Chapter 331: Lake Liangzi Lake Strange Tales

"After encoffining, the wake and the funeral rites must last seven days..."

"There is no need to choose a burial site this time; the funeral and burial will take two days..."

In the small courtyard, Wang Wang Daoxuan explained to everyone while eating breakfast.

"These matters can be arranged by me. The Shen family will provide the people, so you don't need to exert yourselves; it's just right for you to investigate in secret."

"On the way here, I already observed that the water veins of Lake Liangzi Lake are vast, surrounded by mountains; it is a place of excellent feng shui, and there are many hidden spots."

"After the funeral, even if we don't find clues, we can find a place to live in seclusion and rest, and practice with the firearms."

"The Daoist's words are very true."

Li Yan nodded in agreement: "Later, Brother Lu San and Wu Ba will come with me, just say we're going to enjoy the scenery nearby. Uncle Sha, you stay to protect the Daoist, and while you're at it, gather some intelligence from the villagers."

As their team grew, they could act more freely, splitting up to act according to different situations and personnel combinations.

For example, Wang Wang Daoxuan was best at this funeral, and Sha Sha Li Fei could help and communicate, posing no danger in the village.

If exploring the wilderness, Sha Sha Li Fei's long-range sniping, combined with Lu San, could handle most situations.

As for Li Yan, who had the strongest combat power, he would act as needed.

The reason he brought Wu Ba was that Li Yan still didn't trust him, fearing that if he didn't see Lu San, the fellow would panic and go mad.

After making arrangements, Li Yan took Lu San and Wu Ba, made up a random excuse, bid farewell to Young Master Shen, and arrived at the village ferry.

Beside the ferry were several flat-bottomed fishing boats.

"My Lord, it's this one."

The servant sent by the Shen family hurriedly stepped forward and untied the cable tied to the wooden stake: "This boat belongs to my Shen family; we usually use it to clean up and catch river shrimp. Please feel free to use it."

Longquan Mountain was to the north of Lake Liangzi Lake; if they went by land, they would have to climb mountains and ridges for a long time, so the best way was to take a boat.

Because it was a secret investigation, it wasn't convenient to bring people.

"Many thanks."

Li Yan smiled and nodded: "The scenery of Lake Liangzi Lake is quite beautiful. We will wander around, and perhaps we will camp in the wilderness and won't return for a few days. Please explain this to Young Master Shen."

"Young Hero, you are too polite."

The servant was about to turn away, but hesitated and turned his head again: "Young Hero is a high-level expert, and it is not my place to talk too much, but you are not familiar with this place, so there are some things I must mention."

Li Yan became interested: "Is there danger here?"

The servant replied: "This Lake Liangzi Lake covers more than 700,000 mu and has vast waters. Since ancient times, many kiln sites have been built around the surrounding mountains."

"Some kiln sites belong to the Miao people and are close to the Miao villages. They don't like outsiders getting close, and I've heard they even use gu poison..."

"Also, there are three taboos in Lake Liangzi Lake that you must pay attention to."

"First, when it thunders and rains, never go into the water. Legend has it that a long time ago, Lake Liangzi Lake was land, and there was a Gaotang County. Later, there was a torrential rain, the earth dragon turned over, and it directly turned into a lake of ten thousand mu."

"So the common people say that when it rains, countless wronged souls at the bottom of the lake will float to the surface to hook people. I don't know if this is true, but we have been told since childhood not to go into the water on rainy days..."

"Second, the old kiln sites in the mountains. This place has been firing kilns since the Qin and Han dynasties. Some have been abandoned and often have strange occurrences. Never get close at night..."

"The third is the gu jars. I heard they are placed by the gu grandmothers of the Miao villages. Sometimes they are in the water, sometimes on the wild paths in the mountains. If you encounter them, hide far away to avoid being hit by the trick..."

Li Yan frowned after hearing this: "So many things, didn't the county magistrate report it and have someone handle it?"

The servant replied: "Monks have been here before, but after turning around a few times, they said there was no problem with Lake Liangzi Lake."

"They did seal several old kiln sites, performed some rituals outside, and I don't know what they said to the people in the Miao villages."

"Since then, there have been fewer gu jars, but sometimes you still encounter them. In short, Young Hero, be careful."

"Understood, many thanks."

Li Yan bowed, then jumped onto the wooden boat.

This wooden boat was not large, about five meters long, more than enough to accommodate three people.

After seeing the servant leave, Li Yan rowed the boat and slowly sailed away from the shore.

Since entering Ezhou, they had traveled mostly by water.

Li Yan's martial arts had reached the Hua Jin level, and his grasp of force was extremely precise. He played with it a few times on the road and had already learned how to row.

Although it was a bit shaky, the speed was extremely fast.

This was hard on the savage Wu Ba, who lay flat in the cabin, his hands tightly gripping the edge of the boat, yelling wildly, fearing he would fall out.

The fear of water seemed to be engraved in his bones.

Li Yan shook his head slightly and looked at Lu San: "Brother Lu San, summon a school of fish to investigate and see what is at the bottom of the lake."

Lu San didn't talk nonsense, pinched the magic formula, reached his body out of the boat, and kept splashing water on the surface.

Soon, schools of fish from all directions gathered.

But when they got close to the wooden boat, they seemed to be frightened by something and suddenly scattered, with no movement at all.

Li Yan frowned: "What's wrong?"

Lu San was thoughtful and looked at the surrounding water: "This place already has an owner. The fish and shrimp won't listen to my orders. Continuing to summon them is a provocation, and I'm afraid I'll be retaliated against."

Hearing this, Li Yan hurriedly pinched the magic formula and took a deep breath.

In an instant, the smell within three hundred meters surged into his nasal cavity.

But apart from the smell of water, there was only some fishy smell of fish and shrimp, without any yin-sha energy, and the bottom of the water was full of the fishy smell of silt and soil.

"This water is quite deep."

Li Yan was a bit surprised. The water under Lake Liangzi Lake was actually a hundred meters deep, and this was not yet at the center of the lake; the further in, the deeper it got.

The olfactory supernatural power would be hindered by soil and water vapor, and a hundred meters was his limit. After traveling a bit further, he couldn't smell anything below.

Thinking of this, Li Yan asked again: "What could it be?"

Lu San replied: "Nothing more than some fish monsters, water demons, or water ghosts, occupying one side and treating this as their territory."

Li Yan shook his head: "If so, don't provoke them. Let's handle the main business first."

As he spoke, he exerted force on his hands, and the small boat accelerated, heading toward the northern waters...

"Have you notified those families?"

"Reporting to Young Master, I couldn't get to it. Besides, our Shen family has had an accident, and others are probably avoiding us..."

"How they act is their business, but the proper etiquette cannot be broken. The more it is like this, the more particular we must be. Send people to announce the funeral; don't miss a single family..."

"Has the compensation for the village been issued?"

"Reporting to Young Master, half has already been distributed, but the Second Master and Third Master are arguing and won't let the treasury silver be touched."

"Take the Black Cloud Guards and go tell them that this is my father's funeral. If they cause trouble again, don't blame me for being heartless!"

"Yes, Young Master!"

Inside the main hall of the Shen residence, Shen Shen Jinghong frowned tightly.

In the Divine Land, weddings and funerals are major life events for everyone, from imperial clans to commoners, and cannot be handled with the slightest negligence.

This is ritual, and it is also a standard.

Some find it tedious, but they do not understand the deep meaning behind it.

It is precisely because of these "rituals" that the country and society can operate steadily. Once "rituals and music collapse," it is a time of chaos and turmoil.

Precisely because of this, throughout the dynasties, the three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism have fought back and forth, all to seize the power to set the rules.

Folk funerals are the same.

It seems like just burying an ancestor, but family, neighbors, colleagues, and business partners... anyone with a connection will gather because of this event.

What to do and how to speak all have their own requirements.

If a small household messes up, at most they will be gossiped about behind their backs by villagers, but if a large household fails to do it properly, it might be the beginning of their decline.

After Shen Shen Jinghong finished arranging everything, he looked at Wang Wang Daoxuan beside him, "Daoist, do you see any oversights?"

Wang Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said, "Young Master Shen has arranged things very thoroughly, except that the time for the funeral is a bit long, a full seven days. The weather is hot now, and I'm afraid your father's body won't hold up." There are rules for the duration of a funeral, usually odd numbers: three, five, or seven days.

Shen Shen Jinghong was also somewhat helpless, "Since it is to be a grand funeral, it must last seven days, and we must wait for some people from the Chamber of Commerce to come and pay their respects. This concerns whether my Shen family can turn things around later."

Wang Wang Daoxuan pondered for a moment, "In that case, this poor Daoist will perform a ritual every night and place Snow Mountain Talismans on the coffin, which should hold until the burial."

"Many thanks, Daoist Wang."

Shen Shen Jinghong bowed in thanks and discussed the burial arrangements with Wang Wang Daoxuan again...

On the dirt slope to the side of the large residence, Sha Sha Li Fei huddled next to the stove, chatting with the carpenters who had come to help while eating old wine and small dishes.

This is also a rule; when carpenters come to work, the host usually treats them well, firstly to show gratitude, and secondly to avoid them being dissatisfied and messing things up.

The food and wine were not high-end goods, but the rice wine brewed by the common people themselves, paired with river fish and shrimp caught in Lake Lake Liangzi, was enough to satisfy the carpenters.

Sha Sha Li Fei was eloquent and soon hit it off with the craftsmen.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became even more harmonious.

!.

Sha Sha Li Fei toasted the others again and chuckled, "You all work all over Jiangxia and are well-informed. Have you ever seen any strange or bizarre things?"

"Heh, I've seen plenty."

One of them liked to brag and immediately said, "Although Jiangxia isn't big, there aren't many people in the yamen, and some places are very closed off; when things happen, they are all handled by clan rules."

"A few years ago, a village in our district was building a house, and the ridgepole wouldn't go up no matter what. Splashing chicken blood didn't work either. In the end, in the middle of the night, the owner's family of over a dozen people all hanged themselves. That scene, tsk tsk..."

"Shut your mouth."

An old carpenter among them scolded with a laugh, "They are professionals who handle these things; don't you know more than them? Don't make a fool of yourself..."

Sha Sha Li Fei laughed, "Old man, you're joking. We're just making a living. What I'm interested in is, are there any rare monsters in this Jiangxia?"

The old carpenter shook his head, "What could there be? Nothing more than wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards. As long as you don't drill into the mountains, it's basically fine."

The man who had been rebuked was a bit unconvinced, "Who says there aren't?"

"Oh?"

Sha Sha Li Fei became interested upon hearing this and hurriedly poured wine, "Brother, tell me about it."

The man hesitated at first, but with the alcohol kicking in and everyone watching, he said in a low voice, "You must never talk nonsense about this matter."

"A while ago, I took a job at Baihe Bay to make a dozen coffins, and I encountered a strange thing."

The old carpenter beside him sneered, "How rare could it be? A while ago, evil people caused chaos, and many people died. There weren't enough coffins in the county. Who among us hasn't taken a lot of jobs?"

"I've made at least twenty thin-skinned coffins myself..."

"What do you know?!"

The man's face turned red, and he glared, "I saw the dead people in the coffins. They weren't knife wounds at all, but were bitten by wild beasts."

"There were a few corpses whose bodies were half-bitten away. I used wood to patch them, and I did it with my own hands."

"I also saw a tooth mark. A single tooth was as thick as a fist. I don't know what kind of thing bit them."

"Damn it, it's scary just thinking about it..."

"Baihe Bay?"

Sha Sha Li Fei was lost in thought, "Where is that village?"

The man replied, "Just north of Lake Lake Liangzi..."

Just as he was speaking, a commotion suddenly came from the courtyard.

Sha Sha Li Fei frowned and hurriedly stood up to enter the Shen residence.

The carpenters also wanted to join in the fun, but were stopped by the Shen family servants.

Sha Sha Li Fei quickly arrived at the side courtyard, only to see the Shen family swordsmen surrounding the courtyard where the second and third branches lived, forbidding anyone from going out.

The people of the second and third branches were also cursing loudly.

"Where did you get the guts?!"

"Let that little bastard come out and see us!"

"Exactly, what qualification does he have to be in charge?"

Sha Sha Li Fei listened from the side and understood the cause.

It was Shen Shen Jinghong handling the funeral and wanting to use the silver in the treasury. These people were anxious and wanted to stop him, but were blocked in the courtyard.

"A bunch of idiots..."

Sha Sha Li Fei cursed inwardly, his face full of mockery.

These guys hadn't figured out the situation yet. Although Shen Shen Jinghong was weak, when a scholar is pushed to the edge and starts playing dirty, he shows no mercy.

When the old steward sent compensation this morning, he pushed all the reasons for the delay onto these two branches, and they had already lost the hearts of the people...

The people sent out to announce the funeral would also complain about this matter.

These two families were not in the right to begin with, and now even the old lady didn't want to bother with them. I'm afraid that once the funeral is over, they will be kicked out.

Shen Shen Jinghong would still be able to maintain a good reputation.

If they had tried their best to help, they might have been able to get some silver, but now that they were causing trouble, I'm afraid they wouldn't get a single copper...

Sure enough, the Shen family swordsmen had clearly received orders. Seeing someone trying to force their way out, they showed no mercy and beat them back directly.

The old steward also heard the sound and came over, saying coldly, "The old lady has given orders: whoever dares to cause trouble again, pack your bags and get out now!"

Hearing the old lady's words, the people of the second and third branches immediately lost their arrogance and had to suppress their anger and go back.

After returning to the room, the fat and thin old men were both furious, but since that incident last night, the old lady of the Shen family would no longer see them.

Even if they wanted to cause trouble, they had nowhere to exert their strength.

Just then, Shen Shen Jingcan's eyes rolled, and he suddenly said, "Father, Third Uncle, that brat Shen Shen Jinghong is sincerely forcing us into a dead end. If we keep making trouble, we won't get anything good."

"We must find a way out."

"What way out?"

"Shen Shen Jinghong doesn't want the treasure from Great Uncle, right? Instead of entangling here, why don't we go find it."

"If we find it, will we still need to suffer this anger?"

…………

On the other side, seeing that there was no more fun to watch, Sha Sha Li Fei also returned to the room, picked up a pen to write a note, and stuffed it into a bamboo tube.

To facilitate communication, the falcon was still kept at the Shen residence.

After Sha Sha Li Fei tied the bamboo tube, the falcon soared into the sky, circled the lake a few times, and headed north.

On the northern shore of Lake Lake Liangzi, Li Yan and the other two had just come ashore from the boat.

Seeing the falcon land, Lu San hurriedly raised his arm to catch it, then took off the bamboo tube and handed it to Li Yan.

"Baihe Bay?"

After reading it, Li Yan nodded, "Perfect, let's take advantage of the fact that it's not dark yet to go nearby and inquire."

Upon hearing this, Lu San released the falcon again.

Sha Sha Li Fei's strength on that side was relatively weak, so the falcon had to be kept at the Shen residence; if something happened, they could be notified in time.

They dragged the boat ashore and covered it well with branches, then walked along the riverbank and forest, preparing to find someone to ask for directions first.

However, they hadn't gone far when the wild man Wu Ba suddenly shuddered, lowered his body, and growled at the forest.

Li Yan hurriedly pinched a mantra and took a deep sniff.

"Be careful, there are wild beasts."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a black shadow appear in the dark part of the forest in the distance. It was blurry and its appearance could not be seen clearly, but it was gently beckoning to them...

(End of chapter)