A sound of pleasure
Tianshu was on this trip with an important mission from the heavens, and he had to ask for the help of all the immortals and gods he could. Although his true body had sealed off most of its divine power when it descended into the mortal world, it was still enough to communicate with his own people without being discovered. Tianshu used a little divine power and communicated with the two gate gods.
After receiving a positive answer, Tianshu said, "You can go in."
"Why didn't you say you could come in earlier? What have you been thinking about for so long?" As he said that, Heqi pushed the door open.
After the tightly closed ancestral hall door was pushed open, the candles inside instantly ignited, illuminating the room. A damp, musty smell emanated from the room, and through the candlelight, all one could see was dust floating in the air. The four of them sat outside for a while before daring to go inside.
The Huamian Village Ancestral Hall was just as rumored. Instead of offering a ranking position, it enshrined a steamer. However, this steamer wasn't as big as the ones used for steaming people. It was just the size of a regular steamed bun, just a bit taller.
From a distance, it looks like it is made of iron.
After the dust and musty smell had dissipated somewhat, they entered the house. They took a closer look, wiping off the thick layer of dust covering the steamer, and found it was indeed made of iron.
"It's all iron. It's really rich."
Ah Li said, "There's a second half to the legend about the steamer in Huamian Village. It might be true. If it is, then we've found a record of this village."
"This room is so small, I think there must be some secret passage. Let's look carefully." Tianshu reminded.
Upon hearing this, several people really started searching in the house. Seeing this, Tianshu slowly approached the entrance mechanism of the secret passage that the door god mentioned.
Ah Li's first choice was the pile of steamers. She picked the closest one and turned it half a circle. There was no response, but the things in the steamer made a collision sound due to the movement.
She subconsciously opened the steamer lid and saw another skull inside. Under the skull was a pile of ashes, which were slightly damaged by her shaking just now.
After what happened with the skull in the steamer just now, the scene before her no longer stirred any ripples in A-li's heart, let alone fear.
"This shows how much they like steamers. They want to use a steamer as an urn after they die. They even save the trouble of having a memorial tablet and just carve one directly on the steamer. When they think about being put in it after death, aren't they afraid that the wronged souls will be angry when they see the steamer? They really have no guilt, what a bunch of perverts." My cousin was very unhappy and rolled her eyes at those steamer urns several times.
"This village is full of cannibalism. How can you expect him to have any conscience?"
The three of them looked towards Hua Xuandu, the one who had spoken, and realized that he had already climbed up to the stepped shelf where the ashes were displayed. At that moment, he was leaning over and struggling to turn the incense burner at the top.
As Hua Xuandu turned the steamer vigorously, the entire stone wall behind it shook, then slowly rose. Behind the stone wall was a huge cave. Above the cave, a beam of light shone down, illuminating a stone statue nearly as tall as the cave entrance.
Entering the cave, Ah Li sighed, "The outside is not the ancestral hall, this is probably the ancestral hall."
Because the cave was so big, Ahri's voice echoed several times in the cave.
Behind the stone wall led to a staircase that must have been at least a hundred steps. As they descended, their legs grew weak and trembling. Standing on the stairs, the statue's full appearance was finally revealed.
The stone statue has three heads, each with the characteristic "Buddha's crown" (a type of crown) of a Buddha statue. Each has large earlobes and wears a large earring. Each head looks in a different direction, each with a different expression: one smiling, one angry, and one crying. All three sit cross-legged.
Facing them was anger.
When he was smiling, you could see the corners of his mouth curved up just by looking at the side profile. The arc of his mouth was very large and very obvious.
The crying head had a sad expression, the corners of its mouth drooping slightly. There seemed to be a water outlet where the eyes were, with water flowing down like a small waterfall.
Facing them was an angry head with four eyes, two by two, with a furrowed brow and wide-open eyes, staring straight ahead with a somewhat ferocious expression.
The statue sits cross-legged, one hand resting on its knee, the other grasping a stone pillar as tall as its body. The overall impression it gives is that of a "wild Buddha," as the locals call it.
He Qi asked, "Could this be the legendary mountain god of Huamian Village?"
"Regardless of whether it is a wild mountain god, this stone statue is most likely not a good thing. You must not worship it as a Buddha or immortal god, let alone offer it as a sacrifice. It is a bit like the wild Buddha circulated among the people." Tianshu said.
“And the wild Buddha?”
"Yes, there's a rumor among us that when the Buddha's eyes are wide open, he can bless the world; when he closes his eyes completely, he's most likely a wild Buddha; when he opens his eyes halfway, he's a demonic Buddha; and when he smiles with his eyes wide open, with the ends curved, he's a demonic Buddha. Have you heard of anything like this?"
Ahri asked, "No. What does that mean?"
Tianshu explained, "There are many statues of gods in the world, but some are good and some are bad. Those in temples are good Buddhas that protect the world, while the rumor I just mentioned describes a bad Buddha. For example, records describe ghost Buddhas as having empty eyes, eyes wide open, half-open, or laughing strangely; while evil Buddhas have bright eyes, with eyeballs smiling or laughing; wild Buddhas are often found in the mountains, with eyes half open or completely closed, with white tear marks, and laughing. However, what I just said is not absolute. There are many versions circulating among the people, and even now, no one knows which one is true. But it can be used as a reference. In short, it is best not to worship these stone statues of unknown origin. After all, no one knows what is inside the stone statues."
"It's hard to say whether this stone statue is the wild mountain god of Huamian Village. Let's take a look at the records on the steamers first."
The four of them approached the large altar facing the stone statue. Unlike the altars in the ancestral hall outside, this one was carved from a natural boulder.
Moreover, it is dozens of times larger.
Contrary to rumors, the steamers here are all double-layered. Wiping off the thick layer of dust on top, the words chiseled into the iron steamer are revealed.
It read: "Villager Hua Hu, died at the age of 35. He brought back thirteen brides from the outside world, marrying them off to nine families. He gave birth to a total of twenty-four sons and fifteen daughters (after feeding). He was recognized for his contribution to the prosperity of the family and was enshrined in the ancestral hall."
"There's a parenthesis with 'eaten and finished' written after the baby girl. What does that mean?" Questioning this, Ah Li wiped the dust off another steamer and read the words on it. "Villager Hua Hesheng died at the age of 26. He brought back 17 brides from the outside world, who married into 11 families. They gave birth to a total of 30 sons and 24 baby girls. Eaten and finished. For her contribution to the prosperity of the family, she was enshrined in the ancestral hall. This baby girl above is also enshrined with 'eaten and finished' written in parentheses. What exactly does this mean?"
"From the literal meaning, it should mean that they have finished eating." He Qi said slowly. Seeing everyone looking at him, He Qi asked back: "Isn't it possible? What are those steamers outside for? Didn't you see it? We turned over several steamers. Did you see any names that looked like they were for girls?"
As he spoke, Heqi climbed onto the altar, wiped the places where names were written on each steamer, and then read out the names on them.
"I've read them all. Have you heard any names that sound like girls' names? There aren't even names like Zhaodi or Niandi! Could it be that these women who gave birth to children didn't contribute to the prosperity of the family? There aren't any girls with other surnames, or girls with the surname Hua."
The three of them acquiesced, unable to object. In this village of feudal superstition and strange behavior, many past events shocked them.
"This place is so important, there must be records. Once we find them, everything will be revealed."
He Qi was feeling a little down. He shook his head and said, "Let's go back. I don't want to read those records anymore. They're too disgusting. I can't accept it."
"But if we leave like this, perhaps no one will reveal the ugly behavior of the villagers of Huamian Village to the world, and the misery of the victims will never be known. People will still think this is a desirable paradise, a place of rich treasures, and there will always be people looking for it, resulting in more casualties."
After hearing what Tianshu said, Heqi was silent for a moment, but still agreed: "Okay, okay, continue."
The four of them didn't need to bother looking for it; there was an iron box placed conspicuously behind the altar. The iron box was new, without a lock, and except for a thick layer of dust, there was not even a trace of rust.
After opening it, it was the same box. I opened it again, and it was the same box again. I kept opening it six times before I found a locked box.
The so-called lock on this box was made of nine iron rings, which were set on a horizontal frame and connected with a handle. The more Ah Li looked at it, the more familiar it looked, until Heqi said, "It's just a Qi Zhong Yi."
"Qizhongyi?"
"Hmm. The two are intertwined and unified. If you find the key, you can separate them into two and then reunite them. Let me explain it. I know how to do it."
As he spoke, He Qi took Qi Zhong Yi and flexibly moved the iron ring back and forth, making people dazzled. Not long after, He Qi untied Qi Zhong Yi.
The box contained yellowed scrolls that were well preserved. This was probably because they were tightly wrapped with thick cotton and kraft paper, preventing them from being damaged by moisture.
The scrolls were all named after people, and when opened, they were mostly diaries written by the village chief or high priest. But the most special ones were the two family tree volumes and the village history book hidden in the bottom of the box.
The genealogy records only men, not a single woman.
A Li flipped through the village history and saw two big words written on the first page: Mountain God.
The second page depicts the stone statue they saw when they entered the secret room.
"This is really the mountain god they know! They have been worshipping this thing for so many years, hasn't anything happened?" As he said this, Heqi subconsciously looked up at the stone statue again in confusion. Just one glance, and Heqi's face changed.
"This stone statue has moved."
"How can the stone statue move? Are you seeing things..."
A'li looked up as he spoke, but before he could finish his words, he saw the stone statue looking down at them.
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