Chapter 38

The room was particularly quiet at this moment, and perhaps only Su Jiu didn't know the reason.

Even Chen Jie probably understood the situation.

Most of the people in Chen Jie's village were surnamed Chen, and it was called Chen Village. Chen Village wasn't small, with about 1,300 people.

However, there was no sign of exclusion here at the moment.

Chen Jie's mother was still hesitating. Although Chen Jie knew a little about the so-called legend, he wasn't very clear about the specific details. At this moment, anyone could see that Chen Jie was waiting for someone to give him an explanation or an answer.

After a moment of hesitation, Chen Jie's mother finally spoke.

"Actually, a month ago, your father went to that place alone. According to custom, the village needed to perform a sacrifice that day. It was originally your grandfather's turn, but your father didn't believe in the legend and went there alone without telling your grandfather."

"At the time, neither your grandparents nor I knew. Your father went there early in the morning by himself..."

Chen Jie's mother murmured.

From these words, Su Jiu gradually understood the sequence of events.

Chen Village was not originally from this area. During the early Qing Dynasty, they migrated here due to war, and it has been nearly 400 years since then.

This area is in the western part of Guizhou. Originally, it was inhabited by a branch of the Miao ethnic group, the Shidong branch. When the ancestors of Chen Village migrated here, it wasn't smooth sailing; they faced numerous crises before settling here.

When the ancestors of Chen Village arrived, they were attracted to this village. It was a time of war, and the entire country was in chaos during the early Qing Dynasty.

The ancestors of Chen Village, after a long journey, were naturally a fierce and strong group.

To compete for living space, they naturally clashed with the local Miao people.

The ancestors of Chen Village were fierce and had been tempered by war, giving them a significant advantage. The Miao people, on the other hand, had lived here for generations and had not experienced such crises, making their strength clearly inferior.

Based on this, the Miao people were bound to lose, but things often turned out unexpectedly.

Although the Miao people were weaker, whenever they were about to be defeated, they would chant mysterious incantations, and it seemed as if they were possessed by spirits, driving back the ancestors of Chen Village.

The ancestors of Chen Village suffered several major losses, but the Miao people never pursued their victory. They would stop as long as the ancestors of Chen Village retreated from the Miao village.

It turned out that after multiple observations, the ancestors of Chen Village discovered a secret: this magical effect only worked within the Miao village.

Ancient legends of ghost and spirit powers were prevalent, but nothing in the world is absolute. The leader of the ancestors of Chen Village was a meticulous person. After careful observation, he finally discovered this secret. After a series of observations, he found a way to counter it.

That was to carry something from a cow. The frenzied Miao people would then ignore them.

This was an accidental discovery. In one surprise attack, each member of the Chen ancestors carried "warding off evil" items, such as cow horns, cow hair, and cow bones.

This battle ended with an absolute victory for the ancestors of Chen Village.

After winning, the ancestors of Chen Village occupied this place, which is now Chen Village.

The story didn't end there. The leader of the ancestors of Chen Village didn't settle down just because of this victory.

He was also very envious of the Miao people's divine power. After thorough investigation, he finally uncovered the root of the matter.

The Shidong Miao people worshipped the Bull God.

In the village, there was a mysterious cave where the Bull God was said to reside. This cave was bottomless, leading to an unknown location underground.

The Miao people worshipped the Bull God, and the mysterious and difficult incantation was the secret spell to trigger the Bull God's power. As long as they worshipped the Bull God daily, they would become incredibly strong and fierce when they heard the spell.

After discovering this secret, the ancestors of Chen Village naturally adopted the Miao custom of worshipping the Bull God.

This was also the reason why the Chen family had this secret, which had been passed down for 400 years through countless wars and turmoil.

As time passed, with social development and scientific progress, fewer and fewer people believed in this legend. Nowadays, even fewer people worshipped the Bull God.

Of course, things weren't that simple. If it were, there wouldn't have been the events that later happened to Chen Jie.

Worshipping the Bull God involved a very special ceremony.

The ancestors of Chen Village learned this ceremony from the surviving Miao people.

Every year, on the ninth day of the ninth month, which is the Double Ninth Festival, someone had to lead a cow and carry a bundle of dry grass to the cave where the Bull God was said to reside.

In the cave, they had to feed the dry grass to the cow.

If the cow ate the grass calmly, everything would be fine. If the cow refused to eat the grass or refused to enter the cave, the person who went to worship would have to bear the Bull God's wrath and would die mysteriously.

After death, the body had to be taken into the cave within a specific time to seek the Bull God's forgiveness.

This was an ancient and mysterious ceremony.

When Su Jiu understood the whole story, he was deeply shocked.

According to the village custom, the person who went each year was chosen in rotation. This year, it was Chen Jie's family's turn. Generally, an elderly person who was about to pass away would be chosen to do this.

According to the original plan, Chen Jie's grandfather was supposed to do this.

The cow was provided by the villagers, and Chen Jie's grandfather was to go.

However, things didn't go as planned. Chen Jie's father was skeptical about the whole thing.

When Chen Jie's grandfather first mentioned this, he immediately rejected it.

In this day and age, these were all feudal superstitions.

They had a big argument over this.

In a fit of anger, Chen Jie's father went to do this alone, without telling anyone, and the result was what happened later.

Chen Jie's father fell into a coma soon after returning from the cave.

Chen Jie's grandfather felt extremely guilty, believing that he had angered the Bull God. In a fit of anger, he drank pesticide and committed suicide.

Chen Jie's grandmother couldn't bear the shock and also passed away.

This led to the current situation.

"Brother, it's almost time. Let's put him in the coffin! We've already waited for so many days. If we delay any longer, we'll have to wait another six days for the next best day for the ceremony. By then, Uncle and Aunt's bodies will start to rot in this weather," the thin man beside them urged again.

Hearing this, Su Jiu's heart stirred.

...

PS: Sorry, the second update today is a bit late. Please don't be upset, as I was delayed by some matters!