Chapter 67 Shanyin Village
◎It's He Wenyu◎
All the villagers came to the open space in front of the ancestral hall.
Unlike the empty place when Gu Nian and the others first came here, this place was now filled with tables and chairs. The tables were covered with red cloths and were filled with food.
The festive suona was playing, and the place was packed with guests, just like a real wedding banquet.
Yet you could hear a pin drop.
Wei Chuan touched his arm and shuddered, "This is too scary."
In the dead of night, so many people gathered in the ancestral hall for a meal. The decorations were festive, yet everyone had a look of fear on their faces. The air seemed frozen.
The villager leading the way smiled awkwardly, as if afraid of disturbing something, and whispered, "This is the custom in our village. The bride and her family must have a farewell meal before the wedding. The village chief said that everyone will be there to send the bride off together, so everyone should take a seat and eat."
Scar, standing in front, didn't embarrass the other party and nodded, saying, "Then I'll listen to you."
The villager was visibly relieved.
The group was led to a raised platform in the center of the open space. One table was empty, clearly reserved for them. Scar led everyone to sit down.
Gu Nian's position just happened to allow her to see the table right in front of the platform.
The village chief sat there, and next to him sat a middle-aged man and woman in bright red clothes. The man was silent, the woman lowered her head, wiping tears. Clearly, they were the parents of the bride, chosen at short notice to marry the mountain god.
The rest were a group of older people, probably the most respected people in the village.
The bride sat alone on the platform.
When everyone was gathered, the village chief stood up, looked around, and said loudly: "Tonight our Shanyin Village is having a daughter's wedding. Everyone, eat and drink well, and we will send the bride off on time later!"
There was sparse applause all around.
At this moment, there was a bang on a table near the platform, and a boy who looked to be in his teens suddenly stood up and was about to rush to the platform, but was quickly pushed down.
The middle-aged woman sitting in the front cried even harder.
Gu Nian watched silently without saying a word.
Lu Yan said softly: "We will follow, she will be fine."
Gu Nian turned to look at him and nodded.
The suona was playing and everyone had a stiff smile on their face.
The wedding banquet began.
The village chief started eating, and the other villagers also began to eat.
Wei Chuan asked quietly, "Do I have to eat this meal?" In this kind of environment, with this kind of thing happening, he really couldn't eat. He just felt terrified.
While he was asking, Lu Yan had already picked up the chopsticks and took a bite.
Everyone else looked at Lu Yan.
Scar hesitated for a moment and asked, "Healer Lu, can we really eat this?" He was actually a little hesitant. He had been planning to observe if any villagers hadn't eaten yet, and he wouldn't eat it if he could avoid it. But he didn't expect Healer Lu to have already eaten. Did that mean he had to eat it?
Lu Yan paused holding his chopsticks and said, "If no one touches the food, it might be considered disrespectful. We still have to go up the mountain soon, so this is safer."
When others heard this, they also thought it made sense.
Even Wei Chuan managed to eat two bites.
Gu Nian also took a few bites, then paused, her gaze vaguely scanning Lu Yan. Judging from his speed, it seemed as if he was truly hungry before eating. Speaking of which, since everyone had brought supplies into the mountains, Lu Yan's backpack seemed considerably emptier.
As she was looking at him, she suddenly met Lu Yan's gaze.
Gu Nian asked curiously, "Is it delicious?"
Lu Yan thought about it seriously and nodded: "It's actually not bad." He recommended a few dishes to Gu Nian.
Gu Nian picked up the chopsticks and tasted it, finding it indeed tasted okay. Since he had already eaten, he took a few more bites. He had to eat until he was full so he could work later.
The two of them took turns eating with chopsticks and enjoyed the meal very much.
The other psychics had already stopped and looked at each other with admiration in their eyes.
Therapist, so scary!
After the meal was over, the suona music stopped, and everyone looked towards the platform. The bride was helped down from the platform, ready to toast her parents.
After the toast, it’s time to set off.
In silence, the middle-aged man at the head table downed his wine in one gulp, while the middle-aged woman wept as she drank the bride's toast. Beneath her red veil, the bride's mournful sobs echoed, their voices particularly poignant in the dark night. But soon, the sobs were drowned out by the resounding suona.
The bride was put into the sedan chair.
The wedding procession began to move towards the village entrance.
Gu Nian and the others fell behind and were approached by the village chief. He said with a worried look on his face, "Comrades, I'm afraid we'll encounter the pollution core you mentioned on the way to the bride's house. Could you please come with us? Otherwise, the people in our village might..."
The village chief looked earnest.
The psychics looked at each other and realized that they had indeed arrived!
Scar knew the village chief's intention, but he didn't show it. He agreed on behalf of the other psychics, then randomly pointed to a few people and said, "That being said, we're still unsure who the core of the contamination is, and the village's safety needs to be guaranteed. Let's send a few people to go."
The village chief glanced at the people with special abilities who had been pointed out, frowned slightly, and finally sighed, "No matter what happens in the village, these people who are escorting the bride are all young men. They came up the mountain for all of us. Comrade, why don't you send a few more people?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the psychics immediately knew that the village chief probably really knew who the core of the pollution was and where it was, otherwise he would not have let them follow him up the mountain.
Scar showed some hesitation, and finally nodded: "Okay then."
The village chief quickly thanked them and gave them some instructions for the wedding procession. Only then did Gu Nian and the others understand why Tian Sheng had died. Since leaving the village, all those involved in the wedding procession had been instructed not to mention the mountain god's name, and it was even better not to say anything at all.
Tian Sheng died because he violated this taboo.
The rules of this village are really strange.
Many thoughts flashed through Gu Nian's mind, but they were difficult to verify now, so he stopped thinking about it and just waited for a while to encounter the contaminated core, then solve the problem and go home.
She had told her family before that she would go back early.
With music and drums playing along the way, the bride's procession soon arrived at the village entrance. At this point, except for the villagers who were sending the bride, the rest of the villagers would not follow.
Just when they were about to leave the village, a scream suddenly came from the front. The team behind didn't know what was happening and became panicked. In the end, even the sedan chair stopped.
When the village chief saw the sedan chair stop, his face changed drastically.
This is a big taboo!
Gu Nian glanced at the others and followed the village chief forward. When they got closer, they finally understood why the villagers were so flustered.
Because just in front of the village, a coffin was blocking the road that the bride had to take.
No wonder these villagers don’t even care about taboos.
The Red and White Devils, even if she didn't understand the rules of Shanyin Village, she knew that this was definitely not a good thing.
Thinking of this, Gu Nian suddenly paused.
Red and white evil?
Isn’t Song Tian’s prediction also related to the Red and White Devils?
The red sedan chair, the sign for the wedding reception, the large crowds, the aroma of food—all of these things matched the situation they were currently facing. However, the problem was that the latter part was completely different.
According to Song Tian, what he saw was a group of people carrying a coffin.
But now they didn't meet anyone.
While thinking, Gu Nian glanced at the coffin parked in the middle of the road. Then his eyes became stern, black lines moved between his fingers, and he instantly made an attacking posture.
There is someone behind that coffin!
The psychics were generally calmer and more perceptive than the villagers, and they quickly noticed this. However, before they could get close enough, the person behind the coffin took the initiative to step forward.
Wei Chuan shouted in surprise: "Jiang Yuyuan, why is it you?"
The person who came out from behind the coffin was Jiang Yuyuan, who had separated from them in front of the mountain temple.
The man was in a mess, covered in mud, with his hair in wisps, as if he had fallen into the water and rolled in the mud. He was extremely dirty.
Jiang Yuyuan also showed a surprised expression. She wiped her face and quickly called out, "Hurry, hurry, I can't lift it by myself. Come on, someone help me!"
None of the psychics moved.
After hearing that Jiang Yuyuan and Gu Nian knew each other, the villagers became alert.
The village chief's face looked a little grim: "Comrades, what is this?"
Scar glanced at Gu Nian, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Gu Nian said, "This is the person we met by chance in the fog before. We separated after we emerged from the fog. Uncle Feng also knows about this."
The village chief looked at Uncle Feng.
Uncle Feng nodded silently.
Gu Nian asked again: "Can we still send the bride off in this situation today?"
The village chief grimaced and shook his head, "That won't work. A funeral clashes with a wedding, it's a huge taboo." He looked at the coffin parked at the village entrance, "If this isn't handled properly, nothing will happen."
Hearing this, except for the middle-aged woman who had been crying all the way, who breathed a sigh of relief, the rest of the villagers looked at Jiang Yuyuan with hatred. If they weren't afraid, they would have rushed over long ago.
Gu Nian thought for a moment and said, “Since the matter needs to be handled properly, we still have to ask clearly.”
The village chief had no choice but to nod his head.
It was not possible to keep the coffin at the entrance of the village. The villagers did not dare to go over, so the village chief had to ask the psychics for help again. A group of people carried the coffin to the open space in front of the ancestral hall.
Just a dozen minutes ago, the place was a festive red.
After the psychics took over, Jiang Yuyuan simply walked to the side. Seeing the red debris on the ground, she asked curiously, "Weren't you guys just having a wedding banquet here?" As if she was a little slow to react, she said belatedly, "Did I ruin their business?"
She blinked innocently and spread her hands to the crowd, "But the man I pulled out of the river is also related to their village."
"The one in the coffin is He Wenyu."
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