"What does sacrifice mean?" asked Queen Mao in surprise.
Professor Fu frowned, looking serious. It was obvious that these two words gave him bad associations.
Xin Guang guessed, "I know that many places have the custom of offering sacrifices during festivals, so this sacrifice should be related to sacrifices, right?"
"But he said he wanted to capture outsiders and sacrifice them." An Qi said with eyes wide open, "Why do you want to capture outsiders?"
The village official's face twisted, his eyes flickered, and after a long while his lips moved: "No, I didn't... I don't know either."
Jing Cheng pondered and said, "If I'm not mistaken, the sacrifice should be similar to the ancient 'He Bo marrying a wife', using living people as sacrifices. If this is true, then it will be troublesome."
"What?" Xin Guang was surprised. "Human sacrifice? What does this mean?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Jing Cheng.
The young village official tightened his grip on the lamp ring in his hand, and his expression became even more tense.
Seeing that everyone was confused, Jing Cheng sorted out his thoughts and explained them to everyone one by one.
...
...
Everyone is familiar with "He Bo Marrying a Wife", as we learned about it in elementary school textbooks. It was an evil scam created by collusion between officials and witches, which was ignorant and cruel.
Since ancient times, human beings have liked to "create gods", especially the ancient ruling class, who preferred to consolidate their ruling position by using these supernatural things.
All kinds of unusual celestial phenomena could be related to the God of Heaven. If an earthquake, flood, or solar eclipse occurred, the emperor would immediately issue a "reproach edict" and announce it to the world, as if this would help avoid even greater disasters.
There were countless human sacrifices, and burial alive was the most common and acceptable to the general public. The most famous one is the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses of Qin".
The next is "hitting the living stakes", which is a point of view put forward by Master Lu Ban. "Disturbance" means "disturbing the feng shui", which will damage the local ecological environment, cause bad influences and lead to disasters, so he proposed to use the method of "hitting the living stakes" to avoid more deaths.
The so-called "hitting a living stake" is actually a human sacrifice.
That's why there are so many "bridges for human sacrifice" and "roads for human sacrifice" later on, as well as the scene of "Don't you see the dead skeletons supporting each other under the Great Wall" caused by the construction of the Great Wall? The legendary Meng Jiangnu cried at the Great Wall because her husband was buried alive under the Great Wall and became one of the many sacrifices.
Because this method was too cruel and inhumane, the "Lu Ban Jing" was eventually labeled as a forbidden technique.
At this point, Jing Cheng suddenly realized that he seemed to have been dealing with "Lu Ban Technique" since he came to this world.
First, there was the curse "Puppet in Mourning" that befell Old Xu, then there was the "Curse Talisman" that harmed people in the Worry-Solving Shop, then there was the "Puppet Coffin" targeting him... and now there is the "Human Sacrifice" again, as if an invisible hand was pushing him to find the "person" behind the scenes.
——If there really is such a person.
He had a hunch that the "Incredible Journey" he inadvertently participated in this time might be able to solve his confusion.
After hearing his explanation, everyone was stunned and didn't come back to their senses for a long time.
After they figured it out, they felt creepy again.
"Human sacrifice..." An Qi said with trembling lips, "This is unlikely. Mr. Zhang, please tell me if this is true..."
The village official looked at Director Zhao, hesitated, and said, "Actually, I'm not too sure. Aren't you going to record a show? Come with me first."
Everyone in the program team: "..."
If you don't know why you are still trying to scare us, you shouldn't be so deceiving.
Director Zhao pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "You told me before that you had already informed the villagers, so we came here openly. But when we arrived in the afternoon, you said that the villagers were xenophobic and asked us to hide our identities and sneak in... You should understand that you have breached the contract. Do you remember how much the penalty is?"
Young village official: “…” Of course he remembered. It was a sum that he could not pay off even if he sold everything.
At this point, Zhao Yi's expression was not very good: "We are here to shoot a reality show, not social news reporters coming undercover to find out information. You know what reality shows are about? They require interaction! If the villagers don't want to interact with us, how can we shoot this show?"
The young village official lowered his head in shame.
"Look at all the people here: top stars, movie queens, actresses, university professors... and so many behind-the-scenes staff. Money is burned every minute! If this show can't be filmed safely, then all these days will be in vain! Can you afford the compensation?"
The village official lowered his head and stammered, "I'm really sorry, I didn't think it through... I don't want the reward, is this okay?"
Zhao Yi's expression eased a little, and he said in a gentle tone: "It's good that you understand, but Mr. Zhang is indispensable for the normal recording of the program. After we leave here, I will not give you less compensation."
The young village official's face turned red, and he waved his hand quickly, saying, "No, no, no..."
He was feeling very insecure at the moment, so how could he dare to ask for compensation?
Xiao Qu quietly leaned over to Zhao Yi and whispered in his ear: "Director, should we not go?"
Zhao Yi glared at him: "Are you a tiger? Since we are here, of course we have to take pictures!"
"But... you heard what he just said, about human sacrifices and stuff. It makes me shudder. What if something like what happened to the photographer last time happens again? Wouldn't our show be completely ruined?"
"You forgot! We have Master Jing! Even if this is a dangerous place, we have to go!"
Director Zhao raised his chin and said in an unquestionable tone: "Mr. Zhang! Lead the way!"
The village official looked around at the people with different expressions with a tense face, and said softly: "I have prepared the house, please follow me."
It was already past eight o'clock in the evening and the sky had become completely dark, with no trace of light left.
Under the dark clouds, the old locust tree stood silently at the entrance of Bijia Village.
It seems like a dividing line from the outside world. Inside are old, bare-bones houses and unrepaired dirt roads, while outside are magnificent buildings and bustling traffic.
Like two worlds.
When the program crew stepped onto this land, their bright and beautiful appearance made the antiquity and decay of Bijia Village more prominent.
The young village official held a lantern and silently led the way for the program crew.
In late autumn, the dew is thick and the air is moist.
There are many trees planted in the village. In the evening breeze, the leaves rustle, and a green fragrance belonging to nature lingers.
Someone took a deep breath and praised quietly: "The air here is really good, suitable for retirement."
"How old are you? You want to retire? This is a remote village. There's not even a supermarket nearby. Even couriers may not deliver."
"I was just talking, did you take it seriously?"
There are no street lights in the village, and it is pitch black all around. Looking around, only a few houses have lights on, and occasionally there are the sounds of dogs barking.
The villagers seemed to go to bed early. It was very quiet along the way and no one came out.
Jing Cheng can see at night, so he took the opportunity to look around.
The geomantic omen here is very good. The arrangement of trees and the construction of houses seem to have been guided by professionals, and the layout is quite sophisticated.
The aura here exudes vitality.
No wonder the air here is fresh and the vegetation is lush.
Even the barking of dogs is much clearer than the sound of dogs outside (…).
He began to have doubts in his mind. If under the influence of such feng shui layout, Bijia Village should not be so closed and backward. Why did such a contradictory result occur?
He was thinking about problems as he walked, not looking at the road, and was about to step into a big pit in front of him.
Qin Yan saw this scene, quickly grabbed him and said, "What are you thinking about? You look absent-minded."
Jing Cheng was caught off guard and staggered, almost falling to the ground, and the zipper of his jacket was slightly unzipped.
He steadied himself, looked down at the big pit in front of him, and froze as if he had thought of something.
Seeing that he was in a daze and seemed not to have heard his question, Qin Yan reluctantly helped him zip up his jacket: "Hey! Come back to your senses."
The friction sound of the zipper awakened Jingcheng's mind.
He looked carefully at the big hole under his feet again and frowned deeply.
"Orange, what's wrong with you?" Fu Le came over and asked.
Qin Yan frowned and looked over. He felt that something was wrong with Jing Cheng.
Just when Qin Yan thought he would not answer, Jing Cheng spoke up: "I was thinking, my trip this time was not in vain."
Fu Le: “???”
Of course your trip was not in vain, 2.4 million!
Jing Cheng turned his head and looked towards the village in front of him with a serious expression.
There was pitch darkness ahead, as if it was just a normal night.
But he knew there was a hunter hiding there.
There is a pair of evil eyes, watching everyone in this village.
…
After walking for an unknown amount of time, the young village official stopped and raised his hand.
“Squeak—”
After the long sound of the door being pushed open, Yang Hong and An Qi, who were walking in front, were covered in dust from the eaves of the door.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
"Ahem...what the hell is this! So much dust!"
Yang Hong used his hands as a fan, waving them to brush away the dust in front of him: "Is this not a place for us to live?"
An Qi was shocked when she heard this: "What? Can people live in this place?"
“I’m so sorry!” The village official lowered his head for the umpteenth time, apologizing shamefully, “Because this house is the only vacant one in the village, and no one has lived here for a long time, so it’s a bit dusty.”
Zhao Yi walked in first with a flashlight, followed by Jing Cheng and Professor Fu, and the rest of the people followed the three in.
They looked around the house and found that the space was quite large and there were several empty rooms with a big bed, a kang, a sofa and some simple wooden furniture.
However, it is a square after all. With such a large group of people coming in, even the largest space becomes narrow and cramped.
The young village official walked inside by feeling the wall and touched a thread, which he pulled down with force.
There was a click and the room became bright.
Everyone was dazzled by the sudden light. They squinted for a while before they reacted and looked around the room.
Apart from some dust that has accumulated over the years, the interior of the house is relatively clean.
"It's better than I thought." Xin Guang nodded, "Just think of it as a farm experience."
Mao rolled up her sleeves and quickly looked for a broom and dustpan: "Let's clean the room first. I think I'll be busy for a while tonight."
Professor Fu picked up the mop and turned his head to look around: "Where is the water?"
A female staff member said, "I just saw a well in the yard... Professor Fu, please leave it alone. Xiao Wang and I will go get some water."
An Qi frowned in disgust and walked in slowly: "Since you knew we were coming, why didn't you clean up in advance?"
The village official blushed, pushed up his glasses and said, "Sorry, I forgot."
An Qi rolled her eyes: "... Stop apologizing. You have the courage to apologize but refuse to repent. I know the nature of straight men."
The village official scratched his head and whispered, "My house is nearby. I have prepared some bedding for you and will bring it to you right away."
As he turned around and was about to leave, Jing Cheng quickly stopped him and said with a smile: "Can I go with you? I just happen to have something to talk to you about."
The village official was slightly startled.
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The author has something to say:
There was something wrong with my fingers recently, which affected my typing speed, causing me to update later and later. I'm really sorry_(:з」∠)_
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