreating its body, trying to get away from Wei, a human who seemed to be crazy and full of danger. However, Wei held the rope that bound it tightly in his hand, preventing it from retreating!

Wei pressed the goat's back with his elbow again. Under his great strength, the goat finally couldn't bear it anymore. It bent its front hooves and knelt down towards Bigan!

Facing the kneeling of "Xiezhi", Bigan looked calm.

He shook his head, walked up to his nephew Wei, and suddenly stretched out his hand to pull out the bronze sword at Wei's waist. Wei was frightened by Bigan's sudden action and retreated repeatedly. The slaves and soldiers gathered behind him rushed forward, trying to surround Bigan to prevent him from running away and hurting his master!
"Do you dare to face the Grand Master of the Shang Dynasty with weapons?

Kneel down! "

dong dong!

Along with Bigan's loud shout, a majestic and upright aura emanated from him. All the soldiers who gathered around him felt as if a heavy hammer had fallen on their heads, or as if their entire hearts were grasped by an invisible force and suddenly tightened for an instant!
Ding ding ding ding…

The weapons in the soldiers' hands fell to the ground, and they fell to their knees involuntarily!

Bigan looked calm, looking back at Wei who was trying to avoid him. He smiled, with a hint of sarcasm in his smile: "Are you going to compete for the throne with your brother Xin in such a cowardly and timid manner?
Even when Xin was covered in blood, he never showed any fear!

How did you become a human god through practice? Did you only rely on your slaves and servants to pile up incense for you and gather people's wishes? ! "

When he heard Bigan mention the name of Emperor Xin, Wei mustered up some courage again, but under Bigan's blunt rebuke, the privacy in his heart and the "littleness" hidden under his fur coat were all squeezed out, and his face turned pale in an instant - just as Bigan said, his practice of being a human god was never down-to-earth, tempering his will, strengthening his physique, and cultivating his virtues, in order to gain the respect and worship of the common people - his human god physique was all due to the accumulation of incense and people's wishes!

Looking at Wei's appearance, Bigan became more and more disappointed.

"If it was Xin, if his human-god physique was also accumulated by the incense and people's wishes, he would never be timid or guilty.

He would say to me: I am the king of the world, so naturally I should accept the incense and offerings from the people of the world!
You are far, far worse than your brother.

All my schemes were used to deceive others by threatening, intimidating, luring, and bewitching them with unfair means. "Bigan gently stroked the head of the kneeling goat. He looked at the Xiezhi that Wei mentioned and said in a low voice, "You said that I spoke disrespectful words to the heavens, but my mind was bewitched or I was crazy. In the past few decades, I have been sincere and respectful to the heavens.

For decades, I have worshipped Heaven with sincerity and without any ulterior motives.

I truly believe in the principles passed down by our ancestors.

how about you?
Do you believe in heaven? Do you believe that this Xiezhi can distinguish between loyalty and treachery, and between good and evil?

If you truly believe in and respect Heaven, why do you always use Heaven to suppress others whenever something goes against your own will?
If you really think that this Xiezhi can distinguish between loyalty and treachery, good and evil, why do you always feed and train it in private with precious food?
To people like you, the heaven and the Xiezhi are nothing but your tools.

Now, I finally understand..."

As he was speaking, Bigan smashed the goat's head with one palm, and stabbed the bronze sword in his hand directly into the goat's chest. As the goat's body twisted unconsciously, he pulled out the bloody goat's heart from its chest.

He ate the sheep's heart right in front of Wei!
Wei was so shocked that he couldn't express it in words. His scalp was tingling and his hands and feet were cold!

He vaguely understood the intention of Bigan's almost crazy behavior - the uncle who ate the sheep heart was completely different from the uncle before!

An upright and strong aura swirled around his body, and a black-gold horn protruded from the majestic aura, followed by a body covered in black hair and beard that appeared faintly behind Bigan!

Now in his twilight years, he has broken all the rules that he has followed in the past!

He shattered his previous insistence with his own hands, and now he has established new principles!

He broke free from the decline of man and god and became the King of Men!
"Let's go.

Don't try to murder the king again, or I will kill you first." Bigan's hair and beard gradually turned black again, and he said something to Wei.

Wei's clothes were soaked with sweat. He was so scared that he turned around and left, leading a group of demoralized soldiers and escaping from Bigan's residence in a hurry!

Bigan returned to the side room, found a bronze shovel, dug a deep pit in the corner of the yard, and buried the goat in the pit.

Soon after that, the sound of wheels rolling over the earth approached his residence.

Nuo 'Daji', a celestial official dressed in white, who had never appeared in public since she was welcomed into the palace by the king, stepped down from the carriage on the back of a slave.

She walked into Bigan's residence, and the first thing she said to Bigan was: "Your Majesty's life is in danger, and he has less than a month to live.

There must be a human heart as a sacrifice.

Please, Grand Master, give your heart to save the king’s life.”

……

At the gate of Yindu City, in a large thatched shed built against the city wall.

The drinkers sat on the ground, with disheveled faces and wine cups in front of them, with more or less sweet wine in them.

They were either talking loudly or whispering to each other, and it was a vivid picture.

Su Wu did not feel uncomfortable being among these drunkards whose clothes and hair were covered with fleas jumping and lice crawling, he leaned against the earthen wall behind him and stared towards the depths of the straw hut.

There was a hill of earth piled up against the city wall.

The owner of the wine stall at the city gate was digging up the loose soil on the hill with his bare hands, revealing a row of knee-high clay jars covered and sealed with various tree barks and leaves.

Most of the drinkers also stretched their necks to watch the stall owner's actions.

The wine jars placed on the stall owner's table in front of him had been sold out, so the stall owner took out the newly brewed wine.

He took the pottery jar out of the mound and placed it on the ground.

His son built an 'altar' with two rows of stones in parallel on the open space behind the pottery altar, and then filled the two rows of stones with firewood.

Qu sat beside Su Wu, also watching the actions of the wine stall owner's son. He observed with interest and explained to Su Wu: "From small things like going out and coming home every day to big things like the king's army going to war, everyone will perform various sacrifices.

What was buried in that pile of earth should be a batch of sweet wine that the stall owner had recently brewed.

He is now opening the batch of sweet wine. Before opening it, he will offer sacrifices to the gods of heaven, hoping that heaven will give the wine he brews a sweet taste. "

"Is there anyone who chooses to open the wine directly without performing the sacrifice?" Su Wu asked Qu.

Hearing this, Qu hesitated and shook his head: "Probably not."

"They didn't invite a chaste woman to preside over the sacrifice. Is it okay to hold the sacrifice like this?" Su Wu asked again.

Qu nodded and said, "For such a small sacrifice, there is no need to invite a priest. After the sacrifice, they can just ask the priest to explain the divination results to them.

There are many fortune tellers among these drinkers, and we can just ask any one to interpret the divination results when the time comes."

"I see." Su Wu nodded.

"Master, you see those stones are arranged in two curved rows on the ground - this is the 'Kan Festival' among the five sacrifices, and the two curved rows of stones represent the river channel.

The stall owner needs water to make wine, so it is more appropriate to use Kanji.

It is also possible to use the "She Sacrifice" to worship the land spirits here, but the She Sacrifice has higher requirements and is not as convenient as the Kan Sacrifice. "Qu took the initiative to explain to Su Wu.

Deep inside the thatched hut, after the stall owner and his son had set up the altar, they lit the firewood that filled the "river channel" and threw a piece of tortoise shell into the gradually burning fire.

Tortoise shells are also a form of currency today.

It can not only be used for commodity trading and circulated among people, but is also often used in sacrificial ceremonies and divination.

After throwing the tortoise shell into the fire, the stall owner and his son knelt on the ground, shouting loudly, mostly praying to the gods to make the sweet wine he brewed this time sweeter and more intoxicating.

Su Wu turned his gaze away from this small sacrifice and looked elsewhere.

There were more than ten wine stalls set up around the gate of the current Yin capital, so that the sweet aroma of sweet wine was wafting all over the street.

Or maybe because there were so many people entering Yindu today, most of the sweet wine sold at more than ten wine stalls were sold out.

At this time, several other wine stalls were also performing the "Kan Festival".

The sacrifice at one wine stall was almost over. The stall owner used a wooden stick to pick out a tortoise shell from the ashes. He did not care that the shell was still hot, and held it high up, calling on the onlookers, asking the fortune tellers among them to come out and help him "interpret the divination".

The status of ordinary Zhenren who do not reach the level of "Darren Nuo" is no different from that of ordinary common people.

When they walk into the crowd, others may not be able to distinguish them from ordinary people.

But after all, because they are chaste people, they still receive different treatment than common people.