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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
Niujia Village is located in the most lush area of Qingliang Mountain, where every household raises cattle. The villagers rely on their cows for spring plowing and autumn harvests, and the calves can be sold at the town's cattle market for money.
Due to geographical reasons, during the urban-rural reform, Niujia Village was the only place in Qingliang Mountain that remained untouched. The town aimed to develop tourism in the county area of Qingliang Mountain, and since the soil and water there are indeed good, many villagers moved to the town, inevitably turning Qingliang Mountain into a desolate hill.
Yaowang Mountain has already fallen into disrepair. As one of the famous mountains surrounding Ancheng, it was necessary to preserve at least one mountain. Sun Simiao's reputation may not be as great as that of his father, but leaving behind a cultural legacy could serve as a contrast to the urban-rural reform.
In Niujia Village, I got to know Douding's brothers, Ergui and Panpan. They were around twelve or thirteen years old, and after a few encounters, they began to call me "brother."
Naturally, I also became acquainted with Zhang Jianzi, whom Douding often mentioned.
Zhang Jianzi runs a barbershop in Niujia Village. During market days, he sets up shop in town for haircuts, charging six yuan per head; however, for villagers, he only charges one yuan.
Since graduating, I hadn't cut my hair, so when Douding talked about Zhang Jianzi, I thought it was time for a clean haircut.
Zhang Jianzi is quite humorous and a handsome man. When conversing with him, I always felt that his demeanor set him apart from the villagers—like a crane among chickens—evoking a sense of camaraderie in our shared uniqueness.
However, I didn't develop a deep friendship with Zhang Jianzi; we merely chatted about interesting topics when we had time.
The villagers of Niujia Village respected us as people from Qingliang Temple. Some villagers even wanted to invite us to their homes for a meal, hoping to bring blessings from the Immortal Path family. We had no choice but to politely decline.
Douding is well-liked in Niujia Village; some villagers even call him "Immortal." Everyone knows that Douding's master, Mr. Chang, returned to Qingliang Temple after which many came up the mountain to burn incense and seek guidance about their fortunes.
Whether at a Taoist temple or a Buddhist monastery, people seek blessings for good fortune and peace. A place attracts worshippers only if there is a virtuous person residing there; thus, it is said that a mountain is not high if there is an immortal present.
The incense offerings at Qingliang Temple began to flourish gradually, and more villagers started coming up the mountain to burn incense. I continued practicing body refinement according to Mr. Chang's teachings, hoping that one day I would feel even a trace of energy.
This routine continued for two months. After two months, I still had not sensed any sign of Dao Qi forming within me.
I couldn't help but start doubting myself. Could it really take me three years, five years, or even ten years to cultivate even a trace of Dao Qi?
Later that night, I was half-awake when I heard splashing sounds coming from the pond below, faintly accompanied by the laughter of children.
Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I opened them to see that it was still dark outside. I thought I might have just been dreaming, and beside me, Wu was still sound asleep. However, when I lay back down, I realized that Douding, who usually slept deeply at night and rarely got up, was missing.
Thinking about the splashing sounds and the children's laughter, I decided to step out of the Meditation Room and went to the front of the temple.
On the stone steps illuminated by moonlight, Douding was wearing a tank top and heading down the mountain. I called out, "Douding, what are you doing going down at this hour?"
Douding seemed to hear my voice and stopped in his tracks. He turned to look at me with a puzzled expression. He stood at the edge of the steps to relieve himself before returning to the Meditation Room with me, not saying a word the entire time.
I had heard that if a child spends too much time alone, they might develop strange behaviors, like talking to themselves at night or sleepwalking. Perhaps Douding had been holding things in for too long. He had lived on the mountain for so many years without playing like normal children in the world below. When I had talked to him about roller coasters and merry-go-rounds in city amusement parks, he had shown great interest. It seemed I should take him out with Wu for some fun.
I am a light sleeper; even a slight noise can wake me up. Later that night, I heard splashing sounds from below again. This time, I opened my eyes wide and saw Douding sitting up in bed, about to get down.
I grabbed Douding's wrist and pulled him back into bed. He did not resist and soon fell asleep again.
When Douding woke up the next morning and found me holding his wrist tightly, he asked, "Brother Yang Hao, why are you holding my hand?"
Just as I was about to explain what happened last night, the door creaked open. Mr. Chang looked pale and said, "Someone died down below."
Wu woke up upon hearing Mr. Chang's words about death below as well. We all assumed it was someone from Niujia Village who had died, but seeing Mr. Chang's grim expression made it clear something serious had happened.
We all got up and followed Mr. Chang down the mountain. From a distance, we saw a corpse hanging at the gate of Qingliang Temple. Upon seeing that person, Douding immediately cried out and ran down the mountain.
The body hanging at the gate belonged to Douding's brother from Niujia Village—Ergui.
The child's thin body was covered in visible scratch marks, his expression one of terror and pain; he must have seen something horrifying before he died.
A rough grass rope was tied around Ergui's neck, crudely woven as if made without much care or patience.
Mr. Chang lowered Ergui's body and instructed Douding to notify Ergui's family.
Soon, a group of people arrived from Niujia Village. When Ergui's parents saw their son's corpse, they nearly fainted from grief. The villagers asked what had happened, and Mr. Chang replied, "He was found hanging at the mountain gate; we still don't know the cause of death."
"How could he be hanging at the gate of Qingliang Temple for no reason? You must have killed the child!" one villager pointed at Mr. Chang.
"Yes, you definitely killed him!" other villagers accused.
Wudao chuckled and said, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say anything. Your intelligence is lacking; we aren't foolish enough to hang the person we killed right in front of our own door."
Wudao's words sparked a heated discussion among the villagers. They knew that Wudao, who was close to Mr. Chang, was a capable person. Last time, two thugs in the village had seen May Day wandering around Niujia Village, dressed well and driving a sports car, and they had malicious intentions. Wudao had beaten them into submission, and it was only because the villagers intervened that he stopped.
Among this group of villagers, someone immediately called the police. After the police arrived and conducted an investigation at the scene, they took statements from those at Qingliang Temple and then took the body away.
After the police and villagers left, Wudao asked Mr. Chang, "Did Chang Lao notice anything unusual?"
Chang Lao shook his head and said, "Hanging someone at the gate of Qingliang Temple is clearly aimed at us; we just don't know who it's targeting."
Wudao said, "Could it be related to the incident at Ancheng Bar that we didn't handle properly?"
Chang Lao replied, "It has nothing to do with that incident; they wouldn't have the guts for it. I'm worried it might be aimed at Yang Hao."
"Why?" Wudao asked.
Chang Lao explained, "Yang Hao is the son of Yang Sanqian and Yaochi Saintess. His birth attracted a lot of attention; many people knew his birth date and time back then. There are quite a few extraordinary individuals in this world skilled in divination. If someone wants to find him, they might end up here."
"In that case, they should have found him many years ago," Wudao remarked.
Chang Lao said, "Previously, Yang Hao's Book of Life and Death hadn't been activated; now it's different. Moreover, the Dragon Vein beneath Futu Ridge severely interferes with some people's divination practices. Over time, many have given up on finding the Book of Life and Death. If someone with ulterior motives discovers it now, it wouldn't be impossible."
I said, "Mr. Chang, there's no need to worry. This murder isn't aimed at me; it might be targeting Douding."
"Me?" Douding wiped his tears, revealing a look of confusion.
So I recounted what had happened last night to Mr. Chang and the others. Mr. Chang gasped, "If that's the case, the murderer of Ergui might not be human but some kind of spirit that can influence others' consciousness."
Wudao added, "It seems so. With the skills that Chang Lao and I possess, the murderer can't harm us. Yang Hao has the Book of Life and Death within him; no spirit would dare approach him. Since we heard splashing sounds, it could be something like a water ghost. Let's search the lotus pond nearby to see if there's anything unusual."
Thus, Douding, Wuhe, Mr. Chang, and I searched for clues along both sides of the Qingliang Temple's lotus pond. Indeed, we found some traces.
Not far from the mountain gate, there was a lush area of lotus leaves where many stems had been broken. Although the surrounding water was no longer murky, it was evident that a struggle or fight had taken place here.
The lotus pond felt eerie, reminding us of what happened during the Cultural Revolution with Old Priest. However, the water ghosts from that time had already been dealt with by Old Priest; how could they have returned now?
We searched around the lotus pond for a while but found no further clues. Suddenly, I remembered I still had the Zhou Compass. I took it out and adjusted the needle to a point very close to the origin.
The surrounding light dimmed instantly, and last night's scene replayed before us. We saw Ergui approaching from the direction of Niujia Village, his body covered in scratches and holding a grass-woven rope in his hand. He hung the rope on the mountain gate and hanged himself.
Behind Ergui stood a very ugly child.
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