It was the sixty-year-old man who spoke before. Everyone turned around and saw him slowly holding on to the chair and standing up from the chair.

One of the middle-aged men immediately turned back and carefully helped the old man into the yard.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the old man has a very high status in the hearts of the villagers. After he stopped him, all the originally irritable villagers calmed down and stood aside honestly.

The old man's eyes passed through everyone and stopped on Ling Yun.

He was wearing a gray cloth shirt, had a short and stiff mustache, and had a pair of brown eyes sunk deeply into his eye sockets, his eyes as sharp and bright as if they could pierce people's hearts.

"My surname is Li, and I am the head of this village. Old man, although I am a rural villager, I can see that you don't seem to be passing by by chance."

Although the old man's tone was calm, his words were indeed sharp: "The purpose of your coming here is probably to investigate the affairs of this village, right?"

Village Chief Li's words hit the nail on the head, and everyone looked at each other in confusion when they heard what he said, not knowing how to respond.

"Since you always get straight to the point, I won't hide anything."

Ling Yun simply admitted the purpose of his group: "We are very interested in the culture of Guxun Village, and the purpose of this trip is indeed the same. Our companions may have been too impatient before, so they treated you roughly. Here

, I apologize to you on their behalf."

"It doesn't matter. I'm too old to argue with young people."

Village Chief Li waved his hand, twirling his beard and said: "Our village is sparsely populated. Looking at it, there are only about a hundred households. The total population of the village is only more than 500. Speaking of which, our ancestors fled to avoid war.

This is where we settled down."

Village Chief Li told everyone that his family has held the position of village chief since their ancestors; his family has lived here for generations to facilitate the care of the ancestral hall.

Speaking of the ancestral hall in Guxun Village, in addition to being used to worship and worship ancestors, it is also used to handle weddings, funerals, birthdays, weddings and other events.

Apart from this, I and other clan members seldom set foot in it, let alone other ordinary villagers.

"But as soon as your companions arrived, they ignored my dissuasion and insisted on going to the ancestral hall to find out. I am old and have poor health, so I really can't stop them."

Village Chief Li sighed: "If you want to know things about the village, you can sit down and chat calmly. Old man, I know everything. As long as it doesn't offend the ancestors, there is nothing to hide. It's just outsiders breaking into the ancestral hall.

It is a great disrespect to our ancestors. Hey, even if I die, I will never be able to face the ancestors of the Li family."

No one expected that Village Chief Li could be so easy to talk to.

Shen Tinglan glanced at Erika Nakama, and remembered the ruined temple described by the other party before, and immediately asked: "Village Chief Li, before we found an abandoned temple near the top of the mountain in the north, I wonder if it is the ancient Xun Village.

Was it built? Which immortal family is that temple dedicated to?"

Village Chief Li raised his head, squinted his eyes and recalled carefully: "What you are talking about should be the temple built by the ancestors for the mountain god on Qingyuan Mountain. According to legend, when the ancestors migrated here, the tribesmen inhaled poisonous miasma on the way and were contaminated.

The disease was difficult to treat with medicine or stone. At the time of crisis, fortunately, a red snake carrying a magical grass came to his rescue."

The red snake has spirit, it can turn into a dragon after a hundred years, and the dragon will turn into a dragon after a thousand years.

The ancestors of the Li family deeply felt his kindness and called him the mountain god. They built a temple for him and offered incense to him to help him cultivate the right path as soon as possible.

In order to correct the path and accumulate blessings by doing good deeds, the red snake has been protecting Guxun Village, eliminating various diseases, floods and other natural disasters for the villagers, and making the livestock harvest abundant.

Therefore, every year in the sixth and seventh lunar months, when the mountains and countryside are green, the grass is green, and the leaves are in bloom, the villagers of Guxun Village, led by the village chief, dress up in rich clothes, bring wine, meat and food, and head to Qingyuan.

Mountain, participate in the annual ritual of worshiping the mountain god, and pray for the safety of the village and avoid disasters.

For hundreds of years, under the protection of the mountain god, Guxun Village has enjoyed good weather and the villagers live and work in peace and contentment.

But in the summer of the 13th year of Yongli's reign, heavy rains continued for several days. A river named Yongjiang River burst its banks on Qingyuan Mountain, and an unprecedented flood swept across the country.

Even though the villagers offered sacrifices devoutly every day, they still could not escape the punishment of heaven. Floods broke out, mud and rocks poured in, and Guxun Village suffered heavy casualties. Worshiping the mountain god had no effect at all.

The ancestors guessed that the red snake had accumulated blessings for hundreds of years and was supported by incense. He might have transformed into a dragon and ascended to the Qingyuan Mountain and left Qingyuan Mountain.

Without the protection of the red snake, the elders in the village believed that the surge in water level was because the river god was angry and needed to be appeased as soon as possible.

In desperation, the ancestors had to offer the young girls in the village as sacrifices and throw them into the Yong River to appease the anger of the river god. But who knew that this method actually worked.

After that, every twenty years, the villagers would instead offer sacrifices to the Yong River in order to pray for good weather. Over time, the temple, which was originally full of incense, fell into disuse.

Village Chief Li said that the terrain to the north of Qingyuan Mountain is steep and surrounded by fog all year round, and poisonous snakes and wild beasts frequently appear in the forest.

Since the temple was abandoned, villagers have rarely set foot there for hundreds of years. Now, except for a few members of the older generation, almost no one in the village knows the origin of the abandoned temple on the top of the mountain.

After listening to what he said, Zhao Sicheng shook his head, lowered his voice and said in Shen Tinglan's ear: "Superstition is really killing people. Where did the gods come from in this world? If there really is such a thing, I would like to pay homage to it. See

Let's see if the old man can save me from space..."

"Fat man, be serious." Shen Tinglan calmly nudged the other person with her elbow, and the latter shrugged and stepped aside.

"Village chief, you just mentioned that our ancestors used young girls to sacrifice themselves. So may I ask, are those girls willing?" Ling Yun asked without hesitation the doubts in his mind.

Village Chief Li did not hide it. He nodded candidly: "It is a supreme honor to be offered as a sacrifice to the River God. Once someone's daughter is selected, her parents will also enjoy it in the future.

The best treatment in the village. On the second day after the sacrifice, we will take the girl's body back to the ancestral hall and keep it there for three days to receive the thanks of the whole village. After that, she can be laid to rest and buried in the ancestral grave."

"What nonsense!" Hearing this, Zhao Sicheng couldn't hold it in any longer.

Ignoring the resistance of the surrounding villagers, he pointed at Village Chief Li's nose and yelled: "That's a living human life! You are killing people, you know? There are no mountain gods or river gods, they are all superstitious!"

"You brat, how dare you blaspheme God!"

"If you don't beat them to death, throw them to Qingyuan Mountain!"

Zhao Sicheng's words aroused the anger of the villagers. On the other hand, Village Chief Li was surprisingly calm and did not feel angry. Ling Yun did not express his position, but stopped Zhao Sicheng and asked him: "You said every twenty years

A sacrifice will be held, I wonder if it will be arranged this year?"

Village Chief Li raised his head, his wrinkled face had sunken eye sockets, his eyes were calm and deep, as calm as a pool of water.

Ling Yun already knew it in his heart and said to him: "Since it is a rule set by the ancestors of your village, as outsiders, it is not easy for us to point fingers. It was my friend who was impulsive just now, and I apologize to you on his behalf."

"The ancestral hall is the resting place of my Li family. Your companions are all very skilled. I don't want the villagers to conflict with them in the ancestral hall. If it's convenient, could you please give me some persuasion and let those few people leave as soon as possible?

"

Village Chief Li suddenly said: "As long as you stop interfering with the affairs of the village, I can host you for one night. For my sake, the villagers will not embarrass you. At dawn tomorrow, please leave early.

.If you continue to stay, it will only cause dissatisfaction among the villagers."
Chapter completed!