22 Pest Control
◎Evildoers will be punished◎
The attic had been in disrepair for a long time, and it was built in such a damp cave. The door had no resistance at all, and it collapsed to the ground after being kicked a few times by the crowd.
"Snap—" a gust of cold wind blew up instantly, and the candles in the room flickered a few times and almost went out.
I saw that the entrance was full of villagers from Shanshen Village. They were all filled with righteous indignation and had ugly faces. Some women even shed tears. It was a pity that their daughters were killed and died by having their hearts cut out.
Before they kicked down the door, the clan leader's knife had already fallen on Shu Yao's neck, but at this time a crow flew out from nowhere and pecked out one of his eyes.
The clan leader felt pain and the knife in his hand slipped. He covered his eyes and screamed, blood flowing out from between his fingers and winding on his skin that was as dry as a dead tree.
Shu Yao was still in shock. The knife had almost taken her life. She touched her neck as if she had escaped death, then pulled Ah Qi up from the ground and ran to the villagers. She didn't dare to delay for a moment until she stood behind Qiao Liu. Only then did her heart completely calm down.
Qiao Liu looked at Ah Qi nervously, pulling her to look left and right, and asked with concern: "Are you okay?"
Ah Qi shook his head, still in shock: "Brother, I'm fine."
Qiao Liu looked at Shu Yao again, and Shu Yao shook her head at him, indicating that everything was fine.
Only then did Qiao Liu breathe a sigh of relief.
Shu Yao stood beside him, closed her eyes, and then turned her gaze to the old man on the ground. She wanted to see how the clan leader would explain to the villagers.
She had just seen shadowy figures outside the door, so the conversation she had just had with the clan leader was deliberately spoken for everyone outside to hear.
The villagers found their way deep into the cave and stepped lightly for fear of disturbing the mountain god. The clan leader was old and deaf, so he naturally couldn't hear anything. Moreover, he had his back to the door, making it even more impossible for him to notice anything unusual.
The clan leader covered his eyes with one hand and slowly turned around. His one still intact but extremely cloudy eye looked at everyone: "This is the forbidden land of the mountain god, how dare you trespass!"
The villagers are not buying his nonsense now. They have just heard clearly that there is no mountain god in the village at all. It is the old man in front of them who is playing tricks.
When they thought about how they had been fooled for so many years, they became extremely angry. Someone picked up a broken jar and threw it directly at the clan leader.
The clan leader stared fiercely at the villagers in front of him with one eye.
A woman, wiping her tears, pointed at him and said in a hoarse voice, "You beast, give me back my daughter's life."
As soon as these words were spoken, the women whose daughters had been sacrificed began to attack him, wishing to peel off his skin, pull out his bones, and drink his blood.
But some people still refused to believe the truth, such as the old man from before. His hands were shaking violently, but he still asked the clan leader respectfully: "Clan leader, is there some misunderstanding here? How can our Mountain God Village not have a mountain god?"
The clan leader sneered twice, his eyes swept over everyone, taking in their expressions, and slowly said, "Twenty-five years ago, I fell seriously ill and coughed up blood for several months. There was no medicine to cure it."
"I only remember that winter was bitterly cold. I lay in the house all night without sleeping. I was afraid of dying, but I didn't want to die."
He lowered his head and chuckled twice: "If I don't die, someone must die for me." After saying that, he raised his eyes again and put down the hand that was covering his eyes. There was only a bloody hole left where the crow had pecked it, which looked horrifying.
Some timid people turned their heads away and dared not look at him.
The clan leader continued, "Ancient books record that a woman's heart can prolong a man's life."
"So you killed so many innocent women?" Qiao Liu couldn't help but ask.
The clan leader disagreed: "What's the use of girls? But they can prolong my life, so it can be considered a good deed."
Qiao Liu shook his head in disbelief. Is this still the clan leader he knew?
Everyone's faces looked very ugly.
The clan leader looked at the woman who had just spoken: "When your daughter died, she was still shouting, 'Mom, save me!'"
After saying this, he looked at the other woman and said, "Your girl is very stubborn. I almost let her run away. Later, I cut off one of her legs and dragged her back into the cave."
“…”
The villagers became angrier as they listened, especially the women who had just learned how their daughters had been murdered. They were heartbroken and some even fainted from crying.
"Are you still human? You beast."
"You watched Xiaohua grow up, how could you be so cruel?"
"Ah, my child..."
The sound of villagers wailing could be heard all around.
The clan leader's face was cold and indifferent. He stood up tremblingly and said, "A woman's heart really has the power to bring the dead back to life. Look at me. I was a dying man back then, but now I am more energetic than you. This proves that my method of longevity is correct."
What he said became more and more crazy: "Let's capture all the women in the village and cut out their hearts, so that we can achieve immortality." He looked at the men present with a crazy expression, as if seeking their approval.
But everyone present thought that the clan leader was crazy.
Shu Yao spoke up at the right time: "Eating human hearts is extremely cruel. How is it different from being a demon? Besides, you sacrificed so many young lives in exchange for a half-body buried in the ground. Do you think it's fair?"
"It's completely nonsense that eating human hearts can prolong life."
The clan leader was very excited and retorted: "What do you know, you little girl?"
At this time, an elderly man, about the same age as the clan leader, stepped forward and said, "Clan leader, twenty-five years ago you only had a common cold. Why are you coughing up blood every day? The doctor said it's because you're worried too much."
The old man sighed and continued, "People in our Shanshen Village are known for their longevity. Aside from some who died of freezing or starvation, many of us live to be ninety-nine. I'm even one year older than you."
The clan leader's chest heaved violently. He firmly believed that he was still alive because of those twenty-five hearts.
He pointed at the old man in front of him with his right hand trembling: "You are talking nonsense."
The old man shook his head, his face sad.
The clan leader once again looked at everyone and suddenly laughed ferociously, his tone dark: "You mortals don't understand at all. What I want is immortality, immortality."
After saying that, he turned around and pounced on the raw meat on the table, grabbed it and stuffed it into his mouth. His face was swollen, his eye sockets were about to burst, and the veins on his forehead were bulging.
Everyone was startled by his sudden action.
He stuffed two large pieces of bloody raw meat into his stomach, turned around again, a weird smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and finally he fell straight back.
Everyone rushed forward to check. The clan leader was lying straight on the ground, his only eye wide open, and the corners of his mouth were full of raw meat scraps.
Someone touched his nose and found that he was dead.
Everyone said he died from eating too much raw meat.
Some angry villagers even kicked him a few times. If he wasn't stuffed to death, they would definitely not let him go.
Ji Shijing stood in a dark corner, witnessing everything that was happening before his eyes.
The word "immortality" is really tempting, but for him, he just wants to live in this world, one day longer is better.
He turned around and walked out step by step.
Shu Yao was standing outside the crowd. Only then did she think of Ji Shijing. She looked around and asked Qiao Liu, "Brother Qiao, where is my little brother?"
Qiao Liu touched his head and said, "The young master just came up with us." After saying that, he looked around and found that Ji Shijing was nowhere to be seen. This was strange.
Shu Yao got up and went outside to look for it.
She didn't know when the cold wind started blowing again. As soon as she came out of the cave, she felt the cold wind blowing. She sneezed twice, rubbed her nose, wrapped her clothes tightly, and walked down the mountain.
Fortunately, I had just walked a short distance when I saw that familiar thin figure, with his long sleeves fluttering in the wind, as if he was about to fall down at any moment.
She trotted a few steps to catch up with him, tilting her head to look at him: "Ah Jing, did you go into the Mountain God Cave with everyone just now?"
"Yeah." His voice was blown away by the wind and could not be heard at all unless you listened carefully.
She asked again: "The scene in the room didn't scare you, did it?"
Ji Shijing glanced at her lightly, kept his mouth shut, and coughed twice in silence.
Shu Yao walked side by side with him: "This time, we have helped the village get rid of a disaster. Otherwise, who knows how many more girls would have suffered from the evil hands."
Ji Shijing frowned slightly. What does other people’s life and death have to do with them?
His steps became weaker and weaker, and he had no choice but to lean against a big tree to take a break.
Shu Yao was a little worried: "Are you okay?"
He suppressed the fishy-sweet taste in his throat, shook his head, and continued walking forward.
Shu Yao stared at his back, feeling quite helpless. It was really a waste of his mouth. He didn't answer any questions, just like a little mute.
…
At night, the wind and snow were even worse.
Shu Yao and the others gathered around the stove to light a fire. Ah Qi held her arm and said reluctantly, "Sister Shu, are you really leaving tomorrow?"
Shu Yao nodded: "Next time there is a chance, Sister Shu will take you to the capital to play."
She and Ji Shijing had been away from home for so many days, and she didn't know what the Ji Mansion was like now. Perhaps the Ji Mansion had been taken over by Ji Dayong's family.
If this is true, then she and Ji Shijing might not even have a place to live, not to mention that all the Ji family's assets will fall into the hands of others. But these should obviously belong to Ji Shijing. She has to fight for it. At the very least, she can get some good farmland and shops. As long as they have income, she and he can gain a foothold in the capital.
She also wanted to wait until she had established herself in the capital before bringing the Qiao brothers and sisters over.
The matches crackled, and Qiao Liu tried to persuade her to stay: "Miss Shu, would you please stay a few more days?"
Because Shu Yao helped their village eliminate a big disaster this time, everyone no longer minded Shu Yao and Ji Shijing living in the village.
Shu Yao smiled and said, "I have some things to do when I return to Beijing this time. I'll come back to stay for a few days later."
Ah Qi blinked her big, twinkling eyes and said, "Sister Shu, you must come back."
Shu Yao touched her hair affectionately and nodded. As if she suddenly remembered something, she stood up, took out the washed red clothes from the house and handed them to Ah Qi.
Ah Qi took it excitedly: "Thank you, Sister Shu." Then she put the clothes on her body and gestured, dancing with joy. She finally had new clothes to wear.
The next day, just after dawn, an old man pulling an ox cart knocked on the door of the Qiao family. After hearing the noise, Qiao Liu got up, dressed, and handed the old man a bowl of hot tea.
When it was a little brighter, Shu Yao and Ji Shijing had packed up. They got on the old man's ox cart and said goodbye to Aqi and Qiao Liu.
After the oxcart had gone far away, Ah Qi started to cry quietly. Qiao Liu comforted her: "Don't cry, little sister. Sister Shu will come back again."
The village road was quiet, with only the sound of wheels.
The old man waved his bullwhip and turned to look at Shu Yao kindly: "Little girl, to be honest, I have to thank you so much. Only then can we see the true face of that beast."
Shu Yao scratched her head a little embarrassedly.
The old man glanced at the sky in the distance again and continued, "Girls, it will take about half a day to get from our village to the capital. If you feel sleepy, you can take a rest on the ox cart.
Shu Yao: "Thank you."
The old man stroked his beard and laughed heartily twice.
Shu Yao looked at Ji Shijing opposite her and saw him sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, resting. She was also sleepy, so she dozed off.
The cold wind stopped quietly.
Ji Shijing slowly opened his eyes and stared at the sleeping face of the person opposite him.
The ox cart bumped along the way and finally arrived at the city gate near noon.
Shu Yao wanted to give the old man some compensation, but she had no money at all. She touched her hair again and found that there was no hairpin on her head that could be used as payment. She was extremely poor.
For a moment, she felt a little embarrassed.
The old man seemed to see her concerns and said, "Qiao Liu has already paid the toll, so there is no need to worry."
She was slightly surprised.
The old man continued, "We have arrived at the capital. I still need to go to other villages to buy food. I will leave first."
After the old man left, Shu Yao and Ji Shijing went into the city.
As soon as she walked into the city gate, she saw the people running in one direction. She wondered if something had happened in the city.
She asked the woman who had just walked by with a basket of vegetables, "What's wrong with everyone? Why are they all running over there?"
The old lady said, "That's the execution ground. A few days ago, they caught a group of bandits and they're going to be beheaded there today." After thinking for a moment, the old lady came closer to her mysteriously and said, "I heard it seems to be the group of bandits from Banyan Mountain."
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