Knife splashing

Chapter 413: Knife-Stepping Ceremony, Visitors in the Mist

After hearing what Xie Chengzu said, Li Yan and others looked at each other.

To be honest, this old man has a crow's mouth and his words are unpleasant and unlucky.

But looking at his appearance, it seemed that he was really scared.

Zhang Sibei was also frightened. This young man was also indecisive. He was trembling all over and was at a loss.

However, Clipper Zhang, who was a veteran in the underworld, bowed and said in a deep voice, "Sir, please make your words clear. Even if you have to die, let me die with a clear mind!"

Xie Chengzu glanced at Li Yan, gritted his teeth, turned around and said to his disciple: "Go, get the divine cloth."

"Yes, master."

His disciple turned around quickly and fetched a piece of red cloth.

Li Yan and his friends had seen this thing before. It was the red cloth used to cover the statues of gods that had not yet been consecrated or were a little ominous.

But this one is a little different.

Judging from the material, it seems to be a special pigment mixed with cinnabar, and it has been used for a long time, and is smoky and worn out.

Treasures from heaven and earth!

Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, a little surprised.

The moment this thing was brought in, the Daluo Dharmakaya in his body felt hungry and wanted to devour it.

This kind of situation is very rare recently.

His Daluo Dharma body is now in a complete state. Not only are there three fires burning on his head and shoulders, but there is not even a single crack on his body.

Ordinary treasures from heaven and earth, after absorbing spiritual energy, are used for repairs. Only objects that can strengthen the Dharma body will cause abnormal movements.

The last time I had this feeling was in Wudang Mountain.

But since the Great Emperor Zhenwu was there, he didn't have the courage to take action.

I didn’t expect to find another one in this remote village.

Of course, he didn't rush to speak, but watched from the sidelines.

The old man Xie Chengzu took the red cloth, walked carefully to the "Duhuo" plant, shook it gently, and covered it.

In an instant, Li Yan could no longer sense the breath of "Duhuo".

After doing all this, the old man signaled everyone to move away, took off the big pipe from his waist, took a few puffs, and said, "I've only heard of this kind of thing, but this is the first time I've seen it."

"This medicinal herb likes cool and humid weather and is cold-resistant. It mostly grows under shady and moist bushes, and is best suited to black humid soil."

"If they grow near a tomb filled with evil spirits, they are no longer medicine, but poison. They are extremely cold and will make the condition worse if taken."

"This kind of angelica is most likely to be spotted by some powerful creatures, used as a coffin, breed poisonous insects, and eventually become the body of a ghost or god."

"If you break open that Duhuo plant, strange insects will surely grow inside. Those are the bodies chosen by the mountain gods. Once they are pulled out, the unformed insects inside will also die."

"This feud is really serious. I'm afraid there are some powerful people behind that 'yellow kid'. I really can't afford to offend him."

Li Yan heard this, but his expression remained unchanged. He nodded slightly and said, "Thank you for your guidance, old senior. We will take care of the rest."

Xie Chengzu was a little surprised, "Aren't you afraid?"

Sharifei patted his chest and said happily, "To be honest, we have been through a lot, but we don't really care about this country brat."

He likes to brag, but what he said is true.

Along the way, I have seen so many powerful things. I even saw a poisonous dragon a while ago, and my courage has grown.

"Young man, what a big mouth!"

Seeing him like this, Xie Chengzu was inexplicably angry. He snorted coldly and said, "Since this is the case, I will not leave. I want to see what you are capable of."

With that, he walked away with his hands behind his back, shouting, "Set up the stage, do what needs to be done, and finish the show before midnight!"

"Yes, master!"

The disciples shouted and started working.

There are two ways to say the so-called "hall opera".

One theory is that it originated in the Tang Dynasty, hence the name Tang Opera;
One theory is that it was performed in the main halls of ordinary people, so it was called Tangxi.

Regardless of what is said, one thing is certain: "Tangxi" is never performed outside. This is a rule and taboo.

Since we are indoors, the stage setting is also simple.

A simple stage is usually built with disassembled wooden boards, with a blue coarse cloth curtain hung at the back. A table and a few chairs are placed on the right side of the stage for the musicians to accompany the performance.

It was still early before dark, and according to custom, the Zhang family prepared a big pot of rice to entertain the troupe, and at the same time sent people to the village to notify every household and invite the elderly to come and watch the show.

Unfortunately, after what happened to the Zhang family, no one probably dares to come tonight.

The old man Xie Chengzu was squatting in the yard, smoking a pipe, puffing out smoke, and staring at the mourning hall.

After a while, he sighed, stood up, knocked off the ashes, and told his apprentice, "Go, build the knife mountain."

"Master, how many knives do you need?"

"Seventy-two... no, use all one hundred and eight!"

Upon hearing this, several disciples immediately ran outside to work.

They put away two wooden poles, each three feet high, and tied them tightly. Then they opened the wooden boxes and piled up the sharp axes inside one by one like a ladder.

The blade is sharp, and the bleak autumn wind blows, making it even more solemn and murderous.

There are many people living in Jinyangping, and locals and Han people live together. Such a big commotion naturally could not be hidden from the villagers, who gathered around and whispered.

Soon, an old Tujia man came over, surrounded by the crowd, took a look, and his face became solemn. He bowed respectfully to Xie Chengzu and said, "My Tujia man, you are a man of real ability."

"One hundred and eight knives...Is it difficult for the Zhang family to handle this matter?"

Xie Chengzu shook his head slightly and whispered, "Tell the villagers to stay away tonight and don't get close if you hear any strange noises."

Then he sighed, "I can't just watch people die, so I'll save as many as I can tonight..."

Inside the Zhang family compound, Li Yan and his group were also watching all this.

"This is the 'Knife-Stepping Ceremony' in the 'Nuotang Opera'."

"Quick Boat Zhang" said in a deep voice: "'Tang Opera' is the same as our ordinary Han opera troupe, but 'Nuotang Opera' is a Tujia ritual."

"I don't know much, but I know how to display one hundred and eight swords. This local old man must have a true inheritance."

"Young Master Li, what should we do?"

"Not urgent."

Li Yan glanced at the "Living God's Coffin" covered with red cloth in the room, and asked Zhang Sibei: "Where did your father find this thing?"

Zhang Sibei shook his head and said, "I don't know. Ever since my family bought a piece of land, my father rarely goes into the mountains to hunt wild animals. Even if he goes, he will bring servants and old hunters from the village with him."

"But seven days ago, he mysteriously went into the mountains alone. When he came back, he took this item and said that the Zhang family's wealth and prosperity depended on it."

"Think carefully again, what has he said these days?"

Zhang Sibei pondered for a moment, then suddenly slapped his head and said in a trembling voice, "I remember now. After my brother got into trouble, my father seemed very scared and ordered the housekeeper to take the tribute to the back mountain."

"The servant who came back secretly told me that when they followed the butler to the back mountain, a thick fog suddenly appeared. The butler kept kowtowing and burning incense, mumbling something, and then the fog dissipated."

"The next day, the housekeeper also died."

"Father immediately sent someone to tell Uncle, but before you guys arrived, something happened last night."

"This second one!"

After hearing this, Clipper Zhang was furious. "You are greedy and invite disaster. I... Alas~" Li Yan seemed to be thinking about something. "Who is your housekeeper?"

Zhang Sibei replied, "The housekeeper's name is Hu Cen, he is from Wushan, he studied for a few days, but he failed the exams many times, not even a scholar, so he followed my father and has been working diligently all these years."

"Where is his body?"

"Buried in the old cemetery in the village."

"Take me to see it!"

Zhang Sibei did not dare to delay and immediately called two servants and brought Li Yan and others to the old cemetery.

The old cemetery is quite large and is located on the other side of the back mountain. Most of the people of Jinyangping are buried here after their death.

The Feng Shui is not good, but it is not bad either.

"right here!"

Zhang Sibei led them to a new grave. "Butler Hu was alone and had no children, so he was buried here too."

"This piece of land was bought by my father to be used as the Zhang family's tomb. My mother will be buried there after she passes away."

Li Yan pinched his fingers, took a deep breath, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes, and said in a deep voice: "There is something wrong inside, dig the soil, open the coffin!"

At this point, Zhang Sibei no longer had any concerns and immediately ordered, "Quick, dig it up!"

The servant immediately wielded the hoe and quickly dug out the coffin.

"stop!"

As soon as the coffin lid was revealed, Li Yan raised his hand to stop it.

He glanced at Lu San and said in a deep voice: "San'er, there is something in there. I will control it and you come and ask."

After saying that, he jumped down the pit and raised his toes.

Bang bang bang!
The nails on the coffin flew out and the coffin lid spun out.

Seeing the situation inside, everyone gasped.

On the body inside, there was a "mountain wind" as thick as an adult's arm and completely black, coiled up like a snake, as if it was hibernating.

Being disturbed, this "mountain wind" immediately became furious. It suddenly raised its body, more than one meter high, and hissed at Li Yan.

Li Yan did not take any action either. His eyes were slightly narrowed with murderous intent revealed. He relied on his momentum alone to force the "mountain wind" to retreat continuously.

Swish!
The big black snake turned around and tried to escape.

Only then did the others see that a large hole had appeared on the side of the coffin at some point, leading to the underground, and the "Mountain Wind" had come out from here.

However, as it moved, Li Yan also moved with it. In an instant, he came behind it and grabbed its head.

"Guoshanfeng" seemed to be caught by an iron clamp, its body twisted, entangled with Li Yan, and its arms gradually exerted force.

This poisonous snake is the king of the mountains and is very intelligent. It can entangle foxes and wild dogs and break their bones.

However, Li Yan only exerted a slight force and it felt as if its head was about to explode. It instantly became limp and dared not move.

Lu San then stepped forward, chanted some magic spells, and spoke in the upper language.

"Hiss..."

The mountain breeze blew out its message and kept responding.

After hearing this, Lu San's eyes flashed with surprise, "Brother Yan, you caught the wrong guy, this guy is not the murderer."

As he said that, he turned his head and looked at Zhang Sibei, "He is supported by your father. He usually hides in the mountains and forests to help your father find medicinal herbs. Only your father and this housekeeper know about this in the entire Zhang family."

"This creature was originally going to protect your family, but your father got into a big disaster, so it got scared and hid in the housekeeper's grave to avoid the disaster."

"what?"

Zhang Sibei was a little confused.

He knew that although his father was an ordinary person, he knew some tricks to find treasures and could always find some good wood and medicinal materials. This was how the Zhang family became rich.

But I didn’t know that there was a snake spirit enshrined in the house.

"This is the method of the Xiangxi Snake Cult."

Li Yan shook his head slightly and looked at "Clipper Zhang", "It seems that your brother is not honest and has hidden a lot of things behind his back."

Clipper Zhang said bitterly, "He joined the Gelaohui before, and I don't know what he did. If I had known earlier, I would never let him touch these things."

This is the difference between ordinary people and people in the mysterious world.

The best way for ordinary people to deal with these things is to stay away from them, just like "Fast Boat Zhang", who learned some taboos to avoid disasters when sailing.

However, if one is too curious about this matter, does not have the supernatural power to investigate, and does not understand the principles behind it, it will often lead to disaster.

Just like some people, in order to pursue wealth and fame, they raise some household gods and ghosts at random, but fail to follow the rules and bring disaster upon themselves.

This is also something that people in the Xuanmen often deal with.

Li Yan nodded and said thoughtfully: "It seems that the housekeeper went to the back mountain that day to worship the snake spirit. Ask it what it provoked?"

"Hiss..."

When asked by Lu San, Guo Shanfeng kept talking nonsense.

"It's the guest in the fog!"

Lü San said to the crowd in a deep voice: "The 'Living Flesh Coffin' originally grew in the 'Guest in the Mist's' lair. Later, when the 'Guest in the Mist' was suppressed, this thing was revealed."

"After the snake spirit noticed it, it took Zhang Linsheng to get the things out, ready to sell them for a good price. However, Lingyun Temple was destroyed, and the 'guest in the fog' returned again."

"The 'yellow kid' was originally enslaved and just happened to escape. He was also happy to see Zhang Linsheng take him away. But when the 'guest in the fog' returned, the 'yellow kid' was driven again to come to the Zhang family for revenge..."

At this point, the cause and effect are finally clear.

"Isn't this simple?"

Sharifei said happily: "Let's go straight to its lair and kill that 'guest in the fog', and the Zhang family's crisis will be resolved."

"Xiao Zhang, we have to take the 'Living God's Coffin' away when the time comes."

Zhang Sibei was already convinced by their methods and nodded quickly, "Of course, this thing is a disaster for my family."

“It’s not that simple…”

Wang Daoxuan frowned and shook his head, saying, "Lingyun Temple has already taken action. They are from the Taixuan Orthodox Sect. They dare to go to Wushan to fight as a vanguard. They must have some tricks up their sleeves."

"If it is an ordinary evil creature, we can just kill it directly. Why bring it back to Lingyun Temple to suppress it? I think it will be a troublesome thing."

He didn't say it explicitly, but Li Yan immediately understood what he meant.

Those who need to be suppressed cannot be easily killed.

For example, the "Drought Demon" in the Qinling Mountains, once killed, would spread poison for thousands of miles, causing drought and plague. It can only be suppressed in Huashan and eliminated bit by bit with the help of the innate energy.

For example, the Yellow River Stone Dragon Coffin was jointly taken by the entire Taixuan Orthodox Church and sent to Wangwu Mountain to be suppressed.

It is still unclear what terrible things are hidden inside.

If it is this kind of thing, I'm afraid it won't be so easy to deal with.

Li Yan looked at Lu San again, "Ask it where the nest of the 'guest in the fog' is?"

After asking, Lu San pointed to the northwest and said, "Over there, twenty miles away, there is an ancient ruin."

"I know where it is!"

Clipper Zhang quickly spoke up, "That's where the Cubans boil salt..."

　Second update in the afternoon
　　
　
(End of this chapter)