In the Zhang family's old house, she had heard the story of how, more than a hundred years ago, the woman from Luohua Cave ran away with a man she only glanced at, which angered the cave god and caused the entire Wuyun Mountain to be completely submerged.
She had always thought this story was just a legend. Later, although she had seen the huge mountain at the bottom of the lake with her own eyes, she could only think that Wuyun Mountain might have sunk due to some natural factor such as an earthquake. She never dared to believe that it was actually related to this legend.
But now, she's a little uncertain.
Chu Jiang's various actions indirectly confirmed the truth of this guess, leaving her no choice but to believe it.
Outside the cave.
The shaman suddenly switched to the local dialect, which Yan Qing couldn't understand at all. She could only make some inferences from his actions.
The high shaman had barely spoken a few words when the crowd began to gradually retreat and leave. With the assistance of the guards, the retreat was very orderly.
Before leaving, everyone bowed deeply towards the cave, showing that the cave god held a very high position in their hearts.
After the crowd left, only a few elders and the Fallen Flower Cave Maiden, who was still locked in a cage, remained. As for Chu Jiang No. 2, the Great Shaman himself personally untied him.
"I'm sorry, Brother Chu." The shaman switched back to the Central Plains dialect, which Yan Qing finally understood.
“You have helped our Eighteen Villages so much. No matter what, we would never do such a thing as repaying kindness with enmity.”
When the high shaman spoke these words, two of the elders behind him clearly showed their disapproval. However, due to the high shaman's authority, no one dared to speak out directly.
Although Chu Jiang No. 2 looked somewhat disheveled, his expression remained calm and composed, cheerful and magnanimous, hardly resembling that of a prisoner. He smiled slightly at the Great Shaman.
"It's alright, I understand. After all, the Cave God has been passed down for over a thousand years, and its influence is deeply rooted. It's not something that one or two people can shake. Besides—"
He looked up at the not-so-large opening, his pupils flickering a few times.
"As a disciple of the Xuanmen sect, I can actually see that there is something extraordinary here. It is indeed very old. I suppose it must be the Cave God you mentioned."
Chu Jiang No. 2's words caused the group to change color repeatedly. Indeed, no one except them knew that the Cave God was about to die.
I never imagined this person would have such great power?
The high shaman's expression became even more solemn, and his face even showed eager anticipation.
"Brother Chu, could you perhaps take a look at this for us?"
"Going against the will of Heaven is beyond my power." Chu Jiang No. 2 interrupted the Great Witch before he could finish speaking.
The great shaman remained undeterred, saying, "The Cave God has always been compassionate, and we eighteen villages cannot bear to see him disappear like this—"
"Shh—" Chu Jiang No. 2 glanced at someone behind the Great Shaman with a half-smile and said.
"Haven't you already made your decision? Wasn't that so-called 'Falling Flower Cave Girl' who just escaped just a play you put on for me?"
As Chu Jiang spoke, he walked straight to the small pig cage and ripped off the red veil covering the woman in red inside, revealing her face completely.
His movements were so swift that the elders had no time to stop him. When the woman's face was revealed, everyone, including the high shaman, instantly changed their expressions.
Chu Jiang clapped his hands and laughed, "Well, how come these two women are completely different people? Tell me, are you sure you don't want to tell the truth?"
Yan Qing's angle was directly facing the woman's face inside the cage, so she saw the woman's appearance immediately.
"How is this possible?!" Why does this woman look exactly like her?
Yan Qing was nearly driven mad. She wasn't blind; she recognized at a glance that the woman in the cage was herself. Beneath the red phoenix coronet and wedding robes, the collar of a modern women's shirt was faintly visible, and she was currently wearing an identical shirt.
Unable to understand, Yan Qing turned her gaze to Chu Jiang, who was facing the wall inside the cave.
"Hey, are you sure you don't want to explain this to me?"
Chu Jiang's reaction was to turn his head and drive the car to the other side.
He didn't explain, but outside the cave, she got the answer she wanted.
The Great Shaman's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. "Brother Chu, this person was requested by the Cave God himself. Therefore, even though we know it's somewhat unethical, we cannot disobey the Cave God's will."
"The Cave God's request?" Chu Jiang No. 2's tone became even more sarcastic. "Aren't your Cave Gods all about to die? If that's the case, why ruin a good family's girl? Besides, the reason I came to the Eighteen Villages this time was to take her away."
Inside the pig cage, "Yan Qing No. 2," who had been silent until now, finally raised her head. Her tone was devoid of any emotion; she simply said flatly,
"I don't know you."
Her words seemed to frighten the high shaman and several elders even more. The high shaman, at least somewhat composed, was less so, but the elders behind him nearly jumped up.
"You, you, you—you're not an idiot?" This woman had been in a daze since she appeared, neither speaking nor resisting, so they originally thought she was an idiot.
Furthermore, the Cave God personally issued a decree after hundreds of years, stating that the Fallen Flower Cave Maiden must be herself this time. However, the Eighteen Villages had never had an outsider Fallen Flower Cave Maiden for thousands of years, so they had no choice but to stage this performance together.
The woman who was supposed to get married at the beginning was just a decoy. Her purpose was to complete the wedding ceremony of the Luohua Cave girl and deceive the villagers of the Eighteen Villages.
Then, after the ceremony, they would secretly replace the person the cave god actually wanted with the woman. Anyway, this woman is an idiot, so they could just throw her into the sacred cave and that would solve the problem.
The scene of the bride running away during the ceremony is just a temporary contingency, and the result is the same.
The high shaman, though initially valuing the young man named Chu Jiang, hadn't expected him to be unafraid of the cave god. Now, it was unclear whether the current charade should continue.
Unexpectedly, Chu Jiang No. 2 laughed and said, "Hey, Great Shaman, shouldn't you deal with us, this pair of adulterers, next?"
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