Knife splashing

Chapter 500: The Broken Head Village

Overnight, snow began to fall in the Sichuan region.

This was not unusual in previous years.

Snowfall in Sichuan and Shu regions usually occurs one month later, and the places where it snows are mostly concentrated in mountainous areas.

The Neijiang area is relatively warm and rarely snows in winter.

But now, they are falling like grains of salt.

Neijiang City is not small either. It is located in the middle section of the lower reaches of Tuojiang River and is located in the center of Chongqing and Chengdu. It is known as the "Throat of Southern Sichuan" and the "Fortress of Bashu".

The Tuojiang River forms a huge bend here.

It not only nourishes the land on both sides of the strait, but is also an important port.

Although it is not as big as the big docks like Chongqing and Chengdu, its scale is still quite good. The small city has developed commerce and there are frequent ships coming and going at the dock.

The architecture in Sichuan is mainly black, white and grey.

Snowflakes were scattered between the sky and the earth. From afar, the whole town looked like a Chinese landscape painting, with curling smoke and surging rivers, which was quite charming.

On the distant hillside, Li Yan looked up at the small town, a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, and then he wrapped himself in a cloak and walked towards the mountains in the wind and snow.

Last night, someone controlled the troops to hunt him down.

Li Yan then realized that those monks of the Vinaya school had been fooled. They thought they were there to rob and kill, but they didn't know that the Shu Palace only used them as bait.

The purpose is to drag him to the spot.

With the national sacrificial artifact concealing his aura, the soldiers and horses cannot lock on to him. Only by using this trick can we have a chance to catch him.

Last night he tracked down the soldiers and found their location. He originally wanted to kill them to eliminate the trouble, but now it seems he has to give up.

The ones chasing him were the soldiers of Neijiang City God Temple.

This place is not under the jurisdiction of Qingcheng, but is under the jurisdiction of the temple priests who came from Mount Emei.

Judging from this situation, it is also related to the Shu Palace.

The purpose of Xuanmen is naturally not to interfere in the affairs between the Shu Palace and the imperial court in order to avoid trouble, but some people cannot resist the temptation.

This move by the Prince of Shu's Palace is quite ruthless.

Destroying the City God Temple would affect many people, and would also completely break away from the orthodox Xuanmen religion, which would not be worth the loss for him.

But the Shu Palace also miscalculated two things.

One is his ability. Even without the Gangling Order, even if all the stored heavenly thunder was used up, he is not something those monks can easily deal with.

The second is the artifact.

What he had on him was not the "Ruyi Pearl" but the "Dragon Snake Brand".

The real "Ruyi Pearl" had already been taken away by Wang Daoxuan and hidden in a secret place outside the city of Nanchong. It was both a distraction and a retreat for Wang Daoxuan and his men.

Once encountering danger, one can escape from the city and use the "Ruyi Pearl" to hide one's form and energy to avoid disaster.

Li Yan was not worried about Wang Daoxuan.

Wu Ba's performance surprised him a little. Even for a master of Hua Jin, it was not easy to hurt Wang Daoxuan at close range.

The cooperation between the two sides is enough to deal with many situations.

What made him uneasy was the golden mask.

It has now been confirmed that both Erlang Zhenjun and Jiangshen Dajun have been reincarnated. Perhaps after reincarnation, they are not as powerful as in myths and legends, but they are definitely extraordinary, and they are all making arrangements in secret.

Lord Jiangshen is the calamity brought upon Lord Erlang.

One is the source of flood disasters, the other is responsible for suppressing floods; both have ancient origins, so they are natural enemies.

Lord Jiangshen sent people to look for the Guiqiang treasure.

What was found were relics of the ancient Shu people.

The Erlang faith is older than imagined and is related to ancient Shu...

That mask is definitely the key to this matter!

Unfortunately, the mask has been taken away by the evil creatures of the Dragon Worship Cult.

If he wants to benefit him and his brothers from this incident, he may need more intelligence...

Li Yan had a lot of thoughts in his mind, but his actions were not slow.

He rode on a horse in armor to travel faster, accompanied by wind and snow, so that from a distance, one could only see the rolling snow and fog, mixed with vague human figures.

Crossing mountains and ridges, leaving no trace in the snow.

Between the mountains, a mountain path can be vaguely seen. Because no pedestrians have walked on it for many years, the surrounding area is overgrown with weeds.

This is the road leading to the beheaded village.

Call ~
The wind and snow were howling, and Li Yan stopped.

However, a wheel track suddenly appeared on the mountain road, with messy footprints beside it, from shallow to deep, leading deep into the mountains.

Li Yan guessed what was going on as soon as he saw it.

There was a group of people who entered the mountain at least last night. It snowed in the middle of the night, so footprints appeared halfway along the way, from shallow to deep.

Judging from the wheel tracks, they were carrying a lot of cargo.

Shu has well-developed waterways, and almost all important cities can be reached by water. Especially for caravans, very few people take the mountain roads.

This is probably the Du family’s sacrificial team.

Seeing this, Li Yan began to feel doubtful.

According to the confessions of the Du family, they mostly choose to hold sacrifices at the summer solstice every year, and now it is the beginning of winter.

Temporary changes, maybe there are other things...

Without any hesitation, Li Yan immediately sped up.

Regardless of the mission in the underworld or the feud with the Ghost Cult, these people cannot survive, and even the evil spirit that escaped from the demon must be taken away.

Thinking of this, he deliberately avoided the mountain roads and went straight through the steep cliffs and towering dense forests. In less than half an incense stick of time, he found this group of people.

There are about thirty people in this team.

Nearly half of them were ordinary coachmen and coolies, pushing two large carts full of goods, pulling the carts with horses, and slipping from time to time, looking very embarrassed.

There were also ten Du family assassins, exactly the same as the ones he met that night, wearing black robes, holding swords, with cold eyes and no emotion at all.

The remaining few people were obviously members of the Du family.

There were three middle-aged men and two old men, all dressed in gorgeous robes and walking with light steps. It was obvious that they had practiced martial arts.

"Master Du, how long will it take us to get there?"

After desperately pulling the horses out of the slippery mountain road, the leader of the coachmen couldn't help but ask, but he didn't dare to show the slightest impatience on his face.

He used a lot of connections and finally got in touch with the Du family.

The Du family is the largest wine merchant in Shu. As long as the job is done well, they may not become rich, but they will never be short of work in the future.

To be honest, he also had some doubts in his mind.

The person in front of me is the third master of the Du family who is in charge of the accounts. He is so old. Is there any wealthy family in the mountains that is worthy of him personally coming to deliver the goods?

"Didn't Liu Shan tell you?"

Grandpa Du Jiashan glanced at him calmly and said, "Work for my Du family, don't ask too many questions, don't say too much. If you think the money is too little, don't come to my Du family again after this time."

"Don't blame me, Third Master, for being too talkative."

The leader of the coachmen quickly apologized.

Are you kidding? This time the remuneration was paid in full, which is enough for them to have a prosperous year. They have been working hard all the time, so why would they be dissatisfied?

Seeing that people were dissatisfied, he didn't dare to ask any more questions.

How could an ordinary person like him understand the affairs of rich and powerful families?

Although the distance was far, Li Yan, who was on the distant cliff, chanted some spells and used his ears to function normally. With his powerful hearing ability, he was able to hear their conversation clearly.

It turns out that human sacrifice is required.

The driver thought he had climbed up a high branch, but he didn't know that he had become a sacrifice. Thinking of this, Li Yan became even more cautious.

He took off his armor and horse, held the Dragon Snake Card in his hand, stepped on the magic steps, used the Northern Emperor's Mysterious Water Escape, and his figure gradually disappeared in the wind and snow.

The wind and snow boost the power of the escape technique, it's perfect weather for killing people!

……

The cargo on the truck was extremely heavy, and it was snowing in the form of salt grains, making the mountain road slippery and difficult to travel.

As sunset approached, the team climbed a hill and saw a deserted village in the distance.

But the village is surrounded by mountains on all sides and there are two abandoned quarries. In the snow and wind, it looks like a lost paradise.

"It's getting dark, let's go to the village ahead and take a rest."

The third master of the Du family spoke calmly.

The drivers did not suspect anything and were happy just thinking about having a hot meal and not having to sleep in the wilderness, so they immediately quickened their pace.

But when they were getting close to the village, they realized something was wrong.

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“This is a deserted village!”

"Why haven't you heard of this place?"

Not only that, the horse seemed to be frightened. It kept stamping its feet and snorting, refusing to move forward.

Deputy Chief Che felt a little uneasy and quickly said, "Master Du, don't barge into deserted villages and dilapidated temples. Besides, this place doesn't seem right. How about we find another place to camp?"

"Something's wrong!"

The third master of the Du family looked cold and scolded, "It will be dark soon. I am not feeling well. It is freezing cold. Do you want to freeze me to death?"

"This...let's listen to Master Du."

The leader of the rickshaw drivers looked bitter and dared not speak any more.

Many times, people are like this.

If you want help from others, you have to bow your head.

Especially when facing dignitaries, most people, who have no power, no influence, and no money, cannot stand up straight and can only act according to other people's wishes.

This often leads to a loss of vigilance.

The drivers and coolies didn't think about it that way.

After all, they had nothing and were extremely poor, so they had no idea that the only thing the Du family valued was their lives.

In this way, the group pulled their horses into the village.

All the courtyards of the people along the way were either dilapidated or left with only ruins and overgrown weeds, which could not withstand the wind and snow at all.

When they came to the center of the village and saw the large ancestral hall that was still intact, the deputy leader of the carriage flattered: "Master Du, we are lucky. This ancestral hall in the village is just right for us to stay. But I suggest that we go on the stage."

As he spoke, he pointed across from the ancestral hall.

There happened to be an ancient stage there, with a bluestone base at the bottom and a brick and wood structure on top. The blue bricks were mottled and weathered, and the wooden columns and flying eaves and brackets, although a bit old, still showed the exquisiteness of the time.

The coachman even explained in a flattering manner, "This stage is facing the ancestral hall. It is for the ancestors to perform. It is usually built in a lucky place in the village. If anything happens, no one will easily get close to it."

A hint of sarcasm flashed in the eyes of the Third Master of the Du Family, but he said calmly, "The stage is open, with wind and snow leaking in. What's the difference between it and the wild? Let's go into the ancestral hall."

After saying that, he led his people directly into the ancestral hall.

The drivers had no choice but to follow closely behind.

After entering the ancestral hall, their hearts were also hanging.

In some places, coffins are placed in ancestral halls.

Whenever an elder in the family dies, the coffin will be placed in the ancestral hall for a period of time so that descendants and clan members can come to pay their respects.

Having a coffin at home is not necessarily unlucky.

Some wealthy families would even build a room in a special area in the backyard to store the prepared coffin.

If they encounter it, they will probably feel disgusted.

Fortunately, this ancestral hall seemed to have been renovated by descendants, so there was no mess. It was empty and even the ancestral tablets had been moved away.

The drivers were busy setting up the carriages, lighting bonfires, and cooking.

They didn't notice that the third master of the Du family gave a wink, and a middle-aged man beside him took several assassins to the back of the ancestral hall.

Arriving at the backyard of the ancestral hall, they found one of the side rooms, checked it first, and then pulled open the bed board of the shabby step-out bed.

Below, there was a tunnel.

Looking at the pitch-black secret passage, a trace of fear flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes, but he still lit a torch and led his men down the tunnel.

The bed closed again, and I didn't know where these people went.

The drivers travel around all year round, and the people in Sichuan and Shu are easy-going and love food, so their skills are pretty good.

When the Du family travels, they naturally prepare sufficient supplies.

They chopped up the best bacon, mixed it with pickled vegetables and cooked it together, and finally added vermicelli. It was a very satisfying meal, served with glutinous rice cakes cooked soft over the fire.

"Come on, come on."

The third master of the Du family ordered someone to bring a jar of wine and said, "It's cold, let's all have a drink to warm ourselves up. This is the grain wine from Yibin, it's fragrant. The Du family just bought those wine cellars, everyone should have a taste."

"Thank you, Master Du!"

The drivers' eyes suddenly lit up.

Yibin's whole grain wine has become more and more famous in recent years, but it is very expensive. They have only heard of it, but they cannot afford it because of their limited pockets.

After breaking the mud seal, the aroma of wine filled the air.

“It’s soft on the palate, and has a rich aftertaste. It’s a great wine!”

"It's just a little intense!"

"Bah, you ignorant thing, even good wine is like this!"

How could the drivers resist the wine? You drink a bowl, I drink a bowl, for fear that you drink less than others. Soon you start to get drunk.

By the time the two jars were poured, everyone on the ground was drunk.

The people of the Du family were also drinking, but they only took a few sips and were drinking from another jar, so there was nothing unusual.

Seeing the driver lying on the ground, one of the middle-aged men frowned and said, "Uncle San, why waste time talking to them? Just push them in directly. Why bother with so much trouble?"

"You come here less often, so you don't understand."

The third master of the Du family said calmly: "The master likes to worship alive, and wine is originally a sacrifice to the gods, so it is the most suitable."

"We arrived early, so we naturally have to please the master."

"Go ahead and tie them all up. Please ask the master to come out tonight and help our Du family turn danger into safety!"

At the command, everyone immediately started to get busy.

A statue of a deity was placed on the originally empty ancestral tablet altar. It was Zuo Shouquan, one of the seventy-two demon lords.

Afterwards, the middle-aged man who came out of the tunnel, together with several assassins, lifted a large iron basin and placed it in front of the altar.

The coachmen were also tied up tightly with hemp ropes and placed in two rows in front of the altar in the ancestral hall, like lambs to be slaughtered.

After doing all this, the five people of the Du family burned incense and prayed in front of the altar, and then took out a string of beads with strange runes engraved on them.

They closed their eyes, and while buckling their beads, they chanted strange scriptures with a lot of tongue-twisting sounds, and it was impossible to understand what they meant.

Li Yan hid in a nearby house.

He made some hand gestures and could vaguely smell a sinister aura pervading the village, and there seemed to be many screams echoing in his ears.

But I still can't find the evil spirit.

Just like that, before we knew it, it was already the second half of the night.

Suddenly, Li Yan raised his head and slowly stood up.

The goudie in my arms finally started to heat up...

(End of this chapter)