Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 12 The Last Night

In the afternoon, the civet cat came with a salted herring in its mouth.

It threw the salted fish in front of Ren Yuan and squatted beside the cage. "This is your weapon."

Ren Yuan picked up the salted fish and looked at the civet cat with a puzzled look.

"Idiot, have you never heard of a sword hidden in a fish's belly?" the civet cat said proudly.

As expected, Ren Yuan pulled out a black, foot-long branch from the salted fish's belly.

"That's it?" This was quite different from the Thunderbolt Sword he had imagined, shining with cold light and capable of cutting through iron like mud.

If it was a peach wood sword, he could understand it, but the heavy feel must be jujube wood or something like that. In addition, this cat was not reliable, so Ren Yuan couldn't help but feel nervous. Could he kill the witch with this chopstick?
"What do you mean, that's all?" The civet cat said unhappily, "You ignorant fellow, this is the most sacred tree in Taoism - the thunder-struck jujube wood!"

"Zodiac wood isn't hard to come by, even if it's been struck by lightning." Ren Yuan said puzzledly. His clear eyes revealed ignorance.

"It's not that the wood has been struck by lightning, it's the wood that's struck by lightning and still alive, the wood that has been struck by lightning and whose vitality is inextinguishable due to the interaction of yin and yang energies, that's the real wood that's struck by lightning." The civet cat said,

"Besides, why was it struck by lightning? It's because there is a spirit in the tree, and it has become a demon and is causing trouble, so a thunderstorm has come down from the sky. Thunder from the sky can destroy all evil, and only tree spirits who practice the righteous way can survive the thunderstorm. Only such a jujube tree can be called a thunder-struck jujube tree!"

"This piece of jujube wood was given by a Taoist tree spirit. After practicing thunder magic, it absorbed the essence of thunder and lightning. It is full of righteousness and majestic. It can defeat all spirits and monsters!" The cat patted Ren Yuan's head with its front paws and said, "Now you know how rare it is, right?"

"Oh." Ren Yuan nodded quickly. As long as he could kill the old witch, it didn't matter whether it was chopsticks or a sword.

"You must hide it well." The cat said, "I heard Xie Zhi tell the servants to give you a bath and change your clothes tonight. If they find it, everything will be over."

"Ah?" Ren Yuan opened his mouth wide. If he took off all his clothes to take a shower, how could he not find it with such a long stick?

"Besides, what if they hypnotize you first and then give you a bath?" The civet cat gave him some advice: "After much thought, I think your only option is to hide the sword in the valley."

"Get lost!" Ren Yuan was so angry that his nose almost twisted. He cursed, "Stop giving me nonsense advice. I have my own plan!"

"Okay, then I look forward to your brilliant ideas." The civet cat nodded and asked, "Have you drawn the soul-controlling talisman?"

Ren Yuan nodded.

"Really? Hahaha, I really have a discerning eye for talent!" The civet cat jumped happily on his head.

After agreeing on the wake-up signal with Ren Yuan, it slipped out silently through the narrow window.

Ren Yuan tried again and again for a long time, and finally found a fairly appropriate way to hide the sword. Then he raised the palm talisman and silently chanted the spell:
"Dark and confused, lost in thought, at the mercy of others. If I command you to turn, you will be awakened from a dream. Hurry, obey the command!"

After chanting the curse, stick the talisman to the sky.

~~
Shortly after dark, the door opened.

'Cousin' Xie Zhi came in accompanied by Master Ma and started coughing because of the stench inside.

"Why does it smell so strong?" Xie Zhi said, covering his nose.

"The house has been shut up for days, and we've been eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in the cage." Master Ma explained and quickly ordered, "Open the window and ventilate."

After letting the air out for a while, the smell in the room became less, and Xie Zhi walked in. He looked at Ren Yuan in the cage, shook his head and said, "Why are you doing this? You have a good life, but you have to escape..."

Ren Yuan didn't even look at him, leaning against the cage wall with his eyes closed.

"Alas, in fact, most of the time, my concern for you is not fake." Xie Zhi sighed and said, "I really hope to have a brother like you."

Ren Yuan still ignored him.

"Since you are too lazy to even talk to me," Xie Zhi sighed again, "then I won't waste my words."

After speaking, he waved his hand.

Master Ma then went around behind Ren Yuan, grabbed his hair, stuck his head on the cage, and fiercely stabbed something sharp into the Baihui point on the top of Ren Yuan's head.

Ren Yuan let out an inhuman howl and then lay motionless.

Xie Zhi took out a small magic bell from his sleeve, shook it towards Ren Yuan, and gave an order: "Say 'Big brother, I was wrong.'"

"Brother, I was wrong..." Ren Yuan repeated woodenly.

Xie Zhi nodded with satisfaction and signaled Master Ma to open the cage door. He rang the bell again and ordered, "Climb out." Ren Yuan crawled out of the cage on all fours, raised his head, and looked blank.

Xie Zhi was about to tease him to vent his anger, but then he thought that this would soon be his own body, so how could he let the servants see him as a joke? So he gave up and said, "Get up and wash yourself."

Ren Yuan then stood up and followed his cousin to take a milk bath.

~~
In the study.

The two men, who are father and son, are making the final arrangements.

"After announcing the death of the eldest son, you must show the pain of losing a son." The third young master ordered in a deep voice: "Even if you are happy in your heart, you must act well in this scene."

"Yes, my son knows." Master Xie agreed, "During the township election, the Zhongzheng officials will come to investigate your family background, and no evidence can be left behind."

"That's right, so the process of the cousin becoming the second young master should be as natural as possible." The third young master nodded.

"Don't worry, father. Everything has been arranged." Master Xie said with a smile, "My son has long spread the word that our family will adopt Ren Yuan. Everyone in the village also knows that the cousin will soon become the second young master."

“Next, all matters concerning the eldest brother’s funeral will be handed over to him. In this way, he can legitimately step into the spotlight as the second young master of the Xie family.” Master Xie continued.

"All right." The Third Young Master nodded in satisfaction, and gave an order in a deep voice: "No one in the village is allowed to sleep tonight, and everyone must gather in the front yard to keep vigil. Before and after midnight, no one is allowed to approach the inner yard!"

"Yes, father." Master Xie replied respectfully.

"Have you gone to invite your uncle?" the third young master asked again.

"I invited you during the day, but my uncle won't come." Master Xie hurriedly replied, "My uncle said that if we provide blood food to my mother on time every month in the next two years, she won't go crazy again."

As he spoke, he took out a jade talisman from his sleeve and said, "But the old man still gave me a talisman to summon the gods, just in case."

"Well, just the summoning talisman will do." The third young master took it, put it into his sleeve and said, "I hope you won't need it."

Seeing that his father had finished giving his instructions, Master Xie asked, "Then there is a funeral for the son."

"Yeah." The third young master nodded.

So Master Xie got up and went out to announce the death of his eldest son.

Soon, cries were heard in the village, and the sound spread quickly until the whole village was filled with crying.

~~
Half an hour later, more than 500 people in Xiejiazhuang, all dressed in mourning, knelt in the front yard and cried.

As the father of the deceased, Master Xie cried out, "My son, how could you leave just like that?"

"You unfilial son, you made me send off my son when I was young. It hurts me so much!"

The third young master's eyes were red as well. He advised from the side: "Father, please accept my condolences. My eldest brother has an incurable disease and has been tortured for so many years. Today he is finally free."

"Alas, what a miserable child." Master Xie said with a broken heart, "We must arrange it well and let him go in glory!"

"Yes, son, I will do my best." The fourteen-year-old third young master looked reluctant.

"No, let your second brother do it." Master Xie shook his head decisively and said, "I had planned to choose an auspicious day in a few days and invite all the villagers to announce this matter--"

"The capital has replied, and your cousin's name has been officially included in the family tree." He raised his voice and said:

"So now he is not called Ren Yuan, nor is he some young master. He is the tenth generation grandson of the Dongshan Kuaiji branch of the Chenjun Xie family, and the second young master of Xiejiazhuang, Xie Cheng!"

Everyone in the village lowered their heads and wiped their tears while silently eating melons. When the eldest young master died, the second young master took over. It was hard not to have wild thoughts.

But the actors on the stage were still performing according to the script. Master Xie asked the third young master, "Where is your second brother now? Why hasn't he come over yet?"

"Father is so sad that he is confused. Second brother is in the inner courtyard with grandmother, helping eldest brother to cleanse and bathe himself and dress him in shrouds." The third young master replied with tears in his eyes.

"Oh, my poor son..." Master Xie beat his chest and stamped his feet again, hugging his son and crying bitterly.

Everyone in the village also burst into tears to add to his grief.

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(End of this chapter)