Chapter 577
PEI Ling felt his heart beating faster and faster uncontrollably. He looked around him without a sound and saw the eight cauldrons who were still holding their breaths and waiting on him. He kept having the feeling that he had forgotten something.
He couldn’t remember it no matter how hard he tried, but a strange thought appeared in his mind for no reason: At the critical moment, he would take out the female corpse in his storage bag to save his life.
A female corpse?
Save his life?
PEI Ling furrowed his brows. What kind of nonsense was this ...
He still had two female corpses in his storage bag. One of them was of unknown identity, but the other was a disciple of su zhentian.
As for su zhentian’s direct disciple, Qiao ciguang, he didn’t go to the ten thousand fathoms sea during this period of time because he wanted to take revenge for his fellow sect members!
Therefore, if he took out the female corpse at a critical moment, it would be good enough if he didn’t force her to die, let alone save his life.
Shaking his head, PEI Ling decided to continue with his plan. Hence, he instructed, ” “You guys stay here and guard the house. I’m going out for a while.”
&Quot; master ... &Quot; the human cauldrons were about to speak, but when they saw PEI Ling’s expression darken, they didn’t dare to continue.”Yes!”
PEI Ling stood up, tidied his robe, and walked out.
As soon as he walked out of the courtyard, he sensed that someone was watching him in the dark.
PEI Ling’s expression did not change much. He had already recognized that it was the aura of those freelance martial artists. Most likely, the wandering cultivators were afraid of the heavenly born sect’s name and had specially sent people over to observe his every move.
At the moment, he still had important things to do, so he ignored those individual cultivators. He saw a villager passing by and walked over directly. &Quot; “Old man, may I ask where the village chief is?”
“Young master, you’ve been gone for too long. How could you have forgotten such a thing?” the villager stopped and sighed.
She pointed in a direction and said, ” go that way. There are seven pine and cypress trees in front of the door. &Quot;
“Many thanks, uncle.” After PEI Ling expressed his thanks, he followed his instructions.
After a while, he saw seven tall pine and cypress trees. Behind the pine and cypress trees was a rather solemn mansion.
It was tall and majestic, and there was a carved stone lion Guard at the door. However, the stone lion seemed to be old and had a strange shape.
All in all, this mansion was very out of place with the surrounding thatched cottages.
If they had not seen it with their own eyes, they would not have imagined that there would be such a large courtyard in such a village.
He observed his surroundings and went forward to knock on the door.
???
At Zi village.
In front of a house next to the river, there was nothing around it. The courtyard was made of stone, but it was chest-high. Standing outside the courtyard, one could see the situation in the courtyard.
At this moment, there was no one in the courtyard, but there were some firewood scattered around.
Qiao ciguang looked around and immediately knocked on the courtyard door.
After a while, an old man with white hair and a white beard walked out of the house. He was wearing a relatively new short brown robe, straw sandals, and holding a half-woven hemp rope in his hand.
Standing under the eaves, the old man’s expression changed slightly when he saw Qiao ciguang through the simple and crude door. He immediately returned to normal and walked over to open the door, saying in a kind voice, ” “I’m the village chief of Zi village, a foreigner. What’s the matter?”
Even though his expression only changed for a moment and he quickly concealed it, Qiao ciguang was a true inheritor of Su Zhen’s teachings. Any slight movement could not escape her eyes.
This old man must know something!
At the thought of this, Qiao ciguang bowed and said calmly, ” “I’ve come from a distant place, and I’m very grateful to your village for staying here, so I’ve come to offer some gifts.”
As she spoke, she reached into her storage bag and randomly found an ore. She cast the five elements change and turned it into gold. Then, she took it out and presented it to the old man. &Quot; I’m sorry to disturb you. Please forgive me. &Quot;
When he saw Qiao ciguang take out a glittering gold item, the old man first frowned and squinted his eyes to examine it for a long time before he recognized it as gold.
He immediately shook his head and said,”my village is in a remote area, and it’s been a long time since a caravan has been here.” Although gold is good, it’s of no use to us. This old man appreciates lady’s kind intentions, but please take this piece of gold back.”
Qiao ciguang narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this.
This old man was so old that he almost couldn’t recognize gold. It was likely that the entire Zi village had been isolated from the world for a long time.
So she put away the gold and said sincerely, ” &Quot; we came from far away. In order to travel, we have brought a lot. If you are willing, we can trade with you like a caravan. May I know what you need? ”
“The village has always been self-sufficient, so we don’t lack anything.” The old man pondered for a moment and said, ” at most, I’ll get some snacks and toys for the children. &Quot;
“However, with the funeral, I’m lacking everything ...”
“What we lack the most right now is a eulogist,”
“But I see that the girls are dressed so well, so I think they must be noble people. I can’t lower myself to do such a cheap job, sigh ...”
Qiao ciguang seized the opportunity to ask, ” when we entered the village, we heard that your esteemed village is going to hold a funeral tomorrow. According to the customs of our hometown, we should also go and express our grievances. However, we don’t know who the victim is. What did they say when we went? ”
“It’s old Xu’s family.” When the old man heard this, he sighed and said, ” old Xu’s family is young ... I didn’t expect that they would be the ones who drew the lots this time. &Quot;
Drawing lots?
Qiao ciguang’s expression changed, and he immediately asked,”Drawing lots?”
“This is a rule passed down from our ancestors.” The old man said slowly, ” whoever is drawn by drawing lots will have their funeral. &Quot;
“May I ask when we will draw lots? And how did they draw lots?” Qiao ciguang pressed on in a deep voice, ” if no one from the family that you’ve drawn doesn’t die, how will you deal with it? ”
“I see that there are many young and strong men with you, is there anyone willing to help with the funeral?” the old man asked. Although my village doesn’t have any money to pay, we still have some etiquette to show our sincerity.”
“If old Sir is willing to answer my question, I’ll discuss with my companions and help you out. How about it?” Qiao ciguang’s mind turned.
Hearing this, the old man simply shut his mouth and said nothing, only shaking his head.
Qiao ciguang’s follow-up questions were fruitless, so he could only change to another question.”May I ask when Zi village settled down here? And why did our ancestors pass down the rules of drawing lots for funerals?”
However, the old man still shook his head without saying a word. She furrowed her brows and continued, ” what do the rules of the village mean? ”
This time, the old man finally opened his mouth. His eyes were dark as he said, ” “This was passed down by our ancestors. If we disobey, the curse will befall us.”
... Just as Qiao ciguang and the old man were conversing, Shi Wanli had already arrived at the door of old Xu’s house, which the villagers had mentioned, while searching and asking.
A piece of white cloth was hung on the door of the house.
What caught Shi Wanli’s attention was the Spring Festival couplets on the door. Although they were also green, they were particularly bright, as if they had just been pasted on. They did not fit in with the other houses.
The Spring Festival couplets were supposed to be put up in the twelfth lunar month, and those who were more particular would choose to change them on New Year’s Eve.
No matter which one it was, in a village, the depreciation of a Spring Festival couplets should be about the same ...
What was going on with this family?
Shi Wanli pondered for a moment, then walked forward and knocked on the door.
For a moment, no one answered.
After hesitating for a while, Shi Wanli looked around. Seeing that no one was passing by, he took a step back and gently blew. The originally closed door opened silently.
He glanced around and confirmed that there was no one in the main room, so he quickly entered and closed the door.