Divine Tang Era

Chapter 147 The Terrifying Giant Cauldron

"Bang!"

After a flurry of activity, the giant cauldron was finally pulled up. Its heavy body slammed onto the ground with a loud thud, sending dust flying.

"Is this cauldron meant for cooking human flesh?" Xu Dan said, kicking the cauldron's legs as he spoke.

The giant cauldron had a mysterious beast head carved on its base. Originally, the rust and dirt on it had obscured its features, making it difficult to discern. After Xu Dan kicked it, the dirt and rust crumbled away, instantly revealing a ferocious beast head with blue faces and fangs.

Whether it was just his imagination or not, the beast head looked a bit... Xu Dan couldn't help but kick it again.

"That's actually quite possible."

Lu Shizong continued, "In ancient times, our ancestors often captured people from other tribes to use as offerings to their ancestors in order to demonstrate their martial prowess. The Mozi (a classic Chinese text on frugality and burial) records: 'The emperor killed people to be buried alive, sometimes hundreds, sometimes dozens; generals and high officials killed people to be buried alive, sometimes dozens, sometimes just a few.' This practice was especially prevalent during the Yin and Shang dynasties."

Merchants were fond of divination and sacrifices, and human sacrifices were essential for these rituals!

I have read relevant ancient texts, which record that the royal family of the Shang Dynasty particularly liked to use human sacrifices, and they used a variety of methods.

They called the living people used for sacrifices "human sacrifices," not "humans," and the most common sacrifice was the "Mao" sacrifice.

The term "mao" refers to the process of removing the internal organs of a human sacrifice, cutting it in half, and hanging it up, much like how pigs are slaughtered in slaughterhouses today.

Another method involves slaughtering human victims by chopping off their hands and feet while they are still alive, leaving them to groan in pain in pools of blood. Additionally, there are methods of burning the heads and blood of human victims over a large fire, stewing them in boiling broth, or even making them into dried, cured meat.

After the memorial service, some of the offerings are shared and eaten.

"Wow, that's terrifying!"

"That's terrifying."

"Senior brother, please stop talking, I feel like throwing up."

"vomit----"

After hearing Lu Shizong's words, everyone felt as if a cold wind was blowing around them, and they couldn't help but shudder. They quickly stopped Lu Shizong from continuing. Some people had already started vomiting because they had eaten cured meat for lunch, and it was even air-dried cured meat.

"vomit----"

Suddenly, a violent vomiting sound reached everyone's ears. Turning around, they saw Mo Shiwei and several women vomiting not far away. Everyone quickly pretended not to see and looked away, lest the young lady's spoiled temper flare up and cause another mess.

"Then—what should we do with this giant cauldron?"

Zhang Bin had thought he had unearthed a treasure, but after hearing Lu Shizong's words, he was dumbfounded and had no idea what to do.

"It's not necessarily for cooking human flesh. We'll find out once we open it. We're not even afraid of ghosts, so why would we be afraid of a cauldron?" Xu Dan said domineeringly.

Zhang Bin thought it made sense, so he quickly found a few people, and together they jumped onto the giant cauldron and pried open the lid.

"Wow!"

"That's true!"

"They really cooked human flesh."

"It seems my senior brother's treasure is about to fly away. I thought it was something valuable, but it turns out to be this thing. Who would dare to take it!"

"Isn't that right?"

"What exactly is inside?" Xu Dan asked anxiously as they chattered on and on after opening the lid of the cauldron, without explaining what was inside.

"You'll see for yourself when you go up there. It's a fine cauldron." The person on the cauldron jumped down and raised an eyebrow at Xu Dan.

Xu Dan then pulled Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er up with him and stood on the edge of the cauldron to look inside.

Upon seeing this, I almost jumped down again.

It was supposed to be a "good thing," a "delicious dish," but damn it, it was clearly a pot of human flesh soup! After only a few glances, Xu Dan couldn't stand it anymore and jumped off the pot.

The scene inside that cauldron was truly terrifying; even with two lifetimes of experience, he found it hard to bear.

One of the disciples, who hadn't vomited initially after hearing Lu Shizong's words, vomited instantly upon seeing the contents of the cauldron. This effect was far superior to any emetic. Those who had just vomited, seeing their reaction, immediately abandoned any thought of going to investigate.

It wasn't that they liked to vomit, but the scene inside the cauldron was simply too shocking.

Can you imagine the scene of countless skeletons howling in agony in dried-up broth? Xu Dan speculated that these sacrificial victims were probably thrown into the cauldron alive and boiled, unable to escape or live, and could only die in endless agony.

To be honest, Xu Dan really doesn't want to see this scene a second time.

"Grandfather, do you want to buy this cauldron?" Zhang Bin asked, leaning closer to Xu Dan. After all, among all the people present, only he and Xue Diao had ever bought anything.

"What would I do with this thing that's been boiled to death?" Xu Dan said, his eyes wide with annoyance. Xue Diao just smiled and remained silent.

"Don't you know the owner of Mingfeng Tower? Help me ask if it can be sold." Zhang Bin looked at Xu Dan with expectant eyes.

"You know what, it might actually work." Xu Dan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe someone would actually be willing to buy this thing to take back and worship their ancestors? This cauldron is so big, it looks very impressive. Maybe some fool would be willing to buy it. Besides, even if no one buys it, we can have it melted down and sell for a lot of copper coins. We'll make a profit anyway."

Upon reflection, Zhang Bin realized that it was indeed true; he had been mistaken earlier.

Putting everything else aside, the bronze alone is enough to fetch a good price for this cauldron. However, that's a last resort; it would be best to sell it as a treasure for a high price.

"What should we do now?" Zhang Bin looked at the giant cauldron with a worried expression.

"First, you have to clean out the contents of the cauldron and then wash the outside thoroughly. Otherwise, even if you want to sell it to someone, they won't buy it if they see what's inside," Xu Dan advised.

Zhang Bin thought it made sense, but cleaning such a large cauldron was no easy task, and who would be willing to do such a job?

He turned his gaze to his fellow disciples. The other disciples had already overheard their conversation, and when they saw him looking over, they all turned their heads away. Only a fool would help him clean the giant cauldron.

Just when he was at his wit's end, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear: "I'll keep this for you for now, and give it to you when we get back."

Hearing the sound, Xu Dan turned around and saw that Mo Jian, the master of the Mo Clan Martial Arts School, had appeared beside the giant cauldron at some point.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the giant cauldron rose into the air and flipped over.

In an instant, countless bones poured out of the cauldron and fell into the deep pit they had dug earlier. Then, he waved his hand, and a gust of wind mixed with drizzle suddenly arose, swirling around the giant cauldron like an invisible brush, washing the cauldron clean inside and out.

After cleaning the giant cauldron, Mo Jian put it away.

Then, with another wave of his hand, the soil he had dug out was poured back into the pit, and in no time, there was no trace of digging left. After doing this, Mo Jian disappeared as well.

Mo Shiwei wanted to run up and act cute, but he disappeared in an instant, which made her stomp her feet in anger.

"This owner of the museum is like a shadow, appearing and disappearing without a trace!" Xu Dan couldn't help but sigh.

"That's what a master is like," Zhang Bin replied with a proud expression.

Xu Dan looked around but couldn't find any trace of the Master. Of course, he didn't dare use his double pupils, otherwise he should have been able to see the Master's aura. However, this thing couldn't be used casually, lest someone discover it.

When you are weak, you must know how to lie low.

Only when you are powerful can you act without restraint.

Because when the time comes, someone will naturally write a book for you.

"Do you think the owner might turn into a bird, a mouse, an insect, or a flea and quietly follow us around?" Xu Dan asked Zhang Bin in a low voice.

"Impossible. If he had that ability, he would have moved to a big city long ago and lived a life of luxury and ease."

"Why would I stay in a remote, desolate town like Jingning, making a living by teaching martial arts and acting as a bodyguard?" Zhang Bin said.

"Everyone has different pursuits. Some people think big cities are good, but others think big cities are expensive, people are complicated, and there is little human touch."

"That's because you haven't been to the big city. If you had, you wouldn't say that."

As Zhang Bin spoke, his eyes filled with longing, "When my swordsmanship is fully mastered, I will definitely go to a major city to challenge masters, become famous throughout the world, and be listed on the Qilin Ranking, so that everyone will know of my majestic and heroic figure. If anyone asks me who I am in the future, I will answer: 'On the Qilin Ranking, the pride of Beiting, the swordsman Zhang Bin.' See how imposing that is?"

"If you want to do that, you first need to change to a more imposing name. Your name doesn't sound very powerful at all."

"What name should I change it to?"

"How about Zhang Aotian? He's arrogant and invincible."

"That won't do. The name is too grand; I can't handle it."

"Then let's call him War God, Zhang War God. It sounds powerful."

"I'm afraid I'll get beaten to death if I go out."

"That's Jang Geun Suk. Everyone who hears his name thinks he's very impressive."

Zhang Bin didn't understand what it meant at first, but when he heard the words "great talent" at the end, he instantly realized what it meant and said with a look of disgust, "What nonsense is this?" After saying that, he turned around and left.

Xu Dan didn't mind and started talking to Xue Diao and Xue Bao'er.