Paper horse incense shop

The voice of the white-haired old man reached the ears of everyone present through the loudspeaker. When I heard what he said clearly, my heart skipped a beat.

If I heard and remembered correctly, the word "Golden Flower" does sound familiar.

It seems that he is the person I should seek refuge with in Shu City.

The master's wife with half an eye, Granny Jinhua.

So these two 'golden flowers', could they be the same person?

Is Grandma Jinhua’s surname Chen?

Are you from Wutou Village?

The white-haired old man asked Chen Jinhua for help, but why?

Why did Chen Jinhua make such a fuss and leave in the middle of the night after agreeing to come back?

Several questions ran through my mind, but I was not given much time to think. The villagers in the field immediately stood up without any hesitation or questioning.

I counted them carefully and found that there were thirteen people in total, and they all had one common characteristic——

All are elderly.

Several middle-aged men with quick hands and feet brought a medical box, a whetstone, a broadsword, a wide bench, and placed a large iron basin on the ground at the head of the bench.

The elderly people lined up neatly beside the bench.

The leader's old man's face seemed to be struggling, but there was also a look of relief. He soon lay down on the bench obediently, facing the iron basin, and firmly grasped the edge of the bench with his hands.

A muscular man held a polished sword in his hand. Just between breaths, the sword he raised high fell down. The sharp edge broke through the skin of the old man's neck and got stuck on the cervical vertebrae, unable to get any closer. .

The knife failed, and the old man did not die immediately, but instead let out a series of miserable wails.

The wailing sound lingered, startling several passing birds and speeding away.

The old man's hand that was clinging to the bench instinctively touched the back of his neck out of pain. The big man with the knife reacted quickly. He raised one foot and stepped hard on the old man's back. He squeezed his neck with one hand and held the knife with the other. His mouth was obviously open. He made a sound, quickly pulled out the knife from the neck where it was stuck, and then——

Again, the knife swung down.

Blood gurgled out from the break like a river that burst its embankment, and the hideous and painful head fell into the large iron basin.

The headless corpse originally wanted to touch its neck for about a breath or two, and then it completely dropped.

How is this the pursuit of immortality?

This is an execution!

This thought flashed through the minds of several people hiding in the woods. Hu Xiaowu couldn't hide anything in his heart and immediately looked at his sister-in-law in panic.

Sister Ma looked at the movement not far away and subconsciously touched the skin on her neck. Her already pale face became increasingly pale and dull.

And Boss Hu, who was supposed to be the calmest, was already livid.

I calmed down:

"It's not over yet."

The white-haired old man in the field opened a simple-looking medicine box, and took out a small palm-sized wooden box from the box. Opening the wooden box, the white-haired old man dug out a little of the contents with his hands, and then just like that He reached out his hand and applied the substance in his hand to the severed head of the headless corpse.

As the blood-red texture of the severed head was painted green, I quickly understood what the thing in the white-haired old man's hand was -

It's some kind of dark green homemade paste.

There was no response or sound from the headless corpse. The white-haired old man applied it carefully a few times, and then gave up on the headless corpse hastily.

The white-haired old man tilted his head, as if he had said something. Someone immediately moved the body away and handed it back to its relatives who were obviously crying.

Then, the second body lay on the death bench.

Raising the knife, beheading, the head fell into the iron basin, smeared with herbs hastily, and gave up.

This process was repeated again and again.

The only difference is that sometimes the knife can cut off the neck smoothly in one go, and sometimes it cannot cut off in one go.

Two times, three times, the fourth old man was the most unlucky. Maybe it was because the strong man was a little tired, maybe because the blade was not sharp, and he failed to cut five times. In the end, it was almost like chopping meat, and the sticks were stuck together. The head was chopped off.

When the head finally fell into the iron basin filled with blood, the faces and bodies of the spectators in the front row near the 'execution ground' had already been splattered with blood.

Then, apply that damn dark green paste again.

Then, it’s easy to give up. The people present seemed to have become accustomed to this kind of thing. Except for the relatives of the elderly people who were slaughtered, no one raised any objections.

Like this is a normal thing.

Thirteen times, a full thirteen times.

This process of 'slaughtering' was repeated as many times as there were old people who came forward.

This cannot be called medical skill, absolutely not.

Everything is so sloppy, wild, and backward, filled with a sense of madness like when primitive tribes hold sacrifices.

Even the enthusiasm in the eyes of the people in the audience was exactly the same.

Upon entering, there was no disinfection method, no medicine, and even no 'secret method of immortality' that was supposed to be used at the slaughtering site.

There is only that damn dark green paste.

This time, not only the three Hu brothers were dumbfounded, but I also felt a mixture of chill and anger in my chest.

Hu Xiaowu watched the beheading come to an end. No one came on stage anymore. Everything seemed to have gone through all the processes. He said in an incredible trembling voice:

"This, what is this?"

"This damn girl, can she be a miracle doctor?"

"No barefoot doctor in the countryside would treat patients like this!"

"Does applying a little ointment count as casting a spell?"

"Is this obviously trying to frame these villagers?!"

No matter whose method it is, if you want to cast a spell, you must have a basic process.

For more formal ones, you need to set up an altar to worship and invite gods.

At the very least, one needs formulas, or the use of "seal diagrams" such as talismans that carry the will of God, in order to activate the secret methods hidden in the world.

The white-haired old man had nothing.

I didn't even see the corners of the other person's lips move when he was applying the paste.

Everything that is hasty is like a shaky grassroots team.

Is it like Hu Xiaowu said, the miracle doctor didn't want to use the secret method, so he just went through the motions to frame these villagers?

"No"

I managed to calm down and thought of a terrible possibility:

“Not a scam”

"Look at the enthusiasm in these people's eyes and the careful movements of the white-haired old man when he applied the ointment. They obviously really think that they can gain 'immortality' in this way."

"And the reason why they think this ridiculous process can make the beheaded person live forever."

"Someone must have done something similar in front of them."

"But they don't learn that 'key,' which is spellcasting."

"I just feel that using this process, ordinary people can become immortals."

"Just now. Didn't the white-haired old man just say that there are old people present who have experienced the 'previous' fireworks festivals, so there is no need for 'Chen Jinhua'?"

"Why did you emphasize this so many times? I guess it's because the miracle doctor only personally conducted the first few ceremonies."

"Everyone in the field now is 'imitating' everything before."

"It's just that the imitation is not in place and the most important link is missing."

"Which one is the miracle doctor?"

"And the white-haired old man who is currently conducting the festival is not a 'miracle doctor' at all." (End of Chapter)