500 years after the conferment of the gods, I only joined the Jiejiao

"Is there such a thing!?"

But Yan Hui's eyes widened naturally when he heard the words.

It was hard for him to imagine that Kong Qiu actually had a teacher and brothers and sisters.

It is even more difficult to imagine what kind of characters the teachers and teachers he mentioned are like! ?

But when he asked later, Confucius did not answer.

Just say

"The unicorn hides in the deep mountains, and the dragon hides in the flat lake—my teacher is like a lin, what is his name?"

So Yan Hui didn't ask any more questions.

And the two of them talked about the principles of heaven and earth while walking in the country of Lu.

The green ox pulling the cart never changed its footsteps at all.

Soon, the two left the border of Lu State.

Stepped into the state of Wei, which is adjacent to the state of Lu.

What is worth mentioning is that the Wei country is located in the hinterland of the Yin and Shang dynasties in the past.

Although Wei Guo is only a vassal state.

But its capital is also the former Yin and Shang emperor's "Chaoge"!

Because of this, Weiguo was naturally the place with the most prosperous karma and the most killings in the past.

Among them, ghosts and ghosts are also the most prevalent among the countries.

so...

"Um!?"

Drive the ox cart slowly on the path among the fields and mountains.

Kong Qiu and Yan Hui, however, soon saw a scene that stunned them.

It was not far away, between a barren mountain that was visible from afar.

There, there was clearly a corpse.

The degree of decay of the corpse is extremely serious, and it should be a tenant farmer in terms of appearance.

He has a broken logging ax by his side.

His abdomen was cut open by some kind of force, and all internal organs had disappeared.

"Is it a monster?"

And even Yan Hui had a look of horror at this moment.

He is familiar with classics and quite talented.

But he had never seen monsters before.

There is no other reason - because he is from the state of Lu.

In the territory of Lu State, everyone worships the owner of Yuanquan Mountain as a totem.

The mountain dominates the country, and there have been no traces of evil spirits in the territory of Lu State for many years.

The reason Yan Hui was able to recognize him was because he often talked with some Lu merchants who traveled around the country.

Only then did I realize that these viscera were taken away and eaten, which is the standard behavior of some mountain spirits and wild monsters.

But it was the first time to see it with my own eyes!

"..."

On the other hand, Kong Qiu looked at the rotting corpse with a faint look of reluctance to die.

He sighed softly: "Six lives."

"Six lives?"

When Yan Hui heard the words, his eyes widened in surprise, "Master Kong, why did you say that?"

But Kong Qiu shook his head, and then pointed to the corpse's wrist: "...the stone string hanging on this tenant farmer's wrist, with childish inscriptions on it, should be worn by his wife and his son."

Yan Hui took a closer look, but found that there was indeed a stone string hanging on the wrist of the corpse.

On the stone strings are engraved some paintings that look like children's carvings, there are men and women.

"He has three sons and two daughters...and his family must not be rich, otherwise he, a farmer, would never come to this barren mountain to cut wood."

"If he is gone now, how will his family's orphans and widows survive?"

When Confucius said this, he sighed deeply again.

When Yan Hui heard the words, he suddenly understood and at the same time he didn't say a word.

The two buried the corpse and removed the stone string from each other's hands.

Then go back to the bullock cart and move on.

And after going out for only a few miles.

The two saw a village.

"Master Kong, is this village just..."

And Yan Hui is naturally very clear.

If there were no accidents, this village should be the village where the farmer who died at the hands of the evildoer lived.

But when they arrived here, they saw that there seemed to be a sacrifice in the village.

"Is it a god sacrifice?"

Yan Hui, who was proficient in Zhou etiquette, could easily identify the object of sacrifice at a glance.

In the world where immortals and gods ruled the world and obeyed the etiquette, it was naturally extremely important to sacrifice to the gods.

According to the rituals of Zhou, every year there should be "three animals and six animals, five grains and seven fruits" to be regarded as a proper ritual.

Even if it is a small sacrifice, it must have the "three animals" to be regarded as conforming to the etiquette.

Even in the country of Lu, sacrifices still exist.

It's just that Duke Min, the king of Lu State, once passed down the edict of the master of Totem Mountain, saying that the people can recycle and eat the items after the sacrifice.

But at this moment, what Yan Hui couldn't imagine was.

Although all the props for the sacrificial ceremony were crude, they were all clear and thoughtful. Obviously, this was not the first time a sacrificial ceremony was performed.

But only the sacrificial offerings.

The three animals that should have been 'cows, sheep, and pigs' were clearly sitting at this moment with three children.

Two of them are little girls who are only three or four years old, and one is a boy who looks about ten years old.

"Cunzheng—let go of my two younger sisters, and let me go to worship the mountain god alone!"

At this moment, the boy seemed to be resisting.

Below, there is a woman holding two young boys and crying loudly.

The one called Muramasa by the boy was an old man.

After hearing his words at this time, he sighed: "'ci', your father went into the mountain to cut trees and angered the mountain god."

"He probably won't come back, and your two younger sisters won't survive anyway."

"My village is poor, and there is nothing to worship."

"If you are allowed to go alone, two animals will be missed, which is not in accordance with etiquette."

"The mountain god sent down punishments, and there will be no harvest in the coming year—— none of us, old and young, can survive!"

He said this, but there were tears in his old eyes.

"Don't worry, your mother and two younger brothers will be supported by the village no matter what."

The two talked in a few words.

But it was enough for Yan Hui and Kong Qiu to understand what happened in this village.

The farmer's corpse they discovered not long ago should be the child's father.

He went into the mountain to cut wood, angered the so-called mountain god, and died.

And after the mountain god got angry, the villagers would naturally perform a sacrifice according to the Zhou rituals to appease the god's anger.

But in such a poor village, the annual sacrificial offerings must be gathered together by the whole village to get enough sacrifices.

Now suddenly asking for sacrifices, where do they have that ability.

Therefore, the children of the farmers' families who caused the wrath of the gods can only be regarded as the "three animals".

Among them, those two girls are probably hard to survive in this day and age.

As for the oldest boy, he should have taken the initiative to become a sacrifice in order to protect his two younger brothers.

but...

"What's the point!?"

Yan Hui was so angry that he trembled all over: "What are you talking about, the mountain god-eating hearts and livers, but he is clearly a demon!"

But Kong Qiu looked serious.

He silently patted the blue cow in front of him.

The bullock cart stepped forward, and soon attracted the attention of the villagers and the village chief.

But immediately afterwards, the reaction of the villagers and the village officials made Kong Qiu feel very strange.

After they saw the exquisite attire of Kong Qiu and Yan Hui and the chariots they mounted, they fell down directly.

"The nobleman is here!"

"Don't be rude, don't be rude—get down on your knees!"

They all bowed down together, bowing their heads and not looking at Kong Qiu and others.

It is impolite to view scholar-bureaucrats from the perspective of the people.

Both Confucius and Yan Hui knew that this was a manifestation of Zhou's respect and inferiority—although in Lu State, few people would do this anymore.

Except for the monarch's office trip, the common people will avoid it.

Just like the group of children and the warm-hearted peasant woman Confucius met in Dongcheng before.

Most of the people of Lu State, especially the people of Zouyi, have long since ceased to follow the etiquette and laws so strictly.

But at this moment, Yan Hui, who always admired etiquette, felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

But Kong Qiu had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

760

"Muramasa, get up now."

he said softly.

But Nacunzheng's body trembled when he heard the words, but he didn't dare to move at all.

Of course he didn't dare to move.

Because according to Muramasa's life experience for so many years, he knows very well that many of these nobles take pleasure in abusing them, the common people.

If he dared to look up at this moment, he would glance at the other party.

It can't be said, it's convenient to come over with a whip.

Beat him to death directly in the name of rudeness, and then walk away.

"..."

Seeing this scene, the thought in Kong Qiu's eyes became even more intense.

He no longer forced Muramasa to get up, but came to the side of the altar silently.

"Son, your name is 'ci'?"