"We're here, right in front!"
Turning around a hill, Patriarch Tian points to the side.
His voice was slightly trembling.
Unlike other wealthy businessmen in Ezhou, although Patriarch Tian has some wealth, he can only be regarded as a landlord in the village. The three brothers started their business almost from scratch.
For some reasons, he rarely returns to his ancestral home.
His descendants grew up in Hanyang City, so naturally they have no affection for this closed mountain village.
But for Patriarch Tian, this is his home.
Li Yan and others also looked up and waited.
I saw a mountain road diagonally across the hills and going down, and at the end was a village, built on the mountain, surrounded by green mountains and forests, like a barrier.
There is a lake at the foot of the mountain. The waves are as flat as a mirror, reflecting the color of the mountain.
Divine Land Most villages have basically three patterns.
The first is a single Lineage, which gradually developed and formed a clan settlement.
The second is several big Lineages who are united by marriage.
The third is a village where immigrants with mixed surnames live together.
The hometown of Patriarch Tian is the third type, named Dustpan Village, named after its terrain.
On the way, Patriarch Tian already talked about the roots of his hometown.
At that time, Da Xing Dynasty and Golden Horde Wolf Country were confronting each other from north to south. Each battle resulted in victory or defeat for each other, and the borders of the country were constantly changing accordingly.
The people of Ezhou suffered from the war, and the people who fled from various places found remote places and isolated themselves from the rest of the world, so that they could survive and reproduce.
Therefore, the village has mixed surnames and the roads are not easy to navigate.
It is a treasured land in times of war, but it will inevitably be a drag in times of peace and prosperity. For many years, only the Patriarch Tian family left the mountain village.
Around the village, there are layers of terraced rice fields.
This is the time for early rice transplanting.
Looking around, you can see the lakes, mountains and pastoral scenery.
There was a family busy in the field not far away, and the old farmer in the lead sang loudly. "Plant the fields quickly, fry the bacon with rice, plant the fields slowly, scramble the eggs with leeks..."
Sha LiFei heard Yile, "This food is good enough."
And Patriarch Tian had already galloped forward, stroking his beard and smiling, and said hello, "Hu ErKui, how will the harvest be this year?"
"Tian Da...Patriarch Tian is back."
The old farmer smiled naively, his expression obviously unnatural.
He and Patriarch Tian grew up catching snakes and fishing naked in the mountains, but now their identities are completely different.
He is an old man, he is pampered, and I heard that everyone in Hanyang City is a big shot. He is just an old farmer in the country, so he naturally needs to be more careful with his words.
Patriarch Tian felt sad when he saw this, but the expression on his face remained unchanged. He smiled and said, "Bring the children back to worship our ancestors."
After that, he led the team towards the village.
Halfway through, Wang Dao Xuan suddenly stopped, took out the compass, looked around, caressed his beard and said with a smile, "The mountains on both sides are wings, and you can play in the water next to the lake. What a piece of Flying Goose Land."
"The Daoist priest really has a good eye!"
Patriarch Tian smiled and said, "I heard from the elders that there was a Feng Shui master among the people who were fleeing our ancestors, and he fell in love with this place at a glance."
"The criticism at that time was: There is plenty of blessing, but it is hard to leave the goose. The younger generations in the village have enough to live a peaceful life, but if they want to become rich and powerful, they have to leave the village."
Wang Dao Xuan nodded and said, "It's difficult to have both ends. Without this Flying Goose Land, how could we survive the war to this day?"
"That's what the Daoist said." Patriarch Tian also nodded in agreement.
While they were talking, they had entered the village.
This village is old, and many of the houses are old-fashioned brick and mud houses, mixed with a style similar to stilted houses. Animals are raised on the first floor, and people live on the second floor. The sounds of cattle, sheep and ducks are endless, and the smell is also great.
The paths in the village have uneven bluestone slabs.
There was an elderly man squatting at the door of his home, holding a long dry tobacco pole. When he saw the Patriarch Tian team, he immediately smiled, showing his gaping teeth, and surrounded him from all directions.
"Tian Family's Eldest Son is back."
"I haven't seen you for a while."
"Let's go for a walk and have some tea at home."
Patriarch Tian quickly dismounted, raised his hands to the surrounding people and said with a smile, "Fellow fellow villagers, Tian comes back to worship his ancestors. He still has a lot of things to do, and then he will come to visit us as guests."
As he spoke, he winked.
The servants immediately drove a tarpaulin cart and took some gifts from it to distribute to everyone.
The things are not expensive, just coarse cloth and tea, but they are a great gift to the people in the village.
"How can this be done?"
"It's like this every time I come back."
The old people were polite and declined before accepting the things.
One of the old men grabbed Patriarch Tian and whispered, "Tian DaLang, the person you hired is not serious. He helped you look after your ancestral home, but instead asked a stranger to live in it secretly."
"You came back so suddenly this time, I guess they haven't left yet."
Patriarch Tian's eyes immediately turned gloomy, and he nodded. "Uncle Lu Thank you very much, thank you for reminding me."
Without him needing to remind him, the servant gave him another gift.
When the other old men around saw it, they immediately felt regretful. If they had told me earlier, the things would have been theirs.
Li Yan glanced at it and already knew it in his heart.
Sure enough, after walking a few more steps, Patriarch Tian said with a gloomy face, "The person guarding the ancestral home was found by my second brother."
"In the past, when we came back to worship our ancestors, it was always at a fixed time. I felt something was wrong, so I didn't notify you this time. Sure enough, something went wrong."
"Tian Cheng, take the people one step ahead and block them!"
"Yes, sir!"
Seven or eight servants and guards quickened their pace and rushed out...
The Tian family is considered one of the best in the village.
However, because they have a mixed surname, they have to build a separate ancestral hall, so the ancestral home is not in the center of the village, but occupies a large piece of land on the highest mountain in the north of the village.
When everyone arrived, there was already a quarrel ahead.
"I belong to the second master!"
"Why are you arresting me? Release me now!"
In front of a large old house, a servant of the Tian family was guarding the house, pushing and shoving with a few people.
The accents of those people were completely different from those of the people in the village, and judging from their clothing, they were completely foreigners.
The leader was an old man, well-dressed, with gray hair, a thin body, and thick joints in his hands.
Looking at other people, although they are old and young, the same is true.
"What are you doing?!"
Patriarch Tian saw it and immediately yelled.
A trace of uneasiness flashed in the old man's eyes, he forced a dry smile on his face, cupped his fists and cupped his hands and said, "The old man came back unexpectedly this time, why didn't he give any notice."
Patriarch Tian was so angry that he gritted his teeth and cursed, "Wu JinGui, this is my Tian family's ancestral home. I paid you to look at the house. How dare you cause trouble for me!"
The old man laughed dryly, cupped his fists and said, "The eldest master has misunderstood, this is what the second master meant."
"The old house has been in disrepair for a long time, and water leaked frequently some time ago. As an old man, I didn't know what to do, so I called some young people to help."
Sha LiFei, who was riding on the horse, sneered, "Brother, do you smell so earthy?"
Patriarch Tian felt a chill in his heart when he heard it.
He travels all over the country and knows a lot of secret words in the world. Sha LiFei clearly means that these people are tomb robbers Grave Robbers.
Sure enough, when the old man heard this, his expression suddenly changed and he roared angrily, "You're showing your face, what the hell!"
Those people immediately pushed away the servants guarding the courtyard and fled.
"Keep them all for me!"
There was no need for Li Yan and others to take action. Liu YiZhong, Patriarch Tian's son-in-law, let out a cry, pulled out Treasure Sword and rushed out.
He is a member of Qianhu of the Guard House and has already entered Hidden Strength. He can easily deal with these people.
The sword light flashed and accompanied by screams, these tomb robbers all had their hamstrings cut off and lay on the ground gritting their teeth and cursing.
The old man was even more furious, "Tian, I didn't dig up your ancestral graves. We all worked for your brother!"
Patriarch Tian's expression changed, "Gag!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the servants and nurses hurriedly stepped forward, slapped the tomb robbers several times until they were unconscious, and stuffed rags into their mouths.
Li Yan and others were not surprised to see it.
From what I saw along the way, this Patriarch Tian attaches great importance to his reputation in the village. If he spreads it out, he will be stabbed in the back.
But no one expected that it was his brother who was causing trouble.
Patriarch Tian was obviously furious.
But it happened that at this time, Muramasa, who got the news, came with a group of people to say hello.
Patriarch Tian had no choice but to order his servants to escort these tomb robbers into the house. After taking Muramasa and others away, they hurried in for interrogation.
After a beating, these tomb robbers confessed one after another.
"It was the second master of the Tian family who hired us..."
"Several Chu Tomb were found in the back mountain. The second master of the Tian family had a problem with his business, so he hired us to rob the tombs secretly for turnover..."
After learning the cause and effect, Patriarch Tian gradually calmed down, his eyes full of sadness, "We are all from the same mother and father. If something goes wrong, they would rather go through evil ways than find me. Does he hate me so much?"
Madam Tian quickly comforted him, "Master, please don't be angry. It's not a big deal that a family is in such trouble."
"This time is also an opportunity. Why don't we take the initiative to come to the door, help, and talk about this matter."
Seeing that Patriarch Tian was still hesitating, his wife immediately shook her head and said, "You are already a very old man, what else can you not see? Is it possible that we really want to die without any contact with each other?"
Patriarch Tian was silent for a moment, "That's what Madam said."
Wang Dao Xuan, who was next to him, continued to ask, "While you were robbing tombs in the back mountain, did you find anyone touching the Tian family's ancestral tombs?"
Although the old man had confessed, he still felt unhappy. He spat and cursed, "Although we are eating the food of the dead, we also pay attention to the moral principles of the world. How can we do such a bad thing when we work for others but dig our employer's grave?"
"It's not like you gentry who go back on your word!"
Just as Wang Dao Xuan was asking, Sha LiFei next to him narrowed his eyes slightly and seemed to be carefree, playing with the tea cup in his hand, but in fact he was paying attention to everyone's expressions.
Seeing a young man's eyes dodge, Sha LiFei immediately sneered, "They are all gangsters, what are they pretending to be?"
"The Daoist Master naturally has a reason for asking you. As for why, it is better to ask the disciple behind you."
What he said outright was just to deceive people.
But the old man Wu JinGui suddenly felt something in his heart. He suddenly turned his head and looked at several disciples with sinister eyes.
In the tomb robbing business, one is most afraid of moles and being assassinated by one's own people, so the rules are very strict, and any violation will be Three Knives Six Holes.
The disciple was timid and quickly knelt down and knelt down, crying and kowtowing, "Master, there is nothing I can do about it. They have poisoned me. I really can't bear it."
"Get the fuck out of here!"
The old man was furious and knocked him over with his head. Then he gritted his teeth, held his neck, and said coldly to Patriarch Tian: "I'm in trouble. You can beat me, kill me, or send him to prison. You can do whatever you want!"
Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Who are those people you are talking about?"
Now that the matter has come to this, the disciple no longer conceals anything, and trembles. "I don't know them, I only know that they are a group of Miao People."
"By the way, several of them cough frequently, their faces are scorched black, and their fingers are rheumatism-deformed."
"It's a kiln worker!"
The leader of the old tomb robbers said in a dull voice, "The kiln workers have been exposed to the fire kiln all year round, and their lungs have been damaged. A large number of kiln workers have also damaged their hands. I have seen this before."
He was obviously a little resentful towards those who tempted his disciples to break the rules, so he warned them.
"Kiln worker...Miao People?"
Patriarch Tian thought thoughtfully, waved his hand, and asked the servants to escort all the tomb robbers away.
After waiting for the people to leave, he said, "The trade at the wharf here is prosperous. The Jiangxia area is rich in 'Yingqing Porcelain' and 'celadon'. There are many kiln entrances, and almost every household in every village has a kiln factory."
"But there are only a few villages in Miao People. This news tells Enforcement Hall that he should be able to catch the opponent..."
Although this incident was revealed, the mastermind behind the Tian family's plot also had clues. It was like a blind cat had met a dead mouse.
The custom here in Ezhou is that the yang house is generally in the front and the yin house is in the back. They are not far apart, just over a hill.
Under the leadership of Wang Dao Xuan, everyone went to the ancestral grave to check.
Sure enough, although there was nothing unusual outside, there was a cave in the nearby woods, leading directly to the Tian family's ancestral grave.
The servant climbed in and saw that the tomb bricks inside had indeed been taken away, and some blood-stained stones wrapped in red cloth were also placed to strengthen Yansheng Curse.
Wang Dao Xuan looked at the sky and saw the setting sun reflecting on the lake in the distance. "It's getting late and it's not an auspicious time. I'll get up early tomorrow to repair the ancestral graves."
After returning to the room, Patriarch Tian led people to clean the house and prepare meals for the evening, while the four Li Yan gathered in the room.
On the table, there are several bundles of Bamboo Strips.
These Bamboo Strips are old but still well preserved.
Li Yan didn't tell Patriarch Tian's family about the sacrifice in the lake last night, but Sha LiFei and Wang Dao Xuan naturally knew it.
Sacrificing birds and animals, Giant Alligator bestows magic, and it is also related to the legendary Lord of the Clouds Divine Gate. This Bamboo Strips is naturally extraordinary.
But at the same time, there was a big trouble.
the words above,
They don't recognize it!
The characters on Bamboo Strips were copied using a special kind of calligraphy, but they have been changed to look like grass below and flowers above.
Looking at it, the handwriting looks like a dense bush of flowers, which is dazzling and makes it difficult to understand what is said.
Sha LiFei was a little speechless, "What is this? Daoist priest, you read a lot, can you recognize these words?"
Wang Dao Xuan raised his head helplessly and said, "The knowledge in the world is as vast as smoke, and I really can't recognize it."
Li Yan held Bamboo Strips, "This is what brother Brother Lu risked his life and death to obtain. It may be related to his inheritance, so we must find out."
"I'll ask Tian's eldest son to come and have a look."
Tian Wei, who was busy, was quickly called over. After picking up Bamboo Strips, his eyes suddenly lit up, "Where did you get this?"
Sha LiFei asked quickly, "Don't worry about these, just read these words. Do you know them?"
Tian Wei replied, "I only know a few words."
"How many words?"
Sha LiFei scratched his head and said with doubt on his face, "You didn't come from the Wenjin Academy. Are you just traveling around and neglecting your studies?"
Tian Wei was immediately dissatisfied and quickly defended. "Don't talk nonsense, this thing has a lot of background, ordinary people have never even heard of it!"
"In ancient times, Divine Land had different customs in different places, and the fonts and languages were also Five Flowers Eight Tones, such as Golden Que, Tiger Claw, Dao Xie, Yanbo, and Xinfan... There were hundreds of fonts at that time."
"If it weren't for the later First Emperor emperor who unified Divine Land, books with the same text, and cars with the same track, we wouldn't be able to understand what you and I are saying now."
"First Emperor This move is a lasting success."
"This font is called 'Zhiying Script'. Zhiying is a legendary fairy grass, so it was used by ancient Daoist people."
"Although I don't know much about it, I still have some vague understanding of it."
As he spoke, he pointed to the five large characters on the cover of Bamboo Strips, "You can probably recognize these."
"It says, Classic of Mountains and Seas Spiritual Responses!"
Second update at twelve o'clock