Chapter 88 Wedding and mourning (19)
Jiang Yanran's question was like a trap, wrapped in a pretty smile and a harmless girl's shell, but inside was a dark and malicious intent that would wait for an opportunity to bite. Only the rolling blood and flesh could make her smile again.
But Yan Shixun's answer was beyond her expectations.
She fell silent and just let Yan Shixun look around in the yard by himself. She neither tried to stop him nor persuade him. She just stared at Yan Shixun with her beautiful eyes, as if she was observing him and trying to discern his true nature from his actions.
While Yan Shixun was exploring the happy family, Jiang Yanran was also exploring him.
When he was outside the yard before, Yan Shixun vaguely saw some items piled on the ground in the yard, tied with red cloth, which should be the dowry of the bride.
But after entering the yard, Yan Shixun saw clearly that what was placed on the ground were not the daily necessities usually prepared for newlyweds, nor were they precious and valuable items, but some wooden boxes, which were tangled with red cloth with frayed edges, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.
And there was no one from the mother-in-law or the daughter-in-law to look after these things, nor was there anything like what would be seen at ordinary weddings, where many people would discuss what good things were in the dowry and betrothal gifts brought out by both parties.
It's like these wooden boxes placed on the ground, there is no need to guard them, and there is no place for discussion.
Not only did they gather in the yard and at the door of the house, but there were also several people standing guard at the windows on the side and back of the house, smiling happily and loudly congratulating the people inside.
The cries of joy became louder and louder, the suona played high and shrill, expressing both joy and sadness.
The musician, dressed in bright red clothes with a white cloth tied around his waist, looked up to the sky and played the suona with all his might, until his face turned pale and his eyes became dull.
Some were beating drums, some were holding gongs... the musicians were dancing back and forth with exaggerated movements, with the same warm smiles on their faces, their cheeks rosy with joy.
Only the house where the bride was was always quiet. No voice of the bride could be heard, nor could the laughter and noise of her friends.
Only the villagers' congratulations filled the entire small courtyard.
This was not the first time Yan Shixun had seen someone in the village marry off their daughter.
When he traveled around with his master Li Chengyun, he saw happy events in the village more than once.
But that was different from the scene he saw now.
Although the families Yan Shixun had met in the past were rich and poor, and some did not like their daughters, on the day of their daughter's wedding, parents and relatives would be by her side to celebrate for her. Even the strictest father would have melancholy and emotion in his eyes when he saw his daughter who was about to leave home to get married.
The blessings and excitement were real, and the dowry prepared by the parents and relatives for the bride was as close to their daughter's life as possible, wanting her to live a good life and suffer less.
But in this small courtyard, Yan Shixun did not see such a scene.
Only the cold voices of congratulations abruptly shattered the deathly silence in the village.
However, precisely because there was no one guarding it, it was convenient for Yan Shixun to check the boxes and find out what was inside.
Yan Shixun was very tall, more than 1.8 meters tall, so even if he half-squatted, it did not hinder his movement of holding Jiang Yanran's hand with his other hand.
He stretched out his other free hand and nimbly unwrapped the red cloth on the wooden boxes on the ground. His slender fingers weaved between the red strips, and perhaps because the cloth was cheap, some red was stained on his skin.
The dots of red set off his beautifully defined fingers, as if blood was splattering, but it did not look weird. Instead, it revealed the beauty of absolute power, which attracted people uncontrollably, yet also frightened them.
Jiang Yanran was also attracted and couldn't help but lower her head to look at Yan Shixun's actions, watching him neatly open the lid of the wooden box.
The girl's expression changed slightly, becoming somewhat unnatural.
Yan Shixun, holding the lid of the wooden box, also stood there in a daze.
What was placed in the wooden box was not a dowry at all, but a box of stones.
The family that was marrying off their daughter did not prepare even a tiny bit of dowry for the bride!
The sound of gongs and drums coming from beside him brought Yan Shixun back to his senses. He came back to his senses quickly, put down the lid of the wooden box, and without even having time to tie the red cloth again, he hurried to check the other boxes next to him.
Stones, stones, stones, and more stones...
There was nothing valuable or practical in the wooden boxes piled up in the dowry.
Do the bride's parents and elders dislike her, or do they think there is no need to prepare?
However, when Yan Shixun turned to look at the betrothal gifts carried in from outside, those black-painted wooden boxes were neatly stacked next to a well in the middle of the yard. Each wooden box was square and printed with gold lacquer patterns. They looked grand and valuable, and not something an ordinary family could have.
It seems that what Jiang Yanran said when she asked him just now was correct. The identity of the bride was ordinary, but the identity of the groom was not. Those villagers and even the musicians who were invited to play music were all here because of the groom.
Yan Shixun slowly stood up and asked Jiang Yanran beside him in a low voice: "Who is the groom?"
Jiang Yanran blinked her eyes, withdrew her gaze from Yan Shixun's fingers, looked at him with a smile and said, "You are so anxious to know the groom, good man Yan Shixun, are you tired of getting married?"
"Do you also want to wear a wedding dress and a phoenix crown, get on a sedan chair once the wedding veil falls, and marry your groom?"
Yan Shixun raised his eyebrows and did not continue to talk about Jiang Yanran. Instead, he asked, "You asked me before if it was possible that the groom's status was high, which made it so lively here. Now I think the answer is yes."
"And the people who can be considered high-ranking in the village are nothing more than the clan leader and the elders. But just now I heard from an older wife over there that the bride was originally married to the son of the elder, but she was married to the current groom instead of her sister, and even the elder couldn't snatch him away. In the village, the only people with higher status than the elder are the clan leader, and..."
Yan Shixun paused, his voice cold: "The clan regards him as the one who protects them, the land god."
When chatting with Yang Tu before, Yan Shixun seemed to have unintentionally asked Yang Tu many things about Jiazifen Village.
Because when you look down from the mountain, you can clearly see that the entire village is close to the foot of Moon Mountain, and the houses are most densely populated at the foot of the mountain. The closer to Moon Creek, the sparser the houses are, with only a few households.
But generally speaking, in places where there is water, due to the underdeveloped technology in the past, water could not be transported too far, and considering the convenience of life, people generally developed around water.
But Jiazifen Village did the opposite.
So Yan Shixun also asked Yang Tu why Jiazifen Village did not develop around Yueliang Creek.
At that time, Yang Tu told Yan Shixun that at the foot of Moon Mountain, there was the ancestral hall of the Yang clan and the land god temple worshipped by the clan.
Both Jiazifen Village and Jia Village firmly believe in the existence of ghosts and gods.
Not only did they tell the people in the clan that their ancestors had appeared in their dreams, they also claimed that the clan leaders of all generations were chosen by the land god, and only in this way would the Yang clan be protected by the land god. They also believed in and respected the Feng Shui masters, and would ask the Feng Shui masters to help the village with any important decisions.
The clan's ancestral hall and land god temple were built at the foot of the mountain because the Feng Shui master invited more than a hundred years ago said that the Feng Shui here is the best, and it can be connected to the Moon Mountain, draw strength from the Moon Mountain, and feed back to the Yang clan. This will surely enable the Yang clan to have descendants and endless wealth.
In order to get some good feng shui, the clan leaders and elders also built houses near the ancestral hall and the land temple. It can be said that all the people with higher status in the village lived at the foot of Moon Mountain. Therefore, it was the appearance that Yan Shixun saw that there were many people on one side and sparse people on the other.
So when I just heard the conversation between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law, the identity of the groom was already obvious.
What a bride is marrying is not a human being.
It is God.
Man-made God.
"The bride is going to marry the god of the land, right?"
How can a person marry a god? Should she stay in a temple and live a single life for the rest of her life, or should she be sent by those celebrating to where they believe the god is?
Yan Shixun's eyes were firm and gloomy, and the anger in them made his eyes sharp and bright.
It is a brilliant light that can burn ghosts and gods.
Jiang Yanran was about to say something, but it was stuck in her mouth. She looked up at Yan Shixun's eyes, vaguely recalling a memory from long ago.
It seemed that at that time, among the noisy and arguing crowd, there was also a young man in uniform, who had something similar in Yan Shixun's eyes.
What is it?
Who is coming...
She remembered that look for a long time, but eventually she succumbed to the long time and hardship and forgot it.
Jiang Yanran didn't stay in a daze for too long. She quickly calmed down, and her originally confused eyes regained focus.
"Why are you asking me?" The girl smiled and said, "Isn't the answer right in front of you?"
Yan Shixun was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized that this was the answer Jiang Yanran gave him.
He pulled Jiang Yanran and strode towards the pile of wooden boxes next to the well in the middle of the yard. The muscles in his arms tightened instantly, and he opened the heavy lid of the wooden box with one hand, making a muffled sound.
Then he saw that the wooden box was filled with dry grass, and in the center was an old incense burner with a lot of accumulated incense ash in it.
Would this kind of thing be included as a betrothal gift in an ordinary wedding?
Yan Shixun did not stop, just glanced at the incense burner, and immediately went to open another one.
However, it is still used in sacrifices.
Dharma bell, golden gui...
The dozen or so boxes looked impressive, but in fact, they did not contain any practical or valuable items, only sacrificial utensils.
Yan Shixun's heart sank.
Jiang Yanran's attitude and even her behavior of guiding him to check out these betrothal boxes were indirectly telling him -
You guessed it right, the bride is marrying the god of land.
"The bride cries and kneels down to pay respect to her parents. From now on, she will have a smooth road to heaven and will no longer suffer from the pain of the world. It is a good marriage..."
Jiang Yanran hummed along with the melody of the suona. The lyrics matched the rhythm of the suona, and each one became louder and louder, as if they were about to break through the sky and leave the village surrounded by mountains.
"Yan Shixun~"
Jiang Yanran took advantage of Yan Shixun's surprise and pushed him away, smiling sweetly, "You should leave."
The hand that fell on Yan Shixun's body was delicate and white, so cold that it made people shiver.
Yan Shixun was distracted for a moment and was unable to react immediately. When he stretched out his hand again to hold Jiang Yanran again, he felt that he was holding an elusive fish, which slipped smoothly from his palm.
Yan Shixun staggered back a few steps and broke away from Jiang Yanran.
At this moment, all the villagers who were laughing and playing music just a moment ago stopped, the smiles on their faces disappeared instantly, and they all turned their heads in unison to look at Yan Shixun in the center of the yard.
The courtyard, which was bustling just now, suddenly became deathly silent.
The faces of the villagers and the mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law were as pale as paper, with two red spots on their cheeks, and their eyes were empty and stern. The expressions on everyone's faces were exactly the same, even the angles at which they turned their heads were exactly the same.
In an instant, dozens or even hundreds of eyes looked at Yan Shixun, staring at him with empty eyes and stiff expressions.
Jiang Yanran stood among them, the only living thing.
"Yan Shixun, you are an outsider and you should go back to your own life. Don't force yourself to stay here."
Jiang Yanran put her hands behind her back, tilted her head and smiled. Her expression was lively but her eyes were as dark as the twilight, with a calmness that did not match her age.
"The bride is about to cry at her wedding, so how can we allow an outsider to be present? It would be better not to ruin the auspicious time."
Jiang Yanran murmured, not knowing to whom she was talking.
The next moment, all the villagers who had stopped in their tracks seemed to come back to life. With their empty eyes open and their stiff limbs, they walked towards Yan Shixun from all directions, reaching out their hands to grab him.
Yan Shixun's eyes became fierce, and without any hesitation he immediately jumped up. His slender body turned a full circle in the air, passed directly over the villagers, and then landed steadily behind them.
The villagers who had lost the figure of Yan Shixun in their sight opened their empty eyes and looked around blankly. However, the villagers on the opposite side saw Yan Shixun, and immediately wanted to pounce on Yan Shixun with ferocious expressions, but they pounced on the villagers in front of Yan Shixun and knocked them to the ground.
Yan Shixun kept jumping up and down, nimbly dodging all the villagers who wanted to rush towards him. Finally, he cut a winding path in the crowded yard and retreated directly to the gate of the courtyard.
Suddenly, the villagers who were teased by Yan Shixun lost their composure and fell into a ball. They fell to the ground but didn't know how to get up. They just bit the villagers they caught in their hands mechanically. The villagers on the opposite side were not to be outdone and wrestled with each other.
Another villager who wanted to rush out of the yard was tripped by the villagers who had already fallen under his feet, and fell on those people on the ground.
The red strips of cloth were flying everywhere, like blood splattering everywhere.
The villagers' eyes were bloodshot, and they just opened their mouths wide to bite each other, with their hands tightly pinching each other's necks.
They no longer looked like humans, but more like wild beasts that had long since lost their sanity.
There was chaos on the ground.
After avoiding the crisis, Yan Shixun took a deep breath and looked up at Jiang Yanran again.
She stood in the chaos with blood flying everywhere, but she turned a blind eye to it. She just looked past those people and looked at Yan Shixun.
"Go back and don't come here again, Yan Shixun. Forget everything you saw today. Your curiosity has been satisfied, and that's it."
All smiles and expressions disappeared from Jiang Yanran's face. The liveliness faded from her body and she became cold and emotionless.
Jiang Yanran's voice was so soft that it seemed as if it would be blown away by the mountain breeze.
"No matter what you hear when you go back, don't come out. Get some good sleep and leave tomorrow. You must leave before sunset tomorrow..."
Yan Shixun tried hard to hear clearly what Jiang Yanran said, but her voice became smaller and smaller in his ears, so blurred as if there was a layer of frosted glass.
The scenery before his eyes also became chaotic, like a stone falling into the water, and the ripples blurred the entire scene.
Yan Shixun's eyes hurt from the bright blood-red color in front of him, and he subconsciously closed his eyes and turned his head away.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing behind the corner where he had hidden at the beginning.
The blood-red fallen leaves fell on his shoulders, and against the backdrop of his black shirt, they looked like splattered blood.
It was quiet all around, with no other noise except the sound of wind blowing through the leaves.
Whether it was the sound of suona, or the villagers' congratulations and laughter, or the sound of them fighting with hideous faces...
All disappeared.
Yan Shixun subconsciously looked behind him, and after looking around, he did not see Jiang Yanran.
There was only one middle-aged man walking by with his head in his pockets. He looked at Yan Shixun standing in the corner of the village house in confusion, with surprise in his eyes, as if he thought it was strange for Yan Shixun to stand there.
Yan Shixun paused, then immediately stepped forward and grabbed the middle-aged villager, asking him if there was any wedding happening nearby, what the family was called, and what the situation was.
The middle-aged villager was unwilling at first and wanted to curse Yan Shixun.
However, when Yan Shixun raised his clenched fist, with the muscles on his arms tensed, and tried to convince the man with reason, the middle-aged villager shrank his shoulders and listened to Yan Shixun's questions submissively.
"What happy event? Are you crazy?"
The middle-aged man looked at Yan Shixun with a ridiculous look in his eyes: "We finally managed to get a girl, so why not just send her over? Why hire a band? Which family would do that? Besides, there are no girls in the village anymore. For many years, our village has only had boys because we were blessed by the land god and the clan leader. How could anyone marry off their daughter?"
"Besides, the houses around here have been abandoned and uninhabited since Yang Lao San, whose mother and wife died, as well as his new wife and son, also died. Normally, we all dislike the foul air here, so no one goes here. It's impossible for so many people to gather here as you said."
Yan Shixun, who didn't expect to get such an answer, was slightly stunned.
The middle-aged villager took advantage of this short period of time, glanced at Yan Shixun nervously a few times, and when he found that he didn't notice him, he ran away immediately.
Yan Shixun slowly lowered his raised arm. After standing there for a moment, he turned around and walked out from the corner where he had been hiding.
What lay before him was a long-abandoned narrow road covered with weeds and moss.
The weeds were already more than a meter tall, covering the path leading to the equally dilapidated village houses inside.
It seemed that the middle-aged villager had not lied to him. This road had indeed been deserted for a long time. Even the village house had half collapsed due to years of disrepair, with bricks and tiles falling off and the yard in ruins.
As for what Yan Shixun had seen before, the jubilant villagers gathered in the village roads and courtyards, the wooden boxes tied with red cloth piled up in the courtyards, and the musicians playing music, they were nowhere to be seen.
It seemed like everything he had just seen was Yan Shixun’s fantasy.
Yan Shixun stood there in silence for a long time. Jiang Yanran's voice seemed to still echo in his ears, telling him not to come any closer.
But the problem is——
Since he entered Jiazifen Village, he had not sensed the presence of the land god on this land. The avenue of heaven and earth collapsed, countless gods declined and died, and even the land god here was long gone, without even a trace of his breath left.
So, where did the girl who married the land god go?
Why did Jiang Yanran repeatedly remind him not to get close?
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