Knife splashing

Chapter 281: Dustbin

"Here we are, right in front!"

After turning a hill, Mr. Tian pointed to the side.

His voice trembled slightly.

Unlike other wealthy businessmen in Ezhou, although Mr. Tian had some wealth, he could only be considered a landlord in the village, and the three brothers started from scratch.

For some reasons, he seldom returns to his ancestral home.

His descendants grew up in Hanyang City, so naturally they have no feelings for this closed little mountain village.

But for Mr. Tian, ​​this is his home.

Li Yan and others also looked up and watched.

I saw a mountain path that went diagonally across the hill and down. At the end was a village built on the mountain. The surrounding mountains and forests were lush and green, like a screen or barrier.

There is a lake at the foot of the mountain, the water is as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the mountain scenery.

Most villages in China basically have three types of structures.

One is a single family, which gradually develops and forms a clan group.

The second is that several large families are united due to in-law relations.

The third is a village where immigrants of various surnames live together.

Tian Yuanwai’s hometown belongs to the third type, named Bojidun, named after its terrain.

On the way, Mr. Tian talked about the roots of his hometown.

At that time, the Daxing Dynasty and the Golden Horde Kingdom confronted each other from north to south. Every time they fought, both sides won and lost, and the border line kept changing.

The people of Ezhou suffered greatly from the war. People who fled from all over the country found a remote place, isolated from the world, where they were able to survive and reproduce.

Therefore, there are many different surnames in the village and the roads are difficult to travel on.

It was a treasure land in times of war, but inevitably a burden in times of peace and prosperity. For many years, only Mr. Tian's family left the mountain village.

Around the village, there are layers of terraced rice fields.

It is the time for planting early rice.

Looking around, you can see beautiful scenery of lakes, mountains and pastoral scenery.

A family was busy in the fields not far away, and the old farmer leading the group was singing loudly: "If you plant the fields quickly, you can make fried rice with bacon. If you plant the fields slowly, you can make fried eggs with leeks..."

Sharifei was delighted when he heard this, "This food is really good."

Mr. Tian had already rode forward, stroked his beard and smiled, greeting, "Hu Erkui, how is the harvest this year?"

"Mr. Tian...Mr. Tian is back."

The old farmer smiled innocently, his expression obviously looking a little unnatural.

He and Mr. Tian grew up together, catching snakes and fishing naked in the mountains, but their statuses are now very different.

He is a master, living a life of luxury, and is said to be a big shot in Hanyang City. He is just an old farmer in the countryside, so naturally he has to be more cautious with his words.

Tian Yuanwai was saddened when he saw this, but his expression remained unchanged. He smiled and said, "Bring the children back to worship the ancestors."

After saying that, he led the team towards the village.

Halfway through the journey, Wang Daoxuan suddenly stopped, took out his compass, looked around, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "The mountains on both sides are like wings, and the lake is playing in the water. What a 'flying goose land'."

"The Taoist priest really has good eyesight!"

Tian Yuanwai smiled and said, "I heard from the elders that among the people who fled, there was a Feng Shui master who chose this place at first sight."

"The comment at that time was: There are enough blessings, but it is difficult for the flying geese to leave. It is enough for the younger generation in the village to live a peaceful life, but if they want to become rich and powerful, they can only leave the village."

Wang Daoxuan nodded and said, "It's hard to have both. If there weren't this piece of Fei'e land, how could we have survived the war until now?"

"The Taoist priest is right." Mr. Tian also nodded in agreement.

As they were talking, they had already entered the village.

This village is very old, and many of the houses are old-style brick and earth houses with a style similar to stilt houses. Livestock are raised on the first floor, and people live on the second floor. There are constant sounds of cows, sheep, and ducks, and the smell is also strong.

The path in the village is paved with uneven bluestone slabs.

There was an elderly man squatting at the door of his house, holding a long pipe. When he saw Mr. Tian's team, he immediately smiled, revealing his mouth full of gaps, and surrounded them from all directions.

"Tian Jiadalang is back."

"It's been a while since I last saw you."

"Come on, let's go home and have some tea."

Tian Yuanwai quickly dismounted, bowed and smiled to those around him, "My fellow countrymen, I have come back to worship my ancestors, and I still have a lot of things to do. I will come to visit you later."

As he said this, he winked.

The servants immediately drove a car with oilcloth on it, took out some gifts from it and distributed them to everyone.

The items were not expensive, just coarse cloth and tea, but to the villagers, they were valuable gifts.

"How can this be possible?"

“It’s like this every time I come back.”

The old people were polite and tried to refuse before accepting the things.

One of the old men grabbed Mr. Tian and whispered, "Tian Dalang, the man you hired is not a decent person. He helps you look after the ancestral house, but invites a stranger to stay secretly."

"You came back so suddenly this time, I guess they haven't left yet."

Tian Yuanwai's eyes immediately turned gloomy, and he nodded and said, "Thank you, Uncle Lu, it's thanks to you for reminding me."

Without his reminder, the servant brought another gift.

When the other old men around saw this, they immediately felt regretful. If they had said something earlier, the things would have been theirs.

Li Yan took a glance and had an idea in his mind.

Sure enough, after walking a few more steps, Tian Yuanwai said in a low voice with a gloomy face: "The person who guards the ancestral house is found by my second brother."

"In the past, we came back to worship our ancestors at a fixed time. I felt something was wrong, so I didn't notify you this time. Sure enough, something went wrong."

"Tian Cheng, take your men and go ahead and block them!"

"Yes, sir!"

Seven or eight guards quickened their pace and rushed out...

…………

The Tian family is one of the best families in the village.

But because they had a mixed surname, they had to build a separate ancestral hall, so the ancestral home was not in the center of the village, but on the highest flat land in the north of the village, occupying a large piece of land.

When everyone arrived, they heard a quarrel ahead.

"I am the Second Master's man!"

"Why did you arrest me? Let me go!"

In front of a rather large old house, the servants of the Tian family who were guarding the house were seen pushing and shoving with a few people.

The accents of those people were completely different from those of the villagers, and judging from their clothes, they were completely outsiders.

The leader was an old man, well-dressed, with white hair, a thin body, and large joints on his palms.

Looking at other people, young and old, it was the same.

"What are you doing?!"

When Mr. Tian saw this, he immediately scolded him.

The old man's eyes flashed with an unnatural look, and he forced a dry smile on his face, clasped his hands and said, "Master, you came back so suddenly this time, why didn't you inform us?"

Mr. Tian was so angry that he gritted his teeth and cursed, "Wu Jingui, this is my Tian family's ancestral home. I paid you to look at the house, but you dare to mess with me!"

The old man laughed dryly, clasped his fists and said, "Master, you misunderstood. This is all Master's intention."

"The old house has been in disrepair for a long time. It has been leaking frequently recently. I am an old man and I am not very agile, so I called some young people to help."

Sharifei, who was riding on a horse, sneered, "Hey, old man, you guys smell so much like dirt?"

When Mr. Tian heard this, he was immediately shocked. He had traveled a lot and knew a lot of underworld jargon. Sha Lifei clearly said that these people were tomb robbers.

Sure enough, when the old man heard it, his face changed immediately and he roared, "You've been exposed, get out of here!"

Those people immediately pushed away the guards and tried to escape.

"Keep them all for me!"

There was no need for Li Yan and others to take action, as Tian Yuanwai's son-in-law Liu Yi Zhong drew his sword and rushed out with a clang.

He was the captain of a garrison and had already mastered the art of hidden power, so dealing with these people was a piece of cake for him.

Swords flashed, accompanied by screams, and all the tomb robbers had their tendons cut and lay on the ground gritting their teeth and cursing.

The old man was even more furious, "Mr. Tian, ​​I didn't dig up your ancestors' graves. We were just working for your brother!"

Tian Yuan's expression suddenly changed, "Shut up!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the servants and guards rushed forward, slapped the tomb robbers a few times, knocked them unconscious, and stuffed rags into their mouths.

Li Yan and others were not surprised to see this.

From what we have seen along the way, it is clear that Mr. Tian attaches great importance to his reputation in the village. If this were to be made public, he would definitely be criticized.

But no one expected that the one who caused the trouble was his brother.

Mr. Tian was obviously furious.

But at this moment, Muramasa, who got the news, came with a group of people to say hello.

Mr. Tian had no choice but to order his servants to take the tomb robbers into the house. After sending Muramasa and others away, he hurried in to interrogate them.

After a beating, these tomb robbers confessed one after another.

"It was the Second Master of the Tian Family who hired us..."

"Several Chu tombs were discovered in the back mountain. The second master of the Tian family had problems with his business, so he hired us to secretly rob the tombs to make ends meet..."

After learning the whole story, Tian Yuanwai gradually calmed down, his eyes filled with sorrow, "We are from the same mother, but when something happened, he would rather go through crooked ways than look for me. Does he hate me so much?"

Mrs. Tian quickly comforted him, "Master, don't be angry. It's not a big deal for a family to be in such a mess."

"This is also an opportunity. Why don't we take the initiative to come over, lend a hand, and talk this matter out."

Seeing that Mr. Tian was still hesitating, his wife immediately shook her head and said, "You are already old, what else can you not let go of? Are you really going to never have any contact with me again?"

Mr. Tian was silent for a moment, "Madam is right."

Wang Daoxuan, who was standing next to him, continued to ask, "Did you find anyone disturbing the Tian family's ancestral tomb while you were robbing the tomb in the back mountain?"

Although the old man had confessed, he was still unhappy. He spat and cursed, "Although we eat the dead, we still respect the code of conduct. How could we do such a rotten thing as digging up the employer's grave while working for others?"

"Unlike you gentry, who go back on your words!"

Just as Wang Daoxuan was asking, Shalfi next to him narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly nonchalant, playing with the teacup in his hand, but in fact he was paying attention to everyone's expressions.

Seeing a young man's eyes evading, Sharifei immediately sneered: "We are all wandering around, why are you pretending?"

"The Taoist priest asked you this for a reason. As for why, you might as well ask the disciple behind you."

His nonsense was just a way to deceive people.

But the old man Wu Jingui was startled and turned his head abruptly, looking at several disciples with a sinister look in his eyes.

In the tomb-robbing business, the biggest fear is traitors and being assassinated by one's own people, so the rules are very strict. If violated even slightly, the consequences will be three cuts and six holes.

The disciple was timid and immediately knelt down and kowtowed, crying and shouting, "Master, there is nothing I can do. They have cast a poison on me and I just can't stand it."

"Get the fuck out of here!"

The old man was furious and knocked him over with his head. Then he gritted his teeth, stiffened his neck, and said coldly to Tian Yuanwai: "I am defeated. You can beat me, kill me, or send me to the authorities. It's up to you!"

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "Who are those people you are talking about?"

At this point, the disciple no longer concealed the truth and said tremblingly, "I don't know them. I only know that they are a group of Miao people."

"By the way, several of them have frequent coughs, their faces are burnt black, and their fingers are deformed by rheumatism."

“It’s the kiln worker!”

The old tomb robber who was leading the group said in a muffled voice: "Kiln workers have been in contact with kilns for many years, which damages their lungs. Making a lot of kilns also damages their hands. I have seen this before."

He was obviously somewhat resentful towards those who had persuaded his disciples to break the rules, so he spoke out to remind them.

"Kiln workers... Miao people?"

Mr. Tian seemed to be thinking about something. He waved his hand and asked the servants to take all the tomb robbers away.

After the people left, he spoke again, "The trade at the dock is prosperous here. The Jiangxia area is rich in 'shadow blue porcelain' and 'celadon'. There are many kilns, and almost every household in every village has a kiln factory."

"But there are only a few Miao villages. If we tell the Law Enforcement Hall about this, we should be able to catch them..."

Although this incident happened, we have found clues about the culprit behind the conspiracy against the Tian family. It was like a blind cat catching a dead mouse.

The custom in Ezhou is that the yang house is in front and the yin house is in the back. They are not far apart and can be reached by climbing over a small hill.

Led by Wang Daoxuan, everyone went to check the ancestral tomb.

Sure enough, although there was nothing unusual outside, there was a tomb in the nearby woods that led directly to the Tian family's ancestral tomb.

The servant climbed in and saw that the bricks of the tomb had indeed been stripped away, and some stones wrapped in red cloth and stained with blood were placed there to enhance the magic of exorcism.

Wang Daoxuan looked at the sky and saw the setting sun shining on the lake in the distance. "It's getting late, not a good time. I'll get up early tomorrow and come back to repair the ancestral tomb."

After returning to the room, Mr. Tian led people to clean the house and prepare dinner in the evening, while Li Yan and the other three gathered in the room.

There were several bundles of bamboo slips on the table.

These bamboo slips are very old, but still well preserved.

Li Yan did not tell Tian Yuanwai's family about the sacrifice in the lake last night, but Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan naturally knew about it.

The bamboo slips are related to the sacrifices of birds and beasts, the magic bestowed by the giant crocodile, and the legendary Divine Palace of Lord Yunzhong. Naturally, they are extraordinary.

But at the same time, there is a big trouble.

The words above,

They don't recognize it!
The words on the bamboo slips were copied in a special calligraphy style, but they had been changed so that the lower part looked like grass and the upper part looked like flowers.

Looking at it, the handwriting looks like a dense bush of flowers, dazzling and making it impossible to understand what it says.

Sharifei was a little speechless, "What the hell is this? Taoist priest, you have read a lot of books, can you recognize these words?"

Wang Daoxuan raised his head helplessly and said, "The knowledge in the world is vast and as vague as smoke. I really can't recognize it."

Li Yan held the bamboo slips in his hand. "This is what Brother Lu obtained at the risk of his life. It may be related to his inheritance. We must find out."

"I'll ask the eldest son of the Tian family to come and have a look."

Tian Wei, who was busy, was soon called over. After picking up the bamboo slips, his eyes suddenly lit up, "Where did you get this?"

Sharifei asked quickly, "Don't worry about these. Just look at these words. Do you recognize them?"

Tian Wei replied: "I only know a few words."

"How many words?"

Sharifei scratched his head and asked suspiciously, "You didn't come from Wenjin Academy? Did you just travel around and neglect your studies?"

Tian Wei was immediately dissatisfied and quickly explained: "Don't talk nonsense, this thing has a great origin, ordinary people have never even heard of it!"

"In ancient times, the customs of different parts of China were different, and the characters and languages ​​were also varied. There were hundreds of characters at that time, such as Golden Magpie, Tiger Claw, Inverted Lemon, Yanbo, and Letter Flag."

"If it weren't for the Emperor Qin Shi Huang unifying China and standardizing the writing system and the wheel gauge, we wouldn't be able to understand each other now."

"The First Emperor's move will benefit future generations."

"This font is called 'Zhiying Li'. Zhiying is a legendary fairy grass, so it is used by people from the ancient Xuanmen."

"Although I don't understand it, I have a vague understanding of it."

As he spoke, he pointed to the five large characters on the bamboo slip cover and said, "I can recognize all of these characters."

"What's written on it is the Mountain and Sea Spiritual Response Sutra!"

　Second update at 12 o'clock

　　
　
(End of this chapter)