the last priest

When that day came, there was only Cha Wenbin.

As a Taoist priest, his arrival often means that something unlucky has appeared in the village.

In rural areas, Taoist priests are always closely connected with gods and ghosts.Therefore, on this occasion, Cha Wenbin did not call Chaozi and the others.

At that time, Cha Wenbin's skills were already well-known in several surrounding areas, but often because he usually went out for a few months, most people who wanted to find him couldn't find the door.It is precisely because of his appearance that a group of characters such as gods and witches quickly became popular in our areas, telling fortunes and divinations, or naming names.

In the era of reform and opening up, some people's thinking has begun to improve, and the spring breeze of modern medicine has also blown into our small mountain village.Slogans against feudal superstition are printed everywhere from the walls of the earthen toilets to the gate of the village committee, but there are still some things that cannot be solved by medicine, such as the current state of Ah Fang.

In the earliest days, rural people invited Taoist priests to exorcise evil spirits because of their fear of gods and ghosts.But in those few years, it has begun to evolve into an attitude of being a dead horse as a living horse doctor, which refers to the kind of patients who have nothing to do in the hospital or people who are very strange and helpless.

Cha Wenbin's arrival, to a certain extent, still attracted a large number of onlookers.His name is not based on pretending to be a ghost, but on word of mouth, and some have seen it with their own eyes.

He is different from ordinary Taoist priests or gods, he never collects money, and he will never make a big show.Even some simple things, such as incense sticks, are brought with you, so that they can be seen by others. If the owner's family is really in trouble, he will give some money to others.

Therefore, in the local area, Cha Wenbin is not just a Taoist priest.It is difficult for some people to invite him!For example, a private enterprise has just started, and some people have a little money in their pockets, and they want to build a luxurious private house. No matter how many people you photograph to invite them, there will only be an unusually tall man at the gate of the Cha family telling you: Brother Wenbin is not here,

But for some people, it is very simple to invite Cha Wenbin, such as my father invited him to see Ah Fa this time.Cha Wenbin packed his things almost immediately, and followed his father back.

Afa’s house is also built on the hillside. The house faces south. There is a small stream in front of it. I built a bridge with simple wooden boards. When people walk on the bridge, the bridge will make a loud noise. Be careful and break the rotten plank.

Under the recommendation of his father, Cha Wenbin frowned before crossing the bridge, and asked, "How long has the bridge in this man's house been built?"

Our village lives along the river, and many families have to build a bridge to connect the road with their houses.People with conditions at home will build cement structures, but most of them use this simple plank.

Dad naturally didn't know why Cha Wenbin frowned, so he said: "This bridge has been built for a long time. It rained heavily a while ago, the river swelled, and a piece of wood was washed away. It was only rebuilt a few weeks ago. Fill."

Zha Wenbin nodded thoughtfully, and then told my father: "When crossing the bridge, remember to go to the left, not the board on the right, there is something wrong with that board."

Dad is also a smart person. Since Zha Wenbin said so, he naturally has his reasons, and there is no harm in doing so.

After crossing the bridge, some members of Ah Fa's family were already there, all of them were brothers and sisters of their family, and there were also neighbors next door.Seeing the Taoist priest coming, they all stepped out of the way and asked Afa's wife to lead Cha Wenbin in.

As soon as he entered the door, there was a foul smell, and Dad was holding his nose and wanted to vomit.Seeing the scene of the visitor, Ah Fa's mother-in-law was also a little embarrassed and said: "I can't help it, let my brother tie him up, otherwise he will bite people."

As she spoke, the woman rolled up her sleeves, only to see a row of purple scars from being bitten on her arms.As soon as the woman saw the injury, she cried again: "I don't know what evil he did. He was just in a daze a few days ago, but he started biting people since yesterday. If it wasn't for the presence of the third child and the eldest child, I would have been killed by him." Killed."

The stench came from Ah Fa's excrement and urine. Because he was tied up and no one dared to untie him, he had to stay on the bed.

As soon as Cha Wenbin entered the room, his eyes met Afa's. Afa's eyes were full of fierceness, while Cha Wenbin's eyes were a little colder.After confronting each other like this for about a minute, Cha Wenbin lightly pressed the scabbard in his hand with his thumb, and the Seven Star Sword was only exposed a few inches, then Ah Fa turned his head inward and stopped looking at it. .

"Burn some hot water and wash him first. Don't let go of his hands and feet. Just throw it into the big bucket. Remember to put more wormwood in the bucket." After speaking, Zha Wenbin turned and went out.

The family members thought about it, yes, who would dare to step forward with Ah Fa as a scruff.So the brothers gritted their teeth and cut off the clothes on Ah Fa's body with scissors, stripping them naked.Although this Ah Fa was crippled, he seemed extremely powerful at this moment, and the four brothers almost didn't hold him down. His posture was like being thrown into boiling water to scald a pig's hair.

Ah Fa's mouth was stuffed with rags, because he was going to bite someone, so he just screamed "woo woo" in his throat.

It was almost done washing, and the room inside was cleaned up again, and then it was sent back wrapped in a blanket.

Someone came to ask Cha Wenbin for instructions and said, "Mr. Cha, this man has already been washed."

Unexpectedly, Zha Wenbin didn't intend to do anything, but instead asked, "Where did the wooden plank added behind the bridge come from?"

This question can only be answered by the woman who found Ah Fa, and the woman said, "It was fished in the river."

Indeed, in our place, the mountains are relatively steep, and some dead trees and rotten trees on the mountains are easy to wash into the creek during heavy rains.

After hearing this, Zha Wenbin didn't continue. Instead, he turned his head and asked my father, "Has there been any dignitaries here in the past?"

"I don't know, what's the matter?" Indeed, as far as our family is concerned, it was also the generation of my great-grandfather who moved here. The combined time of living here is less than 100 years. The biggest dignitary was the landlord back then. .

However, the history of our village is too serious. For example, the Temple of the General is a typical remnant of dating.The people living here are basically immigrants from other places. The real aborigines all died or ran away during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom period.

Cha Wenbin said to the bridge: "The board I mentioned just now, if I'm not mistaken, is made of nanmu."

"Panmu?"

"That's right, nanmu, that is, golden nanmu. Judging from its appearance, it should be the base of the coffin. Although it has been a bit long and soaked in water for so long, you see, those wooden nails are still good."

Following what Zha Wenbin said, everyone took a closer look and found that it was really the case. There are indeed several symmetrical tenons distributed on this unremarkable wooden board. Some tenons have fallen off, but some are still there.

"If you don't mind, it's better to tie the two ends of this board with hemp rope and then hang it up. This board can't be placed here any longer. Hashimoto is a thing that gathers yin. Given the age of this board Look, at least it takes thousands of years to walk, how many people can walk safely with such a thing under their feet?"

When she heard that this thing was a coffin board, Mrs. Afa's face turned pale with fright.This thing was picked up by Ah Fa in the river. It happened that a board on the bridge of his family was washed away that day, and he saw a board floating on the water. After comparing it, it was quite suitable in size, and it was easily built as a bridge deck.Because the board was quite heavy, it was only lifted by the joint efforts of the husband and wife at that time.

People who are confused will do stupid things. If they had turned this board over and looked at it at that time, maybe they would not have used it on it.

When everyone lifted the board and turned it over, everyone exploded.The back of the bottom plate of this coffin is painted with vermilion black lacquer. The quality of the lacquer is really good. After so many years, not even a single crack can be seen, and it still shines like a mirror when it is soaked in water.

More importantly, the bottom also depicts a dragon about 1.5 meters long with gold powder.The appearance of this dragon is not as complicated as that of modern dragons, but its shape and lines are extremely beautiful, and it can be seen that it is made by top craftsmen.These few pieces of information are enough to show that this board is indeed of extraordinary origin.

Not long after, the news that we found a precious wooden plank spread. Afa's house was surrounded and there was no way to get through. At that time, some people offered a high price to Afa's wife, but Cha Wenbin just said coldly: "Who If you are not afraid that someone will die at home, just take it."

With his words, those who wanted to make a fortune immediately dismissed the year, and in the afternoon, the three of Chaozi also arrived.He was very good at archeology, and he only glanced at it and said, "Tsk tsk, brother Wenbin, this thing is not simple, maybe this village is really interesting!"