Knife splashing

Chapter 217: The Art of Prophecy
“Is there something dirty in the river?”

Li Yan frowned, "You didn't mention this in your report."

"Ah~ the noise has gotten even worse."

Zhu Cunzheng sighed helplessly, "It's a long story, anyway, don't get close to the river, those things are very fierce."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, turned his head and said, "In this case, Brother Lu, be careful and set up camp on the shore. I will accompany you to keep watch later."

"I'll stay."

Sharifei touched his chest, somewhat absent-mindedly.

When Li Yan saw it, he immediately understood. Without further ado, he followed Zhu Cunzheng and the others into the village.

As soon as everyone left, Sharifei and Lu San hurriedly set up the tent, then went inside, lit a candle, and impatiently took out the book in his arms.

"What good stuff is it?"

Lu San had noticed that something was wrong with Sharifei a long time ago.

"Hey, scare you to death!"

Sharifei's eyes were full of excitement, and even sweat appeared on the tip of his nose and forehead. He carefully turned the page and said in a trembling voice:

"Brother Yan mentioned to me that during the chaotic times at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the devil rose and the Taoism declined. Many remnants of the Fangxiandao appeared, cooperated with the mechanical veins, participated in the war with those warlords, and created many powerful weapons."

"The Hellfire Gun we used is one of them."

"This is the secret book passed down at that time."

Lu San had also seen the power of the Hellfire Gun, and nodded when he saw this: "It is indeed a good thing, but you are not familiar with mechanical engineering, so even if you know the method, you can't make it, right?"

“We’ll figure out how to deal with these later!”

"The key is this thing..."

Sharifei shook his head quickly and carefully turned to the last few pages. The leather there was brand new, obviously newly made.

The pictures and words on it are still clear.

"This is?!"

When Lu San saw this, his pupils suddenly shrank.

Sharifei panted, his eyes reddened, "New gunpowder formula and gun manufacturing diagram, we're going to make a fortune!"

Lu San was also somewhat shocked and swallowed his saliva.
"I'm afraid it's going to be quite troublesome..."

…………

At the same time, Li Yan had entered the village.

Ezhou has a special environment and history. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides: east, west and north. It has preserved the long-standing Ba-Chu culture while also being influenced by the north.

In the mountainous areas, ethnic minorities live together, and their food, clothing, housing and transportation are more ancient customs of the Bachu area, with a strong witchcraft atmosphere.

In the fertile Jianghan Plain in the center, there are more farming customs, and sacrifices are made to the gods of the land and the millet, and the two customs are mixed.

For example, there are a large number of maple trees planted around the village.

Li Yan and his companions saw this happening almost everywhere along the way: maple trees were planted in every village, and no village was complete without maple trees, all because maple trees were related to Chi You.

At the same time, they also offer devout offerings to the land temple.

It can be said to be a place where the cultures of the north and south, Bachu and Central Plains, merge.

When Li Yan entered the village, he felt a sense of familiarity.

Because Zhujiabao, like his hometown Lijiabao, was developed from a military fort, and the same outline can be vaguely seen.

However, the architecture of Ezhou villages has a different style.

Guanzhong is thick, simple and majestic.

In the villages and towns here, people live in compact layouts, with houses connected to each other, households next to each other, doors facing doors, windows facing windows, and alleys connecting to each other.

The streets are paved with blue bricks and ancient tiles, wooden doors with carved beams, and alleys are paved with bluestone slabs. Even if it rains, you won't get your shoes wet when you walk from door to door.

"Fast Boat Zhang" and his boatmen are all native Ezhou people, so they are naturally used to it.

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan followed Muramasa as they walked in the narrow alley, stepping on the bluestone slabs, turning left and right from time to time, and almost got lost.

Dim candlelight could be seen in the wooden windows on both sides. The old men in the village looked up and were obviously curious about these strangers, but also a little wary.

There were also children squatting on the wooden door sill, peeking out to look at them, but they were pulled back by the adults and, after a sizzling meal of stir-fried pork and bamboo shoots, they immediately started howling.

Zhu Cunzheng was a little embarrassed. "From your accent, Mr. Li is from Shanzhou, right? Sorry to have made fun of you all."

"where."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and smiled, "The customs of the people in different parts of Shenzhou are different. If you experience it carefully, you will find a unique charm."

As he spoke, he looked at the compass again with a serious look in his eyes.

The pointer moved left and right, and it became more and more confusing.

Zhucun is a prominent family in Zhujiabao. Their ancestors were military households guarding this place. Later, someone in the family passed the imperial examination and gradually became rich.

His house is naturally bigger.

But unlike the Guanzhong compound, his house was a whole building with high walls outside and several households inside, connected by stone paths.

Moreover, all the rooms in the big house are two-story, connected by wooden stairs. They are quite old, the wood is black, and the rooms are a bit dark.

What is particularly special is that there is an open channel of water in front of the house, which passes through the top and makes a circle.

Wang Daoxuan saw it and immediately narrowed his eyes and smiled: "The silver water in front of the door, generations of scholars, clearly show the noble family."

"Old layman, does your house have any guidance from an expert..."

"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Taoist priest."

Zhu Cunzheng was modest in words, but could not help showing pride in his eyes, "My ancestor saved a Feng Shui master from Ganzhou in those days, and with his advice, we built this old house."

"I have nothing to say about this old man. My family tradition is good. Farming and studying are the traditions of our family. I dare not bring trouble to the village. My grandson is studying in Yuelu Academy..."

The people of Ezhou are hospitable, let alone the Taoist priest who came to help. As soon as Zhu Cunzheng entered the door, he was busy greeting everyone and preparing wine and food.

According to local customs, if guests come, one or two dishes, or four or five dishes are fine, but three dishes cannot be served, because these are sacrificial bowls, and are only placed like this to offer tribute to the dead.

When a distinguished guest comes, we have to prepare nine dishes.

Local fish cakes, braised pork with dried ginger, fried lotus root balls, eight-treasure rice…although these are common folk dishes, each one is different.

Of course, Old Man Zhang and a group of boatmen were arranged to stay in the big house in the front yard, while Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan were arranged to stay in the back wing.

After all, there are important matters to discuss.

Zhu Cunzheng was old and not suitable for drinking, so he asked his son to accompany him. He toasted him several times before he stopped.

"Thank you for the hospitality, old layman."

Wang Daoxuan did not hide it, and directly placed the compass on the table, and said in a deep voice: "Zhujiabao, I'm afraid there is a big problem. What happened?"

Li Yan also looked at Zhu Cunzheng.

The information provided by the City God Temple only said that people have died one after another here, and even the local temple priest has disappeared inexplicably. Now it seems that the problem is definitely not small. "Alas~ It's all an injustice!"

Zhu Cunzheng sighed, "Don't be afraid of you two laughing at me. Although there are some scholars in my family, the atmosphere in the village is not right."

"For many years, there have been many young people who couldn't stand the hardship of farming and fishing, but were unwilling to learn a skill and just wanted to make quick money."

"Our Zhujiabao was once a military fort, and several families passed down martial arts. Those young people followed suit and wielded swords and sticks, causing trouble all day long and causing conflicts with other villages."

"I can't control them, so I have to let them go."

"But I didn't expect that these young people would secretly become river pirates, often wearing masks, leaving along the mountain rivers, and robbing on the Han River."

"Of course, they all suffered a bad fate. They were captured by the Xiangyang navy and shot to death on the spot. Many families in the fortress lost their incense."

"These are fine, after all, if you do evil, you will definitely get punished, but they just didn't survive and caused trouble!"

"Before they died, they robbed a passenger ship and killed everyone on board with cruelty."

"That day, a crazy old scholar came to the village. He stood at the entrance of the village and cursed for a long time, saying that we had killed his son, and that there would be disasters from heaven, and that no one in the village would be left alive."

"Some people couldn't stand it and beat them away with sticks."

"After that, strange things happened one after another in the village."

"First, the tablets in the ancestral hall all began to seep water. They were cleaned during the day, but after one night, the water would inevitably flow all over the floor..."

"The well water has started to have problems again. The water pumped up by several households has an unpleasant odor, and the odor is increasing..."

"After that, people started to disappear, including the temple priest. A few days later, bodies were found floating in the river."

"Someone followed them in the middle of the night and found that they were all crazy. They suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, without wearing any clothes, and ran into the water and drowned themselves..."

"People in the village are in a state of panic now. Some families can't stand it and have fled to other places to live with relatives, but it's hard to leave their hometown. And how can so many lonely, old and young people leave?"

"I have reported the matter to the higher authorities and asked a Taoist priest to exorcise the evil spirits, but even after several rituals, it was useless. One of them died and they were so scared that they fled the village that night."

As he said this, his legs went weak and he was about to kneel down.

Li Yan hurriedly supported him, but saw that the old villager's eyes were already tearful. "To be honest, two nights ago, I dreamed of my ancestors. They all surrounded me and cursed me."

"At my age, it doesn't matter if I die, but now the village is in such a mess, how can I face my ancestors?"

Wang Daoxuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he keenly noticed the words from the old man's mouth, and asked, "Did the old monk dream of his ancestors cursing?"

"Is there anyone else in the village who has this situation?"

Zhu Cunzheng was stunned when he heard this, and shook his head and said, "I haven't heard anyone mention it, but the ancestors cursed the descendants for being unfilial, and I dare not tell outsiders."

"Even if others have it, they probably wouldn't dare to say it."

Wang Daoxuan looked solemn and nodded, saying, "Muramasa immediately sent people to inquire about the families whose homes were in trouble to see if there were similar situations."

"Also, this matter must not be concealed any longer. Send someone to inform the whole village to see who has dreamed of their ancestors cursing recently."

"this…"

Zhu Cunzheng's eyes were uncertain, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "Master, don't worry, I will do it right away."

As the saying goes, family disgrace should not be made public. If other people in the village knew about the ancestor's curse, their spines would probably be broken.

But he also knew that he couldn't keep it secret any longer at this time.

After the old village chief left, Li Yan turned his head and looked at Wang Daoxuan, "Master, I suspect there is something wrong with the village's Feng Shui?"

"I'm afraid it's more than just Feng Shui."

Wang Daoxuan's face was serious, and he asked in a deep voice: "Brother Yan, did you smell any strange smell after entering the village?"

"I feel weird too."

Li Yan was puzzled and said, "Logically speaking, something must be causing trouble when such a big thing happened, but I didn't smell any evil spirits whether on the river or in the village."

"Although the priest of the land temple is dead, the incense is still strong and the aura is lingering. It doesn't look like there is an invasion of evil spirits."

Wang Daoxuan said in a deep voice: "That should be it."

"Have you ever heard of the art of prophecy?"

"The art of prophecy and divination was popular in the Qin and Han dynasties. At that time, Confucianism was not yet the mainstream. They turned classics into myths, used prophecies as cryptic language, and predicted good and bad luck. The tributaries of the divination classics extended to other meanings."

"The Confucians used this technique and the theory of the interaction between heaven and man to deify the imperial power of the Han Dynasty, abolish all other schools of thought, and only respect Confucianism. From then on, Confucianism flourished."

"At that time, Confucian classics were external studies, and the art of prophecy and divination was internal studies. It absorbed many mysterious techniques and became prominent for a time."

"'The one who destroyed Qin was the Hu', 'After the third Tang dynasty, a female ruler, King Wu, will rule the world', these are all prophecies and divinations. They may seem like nonsense, but they are based on the time of day, the location of the place, the five elements and the six qi, and they promote the general trend of humanity."

"This method is secretive. Although it can consolidate the imperial power, it is also taboo for the superiors. Later, many Confucian scholars of successive generations criticized it and separated it from Confucian classics, which led to its current fate as an orthodox religion."

"Nowadays, Confucianism is the foundation of the country and is also the orthodox religion among the Taoist sects. The art of prophecy and divination is listed as a forbidden art and no one wants to talk about it any more."

"But after all, it is an internal learning. The old Confucian scholar probably inherited this way and promoted the transformation of the country's destiny. Humanity may not be able to do it, but it is not difficult to make a village suffer frequent disasters."

Li Yan was also amazed. "In addition to cultivating the noble spirit, Confucianism can actually do this?"

Wang Daoxuan laughed in silence and sighed: "Among the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, who doesn't have some history?"

At this moment, the old village chief had hurried back, his face pale and his voice trembling, "The Taoist priest is as good as a god."

"The families of the villagers who were killed said that they were not normal in the days before they jumped into the river. They would either go to their ancestors' graves to burn paper or kneel in front of their ancestors' tablets for a long time, looking dazed all day long."

"Also, dozens of people in the village, including the old man, dreamed of their ancestors cursing them. Most of them were elderly people, but not a single child."

"It seems right."

Wang Daoxuan said in a deep voice: "When people's hearts are not righteous, evil spirits will naturally come. Someone took advantage of the terrain to disturb your ancestral graves and spread rumors to confuse your mind. Over time, something bad will naturally happen."

"To break the art of prophecy, you only need to make the truth known. If people are not ignorant, then evil will not be able to do anything. You can make this matter public."

"Tomorrow, take me to see your ancestral grave."

"Thank you, Taoist Master."

The old villager quickly bowed and expressed his gratitude.

Li Yan, who was watching from the side, was secretly amazed. After the old village chief left, he could not help but say, "This is the first time I have seen a battle of wits with human hearts."

Wang Daoxuan's face was still solemn, "The problems of this village should not be difficult to solve."

After saying that, he looked out the window, his eyes full of worry, "But now the southwest is in turmoil, wars are everywhere, and the art of prophecy has reappeared..."

"It's not a good sign!"

…………

Now that the cause had been found out, Li Yan did not stay in the village for long. After all, he did not understand such things, and it had to be handled by Wang Daoxuan.

He returned to the shore and walked straight into the tent, only to see Sharifei and Lu San flipping through an old book by candlelight.

The food that was delivered was placed next to me, but I didn’t even have time to eat it.

"Brother Yan, we've made it."

Seeing him coming, Sharifi was full of excitement and told him everything about the new gunpowder formula and firearms manufacturing method...

(End of this chapter)