Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 117: Secrets of the Mountain Village
Aji held the large bowl and ate voraciously, occasionally pouring some egg drop soup into the bowl.

After he had eaten most of it, Lu Zheng brought his own meal and gave most of it to Aji.

All the big slices of meat with alternating fat and lean meat were given to Aji.

Ah Ji smiled widely and couldn't help saying, "Don't give it all to me, eat meat too. This meat smells so good!"

"It's a bit fat and I can't get used to it." Lu Zheng explained with a smile.

Aji couldn't help but stare with an expression of disbelief.

I can’t believe there are people who don’t like eating fatty meat!

In today's world, it is difficult for ordinary people to eat meat.

The fatty meat at the market is more expensive than the lean meat. If you can eat a piece of fatty meat, it would be so delicious!
Aji stared at Lu Zheng, not realizing that Lu Zheng was trying to please him.

He couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that Lu Zheng was really picky and he couldn't understand him.

Lu Zheng took a small bowl of rice, poured some egg soup on it, and then started to eat slowly.

Aji ate much faster. He finished the big bowl of rice in a short while and then drank the soup. He really had a big appetite.

After Aji finished eating, Lu Zheng still had a few bites left.

Ah Ji slumped down to the side after eating and drinking his fill, saying quietly, "You people out there, eating is really..."

Aji thought about it, but couldn't think of any words no matter how hard he racked his brains.

"More feminine than a woman..." This is the only way Aji could describe it.

Lu Zheng smiled without saying a word. He waited until he had finished the last grain of rice before slowly putting down his bowl and chopsticks.

Aji yawned and said, "Come on, I'll take you to the rooftop to sleep. It's a nice, cool day today!"

After eating and drinking to his heart's content, and having been busy all day, Aji was already feeling sleepy and his eyelids were drooping.

There are not many entertainment activities in the mountain village at night.

Once it gets dark, it's time to go to bed after dinner.

Aji's house has four floors, and if you include the roof, there are five floors for people to live in.

Each floor is not even as tall as an average adult, so one has to bend over to walk in the house.

It’s not that it was built like this intentionally, but it’s due to the limitations of the construction level. Each floor is shorter, more solid and less likely to collapse.

Aji's house doesn't have the most floors.

After reaching the roof, Lu Zheng stood up straight and looked around. He found that there were several taller bluestone buildings in the village, which were like huge fortresses.

Aji brought Lu Zheng to the roof and brought up two rolls of mats to spread the floor.

"Go to sleep, I'll take you out of the village tomorrow morning!"

Aji was lying on a bamboo mat near the stairs, his hands supporting his head, yawning continuously.

Lu Zheng sat on another bamboo mat and took the bag off his back to use as a pillow.

After a while, footsteps were heard downstairs. It was Gu and Ali who came back.

"Aggie!"

Bone opened his mouth and called out.

"Here I am, Dad!"

Aji was about to fall asleep, but he suddenly jumped up and responded quickly.

Then, Gu went up to the roof and saw Lu Zheng and Aji together, and he felt relieved.

Seeing that Lu Zheng was still asleep, he said, "Sleep well. I'll have Aji take you away tomorrow... If you want to go to the toilet, there's a urinal in the room below. Don't run around!"

"Got it." Lu Zheng nodded and thanked him again, "Thank you for your hospitality today."

Gu's face was expressionless when he heard this. He waved his hand and said, "Young man, when you go out alone, don't wander around. Not everywhere will welcome you."

After saying that, Gu went downstairs directly, and soon the sound of a door closing was heard.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep!"

Aji lay down again, yawned, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

But after a while, there was a snoring sound.

After a while, snoring sounds were heard from the room below.

The sounds come and go, never ending.

Lu Zheng lay there straight, his eyes bright and lively, not even a hint of sleepiness.

It’s not that he couldn’t sleep because of the snoring, but he was in a good mental state, and because he had doubts in his mind, he was very clear-headed.

Time just passed slowly and slipped away quietly.

The entire mountain village was pitch black and plunged into the silence of the night.

Even the snoring of Aji and the others became much quieter.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the village.

There was a sound of dogs barking, but it quickly stopped.

Lu was lying on the roof. His ears were sharp, and since he was above him, the sound did not attenuate much.

So I could clearly hear the noise below, someone was coming back to the village.

He even heard the sound of conversation, the voices were very low, and they were speaking the language of the Qingyi people.

"Are you back? Did you buy it?"

"I bought them. They're both in the sack! They're both very small. I bought them very cheaply. It didn't cost much."

"This is an offering to God. Don't be cheap. Let me see it!"

The person who spoke was an old man, and there was a hint of majesty in his tone.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound.

Lu Zheng stood up quietly and looked in the direction where the sound came from.

It was in a tall stone building, and there were several figures swaying.

With the faint moonlight, Lu Zheng could barely see those people clearly.

I saw a coarse cloth sack being opened, and a man dragged out a small figure from it, a child.

The child was skinny, wearing tattered clothes, and looked about three or four years old.

His eyes were closed and he was obviously unconscious.

An old man in green clothes squatted down, touched the child, and murmured, "It's a little thin, but still healthy. It can be offered to God."

Then, a cloth bag next to it was opened. It also revealed a child of about three or four years old, wearing colorful clothes, probably a little girl.

"This little girl is not bad either. Take her to the mountains and take good care of her for a few days." The old man whispered, "The rest of the things have been prepared. We are just waiting for the day of the sacrifice."

"Ok."

The man responded and put the two children away.

Two strong young men carried the cloth bags and quietly left the village.

Lu Zheng's expression was slightly gloomy. Gods, sacrifices, and offerings?
He didn't know if there were any demons or ghosts behind the scenes, but using young boys and girls for sacrifice was a serious sin.

The laws of the nine countries under heaven strictly prohibit human sacrifice.

Are these people in Qingyi really lawless?

Lu Zheng's mind raced as he saw the two men walking away, his eyes turning slightly cold.

He stepped lightly, landed lightly from the roof, and quickly chased after him.

Lu Zheng hid in the night and followed two strong men into the mountains.

After walking for a while, I vaguely saw lights flickering in the distance.

It was a wooden house with a light on and the door wide open. A man in blue clothes was sitting inside.

The man heard the footsteps and saw that it was his tribesmen returning, so he hurried to meet them.

"Have you shown it to the old man? Is he satisfied?"

"No problem, let's take good care of it for two days and don't let it get sick!"

"Hey, what kind of illness can come from this weather!"

"This is a gift to God, so we can't be careless!"

"I know! Everything we have is given by God, how can I be careless?"

"You guys keep guard. I'll come over tomorrow and take over."

A man said, then turned and left, preparing to return to the village.

Lu Zheng flashed and disappeared into the woods nearby.

After the man left, Lu Zheng followed him lightly.

When he came behind the man, Lu Zheng reached out and patted the man on the shoulder.

The man looked a little tired and didn't feel anything was wrong for a moment, so he turned around subconsciously.

Lu Zheng suddenly grabbed the man's neck and dragged him towards the distant mountains and forests.

The man was suddenly shocked and struggled, trying to pull Lu Zheng's big hand away.

But he found that Lu Zheng was incredibly strong and he couldn't pry it open at all.

The man only felt his head spinning and his body was moving rapidly.

He was terrified and thought he had encountered some mountain monster or ghost.

"Ho ho..."

The man opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.

Lu Zheng had no expression on his face as he flew along, carrying the sturdy man.

After they were far enough away from the mountain village, Lu Zheng threw the man to the ground with a swing of his hand.

"Cough cough cough..."

The man felt dizzy and lay on the ground coughing and gasping for breath.

His face turned purple and he almost suffocated to death.

A long sword flashing with cold light suddenly appeared and stood in front of the man.

The man's eyes were dazzled by the sword light and he couldn't help but turn his head to the side.

"Tell me, what are you buying boys and girls for? Living sacrifices? Who is the god you are worshipping?"

Lu Zheng's voice was cold and his eyes were fierce and intimidating.

The man's eyes flickered, he coughed a few times, and said in a hoarse voice: "What are you saying? I don't understand!"

He spoke in the Qingyi language, indicating that he did not understand what Lu Zheng said.

"I don't understand. How can you buy a child outside?" Lu Zheng said coldly.

"I do not understand what you're saying!"

The man still said so and refused to change his words.

A fierce look flashed in Lu Zheng's eyes. He raised the long sword in his hand and pierced the man's left hand directly, nailing it to the ground.

To be honest, he has never used harsh force on anyone.

But in this world, there are not only demons and ghosts that harm people, there are also evil people.

Lu Zheng will not show mercy to such a person.

"Ugh..."

The man's face was distorted with pain and he let out a hoarse cry.

Blood oozed from the wound on his palm.

The man didn't even dare to move, for fear that the wound would get worse.

But the piercing pain made his left hand tremble constantly.

"Now, do you understand?" Lu Zheng asked again coldly.

The man was sweating profusely and gritted his teeth, "I don't understand!"

Lu Zheng took a deep breath and said slowly, "You are quite stubborn. You won't say anything, right? Then you are not afraid, are you?"

The man had cold sweat on his forehead, but still did not answer Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng sighed and said, "Why bother? This is just a waste of my time and your life. If you don't tell me, I will kill you and then catch the others. If the next one doesn't tell me, there will be another one. I think someone will tell me the truth eventually..."

"Now, your life and the lives of your clansmen and family are in your hands. You should think carefully about this." Lu Zheng added, "If you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about your family, right?"

To deal with such a villain, Lu Zheng naturally didn't mind making some threatening remarks.

If you talk about gentlemanly virtue and righteousness to such an obstinate and evil person, you will be a real nerd.

When faced with evil, the ancient sages always struck back hard to defend the truth.

(End of this chapter)