Chapter 51 Come Home With Me
Really?
Nezha glanced at Pingyu's legs, which he couldn't straighten: He was clearly afraid of seeing the horrific sight of living people being scorched to death.
He's stubborn as a mule.
The thunder lasted for a full five seconds before stopping.
Each sound grew louder than the last, and each electric python grew thicker than the last.
This is not the thunderbolt struck by the Thunder God and Lightning Goddess, but the thunder of Heaven itself.
The earth immortal's true form was not human; he revealed his true form the moment he was struck by the Five Thunder Curse.
The purple Earth God is a big tree.
When the thunder subsided, Nezha gently pinched the girl's fingertips in his hand and reminded her, "You can open your eyes now, right? Your thunder has stopped."
Being called that by Nezha was really a bit much, and Pingyu awkwardly lifted his eyelids.
Between her and the boy, the Earth God had been struck by lightning and vanished into thin air. Heaven rarely acts so ruthlessly, allowing an earth immortal to die in such an undignified manner, as if in a hurry to silence him.
After all, what Zitudi did before was indeed beneficial to Heaven in principle.
However, none of this has anything to do with Nezha, and he wouldn't talk about these things with Pingyu.
The mountain of ashes was easily dispersed by the gentle breeze stirred up by the Qiankun Ring. The grayish-black powder faded, revealing a long wooden branch buried inside.
Its bark is hardened and charred, cracked like scales.
Having been struck by lightning and refined by the life fire of an earth immortal, the surface of the wooden branch still had fire lines resembling patterns, radiating bursts of heat.
Nezha picked it up despite its popularity.
Seeing that it remained intact despite the immense thunder, Ping Yu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is this the Purple-Clad Earth God?"
Everyone says that cultivators possess inner cores; could this be an elixir of immortality?
No, Dan should at least be round... What's the point of leaving a piece of wood behind?
Toona sinensis.
No wonder they chose this place as their base.
“This piece of wood is a gift from heaven,” Nezha said, holding the wood in his hand towards Pingyu.
Looking at the lightning strike marks above, a sudden inspiration struck her: "Lightning-struck wood!"
You know?
This time, Nezha was replaced unexpectedly.
Pingyu's nose almost reached the sky: "Of course! I've encountered ghosts since I was a child, and I've met quite a few Taoist priests!"
Why do you talk about this with such pride?
He chuckled and continued, “Yes, it’s lightning-struck wood. Wood that survives a lightning strike is believed to have the power to ward off evil and bring good fortune. Carving it into an amulet for a woman to wear close to her body can also nourish her. Ordinary lightning-struck wood is rare, and wood transformed from earth immortal wood is even rarer. You act on behalf of Heaven, and Heaven will not treat you unfairly.”
The purple-clad earthen corpse was still warm when Ping Yu looked up at the shattered ceiling of the underground palace.
The sky was vast, and the round sun had already risen. Within this oval-shaped opening, it gazed at the girl like an eye.
She remained silent, expressing reservations about the saying "Heaven treats people well".
Before she could say anything more, a voice came from the blood pool behind Nezha: "Pingyu, Nezha!"
Lin Dong and Xue Yue'e came out.
They were well protected by the water-repelling beads.
The disheveled state of their escape had been cleaned up, and when the two emerged from the pool, they looked as if they had come here for sightseeing.
The two adults quickly surrounded the children, each grabbing one and feeling them up and down.
"How are you?" "Are you hurt?"
The barrage of questions about his safety left Nezha, who was receiving such treatment for the first time, feeling quite bewildered. He remained tense as the two pinched his cheeks and raised their arms.
Pingyu noticed that the boy's neck was red.
She chuckled quietly, not calling him out on it.
Unable to hear anything from the pool, the two remained patient, worried that going out would cause trouble. Looking around, they saw that the lightning had rendered the underground palace unusable. The Purple Earth Demon was nowhere to be seen, presumably having retreated. Xue Yue'e wiped Pingyu's face clean with a handkerchief and asked, "How is it now?"
"Nezha and I defeated the bad guys!"
She grabbed Nezha's hand and lifted them up together.
Nezha silently tightened his grip, reluctant to let go. Fortunately, Pingyu, still in a state of excitement, didn't notice the boy's unusual behavior. She lowered her hand but didn't let go, pointing to the doorway and saying, "But the matter of my parents hasn't been resolved yet."
"Ours?"
The Lin couple looked at each other with blank expressions.
Standing where Ping Yu pointed was a young man. Startled by the thunder, he stood frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time. Ping Yu smiled and said, "The village chief said he has something to discuss with you."
He wanted to use the Lin family's influence to help the villagers go down the mountain; this was a matter between adults.
Let the adults talk about their own business!
By removing the purple-clad land, she had already driven away the calamity for the Balai people.
As for Xue Cheng'an's wish for the villagers to come down from the mountain, that was outside her scope of concern.
.
Finally, we returned to the village.
When the villagers woke up and found they hadn't gotten to eat the longevity meat, they all gathered at the village entrance, staring at Xue Cheng'an as he returned. While his golden tortoise-shaped magical artifact was in mid-air, they could hear the villagers below chattering amongst themselves.
When they saw people arrive, everyone shut their mouths again.
As the village chief landed with the city people, the villagers looked at each other and then pushed out a child.
The child stumbled a couple of times before stopping in front of Xue Cheng'an. The young man asked in surprise, "Dog?"
The villagers dared not question the village chief, so they sent his son to speak on their behalf.
The dog stammered, "Dad, where's the meat?"
“There will be no more meat from now on,” Ping Yu replied on Xue Chengan’s behalf.
She was just a child, so no one else paid her any attention. The hot-tempered thugs threw a few pebbles at her, yelling, "Who do you think you are? What right do you outsiders have to talk? Maybe you're the ones who stole our village's longevity meat!"
This statement resonated throughout the village, with most people condemning the Lin family.
In an instant, the ground cracked and dust flew everywhere.
The moment the hard object hit the ground, the shouts of condemnation fell silent. After the dust settled, a huge golden circle and several people lay on the ground. Their bronze masks had fallen off due to the boy's movement, revealing several faces that were all too familiar to the villagers.
The children ran up and circled around the group, calling out, "Dad?!"
This brought the villagers back to their senses, unsure whether to be surprised by the boy's extraordinary abilities or astonished that the people on the ground were all familiar to them.
They stared blankly at the group, as if demanding an explanation.
Xue Chengan said, "The mountain god was a demon, and he has already been killed by the two minor deities."
He recounted everything in the underground palace in great detail, and Ba Lai fell into a deathly silence.
From the crowd, a voice hesitantly spoke up: "Then, what about our illnesses?"
Yes, what should we do about the illness?
What harmed Balai the most was not the mountain god's birthday sacrifices, but the disease that could kill people at any time.
Pingyu walked up to Xue Chengan.
She took the lead in speaking for the young man, explaining to the villagers: "Only if you stop eating human flesh can you be cured."
The girl's previous conversation with Xue Chengan gave her a general idea of the illnesses that plagued the villagers.
She had once browsed the internet and learned that a rainforest tribe in Papua New Guinea had experienced an outbreak of kuru, resulting in the deaths of nearly a thousand people. Subsequent research revealed that the Fore people used the flesh and blood, even the brains, of deceased relatives, believing this would grant the soul immortality. Because the human brain they frequently consumed was rich in prions, it infected 95% of the tribe's young women, leading to the near extinction of the Fore tribe in the rainforest.
Prions are misfolded proteins that can induce the correct prion proteins to misfold as well, ultimately leading to spongiform lesions in the brain and nerve cell death. These abnormal proteins are heat-resistant and cannot be inactivated even by ordinary cooking, let alone the fact that people in the Shang and Zhou dynasties ate human flesh with blood still attached. The incubation period for prion infection can be as long as forty years. Those infected first become irritable, then experience loss of coordination, and finally die of delirium due to spongiform lesions. This physical abnormality is easily seen as a "divine gift," and many people consume prions raw.
The symptoms of the prions are very similar to those described by Xue Chengan and the little girl from Ba Lai.
The village keeper's words, "What Grandpa eats, I can't eat," must have been because of this.
His grandfather lived a long life by eating human flesh, but human flesh should not actually be eaten.
Human beings have a history of cannibalism spanning from ancient times to the present, and even in modern society, there are those who enjoy cooking their own kind. Birthday celebrations and human sacrifices were characteristics of this dynasty, forming part of history and subsequent generations of humanity. Therefore, Pingyu had no critical thoughts, nor would she use scientific terminology to explain to the ancients. The girl only said, "It was because you ate human flesh that you displeased the Goddess Nuwa, and that's why you were punished."
"But this is a gift from the mountain god..." Before the man could finish speaking, he was slapped by someone next to him: "You have no eyes! Our village chief said it's a monster!"
Ping Yu nodded: "You and I are both created by the goddess Nuwa, children of the earth. As parents, would you hope that your daughter would eat your son, or be eaten by your own parents?"
Everyone shook their heads and said in unison, "No!"
They didn't feel the pain until the knife hit them, but now that they knew they were eating the flesh of the elderly, and after Ping Yu pointed it out, the villagers shuddered at the thought of this horrific scene.
No wonder the Goddess Nuwa punished them! they thought.
"So it's best not to eat it, but whether those who have eaten it will be punished depends on luck."
After she finished speaking, she returned to Nezha's side.
Just as Xue Yue'e had thought, in this dynasty, power represented authority. Pingyu and Nezha had defeated the Purple Land, making them the highest authority in Balai. The villagers, unwilling to think too much, believed what the fairy boy said.
Back beside the boy, Pingyu immediately relaxed.
Nezha's gaze was fixed on Pingyu from the very beginning. Pingyu hadn't said these words to anyone else, so everyone except her was stunned. Nezha knew Pingyu wouldn't speak without reason, but her unsteady breathing and unblinking eyes while speaking were reactions only seen when lying.
At this moment, the girl let out a long sigh.
His companion asked, "What's wrong?"
Why does she still seem so preoccupied?
Pingyu shook his head, looking worriedly at his father and Xue Chengan, and replied absentmindedly, "It's nothing."
Pingyu didn't actually finish what he was saying.
If we want the Balai people to avoid extinction, contact with the outside world is crucial. This doesn't necessarily mean descending the mountain; it could also involve trade and intermarriage with villages on other mountain peaks. The fact that the Yellow Earth previously stated it knew little about this territory proves that the Purple Earth's jurisdiction was completely closed off. Inbreeding significantly increases the probability of newborns suffering from genetic diseases and congenital mental retardation, leading to premature death and a large-scale decline in the population. But now that the Purple Earth is dead, the Balai are unrestrained and can venture outside. If intermarriage is allowed, the genes can be diluted over several generations and return to normal. However, these words cannot be spoken by her; they must be uttered through Xue Cheng'an.
She looked nervously at the young man who had regained control of the conversation, feeling uncertain.
Lin Dong, who was waiting for the village chief to speak, felt his clothes being tugged a few times. His little daughter was waving at him, and the man leaned down to put his ear close.
The girl asked softly, "Dad, how did you talk to him?"
So that's why.
Lin Dong smiled mysteriously: "You'll know when you hear what Brother Xue has to say."
Xue Cheng'an took a deep breath and said to the villagers in front of him, "When I first took over as village chief, I told you all that I wanted to move Balai out of the mountains and bring you to the city to develop. At that time, I felt that there were many inconveniences in the mountains. There was no one to treat the sick, and sometimes we even lacked food and clothing. You said that the people of Balai rely on the mountains and cannot leave the protection of the mountain god. But now the mountain god is an evil spirit, and after his death, no one is protecting us. Staying in a pit can be toxic, let alone for people who live in the village forever. When I talked to Lord Lin about this, he said that life down the mountain is not as good as we imagine. If we really want Balai to flow and be infused with fresh water, it would be better to communicate and cooperate with other villages in Wuzhao Mountain."
Ping Yu's eyes lit up – this is it!
"Therefore, I now announce three things."
The villagers didn't dare to breathe, waiting for Xue Chengan to speak.
"First, I will contact the village chief of Bieshan and hope that Balai can barter with them and intermarry."
Discussions began to rise.
Secondly, those who no longer wish to stay in Balai and want to leave the mountain can obtain an IOU from Lord Lin. Lord Lin will give you some money so you can venture down the mountain and make your own way in the world.”
He stepped aside, and Lin Dong stepped forward with his head held high: "Exactly!"
The Lin family is indeed wealthy, but not to the point where they can throw money away at will.
Helping Ba Lai is also a way to accumulate good fortune for your daughter.
He and his wife had discussed it and decided that they didn't intend for the money lent out to be returned. They emphasized that it was a "loan," not a "gift," as excessive lending breeds resentment. Rather than letting people's appetites grow, it was better to let them travel on their own, burdened by the pressure of repayment. That way, if they became successful, they would remember the Lin family's kindness, and even if they eventually returned to the mountains, they would have gained more experience and appreciated their good deeds.
Ping Yu almost burst into applause; this was exactly what she had expected.
She hugged Lin Dong's neck with a grin: "No wonder I'm my parents' daughter!"
Wow, what great chemistry!
Lin Dong secretly gloated and patted the girl's head: "That's right."
During the interaction between father and daughter, Xue Chengan revealed his final words: "Third, after the aforementioned matters are completed, I will also step down as village chief and leave Balai."
The villagers were in an uproar and urged him to stay.
Xue Chengan is a responsible and capable person.
If he leaves, where will they find someone equally capable to take charge in a short period of time?
The young man declined all offers to stay, for his heart was elsewhere.
Divination is also about calculating people's hearts; staying in the mountains means forever being like a frog in a well, only seeing the sky from the bottom of a well. He wants to take his dog down the mountain to cultivate.
What happened after Balai was no longer within the scope of Chen Tangguan's group's consideration.
They should go home.
Not intending to linger here, Xue Cheng'an summoned his slaves to pack his belongings and prepared to send the man down the mountain.
On the golden beetle, Pingyu sat next to Nezha.
All the worries on her face vanished, and she excitedly shook the boy's body: "Nezha, let's go home, let's go home!"
"I know."
He was so swayed that he was almost out of sight, yet he remained seated.
"Now no one can stop us from resting!"
"Yeah?"
Nezha didn't react much.
He pressed down on his wildly twitching right eyelid and said listlessly, "I hope so."
Are you unhappy?
Pingyu calmed down and looked at the boy with a slightly furrowed brow with concern.
"I always have a bad feeling." He looked at Ping Yu and said seriously, "My sixth sense has always been very strong."
When he got home, Pingyu finally understood the meaning of those words.
Two people were waiting at the door of my house.
They had several slaves with them, and were originally stationed at the gate. Upon seeing someone return, the two leaders came out.
The person who came out from under the eaves had a voice and a figure that were very familiar.
The man was tall and imposing, with striking eyebrows and bright eyes...
It was Li Jing.
Before anyone could react, the man strode over.
He grabbed the boy's arm and said:
"Come home with me!"
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