Elaborate on the world of mortals

Chapter 866 Evil law?

The Daegu Dynasty held a pivotal position in the northern border. Although it was not as powerful as Dayong is today in the East, which is almost hailed as the Celestial Empire, it was still one of the rare great powers in the northern border.

Although Taoist Xue did not stay in one place frequently over the years, he spent relatively long periods of time in Daegu.

On this day, Taoist Xue was walking on a country road with his luggage on his back. Under the heat of the remaining autumn fire, the trees along the way were filled with the sounds of cicadas.

In the fields in the distance, there are farmers working, harvesting crops. Although the weather is hot, their faces are filled with joy of the harvest.

However, after watching for a while longer, Taoist Xue discovered that the farmers occasionally had a look of sadness on their faces, which could be said to be a mixture of joy and sorrow.

Perhaps these people were tenant farmers, paying high rents?
"Master, where are you going——"

There was a shirtless old man in the field over there who shouted towards us. Although his hair and beard were all white and his bronze upper body looked a little thin, his voice was full of energy and he did not look tired at all from the work.

"I am just passing through here, I'll just go wherever I go - how is the harvest this year, old man -"

Taoist Xue also shouted, and the old farmer on the other side responded.

"The harvest is good - Taoist Priest, please wait a moment -"

As he spoke, the old farmer had already put down the rice and sickle in his hands, said something to the people around him, and then hurried over.

Taoist Xue didn't understand what was going on, so he stopped and waited for the old man to come over. The old farmer wiped his face with the cloth hanging around his neck. Due to his old age, the skin on his bare upper body was a little loose, but it was obvious that his muscles were strong as he walked.

"Master, you are a guest from afar. How about coming to my house for a visit? It's evening now. Why don't you come to my house for a simple meal and rest for the night?"

To be honest, this is indeed the first time that Taoist Xue has come to this place. I didn’t expect it to be so respectful to Taoism?

"How can this be done? You guys just do your thing. I'm not in a hurry to stay overnight. We can continue our journey at night."

"Hey, it's inconvenient at night, let's take a rest."

As the old man spoke, he came over and grabbed Taoist Xue's arm. Taoist Xue looked at his grabbed right arm and did not dodge, but just frowned slightly.

"Master, please come to my house and spend the night. Please stay!"

Taoist Xue felt the strength in the old man's hands, looked at the expectant old man, thought for a moment and nodded.

"Well, it would be disrespectful to refuse!"

"Hey, okay, okay. Baosheng - you guys go ahead and do your work, I'll take the guests home first -"

The old man said the first half of the sentence with joy, and he couldn't wait to shout the second half towards the fields over there, and received a response from there.

"Okay, Dad, just go ahead. I'll be back soon."

The people in the fields over there also seem to be in a hurry. There must be something else going on.

"Master, let's go now. Can I help you carry the suitcase?"

"Oh, no, no, I can do it myself. This box is a bit heavy!"

"Hey, don't look at me as an old man, I am a farmer with plenty of strength. I will help you."

The old man reached out and took the clothes under the tree and put them on his shoulders, then reached out to lift Taoist Xue's box, but the box didn't move at all with one hand. After a moment of hesitation, he grabbed the box with both hands and tried to lift it, only to find that the box was very heavy.

Based on farmers' experience in lifting heavy objects, it must weigh at least a hundred pounds.

"I told you it's heavy, right? Just lead the way, I can carry the box on my back!"

The old man nodded blankly. This Taoist priest was carrying such a heavy box, but he was still walking briskly without blushing or breathing hard. He must have met a master!
The old man was delighted and his steps became much lighter.

"Master, please go this way. You are not a vegetarian, right? Do you have any special dietary restrictions?"

"I don't have any dietary taboos."

"Okay, I'll treat you well later!"

The more enthusiastic the old man was, the more Taoist Xue knew that he must have something to ask of him, and that it must be something very important.

The journey was not too far. With their slightly faster pace, they arrived at a house with a persimmon tree next to it in about a quarter of an hour. There was another building in the distance, which should be the same village.

The persimmon tree was loaded with fruits, some of the branches were bent down, and there were some fallen and rotten fruits on the ground.

"Please come, Taoist Priest!"

The old man opened the wooden fence, stepped into the house first, and then invited the Taoist in.

Someone in the house heard the noise and ran out. They were two children, a boy and a girl, who looked to be about seven or eight years old.

"Grandpa!" "Grandpa, please come back!"

"It's back, it's back!"

Taoist Xue was slightly surprised. The aura in these few rooms was not normal. He was not referring to the two children, but he could sense that there were other people in the house, at least a dozen!
"My dear father, your family is really prosperous."

The old man understood that the Taoist had noticed it, but he said nothing. He took his grandchildren's hands and walked towards the main hall, nodding to the Taoist again.

"Master, please come in!" Taoist Xue did not hesitate and followed the old man and the two children into the house.

When he got inside, he saw that the situation confirmed Taoist Xue's guess. In the main room, which was neither too big nor too small, there were more than a dozen children standing on one side of the table. They were boys and girls of different ages, and they looked at Taoist Xue with curiosity, worry, and even fear.

"Who is Grandpa Zhang?"

Taoist Xue frowned, it was obvious that these dozen children were not the old man's children or grandchildren. Of course, some of them might be relatives, but it was impossible for all of them to be. However, looking at the old man, they did not look like human traffickers.

"Master, you should understand, right?"

"Understand what?"

Taoist Xue was stunned for a moment. Usually he was the one playing guessing games with others, but today it was the other way around.

"Huh? You don't know?"

The old man was also stunned for a moment, and Taoist Xue thought for a while and said.

"I just entered the pass and have been wandering in the mountains for more than a month. Today I finally saw human habitation."

It was entering the country, but without passing through places like the pass. We went directly across the mountains and wilderness into Daegu, saving a lot of trouble.

"Oh, I see. Then you must not know the local festivals."

"What ritual?"

The more Taoist Xue listened, the more confused he became. The old man pulled out a stool and asked him to sit down. Then he began to tell him some things, which made Taoist Xue even more shocked.

The local government actually sent officials to investigate people's families. All children born on special days in the Year of the Dragon were registered, as if there was some special sacrificial ceremony.

At first, the people didn’t think much of it, but later some people’s children went there and never came back.

The government's excuse was that he had entered into a religious monastery to practice Buddhism, and they also gave some silver to the people.

But the parents and relatives cannot see the missing child, so who knows whether the child is alive or dead? Even if the child is alive, no one wants to lose the child. It’s not like they can’t survive in this year.

The old man gradually became excited as he spoke.

"I don't know where this rumor came from, but it's said that the current emperor has gone mad in order to prolong his life and wants to eat young boys and girls. These children are from relatives and friends, and we brought them to our village to hide!"

"Is there such a thing?"

Taoist Xue was stunned. Has the old emperor reached this point?
"So they're here because the authorities are coming to arrest people?"

The old man shook his head.

"The government never arrests anyone, but these children will walk away on their own. If someone tries to stop them, the government will arrest them. I heard that the horoscopes taken away by the children have been cast into evil spells, and sometimes they will walk away on their own at night."

"Our countryside is vast, and government officials are not often seen, so we just stop them when we see them, but this is not a solution! I heard from some places that powerful Taoist priests can use magic to suppress them. Taoist priest, please be kind!"

Taoist Xue was deeply shocked and subconsciously looked at the dozen or so children. His first reaction was that it was absurd and he did not quite believe it, but these children were right in front of him.

Moreover, it sounds like it is not a matter of just one village or one county, but seems to cover a large area. If someone really is practicing evil magic, what level of skill does he have to have?
"Hurry, children, please beg the Taoist priest, please!"

Among these children, there are the old man’s grandchildren, and the rest are either related or entrusted by their relatives.

When the old man shouted, more than a dozen children immediately began to beg.

"Master, please save us, Master, please save us" "Master, please save me"

"Master, I miss my mother." "Master."

Taoist Xue came to his senses and immediately waved his hand.

"Wait a minute! Father-in-law, aren't you afraid that I will report you to the authorities and cause you harm?"

The old man shook his head.

"I'm scared too, but there's nothing I can do. They were fine a while ago, but recently some of them started to wake up and sleepwalk at night. The day before yesterday, seven or eight of them walked away together, which scared everyone. A local fortune-teller came to try, but there was no way. She said their skills were too poor. We don't dare to go to the city or to other distant places to ask for help."

Taoist Xue looked serious. He took off the backpack from his shoulder and put it on the ground. Then he took out some special copper coins from his arms and sprinkled them on the table.

"Wow, wow, wow."

The copper coins fell on the table, and several of them kept spinning and took a while to stop, but two of them rolled directly under the table.

The Taoist's expression changed immediately.

"Taoist Master."

Taoist Xue looked at the old man and then at the children who looked uneasy.

"Let's see tonight!"

(End of this chapter)