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墨書 Inktalez
Suddenly, the old man was startled by the gun in my hand. He raised both hands and tossed the severed head back to its original place, saying to me, "Young lady, let's talk calmly. Guns can go off easily, so please don't make any sudden moves."
Seeing him throw the head away, I also put my gun away, and the atmosphere relaxed instantly.
Mu Xuanche could threaten people, but he couldn't ease the tension. Bai Qiling watched the whole scene unfold like a spectator.
Now it was my turn to step in. I walked up to the old man and pulled out all the bullets from my gun to reassure him.
"Old sir, we mean no harm. Please don't be afraid. We just find this place strange and want to know the truth," I said.
The old man turned his head to look at me closely. "Young lady, are you really not here to take revenge on Hong Village?"
Upon hearing this, I immediately realized there was more to the story. It seemed that the old man was on guard against us because he feared others might come to Hong Village for revenge.
"No, old sir. We just happened to pass by and felt that something was off about this village. It's clearly a place with excellent feng shui, yet it has turned into something so eerie that we found it strange," I explained.
The old man helplessly found a stone to sit on and sighed heavily. "If it weren't for necessity, who would want to ruin good feng shui? We have disturbed this place's feng shui because of that thief," he said, pointing angrily at a tree.
"Old sir, can you tell us what is going on with that tree?" I asked.
A hundred years ago, members of the Liu Family fled from war with their entire clan and settled in Hong Village, naming it "Hong" in hopes that their descendants would achieve great success.
Among the Liu Family was a remarkable figure named Liu An, who was well-versed in the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams. He chose Hong Village for its exceptional feng shui, valuing its geographical advantage.
After moving here, the Liu Family indeed prospered and produced many outstanding talents.
However, thirty years ago, this good fortune suddenly changed. The once-thriving Hong Village began experiencing a series of mysterious disappearances.
The disappearance rate was roughly one person a month. At first, it didn’t attract widespread attention, but as the numbers grew, fear began to spread among the villagers.
The village chief organized everyone to investigate and discovered that a Giant Banyan Tree had been planted at the site of a significant feng shui bloodline. The missing individuals had all been consumed by the tree, leaving only their skulls hanging from its branches.
After some discussion, the villagers decided to burn the Giant Banyan Tree.
Strange things began to happen; no matter what they did, the fire would extinguish as soon as it reached the vicinity of the Giant Banyan Tree.
The villagers then attempted to chop down the Giant Banyan Tree, but it bled when struck.
The foul-smelling blood splattered onto those nearby, causing them to collapse and die instantly.
Now, no one dared to step forward to destroy the tree. Eventually, they sought out the village's feng shui heir, an old man named Liu Shaoming, who stood before them now.
He was a direct disciple of Liu An, which meant his skills were quite profound.
Liu Shaoming spent three sleepless nights observing the Giant Banyan Tree, determined to uncover the source of its malevolence. He sensed something was amiss with the tree and suspected that something had been placed at its roots, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
Later, he found clues in ancient texts left by his master. He informed the village chief that Liu Clan Hong Village was doomed.
This man-eating tree required three hundred and eighty lives from Liu Clan Hong Village to be satisfied and could not be destroyed.
The only thing he could do was delay the tree's consumption of lives and send disciples from the village out to learn if they could find a way to break its curse.
However, as soon as those disciples left the village, one by one they collapsed and died. Even those who were strong and fit didn’t last long before succumbing.
No one in the village dared to go outside, which is why we saw so many people when we entered.
To save everyone in the village, Liu Shaoming reversed the entire feng shui of the place; what was once auspicious was turned into something ominous.
Every household was filled with a heavy presence of Yin Qi, and this method proved effective.
Originally, someone died every month in the village, but now it had changed to once every three months.
Liu Shaoming could have escaped, but he chose to stay. He sent his master's only child away, hoping that the clever child would learn the skills needed to return and break the curse on Hong Village, helping it regain its vitality.
Meanwhile, he vowed to remain by the Banyan Tree for the rest of his life, using his last breath to protect Hong Village.
Having heard all this, I finally understood the situation. I asked Liu Shaoming, "Old man, do you know who buried this bloodshed in Hong Village? Such a cruel act must have stemmed from deep hatred or enmity."
"I do not know," he replied.
Though he said he didn't know, I could see his eyes flickering, clearly trying to avoid my question.
I decided not to press further when Mu Xuanche suddenly spoke up.
"Is the child who was sent away named Liu Qingfeng?"
Everyone present was stunned, including myself.
Liu Qingfeng...
Could it be the Liu Qingfeng I know? He is from Hong Village.
Liu Shaoming suddenly sprang up from the stone, "Who are you?"
"Is he the Liu Qingfeng I know?" I asked Mu Xuanche.
He nodded. I pulled Liu Shaoming over and asked him, "Is the child you sent Liu Qingfeng, the disciple of Golden Cicada? The same Liu Qingfeng who only became a master over a decade ago?"
After looking at me for a moment, he finally nodded.
This place is actually Liu Qingfeng's hometown. If Liu Qingfeng was sent away, shouldn't he have gone to find something to break the curse of Hong Village? Why has he willingly hidden in our village for over a decade?
"Girl, do you know my Qingfeng, Nephew?"
I told Liu Shaoming that Liu Qingfeng had been living in our village in seclusion for over ten years.
"Who is your grandfather?"
I didn't hide anything from Liu Shaoming and told him my grandfather is Gu Rong, known as Gu Hunchback.
Immediately, tears streamed down his face as he cried like a child.
Even though his granddaughter Ling'er kept trying to comfort him, it was of no use; he cried fiercely as if venting his emotions.
We didn't intervene and just let him cry it out.
When Liu Shaoming finally stopped crying, he began to speak to us.
"Old Man Liu has been good to me. Liu Yazi is a fine young man; he's had a tough life, and even after being away for so long, he hasn't forgotten his roots. The Liu Clan has hope, and Hong Village can be saved. It’s not in vain that I’ve spent countless nights straining my eyes, and I even have to rely on this poor granddaughter of mine."
As Old Man Liu spoke, he affectionately patted his granddaughter's head, his expression stubborn yet tender.
I couldn't understand how Liu Qingfeng's seclusion could lead to the prosperity of Liu Village. Was there something in our village that could save Hong Village? Was that why Liu Qingfeng chose to hide away here?
I asked Liu Shaoming about it, but he didn’t answer us; instead, he told us to go down the mountain first. He said he would come to the village chief's house to find us later and explain everything.
After discussing among ourselves, we finally agreed and returned to the village chief's house. As soon as we reached the entrance of the courtyard, we saw the chief sitting on the stone steps smoking a pipe.
Upon seeing us return, he first looked pleased but then frowned at us. "You young people never listen! I told you not to go to the back mountain at night. I was worried you wouldn't be honest, so I got up in the middle of the night to check. I didn't expect you all to have already left. Are you all unhurt? Did Old Man Liu do anything to you?"
The village chief seemed like a kind-hearted man; even when we deceived him, he only cared about our safety and immediately asked if we were injured upon our return.
His concern made me feel a bit guilty. I smiled and replied, "Don't worry, Chief. Look at us; we're back safe and sound."
To confirm how much truth there was in Liu Shaoming's words, I told the chief what he had said. He helplessly nodded and informed us that there were already three heads hanging from trees at his home.
This was the calamity of Hong Village; who knew who could change it?
"The village chief, why has Hong Village been cursed like this? Did you offend someone?"
The village chief glanced at me and said, "I don't know either. That was something from the time of my great-grandfather. According to him, in order to protect the people of Liu Clan, he once did something that harmed others. So this curse is a retaliation against Hong Village."
Seeing that he genuinely didn't know, I decided not to press further.
I obediently followed Mu Xuanche back to sleep, thinking that once Liu Shaoming arrived, we would surely find out more.
However, I didn't expect that by the time Second came around, we hadn't seen Liu Shaoming. Instead, his granddaughter Ling'er arrived in tears.
She cried as she told us that Liu Shaoming had died.
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