Chapter 161 Invite an Old Taoist Priest
Facts have proved that ignorance will make people afraid. After the truth was revealed, the villagers finally put their minds at ease and started to curse this person who was looking for trouble for no reason.
They didn't sleep well the whole night yesterday, fearing that something strange and supernatural had really happened in the village.
I don’t know who came up with this thing. It almost scared them to death. If they knew who it was, they would definitely give him a good beating.
After everyone left, Lin Xi asked, "Besides finding this wooden board, what other clues did you find?"
Xiao Yongyan shook his head, "Only this."
Lin Xi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. With just a wooden board and no DNA detection technology in ancient times, there was no way to identify the perpetrator.
"Don't worry, in my opinion this is just part of the plan, and he will definitely take further action later." Xiao Yongyan comforted.
Cui Hongyue and Xue Lili had no idea what they were talking about, so they just said, "It's getting late, I'll go cook some dinner for you."
This time Lin Xi did not refuse. After a whole day of hard work, she was indeed a little hungry.
Cui Hongyue’s cooking skills are pretty good. She uses vegetable leaves freshly picked from the fields, and the meat is freshly smoked bacon.
Wang Jing picked up the chopsticks and took a bite. His eyes lit up immediately and he exclaimed, "How can there be such a delicious dish!"
Lin Xi had lived in Taoli Village for so long that she was used to the food here. When she heard Wang Jing say this, she looked at him strangely, "It's just a common meal. You don't have to praise it so much."
Wang Jing frowned and looked at Lin Xi, "Don't you think this food is better than what the chefs in Beijing cook?"
Lin Xi looked at the common home-cooked dishes on the plate. She felt like she didn't understand a word Wang Jing said.
Not to mention Lin Xi felt strange, Cui Hongyue, the chef, was also confused by Wang Jing's sudden praise. The dishes he made were those that everyone in the village could cook, and the ingredients he used were also very common.
At the dinner table, only Xiao Yongyan remained calm as usual. He said to Wang Jing, "It's cold in the capital, and not many vegetables can grow there. Although your family is rich, you are from a different region, so how can you possibly eat such delicious food?"
Lin Xi finally understood the reason. It was very simple: there was often nothing delicious to eat.
Wang Jing thought about it, and somehow he felt that what Xiao Yongyan said made sense. Could it be true?
"Sister-in-law," Wang Jing approached Lin Xi, "Can you move this dish to the capital?"
Xiao Yongyan refused without even thinking, "The climate in the capital is very different from here. Even if you bring the seeds over, the ones you grow won't be the same."
Lin Xi understood the truth, but she was cheating.
"Let me study this matter." Lin Xi said.
Everyone else at the table looked at Lin Xi in amazement, wondering if she had any way to solve the problem of the different climate. Could she be God?
Lin Xi just smiled and said nothing.
Only Xue Lili and Cui Hongyue really thought that Lin Xi could do it. After all, she had taught them how to raise silkworms, so how difficult could this dish be?
At dinner time, Xiao Yongyan and the other two got on the carriage and prepared to return to town.
When the carriage arrived at the entrance of the village, Lin Xi suddenly heard a loud noise. She lifted the curtain and looked outside. It turned out that the head of the village had returned.
Following behind him was a man in Taoist robes. It seemed that Li Zheng really wanted to invite a master back this time.
When the villagers saw Zhao Tan, they felt hope had come. They gathered around him and talked about what had happened that day.
Zhao Tan finally sorted out the key points from everyone's conversation.
He frowned and asked, "Man-made footprints?"
"That's right. You can imagine how evil that person is. He actually did something like this. It's absolutely despicable!"
"Li Zheng, you must find out who is behind this!"
Zhao Tan nodded thoughtfully, "I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."
Lin Xi retracted his gaze and said to Xiao Yongyan, "Go back."
"It's incredible that your village head actually found the person." Wang Jing exclaimed.
"He is the leader of the village. The villagers have strong opinions, so of course he has to do this." Lin Xi said.
Wang Jing sneered, "The footprints today were clearly man-made. Does that mean the things that happened before couldn't have been man-made?"
"You figured it out?" Lin Xi was a little surprised.
Wang Jing's eyes widened. "Who are you looking down on? I grew up in a big family, so it's not easy to hide this little trick from me."
Lin Xi chuckled and didn't answer.
Outside the carriage, Xiao Yongyan heard the conversation between the two and said coldly, "Wang Jing, come out and sit down."
Wang Jing protested, "The carriage is so comfortable, why should I go out and blow the cold wind?"
"The cold wind will help you clear your mind and solve the case faster." Xiao Yongyan said, "Don't force me to go in and arrest you."
Wang Jing rolled his eyes silently, lifted the curtain and sat outside the carriage.
…
The next day, when Lin Xi returned to the village, he saw an unprecedented lively scene.
A yellow talisman paper with messy lines drawn on it with cinnabar was pasted on the door of almost every household in the village. Lin Xi had no knowledge of these things and could not understand them at all.
A Taoist platform has been built on the open space in the middle of the village, probably used for performing rituals.
Lin Xi pulled Aunt Wu over and asked, "What happened last night?"
Aunt Wu said, "Didn't the village head bring back a Taoist priest? According to his request, the village found a few strong men to build the Taoist altar he needed overnight, and also pasted a talisman on every door, saying it was to drive away evil spirits."
After a while, Lin Xi saw a thin Taoist priest standing in front of the altar with a wooden sword in his hand, and it seemed that he was ready to start performing a ritual.
Xiao Yongyan silently pulled Lin Xi behind him, away from the Taoist priest.
Wang Jing followed the Taoist's every move with a serious expression.
As for the other villagers, they had already surrounded the man in three circles inside and outside. They had never seen such a scene before and were a little curious, but also afraid.
The Taoist priest raised his wooden sword and swung it wildly. Everyone's eyes followed the sword up and down.
Soon he picked up a few blank talisman papers, placed them on the candle and burned them, and the flying debris scattered all over the ground.
Then the Taoist took out a string of copper coins from his sleeve, muttered something, and then scattered the coins on the ground.
A curious child wanted to pick it up, but was stopped in time by the adults at home.
The Taoist's eyes were fixed on the copper coin on the ground, as if he was observing something. Suddenly, he recited a little louder, and pointed the tip of his sword to the east, "It's over there."
East?
Lin Xi was stunned, because all her properties were on the east side of the village.
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