Chapter 248

The ceremony for raising a beam when building a house is the most solemn for commoners.

Once the beam is raised, the house is considered built; usually, the ceremony must be performed fully, with firecrackers sounding, and those who are wealthy will invite neighbors to a feast.

This type of ceremony is mostly performed by a carpenter.

Of course, most of them are not people of the Mystic Sect; they are just rules passed down by word of mouth, hoping for good luck and celebration.

Unexpectedly, something truly went wrong.

"This, this..."

The carpenter's ink marker fell from his hand, and he was so frightened he retreated repeatedly.

The host sat down on the ground, his face pale, trembling as he said: "How... how could this happen?"

"The wooden beam is bleeding!"

"An ominous sign..."

The surrounding commoners also exclaimed, each one dumbfounded.

"Everyone move aside!"

Guan Peide was originally somewhat strange as to why Li Yan and the others had stopped.

Seeing that something had happened, he hurriedly scolded the crowd to disperse, then turned around, his face uneasy: "Li Li Shaoxia, what is going on?"

The matter of the headless knight hadn't been resolved, and now this ominous sign had appeared in the village, making him feel increasingly uneasy.

Li Yan stepped forward to check and saw that the wooden beam had a dark color, was not young, and smelled the corpse Qi emanating from within; he had already guessed it in his heart and turned to ask: "Where did you find this thing?"

"This..."

The host's eyes flickered: "I cut it from the mountain."

Wang Daoxuan, who was beside him, shook his head: "This thing is an object from a tomb, quite evil; since something has already happened, don't hide it anymore."

"Wu Laosi!"

Guan Peide, who was beside him, was furious upon hearing this: "Things have come to this, and you still dare to hide it? I wondered why you suddenly had money to build a house; it turns out you were engaged in grave robbing!"

The villagers nearby heard this and also cursed angrily.

"Good, Wu Laosi, you actually dare to be a grave robber!"

"I wondered why you, a lazy fellow, suddenly got rich?"

"Catch him and send him to the government office!"

Guan Family Village was not far from the Guan Mausoleum, and the villagers all considered themselves tomb guardians; they couldn't bear to see the trees near the mausoleum damaged, and they detested grave robbing deeply.

"No, no, no, I didn't!"

Seeing this situation, the host was scared to death and hurriedly explained: "These things were all picked up by me."

"Picked up?"

Guan Peide's eyes burned with anger: "You think I'll believe that?"

A happy event had turned into a disaster; seeing the surrounding people cursing, his wife and children all ran over, wailing loudly.

"It really was picked up!"

The host was also trembling all over, kneeling on the ground, snot and tears flowing, as he told the sequence of events.

"A few days ago, I finished a job and got paid, and just happened to run into Liu Quezi in the city, so we got together and drank some rough wine; it was already dark when we left the city..."

"We were a bit drunk and stumbled halfway when we suddenly heard someone talking behind us, but when we turned back, we couldn't see anything. The voice said, please help us with a favor, and then we would be rewarded with a fortune..."

"We were terrified and wanted to run away, but no matter what, we couldn't walk out of the mountain path; knowing we had encountered a ghost wall, we could only listen to its instructions."

"Oh?"

Wang Daoxuan was lost in thought: "What did that thing want you to do?"

Wu Laosi said with a mournful face: "We are still a bit confused; we just followed the voice, and after walking for a while, we arrived at a temple."

"That temple was very large, and there were many people inside, each wearing yellow clothes, their faces like dead people, and they didn't speak, just stared straight at us."

"We were terrified and didn't dare to ask more; following the voice's instructions, we pulled out a few flags outside the temple, and then after a moment of confusion, we were back on the mountain path."

"This time we walked out, but didn't go far before we found many dead people, as if bitten to death by some wild beast."

"Liu Quezi said this was a fortune sent by a mountain immortal, so we searched those people for quite a bit of silver, split it, and hurriedly left the mountain path."

"Those people were also carrying a few logs; I saw one that looked good, thinking it could serve as a beam, so I went back and carried the log home."

Guan Peide said coldly: "This matter clearly has ghosts, why didn't you report it to the government immediately?"

Wu Laosi said with a mournful face: "That Liu Quezi is an old bachelor and has connections with gangs in the city, threatening that if I leaked this, he would come to find trouble with me."

Guan Peide frowned: "Wu Laosi, you are still not being honest!"

"This old man grew up in Guan Family Village and has been all around the surroundings; apart from the Guan Mausoleum, where have I ever seen a temple? What on earth is going on?"

"Clan leader, every word I say is the truth."

Wu Laosi was anxious and hurriedly swore an oath: "If there is half a word of falsehood, may I be struck by lightning. It's just that those corpses disappeared again, so the government didn't know about this matter."

"By the way, later when the headless knight appeared, Liu Quezi found me again; he had gambled away all the silver he got and asked me to lend him some more, and also asked if I remembered the road that night."

"He took the silver and left in a hurry; he hasn't been here for a while, saying he was going to find that immortal again..."

The crowd was dumbfounded upon hearing this.

An old man shook his head: "You were bold; that thing is likely some evil monster in the mountains, and you dared to take dead man's money, not afraid of bringing disaster to your family."

Guan Peide's expression was dark, and he looked at the wooden beam again.

At this time, the wooden beam was no longer seeping blood, but it was still filled with Yin baleful Qi, and standing beside it made one feel uncomfortable.

He cupped his hands to Li Yan: "Li Li Shaoxia, how should this thing be handled?"

Li Yan didn't know, so he hurriedly looked at Wang Daoxuan.

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said: "This thing is a 'Tomb Blood Beam'; originally, the Yin baleful Qi was restrained and not apparent, but it was the Yang Qi of the rooster's comb blood that drew out the Yin baleful Qi."

"Now that the Yin baleful Qi is revealed, if there are no accidents, it will inevitably attract wandering ghosts to cause mischief tonight."

"Find some rooster comb blood to splash on it, and wait until it no longer seeps blood, then use peach wood to pile it up and burn it. Also, take the ashes after burning and splash a circle around the village, and don't leave the house at night."

"If nothing happens after three days, it will be safe."

"We'll listen to the Daoist; no time to lose, act quickly!"

Guan Peide didn't dare to delay upon hearing this and immediately led the villagers to catch roosters and collect peach wood and dry firewood.

The ancestors of the Chu people worshipped the phoenix, believing that the rooster has five virtues and is a small phoenix, so every family raises chickens, and they kill and eat chickens; even many local witchcraft folk customs use chickens.

There is also peach wood, which has the power to drive away evil, but it has taboos, all planted on the hillside outside the village, which is the so-called "Don't plant mulberry in front, don't plant willow behind, don't plant the executioner in the courtyard."

The executioner refers to peach wood.

These two things were never lacking in the village, and they were gathered very quickly.

Splashed with rooster comb blood, the wooden beam began to seep blood again, and this time, everyone could smell a disgusting stench of a corpse.

Wang Daoxuan saw this, and his expression grew solemn.

After splashing it more than ten times, the wooden beam finally stopped seeping blood.

The villagers built a peach wood firewood pile and burned it; immediately, thick smoke billowed, and the acrid stench permeated the entire village.

They busied themselves until the afternoon before the thing was completely burned to ashes.

Guan Peide personally led his son and clan disciples to collect the wood ashes and splash them in a circle around the village.

After a busy time, he asked uneasily: "Is it okay now?"

"Yes."

Wang Daoxuan checked it again, and seeing Li Yan nod, indicating that the Yin baleful Qi of the wood had dissipated, he said: "Tell the commoners not to leave the village at night, hang peach charms at the door, and don't leave the courtyard no matter what sounds you hear."

There was no need for him to say more; no one in the village dared to be careless. After all, this kind of strange event had terrified everyone.

Guan Peide was also furious, cursing: "Wu Laosi, your greed has brought disaster to the village; this matter cannot be treated lightly."

"Go to the county office tomorrow morning to explain the matter clearly, and after that, come to the ancestral hall to be punished; you must also take out that money, and this old man will add some more to repair the Earth Temple. Do you accept the punishment?"

"I accept the punishment, I accept the punishment!"

Wu Laosi nodded hurriedly, not daring to talk nonsense.

Li Yan and the others saw this and didn't say anything.

In this era, imperial power does not reach the countryside, and the county office has limited manpower; in many places, it is either clan rules or village rules and civil agreements that govern.

There are not a few landlords and gentry who use clan rules to bully people.

But this thing is indispensable.

Just like the previous Zhu Family Fort, the village head was too lazy to manage, resulting in a corrupt atmosphere, and the younger generation went to be river pirates, not only bringing death upon themselves but also bringing destruction to the village.

If this kind of matter is not handled strictly, it is inevitable that people will be tempted, and eventually everyone will follow suit, leading to a corruption of the atmosphere.

!.

After dealing with this matter, Guan Peide said gratefully: "Li Li Shaoxia, you've worked hard; you haven't even entered the door and you're already being troubled."

"Please come to my home; this old man has already ordered a banquet to be prepared to welcome you all."

With that, he led the group away from Wu Laosi's house.

This Guan Family Village was a typical Ezhou clan communal residence, with the old house as the center, built into an ancestral hall, with descendants expanding and building outward.

Of course, houses cannot be built in front of the ancestral hall.

Not long after walking, they saw a massive archway.

The couplet on the archway read "Righteousness and courage passed down through the family, praised for a thousand autumns," and the lower couplet was "Loyal soul protects the world, worshipped for ten thousand generations," with the horizontal scroll "Guan Clan's Legacy."

The traveling merchants said the Guan clan was a great family in Dangyang, and this was no lie; their manor was built quite grandly.

Just the courtyards numbered over a dozen, with over fifty main rooms and side rooms, as well as ancestral halls, family schools, stables, mills, and other buildings.

Of course, this large manor was not lived in by one family; the various branches of the Guan clan lived in different parts of the manor.

The affairs of Li Yan and his group had long since spread, and since they had resolved a disaster as soon as they entered the village, the Guan family naturally wanted to entertain them as best they could.

Even the presentation of the banquet was quite particular.

"Gentlemen, this is called Dangyang Head Dish..."

Although this old man Guan Peide also practiced martial arts, he was in the scholarly circle, and the disciples in his family all read the Spring and Autumn Annals; his way of speaking and doing things was also that of a scholar, and he spoke of the origins of the banquet in a logical way.

The head dish he spoke of, also called "Three Suns Ye Kulong Prosperity," was made of meat cake, egg rolls, and meatballs.

In the center were eight pearl meatballs, surrounded by a circle of egg rolls, and beneath the egg rolls was a circle of sliced meat cake, garnished with shredded lean meat, wood ear mushrooms, and daylilies.

Arranged neatly, it looked quite exquisite.

In addition, there was the rule of "Four Big and Six Small."

Meat cake meatballs, lily bulb stir-fried meat, braised pork, and clear-stewed pork belly were the four big bowls; the "six small" were roast chicken, braised fish, pork liver, lean meat, beef or mutton, and pork tripe.

Li Yan and the others hadn't eaten since morning and had been busy until now, already starving, so they didn't care about any particularities and ate until they were sweating.

Guan Peide was also very patient; seeing this, he only urged them to drink and didn't say much else, and seeing Sha Lifei liked the roast chicken, he had two more brought over.

After eating and drinking their fill, drinking tea, the few felt comfortable.

Guan Peide poured another round of tea for them and sighed: "Li Li Shaoxia and the others truly have real skills; this matter has kept this old man from eating or sleeping day and night, and I hope..."

"Old Sir Guan, rest assured!"

Sha Lifei patted his chest and said: "That demonic person also has the guts of a bear, daring to tarnish Guan Er-ge's reputation; we certainly won't let them off!"

"That's good, that's good."

Guan Peide's face showed joy upon hearing this.

But Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan were not so optimistic.

Li Yan pondered for a moment and said: "I fear this matter isn't that simple; earlier there were too many eyes and ears, so I didn't dare to say much, lest I frighten the commoners."

"What Wu Laosi encountered is definitely not a simple character!"

"Oh?"

Guan Peide's heart skipped a beat: "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said: "According to what Guan Jushi said, there is fundamentally no temple nearby, but Wu Laosi saw it with his own eyes; it is clearly that he was caught in an illusion, and perhaps he drilled into some mountain cave or grave hole."

"Only mountain spirits and monsters with significant cultivation can use such methods."

"There are fox demons that have gone astray that deceive passersby, making them mistakenly believe they have entered a wealthy household, enjoying all the pleasures, and dying without even knowing they were lying in a grave hole."

"The temple manifested by that monster is even more extraordinary, and those yellow-clothed people are likely ghosts driven by it."

"And that headless knight impersonating the Guan Saint Emperor Lord is likely another group of people causing mischief."

Guan Peide broke out in cold sweat: "This... when did so many monsters and ghosts come to Dangyang County? What is their intention in causing such mischief?"

"The key lies right here."

Li Yan said in a deep voice: "The dead people Wu Laosi encountered are mostly related to this matter, and the wooden beam dug out was obtained from grave robbing."

"And the flags around that monster's temple were clearly placed under restrictions, enticing Wu Laosi and the others to help them break them, and then they killed those people."

"If we find out the identities of these people, the truth of this matter will be revealed. Unfortunately, Wu Laosi hid this matter, and the corpses of those people have also disappeared."

"And the Guan Mausoleum, frequently struck by lightning—if it is truly related to these people, then their methods are absolutely extraordinary!"

Guan Peide was dumbfounded.

He had thought it was just ordinary martial world demonic people causing mischief, wanting to tarnish the Guan Saint Emperor Lord's reputation and cause trouble for their Guan family, which was why he was so anxious.

Now it seems the matter is likely even bigger than he imagined.

"This, what should we do?"

Guan Peide was somewhat anxious.

"Old Sir Guan, don't panic."

Li Yan stood up: "That rice-asking crone likely discovered something and was harmed by them."

"As long as we can save her and wake her up, we can ask clearly."

"Good, good, please follow me, gentlemen."

Guan Peide hurriedly stood up and led the group to a small courtyard.

They saw that in the side room of the courtyard, an old crone in black was lying on the bed, her eyes tightly shut, teeth clenched, her withered fists tightly gripped.

Fortunately, she didn't have many teeth left; a maid was holding a bamboo tube, sucking up some thin porridge, and blowing it through the bamboo tube.

"Old Sir Guan has a kind heart."

Wang Daoxuan nodded in appreciation upon seeing this.

Guan Peide sighed: "Although my Guan family mainly focuses on farming and reading, we dare not forget martial world righteousness, so how could we just leave her there?"

"But I invited several physicians, and none could wake her up, so we can only use this method to hang onto her last breath."

Wang Daoxuan nodded, took out a drive-away-evil-and-bless-fortune coin from his bosom, placed it on the black-clothed old crone's forehead, took out a yellow paper charm, circled it three times, and lit it to make charm water.

He performed a hand seal with his left hand, dipped his right hand into the charm water, tasted it carefully, and then frowned: "Sure enough, her soul is lost."

"Old Sir Guan, help me find a rooster; I will summon her soul tonight for this fellow Daoist. If we can find it, this matter will be easy to handle."

Sha Lifei asked curiously: "What if we can't find it?"

Li Yan said coldly: "Then it's being suppressed by something. I'll take action and snatch it back!"

(End of chapter)