19 Decryption
◎The secret deep in the cave◎
The child fell down just after he finished speaking, and kowtowed to the clan leader in front of him. Immediately, a bump appeared on his head, and he cried loudly in pain.
When everyone heard the child's words, they couldn't help but gasp, their faces changed several times, and they looked at each other, and finally turned their eyes to the clan leader.
Their Mountain God Village is a holy place under the feet of the gods. Outsiders are not allowed to enter because they feel that outsiders will defile their village and blaspheme their mountain gods. In fact, no outsiders have come to the village for fifty years, so everyone has lived smoothly in the past fifty years.
They felt that it was the protection of the mountain god.
Now that an outsider has broken in, how can this be tolerated? Thinking of this, everyone looked at the Qiao brothers and sisters with resentment.
The clan leader's face turned pale, and he was so angry that he blew his beard and glared. He pulled the crying child to the ground and asked again: "Wang family boy, are you telling the truth?"
The child's nose and tears were running, and he couldn't answer clearly.
Mrs. Wang quickly stepped forward to protect her child.
The clan leader looked at Qiao Liu with sharp eyes: "Are you really hiding outsiders in your home?"
Qiao Liu and Ah Qi exchanged a glance, each seeing the nervousness in the other's eyes. Knowing they could no longer conceal the matter, Qiao Liu said, "Master, I rescued those two people at the foot of Banyan Mountain when I passed by a few days ago. Please show some mercy and let them go."
The clan leader sneered, with a murderous look on his face, and led a group of people to Qiao Liu's house.
Only two strong men were left to look after Qiao Liu and Ah Qi.
Ah Qi wiped away her tears and asked, "Brother, are Sister Shu and the others okay?"
Qiao Liu shook his head and looked towards the door. With the clan leader's methods, Miss Shu and the other two would probably be doomed.
…
Shu Yao and Ji Shijing had just finished drinking the hot porridge when they saw a group of people rushing in. They were stunned.
A huge crowd of villagers arrived at the Qiao family compound, and the small courtyard suddenly became crowded. They all had unfriendly expressions, and the leader was the angry clan leader. When he saw Shu Yao and the others, he frowned and shouted, "Who are you? Why are you in my Shanshen Village?"
Facing his questioning, Shu Yao knew that this group of people had ill intentions.
Ji Shijing also put down the bowl and hugged his clothes tighter.
The clan leader had a stool brought over. He sat down and looked at the two of them carefully, with a barely perceptible gleam in his eyes.
Seeing that the two did not respond to the clan leader's words, some of the villagers who were traveling with them became angry. They started to criticize them. The child who had just complained was now nestled in his mother's arms, making faces at Shu Yao, looking like he deserved a beating.
Shu Yao also got a general idea from what everyone was saying. She immediately became alert and took two steps to stand in front of Ji Shijing.
Ji Shijing lowered his head to watch her movements, his eyebrows moving slightly.
The clan leader raised his hand to signal for silence. He stroked his beard and said to Shu Yao and the others, "You have entered our village and violated our taboos. Come, tie them up and lock them up in the ancestral hall."
Shu Yao: "What do you mean? Where are the Qiao brothers and sisters?" She had just looked around in the crowd but didn't see Brother Qiao and Ah Qi. She couldn't help but feel worried, afraid that she would implicate them.
The clan leader said, "By bringing you into the village, they have violated the village rules and must be punished."
Shu Yao felt a little guilty. She had indeed implicated them. She tried to negotiate: "We will leave the village immediately. Please let the Qiao brothers and sisters go."
After hearing this, the clan leader laughed out loud twice, shook his head, and muttered something, but his voice was too soft and no one could hear it clearly.
He waved his hand behind him, and two men holding thick ropes came forward. Without saying a word, they tied up Shu Yao and Ji Shijing, and at the same time tied cloth strips around their mouths.
After the cold wind passed, the yard returned to its former silence, and the two bowls of porridge on the stove had long since lost their temperature.
A crow landed on the stove and pecked at the porridge in the bowl.
Shu Yao and Ji Shijing were tied up and taken to the ancestral hall. Shu Yao's eyes lit up when she saw the Qiao brothers and sisters, but her mouth was tied, so she could only sob.
When Ah Qi saw them, he stood up and wanted to go forward, but was held down by the big man beside him.
The clan leader walked in slowly, glanced at them lying on the ground, and said lightly, "In two days, the Qiao family's little sister will marry the mountain god. Don't miss the auspicious time." Then he changed the subject, "As for these two outsiders, the man will stay in the village as a laborer, and the woman will be dressed in wedding clothes and given to the mountain god."
Marrying a mountain god? What the hell?
Shu Yao was a little confused.
The group walked out of the ancestral hall and locked it. Shu Yao and the other three were locked inside, and each of them was tied up with a thick hemp rope.
She looked at Qiao Liu and Ah Qi and wanted to speak. Ah Qi saw her intention, walked around behind Shu Yao, and helped her untie the cloth strips with his mouth.
Shu Yao couldn't wait to ask the question in her heart: "What is the situation now? Have we implicated you?" Her words were full of self-blame.
Ah Qi shook his head and opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
It was Qiao Liu who took over, his voice somewhat dejected: "It's a long story. Miss Shu, do you remember I told you that our village is not peaceful?"
Shu Yao nodded, she remembered.
He sighed and told her everything that had just happened.
Shu Yao grew increasingly angry as she listened, unable to help but exclaim, "So, that means your village sacrifices a young girl to the mountain god every year?"
"And the virgins who were offered up would mysteriously disappear, and in the end, not even their bodies could be found?"
Qiao Liu nodded.
Shu Yao felt that this matter was a bit strange. She had heard before that in some places in the northwest, there was a tradition of offering sacrifices to the river god. Girls wearing wedding dresses were pushed into the river, under the euphemism of being the bride of the river god.
Only when the river god marries a bride will he bless the area with good weather and good harvests.
But later it was proved that there was no river god in that river, and wanting the river god to protect them was just people's wishful thinking.
Bad habits can cause great harm to people.
The mountain god here is probably playing tricks. I wonder who is killing a girl every year and what is the purpose of doing this?
No wonder she couldn't see any trace of the little girl among the villagers just now. There were only little boys being led by adults.
Considering this, it seems that almost all the girls in this village have been sacrificed.
So terrifying.
Ah Qi tugged at Shu Yao's sleeve, his eyes red: "Sister Shu, what should we do?"
Shu Yao patted her hands: "Don't be afraid, there will be a way."
Ah Qi lowered her head and sobbed softly.
Qiao Liu comforted his sister with heartache.
Ji Shijing leaned against a pillar, seemingly resting his eyes. Mountain god? Ridiculous. There were no gods in this world. There were only evil spirits that had crawled out of hell.
He looked at Shu Yao again. This woman was so pitiful. Her husband died suddenly on the day of her first wedding. A fire broke out on the night of her second wedding. And the third wedding... Ha.
For some reason, he felt a vague expectation in his heart: would this woman marry for the fourth time?
Noticing his gaze, Shu Yao turned her head to look at him, and saw that there was still a cloth tied in his mouth, so she used her teeth to help him untie it.
But Ji Shijing was too tall. She stood on tiptoe behind him and struggled to untie him. Her lips accidentally rubbed the back of his neck, but she didn't notice at all.
Ji Shijing shuddered, his Adam's apple rolled, and an unknown emotion flashed in his eyes.
After some effort, she finally helped him pull off the cloth, then she sat on the ground and began to think about how to escape.
Ji Shijing also sat down, staring at the ground, not looking at the person next to him.
On the other side, Ah Qi had stopped crying. She looked at the dark sky outside with deep fear in her eyes.
Shu Yao still had some questions in her mind. She turned to Qiao Liu and asked, "Brother Qiao, where will the girl who marries the mountain god be sent to in the end?"
Qiao Liu: "There's a mountain behind this temple, and on the mountainside is a cave. Women who marry the mountain god are sent deep into the cave."
Shu Yao then asked, "Brother Qiao, have you ever been to that cave?"
Qiao Liu shook his head: "That is a forbidden area. Outsiders are not allowed to approach. Usually only the clan leaders can enter."
Shu Yao seemed to be lost in thought, and finally asked, "Brother Qiao, Ah Qi, do you believe that there really are mountain gods?"
When this question came out, Qiao Liu and Ah Qi were stunned. Are there really mountain gods? This question had never occurred to them.
She smiled and changed the subject: "Is the clan leader the old man just now?"
Ah Qi: "The clan leader is already ninety-nine this year. He has great prestige in our village. If he says there is a mountain god, then there must be one. No one in our village dares to disobey him."
Shu Yao frowned, feeling that there was something wrong with this clan leader. Perhaps if she wanted to break the situation, she had to start with this person.
Thinking of this, she had an idea.
The north wind was howling at night, and Shu Yao and Ji Shijing were leaning against a pillar to rest.
She didn't sleep well at all that night.
If the season is clean, you will have a sleepless night.
Early the next morning, a child came to deliver food.
When Qiao Liu arrived, he was a little excited and waved hurriedly: "Xiao Shunzi, what's the situation outside now?"
Xiao Shunzi had a good relationship with Qiao Liu. He brought the steamed buns in front of them and replied, "Brother Qiao, the village is hanging red wedding silks now. Sister Aqi will be married to the mountain god tomorrow." After he said that, he looked at Aqi and felt a little reluctant. After all, she was the sister who grew up with him.
Shu Yao took the opportunity to ask, "Where is your clan leader now?"
Xiao Shunzi scratched his head: "It seems that he went to the Mountain God Cave."
Shu Yao knew her chance had come, and she begged, "Little brother, can you take me to the Mountain God Cave?"
Perhaps the secret of the mountain god lies in the mountain god cave.
Xiao Shunzi waved his hands quickly, he didn't dare to do that.
Shu Yao continued to fight: "Just take me to the cave entrance." After that, she looked at Qiao Liu again, hoping that he would say a few words for her.
Although Qiao Liu didn't know what Shu Yao was up to, at this critical moment, he was willing to trust her. He looked at Xiao Shunzi and said, "Xiao Shunzi, your brother Qiao hasn't asked you for anything. Just take this sister to the back mountain and bring her to the cave entrance today, okay?"
Xiao Shunzi pursed his lips. When he was a child, he almost drowned in the river. Fortunately, he was saved by Brother Qiao. He knew how to repay kindness, so he nodded.
Shu Yao quickly thanked him.
Xiao Shunzi helped her untie the ropes, and the two of them walked towards the back mountain together. Fortunately, it was just daybreak and there were not many people on the road.
But the two of them still walked extremely carefully.
In the Citang, Ah Qi asked Qiao Liu: "Brother, why did Sister Shu go to the Mountain God Cave?"
Qiao Liu said, "Your sister Shu has her own considerations."
Ji Shijing watched the white figure walking farther and farther away until it completely disappeared from his sight. He then withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes and continued to lean against the pillar to rest.
Xiao Shunzi took Shu Yao up the mountain. The mountain was filled with thick fog and the road was unclear. Thanks to Xiao Shunzi's reminder, she did not step on empty air.
The sky was getting brighter and brighter, and the two finally reached the halfway point of the mountain.
There is an extremely hidden cave entrance halfway up the mountain. If you don’t look carefully, you can’t find it at all. At this time, a row of footprints appeared in the snow at the entrance of the cave, as if someone had just walked in.
Xiao Shunzi reminded her: "Don't go into the cave and disturb the mountain god."
Shu Yao turned around and smiled at him: "Thank you, little brother."
Xiao Shunzi laughed dryly twice, then ran away at the speed of light.
Shu Yao came back to her senses and looked at the pitch-black cave entrance in front of her. She felt inexplicably frightened, but she still stepped in.
She must find out the secret of the mountain god.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
