Chapter 119 The Groom

From ancient times to the present, it is never a good thing for a large family with the same origin and strong cohesion to dominate one area.

Xiao Wu, who is knowledgeable and experienced, had already thought of several clan-related cases that she had handled, and she was very alert.

Qi Xiaopang's thoughts were still on the previous question: "Isn't your female classmate's surname Liu? Then this must be the Liu Clan Ancestral Hall."

Very logical and logical.

...Unfortunately, there are always some people in this world who don't play by the rules.

Qing Bai: "Go in and take a look, and you'll know."

The three of them walked around the courtyard, passed through the hall of worship, and came to the sleeping hall where the ancestral tablets of this place were supposed to be placed.

The sleeping hall, as the place where the ancestral tablets are placed, can be said to be the most important part of a clan's ancestral hall. It is usually set up in the main hall of the ancestral hall, with shrines on both sides and ancestral tablets in the middle. The placement of the tablets is naturally very particular - the tablet of the first ancestor is in the middle, the great-grandfather is on the left, the great-grandfather is on the right, the grandfather is on the second left, and the father is on the second right.

The order must not be messed up or wrong.

Strict rules bound both the deceased, who sat on the altar, and the living, who entered the ancestral hall. Numerous taboos imbued the hall with a constant atmosphere of solemnity and chill, forcing people to cease their unnecessary movements and remain silent.

However, this ancestral hall was very unusual. It didn't even have the solemnity, only the coldness. Above the sleeping hall, where the ancestral tablets should have been placed, there were no tablets. Instead, there were clay dolls painted red and green with their mouths wide open and laughing!

The clay figures, roughly the size of an adult's forearm and about the same height as the tablet, were a suitable fit for the altar. However, there were a few of them, densely packed together, their heights staggered. In the flickering light of the eternal lamp, the scene seemed particularly... lively.

The excitement was so intense that they didn't care about the lives of these outsiders who had accidentally broken in.

Qi Xiaopang had made some progress. Faced with such a bizarre scene, he didn't even scream. Instead, he competed with the clay dolls to see who could open their mouths wider.

"Are the filial sons and grandsons of Juhuai setting up a demonic formation in their own ancestral hall?" Xiao Wu exclaimed, rubbing his arms. "What kind of ancestors are they offering sacrifices to?!"

Even she, a hero among ghosts, felt that the ghostly aura was eerie and gloomy!

No one responded. Fat Qi was busy trying to retract his nearly dislocated jaw, while Qing Bai was carefully examining the unique dormitory.

...Just looking at it was not enough, he actually took action. Relying on his tall stature, he stretched out his hand and directly took down the clay doll on the highest point of the altar.

"Don't—"

Xiao Wu and Qi Xiaopang were so frightened by Qing Bai's action of attacking without saying a word that they started singing in unison as a male and female tenor.

Qing Bai propped up the clay figurine in his hand: "It's quite heavy."

"Does that mean it's solid?" Since he had already taken it, Xiao Wu simply moved closer to observe it.

These clay dolls might be decorations, handicrafts, or even works of art if they appeared in other places, but they were definitely not good things if they appeared in the ancestral hall. There might be clues to the real culprit behind the scenes. But she would never dare to take another one down and observe it carefully. She could only rub the clay doll in the warrior Qing Bai's hand to take a look.

Qing Bai tapped the doll's head and belly with his fingers, listening attentively with a serious expression, as if he were patting a watermelon at a fruit stall. "...I can't hear it."

After all, a clay doll is not a watermelon. You can't tell whether it's ripe by tapping it twice and listening to the sound... ahem, you can tell whether it's hollow or solid by knocking it twice.

But Qing Bai discovered something else.

"These clay figures are all different in size, posture, and face, except for their expressions. They must have been specially 'customized'."

"custom made?"

After hearing Qing Bai's guess, little Wu Qi and little Fatty took a closer look at the clay figurines on the altar in the dim light of the eternal lamp in the hall.

"Really? No two are the same." Fat Qi was more impressed the closer he looked. "You can't say the clay figurine craftsmanship is really good. Such a small clay face can be molded into so many different shapes. Every little nose and eye is there, and you can tell they are different at a glance. They are so lifelike... I wish Nuwa could have been so patient and not throw away the clay when she molded me."

Xiao Wu seemed to have thought of something, and said in a strange voice: "How do you know they are made of 'humans'?"

Qi Xiaopang responded casually: "Clay dolls are not made of people, so how could they be transformed from living people——"

The dimly lit dormitory suddenly fell into a short period of silence that could not be further investigated.

In the silence, Qing Bai smiled. What he had meant to point out was more than just "customization." As the only person present to hold the clay figurine, he not only examined it more closely than the other two, but also felt a deeper sense of touch.

The surface of this clay doll looks rough, but it feels very smooth in the hand, as if it were wrapped in a layer of fine silk... If I'm not mistaken, those red and green painted areas are its "clothes".

And underneath the clothes, it didn't seem cold or hard at all.

Xiao Wu broke the silence and said slowly, whether it was true or not: "A friend of mine is a pottery man."

"So-called clay figures...aren't they essentially just clay?"

Qi Xiaopang's jaw slowly dislocated again. "So...so these clay dolls...could be...alive?"

His voice became softer and softer, and when he said the last three words, Qi Xiaopang was almost out of breath.

Just then, a cold wind blew in from outside, and the small flame in the eternal lamp was blown all over the place. Although it was a warm light, when it was reflected on the faces frozen in laughter, it did not make the viewers feel warm at all. They just felt creepy, and it seemed as if bursts of rustling giggles were floating past their ears.

The originally spacious dormitory seemed to have become crowded.

Seeing Qi Xiaopang's face pale as ashes, and his whole body stiffer than a clay doll, Qing Bai said to comfort him, "It's not that easy for mud to turn into a human."

"At least the clay dolls here won't turn into humans." Qing Bai tapped the clay doll on his hand again, then changed the subject, "The cause and effect are wrong."

"It's not 'alive' now, it's a clay doll made in the image of a living person. When a person dies, the clay doll is used instead of a tablet and sent to the ancestral hall for worship."

After Qing Bai comforted him, Qi Xiaopang came back to life a little, and subconsciously said: "Who would make a clay doll based on a living person? It's so unlucky."

"My charming ancestor, the Terracotta Warriors were modeled after living people. Besides..." Xiao Wu glanced around the dormitory, "Could Zhentu Jili pull off such a spectacle?"

"..." Qi Xiaopang: "You are right."

After making a few quips to lighten the mood, Xiao Wu quickly became serious again: "But Qing Bai is right, these clay dolls really can't turn into humans."

"How did you figure that out? Are you so sure?" The more Fat Qi looked at these clay dolls that were worshipped with incense, the more he felt that they were weird. After standing in front of them for a long time, he even felt like he was being stared at, and a chill ran down his brows and back.

The last time he had this feeling was when he went to the zoo... He was happily making a V sign and taking photos, and when he turned around, a big tiger with its bloody mouth wide open was approaching him through the glass.

Xiao Wu explained: "Because they don't have 'qi'."

"gas?"

Qing Bai also paid some attention to listen to Xiao Wu's popular science explanation.

"Humans have auras, ghosts have ghostly auras. As for those demons, monsters, spirits, and so on that have become spirits, those who practice properly naturally have spiritual energy, while those who take the wrong path are haunted by evil spirits..." Xiao Wu glanced at Qing Bai, "But there are always exceptions. There are also those whose auras are difficult to identify due to their race or cultivation method, so it's hard to generalize."

"But without 'qi', there can be no 'spirit'. Even if you build a temple and erect a monument, and offer incense and offerings every day, and these clay figurines are imbued with the scent, they are still just clay figurines."

Qing Bai seemed to be lost in thought.

Qi Xiaopang understood, and then became even more confused: "Then why did they destroy the ancestral hall like this?"

Xiao Wu shook her head. How could she know? "But there have always been many taboos about human-shaped statues, especially those that are worshipped to receive incense and worship. If you're not careful, it's easy to invite evil spirits..."

Thinking of the twelve 'gods' parading outside, Xiao Wu became uncertain again: "Maybe they just want to create a few more 'gods'?"

Qing Bai's fingertips rubbed the bright colors on the clay doll and said in a low voice, "It's not about creating a god."

Little Wu Qi and Little Fatty: "Hmm?"

Qing Bai casually placed the clay doll back on the altar and turned to look at the roof. This ancestral hall was very old, and although it looked old, it was made of fine materials, especially the carved beams directly above the altar, which were hard, heavy, and delicate, with a faint wood fragrance that was refreshing to the touch.

"It's a wedding."

Little Wu Qi and Little Fatty: "Hmm???"

Qing Bai suggested, "Look at the clothes they are wearing."

Clothes? Where did the clothes on the clay doll come from?

The two puzzled people took a while to realize that the clothes Qing Bai was talking about were the painted parts on the clay dolls.

After all, clay dolls are made of clay, and the surface is very rough. Some of the finer parts even have fine cracks, but the painted parts give people a strange sense of delicacy, and are bright and shiny.

"Oh, oh, oh! I get it!" Fat Qi actually saw the clue before Xiao Wu did. "The top one is the long gown, then the Mao suit, the shirt, the suit... Isn't this the evolution of men's wedding attire in modern times? The big red hydrangea and the groom's brooch are exactly the same as the ones in my grandparents' and parents' wedding photos in my family album!"

The details are quite exquisite. The clay doll in the long gown has a traditional big red hydrangea tied in front, and the clay doll in the Zhongshan suit, shirt and business suit below it has a smaller artificial flower brooch.

"It's just that the colors are a bit too flashy. The bright red and green are hard to tell apart unless you look closely!"

After Qi Xiaopang pointed this out, Xiao Wu suddenly understood: "No wonder they are laughing so happily...but where's the bride?"

As soon as this question was asked, the air in the dormitory suddenly became three degrees colder.

Although the two of them were not as bold as Qing Bai to directly pick up the clay dolls and observe them, they also kept their eyes wide open and looked all the way from the moment they entered the door - there was not a single female clay doll on the altar in the bedroom, all of them were grooms.

It's a bit like the sun is too strong and the moon is too weak.

Qi Xiaopang's imagination suddenly opened up, and he blurted out, "Could it be that we accidentally walked into a group wedding? The kind where there's only the groom and... the groom... uh..."

After saying that, he quickly clasped his hands together and bowed: "First of all, let me make it clear that I don't mean to discriminate..."

Compared to Qi Xiaopang's cautiousness, Xiao Wu was fearless. She rolled her eyes and said, "Compared to a group wedding for homosexuals, I'd rather believe the brides are in other rooms."

I don't mean to discriminate, I just feel that being homosexual in such a feudal and superstitious place might get you thrown into a pig cage or a pond.

Qing Bai nodded, indicating that he agreed with Xiao Wu's opinion.

"Are there other rooms?" According to the general layout of an ancestral hall, there should be no proper rooms used for worship after the sleeping hall.

Little Wu Qi and Xiao Pang subconsciously looked at Qing Bai.

Qing Bai did not let them down. He raised his hand and pointed diagonally behind the altar. The light of the eternal lamp was dim and the illumination range was limited. It was dark where Qing Bai pointed.

"There's a little door there."

Little Wu Qi and Little Fatty stared until their eyes hurt before they could see the outline of the door in the darkness. They couldn't help but marvel at Qing Bai's good eyesight, but they hesitated a little: "Should we go in?"

Qing Bai picked up the ever-burning lamp on the altar, which was almost out of oil, and took the lead: "Since we are here."