"Is there something dirty in the river?"
Li Yan frowned, "You didn't mention this in the report."
"Oh~ it's getting worse."
Village Chief Zhu sighed helplessly, "It's a long story. In short, don't get close to the river, those things are very vicious."
Li Yan thought for a moment, then turned around and said, "In that case, Brother Lu brother, just be careful and camp on the shore, and then I will stay with you overnight."
"I'll stay."
Sha LiFei touched his chest, a little absent-mindedly.
When Li Yan saw it, he understood immediately, stopped talking nonsense, and followed Village Chief Zhu and the others into the village.
As soon as everyone left, Sha LiFei and Lu San set up a tent, then got into it, lit candles, and couldn't wait to take out the books in their arms.
"What good thing is it?"
Lu San has long noticed that something is wrong with Sha LiFei.
"Hey, I scared you to death!"
Sha LiFei's eyes were full of excitement, and even a small amount of sweat broke out on the tip of his nose and forehead. He carefully opened the page of the book and said in a trembling voice:
"Yan XiaoGe mentioned to me that during the chaotic times in the late Tang Dynasty, when demons rose and the Tao disappeared, many Mystical Arts Sect remnants showed up, cooperated with the agency's dharma lineage, participated in the war with those warlords, and produced many powerful weapons."
"The Netherworld Fire Musket we used is one of them."
"This is the secret book handed down at that time."
Lu San has also seen the power of Netherworld Fire Musket. He nodded and said, "It is indeed a good thing, but you don't understand Mechanism Arts. Even if you know the method, you can't do it, right?"
"We'll figure this out later!"
"The key is this thing..."
Sha LiFei shook his head quickly and carefully turned to the last few pages. The leather there was brand new, obviously newly made.
The ink marks on the pictures and text above are still clear.
"This is?!"
Lu San After seeing it, his pupils suddenly shrank.
Sha LiFei was breathing heavily, and his eyes were a little red, "New-Style Gunpowder The formula and gun production diagram, we are in trouble!"
Lu San was also a little shocked and swallowed.
"I'm afraid the trouble is not small..."
At the same time, Li Yan has entered the village.
Ezhou has a special environmental history. It is surrounded by mountains on three sides in the east, west and north. It not only retains the long-standing Bachu culture, but is also influenced by the north.
In the high mountain areas, ethnic minorities live together in large groups, providing basic necessities, food, housing, and transportation. There are more ancient customs in Bachu's hometown, and the witchcraft style is strong.
In the central fertile Jianghan Plain, there are more farming customs, worshiping God of the Soil land and God of Millet, and the two customs are mixed.
For example, there are a large number of maple trees planted around the village.
Li Yan and others are almost always like this along the way, planting maple trees in every village, and no village would be complete without maples, because maple trees are related to Chi You.
At the same time, they also worshiped Land God Temple devoutly.
It can be said that the north and the south are the place where Bachu and Central Plains cultures merge.
Li Yan When you enter the village, you feel familiar.
Because Zhu Family Fortress is the same as his hometown Li Family Fortress, both developed from Military Fortress, and the same outline can be seen vaguely.
However, Ezhou village architecture has a different style.
Guanzhong is strong, simple and elegant.
In the villages and towns here, people live in houses connected to each other, house to house, door to door, window to window, and alley to alley, with a compact layout.
It has blue bricks and ancient tiles, wooden doors and carved beams, and alleys are paved with bluestone slabs. Even if it rains, your shoes will not get wet when you walk from door to door.
"Fast Boat Zhang" and all the boatmen are natives of Ezhou, so they are naturally used to it.
Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan followed Muramasa as they walked in this narrow alley, stepping on the bluestone slabs, sometimes turning left and sometimes right, and almost lost their way.
The dim candlelight could be seen in the wooden windows on both sides. The old people in the village looked up, obviously curious and wary of strangers like them.
There were also children squatting on the wooden threshold, looking at them, but they were grabbed back by the adults and made a meal of stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat, and they suddenly started to cry.
Village Chief Zhu was a little embarrassed, "Looking at the accent, Mr. Li must be from Shaanzhou, which makes you laugh."
"Where."
Wang Dao Xuan stroked his beard and smiled and said, "Divine Land Folk customs vary from place to place. If you experience it carefully, you will find a unique charm."
As he said that, he looked at the compass again, his eyes serious.
The hands were moving left and right, becoming more and more confusing.
Village Chief Zhu belongs to the Zhu Family Fortress family. Their ancestors were military households who guarded this place. Later, someone in the family became a scholar and gradually became rich.
His house is naturally bigger.
But unlike the Guanzhong compound, his house is a whole house with a high-walled compound outside, and is divided into several households inside, connected by gravel paths.
Moreover, all the rooms in the big house are on two floors, connected by wooden ladders. They are old, the wood is dark, and the rooms are a little dark.
What is particularly special is that in front of the house, there is an open channel with water flowing around it, passing just from above and making a circle.
When Wang Dao Xuan saw it, he immediately narrowed his eyes and said with a smile, "There is silver and water in front of the door. Generations of scholars have come out of the noble court."
"Old layman, you have an expert to guide you in this house..."
"It made the Daoist priest laugh."
Village Chief Zhu spoke modestly, but couldn't help but feel proud in his eyes, "My ancestors saved a Feng Shui master from Ganzhou back then, and only after his guidance did we build this old house."
"If you don't say anything else, I have a good family background. I farm and study to pass down my family. I don't dare to cause harm to the hometown. My grandson is studying at the Yuelu Academy..."
The people of Ezhou are very hospitable, not to mention the Xuanmen magicians who came to help. Village Chief Zhu was busy greeting and preparing drinks and dishes as soon as he entered the door.
According to local custom, if guests come, one or two dishes, or four or five dishes are fine, but three dishes cannot be brought out, because this is a sacrificial bowl, and it is only presented this way to pay tribute to the dead.
When a distinguished guest comes, he has to gather nine bowls of food.
Local fish cakes, Dried Braised Pork, fried lotus root balls, eight-treasure rice... Although they are common folk dishes, the bowls are not the same.
Of course, Old Man Zhang and a group of boatmen were arranged in the front yard, while Li Yan and Wang Dao Xuan were arranged in the back Wing Room.
After all, we still have important things to discuss.
Village Chief Zhu was too old to drink, so he asked his son to accompany him, and he insisted on toasting several rounds of wine before giving up.
"Thank you, old layman, for your hospitality."
Wang Dao Xuan didn't hide it, put the compass directly on the table, and said in a deep voice, "Zhu Family Fortress, I'm afraid there is a big problem. What happened?"
Li Yan also looked at Village Chief Zhu.
The information given by City God Temple only said that people died one after another here, and even Land God Temple Zhu disappeared inexplicably. Now it seems that the problem is definitely not small.
"Oh~ it's all injustice!"
Village Chief Zhu sighed, "I'm not afraid of your jokes. Although there are some scholars in this old man's family, the atmosphere in the village is not healthy."
"For many years, there are often young people who cannot stand the hardships of farming and fishing, and are unwilling to learn a trade. They just want to make quick money."
"We Zhu Family Fortress used to be Military Fortress, and some of them passed down the kung fu. Those young people just followed the sword and stick, causing trouble all day long, and often had conflicts with other villages."
"I can't control it, so I have to let them go."
"But I didn't expect that these young people would secretly engage in river robbery. They would often mask their faces and leave along the mountain river to rob Han River."
"Of course, they didn't end up well. They were caught by Xiangyang Naval Force and shot to death with bows and arrows on the spot. Many families in the fort lost their lives."
"That's all. After all, if you do evil things, you won't get retribution, but they are willing to die and cause trouble!"
"Before they died, they robbed a passenger ship and were so ruthless that they killed everyone on board."
"That day, a crazy old Confucian scholar came to the village. He stood at the entrance of the village and cursed for a long time, saying that if we killed his son, there would be disaster from heaven, and the whole village would be riddled with chickens and dogs."
"There are people who can't stand it and beat them away with sticks."
"After that, strange things happened one after another in the village."
"First, the tablets in the ancestral hall began to seep water. They were wiped clean during the day, but as long as one night passed, the water would flow all over the floor..."
"The well water has started to have problems again. The water brought up by several companies has an unpleasant odor, and more and more..."
"Subsequently, people began to disappear, including Land God Temple from the temple. It took a few days for the bodies to float from the river."
"Someone followed them in the middle of the night and found that they were all crazy. They woke up suddenly at night, didn't wear any clothes, ran into the water, and drowned themselves..."
"People in the village are now in panic. Some families can't bear it anymore and have gone to seek refuge with relatives in other places. But it's hard to leave their homeland, and how can they leave with so many orphans, old and young?"
"The old man has reported the matter and asked Spirit Medium to exorcise the evil spirits. However, several rituals were performed, but it was of no use. They even killed someone, and they were so frightened that they fled the village that night."
As he said this, he knelt down as soon as his legs became weak.
Li Yan quickly supported him, but saw that the old villager was already full of tears, "To be honest, two nights ago, I dreamed about my ancestors, and they all surrounded me and cursed me."
"At this old age, it doesn't matter if I die, but now that the village is like this, how can I have the face to meet my ancestors?"
Wang Dao Xuan's eyes were slightly focused, and he keenly noticed the words in the old man's mouth, and asked, "Did the old layman dream about the curses of his ancestors?"
"Does anyone else in the village have this situation?"
Village Chief Zhu was stunned when he heard this, shook his head and said, "I have never heard anyone mention it, but the ancestors cursed me because the descendants are unfilial, and even the old people dare not tell outsiders."
"Even if other people have it, they probably wouldn't dare to say it."
Wang Dao Xuan looked solemn and nodded. "Muramasa immediately sent people to ask those who had trouble at home to see if they had similar situations."
"Also, this matter must no longer be concealed. Send someone to inform the whole village to see who has recently dreamed of ancestor curses."
"This..."
Village Chief Zhu's eyes were filled with uncertainty, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Don't worry, Daoist Master, I'll do it now."
As the saying goes, family scandals should not be publicized. If other people in the village find out about the curses of ancestors, their spines may be broken.
But he also knew that he didn't dare to keep hiding it at this time.
After the old Lord Muramasa left, Li Yan turned to look at Wang Dao Xuan, "The Daoist priest suspects that there is something wrong with the feng shui in the village?"
"I'm afraid, it's not just as simple as Feng Shui."
Wang Dao Xuan looked serious and asked in a deep voice, "Yan XiaoGe, did you smell any strange smell after entering the village?"
"I feel strange too."
Li Yan said doubtfully, "It stands to reason that if such a big thing happened, something must be causing trouble, but no matter whether I was on the river or entering the village, I didn't smell any evil atmosphere."
"And that Land God Temple, although the temple blessing is dead, the incense is still strong and the sacred aura is lingering. It doesn't seem like there is an invasion of evil spirits."
Wang Dao Xuan said in a deep voice, "That should be it."
"Have you ever heard of Apocryphal Prophecy?"
"Apocryphal Prophecy was popular in the Qin and Han Dynasties. At that time, Confucianism was not the mainstream. They used Confucian classics myths and prophecies as cryptic words to predict good and bad luck. They were tributaries of the latitude and longitude and derived side meanings."
"Confucianism used this technique and the theory of Celestial Person induction to deify the imperial power of the Han Dynasty, deposed hundreds of schools of thought, and only respected Confucianism. So far, Confucianism has prospered."
"At that time, Confucianism Jingyi was an external study, and Apocryphal Prophecy was an internal study. They absorbed many Daoist secrets and became famous for a while."
"'Hu who destroyed the Qin Dynasty' and 'After the third generation of the Tang Dynasty, the heroine King Wu ruled the world' are all Apocryphal Prophecy. They seem to be nonsense, but they are based on the timing, location and Five Fates and Six Qi of promoting the general trend of Human Path."
"This method is secretive. Although it can consolidate the imperial power, it is also taboo for the superiors. Subsequently, many Confucian scholars in the past dynasties criticized it and separated it from Confucian classics, which is why the orthodox religion has its current destiny."
"Now Confucianism is the foundation of the country, and it is also the orthodox religion in Daoism. Apocryphal Prophecy is listed as a forbidden technique, and I don't want to mention it more."
"But it is internal learning after all. The old Confucian scholar probably inherited this way and promoted the change of the national destiny. Human Path is unable to do so due to the general trend, but it is not difficult to make a village suffer frequent disasters."
Li Yan was also eye-opening, "In addition to cultivating the awe-inspiring spirit, Confucianism can actually do this?"
Wang Dao Xuan laughed dumbly and sighed slightly, "Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism Among the three religions, who can not have some history?"
At this moment, the old Cunzheng had already hurried back, his face turned pale and he said with a trembling voice, "The Daoist priest knows everything like a god."
"The families of the villagers who had the accident said that they were acting abnormally a few days before they jumped into the river. They either went to their ancestors' graves to burn paper, or they knelt in front of their ancestors' memorial tablets, looking in a daze all day long."
"Also, there are dozens of people in the village, including the elderly, who dreamed of their ancestors cursing them. Most of them are old people, but there are no children."
"It seems right."
Wang Dao Xuan said in a deep voice, "People's hearts are not right, and evil spirits come naturally. Some people take advantage of the mountains and rivers to disturb your ancestral graves, and then use rumors to disturb your minds. As time goes by, things will naturally happen."
"To break Apocryphal Prophecy, all you need to do is make the truth known. People's hearts are not ignorant, and evil cannot be done. Just make this matter public."
"Tomorrow, take me to your ancestral graves."
"Thank you, Daoist Master."
Old Cunzheng quickly handed over his hands and thanked him.
Li Yan on the side looked at it and secretly said he was surprised. After Lao Cun was leaving, he couldn't help but said, "This is the first time I have seen people fighting against each other."
Wang Dao Xuan's face was still solemn, "This village's problem should not be difficult to solve."
After that, he looked out the window, his eyes full of worry, "But now that the southwest is in trouble and wars are breaking out, Apocryphal Prophecy is reborn..."
"Not a good sign!"
Now that the reason was found out, Li Yan didn't stay in the village for long. After all, he didn't understand this kind of thing, and Wang Dao Xuan had to deal with it.
He returned to the shore and walked directly into the tent, where he saw Sha LiFei and Lu San reading an old book by candlelight.
The rice that was delivered was placed next to it, and I didn't even think about eating it.
"Yan XiaoGe, we sent it."
Seeing his arrival, Sha LiFei's face was full of excitement, and he was going to tell everything about the New-Style Gunpowder formula and the method of making firearms...