"Tudong Town belongs to the Sanguang area, but because most of Qingshuijiang, Kuahu Mountain, and Laolongkou are in Huayuan County, the county magistrate will mention the woman who fell into the hole in Laolongkou. We old people are dazzled and can say anything. I’m not sure, why don’t you ask A Liang to take you to the Huahuan County Government Office to have a look, maybe you can know more details.”
After Jin Qinghua finished speaking, Ren Peacock looked at everyone and nodded: "If you ask me, I'll go see Gao Azheng first tomorrow, and then take a boat to Huayuan County after seeing her condition. How about that?"
If Gao Azheng wanted to read the county annals, he would definitely check it out. Let Peacock have his own idea, and everyone agreed. After discussing these matters, they went back to their rooms to rest.
Early the next morning, Yue Guanchao and the others ate bait and slurry, and hurriedly followed Ren Kongque down the stilted building. When they reached the Qingshui River Arch Bridge, they could clearly hear the reverberation of the suona, the drums and the sheng, and the high-pitched and enthusiastic noises could be heard along the way. The mist from the river surface is misty and penetrates into everyone's ears. Together with the unique waist drum and rattles of western Hunan, it looks full of mystery.
"Let's go, I guess the master has arrived at the bridge!"
Yue Guanchao and the others accompanied Ren Peacock as they crossed the arch bridge. When they crossed the Jiangxin Island and reached the bridge on the other side, they could already see a stilted building on the other side of the Jiangxin Island with lights and colorful decorations and red silk hanging high. It looked like they were getting married. In the midst of a happy event, there is no doubt that this relative is Gao Azheng.
It is very close to Funiu Mountain and is located on the bank of the foot of the mountain. When they arrived, there were already many awning boats gathered outside the stilted building. Most of these awning boats were from the nearby countryside. They would definitely come to join in the fun when they saw weddings and weddings. Today, the Luohua Cave girl redeems herself, which is a rare and lively event in eight villages ten miles away.
They walked along the stone road to the front of the Gao family's residence. Outside the courtyard gate, there were still clouds of colorful silks and lanterns. It was even denser than the Wupengchuan River. Many villagers gathered to watch the excitement. They were very excited. Only after squeezing into the crowd could he see the old Taoist priest in the crowded crowd.
At this moment, there were eighteen young men in the village divided into two rows, each wearing black coats and black trousers, with colorful embroidered belts around their waists, and blue handkerchiefs around their heads. They were playing and playing various musical instruments, making the scene very lively.
Seeing them coming, the old Taoist priest raised his eyebrows slightly, indicating that they would watch from the side. Then, he skillfully set up cross wooden stakes, lifted out a paper-shaped person covered with red cloth, and at the same time, lifted out a long The table was carried to the courtyard gate and food in red, yellow, green, white and green was placed on it.
The plate closer was filled with Xiangdi's unique vegetarian chicken, duck, roasted meat and bacon. When the incense burners on both sides lit up long pillars of incense, he let the people in the courtyard come out!
The family carefully carried the water tank-sized shrine to the outside of the courtyard and placed it in front of the altar table as requested by the old Taoist priest. Then the whole family knelt and sat in front of the table, facing the shrine, praying with concentration, rubbing their hands and muttering mantras.
After the shrine was settled, Yue Guanchao looked at the shrine. This shrine was similar to the shrine of the Ren family. They were wooden shrines similar to the size of water tanks. Pillars were supported on the four corners, just like a sedan chair for carrying people. The surroundings were carved, etched, and complicated. Unusual, there are blue cloth curtains like curtains tied on both sides.
Inside the shrine is not a golden statue of a god, but a strange-looking stone.
This stone looks like a fat man sitting cross-legged on the ground, or like a cow or sheep with horns on its head. The black and gray surface is uneven and full of scars. Only two black holes are lit at the eyes. As the cigarette smoke curls up from the offering table, there are The green smoke is constantly being sucked into the black hole, making it look like rocks enjoying the incense.
This scene happened under the eyes of the people. Seeing that the stone could absorb the green smoke, they all clasped their hands together in prayer and obeisance. The old Taoist priest shook the Sanqing bell and mumbled something about the founder of the Sanqing Dynasty, the emperor and the priest, the god king Arhat, etc. The wild immortal listened to the words of "please" and "blessing from the ancestors", and kept swinging the horn whip in his hand.
The crackling sound was like spring thunder, making the ears buzz and vibrate. Amidst the sound of musical instruments, the old Taoist priest hummed in a cadence, which made it even more obvious that he had the ability to communicate with the gods, making the people call him a living god.
Then, he took out a mahogany sword, took a sip of soju, and sprayed it all on the mahogany sword. He used the mahogany sword to lift the red hijab,
The moment they saw the paper pricking people under the red hijab, everyone screamed in surprise.
The resemblance is so similar that if you put aside the stiff and pale facial features, you really feel that this is the Yaomei of the Gao family.
Yue Guanchao looked at the paper-tied man in front of him. This paper-tied man was completely made according to the proportions of a real person. He had a slender figure, exquisite facial features, fine hair, and vivid bones, as if he were a living person tied to a cross stake.
Look carefully, you can see that the paper-tied man is wearing a flowered gown with a full skirt on the upper body and an embroidered skirt with flower and grass patterns on the lower body. The upper body is tucked into a pleated skirt, and an apron is covered with an apron full of embroidery of birds and animals. There is a necklace hanging around the neck, a silver necklace hanging on the heart, and a silver necklace hanging on the top of the head. She also wears a horn-shaped silver bell crown, which looks complicated and exquisite, just like a well-dressed ethnic minority woman.
The most delicate part is when the paper pricks the person's face.
Ordinary paper marks can be seen on the face of people with paper pricks, but the old Taoist priest's paper pricks have no hard lines of paper at all. The eyes, ears, mouth and nose are extremely fine, and even the texture of the skin is as delicate as life. Her skin color was obviously pale as no other human being could. After applying makeup on her eyebrows, the rouge on her sides was as red as blood, which made her look a little startling.
The old Taoist priest picked up the cinnabar wine in his hand, and then picked up the thin wicker stick. Every time he dipped it in, he immediately threw it on the paper-pierced person. He muttered a mixture of Hunan and Han dialects. Yue Guanchao listened for a long time before he could clearly understand what he was saying.
"My eyebrows are sparse, my hair and teeth are falling out, my mouth is crooked and my eyes are slanted, my feet are broken, I'm rough and dirty, I'm slovenly, my voice is hoarse, I'm lazy and unkind, I'm jealous, I'm coming from the east You talk about the west, I go south and you go north, I talk about eating and you have diarrhea, I talk about working and you have a stomachache, the mother-in-law from the east comes and the sister-in-law from the west, gossips are all lazy bitches, no matter who goes to the house, don't give a damn. The gods add salt to the earth, learn to be virtuous and virtuous after a hundred years, and then come and invite the gods into the cave."
"The God of the Cave is above. Now there is a cave girl named Gao Azheng who is not worthy of being married to the God of the Cave. She specially makes paper for people to marry on her behalf. May the God of the Cave exalt many people and allow her to learn virtue for a hundred years. From then on, she will have a feast for her soul every year and offer incense." Eternal sacrifice~~~"
After the old Taoist priest finished speaking, he picked up a willow stick, slapped the paper and pricked the person a hundred times. When he was sure that his whole body was covered with cinnabar wine, he grabbed a handful of paper money and yellow talismans, threw it into the brazier and lit the flame.
With a puff sound, the paper money burst into flames. The old Taoist priest picked up the yellow talisman and burned half of it. The flame was so close to the paper that it pierced the person.
The person's body was soaked in cinnabar wine, and when it came into contact with the sparks, it immediately exploded all over his body, causing the surrounding clothes to fall off quickly. Finally, his whole body was engulfed in flames. When the dust settled, the old Taoist priest took out his peach wood sword and struck again. With the provocation of swordsmanship, the entire redemption ceremony was finally completed.
When everything died down, he helped all the Gao family members up, picked up the pig bone bracelets from his arms, and tied them on the hands of the family members one by one: "The old Taoist priest has cast a spell on this thing. Wear it for three days. After that, If the girl in the family gets well, even if the cave god lets her go, the stone I give you from now on will have to be enshrined with the ancestors according to the festival, do you understand?"
The Gao family was so confused by this trick that they couldn't even say a word and kept thanking and nodding.
"Okay, fellow villagers, please leave. I'm going to the women's room to practice."
After saying that, the old Taoist priest winked. Yue Guanchao and the others understood, pretending to be salesmen and started hawking along the street.
Ordinary people can only buy these things they sell in the county. Now the villagers are gathering, looking at the novel gadgets in the bamboo baskets, and assessing what sundries are missing in their homes, they are attracted to them. As I was picking and choosing in front of the stalls, I completely forgot about watching the excitement.
As for Song Siyuan and Ren Kongque, they were brought into Gao Azheng's boudoir by the old Taoist priest in the name of "persuading the family to stay in marriage."
It is a custom among some ethnic minorities in southwestern China to advise people to stay at home and take care of their parents.
This custom is not only popular among Han people, but also among ethnic minorities. Ultimately, it originates from the marriage robbery system in ancient times.
At that time, marriage had not yet formed the custom of parents ordering a matchmaker. If a man fell in love with a woman, most of the time he would not be able to propose marriage through formal channels. Therefore, he could only take risks and entangle a group of people to snatch the woman away. After returning home to get married, the woman who was robbed will never be sent home again. She can only live, grow old, sick and die in her husband's house.
Therefore, whenever a man comes to steal a bride, the woman's family will often try their best to keep her in the family, and they will not hesitate to fight with each other. As the ancient times transitioned to the feudal era, the three matchmakers and six betrothals came into being. Marriage customs.
However, even if the wedding ceremony system has been formed, the traces of the ancient marriage-grabbing system have not disappeared. Instead, the trend of weeping for marriage and staying in marriage has formed, which means that women often cannot be too happy before getting married, or they cry until they are full of tears. , or just hold on to your family and not let go.
In short, the purpose of persuading families to stay in marriage is to express the idea that they do not want their daughters to be taken away by men. Since some ethnic minorities still retain the custom of snatching brides, their persuasion to marry becomes even more stringent. After the three of them entered the stilted building When entering Gao Azheng's boudoir, many girls from her family had already gathered in Gao Azheng's room. They were undoubtedly here to persuade her to marry! 33
Song Siyuan and the others looked at Gao Azheng. She was sitting alone in front of the dressing table, wearing the most gorgeous dress, dressing herself up to be dazzling. Coupled with the confused and confused state of the cave goddess, she looked even more beautiful and charming. Ordinary Shao Ai is not charming and sentimental.
Especially those eyes, although they were confused, they were full of brilliance, as if they were full of spring waves and emotions. She sat on the stool with her chin and looked at the flower window. No matter who tried to persuade her, she would only smile at people and never say much. One sentence.
"Ah Chai, Ah Xi, Ah Ping, why did you go to Laolongkou at that time? I remember Laolongkou is at the southernmost part of the town?"
The trip around the mountains to visit immortals was only Kuahu Mountain, Funiu Mountain, and Fengtou Mountain near the town. Laolongkou was more than ten miles away from the town. It was really weird for them to go to that place.
Some people died, but not completely...
