Help
"Well, what's the matter?" Liu Muzhe asked.
"I want to ask you something, can you please not tell anyone else?" Qiu Zimu said.
"You say." Liu Muzhe nodded.
"That's it..." Qiu Zimu had too many questions to ask, his mind suddenly confused, and he didn't know where to start. "Uh... is Brother Liu on top or on the bottom?"
Liu Muze's face darkened: "Why are you always interested in me? I didn't hit you like I hit Ye Jingan, you're itching, right?"
"No, no!" Qiu Zimu saw Liu Muze clenching his fists so tightly that cold sweat broke out, and hurriedly explained, "It's me. I suspect that I like men, so I came to you to confirm it."
"You suspect that you like men, why do you come to me for confirmation?" Liu Muzhe said with a smile.
"Brother Liu will definitely keep the secret for me and won't tell anyone." Qiu Zimu said.
"Just ask." Liu Muzhe continued to pack up the talismans he brought with him.
"Brother Liu, how does it feel to be hugged by Ye Jing'an?" Qiu Zimu asked.
"I don't feel anything." Liu Muzhe said.
"Brother Liu! I can't compare you to myself like this." Qiu Zimu said with a sad face, "I really didn't mean to pry into your private affairs. It was because Wang Zhiyi hugged me yesterday that I reacted..."
Liu Muze raised his eyelids to look at him, smiled and said, "Oh."
"What are you talking about? Tell me quickly." Qiu Zimu stomped his feet anxiously.
"This is not a very normal thing. You are in puberty now. Why are you making such a fuss? It's okay, don't think too much." Liu Muzhe comforted.
"Brother Liu, how does it feel when Ye Jing'an hugs you?" Qiu Zimu asked.
"It feels very reassuring to be held by someone," said Liu Muzhe.
"Damn it, I also feel secure when he holds me. I can't really like men, right? This shouldn't be the case. I like beautiful sisters with long hair, and I also like little lolis. How could I like men?" Qiu Zimu fell into a long period of self-doubt.
Seeing him like that, Liu Muze couldn't help laughing and crying. "Don't let your imagination run wild. It's just a reaction. I felt the same way once when I was hugged by Ye Jingan before I liked him. It's just a normal physiological reaction. Don't you feel the same way when you're not hugged by Wang Zhiyi? Do you like air when no one is hugging you?"
Qiu Zimu woke up from his dream. That's right! Isn't it just what a normal man would have? What nonsense is he imagining? He is really sick!
Qiu Zimu wanted to confirm it, so he said to Liu Muze, "Brother Liu, pat my waist and hug me. I want to confirm if I will react to everyone doing this."
Liu Muze was stunned when he heard this, and said with a smile: "You are using me as an experiment? You really haven't been beaten enough by Ye Jing'an. He will come up soon, go find him and hug him."
"If I don't go find him, he'll laugh at me and even beat me." Qiu Zimu pleaded, "Brother Liu, just for once."
"Aren't you afraid of me? You are afraid that Ye Jing'an will beat you, but not afraid that I will beat you?" Liu Muzhe asked.
"I'm not afraid of Brother Liu. Brother Liu is the best and very reasonable. I beg you!" Qiu Zimu said.
"It's no use begging me. If Ye Jing'an knew, he would probably beat you to death. Sooner or later, I will be tortured to death by him too." Liu Muzhe said.
"Brother Liu~I..." Qiu Zimu was interrupted by Ye Jingan before he could finish his words.
"Who are you acting like a spoiled brat to? You're so brave! Come and seduce my Brother Liu!" Ye Jing'an grabbed his neck and kicked him out. "Get out! If you do it again, I'll skin you alive!"
Qiu Zimu rubbed the back of his neck, secretly thanking his lucky stare that Brother Liu hadn't agreed. If Ye Jing'an had come up and seen it, he would have been severely beaten. If the matter became a big deal, Wang Zhiyi would have known what he was thinking.
"What did Qiu say to you?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"He asked me for help." Liu Muzhe said.
"What help do you need?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"I want to beat you. He said you laughed at him and asked me to teach you a lesson." Liu Muzhe said with a smile.
"Did you agree?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"I haven't had time to agree yet." Liu Muzhe said.
"From what you said, you really want to deal with me?" Ye Jingan pushed the man into the corner, "I should be the one to deal with you."
"Come out and do business, don't make a fuss." Liu Muzhe said.
"Okay, let's go." Ye Jing'an said.
Uncle Fan drove a small van to take them to the sacrificial site. Ye Jingan was used to the bumpy ride and naturally leaned on Liu Muzhe's shoulder. Qiu Zimu's eyes were directly between the two of them and Wang Zhiyi.
"What are you looking at!?" Ye Jing'an glared.
"You really think you're a zoo animal, everyone wants to see you." Qiu Zimu pursed his lips, muttering to himself. He was sitting alone in the back, his shoulder hurting from being bumped. He couldn't help but look at Wang Zhiyi. If Wang Zhiyi had sat with him, she would definitely take care of him and not let him get bumped. Qiu Zimu recalled what happened last night.
When the car reached a group, they were not allowed to go in. Uncle Fan parked the car at a friend's house and walked them over. Most of the people on the road were heading in the direction of the sacrifice. From time to time, someone looked at the four of them and whispered about which village they were from. However, since they were Uncle Fan's group, no one stepped forward to stop them.
Uncle Fan's family has always had an old Chinese doctor with excellent medical skills. People in Qiling Mountain would ask him to see them when they were sick. Uncle Fan's son did big business outside, and his family was also a well-known person in the local area. No one dared to offend them easily.
We walked further into the woods, which were different from the bamboo forest on the back mountain. This part was full of evergreen trees. The woods were unusually lively, with people everywhere. Most of them were sitting in pairs beside trees, chatting. Occasionally, two or three people would rush around in a hurry, busy about something.
Liu Muze smelled a strange fragrance. He subconsciously held his breath and asked Wang Zhiyi, "What is this fragrance?"
"I don't know. I smelled it last time too. It should be a calming fragrance. People who smell it will feel happy." Wang Zhiyi said.
"Are there any side effects?" Liu Muzhe asked.
"You will temporarily lose your sense of pain, and the degree depends on the fragrance you inhale." Wang Zhiyi said.
"What fragrance? Why can't I smell it?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"Me neither." Qiu Zimu said.
"It's very faint. You might be able to smell it if you get closer." Liu Muzhe said.
As we walked deeper into the forest, the surroundings gradually became damp, moss growing on the tree trunks. Ahead, an empty enclosure filled with people. A crimson carpet covered the ground in front of the group, and in the center, a series of stone sculptures arranged in a V-shape, remarkably similar to those seen in the bamboo forest, were placed. The central sculpture was particularly large, depicting a woman with a kind and gentle smile, twisting flowers in her left hand and holding a small winnowing basket in her right.
The table was filled with all kinds of fruits and meats. It was the first time Ye Jing'an had seen a sacrifice more grand than the one they had held for their ancestors. Ye Jing'an turned to Liu Muze and said, "It seems our family has been unfair to Brother Liu. Go back and ask my dad to make arrangements for you."
Liu Muze said speechlessly: "I'm not dead yet."
"What's the matter? Brother Liu has no taboos. Wait for my dad to prepare the food and drinks, and then we can go and have a sneak peek at night." Ye Jing'an said with a smile.
"It was originally given to me, why would you steal it?" Liu Muzhe said.
"Yes, then we can eat openly." Ye Jing'an said.
"Forget it, don't mess with your dad and your grandpa." Liu Muzhe said.
"Is there anyone that Brother Liu is afraid of?" Ye Jing'an said with a smile.
"I'm afraid of your whole family." Liu Muzhe sighed.
"Is it that exaggerated? I..." Ye Jing'an was interrupted by the sound of a horn. A girl in white and an elderly man walked to the center of the altar from behind the altar.
"Silence!" The old man slammed his cane a few times. "The sacrifice begins!"
Accompanied by the sound of drums, several young men with half-naked upper bodies ran out from behind the altar. After dancing for a while with winnowing baskets in their hands, they knelt in front of the winnowing basket fairy, muttering to themselves and making movements with their hands as if they were praying.
Amidst the cacophony of ritual music and incantations, a crisp rustling sound mingled with the sound of grains. Everyone saw grains appearing in the previously empty winnowing baskets, each containing a different amount. They knelt and cheered, "The Fairy has appeared! The Fairy has appeared! Next year, we will have a bountiful harvest and no worries about food and clothing!"
Uncle Fan saw that some people were still standing and refused to kneel. He pulled their trouser legs and said, "Kneel down quickly. Don't offend the fairy lady!"
"What will happen if you don't kneel?" Ye Jing'an asked.
"The fairy lady will be angry!" Uncle Fan hurriedly pulled a few people, "Please, don't cause me any trouble!"
"Let's go, there's nothing to see." Liu Muzhe said.
Wang Zhiyi took them through a shortcut to the bamboo forest in the back mountain and found a place where they could see the stone-carved cemetery and waited for them to come.
"It's been more than two hours, what are they wasting time on?" Ye Jing'an was getting impatient. Seeing Qiu Zimu squatting not far away and digging the soil vigorously and happily, he walked over curiously to see what treasure Qiu Zimu had dug up.
Wang Zhiyi watched Ye Jingan and Qiu Zimu squatting on the ground digging for insects and asked Liu Muze, "How did you get together?"
Liu Muze glanced at him and said, "That's how we got together."
"Does he know your identity?" Wang Zhiyi asked.
"Yeah." Liu Muzhe said.
"Did you admit it yourself?" Wang Zhiyi asked again.
"He guessed it." Liu Muzhe said.
"Isn't he afraid of you?" Wang Zhiyi asked.
"Look, is he afraid of me? He wants to eat me up." Liu Muzhe smiled helplessly. When Ye Jing'an pressed him down and kissed him for the first time, he really felt that Ye Jing'an wanted to eat him up.
"Zi Mu also wants to eat me. Does he like me?" Wang Zhiyi muttered to himself.
"He likes you very much." Liu Muzhe said with a smile.
They were chatting happily when they turned around and looked back the way they came: "Here we are."
Wang Zhiyi called Qiu Zimu and the other two over and waited quietly in the dark.
Six villagers approached from a distance. The two leading them were the old man and the girl who had initially called for silence. Behind them followed four young men in plain clothes, carrying a frame with a calf in a cage on top. The last two carried a stone statue.
The crowd walked into the bamboo forest, chose an open space and dug a hole. They cut the throat of the calf in the cage and let the blood drip onto the stone statue. After the calf's blood had drained out, they buried it in the soil and placed the stone statue on top of it.
After finishing everything, everyone except the girl dusted off the dirt on their bodies, knelt on the ground respectfully, and kowtowed three times to the stone statue. The girl said, "The fairy lady has received it. You can go back now."
"Okay, thank you for your kindness, Fairy. Thank you, Fairy." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hurried down the mountain.
After they walked away, the girl swallowed the calf's soul into her stomach, smiled with satisfaction, and skipped into the depths of Wang Linzi.
"Where are you going?" Liu Muzhe blocked her way.
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