Previously, most of the villagers had dull expressions. Even if they could talk a bunch of nonsense, they still looked like they were following a script, like... robots.
Of course, there are exceptions, such as the housekeeper in a wealthy family or the shopkeeper in a wine shop. But accidents happen somewhere, and they always end up in trouble for no apparent reason.
Ning An let out a breath, now he knew what it meant to use the force of heaven and earth to transport a hero to no longer be free.
I don't believe it. Is it so difficult to ask?
Ning An spotted a rogue and stared at him from afar, his eyes obscure.
The little bastard just raised his fist and wanted to get a pancake on credit from the store to satisfy his hunger. Before he could say anything, there were footsteps behind him.
Before he could turn around, Ning An kicked him in the butt. The little gangster screamed and fell to the ground.
"My hero, my hero! I have something to say!"
The little gangster didn't care about anything else. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, attracting the attention of the surrounding villagers.
The owner of the cake seller looked embarrassed. He subconsciously wanted to help the gangster, but suddenly felt that something was inappropriate. He quickly retracted his hand, looked at the gangster, and then glanced sideways at Ning An, but stopped talking.
Originally, a piece of pancake could satisfy the rogue, but now it was better. How could he do business after making such a big fuss?
Ning An saw this and was a little surprised.
Why do you feel like these villagers are no different from normal people? There were almost no dull faces left, the tearful gangsters, the thoughtful boss, and the interesting crowd watching all around, and all the human gestures left Ning An confused.
That wasn't the case a few hours ago.
Being humane means that you are easy to negotiate with, which is a good thing.
Ning An didn't care about the reason. He waved his hand and slapped the young gangster on the face. With a sinister smile, he grabbed the young gangster's shoulder with one hand and raised the sheathed broadsword with the other hand. He placed it on the young gangster's neck condescendingly. superior.
"In broad daylight, in the bright sky, I see that you have hands and feet, and you can even steal a cooking cake. If you can't survive, then I will make it easy for you today and take your life!"
"Hero, spare your life!" The gangster said with fear.
"Sir, show mercy!" The boss couldn't stand it anymore.
"Scared!" The theatergoers dispersed in a hurry.
No matter how the little gangster cried and complained about his elderly mother at home, or how the boss belittled the pancakes and kept saying good things for the little gangster, Ning An remained unmoved, and the scene was momentarily deadlocked.
Amid the commotion, someone uttered a word.
"I have to worship the Dragon King tomorrow. Even if the little gangster is going to die, he still has some yang energy. How about keeping him for two days?"
Ning An secretly said that he was very cooperative. He put down his broadsword and looked at the little gangster who was lying limply on the ground. He raised his fist towards the north to show respect and said angrily: "You shouldn't thank me. You should thank the Dragon King. If it weren't for tomorrow's great joy, today I won’t spare you!”
Ning An took advantage of the situation and came under the shed and found an open seat. Da Ma Jin Dao sat down and spoke loudly, "I have always respected the Dragon King, but in the past few years, I was worried about my uncle leaving the village. I have been away for several years. , I just returned home, worried that the festival might have changed the rules and bumped into the Dragon King."
The implication is obvious, I hope the visitor will "review" the rules for tomorrow's sacrifice.
Ning An didn't look at anyone.
The boss sighed and stepped forward tremblingly.
Although I was reluctant in my heart, I accepted the young hero's affection just now. If I pretended to be stupid and left him alone, I would be labeled as ungrateful, and the giant blade would run around the neck of the young gangster. Up to his own neck.
The boss thought for a moment and then spoke slowly: "Young master is interested. Since you have been traveling for a long time, I don't want to make a long story short, so I will talk about the festival in detail."
"Unlike other festivals, the feast is not hosted by officials, but is held in turn from house to house. The feast is roughly divided into four steps. The first is the opening prayer. The prayer has been the same over the years, except for a certain part at the end. On a certain day in a certain month of the year, each family is different and used to praise the Dragon King's merits. Then there is a big banquet, mainly with water from the river. The food expenses were initially borne by the family themselves. Later, they found that the expense was too high, so the village chief took the lead in collecting donations. , use the collected money to buy things. The next step is the highlight - 'Naxi'. The host wears red robes and red flowers, beats gongs and drums, and offers sacrifices. The sacrifices are also very particular, and the villagers will also compete with each other, commonly known as "Douhen", if the Dragon King is happy, I guarantee good weather and a bumper harvest of millet next year!"
The boss took a deep breath, carefully observed Ning An's face, and said, "Finally, the master will kowtow three times and thank the Dragon King for his kindness. It's over."
"Actually, you just need to eat and drink. The Dragon King hasn't shown up for many years. As long as you don't say anything offensive, you won't get into trouble."
Ning An touched his chin, a little confused.
This sacrificial process sounds quite normal. In ancient times, slaughtering pigs and sheep, offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, weren’t they all the same?
What does this "illusion" mean? He bit himself and refused to let go, but he didn't encounter any danger when he came in.
Or is the Dragon King just a real puppet who will jump out and choose people to devour when the sacrifice is over?
It's getting late at this time, and everything will come to light when the sacrifice is over tomorrow.
Ning'an thanked him and asked for another pancake, with half a leg of lamb and the meat wrapped in the pancake. It was very fragrant.
The boss felt like he was being pardoned. Not only did he fetch the hot cakes, but he also poured the tea himself, expressing his admiration for the heroic spirit and not charging any money.
Seeing Ning An eating meat, the boss turned around, swallowed several times, cleaned up the messy store, and went back to business.
---------------
The wind blew through the wheat fields, the long waves crashed onto the shore, and I was speechless all night.
Ning'an doesn't dare to really sleep. He just closes his eyes and pretends to be asleep. He should cultivate himself.
When the rooster sings, the gongs and drums crow together.
Ning'an shook himself up, the sky fire rotated slightly, and the dewdrops evaporated overnight. He put the broad sword on his back and headed towards the north of the village.
The high platform is built along the river, about 80 square meters. There are a few chairs, an Eight Immortals table, an incense burner and several bundles of incense on the table. In front of the incense burner is a golden statue of the Dragon King. An old man is kneeling in front of the table. Light new incense from time to time to prevent the incense from burning out.
Ning An was tall and relied on his strength to force his way from the back to the front row of the crowd.
Looking closely at the high platform, isn't it the old man in the Zhumen?
"Sacrifice to the gods is easy to cultivate, and the holy virtue of Dragon King Mu!"
The old man sang hoarsely.
The gongs and drums that had just stopped for a moment started beating again.
There was silence in the audience. An old man, who was as decayed and withered as an old tree, climbed up the stairs and slowly opened his mouth, praising the Dragon King's merits in a hoarse voice.
The article is long and empty. If it weren't for the noisy gongs and drums next to it, Ning An would really fall asleep.
After the old man finished reciting the prayer, more than thirty tables were moved under the stage. Ning An sat down first, and Xiaosheng Fei, who wore a red flower on his head, also served the food silently.
Ning An looked at it and found that he had no appetite.
It turns out that most of these dishes are "look dishes". They are carved from wood and painted with oil paint. However, I don't know how long they have been there, and most of them have some paint peeling off.
I heard from the cake seller, doesn’t the village chief collect money to hold a banquet every year? They charge money to watch the food, but the manager here actually knows how to do business.
But looking at the other people, they obviously didn't care. They just stared at the stage with their necks crossed.
Even though no one moved their chopsticks, the old man in red kneeling on the stage still refused to continue to the next step. Until the third pillar of incense burned out, the old man replaced the fourth pillar and suddenly sang: "Forgive the people for not knowing the rules of heaven. Stealing holy energy and giving birth to a bitch!"
ah?
Ning An's eyes widened, thinking he heard wrongly.
What's the meaning? Why does the lyrics feel like I'm worshiping a righteous god?
After the old man finished singing, two strong men came up from the stage, carrying a little girl who was tied up with big flowers, with the word "ji" printed on their faces.
The old man stood up and pointed his sword at the little girl's head.
"I am willing to die to apologize for my sins. I advise you not to enter my house again."
"Child! Save my child!"
People turned around and looked at the woman with messy clothes and bruises all over her body.
"That's my child! My daughter! My daughter! She was bought by her family. My daughter was wronged!"
People were stunned, and immediately turned their heads, staring at the old man with burning eyes, as if urging him to draw his sword.
This situation has happened in the past. The order of hosting the sacrifices has been determined, but it is inevitable that someone has no baby girl at home. What should we do? So Li Zheng came up with a good idea, called "borrowing fate".
You can spend money to buy baby girls from other families.
It seems that this family is really lucky. There is no girl child in the family, so they have to take advantage of it.
The girl's eyes were filled with tears, but her mouth was sealed and she could only twitch her body, shaking her head towards her mother in the distance, whimpering in pain.
"I didn't expect that the old dragon sacrificed every year would actually be an evil dragon."
Everyone was in an uproar and stayed away from this arrogant boy.
Ning An was immediately separated and sat alone on the front table.
Suddenly, Ning An stood up suddenly, grabbed the food on the table, and threw it hard at the Dragon King statue on the table.
The glittering golden Dragon King statue fell to the ground. Suddenly the color of the sky and the earth changed, dark clouds gathered in, and angry waves hit the rocks.
This time it hit the Dragon King statue and hit people's hearts firmly.
Especially the old man in red, who was stunned in place and instantly returned to his initial sluggishness.
The broad knife was immersed in the flames, and the young man said loudly;
"Old Jiao, come here and die!"
