Several people crossed several stone bridges over the water and climbed up the stairs of the stilted building. When they entered the main hall of the stilted building, they could see that the hall was tall and divided into many rooms. After opening the door, the rooms on the left and right were relatively clean. The men and women occupied one side of the room.
Because the stilted building had been in disrepair for a long time and was covered with dust, Yue Guanchao and the others saw that it was still early, so they picked up the buckets beside the dry railings and fetched water from the river. They wiped the front and back of the left and right rooms, and waited until the dust on the surface was wiped clean. Consider it a step down.
During dinner, the surroundings were completely dark, with only the moonlight pouring down from the tree windows in the bay. The river flowed quietly like broken glass. The chirping of insects and crickets kept hearing. In the silence, you could hear the wild animals rustling through the forest.
After Yue Guanchao and the others ate, they found a brazier in the house and lit a bonfire to dispel the cold and dampness. The flames licked the firewood and made a crackling sound. The bright light became the only light source in the mountain bay.
"The humidity in western Hunan is very high at night, and the mountains are even more unstable. I heard that there are tigers, blind bears, mandrills, and many man-eating beasts. If you had escaped now, you would probably have been fed to the animals. Fortunately, we have taken care of you." If you are stopped and rush forward desperately, then a big disaster will come."
Ren Peacock picked some wild sweet potatoes from the mountains and threw them into the fire pot. When they were almost burning, the aroma had already drifted out. This aroma attracted many animals, so they had to close the door of the hall.
Gao Azheng ate wild sweet potatoes and said, "Sister Peacock, why are you back at this time? I thought you would never come back after redeeming yourself!"
Ren Peacock turned over the brazier and said: "I came back just to solve the problem of the girl from the Luohua Cave. I happened to see you falling into the cave and wanted to take a look at your house. I didn't expect that you were pretending to fall into the cave to cause these things. Now let's see , the cave girl marrying the cave god is just the wishful thinking of the people. The only possibility for them after falling into the cave is to starve to death. If I don't save you, other cave girls will fall into the cave in the future."
"But can you save her? There are Luohua Cave Girls in most of the mountains in dozens of states in western Hunan."
Gao Azheng's words made Peacock sigh: "The idea mentioned by the master is the way to salvation. I believe that the master will have a way to spread this rule in Western Hunan and save all the cave girls."
"You two, you don't have to think about this matter. Anyway, you didn't fall into the hole, and it has nothing to do with you. You just have to wait to act with the master tomorrow."
At this point, the night was already deep, and several people went back to their rooms and fell asleep. That night, the roar of wolves accompanied the barking of beasts for the middle of the night, and it was not until the sunrise the next day that the surroundings became quiet.
Yue Guanchao and the others were afraid that the old Taoist priest would come early, so they took Gao Azheng and she back to the mountain god stone. They waited until it was almost noon, and finally saw the noise outside the cave with instruments being beaten.
Yue Erpao, who was standing guard at the entrance of the cave, ran to them in a flash: "They are coming, they are coming, they are coming."
After saying that, Gao Azheng took out the pills given by the old Taoist priest and stuffed them into her mouth. Song Siyuan took out the powder puff from her bag and applied a thick layer of powder on her face and neck. She looked several degrees whiter than ordinary people. After the medicine took effect, Gao Azheng fell asleep and stopped breathing.
They saw that everyone had already entered the cave, and took Chunsheng to hide behind the mountain god stone, taking advantage of the dark environment to hide.
In just a moment, these young men who invited the god's wife had already entered the cave. The old Taoist priest walked up to Gao Azheng, touched her nose and explained: "She has run out of breath, but there is still a trace of soul left. Let's hurry up and get rid of her." Please go back and open an altar in Fengtou Mountain. If she is really the one who entrusted me with the dream, she must be conveying the will of the Cave God."
"Walk!"
A few young people took wooden boards and lifted Gao Azheng's body out of the cave. In order to avoid anyone discovering them, Yue Guanchao and the others did not dare to walk out of the cave until the sound of the musical instruments completely dissipated.
Ren Peacock looked at the crowd gradually going down the mountain and said: "We should go back along the path. I remember that there is a cave waterway from Laolongkou to Fengtou Mountain. You need to use a awning boat when walking."
A few people talked and went down the mountain along the way. When they waited by the Qingshui River, they rented a awning boat and crossed into the underground river in the mountain full of caves.
After leaving Laolongkou, the awning boat passed through one cave after another. The sky light sometimes appeared and sometimes disappeared. You can see that there are shrines and stone temples like bamboo shoots lined up on both sides of the cave. There are even some straw shepherds wearing colorful clothes standing on both sides. If you walk at night, When you come here, you will definitely be shocked by the interlocking stalactites.
Ren Kongque explained: "The mountains and rivers of western Hunan are psychic. These are just temples built by the mountain people to fulfill their wishes to the gods. This cave should have been used as a passage to transport cinnabar. Some stone temples have not been worshiped for a long time. When the cinnabar mines were still there, There are countless small niches and temples built here, but the temples are at most the size of a water tank, and the smaller ones are only a little bigger than the mouth of a bowl. The wild gods in the countryside are not allowed to live in big temples."
While they were talking, they had already rowed through several waterways. In some waterways, there were planks falling into the water. It could be seen that the mouth of the waterway led to the outside of the cave. Bright skylight shone into the cave, making the water surface full of light. When they all came out, The cave has reached the foot of Fengtou Mountain.
At this time, the top of the mountain is bustling with people, the altar has been set up, flags are flying, gongs and drums are noisy, and the crowd of people can be seen at a glance from the bottom of the mountain.
A few people walked up Fengtou Mountain leisurely and came to the meadow where the altar is located. It is not far from Yizhuang. It is a huge meadow exposed to the sky. A three-story wooden platform is located in front of it. There is a Taoist flag hanging high on a wooden stake, and there are bonfire basins around it. Under the surging heat, the Taoist flag is fluttering in the wind, which is particularly mysterious.
Gao Azheng has been placed on the lotus platform. She is wearing a silver hairpin and gorgeous clothes. Her skin is white after being powdered and watered. She is holding a marriage certificate and is surrounded by the lotus platform. She does not reveal a trace of life. In front of her, the Gao family The stones for worship were also placed on the table again, and the tribute fruits and melons were gathered together, and the fragrance was lingering, and the smoke was endless!
The ritual of dipping firewood is a must-have for Taoist priests. The old Taoist priests picked up the Sanqing Emperor Bell and the Divine Whip, chanted divine incantations and chanted chants around Gao Azheng, and sang and danced on the high platform.
Seeing that Yue Guanchao and the others had already infiltrated into the crowd, the old Taoist priest finally wiped the sweat from his head, grabbed the water bottle at his waist and took a sip of wine. Then he turned around and picked up the silver wedding certificate, spit the wine on it, grabbed the flame and threw it on the marriage certificate. , the wedding certificate was sprayed with wine, and the moment the flames fell on it, it immediately burst into flames.
When the flames on the marriage certificate were extinguished, the old Taoist priest slowly opened the marriage certificate. As expected, the words on it turned blood red, as if soaked in blood.
He picked up the marriage certificate, shook his head and said: "It is unfortunate that there is a girl in the cave, all alone, and pretending to be a god's wife. The sky is merciful, and the earth behind is pitiful. There is a god in the cave, how can we call it an evil god? The cave girl redeems her body in advance, her lover intends to do so, the cave girl has feelings, her body becomes a branch, her love is as strong as gold and stone, and her hair grows old together. She does not need to serve the gods. Under heaven, she follows the same principle, and her fortune is submissive, and her harmony is perfect."
Some people died, but not completely...
