deltrittennovels #596 - Relive the legend of the Hidden Mist Village
#596 - Relive the legend of the Hidden Mist Village
"Mist Hidden Village is very poor, the soil is barren, and it doesn't get any sunlight. Although there are many wild animals, each hunt is life-threatening," Granny Rong said, her eyes looking out the window through the dim light, as if recalling those difficult years. The fog outside the window was still heavy, shrouding the whole world in a haze. "However, it is because of the fire ground that we believe this is a special place." There was a hint of imperceptible pride in her tone.
Xia Hui nodded slightly as she recorded, "I see... So, what does that mark mean?" Her eyes sparkled with a thirst for knowledge, and the tip of her pen gently moved across the notebook.
"That rhombus pattern with a vortex, right?" Tang Yin suddenly interjected, his eyes keenly catching the surprised expression that flashed across Xia Hui's face.
"That's right. Three marks, which means there are three wolf gods," Granny Rong's voice was low and firm, and the atmosphere in the assembly hall became even more solemn with this sentence.
"...How do you know that? Is this kind of thing commonplace here?" Xia Hui frowned, her tone incredulous. Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the pen in her hand, her knuckles turning white.
Granny Rong coughed lightly and continued to explain, "We have a mountain festival here. Every year, the Qin family members will play the role of guardian beasts and parade in the village." She glanced at the Qin family brothers sitting in the corner. "The number of wolf god players is announced through similar methods." This was completely consistent with what Wang Lina had once told Tang Yin in his memory, including the saying that there were at most three wolf gods during the mountain festival.
"...Why three people?" Xia Hui asked, a slight tremor in her voice.
"Because it's the parents and the child," Granny Rong's answer was short and direct, but it stirred up a ripple in Tang Yin's heart. His guess was indeed correct. The three wolf gods did have a parent-child relationship. However, based on the last experience, this information did not seem very important, because the wolves were not assigned according to family relationships at that time.
"To be honest, I myself don't want to believe it, but as things stand, as people of Mist Hidden Village, we must execute the wolf gods," Granny Rong's tone suddenly became heavy. "This is the reason why the elders treat Mist Hidden Village kindly, and it is also our duty."
These words caused a subtle reaction in the assembly hall. Qin Yi made a disdainful tsk, and his brother Qin Ming immediately gave him a look. Zhao Gang's brow also furrowed unhappily, casting a deep shadow in the dim light. The elders treat Mist Hidden Village kindly? Tang Yin sneered in his heart, looking at this dilapidated village. How could this treatment be considered kind? Granny Rong's words formed a strong contrast with the reality in front of him, and obviously not many people agreed with her point of view.
However, since she had already told the story, everyone tacitly regarded it as mere background knowledge. The atmosphere in the assembly hall became a little subtle, and only the aroma of wine still floated faintly in the air, as if witnessing the secrets of this ancient village. Under the dim light, everyone's expressions were faintly visible, hiding unspeakable thoughts.
"Mist Hidden Village is a very important place for the continuation of Hundred Abundance Estate," Hua Lu said softly, a trace of complex emotions in her eyes. When Tang Yin heard this sentence, he was instantly struck by lightning, and finally understood the deep meaning.
Mist Hidden Village, this remote village shrouded in thick fog all year round, was actually a breakwater carefully set up by Hundred Abundance Estate. When the wolves return from the Yellow Springs, the villagers here are the best sacrifices. They don't need to bravely fight the wolves, they just need to be sacrificed as offerings.
Divinity River, this river regarded as the entrance to the Yellow Springs in the Thousand Bright Gods faith, cleverly placed a group of people here. By holding this bizarre banquet, they successfully prevented the resurrected wolves from continuing to advance towards Hundred Abundance Estate.
Tang Yin's eyes swept across Granny Rong's face imperceptibly. The words she had just said, especially the repeatedly emphasized word "duty", made people suspect that there was some kind of unspeakable relationship between her and the elders of Hundred Abundance Estate. The air in the assembly hall seemed to freeze, and only the dim light cast mottled shadows on everyone's faces.
However, now is not the time to dwell on these story details. There are more important things to pay attention to. How much of the banquet rules that Granny Rong said is true and credible? Tang Yin decided to wait and see and listen to her finish all the rules.
He closed his eyes and began to organize the information he had just obtained in his mind. In this bizarre banquet, various roles were mixed in: first of all, there were three wolves, whose identities were a mystery, but they were really lurking among the crowd. Then there were the guardians of the guardian beasts: the guardian of the snake had the ability to check the identity of the other party at night by placing a piece of paper with the other person's name on the pillow;
the two guardians of the apes already knew each other's identities at the moment they accepted the guardianship; the guardian of the crow could identify the true identity of the executed person on the night of the day; and the guardian of the spider could protect the designated object from the wolf's attack at night by writing the name in the same way.
The most bizarre thing is that the distribution of these guardians has nothing to do with the four elder families who inherited the blood of the guardian beasts. Tang Yin's fingers tapped lightly on his knees unconsciously, trying to find some kind of pattern in this complicated rule. Under the dim light, he noticed that the expressions of the others were also different: some were thoughtful, some were calm, and some had a flash of unease in their eyes.
The faint aroma of wine filled the air, intertwined with this bizarre rule explanation, shrouding the entire space in an unspeakable atmosphere. The thick fog outside the window seemed to become heavier, completely isolating Mist Hidden Village from the outside world, as if it had really become a different space independent of reality, and in this space, everyone was playing their own role, deducing this game of fate that was difficult to predict.
In this shadow-shrouded assembly hall, Granny Rong's voice echoed, telling the rules of this bizarre game: through the special abilities of the guardians, everyone must execute one person after discussion every day. The three lurking wolves will perform blood sacrifice rituals at night, and humans must find and eliminate all the wolves before they are completely wiped out. Those who violate the rules will be polluted to death by the supernatural power of the mountain god.
As these words fell, there was a burst of commotion in the entire room, like a group of restless moths fluttering their wings in the dark. Tang Yin frowned and was about to ask some details, but was interrupted by a sudden voice.
"...Granny Rong, wait, there are still places I don't understand." Qin Ming's voice suddenly sounded, his always stern face looking particularly serious in the dim light. Tang Yin had to swallow the questions that came to his lips and turned his gaze to this young man who had asked the question first.
"What's the problem, Qin Ming?" Granny Rong's eyes stared at Qin Ming through her reading glasses.
"The wolf gods can only sacrifice one person a night, right?" Qin Ming's voice was calm and restrained, but it contained a hint of doubt.
"That's right," Granny Rong nodded to confirm.
"Why?" Qin Ming continued to ask, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table in front of him.
"Because this is the sphere of influence of the Thousand Bright Gods, even the Yellow Spring wolves must obey the will of the Thousand Bright Gods," Granny Rong's answer had a firm tone.
"...Why did the Thousand Bright Gods make this rule for the wolves, and why must the wolves obey it?" Qin Ming's question was like a sharp sword, pointing directly to the core of the problem. The air in the assembly hall seemed to become more solemn.
"This... I don't know," Granny Rong rarely showed a hesitant expression.
Qin Ming did not stop questioning, "There is another question, if the spider successfully protects one person, can the wolf gods turn around and attack other people?"
"Impossible, as long as the spider's guardianship prevents the wolf's attack, it can protect everyone's dreams that night," Granny Rong's answer was still firm.
"...Granny Rong, how do you know these things?" Qin Ming's voice became sharper, like a knife being unsheathed.
"A long, long time ago, my grandmother told me-" Granny Rong had just started to explain when she was interrupted mercilessly by Qin Ming.
"Granny Rong, haven't you participated in the Yellow Spring Banquet?" This question was like a thunderbolt, exploding in the assembly hall.
In an instant, the entire space fell into a deathly silence. Under the dim light, everyone's expressions froze. Tang Yin could clearly feel the tense atmosphere in the air, like a tight string that could break at any time.
The thick fog outside the window seemed to become more gloomy at this moment, completely isolating this space full of doubts from the outside world. All eyes were focused on Granny Rong, waiting for her response to this sharp question. This seemingly simple question seemed to tear a crack in the truth of the whole story.
"...Hey, Qin Ming, what's wrong with you?" Zhao Gang noticed the abnormality of the atmosphere and hurriedly spoke to break the silence. There was a trace of unease in his voice, as if he had a premonition that he was about to reveal something that should not be revealed. The lights in the assembly hall flickered on and off, casting a strange color on this conversation.
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"If there is a banquet every time there is fog, then someone here must have participated in the banquet," Qin Ming's eyes were as sharp as knives, and his voice had an unquestionable power. His angular face looked particularly cold in the dim light. "As far as I know, there was fog once eight years ago."
"Brother, don't say it!" Gao Mei suddenly let out a sharp cry, her pale little face distorted with excitement, tears welling up in her eyes. This sudden change made everyone turn their heads in unison and stared at this trembling girl. The air seemed to freeze in an instant.
"...Don't say it... I don't want to think about that thing," Gao Mei's voice lowered, but it still carried an undisguised tremor. She clutched her clothes tightly, her knuckles turning white from exertion, and her whole body curled up into a ball, as if she wanted to hide herself.
"But, Xiao Mei-" Qin Ming's tone softened a little, but he still insisted on continuing to ask. His eyes flashed with a light of exploration, as if there were more secrets hidden behind this answer.
"Qin Ming, I will ask this later," Gao Zhijie suddenly interrupted him, his voice low and majestic. A trace of pain flashed in the old man's turbid eyes. "My son and daughter-in-law both died at that time, don't mention that thing in front of Xiao Mei."
"...Grandpa-" Gao Mei whispered, tears finally streaming down her cheeks. Her shoulders trembled slightly, as if she was enduring unspeakable pain.
A heavy atmosphere spread in the assembly hall. The light of the oil lamp cast swaying shadows on the wall, as if silently telling those past events that people were unwilling to mention. Tang Yin's mind suddenly flashed Zhao Gang's previous words: "You have seen the construction site of the landslide above, right? Eight years ago, something happened there when Qian Jin's family was building it."
The pieces of the puzzle began to gradually piece together: the landslide and the death of Xiao Mei's parents both happened eight years ago, and there was also fog at that time. This coincidence made Tang Yin feel an ominous premonition.
"...I wasn't in Mist Hidden Village at that time, remember? You were boarding at the school in Hundred Abundance Estate at that time, and I also went to help," Granny Rong hurriedly explained, her voice with a trace of tension, and her old face looked particularly haggard in the light. "This is the first time I have participated in the banquet, and I don't know if there was a banquet at that time." She paused, her fingers unconsciously twisted together, and added: "However, my grandmother should have participated in the banquet."
"...Is that so?" Although Qin Ming did not continue to ask, it could be seen from his slightly frowned brows and the suspicion in his eyes that he did not completely accept this explanation. An unspeakable sense of tension filled the air.
Tang Yin also found it difficult to understand how these banquet rules concerning life and death could be passed down so completely by word of mouth. The temperature in the assembly hall seemed to drop a few degrees again, making people shiver involuntarily. After all, these are rules that will put your life in danger if you violate them. If there are omissions or errors in the transmission process, the consequences will be disastrous.
Thinking of this, he suddenly realized that Granny Rong did indeed omit three important rules: first, the wolf can only kill one person a day; second, after being stopped by the spider, the wolf cannot attack other people that night; third, the guardianship is notified by blood words and is forbidden to be discovered by others. The first two have been sharply pointed out by Qin Ming, and the last one... This was told to him privately by Old Man Gao Zhijie, and no one has mentioned it yet.
Tang Yin's thoughts continued to extend: Are the rules passed down by word of mouth really reliable? If this is really a long-standing tradition, then if a fatal omission occurs in the inheritance process, it should have been completely wiped out long ago due to violations. This ending will inevitably lead to the interruption of the corresponding culture, but since this situation has not happened...
This idea made Tang Yin's eyes light up: This shows that there must be other channels for transmitting information.