Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 55 The Child in My Arms
The old man looked a little uneasy and troubled. He said, "There's no such thing as the living dead. It's all nonsense. It's just...it's just that the disease has been cured."

Yan Mingzhang feigned curiosity and asked, "Old man, I'd like to ask, which doctor has the medical skills to bring the dead back to life?"

The old man's expression eased slightly, and he smiled awkwardly and said, "It's not a doctor...it's the mountain god. People here take their illnesses to the mountain god's temple, and the mountain god will bless us."

Yan Mingzhang then asked, "Mountain God? Why haven't I heard that your village's mountain god is so powerful before? Otherwise, it wouldn't be called Hot Spring Village, but Mountain God Village!"

The old man scratched his head and said, "A few years ago, there was a heavy rain, and the mountain temple on the back mountain was struck by lightning, and half of it collapsed. Later, not long after, a Taoist priest came to the mountain temple. The Taoist priest said that it was the mountain god appearing, and he was dissatisfied with our village. He asked us to repair the temple and make more offerings. Strangely enough, the mountain temple suddenly became spiritual after this. Later, some dying people who were sent there were saved! So I don't know how the news leaked out, and more and more people came to our village, ostensibly to soak in the hot springs, but in fact they came to worship the mountain temple. Look at those newly opened inns, they are all run by prominent people in the village, and business is booming."

"Old man, have you ever seen the mountain god? Could it be that the Taoist priest saved him? Did he pretend to be the mountain god to cheat some money from incense offerings?" Su Zhan asked, putting down the bowl of porridge.

"I don't know about that. No one has ever seen the mountain god. Every time the mountain god casts a spell, the door of the mountain god temple is closed and no one is allowed to enter. The Taoist priest is always outside burning incense and chanting scriptures with us. I have never seen him go in." The old man shook his head and denied it.

Yan Mingzhang asked earnestly, "Old man, what are the conditions for saving this life? To be honest, the patient in my family has been ill for many years. If we can really save him, even if it costs a fortune, it will be worth it."

The old man hesitated, feeling somewhat embarrassed. After a moment's thought, he finally spoke, "There are a few rules for the mountain god. First, the person must be dying. Second, tributes must be offered, including cattle, sheep, melons, and fruits, and each offering must be placed on a golden plate. Third, you are not allowed to peek while the mountain god is performing his spell. After three days and three nights, the success or failure of the act depends on the will of heaven. Life and death are determined by heaven, and whether you live or die has nothing to do with the mountain god temple."

Yan Mingzhang then asked, "Oh? Did the mountain god tell the villagers? Or did the Taoist priest tell them?"

The old man pondered for a moment and replied, "Neither. It was the mountain god who appeared. The villagers fished out a large stone from the river, and these things were engraved on the stone."

Yan Mingzhang stood up and bowed to express his gratitude: "Old man, how many people did the mountain god save?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "Not many. It depends on fate. Sincerity is the key to success. At first, it was just the villagers. Later, a few officials from the city heard about it and came, but only eight or nine were successful! Some were not sincere, so they couldn't be saved. But because they were already dying, we tried our best to save them. After all, they were not sincere, so the families didn't make a fuss."

Su Zhan looked puzzled and said, "Is this mountain god really that magical?"

Yan Mingzhang pondered for a moment and said, "You'll know once you go there."

The old man hesitated to speak: "..."

Yan Mingzhang saw that the old man was hiding something, but was still struggling over whether to tell it or not. Yan Mingzhang was not in a hurry to press him, as he was sure that the old man would tell him.

After bidding farewell to the old man, the five of us headed for the mountain temple. The early summer sky was clear, and the path was lined with locust trees. They grew so dense that they almost completely blocked out the sunlight, casting patches of light. The branches swayed in the breeze. Many tourists were on the way to the mountain temple. They had heard that it was a spiritual place and were visiting to pay their respects while soaking in the hot springs. Others, looking hurried, had come specifically to pay their respects.

Su Zhan looked mysterious and deliberately frightened Rong Wanyin: "Rong girl, do you know? These locust trees can't be planted randomly! Legend has it that locust trees have a strong yin energy and are prone to attracting ghosts. You said there are so many locust trees planted here, how many ghosts must there be?"

Rong Wanyin was looking at so many locust trees, and was just thinking, how happy it would be when the locust flowers bloom in May! The sweet locust flowers can be eaten in many different ways, such as locust flower cakes, locust flower cakes, locust flower buns, locust flower rice... Rong Wanyin's favorite is fried locust flowers. Rong Wanyin was drooling over the locust trees, and was frightened by what Su Zhan said. She immediately hid behind Yan Mingzhang, grabbed his sleeve, stared with eyes wide open, and looked angry, like a kitten with its fur exploded. Seeing her grabbing his sleeve, Yan Mingzhang raised the corners of his mouth slightly, rubbed her head and comforted her: "Don't be afraid of so many people. How can there be ghosts in broad daylight? That's all nonsense."

But unexpectedly, after turning the corner, they suddenly saw a red figure squatting under a locust tree. Her long hair was scattered down to her waist, and she was wearing a tattered red wedding dress and a pair of red embroidered shoes with her toes exposed. It was the crazy woman! Furthermore, everyone noticed that the previous tourists had disappeared, leaving only their group. They thought they might have taken the wrong road.

The woman was holding a child in her arms, and she was patting the child as if to coax him to sleep.

The woman murmured plausibly:

The silver locks jingled,

The silver lock is bright,

Baby, be good.

Baby, be good.

Mother made a silver lock for the baby to wear;
May the flowers blossom and bring prosperity, and may you live a long and healthy life."

Although she knew she was supposed to be human, she wasn't as gentle and loving as a typical mother coaxing her child. Instead, she was like a madman, her eyes wide open, staring blankly into the distance. Her face was grim as she mechanically repeated the nursery rhyme in a shrill voice, as if tears of blood would flow from her eyes at any moment. The scene was truly horrifying. Rong Wanyin's palms were sweating with fear, and for a moment she almost screamed. Even Su Zhan took a step back in fear.

Mo Yun nudged Chang Feng with his elbow: "Do you think she is a human or a ghost?"

Chang Feng chuckled: "Why don't you just ask and find out?"

Mo Yun's head shook like a rattle: "I'm not going, you go!"

Changfeng patted Mo Yun's shoulder mockingly and walked straight towards the woman in red. Changfeng bent down and asked, "Sister, how do I get to the Mountain God Temple?"

The woman in red was patting the baby when suddenly the child's eyelids fluttered open, and the child stared at Changfeng with wide eyes, startling him. The child didn't look bleary-eyed like other children who had just woken up. Instead, it was as if a button had been pressed, as if the eyelids had been a mechanism that had suddenly opened. Everyone who saw this was shocked.

Everyone was wondering, "What on earth is this? Is it a human? Or is it really a living dead? How could a normal child be like this?"

The woman slowly raised her head. Her face was covered with white powder and was bloodless. Her eyes were fixed on Rong Wanyin's face.

Rong Wanyin swallowed and touched the soft sword at her waist.