Chapter 51: Bone Hairpin 6: Shrine
When I entered the village yesterday and encountered the funeral procession, an old woman came to talk to them. It was then that Xun Shu noticed the white hairpin in her hair.
Mu Se was drowsy at the time, so Xun Shu only glanced at it briefly. She thought the hairpin's color was odd, its design simple, the pattern at the end too plain, and the overall color lacking in brightness, making it unattractive. She assumed the hairpin held special meaning for the old woman, which was why she wore it. Now, seeing every woman in the village sporting one in their hair, she realized things weren't as simple as she'd imagined.
Li Xuanhe's eyes swept over the three women sitting at the next table. Before he could give any instructions, Chi Xiao had already stepped forward to inquire.
"Excuse me, ladies, where did you buy the bone-colored hairpins you are wearing? My daughter finds them very interesting and would like to buy one to take home."
The three women, all in their thirties and forties, were impressed by Chi Xiao's impressive appearance, all wearing friendly smiles. However, upon hearing his question, their expressions changed instantly. They exchanged glances, wary and hesitant expressions. Finally, the oldest woman cautiously answered Chi Xiao's question, "Sir, this hairpin is unique to Ningyuan Village. It was given as a blessing to the women of the village. It's nothing special and isn't worth much. Ningyuan Village is a small place. If you want to purchase exquisite hairpins, you'll need to go to Shannan Road, closer to the capital."
After the woman finished speaking, she turned around and stopped looking at Chi Xiao. No matter how much he coaxed her, she refused to say a word about the hairpin.
Chi Xiao returned empty-handed, earning a few laughs from Yu Chang. Xun Shu, standing nearby, seemed lost in thought, her curiosity growing. She tilted her head, peering intently at the hairpins on the women's heads, examining them with exceptional care, unconcealing her gaze. The three ladies froze under the gaze, feeling uneasy. Unable to bear it any longer, they stood up and left the restaurant, glaring fiercely through the window as they reached the outside.
Outside, the sun shone brightly, revealing the hairpin in its most precise detail. The bone-white tip of the hairpin shone dimly under the blazing midday sun, unlike the warmth of jade or the translucence of porcelain. Xun Shu, taking advantage of the light and the moment the women paused, finally got a clear look at the hairpin and frowned slightly.
She looked at Li Xuanhe across from her and mouthed, "It looks like it's made of bones."
Li Xuanhe nodded slightly, poured her a bowl of sour plum soup, and gently changed the subject: "Sour plum soup is refreshing, try it."
Xun Shu was confused and was about to ask something when he heard a faint voice coming from not far behind him.
The two men lowered their voices to a whisper, as if afraid of being overheard. Xun Shu fell silent, buried his head in the bowl, pretending to drink soup, but in reality he pricked up his ears, trying to distinguish the voices of those people in the clamor and hear what they were saying clearly.
"...Now that day is almost here, but Xili Zheng has passed away. I don't know what Ningxi will do this year."
"Yes, I heard that this year's Saint has been chosen. A few days ago, Xili Zheng vowed that he would be the one to distribute the lucky hairpins. But I didn't expect that he would not live to see that day..."
"Yes, it seems that the lucky hairpin will fall into Ningdong's hands again this year, and the Donglizheng will distribute it to everyone..."
"well……"
The two men changed the subject, no longer mentioning the Saintess. Yu Chang, receiving Li Xuanhe's signal, approached to inquire about what they had just discussed. Seeing Yu Chang approaching and hearing his question, the two men seemed startled. They waved their hands repeatedly, saying nothing, picked up the unfinished food on the table, and stood up to go to the farthest corner, their intention to avoid him obvious.
Seeing that Yuchang was turned down and the information he got was less than what he asked, Chi Xiao grinned from ear to ear and almost laughed out loud.
Xun Shu put down the sour plum soup, his eyes sparkling with a desire to explore: "Ningyuan Village seems to have a big secret. I wonder if the dead man in the sky gap is related to this secret."
Li Xuanhe nodded slightly: "Whether it is related, we can find out by asking someone."
The two of them left the restaurant and returned to the inn without further delay.
A few tables of guests sat scattered in the lobby, and a few waiters sauntered back and forth between the lobby and the kitchen, braving the sweltering heat with a listless air. Li Xuanhe stopped one of them and said, "Send a portion of your signature dish to Room One."
The waiter hadn't seen such a cheerful customer in a long time, and he nodded hurriedly, instantly perking up. He trotted to the kitchen, urged the kitchen staff to prepare the meal, put it in the food box, and then trotted to the No. 1 room, fearing that he would delay the meal.
As soon as he stepped into the room, the door closed behind him. The waiter shuddered and his smile froze on his face. "Ladies and gentlemen, is there anything wrong?"
Chi Xiao took the food box from the waiter, and Yu Chang helped him sit down on a stool. The waiter looked up in confusion, seeing Li Xuanhe and Xun Shu sitting across the table. He tried to stand up, but the hand on his shoulder firmly restrained him, preventing him from moving.
The waiter swallowed his saliva and realized that he had entered a den of thieves.
Li Xuanhe knocked on the table, and Chi Xiao stepped forward to pour tea. Li Xuanhe pushed the first cup to Xun Shu, the second cup to the waiter, and Fang kept the third cup in front of him.
He looked at the waiter across from him and said in a calm tone, "I invited you here today to ask you a few questions. If you answer honestly, there will be a generous reward." He paused, and without waiting for the waiter's reply, he continued, "Today I discovered something interesting. Every woman in Ningyuan Village has a similar white hairpin in her bun. What's going on?"
The waiter held the teacup and smiled reluctantly, "That's just an ordinary hairpin, given by the villagers to newlyweds to bless them to have children soon."
Li Xuanhe's smile didn't reach his eyes, which seemed to dangle a sharp blade. "You know that's not what I'm asking. That hairpin looks simple, but the material is unique. It looks like it's made of bone." He leaned forward slightly, his gaze and hair exerting pressure. "Is that human bone?"
The room became quiet, with only the chirping of cicadas outside the window.
Xun Shu sat aside, feeling very shocked.
When she was in the restaurant, she noticed that the hairpin seemed to be made of bones. She thought it was sheep or pig bones, but she didn't expect it to be human bones.
Aren’t you afraid of encountering ghosts if you wear human bones on your head?
The waiter kept his mouth shut, his hands trembling, and a good deal of tea spilled from his cup. He withdrew his hand, rubbed the water stain on his clothes, and lowered his head in silence. Li Xuanhe picked up the teacup and dropped it heavily. The crisp sound made the waiter shudder and nearly cry.
"My Lords, this really has nothing to do with me. I'm not married yet, so it's impossible for me to get this lucky hairpin!"
Xun Shu blinked and said affirmatively, "So, you can get the hairpin after you get married."
"Not really..." The waiter's features wrinkled into a ball, and he fidgeted restlessly, as if crawling with bugs. He glanced at the two people in front of him, then turned to look at the two men standing behind him like two huge mountains. His voice was filled with pleading, "My Lords, I'm going to tell you everything. You must not tell anyone else, and you must not spread this. This is a secret of Ningyuan Village, and we never tell anyone."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Li Xuanhe and then at Xun Shu. Seeing that neither of them had any intention of speaking, he drooped his shoulders and resigned himself to his fate and told everything: "I didn't lie to the adults. This hairpin really blesses them to have a son soon, and it must be a boy. This story dates back to the time of my grandfather. At that time, the areas outside the village gradually became stable. Many villagers went out to study or do business and never returned to the village. There were fewer and fewer men in the village, and even no one was willing to cultivate the fields outside the village. At that time, the village chief was so anxious that he asked someone to invite an immortal to take a look. The immortal stayed in the village for a few days and told the village chief a secret recipe that could bless the women in the village to give birth to boys. This is the blessing hairpin.
"I really don't know how the lucky hairpin is made, or what it's made of. I've only seen the bone hairpin my mother owned. When I was young, I held it in my hands, and she scolded me, saying it was made of human bones and that children shouldn't touch it. But when I grew up and asked my mother again, she said she had never said that. Lucky hairpins are rare, and not every bride can obtain one. If one doesn't receive one at the wedding, she must go to the shrine every month to pray for the gods' blessing. Only when fate arrives can she receive the lucky hairpin."
Immortal… Xun Shu felt a bad premonition and asked hesitantly, “Do you know who this immortal the village chief invited is?”
"Of course I know. The former village chief felt he had accomplished a great deed because of this incident, and he told everyone that it was he who invited the immortals from the Si Tian Pavilion to lift the curse on Ningyuan Village. However, the village population hasn't increased over the years, and there are still very few men. I think the people from the Si Tian Pavilion are probably just swindlers with no real skills, who make money by deceiving people."
It really involves Sitian Pavilion again...
Xun Shu was furious, wondering who it was again, using the name of Sitian Pavilion to defraud people.
Li Xuanhe glanced at her and continued to ask the waiter across the street, "At the market today, I heard people saying things like 'the day is almost here,' 'the Saint has been chosen,' and there's also something called 'the blessing hairpin.' What does this mean?"
This question was obviously much easier to answer than the previous one about the lucky hairpins. The waiter breathed a sigh of relief, "Every year, the village selects a saint and sends her to a blessed place in the mountains to practice cultivation and protect the villagers. The village is divided into Ningxi and Ningdong. The lucky hairpins for the past two years will be distributed by the village head of the side where the saint comes from."
Xun Shu was surprised, "Didn't you just say that the lucky hairpin was obtained by going to the shrine? How did it become a distribution by the village head?"
The waiter waved his hand and said seriously, "The village head is the envoy of the shrine, so it is natural for him to make the distribution."
"Then the village head can give it to whoever he wants. After all, the gods in the shrine won't show up to ask for an explanation for such a small matter. If anyone really wants this hairpin, they can bribe the village head with a large sum of money in exchange for it. This isn't a envoy from the shrine, this is a good way to make money!"
The waiter chuckled and didn't refute Xun Shu's speculation. Instead, he said, "In three days, the day will be when the Saint Girl will be selected to go to the blessed land. This is a village secret, and outsiders are not allowed to participate. If you are really curious, you can take a look, but don't tell them that I told you."
"How is the Saint chosen? How long does it take for her to return to the village after training?"
"I don't know about that. The chosen Saint Maiden is always chosen by the head of the village, the village chief, and the gods in the shrine. Even the Saint Maiden herself cannot know in advance. As for whether she will return to the village—" The waiter scratched his head, "I heard that after going to a blessed land, she eats and drinks well every day and no longer has to worry about worldly affairs. Those Saint Maidens who went to such a wonderful place, why would they return? Anyway, in all these years, I have never seen a Saint Maiden rejected by the shrine."
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