Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 58 Mountain God
Rong Wanyin nodded seriously. "Just now, I offered to help because I wasn't sure. Although the cake tastes very fragrant, it can't cover up the scent of camphor wood mixed with something sweet."

Yan Mingzhang pondered: "What exactly is that smell..."

The two had no solution.

At this time, Changfeng walked over with a mysterious look on his face, and motioned for the two to come out and talk.

The two men looked back at the old man and walked out quietly.

Changfeng spoke mysteriously, covering his mouth with his hand and whispering, "Just now, Master Su and I were bored, so we were wandering around the inn. We noticed a noise coming from the innermost room on the first floor. We thought it was strange, so we leaned over to look through the crack in the door. It was... an old woman."

Changfeng paused for a moment, wondering what word to use to address that "person".

Yan Mingzhang was puzzled: "Old woman? Is she the old man's wife? He mentioned it the day we came here."

Chang Feng was a little embarrassed: "Well, it should be, but she has been sitting on the chair, motionless, with a completely dull look in her eyes. It seems that she is not a living person, but rather a... living dead..."

Yan Mingzhang and Rong Wanyin looked at each other, bewildered, and decided to go and take a look.

The room was at the back of the first floor, dim but not dirty. Next to it was a utility room, so even if there were residents there on weekdays, no one would go there specifically.

Rong Wanyin crouched down and peeked through the crack in the doorway. She saw an old woman sitting blankly in a chair, looking haggard. Her eyes stared straight ahead, a dull gaze, as if blinded by an eye disease or simply suffering from dementia. Her face was stiff and lifeless, and she exuded a sweet, camphorwood scent, mingled with the stench of a corpse. It felt like someone had been pulled from a coffin long dead. Even more terrifying, her left hand was rotten, and from the exposed wrist, one could see several maggots swirling around it! Rats were gnawing at her feet! The scene was truly disgusting!
Rong Wanyin was startled and took a step back, almost falling down. Yan Mingzhang caught her.

Rong Wanyin turned around and was about to thank Yan Mingzhang, but she saw a figure standing in the darkness at the end of the corridor. The person was staring at them motionlessly. Rong Wanyin screamed and threw herself into Yan Mingzhang's arms.

The man walked slowly towards them in the darkness. In the dim light, they could finally see clearly. Who else could it be but the old man?

Yan Mingzhang calmed down and said calmly: "Uncle, we are sorry, we didn't mean to offend you." The old man had a sad face and didn't even look at them. He walked straight through and opened the door. Suddenly, a sweet smell mixed with a foul smell rushed towards them, and everyone vomited.

The old man looked at the old woman tenderly, his expression tinged with pain and sorrow. He pulled back his wife's sleeve, revealing a large piece of rotting flesh. "I don't want to hide this from you. This is my wife. Do you think I'm crazy too? I've been crazy since that day. I asked the mountain god for help and made her look like this, neither dead nor alive, neither talking nor laughing. My daughter scolded me for making her look like this, neither human nor ghost, but she can't die. She used to be the cleanest person... Do you think I was really wrong? But you asked me to let her go, and I can't do it..."

As the old man spoke, he became more and more emotional and squatted down and burst into tears.

Yan Mingzhang squatted down, stroked the old man's back and comforted him.

Rong Wanyin slowly spoke, "Old man, I understand you. When our loved ones pass away, we always try to keep them by various means... But can we keep them? Do they want to be kept like this?"

The old man wiped away his tears, slowly stood up, and said nothing.

Rong Wanyin continued, "Perhaps I'm not qualified to say this, but I have parents and brothers at home, and I've watched loved ones pass away, and it's been heartbreaking. Uncle, you're like an elder to me. You've trapped not only her, but your own life as well. From the moment you trapped her, your life has stagnated. You said you still have a daughter. Are you willing to stand there and watch her drift away from you? Are you really willing to miss the important people around you again for the sake of someone who's already passed away?"

The old man's face turned pale as he murmured to himself, "Are we really going to let her go?"

Rong Wanyin continued to persuade him, "Old man, you already have the answer in your heart, but you just don't want to admit it. If Auntie saw you like this, she would definitely be heartbroken."

The old man hesitated, looking troubled. After a moment's thought, he continued, "Then what should I do? Ask the mountain god for help and send her to the grave? I don't have that much money!"

Yan Mingzhang helped the old man sit down and said, "Don't worry, old man. I think this matter is suspicious. We should think about it in the long run. Why don't you tell us what is going on with this mountain god? And the woman in red?"

The old man reached out his hand tenderly and touched the old woman's haggard face. "Our village is located next to the hot springs, and there are often gentlemen from the city who come to visit. In addition to raising chickens and ducks and farming, the villagers run some small businesses, and have never worried about food and clothing for generations. A year ago, that woman came to the village. When she came, she was not so crazy. It was just that the child in her arms was seriously ill. She had been holding the child. I have never seen the child cry or laugh, and there was no movement. Some people suspected that the child might be dead, but occasionally they could see the child open his eyes. The villagers saw that she was not dangerous, so they ignored her. That woman The chief arrived later. He said his original Taoist temple had suffered a disaster, so he wandered here. Seeing the purple aura rising to the sky, he said that our place was blessed with great fortune, but if it couldn't be contained, disaster would likely follow. He needed to erect a golden statue of the mountain god to ward off the disaster. Fearing disaster, the village chief allowed him to stay at the mountain temple. Sure enough, a few days later, a stone with auspicious inscriptions was found in the river. Since then, people have heard that the mountain temple is very powerful and can even bring people back to life. Many people have come to pray to the mountain god, but the Taoist priest said that he would not heal anyone except the dying, so as not to damage the village's fortune.

The old man held the old woman's hand and became a little excited: "In this way, the mountain temple has cured two or three people one after another... This old woman is in very good health on weekdays. That day, she insisted on going up the mountain to pick bracken to make vegetable cakes for me. She accidentally... accidentally fell off the cliff... When she was found and carried down the mountain, she was only breathing. She was carried directly to the mountain temple. But saving people requires money. I don't have that much money. The Taoist priest was kind enough to let me collect all I could, saying that he would pay later if it was not enough. I even mortgaged this store. But when the person was rescued, he was in such a state. If you say he is dead, he can still breathe; if you say he is alive, he can't speak or laugh. You say... this..."