The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 406 - 247: Strange Events in the Village_2

Chapter 406: Chapter 247: Strange Events in the Village_2

"The Yin Evil Qi has revealed itself, and unless something unexpected happens, wandering ghosts will surely cause trouble tonight."

"Find some rooster comb blood and sprinkle it around; when the blood stops seeping out, gather the peach wood and burn it. Also, after the wood turns to ash, sprinkle it around the village in a circle and nobody should go out tonight."

"If nothing happens after three days, we’ll be safe."

"Let’s listen to the Daoist, we must act quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Peide didn’t dare delay and immediately led the villagers to catch the roosters from each household and collect dry peach wood sticks.

The people of Chu hold the phoenix in high esteem, believing that the rooster possesses five virtues and is a phoenix in miniature. Thus, every household raises chickens and uses them in many local witchcraft and folklore practices.

Peach wood, known for its ability to repel evil, also has its taboos. It is all planted on the hillsides outside the village, as the saying goes, "Don’t plant mulberry trees in front, willow trees in the back, or an executioner in the yard."

The executioner here refers to peach wood.

These two things are never in short supply in the village, and they were quickly found.

After the rooster comb blood was sprinkled, the wooden beam began to seep blood again, and this time, everyone could smell a nauseating stench of decay.

Wang Daoxuan’s face turned solemn when he saw this.

After sprinkling the blood more than a dozen times, the wooden beam finally stopped seeping blood.

The villagers set up a pile of peach wood sticks and started burning it, creating billowing smoke and filling the entire village with a pungent stench.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that they completely burned the material to ash.

Guan Depei personally took his son and the younger members of the clan to collect the ash and little by little sprinkled it around the village.

After busying themselves, he asked with trepidation, "Is it enough now?"

"It’s enough."

Wang Daoxuan, after further examination and seeing Li Yan nod, indicating that the Yin Evil Qi in the wood had dissipated, then said, "Tell the villagers not to leave the village tonight, hang peach charms on their doors, and no matter what noises they hear, they should not leave their yards."

He didn’t need to say more; no one in the village dared to be careless.

After all, this kind of eerie occurrence had truly frightened everyone.

Guan Peide was also extremely angry and cursed, "Wu Laosi, your greed has brought disaster to the village; we cannot let this slide lightly."

"In the morning, we’ll go to the county government to clear this matter, and afterward, you’ll be punished at the clan hall. You’ll also need to give up your money; I’ll contribute some as well, and we will repair the Land God Temple. Do you accept the punishment?"

"I accept, I accept!"

Wu Laosi quickly nodded, not daring to talk back.

Li Yan and the others, upon seeing this, said nothing.

In this era, imperial power didn’t extend into the countryside, and the county government’s manpower was limited. Governance was either through clan regulations or village customs and agreements.

There were many instances of landlords and gentry oppressing people with clan rules.

But such governance was indispensable.

Just like the previous events at Zhu Family Castle, when the village head neglected his duties, the village morale declined, the younger generation became river pirates, which not only brought on their own demise but also brought destruction to the village.

Such matters had to be dealt with sternly to prevent others from being tempted and, ultimately, leading to rampant imitation and moral decay.

After handling the matter, Guan Peide expressed his gratitude, "You have all worked hard, and trouble befell us even before you entered our home."

"Please come to our house. I have ordered people to prepare a banquet to welcome and refresh you."

After speaking, he led the group away from Wu Laosi’s house.

This Guan Family village was a typical example of a clan settlement in Ezhou, with the ancestral house at the center, a clan hall constructed, and the descendants expanding outward.

Of course, no houses could be built in front of the ancestral hall.

Not far along the way, they saw a huge archway.

The couplet on the archway read "The bravery of the Guan Family has been praised for a thousand autumns" above and "The loyal souls bless the world for ten thousand generations" below, with the horizontal inscription "Guan Family Legacy."

Traveling merchants on the road said that the Guan lineage were the big landowners of Dangyang, and this was no overstatement, considering the imposing manner in which their residence was built.

The skywell alone had more than a dozen, with over fifty rooms in total, including the main house and side rooms, as well as private ancestral halls, schools, stables, and milling rooms.

Of course, this large residence wasn’t occupied by just one family; several branches of the Guan lineage resided in various parts of the house.

The news of Li Yan and the others’ deeds had already spread, and since they had just resolved a crisis upon entering the village, the entire Guan Family naturally sought to entertain them as best they could.

Even the banquet was arranged with great care.

"Gentlemen, this is called Dangyang’s specialty dish..."

Although this old Master Guan Peide also practiced martial arts, he was immersed in the world of Confucian scholars, and his descendants were all well-versed in the Spring and Autumn Annals, speaking and acting in the manner of scholars, with a banqueting tradition that he explained with great clarity.

The specialty dish he mentioned, also known as "Triumphant Yang," consisted of a combination of meat cake, egg roll, and glutinous rice balls.

In the center were eight pearl rice balls, surrounded by a circle of egg rolls, and beneath those, a circle of sliced meat cakes, garnished with shredded lean meat, wood ear mushrooms, and daylily flowers.

Arranged neatly, it looked quite exquisite.

Furthermore, there were the "four big and six small" dishes to consider.

The "four big" consisted of meat cakes, sautéed magnolia petals with meat, braised meat, and clear stewed pork knuckles, while the "six small" included roast chicken, braised fish, pig liver, lean meat, beef or mutton, and pig stomach.

Li Yan and the others had not eaten all morning and had been busy until now, already so hungry that their stomachs clung to their backs, not minding the culinary refinements as they ate with sweat pouring down their foreheads.

Guan Peide was very patient and only urged them to drink, saying little else. Seeing that Sha Lifei enjoyed the roast chicken, he had two more brought to the table.

After eating their fill and drinking tea, they finally felt at ease.

Guan Peide poured another round of tea for them, then sighed, "Young Hero Li and companions, you truly possess great abilities. This matter has left me restless, unable to eat or sleep, I hope..."

"Rest assured, Elder Guan!"

Sha Lifei patted his chest and said, "That demon had the audacity to tarnish the reputation of Second Brother Guan; there’s no way we’ll let them off!"

"That’s good, that’s good."

Upon hearing this, joy spread across Guan Peide’s face.

But Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan were not as optimistic.

After some thought, Li Yan said, "This matter is probably not so simple. Earlier, with so many people around, I dared not elaborate, for fear of alarming the civilians."

"The thing that Old Man Wu encountered was no easy foe!"

"Oh?"

Guan Peide felt a jolt in his heart, "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and said, "According to Mr. Guan, there are no Divine Temples nearby, yet Old Man Wu was able to see one with his own eyes, clearly a victim of an Illusion Technique, perhaps stumbling into some mountain cave or tomb."

"Such methods can only be wielded by a spirit monster with significant Dao, lurking in the mountains."

"There’s that fox demon on the evil path, which lures travelers into believing they’re entering a grand household, indulging in sensual pleasures until their death, never realizing they’re lying inside a burial cave."

"The demon that revealed itself as a Divine Temple has an even more unusual Dao. Those yellow-clad individuals may very well be ghosts under its control."

"Moreover, the Headless Knight impersonating Lord Guan, might be another group stirring up trouble."

Cold sweat broke out on Guan Peide’s forehead, "When did so many demons and specters come to Dangyang County? What’s their purpose in causing such mischief?"

"That’s the key."

Li Yan said gravely, "The corpses encountered by Old Man Wu are most likely related to this matter, and the wooden beams he dug up are the spoils of tomb-raiding."

"Moreover, the flags around that demonic Divine Temple were clearly enchanted, tempting Old Man Wu and others to help lift the prohibition, only to be slain afterwards."

"Discovering the identities of these individuals would shed light on the truth. Unfortunately, Old Man Wu concealed this matter, and the whereabouts of the bodies are unknown."

"Then there’s Guan Ling, struck by lightning repeatedly. If this is indeed connected to these individuals, their skills are certainly formidable!"

Guan Peide listened with his eyes wide and jaw agape.

He had thought it was the work of ordinary scoundrels from the pugilistic world defaming the name of Lord Guan to trouble the Guan Family, and so he was anxious.

Now, it seemed the situation was far more serious than he had thought.

"What should be done?"

Guan Peide grew anxious.

"Don’t panic, Elder Guan."

Li Yan stood up and said, "That rice witch must have discovered something before she was harmed."

"As long as we can rouse her, we’ll be able to clarify everything."

"Very well, gentlemen, please follow me."

Guan Peide quickly got up and led everyone to a small courtyard.

They saw an old woman dressed in black lying on a bed inside a side room, her eyes tightly closed, jaw clenched, and withered fists clutched.

Fortunately, she had only a few teeth left, as a maid was using a bamboo tube to suck up some thin congee and blow it in.

"Elder Guan has been considerate."

Wang Daoxuan couldn’t help but nod in approval upon seeing this.

Guan Peide sighed, "Although my Guan Family primarily focuses on farming and studying, we dare not forget our pugilistic chivalry, how could we neglect someone in need."

"But the doctors we called couldn’t awaken her, so we’ve been keeping her alive this way."

Wang Daoxuan nodded, took out an Evil Exorcism and Blessing Money from his bosom, placed it on the old woman’s forehead, took out a yellow paper charm, encircled it three times, and burnt it to make talisman water.

He pinched a sign with his left hand, dipped it in the talisman water, and tasted it carefully before frowning and saying, "Indeed, she has lost her soul."

"Elder Guan, find me a chicken. Tonight, I will call upon this Daoist’s soul. If we can retrieve it, the matter will be much easier to handle."

Sha Lifei asked curiously, "And if we can’t retrieve it?"

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