Jiaohua

Chapter 1134
The villages in the suburbs of Hengxiang are closely connected. There are three large villages in this area. Counting the nearby mountains, the entire area is as large as half of Hengxiang Prefecture.

Mayor Pan introduced the names of the surrounding places while walking, and when he pointed to the high mountains in the south, he mentioned "South Wubei".Xia Zhaoyi turned his head and looked at the silhouette outlined by the moonlight in the shadows.

According to Pan Township Chief, Nanwupi is a graveyard in the vicinity, also known as Guitian Mountain. When there is a funeral in the village, all the gongs and drums go there.

Speaking of this, Township Chief Pan lowered his voice: "It is said that there is an emperor's tomb there! I don't know which dynasty's emperor is buried in it, it is hidden mysteriously."

Xia Zhaoyi traced the moonlight and silver lines of the undulating mountains with his eyes quietly, but did not answer.

After a cup of tea, they entered the village along a field road, and the head of the village, Pan, began to talk about the Chen family.

"The Chen family has been in our Xizhu Village for at least five generations, and they have a good relationship with the neighbors. The Chen family is in good shape, and everyone is tall and straight. But the strangest thing is that the Chen family seems to have never seen an old man."

"What do you mean by not seeing the old man?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.

"It's their people. I've only seen forty or fifty people, and they're gone when I go up. Just now I told you about the Nanwubei, and the Chen family has never had a funeral."

"It disappeared for no reason?"

A squire walking on the other side of Mayor Pan said, "That's almost what it means!"

"Then, don't people in your village ask, and the village officials don't care?"

Mayor Pan sneered: "General, what should I say about this matter? They are a big family, and they have a good temperament on weekdays! The neighbor's water tank is broken and they help to repair it. If anyone in front of the village can't bear the burden, they will go immediately Hand in hand. If you run out of rice, just mention it to them, and they will give you a bucket tomorrow. Moreover, this family is very united and gets along harmoniously, who can think about bad things!"

Xia Zhaoyi said: "I have never held a funeral, and I have never seen the elderly, but I want to build an ancestral hall."

When she mentioned the ancestral hall, Mayor Pan's expression changed, and he dared not answer any more.

Many people in the village didn't sleep. They watched Mayor Pan and the others walking all the way and asked them what happened, but Mayor Pan yelled at them to go back to sleep.

But there were still quite a few good-natured people who just put on their clothes and followed, asking what happened to the village road outside, so many lights.

Many eyes fell on the young girl holding the torch in the middle. This elegant demeanor made her look out of place with the girls in the village.

"Major Pan, who is this chick?" one person asked.

Mayor Pan didn't speak, a squire raised his hand and slapped the questioner: "You're so rude! This is the general!"

The stunned person hurriedly apologized.

Xia Zhaoyi glanced at them, not feeling happy or angry, and looked away.

Passing through the village road paved with bluestone slab bridges, the front is full of dirt and stone roads. After walking for a while, the mayor Pan stopped and said respectfully: "General, this is it."

Xia Zhaoyi turned his eyes and saw that it was a house of some specifications.

However, this village known as Xizhu Village is not poor. It is of such a scale that I saw no less than five of them during my journey here just now.

There was dust in front of the door, the door was densely covered with cobwebs, half of the hanging lanterns were withered, and weeds grew in the gaps between the steps.

"Go back," Xia Zhaoyi said, "I'm sorry."

"General, are you really going in alone?" said a squire.

Xia Zhaoyi smiled: "You are not afraid, you can come in too."

Her face is cold and unapproachable if she doesn't smile, but she is swaying when she smiles, like a sunny day. Many men in the village have the courage to look at her.

Xia Zhaoyi turned around and stepped up the low stone steps, using the torch in his hand to burn away the cobwebs on the door, and pushed the door open with a "squeak".

There was a gust of wind blowing from heaven and earth, cold and gloomy, coming from all directions, and also coming from the door she pushed open.

The men surrounded by the door shuddered and felt cold all over.

No matter which one of them was older than her, they only watched her disappear through the door with their eyes open.

Suddenly, there was another "squeak", and the door was closed.

Township Chief Pan was startled and hurriedly said, "General! General?!"

"I closed it." The girl's slightly speechless voice came from inside the door.

"She, she even closed the door..." a squire said in a trembling voice.

Another person said: "Then, shall we go back to sleep or..."

"Sleep, sleep, sleep, why are you sleeping! This is the general who has occupied Hengxiang Mansion!" Pan Xiang said angrily, "If something happens to her, we might all have to pay for it!"

"Then, shall we go in?"

"Didn't she say we don't need to go in, she's a general, that's a military order!"

"Yup……"

Mayor Pan thought for a while and said, "Go, bring a chair, let's just sit here and wait!"

Standing under the eaves inside the door, Xia Zhaoyi looked up at the house that could be seen at a glance.

The strong wind blew the torch in her hand flying, and her white and cold face was half-lit and half-dark, which was extremely unreal in the dancing flames.

This is the most common house size in rural fields. There is no entrance, no backyard, and no cross yard. Only the spacious space in the middle is the yard, and the buildings are built on three sides, each with two floors.

In an uncomplicated courtyard, the surroundings are dark and cold at present. Because of the many dark clouds in the sky, the moonlight only peeks out once in a while, illuminating the dark rooms.

Xia Zhaoyi started to look from the right, one by one.

The air in the house was stale, and there was a musty smell that had accumulated for a long time. Looking at a few rooms, there was nothing special about it. I didn't see the blood that Township Chief Pan and the others were talking about, and I didn't see anything weird or wrong.

Until another room was opened, the walls were covered with portraits, and they were still portraits of people.

The torch in Xia Zhaoyi's hand took photos one by one, and at the same time raised his hand to lift the portraits to see if there was a hidden compartment behind them.

Finally, behind a portrait, she saw a human head.

To be precise, it is a dummy head, a clay sculpture.

She is no stranger to this material.

Five years ago, His Highness Qianqiu once had a secret room where calligraphy and paintings were also hung. The difference was that there were hidden compartments and heads behind each calligraphy and painting. Here, she has only found this one so far.

The expression on the head is very ferocious, judging from the outline of the bones, it probably looks like a woman.

Xia Zhaoyi looked up at these portraits, there were only paintings, no inscriptions, and the painting skills were not very good, far from Tang Xiangsi's.

Xia Zhaoyi put the head back, searched the room again, and left.

After searching for a few more rooms, she found a mechanism under the bed board in one bedroom.

The organ opened a secret cabinet, and Xia Zhaoyi got up to go to it. The secret cabinet was very small, about the space of two large beds standing upright.

She didn't go in, but stood outside and looked at it with a torch. There were a few messy bows and crossbows inside.

She is also no stranger to this crossbow.

At this time, the secret door closed automatically, and six crossbow arrows suddenly shot out from inside the door. She immediately turned sideways to avoid it, but the ground under her feet suddenly disappeared, and she was instantly weightless in the air.

(End of this chapter)