When I heard Miao Xiaoxian mention the name, I was instantly alert: "You want to talk to me about the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace?"
Miao Xiaoxian nodded: "That's right, I know you've been searching for the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. I can tell you what I know."
"etc!"
When I heard Miao Xiaoxian say this, my thoughts were a little confused: "You have never left these mountains, so there are only two possibilities for you to know about the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. First, you heard us mention this name when we first arrived in Ping'an Village. Otherwise, Ping'an Village has always known about the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace!"
To allay my concerns, Miao Xiaoxian explained, "The Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is just what you outsiders call it. What we call it is the Hall of the Fierce God. The purpose of Ping'an Village is to protect it!"
"The Temple of Evil?"
Upon hearing this name, I frowned and said, "As far as I know, the celestial palace is where the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, who was revered as a deity by the ancestors of the Miao people, is buried. Why would she be called a fierce god?"
"This is not a question I can answer."
Miao Xiaoxian shook her head: "I have never been to the Temple of the Fierce God, or rather, in the entire Ping'an Village, apart from the clan leader and elders, no one knows anything about this temple or where it is located!"
I felt there was a loophole in Miao Xiaoxian's words, so I looked at her warily: "Let's not discuss whether the name is correct or not. If, as you say, only the clan chief and elders in the entire village know about the temple, then how did you find out about it?"
Miao Xiaoxian looked at me and said, "I am also an elder in the village."
"Pooh!"
I spat at Miao Xiaoxian: "Do you think I'm a fool? You look like you're not even twenty years old yet. What kind of elder are you? Even if you look young, you're at most twenty-five years old this year, right? Tell me, how can someone so young be an elder of the village?"
"The elders of Ping'an Village are indeed mostly elderly people. They have more prestige in the village and are more experienced in life. However, in Ping'an Village, it is not only the elderly who can become elders. In fact, some specific positions must be held by young people."
Miao Xiaoxian paused for a moment: "Today is my nineteenth birthday, and also my first day as the Holy Maiden of Ping'an Village."
Seeing Miao Xiaoxian dressed in gorgeous clothes, I began to believe her slightly: "What kind of position is a Holy Maiden?"
"A miserable job."
Miao Xiaoxian gave a self-deprecating smile: "Ping'an Village is skilled in raising Gu, a craft that has been passed down for over a thousand years! But not everyone can learn this craft; only the elders can."
I still feel lingering fear when I think about the worm that just crawled out of Wei Shengnan's body, and the worm eggs in my leg: "I have already seen your methods."
"Although I have never seen the outside world, the feeling that Ping'an Village gave me was one of distortion and deformity!"
When Miao Xiaoxian said this, a look of pain flashed in her eyes: "In this place, the living are not important; the dead are what they want."
I roughly guessed that Miao Xiaoxian said that because of the mass grave in the willow grove, but I still pretended not to know anything and asked, "Dead people? What do you mean by that?"
"The people of Ping'an Village are all Gu worms! They are the breeding grounds for Gu worms!"
Miao Xiaoxian revealed a desperate smile: "The people in the village are not allowed to have their own personalities in life. They can only live a life of routine, like livestock raised in captivity, living numbly, reproducing numbly, and dying numbly!"
The village's holy maiden is the chieftain's assistant in making Gu poison. She must be a virgin, so I can never marry and will die alone! I originally thought I could accept this kind of life, but today is my first time making Gu poison, and the target is none other than Uncle Seven!
They wanted me to crack open Uncle Seven's skull and scoop out his brain with a small spoon! I...I...Uncle Seven was the closest person to me. I wasn't able to properly take care of him while he was alive, and now they want me to desecrate his body after he's dead...I..."
When Miao Xiaoxian brought up this matter, her eyes were filled with pain, and she was completely unaware that tears were streaming down her face.
Seeing her pained expression, I asked, "Is there anything you want me to help you with?"
"The purpose of Ping'an Village is to protect the Temple of the Evil God! It is said that the Temple of the Evil God has multiple entrances, and each of the Ping'an Villages scattered in different places guards one of them! I think if the Temple of the Evil God is destroyed, perhaps we can be freed!"
Miao Xiaoxian looked at me earnestly: "I want to ask you for help to destroy the Temple of the Evil God! Only by making Ping'an Village lose its meaning of protecting this place can perhaps the next generation of children be freed, and only then can we live like human beings, instead of being used as tools after death!"
In our faith, the soul lives on after death and remains with family. Those who are made into poisonous concoctions, however, will have their souls trapped in their corpses for eternity, unable to be reborn! I don't understand why we, without even knowing what we are protecting, would sacrifice our own lives and the lives of our descendants. So… please save Ping'an Village!
I came to Ping'an Village to investigate the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. I was overjoyed to see that Miao Xiaoxian was willing to tell me the information: "If I can help you, I will do my best. But do you know where the entrance to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is?"
Miao Xiaoxian shook her head: "I don't know. Only each clan leader knows the entrance to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace."
"So, the reason this forest is set up with Qimen Dunjia is because this is where you make Gu gu. Then the clan leader must be around here, right?"
My face hardened: "Can you help me find my friends, and then lead us to the clan chief so we can force him to reveal the location of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace?"
Miao Xiaoxian glanced at me and said, "You are no match for my great-grandfather. The successive clan leaders of Ping'an Village are all masters of raising Gu poison. If you fight him, you will easily lose your lives!"
"Your great-grandfather?"
I was a little surprised: "The clan leader looks to be only in his sixties or seventies, how did he become your great-grandfather?"
Miao Xiaoxian replied, "My great-grandfather was born in the second year of the Republic of China and is over a hundred years old. All the clan chiefs of Ping'an Village have lived to be over a hundred years old!"
I looked on in surprise: "The second year of the Republic of China, that means... 1913?"
Miao Xiaoxian didn't continue discussing the clan leader's lifespan with me, but changed the subject, saying, "Although I don't know the entrance to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, I know there's a place where there must be relevant records!"
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