The soldiers were greeted by a large field of farmland, with occasional hints of green in the withered yellow, which were newly grown wheat seedlings, which looked particularly pleasant. A small river divides the field in two, and the water rushes against the stones and bubbles up a lot of white flowers, like a jade belt. On the other side of the river is the legendary Mingren Village, about a few hundred houses gathered together, mostly gray tiles and white walls, although not neat, but scattered, have a unique charm.

Zheng Weiguo and the others were all extremely surprised, and even couldn't believe their eyes. In this era, North China is not without wealthy villages, but there are few such tranquil and serene pictures. Now that the Japanese are coming, the people are in the midst of water and fire, and they can't even see a trace of stability at the bottom of the line.

The third grandfather was a little disappointed. He stood up, put his hand on the pergola and looked into the distance for a while, and said with some loss: "Ahem, I don't know what's going on in Ludao, this village is much more dilapidated than it was 20 years ago." ”

Zheng Weiguo thought for a moment and said: "Although the mountains are quiet, the days are hard after all, maybe they have already begun to move out." ”

The third grandfather shook his head and said, "No, they won't move away, something must have happened!" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "Anyway, there are only a few steps left, and you will know the road when you go." Third grandfather, are there any taboos in this village? Can there be so many of us all in one go? ”

The third grandfather nodded approvingly and said, "It's still your thoughtful life in this life." There are very few outsiders in this village, and it is inevitable that they will be frightened by the large number of people. In this case, you send two people to accompany me on a trip and say hello to the villagers first, so as not to have a misunderstanding. ”

Zheng Weiguo took a soldier and personally accompanied the third grandfather to Mingren Village. Although there is a river in between, there is no need to wade because there is a beautiful stone arch bridge in the middle of the river. There are also a few plum blossom seal characters engraved in the middle of the guard of the small bridge, and the third grandfather said that this is read as a jade broken bridge. I don't know whether it is to describe the river water as broken jade, or rather for the broken jade than for the whole tile.

Although the bridge is not big, it is very artistic. There are also several small lions carved on the bridge in traditional Chinese style, with realistic expressions and full of fun. This made Zheng Weiguo realize that life in the mountains was not as monotonous and boring as he imagined, at least the people here lived a good life.

After crossing the bridge, you will see a torii, which is the entrance to Akito Village. On the memorial arch, there are four words on the book, "China still exists". These four big characters are vigorous and powerful, although Zheng Weiguo does not know calligraphy, but he can also feel the tragic and heroic atmosphere from them. There is also a couplet engraved on the pillars on both sides, the upper link is a canal of water that does not flow endlessly, and the lower link is a half-mountain ...... Well, the last few words are too generally eroded by wind and rain, and they are no longer clear.

Zheng Weiguo asked the third grandfather, but he said that he didn't know what to do, so he had no choice but to hold down his curiosity and continue to walk towards the village. It was strange to them that they had walked so far and not a single villager had come across. Supposedly, there must be someone moving around the village so close. Walking along the bluestone paved street for a while, suddenly there was a commotion from the front, with shouting, crying, and all kinds of chaotic voices.

The third grandfather's face changed, and he said, "Go and see, something big must have happened in the village!" As he spoke, he walked forward quickly, ignoring his impaired mobility, and his crutches were stamped to the point that he made a loud noise.

Zheng Weiguo hurriedly instructed the soldiers to take care of the old man's house and let them wait here for a while. He rushed forward to reconnoitre, and in case of any danger, he could react in advance.

Just turned a street corner, a strange square suddenly appeared in front of Zheng Weiguo. The square was full of black and oppressive crowds, and these people were actually dressed in Ming Dynasty costumes! If the third grandfather hadn't informed him of this in advance, Zheng Weiguo would have thought that he had traveled to the Ming Dynasty again.

In front of the crowd, a strange man wearing a ghost mask and wearing bare hair and feet was dancing and jumping around. Uh, that is, the legendary jumping god. This is nothing, the square across the crowd is full of firewood, and there are several women tied to the firewood mountain. These firewoods are all drenched with grease, and Zheng Weiguo can smell them from a long distance.

Such a strange scene is easy to make people have bad associations, Zheng Weiguo was shocked and angry, thinking that they were going to burn those women alive! He couldn't believe it, could it really be so cruel? He preferred that his judgment was wrong, but his suspicion was soon confirmed. The guy who jumped the great god suddenly shouted and shouted: "The time has come, quickly pay the snake demon to Zhurong!" ”

Zheng Weiguo thought that this guy was a god at first, but when he heard her shout, he realized that Lu Dao was a woman. Well, a witch to be exact.

Hearing the witch say this, the villagers immediately became in an uproar. Many people kowtowed and begged, and some struggled to stand up, but these rebellions were eventually suppressed by the elders of the clan. It seems that the feudal patriarchal power here is still very strong.

The first old man kowtowed a few times in front of him, and when he raised his head, he was already in tears. He choked up and said: "The ancestors and the ancestors are above, and I don't know whether it is right or wrong today, but seeing that the family is about to die, I have to do it." If it's wrong, please blame me from God, and you can also go to hell forever, and don't affect others. ”

When the villagers heard this, they all cried loudly and looked very sad. Zheng Weiguo was confused when he heard it, and he didn't know why the villagers had to burn these women to death. At this moment, a girl in a skirt suddenly rushed over from the crowd, and before everyone could react, she had already run in front of Shibayama. The mountain was about three meters high, and it would have to be difficult for an adult man to climb it, but the girl ran straight up. That's right, it was to run up, and it didn't even use your hands during the process.

To be honest, the girl's leaps shocked Zheng Weiguo. If he guessed correctly, the girl should have used the legendary cornice walking kung fu. This kung fu has been lost for many years at the time of Zheng Weiguo's crossing. Fortunately, there is a strange man named Ge Qiang in Ningxia. Ge Qiang wanted to be a special police officer when he was a child, so he often practiced climbing over the wall alone, and through long-term speculation and practice, he actually figured out the kung fu of walking the wall. Although he did not become a special police officer later, the training of special police officers was based on the teaching materials he wrote. Of course, if it is lost, it is lost, and the cornices and walls that Ge Qiang groped out may not be the same as traditional Chinese kung fu, and some things can never be found if they are lost. Now that I have the privilege of witnessing the true face of this kung fu, how can I not make Zheng Weiguo feel excited!

The witch was still dancing wildly, and was about to throw a torch into the woody hill. The girl came so suddenly that she was so frightened that she almost sat on the ground. The witch was annoyed and angry, and shouted, "What kind of monster dares to break this Dharma!" ”

A woman who was tied up struggled to prevent the girl from untying her ropes, crying, "Ying Ning, you go quickly!" Don't worry about my sister, it's all my life! ”

Ying Ning cried: "Sister, it's obviously not your fault, they can't do this to you!" ”

The witch sneered, grabbed the torch and was about to throw it at Shibayama. The firewood was already dry and greased. It's really important, not to mention the people who are tied up, I'm afraid that even the girl who saved people will not be able to escape. Zheng Weiguo was a little absorbed in thinking just now, and now it's too late to rush over to save people. Fortunately, he was quick-witted, picked up a stone and threw it at the witch.

This blow was extremely accurate, and the stone was in the middle of the torch. As soon as the torch was forced, it fell to the witch's chest. The witch was bent on burning others, but she didn't expect to backfire on herself, and she didn't have time to dodge for a while, and her clothes were quickly set on fire. How painful is it to be burned? The witch usually only knows how to pretend to be a ghost, where has she suffered such a pain, and now she rolls on the ground in pain, screaming again and again.

Although Zheng Weiguo's shot was hidden, he was still discovered. Several people jumped out at the same time, shouting, "What people! Dare to trespass on my Mingren Village! ”

Hiding couldn't go on, Zheng Weiguo had no choice but to stand up and say, "Don't misunderstand, folks, I'm a guest invited by friends in your village!" Seeing this witch's vicious mind just now, I couldn't help but teach a lesson, and there was no malice. ”

The old man at the head snorted coldly and said, "Your Excellency's dark green son is good!" Tell me, who invited you? ”

Zheng Weiguo was stunned for a moment, because he didn't know the name of the third grandfather of Lu Dao. There was no way, so he had to tell the truth: "Apologize, I don't tell his old man's name, and the villagers call him the third grandfather." However, the third grandfather is just outside the village, I can take you to see it! ”

The villagers probably thought that this was not credible, and they rolled up their sleeves to give Zheng Weiguo a good look. Seeing that the two sides were about to make a move, only one person shouted: "Come brother, don't do it, I'm Ge San'er!" This is Chief Zheng, the living blue sky of our Ping'an County, you can't hurt him. ”

It turned out that the third grandfather saw that Zheng Weiguo had not come back for a long time, and they were anxious, so they went straight to find it.

Lai Lao'er hurriedly shouted: "Stop!" Saying that, he stepped forward quickly, looked at the third grandfather, and said, "It's really Brother Ge, you haven't been here for so many years, I thought it was ......."

The third grandfather smiled bitterly: "I'm old and can't climb anymore." This time, it was brought up by these descendants. Hey? What are you doing here? At this time, the girl in the skirt had already taken advantage of the chaos to release the few women who had been tied up, leaving only the high pile of firewood.

Lai Lao'er was a little embarrassed, but he had a very good relationship with the third grandfather, and besides, this matter had been seen by outsiders, so he couldn't hide it anyway, so he told it truthfully.

When the third grandfather heard that Lao Er was going to burn his own clansmen, he was so angry that his white beard trembled. He raised his crutches and pointed at the old man and scolded: "You fool! After all, if you are also a person who has read the books of the sages, how can you believe the words of the witch and the god! What about the witch? Find it out for me! ”

The villagers of Mingren Village also realized that something was wrong at this time, but when they looked around, the witch had slipped away at some point. At this time, everyone completely understood that they had fallen for this woman, and they were so angry that they screamed. The anxious villagers picked up the hunting guy and chased after him.

Lai Lao'er knew that he almost committed a big loan, and he was so ashamed that he was proud of himself, and let the third grandfather scold him without saying a word.

An old man next to him couldn't stand it anymore, so he stopped the third grandfather and said, "Ge San'er, don't blame the eldest brother for being confused." We, our Mingren Village, are about to die! As he spoke, he couldn't help but cry again.

The third grandfather was stunned when he heard this, and said, "Don't cry yet, why are you going to die?" Aren't you all living well? ”

Lai Lao'er sighed and said, "You don't know the way, our village hasn't added Dingkou for fifteen years, fifteen years!" If it goes on like this, it's worth it! ”

Zheng Weiguo paid attention to it, and there were only a few hundred people in Mingren Village, and it was normal for no children to be born in a few years. But fifteen years have not added a single penny, which is still too exaggerated.

Since there have been no children in the village for many years, the villagers began to get anxious. At the beginning, it was still the right way, inviting Tulangzhong and foreign doctors (it can be seen that Mingren Village is not completely closed, they still have contact with the outside world), but it has not worked. The villagers, especially the elders of the clan, have unscrupulous means to rise up. Especially this time, the witch said that there were several women in the village who were reincarnated by snake demons, blocking the "fortune of the descendants" in the village, and if they were not burned to death, the village would not want to add a dingkou.

At first, everyone didn't believe it, but then they ...... The elders of the clan decided to sacrifice these women to fight for a glimmer of life for the continuation of the clan. In their opinion, the lives of several women cannot be compared with the succession of ancestors, and they can be sacrificed when necessary.

Lai Lao'er continued: "I think that more than 100 people from my ancestors fled here and multiplied, and there were more than 3,000 people at one time, so they lived and prospered. But then the people withered, and now there are only more than 300 left, isn't this the heavens going to kill me! ”

Zheng Weiguo couldn't help but interject and said, "Old patriarch, have you married someone outside in Mingren Village?" ”

Lai Lao'er thought for a while and said, "There have been, but very rarely." What do you mean by that? ”

Zheng Weiguo's face was solemn and said, "I probably know the reason why your village has not added a dingkou for many years. Because the people of your village have almost the same direct ancestry and belong to close relatives. ”

Lai Lao'er's face turned pale and murmured, "Close relatives? ”

Zheng Weiguo replied with certainty, saying, "Yes, I don't know how the Ming Dynasty stipulated it, anyway, if several families intermarry for several generations, sooner or later there will be problems." It's good that you just can't have children here, and there are places where there will be children with long tails, and some will give birth to children with rabbit lips, and all kinds of symptoms are different. ”

Lai Lao'er sighed and said, "According to my Ming law, my aunt and cousin can't intermarry." Ahem, you're right, we originally only had ten families fleeing here, and five more surnames were extinct, but now although there are ten surnames on the surface, there are only five surnames left. I don't know how many generations of intermarriage these five surnames have been in the past three hundred years. ”

He looked at Zheng Weiguo and said, "Old man doesn't know that Your Excellency is so knowledgeable and rude, please don't be surprised." ”

Zheng Weiguo smiled: "It's okay. ”

Lai Lao'er said: "According to Your Excellency's opinion, how can we preserve the bloodline in Mingren Village?" ”

Zheng Weiguo said: "This problem is actually very easy to solve, you just need to marry someone outside." ”

Lai Lao'er sighed and said: "We are trapped in the deep mountains by our ancestors and can't get out, and the people outside the mountains are too poor to come in, so how easy is it to intermarry?" ”

Zheng Weiguo asked curiously, "What kind of ancestral training has allowed you to be trapped here for three hundred years?" ”