Ancient Sword II: The Tracking of the Fierce Mountain

Chapter 39: Funeral

After thanking the enthusiastic old man, Xie Yi didn't turn to look at Shen Xie until the other party's walking figure could not be seen clearly: "What do you think, Master?"

Gods did exist in this world, and maybe the stranger who passed by at a certain moment was the surviving god who lived in seclusion. Therefore, there is no conclusion as to whether the legend of the girl in the cave is true or not.

Just as ordinary people firmly believe that the Luodong girl is just a superstition, while the Tujia people believe that there is indeed a god, Xie Yi and Shen Ye have experienced the era of the coexistence of gods and demons, so naturally they will not jump to conclusions so quickly.

Shen Ye asked back, "What do you think?"

They stayed in the town for a day, but there was no weird place nearby. Maybe the location of the key could be glimpsed through this funeral.

Xie Yi smiled and said: "I listen to Master."

Shen Ye nodded in satisfaction: "Then let's go in the afternoon."

"Yes."

Shen Ye raised her eyebrows when she heard the words: "Yes?"

Xie Yi was a little puzzled: "Master?" Is there anything wrong with his words?

Shen Ye caressed Xie Yi's cheek with one hand: "With us today, you still have to say 'yes' so stiffly?"

Xie Yi was taken aback for a moment, and then his face turned red with some discomfort: "Master."

Shen Ye said: "Just pay attention in the future, if it continues like this, I don't mind punishing you once."

As for what kind of punishment, the two knew it well.

Today's master is really different, Xie Yi shook his head helplessly, how could he say such blunt words in the past: "Master, I will pay attention."

Shen Ye was noncommittal, but the smile on the corner of his mouth grew stronger, as if he believed that there would be a chance to make what he said come true.

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Before departure, the lunch that Le Wuyi had been thinking about showing off his talents was finally on the table. Hearing Xie Yi's praise, Le Wuyi, who was so beautiful that it was about to bubble, naturally ignored the extremely complicated gaze from his own grand master.As for the words "Master, do you want to try?" Xia Yi, who had a tacit understanding, covered his mouth in time.

Le Wuyi just looked at Xia Yize with innocent and doubtful eyes, while Xia Yi kept calm and said, "It's no different, don't eat or sleep."

But why didn't you stop me from talking before?Le Wuyi's eyes fully expressed this meaning.

Xia Yi is ashamed, because now you are drawing fire.

Shen Ye coughed in time and said, "Apart from the news about the so-called Yao family, have you found out anything else?"

As expected, one sentence successfully diverted everyone's attention, only Xie Yi looked at Shen Ye with smiling eyes, his smile was so gentle and warm.

Shen Ye coughed again, but didn't say anything.

"There's nothing strange about it," Xia Yi said. "We asked a lot of people, and most of them are legends about women who fell into caves. There's nothing special about them. Even the tombs..." There was a pause in the words Xia Yi held his chin in one hand and looked thoughtfully at Le Wuyi, "Wuyi, do you still remember the Tujia people's attitude towards tombs?"

After being reminded by Xia Yi, Le Wuyi also thought of something wrong: "They all said that the cave god doesn't like foreigners, so they suggested that we not go. Thinking about it this way, meow, we didn't go to the cemetery at all!" Because they were afraid of offending the customs of the Tujia people, when the other party said this, it was naturally difficult for them to ask about the location of the tomb.

Shen Ye and Xie Yi looked at each other, and it turned out to be the same as what the old woman said?So, is it really for their safety to say so?Or... is there any secret?

**********

The silent street in the afternoon became extremely deserted without the usual figures, and the doors were closed tightly, creaking as the wind blew past.The occasional sound of footsteps on the stilted building shows that this town has not become an empty city.

This extremely deserted appearance surprised Xie Yi and the others, but it also facilitated their actions—since there was no crowd watching, as long as they hid carefully, they would not be discovered by the Tujia people.

There was a "russling" sound in the wind, but pieces of yellow paper floated over and fell to the ground in curls. Further away, several figures could be seen walking steadily and slowly. come slowly.

"Dingling——" "Dingling——" I saw a wizard in a gray robe at the front, a bell in his hand was constantly swinging, thinking about something every time he took a step, and then a painting filled with Runes on yellow paper.Behind the wizard is a wooden coffin that was erected in the air. The coffin is painted dark black, with cloud patterns painted on it with red paint, glaring like blood, and four thick wooden sticks are placed under the coffin, with four blank expressions on each side. The young man carried it, and every step was very smooth.Behind the coffin were four people who lowered their heads and couldn't see their expressions clearly. Seeing each other wiping the corners of their eyes from time to time, maybe they were relatives of the family surnamed Yao?

Such a group of people walked silently on this empty and deserted street. Although they knew it was a funeral, it still seemed a little strange, especially if you looked closely, there was a rooster standing steadily on top of the dark black coffin. !You must know that although the coffin was lifted smoothly, there were still slight vibrations, and sometimes staggering was unavoidable, but the rooster stood firmly on the coffin, and it really didn't move a step.

It’s okay if it’s just a wooden doll, after all, if the doll is glued to the coffin and doesn’t move, it’s justified, but this rooster’s fiery red feathers are so bright, with its raised neck and unblinking eyes, Xie Yi said softly : "It's a living thing."

As a Yanshi, Xie Yi could tell at a glance whether the rooster was alive or dead, but as soon as he said this, Le Wuyi opened his mouth wide: "Meow meow, is it real or not? It's alive Can the rooster stand still in the same place?" But he still remembered to control the volume.

Shen Ye was noncommittal: "You will know after reading it."

So Sun Yi, who was full of doubts, could only choose to shut up.

The coffin-carrying group finally approached. A group of 17 people walked silently like ghosts. There was no sound of conversation or crying. Only the wizard chanted unknown spells and kept going all the way.And the rooster on the coffin, so alive and dead, just kept its head up in a daze, so it looked a little weird and gloomy.

"Follow." The four of Shen Ye carefully followed behind the funeral team, following each other's footsteps from a long distance away.

The houses on both sides of the street were closed, not only the doors, but even the windows were covered by curtains, as if the funeral was a symbol of misfortune, and the Tujia people could not be offended, so they had to ignore it and choose to avoid it.

After crossing the streets of the town, crossing the hillside, and crossing the suspension bridge, the guard of honor did not stop, and the vegetation in front of them became more and more luxuriant. The lush weeds covered people's knees, and it was difficult to move, but the coffin bearer Everyone's footsteps are still so steady, in such a deserted place, the depths should be where the Tujia tombs are located.

The group walked for a long time, and after layers of green shade, a hillside with no grass and grass finally appeared.It is really a mountain made of rocks and gravel, and there are only rocks, sand and no plants on it. This mountain seems to have been stripped of its green coat suddenly, leaving only the bare soil layer, which is especially different from the surrounding greenery. out of place.

The destination of the guard of honor was obviously this strange mountain. As they got closer, they could vaguely hear the sound of running water.It's just that the closer to the mountain peak, the sparser the vegetation, so Shen Ye and the others could only stay on the outside to check. Fortunately, the four of them have good eyesight, and the scene in the distance is still clearly visible.

The wizard in the gray robe took off his cloak, revealing an old but very sharp face. He stretched out his hand and pointed forward, and the eight young men who carried the coffin passed the wizard and walked forward with clear The sound of "crashing" water came, Shen Ye and Xie Yi looked at each other: Is there water?Then why is there no grass growing on this mountain?

And those eight young people just stood straight in the water, and didn't intend to put down the coffin. The last four knelt down following the instructions of the wizard, bowing their heads as if saying a final farewell to their relatives.

The wizard nodded, and continued to chant spells towards the coffin, and when the last shout rang out, the rooster that had been standing still on the coffin finally changed, but it was filled with blood like an explosion. It splattered in all directions, staining the eight young men around them and the coffin under their feet with several blood stains.

A faint smell of blood permeated the air, but the group of funeral ceremonies turned a blind eye to the splashed blood and remained respectful and motionless, especially the coffin bearers, who were in such a situation. Still standing upright.

Le Wuyi pointed to the distance and was dumbfounded: "How...how did this happen?" The wizard was obviously standing behind the coffin, so how did the chicken in front of the coffin die?Is there any ghost thing that can't be seen in this group of people?

Xia Yi said softly: "Since you are a wizard, you must have something special."

Le Wuyi was stunned. The TV kept saying to break superstition and believe in science. Those guys should really let those guys watch this kind of scene and see what they say when they face this kind of thing that science can't explain.

And Xie Yi leaned closer to Shen Ye's ear: "Master," he said softly, "The last thing the wizard said was 'One righteousness suppresses a thousand evils'."

Shen Ye nodded knowingly. Chickens are mostly used to suppress evil, and the one that stayed motionless on the coffin must be the famous "Ding Chicken" in Xiangxi.

Ding chicken in Xiangxi is used to suppress evil spirits and drive away ghosts and evil spirits, especially chicken blood, which means that ghosts and evil spirits are difficult to approach. It can not only protect the peace of the dead, but also ensure that the dead will not haunt after death.

At this moment, the sorcerer bent down as if observing something, raised his head after a while, and nodded to the people who carried the coffin. The stick was let down.

The sound of the coffin entering the water could be heard clearly, but it was the appearance of eight people pushing the coffin forward slowly, but after a while, they seemed to have pushed the coffin to its destination, then turned around and walked back, standing respectfully behind the wizard.

But the wizard just looked at the bare mountaintop, seemed to be in awe and nostalgia, finally he sighed and said: "Let's go."Several people who were kneeling on the ground also stood up, and one of the girls showed a delicate face, and while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she cried softly: "Why doesn't Aqi come to see her father for the last time? ?”

The middle-aged woman beside her trembled, and suddenly covered the girl's mouth: "Shut up!" She glanced at the mountain behind her in fear, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

Only then did the girl realize that the situation was different at this time, and her face turned pale instantly. She looked at the mountain carefully, but hurriedly ran away. If the wizard was not at the forefront, she would not be able to catch up. Maybe rushed home early.

After the group of people walked away, the four Shen Ye who were hiding behind the bushes came out.

Le Wuyi scratched her head and said, "Master, what happened to that little girl?" Why did she suddenly become panicked, as if she had lost her soul?

Xie Yi said: "It should be because they are afraid of offending the God of the Cave." The Tujia people's awe of the God of the Cave made them dare not show any disrespect in words, and it is natural for a person who has become the wife of the God of the Cave to do the same. The girl was obviously so restless because she was afraid of colliding with the cave god.

"Let's go." Shen Ye said at this moment, pointing to the distance, "There is a cave there, which should lead to the inside of the mountain."