Chapter 80: Secret affairs of the secret village
But the truth was not what I had imagined. A Mao Dou would not jump off a cliff. Instead, two young Hmong boys who were following him tied a rope around his waist, and the other end of the rope was tied to the body of one of the old trees.
After making sure the rope was secure, Ah Maodou looked back at the Da Xing Da Wu, his eyes a strange kind of calm. I don’t know why, but I always felt that Ah Maodou’s gaze was on Qiangzi. There seemed to be some emotion hidden beneath this calm gaze, and I couldn’t read it.
After this glance, Ah Maodou jumped off the cliff without hesitation. Although I knew that he was tied to a long rope, my heart still beat faster.
“Go take a look,” said the Da Xing Da Wu, and without saying anything else to me or the master, he walked straight to the edge of the cliff where Ah Mao Dou had jumped off.
After all, in this secret village, Ah Maodou is the guide for me and my master. We don’t understand the rules, so we can only follow him closely.
The wind was stronger at the edge of the cliff, blowing loudly and filling our clothes with wind. We could hear nothing but the sound of the wind… Then we saw Ah Maodou, who was tied to the rope, being blown by the strong wind on the cliff. He was trying to get closer to the cliff wall, and I only then realized that there were many large and small caves on the cliff wall.
From my angle, I could see the biggest and deepest one could hold more than a dozen people, and the smallest one could not even fit a baby.
What surprised me was that there were people in many of the caves. I took a quick look and there were about twenty people, some staring numbly at the sky outside the cave, while others were sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, and hands clasped in strange hand signs, as if in meditation.
At this time, Ah Mao Dou had already stabilized his position, clinging to the edge of the cliff, grabbing a small tree there, and then climbing hard towards one of the stone caves. When he finally entered the cave, which could probably hold two people, the two teenagers who had been standing on the cliff and watching him all the time cut the rope without mercy.
The Da Xing Da Wu looked as if he was reluctant to do so, and turned to ask the two young men, “How long is Ah Mao Dou’s punishment this time?”
“One year.” One of the teenagers was silent and did not answer, while the other simply replied.
“Ah? That long? I thought it would be a month… I’ll go find the punishment shaman.” The mood of the Daxing shaman seemed very agitated, and he turned to enter the stilt house where the punishment shaman lived.
But the previous boy stopped him for a moment and said, “Da Xing, the punishment given by the punishment shaman is naturally fair, and it has been like this for many years. I believe that Da Xing can also change the punishment shaman’s mind, but this stone cave on the wall is open to interpretation. Many generations of shamans have meditated in the cave. The ancestor shaman was kind to the tribe. What some people see as punishment is also an opportunity in someone else’s eyes.”
After saying this, the young man silently stepped aside, his hands hanging down, and no longer stopped the Daxing Dahu.
The Great Da Xing Warlock glanced at Ah Mao Dou, who was now sitting cross-legged in the stone cave, looking into the distance at the vast mountains and sky, not knowing what he was thinking. He never looked up at the platform of the secret village again.
The Great Da Xing Warlock sighed again and said, “Well, it’s also a good opportunity to temper his character. As you said, it’s not a bad thing. I just hope he can take better care of himself when he eats three meals a day.”
“That’s for sure… When the time comes, I won’t delay for a second to pick Ah Maodou up.” The young man respectfully replied, and then returned to the stilted house where the big witch was being punished with another young man.
I looked at Ah Maodou and had a strange feeling in my heart. I felt that I might never have any more contact with this person, but there would definitely be new stories and many stories that would extend from here… But everyone has their own story. It may be possible to see the scenery of this world in one’s lifetime, but it is impossible to see all the stories and joys and sorrows of this world.
People can only be true to their own hearts, do their own work, face their own destiny, and temper their own hearts.
“Do you think it’s cruel?” The Da Xing Da Wu, who had already left the edge of the cliff, suddenly asked me this question, pulling me back from my messy thoughts.
Despite the cold mountain wind, I heard this sentence clearly… I shook my head. From a human perspective, it is a bit cruel. It is a deeper confinement than prison, but from the perspective of a cultivator, it is the best stone for tempering.
“It seems you understand. And the Ancestral Spirit is indeed benevolent. This place is filled with the spirit of the Ancestral Spirit. If you can meditate here in peace, it will be a great opportunity. If you are unstable, it will indeed be the greatest torture.” The Great Shaman of Daxing explained to me and my master.
Actually, there was no need to explain this to me and my master. It seems that this explanation was to reassure his own heart.
“I have been through many storms in the village for decades, and I have also been in the world for ten years. I have some talent and some luck, and now I have a place in the ninth floor of the secret village.” The platform of the secret village is not large. As the great shaman Da Xing spoke, he once again took us through the altar.
The first time I passed this altar, I didn’t feel anything. This time, I was suddenly in a trance… It was as if I could hear the roars of countless beasts, and then I saw countless battles. But I had no idea who was fighting with whom or what kind of roars they were making.
I was just overwhelmed by the desolate and deadly aura. This was the strongest aura I had ever felt, surpassing any other aura I had experienced. I had no room to resist, and could only stay within it, experience it, and feel it, but I was powerless to struggle out.
Then, I was suddenly pulled by a pair of strong hands, and I suddenly came to my senses. I realized that it was the Da Xing Da Wu who had pulled me, and he was chanting some strange mantra, which I couldn’t understand at all.
“Are you okay?” I guess he was worried when he saw my eyes clear up.
“What’s wrong with you, Chengyi?” It seemed that the master only reacted at this time. I seemed to have something wrong…
I shook my head, unable to describe the feeling in my heart. It was clearly just a momentary thing, but after I came to my senses, I realized that I had experienced an eternity of time… I even realized at this time that Silly Tiger had stood up without knowing when, inexplicably prostrating himself, his fur standing on end, his eyes confused and innocent, as if desperately wanting to be comforted by me.
At the time of the experience, I didn’t feel anything about these changes, but only now do I feel an inexplicable fear enveloping me, and goosebumps all the way up to my neck.
I quickly comforted Shatu, and I felt that his reaction this time was many times more exaggerated than the last time I encountered the spirit of Qiongqi… And Daxing, the great shaman, unusually did not explain to my master what had happened, but looked at my master and said with a meaningful look, “This disciple is not bad. If he were not a Taoist disciple, my ancestor, the shaman of the eighteen villages, would not mind taking in another disciple of a different surname.”
My master was also very casual, and didn’t even ask anything. He said, “Of course he is a good disciple, but unfortunately the situation of Taoist inheritance is not much better than the Wuji family. If we could return to that era, I think his fate would be much better.”
Da Xing Da Wu smiled and said nothing, but led us all the way to the biggest tree and the biggest stilt house.
The master stood beside him and said, “Old Mu, your life has been brilliant enough to enter the secret village.”
“Compared to your life outside, I’m just a small-time person. I hope that the 18 clans of the Ancestor Warlords will be stronger than the previous generation, and at least I see hope in this generation.” After saying this, the Great Da Xing Warlord changed the subject and said, “I know that you have a promise with the elders of Darong, but according to Darong’s current position in the village, I’m afraid I can’t decide everything. I must consult the 21st generation of the village here. Old Jiang, can you understand?”
“Of course I can.” The master’s expression was very calm, and he just said that without saying anything else.
Daxing the Great Shaman nodded and then respectfully shouted to the largest stilt house: “Buden the Great Shaman, Daxing requests an audience.”
The voice of the Da Xing Da Wu was loud, overpowering the wild wind on this cliff. In front of this so-called 21st generation witch, Da Xing did not dare to call himself a great witch, but only modestly called himself Da Xing. After he shouted, there was silence in the stilted building for a long time, and Da Xing Da Wu did not dare to shout again. Instead, he carried Qiangzi on his back and bowed respectfully outside the stilted building.
My master and I also bowed slightly. After all, we were meeting the village’s chief shaman, and it was only proper to do so… We also dared not show the slightest impatience while waiting. After all, we had come here to take Qiangzi away, and from what Da Xing said, it seemed that Qiangzi was very important to this village. Therefore, it was best to be thorough in our etiquette at this time.
I don’t know how long we waited, maybe five minutes of silence, when suddenly there was a creak from the stilted building, and then a clear young voice rang out from above, saying, “Buden Grand Shaman invites you all to go inside.”
I looked up and saw a handsome young man standing on the veranda of the stilted building, shouting at us. After saying that, he turned and went back inside, never leaving a word.