Chapter 2. A golden wind rises, the firelight flickers. ...
The wind rose, and the firelight flickered.
Lin Fengzhi's throat tightened with emotion: "Grandmother..."
They called their grandmother "Grandmother," and Lin Fengzhi, following her memory, called her An in the same way. Taking advantage of this sentiment, Lin Fengzhi also vented her own anxiety.
An hugged her. Lin Fengzhi's emotions came and went quickly. Her rationality prevailed, and she analyzed the situation in this moment of tenderness. It was obvious that if she couldn't go back, her identity as a witch would bring her great convenience. If her behavior and temperament were inconsistent with the original owner in the future, she could also attribute it to the so-called gods.
Lin Fengzhi suddenly remembered the burning heat she had just touched, and she looked to the side from An's arms. On the small altar set up for worshipping the gods, covered with yarrow stalks, a boy lay beside her. He seemed to be delirious with fever, his face flushed, his lips chapped and cracked, and he was murmuring weakly.
Lin Fengzhi then realized that she wasn't the only one participating in the sacrificial ceremony.
The women are called witches, and the men are called shamans. The Kolo people only managed to gather one man and one woman, which was really because they had already used up several young men and women of the right age before this.
She kept glancing at the boy, but the people around her only looked at her with excited, fanatical, almost god-worshipping eyes, remaining indifferent to the unconscious, feverish boy. Lin Fengzhi felt a chill run down her spine.
How could two teenagers not collapse? If she hadn't transmigrated, no one would have survived this sacrifice.
It was both a sacrifice and a form of martyrdom.
It was early spring, March or April, and the river was still icy cold. They hadn't even bothered to soak in it until the moon was high in the sky, all for the sake of supposed purification. Then, without stopping, they went to the shrine in the mountains to kneel and pray.
Even the healthiest person would get sick after doing this, let alone two teenagers.
Lin Fengzhi couldn't bear to watch a living person die in front of her. She grabbed An's hand and said, "Grandmother, save him."
She learned from the original owner's memories that those who couldn't survive the test would be left to fend for themselves without any rescue. The previous groups of people were also left to fend for themselves.
An pulled her hand away, her eyes still gentle: "It's not that I don't want to save him, it's that the gods want him. No one can stop the gods from taking him."
Lin Fengzhi was filled with rage. Born under the red flag and raised with scientific education, she couldn't understand how a life could be allowed to slip away because of some unfounded deity. She clenched her fists, but Lin Fengzhi didn't blame An, nor anyone around her. She knew anger was futile.
She blinked, an idea forming in her mind. She imitated the obedient demeanor of the original owner of this body from her memory, then feigned worry: "Grandmother, the God says he likes me and wants to make Qi my deputy. What if he dies and the God blames me?"
An stared at her with his cloudy eyes: "Really?"
Having already lied to this extent, Lin Fengzhi, a believer in materialism, continued without blinking, "Of course, has the Great Mother seen the gods? I have. If it weren't for the gods' mercy, how could I have successfully passed their test?"
An still hesitated. In her sixty-plus years of life, she had participated in hundreds of sacrificial rites, but none of the selections of shamans had been like this. The gods chose a shaman who would remain as a substitute for the chosen ones who hadn't yet passed the test. However, An was also afraid of divine punishment. The situation of the Keluo people was already precarious; if…
The men holding torches surrounded them. One of them said, "An, since the shaman says that even the gods want Qi to stay, let's take Qi back quickly."
An should be very capable; before she could speak and ponder, only the man stepped forward to mediate.
Lin Fengzhi learned the reason from the original owner's memories: the man was the boy's older brother.
Lin Fengzhi decided to add fuel to the fire, saying, "The gods have also told me how to dispel the plague that has been troubling us, the Keluo people."
Upon hearing this, not only An became excited, but everyone around him could not hide their joy.
Immediately, An made up his mind and said, "Take Qi with us, let's go back."
"Wait." Lin Fengzhi stopped the people who were about to leave. She had sharp eyes and spotted several medicinal herbs that could treat colds and fevers. She instructed people to pick them before she would leave.
According to the original owner's memories, people nowadays rely more on herbs and witchcraft to treat illnesses, and witchcraft even holds a greater place in their hearts than herbs. Lin Fengzhi speculates that the current level of medical care is not high, and people don't have much expectation for the herbs stored in the clan.
The torchbearers cleared a path, and Lin Fengzhi staggered slightly as she stood up. Without the torchlight, she discovered that her vision had diminished considerably.
The original owner must have had night blindness. This is quite normal; many people in the Ke Luo community cannot see at night.
She used the light to look at the several herbs that had been picked: catnip, honeysuckle, perilla leaves, bamboo leaf cores, angelica, and ginger—she vaguely remembered that some of them were still kept in the clan. With these herbs, and with careful care, the boy should be able to survive.
The cold moon shone like frost. Lin Fengzhi looked back at the place where she had just performed the sacrifice. It was surrounded by trees and bamboo groves. The majestic wooden and stone buildings in the mountains and forests coldly watched the world, and the statues of gods were hidden deep within the buildings.
Lin Fengzhi thought that in a land where people were ignorant and lacked enlightenment, it was perfectly normal for them to believe in and worship spirits and deities possessing extraordinary power, such as mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas. This was because the forces of nature were sometimes immense and unsolvable. However, it was wrong to harm one's own people because of this.
If she ultimately cannot return, then what she must do is not only to overthrow the useless gods worshipped in the erotic tradition and smash the false temples to pieces, but also to tell them that human will can conquer nature.
Even if it's just leaving behind a spark.
-
As dawn broke, Lin Fengzhi gazed thoughtfully at the rather simple stilt house before her. Stilt houses were suitable for rainy and humid environments, with the upper level for living and the lower level for storage or protection from dampness and wild animals. Compared to later architecture, they lacked much aesthetic appeal, prioritizing practicality above all else.
This is inevitable; when people are struggling to make ends meet, it's hard for them to pay attention to other things.
Lin Fengzhi lifted the straw curtain and stepped inside. Qi's elder brother, Yong, had taken care of Qi all night and was in good spirits. He was also more respectful to Lin Fengzhi than ever before.
The boy, who had been running a high fever last night, had calmed down. Upon seeing Lin Fengzhi, he quickly stood up and said, "Qing, no, Wu, thank you for teaching my elder brother how to save my life. From now on, Qi's life belongs to Wu."
Qing was the original owner's name. After she became a witch, the people in her tribe could not call her by her name, otherwise it would be considered disrespectful.
Lin Fengzhi was speechless at this.
"What feudal remnants?" Lin Fengzhi thought to herself, but she didn't rashly object.
She felt that since she was already there, she should make the best of it, and unless it involved matters of principle, she did not object to the rules of the Keluo people.
Last night, Lin Fengzhi explained in detail to Yong how to take care of Qi. Like her, Qi had lost his temperature after being soaked in water for too long, and his high fever was likely due to an infection. Lin Fengzhi instructed Yong to wrap a heated stone in burlap and place it on the boy's chest to warm him up. She also instructed him to prepare and administer a decoction of herbs such as ginger and bamboo leaf cores. Afterward, she instructed him to monitor his temperature closely and take steps to lower his temperature using physical methods.
Now that the high fever has subsided, I guess I've made it through.
“You don’t need to thank me, thank your brother. He stayed up all night taking care of you.” Lin Fengzhi pressed down on his shoulder so he wouldn’t have to get up. She smelled the burning mugwort in the room and thought it was good to prevent further infection.
Last night, Yong had wanted to ask Lin Fengzhi, the newly appointed shaman, to perform a shamanic prayer for Qi. In his mind, Lin Fengzhi was already a shaman, an envoy of the gods on earth, and the gods wouldn't easily take away a deputy that an envoy desired. Unexpectedly, Lin Fengzhi asked him to do something similar to the physician in the county.
Yong dared not object and did as he was told. When dawn broke, he touched his younger brother's forehead, which had cooled down, and his admiration for Lin Fengzhi grew even stronger.
"Take your medicine three times a day for the next few days, and don't overthink things." Lin Fengzhi wanted to suggest that he eat more meat, but her gaze suddenly fell on the gold ornament on Qi's neck. It was a square ornament, about the size of a thumb, and the workmanship was a bit rough, but the color was bright yellow.
A question mark slowly formed in Lin Fengzhi's mind. It looked like gold? She turned her head again and noticed that Yong also had gold ornaments on him.
Qi thought Lin Fengzhi liked it, so he took off his gold and handed it to her, saying, "Wu, this is for you if you like it."
Lin Fengzhi was caught off guard when a piece of gold jewelry, still warm from her body, was handed to her. She squeezed it; it was hard. The workmanship was indeed rough, containing some impurities that had not been removed, as if it had simply been put into a mold and taken out.
It's real gold.
She still had doubts.
Yong thought she wanted more, so he quickly took off his own gold and gave it to her.
"I don't want it." Lin Fengzhi handed the items back to them, her face inquiring: "Is this gold? How come it's such an ordinary item? It seems like many families in our clan have this."
Lin Fengzhi also came to her senses from her memories. The original owner was engrossed in the cultivation of witchcraft and didn't care much about external things. Last night, Lin Fengzhi had observed carefully that almost everyone had gold and silver on them.
Qi and Yong exchanged a glance, seemingly communicating something with each other.
Finally, Yong made up his mind and said, "Since you are a shaman of our Keluo people, you will have to know everything about the tribe sooner or later. I was thinking of telling you, but it's the same if I tell you now."
The area inhabited by the Korlo people is predominantly mountainous and hilly. Within these mountains flows a river, its waters carrying shimmering golden pebbles. Normally, the discovery of a suspected gold mine should be reported to the authorities. However, human nature is driven by greed, and the Korlo people's discovery of the gold-flowing river was deep within their territory, making it virtually undetectable to ordinary people. Especially since the gold dust was discovered after a certain sacrificial ceremony, the Korlo people increasingly believed it to be a reward from the gods.
So the Keluo people selected some capable and discreet individuals to pan for gold. The placer gold in the river was quite considerable. After mining and smelting for an unknown period of time, every Keluo person had some gold and silver on them.
Lin Fengzhi suddenly realized why she found it rough and impurities. The gold was real gold, but the Keluo people had very few methods and tools to remove the impurities from the placer gold, which was why it looked like this.
“Not many people in the clan know about this, and concealing a gold mine is a serious crime. We don’t dare to take the gold to the county town normally; we only dare to use it to exchange for food and clothing,” Yong said. “We all thought that the gold in the river was a treasure bestowed upon us by the gods. We never imagined that those who participated in the gold panning would fall one after another.”
It's connected.
Lin Fengzhi thought to herself, "This is why the Keluo people are so eager to have a shaman. It's normal that the original owner of this body doesn't know this. She is focused on resonating with the gods and becoming a shaman for the Keluo people as soon as possible, and An Ping rarely bothers her."
What's wrong with them?
“They, they…” Yong’s mind conjured up images of his people, seemingly rejected by the gods, and he felt both pity and fear: “At first, they just had a fever, then large patches of rashes appeared on their bodies. Many of them were coughing, complaining of chest and abdominal pain, and slowly they started vomiting blood, and then… and then they couldn’t survive!”
Lin Fengzhi realized that things were not simple. But her first thought was of the original owner of this body, Qing. A minor girl who sacrificed herself to participate in the witch's trial because of a major event in her clan. And those who had died in the sacrifices before.
She thought, this sounds like some kind of infectious disease.
What a sacrifice this little girl made, alas.
Lin Fengzhi immediately decided to go and see. Yong was very excited and told Qi to rest well. Then, while leading the way, he told Lin Fengzhi about the current situation: "An suggested moving all the sick people to the cave in the shade of Qingcao Mountain. It's not too far from us. An also ordered everyone not to have any contact with them except to deliver food and medicine."
It seems that Ann is very wise, knowing how to isolate people.
"Because all we know right now are those who are gold miners, no one has dared to go there recently."
"Witch, you saved Qi, please save the others too. We pray to the gods for forgiveness."
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