Upon entering the house, we met the elder, a sprightly and lean old man known as Elder Taji. He welcomed us into the living room and first spoke some Qiang language with the chanting master.
Then they performed a unique Qiang ethnic greeting for us, saying, "Guests from afar, you are friends of the Qiang people."
I bowed to Xiang Fei, and Elder Taji had food brought out. Fortunately, the Qiang people eat similar things to the Han Chinese in Sichuan: cured meat and steamed buns. Of course, that's for someone like me who grew up in the countryside. Who in the city would eat your steamed buns now?
There are steamed buns and pickled vegetables, and the Qiang-style cured meat is especially delicious. Today is a big day for the village, and there will be a bonfire party tonight with barbecue. I'm all ready to eat my fill! Hehe!
The chanting master has already told Elder Taji the purpose of our visit. After we ate, Elder Taji asked Xiang Fei to show him the ancient Shu characters that he had made rubbings of.
After staring at them for a while, Elder Taji said, "You have been to that place; you are people who have been cursed."
"Elder, you knew about this too?"
"I don't know, I only know from the ancient traditions of the Qiang people that the demon has appeared. It is hiding among the people and will kill all of you, and then use your blood to open the path to immortality."
"Is there any way to remedy this?"
“I don’t know. Maybe we can find a solution if I take you to see the chief tomorrow. The demon has already appeared, and our Qiang tribe cannot stand idly by. You can stay here tonight and come with me to see the chief tomorrow morning. He can fully understand these characters.”
Hearing him say that, we felt a little relieved. With the Qiang people helping us, this matter should be much easier.
"Elder, do you know what this demon is all about?" I asked.
111 Qiang Villages
"It's hard to say. According to the ancient legends passed down by the Qiang people, this demon seems to be a wicked person who harms the people, or a person who has gone astray. No one knows its exact identity, but one thing is certain: it is hiding among you. It may be your relatives or your friends. When the time is right, it will kill you."
Once again, the elder said the same thing: "The demon is right beside us. Who is this demon?"
It's like having the most dangerous enemy lurking beside you, but you know nothing about it, while it knows everything about you and can take your life at any time, or push you into an abyss. What could be more terrifying than that?
As night falls, the Qiang people's bonfire party officially begins. Just like the ethnic minorities seen on TV, the Qiang people's bonfire party involves everyone gathering around the fire, holding hands and circling around it.
The couples getting married would come out to sing or dance, making it a very lively scene. Of course, my main purpose was to see the goat and wild boar roasting over the campfire. I had heard that it was delicious, and I was going to have my fill today.
The elder's daughter, Tagilma, also arrived, sitting among a group of girls, chattering away. She kept glancing in my direction, but I pretended not to see her. It's best to avoid getting involved with these things right now; I still have Wang Ling at home, who's a real headache.
Just as the barbecue was about to be cooked, the aroma of meat filled the air. At that moment, a young Qiang man walked over to me, made a strange gesture, and said something.
I didn't understand, so I stared at him wide-eyed and asked, "What are you saying?"
“I challenge you to a duel,” he said in broken Chinese, which startled me. “Are you kidding me? Why would you want to duel me?”
"Duel? Why do you want to duel with me? I don't know you, and we've never had any dealings before."
"Because Tagilma has fallen for you, I'm not convinced, so I challenge you to a duel," the young man replied in a simple and honest manner.
Tagilma and her female companions, who were sitting opposite, rushed over and said, "Zadan, how can you treat your guests like this? Hurry up and sit back down."
I then took a closer look at him. He wasn't tall, but he was very strong and muscular, and looked very powerful. His skin was dark, and he was clearly well-trained. Although I wasn't afraid, I wasn't confident that I could beat him. The key question was how this "duel" would be conducted.
It can't be like in the movies, where duels are a matter of life and death, where it's either you die or I live, and only killing the other person counts as winning. I won't agree to that.
Xiang Fei smiled and said to me, "Don't be afraid. The duels of the Qiang people are actually very simple. They are just a contest of who is stronger or who can drink more. It's just arm wrestling and drinking. If it's a drinking contest, I think you can give it a try with your drinking capacity."
Hearing Xiang Fei say that, I got excited too. If it weren't for the fact that we were going to fight, everything would be fine. It's just arm wrestling and drinking. Although I'm not very confident in arm wrestling, when it comes to drinking, hehe! I'm quite confident. Besides, we're going to have barbecue tonight, and what would we do without alcohol?
Before I came, Xiang Fei told me that the Qiang people's wine is also very famous. Of course, all the wines in Sichuan are quite famous, but the Qiang people's wine is brewed from barley and corn. It is a strong liquor that comes on quickly and goes away quickly, unlike the wines in our area which take effect slowly and are easy to get drunk on.
I immediately jumped up and said, "Okay, okay, I promise you, how about drinking or arm wrestling?"
"Both."
Immediately, the Qiang people around us applauded and surrounded us. Someone had already brought a table; I stood on the left and Zhadan on the right.
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