Chapter 37 Lost Soul
Chapter 37 Lost Soul
Yunqi responded with a smile, flipped down from the house, landed on the ground with a few leaps, and came to the campfire.
He came and sat down next to the village chief. He could only sit next to the village chief and he couldn't understand what others were saying.
Yunqi had just sat down when the old village chief handed him a wooden stick with the mountain rabbit he had shot today on it. The old village chief also had one in his hand, which seemed to be some bacon, but more people were roasting a kind of food that Yunqi had never seen before on the sticks.
This thing is golden in color, and looks like a thick stick. The short one is five or six inches long, and the long one is one foot long. There are grains of rice neatly arranged on it, probably about three or four hundred of them. I don't know what it is.
"corn."
Seeing Yunqi staring at the corn, the old village chief handed him one.
Hold the cloud in your hand, roast it near the fire, and you will smell a pleasant fragrance.
Yunqi held a wooden stick in each hand. At this time, the old village chief stood up and mumbled a series of words that Yunqi could not understand.
When the old village chief finished speaking, there was some movement among the people around the bonfire. A man with a chicken feather crown on his head stood up and walked over with a pottery bowl and an ox horn.
The old village chief told Yunqi that the man was called Zaohonai and was the number one warrior in the village. The chicken feather crown on his head was made entirely of the longest tail feathers from a rooster. Only the number one warrior in the village could wear it, because if anything required leaving the village at night, he would be sent out.
Yunqi stuck the wooden stick in his hand into the soil and stood up. At the same time, he realized that "Nai" was his surname.
The man passed the ceramic bowl in front of the cloud to indicate that it was full, and then he drank the wine in one last gulp.
Everyone applauded.
Then, he actually put the bull's horn close to Yunqi's mouth.
Yunqi didn't know what it meant at first, until he smelled the aroma of wine in the ox horn and realized that it was actually filled with wine.
The old village chief gestured beside him, signaling Yunqi to open his mouth.
The boy found it interesting and opened his mouth.
"puff--"
The wine in Yunqi's mouth sprayed out directly, falling onto the campfire and sparking a column of fire.
"Cough! Cough!"
Looking at the rising column of fire and feeling the burning sensation in his mouth, Yunqi couldn't help but wonder, was it wine or magma that he just drank?
What he drank in Zhangxiang Town was clear rice wine, and what he drank in Sanqing Mountain was agar-agar juice. Where had he ever drunk such strong liquor?
"Hahahahaha~"
Everybody started laughing, but the old village chief laughed the happiest.
The cloud was choked up and his eyes turned red. He smiled in his heart. Isn't this fire in water? It turns out that the intersection of Kan and Li refers to strong liquor!
He became furious and opened his mouth again, signaling the man to pour it in.
"Gudong!"
When the strong liquor went down his throat, the burning sensation made him wonder if the strong liquor had broken through the twelve floors?
“Uooohhh—”
Everybody started cheering.
The stove fire went back, and another one came, and they also drank the wine in one breath. Yunqi understood that they were surrounding the bonfire in a circle, and it turned out to be a round-robin battle!
After seven or eight people drank together, the warriors in the village saw that the guests who came from afar had flushed their faces, so they took a break to let Yunqi catch his breath for a while.
Yunqi felt a little dizzy and sat down. The strong liquor made him feel nauseous. The Taoist who had been fasting and drinking dew all the way felt extremely hungry. The corn was slightly browned and had an overwhelming aroma, which made him salivate.
He took the wooden stick with corn on it and asked the village chief how to eat it.
The village chief demonstrated, blew twice, opened his mouth and bit the corn, biting off the corn kernels and revealing the corn core.
Yunqi understood and couldn't wait to taste it.
Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, fresh, sweet and juicy. Yunqi's eyes lit up and he quickly took a few more bites.
At this moment, he caught a glimpse of a few children looking at the roasted rabbit in front of him. He glanced around and found that the meat was almost always eaten by the strong men, while the old and young women were almost always chewing corn. Even the small handful of bacon in the old village chief's hand was shared with a few half-grown children.
Seeing this, Yunqi immediately handed the mountain rabbit to the old village chief and looked at the children.
The old village chief understood, but felt a little embarrassed, so he rubbed his hands and didn't take it.
Yunqi stuffed the stick into the village chief's hand and said, "Munaigong, I have already fasted and do not need to eat meat. From now on, you can save some of this corn for me."
The village chief held the wooden stick, said many good words, then stood up and distributed the mountain rabbits to the children.
Many people also saw this scene, and so the second wave of toasts began.
After drinking the second wave, Yunqi actually broke into a sweat. He asked the old village chief, "Mr. Namu, what kind of wine is this? Why is it so strong?"
The old village chief told Yunqi that the wine they drank was brewed from corn, but it was a kind of white corn, the last batch of ripe white corn in autumn. The wine brewed in this way was particularly strong and spicy, and they called it "white knife".
Sometimes when someone is possessed by evil spirits, has a fever or chills, they will feed him this kind of wine, which will make him feel warm all over and start sweating easily.
The ox-horn wine that Yunqi drank was prepared for distinguished guests. It was an aged "Bai Daozi" with a stronger taste.
Everyone was in high spirits, but suddenly a man ran over, shouting anxiously, breaking the warm atmosphere.
Yunqi saw the old village chief's expression change.
The old village chief asked Yunqi to wait for a while while he went to take a look.
Yunqi immediately agreed to go together.
It seemed very urgent. The old village chief didn't say much, just nodded and left. A few men followed him. The rest of the people had no appetite, and sat quietly by the campfire, warming themselves with sad looks on their faces.
The group followed the man who brought the news into a room. The room smelled strongly of medicine and was filled with sobbing sounds.
When they entered the room, Yunqi saw a child lying on the bed, his eyes closed, his face pale as gold paper. Next to the bed should be his mother, who was holding the child's hand, her mouth tightly shut, tears dripping onto the bed, soaking the sheets.
The man who reported the news should be the child's father, and his face was filled with sadness.
The old village chief stepped forward, felt the child's pulse with his hand, and then pried open his eyes to take a look.
He shook his head.
Several warriors wearing chicken feather crowns automatically gathered around the bed.
Seeing this, the child's parents could no longer control themselves and burst into tears.
Yunqi whispered in the old village chief's ear what was going on?
The old village chief also explained in a low voice that the child had been playing around a few days ago and had not returned to the village when it got dark, so everyone went out to look for him, bringing the rooster with them.
When the child was found in the field, he was already in a daze.
The villagers immediately patted the rooster, and the crowing of the rooster called back the child's soul. However, the child was so frightened that he cried for a while and then passed out on a coma. Today is already the fourth day.
The village has no way to deal with this situation, because after the soul is hooked away, the lucky ones may still linger around the body, in which case they can be fine after resting for two days. But for the unlucky ones, the soul has gone far away, and may have been eaten by some evil spirits. When the soul is called back, it depends on whether it can be healed after returning to the body. If it is healed, the body may be weak and dreamy, but the life is saved. If it is not healed, it will die.
The child in front of him is the latter. He has been in a coma since he came back to life. His breathing has been sometimes strong and sometimes weak, but now he can no longer feel it.
As for the chicken-feather warriors surrounding the bed, it is because they are afraid that the soul of the child will disperse after death and be hooked away again, so that the child cannot rest in peace even after death. In such a situation, the warriors will continue to guard the bed until the child is buried.
Yunqi looked at the child and said, "Munaigong, if that's the case, can you let me try?"
Two chapters are published at the same time, Chapter 1.
Please vote and recommend, comments and messages are welcome!
(End of this chapter)