Chapter 87 Sacrifice to God?

Chapter 87 Sacrifice to God?

For the next two days, Zhao Yushu traveled non-stop, without stopping for a moment except for eating, sleeping, and defecating.

The distance from Longmen to Nanyang in this world is about 400 kilometers, which is more than 800 miles. According to Zhao Yushu's current speed, it would only take two or three days to get there if he traveled at full speed.

But the transportation conditions in ancient times were really outrageous. Not to mention how bad the road conditions were, there was no infrastructure maniac to back you up by building roads through mountains and bridges over rivers. You really had to take detours when you encountered mountains and rivers.

It took Zhao Yushu three full days to reach the Jiufeng Mountain area.

"The underworld is asking for your permission, the living people must stay out!" Paper money was flying all over the sky in the drizzle. Zhao Yushu stood on the side of the road, watching a witch waving paper money into the sky while howling in an extremely unpleasant voice.

Behind the witch were several sturdy men carrying a huge pig's head, behind them was a small cart filled with grains, and behind them were four boys and girls aged seven or eight, each holding a pile of things covered with red cloth, and lastly, dozens of villagers with worried looks on their faces.

It should be a sacrifice to gods, but I don't know which god they are worshipping. With the idea that less trouble is better, Zhao Yushu quietly watched the team pass by and walked towards the village ahead.

As it was getting dark, Lao Zhao originally wanted to find a nearby post station to spend the night, but a group of soldiers from the south booked the entire post station and did not allow outsiders in. It was obvious that they came with military intelligence.

But it happened to rain again at this time, and it became difficult to deal with it in the wild. In desperation, Zhao Yushu could only take advantage of the last ray of light to hurry on his way. He hurried to the small village and happened to meet the team offering sacrifices to the gods.

It’s so late now, and it looks like the team is heading into the mountains, so I hope nothing happens.

Zhao Yushu shook his head, walked into the village and started looking around.

An ordinary mountain village, even one close to an official road, would not have such a thing as an inn.

Old Zhao did not blindly choose a house to knock on the door. Instead, he jumped directly onto a tall tree to observe the layout of the entire village, and then headed for the largest courtyard.

From my experience in these two lives, no matter in a town or a village, the biggest house is where the leader lives.

There is a dim light in the house. The villagers know how to live their lives and are reluctant to light too many lights. Usually before going to bed, the whole family will gather in the main room, light a lamp and chat.

Zhao Yushu knocked on the wooden door of the yard, and the voices in the house suddenly stopped.

"Which one?" an old voice sounded.

"Father, I am a scholar from Dongdu. I passed by here. The post station on the official road has been requisitioned by the soldiers. I would like to ask for a place to stay."

There was silence in the room for a while, then the door of the gate creaked open and an old man came out holding a lantern.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting for a long time. The children have gone to the mountains. Only my old wife, daughter-in-law and grandson are left. Let's settle down for a while."

Zhao Yushu bowed and said, "Excuse me for bothering you. If it's inconvenient, I'll just point you to a place that can shelter you from the wind and rain."

The old man opened the gate and said, "What are you talking about? Although my family is not rich, I can still prepare a clean room for you. It's cold outside, please come in."

Entering the main room, the father-in-law asked his wife and daughter-in-law to get Zhao Yushu a bowl of hot water to relieve his fatigue. After Zhao Yushu thanked the two women one by one, he sat down at the simple dining table and chatted casually with his father-in-law.

"Where are you going, sir?"

"Nanyang, I have been ordered to pay a visit to a teacher."

“That was a really hard journey.”

"It's OK, old man. Before I entered the village, I saw a group of people offering sacrifices to the gods. Are they going into the mountains so late?"

The father-in-law sighed and said nothing when he heard this.

Zhao Yushu said hurriedly, "I am sorry for being so rude."

The old man waved his hands and said, "It's nothing, it's not something shameful. We live by Jiufeng Mountain, so we naturally have to worship the mountain god. As for why we have to go into the mountain at this time, it's not that I dare not say it, but I'm afraid that if I say it, it will scare you for no reason."

Oh no, it’s not going to be about ghosts again, I really don’t want to get involved in this, I’m not curious at all.

"Please speak, father-in-law, I'm very brave," Zhao Yushu pressed his left hand against his right hand, resisting the urge to slap himself in the face.

"It's a long story, please have some tea, sir." The old woman brought two bowls of hot water with a few tea leaves floating in it. Then she and her daughter-in-law sat aside, holding their little grandson, apparently wanting to discuss the matter together.

"Jiufeng Mountain is very big, but there is only one mountain god. I heard that it was conferred by Emperor Taizu of the Tang Dynasty himself. In spring and autumn, dozens of villages around the mountain go to worship it."

Zhao Yushu nodded. It was a custom in many places to offer sacrifices to the gods before spring planting and after autumn harvest every year, in order to pray for good weather and to thank for a good harvest, but it was already past spring planting time.

As if he had seen through Zhao Yushu's thoughts, the old man took a sip of water and said, "Isn't this something strange?"

The daughter-in-law next to him interrupted and said, "Everyone is dreaming."

"dream?"

"Well, everyone dreams of the mountain god."

The father-in-law explained, "It's been about half a month. At first, it was just a few children who dreamed that the mountain god was hungry and asked them for food. Everyone thought it was just a joke, but after a few days, several adults also had the same dream."

A dream? Zhao Yushu touched his chin. In his previous life, he had doubts about this. In the world of cultivating immortals, it was theoretically possible. However, it was a bit absurd that the mountain god asked for food in a dream. There was such a huge mountain. As a mountain god, why did you ask ordinary people for food?

"Just like that, more and more. I also dreamed about it. About five days ago, I asked the whole village about it. Except for the kids who couldn't talk, everyone said they dreamed about it. In the past few days, I asked the young men in the village to inquire in several surrounding villages. They all encountered this thing, but not as serious as in our village. So I hurriedly invited a witch to come. My dear, if you dream about it tonight, don't be afraid."

Zhao Yushu nodded: "Don't worry, old man, I am quite courageous, but I still don't understand. I just dreamed about it. After all, it is the mountain god. It's fine to offer some sacrifices, but why do I have to go up the mountain at night?"

"Alas, the witch performed rituals for two days and set up an altar in the village, but it was useless. Then last night, the mountain god said that if we didn't give them food, there would be disasters. So everyone hurriedly prepared food, which took most of the day, and then went up the mountain to offer food to the mountain god temple that night."

Zhao Yushu understood that it was not that the villagers did not want to give the money. They had placed offerings in their own village, but the mountain god did not appreciate it and was even a little angry. So everyone had no choice but to rush up the mountain before tonight.

But when Zhao Yushu thought of the two sentences he heard the witch shouted on the road, he couldn't help but feel confused. The mountain god was appointed by the founding emperor himself. According to this world, the founding emperor did have good fortune, so the patron saint he appointed had nothing to do with the underworld. Then why did the witch shout: Can I borrow the way from the underworld?

The little grandson in the daughter-in-law's arms yawned, obviously sleepy. Zhao Yushu tactfully stopped chatting and was taken to a small side room by his father-in-law. The old woman brought a pile of thick straw and spread it on the earthen kang. Zhao Yushu thanked her and went to sleep with his clothes on.