21 Truth
◎The Art of Immortality◎
The marriage ceremony had not yet ended, and Qiao Liu and Ji Shijing were still tied up in the ancestral hall.
Qiao Liu looked at the handsome and silent boy next to him and wanted to speak several times, but finally swallowed his words.
He always felt that the other party was unwilling to pay attention to him.
And I haven't heard him say a word in such a long time, could he be a mute? Thinking of this, Qiao Liu turned his head and looked at Ji Shijing again, his eyes showing inquiry.
But he quickly looked away.
The windows of the ancestral hall were blown open by the cold wind. Ji Shijing looked at the sky outside, his expression cold. Then he looked at Qiao Liu and said slowly, "It's time."
The voice was cold and hoarse.
When Qiao Liu met those dark and calm eyes, his heart suddenly shocked. He reacted after hearing his words and then hurriedly stood up. Because his hands and feet were tied, he could only jump to the window and imitate the birds and beasts in the mountains and forests to make two long calls.
The village was silent. The villagers all went to the foot of the mountain, hoping to get some of the blessing from the mountain god to marry a wife. They looked at the middle of the mountain with hope in their eyes, praying for the god's blessing.
Xiao Shunzi moved his ears, and after hearing the two familiar calls, he quietly left the crowd and ran all the way to the ancestral hall.
Because he ran so fast, one of his shoes fell off.
He opened the door to the ancestral hall and ran to Qiao Liu: "Brother Qiao."
Qiao Liu quickly said, "Xiao Shunzi, help me untie the rope."
His tone was anxious, and Xiao Shunzi didn't dare to delay for a moment. He quickly helped Qiao Liu untie the ropes on his hands and feet, and then went to untie Ji Shijing.
After being freed, the three headed towards the back mountain.
Ji Shijing was walking at the back, breathing slightly. When he was about to reach the bottom of the mountain, he staggered and half-knelt on the ground, covering his chest tightly with his right hand and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Qiao Liu and Xiao Shunzi in front heard the noise and looked behind them, then their faces changed drastically.
Ji Shijing just waved at them and let them go first.
A crow flew from a distance and landed on his shoulder. His expression did not change, he just gently stroked its feathers. The crow flapped its wings and flew away again, flying towards the middle of the mountain.
Ji Shijing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the corner of his clothes, stood up, and walked forward with unsteady steps.
He was not in good health to begin with, and what had happened in the past few days had caused the cold to enter his body, making his already weak body even worse. Perhaps he really would not survive this winter. Thinking of this, he suddenly smiled self-deprecatingly.
He refused to accept this fate.
When Qiao Liu arrived at the foot of the mountain, he asked Xiao Shunzi to blend into the crowd first.
Then he reappeared in front of everyone. Everyone was surprised when they saw Qiao Liu. Wasn't he imprisoned in the ancestral hall? How did he get out?
An older man walked up to him and said, "Qiao Liu, how dare you leave the ancestral hall without the clan leader's permission? You are so disrespectful to your elders."
Qiao Liu looked at the people in front of him and said, "I came here this time to tell you something."
Everyone looked at each other with a hint of confusion in their eyes. At this time, a young man in the crowd shouted, "Qiao Liu, today is the auspicious day for the mountain god to marry a wife. You must not ruin the mountain god's elegant mood."
"It's a blessing for your sister that the mountain god has taken a liking to her. Please don't ruin her good fortune."
"I guess he's talking to the mountain god right now..." The young man said, and suddenly he smiled with an ambiguous expression.
The people around also started whispering.
Qiao Liu clenched his hands at his sides into fists, closed his eyes, and forced himself to calm down. When he opened them again, he continued, "Our ancestors said there are several boxes of treasure buried in our Shanshen Village. Does anyone know where they are?"
When everyone heard the word "treasure", their eyes lit up immediately. It was the old man in the lead who spoke first: "Qiao family kid, what do you mean by this?"
Qiao Liu pointed to the sacred mountain in front of him and said, "The treasure is in the big mountain behind you."
As soon as the words came out, everyone looked towards the mountain in front of them, and some people had already taken a few steps up the mountain.
The old man lowered his head and thought for a moment, then continued, "Qiao family kid, are you serious?"
In order to increase his credibility, Qiao Liu patted his chest.
Everyone immediately became interested and no longer questioned his fault for escaping from the ancestral hall. They all asked, "Where is the treasure?"
Qiao Liu said word by word: "Mountain God Cave."
But as soon as he finished speaking, someone jumped out to refute him: "If there was a treasure in the cave, the clan leader would have told us all long ago." After all, only the clan leader could enter that cave.
Qiao Liu continued calmly, "Those are several boxes of treasure. How do you know if the clan guild will take them for themselves?"
Everyone looked solemn, as if they were thinking.
Seeing everyone hesitant, Qiao Liu added fuel to the fire: "We can find out whether it's true or not by going up the mountain and taking a look ourselves."
"But today the mountain god is getting married. It would be a great sin if we offend him." Some timid people immediately backed out and waved their hands to indicate that they did not want to go.
But more people looked at Qiao Liu excitedly, hoping that he would take them to dig for treasure. Qiao Liu naturally understood what the villagers were thinking, so he said, "Don't worry, the treasure is at the entrance of the cave. We will take the treasure and leave. We will definitely not disturb the mountain god."
After hearing what he said, everyone felt a little relieved.
Shanshen Village is closed and poor, and some households even have no food to eat. These boxes of treasure are undoubtedly a huge temptation for them. In order to live a better life, they are willing to take the risk.
Even the old man at the beginning was moved.
Now everyone's attitude is clear. Qiao Liu is the first to go up the mountain, and everyone follows him.
Ji Shijing held onto the tree trunk and coughed violently. He looked up at the mountain in front of him, pursed his blood-stained lips, and followed step by step.
Fortunately, the mountain was not high, and everyone reached the halfway point in a short while. At the entrance of the mountain god's cave, there were two villagers guarding there. They were surprised to see everyone coming here in such a large group.
After understanding the reason, they immediately moved down the huge rock blocking the cave entrance, and the dark cave became bright again.
Just looking at this cave, no one dared to step into it first, after all, it was a forbidden area.
Qiao Liu also hesitated for a moment. The mountain god cave in front of him was a place he had revered since he was a child.
The group hesitated in front of the cave in silence for a long time, but in the end no one dared to step into the cave first.
Ji Shijing looked at the group of people standing in front of the cave with cold eyes. His eyes darkened and he dragged his sick body in.
When the people saw a stranger entering the cave, they realized that their village treasure could not be given to an outsider. So they entered the cave one after another.
However, after searching around the cave entrance, they still couldn't find any trace, so Qiao Liu signaled everyone to go further inside.
…
As soon as they reached the second floor, the clan leader immediately showed a ferocious face. He locked the door tightly, then took out a sharp knife standing by the door and slashed straight at the backs of the two men.
Shu Yao saw the shadow of a man holding a large knife on the ground and felt something was wrong. She reacted quickly and pushed Ah Qi away, but she failed to dodge in time and was cut by the sharp knife. The blood sprayed onto the window, which was shocking.
Before Ah Qi could react to what happened, she only saw Shu Yao covering her bloody arm. She screamed "Ah" and wanted to get up to help Shu Yao, but her hands and feet had lost strength and she was so limp that she couldn't get up.
Ah Qi was already crying in anxiety.
Shu Yao endured the severe pain and retreated step by step. In front of her was a demon holding a knife, approaching step by step. The blood on the tip of the knife dripped onto the ground, making a slight sound.
There was no way to retreat, as the altar was right behind her.
The clan leader suddenly stopped, dropped the big knife in his hand, and wiped the blood off his body with a handkerchief.
Shu Yao clutched the corner of the table tightly, her body trembling slightly with fear: "Where is the mountain god?"
The clan leader laughed out loud as if he had heard a joke. Tears came out of his eyes. He pointed at himself and said, "I am the mountain god."
Ah Qi lying on the ground had shock in his eyes.
Shu Yao took a deep breath and continued to ask, "Why do you want to pretend to be a mountain god?"
The clan leader seemed to be certain that they wouldn't be able to escape, so he moved a stool and slowly sat down, not forgetting to take a sip of the tea on the table. He smacked his lips twice before asking Shu Yao a strange question: "Little girl, do you believe that people can live forever?"
Shu Yao was a little confused and did not answer.
He didn't seem to care about Shu Yao's answer, and continued to talk to himself: "I am ninety years old this year, but I feel stronger than when I was twenty. Do you know why?"
Shu Yao looked at the withered old face in front of her and the pair of extremely turbid eyes, which were mixed with too much filth and sin, and she was afraid that they could never be washed away in this lifetime.
Shu Yao followed up his question and asked, "Why?"
The clan leader was somewhat smug: "Ancient books record that eating a woman's heart can prolong one's life."
After hearing this, she instantly understood the purpose of the clan leader's actions.
Ah Qi also opened her mouth in disbelief. No matter how stupid she was, she understood the meaning of the clan leader's words.
For so many years, the clan leader has been playing tricks and harming innocent girls under the pretext of the mountain god marrying a wife. I'm afraid that the girls who were married into the cave before had their hearts dug out by the clan leader.
As she thought about it, she suddenly burst into tears.
Shu Yao took a deep breath and said, "So, for your own selfish reasons, you deceived the entire village and harmed countless women. Aren't you afraid that the villagers will find out?"
The clan leader was even more disdainful: "Those idiots will never discover this secret."
"Over the years, the mountain god has taken root in their hearts. They have to believe in it whether they want to or not."
Shu Yao felt very complicated. If the villagers knew that the god they worshipped was actually a demon with a human face and a beast's heart, they would be so disappointed.
Years of belief collapsed like a building toppling over, leaving me feeling suffocated and hopeless.
Seeing that Shu Yao didn't say anything, the clan leader continued, "Did you see that pile of bones at the foot of the stairs? There are exactly twenty-five corpses there. It is thanks to the hearts of those twenty-five women that I have been able to live a long and healthy life."
"Beast." Shu Yao couldn't suppress her anger after hearing this.
The clan leader didn't care at all. He pointed at Ah Qi and her and said, "Soon you will become one of them. I will be gentle and let you die in your sleep, okay? Hahahaha."
Ah Qi's lips trembled as she stared at the clan leader with hatred. She could not imagine that the truth of the matter was like this.
In a trance, she remembered that when she was hungry, the clan leader brought her a bowl of hot white rice and said, "Girl, eat quickly, don't go hungry."
But why has it become like this now?
Perhaps, the clan leader had already set his eyes on her at that time. There were fewer and fewer girls in the village, and he wanted to protect her and let her grow up safely until she was fifteen years old, and then dig out her heart with his own hands.
Ah Qi closed his eyes in despair.
Shu Yao asked calmly, "You've been involved in so many deaths, have you ever regretted it?"
The clan leader paused.
Every time he woke up in the middle of the night, he could always hear the cries of women. Perhaps those girls came to take his life, but he wanted to live. What was wrong with him? The fault was those girls. They shouldn't have been born here.
"It's my blessing that they can extend my life." He shouted loudly, as if trying to cover up the uneasiness in his heart.
Shu Yao shook her head, what a stubborn person.
An incense stick of time had passed. The clan leader looked at Shu Yao and Ah Qi who had not fainted yet, and he suddenly panicked. The two glasses of wine at the door were both filled with soul-soothing powder. People would definitely become limp within an incense stick of time, but the two people in front of him were still fine.
What exactly went wrong?
Just as he was thinking, Shu Yao suddenly smiled at him: "Master, you will soon see the villagers' reaction after they know the truth."
Before the clan leader had time to think about what this meant, he heard banging on the door and angry curses from a group of people.
Only then did he realize that he had fallen into a trap set by someone else. He didn't know how much of his conversation was overheard by the people outside the door, but he knew he was finished.
The clan leader looked at Shu Yao, his eyes bloodshot and his face twisted with anger. He picked up the machete that had been thrown on the ground and slashed at her quickly: "I will kill you."
"Bang--"
After a loud bang, the door collapsed.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
