Chapter 44 Sacrifice
Chapter 44 Sacrifice
A chill permeated Xue Baoping's whole body, and she couldn't help shivering. But Li Wuxiang grabbed her hand and said, "Don't be afraid. Remember what I said? If you know what's going on and what to do, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Xue Baoping also grabbed his hand: "Then shall we go tell the town master?"
Li Wuxiang tapped the back of her hand with his fingers and was distracted for a moment: "Zhao Qi knows more tricks than I do. He has been with the town lord for a long time, and my identity is sensitive to him. If he denies it, the town lord may be more inclined to believe him, and this will alert the enemy."
"Once it comes to this, you and I will be in danger... You will be in danger. And..."
There is also the matter of external evil. Li Wuxiang looked into her eyes and hesitated for a moment. In the past, he would keep such things in his heart and never tell anyone else. This was one of the unspoken rules in his industry: don't trust anyone, don't try to seek comfort from anyone, and minimize your own risks.
He had done this before, and he couldn't remember what happened afterwards, but he regretted it. That would have put too much pressure on his body. He avoided external risks but ignored his own risks, and ended up with a near-self-destructive result. He needed a little beauty, a little sincerity, to avoid something more terrible.
"And me." He sighed softly, "Zhao Qi, maybe he's offering sacrifices to something. Remember what I told you about the stove? Zhao Kui used me as the emperor and the other children as civil and military officials, wanting to refine Taiyi. I used to think it was just a formality, what exactly was he using to refine it? Now Zhao Qi has hidden the talisman paper he drew for the Kitchen God in every household, and when he was catching ghosts, he said that the ghost knew how to enjoy the incense..."
"I guess there is such a thing as the power of incense and vows in this world, which is substantial and can be used. When Zhao Kui refined Taiyi, he probably used the power of more than a hundred children who wholeheartedly believed that there was only one great cause made up of more than a hundred people in the world, and what Zhao Qi borrowed was the offerings to the Kitchen God and the daily incense from every household."
"I think he is using this method to refine something like Zhao Kui. This sacrificial ritual is very important to me. I really want to get it."
"Is this... a method that can allow you to practice well?"
"Ah."
"Then can you go and ask him directly? He has already accepted you as his disciple. Didn't you say that he asked you to kill Chen Sanyao tonight to test your character?"
Li Wuxiang let go of her hand and smiled bitterly: "That's right. But I should have messed up - I shouldn't have killed Chen Sanyao."
Xue Baoping was stunned: "Ah?"
Li Wuxiang stood up and sighed: "At first, I thought the same as you, thinking that he was trying to test whether I would listen to him. But after I killed Chen Sanyao, I found that Zhao Qi immediately became cold to me, and I knew something was wrong. Now I think it's another point-"
"You know some people who do all kinds of evil but want their children to study and learn well, right? Zhao Qi should be this kind of person. He wants his disciples to listen to him, but he doesn't want his disciples to be really cold and cruel - especially people like me who he thinks are extremely talented. Tonight I listened to him and killed Chen Sanyao, so in the future I might be able to betray my master and ancestors and join someone else. Zhao Qi's thoughts are really awkward, but there is no way, I guess he really thinks so. People like this are so annoying."
Li Wuxiang took the bowl and walked a few more steps to the basin to wash it clean: "You go first, leave Jinshui and hide. You are young, I don't know how much of your life has been stolen now, but it looks like only four or five years. But since I can see it, it means that others can see it slowly. Chen Sanyao's house also attracted a ghost last night. I guess this means that what Zhao Qi is going to do is nearing the end. You know, the kind of power that has accumulated to the extreme and is about to erupt. You hide for a few days, go to the mountains, and I'm here... If you can learn something from Zhao Qi, it would be the best. If not, I am also a monster with painted skin now, I will fight him hard." He thought for a while, turned to look at Xue Baoping: "Do you want me to save the people in the town?"
Xue Baoping immediately shook his head: "I don't want you to take risks for them."
Li Wuxiang looked at her and smiled in his heart. This energy was very similar to the girl in the story he told her... In fact, she has always been suitable for this industry. But he also knew that sometimes an idea is like a seed. At first glance, it seems stubborn and willful, and it may be cute to protect the person you love. However, if it is not controlled, it may eventually grow into something terrible.
He just said that people like Zhao Qi were annoying, so how could he be the same?
"After seeing them fishing the dead from the river that day, I didn't like them either." He put the bowl back on the stove, "But it seems that there are gods in this world, and I am a monster. I'm not sure about this matter - that is, from a mysterious perspective, am I already involved in this matter? If I want Zhao Qi to continue this sacrifice so that I can learn what I want from it, will it be considered as aiding and abetting the evil, and how will it affect me in the future?"
"So let's take a look. I won't risk my life for them, but I can help."
Xue Baoping was silent for a while, then suddenly nodded: "Okay, I'll pack up and go into the mountains tomorrow. I sometimes go into the mountains to collect things. I can stay in the mountains for two or three days and then come back to take a look. No one should notice me."
That's great. He thought he would have to persuade her a few more times, but she refused to leave, and finally left with tears in her eyes and reluctance. Now it seems that she is more decisive and courageous than Chen Sanyao.
They did not sleep in the second half of the night. They dug out the four pounds of silver they had obtained from the Wang family from the wall. Li Wuxiang found a whetstone and sharpened the three daggers he had left behind. He also asked Xue Baoping to sew three scabbards with thin wood and coarse cloth, inserted the daggers into the scabbards, and then cut open his chest again and wrapped it tightly with his white beard.
Li Wuxiang tried a few more times, and only stopped when he was sure that he could pull the dagger out of his chest in an instant.
Xue Baoping packed up all the food and selected a place on Bishan Mountain. When the Xue family moved to Jinshui, the town was still prosperous and there was not much land around. After her grandparents bought the current yard, they chose a gentle slope on Bishan Mountain and expanded a stone cave on the mountain wall that could accommodate one person to sleep and rest, so that they could slowly cultivate some arable land.
But it takes years to cultivate land. Not long after, the town was in turmoil with the Xuanjiao, so nine out of ten houses were empty and a lot of land was left idle. His grandparents were able to buy a small piece of land and settle down in the town. Then the small piece of land that had just been cultivated and the cave on the mountain were abandoned. Except for her frequent visits there, no one knew about the place.
Now she has brought the anthelmintic and animal repellent powder that the Wang family had looted, so she should be safe and worry-free for a few days.
They were busy like this until dawn, when Li Wuxiang told Xue Baoping to take a nap so that they could show up in the town during the day before going back to the mountains.
At this time, Chen Sanyao saw the second ghost in the wilderness on the way to Qingjiang City.
(End of this chapter)