quadruple sleep

Chapter 351 Wu Lao

Several people had discussed the matter of visiting Tian Dayu's family. With the elder leading the way, there was no way they would be able to get anything out of Tian Dayu's mother. This time they would just go and get to know the family and people, and then act according to circumstances.

The wind was blowing in the chill, and the fourth elder led the way while chatting with the others, "You all came at a wrong time. The weather got cold early this year. In previous years, this season was not as uncomfortable as it is this year. I think if there are a few more heavy snowfalls, half of the plum blossoms in the village will fall off."

Then he sighed heavily, "The villagers of Meitang Village love plums and begonias. For example, plum cakes, plum wine, begonia sauce, and begonia pickles are all considered good when the buds are fully bloomed, and the food they make is also delicious. Judging from the weather at the beginning of winter this year, next year... oh."

Then he realized that he had complained in front of the guests, and quickly apologized, explaining, "Meitang Village is most beautiful in spring. If you have the opportunity again in the future, you must find a good season to experience it."

Several people responded.

When asked about Tian Dayu's mother's condition, the fourth elder was worried. "Auntie has not been in good health in the past two years. The farmland at home is taken care of by everyone. She has been bedridden since the beginning of autumn this year. We can't find out what disease she has. She takes medicine after medicine, but she still feels uncomfortable."

Hang Si was curious and took two quick steps to catch up with the fourth elder. The wind blew across his cheeks, making him feel even colder. It felt like it was going to snow again. "Is there a hospital in Meitang Village?"

The fourth elder laughed, "We don't like that. If anyone in Meitang Village has a headache or a fever, they will go to see the witch. His family has been the witch for generations."

After hearing this, they understood that "Wu Lao" was not a respectful title, but a job title.

Lu Nanshen walked diagonally behind the fourth elder and asked out of the blue, "Does the village witch elder participate in the annual sacrifice?"

It can be seen that the fourth elder is also not cold-resistant. He doesn't care too much about being elegant. He puts his hands under his sleeves and shrinks his neck. He nodded and sniffed again, "Wu Lao and the clan leader are important figures in the annual sacrifice, especially Wu Lao, who is the main force in the heaven-asking stage."

The fourth elder was quite righteous. He was so talkative despite the cold weather. "I know you outside no longer believe in witches, but in our Meitang Village, witch culture is a belief. So when we ask the sky for divination, the elder witch will represent all the villagers and come with the clan leader to ask for divination and pray. In addition," he took them along the country road, and along the country road that meandered along the terrain were residential houses.

A villager who was leaving the house greeted the Fourth Elder, who smiled and returned the greeting. Seeing the villagers looking at Lu Nanshen and his friends curiously, the Fourth Elder casually said, "Guests from our village."

Not all villagers attended the banquet, so those who had not seen them were naturally curious.

Continuing forward, the fourth elder also continued, "Wu Lao will also seek the cause of Aunt's illness when he asks the heavens, hoping that the heavens will have mercy and let Aunt recover."

Lu Nanshen and the others looked at each other, and no one asked any more questions.

As for the fact that Meitang Village still believed in witch doctors, except for Nian Baixiao and Fang Sheng, Chen Yezhou, Hang Si and Lu Nanshen didn't think much of it. Chen Yezhou handled many cases, and it was not the first time he visited an ancient village like this. Although Lu Nanshen had never come into contact with it before, he had heard experts and scholars talk about witch doctors. Hang Si usually liked to dabble in folk customs and knew that the more closed the village was, the more it believed in metaphysics. She didn't believe it, but she also respected it.

Nian Baixiao walked behind and muttered softly, "Is she a witch? Fortunately, she was not born in medieval Europe, otherwise she would have been burned to death."

Fang Sheng choked. Although she believed that witch doctors only existed in movies and TV dramas, she also believed that witch doctors existed in real life, and they would definitely not be the "witches" he mentioned.

Are the two concepts okay? ... They soon met the Wu Lao mentioned by the fourth elder.

He was not the mysterious, beautiful and enchanting witch that Nian Baixiao had imagined, nor was he the eccentric man with facial tattoos and strange clothes in movies and TV dramas. He was just a little old man.

He was dressed like any other villager, with a grey jacket and black pants, less than 1.7m tall, slightly hunched, spoke softly, and had a kind face. If there was one thing that made him stand out, it would be his silver hair, so silver that there wasn't a single bit of black in it, and he used a black hairpin to tie it into a bun at the back of his head.

More like a Taoist priest.

He is at Tian Dayu's house.

After the Fourth Elder brought Lu Nanshen and his party in, they saw him sitting on a wooden chair and talking to an old woman lying in bed. His voice was quite low, and he stopped talking when he saw someone coming in.

There was also a middle-aged man standing next to Wu Lao, with similar eyebrows and eyes to Wu Lao. On the way here, the fourth elder told them that Wu Lao was passed down from generation to generation, and only in the direct line, passing on to males, not females. Now that Wu Lao is old, his eldest son is about to inherit this function, so Wu Lao always takes his eldest son with him every time he goes out.

Lu Nanshen paused for a moment before entering the main house, and when he came in, he met Wu Lao unexpectedly. Wu Lao quickly shifted his gaze, but was not in a hurry to leave, and told his son to bring the medicine.

In addition to Wu Lao and his son, there were two women and one man in the room. They seemed to be here to take care of him. When they saw the Fourth Elder coming, they all greeted him. The Fourth Elder nodded and said to the bed, "Auntie, Dayu's friends are here to see you."

Before they came in, Dayu's mother was half-slumped against the bed. When she heard the Fourth Elder's words, her body stiffened. Hang Si saw this reaction clearly. She reached out and pulled the corner of Lu Nanshen's clothes. Lu Nanshen knew what she meant and gently shook her hand.

Hang Si subconsciously looked up at him.

The main room was dimly lit, and the faint light flowed through his eyebrows, hiding a bit of melancholy and an elusive depth. Just as he was suspicious, he heard the old woman speak, "Are you Dayu's friend? Yes, yes, ahem..."

A series of violent coughing.

The dry cough was surprisingly sharp. Seeing this, Wu Lao hurriedly brought the medicine and whispered, "Stop talking and drink the medicine first."

The fourth elder led a group of people to the bedside and sighed, "Aunt's illness looks more serious?"

Wu Lao looked solemn and didn't respond. However, his eldest son beside him spoke in a very soothing and steady manner, "Wait until the gods come. Auntie will be fine."

As they were talking, Hang Si and the others were also looking at the woman in front of them. Her face was sallow, her lips were dark, and her eyes were dull, but even so, she didn't look slovenly. Her hair was neatly tied up, and it was obvious that she was a very polite person.

She was wearing a beige plain dress and a floral cotton quilt. The most conspicuous thing was the scar on her neck. It was a long scar, but not hideous in shape and color. It was very thin and at first glance looked like a thin red snake.