After Zhang Lisheng opened the heavy wooden door of the old house, the Guawo villagers walked into the legendary Zhang family's old house for the first time without much care.
Since it was located at the hillside of the mountain, the old house did not see sunlight all year round. People could feel the temperature dropping as soon as they stepped into the courtyard. However, it did not seem so cold anymore as more and more people walked in.
Tao Lielin shuddered as soon as he walked into the old house. He began ordering the young people in the village after a shudder, "Carry Mountain Worm's father's body to the middle of the central room. We'll book the ice coffin. Come to me later.
"Ermu, light the joss sticks on the offering table and get a new tablet from your seventh uncle's house. Carve 'Li Mountain Fairy Zhang Mai Dao Wu Shan Jun' on it and send it here. Remember that it's' Li Mountain Fairy Zhang Mai Dao Wu Shan Jun ', don't get it wrong.
"Mutt, Yangzhi, Qiao Gong, get a few buckets of water from the well and wipe the doors …"
In the Miaowei's ancient custom, the title 'Mountain Lord' was a tiger to beasts and a wizard to humans.
Of course, the word 'wizard' here had evolved to mean 'God'. Moreover, such a title would only be used after one's death. Those who were worshiped by all villages would usually be called 'old man' when they were alive.
Hearing Tao Lielin's order, the young people in Guawo Village began to get busy in the Zhang family's old house. Meanwhile, the older villagers left one after another and went home to cook.
Everyone had something to do except for Zhang Lisheng who was standing in the central room. However, he had something to do after getting the linen blanket, which was to thank the guests by kneeling next to the ice coffin.
The Miaowei had thousands of guests when it came to funerals. Whether they knew the host or not, the host would have to welcome the guests as long as they came. Usually, the male who had lost his family would kowtow and serve a Miaowei banquet with nine meat dishes and nine vegetarian dishes.
The funeral lasted for five days. Zhang Lisheng spent more than ten hours kneeling in front of his father's body to thank the guests from morning to night. He looked extremely tired. Apart from a few villagers, most of the guests were tourists who came to the mountain village.
The tourists were extremely excited to be able to watch a real Miaowei funeral. Some of the freelance tourists even extended their vacation and stayed in Guawo Village to wait for Zhang Daowu's burial.
As for the Guawo Villagers who were helping with the funeral at the old house, they gradually felt that the Zhang Family's old house had become ordinary. What people feared the most was the unknown. Once the mysterious veil was removed, it would just be an old house.
Finally, it was the last day of the funeral. In the afternoon, almost all the adults in Guawo Village had gathered. Coupled with the tourists who were there to watch the fun, the Zhang family's old house was packed to the brim. Even the stone road outside was filled with people.
Tao Lielin, who had a red blanket draped over his shoulder, was the one who hosted the funeral ceremony. He had his head lowered as he stared at his phone. When the auspicious hour was about to arrive, he lifted his head, turned on the microphone, and blew on it. He said loudly when he heard that the loudspeaker was working, "Stop arguing, stop arguing.
The auspicious time has come, send off Lord Zhang Shan … "
Halfway through Tao Lielin's sentence, he suddenly saw the villagers giving way to him automatically. The old village chief, Tian Jiushi, who was wearing pure black Miao attire, walked towards him slowly.
"Grandpa Jiushi, w-why are you here …"
"It's Brother Daowu's last journey, of course, I have to send him off." Tian Jiushi, who did not show up at all during Zhang Daowu's funeral, sighed. He took the microphone from Tao Lielin who was dumbstruck and said loudly, "The auspicious hour has come, I, Tian Jiushi, will send Lord Zhang Daowu on his way."
He then took the red blanket off Tao Lielin's shoulder and covered Zhang Daowu's body in the ice coffin.
With the dead's attire wrapped around his body, the drummers who were invited played the music in an instant. A few strong middle-aged Miaowei women lifted Zhang Daowu's body carefully and placed it into the wooden coffin by the side. They then covered the coffin with the coffin lid.
Zhang Lisheng, who was kneeling, stood up from the ground in a staggered manner. He symbolically smashed the thick nails on the coffin lid with a wooden hammer. Then, strong men who were wearing Miaowei attire and had black cloth wrapped around their heads began to nail the 16 nails on the coffin lid from four corners.
Among the tourists who were watching in the old house's courtyard, there was a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked at the strong men who were hammering the thick nails with a big hammer listlessly and said to his partner softly, "Third brother, isn't this similar to us Chinese people's funeral?
I thought these Miaowei people would kill a bear or a wild boar as a blood sacrifice or something. I can't believe that apart from the cremation, I don't see anything rare. "
"It's easy to see if it's rare. Look at the single-sided carved insect pattern grimace hanging on the wall above the sacrificial table in the central room.
If it's real, you might not be able to find such an antique witchcraft mask with such exquisite craftsmanship even if you go to Sotheby's annual auction. "His tall and strong middle-aged partner who had a slight beard replied softly while smiling.
"Then isn't it worth a lot of money? Third brother, take a closer look to see if it's real!" The young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes was excited, he was interested.
"It's not worth a lot of money. It's not like you don't know that collectors nowadays only recognize porcelain and wooden items. Bronze and pewter items are hard to sell, let alone stoneware.
However, we can definitely get 500,000 US dollars if we sell it. If we keep it for a few years, the tables will turn and stoneware will suddenly become popular. It's not impossible to add a '1' in front and a '0' at the back.
Tsk tsk, this pattern, this knife technique, this quality is perfect! "
"Add a '1' in front and a '0' at the back of 500,000 US dollars. That's 15 million US dollars!
Third brother, third brother, this is like picking it up for free. We don't have to see if it's real or not, let's just take it. "
"This is Miaowei land, it's better to be careful. It's written 'Mountain Lord' on the memorial tablet. This family isn't simple," Third brother who had done a few years of civilized smuggling business in Western Sichuan said in a cautious tone.
"What Mountain Lord? That's just feudal superstition. We're in this business so how can we not understand that? I didn't expect to encounter such a good thing when we're taking a break after doing a 'big job'.
Third brother, let's get this together with Tiesi tonight and leave tomorrow morning. Isn't that good enough? "
"It's good stuff but we have to think about it in the long run.
We can't rush such things. Oh yeah, Bigeye, what's the name of the landlord who's always trying to play with us in the farmhouse we've been staying at for the past two days? Let's get some information from him tonight. "
"He drives a truck to transport mountain goods to the city. I don't know his name but I heard his wife calling him 'Ermu', 'Ermu'. Let's get some information from him tonight," the young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes said while rubbing his hands.
The tall and strong middle-aged tourist with a slight beard nodded and stopped talking. He shifted his gaze away from the grimacing stone mask hanging on the wall of the old house's central room as if nothing had happened. However, the greed in his eyes lingered for a long time.
The nails on the coffin that was supposed to be Zhang Daowu's coffin had been nailed tight. The henchmen hired from all around the village had already lifted the coffin with wooden poles and hemp ropes.
They sang the funeral song in unison, "There's a guest leaving, there's a guest leaving, who's not a guest in the world …". They walked out of the door in unison in a seemingly dangerous manner but in reality, they walked rhythmically.
As soon as the coffin moved, the crowd made way for it. Zhang Lisheng followed behind the coffin uneasily. He thought of his dead father and felt a sharp pain in his heart.
He thought of his wizard worm Qing Hong that was drilling in the shallow soil underground and hoped that it would not be trampled to death by the mourning guests.
Then, he thought about whether he should continue to study in the future. Perhaps it would be a better choice to cultivate witchcraft with hundreds of thousands of compensation.
The drummer was playing a wild Miaowei tune while leading the funeral procession to walk on the stone road. They climbed up an inconspicuous mountain path at the west entrance of Guawo Village.
The mountain path was winding and deep. The trees grew from dense to sparse. It was barren when they were two to three hundred meters above the ground. They could not even find a place to rest their feet. If it was not for the fact that the Miaowei young men who were carrying the coffin were experienced, they might have fallen from the small path.
After walking slowly for more than ten minutes, the funeral procession finally arrived at a platform that was formed by the natural fracture of the mountain.
The platform was extremely huge. Three of its sides were surrounded by mountains while the other side was facing a surging river.
There were hundreds and thousands of wooden coffins placed on the mountain platform that was facing the river. This was the Guawo Village's mountain burial ground.
The curiosity that they had been waiting for finally got a huge satisfaction at the last moment. Some of the tourists who were panting began to take photos excitedly. Some of the westerners who had a tablet computer with a satellite network even began to update their personal homepage directly.
Although the old chief of Guawo Village, Tian Jiushi, was strong, he was an old man who had one foot in the grave after all. He could not climb the mountain and could not come to the burial ground. Tao Lielin, who had been holding back his anger, was in charge now.
He shouted at the tourists who were holding their cameras and tablets with a grim face on the mountain platform, "Let me say this first. There are thousands of ghosts and monsters accompanying the mountain burial.
"You guys who are watching the show better behave yourselves. Otherwise, nobody can protect you if you anger the ghosts and gods. You'll either die or be injured!"
Some of the tourists had a change of expression when they heard his warning. They put down the digital products in their hands without realizing it. Some of them were numb to it, but the excitement on their faces had lessened a little.
Tao Lielin had no other way to deal with the tourists who did not listen to his warning. After all, according to the Miaowei custom, the guests were the most honorable during the funeral.
He had no choice but to put on a serious expression and walked to Zhang Daowu's wooden coffin solemnly. He dragged his tone and said as if he was singing, "Cheng Li, Cheng Ji, this is a good time. Put down the coffin and salute. Lord, return to your position!" He wanted to end the funeral as soon as possible so that he could chase away the tourists who were desecrating the ancestor's burial ground.
Hearing Tao Lielin's order, the young men who were carrying the coffin responded in unison, "Yes." Then, they carried Zhang Lielin's wooden coffin to the most eastern row of coffins on the mountain platform that was facing the river.
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