A sound of pleasure
Tianshu held the fire stick and approached the door god to observe it. The weak light illuminated every detail of the door god. After reviewing it from beginning to end, Tianshu frowned and said, "This is not a proper door god. There is something wrong."
"Could it be that the villagers of Huamian Village have lived in this mountain for generations and don't often go down, so they can only rely on their own imagination when carving door gods, so it's common for their carvings to differ from most door gods."
After bringing the fire lighter close to the door god's face, Tianshu moved to the side so that Yuanli and the others could see the door god's face clearly.
"Look, there are many variations on how door gods are portrayed in the mortal world, but the purpose is always to ward off evil spirits and protect the home. Therefore, most depictions are solemn and majestic, and this remains true regardless of time and place. However, this door god's expression and facial features are strangely proportioned, resembling a demon."
"But people carve door gods in the hope of warding off evil and protecting their homes. Who would do the opposite?"
"Have you heard of this? Some craftspeople specialize in carving statues of gods. Their hearts aren't sincere, and their carving skills aren't advanced enough, so most people won't choose them. Naturally, their business suffers, and making money becomes their primary concern. Some with ulterior motives specifically seek out these craftsmen, incorporating subtle elements from the gods themselves to create statues of evil gods. These evil statues often attract wandering ghosts or evil spirits. Since these statues are inherently bad, the effects they achieve, and the things they attract, are often anything but good."
Tianshu continued to use the fire stick to illuminate the door panel next to the door god, and asked them to look closer again. At first glance, it didn't seem like anything, but when they looked carefully, they could see that there seemed to be some incomprehensible talismans scribbled on the door.
Cha Suxun, who was standing nearby, immediately understood what the talisman was and explained, "These things are probably used to attract wandering ghosts, similar to summoning spirits. If I'm guessing correctly, there's another talisman behind this door panel that has a similar confinement effect. The combination of the two is a bit like a fish trap, luring people in and then trapping them, making it easy to enter but difficult to exit."
"Yes, cousin, you are right. But we cannot rush in to check if there is really a restraining spell behind the door. It is very dangerous. Everyone should be careful from now on and never rush into any room."
Hearing this, Ah Li felt a chill down her spine and blurted out, "We're dealing with evil spirits again. If I had known this, I would have asked my cousin to draw some talismans for us before we set off."
"I brought it, I brought it, cousin, I'll get it for you." Tianshu responded immediately, reaching into the bag and rummaging around, actually using his magic power to transform several amulets and distribute them out.
After being fully equipped, each of them continued to move towards the village with a fire starter.
Huamian Village is not as rich as people say. Except for the wooden house at the entrance of the village, the houses where the other villagers live are almost all made of stones of various shapes, and every house has a locked door.
Every house had a large stove in front of it, with several layers of large steamers on top. Some stoves in front of the door were empty, but the size and appearance of the stoves were all the same.
This village seems to have been empty for a long time.
It was pitch black everywhere under the cliff, and the visible area was extremely small. It was difficult to confirm the location of the Huamian Village Ancestral Hall for a while. They could only search every corner of the village and grope forward.
Fortunately, Huamian Village, due to its unique location and environment, and its long-term absence of people, had an exceptionally rich vegetation and insects, many of which Ah Li could use. If Ah Li hadn't brought too many boxes and jars to store poisonous insects, she would have been completely absorbed in catching them.
Meanwhile, after discovering a unique scorpion, Ah Li whispered, "Husband, what exactly are we looking for here? Ordinary four-clawed scorpions are so hard to come by. They're the most cherished of living creatures, and they'll never be found where humans live. If they've grown to this size, Huamian Village would have been uninhabited for at least fifty years. Are you hiding something from me again? And those monsters, you're so calm, like you're in league with them."
A'li has lost her memory as Yuanli, so it is really difficult for Cha Suxun to explain these monsters and the jade hairpin. Almost all the lies he told her were in this life on earth.
"It's quite complicated. I'll tell you when we're alone. After all, this involves a demon, and I'm afraid it might scare my cousin and her husband."
Ari nodded in response and continued walking.
There weren't many houses in Huamian Village, but almost every one was a little far apart. After walking for nearly half an hour, they were exhausted and still couldn't find the ancestral hall. They had no choice but to stop for a rest, grab some rations and water from their bags, and have a quick lunch.
"Isn't it said that the people of Huamian Village rarely leave the mountain and rely on the land for their livelihood? Then why isn't there even a cultivated vegetable plot?"
"Maybe the vegetable patch is covered by weeds, sister-in-law."
"Cousin-in-law, what you said does make sense, but this is at the foot of a cliff. The sunlight and soil aren't as good as outside, so tall grass won't grow. Most climbing plants will thrive. Villagers like this usually use fences or earthen embankments to enclose their land. The conditions here are poor, so I guess most people choose earthen embankments and stones. So, there must be more or less traces."
"Okay, but it should be okay without a vegetable garden. Isn't it rumored that the people of Huamian Village are extremely wealthy? Maybe they buy everything they eat? They all look the same, so even if they often go down the mountain to buy food, no one would notice."
"Every household has a steamer, so they must be steaming food often. With such a large steamer, you can imagine how much food they can steam at once. If you were in my situation, would you often go down the mountain to buy food and carry it back?"
Hua Xuan shook his head. Ah Li suddenly stood up and asked Ah Xun to help him hold the tinderbox. He opened the three steamers in succession. Ah Li was really lucky. There were still some bones left in the third steamer.
The bones in the top layer of the steamer are quite thick and long, probably from a large animal, such as a sheep or a cow.
A'li called her cousin and Hua Xuandu over, and A'li and her cousin were responsible for standing on each side to provide lighting, while Hua Xuandu and A'xun stood on the benches respectively to take down the steamer on the top layer.
As a cloud of dust settled, several people were choked and covered their noses with their hands. After coughing repeatedly, several people looked at the fire stick and saw a human skull lying there.
The three of them quickly thought of the function of the steamer, and their stomachs instantly churned, making them extremely uncomfortable and unable to help but vomit.
Hua Xuan couldn't help but swear, complaining: "This can't be used to steam people for food! How can it eat anything! And just now... it was halfway through and it was already like this. Could the dust that just fell be fucking human ashes?"
"It's hard to say. But I'm wondering, in which life did you learn to swear so frequently when you were reincarnated as a human?" my cousin mocked.
Hua Xuandu retorted, "My dear, look at the dust on your head. Are you any less covered than me? If you get scared at night, I, your husband, will be happy to hold you in my arms as you sleep."
"You know, I'm not afraid of these low-level things I'm used to."
Tianshu imagined the brutal acts Heqi might have committed as a demon king, and since Heqi looked nonchalant, he decided not to continue the fight and went to the water to wash.
While washing, Tianshu touched it casually and found a broken bone similar to a finger joint.
"Why do you throw them everywhere after eating? How much did you eat? It's so cruel. Don't you feel guilty enough to bury the person properly and pray for his soul to be reborn?"
He Qi, standing behind him, couldn't help but burst into laughter, the echoes echoing across the cliff face for a long time. Ah Li couldn't help herself at this and ran to the side, spitting bitterly. Cha Suxun quickly supported her, smoothing her back and holding her hair.
"Hua Xuandu, stop talking."
Tianshu ran back to A-Li to check on her and said guiltily, "I'm sorry I forgot you already..."
Ah Li waved her hands to indicate that it was okay, and it took her a while to recover.
"I was wondering why there were no vegetable plots. So this is what they eat. Wait! Rumor has it that the women of Huamian Village marry outside the village, so they are eating the women they marry back home! Most of those women have no ties or relatives. Even if they were killed, no one from their natal family would come to look for them. They are the most suitable."
Heqi agreed, "Sister-in-law, you have a point. The size of this steamer would be too small for a man, but it should be just right for a woman."
"The one in the steamer just now should be a child. The head is very small, and the other bones are not as thick and long as those in the first layer." Cha Suxun's tone was full of anger.
"So, what we can confirm at the moment is that they ate both women and children. But why did they choose to eat humans? Even if they were barbaric, wouldn't they be unable to do so? Let's continue searching for the ancestral hall. There must be some records somewhere, right? Perhaps finding the ancestral hall will reveal the truth."
"If we couldn't eat, there wouldn't be so many steamers. Let's go, let's leave here as soon as we finish checking."
After saying this, they removed the bones from the steamer, dug a pit, and buried them. They then quickened their pace, continuing their search for the ancestral hall. They reached the end of the village before they saw a three-story stone building with a sign on the gate that read "Hua Family Ancestral Hall."
Having observed the door panel of the house at the entrance of the village, several people did not dare to go in easily. They still held the tinder close to the door panel to observe.
There are also two door gods painted on the door panel of the ancestral hall, one on the left and one on the right. However, the difference is that the door gods here are similar to the door gods of most houses in Dishui Town, and are completely different in style from the other doors in Huamian Village.
Also, there are no spells to summon spirits.
"When they get to the ancestral hall, they draw a normal one. Don't they know what a normal door god should look like? I think they did it on purpose." He Qi sneered.
Cha Suxun asked Tianshu, "Do you think we can go in directly?"
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