Ita Era

Chapter 19 Peach Blossom Village (Seventeen)

Along the way, Blind Zhao muttered to himself, ignoring Ding Shi's questions. When they arrived at the village chief's house, Blind Zhao pulled the village chief into the house, locked the door, and left Ding Shi and his bewildered daughter-in-law behind.

An hour later, the village chief issued a new task. Ding Shi helped the village chief and Blind Zhao all the way to the San Niang Temple, and the task was completed. The villagers who were preparing for the sacrifice greeted the village chief one by one, and the village chief responded to each of them.

The village chief stood looking at the statue of Third Sister for a while, then walked aside with Ding Shi and Blind Zhao, and whispered, "There are no tears. Blind Zhao, have you ever seen Third Sister shed tears?"

There were many people in the temple, so it was inconvenient for Blind Wang to reach out and touch Third Sister's eyes. He whispered, "I've never seen it before. But Master Baiyun instructed that if you find Third Sister crying, you must notify him immediately, otherwise the whole village will be doomed."

Village chief: "So what do we say now?"

Blind Zhao: "The only option is to go to Baiyun Temple."

The village chief looked at Ding Shi, who squinted and said, "Old man, what do you want to do?"
The village chief said, "Let's go back first and have lunch."

Ding Shi helped the village chief back to his house. This round trip took more than an hour, and he didn't know what the point was.

After lunch, the village chief got busy, first sorting out 20 jin of rice. He then contacted the county town to have several large bundles of incense, candles, yellow paper, and cinnabar powder delivered. He also asked his daughter-in-law to prepare salt and other daily necessities.

Ding Shi watched from the side, thinking to himself: Is the old man trying to run away?

The village chief arranged for Ding Shi to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to purchase other supplies, and in the end, he managed to get two large cloth bags.

The village chief called Ding Shi and Blind Zhao into the house, politely asked Ding Shi to sit down, and personally brewed him a cup of tea.

Seeing the village chief's obsequious expression, Ding Shi knew that this guy was going to trick him.

The village chief said, "Xiao Ding, there's something very important here."

Ding Shi said, "Village chief, you speak."

The village chief said, "There might be a problem with the Third Sister's sacrifice, but we are just ordinary people and can't see anything wrong. Back then, the Third Sister turned into a zombie and was suppressed by a Taoist priest. The Taoist priest was greatly injured as a result, and because he needed to protect the village, he built a White Cloud Temple on Peach Garden Mountain."

Ding Shi said, "Village chief, don't tell me that Taoist priest is still alive."

The village chief said, "The Taoist priest has passed away, but he took on a disciple before he died. He should be around 70 years old this year and calls himself Taoist Master Baiyun. The Third Sister's sacrifice is the day after tomorrow. We need to ask Taoist Master Baiyun to come down from the mountain and see what's wrong with the sacrifice."

Seeing the village chief looking at him expectantly, Ding Shi cautiously asked, "It's not us who are inviting Master Baiyun to come out of the mountain, but me who's going to invite Master Baiyun?"

The village chief smiled with satisfaction: "You're really smart, Xiao Ding."

Ding Shi said, "Village chief, if it's just a one-time trip, there's no need to make me tea, is there?" Anyone who didn't know better would think you wanted me to donate a kidney.

The village chief was even more pleased and said, "Baiyun Temple is quite far from Taoyuan Village. It's all mountain roads, and it would normally take three hours to walk there."

Ding Shi was somewhat puzzled, but Zhao the Blind said, "It's five o'clock in the afternoon now, and it will be night in three hours, right? It is said that there are mountain demons deep in Taoyuan Mountain that can transform into human form and appear after nightfall."

Mandrills are monkey-like demons with fighting abilities close to that of an adult, skilled in deception and manipulation. Although mandrills are relatively weak in combat, the mandrills of Peach Garden Mountain have helpers: several abandoned graves within the mountain.

Centuries ago, two armies fought a fierce battle on Peach Garden Mountain for three days and three nights. The bodies of the fallen soldiers were buried on the spot, forming four desolate graveyards. Anyone who strayed into these graveyards would be trapped there until they starved or died of thirst. There was only one mountain path to Baiyun Temple, which theoretically wouldn't pass through the graveyards, but the presence of mountain demons was a persistent problem. For a time, hunters and herb gatherers from the village disappeared in the mountains. Initially, it was suspected that they had encountered large insects or fallen off cliffs. It wasn't until the construction of Baiyun Temple that a wise man explained the situation of the mountain demons and the desolate graveyards to the villagers, asking them to leave Peach Garden Mountain before nightfall and never to enter it at night.

After listening, Ding Shi seemed to be deep in thought, and looked at the village chief seriously, asking, "Is it possible not to go?"

Village chief: "No."

Zhao the Blind said, "Little Ding, if there really is a problem with the ritual, our entire village will be doomed."

Ding Shi: "But there are so many people in the village, why was I the one chosen?"

The village chief explained, "This news cannot be told to the villagers to avoid causing unnecessary panic. As long as Master Baiyun goes down the mountain to resolve the problem, the sacrificial ceremony the day after tomorrow will not be delayed."

Ding Shizhen said sincerely, "Village Chief, I must confess to you. I lied. I didn't see Third Sister's tears."

The village chief looked at Ding Shi sincerely and said, "No, I believe you. You are a good child, and good children don't lie."

Ding Shi was on the verge of tears, and said, "Please, village chief, find someone else capable. Otherwise, I will resign voluntarily, and I will not participate in the sacrificial ceremony." Let whoever wants this broken quest take it.

Hmm? A broken quest? Sounds a bit similar to the Ghost Healer incident. Could it be another player messing around?
The village chief made things difficult for Zhao the Blind, but Zhao the Blind gestured for him to relax.

Zhao the Blind said to Ding Shi, "Little Ding, the talisman I gave you yesterday actually came with a hand seal. Even if you can draw the talisman, you can't use it if you don't know the hand seal."

Ding Shi looked at Blind Zhao in disbelief: "Uncle Zhao, what else are you hiding from me? Is there any sincerity left? Is there any trust left? We were comrades-in-arms who fought ghosts together."

Blind Zhao said apologetically, "That's all."

Ding asked, "Hand gestures?"

Zhao the Blind said, “I don’t understand, but Master Baiyun does. Show him the talisman, and he will naturally teach you the hand gestures.”

Ding Shi looked at Blind Zhao, then at the village chief, and said, "That's not enough. You have to teach me how to draw talismans."

Zhao the Blind Man smiled bitterly and said, "I have been studying this for more than 20 years, and I have only found some clues. I really cannot create a talisman in one stroke."

Ding Shi took out a talisman card, covered it with his body to turn it back into a talisman, and looked at Zhao the Blind.

Helpless, Blind Zhao reached for a pen and paper and began to draw on the white paper. He moved slowly, up, down, left, and right, until half of the talisman appeared before Ding Shi. Ding Shi compared it with the talisman and confirmed that it was exactly the same. Clearly, Blind Zhao had been studying this talisman.

Unfortunately, I could only draw half of it. That makes sense; if I could draw the complete talisman, they wouldn't have given it to me.

Ding Shi put away the half-sheet of talisman and his own talisman, and said, "Alright, I'll take this job. However, I have one more condition: have someone deliver all the things outside to the mountain pass. I need to conserve my strength, after all, there's still a long night ahead."

This matter was of great importance to Taoyuan Village, and the village chief immediately arranged for someone to send the items to the southern entrance to the mountain. Ding Shi ate dinner early, took a few sweet potatoes, a bottle of spring water, and a nail-pulling hammer with him, and headed to the entrance to the mountain.

Shouldering a 35-pound load, Ding Shi entered Taoyuan Mountain under the afterglow of the setting sun.

(End of this chapter)