nucmednet Chapter 72 Xikou Post Station 6
Chapter 72 Xikou Post Station 6
They were willing to offer themselves as sacrifices, which shows that they were not worshipping a righteous god.
At this moment, Sui Feng and the official returned empty-handed.
"Sir, we still haven't found it."
Xiao Ji got up and asked him to light more torches, then personally led his men down into the cave to investigate.
"You can't go!"
"You must not blaspheme our gods!"
The group of people moved their bodies frantically to block Xiao Ji's path.
The officers came over and tapped them with the hilts of their swords, shouting, "Get out of the way! Don't you dare hurt our lord!"
The young man gritted his teeth, his face contorted in a pleading expression: "Sir, please, do not disturb the mountain god. The harvest festival is crucial to our entire year's harvest. Please, sir, have mercy on us villagers!"
Many people felt sympathy.
Xuan'er was even more moved and tugged at Shen Lan's sleeve: "Sister, this is a matter of great importance regarding the harvest, and we can't be careless. Why don't we ask Lord Xiao to go after tonight?"
Shen Lan asked her, "Do you know about the Pingpu people?"
Xuan'er shook her head.
"Do you know about the Harvest Festival?"
“Our village also has a harvest festival, but it’s not said that it has to be held underground. Every year, each household prepares some offerings to worship the mountain god and the earth god together.”
"So how will you know if what they're saying is true if you don't go and see for yourself?"
Seeing that she didn't understand, Shen Lan explained, "We're just going down to take a look, not to destroy their idols. Besides, have you ever seen a place where they dig a hole tonight for a sacrifice?"
"This……"
Shen Lan's words caused many people's expressions to change.
Xiao Ji waved his hand and led his men down through the entrance to the stable.
The smoke below has dissipated.
However, just to be on the safe side, Shen Lan still gave each of them an antidote to suck on.
Sui Feng was the first to jump down, then took the rope and tied it to a lamppost.
The people above climbed down the ropes and walked through the narrow passage for a while before entering the cave area.
As the wind blew, all the braziers were lit, and everyone realized that the cave was very large and could completely cover the post station above.
"Digging such a large hole to worship the mountain god?" Shen Lan certainly didn't believe it.
Sui Feng had only taken a quick look when he came down, and pointed to the due east direction, saying, "Their statues are over there, but they're not finished yet."
Everyone moved over and gasped in unison.
Shen Lan finally understood why Sui Feng had said they were worshipping an evil god.
Although the statue was not yet finished, the upper body was already taking shape.
Calling it a statue is no longer quite accurate; Shen Lan had never seen a god with such a hideous and ugly face.
He has six arms, each covered with countless human faces, and a trident is stuck in his chest, beneath which is a shattered skull.
This thing has absolutely nothing to do with the mountain god.
In front of the statue is a large pit, which at first glance looks like an unfinished piece of ground. However, upon closer inspection of the entire altar, it becomes clear that the pit is related to the statue.
Nine small trenches were dug from under the base of the statue, connecting to a large pit, as if to transport something to the statue.
Thinking about the sacrificial offerings those people had mentioned, Shen Lan had a bad feeling.
"Sir, there's a corpse here!"
An official found a body in a pile of junk in a corner. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was the fake postmaster who had died earlier.
Shen Lan lagged half a step behind, pondering who had brought the corpse down.
Why did that young man lie?
"Miss Shen, come and take a look." Xiao Ji called to her from the front.
Shen Lan walked over and briefly examined the wounds on the corpse.
"The fatal wound was from this arrow, which is exactly the same as the one that killed the officer. There are also several bleeding spots on his body, indicating that he was shot by a sharp weapon."
"Why are they killing each other?" Sui Feng asked, puzzled.
Shen Lan really wanted to tell them the truth, but that would mean there would be so much to explain.
Xiao Ji touched the hardness of the corpse. "They've only been dead for a few hours. It seems they weren't very close."
Shen Lan searched the surrounding area but found no tableware or food scraps.
Something was missing from the kitchen, so why isn't it here? Did they eat somewhere else?
She walked to the wall and began to feel around it little by little.
I accidentally touched a moving stone, and when I pressed it gently, the wall next to me made a rumbling sound.
Everyone's attention was drawn to it.
The stone wall opened to both sides, revealing a narrow, secret room.
A cold wind blew out, accompanied by a foul stench.
Shen Lan quickly covered her mouth and nose and took a few steps back.
Although she couldn't see what was inside, she recognized the stench—it was the smell of a corpse.
The officials were so overwhelmed by the stench that they vomited repeatedly.
He held his breath, grasped the torch, and was the first to enter the secret room.
Shen Lan reminded him, "Why don't we wait a little longer and let the smell dissipate before going in?"
Such a confined space would likely produce many harmful gases, and bringing a torch inside would be very dangerous.
Sui Feng nodded, then threw the torch directly into the secret room and stepped back.
With the firelight flashing, Shen Lan could see the situation inside: a secret chamber smaller than the room itself, with corpses piled up in layers, like a giant statue.
The discovery of so many corpses in a dimly lit, enclosed room would send chills down anyone's spine.
"It seems they weren't telling the truth." Xiao Ji gritted his teeth, furious.
With so many corpses, it's unclear whether they were stolen, bought, or collected by killing so many people.
"I guess these must be the offerings they prepared to fill that big pit," Shen Lan speculated.
Sui Feng scoffed, "As expected of an evil god, they actually need to use corpses for sacrifice. I wonder what kind of protection they can receive?"
It's unclear how this strange belief spread.
Xiao Ji walked into the secret room. Apart from Shen Lan and Sui Feng, who dared to follow him in, everyone else wanted to faint if they even glanced at him.
"There were a lot of ice blocks in the sealed room, no wonder the temperature was so low."
Shen Lan saw water stains on the surrounding walls and unmelted ice blocks on the ground.
“Ordinary villagers could not possibly obtain such a large quantity of ice.”
“These people are of unknown origin, but if they were to kill so many people, it would raise suspicion no matter where they were, and it’s impossible that no news would get out.”
Shen Lan pointed to the burial clothes on a corpse and said, "Judging from the appearance, it must have been stolen or bought. The corpse is even wearing burial clothes. Either way, it will be very difficult to find the deceased's family."
In this kind of weather, and with the body already decomposing, by the time the family comes to identify the body, they probably won't even be able to recognize the face.
"Go up there first and continue the interrogation. We must find out the true purpose of these people."
Xiao Ji turned and walked out.
The worship of evil gods must be for some kind of request, but unfortunately this place is not yet fully completed and no inscriptions can be found.
Shen Lan took one last look at the statue, still feeling it was an eyesore.
“A group of brainwashed believers may not be willing to confess.”
"The believer has a sincere heart, but the person who guides the believer may not. That young man is the breakthrough point."