Chapter 325 Jinjiang
Yan Shixun had thought of many possible truths about the charity cemetery, but he never expected that the truth would be the cruelest one.
The piece of paper that was hidden in the sleeve of the nameless corpse before his death and then handed to Yan Shixun became the key to unlock all secrets, leading Yan Shixun to see the truth of more than a hundred years ago in this abandoned charity cemetery.
When Yan Shixun followed the King of Hell to the thin coffin, he looked at the crooked strokes scratched on the inner wall of the coffin by fingernails, the black blood stains left on it, and the bloody hands of the headless corpse, his slender fingers that were stretched towards the thin coffin were trembling.
Yan Shixun closed his eyes and placed his fingertips on the coffin.
The uneven scratches are an accusation of the blood and tears of the deceased.
The village chief probably did not intend to deceive Yan Shixun about this matter, but the stories passed down from ancestors were always distorted in a way that was beneficial to themselves. The stories that were finally learned by later generations were all false and cruel.
More than a hundred years ago, there was indeed a large-scale death outbreak here, with the radiation level exceeding more than ten villages.
In some villages, after a large number of deaths, the remaining people even fled the village overnight due to guilt and fear, trying to find a way to survive.
But there was no news.
And those villages without people were gradually abandoned and turned into a pile of wasteland in the mountains.
Even though a few villages managed to hold on, they kept silent about the truth of the deaths and did not dare to complain about the deaths of their relatives and friends.
Because they know very well that
This death was brought upon themselves.
Revenge from the angry dead.
The original reason, as Yan Shixun guessed, was the abandonment of the village that was the predecessor of the charity cemetery.
This is a sufficiently secluded village, self-sufficient, with little interaction with the outside world, and even less disclosure of what's happening in the village to the outside world.
Although other villages felt strange, they did not take it seriously and just laughed at them in secret.
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An accident happened to a child.
The child who begged his father to take him to the market, was unwilling to compare himself with the children from other villages he met at the market, saying how rich their families were and how they knew important people.
The child was not convinced and shouted with a red face, "I have a treasure map at home!"
The father panicked and picked up the child and started beating him, then apologized to others and said that it was just childish bragging.
But the child was beaten so hard that he burst into tears. In order to prove that he was not bragging, he said that not only his family had the treasure map, but all the families in their village knew about it. The treasure was passed down from their ancestors many years ago and had been guarded by them.
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
The father apologized repeatedly, and other people at the market followed suit, saying that the child was just talking nonsense out of ignorance and not to be taken seriously.
They were still trying to persuade the father not to beat his child anymore.
But in my heart, I have already secretly made note of this matter.
The market was a mixed crowd, and almost all the villagers living nearby would come here to attend the market. When they brought the news home, all the nearby villages knew that there was a treasure in this village.
No wonder they are so closed and unsociable. It turns out they are guarding the good stuff and are afraid that we will see it.
The villagers who learned the news sighed like this.
Then, on a certain night when everyone was fast asleep, torches lit up the secluded village.
Hundreds of people with their faces covered brutally tortured the villagers, asking them where the treasure was.
The villagers were shocked and said that there was no treasure in their village...
But they suddenly realized that perhaps the place that their village had guarded for generations was seen by others, but they did not understand the truth and mistakenly thought it was a treasure.
So the people in the village kept their mouths shut and refused to say a word to the bandits.
Children and women were captured and killed one by one in front of the villagers, and they were forced to reveal the location of the treasure.
One of the children cried and struggled, and pulled off the bandit's face covering.
Then the people in the village recognized with astonishment that those were not bandits at all.
They are clearly people from other villages!
They understood everything in an instant.
People from other nearby villages were blinded by the so-called treasure and their hearts were shaken by the imaginary wealth, so they united to deal with this isolated village and agreed to share the treasure equally after getting it.
The people in the village angrily accused and denounced the shamelessness of other villages.
They were so angry that they had no intention of leaving anyone alive.
Anyone who gritted his teeth and refused to reveal the location of the treasure would have his head smashed to death with a sledgehammer.
There were women crying heart-wrenchingly, children shouting and crying in fear, and villagers sobbing with tears and clenched teeth.
All mixed with torches and black smoke, burning into the bloody color of tonight.
Someone was shouting, begging fellow villagers to tell them quickly about the treasure or the tomb, so as to save the children.
But the others had red eyes and watched their children and relatives die in front of them, refusing to say a word.
I can’t say.
The old village chief was in tears. He looked up at the full moon hanging high in the sky with trembling eyes. He did not waver even though he was extremely sad.
I can’t say, that is, that is... the benefactor of our ancestors.
If it weren't for those soldiers, if it weren't for that person, our ancestors would have died in the war hundreds of years ago. How could they have had the opportunity to reproduce and thrive for hundreds of years, and enjoy hundreds of years of peaceful life.
People should know how to be grateful.
They saved us, and we also protect their peace after death. We must never let others break into their tombs and disturb their peace after death.
Some villagers looked at the old village chief pleadingly, but the old village chief lowered his head, ready to die.
He was smiling, but it looked uglier than crying.
'It is the heroic spirits of the soldiers who blessed us with good harvests and favorable weather. It is the soldiers who helped our ancestors build houses and gave them food seeds and money, so that we can raise our children for hundreds of years and tell them stories of their heroic spirits from generation to generation.'
"We are the last grave keepers of Yedi, guarding... the dead Yedi, leaving a piece of land for the heroic souls of Yedi."
'Even if I die, I will never let Yedi suffer any harm.'
"I will die for my country!"
The knife came down and blood splattered everywhere.
The head with eyes open rolled to the ground.
The people in the village were heartbroken when they saw the old village chief die. They stared at the "bandits" around them with hatred, and said word by word with gritted teeth that even if they died, they would return as evil ghosts, eat their flesh and blood, and launch angry revenge on all those who participated in this incident.
The villagers from other villages who were pretending to be bandits laughed contemptuously and did not take the threat seriously.
Everyone kept their mouth shut and refused to reveal a single word.
The people from other villages were furious and murderous, and they slaughtered all the people in this isolated village.
When they left, they found nothing.
The knife in his hand, which was covered with blood and minced meat, had a bent blade.
The blood on the hammer had seeped deeply into my body and could not be washed away.
Just like their sin of murder, it will flow forever in their blood and be carried in their souls.
The village was filled with blood and the bodies of the villagers were lying on the ground in all directions.
The cold wind blew, and there was no more breathing.
Only the bright moonlight of the full moon enveloped the bodies of the villagers, as if a mother was gently holding her child in her arms and singing a lullaby for the child.
Let the dead rest in peace.
No one knew that the massacre tonight had dyed the earth red.
But the Dao of Heaven and Earth always watches silently.
All causes and effects cannot escape the cycle.
After the villagers from other villages returned home, they quickly forgot about this matter. Even if some of them were so scared that they couldn't sleep because of the deceased's words before his death, the others didn't care. They took advantage of their drunkenness and said that even if the deceased turned into a ghost, so what? They would kill anyone who dared to come.
But soon, a strange disease spread in the nearby villages.
The first ones to get sick are not the children with fragile constitutions, but the pillars of the family and young and middle-aged people.
They fell ill one after another, with deep red marks all over their bodies, spreading from the soles of their feet all the way up.
It's like blood splattering on your body.
Wherever there were deep red marks on the skin, large patches of ulcers formed, the flesh was bloody and smelled bad, pus was oozing out, and the pain and itching made all the sick people wail incessantly.
Even if you invite the best doctor from the city, he will just shake his head and say that he cannot cure the disease after examining the symptoms. Instead of looking for a doctor, it is better to ask the gods and Buddhas to forgive your sins.
The master who was called also sighed and said that this was because they had done too many evil things, and the dead people turned into evil spirits and came back for revenge.
Seeing that all the laborers in each family had collapsed, all the villages were in a panic.
This was not only because there was no one to take care of the farm work at home, but also because they found that all the people who initially fell ill were people who had been to the isolated village that night, and those who were infected next were their family members.
And the worst thing is that after these infected people died, if their bodies were kept at home, their corpses would reappear in the village after dusk and tear and bite passers-by, just like the legendary zombies.
The panicked people quickly ran back to the village where the entire village had been slaughtered, and tremblingly burned incense and paper to beg for forgiveness from the dead souls, saying that they were just possessed by the devil for a moment and did not do it on purpose, and asked the dead souls to let them go for the sake of their elderly parents and young children who needed to make a living.
The incense burner was overturned by the strong wind, the three incense sticks were broken in half, and the paper money could not burn.
The ghosts of the village silently but firmly refused to forgive.
The people from other villages had no choice but to follow the master's instructions and enter the village in fear, collect the bones of the villagers who died tragically, and put them in a thin coffin, just to atone for their sins.
Furthermore, in order to prevent these ghosts from continuing to seek revenge, people chopped off the heads of each corpse and had the master throw them far away.
Then they would draw cinnabar talisman paper on the head and feet of the corpse, and nail the corpse with long nails to prevent it from rising again. They would also nail the soul of the deceased inside the corpse to prevent the deceased from continuing to seek revenge.
The village where the entire clan was wiped out was also used as a charity cemetery, filled with dead bodies from nearby villages.
But after doing all this, people found that this strange disease really no longer spread and no one in their family died, so they regretted their decision.
They felt that since the crisis was over, they did not want to spend more money on the deceased, so they dumped the body in the charity cemetery, out of sight as if nothing had happened.
The relaxed people resumed their peaceful lives, occasionally mocking the stupidity of the village and the incompetence of the ghosts.
When the children ran over to ask curiously, people, out of guilty conscience, covered up the original massacre and treasure and just said it was a disease.
However, the matter did not end there.
One night, people from all the nearby villages heard the howling of wolves coming from the back mountain.
The sound was sobbing, like a mourning for a ghost, echoing among the mountains. It was ethereal and vague, but it made the guilty villagers so nervous that they dared not breathe. They sat there anxiously with sticks in their hands until dawn.
When the first ray of sunlight broke through the darkness, the villagers who thought they were safe opened the door, but were so shocked by the scene before them that they screamed.
On the hillside, there were densely packed wild wolves, their dark green eyes staring coldly in the direction of the villagers, as if they could see through the villagers' souls and clearly see all the evil deeds they had done.
But what scares the villagers even more is the wolves. The sharp teeth of each one...
They were all holding skulls that had rotted away to the point that only the skeleton was left.
The hollow dark eye sockets stared straight at the villagers, as if saying -
We are back.
To take revenge on the enemy.
Those skulls were actually the heads that people had asked the master to take away and throw away during the previous death.
They thought that if they separated the bodies of the massacred villagers in that village, their souls would lose their direction, would not remember their enemies, and would be unable to complain to the King of Hell.
That's why I have been able to sleep peacefully.
But I didn't expect that wild wolves also have spirituality.
They galloped hundreds of miles, bringing back the scattered skulls one by one, as if sending a wanderer back home.
Everyone who saw that scene was terrified.
There were even survivors who were frightened to death on the spot.
The wild wolf just looked at the people coldly, turned around and ran towards the abandoned charity cemetery.
From that day on, the wild wolf guarded the village and the corpses, not letting anyone get close.
It's like guarding the tomb for these loyal and grateful gravekeepers.
But from that day on, many people who knew the truth of that year never slept well again. In their dreams, they were chased by groups of ghosts, and then woke up screaming in fear and sweating.
The abandoned charity cemetery also became a forbidden area for several surrounding villages.
No one dared to go up the mountain again, for fear of angering the wild wolves guarding the tomb.
The villagers who were unable to profit from the mountains and forests turned to robbery as a source of livelihood, earning a good amount of money by extorting passing drivers.
It was not until Yan Shixun and his companions were guided by the great road and entered the isolated mountains that the truth buried in the past finally came to light.
The yellowed paper fell from his hands and floated slowly to the ground.
Yan Shixun held the thin coffin with both hands, and even his shoulders were shaking.
He lowered his head, and his scattered hair cast a shadow, making his expression obscure.
But everyone could see that he was clenching the thin coffin with his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
When the truth of the tragedy that had happened in the village became clear, even the ghosts and gods could not help but remain silent.
The evil of human nature.
For the goodness of human nature.
Ye Li lowered his eyes silently, slowly bent down, stretched out his bony palm, and gently picked up the falling piece of paper.
It was obviously as light as a feather, but Ye Li was so serious that it seemed as if he was carrying the weight of the entire world in his hands.
Everyone finally understood why no one could see through the past of these corpses and could not see the truth of this place.
Because the villagers who were massacred more than a hundred years ago... were the descendants of the villagers who collected corpses on the battlefield of Ye a thousand years ago.
The so-called treasure does not refer to any wealth at all.
Instead, it is a burial place guarded by the villagers from generation to generation.
They are voluntarily guarding the tombs of the soldiers in Ye...
Even Ye Li, who had long lost hope in the human world, could not help but have his hardened heart touched at this moment. He was speechless for a moment, with only shock in his eyes.
The general closed his eyes and sighed softly.
Ye Li never thought that such a thing would happen in a place where he had not paid attention.
Some people were grateful for his help and regarded him as a benefactor. In order to save their lives, they were willing to sacrifice hundreds of years of their lives and those of their descendants.
Even though Ye Li's initial anger was for the people of Yecheng, for the lives that were lost in vain and for the resentment that could not be redressed, he never expected anyone to respond to him.
He did these things not to be thanked by others, but because these were the principles he adhered to, and later they became his way.
However, Ye Li did not expect that what he had done would not only be remembered by others, but that they would even respond to his kindness regardless of the consequences.
Collect the remains of the 100,000 soldiers who died on the battlefield in Ye, guard their tombs for hundreds of years, and pray for their peace and tranquility after death.
Even died for it.
Ye Li stood there in silence for a long time.
His Adam's apple rolled as he looked at the fragile piece of paper in his hand. He felt that among all the words in the world, no word could express his thoughts at the moment.
Died, sacrificed in Ye...
His persistence and obsession did not go without effect.
Ye Li's palm slowly tightened, holding the piece of paper tightly in his hand, as if he wanted to touch the souls of those who died tragically.
The King of Hell lowered his eyes to look at the headless corpse sleeping peacefully in the coffin. He was the first to break the deathly silence.
"The hatred will not dissipate, the corpse will not rot, and the soul will not leave..."
The King of Hell sighed and said, "The exorcist who helped those perpetrators to nail their bodies to death a hundred years ago was really quite powerful. The nine-inch nails have been used for a hundred years and have seriously damaged the souls of these people."
"As for the underworld, even if I personally send them off, I cannot guarantee that their severely injured and weakened souls can be successfully reincarnated. Unless..."
As he spoke, the King of Hell turned his gaze to Ye Li, staring at him intently, and spoke slowly, word by word: "The ghost or god who has a karmic relationship with these people will take charge of their lives and personally send them to reincarnate."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present understood what the King of Hell meant.
Although Yeli is the place where ghosts and gods live, they also have their own areas of jurisdiction, just like the King of Hell will not do the work of Yue Lao, and the City God Temple has different responsibilities from Fengdu.
Fengdu, in charge of death and judgment.
But he alone does not have the vitality.
If you want Yeli to take control of life, there is only one possibility -
He retrieved his body, accepted his past, and became the Tao.
By then, the cycle of yin and yang, life and death, and the vitality corresponding to death will also fall into his hands and become his authority to manage heaven and earth.
Only in this way can these severely injured and weakened souls be safely sent to reincarnation.
Yan Shixun also slowly raised his head and looked towards Ye Li, with anger and grief still lingering in his eyes.
Ye Li didn't hesitate for another second and nodded immediately: "Okay."
"This avenue..."
I'll support you.
Even for those who collected the bones of me and a hundred thousand soldiers, and those who sacrificed their lives to guard the bones of a hundred thousand soldiers.
His expectations for the human world...
Thousands of years later, it received an echo.
The solemn words of ghosts and gods are witnessed by heaven and earth and cannot be revoked.
Ye Li's shaken eyes also became firm again, and when he looked at Yan Shixun, they both had firm belief.
Yan Shixun understood Ye Li's intention and chuckled.
Ye Li wanted to allow those people to leave here and be reborn. And he also wanted to take over the remaining anger and obsession of those people, so that they could leave peacefully and go to the next life without any worries.
"They have done nothing wrong and they don't deserve this."
Yan Shixun's voice was very light, but firm enough to even break through the sky and chisel open the earth: "The collapsed road, it's time to return to normal."
By then, all resentments will be put to rest, all grievances will be redressed, those who have enemies will be avenged, and those who have committed sins will atone for their sins.
The cycle of cause and effect is obvious to all.
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