Knife splashing

Chapter 412: Husband and Yellow Boy
"Stop, stop, stop!"

Sharifei waved his hands quickly, "Brother Zhang, you've been talking for so long, what on earth is this 'guest in the fog'?"

"this…"

"Fast Boat Zhang" said helplessly: "I am not from the Xuanmen sect, how can I recognize these? Anyway, that's what the nearby countryside calls them."

Wang Daoxuan noticed something else. "Lingyun Temple, is it the one on Wenfeng Peak in Wushan Mountain?"

"Ah, that's right."

Hearing the young man's response, Wang Daoxuan frowned slightly and whispered to Li Yan, "I know that place. It's the only Taoist temple of Taixuan Orthodox Sect in Wushan. Immortal Sanfeng once stayed there to practice."

Although it was not stated explicitly, Li Yan knew what he meant.

They did not forget that when they were suppressing the wandering dragon, some cultivators on Mount Wushan stepped in to help the Ghost Cult and fight against the Zhenwu Palace.

Wushan is also a blessed place, but it is where monks from all walks of life gather and is not under the control of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect.

Maybe someone took advantage of the war to destroy the Taoist temple.

Li Yan seemed to be thinking about something, then shook his head and said, "It's okay, just be careful. It's cloudy today, and there might be rain tonight. We don't have time to waste here."

Their job is to suppress demons and eliminate evil, so they are naturally not afraid of any "guest in the fog".

"Clipper Zhang" understood what was going on and didn't say any more words. He packed up his things with everyone else and left under the worried gaze of the shop assistant.

Soon, it disappeared in the thick fog...

…………

The thick fog covered the sky and blocked out the sun.

In the mountains and forests, the outlines of trees are blurred, appearing and disappearing in the fog.

"There's definitely something wrong with this fog."

Sharifei looked around and couldn't help but whispered, "Normally, even if it's cloudy, the fog will dissipate when the sun rises. Why is it getting thicker now?"

Li Yan looked at Lu San and saw that Lu San shook his head slightly, indicating that there was nothing unusual, so he said, "Be careful, Brother Zhang, how far do we have to go to get there?"

"Quick Boat Zhang" quickly replied: "It's almost there, just over this mountain. There is a Jinyangping, which is the largest village on the nearby mountain..."

Before he could finish his words, Li Yan suddenly raised his hand and turned around.

"Someone is coming, be careful."

When everyone heard this, they all put down their weapons and stood on guard.

Soon, hurried footsteps were heard in the fog, the sounds were chaotic, there were quite a few people, even the neighing of mules and horses and the creaking of wooden carts.

"who?!"

The sound of weapons clattering was heard, and it was obvious that the other side had also discovered them, but the two sides were a hundred meters apart and neither could see the other's appearance clearly.

"Fast Boat Zhang" bowed and said loudly: "I am a traveler from the mountains and fields and I am going to Jinyangping to visit my relatives. Please don't misunderstand me."

The other side did not answer, but a person walked out, and only after passing through the thick fog and seeing their figures, did he bow and say: "Everyone, we are also going to Jinyangping, just in time to find a companion."

The person who was speaking was tall, with dark skin, wearing a coarse blue cloth, a black cloth wrapped around his head, and silver rings on his ears, a typical native outfit.

The images of Li Yan and others are too conspicuous.

Although the man was alert, he didn't say anything.

Not long after, the team behind caught up. It included men, women, old and young. There were several large boxes on the donkey cart, and some people were carrying suona and other musical instruments. It was obvious that they were a troupe of actors.

This was the first time Li Yan had seen a Tujia opera troupe.

Seeing this, Sharifei smiled and approached him, "Brother, are you going to sing a play?"

"Excuse me, you guys are specialized in singing operas. I see you have drums in your luggage. Have you taken on some work?"

"No, it was just for fun..."

Soon, he had a clear understanding of the other party's background.

This group of people came from Badong County and specialized in singing Badong Tang Opera, also known as "Caitang Opera". They were not street performers, but rather hung out in the local area.

The farthest places I have been are Zigui, Wushan and other places.

Two days ago, some people went to the county town to pay a deposit and asked them to come to Jinyangping to perform funeral opera. As a result, it rained heavily last night, and they were afraid of delaying the trip, so they rushed up the mountain early in the morning, and encountered thick fog again.

"Speedboat Zhang" looked serious and asked, "Is the surname of the family you are visiting Zhang?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"To be honest, the owner of that house is my brother."

"What a coincidence..."

After testing each other, they finally let down their guard completely.

Sharifei was chatting animatedly with the other party, while Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan remained calm and glanced at the team.

The person who was talking to them was not the one in charge.

Sitting on the donkey cart was an old man wearing a bright red robe and a black scarf on his head. His face was full of wrinkles and his eyes looked weathered.

Everyone else was extremely respectful to the old man.

There are traces of evil spirit on this old man, and he is obviously a person from the mysterious sect, but his Taoism level is average, estimated to be only at the first level.

It should be a local shaman.

Li Yan discovered more.

He could smell that one of the boxes was filled with densely packed axes, all of which had a sharp aura and were filled with evil spirits.

This troupe is not that simple...

…………

Perhaps because there were so many people, no accidents happened along the way, and after an hour, they finally arrived at Jinyangping.

After passing through the dense forest, the mountain wind blew from the south, and the thick fog was blown away, revealing the entire village.

Jinyangping is a huge flat area on the mountain. Its layout is similar to a winnowing basket. It faces north and south, with a village in the center and terraced fields around it.

On the road leading into the village, there is a wall with a foundation of earth and stones and rows of logs. There is also a sentry tower on top, and villagers are guarding it with bows and arrows.

There were traces of knife hacking, axe cutting and fire on the wall.

Apparently this village had also been visited by rebel troops, but it was managed to hold on.

The crowd was blocked outside and the villagers passed messages on. After waiting for a long time, the village gate slowly opened.

A young man strode out with a few men.

Seeing "Clipper Zhang", he was excited and ran over quickly, saying in a trembling voice: "Uncle, you are finally here."

"Clipper Zhang" had a bad feeling in his heart.

"Where's your dad?"

"My dad, wuwu~ just passed away last night..."

…………

"Jinyangping" got its name because of its location, which is a high mountain flat land, and also because it faces south and has no mountains or forests blocking the way, so it has plenty of sunshine.

Places like this are places that value wind and water and are suitable for living. Therefore, even if they are far away from the county town and deep in the mountains, there are still many people there.

The fusion of Tu and Han customs has also formed special buildings here, similar to stilt houses, where livestock are raised on the first floor and people live on the second floor, but most of them are made of earth, stones, bricks and tiles.

But the Zhang family is a little different. It still has a three-courtyard courtyard, with bricks and stones as the main body and old wood as the beams. Although it is not as rich as those in Xiangyang and Wuchang, it is also the best in Jinyangping.

The only strange thing was that there were very few servants in the mansion, making it seem empty and desolate. Coupled with the mourning hall set up in the courtyard, the atmosphere was even more gloomy.

"Many servants were scared away."

The nephew of "Clipper Zhang" was called Zhang Sibei. After arranging accommodation for everyone, he said sadly: "First it was my brother, then it was the housekeeper, and last night it was my father..."

"In such a short period of time, three people have died. Not to mention the servants, even the villagers are avoiding my house now." Li Yan put his hands behind his back and casually looked at the surrounding buildings. He frowned and asked, "How can you be sure that they were killed by something?"

Zhang Sibei hesitated and looked at "Clipper Zhang".

It’s nothing, Li Yan is just too young.

"Tell it like it is!"

Clipper Zhang said in a deep voice: "This is the expert I invited with great difficulty. The court will ask him to look at things."

Although Zhang Sibei was a little skeptical, he still replied: "There have been no strange noises at night these days. I even led people to keep watch, but I didn't see anything."

"As for the reason, you will know it at a glance..."

After saying that, he led everyone to the mourning hall.

The coffin inside had not been closed yet. An old man was lying there, wearing funeral clothes. He was a little short and fat, and his facial features were somewhat similar to those of "Clipper Zhang".

"Second brother..."

Clipper Zhang's voice trembled, tears streaming down his wrinkles.

It didn't seem like anything was wrong, but when Zhang Sibei suppressed his grief and lifted up his left sleeve, Li Yan and others immediately frowned.

On his left wrist, there was a small handprint, as black as ink, about the same size as that of a three-year-old child.

A trace of fear flashed across Zhang Sibei's eyes, and he trembled as he said, "All three of them had this handprint after they died, and they died when they woke up."

"The villagers all said that my father had provoked the mountain ghosts, who came into the house at night to haunt the souls..."

Li Yan pinched his fingers to perform a magic spell and took a deep breath, but he could not smell any evil energy. He looked at Wang Daoxuan with some doubt.

Wang Daoxuan also shook his head slightly and whispered: "This is the first time I've seen this too. I didn't see any strange aura."

"This was done by 'Yellow Kid'."

Suddenly, an old voice sounded behind me.

Li Yan already knew who it was. He turned around and saw that it was the old man from the opera troupe.

He was not angry either, but bowed and smiled, "Greetings, senior. We are new to your precious place and do not know the local customs. Please give us some advice."

It's normal that you can't see anything wrong.

China is a vast country with different customs in different places. Sometimes the evil spirits that appear are unique to the local area.

Just like treasure-hunting people, they often have trouble controlling their treasures outside of their native land, and they don’t recognize all the evil spirits.

The old man did not answer directly, but made a gesture and said seriously: "The Xie family of Badong, 'Tu teacher' Xie Chengzu, has met several masters."

Obviously, the old man also saw that Li Yan and others were extraordinary.

"Don't dare."

Li Yan also bowed and said: "Guanzhong, Li Yan, Youxian."

The so-called wandering immortals are monks who travel around, practicing while helping people and slaying demons and monsters.

Zhang Sanfeng and Lu Dongbin were both wandering immortals.

Although the old man Xie Chengzu is a local shaman, he also knows that no one who can become a wandering fairy is a good person, and his eyes became cautious.

"I dare not, it's just that this thing is rare outside."

"Around Wushan, precious herbs in the forest can easily become spirits. Badong has the herb 'Duhuo', which has extraordinary efficacy and has always been the first choice of medicine shops everywhere. Every year, a large number of mountain visitors go into the mountains to pick it."

"This plant, Angelica dahurica, blooms yellow flowers in summer and has a single stem. It does not move in the wind but sways without wind, hence its name. It can dispel wind and dampness, dispel cold and relieve pain."

"But once this thing becomes a spirit, it will be extraordinary."

“They have spirituality, and if they are picked by humans, they will feel resentment, and will be carried by the wind in the middle of the night, hooking their souls into the mountains.”

"As long as the soul is summoned back within three days of death, the person can be resurrected. My master said that when people wake up, they say that they were taken away by a child in yellow clothes in the middle of the night."

"That's the 'yellow kid'. Legend has it that after they cultivate into spirits, they will become servants of the Wushan Goddess."

"You picked him, which destroyed his cultivation. This vengeance of life and death must be avenged!"

"I see."

Li Yan suddenly realized and found it incredible.

I didn't expect this demon to have such a strong desire for revenge.

Zhang Sibei, who was standing by, was so excited that he immediately knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice, "So you are Teacher Tu. I am blind and do not recognize you. Please save my father's life."

Teacher Tu?

What a strange name.

"Fast Boat Zhang" was also a little surprised. Seeing that Li Yan was puzzled, he quickly explained in a low voice: "The Tujia people have Nuotang Opera, which can also predict good and bad luck and help people to see things. Its status is very respected."

"Every Nuotang opera troupe has a master of the altar, and the people of Badong call him 'local teacher'."

After hearing this, the "local teacher" Xie Chengzu hesitated.

Seeing Zhang Sibei begging desperately, he finally sighed and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that this matter is really difficult to handle."

"I can sing a Nuotang opera to help you put in a few good words with that 'yellow kid', but I'm afraid it won't be easy."

"Unless you can send the medicine back and replant it, and make sure it survives, there's a chance."

"Why is it so troublesome?"

Sharifei was speechless and said, "You evil spirits dare to enter the village and harm people. Just kill them directly. Why are you begging for mercy?"

After hearing this, Xie Chengzu's eyes flashed with anger, but knowing that Li Yan and others were not easy to mess with, he still said patiently: "Everything in the world has a spirit. If you don't know how to respect it, you will suffer retribution sooner or later."

"Besides, there is more than one 'spirit' in this mountain. Legend has it that they are all boys under the scepter of the Wushan Goddess. Have you ever sensed any trace of evil spirit?"

"If you do it, you'll be in big trouble."

"You guys can do it yourself. I'll leave now to avoid getting into trouble."

Sha Lifei immediately said with a playful smile: "Don't be angry, old senior. I don't understand either. I didn't expect that he was so powerful."

He is very shameless and can say both nice and bad things without any hesitation.

As for Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan, not much was said.

They are used to all kinds of underworld tricks.

Maybe this old man has cast a curse on people and is here to steal their treasures. There is no need to rush now. Let's see the situation clearly first.

Zhang Sibei, who was standing by, nodded as if he had grasped a life-saving straw and said, "The old master is right. My father knows some techniques for hiding treasures. He dug up a large Angelica dahurica plant when he went up the mountain that day. I didn't expect that this plant would cause trouble. I'll go get it now."

After saying that, he hurried back to the backyard and quickly brought out a wooden box. Inside was a root of Angelica dahurica, wrapped in bark and tied with a red rope. The root was huge and golden in color.

Only the shape is a bit weird.

It is neither human nor animal shaped.

Instead, it looks like a yellow coffin.

"hiss--!"

When the old man Xie Chengzu saw this, he gasped, sweat on his forehead, and stepped back repeatedly, waving his hands and saying, "It can't be done, it can't be done, I'll pay you the deposit, and I'll leave now!"

After saying that, he actually turned around and called the people in the troupe, looking like he was ready to run away.

Zhang Sibei was confused and felt a chill in his heart.

Sharifei's eyes rolled, and he quickly stopped the old man, saying with a playful smile: "Senior, you are so irrelevant, you need to explain what's going on."

Xie Chengzu looked at the angelica root as if he had seen a ghost, and gritted his teeth and said, "This is a divine coffin, the coffin of the immortal in the mountain."

"You guys, prepare for your funeral as soon as possible..."

(End of this chapter)