sjar Chapter 371 The Bronze Bull Statue in the Mountain
Chapter 371 The Bronze Bull Statue in the Mountain
"I was wrong. God, I will offer sincere offerings to you every day from now on. Please forgive me this time."
"I swear I will never steal beef again. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me."
"Lord Bull God, if you will let me go this time, I will cut grass and feed the village cattle every day and will never be lazy."
Through the window, you can see the people in the house kneeling on the ground and praying in reverence, as if there were real gods and ghosts.
Qin Miaoxi heard an important message from his words: Bull God.
Could it be that the bull god he was kneeling to worship was related to the bull mooing last night?
The voices begging for mercy continued, and the thuds of kowtows hit people's hearts heavily, making them feel indescribably depressed.
Just then, a dull bell rang in the village, and the sounds echoed in the air.
The next moment, the tightly closed doors of every household opened, and the villagers walked towards the village entrance with bamboo baskets in their hands and expressionless faces.
Qin Miaoxi and the other two were shocked to find that none of them spoke a word along the way. They were like dead puppets that had lost their souls, being numbly driven forward by an invisible force.
The village chief had been waiting at the entrance of the village for a long time. More and more people gathered. After about a quarter of an hour, the village chief stared at everyone and said one word solemnly: Go.
Without any questions or hesitation, the villagers followed him to a mountain behind the village.
Qin Miaoxi subconsciously took a step forward to follow him, but stopped after taking a step. She looked back at Lu Qingchen, who was holding on with gritted teeth, and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Of course." Lu Qingchen grinned widely and straightened his bent waist again and again.
Qin Miaoxi sighed silently in her heart, what a damned man's self-esteem!
She took his hand without hesitation and said, "I can help you go faster if I hold your hand."
Boom~
Fireworks exploded in Lu Qingchen's mind, and the warmth and softness of his hands reminded him that this was not a dream. His wife took the initiative to hold his hand. This was the first time his wife took the initiative.
[Woohoo! My wife finally dares to express her love.]
Qin Miaoxi: "..."
In an instant, the palms of our hands were so hot that I wanted to throw him away. The ancients were right: if you feel sorry for a man, you will suffer from lifelong bad luck.
"hurry up!"
With a harsh shout, Lu Qingchen immediately put aside the chaos in his mind and happily let himself be led away.
When they caught up with the villagers, they found that they had stopped in front of a huge bronze bull halfway up the mountain, with paper money and incense in front of each of them.
The village chief was the first to kneel before the bronze bull and kowtow, muttering something that sounded like a Sanskrit mantra, but it was difficult to hear clearly.
After bowing three times, he lit the incense sticks and turned to the villagers, saying, "Let's begin!"
Seven or eight men came out from the villagers, took off their shirts, tied a black cloth around their foreheads, and danced around the bronze bull.
Qin Miaoxi and the other person hid in the dense bushes, quietly watching the villagers' strange and bizarre behavior.
"What are they doing?"
“It’s a sacrifice.”
"Is there a bronze bull in the sacrifice?"
"This might be the patron saint of their village."
Each region has different cultural customs. For example, in the southwest, people would worship wolves, tigers, crows, etc. as totems and pray for their protection.
The villagers' dance did not last long. After they left the scene, they placed paper money under the belly of the bronze bull and lit it.
Thick smoke rose into the sky, carrying the smell of burning and drifting around.
If you look closely, you will find that there is no grass growing under the bronze bull, and the soil on the ground has turned black and gray, which is the trace of frequent burning.
Suddenly her pupils shrank sharply. What was that?!
Before she could see clearly, the fierce flames engulfed everything. She couldn't help but frown. Was that the water condensate beads dripping from the bronze bull's belly?
But it doesn't feel like water, it feels like...
Lu Qingchen almost subconsciously noticed her doubts, "Did you discover something?"
"It's a bit strange. We need to go to the bronze bull to see it clearly. But it's not easy to check with all the villagers here."
"This is not seen yet, I will help you."
He said this as he rolled up his sleeves, looking like he was ready to start a fight.
"Wait a minute, I'm not in a hurry." Qin Miaoxi grabbed him with cold sweat on her forehead. She could probably guess what outrageous things he could do, and she almost let him ruin everything.
She warned in a cold voice: "Be honest and don't mess around."
He even had the urge to kill someone in his heart. He was so impulsive, how could the Ghost-faced Judge ask him to do something? His psychological endurance was really strong!
After completing the sacrifice, the villagers had smiles on their faces and walked with a light and relaxed pace.
When the mountain was empty, Qin Miaoxi hurried to the bronze bull. As soon as she approached, she felt the rolling heat wave. The bull's belly was red from the heat. As for the "water droplets" she saw before, it might really be an illusion.
The remaining paper ashes on the ground moved with the wind, and the red light deep inside was faintly visible. Buried in the soil, it gradually lost temperature and turned into this black and gray soil.
"Hey, what's that smell? It's weird." Lu Qingchen covered his nose and looked at the mess around him with disgust.
Qin Miaoxi sniffed the air. How could she describe it? It was a pungent earthy smell mixed with a foul odor. It was pungent and pungent, making her feel sick.
"They don't even know how to find a clean place for sacrifice. Who would be so kind as to place the bronze bull halfway up a mountain?"
Qin Miaoxi looked at him in astonishment, "Say it again."
"what?"
"Halfway up the mountain, yes! This is the spot."
Qin Miaoxi looked up, surrounded by lush greenery. Traditionally, sacrificial ceremonies were held in open squares—not only were they spacious enough to accommodate more participants, but more importantly, the lack of dense trees effectively prevented open flames from accidentally igniting the trees during the ceremony, thus reducing the risk of fire.
But here it is the opposite. There are trees one after another, and there are haystacks not far away. A little spark can set the area on fire. It is really not a good place.
On the contrary, due to its concealed nature, it is perfect for hiding people or objects.
dong dong dong~
Lu Qingchen picked up a tree trunk and knocked on the bronze bull, saying in surprise, "It's actually empty inside."
The next second, the wooden stick was burned red by the bronze bull and quickly caught fire. There was another strange squeaking sound, and it jumped and fled in all directions.
Qin Miaoxi: "..."
Seeing his appearance as a fool from a landlord's family, the feeling of powerlessness came over me again.
She looked at the huge beast in front of her and murmured to herself, "The bronze bull, the bull god, could it be the one that made the lowing noise last night?"
"impossible!"
Lu Qingchen, covered in weeds, pointed at the bronze bull and said angrily, "It's a dead thing, how could it possibly make the sound of a living bull?"
"But didn't you hear it? There was a sound inside."
When Qin Miaoxi got close, she could hear some strange flowing sounds inside the bronze bull, as if it was flowing, as if it were alive.
"Knock again."
This time, Lu Qingchen picked up a long wooden stick. Before he could touch the body of the bronze bull, he was pulled away by a black shadow that suddenly rushed out. It was the village chief.
He warned solemnly: "This is the patron saint of our village. Don't blaspheme it."
Qin Miaoxi raised her eyebrows, "Master, I'm just taking a look!"
How did it rise to the level of blasphemy? Don't exaggerate.
The village chief glared at them fiercely, "It's you again. Why are you still in our village and offending the Bull God?"
Qin Miaoxi was stunned. She felt a chill down her spine and saw a flash of murderous intent in the village chief's eyes.
Is it another illusion?