Chapter 53: No Need to Ask for Risk for Friends
Chapter 53: No Need to Ask for Risk for Friends (Book Friends Group has been established, everyone is welcome to join the group to discuss!)
Ever since this group of people escaped back, other towns and small strongholds should be in a similar situation. Fiery red command arrows shuttled back and forth in the rain, delivering messages.
The most important thing is to count the number of people.
About an hour and a half later they returned.
A command arrow with a cluster of fiery red chicken feathers on top shot through the rain towards Qilihefang.
Everyone knew that a decision had been made.
Someone picked up the chicken feather arrow that symbolized the promise, on which was written the following words:
"At 5 p.m., we will meet at the west bank of Zuijiao Bridge at the west valley entrance. Those who can ward off miasma will come here to meet us. We will go into the valley to search for corpses. There are about 120 bodies."
Everyone passed the command arrow around.
Yunqi also looked at the command arrow.
This incident was not unexpected. The Miao people attach great importance to the dead and have a strong obsession with funerals.
Yunqi also remembered what Mu Naigong said at this time.
"Sometimes it would rain for several months, and the dead buried in the ground would come back to life."
This is corpse transformation.
Therefore, the Miao people pursue tree burial.
This tree burial is to wrap the corpse with a kind of cattail grass unique to the Miao area and then place it on the crown of a new tree less than 20 years old to eliminate the evil spirits and prevent the corpse from turning into a corpse.
Now, there are more than 120 bodies of Miao people in the valley of Lantao Mountain, and the rain is still falling. There is no telling when the mountain torrents will bury them all underground.
"I'll go!"
The one-eyed man said, "I have practiced the turtle breathing technique and can hold my breath for three hours."
"But peach mud miasma doesn't just kill people by breathing. Your skin and flesh will rot, too."
Someone reminded.
But the one-eyed man just smiled and said, "It should be able to hold out for a while."
"Let's go together!"
The person who spoke was a Taoist priest from Qinglong Cave. A piece of skin was scraped off his cheek, and it was obvious that if he had not dodged quickly, his head would have been chopped off.
Just by looking at his disheveled appearance, everyone knew that he had just come out of Rotten Peach Mountain, so they naturally disagreed.
"I have refined the Lone Star Cold Pond Miasma, which can be used for self-defense, and I know what's going on inside."
The man stood up, walked to the side of the one-eyed man, and refused to allow anyone to persuade him.
"Count me in as one!"
Everyone looked at the clouds and was very surprised.
Yunqi was in a low mood and forced a smile. "Why? Do you think I can only draw talismans in the market and dare not go to the front to fight for real? I can refine the filth for everyone, so I can naturally protect myself in the miasma."
Everyone looked at each other, and finally the one-eyed man said,
"Master Cheng, Taoist Master Cheng, I don't doubt your magical power, but because you are not from Miaojiang, you just happened to stop here while traveling, and you are just hanging up your sign here to collect the reward. We are here voluntarily, without reward. If you do a good job, you will bring back the bodies of our brothers, and if you don't do a good job, you will bury yourself there as well. What are you going to do there?"
Everyone was puzzled and looked towards the clouds.
Yunqi made a hand gesture with his left hand, closing and curling his index and middle fingers, with every two knuckles forming a right angle. His thumb clasped the tips of his ring and little fingers, like a gesture of raising his hand to knock on the door. He placed one hand in front of his left chest, with his palm facing diagonally to the right. This was the "heart-knocking gesture", and the one who made the hand gesture used it to show that what he said and did next would be true to his conscience and to the Taoist sect. "Today, a good friend from Miaojiang fought with the Demon Cult, and was ambushed by a crooked villain, resulting in his death under the peach mud and unable to return home for burial. I am collecting the body for my friend. Do I need any other reason?"
Hearing this, the faces of the people in Miaojiang changed, and someone asked,
"Master Cheng, you are a Han Chinese, and we are Miao people. We are not only of different bloodlines, but also of different families. We have only known each other in this market for a few months, but you are risking your life to collect the bodies of our people. Is it worth it?"
Yunqi said, "Can't we be friends after a few months? Can't Han people and Miao people be friends? Can't Taoists and non-Taoists call each other brothers? My parents and teachers never taught me this."
He looked at the people around him, those standing and those lying down, and said,
"I know Hu Jinliu, he found the golden essence for me and led me to the Qinglong Cave. I know Bai Heqiao, he practiced sword with me until late at night, I accidentally injured his arm, but he pointed at the wound and taught me how to exert force. I know Dong Tiandang, his family grows Liulu leaves, and he brought them to me to taste. I also know you, He Qiumo, you know that after I practiced sword, you brought three sword scriptures to exchange for talisman arrows with me, but I heard that you used the head of the demon cult to exchange it with others. And you, Gao Shanxiang, you, Hai Jinqi, you, them, who are not my friends?"
As everyone listened to Yunqi's words, their faces first showed confusion and doubt, then seriousness and solemnity, then a smile appeared on their faces, and finally they laughed out loud.
"That's right! That's right! Collecting the body of a friend is truly a great virtue!"
The one-eyed man was Hai Jinqi, and his only remaining eye was crying with laughter.
Yunqi also laughed. When he was young, his father taught him that a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall. When he went out of the mountains, his elders reminded him not to take risks. He had always listened to them and kept them in mind. But at this moment, taking risks to collect the body for a friend was definitely not one of these two things.
That’s settled.
Only these three people went to Qilihefang. The others had no means and would die in vain if they went.
The cloud also left the dog in the town, where there was heavy miasma. The dog was still a mortal, so he could not go there and could not help.
The three of them simply packed up, took their weapons and herbs, left the market, and headed straight for Rotten Peach Mountain.
----
Lantao Mountain is located at the southwestern junction of Miaojiang and Nanhuang, covering an area of two to three hundred miles.
The most amazing thing about this mountain is that it is covered with peach trees. Apart from low flowers and plants, there are no other trees. This shows how domineering the peach trees are.
Some people say that this peach forest was transformed from the peach wood sword of Lu Zu in the Tang Dynasty, some say that this peach forest was transformed from the walking stick of Kuafu in ancient times, and some say that this was formed by the ripe peaches from the sky falling down and taking root and sprouting.
But no matter what their origins are, although the peaches in this peach forest are sweet, they do not have the effect of prolonging life. Therefore, naturally, no one comes to pick peaches in this hundred-mile peach forest deep in the mountains.
Since no one picked them, how many could birds and animals eat? So peaches were harvested every year, ripened and fell every year, crop after crop. After thousands of years, the peaches on the ground rotted into mud, the new peaches and the old mud, the fragrance and stench entangled together, coupled with the humidity and heat of the southwest, the waterlogging and the sun, over time, it actually gave rise to miasma.
The mud was tainted with miasma, which in turn infiltrated the peach trees, turning the peach forest into poisonous trees. Later, the fragrance of the peach blossoms alone became a powerful miasma. The fruits of the peach trees became even more poisonous. When the poisonous peaches fell into the mud, the toxicity was further stimulated, turning it into a miasma that even the second-level cultivators dared not touch easily, completely turning this place into a deadly place.
This is also the origin of the name Rotten Peach Mountain.
Only at the west mouth of the Rotten Peach Mountain, there is a big river flowing. The river carries water and wind, which dilutes a lot of the miasma in this area, and dissolves the natural dead air with the vitality of nature. Therefore, this place has become a treasure land in the hearts of people who collect miasma from Miaojiang and Nanhuang. Every year when the peach blossoms bloom, they fight for a good position.
In the upper reaches of Xigukou, close to the Miaojiang side, there is a bridge across the river called Zuijiao Bridge. According to legend, a dragon came to this place when it was swimming on the river. It was intoxicated by the fragrance wafting from Rotten Peach Mountain and was so reluctant to leave that it turned into a bridge, wishing to stay there for a long time. Hence the name.
And in today's bitter wind and rain, figures rushed out from the Miao jungle and gathered at the Zuijiao Bridge.
Chapter 1 is here.
1. A book club group was established today, and everyone is welcome to join the discussion;
2. The tree burials mentioned in the article are true in Miao villages, but it is not limited to tree burials. There are many rules for tree burials. I am using them here for plot purposes, so I would like to clarify and hope that it will not cause misunderstanding or offense.
3. Please vote and recommend. Comments and messages are welcome!
(End of this chapter)